Tag Archives: EternalLife

If We Believe All the Same Things, Why Do Our Churches Seem So Different?

  By Dean | May 18, 2012 - 4:27 pm | Blog, Christian Doctrine
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I read an interesting article from another website entitled, “The Gospel Coalition.” Excerpts from an article are included below. The article asks a poignant question. What is the difference between a solid Bible-believing church and one that appears to be one but something just doesn’t feel right?

The author goes on to list the top 10 things he believes distinguishes a Bible-believing church from one that isn’t necessarily so. They are:

1. The mission of the church has gotten sidetracked. What is the mission of the church and is it clearly spelled out?…

2. The church has become over-accommodating…

3. The gospel is assumed. While the right theology may be affirmed in theory, it rarely gets articulated. No one believes the wrong things, but they don’t believe much of anything….

4. There is no careful doctrinal delineation. Theology is not seen as the church’s outboard motor. It’s a nasty barnacle on the hull….

5. The ministry of the word is diminished. While preaching may still be honored in theory, in many churches there is little confidence that paltry preaching is what ails the church and even less confidence that dynamic preaching is the proper prescription…

6. People are not called to repentance. It sounds so simple, and yet it is so easily forgotten.

7. There is no example of carefully handling specific texts of Scripture. People will not trust the Bible as they should unless they see it regularly taught with detail and clarity…

8. There is no functioning ecclesiology. Careful shepherding, elder training, regenerate church membership, a functioning diaconate, purposeful congregational meetings–these are the things you may not know you’ve never had. But when you do, it’s a different kind of church…

9. There is an almost complete disregard for church discipline. If discipline is truly one of the three marks of the church, then many evangelical congregations are not true churches…

10. The real problem is something other than sin and the real remedy is something other than a Savior. The best churches stay focused on the basics…

I think I would have put the last one at the top of the list but all of these are important and there’s no reason to quibble over the order of the list. But to answer the question asked in the title I would submit not all churches believe the gospel or in the certainty of doctrine or many of the things delineated here. Many reject the inerrancy of scripture. They talk a good talk but when forced into a corner they will drop many of the essential points of Christianity so as  not to offend anyone or drive off their audience.

There is much more in the article for each of these points and I highly recommend you follow the link and read the entire article. These are very short excerpts and the article brings out additional points for thought. Please click HERE to read the entire article.

 

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Lutheran Pastor Becomes An Atheist

  By Dean | May 3, 2012 - 11:50 am | Apologetics, Blog, Christian Doctrine
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Lutheran Pastor Mike Aus attended the recent Reason rally in Washington D.C. Their website states:

The Reason Rally is a movement-wide event sponsored by the country’s major secular organizations. The intent is to unify, energize, and embolden secular people nationwide, while dispelling the negative opinions held by so much of American society…nontheists from all corners of the nation will descend on Washington, D.C. en masse to deliver the good news: “We’re huge, we’re everywhere, and we’re growing.”

The Reason Rally was organized as an atheist’s convention. It was after this rally he decided to “come out” as a non believer.

Listening to Pastor Aus’ description of his journey from Christianity to atheism saddens me deeply but there is a glaring reason for it. At the beginning of the video he explains he simply rejected the virgin birth of Jesus. Scripture clearly predicted Jesus would be born of a virgin, Isaiah 7:14. In Matthew 1:23 Matthew refers to the prophet Isaiah’s prediction and states Mary is that virgin. Luke confirms this in Luke 1:27 and Luke 1:34. If one rejects the virgin birth of Jesus, well maybe he didn’t feed the 5,000 (admitted), rise from the dead, ascend to heaven or any other miraculous events recorded in scripture. Here’s what John wrote at the end of his account of Jesus:

John 20:30-31  Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  (31)  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

In a post earlier this week it was pointed out the gospel is about Jesus, the incarnation, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and second coming of Jesus. See HERE for the post. The Apostle Paul would agree with Pastor Aus. Yes, I said that right. Paul and Pastor Aus agree.

