Inescapable Judgment

The world is void of truth, yet the majority of people draw from its empty well. They turn to worldly education, daily talk shows, their own experiences, religion, and much, much more as their sources for determining truth. The world rejects absolute truth and devises its own standards for truth and integrity, if they believe in truth at all, thus tremendous conflict exists in our world. The foundational problem is that Christians find truth in one person, Jesus Christ (the living Word) (John 14:6) and the world does not. What Paul is saying to the Jews and the Gentile moralists (Romans 2:1-5) in Rome is that the judgment of God is always right and yours is not.  He is also clearly stating in Romans 2:1 that there is no one moral and ethical enough apart from Christ and finally, he is saying that God’s judgment is inescapable and because of God’s general revelation they are also without excuse. The only way to escape judgment is to repent and receive the finished work of Jesus. For Christians we are to never condemn a person or judge anyone based upon a standard from God’s word that we ourselves are falling short of. Christians have no right to condemn a person’s sin while not acknowledging their own sinful short comings. However the context of Romans 2:1-4 is the delusion of comparison judgment and self-righteousness, while being overly critical of others. Paul stated in Romans 2:2 “but we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.” We are not to measure ourselves against anyone; we are to measure by God’s truth.

Our standard for righteousness must be based upon God’s word and His Son Jesus Christ. For Christians it’s non-negotiable, our lives must be guided by His Word. There is nothing more sobering for a Christian and non-Christian alike, than to expose themselves to God’s standards for judgment. For the Christian, it humbles him or her and brings to light their need for God’s amazing grace. For the non-Christian, it brings them face-to-face with a holy God and standards they will never be able to obtain. In fact, this is exactly what Paul encourages people to do, to come before God’s truth and His righteousness.

When our eyes are focused on the purity and perfection of Christ, we look into a mirror and see our need to be cleansed. Jesus said that “blessed are the pure in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). Those who see themselves broken and destitute before God have expressed godly repentance and are able to live lives that are pleasing to God because of the gratitude for the inconceivable mercy they have received through the gospel.

To function on the frontlines of a spiritual battlefield, Christians must strip off their self-righteousness and embrace the truth by which God will judge the world.

Tremble at Sinful Thoughts

Puritan pastor and theologian Thomas Watson wrote "O how much contemplative wickedness is in the world!" He wrote this in 1681, so you can imagine the increase of wicked thoughts with the modern technology and television shows of our day. Thomas wrote "we startle at gross sin, but we are not troubled so much for sinful thoughts." For Christians, their thoughts are what God judges. Do not be deceived, if you don't tremble at your thought life before a holy God, then you don't understand your need for His daily grace. Nor do you understand that you have been saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8). Before we ever act it out, sin has already been birthed and lived out in our thoughts. Paul addressed this reality in his letter to the Romans when he wrote "but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires" (Romans 13:14). Paul essentially says we have two choices, Jesus Christ or our sinful nature. But how is a believer to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ?" 

The context of this verse is to never assume we just remain in Christ without a daily, moment by moment relationship, where our thoughts are continually upon Him. No, we are to lay hold of Him and live under Christ as our Lord. Neglecting God's word, refraining from prayer, and living for ourselves will remove Christ and distance us from His presence and grace. The result is gratifying the flesh and our self-centered nature. Whenever the word "flesh" is used in scripture it refers to our old enslavement to sin and the corrupt world system. We desperately must continue to be transformed and sanctified by the Holy Spirit and God's word. Separation for a day, week, month, or years greatly cripples a relationship which affects our thought life. The prophet Micah stated that men first devise sin, then act it (Micah 2:1, 2). So what occurs with separation, the heart and thoughts of men "make plans to satisfy the fleshly desires."

So here is Paul's intent as he wrote Romans 13:14, without putting on Christ, believers will be dragged back into sin and given over to temptation. Then provision follows, meaning "forethought." Believers begin to plan their sin in their thoughts. The remedy is to make sin undesirable and inconvenient in our thoughts, so that its never birthed and then carried out, which is only done by putting on Christ.

Put on Christ daily and abide in Him while your thoughts become more holy and honoring to God.

God in the Flesh - Unimaginable Love and Mystery

Holy scripture says that "He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world...by that Man whom He has ordained." Who will this judge be? No other than Jesus Himself (John 5:22, Acts 17:31, etc...). To believe Jesus to be anything less than His full deity is blasphemy and will ultimately condemn a person to hell. This sounds harsh, but it's also reality. In Isaiah 9:6, roughly 750 years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet foretells the coming of  "a Child and Son" who would be born and given to the world. The prophet states that "government will be upon His shoulders and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." 

