The Ten Lepers

Are You Among the Nine Lepers

It is difficult for us to imagine the emotions of the ten lepers who met Jesus in Luke chapter seventeen. For years, they had been outcasts, and then they stood before the Lord. He saw them and said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they went they were cleansed. Luke tells us that only one returned to express gratitude to the Savior, and he was the Samaritan. Jesus’ questions to him deserve careful consideration. “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” Where would we have been if we had been cleansed by Him? How often do we fail to express gratitude for what He gives to us?

lepers

Lepers in black and white photo.

When have you given thanks for the blessing of living in this great land? Think of the strife that is around the world. Contrast that with the peace we have in our lives in this land of freedom. We had nothing to do with the land of our birth. Are you among the “nine” who have failed to give thanks?

When have you given thanks for your health? Even if it is bad, there are thousands and thousands of others who are worse off than you are. Think of how blessed we are to have the medicines and doctors to help us. Are you among the “nine” who  failed to give thanks?

When have you given thanks for your salvation by grace? Think of the events which brought those who taught you the gospel and lead to your relationship with the Lord. You did not arrive to the point of your salvation on your own. Paul’s words, “By the grace of God I am what I am,” are so true of each of us. Yet, so often we tend to take this greatest gift for granted. Are you among the “nine” who failed to give thanks?

When have you given thanks to our older members at this church? So many of them have worked tirelessly for decades to create/maintain all that makes this church what it is. We sit under the trees they have planted and eat the fruit from those same trees. Yet, sometimes we fail to thank them or God. Are you among the “nine” who failed to give thanks?

When have you given thanks to all those who do so much behind the scenes? It is not just many of our deacons who have the heart of a servant, but there are scores of others who have that kind of heart. There are so many who work with our teens, provide transportation, prepare events, teach Bible classes, etc. and often are never mentioned. Are you among the “nine” who failed to give thanks?

The “nine” had to be happy that they were cleansed, but what was lacking was a heart of thankfulness. The Bible is filled with admonitions to be thankful for what we have. May we never be among the “nine.”

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Roman Road to Salvation

The Real Roman Road to Salvation

“The Roman road to salvation” is a term in denominationalism that refers to salvation as Paul mentions in the book of Romans, which usually culminates with Romans 10:13 and an invitation to pray “The Sinner’s Prayer,” all of which are either taken out of context or seriously flawed in their interpretation. Since it falls short of what Paul says in this New Testament book, consider the real “Roman road to salvation.”

salvation

The Roman Road to Salvation?

Just as Paul begins his “gospel of God” (1:1) with an introduction of Jesus (1:3-4), our salvation lies firmly planted in what Jesus did for us. The first four books of the New Testament declare that Jesus came to fulfill the Law of Moses (Matthew 5:17) by living it perfectly, as no mere human could do (John 7:18; 8:46). With such being the case, He voluntarily offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins (Rom. 3:24-26; 5:6-11). Nevertheless, demonstrating His power of deity and role of Savior, He was resurrected from the dead (1:4). All of this was necessary since Adam unleashed the consequences of death by his disobedience (5:12-21).

Now, how do we learn about such? There is no way to understand what God has done for man without God declaring it to him (1:16-17). He quotes from Habakkuk 2:4 to show that salvation has always been by the activity of faith. Hebrews 11 shows many from the Old Testament who demonstrated such, and Paul will continue through this epistle to declare that the Law of Moses with the Jews was not the way, but faith in God exhibited by both Jews and Gentiles (3:27-4:25).

After discussing how evil man has become by following a lifestyle of sin (1:18-2:3), Paul declares, “…the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance” (2:4). Then, he discusses in the next chapters how that he holds every man accountable—Jew or Gentile. This leads to the oft-quoted verses of the sinfulness of man (3:10, 23), showing that sins plagues both Jews and Gentiles.

Now, why is it that hardly anyone wants to declare what Paul discusses in the first part of Romans 6? In clarification of their misunderstanding of the grace of God in relationship to their sins, he reminds them that they were “baptized into Jesus Christ” (6:3). Since he explains that baptism complies with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (6:4-6), how else would one access the saving blood, located “in Christ” (cf. Gal. 3:26-27; Acts 22:16; Rev. 1:5)? He later says that they “obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin…” (6:17-18). When were they free from sin? They became free after their faith responded in obedience. This is the real meaning of Romans 10:13, for the context declares it (10:16-21). If we desire salvation from sin, we must also do as the Romans did and obey the gospel, not pray the sinner’s prayer.

