God's Role for Women

“3Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” (Titus 2:3-5, NASB)

The Bible has plenty to say about His ordained roles for both men and women. Unfortunately, our culture has pushed the Bible out of the public spotlight and has replaced its principles with humanistic philosophies of what it means to be a woman in today’s world. Unfortunately, the same philosophies have crept into the church as well.

It has become popular over the years for both men and women to hold full-time jobs, even after children are brought into the marriage. Children are placed in day care centers every day of the week and are essentially raised be someone else, while the mother goes off to her full-time career. By the time that she gets home in the evening, she has little time and energy left to devote much in the way of quality time with her children. The question remains as to who trains the children to know right from wrong and what it means to live a life that honors God. There are no sufficient replacements for the care that only a mother can provide. Unfortunately, the influence for women to pursue full-time careers is largely a result of the feminist movement. Many women were brainwashed into believing that motherhood was less desirable than a full-time career outside the home. It is interesting that in recent years, there seems to be a growing number of women, not necessarily Christians, who have moved away from that influence and have decided to become full-time mothers and housewives.

But above all, what does the Bible have to say about the matter? Just what is the God ordained role for the wife? Well, the Bible does have plenty to say about the subject. This past week, John MacArthur was teaching on this subject, and teaching the biblical principles for a godly wife. If you did not catch the radio broadcast, I would recommend downloading the podcast. No, it is probably not a popular topic, but it is something that needs to be taught more often. Unfortunately, few churches feel inclined to teach on this subject. Many undoubtedly are offended by such teaching, but it really does not matter; adherence to Scriptural teaching must remain paramount in the life of a Christian.

The Bible does not explicitly forbid women from performing any work outside the home and we need to be careful not to go further than what Scripture teaches, perhaps even formulating a legalistic rule that the Bible does not state. However, there are very strong biblical principles outlined in Scripture that should supply ample guidelines when considering whether the wife should seek employment outside the home. Furthermore, there are explicit commands as to the responsibilities of the wife. Now I understand that there are extenuating circumstances that sometimes arise, necessitating that the wife work outside the home on a full-time basis. But I believe these circumstances are the exception rather than the rule. Remember, we must always seek to line up our lives with Scripture and endeavor to live our lives as pleasing to the Lord, even when it is not convenient, or in opposition to what the world may think. For the believer, we should constantly be renewing our minds and purging our thinking from adopting and being carried away by the world’s philosophies (Romans 12:2). This of course, must be accomplished through Scripture.

So, just what does God expect as the role women should play? Let’s look at the book of Titus chapter 2. Paul, giving instruction to Titus in verse 1 says, “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine”. The term “fitting” means to be in accordance with, to conform in such a way as to stand out or to be conspicuous. We are to line up our lives with the truth of Scripture in such a way that it stands out to others, and that it is obvious that we live by a different standard than the world. Our lifestyles must provide a strong witness and testimony to the unbelieving world. To be effective in this, we must be sure that our lives differ from the world’s perspective, a way that is reflective of God’s Truth. The principles that Paul expounds in the verses following conform to biblical truth. The term “sound” means healthy and adherence to sound teaching certainly contributes to a healthy spiritual life.

Paul then gives instruction both for men and women. In verse 3, the older women are to be "reverent" or in other words "dignified". This means that they are to live honorable lives, exhibiting sensible judgment and are to be spiritually healthy. They are not to be known for engaging in gossip and are not to be addicted to wine, enabling them to be clear headed in their thinking. The term "older women" refers to those who were past child-bearing age. These are the women who have plenty of experience behind them, and have been well seasoned in the duties of being a godly wife and mother.

These older women were to be actively involved in teaching the younger women about those things that are pleasing to God. Their lives being well known to exhibit godliness, are an example for the younger women to follow. Their life long experiences of marriage and family leave them with the knowledge to pass along to the next generation. This is instruction so that the younger women can know how to love their husbands and children and how to live pure, sensible lives, being “workers at home” (Titus 2:5). These are qualities and obligations that are essential for all women, they are not optional. It should be obvious that the priority of the wife is to be maintaining her household and all of this instruction is meant to prepare the younger women to fulfill their God ordained role.

I know that the intention of this post is centered on the duties of wives, but I also want to point out that the responsibility of teaching and instruction of the younger men is conversely true for the older men. I think this is important and should be an integral part of the discipleship process of the local church. I often wonder if there is enough of this taking place in many of our churches today. I fear that all too often it is not.

But the primary point of the women’s responsibility is the term “workers at home”. The woman’s responsibility is to be focused on the matters surrounding keeping a godly household. This is to be the woman’s primary responsibility. Paul in 1 Timothy 5, gives instruction that the younger widowed women should marry, bear children and “keep house”. The Greek word translated “keep house” is “oikodespoteo”, and it means to rule or manage, as in the affairs of the family. She is not only to rear the children, but she is also in charge of the administration of the home. Proverbs 31:10-31 describes this type of woman.

The women of this day were just as subject to the worldly notions of feminism. The onslaught of feminist ideas was prevalent then nearly as much as it is today. It is nothing new and the contemporary feminism today is nothing but the same old lies that were perpetrated in the ancient world. It is unfortunate that many women, sometimes even within the church, have been deceived into believing the lies of feminism.

So I believe one of the primary question that need to be answered in reference to women working outside the home is whether or not they are still able to fulfill their obligations in the home. Quite frankly, I am not sure how any woman can maintain a full-time career and still have the time to sufficiently take care of her family and keep order in the home. This is particularly true when there are young children in the home. There simply cannot be enough time available to handle both. And someone needs to be around to take care of the younger children. Children simply cannot rear themselves. Who is there to instill godly principles in their lives?

It is no accident that the youth in our country are in trouble. We are reaching a crisis where youth are committing heinous crimes at younger ages. I am certain that everyone is familiar with the term latch-key children. These are the children that are left to themselves once they get home from school until mom and dad arrive home from work. The question remains, what are these kids doing in the meantime? Are they entertaining themselves with television programs and video games containing objectionable content? Should we then be surprised that children are being negatively influenced by these things? It is becoming commonplace for children to engage in violence that was nearly unheard of two or three decades ago. Just observe how many school shootings that we have witnessed over the last few years. General violence in schools has increased dramatically. This situation did not occur overnight, but the seeds of the problem were planted long ago and the current dilemma was cultivated over time.

Without the godly influence of a Christian mother who endeavors to instill biblical values in the lives of her children, what is going to happen to those children as they grow up? Will they succumb to the worldly philosophies and pattern their lives after the world? I really fear for many of the Christian youth. I am finding that many are adopting the ways of the world rather than seeking to line their lives up with Scripture.

So ultimately the real question is whether employment outside the home will severely prevent or hinder the wife’s obligation within the home. The home must be the top priority. I believe there is a dilemma facing the church today. If our lives begin to look more and more like the world, then what testimony do we have before the lost? We desperately need for our lives to speak to the world through a lifestyle that reflects a biblical world view, and we need to openly and honestly approach Scripture with the intent to allow it to penetrate our hearts and change us.

