“Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself and the wife see that she reverences her husband.”  (Ephesians 6)

Christian women, if you have no problem with the next passage, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right,” then lest ye be hypocrites, you must not have trouble with the former verse on women being submissive unto their own husbands. If you have no problem with verse (25) twenty-five, ” Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave [H]imself for  it..,” then unless you be a hypocrite, you must not have any problem with a wife’s subjection to her own husband.

We would like to speak on the submission and the valuable wisdom of the Christ-ian wife in this touchy article. Before we begin, let me preface the article by saying, “Miss Christ-ian, you may feel fits of anger when reading this, but methinks, by the end of the article, you will be happy and still love your friendly neighborhood Preacher-man.”

In the Sherlock Holmes story, “Three Gables,” Holmes says to a female murderer, “The original sin was yours…” Mr. Holmes was speaking to a woman who had had a man beaten and subsequently, killed, due to injuries.  This woman was crying about this murdered man writing a book about the events of his assault and murder. This self-centered woman only saw his ungentlemanly act of documenting her crime as an indiscretion and only thoght of the man’s murder as a, “it is what it is” matter.

While Mr. Holmes was speaking about the original sin being her’s, meaning the beating and subsequential death/murder, his words are Biblically and Scripturally true as well.  The original sin was perpetrated by a woman in the Garden.  Some may object and say, “No, No, God said to Adam that in the day of his sin he would die, not the day of the woman’s sin. The day was the same day, therefore, for the sake of my point and this article, the original sin was the woman’s.

There exist an interpretive rule called, the “Law of first mention.” This law states, When something is (1st) first mentioned in Scripture or how something is (1st) first introduced into Scripture, it will, generally, remain true through out Scripture.

In keeping with that law, we would see, through out Scripture that many great mistakes or sins were caused by a woman’s influence over a man. The man does, however bear some weight as well because he loved the wife more than his God, He did not love God and hate everyone else, as Christ would teach later.

For example:
Eve
Job’s wife
Lot’s wife
Lot’s daughters
Sarah, the cause of Islam
Rebeccah
Delilah
Bathsheba…it is my belief, she knew what she was doing when bathing.
The Church, Christ’s bride caused the murder of God’s Only begotten Son.

However, while we see in Scripture that a woman’s influence can be very bad and troublesome for all generations, there remains purpose in their faults.
*Without Eve, there would be no Christ to love,
*Without Job’s wife we would not see the honour in Christ’s Virgin mother, Mary
*Without Lot’s wife and daughters, we would not have Ruth, who was a Moabite and is in the line that gave us Christ our Lord!!!
*Without Sarah, we would have no Islam, which will kindle the fires of Hell for eternity and give the Christ-ian faith and the world a comparison between God’s righteousness and (s)atan’s evil and lunacy.
*Without Rebeccah, we would not have Jacob, who became Israel, which became the nation that gave us Christ, our Lord
*Without Delilah, we would not see a type or picture of our Lord’s fury
*Without Bathsheba, no Solomon and without Solomon our Wise Master would not say   ” A Greater than Solomom is here.”
Then it comes full circle…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
*Without the church’s sin, there would be no need for a Saviour, Who is Christ our Lord.

The above cannot and does not attempt to justify the sins of women, but it does greatly Glorify the Wisdom and Sovereignty of God!!!

As women have been a negative influence on godly men, so have they been influencers for good.

Deborah, the Judge
The widow of Elijah
Jael, killer of a pagan general, Cesera. She killed him with “kindness,” milk, and a hammer and a spike. She, the Scriptures say, is “blessed ABOVE all women.”
Sarah, the ever faithful and loving wife
Ruth is in the line that brings us Christ.
Esther, an inspiration to women
Proverbs (31) thirty-one women
Mary, the Mother of our Lord….in other words, My Wife.
The women, who were the (1st) first witnesses to Christ’s resurrection….God and the Christ-ian Faith honours women unlike all anti-christian fables
Priscilla of Acts
Lydia of Acts and the other women in the Philippian church
The Church……

Women outside of Scripture but in Christ.
Joan of Arc
Julian of Norwich
Madame Guyon
Mother Therasa, if you will
Rosa Parks
The innumerable women of the Christ-ian faith…..that’s you, my Female reader.

As I said, women have been the source and influencer of much trouble in the world and within our faith. However, women have been the source of great saving wisdom of men and husbands and brothers and fathers.

This writer defines the submission of the wife to her husband this way: To Submit to one’s husband is to trust his Christ-like love for her and all that is her’s. There is no denying it, Scripture is clear, a wife is to submit to her husband…………………….And The husband is to be Christ-like, so that she is happy to do so.  The wife is to submit to the husband as he thinks of her (1st) first and puts her (1st) first….before children and work. Also notice, Paul says, “to her own husband…” and not to any other man….The Christian faith does not put the woman in second place, the Christ-ian woman is not to be subject to or in submission to any man other than Christ and her Christ-like husband, in deed.

I heard about worldy women, who laughed at a Christ-ian woman’s wedding shower. They heard a pastor’s wife speak on submission.  These women giggled and made their disagreement known….These women have been divorced from there husband’s and family….a divorce is the divorcing of the whole family unit.

Unless a person submits to another person, that person is the definition of self centeredness.

I am so thankful for the wisdom my wife AND daughters have shared with me over the years. Their wisdom, in hindsight, has saved me from many troubles.

Wives, Trust your husbands love for you, and husbands, submit to your wives wisdom.

To summarize we will use a syllogism:
The husband submits to Christ
The wife submits to her husband
Therefore, the wife submits to Christ.

Godspeed.

“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient…”  (1 Corinthians 6)

 

If one has been saved and has shared the Gospel of Christ’s Gospel and of God’s great grace, one has been asked, “So, If I’m saved, I can do anything I want…I can go out and kill someone and still be saved?”  Have you been asked that question”  How did you answer it?  Have you ever been asked if your were righteous before? How did you answer that question?  If you have been asked either or both of those questions, I’m thinking either you weren’t sure how to answer them or you were made uncomfortable answering. Let me give you the answer and then tell you why you must not ever be uncomfortable answering them rightly.

