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When churches divide, is it because of personalities?

The heart that does not belong to Christ is rooted in the idea of selfishness.  There may be different stages as one heads toward selfishness.  The idea, however, is that one begins his service to God by denying himself (Matthew 16:24).  A movement away from God is, therefore, a movement back toward selfishness.  The man Diotrephes loved to have the preeminence (III John 9).  Elders who shepherd the flock of God cannot lord over God’s heritage (I Peter 5:3).  Some men’s personalities are of such a nature that they cannot handle power.

Still others have their feelings injured and rather than face the problem they go out and do what they can to lead others to their position.  As they lead others to join them the end result is churches will wind up being split.  Going back to the example of Absalom, the men who followed him “…knew not anything” (II Samuel 15:11).  Absalom could pretend and no one questioned it. In a similar way divisions in our brotherhood have occurred because men follow their friend or some well-known brother without investigating what really happened.

Divisions do occur because of personalities.  Using the word to mean just a difference of opinion is not just.  Some divisions occur because people reject the Word of God.  Others occur because faithful brethren will not deal with the personalities who injure the body of Christ by their selfish desires to rule.  Church divisions do not occur because of a difference of opinion.  Someone on one side or the other has little or no concern for the body of Christ and would rather see it destroyed than them not getting their way.  We should all work hard to love the brotherhood (I Peter2:17). Likewise, we should work doubly hard to not allow Satan to use us to harm the body of Christ.

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What can we do to help win souls back who have gone astray?

I do not mean for this to be a flippant answer.  We are a people of prayer.  We believe in the power of prayer to our holy God that it accomplishes much (James 5:16).  Prayer has conditions attached to it.  We must pray in faith (James 1:6).  Our prayers must be according to the will of God (I John 5:14).  Our life must be in harmony with the will of God (I John 3:22).  All this means is that we do not get what we want just because we ask.  God is in charge and He will decide about how to answer our prayers.  I say this because our prayers cannot overrule the heart of a Christian who has made up their mind to no longer serve God.

Besides praying to God, we must come to the precious commodity of honesty.  I mean by that as Christians we are to put away lying and speak truth with each other (Ephesians4:25).  Each of us can recognize when we see signals that a brother or sister is beginning to slip.  Being honest requires us to go to them in an effort to help them see where their choices are leading them.  In far too many congregations as long as the person shows up on Sunday morning, there is no cause for alarm.  As long as they give some money, everything is alright.  As long as they sing some of the songs, the message is, they are doing just fine.  These signals should awaken the spiritual ones to see that our brother or sister in Christ, needs spiritual health.

When we are aware that a Christian husband or wife is not treating their family in the right way, the alarm should go off in our hearts.  Children disrespectful to parents should alert us that this young Christian needs an“outside voice” to their heart to remind them of the price of following the Lord.  We can do so much to help each other by giving thought to what Matthew7:12 teaches.  We treat others as we would want them to treat us.  If we, therefore, begin to slip, may some spiritual minded Christian come to us in love and say, brother you are going the wrong way, what can I do to help you.  Ignoring the signals, ignoring the person will end up with the death of faith.

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What are these mysterious lights or ships in the sky which normal people claim to have seen?

I do not argue that people have not seen something.  Take these two examples from the Scriptures.  In Genesis 37, the sons of Jacob brought to their father, the coat of Joseph that had blood all over it.  Jacob reached the conclusion based on what his eyes saw, that Joseph had been killed by some wild animal.  His sons, knowing it was a lie, allowed their father to believe false evidence.  A second case is found in Joshua, when the people of Gibeon tricked Israel.  The evidence was men with worn out shoes and old bread.  Israel, without asking God, made agreement with Gibeon.  Their decision was based on false evidence.

When we are taught something as being from God, we go to the Scriptures to verify that what we have been told is accurate (Acts 17:11).  We investigate to find the truth in order that we are not deceived (I John 4:1-6).  This calls upon us to be diligent students of the Bible by studying the Scripture and rightly dividing it (II Timothy 2:15).  This, likewise, enjoins upon us to properly interpret what we read (II Peter 1:20,21).  I do not question that normal people have seen something. 

I have set in movie theaters and seen movies on television that have things happening which just cannot be true.  I understand then that things can appear one way but in reality it is just an illusion or camera trick.  If these lights are “real” and the UFOs are “real” then stop and ask yourself, where are they from?  Is the earth just the “third rock from the sun” or is it “God’s footstool”?  Is man just one creature among millions of other kinds of creatures?  What is wrong with shouting from the rooftops everywhere, the golden text of Scripture.  God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16). Are there things I cannot explain in the earth or elsewhere?  Yes, but no mystery can ever over ride what God has revealed.

