Liberal or Conservative or…

Neither Liberal, Conservative, Nor Contemporary

Many today in our beloved brotherhood, bemoan the fact that we currently live in a politically correct, biblically corrupt, “can’t-call-anything-what-it-actually-is” culture. This can be readily proven from practically every corner of our existence. For example, where once we had “used cars” we now have “pre-owned vehicles.” Where once we had middle-aged men “going bald,” we now have men who are “follically-unfruitful.” And where some of us may have once known overweight or obese people, they no longer exist, having been conveniently and non-confrontationally replaced by “gravitationally-challenged” folks instead. (And of course being considered “gravitationally-challenged” as opposed to being “overweight” immediately relieves one of taking any personal responsibility or the actions necessary in order to alleviate their self-destructive habits.)

Conservative liberal contemporary

Conservative, Liberal, contemporary, what?

Perhaps one of the most pervasive, persuasive, and soul-destroying examples of this perverted terminological (and “terminally illogical”) madness, comes in reference to the practice of homosexuality. While the ungodly world around us would seek to shame us into labeling it an “alternative lifestyle,” our God and Father unashamedly and eternally refers to it as a “very grievous,” “wicked,” “fornicational,” “flesh-defiling,” “ungodly,” “abomination;” the “inexcusable,” “vile passion,” of a “reprobate mind,” against God’s “natural order,” and “punishable by eternal fire” when God’s “wrath” is brought to bear (Please see for yourself, in: Genesis 18:20, 19:1-7; Jude 6-8; Leviticus 18:22-30, 20:13; Romans 1:18-28; I Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 5:19-20; Ephesians 5:3-7; Revelation 21:7-8; Psalm 119:89). “Alternative lifestyle?” I think not. “Eternal death sentence” is more like it according to God’s terminology.

Unfortunately, what some of those beloved brethren bothered by the onslaught of this pervasive perspective sometimes fail to perceive, is that the parasitical perversity of political correctness has also partially infiltrated and poisoned certain portions of the beleaguered body and bride of Christ when it comes to our worship practices and positions as well. This, by way of some very worldly-originated, totally unbiblical, but universally-accepted and utilized terminology, currently contaminating and contributing to many of the uncorrected corruptions wreaking havoc within the Lord’s church today. For a people who were once widely-known and highly-respected for the fact that they sought to “Speak where the bible speaks, and be silent where the bible is silent; calling bible things by bible names and doing bible things in bible ways,” oh how far we appear to have fallen when it comes to “political correctness” my beloved brethren!

Consider this. If a congregation utilizes female song leaders, prayer leaders, adult mixed bible class teachers or sermon preachers; if they allow and approve of the use of instruments in their musical praises and worship; and if they believe that certain portions of the New Testament pattern are no longer binding on us today, we generally label or refer to them as “liberal,” and/or their worship as “contemporary.” Conversely, if a congregation of God’s people today utilizes only male leadership in worship, sings acappella, and demands that every element preached and practiced must possess a “book, chapter, and verse” foundation because they believe every word of the bible to be divinely inspired and binding for all time (unless the word itself specifies otherwise), we generally label or refer to them as “ conservative. ”

But the word “liberal” only occurs once in Scripture and in a completely different context at that! It occurs that one time, in 2 Corinthians 9:13, wherein it is expressing an act and attitude of generosity financially, and certainly not an attitude of laxity (on any level), but especially doctrinally! And where do we even see the terms “ conservative ” or “contemporary” contained anywhere in Scripture? We don’t. They’re not. Neither one of them. Not even once. So why then, as a people claiming to “Speak where the bible speaks, and be silent where the bible is silent; calling bible things by bible names and doing bible things in bible ways,” do we use these three terms so frequently, in a fatalistic and ill-informed frenzy of political correctness?

For the love of God and the sake of the eternal souls His beloved Son died to save, we have got to stop pasteurizing, homogenizing, neutering, neutralizing, and watering and dumbing down the incredibly clear and concise terminology of God in an effort not to offend or upset those whom the bible clearly indicates are on the road to hell! We must be as straightforward in our terminology as the Scriptures are, so that they might have their hearts pricked; reconsider; repent and return to a submissive and obedient relationship with almighty God!

When an individual or group of God’s people chooses to follow the divinely inspired biblical pattern comprised of the commandments of God (See: II Timothy 3:12-4:4; 2 Peter 1:16-2:3; Acts 7:44; Hebrews 8:5; I Corinthians 14:37) such as: male leadership in the Lord’s church (1 Corinthians 14:33-37; 1 Timothy 2:8-15); singing without any mechanical instruments accompanying their songs of praise and worship at any and all times (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; Acts 16:25; Romans 15:9; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12; and James 5:13); and always insisting that the doctrines being taught – whether they be about the one, true, New Testament church; the heinous sin of denominationalism; the essentiality of baptism exclusively for the forgiveness of sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit; full and complete repentance and conversion; or any other biblical doctrine – are in exact accordance with what their God and Father commands through His holy word, then the bible has many far better and much more insightful terms by which these people should be referred to. Instead of the non-biblical term “ conservative, ” let us from now on, truly “speak where the bible speaks” and define and refer to these brethren and their worship with biblically-correct (instead of politically correct, corrupt, and inept) terms; terms like:

  • “Faithful” (Matthew 25:14-30; Acts 16:11-15; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:2; etc).
  • “According to the Scriptures” (I Corinthians 15:3-4; James 2:8).
  • “According to the will of God” (I Peter 4:19).
  • “According to what is written” (2 Corinthians 4:13).
  • “According to the commandment of the everlasting God” (Romans 16:26).
  • “According to knowledge” (Romans 10:2).
  • “According to truth” (Romans 2:2).
  • “According to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-5).
  • Worshipping in “spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).

