If It is from Heaven, Why Have You Not Done It?

In the last week of Jesus’ life, He was confronted by the religious leaders of the Jews asking by what authority He was doing the things He was doing. Before Jesus answered their query, He told them that they should first respond to His question. He asked them about the baptism of John and by what authority John had baptized the multitude. There were only two options. Either it was from heaven, ordained by God, or it had its origin in the wisdom of man. What an amazing approach to dealing with religious questions. Every spiritual event in our lives can be measured in the same way. Is it from heaven or is it from man?

Those opponents of Jesus knew immediately the dilemma they faced. If they admitted that the baptism of John was from heaven, there would be the obvious implication of their responsibility to obey the teachings of heaven. The other choice was to turn their back on teaching that everyone knew was from heaven. There are some questions which we should consider in this manner.

Having the Lord’s supper every week—is it from heaven or from men? Before the church was begun, no man had ever partaken of the Lord’s Supper. With the establishment of the church there was a weekly assembly of the church to eat of the bread and drink of the fruit of the vine. What was the origin of this sacred act of worship? Those who advocate a daily, monthly, quarterly partaking of this feast should think carefully about these matters. If the origin of a weekly observance is from heaven, the obvious question which follows is why have you not obeyed heaven?

Having elders to shepherd the church and deacons to serve—is it from heaven or from men? There is no question that this arrangement is the one found in the Bible. Today we find men who think they are reverend, who dominate the churches which have no elders. Then there are those other churches dominated by edicts from church councils and boards. Those who follow these newer practices should think carefully about the question we are addressing. The practice of having shepherds and deacons, is it from heaven? If it is, then there is that question which follows—why have you not obeyed heaven?

Apply this principle to all of life—is it from heaven or from men? Every principle can be measured—congregational singing, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, sexual purity, modesty in the way we dress, marital faithfulness, the language we use. Before you make a decision in your life, there is one important question to be asked. Is the course of action you are considering in keeping with that which has been revealed from heaven or is it from the dictates of man’s heart?

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So, What’s First This Week?

Who is there who does not struggle with setting priorities for their lives? Every day has its chores and it is likely that not all of them will be accomplished. The beginning of every new week, month or year can cause us to think of what needs to be done in that time frame. What we actually do will be determined by the goals we set. Even the failure to select priorities determines destiny.

Now think of how this applies to our spiritual lives. If what we accomplish in a day or week is shaped by our priorities, then how much truer is this of our entire spiritual lives. What does the Bible say about this matter. Look at the following verses where God has talked about first things.

Paul described the faithfulness of the Christians in Macedonia. “And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God” (2 Cor. 8:5). When Paul received the vision of the man from Macedonia who begged him saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9), he departed immediately. The result of this action was the establishing of the great New Testament church in Philippi. Why was this church so great? Look at the text, “They first gave themselves to the Lord.”

Think about priorities in the home. What should be first in our homes? God leaves no doubt and mentions two distinct virtues which should be found there. Paul described the faith of Timothy in these words. “I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you” (2 Tim. 1:5). What was the priority in the lives of Lois and Eunice? What was the emphasis in those homes? It was the faith which first was in Lois and then in the succeeding generations.

A second virtue to be found in the home is mentioned in 1 Tim. 5. “Let them first learn to show piety at home . . .” This is where it begins. Godliness in the home is a first priority!

Consider also the place of prayer in the lives of Christians. Before we take any action, the Bible highlights the importance of us seeking God’s wisdom and help. “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplication, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men” (1 Tim. 2:1). Look at the text. “Therefore I exhort first. . .” Yet how often do we see the importance of this? Before all else, there is the matter of prayer. If David and Daniel began each day with prayer, shouldn’t we?

So as you plan each day, don’t forget the Divine priorities set by heaven. It will make an eternal difference!

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Making it Personal

One of the problems every Christian faces is to read the Bible and then feel a sense of personal obligation to take those words and make them part of life. It’s the same problem faced by a school teacher who tells her students, “Some time today we need to make sure that we clean this room and get all the scraps of paper off the floor.” The students look around, they see the trash and while they know what the teacher wants to be done, they simply get lost in the crowd. Perhaps unconsciously they think it will just happen.

How many sermons have you heard about specific actions the Lord wants to happen and you acknowledge that changes need to be made, but the urgency of feeling a personal obligation is lost because we think of the teaching in a much broader scope? Let me suggest something which might help change all of this.

When the apostles heard Jesus’ words about taking the gospel into all the world, think of how some might have reacted. Since Peter, James and John were closer to the Lord than Bartholomew or Thaddeus, these “lesser-know apostles” could have stepped back into the shadows of the “greater” apostles. They could have thought that those other men were far more talented and that they had heard Jesus say things to them when the other apostles were not around. The work needed to be done and it would have been so easy just to let those more qualified do the work. The truth is that the Great Commission was not just given to Peter, James and John!