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UFOs and Aliens

Those who produce movies do so to make a profit.  In some cases it is not about making profit but rather trying to get across an agenda to the moviegoers without them knowing it.  By way of example, how many movies over the last several years have ever been produced which puts God in a good light?  How many movies portray marriage in the light of what the Bible says?  The clothing worn, language used, ideas conveyed deal more with promoting an agenda than making movies for profit.

A constant theme that the moviemakers keep coming back to is invasion from other planets by aliens.  They fly in these special “UFO” crafts and the world is under fire.  The whole world unites together to defeat these aliens.  Reports surface from time to time of individuals who have seen these “lights” in the sky.  People claim they have been abducted by creatures from another planet.  Is Hollywood then reflecting the time or is there a hidden agenda to bring all the world under one rule?  The Christian has the Word of God as the source and standard for his life (Deuteronomy 29:29).  It is the most powerful weapon to deal with hidden agendas.

Why not start at the beginning?  Moses writes that God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1).  The creation of the earth proceeds then in chapter one with the formation of land, sea, trees and vegetation.  It is not until day four that the stars, planets, sun and moon are created (Genesis 1:14-18).  Earth, therefore, was here first before all the things which are out in space.  So what, you ask?  In all the movies, creatures from other planets are always more developed than those of the earth and are always greater in knowledge.  The Bible shows God beginning with the earth and the creation of things in space followed that.

In all the movies produced by Hollywood, no alien seems to care or be interested in the sin problem.  God, before He created the earth and all things, established how it was that He would save man from the sin problem.  Man, created on day six, was going to need a Savior.  Paul calls it the “eternal purpose” which God the Father purposed in His Son, Jesus the Christ.  Before Adam was ever created, God determined the means of man’s salvation (Titus 1:2).  The prophecy uttered early in the book of Matthew was about the coming of  the Savior (Matthew 1:21). 

This verse also declares that Jesus would save His people from their sins.  When Moses wrote about the coming of The Prophet, he reveals that the prophet would be a Jew, “of thy brethren” (Deuteronomy 18:15).  Is Matthew therefore revealing that Jesus died just for Jews only?  John tells us that Jesus was the propitiation for our sins and for the sins of the whole world (I John 2:2).  The mystery of God hidden from the world was that God in the last stage of man on earth would have a people composed of both Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 3:5,6).  Jesus, therefore, died for all men, both Jew and Gentile. The wording then of Matthew 1:21 of “His people” must carry the meaning of all humanity.  Jesus is God and He left heaven and became flesh and lived among us (John 1:14).  Jesus was made in the “likeness” of men (Philippians 2:7).  He had human characteristics in as much as He was born of the Jewish people.  On day six of creation week, when God brought the woman to Adam, Adam knew immediately that woman was no animal but someone like him.  Jesus took upon Himself the form of a servant and was made like men.  Therefore for all the movies made, who are these alien creatures like?  They are always different than men.  Their bodies or powers are always superior to man and therefore fear is created by their existence. 

Moses, in writing about the events of the creation week, sums up each day by saying it was good.  In six twenty-four hour days, everything God created was good.  Man, on day six, was created in the likeness and image of God (Genesis 1:26,27).  The agenda of Hollywood is to keep alive the foolishness of evolution.  To them the earth is just the “third rock from the sun” and man being here is just a blind accident.  I do not fear aliens, UFOs or any such thing, I fear God, don’t you?

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Why does the media around us perceive that Christianity is a threat to our way of life?

The only true religion is the religion of Jesus the Christ because He is the only Savior and solution to man’s sin problem.  The denominational world or non-denominational world of religion is false.  Jesus prayed that all His followers would be one as both He and the Father were One (John 17:21).  God is not the author of confusion and all plants that He has not planted shall be rooted up (I Corinthians 14:33; Matthew 15:13).  Having said that, the media makes no such distinction.  To them any church which claims allegiance to Jesus the Christ is the one that is dangerous.