Conversely, for those who would advocate or approve of the adding to, or even the contradicting of, the divine pattern as presented and preached by the prophets and apostles (2 Peter 1:16-21) – those we most commonly (as opposed to scripturally) refer to with more worldly terminology like “liberal,” and “contemporary” – God’s word also has many far better and much more insightful and inspired terms by which these brethren and their worship must be referred to as well. Instead of today’s terms and labels like “liberal” and “contemporary,” let us from now on, truly “speak where the bible speaks” and define and refer to these brethren and their worship, with biblically-correct (instead of politically correct, corrupt, and totally inept) terms too; terms God used, terms like:

  • “Unauthorized” (Leviticus 10:1 – ESV)
  • “Vain worship” (Matthew 15:7-9; Mark 7:5-13)
  • “Empty deceit,” “tradition of men,” “false humility,” “doctrines and commandments of men” (Colossians 2:8-24).
  • “Damnable heresies” (2 Peter 2:1-3 – KJV).
  • “‘Depart from Me, I never knew you,’ to all who did not do ‘the will of My Father,” (Matthew 7:21-23).

You see, there is no such thing, biblically speaking of course, as a “liberal,” “ conservative, ” or “contemporary” Christian, congregation, bible class, or worship service.

  • They are simply either “faithful,” or they are “unfaithful.” That’s it.
  • They are simply either devoted and committed to doing things “according to the Scriptures” – that is to say, acting in accordance, obedience, and compliance with all the written will, truth, commandments, and pattern of the everlasting God – or they are not; instead, acting in accordance with the “doctrines and commandments of men,” and therefore conducting and participating in worship and devotion consisting of absolutely nothing but “false humility,” “damnable heresies,” and “empty deceit.”
  • They are either worshipping in and with the proper spirit of humility and submission, to and before, the sovereign God and Lord of the universe (as readily evidenced by their complete compliance with God’s truth); or, they are using unauthorized additions, corruptions, and substitutions, and therefore entertaining only themselves with their vain and useless worship. And they desperately need to know it!

The great and godly prophet Isaiah pronounced some pretty nasty “woes” on God’s Old Testament people; on those who called “evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20). We cannot afford – for the sake of our beloved Savior who died to set men free from just such satanic deceptions and temptations; for the sake of our own beloved but apparently misguided and misled brethren; as well as for the sake of our own souls – to fall into the politically correct but biblically-corrupting trap of simply referring to such soul-devouring, obedience-marginalizing, and vain-worshipping sins and those who commit them, with just the watered-down but politically correct term “liberal,” which is so soft, toothless, and truthless, as to be totally powerless to lead the erring we love to repentance in Christ! That terminology (“liberal”) is an eternal-life and death, soul-threatening deception! We must put these positions and those who practice them in terms that will get the undivided attention of their perpetrators! This, in hopes of getting them to see the error of their ways; to recognize and come to a better knowledge of God’s truth; and to hopefully reflect, respond, and repent of those sins while they still have time!

Conversely, we cannot allow anyone from now on – and especially any of our beloved but brutally-deceived brethren – to either casually, carnally, arbitrarily, or just ignorantly earmark those of us and the congregations we work and worship in which continue to faithfully follow the “old paths” of divine writ, as “ conservative. ” We are not – not biblically speaking anyway. We are “faithful,” and worship “according to the scriptures,” in “spirit and truth,” as “it is written” (Ephesians 1:1; James 2:8; John 4:23-24; Matthew 4:1-11)! Those are bible terms for bible things!

And I assure you, that the next time someone seriously says to me something along the lines of, “Oh, you’re just from one of those old-fashioned, conservative congregations,” then with all the love of the Lord for their eternal soul’s condition I can possibly muster (Mark 10:21), I plan to look them straight in the eye and respond something to the effect of, “No, not at all. I’m blessed to be from one of those scripture-fashioned, faithful congregations which worship in spirit and truth like the Lord is looking for, and whose worship He honors and accepts. Why; aren’t you? And if not, why aren’t you?”

We must stop referring to the worship conducted by some people and congregations (doctrinally speaking) as either “ conservative ” or “liberal,” and start referring to it as what it actually, biblically is called: either “faithful,” “spirit and truth” worship “according to the scriptures,” or, “vain,” “unauthorized” worship according to the “damnable heresies” and “traditions and commandments of men.” It can’t be both. And the bible is the complete and final authority for defining the difference, in “book, chapter, and verse” form.

