October 14, 2020

TheoFam: Grace Taught Homes

“Who Am I?” Approximately 6,000 years ago, I came into existence! I was a criteria used by God for forming the nations! I am used as a description of the church of Jesus Christ! I was designed by God, created by God, and have been used by God since day six of the creation week. I have been and continued to be under attack by Satan and this world’s system. People have tried to minimize and marginalize me. People have attempted to corrupt and change me from my original design. Yet by God’s grace and through His strength, I am still designed to bring glory to God! I am still a vital component of every nation and every church. I am still God’s design for raising a godly seed!
Wow! Whoever is the answer from those clues must be pretty important from God’s perspective and therefore ought to be from our perspective as well. Any guesses? The title of this article might have given you a clue. But the answer to the question, “who am I,” is the family. Last year, I introduced us to a unique term, “TheoFam.” The term, TheoFam, is an attempt to reclaim God’s design for our families. God designed the family to be a theological community; a place where God is known and made known. The family is designed to be a theological community! Yet, sadly in many homes to-day, God’s name is not even mentioned unless it is used as a curse word.

The New Testament speaks about three God-given institutions that have a governing influence in a believer’s life: Human Government (Romans 13), the church (1 Timothy 3), and the home (1 Timothy 3:4). All three are important. All three were de-signed by God. Yet the one that God created first (Genesis 2:2-25) and the one which was to be responsible for raising a godly seed (Malachi 2:15) was the family! When the Apostle Paul wrote letters to the churches, he often included specific instructions for various family relationships (Ephesians 5:22-6:4; Colossians 3:18-25). You see, the Lord has a vital concern for the family. And His Word teaches us how we ought to conduct our family relationships for the glory of God. Our homes are to be TheoFams; theological communities that are following the Lord so that He is known and made known in and through them.

But as our “Who Am I” game indicated, Satan and this world’s system continue to attack the family. They continue to try to change and corrupt the family from its original design. Therefore, we as believers must continue to remind ourselves of God’s design for the family and allow our homes to be taught by God’s grace and led by God’s grace. Starting Sunday, October 4th at 6:00 p.m., I will be bringing a series of messages entitled: “TheoFam: Grace Taught Homes,” as we resume our Sunday evening services. No matter your family situation, I would encourage you to come and to invite others to join you for these services!

September 2, 2020

Proverbs to Ponder in light of Protests and Politics

I know what you might be thinking, “Pastor, we are not suppose to talk about politics.” But the reality is the Scriptures talk a great deal about politics. There is even an entire book in the Bible written by a king to prepare his sons to govern a nation; the book of Proverbs. Certainly, Proverbs is written so that every person can gain wisdom from God, but the specific context of the book is King Solomon training his sons to be the future rulers of Israel.
With the context for Proverbs in mind, it is important to consider the origin of the word “politics.” Consider the following two Greek words: “polis” meaning “city” and “politicos” meaning “a citizen.” By definition, every citizen of a city, state or country is a political being. There is much talk about “police” today and you can notice that there is similarity between “police” and “polis.” Police refers to the government department designed to keep the city or state safe. Every law abiding citizen is thankful for the police departments that protect citizens from evil. So if you are a citizen of a country, then you by definition are involved in politics! One value of Proverbs is it gives us wisdom to be wise citizens of a country.

The starting point for every biblical political foundation is God. Notice how Proverbs begins in Proverbs 1:7 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Sadly, not all political philosophies begin with or acknowledge the Lord. Some, like Marxism, blatantly reject and deny God. The founder of the Black Lives Matter movement claimed to be a “trained Marxist” in 2015 and the BLM’s website supports anti-God philosophies like “the disruption of the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure” and other areas of how citizens should behave. As this movement and other movements sweep across our country, it should not surprise us that the words “under God” are being left out of the pledge to our flag and that we have witnessed rioters burning Bibles in American streets. As believers in Christ, it is important for us to remember that our citizenship is ultimately in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and we have been given the greatest message, the gospel of Jesus Christ, to share with those who don’t know the Lord.

With the foundation for the wise politics being the Lord, Proverbs continues with many descriptions of what is just, right, and wise and what is unjust, wicked, and foolish. When a Proverb is repeated, it is meant to grab our attention. Ponder that as you read these two Proverbs: “Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked” Proverbs 10:6. “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked” Proverbs 10:11. In the next chapter, we read further about the mouth of the wicked, “It (the city) is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked” (Proverbs 11:11). It is sad to see violence rise in American cities. Without righteousness, there will be no safety and cities and countries will be overthrown. Looting, rioting, burning buildings, attacking people and police is wicked and it is not good for any country. However, just like in Solomon’s day, there are unrighteous and unjust people who are demanding a “new” America. They want to overthrow the city!