If I am wrong, please show the error of my ways, but if I am right, please obey it today!

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Mother and Children

Being Mothers of Successful Children

Robert R. Taylor, Jr., in his work “Christ in the Home,” speaks of the unique role of motherhood. He says that the child whom a mother brings into the world “will in a few years take his place as a responsible individual in society.” He goes on to say that this child “has both an earthly and eternal role to fill.” Sobering thoughts for all of us. But it is the question he asks that ought to bring us to our knees; the question is, “Will the world be a better or worse because this child passes through?”

mother

A mother guides her children.

I firmly believe that success in this life will be determined solely upon the eternal destination of the soul. If I do not go to heaven when this life is over, I lose!, and the devil wins. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 26:16). Secondly, I believe success will, in part, be based upon whether or not my children also go to heaven. Now I understand that the “soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20). However, there are some things a mother can do to improve the odds of success.

Put God First. You cannot ensure spiritual success if you do not put God first in your life! It is the basis upon which all spiritual blessings are offered (Matthew 6:33). You simply cannot be the mother your children need you to be if God is not the top priority in your life. You are either with God or against God (Matthew 12:30). For a fact your children are watching you and will see what is most important to you. You cannot serve both God and physical things (Matthew 6:24). In other words what takes priority in your life? Whatever it is will most likely be what your children will emphasis as well.

Love Your Husband. Your children need to know that you love your husband (Titus 2:4). Much of what they will seek in their own relationships will be heavily based upon what they see at home. When they see their mother disrespect and dishonor their father it will have a profound affect on their understanding of marriage and the home. Show them you love their father!

Love Your Children. It seems odd to many of us that mothers would have to be told this (Titus 2:4). But the fact is that society has conditioned us to be so selfish that many young women have no idea how to be the sacrificial Christian mothers, or physically caring mothers, their children need. This means they need nurturing, discipline, and structure. This child is meant to be your BFF. You’re a loving Christian mother first and foremost!

Drag Them To Church. If the first three things we have talked about here are in place this will not be an issue. When you became a Christian you made a commitment to God and your desire to go to heaven supersedes every other aspect of your life. So you are faithful to the assembling together of the saints (Hebrews 10:25). Your children grow to understand the importance of Bible Class and worship, they receive supplemental instruction in God’s Word, and they build relationships with other Christians of all ages. They will learn to love the church if you love the church!

Teach Them The Word. In the aforementioned suggestion I said that Bible Classes are supplemental. Because it is not the churches primary responsibility to raise your child in the way they should go, spiritually speaking. The instruction of Deuteronomy 6:7, 11:19 is worthy of our consideration, “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” The sad fact is the Israelite people failed to do this and it lead to their demise. Sadder yet is that we haven’t learned from their mistake. None of us are as diligent with this imperative as we need to be!

Pray! Pray with them. They need to see you pray, they need to hear you pray, and they need to know how to communicate with the Father of their souls! Pray for them. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous [mother] avails much” (James 5:16).

No mother can guarantee the spiritual success of her children. When the end of time comes each individual will stand before God and give an answer to Him for the way they have lived, for their own individual decisions (Romans 14:10–12). The admonition of Paul to Timothy seems appropriate here: “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16).

Are you the kind of mother you need to be, that your children need you to be, that God wants you to be? Will the world be a better or worse because your child passes through it? Take honest stock in your relationship with God and your family. Do what you need to do and what they need you to do.

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The Foolish and Knowledge

Fools and Their Knowledge

“The wise man built his house upon the Rock. The wise man built his house upon the Rock. The wise…”.

foolish

The knowledge of the Foolish is faulty.

