Fall away from Grace?

Falling from Grace

The letter to the church at Galatia is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, of all the New Testament epistles. It was written because so many were being led astray from the faith so soon after having been converted to Christ (1:6). Paul warns the church to count such false teachers who lead people away from the faith in Christ as accursed (1:8). Important to this discussion is the idea taught by some that once saved you cannot fall away. Paul didn’t know this, neither did the Spirit teach it.

Once saved always saved? Or what the Bible says?

Once saved always saved? Or what the Bible says?

Faith and obedience are intrinsically tied together not only when one comes to be in Christ through baptism (3:26–27), but also in remaining faithful in Christ (5:7). Also, Paul instructs those who are spiritual to “restore” any who fall away (6:1).
Seek to please God (1:10). Give no place to the false teacher (2:5). Bear each others burdens (6:2). Prove yourselves (6:4). Do good, and sow to the spirit to ensure everlasting life (6:7–10). Be faithful.

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Young people, Go Get Married

Young people, Go Get Married

I am so confused by our Christian culture. All throughout high school we teach our young people about purity and abstinence. We challenge them to remain virgins until they are married. Then we send them off to college and encourage them not to get married until they are finished with their schooling. As a result, most of our young people are either committing fornication as they wait until graduation to marry, or they are getting addicted to internet pornography.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing.

Friends, the numbers don’t lie. In July 2009, Mark Regnerus reported in Christianity Today that over 90 percent of American adults experience sexual intercourse before marrying. Look at that number again—over 90 percent. Simply put, most young people are not waiting for marriage.

So here’s my question: Why are Christians encouraging their children to wait to get married? I recognize this article will be extremely unpopular with some people, because we have allowed our culture to redefine what is “normal.” The average age for American males to marry is 29.2 years old. The average age for women to get married is 27.1 years old.

Here’s what that means: our young men are hitting puberty around age 14 and then they are putting off marriage for about 15 years. Is this smart and is it in accordance with God’s Word? What are we really teaching our young people about the beauty of marriage and commitment when we say, “You need to finish college first and be financially secure.”

The Bible says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 18:22). Notice what it does not say. God’s inspired Word does not say “He who is in college should finish college before getting married.” It also doesn’t say, “He who is sexually mature should commit fornication with individuals or become addicted to pornography instead of marrying.”

For 18 years our young people hear preachers point out that the church is the bride of Christ. Then they run off to college and young people are given the unspoken message that college should come before a spouse. As a result, the marriage rate in America is at an all time low with fewer than half of all American households being made up of married couples. According to Barna research, in the past 35 years, the number of independent female households has increased by 65% and the number of independent make households has increased by 120%! In other words, our children are waiting so long to marry, that in many cases they never say “I do.”

And yet again, God’s inspired Word says, He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 18:22). God instituted marriage. It is good. He did not institute college. He did not institute sowing your wild oats. And He certainly did not institute loving the world or the things in the world.

Here’s what I see as I travel across this nation. Because of this relaxed view on marriage, our young men are postponing growing up. Many are still playing video games well into their 30s. Parents encourage this behavior by giving their children everything they want and shielding their children from any type of economic struggles. They also allow their adult children to remain immature and pursue pleasure-filled lives.

Add to this the narcissistic nature of the current young generation. Many put off marriage until they find the “perfect” spouse, believing himself or herself to be perfect as well—making marriage a measure of success and status rather than a covenant before God. As such, they become more comfortable with sexual guilt and continue to delay marriage.

To support the conflicting message we are sending to young people, parents often point out that people who marry young are likely to struggle financially and they are more likely to get divorced. Please understand that it is not age that causes a divorce. Surely New Testament Christian parents are teaching their children about the seriousness of marriage before they leave home! And maybe, just maybe, those financial struggles will cause growth and lead to stronger marriages and stronger relationships to God. Are we sending our children a mixed message? My children have heard me say many times to their mother that I wish I had married her younger so I would have more years to be married to her.

As a result of our schizophrenic approach to marriage, Christians are marrying less and having fewer children. And as a result the church continues to decline. It would be one thing if putting off marriage made a major difference in divorce statistics—but the reality is many young people develop independent attitudes and have trouble compromising if they have been out on their own for a decade.

So what is the answer? Should we be preaching abstinence more often to our young people? Should we have more retreats on purity in our youth programs? I don’t think these are the answers.