Wider-Mercy Salvation?

This grieved me when I first read about this a long while ago, but to actually hear Dr. Graham say these words is even more grievous.



Here is another video that has this clip in it as well about 3:50 minutes through it. This one shows a little bit of Billy Graham’s earlier years in his ministry. He certainly started out much differently.



Another example of his erroneous philosophy.



This is what happens when we begin to allow the truth to slip and go to great lengths not to offend anyone. Yes, we should not do anything to deliberately be offensive, but we need to remember that the gospel by its very nature is an offense to the lost (1 Corinthians 1:18-31). We are further obligated to give people the truth about their lost condition, preach the Gospel to them as the remedy for their sin, and warn of the eternal consequences if they reject it. It was Paul the apostle in 1 Corinthians 9:16 who wrote "woe is me if I do not preach the gospel". It is tragic that Billy Graham has veered so far off track. Unfortunately, this kind of teaching bears dire consequences for those who hear this and think there is an alternative way of salvation.

Listen below as John MacArthur confronts this “wider-mercy” salvation.

The Peril of Turning Away

“ 1Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. 3And this we will do, if God permits. 4For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.” (Hebrews 6:1-6; NASB)

The exhortation here is that the Hebrews embrace saving faith in Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Many were sitting just at the brink of saving faith, but were not taking the next step and embracing Jesus as Savior. In fact, they were slipping back into the Old Testament teaching, rather than moving “on to maturity”, that is, salvation through Jesus as Savior. The Old Testament teaching was only meant to lay the foundation for faith in Jesus as the Messiah. The Old Testament teaching could be revisited if it was used to help them move on to faith in Christ (“if God Permits”), but it is only God who can enable that faith to take place (John 6:44-65).

It has been proposed by some that this passage indicates that one can lose their salvation, which is how they interpret verse 6. However, if that is the case, then it is also true that person can never come back to the Lord (“it is impossible to renew them again to repentance”, v. 6). Yet those who take the position that once someone is saved that they can fall into sin and lose their salvation, constantly plead with people to repent. So it should appear obvious that this passage does not mean that. Furthermore, there are numerous passages elsewhere in Scripture that speak of the believer’s security in Christ (Philippians 1:6; Romans 8:38, 39; John 10:27-29).

But the real intent of this passage is not directed at Christians who fall into grievous sin, but rather the peril of rejecting Jesus Christ as Savior. In fact, the overall focus in Hebrews is on illustrating that Jesus was the appointed Savior prophesied and spoken of throughout the Old Testament.

The term “maturity” also translated “perfection” in some translations (KJV & NKJV), is the Greek word “teleiotes”, and means moral and spiritual perfection, an accomplishment achieved. Here it is referring to the accomplishment that Christ achieved through the cross to declare us righteous through His finished work. In other words it is speaking of salvation. It is not referring to spiritual growth in Christian character and sanctification in daily living, though that should become apparent once someone comes to genuine faith in Christ.

The problem with many of the Hebrews addressed here is that they were in danger of ultimately turning from the truth of God’s saving grace, drifting back into Old Testament teaching. Apparently they seemed like they got off to a good start, giving the appearance that they were true believers. This is similar to the description of those in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:18-23. Verse 20 describes the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, but falls away once trouble ensues. In a similar fashion, many of the Hebrews had wonderful spiritual encounters, but soon fell away. Just like the seed planted on rock never is able to take root, so these people were never were able to become grounded in the faith. They were “enlightened”, receiving instruction in biblical truth and were able to at least understand on an intellectual basis. They had a “taste” of the “heavenly gift”, but seem to not have feasted on and digested it. They were in some sense “partakers” or “shared” (NIV& ESV) in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, even witnessing His mighty work, or even falling under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, but fell short of experiencing salvation. Even the presence of signs and mighty works does no necessarily mean that those involved are genuine believers, as Jesus warned in Matthew 7.

Those who willfully turn from the knowledge of the truth of the gospel, defecting from the faith are apostates and no longer have a sacrifice that provides a covering for their sins. There is no sacrifice for sin apart from Jesus Christ. To disregard the finality and efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice is to hold Jesus in contempt and is “insulted the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29), essentially committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31, 32).

Once the gospel is refused, a hardening of the heart sets in and once that hardening takes place, the heart is no longer receptive to the truth. Earlier in Hebrews, they were exhorted not to harden their hearts as their ancestors did in the book of Numbers (Chapters 13-14). There, the children of Israel witnessed the mighty work of God, but allowed unbelief to settle in and slipped into grumbling and complaining, resulting in their turning away from God (Hebrews 3:7-19).

The rejection of God’s offer of grace after receiving the full instruction and enlightenment of the truth is a sin that inhibits their restoration to a place of forgiveness. Repentance becomes impossible for them (Hebrews 6:6; 10:26). In this state, “they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame” placing themselves in the same position as those who crucified Christ, treating Him as a mere man that deserved to be crucified.

The more that I read of the final necessity of Christ’ s sacrifice and the strong exhortation of the Jews to receive Jesus as Savior, the more grieved I am over the blunder of men like John Hagee who wrongly teach that the Jews are covered under the Old Testament Covenant. How can anyone misunderstand this? Have they not read Hebrews and Romans? I just cannot fathom how anyone could teach that the Jews can be saved any other way except through Jesus Christ.

But I believe that there is a strong exhortation here, not just for the Jews, but for anyone who comes to the brink of saving faith, but turns and essentially dismisses the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is vital to respond in faith to the Gospel. To reject the Gospel is to create a hardening of the heart and places that individual in the peril of sealing their fate for eternity.

Attempting to Make Sense of the Different "Streams" of the Emerging Church

While there are those in the general Emerging Church movement who may quip “’Emergent’ does not speak for us” or “’Emergent’ is not our denomination”, many of those same people also use and refer to books and material promoted by the organization referred to as “Emergent”. I have been amazed at some who take offense at being associated with Brian McLaren, but they are also the same ones who will often adopt many of his philosophies and quote from his books. Emergent (also known as Emergent Village) is the official liberal wing of the broader Emerging Church Movement. Emergent also seeks to be a profound influence in the broader Emerging Church.