The Messiah would come and come He did, however this would be a two phase operation with a first coming and a second coming. Phase one is complete or "finished" to borrow the words of Jesus as He hung on the cross, but phase two is coming soon, we just don't know when. The titles spoken of by Isaiah identify a Messiah who would be more than simply a mortal man, this Man would be something greater and remains a mystery that is hard to understand. This "Mighty God" would possess both divine and human characteristics. This man would be completely holy and perfect, He would be without accusation and beyond temptation, and yet He would experience everything we would on this fallen planet. This Man would be able to "sympathize with our weakness " (Hebrews 4:15). This man would be born through the virgin Mary and be known as Immanuel, meaning God with Us. Yes, this is Jesus, the King of Kings. Jesus would fulfill what no human could ever fulfill and do what we could never do, become a perfect sacrifice. As the Prince of Peace, Jesus would teach the world  the way to peace with God and then promised to empower us to live lives of peace.

Isaiah foretold of one of the most important events in history, the coming of the Word, God incarnate, God coming to earth. If anyone wonders what God is like, look no further than His Son. While Jesus Christ was completely human, He fully revealed the Father. The apostle John carefully wrote John 1:1 with one intention, to identify Jesus as fully God, not just fully human. The Word and God share the same essence, therefore whatever is true about God, is true of the Word (Jesus).

In summary, before time ever began on earth, Jesus Christ existed. Jesus (the Word) and God were together and they were the same being. Jesus and God were distinct, yet they shared the same nature and attributes.
These amazing facts transform the way believers view life, because we understand life is found in a person who walked this earth and dwelt among us, the Godman who came to save the people of this earth from the debilitating sin that has infected every human since that day.

Love and life are found when our souls acknowledge the Wonderful Counselor for who He was, who He is. and who He will be when He returns. 

Athens 2014: A Postmodern America Will Fall

Thousands of years have passed since Paul walked into Athens, but America remains very much the same. Just like first century Athens, moral absolutes are rejected in favor of relativism, pluralism, hundreds of gods, and the enlightenment and education a person can obtain. Paul walked into Athens with the truth, he walked into Athens having met the Truth, and Paul was intent on sharing that Truth. What Paul saw in Athens was a city “given over to idols” (Acts 17:16). When we walk around America we also see a country and people “given over to idols.” These idols manifest themselves as career advancement, materialism, accomplishments, self gratification, food, even family. However, leave no doubt, these idols are no different than the wooden or stone idols Paul encountered in his day. 

What did Paul decide to do? Did he just walk around hoping they would notice his lifestyle? No. Paul decided to engage them with the gospel. Paul “reasoned in the synagogue and in the marketplace daily” with all those who would listen. It was in the streets where Paul encountered the Epicureans and the Stoics who referred to him as a babbler (Acts 17:18). Undeterred, Paul preached Christ and His resurrection and the philosophers were so captivated they ushered Paul to the Areopagus to hear “these strange things” he was speaking about. They weren’t interested in learning about Jesus, they wanted to know more about this new belief they were unfamiliar with in hopes of gaining more knowledge.

But Paul “stood in their midst” undeterred because he was there to proclaim to them the “unknown God” that was written on an altar nearby. Of interest is that Paul evangelized them from the beginning of creation and not from the Old Testament as he did with the Jews.

The application for us is that God has revealed Himself to all men in every nation through His creation and “He is not far from anyone” (Acts 17:27). No matter if a person identifies themselves as an atheist, an agnostic, a Buddhist, a Hindu, or something else, God has revealed Himself to their conscience and they are without excuse. Now we must encourage them to acknowledge their sin and repent because “God will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained” (Acts 17:31).

Real love is always concerned about the soul of man, thus we must remain undeterred and unashamed of the gospel no matter where we are called to live and serve (Romans 1:16).

