Offended by Hell?

Are you offended by hell?

Biblical Truth Always Offends… Those Who Refuse To Follow It…

Offended? That someone cares about you and tells you the truth?

Offended? That someone cares about you and tells you the truth?

If you’re a faithful gospel preacher then you’ve probably heard it. If you haven’t, and you remain a faithful gospel preacher, then you almost certainly will at some point. A member brings a denominational friend or relative to services. You preach a sermon. Later on, the member comes to you and reports that their friend was very offended, because based on what you preached, they concluded that you thought that their particular religious group was unbiblical, unapproved by God, and therefore going to hell. Now, not that you actually said or made the statement, “They are going to hell,” but you preached the word, which made it quite clear as to their eternal destination. Your congregant reports further that you and your “hateful” lesson now have to be disgustedly discussed every time they get together. So… what do you do? How do you respond? Luke left absolutely no doubt as he quoted the words of our Lord Jesus:

“Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets” Luke 6:22-23 (NKJV).

And so did they do to Jesus – the One in whose footsteps you are so faithfully following. You see, as Jesus preached and taught, He did exactly the same thing. Consider with me, the following…

The centerpiece of the so-called “Sermon on the Mount” (the very first recorded, and therefore perhaps most important message of Jesus’ entire ministry; and most certainly the one that sets the stage for the remainder of it), is found in Matthew 5:20: “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” In that sermon, everything Jesus says prior to that statement is leading up to it, and everything He says following that statement is but an illustration of it. But what about the statement itself? Have you ever thought about that? When Jesus says that unless people’s righteousness exceeds that of these two, seemingly very well established, pious, popular, powerful and particular ritualistic religious groups, that they will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven, what exactly is He saying? If one is absolutely not going to enter the kingdom of heaven, then what is the only alternative? Where is he going? To hell. The Love Incarnate Lord Jesus’ implication could not be clearer. And the Scribes and Pharisees of whom He spoke could not have missed it.

The same can be said for His famous “conversion conversation” with Nicodemus in John 3, wherein He states: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). If one cannot enter the kingdom of God because he refuses to obey the divine directives for entrance into it – in this case being born again of the water and the Spirit (verse 3) – then what is the only other alternative for his eternal destination? If one is not going to enter heaven, then where is he going to go? Hell – plain and simple. Jesus didn’t come right out and say “Unless one is born of the water and the Spirit, he’s going to go to hell,” but He might just as well have. There is no alternative destination, deduction, or even hinted at implication inherent in His statement. If one is not born again of the water and the Spirit, then they will not wind up in heaven, but in hell. Jesus so said. There can be no mistaking His message.

Therefore, is it wrong for a faithful preacher of the gospel today who is sincerely seeking to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, to insist upon and leave no doubt in anyone’s mind in the assembly – friend, foe, guest or denominationalist alike – that if one does not repent and get baptized in water specifically for the forgiveness of their sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), that they are absolutely not saved and will absolutely not go to heaven (but are instead headed to hell) until and unless they do? Absolutely not. That’s exactly what Jesus did with Nicodemus. And if that’s wrong then Jesus sinned. And if Jesus sinned then your faith is in vain! (Hebrews 4:15)

Furthermore, what did Jesus do later when His own disciples came to Him and suggested that He might possibly want to consider “toning it down a notch,” when it came to what He was teaching, because some of the pious, powerful, and highly ritualistic religious people who heard His message were offended by it (Matthew 15:12)? After all, they certainly had no trouble understanding exactly what He was saying about them, or, about what fate awaited them should they continue to worship according to the doctrines and commandments of men (See: Matthew 15:1-14; Mark 7:1-13). Therefore, is it wrong for a faithful preacher of the gospel today who is sincerely seeking to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, to inform those who are worshipping unacceptably according to the word of God, that their worship – no matter how sincere they may be in performing it – is in vain as well? Not a chance! And in fact, instead of “toning it down a notch” at His disciples request, He “turned it up a notch” at His divinely best (See Matthew 23)!

The holy and eternal word of almighty God is divinely designed to cut, shred, dig and slice, deep into a desperate sinner’s heart. This is why the Bible refers to itself as “the sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17), “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Do those divinely-inspired descriptions sound like the word of God should somehow NOT cut and pierce when properly used? Of course not. And preachers are commanded to personally and persistently cut, thrust, and parry with that spiritual sword at every opportunity (2 Timothy 4:1-4), in order to cut through the confusion and deception of man-made doctrines, and pierce to the heart those who have been deceived by them (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Faithful preachers like Peter and Stephen have always done so – despite the outcomes; outcomes which were sometimes wonderful (Acts 2:37), and sometimes horrible (Acts 7:54-60), but still they did what God wanted. And if they hadn’t – or if they don’t – then no one could ever be saved.