The answer to both those questions is, yes!!!  A born again child of God can kill someone and retain God’s salvation and a Christ-ian is Righteous…righteous as the Son of God Himself!!! and not one of us should be afraid to say so and never be ashamed to own that great truth. The reason both those truths are fact is because both are due to God’s Amazing Grace and not to us. Look at the Biblical record, God’s srvants have done many things that are not good, but yet they remained God’s sons.  Abraham was an adulterer, Moses was a murderer, David was an adultery and a murderer, Paul was a great persecutor of the faith.

Some may say that Abraham and Moses did this outside of grace. First of all we will disagree with you and then ask you about David, was he not God servant when commiting his sins?  Abraham certainly knew God’s grace before his adultery and Moses may not have been specifically under grace when he crossed the line, but due to the amazing, forgiven or forsaken doctrine of adoption, Moses was a child of God as was Paul. The doctrine of God’s grace is a dangerous doctrine if taught purely.  One can be saved and remain saved after commiting great sin.  That is the nature of grace.

If you look at the passage before our text about some of those sins speak to an addictive lifestyle and it is hard to believe that none of these saved individuals never slipped and sinned again. The list of sins include fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revileres, and extortioners. paul says, and such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are santified, but ye are justified in the [N]ame of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

It is very difficult to believe not one of these saved, washed, sanctified, justified individuals never once or more commited those sins ever again. More than one of those sins deal with an addictive personality and very strong inclinations. I’m not saying God cannot deliver us completely and totally from any one or more of those sins listed, but He does not do that for everybody. There are very many saints that fight drugs, alcohol, homophilia desires, homosexuality, cleptomania, adulterous desires, etc. but they remain washed.

I was completely relieved of the addiction to drink but the addictive personality is with me to this day and will be (DV) for the rest of my life. To this day I cannot take pain killers and if I did have access to them I would be in trouble…judge me at your own risk, Super Saint. Judging, gossip, and back biting is as addictive as any outside agent such as drugs and alcohol.

In fact, back biting is included with sins of the flesh as all sin is sin…none worse than the other in God’s sight. It is amazing that Christ-ians who gossip freely, back bite and judge other do not realize how wicked their sin is as well. The saint that fights the addictive personality is familiar with the struggle and is humbled and is conscience of and should be thankful for their dependence upon God and His grace everyday. Christ said that a man is not defiled by that which goes in but by that which is inside and is spewed out, that which goes in comes out but that which proceeds from within remains and defiles.

Christ, after healing and forgiving a person said, “Go and sin no more.”  Does anyone actually believe this person never sinned again?  John says more than once that the saints sins no more and he that is born again does not sin, not does he that loves God. Beloved, are you a saint? Have you been born again? Do you love your Lord and Saviour? Do you not sin every day?  How can we reconcile these truths? One is known to be true because Scripture testifies to it and the other is true because we live it, yet we never lose the Spirits witness to our salvation.

We remain a saint, we are still born anew, and we continue to sin, yet it is not habitual!  You may object and say, “But I do have a sin that is habitual.”  We may commit the same sin daily if not more, but His mercies are new everyday, we may commit the same sin, but we regret them and we are ever seeking His forgiveness, and we do not pleasure in the fact that sin still gives us pleasure. Though we may fight with a certain sin, others sins, though we commit them we are not commited to them and that is the difference.

Sinners sin and are commited to sin and their sins without ant thought to them. They may even feel remorse sometimes but that is due to the morality God has placed within them or because they know that society may object to certain things, but their remorse has nothing to do with any knowledge of a sin nature or a sorrow towards God and we know this because their sin nature and their sins never lead them to repentance towrad God.

Think of commiting sin as being commited to a marriage, we may, as saints sin but we are not married to them. The saints mentioned above, Abraham, Moses, David, and Paul may have perpetrated sins, but they did not marry them for life. Sinners marry their sin the saint does not.

The saint is one who sins and confesses to God, the sinner is one who confesses a love for sin by remaining married to it.

The above is all true but so is our premise, a saint can commit sin and remain a saint just as a sinner will commit sin and remain a sinner.  “Let him that in filthy remain filthy…but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in thev [N]ame of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God…”  as long as Christ remains your Lord, sin cannot. As long as your sanctification and justification remains in His authority or His Power and the Power of God’s Spirit you remain justified for He has sanctified you to be so.

Your salvation is in Christ, beloved. Your salvation never depended upon you but always WITHIN Him therefore, as long as Christ is Lord and Saviour you remain in grace and you remain righteous….Saints!!! say, Amen!!! and give Him Glory…for great is the Grace of God in Christ.

It has been said, “I can swing over hell on a rotten grape vine with a can of gasoline in my hand because I am safe because I am saved!!!”

Beloved, your riches  remain safe as they are hidden in Christ. Your wealth is safe as Christ is the Storehouse.  You are safe because you are hidden in a Strong Tower.

Roughly (500) five-hundred years ago, Martin Luther gave testimony to the truth of God’s grace and the justification of thesinner/Saint. This started a holy fire that continues and will continue. On his way back to Wittenburg, Luther was abducted and thought dead for a great many years. The truth was he was abducted, not by his enemies but by a great friend in a high place. Luther was kept hidden away in an abandoned tower, where he live in solitary and translated the New Testament in the German language which is a great time in our sha redChristian history. Understand Luthet was safe as log as he was hidden and presumed dead.

My beloved brethren, you and I are dead in Christ and Hidden by a Great Friend in the Highest of Places in the Stongest and Highest of all Towers!!! we that are dead in Christ sin no more!!!

“Then said Jesus unto [H]is disciples, If any man will come after [M]e, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow [M]e.”  (Matthew 16)

 

What part of the above directive from our/your Lord sounds comfortable? The answer is obvious, there is no part of Christ’s directive, instruction, command, or demand that is comfortable. The terms and conditions of following Christ, ie. Salvation are not comfortable.

I am about to begin reading a book (DV) called “Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Chritian Community” by Brett McCracken. I am not recommending this book as I have not read it yet but if it meets with my expectation I would recommend it. Some of the contents include, Embrace the Discomfort, The Uncomfortable Cross, Uncomfortable Comforter, Uncomfortable Worship, Uncomfortable Authority, and Uncomfortable Commitment. These are only some of the contents and not all.

I am choosing to write on the topic of the uncomfortable Christ-ian life now and before I read this book so that I am not influenced by said book and am not ever charged with plagiarism. Never preaching another man’s book is a preaching standard I hold as I have seen and heard many a sermon based solely on a human authored book.