I make my comment then in view of how the world looks at all churches which claim a connection to Jesus.  Jesus touched men’s hearts with the truth and not the sword. A religion today whose foundation is the sword would be a threat to any government.  Jesus came that men might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).  Those who strap bombs to themselves or set bombs off in crowded places would not find the religion of Jesus the Christ to the their liking.  Paul, in speaking about his earlier life said he put Christians to death (Acts 26:10).  It was non Christians who vowed to not eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

There are certain issues today which politicians use to garner votes and keep them in power and prosperity.  The true religion of Jesus the Christ is judgmental.  It is judgmental because the One whom we follow reveals certain things to be wrong.  The politicians know if that message spreads, they lose their votes.  We are instructed to preach the truth when it is popular or when it is not popular (II Timothy 4:2).  The reason being it is God’s Word and not ours (I Thessalonians 2:13).  Truth is a threat to those who desire to live in sin and conduct themselves in an ungodly way (Titus 2:12).  Keep in mind, regardless of Hollywood, it is a battle between truth and error.  May we never be found on the side of error.

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Prayer and Courage

In last week’s study we spoke about the truth that when prayer is offered to God, it must be done in faith.  James points out that belief alone will not sustain a person’s faith.  His example is that even the devils believe and tremble (James 2:19).  Because of the ardent message we have in our hearts to proclaim the ministry  and word of reconciliation, our message is never secret.  It is both warnings and promises which can restrict and bless the lives of all those who heed it.  In short we cannot hide the love of God in our hearts and live like the world.  The world is to see in us a distinction which hopefully will lead them to  ask questions about what make us “tick” (I Peter 3:15).

In the first century if one affirmed his belief that Jesus was the Messiah (Christ), he could very well lose his life.  Jesus therefore placed great emphasis upon men confessing Him before the world (Matthew 10:32).  There were some rulers of the Jews who considering the evidence believed that Jesus was the Son of God.  To drive home the point of belief alone being incorrect, those same rulers would not confess Jesus openly (John 12:42).  The reason the Spirit of God gives for them behaving in such a manner was  they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God (verse 43).

The apostles on trial for their lives said we ought to obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29).  Such a statement shows that no government on this earth has the right to over rule what God has revealed.  The apostles were told to quit preaching in the name of Jesus.  The government then and now does not have the right to declare such to any follower of Christ.  The leadership of this country from the White House declares that the government and not God, defines marriage.  Our president, for whom we should all be praying, lined himself up with that notion in his last inaugural address.

The encroachment of the government into more and more sacred areas should  cause us all to increase our daily prayers and more than that.  Our pens and computers should be humming day and night with the printed page showing that we do know what the Bible teaches.  The government says you can pray but not in Jesus name.  You cannot have symbol on government letterheads that portray a cross or a church.  The world around us is declaring how sensitive we need to be to the plight and thinking of others.  Why not test this out in the market place of ideas.

Is it legal for you to drive an automobile without a seatbelt?  Is our government being insensitive to all those who would like to drive without having a belt over their shoulder and waist?  If you choose to not have a gun in your home, how is that offensive to me?  In truth it is not because I have no intention of coming into your home to do you harm.  The case of sensitivity then is being determined by the government.  The major threat from what we hear over the various forms of media is the religion of Jesus the Christ.

Would it not be a wonderful thing if people really started reading the Bible?  James says we are not to have respect of persons (James 2:1).  We are not to judge people on their outward appearance but rather on the conduct of their lives (John 7:24).  Those who cry out, “do not judge” almost all the time are trying to hide some sin they enjoy.  How long dear Christian friends before we come to the realization that a  happy and successful prayer life is tied to an active faith.  An active faith which causes us to act in courage in concert with what we believe in our hearts.  We are not to spend time trying to be so careful with a sinful world that we embrace their knowledge and thinking.  In fact, quite the opposite.  We are to have no fellowship with and yet have the courage to reprove the wrong in the world around us (Ephesians 5:11).

We do not preach hate when we teach that it is wrong to hate your brother.  It is not hate when we require of each other to be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving.  It is not hateful speech to tell a man he can no longer spend his life stealing from others.  It is not hateful to tell wayward Christians that by forsaking the assembling of the saints together that they are sinning.  Neither is it hateful to declare marriage between two men or two women as being wrong.  The homosexual life style and the life style of two heterosexuals living together without being married are all wrong.  May God bless us all to put courage with the very things for which we pray for.

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What is meant in Matthew 5:24 about leaving your gift at the alter?

Jesus, in Matthew 5-7, is showing what the kingdom would be like, once it was established.  More to the point, what kind of person would make up the kingdom of God?  He used the existing law of Moses, which they already knew, to make His point. Paul makes the point in Romans 8:29 about being predestinated to be conformed to the image of God’ Son.  It is not the individual but rather the type that is predestined.  We learn from the Old Testament valuable lessons on which we build our hope (Romans 15:4).