I believe maybe we should reevaluate the priority we are placing on marriage. I believe we should not be discouraging our young people to marry at an earlier age if they are mature and understand the commitment they are making. I believe we need to be teaching our young people that marriage is the second most important decision they will ever make (more important that college), and demonstrate the magnitude of this covenant in our own marriages. I believe we need to stop allowing our culture to dictate what is consider “normal” about an institution that God Himself started.

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Four Words Expose Premillennialism

Four Words Expose Premillennialism

Last week, we noticed how clearly the Bible teaches that it is far more than just being the word of God, it is the words of God. We showed that Jesus said that the words of the Scripture—every letter (jot) and every small marking (tittle)—were more eternal than heaven and earth (Matt. 5:18). He emphatically affirmed that His words would abide, even after heaven and earth passed away (Matt. 24:35).

What is the last day?

What is the last day?

It is remarkable how noticing the words of the Bible help us to not be led astray by doctrines which were almost unknown for 1500 years after the Lord’s death. This doctrine is called premillennialism. It has two major components. The first is that the godly and the ungodly will not be raised at the same time. The second is there will be a thousand years between the resurrection of the believers and the unbelievers. Look at how the study of individual words in Bible passages show us that such ideas cannot be true. Remember that God gave every word of the Bible and has preserved all of them.

The Righteous and the Unrighteous Will Be Raised Together

If the Bible clearly states in words which cannot be misunderstood that at the same time all will be raised, then premillennialism cannot be true. Look at every individual word Jesus spoke about the resurrection. “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28-29). His words which are eternal are so understandable. He is discussing all that are in the grave—this includes every dead person. He affirms that at the same hour all will hear His voice and all will come out of the grave. This is truth and premillennialism is shown to be false by two words—”all” and “same.”

All Men Will Be Judged at the Same Time

Thousands of individuals have failed to see the difference in the expressions “last days” and “last day.” Jesus said two things would occur on the very last day. He promised the righteous, “I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44).  He told the wicked, “The word that I have spoken will judgment him in the last day” (John 12:48).

How many days will there be after the last one? If there is one more day after that day, then that first one was not the last day. Premillennialism demands that there will be a thousand years between these two events. A thousand years is 365,000 days. Jesus’ words make it impossible for there to be a millennial age between the resurrection of the righteous and that of the ungodly.  Two words—”last day”—show premillennial cannot be true.  Believe His words—every one of them!

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Do Not Quench the Spirit

Quenching the Spirit

How does one quench the Spirit?  I have heard a myriad of answers to that question.

How does one quench the Spirit?

How does one quench the Spirit?

I believe the answer to be simple and contextual. The idea of “quenching” the Spirit is found in 1 Thessalonians 5. Here is the immediate context:

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22)

Many people take these verses as individual admonitions.  So, the idea of not despising prophecy is not connected to the quenching of the Spirit.  However, when one understands that the function of the Spirit in the church is always prophetic, he sees a continuity within the four verses quoted above.

  • 19 – Quenching the Spirit is resisting the prophetic power placed within the church. Just like the Corinthians preferred tongue speaking to prophecy, so the Thessalonians were tempted to minimize the gift of prophecy among them. After all, the spirit of the prophet was subject to the will of the prophet (1 Corinthians 14:32).
  • 20 – Also like the Corinthians, there existed some among the Thessalonians that preferred other gifts or other sources of “revelation” to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps, this explains the rise of false doctrine among them by the time of the writing of 2 Thessalonians.
  • 21 – The testing of everything was necessary because false prophets were already springing up in the church. The primary manifestation of this was in the person of the Judaizers (see 1 Thessalonians 2:14-15). Paul is exhorting them to make sure that all “prophecy” among them is truly from the Holy Spirit and to accept everything He has to say.
  • 22 – While this verse has been used to compel Christians to submit to many counter-cultural ideas, it has to do with prophecy among the church. The Thessalonians were to test all prophecy and reject every form of teaching that deviated from the inspired revelation of the Holy Spirit.

The quenching of the Spirit is the act of resisting His prophetic work among the early church.  In the literal sense, we cannot quench Him today.  However, as His prophecy has been fully captured within the text of Scripture, we can, at least in spirit, quench the power of His work today.

 

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¿CUANTO VALEN TUS LAGRIMAS?

¿CUANTO VALEN TUS LAGRIMAS?