To use a human authored book as one’s message is to deny the Holy Spirit and the gift of preaching God has given. To preach another man’s book is to be a lazy preacher and a fraud unless credit is given to the author of the book turned sermon. Having said that, Let me say this, everything one reads becomes a part of one’s self. With that being said much of what one preaches has been taught to him. The preacher has been taught by man at a school, by man through books, and the fortunate man is taught by God Himself, through the Bible and books of men and books recommended by authors either outright or by quoting these men in their books. This is different from using another man’s book as one’s sermon.

To be sure, preaching is a high calling. No preacher who is called by God would exchange his calling for a higher paying job in the world or easier job in the world. This doesn’t happen. The preacher and his life is defined by God’s calling.

We know a preacher who, one day took (50) fifty years of sermon notes, and burned them all up. He did so because he found himself relying on the notes and not God.

This writer preaches in a style called expositional and extemporaneous. This means we preach Scripture line by line and notes are not used. We use no notes save a few Scriptural references. We do not preach the same message/sermon twice. We do not write out our sermons/messages. We are not boasting; we are showing Scripture to be inexhaustable, we are showing that a man must be gifted by God if man is to preach.

The above was uncomfortable to write but in order to give God Glory we wrote what we wrote and you can think of us as you will. God knows my heart.

Methinks we have gone off track, forgive me.

The life of the Christ-ian should be uncomfortable or rather must be uncomfortable if the Christ-ian life is being lived right. The Christ-ian must not be comfortable in this world that has (s)atan as it’s god.

What do I mean by uncomfortable? By uncomfortable we mean, the Christ-ian is not comfortable with the ways of the world, ie. with one’s own sin and the sins of others. The Christ-ian should not be comfortable with dirty words, with dirty movies, with dirty living. The Christ-ian should not be comfortable in the presence of another person’s sin. The Christ-ian should not be comfortable with others using the Lord’s Name as a curse word.

HOWEVER……………………..The Christ-ian is comforted in this uncomfortable world. It is a great paradox, the Christ-ian can be comforted by the uncomfort they feel in this world. Our discomfort speaks to a better more comfortable place.

C.S. Lewis put it this way [paraphrasing]… a fish does not think about flying like a bird, this is because the fish is where it belongs. But we humans dream and fantasizes about better places, this is because, we are meant for a better place…this better place is Heaven and one can enter Only through Christ.

In some Christ-ian camps or circles if you will, they define worldliness with certain unBiblical standards. This writer defines worldliness or rather Unworldliness as not being comfortable in this “whole world that lies in wickedness” and not loving this “present evil world.” But this writer also believes that Christ-ians should take full advantage of what this world offers, except sin. The Christ-ian should use the world’s systems to their benefit and to God’s Glory. On the other hand, the Christ-ian must not be used by the world to dishonour God.

 

“Thou art the man.”  (The Prophet Nathan to King David)

 

David was guilty of faithlessness at times, adultery, and murder. King Mannaseh sacrificed children to the god, Molech (an outdoor fireplace). Moses was guilty of murder, and taking God’s glory unto himself. Peter was guilty of denying Christ, not once but thrice. Paul was a persecutor of early Christ-ians. Rahab was an harlot, Matthew was a tax collector, some saw as a traitor to his people. Mary Magdalene was an harlot.  The Holy Spirit never hides the sins of His chosen in Holy Writ.  Why is this? Wouldn’t the saints mentioned above seem greater if their warts were hidden? They certainly would or would they and is that the point?

Man looking good was never the point of Scripture but their abasing was and is.  The point of Scripture revealing the saint’s sins, gross as they were, was to demonstrate the greatness of God’s grace and mercy. The worse a sinner was, the greater is God’s grace exalted. The greater the sinner, the greater the saint!!! The more one has been forgiven, the more one will love Christ. These are Scriptural principles.

This principle is also seen in the filling up of the sin cup. The Lord allows the sinner, that will be made saint, to fill up his sin cup so that when God forgives that sinner with a full cup of sin, God and His Grace is all the more Glorified.  On the other hand, when God allows the filthy that shall remain filthy to fill up his sin cup to overflowing, God’s wrath and fury shall be glorified in the sight of His saints and all the filthy will be awe-struck and speechless, having lost all strength, they will fall to their knees and by this they shall confess and acknowledge Christ to be King of kings and Lord of lords.

This will never be said of the current or contemporary church. We will never allow our warts to be seen if we can help it. In today’s church, in some circles, some will not allow others to know they are movie goers!!!  Some, who are social drinkers, would drop dead if others knew they sipped wine!!! Some women would faint if others saw them in pants!!! God forbid that others knew the television shows that are being watched.

Why is this?  In the negative, our old nature would cause us and others to judge these warts. For a positive reason, we never want to cause others to stumble over our freedoms, if these others are among the weaker, less mature, or younger converts.

Sometimes, if wisdom prompts us, it may be helpful to others to allow our warts to show. But wisdom should also tell you when to keep some things to thyself, as Paul said, “Have thy faith to thyself.”  By this Paul means to enjoy your liberties quietly, keep them between you and God and maybe a few others that would understand.

Some examples:  There is no greater sins in the eyes of the church (of the church, not God’s. In God’s eyes, sin is sin.)  than divorce and homosexuality.  Yet if a person is outted as divorced, even though they remain unmarried, they are second class Christ-ians. By the way, why must divorcees remain unmarried?  God is clear, if a divorcee remarries, that person shall be considered an adulterer.  Why is this? This is because, no piece of paper, no judge or court can put asunder what God has joined together.
In other words, though society may see a marriage dissolved, God does not.  Though society sees a divorcee free to move on and remarry, God does not.  He will consider the divorcee and the new spouse as living a life of adultery.
Even if the above was not true, depending upon the timliness of the remarriage everyone will believe that the new spouse was the reason for the divorce to begin with, making the divorcee an adulterer in the eyes of the community. God sees divorce as the mutilation of a body made in His image as in “they two shall be one.”  Also, marriage is a picture of Christ’s love for His bride, the church. So when a man cheats, it suggests Christ cannot be trusted. If the woman cheats, it is seen as the bride whoring herself out. This is how God sees divorce and why He hates it so much.  Not to mention divorce is a broken promise to many on many different levels.

