Ezekiel and Sin

Ezekiel and Sin

Chapter eighteen of the book of Ezekiel needs to be read, studied, and preached as much today as it did in Israel long ago. False doctrine concerning inherited sin permeates almost every denominational doctrine but is clearly refuted here by God (vs. 20–21).

Ezekiel accountable

Within the book of Ezekiel we find we are accountable for our sin.

Clearly God is indicating in this passage that each of us is accountable for ourselves and cannot blame God or others for our eternal fate. The soul that sins, it shall die. The righteous shall save his life.

One of the saddest spiritual situations I have ever witnessed is that of those who allow themselves to be deceived by false teachers. Not only will the false teacher be lost but those who listen to and believe them will also be lost. The consequences of false teaching and sin are inescapable and no one can save the unrighteous from themselves if they will not turn to God, repenting and obeying His truth.

God promises that there will be a remnant that will be saved and all will know that He is God. He is full of mercy and grace. He is a loving and righteous God. If a man will repent of his evil, turn in obedience to God, and faithfully walk in His ways, then this man shall save his soul. What life would we lay at the feet of God if we were called to stand before him in judgment today?

Posted in Tim Dooley | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Ezekiel and Sin

The Prophet’s Proof

The Prophet’s Proof

“Russel’s Teapot” is an argument advanced by the atheist, Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), which states that the burden of proof lies upon the individual who makes a claim which cannot be disproven. He said, for instance, if he claimed that a teapot was in orbit around the sun, it would be his duty to prove it, rather than expecting everyone to believe it. There is some sense to that.

Prophets proof

The foundation of faith is built upon evidence – proof.

Yet, Mr. Russell would then take the argument a step further, and extrapolate to God, saying that since it is impossible to prove a negative, and therefore impossible to prove there is no God somewhere, it was the responsibility of Christians, or other believers, to demonstrate that there actually is a God. In this he did what the same as many atheists and agnostics who seek philosophical security in their worldview, and in seeking such security, ridicule theists, those who do believe in the divine, as lacking any proof for God. They discount the idea that it is possible to have an informed faith in God, and more specifically in Christianity.

Unfortunately, many Christians, not knowing better, agree with this viewpoint. They do this when they tell others that faith is knowing athing to be true apart from evidence. While this may be one definition of faith, but it is most certainly not the definition being used in the Bible when the topic comes up.

Consider Psalm 19, in particular, which poetically argues that there is a double pronged Revelation sufficient to allow us to believe that there is a God and that He is the God of the Bible. The first prong of this evidence for God is the Creation itself, with its majestic design (cf. Psalm 19:1-6). Space precludes a full discussion of this topic here, but there is good reason to think that Someone made the world. The second prong of evidence left to us by God is the Bible itself, in its perfection (cf. Psalm 19:7-11), and the wise man will thus submit to the Law of the God who gave us the Bible (cf. Psalm 19:12-14).

Concerning internal evidence that the Bible is from God, there are many things that could be pointed to: its nature, its reliability, its truthfulness in all matters. Let us deal, however, with one of the most obvious and most irrefutable of evidences that the Bible is from God, and that the God we should trust is the God of the Bible. This evidence is the undeniable existence of clear prophetic writings.

There are hundreds of prophecies in the Bible, the majority of which were perfectly fulfilled (with a few yet to be fulfilled) and the weight of their combined testimony is staggering. But rather than using such an overwhelming approach, let us quickly point to two rather simple, clear predictions that cannot be denied.

Sometime around 603 BC, the prophet Daniel interpreted a dream for the king, Nebuchadnezzar (cf. Daniel 2). This prophecy was collected by Daniel into his book seventy years later, about 536 BC. The book of Daniel was said to have been read to Alexander the great sometime around 334-333 BC, and it was most certainly translated into Greek by 250 BC. The prophecy of Daniel chapter 2 is easily understood. Daniel, speaking during the days of the Babylonian Empire, foretold the rise of the Persians, the subsequent rise of the Greeks, and then the rise of the Roman Empire. Daniel further predicted that it was during the days of the Roman empire that God would establish His eternal Kingdom. Six hundred and thirty nine years after Daniel says that God gave Him this message, Jesus established the church in 33 AD, during the days of the Roman empire.