In contrast to the mouth of the wicked which is covered with violence, the righteous ruler is to open his mouth and judge righteously. “Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy” Proverbs 31:8-9. The largest group of “speechless” individuals in the United States is the unborn. In Solomon’s day, the nations that didn’t know the Lord sacrificed their children to their false gods. Recent reports from the CDC indicate that abortions are the leading cause of death in the United States with over 623,000 “reported legal” abortions in 2016. Furthermore, the wise ruler is to open his mouth and “judge righteously.” True justice is when righteous laws are correctly applied without bias or prejudice to every citizen of the land. May the Lord allow us to ponder these Proverbs and be good citizens as we represent our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ here on this earth.

July 7, 2020

The Family Tree of Mankind

Have you ever tried to write out your family tree? It is a noble exercise to learn the roots of your family’s history. Over the years, we have received many phone calls in the church office from people asking if we have records of their family members in our church records, as they seek to accurately recount their family tree. One person shared that she had traced her family tree all the way back to the 1600s!

There is a key truth found in the Bible that involves every human being’s family tree. This truth is vitally important today, as our country wrestles with racism. No matter the color of your skin (mine tends to be a shade of brown); no matter the color of your eyes (mine are blue); no matter the color or amount of your hair (mine is dirty-blond and receding); we, as human beings, all have the same starting point for our family tree. This truth declares, therefore, that all human beings are really one race. So what is this truth? Genesis 3:20 states, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” In other words, if every human being was able to trace their family tree back not just to the 1600s, but all the way to their original parents, every human being would have Adam and Eve at the start of their family tree. We all have the same original parents: Adam and Eve!

If Adam and Eve were the original parents and every human being descended from them, then where did Adam and Eve come from? The Bible declares that God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. But when He created Adam and Eve, we read that they were not only created by God but they also were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Therefore, since Eve is the mother of all living, all human beings are created in the image of God! Being created in the image of God is the distinguishing characteristic of mankind. All mankind was created in the image of God. The gene pool which determines our skin color, eye color, and hair color all come from Adam and Eve! It is, at best, arbitrary to classify people by skin color. One could classify people by eye color or hair color, but again that would be at best arbitrary. God’s Word classifies one race that was created in the image of God.

Sadly, the Biblical view of mankind is often rejected and our true family tree is replaced with what is called an evolutionary tree. Charles Darwin wrote a book that popularized the evolutionary model of the origins of mankind. The book is commonly called, “On the Origins of Species.” This book has been a major influence on our education system in America. Public schools and colleges now proclaim that mankind has evolved by time and chance over billions of years from lesser life forms. They say that mankind is not made in the image of God, but rather man is an ever evolving being that has been fit enough to survive. Sadly, beliefs affect behavior. And this false view of the origin of man, which does not recognize that all humans are created equal and in the holy image of God, has led to all forms of racism and the devaluing of human life. Charles Darwin did have something right about his evolutionary view: he correctly observed the consequences of adopting an evolutionary tree of mankind! The full title of his book is “On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life.” The family tree rooted in God’s Word doesn’t allow for “favored races,” rather for one race created in the holy image of God!

May 2, 2020

What Needs to be Saved?

There are many things that we as Americans are currently concerned about saving. Save lives, save the economy, save our liberties, save jobs, and save the sports season are just some of the many things we want to save. And in this time of crisis, many people out of fear are asking the question, what must I do to save my life from COVID-19?

In Acts 16:30, a prison guard asked the question, “What must I do to be saved?”  This guard was in a state of panic. He had just woken from sleep and he saw the prison doors open, and he thought that all the prisoners had fled. In those days, if a prisoner escaped, the penalty for the prison guard would be his life.  The panic this man was in caused him to draw his own sword, and he was about to kill himself.  And that is the context for the man’s question to the Apostle Paul, one of the prisoners. The guard, in fear and panic, is thinking he is going to lose his life.  Trembling, he falls down before Paul and Silas and asks them the question, “what must I do to be saved?”

It is interesting to hear how Paul and Silas responded.  They did not address the man’s primary concern about being executed for losing a prisoner, but rather they addressed this man’s greatest need of salvation.  This guard wanted his physical life spared, and that is a good desire. It is a good desire to be pro-life and to see lives spared. There is nothing wrong with desires to save jobs and the economy and other noble things. But what would happen if we saved everything, but lost our own souls?  Paul and Silas responded to this man by telling him how his soul could be saved; “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”

Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28).  Today, we recognize that viruses can kill. But the Lord says that is not something we should fear. The prison guard was fearful of being put to death, but Paul and Silas told him how his eternal soul could be saved. Job loss, economic loss, liberties lost and even death itself cannot touch the soul that believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. Why Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again, and there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Jesus himself said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26. The good news for the prison guard is he did believe and his eternal soul was saved.

Our neighbors and our fellow-citizens are conversing about “what needs to be saved?” May the Lord give us the love and boldness to speak about what really needs to be saved.  Here is a link to a fitting resource during this time that might help you in sharing the message of eternal salvation!