It is quite likely any person reading the above words knows they are from one of the first Sunday school songs a child learns. They are based on the Biblical passage Matthew 7:24-27. In a nutshell, a wise man builds the house of his life on the Rock foundation which is Christ. The foolish man builds his house upon a foundation of sand which is the foundation of man and is not stable. When the storms of life come, the house which the foolish man built will come falling down. There is no doubt that both men had knowledge which built their houses. However, it is very evident the knowledge was not of equal value. In fact, it can be observed the information which the foolish man followed was actually harmful. Great lessons in truth can be gained from but a few Biblical passages that we share early on with our children.

The gathering of knowledge which sees an individual through his earthly life begins at birth and ends at death. Some lives end very early, others span more than 100 years. In a lifetime, fools of all ages will be encountered. There will be those who are exposed as fools by their disobedience to God, their unbridled tongue, their fits of anger, and even those whose unstable knowledge betrays them. The relationship of concern with fools and their knowledge is not age specific, nor is it in the volume of knowledge that they gather. There are some fools who have a vast amount of knowledge gathered in short or long lifetimes. The first concern regarding their knowledge is: Does the fool have the right knowledge?

Jeremiah 4:22 – For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

Back and neck pain is something a large number of people have to experience. When this occurs, a chiropractor may be utilized to correct the problem and relieve the pain. The individual does not go to a psychiatrist to relieve the back pain. The psychiatrist certainly has a great deal of knowledge about the mental processes of human beings and how to deal with them, however, in regard to issues regarding the skeletal and muscular system their knowledge will not be of use. Likewise, a computer can accomplish a great number of tasks, yet, it cannot accomplish those tasks until the knowledge to achieve them is programmed into it. Similarly, the fool may have lots of knowledge about the world; however, as pointed out in the passage from Jeremiah, they lack knowledge which would contribute to salvation and doing the good works which God desires of man (Ephesians 2:10). Fools need spiritual knowledge, knowledge gained from God’s Word, the Bible. Knowledge at its basic level is being familiar with ideas, information, and truth. All healthy humans are capable of gathering knowledge, both for good and evil. They choose the types of knowledge with which they will fill their life (Philippians 4:8).

A second concern regarding the knowledge of fools relates to their use of the right knowledge when they encounter it. Fools do not engage the spiritual knowledge they have in their grasp, they lack wisdom. Wisdom is the understanding of knowledge and common sense to apply knowledge. For example, there are times furniture needing assembly is purchased. In the box in which the furniture is packed, there is often a paper with directions printed on it to aid the assembler. Such knowledge is very helpful. However, if the directions are only in Spanish and the assembler cannot read Spanish, there is a lack of understanding, a lack of wisdom.

Proverbs 8:5 – O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.

Proverbs 10:21 – The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.

These passages make it clear that the fool lacks wisdom. However, our example of directions in Spanish doesn’t quite fit the situation of the fool. Why? Though the assembler has the knowledge in his grasp, he cannot understand and therefore cannot wisely apply it. This is not the case with Biblical knowledge. The apostle Paul established that man can understand the words given by God to direct his life (Ephesians 3:1-7). So why is it that fools lack understanding of the knowledge available to them to make them wise (outside of a lack of exposure)?


1 Corinthians 1:20 – Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

1 Corinthians 3:19 – For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

Proverbs 18:2 – A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.

2 Corinthians 11:19 – For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.

1 Corinthians 2:14 – But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

These verses give reasons why the fool lacks wisdom. First, the fool relies on the wisdom of the world which steers man wrong in many ways because it is based on immature and corrupt knowledge (Proverbs 16:22). Man tries to follow his own theories, emotions, experiences, and desires. This was mentioned earlier in this series. Second, fools may see themselves as wise. The apostle Paul told the Corinthians they put up with the foolish, because they saw themselves as wise rather than the fools they were. Third, the fool sees God’s wisdom as foolishness. Still, there is more:

Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:22 – How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

Proverbs 15:5 – A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.

Proverbs 23:9 – Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

Jeremiah 5:21 – Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:

It is obvious from these verses that a fourth item which keeps a fool from wisdom is he does not want to hear it. He doesn’t have the common sense to hear it. He despises it. There are simply a great number of people in the world who get down right hostile when they are exposed to God, His son, or His Word. In some cases, it doesn’t matter if this is direct interaction with the fool (proselytizing, door knockers) or something they view indirectly (public prayer or posting of scripture). They don’t want anything to do with God. To attempt to share spiritual wisdom with them is like throwing pearls to swine (Matthew 7:6, Proverbs 26:9). Thus, from the furniture assembly example, it is as if the man received sound instructions he could read and understand, but he threw them out regardless of their wisdom.