Even more remarkable is the prophetic Psalm of David, Psalm 22. David lived about 1000 years before Christ. The Psalms themselves were collected into their present form about 500-600 years before Christ, and, with the rest of the Old Testament, translated into Greek 250 years before Christ. This Psalm, which begins, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me,” not only pictures Christ on the cross, but even quotes his enemies standing at the foot of the cross (Psalm 22:7-8; cf. Matthew 27:43). This is the passage that predicted the soldiers dividing the garments of Jesus (Psalm 22:18) and which speaks prophetically of the pierced hands of Christ (Psalm 22:16). And it was written by a man who lived 1000 years before the events described actually happened.

These two clear prophecies show something much more than mere human creativity. It is humanly impossible to accurately predict hundreds of years in advance the exact chart of human history, yet the Bible does exactly this.

Christians do not believe in God and Christ without evidence. God has left us a witness, in His word, to His presence.

 

Posted in Jonathan McAnulty | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Prophet’s Proof

In the Morning of Joy

In the Morning of Joy

“We shall not all sleep, but we shall be raised.” Are there any words more comforting than these? We sing about it, and our hearts are filled with comfort. If there is no resurrection, we are of all men most miserable; our lives have been wasted, and we should have lived our lives by the philosophy of “let us eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall die.” Many have heard the following words and have been blessed every time they sang them.

joy day

There is a supreme day of joy coming.

When the trumpet shall sound,
And the dead shall arise,
And the splendors immortal
Shall envelop the skies;
When the Angel of Death
Shall no longer destroy,
And the dead shall awaken
In the morning of joy.

Think of what a great day of joy that will be!

The Joy of Seeing God

The Lord made a remarkable promise in the opening words of the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). Obviously, we all shall see the Son of man who, coming in His glory, will separate the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:31-32). This is true because God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world by the One He raised from the dead (Acts 17:31). We will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). However, the promise of seeing God is reserved for those who are pure in heart. Is it possible that the wicked will never be allowed to see God in all of His majesty?

The Joy of Seeing All the Redeemed

Jesus may have been speaking of the entrance of Gentiles into the kingdom of God when He said, “Many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 8:11), but is there any doubt that all the redeemed will share eternity together? Imagine sitting with those heroes of faith in Hebrews chapter eleven and thousands of other like them. Add to this sitting again with those who shaped our own lives in our journey on this earth.

The Joy of Seeing Jesus

Can you imagine seeing the One who loved us before we ever lived; the One who loved us and gave Himself for us while we were sinners! Perhaps we might see those beautiful marks of love in His hands and in His side. We are His bride, and He awaits our coming.

O the bliss of that morn, in the morning of joy!

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on In the Morning of Joy

Confess in Context

Confess in Context

Romans 10:9 is absolutely true. It states: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

It is true first and foremost, because it is Scripture – and God’s word is always true (Psa. 19:9, 119:151, 160; Jn. 8:31-32, 17:17; Rom. 3:4). It is true, secondly, because if you really “believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead” (Rom. 10:9), then you believe that He, Jesus Christ Himself, is none other than God in the flesh just as He claimed (Jn. 10:30), because Jesus said that He would raise Himself (Jn. 10:18).

confession only

Does the Bible teach salvation by confession only?

It naturally follows then, that if you truly “believe in your heart” that He is indeed God in the flesh, that you cannot help but to “believe in your heart,” that He is both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). To thus claim to “believe in your heart” that He is both Lord and Messiah, and then at the same time to refuse to submit to and obey Him as such, would be a complete and total contradiction – and an absurd and fatal one at that – according to none other than that very same Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Himself (Lk. 6:46-49). Obedience to His commands is how He said His disciples who truly loved and believed in Him would show their love for, loyalty to, faith in, and appreciation to Him (Jn. 14:6-23).

Much of His truth and its accompanying commandments which those who “believed in their heart” would later be given and hasten to obey because they truly loved and believed in Jesus as Lord, would come to them through the apostles’ teachings, shortly after the Lord’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension (Jn. 16:12-15; 17:20-21). One of His commands which those who truly “believed in their heart,” were willing to obey very quickly, would be the Lord’s requirement to “repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of [their] sins” (see Acts 2:37-41), and thus be added by God to His Son’s church/saved group of people (Acts 2:47).