How could 21st-century “Bartholomews” make this commission a personal one if we had lived in the first century? Here’s one way. Just imagine that all of the other apostles were not there and Jesus had said these words only to you, a Bartholomew. Do you think you would have felt a personal responsibility? The obligation would have been overwhelming. Had he/you ignored the Great Commission, the coming of Jesus would have been for naught! But if Bartholomew had the right to ignore it as part of the group, so did all the rest. Jesus’ final words were intended to be personal! The lack of talent or self-esteem of any individual did not remove that individual’s personal obligation.

So take time today to think about yourself and your personal responsibility to honor His last words. By the way, both of these apostles evidently took His words personally. Tradition tells us that Bartholomew preached in India, Arabia and Armenia. He died after being beaten with rods, scourged and beheaded. Thaddeus preached in Syria, Iran and Egypt and died by crucifixion. They took that commission personally. How seriously do you feel a personal obligation to tell others?

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Where’s the Ladder?

Nothing was going right in his life. He had lied to his father, stolen from his brother and now that brother had made plans to kill him. He had left the security of the home where he had been raised and was headed to a foreign land, hoping to find a wife there. As night approached he decided to sleep out in the open, found a rock to use for his pillow and fell asleep.

The dream that he had was no ordinary one. It was one given by God. He saw a ladder which extended from earth on which he lay and reached the top of heaven. On this ladder, angels were ascending and descending, and at the top of the ladder was God who blessed him and gave him three special promises. When he woke up, he realized that he had received a message from God. He named that place Bethel, which in Hebrew means “the house of God.”

That ladder was not mentioned again for nearly two thousand years. When Nathanael confessed that Jesus was the Son of God, the Lord responded, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” (John 1:51). The importance of that ladder and its meaning is obvious. The ladder which reached from earth to heaven was Jesus Himself!

What can so easily be overlooked is the significance of the name Jacob gave the place where he had the dream. That ladder began at Bethel and reached to heaven. Since Bethel means the house of God, the message is obvious. The path to heaven goes through Bethel. It goes through the house of God.

The story becomes complete when we establish the identify of the house of God. Paul’s first letter to Timothy leaves no doubt. “These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:14-15). The house of God is the church of the living God. The ladder reaching from earth to heaven is the Lord. To “climb the ladder” you must begin at Bethel, the house of God. To climb that ladder you must begin at the church of the living God. In one brief story, God forever shows the importance of the church. The entrance into heaven begins at Bethel!

On the practical level, think of how this relates to our work here at the house of God, the church of the living God. Do you see this place as a portal to heaven? Do you see it as the place where the ladder to heaven touches the earth? How do you see it? More importantly, how does God see it?

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Warning: The Following Products are Dangerous to Your Soul

Introduction

Salesmen. We are truly surrounded by them—especially this time of year. They pitch their products on billboards, catalogs, infomercials, and through every form of available media. Their only objective is to push the product and make a sale. Men and women spend years in school to learn exactly what phrases to use, and what displays will work best to the market their merchandise. Good salesmen can take a lackluster product that performs well below any guarantee and convince individuals that they “need” one. Most people have experienced that queasy feeling of being sold a product by a slick salesman, only to later realize that the product did not live up to expectations. And so our closets and garages are filled to capacity with things that were sold by successful pitchmen.

While these products may make a dent into checking accounts or take up excessive storage space, they are, for the most part harmless. But consider products that individuals sell that possess a price much higher than any checking account balance. Have the “garages and closets” of our spiritual lives also become cluttered with material that is unneeded or unwanted—or worse, harmful? Not all of the products that Christians buy into are healthy. Sadly, many individuals are more selective of items that are worn outside the body, than spiritual information that they take inside the body. As a result, many individuals unknowingly compromise their relationship with Christ and their Almighty Creator. The salesmen often come with outstanding credentials, long resumes, and may be standing in your pulpit. However, the product that these men leave you with will not only erode away the foundation of your faith, it will eventually jeopardize your soul.

The product for sale is evolution. While most Christians would never openly consider accepting evolutionists’ teachings, the “product” offers a compromise that allows Christians to believe in God and an ancient Earth. In the face of what many believe is “overwhelming” scientific evidence, and not wanting to offend either “religious fanatics” or evolutionists (in the name of “political correctness”), many Christians feel intellectually intimidated, and therefore buy into concepts and theories which try to “marry” the two. There are many ways Christians have tried to incorporate millions of years (i.e. Day-Age Theory, Gap Theory). By compromising and fusing scientific allegations with the Scriptures, Christians believe they will find a safe “middle ground.” However, the ground on which they are standing is not only treacherous, but also soul threatening!

Christians who are willing to accept an Earth that is billions of years old see nothing wrong with children’s books on dinosaurs that discuss their extinction taking place millions of years ago. Neither do these individuals blink an eye when they read about the millions of years represented by the so-called geologic timetable. However, the damage caused by allowing this mindset of “millions of years for Creation” into their homes is nowhere near as catastrophic as the deathblow their views deliver to the rest of the Bible. By treating the Genesis account of Creation like a myth, every reference to that account must then be called into question. I invite you to read the fine print on these “products” in view of the Scriptures, in hopes that no one else will buy these tainted products.