Paul wrote I Corinthians to address a number of problems facing the church in Corinth. In I Corinthians 15 Paul is addressing the resurrection of Jesus. Some in Corinth rejected the resurrection of Jesus. They believed it did not happen but rejecting the resurrection of Jesus is fundamental error;

1 Corinthians 15:12-17  But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  (13)  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  (14)  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  (15)  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.  (16)  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.  (17)  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

Rejecting any portion of the gospel of Jesus Christ creates a fundamental error and if this is your position there is no reason to be a Christian. This is where Pastor Aus has ended up. It is a logical position. I’m not saying it is the correct position but as Paul states, if a person rejects Jesus, there is no reason to be a Christian.

When questions in his faith arose he should have sought out sources to help him test the validity of Jesus from Christian sources rather than secular sources as he states in the video. I would have suggested The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell. Secular writers start with an a priori position there is no God and no salvation in Jesus Christ and to find anything other than this shouldn’t be expected. Secular atheists are not going to provide any evidence for Christianity.

Perhaps Mr. Aus will continue his struggle and search for the validity of Jesus Christ and have his faith restored. I pray he does. His video interview from MSNBC is embedded below:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Attracting Younger Visitors

  By Dean | April 27, 2012 - 8:19 am | Blog
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This article is from Church and Culture.

They needed to make themselves more appealing to young visitors.

It wasn’t cool or interesting for young people to visit, so they had to find a way to bring them in and then keep them coming back.  The alternative was to lose the next generation, and as a result, the future of the institution.

So the leaders moved the main gathering area to an open-air pavilion.

They cranked the music up.

They went with edgier graphics.

And it worked.

Though most had never attended before, once they came, they found they wanted to come again because the experience inspired them and gave them a connection to something they were clearly missing.

The name of the church that engaged this plan was…

Okay, it wasn’t a church.

It was the Chattahoochee River Recreation Area in Georgia, featured in a USA Today story about how many national parks have to change in order to attract and then keep younger visitors.

But that you thought I was talking about a church speaks volumes about the obvious parallels.

Knowing that “It’s a profound experience when youngsters are immersed in nature for the first time,” national parks are doing all they can to lure young people into the parks for that first experience that will mark them for a lifetime.  “The underlying goal is to give kids an experience that develops their relationship to a point where they care about the parks.”

Why is this simple lesson, being learned by necessity over and over by other groups, agencies and enterprises, so resisted by the church?

The quick answer is that the church stands for orthodoxy, and cannot change its message with the times.

This is true, of course, but disingenuous.  This has absolutely nothing to do with the message.  Think about the national parks.  Nobody is wanting to water down “nature”, or trying to do away with streams or trees.

It’s not the product that is in question.

The programs offered call for staying overnight, taking hikes and even turning off all electronic devices while there.  All things that enhance the engagement of nature at its most pure.  The parks are simply hoping to find a way of introducing nature to the next generation.

The point is that it’s not about changing the message, but the methods.  It’s not about watering down the experience, but opening the door to actually experiencing it.

The goal is not transformation, but translation.

Which means no one is going after tradition, just traditionalism.

The parks are what they have always been.  A new generation needs them, but has never experienced them.

Park leaders know that they must change their ways of introduction and outreach, as opposed to sitting back on their laurels and past success in order to meet the challenge.

As a Ranger at the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park said, “We need to engage that next generation in preserving our heritage.”

Precisely.

James Emery White

Sources

“Parks change to attract and keep younger visitors,” Judy Keen, USA Today, April 5, 2012. Read online.

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Is Satan Real?

  By Dean | April 23, 2012 - 4:20 am | Blog, Christian Doctrine
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by Eric Lyons M.Min of Apologetics Press

Several years ago, after teaching a Bible class on the book of Genesis, a longtime Christian indicated to me that he did not believe in the reality of Satan. This gentleman acknowledged the existence of good and evil, but he thought that “Satan” was simply a word used in Scripture to describe evil, rather than refer to an actual wicked being.