Again, just for emphasis’ sake: this is precisely what we see those who truly “believed in their heart,” the gospel which Peter preached, did in response; thus proving their heart-felt belief in, love for, and obedience to, the Lord Jesus Christ, as Lord. Just like the lost and sin-laden Saul of Tarsus when He came to believe in His heart that Jesus was Lord (see Acts 22:16), they did not delay either, but arose and were baptized specifically to have their sins washed away (forgiven), calling on the name of the Lord … which brings us right back around to what Romans, chapter ten, also says one must do to be saved, besides, and in addition to, confessing with the mouth and believing in the heart.

You see, we cannot simply pluck certain verses out of a chapter that lead to a certain conclusion, without giving other verses which lead to that very same conclusion, the very same level of exploration and importance. In other words, we cannot take the two elements of Romans 10:9 (confession and belief in the heart as saving us) without taking the other element (which those two things are meant to lead to) contained in Romans 10:13, as just exactly as essential to saving us at the same time; i.e., that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

One who honestly and sincerely confesses Jesus as Lord because they truly allow Him to be; and who truly believes in their heart that He is Lord, shall surely be saved… BECAUSE: it is exactly those sorts of folks who do love and trust Him enough to “call on His name” – AS HE DEFINED THAT IN HIS WORD – in order to be saved. How exactly did the Lord, through the Holy Spirit (2 Ptr. 1:20-21), define what it means to “call on His name” in order to be saved? Baptism – pure and simple. Look it up. It’s stated simply in Acts 22:16; shown clearly in Acts 2:21-41; and proven unequivocally in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, wherein it says that those who do not obey the gospel – that is to say, those who do not obey the death, burial, and resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1-4), by being baptized and rising to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:1-11) – “shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power when He comes, in that day” (2 Thess. 1:9).

According to Romans 10, what is the exact opposite of calling on the name of the Lord and thus being saved (vs. 13; which one does at the point of their baptism according to the word of God just as we’ve seen)? The exact opposite of that is NOT obeying the gospel (vs. 16; by NOT being baptized; by NOT symbolically obeying the death, burial, and resurrection, and rising to walk in newness of life just as we’ve also seen). Those in Romans 10:16 who had not obeyed the gospel by being baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:38-41), had not therefore “called on the name of the Lord” as the Bible defines it and been saved (vs. 13; see also: Acts 22:16). This, simply because they had not truly “believed in their heart” what He as Lord had said in His word, enough to submit to and obey it, out of a love for and faith (or trust) in Him as Lord, Master, and Messiah (See vss. 16-17). This, despite what they might have said or thought to the contrary.

Honestly and sincerely confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and truly believing in your heart that He really is, cannot be said to be honestly and legitimately so – according to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and His Father’s holy word – until and unless one is willing to fully and truly submit to His Lordship, faithfully obey His commandments, and Biblically “call on His name” exactly as Acts 22:16 says, by being baptized (or obeying the gospel) specifically to have their sins washed away (or forgiven – Acts 2;38).

When one truly “believes in His heart,” as fully defined and depicted by God’s word in Romans 10:9-17 (and not just by taking one or two verses plucked out of their context and plunked down as all there is to being saved), then, and only then, can and shall they truly “be saved” (Mk. 16:16; Col. 2:12-13; 1 Ptr. 3:21).

In conclusion then, we see that Romans 10:9 is absolutely true, but only when taken and understood within its total, contextual, flow and location. The big and final, potentially fatal, and eternally life and death-determining question is:

Do you,TRULY believe, in your heart, that Jesus is indeed Lord – enough to submit to His lordship (Jn. 6:46-49; 14:15-23; Acts 2:36 + 41, 8:35-38), by faithfully obeying His commandment to be baptized specifically for the forgiveness of your sins and so become saved (Matt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15-16; Acts 2:38-41, 22:16; 1 Ptr. 3:21) – or not (Ro. 10:16-17)?

Posted in Doug Dingley | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Confess in Context

Effective Elders by Google

Effective Elders by Google

Over the past fifteen years I have had the privilege to meet more than 1,000 elders scattered across the United States and abroad. I have worked with many of these men in planning Gospel meetings, Origins seminars, youth rally’s, etc. Yes, there are some elders serving who are not qualified, who are poor leaders, who do not know the Word, or simply enjoy the title. But most elders I have met serve because they love souls, they love the bride of Christ, and they love their church family. These are the ones who wear the deep wrinkles, gray hair, and other “scars” from truly worrying about the souls of their sheep.

elders google

Where is the next generation of elders?