Prayer 101: Do Not Doubt, Only Believe

Oh, how we doubt. How often have you doubted what you prayed for deep within your heart? How often have you not even prayed because you didn't believe that God could answer your prayer? The world can beat all of us down. It can exhaust us and cause us to turn our eyes towards our circumstances, instead of focusing upward to the throne of grace where our King is seated at the right hand of the Father. After Jesus had cursed the the fig tree and cleansed the temple of its corrupt and idolatrous practices, He decided to teach His disciples about true prayer (Mark 11:22-26). First, Jesus says "have faith in God." Without knowledge and faith in the One who answers our prayers, why would a person even bother to pray. It's impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6), so wavering faith will by no means please God or move Him to action. Second, Jesus says "do not doubt in your heart." Often times we're not even sure what to pray for, but thank God we have His Spirit interceding for us (Romans 8:26). But why bother asking God for anything when we doubt His abilities. God wants us to know Him and then approach Him with boldness because of what His Son has done on the cross. Approaching Him without going through our mediator and intercessor is fruitless. Christ is our mediator and has granted every believer access to the Father, the veil has been taken down and the separation has ended. Third, Jesus states we should "believe what we say will happen and it will be done for us." Of course all of our prayers should center on the will of God; if it's not God's will, then it's not going to be answered with a yes. However, the context of verse 23 is that believer's must seek the unlimited power of their faith in God and then they will experience God's amazing power at work. Jesus promises "it will be done for us," do you believe Him? Fifth, Jesus says "we should believe we have already received them." Now this is what faith is all about and exactly how Hebrews 11:1 defines it. If our prayers are according to His will, then we should never place restrictions or limits on them. Our prayers are conditioned on faith. We understand His will, we speak our prayers, and then we simply believe we have already received before God answers with a yes. However, there are plenty of times when we are not going to know His will, health issues, career moves, relationships, etc.. But if its written in His word, then its His will. Finally, Jesus commands us to forgive others. In fact, if we don't forgive, then not only will our prayers be hindered, but the "Father will not forgive our wrongdoing " (Mark 11:26).
Did you catch that, the Father will not forgive you. To simplify this, allow me to state it this way, forgiveness is not optional, it's mandatory for Christians and without forgiveness you aren't going to heaven. When the Holy Spirit has regenerated the human soul, the hardness and bitterness which prevented forgiveness before coming to Christ are stripped away, making it possible to forgive any wrongdoing done against us. It becomes a way of life.

So here it is, when you pray, discover His will, approach His throne with complete faith, remove all doubt in your heart, believe you will receive before you utter a word, and ensure you harbor no unforgiveness towards anyone.

Trust and Obey Ministries

If you are concerned about reaching children for Christ in Africa through education, then please consider sponsoring and supporting the Potter's House in Cameroon, Africa. I met Terri Smith, the President of Trust and Obey Ministries, this past week during Vacation Bible School. By God's grace and goodness we were able to raise over $3,000 for the Potter's House. Terri opened the Potter House in 2008 with 110 students and now six years later, the enrollment has drastically increased to almost 700. Now Trust and Obey Ministries has been organized to assist, educate, and provide long term relationships with children and families that are in dire need of proper nourishment, medical assistance, and education.

Learn more at www.trustandobey.net

Want to Be First....then Seek to Be Last

Jesus calls those who come to Him to die to self, to be reborn from above, to love Him more than their life, to love others more than themselves, to stand destitute before Him because of their sin, to live humble lives as servants, to cast aside their self-righteousness, and to be last. What natural, carnal man would ever agree to this, the answer is no one. But when a person comes to Christ in faith, drawn by the Holy Spirit, broken over their sin, in need of a Savior, the process of regeneration occurs and provides a person a new spiritual nature able to understand the deep spiritual things of God, thus making it possible for a person to call Jesus their Lord and be willing to be last. But what does that mean?

In Mark 9:33-37, Jesus and His disciples arrive in Capernaum a few days after telling them that He would be betrayed, suffer a violent death, and then be raised from the dead. While traveling to Capernaum the disciples had been disputing among themselves who would be the greatest once Jesus was gone. Unfortunately, the disciples were thinking in terms of a conquering king and a political savior, which was not what His atoning death was about. So when Jesus confronted them about their dispute, they remained silent and we see Jesus call them to Himself and teach them what it means to be great. Jesus states in verse 35 that "...If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Jesus doesn't rebuke them, he tells them that if they want to be first, they must be last. This is not the kind of speech you would hear from a military commander or a football coach prior to battle or a big game. Which should remind us just how different the lives of Christians should be. Worldly or human values are not necessarily kingdom values. How many executives have you heard say, I want to be last?

Jesus then took a child in His arms and said "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me " (verse 37). Let's don't forget that the disciples had just been disputing among themselves which one was the greatest and now Jesus was holding a child and telling them that being great was like receiving a small child. What Jesus is saying is that if a person is humbled in their posture towards Him, they would never hesitate to serve anyone, to include a child. When Jesus says whoever "receives," what He means is to be concerned about and show kindness to. So when Christians accept the outcasts, the poor, the orphans, and the persecuted, they are accepting and receiving Christ and demonstrating godly humility.

Greatness and being last is not a position, it's ministry and concern for the least of these.