As a hopefully faithful gospel preacher in the eyes of God, I have every intention of continuing to use “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17) to lovingly and with as much accuracy and precision as I can possibly, prayerfully, and persistently muster, to cut, slice, pierce, and offend the sensitivities of every lost sinner I can, in an all-out and essential effort to see their eternal souls eventually saved. For my preaching peers who understand what it means to truly follow the sinless Son of God and greatest Preacher to ever tread this planet, I am sure that for them, too, there is no higher compliment that can be paid than that they preached God’s word and thus thoroughly offended those refusing to follow it, just like Jesus did. And conversely, there can be no greater condemnation that can be presented to them, than that they refused to preach the truth, and thus did not offend the rebellious and ritualistic misled religionists all around them, and wound up tickling their ears and saving none of their souls which Jesus went to the cross to cleanse, and thereby offended Jesus instead of men (Matthew 11:6)!

In the words of the beloved Apostle Paul, as penned to the first century congregations of the “churches of Christ” (Romans 16:16) in the Galatian region (Galatians 1:2), “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth” (Galatians 4:16)? “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

 

 

 

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Hate The Evil and Love The Good

Hate The Evil and Love The Good  – Amos 5:12-15

As God began to prepare to bring judgment upon the Northern Kingdom of Israel He tried to prepare them through the prophet Amos. He asked them to consider how they could continue to walk in unity with God if they walked out of step with Him (3:3). He knew their wickedness, and from it they could not hide, so he encouraged them to seek good, and not evil, to hate the evil and love the good, so that a favorable judgment might be established (5:12–15). In the midst of this warning comes this grave admonition, “Because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

Whether to embrace good or evil, we choose.

Whether to embrace good or evil, we choose.

To examine our own relationship with God in comparison with Israel’s is both wise and essential.

Consider what God says about their “walk” and ours. Watch a marching band or military company parading in step. It is a thing of beauty and shows unity and precision. If even one of the unit is out of step with the rest it is glaring. Each is also guided by a leader who sets the pace of the march. When the group does not follow the cadence set by the leader there is confusion and disorder. We too are to walk in step with the leader, Jesus Christ our Lord. When even one walks out of step with him it effects the unity of the whole. Paul said to the Corinthians “Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps?” (2 Corinthians 12:18). And to the church at Thessalonica he wrote, “withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us…For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner” (2 Thessalonians 3:6, 11).

Consider what God has to say about what they “love” and “hate.” Amos, in speaking the word of the Lord to Israel, accused them of afflicting the righteous, taking bribes, and depriving the poor. They were told to seek good, and not evil. If so the Lord would be with them. They were to hate evil and love good, that the Lord might be gracious. Consider the converse of these two statements. Do we hate what God hates and do we truly love what God loves (Proverbs 6:16–19)? Far too many Christians today are guilty of calling good evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20). Do we love truth and hate false doctrine (Psalm 119:104)? Do we truly hate the sin, but love the sinner? Do we hate even our own lives enough to love, obey, and serve the Lord (Matthew 16:24–26)?

Consider what God says about their worship and its impact on ours. Just because we are doing the things that God says to do does not necessarily imply that God will accept our offerings. If there is sin standing between us and God, or if our heart is not right in offering our worship, praise, and service to Him, then He will not accept it! Judgment is coming…are we prepared?

Be faithful!

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Self Examination

Self Examination

Everyone needs to undergo a self examination.

Everyone needs to undergo a self examination.

The apostle Paul admonished, “.” (2 Cor. 13:5) The self examination is for our own spiritual benefit. It is good for us! If I don’t quite measure up to what the Lord expects of me or if I have begun to slip, I need to know about it. Sometimes this slipping or drifting (Heb. 2:1) is so gradual that the individual barely notices it, if at all. This is why it is so important and necessary that this self examination be conducted on a regular basis. It must be done with honesty and with a desire to change where changes need to be made. We must be careful not to compare ourselves with others. (2 Cor. 10:12) We must measure our lives by the word of Truth. Please take a few moments to measure your life by the Divine Standard.

  • Do I ever deliberately miss a service (Sunday, and/or Wednesday)?
  • Do I visit and/or show concern for the sick?
  • Do I visit and/or send a note of encouragement to a weak brother or sister?
  • Do I make an effort to check on my brothers or sisters who were absent from the assembly to let them know that I missed them?
  • When going on vacation, do I inquire concerning places to worship? Do I skip Bible classes and Sunday night services while away on vacation?
  • Do I allow my children to attend dances or go to other places of sin, leave the house immodestly dressed and thus, put my stamp of approval on such sin?
  • Do I check my children’s lessons to make sure they completed them and do I question them to make sure they are learning Divine Truth?
  • Do I miss church services with some physical ailment and then go to work on Monday or engage in some other activity with that same ailment?
  • Do I speak words of encouragement to the elders and let them know that I appreciate them?
  • Do I find myself regularly complaining about what is “wrong” with the congregation, or instead of complaining, am I looking for a way to improve the situation?
  • Am I regularly looking for ways to serve God and others?
  • Do I pray, daily?
  • Do I study God’s word daily or do I use as an excuse that I am too tired after working all day?

