I was raised in a Roman Catholic family, brought up on a system of morals and law. Jesus, it was said, died for the sins of the world and if I were to believe that truth and be a ‘good’ person by being faithful to the Church and to God’s law, I should see heaven or at least make it to Purgatory. Yet, somewhere in my mid-teens I saw a problem with a benevolent and loving God who seemed powerless to help those around me who needed Him the most. During that adolescent time my sister was diagnosed with an incurable neuromuscular disease called Friedreich’s Ataxia – a degenerative disorder that eventually leads to premature death. So as I wrestled with the implications of her permanent disability and my theology, I began to ask what seemed to me to be the obvious, “If God is all-powerful and all-loving, then why this?”
Answers came from various areas and channels of philosophical persuasion, but no one gave me a Scriptural answer. I received the padded answers that are more connected with making God out to be not-so-bad rather than the revealed answers of the Bible. I’m sure you have heard them before – “God has a plan.”, “There are some mysteries we just don’t understand.”, “She can be healed if she just has enough faith.” and “This is the devil’s work not God’s.” All of these responses are commonly given to struggling sojourners and unbelieving denizens in a hopeful attempt to appease their grief and heartache, yet they are misguided replies.
The truth is that this world is under the curse of sin and death and with that comes diseases, disasters and heinous crime.(Gen. 2:17; Rom. 1:17ff) The better question to ask is whether or not God is obligated to do something about it. Is He obligated to cure all diseases? Is He obligated to prevent every murder and rape and theft? Is God obligated to stop every war? Certainly, He is all-powerful so why doesn’t He? If we answer that He is obligated, then God has failed and if we answer that He doesn’t intervene because of our lack of faith or works, then we are more powerful than God for we can thwart His will.
However, the biblical answer is that God is not obligated to show mercy towards sinners; that is why we call it mercy. (Exodus 33:19;Rom. 9:15) Obligated mercy is duty, not grace and since everyone is guilty before God for every person falls short of the required obedience to the Law (Rom. 3:23; James 2;10), He owes us nothing. (Dan. 4:35) In His benevolent grace and chosen mercy, He does aid humanity for He restrains judgment upon mankind in His supreme patience so that all who will hear can hear the Word of Reconciliation in the preaching of the gospel. As a result, this world is not as wicked as it could be through divine intervention. It is the purpose and joy of the church to bring the good news of His mercy found in Christ to a condemned race for ”He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18)
There is much controversy in the church today about the gifts of the Spirit. Interestingly, those who advocate that the mode and operation of spiritual gifts has not changed since Pentecost primarily focus on the gift of tongues as their anointing litmus test. Yet, the apostle Paul says that tongues were low on the gifting totem pole (1 cor. 12:28-31; 14:5) and specifically that this supernatural ability was given temporarily to the church as a judgment sign to unbelievers (1 cor. 14;20-22) that the Lord had condemned and cut off Israel, just as He had promised in the days of Ephraim and Isaiah.
Another belief that is carried into this century regarding spiritual gifts is the idea that there exists special prophetic ministries touring the planet offering to heal people of various diseases and to deliver them from whatever demon is either assaulting or possessing them. Now, let me be clear on this point. I do believe that God can and still does heal us of our sicknesses and diseases today. What I contend, however, is that He doesn’t do it in the same manner as some advocate. God, if He so wills, can and has cured folks of their diseases and ailments. What I deny is that there are those living today who possess anything that resembles the power of the Spirit that we see in the New Testament to heal sickness. That was a special gifting given to the primitive church as a sign of the inauguration of the Kingdom of Christ on earth.
Benny Hinn is an extremely well-known proponent of what I call “hyper-charismatapagania” – the imitation of the work of the Spirit in paganistic forms. Here is a quote from a recent interview that was posted at FoxNews.com.
“I’m not one that can discern every little problem with people. So if someone comes up and says that I have cancer and the cancer is gone …often I’ve said, “Go back to your doctor and make sure that you are truly cured” (on healings in his ministry, transcribed from the video interview)
“They question me on why I don’t verify (these miracles),” Hinn says. “I answer, ‘God never called me to verify. I’m not a doctor.’” None of his comments even come close to echoing biblical fidelity. Hinn never preaches the gospel nor does he speak as a man of God. Instead, he preaches materialism wrapped in a slice of culture-Christ.