May we all, from this day forward, myself included, earnestly repent, and commit ourselves to “Speaking where the bible speaks; calling bible things by bible names; and doing bible things in bible ways,” “in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perchance will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:25-26).

To God be all the glory; always and in all ways!

 

Posted in Doug Dingley | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Liberal or Conservative or…

Thrive in the Light

Living and Walking in the Light

One of the great blessings we have is the continuing cleansing of the blood of Jesus in our daily lives. We were washed in His blood when we were baptized (Acts 22:16), but we continue to be cleansed by His blood as we continue to walk in the light. “But if we walk (Greek tense indicates continual action—“are walking”) in the light as He is in the light, we have (are having) fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (is cleansing) from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

In the Light.

Live and Walk in the Light

Paul described the lives of those who are children of light in his first letter to the Thessalonians. He showed that they are different from those who are children of darkness (1 Thess. 5:4-10).

Sons of light do not sleep (1 Thess. 5:6). Obviously he is not describing physical sleep or the sleep of death. He contrasts this sleep with watching and being sober.

Sons of light watch (5:6). It was in Gethsemane that He urged the disciples to sense the dangers confronting them. In the upper room they all had affirmed their willingness to die for Him (Matt. 26:35), but they were all about to forsake Him in fear (Matt. 26:56). His words to them in the garden were, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matt. 26:41). Those who walk in the light must watch!

Sons of light are sober (5:6). That Christians are to be serious minded is affirmed often in the Bible using a Greek word which affirms this vital quality for every Christian. However, the Greek word used in this passage is nephos, which means “to be free from the influence of intoxicants.” The impact of intoxicants is to dull the senses, lower inhibitions and is devastating to one’s ability to watch.

Sons of light neither get drunk or are drunk (5:7). There are many verses in the Bible which condemn drunkenness (including this one in the phrase “are drunk”), but this passage shows that God also forbids the process of getting drunk. Those who are walking in the light must be aware that the Bible shows that Christians must avoid getting drunk.

Sons of light arm themselves with faith, love and hope (5:8). Bible students will recall these three qualities in Paul’s letter to Corinth, ”And now abides faith, hope and love” (1 Cor. 13:13). These same qualities are mentioned here as those who are continually cleansed by His blood. We must never forget that all of these are specifically tied to having the Bible in our lives.

Sons of light will live together with Him (5:10). How else could it be? We become sons of God by the blood, we walk in light and are being cleansed by blood and heaven awaits those who live in the light. Thank God for His light!

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Thrive in the Light

God’s Directions

Where are the Directions?

The introductory text for our lesson is found in John 12:48:

“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

directions

Where are the directions?

Those were words that Jesus spoke during His ministry on Earth.  He said there is coming a day when everyone who ever lived is going to face a judgment.  He also stated that the words He had spoken were going to do the judging at that time.  Jesus spoke those words roughly 1985 years ago give or take.  This is not the only place Jesus made mention of a day of judgment.

In John 5:28-29, we have a record of Jesus teaching, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”  So from these two verses of scripture we have a day of judgment, we have an hour in the future when this is going to begin, we have a resurrection with only two possible outcomes, one of life and one of damnation.  How long does this life and this damnation last?

Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:46, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”   Damnation is everlasting.  The word everlasting comes from the Greek word ai)w/nio$ aionios (ahee-o’-nee-os).  It means ‘eternal, for ever’.  And on the other side we have the resurrection of life which Jesus said is “Eternal life“.  So we have Eternal punishment and we have eternal life.  And one of these two destinies are going to be received by each and every person who ever lived and the words Jesus spoke are going be the deciding factor in that decision.

So… Where did Jesus get these words?  Were these words of His own choosing or did He get the words that would judge all mankind from someone else?  One verse after our introductory text, Jesus goes on to tell us where He got the words. in John 12:49, “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”  So we see from all of this Jesus Christ, acting under the authority of God the Father gave mankind the words that would be used to judge us all in the last day?

Jesus spent about 3 1/2 years on His earthly ministry.  His primary companions on His earthly ministry were the 12 men who came to be known as the Apostles.  These men spent all that time with Jesus and during that time He taught and prepared them for the duty of evangelizing after He returned to Heaven.  In Matthew 28:18-20 we have a record of what Jesus commanded them just before He returned to Heaven: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

What if these men forgot something?  What if they left something out?  Jesus assures them in John 14:26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”  Nothing is going to be left out.  The Holy Ghost is going to make sure of that.  Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Ghost was going to come down from Heaven and He was going to teach them and help them to remember everything He taught them.  Nothing is going to be left out.  Nobody was going to forget anything important.

So now we have a picture of all three members of the Godhead working together to make sure the words that are going to be used to judge us would be available to the first century Christians.  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.  God the Father gave the commandment to Jesus who then gave it to His disciples and then returned to Heaven after His death on the cross and then the Holy Ghost came down and made sure the word was remembered by the men that Jesus taught.  God the Father is the originator of the words that would judge us.  Jesus Christ is the Executor of the words.  The Bible refers to Him in John 1:1 as the Word of God: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  Skipping down to verse 14 we read, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us”  Jesus is God the Son.  He came to bring the words of God the Father directly to the disciples and to offer Himself as a sacrifice for man’s sin.  God the Father was the originator, God the Word, in the form of Jesus Christ came and executed God’s plan and gave the words He received from God the Father to the disciples.  Then after Jesus returned to Heaven, God the Holy Ghost communicated, taught and brought to remembrance the words Jesus taught directly to His disciples.