Under Moses, the brazen altar was where the Israelite brought his animal sacrifice to make things right between him and God.  The day of atonement was once a year in which the high priest would take the blood of animals back into the Holy of Holies in October.  However, during the year, the Israelite would come as often as necessary to make amends through animal sacrifices for his sins.  Under Christ we are shown that the blood of animals could not take away sins (Hebrews 10:1-4).  Because of the blood of Christ, those acts of obedience would result in the Israelite believing he was forgiven.

Jesus in the passage in Matthew shows the connection to truth under His law (Galatians 6:2).  Acts of worship toward God are negated if the life of the worshiper is not in accord with God’s will.  The Christian must continue to walk in the light (I John 1:7).  Attempting to worship God, when one knows his fellow Christian has aught against him, leads to unacceptable worship.  Comply with God’s will in your life then God will accept the worship.  Once more, Jesus is showing how Christian people would live, once His kingdom was established.

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Losing the Right of Prayer

There was an old hymn which carried the words, the world has lost the right of prayer and saints have failed to pray.  In every stage of man’s existence upon the earth, communication with a higher power has been prevalent in the hearts of men.  There is only one God and His name is not Allah.  In the course of the development of human history man rejected the idea of the knowledge of the one true God and began to create gods from their own mind.  Whether the stars, planets, sun, moon, animals, fish or some force of nature, history is filled with men affirming something beyond man for help.

Those who have come to know God from what is revealed, have maintained a communication with God called prayer.  It is man affirming that it is not in man to direct his own steps (Jeremiah 10:23).  Those who follow God and are therefore seen as righteous men bow their spirits, hearts and even sometimes their knees to speak with God about the contents of their heart.  It may be a David declaring that God has heard his supplications and prayers (Psalm 116:1).  It is Jesus on the ground in Gethsemane, saying to the Father, “…thy will be done” (Matthew 26:42).

The righteous man always comes to know that there can be no acceptable prayer that is not offered in faith (James 1:6).  Faith as defined by God is a belief in the existence of God and the knowledge that God rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).  The person who chooses to live a sinful life should never be deceived to believe that God will respond to his prayers (John 9:31).  All spiritual blessings are in the Lord and none outside of Him and His body, which is the church (Ephesians 1:3; 22,23). The one who lives a sinful life has no connection to God because of the abandonment of faith.  At one time Paul spoke about the Gentiles before they found Christ.  He said they were living in sin (Colossians 3:7).

We cannot live in sin and think such conduct increases the grace of God because it  does not (Romans 6:1,2).  Grace reigns in the heart of the Christian through righteousness (Romans 5:21).  Righteousness is faith being acted on in one’s daily life before the world and his family (James 2:24).  This is what God said and this is what I will do.  Righteousness will not accuse a holy God of acting out of our best interest.  God wants us to talk with Him so that our hearts stay focused on Who He is.  If one ceases the practice of prayer, he begins to distance himself from God.  God calls upon us all, to pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17).

Back to the old hymn why do people cease to pray and hence lose the right of prayer?  Many reasons no doubt could be given.  I choose this simple answer which will not be complete in the minds of everyone.  My thinking is that people do not believe in the power of prayer.  On one hand you have the “fake faith healers” trying to convince audiences that God still works today like He did in the first century.  You have liberal brethren who have give up on the Word of God and believe they must have some kind of emotional demonstration to prove God is still working today.

God still works in our world today and the scriptures so affirm.  It is not a case of God not working but rather “how” does He work.  If God tells us He will never leave us or forsake us, then He must still be active (Hebrews 13:5).  If God affirms that He is able to keep us from falling then God must still be active (Jude 24).  If God gives us all that pertains to our life and godliness, then He must still be active (II Peter 1:3).  If God supplies all our needs, He is still very active in our world (Philippians 4:19).

The problem people often run into is they want God to do something which goes beyond what God has revealed (II John 9).  This passage in II John 9 speaks about individuals who keep going beyond what has been revealed, that is the doctrine of Christ.  If they persist in that journey, John says, they do not have God.  If one does not have God neither do they possess the right of prayer.

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Why do all the things about the rapture and end times stir people up so much?

I begin by saying that the scriptures shows there is no private interpretation of the scripture (II Peter 1:20).  What that means is when Micah said Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, no other city could have been used by God (Micah 5:2).  Prophecy of the scripture requires diligent effort to find the meaning.  When we approach the study of God’s Word from the view of the “eternal purpose” of God, then prophecy of future events must be seen through those lens (Ephesians 3:10).  By way of example, Moses spoke about a future leader on Israel that all of God’s people would have to obey (Deuteronomy 18:15).  That prophet was Jesus.