But the movement can be broken down a bit more than just Emerging and Emergent. Mark Driscoll in an article entitled “A Pastoral Perspective on the Emerging Church”, explains the differences between three basic streams of the Emerging Church Movement as identified by Dr. Ed Stetzer. This is an interesting article that describes the various segments of the Emerging Church movement. But even in the category of the more conservative “Relevants”, I have great concern, especially since Rob Bell and Donald Miller tend to be their prominent spokesmen. Rob Bell is not in the least bit truly conservative theologically as many people unfortunately consider him to be. And Donald Miller tends to be doctrinally ambiguous, particularly in his book “Blue Like Jazz”. To me it is very telling when Brian McLaren can provide his glowing endorsement on the back of Miller’s book. Furthermore, there is information in Miller’s book pointing people to Emergent Village, including the URL to the website. Neither individual inspires any enthusiasm on my part. In fact, I feel the need to warn others about their teaching, especially in the case of Rob Bell. There is, however, a relatively small group within the Relevants who do embrace Reformed Theology and are more inclined to gain theological insight from such men as John Piper and Tim Keller. This group is generally theologically conservative, but is, in my estimation, very small. This is where Mark Driscoll would fit in. However, I am apprehensive to heartily recommend Driscoll's ministry given his propensity to utilize slang terms and phrases that are essentially unsuitable for Christians to use in general speech, let alone from the pulpit. Unfortunately, this has earned him the notoriety of being known as "Mark the cussing pastor", a term that Donald Miller refers to him as in his book "Blue Like Jazz". It is not his theology that I have the problem with, it is the way he presents himself in an apparent effort to be hip and cool to appeal to the younger generation.


While I recognize that there are certainly those who may hold to orthodox Christian beliefs within the broader Emerging Church, I often wonder what they expect to truly accomplish by being identified as “Emerging”, especially when their views are often in direct variance with the theological views of many of their colleagues. The very fact that they uphold the notion that there are indeed absolute truths, causes them to be ostracized by many if not the majority in the Emerging Church movement.


At the end of Mark’s article, he summarizes where he sees the movement heading.


“In the end, I believe the conversation will result in multiple communities arriving at different conclusions and breaking off to have their own conversations, with their own Bible translations, leaders, books, magazines, websites, blogs, conferences, and model churches. That is already happening as new networks are forming and new church planting networks are establishing new churches with varying answers to the missiological questions. Over time, this may result in new denominations because inevitably systems must be put in place to serve a movement and somehow an umpire must be put in place to make decisions about what is and what is not acceptable doctrine and practice.


The only hope is a return to the true gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in Scripture. The gospel must be unleashed in the world through the Church for the transforming salvation of sinners and their cultures. If the gospel is lost, as I fear it already has been among some Revisionists, then tomorrow will be a dark day for the truth about Jesus.”



In my opinion, the Emerging Church is destined to end up as a terrible train wreck. And if the rest of the evangelical church follows their lead, it will be headed down the same collision course with disaster.

John Hagee’s Warped Teaching

People need to be warned concerning the abhorrent teaching of John Hagee. One particular error that he has become notorious for is what is called the “Two Covenant Theory”, teaching that the Jews are covered under the Old Testament covenant and really do not need to be evangelized. Despite the fact that he has often attempted to deny that this is what he teaches, an examination of his teaching proves otherwise. I am not going to go into detail his various statements over the years right now, but just listen to his advertisement for his book “In Defense of Israel” in this video clip below.



But Scripture tells a different story concerning Christ and salvation. The book of Hebrews was written to exhort the Hebrews to embrace saving faith through Jesus Christ. The whole book is a plea to embrace Jesus as their Savior.

Unfortunately, it appears that those who espouse this dual covenant theory believe that the passages in Romans 10 & 11 mean that there is a remnant in Israel saved by God’s election and relation to Abraham, and not by the cross of Christ. Essentially, men like Hagee believe that Jesus came to provide a covenant of grace for the Gentiles, but the Jews are covered by a separate covenant of election.

But that is not at all what those passages mean. This philosophy is an attack on the very Gospel that was preached by Jesus and the apostle Paul. In fact, Paul had “great sorrow and unceasing grief” because of the rejection of Jesus by his Jewish brethren (Romans 9:1-8). Paul’s desire and prayer was for their salvation through Jesus Christ (Romans 10:1-4).

Furthermore, the salvation spoken of in Romans 11 is yet future as God deals with His people at the approaching of the second coming of Jesus Christ. This is when God will remove the blindness of their hearts so that they will receive Jesus as their messiah. Incidentally, this does not mean that every single individual will be saved simply because they are Jews. Salvation is dependent on the individual placing their trust in Christ, and it is clear in Scripture that just as there are Gentiles who will not be saved due to their unbelief, so there will also be Jews who will not be saved because of their unbelief as well. The phrase “and so all Israel will be saved” in verse 26 is in no way meant to imply that all Jews are saved simply because of their ethnic background.

It is amazing just how many people fall prey to false teaching. Just because someone may sound authoritative and has become popular, does not mean that they are correctly teaching from Scripture. All teaching must be scrutinized by the text of Scripture, and false teaching should be exposed as such.

Sloppy Handling of Scripture

I saw this video clip over at Big Orange Truck. This is typical of far too many in the KJVOnly crowd and an example of why we need more men who will carefully and accurately teach the Word of God.

(Warning:Crude Language)

The Atonement

Excerpt from “The Atonement” by John Murray

I. The Source. Any doctrine of the atonement is misdirected from the outset if it does not take account of the fact that the atonement is the provision of God's love. 'God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son' (John 3:16). 'Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins' (I John 4:10; cf. Rom. 5:8; 8:32; Eph. 2:4, 5; I John 4:9). The title 'God' in these texts refers specifically to God the Father. So it is to the initiative of the Father's love that our attention is drawn when we think of the fountain from which the atonement emanates. And all that has been achieved by Christ's vicarious undertaking must always be subordinated to the design and purpose of the Father's love. This is the orientation which the classic exponents of Reformed doctrine have always recognized, and it is a caricature of their position to suppose that they represented the love and compassion of the Father as constrained by the sacrifice of Christ.

In this fact that the love of God is the spring from which the atonement flows we encounter an ultimate of revelation and of human thought. It is the marvel that evokes wonder, adoration, and praise. It is a love that arises from the unsearchable riches of God's goodness. But though an ultimate of revelation, the Scripture not only permits but requires further characterization of this love. The love of God is differentiating in respect of its objects. It is the love of God the Father that Paul has in view when he speaks of Him who 'spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all' (Rom. 8:32). But it is within the orbit defined by Romans 8:29 that this love must be understood, and the latter text speaks of distinguishing love that predestinates to a determinate end — conformity to the image of his Son. Ephesians 1:4, 5 is to the same effect. God chose a people in Christ and in love predestinated them unto adoption through Jesus Christ. It would annul the witness of Scripture if we ignored the differentiation which the love of God institutes and failed to construe the atonement as the provision of this distinguishing love and as that which secures the design of God's electing grace.

II. The Necessity. The love of God is the cause of the atonement. But why did the love of God take this way of realizing its end? This is the question of the reason as distinguished from the cause. Notable theologians in the history of the church have taken the position that there was no absolute reason, that God could have saved men by other means than by the blood-shedding of His own Son, that, since God is omnipotent and sovereign, other ways of forgiving sin were available to Him. But God was pleased to adopt this method because the greatest number of advantages and blessings accrued from it. God could have redeemed men without the shedding of blood, but He freely chose not to and thereby He magnifies the glory of His grace and enhances the precise character of the salvation bestowed (e.g., Augustine, Aquinas, Thomas Goodwin, John Ball, Thomas Blake).

