Category: Q&A

I find it amazing that the religious world claiming to follow Christ teach that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came in the flesh. Where my amazement comes in is that the announcing of His entrance into the world as included a description of what would happen once He came. By Luke’s account of the gospel, the Lord God would give to Jesus the throne of David (Luke 1:32). The announcement of Jesus’ coming to Mary said He would be given the throne of David. In the very next verse He would reign over the house of Jacob and of His kingdom there would be no end. Micah said when He came He would be Ruler. Here then is the problem. The religious world teaches He came but the rest of it has been postponed until a later time.

Paul, by inspiration writes that Jesus would reign until all enemies were defeated, the last of which would be death itself (I Cor. 15:24,25). The religious world steps in and speaks about people reigning with Christ for a thousand years. The Bible teaches that Christ must reign until all enemies are conquered, death being the last one. What then will people be doing on earth for a thousand years? Will they have jobs? What purpose would having a job be? To make money to care for your family would be a nice answer but why would you need money, you cannot die? Procreation is out of the question because Jesus said that realm would not exist in the resurrection (Matt. 22:30).

Let us be more specific. If someone asks you about your faith in Christ, what are you supposed to do? God expects us to answer any who ask legitimate questions about our faith (I Peter 3:15). What else is involved in the statement found in I Peter 3? It says we are to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts. Sanctification means to set apart. The Christian then is to set apart Jesus Christ in his life. But if Jesus is not reigning why would you obey Him? Jesus said, all power (authority) is given to Him in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18). What power if He is not reigning? The apostles made the application that when Jesus was raised from the dead, it meant that Jesus was sitting on David’s throne. How quickly confusion clears up when we trust and teach the Word of God.

There is no way to measure the effects of how we were raised. The eighteenth chapter of Ezekiel deals with teaching in the home and its acceptance or rejection. If a righteous man raised a child who became evil the father would not have to answer for the son. If the son raised by an unrighteous father chose to do what was right, he then would deliver his own soul. Hate nor love is anything we are born with but rather what we bring into our hearts. Those raised under Islamic teaching are taught to view non-Muslims in a certain light. They can be raised to be suspicious of or even hate those who are not of the Islamic faith.

In the same way if you were raised to hate a race of people, why would you cease doing that? Something has to enter the thinking of a person to cause them to realize they were not taught correctly. The Christian is always shown that we must cast down imagination and every high thing that exalts itself above the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:5). We see senseless violence via the television and other mediums. How could they do that, kill innocent people, men, women and children? It goes back to how they were raised? Is the solution to the world’s problems, a sword and the death of your enemies?

The difficult task for Christians is to look to our own lives and apply the same rules. If you were raised to come to worship God only on Sunday morning what is the more likely outcome of your thinking? Church is not that important and you will be the way you were raised. Going back to Ezekiel 18, that is not set in stone. My point is that our value system needs to arise from our own personal search of the faith and the claims of Jesus the Christ. No one who comes to know Jesus would ever engage in the violence we see all around us. Many in our world, in the church and out of the church, do not know Him. If they studied and applied they would come to know and love Him. May we all strive to teach as many as we can and show them Jesus, the beloved Son of God.

Prayer is the right of every Christian (Eph. 1:3). If one is outside of Christ their prayers cannot be accepted by God (John 9:31). We are the servants of Jesus the Christ and are therefore bound to abide by His will (Luke 9:36). Part of His will is that we pray for those in authority ( I Tim. 2:1,2). The reality is that we are to pray for all men and especially for those who have rule. The purpose of such prayers is to keep us connected to God in order that we might lead quiet and peaceable lives. Jeremiah told the Jews to seek the peace of the city where they would be carried to as captives (Jer. 29:7). If they were told to pray for Babylon, then Christians in any land should follow the example given by God and pray for those in authority.

Paul used his status as a Roman citizen to keep from being beaten on one occasion and delivered from some court of man which had no interest in justice. Christians then should be able to use existing laws to strengthen the idea of quiet and peaceable lives. We may suffer because we are Christians but never because we are the lawbreakers (I Peter 4:16). We would use, as Paul did< existing laws to maintain our way of life. The images from television of people rioting, looting, yea stealing are never things Christians would be involved in. It is because our citizenship is in heaven and Jesus is our King that we lead the kind of lives we do.