While it it true, homosexuality is sin, there is no doubting…there is no debate needed. On the other hand, one must differentiate between the act of homosexual sex or the gay lifestyle and homophilia, same sex attraction, and even the eunuch.  There are many men and women that are attracted to the same sex, but beloved, this is not sin…let me say it again, this is NOT sin.  The homophile is born with this inclination, there can be no doubt.  And again, this IS NOT sin.
The sin is when a homophile crosses the line and acts upon these inclinations, becoming a homosexual or in Biblical language, a sodomite.  God, in Isaiah 56, speaks of the eunuch, a eunuch is a man who had his penis removed in order to serve royalty.  Although the homophile does not remove his penis, it is made useless, save urination, and while the homophile remains celibut, should not a homophile be considered a eunuch? In Isaiah 56, God says, that the eunuch will receive a very high place in His kingdom, a place higher than most others!!!

Should we be protective of our warts? Again, wisdom must prevail.  We met a man that was a (s)atanist and pretended to be a Christ-ian at a street mission, he did this so that he could sell drugs to those seeking help and refuge at the mission. Praise be to God this man was saved and became a member to the body of Christ.  This man uses his history as a testimony to the grace of God.

We knew a person who knew a couple that would confess to each other when they looked at a member of the opposite sex and thought bad thoughts.  This may sound pure and right, but it is utter folly.  Everyone knows that everyone notices beauty in a member of the opposite sex, it needs not be brought up.  Don’t tell her I told you so, but my wife thinks a certain movie actor is good looking. I know this and after (21) twenty one years of faithful marriage have no problem with it. However, I would rather her not breathe heavy and fan herself whenever she sees him….and she doesn’t. My wife also knows that i think certain actresses are attractive and she is fine with that, but I do not go into detail on why I think them attractive.  Do you understand?  Sometimes one may share something and sometimes one definitely should not.

To make a point: Some Christ-ians will read what I wrote above and laugh and maybe think, “I know what he’s talking about.”  While other Christ-ians may have read it and been offended and thought us sinful for thinking these things, much less admitting to them…they would even charge us with glorifying our sin. To be true, these who would judge us thusly, are also the type that are currently in jail for having an affair with an under-aged girl and another is in jail for fondling little girls in dresses and skirts.  One is made to wonder, did they preach modesty, ie. no pants on women, because they had a Biblical conviction or did it make it easier to fondle young girls in dresses and skirts?

I also know Christ-ians that would think it very bad that I own all (7) seven seasons of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” on DVD but would still love me none the less.  I know that someone has called a shelf in my home a “Shrine to Sherlock Holmes.”  Yet I am not a stumbling block to this person. We have had in the past (we wrote upon this before) men come and visit us from a nearby Pharisaical Baptist church.  One of the men, not both, but one of the men gave my living room the once over and came to a judgement before even sitting down and speaking with us.  You might ask if any of the above in this paragraph hurts our feeling or angers us.  We would reply, “Not in the least.”  Reader, when you know who you are in Christ and that Christ has made you a complete(d) being, nothing else matters. The slanders, the lies, the disapproval, and the judgements of others mean, in the language of Scripture, “less than nothing.”  All the talk is like little grasshoppers, chirping us to a peace-filled rest. I can say this because I know God and God knows me.

Godspeed.

P.S. The difference between wisdom and prudence is this, wisdom is useful in the here and the now, prudence looks to the future. The reason we wrote about the difference between wisdom and prudence is this, Consider the future ramifications before you show your warts. Consider the feelings of others before you “purify” yourself.  It is said, “See something say something.”  that phrase is in regards to terror and violence.  Sometimes, in order to keep peace and happiness in a family one should “see nothing say nothing.”

And again, Godspeed.

“In the beginning was the Logos…”  (John 1:1A)

“Prove all things.”  (1 Thessalonians 5)

“Try the spirits.” (i John 4)

“God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of a sound mind…”  (2 Timothy 1)

 

I was reading a book on Logic by Isaac Watts (cannot recommend it enough) and a doctor asked me if logic and my calling to preach aren’t opposites. This worldy wiseman as do all worldy wisemen believe faith and logic are exclusive one to another. To them a man of faith cannot be a man of logic and a truly logical man cannot be a man of faith. Oil and water mix better than faith and logic.

This is thought to be true by very many in our culture. However, if these ignorant “wisemen’ were to sit down and look at history’s Christ-ians they would see some of the world’s most intelligent and logical men. Some of science’s earliest were men of faith. In fact, they became scientists in order to learn how God operates. Many of the truly great greek and Roman philosphers believed in a god. Whereas many of today’s philosophers are known merely for their atheism.

Men like Augustine, Martin Luther (had a law degree), John Calvin (had a law degree), Arthur Pink (a photographic memory as well as remembering everything he read), C.S. Lewis (also gifted with a mind like the man previously stated), the late R.C. Sproul. and others were all very intelligent men if not genius. Martyn Lloyd Jones and his wife were both medical doctors and counted it all loss for Christ’s sake and he became one of the great Christ-ian minds. Conan Doyle and Joseph Bell, The author of Sherlock Holmes and Doyle’s inspiration, both believed in God. Doyle maynot have been a Christ-ian but Bell certainly was.

My reader, Never be intimidated by “wisemen” and never think thyself a less than to anyone. While it is true, we must not think more highly of ourselves than we should, but neither should we think less of ourselves either!!!.

In our first text we quoted part of 1 John 1, “In the beginning was the Word…”  In our text we rendered the greek word Logos for the english word, Word. The translators give us Word in place of Logos. We do not correct the Scriptures, however we will point out that Logos can also be translated Logic as in, “In the beginning was the Logic…”  If we carry this thought down to v. 14 we read, “And the Logic became flesh and dwelt among us.”  The meaning of these verses are of course, Jesus Christ is the Logic of God and Jesus Christ is the manifestation of Divine Reason.  Readers, if I might paraphrase a Proverb, The beginning of Knowledge is to recognize Christ as God’s outworking of all Logic and all Reason.

One can get all else wrong in life, but one must…must…must gey Christ right.