It might appear that this view does honor to the omnipotence, sovereignty, and grace of God and, also, that to posit more would be presumptuous on our part and beyond the warrant of Scripture. Is it not the limit of our thought to say that 'without the shedding of blood' (Heb. 9:22) there is actually no remission and be satisfied with that datum? There are, however, certain things God cannot do. 'He cannot deny himself' (II Tim. 2:13) and it is 'impossible for God to lie' (Heb. 6:18). The only question is: are there exigencies arising from the character and perfections of God which make it intrinsically necessary that redemption should be accomplished by the sacrifice of the Son of God? It should be understood that it was not necessary for God to redeem men. The purpose to redeem is of the free and sovereign exercise of His love. But having purposed to redeem, was the only alternative the blood-shedding of His own Son as the way of securing that redemption? There appear to be good reasons for an affirmative answer.

1. Salvation requires not only the forgiveness of sin but also justification. And justification, adequate to the situation in which lost mankind is, demands a righteousness such as belongs to no other than the incarnate Son of God, a righteousness undefiled and undefilable, a righteousness with divine property and quality (cf. Rom. 1:17; 3:21; 22; 10:3; II Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9). It is the righteousness of the obedience of Christ (Rom. 5:19). But only the Son of God. incarnate, fulfilling to the full extent the commitments of the Father's will, could have provided such a righteousness. A concept of salvation bereft of the justification which this righteousness imparts is an abstraction of which Scripture knows nothing.

2. Sin is the contradiction of God and he must react against it with holy wrath. Wherever sin is, the wrath of God rests upon it (cf. Rom. 1:18). Otherwise God would be denying Himself, particularly His holiness, justice, and truth. But wrath must be removed if we are to enjoy the favor of God which salvation implies. And the only provision for the removal of wrath is propitiation. This is surely the import of Romans 3:25, 26, that God set forth Christ a propitiation to declare His righteousness, that He might he just and the justifier of the ungodly.

3. The cross of Christ is the supreme demonstration of the love of God (cf. Rom. 5:8; I John 4:9, 10). But would it be a supreme demonstration of love if the end secured by it could have been achieved without it? Would it be love to secure the end by such expenditure as the agony of Gethsemane and the abandonment of Calvary for God's own well-beloved and only-begotten Son if the result could have been attained by less costly means? In that event would it not have been love without wisdom? In this we cannot suppress the significance of our Lord's prayer in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:39). If it had been possible for the cup to pass from him, his prayer would surely have been answered. It is when the indispensable exigencies fulfilled by Jesus' suffering unto death are properly assessed that we can see the marvel of God's love in the ordeal of Calvary. So great was the Father's love to lost men that He decreed their redemption even though the cost was nought less than the accursed tree. When Calvary is viewed in this light. then the love manifested not only takes on meaning but fills us with adoring amazement. Truly this is love.

Those who think that in pursuance of God's saving purpose the cross was not intrinsically necessary are, in reality, not dealing with the hypothetical necessity of the atonement but with a hypothetical salvation. For, on their own admission, they are not saying that the actual salvation designed and bestowed could have been enjoyed without Christ but only salvation of lesser character and glory. But of such salvation the Scripture knows nothing and no good purpose can be served by an imaginary hypothesis.

[The remainder of this article can be view at Grace Online Library.]

Don’t Worry

25"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25; NASB)

Worry seems to be a natural part of life, and for some, it seems to be an incessant preoccupation. Unfortunately, unchecked, it can have severe consequences. It has a way of draining our energy and can take a severe toll on our health. It can also dominate our thinking to the point that we are essentially paralyzed and are afraid of any risks and take our focus of more productive endeavors. At times, worry can cause us to become irrational.

But the worst problem with worry is that it essentially sends a message that we really do not trust God. We are essentially saying that we do not trust in God’s provision and loving care. Yet it is an easy trap for all of us to fall into. But we need to approach worry for what it really is – sin.

What worries us is not so much the worry of owning luxuries. It is usually worry concerning our basic needs. There is probably nothing that worries us more than having enough of the necessities of life. Here, the people to whom Jesus spoke where worried about the basics. But we are commanded to do just the opposite – to trust in the Lord’s provision of our basic necessities. And it is too easy to justify our worry since these are the basics that everyone needs to survive.

Worrying about our needs is something that the Lord does not want to occupy our time. Our focus should be on things of eternal importance. To worry about even the basics is something that will distract us from the mission the Lord has for us in this life. Meeting our needs is something that our Lord promises to do and our obligation in this matter is to simply trust the Lord.

Jesus illustrates by turning our attention to how our Heavenly Father feeds the birds (Matthew 6:26). If He feeds and takes care of them, and we are worth more than they are, isn’t it true that He will take care of us?

26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27"And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 26-27; NASB)

And what does worry accomplish? According to verse 27, we can’t even add any time to our life by worrying.

Observe the obsession today with clothing. There is never a shortage of advertising showcasing the latest fashions of the day. These fashions continually change and people are obsessed with keeping up with these latest fashions. Yet, with all the variety of fashion, it still cannot compare with the beauty of God’s creation. Even King Solomon’s clothing – whose pageantry and kingdom was world famous - could not compare with the beauty of God’s natural creation (2 Chronicles 9). Each petal of a flower is unique and exhibits a beauty unsurpassed by anything man can create despite all the ingenuity he can muster. Taking a moment to observe God’s creation can leave one awestruck at the incredible beauty and harmony of God’s creative work. But in the end, all of creation will be destroyed “with intense heat” (2 Peter 3:10). If God took so much care in His creation, despite the fact that it will be destroyed in the end, how much more will He take care of us, who are far more important (Matthew 6:30). Yet we can have the tendency to worry about what we will wear.

God’s wonderful provision is illustrated many times throughout Scripture. One example that we can observe in Scripture is that of Elijah. In 1 Kings 17, the Lord declared that He would bring about a drought should the people turn from Him to serve other gods. The Lord commanded Elijah to leave Israel and go to the brook Cherith, where He would provide drink and miraculously command ravens to provide food for Elijah. And the ravens did indeed bring Elijah bread and meat, morning and evening, and he was able to get his drink from the brook. After the brook dried up due to the drought, God continued to provide for Elijah’s basic needs. God directed Elijah to go to Zarephath, where He provided for Elijah’s needs through the meager means of a poor widow who didn’t even have enough to provide for her and her own son’s needs.

The concern with what we will wear, eat and drink is something that the world earnestly seeks after. The term “eagerly” in Matthew 6:32 means to seek diligently, to crave and pursue with all of one’s might. The people of the world are consumed and preoccupied with endeavoring to be satisfied with material goods. But this behavior and attitude is not to be characteristic of the child of God.