I have watched on multiple occasions elders get so choked up, as they prayed for those who responded to the Lord’s invitation, that they had to stop and wipe away tears. I have listened to men share the ongoing heartache they feel having counseled broken families. I have seen firsthand visible bags under the eyes of men who stayed up late into the night praying for a specific member of their church family. I have counseled elders who desperately want to give the right counsel to members who find themselves in ethical dilemmas, such as new fertility practices.

I cannot count the number of meals I’ve eaten with elders who—with pain in their voices—discuss the apathy among their church family. I have been asked numerous times what resource is out there that can help get people more involved or help their members evangelize better. I have watched elders who have had to gently but firmly correct someone in a Bible class who was teaching error. And I can’t imagine the number of “fires” these men have had to put out between silly squabbles in their own congregations.

But the reality is these men are rapidly getting older.

Many are very close to their reward.

Some have already died out.

And while we often view the appointment of elders as a lifelong appointment, like the Supreme Court, the reality is there comes a time when men are no longer “able to teach,” “hospitable,” “desire the work,” or “the husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:1-7). In Titus one of the qualifications is that they are to “hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able to exhort and convict those who contradict” (Titus 2:9, emp. added).

In other words, an 85 year-old elder who can no longer hear well, has not taught a class in over a decade, misses most elders meetings because of poor health, does not actively feed the sheep, and only holds the title elder because he was appointed 25 years ago, is no longer qualified. (I realize that this is a sensitive topic in many congregations, but the reality is the qualifications still exist even after the person has been appointed.)

As a result, in the next ten years we are going to have a massive amount of seats become available in elderships all across this land. In many congregations we either don’t have enough elders to truly protect and feed the sheep, or we don’t have any because “we don’t have anyone qualified.” I know of many congregations that only have two elders, and one is already gravely ill.

So who is going to fill their shoes? Have we honestly been training the next generation of men to take care of the bride of Christ? In Titus 2 we read, “Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works, in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you” (Titus 2:6-8). What are we saying when a congregation goes 10-15 years without having men qualified to be an elder? Why are we not training men for this position?

Add to this, that many congregations are missing an entire generation (20-35 year-olds). What is going to happen when it becomes time for the millennial generation to step up and lead the church?

Have you ever watched a how a 20-30 year-old person solves dilemmas? Almost universally they will take out a smartphone and ask Google (or Siri or Alexa) for an answer.

“Hey Siri where is the closest gas station?”

“Hey Google, how do I get a ketchup stain out of a hemp shirt?”

“Hey Alexa, how do I make turtle cheesecake?”

Friends, you can’t use Google and be an effective elder. Oh sure, you can ask Google some questions about qualifications or duties of an elder. But being an effective elder is more than simply asking your phone for a solution.

There are many things your smartphone cannot teach you. Like for instance:

  • Google can’t tell you how to properly console a mother who has just lost a child. Only time, experience, God’s Word, and loss can teach you that.
  • Google can’t tell you how to give comfort and counsel a woman whose husband is addicted to pornography.
  • Google can’t identify false doctrine or teach you when you should speak up and correct someone.
  • Google can’t pray for your congregation.
  • Google can’t figure out how to resolve squabbles among your members.
  • Google can’t instruct you on when (and how) to use church discipline.

And while your smartphone may have a Bible on it, it can’t get that information into your head and heart. Only time and study does that.

I fear that the younger generation does not want to receive instruction from the older generation—after all, they can just Google it. But as I mentioned above, there are many things Google cannot teach you. Google cannot tell you how to most effectively feed the sheep in your congregation, because Google does not know all of the intricate details about your sheep.

If we are going to preserve the bride of Christ in America we must start teaching the younger generation how to be effective leaders. We need to start mentoring the 20-30 year olds. The younger generation must humble itself and be willing to learn. Find out what caused the wrinkles and the gray hair, and listened to what they did right and what they did wrong.

I believe there is a great future for many congregations in America—as I have met some incredible men who are exactly what I believe God expects in an elder. But if we are going to pass that on and improve, then we need to put down our phones, open up God’s Word, and learn from those who already walked down that path!

Posted in Brad Harrub | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Effective Elders by Google