Is the Holy Ghost God?  In Acts 5 we read of the account of the deaths of Ananias and Saphira.  They sold a piece of land and when they gave the money from the sale to the church they kept some of it back for themselves.  Where they messed up was that when they gave the money to the disciples, they told them that the amount they gave was the total amount from the sale.  They lied about it.  And it cost them their lives.  Significant to this lesson is what Peter said to Ananias right before his death.  In

In Acts 5:3-4, we read, “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land. Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”  In verse 3 Peter accused him of lying to the Holy Ghost.  In verse 4, Peter said, you lied to God.  When Ananias and Saphira lied to the Holy Ghost, they lied to God.  The Holy Ghost therefore is God.

What we need to take from this is that God was in charge of the whole thing from start to finish and was active in every aspect of it.   All of the participation in the communication of God’s instructions to  man were carried out by God.  Nothing was left out.

The giving of the word of God was a matter of divine accomplishment throughout the process.  In 2 Peter 1:3, Peter wrote, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue”  Nothing was left out.  The Christians in the first century had everything that pertained to life and Godliness by divine accomplishment through and through.

The Title of this lesson is “Where are the directions”.  The people living in the first century had the directions.  They had all the directions.  The directions came from God, the plan was set into place by God, and the directions were given to man by God.  God originated it.  God executed it.  God communicated it.  Nothing was left out.

So, how did the directions which came directly from God, get from the first century Christians to 21st century Christians?

Easy.  They wrote them down.  They recorded those words in the only way that was available in the first century.  Through written language.  So we know they had all the directions then how do we know they got them all written down?  Nothing was left out of what they needed then.  Is anything essential left out of what was recorded?

Paul wrote a couple of letters to Timothy that we know about.  In one of them he wrote something that is very significant to this subject.  In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Paul wrote these words, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

Let’s look at the key elements of that verse…

“All scripture“…  Not some of it, not part of it, but all of it.

“is given by inspiration of God”  This literally means ‘God breathed‘.   Scripture doesn’t come from the mind of man.  What was recorded by the writers of the New Testament came from God.  Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:37, “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.”  In Galatians 1:11-12, Paul wrote, “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”   The same God that delivered the instructions to the first century Christians also made sure it was written down and recorded correctly.  God was in charge.  God was making sure it was being recorded per His specifications.

Back to the text: “and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect”.  Perfect, meaning complete.    Nothing left out;  Nothing missing;  Nothing lacking;  Complete; “that the man of God may be perfect“.  Nothing essential has been left out.

“throughly furnished”   Fully equipped; Fitted; Thoroughly furnished.  Nothing left out.

“ unto all good works…   All…good works.  None left out.

So now we know that the first century Christians had everything they needed for a life of Godliness.  And we see that what was recorded as scripture had the same divine stamp of completion and perfection, how do we know that what we hold in our hands today is the same thing that was received by God in the first century?  How do we know nothing has been changed?  How do we know nothing has been left out?  How can we be sure we have everything we need today?

There are a number of ways we can go about answering that question.  First, let’s look at history and how God preserved the old testament law.  It was written by Moses roughly 1400 years before Christ.  After Alexander the Great conquered the known world, the Greeks began assimilating all of the nations they conquered into the Greek culture.  This was a process known as Hellenizing.  The Greek language became the common tongue of the known world.  As a result of this, the OT scriptures written in ancient Hebrew were translated into the Greek language.  This Greek translation of the Law of Moses was known as the Septuagint.  Jesus Christ even quoted from it during His earthly ministry.   What we need to understand from this is that throughout the history of the Israelite nation, God preserved the Law of Moses.

God brought it through the judges of Israel.  He preserved it through the kings of Israel, both good and bad and through all their wars.  What is significant is that there were times when Israel all but abandoned God, yet His word was preserved.  When King Hezekiah restored temple worship roughly 700 years before Christ, he used the law of Moses as the guide.

When the Babylonians finished destroying Jerusalem, there was barely anything left.  The temple was ransacked and destroyed.   When the captives were allowed to return to Jerusalem, Ezra used the law of Moses to restore temple worship after the temple was rebuilt.   Babylon fell to the Median Empire, which fell to the Persian Empire, which fell to the Greek Empire which fell to the Roman Empire.  Throughout all of the wars that accompanied these hostile takeovers, God preserved the Old Testament scriptures.  When a 12 year old Jesus Christ was questioning the temple scholars in Jerusalem about the law of Moses, it was the same law of Moses that was delivered 1400 years before that.  God preserved His word throughout the history of the Israelite nation.

Then, in the first century AD, the new covenant comes along.   Now is God going to be any less protective of the new covenant than He was the old?  Well, let’s look at some facts.