Now, read Hebrews 10:25, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 5:16, Matthew 22:37, Hebrews 3:13, Galatians 6:1, and Galatians 2:20. Then, go through this self–examination again. How do you measure up?

What do you need to change? Remember, the Lord knows!

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Understanding Atonement

Understanding Atonement

There are many words which describe our salvation. Each one emphasizes a particular aspect of that salvation. We talk about forgiveness, regeneration, justification, redemption and sanctification. The word we least understand is the word atonement. We know about the Jewish Day of Atonement and believe in our atonement, but we have little understanding of the meaning of this word.

Atonement - Do you really understand it?

Atonement – Do you really understand it?

Illustrations of Atonement

Numbers chapter sixteen tells of the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. This resulted in the death of these men and about 250 others who followed them. The next day, the Jews slandered Moses and accused him of killing the people of God. God was so angry. His wrath was manifested in a plague which killed nearly 15,000 Jews. What stopped the plague? What appeased His wrath? Aaron took a censer and stood between the Jews and the advancing plague. This action is described as making atonement for the nation (16:46-47). Wrath was appeased, and this is described as atonement.

In Numbers 25, the Jews were committing fornication with the Midianite women. God’s anger again sent a plague and killed 24,000 Jews. What stopped the plague? Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, took a javelin and thrust it through the bodies of a Jewish man and a Midianite women who publically were fornicating. God said, “Phinehas…has turned back my wrath from the children of Israel because He was zealous with My zeal among them…because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel” (25:11-13).  If you want to understand atonement, read this story and the previous one to see what atonement means.

Atonement Always Connected with God’s Anger

Atonement always involves sin which results in God’s wrath against sin and actions being done to assuage His wrath. If there is no atonement, His wrath will surely come.

Sins Not “Rolled Forward” in the Old Testament

The concept that sins were “rolled forward” (think of a giant snowball getting larger every year) on the Day of Atonement does not portray what actually happened. Every year on that day God remembered the sins of Israel, and if atonement was not made His wrath was sent. Nations came against Israel when atonement was not made. When it was made, His anger was appeased, and God blessed that nation. God remembered their sins every year.

Because of Christ’s sacrifice atonement is ours. He does not remember our sins. “Their sins will I remember no more” (Jer. 31:34). Thank God for our atonement!

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Competition in the Church

Church, We Have to Stop Competing

Selecting a sound gospel preacher doesn't have to be a popularity competition.

Selecting a sound gospel preacher doesn’t have to be a popularity competition.

My generation never received participation trophies. If you wanted a trophy to put on your dresser then the team had to perform well. And yes, we kept score at our minor league games! There were winners and losers—and each week young people would strive to be in the winner category. I grew up being taught that competition was a good thing. And I stand by that—as it causes individuals to strive to do better.

But there is an area that has grown competitive and I believe it is doing great harm. I don’t believe God ever intended preachers or the church to be competitive. We’ve become obsessed with how many “followers” a preacher has on social media, or how many hits they get on their blog page. Many congregations are building new and fancier auditoriums, adding new-fangled programs, and making worship more entertaining simply to increase numbers and be the “bigger” congregation in town. But friend, this isn’t how it should be! Paul wrote, “For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?” (1 Corinthians 3:3-4)

Some of this competition has originated from things like lectureships, where preachers vie for keynote speaking slots. What used to be a practice of finding a man who was well qualified to speak in a particular area has grown into a “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” practice of preachers selecting their buddies, who in turn put them on their lectureship.

The competition was bred in things like commentary books, articles in brotherhood journals, and website articles. It became almost a “sport” for many get their name in various brotherhood publications. This increased visibility conveyed the notion that these individuals were experts or highly knowledgeable—and thus these men were sought out by others to write or speak for them. The competitive nature began feeding on itself.

Additionally, a great deal of the competition has developed from social media and having an major online prescience. How many Facebook friends does this speaker have? How many likes can we get with this article? How many Twitter followers do they have?

All of this competition has taken the focus away from God and focused it firmly on men. In writing to the church at Corinth, Paul said, “Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” All of this competition has caused division and strife within the body of Christ. Ask yourself a question: how many today would spend hours writing something if their name was not attached to it?

Friends, it’s time we take the focus off fallible men and focus on the only One that has contributed to our salvation—Jesus Christ.

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