Below, you will find an interesting video that shows what is put forth as the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the power of God among His people – bodies shaking, uncontrollable laughter, people falling backwards to the floor and continuous ramblings in jib-jab speech patterns.
There are no examples in Scripture that match such spectacles as true manifestations of God in the Body of Christ. Instead, these happenings have much more in common with ungodly spirits and trances. Examine it for yourself.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Here, in the gospel of Matthew, is a call and invitation to rest by faith in the completed work of Christ. Jesus is not asking for everyone to come, He is commanding everyone to come. He says to all men indiscriminately, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” He did not merely make an offer, He gave mankind a command. (Acts 17:30)
If you have been laboring to please God for a long time and are weary, find refuge in Christ. (Psalm 31:1) If you are trying to live according to the Law of God and find yourself exhausted in every imaginable way, rest in the completed work of Christ for He has already earned the favor of God. (John 7:37)
Christ led the perfect life, never disobeying the Law. Christ is the perfection we need and by faith His perfection is our perfection. He is our righteousness before God; rest in Him and what He has done. (Hebrews 4:15-16) Christ lived as we should so that we may be saved from the punishment we deserve. No one will ever satisfy what is lacking in their performance. He alone is our all in all.
Are you tired of trying to please God in your effort? Are you burdened by hard things? Are you overloaded with guilt for failing to live up to what you know God requires of you? Come to Christ and He will give you rest. No one else has the words of Life. (John 6:68)
Believe in Him who died and suffered for sinners just like you. Focus your eyes upon the One who shed his blood so that we might live forever. Turn your head towards Calvary where the Savior died a cruel death at the hands of both Jews and Gentiles so that His people would be reconciled to God. (Hebrews 9:13-15)
Turn from your own efforts, they only earn you more trouble and debt. (James 2:10) Forsake your attempts at pleasing God for Christ has fully pleased the Father. See the Cross that redeemed us from the curse of the Law. Embrace forgiveness by faith. See the love greater than all our pride. Come to Christ and live.
Everyone is into comparisons. We constantly compare ourselves to this person or that person. We evaluate our progress and see who is further along than we are presently in this virtue or that situation. However, we are never called to compare ourselves to each other. Our comparison as believers is vertical.
Horizontal comparisons are easy and mostly useless for we are not in a spiritual race with each other; we run our race alone. At the throne of the consummated end, we are not going to bring our pastors with us before the LORD, nor will we have our mothers, fathers, bankers, brothers, sisters, gurus or any one else for that matter with us. That final evaluation will happen alone. Utterly alone.
This sermon discusses part of this phenomena whereby we look towards other people as example or duty-fillers or excuses only to find out that they don’t really exist.
God determines all things because He alone is God. This determining not only involves His complete sovereignty over all the events of history, but it also includes His attitude towards worship. The first commandment comes to mind as God gave the Israelites a very clear and simple rule – I am God and you shall not have any other gods besides Me.
This directive was immediately followed by the imperative prohibition to not make any carved or sculpted images or statues of anything either heavenly or on earth for the purpose of worship. Seems rather unambiguous and straightforward, doesn’t it ? Well, Roman Catholicism and other professing Christians take license to dissect the second command and break it into variances. Apparently praying to dead people who have been enshrined in plaster models is not considered worship since ‘dulia’ is an inferior form of veneration and not truly ‘latria’ which is to only be offered to God.
The Scriptures, however, make no such distinctions.
So we are left to either follow the inventions of man in his religious quest or we can follow what God has laid before us in His Word. Below, you’ll find an video which parallels this passage from the Old Testament that speaks of idol worship. Read and watch and may the LORD convict the hearts of the those who need to turn from false worship.
Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. 3 When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. 4 But when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 1 Samuel 5:1-5
As Americans, we have abundant food resources that reflect the bounty of the Lord’s provision. Daily, we consume a wide variety of foods from whole wheat crackers and hickory grilled fish to bottled spring water and freshly squeezed juice. Our shelves and stores and warehouses and restaurants all testify to sufficient supply.
Beyond mere provision, flavors, too, are a gift from God. After the Fall in Eden, He was under no obligation whatsoever to make our foods taste good; and yet, they do.