There are presently 5,686 Greek manuscripts in existence today for the New Testament.   In addition, there are over 19,000 copies in the Syriac, Latin, Coptic, and Aramaic languages.  The total supporting New Testament manuscript base is over 24,000.  Because of the vast number of manuscripts, we can do an extensive amount of cross checking for accuracy.   The internal consistency of the New Testament documents we have at present is about 99.5% textually pure.  And the few differences that do exist are insignificant to the message of the gospel.  In other words, there are no doctrinal conflicts.

If the critics of the Bible dismiss the New Testament as reliable information, then they must also dismiss the reliability of the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Caesar, Homer, and other ancient authors.  This is because the New Testament documents are better-preserved and more numerous than any other ancient writings.   If we acknowledge the historicity and writings of those other individuals, then we must also retain the historicity and writings of the New Testament authors; after all, the evidence for the New Testament’s reliability is far greater than the others.  The Christian has substantially superior criteria for affirming the New Testament documents than he does for any other ancient writing.  It is good evidence on which to base our trust in the reliability of the New Testament.

Now, in addition to this, the early church writers who lived in the first couple of centuries following Christ quoted a lot of scripture in their writings.  Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Papias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Polycarp, Clement of Rome, Mathetes, Hermas, Tatian, Theophilus, just to name a few.  They quoted from scripture so extensively in their writings that even if every single manuscript and copy of the Bible were suddenly destroyed, the entire New Testament, with the exception of only a handful of verses, could be restored from their writings.

Some critics might try and say that we don’t have the originals so we can’t know for sure.  We don’t have any of the original autographs of Plato, Aristotle, Caesar, Homer, and other ancient authors either.  Plato wrote his stuff in 427-347 B.C.  The earliest record of any manuscripts of his writings comes from 900 AD.  That’s about a 1200 year difference.  Caesar: roughly a thousand years between his writings and the earliest known manuscript.  Aristotle: about 1400 years.   The list goes on and on.

So let’s apply this same test to the New Testament scripture.  We have fragments of the gospel of John dating back to 125 AD.  We have a whole bunch of manuscript fragments dating back as far as 200 AD or earlier.  That’s a minor difference compared to the centuries between the writings of other historical figures.  If we are going to discount the validity of the scriptures based on the lack of the original autographs, then if we are going to be consistent, we have to reject all of the writings of all of the ancient historical authors who aren’t even in the same ball park in a comparison of the time between the original writing and the latest extant manuscript.

Conclusion:   God preserved the old law through feast, famine, captivity, poverty, wars and millennia of time.  We still have them today 2000 years after Christ walked the earth.   God has likewise preserved the New Testament through the feasts, famines, wars, crusades, plagues and dark ages of 2 millennia. God has been no less diligent with the preservation of the New Testament than He was with the Law of Moses.  When we hold our Bibles today, we can be 100% confident that we are holding in our hands an accurate and complete record of the word of God.

Nothing was left out in the first century.  Nothing is left out in the 21st century.  2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

How can we know it is inspired?  How can we know it came from God?  God had ways of authenticating Himself.  He did this through signs, wonders and miracles.  Jesus healed the sick, made the blind see, made cripples walk and raised the dead.  But these signs and wonders were done for the ones standing there as much as anyone else.  What about those of us who never got to see the signs, wonders and miracles which served to authenticate the words of the speakers?  Do we just take it on faith that these authors were really inspired and were really writing the truth?  How can we be sure in our faith that the word of God really came from God?

God is an eternal being. As such He is not constrained to time as we are.  God possesses the ability to look ahead in time and tell us what is going to happen in the future.  Man cannot do that.  Now let’s be clear, there are all kinds of so-called prophets who have claimed to be able to do this.  And no doubt there are some who get it right from time to time.  Call it an informed prediction or call it blind luck, they’ll get one right here and there.  But only God can look down the corridors of time and see what is going to happen with 100% accuracy.  Let’s take a look at a few that are just too compelling to ignore.  There are prophecies in the Bible that just cannot be simply explained away or ignored.

Open with me to Psalm 22 in your Bibles please and let’s take a look at one of these prophecies.  King David was undergoing some trials in life which he wrote about.  Just for the record, King David lived about 900 years before Christ walked the Earth.

Psalm 22 starts with the words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  Those words sound familiar don’t they?  We’ve all heard those before.  Those were the words Jesus cried from the cross right before He died.   Almost this entire Psalm is a Messianic foretelling of the crucifixion of Christ but in particular let’s focus on verses 13-18, which read, ”

13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

When Jesus Christ was crucified, they spike him to the cross through the hands and feet.  They stripped him naked and cast lots for his garments.  The horrific imagery of suffering in David’s Psalm are the symptoms of a crucifixion.  People who are crucified cannot exhale with the weight of their bodies hanging on their outstretched arms.  In order to breath, the victim has to pull himself up with his arms and push up with their feet and hold themselves up long enough to catch a few breaths of air and then collapse back again into a position where it is impossible to get enough breath to live.  This goes on until the victim is too weak to sustain this and dies of exhaustion asphyxiation.  That’s why their legs of the two thieves crucified with Jesus were broken.  They wanted to speed things along so by breaking their legs, the victims were no longer able to use their legs to pick themselves up for those breaths of air.  Death came quickly after that.  All of the suffering conditions David wrote of in that passage were symptoms of a crucifixion.