If God knows and lovingly cares for us, then we have the confidence that He will provide for us. He has all the resources at His disposal. In light of that, we should have the freedom to serve Him without anxiety. We have the confidence that we can bring our needs before Him, and this should bring peace to us as His children whom He loves.

“6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6&7;NASB)

Our duty as God’s children is to seek His kingdom.

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

We are not to worry about what will happen in the future. No one really knows what will happen in the future and worrying about it will accomplish little. There are enough things to be concerned with for each day. There is never any shortage of things that can induce worry concerning the future. Many of these things may never materialize anyway. Even if they do, preoccupation with worry cannot change them. The same God who provides for our needs today is the same God who will provide for us tomorrow. Incessant worry will only paralyze us and hinder our mission for God.

"34So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:24; NASB)

The real question that we need to ask ourselves is whether or not we truly place seeking after God’s kingdom first. Do we earnestly desire for people to be brought to Christ and see God’s kingdom grow? Our peace and confidence in God’s provision for our needs gives strong testimony to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Seeking God’s kingdom first means that we desire for Christ to rule in our life. The kingdom of God is revealed to the world through the righteousness, peace and joy that should be clearly evident in our lives.

We must never forget that when we came to Christ, we were enlisted in God’s service much like a soldier. We are not to preoccupy ourselves with the things of the world.

“4No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2 Timothy 2:4; NASB)

Worry is a sin that should not be a characteristic of a child of God. It is unnecessary due to the Lord’s loving provision and will distract us from our service to the Lord.

Who’s Your Master?

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”(Matthew 6:24; NASB)

The term “master” here denotes someone who has sovereign authority or control over another. This means exclusive control over another’s actions and priorities. This is not the same as someone who may hold two jobs, devoting a portion of their time to two different bosses. In the sense of someone possessing sovereign authority, it means that they have final say in what that person does. In reference to the master and servant or bond slave relationship, the word used in Scripture is the Greek “doulos”, and refers to someone who surrenders their will for that of another. This involves giving up one’s own interests to be devoted to the interests of the other party. Only one master can have total control at any given time. Here, there can only be one master in control; either God, or wealth. Wealth encompasses anything associated with worldly goods; money, homes, anything falling under the umbrella of worldly possessions.


The sad thing is that it is possible to be involved in church activity, but actually have your heart set on worldliness. The scribes and the Pharisees did just that. They were heavily involved in religious activity, but their hearts were far from being devoted to God. This same situation is described in Isaiah, where the people gave lip service to their devotion to God, keeping their routine religious traditions, but their hearts were far from God.

“ 13 Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”(Isaiah29:13; NASB)

The term hate as it is used in Scripture, does not necessarily mean in an outright emotional sense. It is often used in the sense of having less regard for. In Romans 9:13, speaking in reference to Jacob and Esau, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”, is not referring to outright emotional hatred, but the fact that God chose Jacob to receive divine blessing, and left Esau to receive judgment. Another passage we can look at is Luke 14:26, where our Lord is describing what it takes to be His disciple.

26"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”
(Luke 14:26; NASB)

Here, hate is not used in the sense of deep emotional hatred, but rather it is speaking of holding lesser regard for. Matthew 10:37 helps us to understand this tough command.


37"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:37; NASB)


Our love for anything or anyone must be less than our love for God. It is the love of this present world that causes people to forsake any commitment to God and His kingdom. Such was the case with Demas in 2 Timothy 4:10. When the going got tough, he abandoned the work of Christ and deserted Paul.

Scripture is replete with warnings concerning the love of money and the world. James 4:4 tells us that “friendship with the world is hostility toward God” and that if we choose to “be a friend of the world” we become an enemy of God. Scripture warns us not to “love the world or anything in the world” , and for those that do, “the love of the Father” is not in them (1 John 2:15). All that is identified with the world is opposed to God.

“For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.”
(1 John 2:16-17; NIV)

We are admonished in the Bible to be content with what we have. It is discontentment with what we have that breeds self-indulgent greed for money. Those that allow an attitude of discontentment to take root, develop a consuming desire for acquiring more money that drives them to make foolish decisions. This can ultimately end in a ruined life, and the peril of destruction and eternal punishment.

“6But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. 7For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 9But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
(1 Timothy 6:6-10; NASB)

Our culture has a tendency to pull at us to go along with the world’s philosophy, particularly with materialism. We are bombarded with numerous advertising schemes aimed at breeding discontentment with what we have, and it is too easy to get caught up in it. We need to continually guard ourselves from the love of money, since it can easily draw our hearts away from God.

The Evil Eye

22"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
23"But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
(Matthew 6:22-23;NASB)

Here, our Lord is using the analogy of the eye, to describe the condition of our spiritual insight or understanding. Just as the eye allows light to enter into our body, so our spiritual sight or understanding either allows us to be illuminated by God’s Truth, or blocks or distorts our vision of the Truth. It is imperative that we guard our hearts, since our hearts govern our spiritual vision. Once out hearts become centered on worldly goods, our vision becomes blocked from illumination from God’s Truth.

The “clear”, or good eye will allow the entrance of the truth of God’s Word, allowing us to receive illumination and insight from God. This will allow us to discern clear direction and guidance from God, as our hearts are changed. Our focus in life will be centered on things of eternal importance and we will seek those actions which are pleasing to God and live for His glory. The wealth of this world will pale in comparison to the true riches stored up in Heaven. However, if our eye is “bad” or “evil”, our hearts are darkened and this condition affects our whole being. In this condition, it is impossible to perceive clear direction as it pertains to spiritual matters. And we set our priorities based on the condition of our heart, since it is the seat of our passions, desires and affections. Instead of seeking God and His glory, we seek our own glory, succumbing to our passions and lust for material and worldly gain.

It is sad that there are those who allow their hearts to be deceived by the wealth of the world. There are many who regularly attend church, yet there seems to be little spiritual progress in their life. Spiritual growth is stunted and there seems to be a lack of genuine love and passion for the Word of God. Sadly, as you talk with many of them, the overriding theme in their conversations seems to be worldly focused. It is no wonder that it is nearly impossible for them to perceive spiritual matters.

This is why Jesus said in reference to this condition “how great is the darkness!” This condition will snuff out the desire for God and His glory. This is why we need to remind ourselves of the importance of guarding our hearts and minds. I can’t help but wonder just how much this condition is significantly contributing to the shallowness of the church today. Once the focus in life becomes worldly pleasure and wealth, the desire for God and His Word is severely diminished. Just survey the titles of books and materials in Christian bookstores today. Multitudes of books and materials are focused on man-centered philosophy wrapped in a few verses Scripture, with themes clearly associated with a humanistic viewpoint.