 

Paul, the Apostle of Christ would teach the church most it knows about Christ, Paul would teach many spiritual truths. Paul would also help us learn how to think, “Prove all things.” John as well, teaches us to, “Try the spirits.”  The Christ-ian faith would teach us to take nothing on blind faith but to prove and to try all things, that is to say, put all things on trial to see whether they be right/wrong, true/false, good or bad. When some new teaching or anything comes before you, put it on trials and prove it’s veracity.

God did not, Paul says, Give us a mind of fear but a mind that is sound and healthy and able to discern all things.  Christ tells us to love God with all our minds.  the Christ-ian is to be a thinking person, a person who weighs all things by the light of Scripture AND logic, logic AND Scripture.

We know person that have debated and or discussed topics with evolutionists and atheist (they are the same in nature). We know these persons to have held their own and bested the “worldy wisemen.”  That fact of the matter, when it comes to debate, no side ever wins, both sides go home believing as they did. Possibly some in their hearing may go home with something knew to think about, but if anyone actually ever changes or converts it will be because the Spirit of God willed it so and Christ died for that person and because God chose that person to be saved.

A warning:  While you are “proving all things”, “trying the spirits,” and using your “sound mind” do not get “puffed up with knowledge.”  The sure way to keep from being puffed up with knowledge is to “love God with all thy mind.”

A Warning to the “worldy wisemen,” Wise up and dumb down.

Godspeed.

And P.S.  We did not let the doctors comment go without being answered.

“I am the [W]ay, the [T]ruth, and the [L]ife, no man cometh unto the Father but by [M]e.”                                                                                                                                                (John 14)

 

The above passage from Scripture is a very well known passage and truth. Many young children that are brought up in Church probably know this verse by heart. John 14:6 is most likely (2nd) second to John 3:16 interms of familiarity. Both these passages are good to know and must be believed if one is to be saved. Is knowing these verses verbatim enough to be saved or must one know and understand the Who, the why, and the how?

In the days of Ezra, the Word of God had been found and God sent forth a revival. Ezra would take to the pulpit, he would be above all the people in a physical sense and he would read from the Word of God. With Ezra and the reading would be men that would cause those present to understand what they are hearing and the why and the how of it all. Understanding was essential to the knowing, to know something without understanding why and how is meaningless.

An analogy: Someone goes to a cooking class, the instructor puts a prepared dish in front of the students and tells them the name of the dish and tells them to prepare the same dish within one hour and leaves. The students know the name of the dish and they might recognise some of the ingredients but the how is not known. The same is true with Scripture. We might know Christ is the only Way but do we understand why and how?

Another analogy: Someone knocks at your door or calls you on the telephone. This person tells you they are collecting donations for a very important cause. They tell you the goal is ($5,000.00) Five thousand dollars and if you donate you would be supporting a very worth while cause. They then ask you if you would please donate.
What really do you know about this cause? Nothing except the goal is ($5,000.00) Five thousand dollars and in some stranger’s opinion it is important and worth while. What is missing is the what and the why. What is the cause and why is it important and worth while?

This dynamic is seen in many heretical “Christ-ian” television programs and in some churches. These preachers will give a Christ-less lecture and then at the very end, with only seconds remaining they ask the watchers, if you wanna be saved, ask Jesus into you heart and many do because they want to say they were saved at X church.

If we were to ask you the question, “If you consider yourself to be saved, what have you been saved from?” What would you answer be? I believe you would answer like many others, “I have been saved from an eternity in hell.” Are we right? Is this your answer?

Would you be surprised to hear you are only partly correct and that with this answer you are probably not living the life that pleases God? Reader, while it is true, you have been saved from eternal damnation, that is only a benefit of your salvation. In other words it is similar to health insurance being a benefit of your job but not the cause.

When a sinner is saved by the grace of God through God’s gifting of faith, said sinner is saved from:
1. Sin
2. Sin’s power
3. The pleasure of sin’s pleasure
4. Someday sin’s presence
5. And yes, sin’s penalty of eternal damnation.

Also salvation has made us free from:
1. Sin’s power
2. Sin’s curse
3.Serving sin
4. And free to serve God in righteousness.

Reader, Christ did not die in our stead so that we might continue in habitual, unrepentant, and unconfessed sin, God forbid. Christ died and rose again so that we might be free from the service to sin and be made free to serve righteousness. Christ died not and rose not again so that we might befriends with the world but, instead so that we might crucify the world and be citizens of God’s Kingdom where His will is done.

Another reason why we have been saved…We have been saved to serve God’s purposes and pleasures. We have been saved so that we might show forth God’s glory to a blinded world. We have been saved so that we may increase the sounds of praise and worship. We have been saved to be made like unto Christ for this is out predestined end, to be made Christ-like. This is the purpose of the Spirit’s fruit (Galatian 2),  All spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1), the divine nature and the recipients of precious promises (Peters Epistles chapters 1). All that we have been given, all that has been taken away, all that has been changed and made new is in the concerted effort of making us like our Lord Jesus in our thoughts, ways, words, feelings, and complete persons.

Do you think God has made us His children so that we could remain our sinful selves and not to become Holy because he is Holy?  Do you think Christ lived righteously, died without mercy and rose again victoriously so you could live lives of unrighteous defeat never showing God’s mercy to others? God forbid!!!

 

Readers,
I hope and trust you know the why’s and the how’s as well as the what’s. If not, crack open the Bible and begin seeking understanding.

“He that is not with [M]e is against [M]e…”  (Matthew 12)

“Suppose you that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division…”  (Luke 12)

 

If one has the wrong idea of God’s Person in one’s head, does one truly worship God?  Or if one worships a false idea of God is this not idolatry? Methinks it is idolatry. If one sees God as always angry, furious, wrathful, never happy or pleased, does this person not worship another God, thereby commiting idolatry?  These are scary thoughts, are they not? What if a person sees God as always loving everyone, always giving, and always happy or they view Him as a kind of Santa Claus, are they not commiting idolatry?

It is certainly true that Christ is “meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11) but make no mistake this is in relation to those that have submitted their lives to Christ. This meekness and lowliness has nothing to do with the after effects of that submission to Christ as Lord. This meekness and lowliness has nothing to do with Christ’s terms of being a Christ-ian. Christ is meek and lowly in heart until He is not. Reader, understand something, Meekness speaks to great strength and power under control for the sake of others. Lowly in heart speaks to a choosing to be lowly in heart.  One who has no strength and is full of fear cannot be called meek, but weak.  One who does not contain great power and authority cannot have their lowliness exalted.