Now I ask you.  How could David have chosen the words “they pierced my hands and my feet.” and “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”   without a little divine assistance?  How would a man who lived 900 years before Christ was pierced through the hands and the feet and had His clothing distributed by casting lots on them know to write these words?  The answer..  He couldn’t have.

How about Isaiah 53:3-12

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah wrote those words about 700 years before all of the things he said in this prophecy happened to Jesus Christ.  How could he know that all on his own?  And to make it even more compelling, if the Christian religion were some kind of a hoax, then the architects of that hoax began planning it thousands of years before it ever happened.  And to dream up a hoax that ended with the death of their champion?  How could Isaiah have known Jesus was going to do that?  How did David know that Jesus would have his hands and feet pierced?

There are roughly 400 messianic prophecies that provide details of Jesus that no one could have possibly known without divine knowledge.  Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  Just a lucky guess or a hoax 700 years in the making?

The Bible is full of this kind of stuff.  The scriptures as we have them could not exist without the direction of someone who was able to foresee the future with unerring accuracy.  No man is capable of such a feat.  No group of men are capable of such a feat.   There’s too much time involved and only an eternal God who can see ahead for centuries could explain what we have in scripture.  God has left His fingerprints all over the Bible for anyone who wishes to see it.

Where are the Directions?

God made sure the Christians had them in first century.  They had them all.  Nothing was left out.

God made sure those directions were written down.  All of them.  Nothing we need was left out.

God made sure those directions were preserved for all who would come after.  All of them.  Nothing we need was left out.

God planned it, executed it, confirmed it, recorded it and preserved it.  He has had his hand in this from the beginning and all throughout the centuries.  When it comes to the directions, God’s got this covered.  And as such, we can put our trust in it.  We can live our lives by it.  We can be absolutely sure and absolutely confident that the directions we have in the word of God today are the directions we need.  We can live our lives according to the word of God with absolute assurance and confidence that the words that are going to judge us in the last day are the same words we have in our possession right now.  The scriptures we have today came from the mind of God, were delivered by God, communicated by God, authenticated by God, written down by God and preserved by God to this very day.

So it is with supreme confidence that I stand before you today and quote James 1:21, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”

John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.“

Posted in David Hersey | Tagged , , | Comments Off on God’s Directions

Control and Choices

Making Choices

“To choose or not to choose” – That is the choice. How many decisions does a person make each day consciously and unconsciously? Wake or snooze? Oatmeal or cereal? Hat or no hat? Bus or car? Cranky or smiley? Pay bills or wait? Aaarrghgh! So many decisions are processed. In the grand scheme of things, most decisions are relatively simple; however, there are big hairy decisions that are always lurking. From the beginning it has been this way. How long did Adam and Eve go before they ate the fruit? What went through their minds before the decision was made? Did they ever talk about it before it happened?

You are in Control of your choices

You are in control of your choices.

Consider these four questions regarding choice making: First, what is the purpose of choices? Second, how does satisfaction relate to choices? Third, what is the relationship between control and choices? Finally, how should a person prepare for choices?

What is the Purpose of Choices?
Many people wonder why they were created. Two key scriptures sum up man’s purpose well. Ecclesiastes 11:13 establishes man is to revere God and keep His commandments. Ephesians 2:10 establishes man was created to do good works. These two verses work together to give man direction in his life. Still, this does not clarify the purpose of choice. When an individual does not have choice, they are slaves. They might as well be robots. However, God did not want this for man. God loves man dearly (John 3:16). God gave men choices so they might ultimately glorify Him. This is the first purpose of choice. Many would argue God has failed miserably when the vast amount of evil in the world is seen. Consider though, the blessing of the freedom God has given man to choose evil. In choosing evil, man demonstrates the superiority of walking in Godliness (I Peter 2:15). A person loving God chooses to be His bond servant. That is, they voluntarily choose to obey His will knowing it will result in far greater benefit than sinfulness (Isaiah 55:6-9). The concept is like understanding how white something truly is when it has a dark spot on it.

In addition to the freedom of choice ultimately glorifying God, it also enables man to mature. Without choices how would man develop knowledge? Certainly, man can make choices which are holy and pure and grow in Christ. However, if man chooses to do unwise things, he will gain knowledge there as well. If a child puts his hand in the fire, he will be burned. Wisely, he learns not to repeat his action. Sadly, many an adult chooses to engage poor decision after poor decision expecting a different result. To meet the objective of a life of doing well in God’s eyes, God has given the Bible (2 Timothy 2:16-17, Ephesians 4:14-16). This enables man to mature properly. God encourages man to awake to this growth (I Corinthians 15:34). However, the choice is not forced upon man. Glorification of God’s wisdom and the maturity of man is what God desires from man’s choices.

