The Addiction of Success

The Addiction of Success

The false philosophy of pragmatism states “If it works, it must be right.” This philosophy rewards success above all other things. People like success because it makes them feel good about themselves. It makes them feel like they have accomplished something. This feeling, however, is at the root of works-based salvation, and it is contradictory to the Christian doctrine of salvation by grace. “Success” is not the standard for right and wrong, nor will it lead us to salvation, for what is “successful” in the eyes of men is not as far as God is concerned.

success standard

Success is not the standard for right and wrong.

Jesus said this, “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:10). This may be a hard teaching to accept for someone who is trying to work his way to heaven, but it is liberating for those who believe and love the truth. In other words, Christians who are faithful to the Lord need not seek to conform to the worlds’ standards of success. One may be a faithful Christian without having made one significant worldly accomplishment. One need not make a million dollars before he is thirty years old. One need not travel across the globe to become famous. One need not be educated by the world’s standards. We are free from such carnal expectations!

Success is addictive. Once you get a taste, you want more, and it will suck away your life until it is gone. Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth . . . But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Posted in Kevin Cauley | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Addiction of Success

The Debt We Owe Paul

The Debt We Owe Paul

When one reads Paul’s words to the Gentile church in Colossae, he has a renewed appreciation for the work that Paul did and just how important it was that Gentiles become equal members with the Jews in the church Jesus established. Take time to read the closing verses of chapter one to see how Paul viewed his place in the kingdom. These same verses show the way all of us should see our place in the kingdom.paul debt

Paul saw himself as a minister of Christ who had been entrusted with a stewardship of the gospel to take the gospel to the lost (verse 25). When the church met in Jerusalem to discuss circumcision (Acts 15), the end result was that they “…saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me (i.e., Paul), as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter” (Gal. 2:7). Paul devoted the rest of his life to establish the church in Gentile cities.

Paul saw that completion of his work would fully reveal that the mystery of the gospel, hidden for many generations, and would take the riches of that gospel to the Gentiles (verses 26-27). Paul was chosen by God to be the one whose work focused on getting the message to the Gentiles. When the church began, it at first did not see the gospel was for every creature. Paul’s work showed how wrong they were.

Paul saw that it was God’s will “…to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles” (v. 27). Under the Old Testament the Gentiles were described as being “…strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope” (Eph. 2:12). Look at these verses in Colossians to see how all of this changed. “Christ in in you, the hope of glory.”

Paul saw his work as preaching Christ, “warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom” (v. 28). The end result was “…that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (v. 28).

What does this have to do with those who are members of the church at Palm Beach Lakes? Had the early church failed to realize that Gentiles were to be part of God’s family, we would still be without hope, without Christ and separated from the promises God made. Paul did his work and now all men see that heaven’s plans include us!

One other matter. Do we not also share in Paul’s work of getting the hope of the gospel of Christ to all men? Is it not also our ministry to preach Christ, to warn every man and to teach them in wisdom? Are we not, in this respect, like Paul and our task to take the gospel into our world, and to do all we can to present every man look like Jesus, to be perfect in Christ? Paul did his work—let’s do ours!

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Debt We Owe Paul

Do You Have a Passion?

Do You Have a Passion?

Got Zeal?

Got Zeal?

Do you have a passion?  What really excite you?  What charges your zeal?  We all have different interests which cause us to perk up and get engaged.  For some people vintage automobiles really light their fire.  More than a few friends of mine would state this is a passion of theirs.  As a boy I remember going to “Graffiti Night”.  This was a citywide cruise and vintage car show.  I never knew so many people collected, restored, and even joined clubs dedicated to this passion.  In another field of activity are the quilters.  How much time could it take to make quilt?  Ha!  Squares and diamonds and all sorts of shapes and stitches everywhere of every color of the rainbow!  Having worked a number of years cleaning out homes for auctions, you would be stunned at how many quilters I have found lurking out there.  I have seriously emptied out rooms full of material because of other individual’s avid passion in this area.  Another serious passion of many folks is college sports!  If you want to get someone’s blood pressure up, jokingly tell them their team is inferior to any other team.  Boom!  Fight on!  Sport’s fans wear their passion on their sleeves.

When I look to the scriptures, there are many folks who demonstrate passion.  David’s passion for the Lord caused him to design a temple for his son Solomon to build for God, though God told him that He did not dwell in houses made with hands (Acts 7:45-51).  These men all had a passion, but they operated in a manner contrary than that to which God would have had them behave. Saul had a great passion for persecuting the Church. Philippians 3:6 and Acts 8:1-3 proclaim he ravaged the church and dragged men and women off to prison.  With great zeal Apollos went about demonstrating that Jesus was the Messiah from the Old Testament.  However, he had only been familiar with the baptism of John.  Aquilla and Priscilla had to expound the way of God more perfectly to Him.  All of these men had a passion, great zeal, but it was a “zeal of God, but not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2).  This statement, applicable to these men was particularly assigned as a description by the apostle Paul to describe the nation of Israel who also went about following a path that was not that which God had prescribed.

