Simplicity at its dumbest

As a relatively new Christian (about 2+ years), there is what I am sure is a very basic concept I am struggling with.

There are periods of time in which I feel very close to the Lord, and sure of my salvation. There are almost an equal number of times that I feel He is far from me and I question it.

Does this make any sense? I mean, you either believe or you don’t, right? Ok, so I believe. But fairly often, I have to “convince” myself that I believe. I pray daily for stronger faith, but still struggle with this.

I guess all I am hoping for is to discover that this is not unusual for a child of God. My biggest fear is that I am not so much running to the LORD, but running from hell.

If you read this, may the Peace or the LORD be with you!

Husbands, love your wives

Ephesians 5:

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, ²⁶ so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷ that He might present to Himself the church ^[a]in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. ²⁸ So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; ²⁹ for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, ³⁰ because we are members of His body. (NASB)

Here we find a real failing of mine. I remember about the time I became noticeably interested in living a Christian life. My wife told me that if I were to “go overboard” with it there would be real trouble. Before you go too hard on her, please understand that she and I are both on our 2nd marriages. When we met and married, neither of us were Christians and I certainly didn’t have any interest in it.

Her first husband was a professing Christian, who spent a lot of energy telling her about the things she was going to hell over. He is really over the top Arminian, who speaks constantly of what is grounds of God’s condemnation, in terms of what actions, or works, God finds acceptable and especially what God does NOT find acceptable. Of course, much of this is rooted in Mosaic law, and in the traditions of his church. To this day, he informs their daughter (my step-daughter) of all the things she does to would seemingly ensure her place in hell. This type of preaching is what I refer to as dangling the sinner over the lake of fire. If we really wanted to start down such a path, I could point to several character flaws of his as well, that by using his standard, I am sure he would be condemned as well. But I see little point in traveling down that path here. The point is that my wife is very anti-religion. In a way, I am as well, but with different outcomes. My disdain for much of religion results in my being a very non-denominational biblicist of a Pauline doctrine. Her disdain for religion is that she is almost like a worshipper of Ba’al (all the other gods) as she believes piecemeal from many different world religions.

If I am to be the spiritual leader of my house, I have failed miserably. I pray each and every day that my wife and my children might come to know Christ. I pray that I might be the method God would use. Each time, however, that I bring up the subject, I am promptly shut down. My wife has no interest.

I am reassured that even though I had no interest in God for a LOT of years, once He decided to introduce Himself, it was a done deal. I know this is also the case with my wife. If God chooses to introduce Himself, His will will be done. This knowledge is of minimal comfort though, given my zeal for the Word, and my desire to share it with my wife.

Young husbands, take the word of an old-timer. Take the time now, and save yourself some guilt later.

God’s peace be with you.

Perseverance of the Saints (TULIP)

As I have mentioned before, I regularly need to be re-grounded.Quite often, I return to the Doctrines of Grace, to reseat myself in basic truth.

I just started listening to the message again, this time by a speaker (MacArthur) who I had never heard this message preached by before. Unusual in his delivery, as he begins the message with the Perseverance of the Saints.

What a blessing this series is. Pastor MacArthur has solved one of the dilemmas I have struggled with: How in the world can I know that I will persevere? The answer: I won’t, I can’t. God’s mercy and grace is what will persevere! It’s not that because God's grace that I will find the strength to persevere, It is God’s grace, in giving me faith, that will endure.

I have spent a lot of energy worrying about my sometimes-fragile faith. How can I hope to sustain it till the end? Simple fact is that I can’t. Only God can. What a comfort!

God bless Pastor MacArthur for verbalizing this for me in a way that finally clicked. And thanks be to God for showing me this teacher.

God’s grace and peace unto you!

Finally did it

After being warned repeatedly by teacher I respect, I broke down and watched a little TBN on TV. In less that 1/2 hour, I was witness to two different men who claim to be apostles. I was also treated to the notion that if I have faith enough, I can receive whatever it is that I pray for NOW! Of course, both of these entertainers were preaching at mega-churches, and both of them were wearing enough jewelry to buy a small island. And, of course, both were also offering to sell me a guide on how to name it and claim it. About 20 minutes into this, I could stand no more and turned the TV off.

You know, this sort of prosperity preaching begs a question: If all that is required for “the best life now” through faith, why did the true apostles ALL die horrible martyrs deaths?