But exploring a little deeper concerning the term “bad” or “evil” eye, and the “clear” or “healthy” eye reveals a little more depth to the meaning. The term “clear” is translated from the Greek “haplous”. It is similar to the word “haplotes” translated “liberality” in Romans 12:8. In fact, “haplotes” is derived from “haplous” and the same term is also used in 2 Corinthians 9:13 in reference to the generous giving of the Macedonians. It should appear clear that the terms are associated with generosity. Basically, a generous heart is the sign of good spiritual health.

In contrast, “bad” or “evil” in Matthew 6:23 is derived from the Greek “poneros” and is used in Scripture in Matthew 20:15 to refer to “envy” or “covetousness”. This was the parable of the landowner who hired laborers at various times to labor in his vineyard. Those who were hired last and worked for a shorter period of time received the same wages as the ones who were hired first. The laborers who were hired first grumbled over this fact. The landowner replied with the fact that he was within his right to exercise his generosity as he wished. Here the term “evil” or “envious” eye is used in reference to their response to his generosity. This fits the context in Matthew 6, which speaks of the love of money.

It is also worthy to note that the term “evil eye” is used elsewhere in Scripture and denotes a grudging or greedy spirit. Proverbs 28:22 describes the man with the “evil eye” who hastily chases after wealth. Those who have their minds set on the things of the world will inevitably develop a greedy attitude toward money, and do anything in their power to gain more of it. In greed, many begin to make rash decisions in managing their money, ultimately losing it all. But worst of all, once this greed takes over, the spiritual blinders go down and our hearts are darkened.

So how about those who seem to give large amounts of money even within the church? Many seem to be very generous. We can find the answer by reading Luke 21:2 and Mark 12:42. Here, Jesus observed those who were giving to the treasury, where donations and offerings to the temple were made. Many of the rich were giving a considerable amount of money. But there was a poor widow who gave a miniscule amount of money, two small copper coins, which was a considerable sacrifice on her part. The term “poor widow” denotes someone in extreme poverty. The two small copper coins she put into the treasury were each only equal to one eighth of a cent, yet it was “all she had to live on” (v. 44). To put this in perspective, each coin was equal to 1/64 of a denarius and a denarius was equal to one day’s wage. She would have been a prime candidate to receive aid, but she was giving what little bit she had in her possession. The rich were giving out of their abundance, which required little sacrifice on their part. Perhaps they were somewhat proud and boastful in their giving. The reward in giving to God is largely dependent on the attitude of the heart, not the amount of the gift.

'1And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.
2And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins.
3And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;
4for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on."' (Luke 21:1-4; NASB)

It is extremely important that we as believers get a good grasp on our attitude towards money. This can be the greatest hindrance to our service to God and Scripture teaches that God is not going to entrust us with true riches in terms of responsibility if we cannot manage the “unrighteous wealth” (Luke 16:11). If we prove faithful in handling our money, God will be more likely to entrust us with greater spiritual responsibility. It is frightening that this issue can creep into our lives so subtly, yet it is extremely lethal in its ability to spiritually blind us. And the culture in America can have a tendency to lead us in this direction if we allow it to.

As a test of your spiritual condition concerning this matter, ask yourself what is your response to the Word of God? Do you have spiritual sensitivity to Scriptural truth that makes you desire to put into practice what you read? When making spiritual decisions, particularly in how you serve God, is money a key determining factor to whether or not you are willing to serve God in a certain capacity? Are you more concerned with your spiritual growth or are you preoccupied with gaining wealth? Your attitude toward money and wealth is a key factor in your spiritual health.

Yeah, I know…

I am probably among the worst bloggers in blogland, especially considering that I haven’t posted anything since the end of January. But the past couple of weeks have been busy, especially this last week. Work has been particularly challenging, and one day I was up for 24 hours straight. Sometimes in the IT industry, things like this happen and it is not particularly fun. There was also another night where I had to be up during the very early hours of the morning to monitor a software implementation to production. So needless to say, I have been pretty exhausted this last week. This week should be a little quieter. So I hope to be posting something soon.

Spiritual Growth

From “The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions”
Compiled by Arthur Bennett

O THOU MOST HIGH,
In the way of thy appointment I am waiting for thee,
my desire is to thy name,
my mind to remembrance of thee.

I am a sinner, but not insensible of my state.

My iniquities are great and numberless,
but thou art adequate to my relief,
for thou art rich in mercy;
the blood of thy Son can cleanse from all sin;
the agency of thy spirit can subdue my most powerful lusts.

Give me a tender, wakeful conscience
that can smite and torment me when I sin.

May I be consistent in conversation and conduct,
the same alone as in company,
in prosperity and adversity,
accepting all thy commandments as right,
and hating every false way.

May I never be satisfied with my present spiritual progress,
but to faith add virtue, knowledge, temperance, godliness,
brotherly kindness, charity.

May I never neglect
what is necessary to constitute Christian character,
and needful to complete it.

May I cultivate the expedient,
develop the lovely, adorn the gospel,
recommend the religion of Jesus,
accommodate myself to thy providence.

Keep me from sinking or sinning in the evil day;
Help me to carry into ordinary life portions of divine truth
and use them on suitable occasions, so that
its doctrines may inform,
its warnings caution,
its rules guide,
its promises comfort me.

Where is Your Treasure?

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:19-21; NASB)


If I could point out one sin that is most pervasive in our society today-and has unfortunately invaded the church as well – I would say materialism would either take top place or at least come dangerously close to the top. Of course, this is not to say that there are not other sins that have become extremely problematic, because there are. And I could make a list of many that are in the forefront and devastating to our society and unfortunately the church as well. But remember, that it is often the love of material wealth that is at the center of instigating the rise of many others sins. 1 Timothy 6:10 tells us that “the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil”.

A Discipleship Journal survey ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to readers, and materialism ranked number one (Discipleship Journal, 11-12/92).

It is the love of money that causes man to set his priorities based on what yields the most opportunity for profit. It causes men to lust after wealth to the point that they are willing to lie, cheat and steal to gain more. Or let’s even take abortion for example. Some often view a pregnancy as an inhibition to furthering a career to pursue wealth, or simply view a child as too costly and opt to kill their unborn baby. This to me is heinous and not much different than what the children of Israel did when they offered their children in sacrifice in false worship of Molech (Jeremiah 7:31; 2 Kings 23:10). Think about it-the pursuit of wealth and furthering career growth becomes the focus of their worship to the point that they are sacrificing their child to their “god” of money or worldly pursuit. If that does not touch the apex of selfishness, I don’t know what does!

Jesus is exhorting His hearers to store up treasures in Heaven, rather than on earth. Treasure on earth is temporal. It is subject to decay and deterioration. Men seek to steal others wealth. These are the things that matter the least, and unfortunately, man places them at center stage. I am sure many can recall the saying “whoever dies with the most toys wins”. But that is absolutely and blatantly false. No one truly wins. And as King Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes came to realize, all of the earthly treasures and pleasures cannot provide lasting satisfaction (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11). You can’t take any of it with you when you go. It was once said by Billy Graham that he never saw a U-Haul towed behind a hearse. How true!