Of course, there are people in scripture who had zeal that was not in conflict with God’s Will.  Jehu had great zeal for the Lord in destroying the house of Ahab and Jezebel (2 Kings 10:16).  Anna the daughter of Phanuel would not leave the temple, “but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” “She spake of [Jesus] to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-38).  Peter speaks of the righteous who “seek peace and pursue it”.  He preaches “Who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?” (I Peter 3:13)  God desires His people to be passionate about Good works (the very thing we were created for according to Ephesians 2:10) for His son gave Himself a sacrifice that he might “purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for [such].

Do you have a passion for God and Good works?  Do have zeal to serve others?  Do you have a zeal for the Word of God?  Do you have a passion to meet your Lord Jesus in the clouds when he comes again?  It is wonderful to enjoy the blessings upon this earth which God has abundantly supplied us with.  You may, in fact, have many passions.  However, I pray your greatest passion is for the Lord and according to knowledge.  Seek him day and night as he desires.  Let His love consume you.  Fill your life with good works and let your passion glorify God.

Posted in Travis Main | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Do You Have a Passion?

Believe in Jesus

Believe in Jesus

Our world has totally changed the meaning of what it means to believe in Jesus. What is widely believed is that when I simply say a “sinner’s prayer,” I have become a child of Christ. Those who teach that also believe that when one says that prayer he can never be lost again. How does the Bible use the word “faith”? How does God define it? Is faith simply saying a prayer written by a man, not by God?

James says that the manifestation of faith is not by saying, “I have faith,” but by showing faith in obedience to what God says. Read James 2:17-26 carefully. Faith without obedience to what God says is dead faith, and James says that dead faith will not save.

Hebrews chapter eleven is the chapter which emphasizes faith more than any other place in the Bible. There is a list which describes the heroes of faith and then shows that faith was far more than just saying words. There is not enough space to fully discuss this in this article, but open your Bible and see what these heroes of faith did, not what they said.

Verse 4. Abel’s faith offered the worship God specified. He did not just say, “I believe in God.” He worshiped.

Verse 7. Noah’s faith prepared the ark to save his entire family. He did not say, “I believe God; I put my trust in Him.” His faith built the ark.

Verse 8. Abraham’s faith went out from Ur. He did not say, “God spoke to me, I heard His voice.” His faith moved him a thousand miles from the land of his birth.

Verse 9. Abraham’s faith dwelt in tents, and he lived as a sojourner, never again in a house like he could have had in Ur. His faith made him to be a “gypsy.”

Verse 9. Isaac and Jacob’s faith stayed in tents. They could have at any moment returned to the land from which Abraham had come. They stayed (verse 15).

Verses 20-21. Isaac and Jacob’s faith blessed their children, knowing God would use them. Faith is not words said; it is action based on obedience, not just words.

Verses 24-29. Moses’ faith refused to be an Egyptian; chose to suffer; forsook Egypt; kept the Passover; and walked through the Red Sea. It was not just a simple prayer!

Verse 30. Joshua and Israel’s faith marched around Jericho. It was not just words saying, “I believe God has given us this city as a gift of grace.” Faith alone is a dead faith.

What about you? What has your faith brought about in your life? Do you have a living, saving faith?

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Believe in Jesus

Who Are We Trying to Please?

Who Are We Trying to Please?

There were several times in Paul’s letters that he had to defend his apostleship and authenticity. On one such occasion he wrote, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). This raises a good question for us. Who are we trying to please? It is easy to see how this motivation could change the perspective we have on so many things.

If we are living to please God, then our lives and thought processes would be oriented in that direction. There would be several things that I would be putting first, no matter the circumstances. I would be seeking what was best for the advancement and promotion of the kingdom (Matt. 6:33). I would be seeking to establish God’s righteousness and not my own (Matt. 6:33; Rom. 10:1-3). I would “keep seeking the things above” and “set [my] mind” on those things (Col. 3:1-2). I would be thinking and pondering on those things that have the highest moral value (Phil. 4:8). I would make every effort to be pleasing to God. “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him” (2 Cor. 5:9).

By orienting my life in this way, God has made assurances to us. He has assured us that He has our best interest at heart, not wanting any to perish (2 Pet. 3:9). He has proven Himself over and over again to be faithful in His promises, even when mankind hasn’t been (Heb. 10:23). He has shown us loving kindness that we do not deserve (Eph. 2:7). He has forgiven us when we didn’t deserve it (1 John 1:9). He has given us grace through His Son (2 Tim. 1:9). He even has promised us a reward after already doing so much for us. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:3-5).

If we are trying to please man, we would be given none of those assurances. By pleasing man, I am not serving God. I am a slave to the whim and will of mankind. They can promise me nothing that would be eternal. The ramifications are staggering. I am still in my sin. I have no eternal hope. My life is patterned after a shifting, fleeting form of morality. It leaves my life in a lurch. My family life is like some reality TV show. I would be powerless to do anything about it. Living to please others puts them in the driver’s seat of our lives. Who do you want in control of your life? God is the only one who has proven Himself to be capable of guiding us.

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Who Are We Trying to Please?