It is true that Satan is evil. (Have you ever noticed that you cannot spell “devil” without spelling “evil”?) He tempts, deceives, destroys, lies, murders, etc. But, he is not merely a word used by the Holy Spirit and His inspired penmen to symbolize evil; he is, as Jesus and Paul referred to him, “the evil one” (Matthew 6:13; 2 Thessalonians 3:3, emp. added). He is not just wickedness; he is “the wicked one” (1 John 3:12, emp. added). He does not merely represent dishonesty; “he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

Although Satan is not deity and in no way has the infinite, eternal attributes of God, the devil is as real as God. That is, the same God-inspired book that describes the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, omni-benevolent, glorious Creator, also tells us about a real, fallen spiritual being called Satan. His name appears 14 times in the first two chapters of Job (perhaps the oldest book of the Bible). Scripture reveals that God confronted Satan in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:14-16). Jesus spoke to him in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). And Michael the archangel contended with him about the body of Moses (Jude 9).

Satan is not a fairytale character on par with the Big Bad Wolf or Captain Hook. He is not a little red cartoon figure with horns and a pitchfork who gleefully sits on a throne in hell (see Butt, 2012). The sooner that Christians take seriously “the adversary” (Satan), “the accuser” (devil), who goes “to and fro on the earth…walking back and forth” (Job 1:7), “like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8), the better prepared we will be to withstand his schemes (Ephesians 6:11) and snares (2 Timothy 2:26). We should neither underestimate him nor overestimate him. He is not deity (and thus not all-powerful or all-knowing), but he is also not a figment of our imagination. Unlike God, he desires all men to be lost (cf. 1 Timothy 2:4). Thankfully, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

REFERENCE

Butt, Kyle (2012), “Satan is Not the Ruler of Hell,” http://www.apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1026.

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For Cheryl

  By Dean | April 12, 2012 - 3:03 pm | Blog
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Cheryl passed from this life to the next on Wednesday evening. She fought a long and courageous battle with cancer. Her battle is over. Her’s is the VICTORY.

1 Corinthians 15:53-57  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  54  When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  55  “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”  56  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  57  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Good bye for now Cheryl.

1 Corinthians 15:58  Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Dean

 

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The Skeptic Says: Part 3

  By Dean | April 12, 2012 - 8:43 am | Blog, Christian Doctrine
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This is a series of posts answering skeptics who reject Christianity (or any other god) and cling to atheism and natural causes for everything in the universe.

The skeptic posted:

Three Reasons Why Jesus Is Not Coming Back:

1. He plainly said he was going to come back within the lifetimes of the people in the New Testament. He didn’t. Now we have all sorts of strange theological interpretations to explain this away.

The position of the skeptic was to say that Jesus said he was coming back to end time, judge the world and take Christians back to heaven; our final reward. In response to this post I asked a legitimate question, “Where does Jesus say plainly he would return within the lifetime of the first generation to do these things? The skeptic responded with the following verses:

(NIV Matthew 10:23) When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

(NIV Matthew 16:27-28) For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

(NIV Matthew 24:34) I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

That’s plain. Some people try to interpret the second verse as meaning the transfiguration. The only reason I can think of for saying that, is to account for why the plain reading didn’t happen.

Paul (and others) also thought Jesus was coming back very soon (1 Corinthians 7:29), telling people not to seek wives if they had none, but not to get rid of them if they were married. This is not long-term advice. He also refers to “we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15).

Furthermore: “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18)

I thought it would be interesting to address some of these verses and see what they mean but before doing so none of these verses ‘plainly’ say Jesus was coming back to earth to judge mankind and end time but the verses listed may seem to convey this. Without further study and explanation one might construe this meaning.

First Claim

Let’s first look at Matthew 10:23. Jesus says to his disciples they will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the son of man comes into his kingdom. What does the phrase ‘come into his kingdom’ mean? Does the bible use this phraseology anywhere else? Indeed it does and when trying to understand scripture it is always best to let the bible interpret itself.

In the seventh chapter of Daniel, Daniel is interrupting Belshazzar’s, the king of Babylon, dream. To refresh memories, Belshazzar saw a dream regarding four beasts which Daniel later interpreted to represent the future four kingdoms which will come forth upon the earth. It is during this last kingdom Jesus is said to come to earth. Daniel says in verses 13 and 14:

Daniel 7:13-14  “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.  (14)  He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

At the end of verse 13 notice Jesus is described as the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven but the important part is the very end of the verse. Notice which direction He is headed as He is coming. He is approaching the Ancient of Days or God the Father. He is headed toward heaven, not earth. It is when he reaches heaven he is given authority, glory and sovereign power. In other words His coming means his coming into his kingdom. He obtains this in heaven and His arrival in heaven with Father God.