But where our treasure lies is where our focus in life is going to be. The word treasure comes from the Greek “thesaurus”, and refers to things laid in store as in a treasury, a collection of treasured valuables. The word heart (Gr. Kardia) refers to the central core of spiritual life, the very soul from where our thoughts, passions, affections and desires emanate. It includes our intellectual faculty, our will and character. And it is affected either for good or for bad, controlling our affections, emotions, passions and appetites. If our heart is focused on earthly wealth, then that is where we are going to focus our attention. We will spend most of our time pursuing possessions and earthly gain, and spiritual matters will be of little or no concern.

The sad reality is that many, even in the church have become too focused on temporal wealth and pleasures. Scripture teaches us that all of the things of this world will ultimately be destroyed, and admonishes us to live exemplary lives in light of this fact (2 Peter 3:10-13). We are to be holy in our conduct, and passionate in our pursuit of godliness. The Bible also tells us that there is coming a day when believers will be judged for the things that relate to activities concerning our eternal reward (2 Corinthians 5:9-10). The material things of this life are meaningless in light of eternity.

It is for this reason that Jesus exhorts us to store up treasures in heaven, things of eternal significance. A place where they are secure, cannot be taken by others or deteriorate over time. If our hearts are heaven bound, then we will pursue with great passion those things that bear the most eternal significance, and we will seek to keep our lives focused upon God and the furtherance of His kingdom.

In evaluating our attitude concerning material wealth, there are some important questions that can reveal where our heart is really focused. When we consider life goals, how many revolve around God and His work? What things are the object of our affections? How do we spend our time and efforts? What do we spend our resources on? Answers to these questions should help in evaluating where our focus in life really is.

Importance of Redeeming Time

Excerpt from:

The Preciousness of Time and the Importance of Redeeming It
By Jonathan Edwards
December 1734

"Fourth, time is very precious, because when it is past, it cannot be recovered. There are many things which men possess, which if they part with, they can obtain them again. If a man have parted with something which he had, not knowing the worth of it, or the need he should have of it; he often can regain it, at least with pains and cost. If a man have been overseen in a bargain, and have bartered away or sold something, and afterwards repents of it, he may often obtain a release, and recover what he had parted with. — But it is not so with respect to time. When once that is gone, it is gone forever; no pains, no cost will recover it. Though we repent ever so much that we let it pass, and did not improve it while we had it, it will be to no purpose. Every part of it is successively offered to us, that we may choose whether we will make it our own, or not. But there is no delay. It will not wait upon us to see whether or no we will comply with the offer. But if we refuse, it is immediately taken away, and never offered more. As to that part of time which is gone, however we have neglected to improve it, it is out of our possession and out of our reach.

If we have lived fifty, or sixty, or seventy years, and have not improved our time, now it cannot be helped. It is eternally gone from us. All that we can do, is to improve the little that remains. Yea, if a man have spent all his life but a few moments unimproved, all that is gone is lost, and only those few remaining moments can possibly be made his own. And if the whole of a man’s time be gone, and it be all lost, it is irrecoverable. — Eternity depends on the improvement of time. But when once the time of life is gone, when once death is come, we have no more to do with time; there is no possibility of obtaining the restoration of it, or another space in which to prepare for eternity. If a man should lose the whole of his worldly substance, and become a bankrupt, it is possible that his loss may be made up. He may have another estate as good. But when the time of life is gone, it is impossible that we should ever obtain another such time. All opportunity of obtaining eternal welfare is utterly and everlastingly gone."



[You can read this article in its entirety here at "A Puritan's Mind"]

Thoughts on the 2008 Presidential Race from Al Mohler

Al Mohler had some comments concerning the 2008 presidential race this last Friday. I particularly agree with his following comment:

“The rhetoric of the race -- and the rhetoric of many evangelicals -- is disturbing. This race is important and necessarily so. We are talking about the next President of the United States, after all. But evangelicals have invested far too much hope in the political process. No government can make people good, transform humanity, or eliminate sin. The political sphere is important, but never ultimate. Jesus Christ is Lord -- and He will be Lord regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.”

How true. And I certainly wish evangelicals would put as much effort into building their relationship with Jesus Christ and knowledge of the truth of His Word, as they do in their political pursuits.

The battle will not be ultimately won on the political front. Only Jesus Christ can truly change the hearts of men and women. It is infinitely more important that we concentrate on the proclamation of the Gospel and the straight forward truth of Scripture. It is not that I advocate ignoring the political process altogether. Believers should be responsible citizens and vote for the condidates that best reflect our values, especially in a nation where we have the privilege to do so. But I think evangelicals have become too engrossed in the process to the point that we have dropped the ball on guarding the truth of Scripture in our churches.

Get the New Year Off to a Good Start

You may have set some new goals for 2008, and perhaps some of those thoughts were directed toward making a more concentrated effort at deepening your understanding of Biblical truth. You may want to check out Biblical Training. This is an excellent resource, offering both lay and seminary level courses. And these are offered free of charge. They are also involved in a project to offer classes to train leaders in churches in third world countries. I would recommend offering them a generous donation so that they can expand and continue to offer these courses. I think you would agree that it is definitely a worthy cause. Contributors to the material on Biblical Training include Dr. Bill Mounce and Dr. John Piper and faculty from various schools including Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. There is plenty of solid teaching there.

Another good resource is Founders Ministry Study Center. Most of these courses are offered for a fee of $75 per course plus books and materials. This is another great resource for those unable to relocate and attend a seminary.

These are only a couple of many resources that are available online. But these are great low cost options to receive biblical training.

The Real Miracle of Christmas

The most important aspect of Christmas is the fact that God was incarnate in Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, and came into this world “to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Without that important fact, the Christmas season has no biblical significance. And for the believer, it should be the most precious thing and the source for our joy. It is through this miracle that demonstrates how God relates to us and how we relate to Him. It is that fact that should be the continuous joy for the believer throughout the year.

But take a moment and ponder this great miracle. God, without abdicating His divinity and sovereign role as the great “I AM”, who always was and had no beginning, came into this world as part of His creation. Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, became a human being. Jesus existed from eternity past, He was not created. He was spirit without material substance until he became fully a man at what we call the incarnation. John 1:1 sums up this great mystery; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”(NASB) In speaking of His eternality in verse 2, it says “He was in the beginning with God.”

It is clear in Scripture that Jesus had a human body. John 1:14, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”, He was born into this world just like human babies are born (Luke 2:7), He grew like human children grow and increased in wisdom through learning (Luke 2:40, 52), He became hungry and became physically weary (Matthew 4:2,11). Jesus also died (Luke 23:46) and had a human body after His resurrection (Luke 24:39).