April 1, 2020

The War has been Won: from Virus to Victory!

We are at war with a virus! I am grateful for our federal, state and local leaders who are doing their best to protect our country during this time of war. I am thankful for those on the front lines serving in our hospitals and in the medical realm seeking to provide healing to our wounded. Our citizens are like soldiers exercising great discipline in personal hygiene and social distancing so as not to give the enemy an advantage. And it is to all those who are fighting this war, that I want to provide these words of hope, “the WAR has been WON!”

In war, it is always wise to know as much about the enemy as possible! As we consider COVID-19, we know the medical field has quickly and rapidly learned an abundance of information about this novel virus. We know that this enemy ultimately attacks the respiratory system seeking to inflict pain, damage, suffering and death. Concerning the origin of this virus, our intelligence agencies confirm that the Coronavirus began in China. We know this is a new virus, but we also know it is not the first virus, nor will it be the last! So let us broaden our historical perspective of this enemy by asking where and when did viruses originate? What is the origin of the first virus? Was there ever a time on this earth when viruses did not inflict pain, damage, suffering and death? Every bit of information about this enemy, will equip us to be in a better position to defeat this enemy!

In war, it is also wise to make sure that your intelligence agencies are both resourceful and reliable. Resourceful, in that you will have the necessary information. And reliable, so that you will have accurate information. In every worldview, people have biases towards information sources that they believe to be reliable and resourceful. If you choose the wrong sources, then victory for winning the war is greatly diminished.

The Bible, God’s Holy Word is the most resourceful and reliable information source when it comes to providing a historical perspective on the origin of viruses. You see, God knows everything! God is truth! God has always been! And thankfully God has recorded for us the origin of pain, sickness, suffering and death. Let me provide you a brief perspective of what God tells us in the Bible regarding the origin of sickness, sorrow, suffering and death in this world.

God supernaturally created the world in six days (Genesis 1). When God finished creating the world, He looked at everything He made and declared that it was “very good.” God’s creation was not just good, but very good. If there was sickness and sorrow and suffering in the created world then God would be lying to declare everything “very good.” So when God originally created the world there were no viruses attacking man! So what happened to God’s Creation?

God gave Adam, the first human being that God created, a command! The command was part of God’s owner manual for what would be best for mankind as he lived in this new world. As a just God, He warned man of the penalty for disobedience. The command is recorded in Genesis 2:16-17, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” History confirms Adam’s choice, as the mortality rate is still 100%. The New Testament confirms this account, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men for all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).

So let us summarize this information in an intelligence briefing. 1. Creation: God created everything very good. 2. Choice: Man’s sin led to God’s just judgment. When man violated God’s operating instructions, sin entered the world and therefore death entered the world. Before Adam sinned there were no viruses inflicting damage, destruction and death upon mankind. Therefore, the ultimate origin of viruses is mankind’s sin and rebellion against a holy and just God. When we see the charts and graphs concerning COVID-19, what alarms us the most is not the virus but it is the high mortality rate that comes from the virus. The ultimate enemy is not the virus, but death. If our battle plan is only to defeat a certain virus, we will not win the war. History shows us that even after a major disease like the Spanish Flu is defeated, the mortality rate remains 100%. Therefore, our intelligence briefing based on the Holy Scriptures reminds us that our enemy is far greater than a virus. Mankind’s enemy is death. And the cause for death is sin.

I so much appreciate God’s reliable and resourceful intelligence, because He not only accurately describes our ultimate enemy and its cause, but He also informs us how this enemy is defeated. God is not only holy and just, but He is also loving and merciful. While God is announcing His judgment on sin in Genesis 3, we see an initial picture of God’s mercy. Genesis 3:15 points us to a seed that will come from the woman. And that offspring or seed is ultimately Jesus Christ. Romans 5:15 confirms, “For if by the one man’s offense (Adam’s sin) many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.” This gift of God is described in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

As we enter the month of April, we find two historical events that will be celebrated that summarize what Jesus Christ did for us. On Good Friday, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Then He was buried. But then on the First Day of the week, the enemy of death was defeated as Jesus Christ rose from the grave. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that secures the victory. His death was absolutely necessary so that the just demands of our holy God could be satisfied. While Jesus was on the earth he went to the funeral service of his good friend Lazarus and this is what He said to comfort Martha, Lazarus’ sister: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus’ resurrection secures the victory. And Jesus tells us how we can participate in that victory and it is only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who died for our sins, was buried and rose again.

It is possible to lose a battle to a virus and still win the war over death. Jesus said, “he who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live”. On the other hand it is possible to win a battle over a virus and still lose the war. All those that recover from COVID-19 and those that never come down with the virus, still have to deal with the enemy called death. But the good news is the war has been won! God in His great love and mercy invites you to participate in the victory that is found only in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”