While we eat and drink to rejuvenate ourselves through divinely designed functions created to sustain us, the lure of a satisfied palate can become the doorway to overindulgence. That doorway can become a road to idolatry as the temptation of flavor and ‘food comfort’ supersedes self-control. Instead of fresh grilled fish we dream about fast food tacos. Rather than spring water we consume gallons of soft drinks and corn syrup enriched liquids that stress our systems. Not only do our choices tend to lean towards unhealthy foods, but our ability to step away from the table wavers as well. Food is our fuel and temptation.
After the completion of Christ’s atoning work at Calvary, all Old Testament dietary laws and restrictions were lifted. (Colossians 2:16ff) The cornucopia has been laid before us through the sacrifice of Christ and we should be joyful with each bite we take. “..Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4-5)
As the holiday season quickly approaches, let us be reminded about the joy of food and her lure. While we can experience great culinary heights in the consumption of wonderful foods we must remember moderation. Food brings us together as a people and a Body, but self-control is living in the Spirit. Overindulgence is sin.
The celebratory goodness in feast and festival is of God, but the glutton should put a knife to his neck. (Proverbs 23:2)
This hidden video clip is fabulous on two levels. First, it is simply adorable. The facial expressions and mannerisms of these precious children are priceless. Secondly, they are perfect examples of the same ways in which we are all, not only tempted, but react to our daily temptations.
Some of us sniff around. Some of us take small nibbles. Some of us run the cycle of endless bargaining in our brains and some of us just eat.
Last time we saw that God’s love of mankind found in the provision of the gospel of Christ stands in contrast to His hatred of sinners and sin alike. (Psalms 5, 11; Proverbs 6) The Lord rescues sinners from eternal condemnation, not miscellaneous sins. God, as the righteous judge of all things, sentences the workers of iniquity to the fiery pit as their just reward. (Romans 2:1-6) Over time, most evangelicals have lost any real understanding of exactly what they are supposed to be saved from. With the advent of self-help psychology and rampant feel-good theology finding its way into once biblically-based teaching, there has been an overemphasis of good news. The problem, however, is that without the wrath of God as the backdrop of Calvary, Christ becomes merely a murdered man instead of the Savior having suffered for all the sins of His people. This truth relates to our final cliché in this series – “The Lord will not give you more than you can handle.”
There is no doubt that from a purely experiential vantage point this is a false claim. How many times have you been completely overwhelmed by life? How often have you had to seek counsel and aid and advice and resources from others just to get by? Is it not true that while we may experience a certain degree of independence, we are still hopelessly interdependent; relying upon others in times of great need? Surely, Katrina taught us that.
So where did this saying come from? I’m fairly confident that its origin is another Scriptural misquote. This time, it is a butchering of 1 Corinthians 10:13-14 –“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”
The apostle Paul’s admonishment to flee idolatry is predicated on the promise that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle; instead, He will always provide us with a way of escape so as not to fall into sin. This passage says nothing about God not allowing us to endure a trial or suffering beyond what we can endure for if this were the case who would ever have suffered martyrdom? Also, we are well-covered in one-another verses in the New Testament as God has prepared that our new family in Christ would comfort us and help provide for our needs.(Romans 12:10-16) If we were supposed to be somehow protected from being overburdened then why would we need each other at all?
On the contrary, the power of Christ is seen clearly in our weakness. Paul instructs us that it is good to be content with insults, distresses, persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for in our frailty God is mighty. (2 Corinthians 12:5:10)
May we all learn to live lowly and rejoice in our infirmities for it is in our darkest hour that God’s grace in Christ is the most lovely jewel in our lives.
Yesterday was a unique numerical day. If I were inclined to love zany Zeitgeist theories and Van Impe fantasy tales, I would have taken out my binoculars and searched the horizon for an upside down Antichrist leaping from Harpo’s latest infomercial broadcast. Instead, I tuned into a virtual leadership conference called The Nines.
I confess that at first, it seemed really nerdy and just another attempt at being ‘cool’ and some of the names I saw in the lineup were folks that I do not believe have a firm grasp of either the gospel or church. Then I thought about it from a technological standpoint. I looked at it as a unique use of a great time in history where how we communicate with each other changes so fast, that by the time you learn one niche, it seems to be obsolete. Every advance in technology is met with both awe and criticism. I remember when I was in college and cell phones looked like those huge GI Joe battle radios and people thought it was absolutely ridiculous to have one. Only the wealthy had them and very few saw what was coming down the pike re: tiny hand-held flip phones and text message mania.