Progressive Creation

In trying to pinpoint the core principles of Christianity in his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis took a great effort in presenting “an agreed, or common, or central,” view of “mere” Christianity (1996, p. 8). These common points were the minimum requirements that Lewis felt one must hold to be considered a Christian. In 1998, William Dembski published a book titled Mere Creation in which he tried to establish what issues “minimally must be included under a doctrine of creation” (p. 13). Instead of accepting the Bible as the literal word of God and evaluating the scientific evidence, however, Dembski suggests: “Rather than look for common ground on which all Christians can agree, propose a theory of creation that puts Christians in the strongest possible position to defeat the common enemy of creation, to wit, naturalism” (pp. 13,14). Thus, compromises are made in an effort to build a “strong” theory, and the accuracy of the Bible is forgotten. Progressive creation is a theory that wholly embraces many such compromises in an effort to strengthen itself in the eyes of men.

Progress is from the Latin progredi (pro-forward + gradi-to step) meaning to go forward, proceed, or advance (Traupman, 1981, p. 246). As the name contends, progressive creation affirms a creation by a supernatural intervention by God in natural history—it is a hybrid of the Day-Age Theory and Theistic Evolution. As such, this theory contends that God may have worked also through existing material and natural processes to come to the end result we see today. Progressive Creationists also believe that creation is progressive—that is, it proceeded forward in a step-like manner. The last defining characteristic of Progressive Creation is that it happened over unlimited time. Thus, believers speculate that creation could have occurred over six-literal solar days, or over billions of years. This lack of definition of time allows Progressive Creationists to embrace both the biblical account and scientific evidence, which alleges that the Earth is much older than 10,000 years.

While Gap Theorists insert millions of years between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, progressive creationists take another approach. Millions of years are inserted by changing the meaning of “day” in the creation account from a single 24-hour rotation of the Earth, to a long, indefinite period of time and then having God step in and progress creation at various intervals. Historically speaking, the term “progressive creation” was first used by the Presbyterian theologian, Charles Hodge (1797-1878), a contemporary of Darwin. In his book Systematic Theology Hodge wrote: “There is, therefore, according to the Scriptures, not only an immediate, instantaneous creation ex nihilo by the simple word of God, but a mediate progressive creation; the power of God working in union with the second causes” (1892, Vol. 1, p. 557). While Hodge may not have advocated a position of “progressive creation,” he certainly breathed life into this new concept.

While there is little agreement among Progressive Creationists, they generally hold to the following beliefs:

  • The “Big Bang” theory is interpreted as God’s way of producing stars and galaxies through billions-of-years of natural processes
  • They believe that the Earth and Universe are billions of years old.
  • They contend that the days of Creation were overlapping periods of millions or billions of years.
  • They hold that bloodshed and death have existed from the very beginning of creation, and as such, were not the result of Adam’s sin. They believe man was created after the vast majority of Earth’s history of life and death had already taken place.
  • They believe that the flood of Noah was local, not global, and therefore it had little effect on the Earth’s geology.

Experience has shown that those who accept, and defend, progressive creationism often come to believe more in evolution and less in creation as time passes. This does not seem to be the exception, but rather the rule. As Davidheiser has concluded:

“Threshold Evolution” leads to much real evolutionary belief. How much evolution do these people accept? One of the men says of his belief in progressive creationism that he encounters a primary difficulty—he must exercise faith to believe in a certain amount of creation! Others admit that their view requires considerably more evolutionary belief than they would have been willing to accept a few years previously. In other words, it leads to evolutionary beliefs and away from creation. It establishes another compromise which is injurious to the Christian faith… (1973, 3:52-53).

Is progressive creationism theistic evolution? Both call on God to start creation. Both accept evolution (in varying amounts). Both accept the validity of the geologic age system. Both postulate an old Earth. Where is the difference, except that progressive creationism allows God “a little more to do”? Both systems put God (theos) and evolution together. By any other standard that is theistic evolution. Friends, this compromise in beliefs may be appealing to the ears, but it is damning to the soul.

Conclusion

Salesmen abound. And while they may quickly point out that the only difference in their product and the Genesis account of creation is time, this is not a trivial point. By inserting millions of years into the creation account (whether it be before, during, or after the 6 days of creation), these conmen are discrediting the Word of God and calling the inspiration of the Bible into question. Pitchmen will come and go, but the products they leave behind can have lasting effects. Make sure you are familiar with the fine print before you bring anything these men are selling into your home.

REFERENCES

Davidheiser, Bolton (1973), “Theistic Evolution,” And God Created, ed. Kelly L. Seagraves (Sand Diego, CA: Creation-Science Research Center), 3:49-53.

Dembski, William A. ed (1998), Mere Creation: Science, Faith, and Intelligent Design (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity).

Hodge, Charles (1892), Systematic Theology (London: James and Clark & Co.), three volumes, 1960 reprint.

Lewis, C.S. (1996), Mere Christianity (New York: Simon and Schuster).

Traupman, John C. (1981), The New College Latin and English Dictionary (New York: Bantam).

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