The first century world saw Christians being taken from the homes with out due process of law (Acts 8:3). They were said to be ones who had turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). They were a “sect” spoken everywhere against (Acts 28:22). Why this uproar in the first century? It was not Christians cutting off the heads of men, women and children. It was not because they were destroying the property of others. It was people being placed in prison, deprived of their rights and even put to death because they chose to follow Jesus the Christ, the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). We should pray, live, give and if necessary join our ancestors from the first century world and give up everything in order to win and keep Christ (Phil. 3:8).

We must consider why the world is moving so fast. For some it is a thirst to grab all that life has to offer. It may mean working all the time to make more money to buy a bigger house, a better car or nicer clothes. Each of those things have no error connected to them because they are inanimate objects. A house, car or clothes are things and are not possessed of a spirit. Working all the time becomes a driving force in the person’s life. There are never enough hours in the day to get done what they want to do. The Christian slows things down by knowing the danger of what the word “covet” means. The word mean in effect, one is never satisfied, that is as the word is defined “more to have”.

It is alright to have a home, car or clothes. The wrong comes in as to how we get it. The thugs and hoodlums burning up the businesses in Ferguson are not willing to work. In their mind stealing is cheaper. They like the “workaholic” can never be satisfied. They want the sun to go down so they can steal. For every object they steal, the hole in their heart is not filled anymore. We work then to care for our families and we work to have extra to help those in need. The joy of life and I might add the slowing down, is from a life given to help others. There is not enough hours in the day or in our lives that we can ever be satisfied with the good we are doing or the people we are becoming by being close to the Lord (Gal. 22,23; Gal. 6:10).

When our purpose in life is to serve the Lord Christ, what can ever be done to remove that purpose from hearts growing to love the Lord? Paul says there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:39). The world around us is not faster nor slower when we find the Lord. The purpose in life is find those things which please Him and then throw all of our efforts into achieving those things ( I John 3:22). Because humanity is suffering because of sin, we all have work to do as long as we live. The ticking of the clock becomes less important as we realize that God has given us only this day and no other. Use it for Him (Matt. 6:34).

We are like father Abraham in that we looking for a city whose builder and Maker is God (Heb. 11:10). This world is not our home in that we realize that we are just “passing through”. Does that mean that we have no care for the land in which we are living in? The Christian no matter what land he is living in, is to obedient to the laws of the land (Rom. 13:1). Paul had no problem appealing to his Roman citizenship to keep him from being beaten and later on to save his own life. The Jews who were taken captive to Babylon would not be allowed to return for seventy years. What did Jeremiah tell them?

He writes to the Jews in Babylon and tells them to pray for the peace of the city (nation) where God had driven them (Jer. 29:7). If that nation (Babylon) enjoyed peace then they would have peace. Christian are taught to pray for those in authority in order that we might lead quiet and peaceable lives (1Tim. 2:1,2). We have been given many right in this country. Why not pray for her success in order that we might lead quiet and peaceable lives? Our forefathers were taxed without having a voice to oppose the taxation. Those in the colonies were force to allow English soldiers stay in their home without permission. These and other similar things led to our revolution and this country came from those efforts.

God, at different places, caused Israel to set up memorials of one kind or another. Rocks taken from Jordan when Israel crossed over, were set up on the West Bank. Why was that the case? So that in the future if a son asks his father, what do these stones mean, he could tell him. The fact that we have symbols of our pride such as our flag, or memorials of one kind or another is not something to be ashamed of. It reminds us where we came from and can be used to impart to the next generation a pride in that which is right. As Christians we understand that our citizenship is in heaven and all flows from that. Why did Mary and Joseph make a trip to Bethlehem when Mary was great with child? It was the law (taxation) and they obeyed it. Having in pride in one’s heritage is not wrong. Putting that pride above God is.

Let us take a moment to clear some things up. Life is a struggle whether one is a Christian or not. The rain from heaven that causes crops to grow and therefore food for us, comes on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45). The first twelve verses of Psalm 73 are about the prosperity of the wicked. What about the life style of a Barabbas? Did not such life style have a draw back to it? The point is that in life some have it good while others do not. It happens to all men whether they are righteous or unrighteous.