So now we’re here in multi-platformed communique where if you can’t use a browser you’re considered ‘out the loop’. Only dinosaurs can’t type on keyboards. So why not use these great advancements for the Kingdom? Why not embrace technology as God’s providential means of connecting us more easily to education and encouragement?
I tuned in at nine minutes to nine just to have my own little geeky fun since the conference was supposed to start at nine after nine. I watched about an hour of the conference and have assembled, in continued geek fun, a list of nine observations about The Nines.
1. The technology involved in the video stream and connectivity amazed me.
The video was seamless and the sense of being right with the speaker was attractive even though one particular speaker was so close to the cam that I felt like I was in a Seinfeld skit about close talkers.
2. The technology still needs to improve.
I have only recently entered into the Twitter zone and have been pleasantly surprised with Facebook after boycotting it for many years. While some nitwits feel compelled to broadcast every inane and boring detail of their lives through social media, I have found a great benefit in being edified by good posts and keeping up with friends and the world.
That being said, there needs to be more real time text applications. Instant messaging isn’t always very instant and the delays in postings create an un-dialogue. For this reason, I’m very much looking forward to Google Wave’s launch.
3. I kept thinking some speakers were trying too hard to be cool.
I’m not judging hearts, I’m speaking about my own perception. A danger in newness is that it tends to lead us into trendiness. Trendiness is hip at the time but can lack genuineness. If authenticity is replaced with ‘fitting in’ the smell of plasticity will overpower the message. So, if you are already hip, stay hip. If you’re a nerd, be one.
4. Having over nine thousand participants logged in is encouraging.
As the apostolic prayer requested that the gospel run rapidly through the cities (2 Thess. 3:1), what better way to spread truth than through such incredible technologies.
5. We still equate church growth with numbers and virtually ignore internal growth.
God builds His church and while we should always rejoice in more and more people coming into the Kingdom, it does not happen because of our strategy. While we should be focused on functioning well in our labors, we should be more focused on whether or not we are making true disciples.
6. I think sometimes I’m too critical of honest attempts at doing things better and in the process lose focus on what is good.
Just because someone may be overboard in their approach doesn’t mean that they have nothing good at all to say. Just because they miss the mark in one are doesn’t mean that I can’t grow from something else they may have right. Just because I agree with this doesn’t mean I won’t stop criticizing. May I do it in the right spirit.
7. Leadership is best taught by the art of do
Show them. Teach them. Identify them. Let them. Help them. Lead them. Duplication.
8. There is so much to learn.
Wherever I hear so much from so many I feel overwhelmed and it reminds me that I will be a student my entire life while at the same time teaching. We transfer from one baton to the next what has been given to us to learn and pass on. Mentoring facilitates discipling.
9. Nine really is a good number.
Short, simple and clear means more effectiveness especially in front of the backdrop of busyness. We spend far too much time being distracted and much less time staying focused. The Nines helped me remember to focus more precisely.
In the previous post, we looked at the oft-used phrase “Judge not lest you be judged.” Most people utilize this verse as an escape from being judged themselves, without ever understanding its true biblical context and application. All throughout Scripture, we see both the need to discern correctly (judge) and the need to avoid hypocrisy when examining and criticizing others. What God forbids is not judging itself, but, rather, doing so superficially, arrogantly and with a double-standard.
The next frequently used cliché involves God’s attitude towards sin and sinners – “God loves the sinner but hates the sin.” This statement is used without reservation in most Christian circles as if it was a biblical truth, but is it? The testimony of Scripture will show us differently.
A common error is to over-emphasize a particular attribute of God and in our current culture no one attribute is more talked about than God’s love. Love, however, is spoken of in variant degrees and types in Scripture and in the English language the word ‘love’ is extremely weak and multi-definitional. We say that we love our car, we love ice cream, love the Saints, love God and love our children all with the same word; however, the meaning in each case is radically different. Surely no one wants to argue that they love God in the same manner, meaning and measure that they love their automobile. Hence, ‘love’ is too broad and too blanketed to be used precisely in describing God’s relationship to sinners for most certainly the love of God extended to the man who is condemned to eternal punishment in hell is most certainly not the recipient of unending grace and mercy.