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit or life of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).  When one looks at how Jesus taught, you did not get the idea that future generations from the first century were under consideration.  Jesus said the kingdom was at hand (Matthew 4:17).  He also declared that the generation in which He was living would not pass away until the kingdom had come (Mark 9:1).  All would be fulfill as Jesus spoke in Matthew 24 (Matthew 24:34).

Here I believe is the root of the trouble.  There have been disturbances in the world regarding politics, economy or natural disasters.  When these things happen close together, those who misuse prophecy crank out their books and tapes for profit.  Even deeper than that, I believe that people desire a close personal relationship with God.  They want some “sign” or “signs” which can be used to prove God is near.  The Christian opens his Bible and knows God will never forsake His people (Hebrews 13:5).  Even though the Christian cannot “see” God, he learns through the Word to love God (I Peter 1:8).  As Paul stated, “…though he be not far from every one of us “ (Acts 17:27). The rapture and end times are false doctrines but God’s Words are true.

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Why didn’t the Lord tell Paul what was about to happen?

The prophet Joel spoke about the events of the last days of human history.  It was called the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4).  God sent forth His only begotten Son  in order to redeem man (John 1:14; John 3:16).  Jesus when He came was approved by the Father with miracles, wonders and signs (Acts 2:22).  These events were recorded by the Holy Spirit to generate faith in those who believed the record (John 20:30,31).  Since the days of the first century the number of God’s children would be like number of the sands of the sea.  Until such time as the Word could be written to generate faith, it was necessary for miracles, wonders and signs until it was finished (I Corinthians 13:10).

Joel in his work pointed to one phase of the work of God in this area.  God would use prophecy, dreams and visions to communicate what God wanted done (Joel 2:28).  If a man claimed he had a dream or a vision from God, he would need to back up that claim by some sign. As the will of Christ came into effect after His death, the Lord worked with those going out to teach with signs following (Mark 16:20).  The Word spoken was being confirmed by the signs.  The gospel through this means went into all the known world in the first century (Colossians 1:23).

God also used dreams and or visions to direct the lives of certain individuals.  By way example an angel came to Joseph, the husband of Mary in a dream (Matthew 2:13).  He was warned to take the baby Jesus and go to Egypt and wait there.  We all have dreams as a natural part of sleep.  However, in these cases, it is something very different.  This was an angel who came in a dream and Joseph accepted it as direction from God.  Still further Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia (Acts 16:9).  After the vision he made a journey into Macedonia.  This vision was for the purpose of direction.

The Spirit of God shows us two occasions back to back where Paul was making a defense of his faith in Jesus Christ the Lord (Acts 22 and 23).  The one in Acts 22, Paul was beaten by a mob of angry Jews.  In the account in Acts 23, the soldiers went down and rescued Paul once more.  The next night the Lord stood by Paul.  He told Paul that as he had spoken in Jerusalem, he would also bear witness in Rome (Acts 23:11).  How would Paul get to Rome seeing he was a prisoner in Jerusalem.  Now note, God did not tell Paul how but that he would be in Rome.  Herein lies a great sublime truth about God and how He deals with us.

There would come a time when direct revelation from God would cease (I Corinthians 13:8).  No more visions, dreams or conversation with the Godhead.  It was by declaration of God a “…more excellent way” (I Corinthians 12:31).  The ceasing of messages from God did not mean God ceased to love us or ceased to work in our lives.  God chose the means of the written Word to convey to man how God wanted man to live (II Peter 1:3).  Through the power of that Word men who believe and act on it can be saved (Romans 1:16; James 1:21).

Take just a moment to contemplate how God would get Paul to Rome.  His life would be threaten by over 40 men.  He would be moved by guard under cover of night to Caesarea.  He would spend over two years in prison there.  He would be placed on a ship to take him to Rome as a prisoner.  During the course of that trip he would suffer shipwreck, wind up on an island, cold and be bitten by a viper.  Once he was in Rome, he would be under house arrest for over two years.

What effect would this information have had on Paul back in Acts 23:11?  In the manifold wisdom of God, God has chosen to not reveal to us what will happen tomorrow.  Our Lord said take no thought for the morrow (Matthew 6:34).  There is no “crystal ball” or “hidden codes” or “words” in the Bible to reveal what will happen in our future.  Revelation is finished, God’s love is confirmed and now we trust Him for our daily bread.