While the Bible presents the shortcomings of fools, it does not leave those who would seek God’s wisdom without direction (Matthew 7:7).

Matthew 5:3 – Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

1 Corinthians 3:18 – Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

Proverbs 9:6 – Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

The first two passages deal with humility, ego. To avoid being deceived by his own “wisdom”, man is to put himself aside. He will become a fool in the eyes of the world (I Corinthians 4:10), but the wisdom of God he follows will see him to the kingdom of heaven. In the last passage, those who would accept true wisdom are told to stay away from the foolish. There can be no good which will come by choosing association with those who would be fools (I Corinthians 15:33). The knowledge of a fool is not Godly knowledge. The wisdom of a fool is not wisdom at all.

Psalms 111:10 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

The Final article in this series, “Are You a Fool? Part 5”, will examine “Fools and Their Consequences”.

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Socialization

Socialization

I have heard the question too many times to count. Normally parents who are considering alternative ways to educate their children pose the question. However, it has come from grandparents, elders, and even preachers: “Aren’t you worried about socialization?”

socialization

What Kind of Socialization?

I used to get a little upset when this question was posed, because it was often asked like I was withholding an essential “vitamin” from my children that would stunt their growth and development. It was usually posed in a way that questioned my ability to parent. Today I just laugh.

Even though we are called to be different from the world (Romans 12:1-2), our current Christian culture is convinced Christian young people should spend a great deal of time “socializing” with people their own age. The social skills of anyone who does not attend public schools or is not involved in group activities like sports teams, band, clubs, etc. is questioned.

It’s no secret that there have been homeschoolers who have come across as socially awkward. However, to label all children that are not enrolled in public school as socially inept is a gross generalization. (I might gently point out there are also public school students who come across as socially inept, not able to talk to adults and look them in the eye.) And so, even in the church, the question comes: “Aren’t you worried about socialization?”

Here’s what I intend to teach my children regarding socialization.

We made a rule a long time ago that we would always welcome your friends over to our house whenever they are able to visit. There are many weeks I wonder if we should rethink that rule—because rarely does a week pass by that we don’t have friends over 1-2 times per week. Add to this, we spend countless hours on the road going to various church activities, visiting shut-ins, and attending sports activities. Mix into that the dozens of friends you have collected all over the world as we travel to “Origins” seminars, and you begin to understand why your mom and I don’t worry about the “socialization” question. There are many times when I wish you were a little less social!

However, when it comes to socialization there are two important points I want to mention to you. When you look at the definition of socialize, one of the keys words that you will read is “society.” Your mom and I don’t want you to conform you to society. We don’t want you just to be “social citizens.” Our passion and life-long goal is for you to be warriors for Christ. Second, we don’t just want to rear children who are comfortable talking to their own peer group. We love watching you interact with young and old alike.

God made man to be social. In fact, one of the cruelest forms of punishment we have come up with is isolation. It is important that you develop the skills to communicate with others around you. You can’t live on an island or in a box. But just what kind of “socialization” are we really talking about? I want to peel back the curtain and allow you to see what my mind thinks when someone ask me if we are worried about you being socialized.

My immediate thought these days is:

I don’t want my children socialized into drugs and alcohol.

I don’t want my children socialized into bad language.

I don’t want my children socialized into disrespecting adults.

I don’t want my children socialized into tattoos and piercings.

I don’t want my children socialized into thinking siblings are lame.

I don’t want my children socialized into thinking they should rebel against parents.

I don’t want my children socialized into immodest clothing.

I don’t want my children socialized into sexual activity.

I don’t want my children socialized into ungodly music.

I don’t want my children socialized into pornography.

I don’t want my children socialized into an obsession of social media.

I don’t want my children socialized into the modern dating scene.

I don’t want my children socialized into things like prom and homecoming.

Life can be difficult sometimes. It is important to surround yourself with friends you can laugh and cry with. When you “socialize,” make sure it is with people who can help you get to Heaven. Paul’s words are still very valid today: “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

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