The book of Psalms declares that, “The LORD tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup.” (Psalm 11:5-6) God’s wrath and hatred towards those who practice evil is often underemphasized making passages such as these seem quite foreign and harsh; yet without the bad news of impending judgment and condemnation the good news of the Gospel is made unnecessary. Proverbs says that the LORD hates those who are arrogant and spread discord among the brethren (Proverbs 6:16-19) and Psalm 5 clearly states that God takes no pleasure in wickedness, therefore the boastful shall not stand in His sight for He hates all workers of iniquity abhorring the bloodthirsty and deceitful.
So if we are to stay consistent in our understanding and true to the text of Scripture we must maintain that God is angry at sin and sinner alike. Hell will not be full of miscellaneous sins it will be the eternal dwelling place of sinners who refuse to turn from sin and put their trust in the complete forgiveness of God found in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
God loved humanity by offering up His only begotten Son at Calvary so that convicted sinners may escape their just reward but the degree of that affection is tempered by the free will of Him who alone extends mercy.
I was raised in a Roman Catholic family, brought up on a system of morals and law. Jesus, it was said, died for the sins of the world and if I were to believe that truth and be a ‘good’ person by being faithful to the Church and to God’s law, I should see heaven or at least make it to Purgatory. Yet, somewhere in my mid-teens I saw a problem with a benevolent and loving God who seemed powerless to help those around me who needed Him the most. During that adolescent time my sister was diagnosed with an incurable neuromuscular disease called Friedreich’s Ataxia – a degenerative disorder that eventually leads to premature death. So as I wrestled with the implications of her permanent disability and my theology, I began to ask what seemed to me to be the obvious, “If God is all-powerful and all-loving, then why this?”
However, the biblical answer is that God is not obligated to show mercy towards sinners; that is why we call it mercy. (Exodus 33:19;Rom. 9:15) Obligated mercy is duty, not grace and since everyone is guilty before God for every person falls short of the required obedience to the Law (Rom. 3:23; James 2;10), He owes us nothing. (Dan. 4:35) In His benevolent grace and chosen mercy, He does aid humanity for He restrains judgment upon mankind in His supreme patience so that all who will hear can hear the Word of Reconciliation in the preaching of the gospel. As a result, this world is not as wicked as it could be through divine intervention. It is the purpose and joy of the church to bring the good news of His mercy found in Christ to a condemned race for ”He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18)
Posted by ostrakinos 
There is much controversy in the church today about the gifts of the Spirit. Interestingly, those who advocate that the mode and operation of spiritual gifts has not changed since Pentecost primarily focus on the gift of tongues as their anointing litmus test. Yet, the apostle Paul says that tongues were low on the gifting totem pole (1 cor. 12:28-31; 14:5) and specifically that this supernatural ability was given temporarily to the church as a judgment sign to unbelievers (1 cor. 14;20-22) that the Lord had condemned and cut off Israel, just as He had promised in the days of Ephraim and Isaiah.
“They question me on why I don’t verify (these miracles),” Hinn says. “I answer, ‘God never called me to verify. I’m not a doctor.’” None of his comments even come close to echoing biblical fidelity. Hinn never preaches the gospel nor does he speak as a man of God. Instead, he preaches materialism wrapped in a slice of culture-Christ.
Posted by ostrakinos 
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Posted by ostrakinos 
Everyone is into comparisons. We constantly compare ourselves to this person or that person. We evaluate our progress and see who is further along than we are presently in this virtue or that situation. However, we are never called to compare ourselves to each other. Our comparison as believers is vertical.
God determines all things because He alone is God. This determining not only involves His complete sovereignty over all the events of history, but it also includes His attitude towards worship. The first commandment comes to mind as God gave the Israelites a very clear and simple rule – 
As Americans, we have abundant food resources that reflect the bounty of the Lord’s provision. Daily, we consume a wide variety of foods from whole wheat crackers and hickory grilled fish to bottled spring water and freshly squeezed juice. Our shelves and stores and warehouses and restaurants all testify to sufficient supply.
This hidden video clip is fabulous on two levels. First, it is simply adorable. The facial expressions and mannerisms of these precious children are priceless. Secondly, they are perfect examples of the same ways in which we are all, not only tempted, but react to our daily temptations.
Yesterday was a unique numerical day. If I were inclined to love zany Zeitgeist theories and Van Impe fantasy tales, I would have taken out my binoculars and searched the horizon for an upside down Antichrist leaping from Harpo’s latest infomercial broadcast. Instead, I tuned into a virtual leadership conference called 