When Christ is called meek and lowly, this speaks to His Great Strength, Power, and Authority. Think of it this way, on a scale (1-10) one – ten Christ’s meekness is (10) ten because Christ’s Strength is also (10) on the Strength scale. This is true also of we Christ-ians.

We knew a guy that was called, “the most gentle person I know” by his boss. This guy, however, was a student of jiu jitsu and other MMA styles and was used by his different trainers as their example to other students during demonstrations of holds, chokes, throws, etc. Being used as the demonstration partner for other students spoke of honour. This is an example of meekness. This guy is thought by one person to be very gentle in nature but at the same time this guy could do considerable harm to others.

While Christ is meek and lowly until He is not, He lays down some very hardline terms. Essentially Christ tells all persons, people, and peoples, either you are on my side or you are on the wrong side; you are eith my friend or my foe; you support my cause or you oppose my cause. Christ does not allow for a (3rd) third choice. When it comes to serving Christ, you are “All in or you are all out.” If you are a fence stratler you will be considered foe and enemy and will be dealt with as the like.

At the Great White Thrown Judgement, their are sheep on His Right side and goats on His Left side.  There is no intermingling, their are no mixed multitudes, there are no intermixed wheat and tares. There are only sheep and goats, righteous and unrighteous, Clean and unclean, Forever known and Never known, the beloved and the hated, those bound for the promised Land and those bound for the other less promising land, the saved and the lost, those in Christ and those not, the us and the them, and the elect and the reprobate. There will be no middle ground then and there is none now.

Reader, Christ has come to divide blood relatives in order to create a blood-bought family of God.  It is a sad day when Christ divides an earthly family by blood and it it is a great day when blood relatives are also blood bought family.

When we are called by Christ we are told to count the cost. This is always used at altar calls, “Count the cost before giving you life to Christ.” However, if this is thought true, when is there ever the chance to count the cost. By the time one is walking an aisle or raising a hand or saying a prayer, the gift has already been given. When I count the cost it is to see what has been given up for the sake of my walk with Christ after the fact of my salvation. By counting the cost we do not dwell upon that which was given up or lost for Christ’s sake, God forbid. We that count the cost see the great value in Christ for whom “all things are counted loss.”

We invite you, Reader, to take time and evaluate what following Christ has cost you.  Has following Christ cost you a job?, friends?, family?, money?, health?, and or a sinful life style? If you are like us, you can say or sing, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus…”

There has never been a more polarizing Figure as Jesus Christ and at the same time there has never been a more unifyng Figure as Jesus Christ.

We would beseech all our readers to consider the Person of Jesus Christ. Do you really know Him? To really know Him you must know the Christ of The Scriptures. To know the Godhead, you must know the Christ of Holy Writ and not a denomination’s Jesus or an Americanized Jesus, or a child’s view of Jesus. Reader, to know the real and true Christ of the Bible, you must “search the Scriptures” for therein and only therein will you meet the God-Man, Christ Jesus and it is this God-Man and this God-Man Alone that can save your eternal soul and your temporal life on this earth.  “Seek and ye shall find.”

“And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give…”                                                                                                                                                  (Luke 10)

 

I can never understand how persons can watch shows like the Kardashians, or competitive cooking shows. I can undertsand the cooking aspects because there are things to learn and watching kids cook can be fun. The aspect that causes me to roll my eyes and shake my head is the judging of the food. I have never been one to be concerned what other countries think about America and the blessing we enjoy. It has crossed my mind, however what starving nations must think when they see, if they see, the judges nit pick ever aspect of food. What must a mother or a father think who has just watched a child die from starvation. This pondering extends to shows that nit pick clothing when a child is wanting of a coat or a pair of shoes. This attitude of the judges demonstrates and manifests the extreme nature of a spoiled nation.

Another program that must make an innumerable number of persons cringe and roll their eyes is “Keeping Up With The Kardashions.” We have seen only parts of these programs but we have seen enough to walk out of the roon with feelings of anger, frustrations, and utter disgust. We always say, “I don’t see how you can watch this stuff.”

These programs and many more depict how spoiled our nation has become. Instead of being thankful for the extreme blessing the God bestows or rather pours upon this nation, we exploit them and judge them. When my family and I and other Christ-ians sit down to eat we bow our heads and give thanks and acknowledge God and His goodness and provisions. Instead of being thankful for all that God gives, these programs take a few bites of several dishes, judge them, and discard the meals and all of this is done without a single thought or a single mention of God and His blessings!!!

What I have seen in the Kardashians is basically a family extolling a life of the (7) seven deadly sins and all things that God hates, as well as the blatant disregards of God’s Law.  What does America do about these types of shows? America, by watching these programs, make them high rated T.V. and others emulate them.

In our text above, our Lord is sending out His (70) seventy disciples, (2) two by (2) two and giving them instruction on how to behave when they enter a city and a home. Among these instructions do we find these, “Whatever is placed before you, sit down and eat and drink [paraphrased].” This is the way one is to respond to food that is set before you, Sit down, shut up, show thanks both to the cook and to God and eat.

I get very frustrated and greatly annoyed when I see a person, especially an adult who does not receive food with an attitude of thanks. You can multiply that frustration and annoyance by what ever number you would like when it is an adult Christ-ian that shows unthankfulness when food is set before them. I know an adult believer that not only shows dis-taste but blatant disrespect and sinful unthanks!!! I have, on many occasions, rebuked this person in person and through letter but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. God cannot be happy with this.

During this season of gift-giving many a child will demonstrate unthankfulness and disregard to others’ feeling by expressing their distain at gifts received. Children will say, “This is not the one I wanted!!!” and tossing a toy from themselves and looking for the next toy. We would like to give some sound counsel to parents and adults that might experience this outrage from children.

Some who know me not may wonder to themselves, “Why should I listen to this guy?” Here are my qualifications: I am a proud, so proud father of (3) three daughters ranging in age from (15-19) fifteen- nineteen years of age. They have all kept strait A grades (with the exception of (1) one B). They have multiple awards, the most significant is the Christian Conduct award. They all have been important members on sports teams. One has been the Validvictorian in her senior year. Other qualification, I have been married to a great woman for (21) twenty-one years. I have been a Bible preacher/teacher for over (2) two decades. I ham the prud owner of common sense as well.