What makes Christianity so appealing is the promise of God to be with us no matter how hard life gets (Heb. 13:5). We have a High Priest who understands what we go through in life (Heb. 4:15). We have a God so close as to catch “…our tears in His bottle” (Psa. 56:8). We have a God who promises us that His yoke is easy as compared to what the world has to offer (Matt. 11:28-30). Our task is not to paint some rosy picture of the greatness of life. Instead we need to teach men that what God offers is an “abundance of life “ (John 10:10). It is an abundance that is enjoyed because of what we learn by what we go through in life. The great lesson to be learned is that God can be trusted because He does not lie to us.

Following Christ is not the removal of struggle nor difficulties rather it is acknowledging the struggling and claiming for help for them. 2 Corinthians 11 verses 24-28 is a listing of all that Paul endured by following Christ. At the end of his journey he could say that he had finished the course and kept the faith ( 2 Tim. 4:7) What else did he say? He had fought the fight. If one reads the passage in 2 Cor. 11 and then couples that with what Paul writes to Timothy, the message is life is a struggle. Only the Christian has an answer to and a help for dealing with the struggles of life. Be a Christian, nothing else matters.

I speak of thanksgiving of the heart not some national holiday. In the first century world, Christians were driven from their homes (Acts 8:4). Some were tortured, placed in prison and even killed (Acts 26:10,11). If one dared to confess Christ they could be put out of the synagogue or even face death (Matt. 10:32;John 9:22). Great portions of cities became increasingly angry toward and against Christians. They saw the faith of Jesus Christ as being a threat to their livelihood such as those in Acts 19 or barriers to living lives of pleasure (Titus 2:12).

I bring up these conditions to show the struggle Christians had in trying to live for Christ. One such city in the first century was Thessalonica. When Paul wrote his first letter to this church he concluded the letter by noting some specific things Christians needed to do in spite of the growing opposition. One of those things was to give thanks in every thing (I Thess. 5:18). The meaning is not being thankful about being driven from one’s home, being placed in prison or being separated from one’s family. No, the giving of thanks was that Christian were to know that whatever they faced, God would be there. In every circumstance of life they could pause and thank God for His presence and His help in time of trouble (Heb. 4:16).

We can little with the turmoil in the world. We do have the power of prayer that from the lips of righteous people is able to accomplish so much (James 5:16). We, by prayer to God can have an effect on the hearts of those who rule (I Tim. 2:1,2). Whether in good times or bad we have the assurance from God that He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). The power of being thankful is seen when ten men were healed of leprosy and one can back to say to God, thank You. All of us are so blessed to be surrounded by faithful brethren, worship God in peace, live our lives with purpose and then pass through the “door” to the other side of eternity with God. We give Him thanks for all we have received and for the honor of eternity with Him.

My belief is the problem rest in two areas. One is “politically correct language” and the other is the “community church mentality”. The politically correct language group does not believe that you should ever tell anyone they are wrong about anything. If the Bible is not the standard then how you feel becomes the standard. If the Bible is the standard then you are right or wrong based on what God has revealed. The woman caught in adultery was told by Jesus that He would not condemn her. The reason being there was no witness to testify and one could not be put to death with those witnesses. Jesus also said to the woman, go your way and sin no more (John 8:11). He was telling her to quit living like she had been.

The second problem group area is those who are victimized by the “community church mentality”. By that I mean people worshipping in a way that pleases them regardless of what God has said. They can do what ever they want to raise money or activities that please them. It is an indirect way of giving in the culture of selfishness. Our forefathers in this country spoke about “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. They recognized that such exalted principles of human activity cannot be supported without laws. Remove our constitution and you have no bill of rights. In the spiritual realm it is much the same. People falsely believe they have a right to be happy. Such happiness is at the expense of throwing out the Word of God.

Ever so often the remnant has to experience a revival of interest in God, His way and in what He says. Men like Hezekiah and Josiah are examples of a return to God. The Word lost and then found with the result being happiness in the hearts of those who found their way back. Our sermons are not to be about hate but they are to be about condemning the things that rob us of true happiness, that is a condemnation of sin. It is not “politically correct” nor is it “pleasing to men” but in God is the only true happiness found by obeying His will.