¿Cuantos de nosotros hemos llorado? Creo que dentro del diseño de Dios para con el hombre las lagrimas son esa limpieza de adentro hacia afuera. Es realmente difícil perder a un ser querido o al menos pensar en perder a uno de ellos. Tal vez un caso de infidelidad o quizás la ruptura de una relación  amorosa provoque las lágrimas imparables.

¿Cuanto vale sus lagrimas?

¿Cuanto vale sus lagrimas?

Sabemos por inspiración divina que los mejores hombres de Dios pasaron por ahí. Quizás el más notable por su descripción  tan vivida es David en los salmos. El dice “Cansado estoy de mis gemidos; todas las noches inundo de lagrimas mi lecho…” (Sal 6:6) Este hombre se encontraba cansado de llorar así como cuando usted llora por horas hasta que llega al punto que quiere seguir llorando pero ya no le salen lagrimas. Amigos Nosotros conocemos ese sentir, sabemos que no es nada grato. También expresó “Mis lágrimas han sido mi alimento de día y de noche, mientras me dicen todo el día: ¿Dónde está tu Dios?” (Sal 42:3). En este Salmo el dolor de David en lo más amargo de la aflicción, en el lo más blanco del hueso del sufrimiento la pregunta surge ¿Donde estás tu Dios?. Como si cuando en esos momentos en el que las lagrimas están descendiendo de tus mejillas Dios no estuviera viendo, como si a nadie le importa que “estoy llorando”. La mente humana piensa de esa manera, y permítame decirle que es probable que ese sea el caso. Es muy probable que su hijo desordenado no le interese en lo más mínimo que usted llore por él, o que su ex esté coqueteado con otro o con otra mientras usted está en casa como David (llorando) o peor aún cuando su cónyuge le es infiel. ¿Que difícil es todo eso no lo cree? Sin embargo en el mismo libro de Salmos encontramos algo tan bello. “El que con lágrimas anda, llevando la semilla de la siembra, en verdad volverá con gritos de alegría, trayendo sus gavillas” (Salmos 126:6)  Sabe, esto es como matemático, cuando usted por la causa correcta y desde la perspectiva inocente baña su cama con lagrimas, Dios esta observando, Dios no actúa de inmediato como uno desea, pero El actúa y cuando lo hace estimado amigo lo bendice a usted y a mí mil veces más. El apóstol Pedro lloró igual que usted y que yo. El recuento de Mateo 26:75 dice que lloró amargamente. Amargamente igual que David, amargamente con dolor irreparable, sin embargo tuvo después de la resurrección la oportunidad de decirle a su Maestro que lo amaba… y no solo que lo amaba sino que tuvo el chance de decírselo tres veces… eso no es todo, el Pedro que lloró amargamente se puso de Pie en Hechos 2 para predicar una sermón  que daría comienzo al sueño de Dios desde todos los siglos… su amada Iglesia. En ese día Pedro, el que lloró amargamente convirtió al rededor de 3000 personas a Cristo, el mismo que hace unas semanas le había negado. ¿No es asombroso nuestro Dios.? El puede usar el baso más quebrado y reconstruirlo como la mejor pieza de la vajilla.  ¿Cuanto vale sus lagrimas? Para muchas personas no valen nada, no les interesa en lo absoluto pero en lo secreto, ahí en la soledad de la intimidad con su Dios las lagrimas no pueden ser contadas con precio, Dios está observando su dolor, Dios está admirando su humildad, Dios está esperando que usted se acerque a él para poder limpiar sus mejillas y abrazarle. Salmos 56:8 “pon mis lagrimas en tu redomas” ¿Usted cree que no Dios no se da cuenta, que Dios no ve su corazón sangrar? ¡Oh apreciado amigo!, para el Señor son preciosas, El y solamente El las guarda y las almacena una por una en estos envases.  Es impresionante saber que Dios entiende de esto más de lo que usted se imagina. No es que uno sea muy emocional para Dios cada lagrima cuenta. Dios en su forma humana lloró por alguien a quien sin duda alguna él amaba…Lazaro (Jn.11:35) Seguramente  el haber llorado después en el huerto demuestra su sentimiento, el llanto obedeció a su forma humana sin embargo podemos afirmar que Dios sabe lo que es llorar. Esas ganas reprimidas de llanto necesitan salir… no hay nada malo en llorar, hágalo, desahogase  y comprenda que aunque nadie este viendo su dolor el Padre le conoce y a su debido tiempo el hará. Sus lagrimas importan para alguien y si importan para El simplemente el resto sobra. Dios le bendiga.

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