Methinks those qualify me to give sound advise on speaking to childhood issues. Feel free to keep these ideas or disregard them, in any event here we go.

Counsel on Children and Christman/XMas:
1. Do not any longer keep up the Santa Claus myth/deception.  Parent(s), These gifts are due to your hard work and not an overgrown elf that breaks into your, obviously, very unsafe home and is able to do anything he wants because you are not keeping your home safe. Ask yourself, “What would I do on any other night of the years if a strange, fat man entered my home and leaves my child(ren) gifts?”  Methinks the answer is, kill him. Another reason to put away this deception, If you are a Christ-ian family that connects Christmas with the birth of Christ, then by continuing the (s)atan’s Claws myth you are confusing the child by giving them a choice between a fat man that breaks into your unsake home and God Incarnate Who is God’s gift to mankind.
Some more comparisons between Christ and Claws: Both come from the North, Both knows if you have been good or bad, Both are gift givers, Both are represented by the colors of red and white, Both are mainly thought of by many on December (25th) twenty-fifth, Both have animals as major parts of their story in (s)atan Claws’ story and in the events of Christ’s birth.
Reader, Are you seeing my point? The Fat man was never a part in our children’s Christmas and to honest neither was Christ but more on that in a minute (DV). Our children never suffered from a Santa Claus free Christmas. Of course, most of our family and friends thought we were Grinches, but their unhappiness was a small price to pay. Here is something else to “think about” and not to “feel like.”
Most children are told that God exists, Santa exists, the Easter Bunny exists, the tooth fairy exists. Notice all but (1) one are myths that share a day that is suppose to be about Christ. But watch this: There comes a day when you tell your children or you children are told that Santa doesn’t exist, the Bunny doesn’t exist, the Tooth Fairy doesn’t exist….BUT God still does (or does He? your child(ren) must wonder). It is my personal belief that all these seasonal house breakers were invented by the enemy of your child’s soul in order to lead them away from God’s greatest of gift, His Only Begotten Son.

2. Should Jesus Christ be a part of Christmas? This is very, very touchy, i know. Let me start by confessing I am hypocritical in this area, let me explain. As a parent of (3) three daughters that have been raised knowing Christ is the Lord and Saviour and is a very real Presence in this home. I know this next statement will put me in dersion with not a few but that’s fine. My children grew into their salvation. There was never a walk down the aisle, or a life crisis that dropped them to their knees. One of my daughters did actually ask me to pray with her and i did, but if that had never happened she would still be saved. My children all went to and (2) two are still attending a Christ-ian School (for this i’m most thankful). My girls live in a church as we are a home preacher.
I said all that to say this, Even they, at Christmas time, got caught up in gifts and all the consumerism. Because of that (and this will irk some as well) we took the Christ out of Christmas. December (25th) twenty-fifth is x-mas. X-mas for our family is all about gifts and food. We could not allow Christ to become mixed up in greed, consumerism, being spoil, etc. Outwardly, we still wish others a Merry Christmas and receive other’s warm wishes.

3.What does one do with Santa Claus at Christmas/Xmas time? It is obvious to all, Santa will not be ignored. What we in our family have done with Santa is use him to teach our children about the original Saint Nicholaus and he is someone to know and to be proud of. (DV), we will write on him soon. Another idea of dealing with Santa, Explain to your child(ren) that he is fictional like super heroes and television characters and movie chracters are fictional and then enjoy him.

4. What to do with Christ at Christmas/XMas time? Love Him, Praise Him, and Worship Him as you do every other day of the year, but do not get Him mixed up with greed, consumerism, and being spoiled. There is a Scriptural principle that teaches us not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers and this is thought by many to be about marriage and business only. However, this has much to do with Christmas time. Unbelievers, militant athiests and even pagans will take part in this CHRIST-mas celebration. For this reason alone should we not at least consider our thoughts and actions during this season.

5. You might ask, “If this is how you deal with this season but do not make it known or express it to others, what is the point?  The point is God knows. God knows I am not exploiting His beloved Son for the sake of consumerism. God knows I am not worshipping His Son with the lost and Christ hating multitudes. Yes, Christ-hating multitudes celebrating Christ’s birth…does this make sense, reader?

 

I am known to be one who analyses everything to the nth degree and I own that for that is how God made me. At times, I miss things, forget things, and am most absent minded because of this penchant for analyzing. Having said that, you may mark all of the above to that if you wish or you might considerate even the moreso because of my penchant to analyze….or to “prove all things”  or to “test the spirits”

“[Bring up your children] in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

 

We believe for a Christ-ian to thwart the world’s influence one should bathe one’s self in all things Christ-ian. That is not to say a Christ-ian cannot use and even enjoy the world. To think that would be to think unBiblically. God has given us richly all things to enjoy, as Paul told Timothy.  Christ tells us to befriend the rich so when we have need we can find help. I, personally, enjoy scary movies and action movies. My favorite t.v. genre is the crime drama and a good murder mystery. However, I am not negatively influenced by these. This is due to two things, 1. The shield of faith disallows me from beinging fluenced and 2. I bathe myself in Christ-ianity. I listen to Christ-ian music, I watch Christ-ian programming (mostly on Youtube), I read and study my Bible and other theologically sound books, I practice the Presence of God,  I speak with Christ-ian friends, I write Christ-ian articles, I tell others of Christ, I preach the Word from my home and occasional attend church services on their special occasions and a Wednesday night service when I can. Also I avoid unsound theological teachings.

One other thing I do is send my children to a Christ-ian School called Romeoville Christ-ian Academy and I take part in many of the school’s events as well as fellowship with it’s teachers, principles, as well as church members and leaders that has the school as one of it’s ministries.

Having said all of that I would like to make the arguement for sending one’s child(ren) to Christ-ian school. However, let me preface my arguement by saying, not every family can afford this and if this is you, do not feel bad as you are where God wants you. Let me say this as well, this arguement is meant for families that could afford Christ-ian schooling but chooses not to or puts other priorities (1st) first.