How Does Satisfaction Relate to Choices?
Not many years ago, families had phones which did not travel with them. The phones were attached to the wall. People were grateful to have the phones there. Again, not long ago, many families were able to receive one maybe two channels on their television sets. The pictures were sometimes fuzzy and the stations would stop broadcasting around midnight. Again, there was gratefulness. Today, phones can go practically anywhere and there is no sharing of a phone signal with multiple families. Televisions are an inch thick and get 1000 channels. They broadcast 24 hours a day. It would make sense if satisfaction were at 100% with the modern devices. Yet, this is not the case. Increased choices have not resulted in increased satisfaction.

Choices abound today! From breakfast cereal to laptop, dress material to hair color, and fast food to automobile, there is a never ending variety of decisions to be made. Yet, so many decisions have resulted in increased agony. How many couples drive an hour stressed about what restaurant they should stop at to eat? I know men who have stood shell shocked in the pasta aisle not being sure what noodle they should buy. Children watch television and see the next best toy they should own. They can’t be happy until they get it. Stop and think about how happy they were playing with Tupperware lids in the kitchen before they discovered they had choices? Making a decision is much less stressful when there are few choices. The more variables, size, scent, color, texture, attachments, accessories, etc. the more time consuming and fretful the decision becomes (Ecclesiastes 12:7-8).

How many choices do individuals make with good stewardship in mind? There are millions of practically new and unused items sold at garage sales and given to thrift stores each year because the “must have” turned out to be the “don’t need”. There are two consequences to all decisions: dissatisfaction and contentment. Certainly, all choices have a cost. To choose one item, you give up another. The man who chooses to go worship Sunday morning may miss a round of golf, a football game, or a chance to sleep in. When he chooses tacos for dinner, he misses out on pizza. Perhaps this is why buffets are so popular. So every possible choice can be made. Yet, at the end of the meal, bloated and woogie, dissatisfaction is often experienced. The challenge before man is to find contentment. When the proper choices are made, contentment can reign (I Timothy 6:6). Always prepared, God has given man a path to choose which will lead to contentment in all things. Is there food and clothing? Let there be contentment (I Timothy 6:8). Whatever a man’s position is in life, if he is with God, let him be content (Philippians 4:11). God will not fail those whose eyes are on Him and not the possessions of the world (Hebrews 13:5).

What is the Relationship between Control and Choices?
How many people are backseat drivers? There is a desire for control! What about arm chair quarterbacks? The individual believes if they were in control for a moment things would have turned out differently. Every young person looks forward to the day they will have more control. Senior folks often do not look forward to the time when they must relinquish control. There are three distinct phases to consider when examining control and choices. These phases are 1) obtaining control, 2) maintaining control, and 3) handing over control.

Obtaining control starts with youth. Toddlers will let you know this. “My toys, my game, my rules” has been an oft repeated refrain. Each individual believes they can make better decisions than someone else. However, oftentimes the desire is simply for the freedom to try something on one’s own regardless of consequence. Who wants to follow the recipe? Bah! Let’s throw in more garlic! Control is often associated with power. If you have power, it is assumed you will get reward and pleasure above those without power or be able to clearly display your decision making prowess. Thus, there is frequent struggle to gain control in many areas of life. Even in marriages there are battles over “who wears the pants in the family.” Every individual is given control over certain aspects of their life by God. He has given people complete control over their decisions regarding salvation (Philippians 2:12). Yes, God has established His Will in regard to the scope of control for man, but he does not stop man from choosing his own way (Ephesians 6:1, I Corinthians 11:3).

Maintaining control over choices is something with which many struggle. Once they have obtained the freedom to make choices, the fear is it will be taken away. Someone may sneak the television remote away at a time of distraction. Mom or dad may take the keys to the car. The boss may transfer an individual to another position. The government may force its citizens to buy health insurance. These are all classic concerns that come with maintaining control of choices. The biggest factor in maintaining control over choices is the individual’s own behaviors. Violating family rules results in removal of privileges. Politicians ignoring the voters get voted out or impeached. Trying crystal meth causes one to become a slave to a substance and give up control (2 Timothy 4:5). When man submits to false teachings, he cannot maintain control (Galatians 2:2-5). A Christian must maintain self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Therefore, Christians must be careful by whom and what they are influenced because the pull of the world will bring about the loss of freedom (Galatians 5:1).

To have control, the Christian must hand over control. This is the paradox of control. It is like the Chinese finger trap. You must give up the struggle to find release. Many a senior reaches a point where they can no longer care for themselves and their possessions properly. Yet, a great many refuse to give up control to those who could help. Consequently, their surroundings fall into disrepair, their health fails, and they find themselves in a state of enslavement to weakness built on the decision to not release control. If the same seniors released a little control to those who could aid them, a larger portion of personal control would be retained and for much longer. The man of faith controls which master he serves (Joshua 24:15). He can choose to serve God or his own lusts in the form of sin (Romans 6:16-18). Being a slave of righteousness results in having more control and for eternity, but such control cannot be gained until the choice to hand over control is first made(Romans 2:6-8).