When does an earthly king receive his kingdom? When he is seated on his throne, not before. An earthly king has a coronation. Jesus received his coronation when he arrived back in heaven to be seated on His throne. And this happened when he left earth and arrived in heaven. The generation of which Jesus spoke DID see Him enter into his kingdom.

Second Claim

Next let’s look at the second verse given by the skeptic. It was Matthew 16:27-28:

(NIV Matthew 16:27-28) For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

Following from the first verse and its meaning, doesn’t this verse just confirm this? Look carefully at the first sentence. Jesus is going to come in his Father’s glory with the angels. A question. Where do the Father and the angels dwell? In heaven of course. Jesus came into his kingdom when he arrived in heaven and took his place on the throne in his glorified human body. He now reigns until the end of time:

1 Corinthians 15:25  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

At the end of time when death and all enemies have been defeated Jesus will turn the kingdom back over to the Father to reign for eternity.

1 Corinthians 15:24  Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.

Third Claim

The third verse mentioned by the skeptic is from Matthew 24. This is the verse:

(NIV Matthew 24:34) I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

Jesus has a rather lengthy discussion in Matthew 24 and scholars have disagreements about what the meaning of this and the following chapter. What is Jesus talking about in Matthew 24? Here’s the verse quoted by the skeptic:

(NIV Matthew 24:34) I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

First, the verse says nothing about Jesus returning. It simply says whatever Jesus is talking about will happen within the generation of those hearing his words. There is a long explanation for chapters 24 and 25 but it the short version is Jesus is responding questions from Matthew 24:1-2 when he predicted not a stone of the temple will remain on top of the other. As history tells us, Rome, in A.D. 70 totally destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and left no stone atop another. Again the fulfillment of prophecy but not the end of time as claimed by the skeptic.

Fourth Claim

The fourth claim of the skeptic:

Paul (and others) also thought Jesus was coming back very soon (1 Corinthians 7:29), telling people not to seek wives if they had none, but not to get rid of them if they were married.

First Corinthians was written about A.D. 57 to 58. It was during the reign of Nero. Remember Nero’s background? He mercilessly persecuted Christians. Specifically regarding this scripture, here’s what Paul says just a couple of verses above the quoted scripture:

1 Corinthians 7:26  Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are.

This verse is not in an end time verse. The church was undergoing persecution from Nero or it was expected to start very soon. Paul warned the Christians not to seek wives/husbands at this time due to this expected persecution. Again, not an end-time scripture.

Fifth Claim

The skeptic mentions I Thessalonians 4:15 but doesn’t quote the verse. I wonder why?

1 Thessalonians 4:15  According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

This verse mentions nothing about the timing of the Lord’s return only the circumstances surrounding his return and what will happen when he does. Again, nothing here to prove Jesus said he was coming back to give Christians their final reward in the first century.

Sixth Claim

The skeptic references I John 2:18 which states:

1 John 2:18  Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.

Again, the claim this verse states the end of time was going to shortly happen is a stretch. The writer says this is the last hour but he doesn’t specify what he is referring to. The last hour of what? It doesn’t say the end of time and judgment. It could have been the last hour for something completely different. Perhaps the end of the Jewish dispensation but it DOESN’T plainly say Jesus is coming back.

So When Will Jesus Return?

1 Corinthians 15:24-28  Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.  25  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  26  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.  27  For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.  28  When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

Paul says we will know when Jesus comes at the end of time when death as the last enemy is defeated. As I look around I see people dying all around me. The dead have not been raised yet. This tells me Jesus’ return is in the future. It doesn’t say when but we know it hasn’t happened yet.

I guess it comes down to what a person chooses to believe. The skeptic takes several verses and weaves them together to say they portray a particular meaning yet when looking at them they don’t say what the skeptic claims.

If the Lord Returned Right Now, Would You Be With Him For Eternity?