My family has had our children in Christ-ian school from the very beginning of their schooling. So fay my eldest and her boyfriend are the only children that started in Kindergarten and graduated from RCA. Our twins also began kindergarten and are now in (10th) tenth grade. Full disclosure however, this would not be possible lest others have helped us. To be sure, Christ-ian schooling has put tremendous financial burdens upon our family but it has all been worth it.

The benefits of Christ=ian schooling:
1. Christ-ian influence that cannot be over-valued.
2. Not only are they taught in a smaller class size, not only do they receive the attention of great teachers, not only do they share a very different bond with their teachers than in the public school, they are taught the Bible, they pray, and they see the example of veteran Christ-ians. These cannot be over-valued
3. Their friends are other Christ-ians from other Christ-ian homes. This too cannot be over-valued.
4. Each week the children in RCA have chapel services. Christ-ian men and Christ-ian pastors from other churches come and speak to the RCA children on Scriptural topics that is very relevent to their age group.
5. Children at RCA can seek help from their teachers after school hours, but this should not be abused.

Answers to objections:
1. “I want my child(ren) growing up in the real world.” The children at RCA are not ignorant of the real world or real life. Children at RCA are fully aware to the evils in the world and they know what to expect in “your real world.”
2. “I can’t afford Christ-ian School.” Is this really true?  Can you afford a new car? Can you afford a big T.V.?  Can you afford name brand clothing? Can you afford a full service cell phone? Can you afford cable television with all the premium channels? Can you afford a yearly vacation? If you were to limit yourself on some of these luxuries, probably not all, but only some, could you afford Christ-ian schooling? What if you shopped at Aldi, a dollar store, and bought some of your clothing at Good Will? Did you know you could by high end fashion at Good Will for mere dollars. A polo is (4) four dollars or under. An Oxford can be purchased for he same amount. I once found a pair of Florsheims leather wing-tipped shoes for ($1.50) one dollar and fifty cents, the original price ($113.00) one hundred and thirteen dollars. I found a brand new London Fog rain coat for ($12.00) twelve dollars and the original price was over ($100) one hundred dollars. My point? For many families…not all, but for many families there are ways.

To those parents that truly cannot afford it, again, do not beat yourself up. I would ask you this one question though, have you ever prayed for God’s allowance to send your child to Christ-ian school? He may say no and that is fine, but He may say yes.

Again in full disclosure, we have been able to send our kids to RCA due to the mercy of God and others. If this mercy were to end, we would be among those that could not afford Christ-ian schooling as we already do what we have suggested to you in objection (2) two.

Thanks be to God and others for the Christ-ian schooling we and our children have enjoyed and benefitted so much from.

Godspeed.

“…the world hateth you.”  (John 15)

 

If we were honest with ourselves could we really say, we have been hated by the world? Does this mean we aren’t really saved or we are nothing like Christ? “I don’t think so, Tim.” According to John and his (1st) first epistle, I am saved. So how does all of this fit together?

We would argue that the world does hate us, that the world does, in fact, hate you, my Christ-ian reader. We will prove this with (3) three T’s. These (3) three T’s are Text, Truth, and Time.

Text: We can be certain the world hates us because our text tells us so or in other words, Christ told us so. Christ-ians believe Scripture to be Holy Spirit inspired. Christ-ians further believe that God used holy men to write down His Words. In terms of logic, a wicked man would not condemn himself as the Scriptures plainly do and a Holy man would not lie, therefore Scripture is penned by holy men but authored by God.

Another point to prove the text to be worthy of one’s trust, is prophecy. The Old Testament and the New Testament is replete with prophecies and prophecies fulfilled. Also, even contemporary history has seen prophecy fulfilled.

Another point to prove Scripture is trustworthy, Lives that have been changed. To accept that as a point, one must know that persons do not change. A person may curb who they are, a person may hide who they are, but a person never changes and I think everyone knows that. Persons DO NOT EVER CHANGE, until they do. If persons do not change unless they do, what can be the cause? If persons never change unless they do, there must be a cause, right? That Cause is the Cause of all things….That Cause is God.

Another point that proves Scripture to be trustworthy is the amount of blood that has been shed, the amount of flesh that has been burned, the number of heads that have been cut off. But we’ll get back to that later (DV)

Truth: The true definition of hate will demonstrate the world’s hatred for the Christ-ian. While there is plenty emotion based hatred in the Bible and in this world, we will argue that this is not what our Lord is talking about yet. Before we define hate, let us define Biblical love. This definition is found at the end of Matthew (5) five. With this definition we see that emotional love is not meant. Christ defines Christ-ian love and Biblical love as blessing them that curse you, doing good to them that hate you, and praying for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

With love being defined that way, hate could be defined this way, hate is cursing you, doing things that are not good for you or to you, being indifferent to you, and finally persecuting you. But I’m not sure that is is the definition either. Though it can be said that anyone that does this to a Christ-ian or anyone else hates them.

In the epistles, it is written that we should live lives that are above reproach, that are blameless, that men must speak well of…even if they do not want to.

So what is the definition of hate that fits with your life? Me thinks this is the definition. This world that lies in wickedness, this world that is presently evil, this world that serves the purposes of the god of this world, (s)atan, will oppose your life of faith and purity at every turn. This world will not be an easy world to live in as a Christ-ian. You may not be hated by every person in this world but every person will oppose your Christ-ian world view, else they would be Christ-ian as well.

Time: In time however, as it is in the Middle East, the world’s hatred will involve persecution and emotional hate. This world’s indifference will turn to feelings of hate. This world’s opposition to our ways will become opposed to our very lives. Brothers and Sisters, as I have said before, look at the persecution of our Christ-ian family in the Middle East. Put yourself in their shoes and then pray with fervency for them.

It might sound rather negative to speak of such hate, especially if you are to focus of hate, whether it be indifference, opposition, or persecution.

O’ Cheer up my beloved, If the world hate you, know this, it hated Him (1st) first. If the world hate you, it must see some of Christ in you and that is never a negative but always and only a positive, “Marvel not if the world hate you, it hated [M]e first.”

Be of good cheer, beloved, it is good to be hated by those that are (s)atan’s offspring.

James says, if you are on friendly terms with the world, you are God’s enemy.

John says, “Love not the world.”

Peter says, everything in the world and of the world will be burned with fervent heat.

My Beloved Reader,
To be hated of the world is to be loved by Christ. To be loved by Christ is to be hated of the world.

Godspeed.