On a brighter note, if the Lord wills and I live, I will soon receive a believer’s baptism. Of this I am excited beyond words. I was “baptized” as an infant (the sprinkling of water), but now wish to publicly and humbly proclaim my faith in Jesus before the church, and be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Praise be to the LORD!

Failure of the Free-Will’ist

I have recently been dabbling in Apologetics, as I have mentioned. I have basically abandoned Apologetics, in favor of learning Eschatology. This does not mean I have lost all interest in Apologetics, and in fact I still regularly check out Apologetics web sites.

Though I caught a bit of an Arminian bent to the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry (CARM), I still visited pretty regularly when I had a few minutes to blow. The other day, I downloaded a couple audio files from them, consisting of debates between the host (Matt Slick) and atheists. If I may be so bold, Mr. Slick had his butt handed to him when it came to defending such basics as assurance of salvation, suffering in the world, etc. Apparently, the Arminian position has some trouble with such topics, as they worship a god who has no real power, rather who is waiting for his creatures to do something so he can respond.

The God I worship is powerful, leaving no doubts of His being in control of all things, small and great. The God I worship does not need me, nor anyone else to validate His decrees. In short, He is God whether I “accept it” or not.

If the topic of Apologetics interests you, might I suggest James White’s ministry at Alpha & Omega Ministries. Solid teaching there, allowing God to be the God of the bible, who needs nothing from us loathsome sinners, rather chooses to grant grace to some of us.

Could Lazarus Have Said No?

Opportunities

At church today, I was allowed to read the Pastoral Text prior to the service. This is something, because a) I was trusted with the Word in a corporate worship, and b) I drove today to church thinking I would like to do this.

When I first started attending this church, there was a young man who would, each week, read the text the Pastor was to preach/teach on at the opening of the service. He stopped coming a short while ago, for reasons unknown to me. I do not know if he is going to return, or if he is just temporarily absent.

Anyway, today the Pastor was going to read the text, following his making weekly announcements. During the announcements, he cleared is throat several times, and today’s text was a bit long. Before reading it, he asked if one of us in the congregation would read. Not knowing if I would be allowed, as I am not a full member yet, I raised my hand and was asked to read.

I am humbled and honored that the Pastor would entrust the Word of God to me, as I am not yet officially a member of the body. I am stricken that all I had to do is wonder about it for a couple weeks, think consciously about it today, and was presented with the opportunity.

Thanks be to God, and may the Lord’s peace be with you if you are reading.

Theological and Hermeneutical Gymnastics

The bible is replete with information and directions concerning such things as atonement, salvation, justification, history, etc. But there is one topic that seems to permeate every section: eschatology. Eschatology is the study of the end times. PLUS, it is an impressive sounding word to use (try it later with your friends and impress them all).

All through the Old Testament and throughout the New, the time of the end, the day of the Lord, Jacob’s trouble and such topics are returned to again and again. It is a fascinating subject, which has been thoroughly confused by the type of thinking that led to the “Left Behind” books and the like. These ideas would lead us to believe that the Anti-Christ would rise out of Greece, and that the 10-nation confederacy would come out of the European Union. Those not raptured could still “accept Jesus” and be saved, so long as they do so before His return. A literal hermeneutic (method of reading the bible and yet another fancy word) does not allow for either of these ideas. A literal reading forces one to conclude that the Anti-Christ will rise out of the middle eastern areas which were, when Revelation was written, under the control of Rome. This same literal reading forces one to conclude the 10-nation confederacy will consist of the ancient enemies of Israel, which predictably, are the same enemies they have to this day. Remember, God declared there would always be enmity between them.

There are several reasons why the idea that those “left behind” who could still be saved only works with one people group – the Israelites, and more specifically, members of the scattered tribes. First is that Christians; the Church, are snatched away (Raptured) before the final week of years (7 year tribulation). Those not among the elect of Israel will not “still have a chance” because a great deception will be cast upon them, and they will not seek God because they cannot seek God. Don’t blame me, I didn’t say these things; Isaiah, Daniel, and the Apostles John and Paul said them.
Each of these writers had language available to them. Each wrote about things they had seen, not what they had imagined. Each could (and often did) know how to describe something that was “like” or “such as”  something else. Instead, when they wrote “I saw…”, this leaves very little room for theological gymnastics. No jumping through hoops is required.

What is truly amazing to me is how many people in “reformed theology” circles will use a literal hermeneutic when reading about salvation, but will flop 180 degrees and use a figurative hermeneutic and start allegorizing like crazy when they arrive at the most common topic of the bible, the time of the end.