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Good Friday

  By Dean | April 6, 2012 - 10:23 am | Blog, Christian Doctrine
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Combining clips from “The Passion Of The Christ” with the song “The Lamb” by Low— this video was made to set the tone for a Good Friday where we focus on the short time between Christ’s death and his resurrection. What must those dark hours have been like for his followers until they saw him again alive?

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The Skeptic Says: Part 2

  By Dean | April 5, 2012 - 12:16 pm | Blog
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This is a series of posts answering skeptics who reject Christianity (or any other god) and cling to atheism and natural causes for everything in the universe.

The skeptic posted:

Prayers For the Dead

I have never understood why Christians pray for the healing of their grandparents who are dying of old age.

You know that everyone dies. You know that your grandfather, or grandmother, has outlived most people who have ever lived in history. You know that the reason s/he is dying is because death is taking its natural course. You even believe (most likely) that this person is going to heaven. So what’s the problem? What are you hoping will happen? Are you begging God that they’ll die a little bit later? And when they die anyway, how do you rationalize it?

The skeptic entitles their article “Prayers For the Dead” yet when reading the body of the article it does not match the body of the title. The grandparents (or others we as Christians may be praying for) are not dead yet. They’re still alive. So the title is misleading but the question is still germane. Why should we as Christians pray for our dying loved ones? If they are truly Christians they are going to a better place aren’t they?

Sure they are! Paul faced this dilemma in his life and addressed it in his second letter to the Corinthians. Paul states this in 2 Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 5:8-9  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  9  So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

But why should we pray for those who are faithful in Christ and appear to be on the way to be with Christ? Well, God does and can change his will. King Hezekiah is an example of this.

Isaiah 38:1  In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

King Hezekiah was distraught. He was not ready to die. He desired more time on earth. The next few verses continue the story.

Isaiah 38:2-5  Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,  3  “Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.  4  Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah:  5  “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.

And he lived fifteen more years.

Notice verse 3, Hezekiah was faithful. He was living a productive and fruitful life before the Lord. He had done as God had commanded; yet, he was not ready to go to be with the Lord and prayed God would hear his prayers, and He did.

Regarding our parents; Christians know their parents or loved ones will be with the Lord yet we pray to God to give us more time with them. Perhaps they are bringing lost people to the Lord, perhaps they are serving Him in some other way that brings others into the kingdom of Christ. Whatever it may be God can change His plans to accommodate our desires if He wishes to do so. Christians are creatures of emotion. It isn’t illogical to ask God to allow loved ones to stay with us here on earth for a few more months or years. We know being with God is much better but God cares for his children and will answer prayer when if fits His plans.

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Duck Punt: How Phil Robertson Found Stardom After Giving Up Football

  By Dean | April 2, 2012 - 6:53 pm | Blog
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And to think this guy was my high school PE coach. Yeah, really, he was!

I’ve watched the first four episodes of Duck Dynasty and they depict the goodoleboy persona I remember from Phil but there is more to the story, MUCH more! Many of the things Phil says in the show on A&E are some of the very things he said to me as a high school junior playing football and trying to make sense of life.

This article gives an inside look at Phil you don’t catch on the show. Phil is a Godly Christian man who leads his family by example. If you can watch Duck Dynasty on A&E Network, Wednesday evenings at 9:00 and 9:30 central time.

This article provides a “behind the scenes” look at Phil and his Duck Commander empire.

In the late 1960s in Ruston, Louisiana, two Bulldog quarterbacks’ life paths diverged sharply. You might have heard of Terry Bradshaw, who went on to attain the top pick in the 1970 NFL Draft, a lengthy career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, four Super Bowl victories, a spot in the Hall of Fame and a second career in front of the camera. You might not have heard of Phil Robertson, who was ahead of Bradshaw on Louisiana Tech’s depth chart but gave up football with one year of eligibility remaining because the game and any future in it interfered with his heart’s dearest passion: duck-hunting season.

“At the time, no one quite understood what exactly was my problem because I didn’t put football as the ultimate goal, being this stud hoss football player, but what they didn’t see then, they get it now,” Robertson said. “Because as it turns out, what am I talking about now?”

Here is a link to Phil’s Duck Commander website.

Congratulations Phil. Couldn’t have happened to a better guy!

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