How should a person prepare for choices?
Can a man prepare for the choices ahead of him? Certainly he can. Successful diet choices are much easier when healthy food is stocked and available. The Red Cross is successful in providing blood to others because it chooses to gather donations before disaster occurs. The ant prepares for the hard winter, by making the choice to work when the weather is better (Proverbs 6:6-8). Is a man worried about how he will care for himself when he is old? He can prepare by putting aside a savings. He can prepare by living simply. He can prepare by surrounding himself with those who will aid him when the time comes.

Educating oneself to make proper decisions is important. If a person needs a vehicle, he should research the type of vehicles which will meet his needs. Choosing a college, but have a budget? Research inexpensive colleges! Searching for a woman or man to marry? Research! Educate yourself. Ask questions, talk to people, and consider where you need to look to find the mate for whom you are looking. Concerned about eternity? Educate yourself on what choices need to be made. “Seek and ye shall find!” (Matthew 7:7) The Bible has the answers you need for life and Godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Why would an individual not prepare for the choices ahead of him? (Luke 14:28)

When choices present themselves, prioritize them. The Christian has a mandate to put God first in his life (Matthew 4:10, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 22:37). If a man has the choice to pay his cable bill or pay his rent, he would wisely choose the thing of greater value… YES! THE RENT! Likewise, in prioritizing life choices, God comes before self. Self dies to serve the Lord (Galatians 2:20). A list of prioritization enables one to order their life. It makes the path clearer and sets chaotic stress aside. God is not a God of confusion, nor should a man’s life be one of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33). The passage of I Corinthians 14 discusses the assembly of worship before God. It declares things should be done “properly and in orderly manner”. If this is the proper mode of function for the Lord’s body, why should the life of man be directed in any other way?

Summation of Choice
Making choices is something every coherent individual must engage in. Choices await man from the simple to the grand. Knowing the purpose of choices enables the making of choices which lead to satisfaction. Control over choices is a desired state, but the proper balance must be met, knowing when to maintain control of choices and when to hand control over. If the individual educates and prioritizes his choices according to the principle of “God first”, he will find himself far better prepared to handle choices when they come. The first and wisest choice a person can make is to humble himself before God and clothe himself in Christ (Galatians 3:26-29).

Psalms 25:12 – What man is he that feareth Jehovah? Him shall he instruct in the way that he shall choose.

Posted in Travis Main | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Control and Choices

It’s The Name!

Is There Anything to a Name?

National columnist Marilyn vos Savant has a claim-to-fame from a worldly prospective that is quite impressive—the Guinness Book of World Records listed her for five years as having the highest IQ. Yet, she has also an interesting quirk—she refused to take the surname of her father and decided to take the surname of her mother. In responding to such years ago, she commented,

name

Is a Name that Important?

Men have long had the psychologi­cal advantage of unbroken identities. By contrast, women usually change their surnames when they get married. This practice deals a subtle—yet tre­mendous—blow to their sense of self. And even when women do keep their names, they seldom pass them on to their daughters. So the female heritage disappears. When enough women keep their surnames throughout life and pass them on to their daughters for life, we will witness an improvement in the stature and independence of women the likes of which has not been seen since women got the vote. [PARADE Maga­zine, March 25, 2007]

By reading such, one can see the not-so-subtle un­dertones of an equality of women that contradicts the role God prescribed for them. In Genesis 5:2, we find concerning God with Adam and Eve: “Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.” I believe that this shows the bride should take the name of the groom, and I do not feel that this is demeaning to the self-esteem of women, but portrays a submissive virtue that should characterize all wives to their husbands.

Nevertheless, this hinges on the greater subject of the above title—is there anything to a name? Paul evidently thought so (1 Cor. 1:13-15). If there is nothing to a name, then why can we not take the name of Paul or any name of any other man? If there is nothing in a name, then why could we not become baptized in the name of Paul? However, Paul argues against such.

For this reason, we should identify ourselves as the church that bears the name of the one who built it (Matt. 16:18). For this reason, we should identify ourselves as the ones who belong to our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Pet. 4:16). In other words, people of God are to call themselves by His name (cf. 2 Chron. 7:14), “…for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Consider the following:

– I know that we should use method in the work of our Lord, but I am not a Methodist.

– I know that we should have bishops (Greek word episcopos) or elders (Greek word presbuteros) to oversee the work of the church, but I am neither an Episcopalian nor a Presbyterian.

– I know that each congregation is independent, but I am not a Congregationalist.

– I know that immersion constitutes the act of bap­tism, but I am not a Baptist.

–  I know that God has called us to be holy, but I am not a Holiness.

– I know that Christ will come again (Advent), but I am not an Adventist.

– I know that the church is universal (Latin, catho­lic), but I am not a Catholic.

– Therefore, I prefer to stick closely to the word of God and identify myself simply as a Christian.

Even the recognized and talented Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon, stated in a sermon of his (May 27, 1855), “I say of the Baptist name, let it perish, but let Christ’s name last forever. I look forward with pleasure, to the day when there will not be a Baptist living… I hope the Baptist name will soon perish, but let Christ’s name endure forever.” Is there anything to a name? I believe that there is!

Posted in Sam Willcut | Tagged , , | Comments Off on It’s The Name!