The fact that Jesus became flesh is not limited to the fact that He took on a human body, but rather the entirety of what comprises a human being. This includes the mind, will and emotions. Jesus had a human soul (in other words, “spirit”) and this is made clearly evident in passages such as John 12:27 where Jesus says “Now my soul has become troubled” and also John 13:21, “He became troubled in spirit”. Hebrews 5:7 illustrates that Jesus expressed His emotion when He cried out in agony to the Father as “He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears”. Jesus also exercised his will in submitting to the divine will of the Father (John 6:38; Matthew 26:42).

All of this was necessary so that Jesus could become like us “in all things” (Hebrews 2:17, NASB) in order to save us. He became like us in all respects with the exception of the stain of human sin in order to be the perfect sacrifice to rescue us from sin (Hebrews 4:15-16). It was necessary for Jesus to become fully like us in every way (body, mind, will, emotions) except sin in order to fully save us.

All of this great mystery is summed up in the uniting of the two natures, both divine and human in what is referred to in theology as the hypostatic union. This term may sound complicated, but it is really simple, but at the same time extremely profound. The term hypostatic simply means personal, and refers to the personal union of the human and divine natures of Jesus. Jesus is only one person, not two. And this concept is profound. These two natures come together in one person, Jesus, who is to be the focus of our worship. And it is the uniting of these natures that satisfies our longings and makes possible the fellowship that we can enjoy with our heavenly Father. It is this connection between the human and the divine that enables us to connect with God and satisfies the human soul.

It is my prayer that we as believers will continue to reflect on this great miracle long after the Christmas season comes to an end, and that it will be reflected on as we approach the celebration of Easter.

Merry Christmas to all!

The Biblical Recipe for Discernment

One of the most detrimental flaws in contemporary evangelicalism is the lack of discernment that seems to pervade the Christian landscape. This dilemma did not take place overnight and there is a biblical remedy for this. Hebrews 5 explains the condition that renders so many with the inability to discern between truth and error.

The writer of Hebrews goes into detail describing the priestly ministry of Jesus. Verse 11 says that there is much more that could be explained, but the audience was “dull of hearing” and could not understand anything deeper.

" 11Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
14But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." (Hebrews 5:11-14, NASB)

One of the key reasons that there is such a widespread lack of discernment is due to the absence of consistent solid exposition of God’s truth in a growing majority of churches all across America. The prolonged exposure to shallow teaching, and at times blatantly false teaching, has caused a growing number of Christians to become dull of hearing. This dullness of hearing makes it difficult to explain anything of much depth from the Word of God. As a result multitudes lack understanding making them vulnerable to be led captive by the whims of false teachers, who at times can make compelling arguments to peddle their errant teaching. Not only that, but when leaders in the church fall into the same trap, they become inept at handling Scripture, and inadvertently begin drifting off course so subtly in their teaching that they are barely aware that it is happening.

The Hebrews reached a point where they should have been able to be teaching others, but due to the neglect of the truth, they became unable to handle the solid meat of God’s Truth. They needed to be taught the basics once again. Within the context here, the Hebrews were not taking the step to embrace Christ and move on in their walk with Him, but were still lingering just on the verge of belief. But a similar dilemma manifests itself in the life of believers, who begin to neglect the truth in their lives. This is what happened to the Corinthians, where Paul was grieved that they were vulnerable to being deceived by false teachers, in much the same way that Eve was deceived by the serpent. (2 Corinthians 11:1-4) The Corinthians were in this position because they were becoming immature in their faith and were unable to tolerate the solid food of God’s Word.

Once embracing that faith, these Hebrews would be able to progress in their spiritual maturity, building discernment in their life through the constant exercising of their increasing knowledge of God through His Word. This is key in the life of the believer. While it may be true that there are those who possess what we would call the gift of discernment ("distinguishing of spirits", 1 Corinthians 12:10, NASB), ALL believers are exhorted to engage in some degree of discernment in their lives. To put this in perspective, just because someone does not have the gift of “helps” (1 Corinthians 12:28) does not leave them off the hook to minister to a need. All believers are to engage in these matters as a normal part of the Christian walk. And discernment does not occur in a vacuum. It must be cultivated in a believer’s life.

Hebrews 5:12 tells us that this group needed to be taught the basics of the “oracles of God”. The "oracles of God" refers to the words of God especially as it pertains to the Mosaic Law. The Hebrews were in need now of being taught the basics of the Old Testament as it pointed to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. This was the purpose of the Old Testament teaching (Galatians 3:23-25). The Hebrews were not “accustomed”, meaning that they were inexperienced in handling the Word of God. Scripture is referred to as the “word of righteousness”. The word righteousness comes from the Greek "dikaiosune", and refers to the doctrine taught in Scripture which teaches us the way in which we are approved by God. And it is the conscious effort applied to the study and application of Scripture which aids in conforming us to the image of Christ, as we continually learn how we are to live and relate to God. This is why Paul exhorted Timothy to “present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Scripture also speaks of the purifying effect of the Word of God in the life of the believer (Ephesians 5:26).

Solid food is for the “mature”(Hebrews 5:14), which is from the Greek "teleios" and means a state of completeness or perfection, and is used in context here to refer to salvation. Only those who have come to Christ and embraced saving faith will be able to understand the deeper things pertaining to His person and work. But from that point comes continued spiritual growth. A believer must be trained in the Word of God. The word translated as “trained” here is the Greek “gumnazo” and refers to vigorous training much like that of an athlete training for competition. And this is absolutely necessary in order to discern between “good and evil”. This is something that is not going to occur through the mere casual reading of Scripture. Merely having short daily devotionals comprised of a short verse of Scripture is going to be insufficient to develop any degree of sharp discernment. Our minds require consistent, vigorous study in order to develop any degree of sufficient discernment. We must be transformed by the constant renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2), where our thinking is trained to focus on the things of God. And this can only occur through the careful reading and study of God's Word and subsequent application to our lives. And this, by the way, is the only means by which believers are able to discern God's will for their lives, something all believers are commanded to do (Ephesians 5:17;Colossians 1:9).

With the void of solid Scriptural teaching prevalent in evangelicalism today, it is no wonder that many are being seduced by error. It is imperative that believers seek teaching that is solid and also learn to become skillful in their study of Scripture. It is the only defense there is in order to keep ourselves from falling prey to the various false teachings that have littered the evangelical landscape today.

The Subtle Seduction of Error

This excerpt from “The Truth War” by John MacArthur describes the subtle seduction of false teachers. Sometimes error can be difficult to spot and it requires due diligence to discern truth from error.

“Now, you might think that the difference between a picayune disagreement and a serious threat to some core truth of Christianity would always be obvious and clear-cut. Usually, it is. Most of the time, it is easy enough to see the distinction between a peripheral issue and a matter of urgent and fundamental importance. But not always. And here is where mature wisdom and careful discernment become absolutely crucial for every Christian: sometimes serious threats to our faith come in subtle disguise so that they are barely noticeable. And false teachers like to surround their deadly error with some truth. Therein lies the seduction. We must never assume that things like the teacher’s reputation, the warmth of his personality, or majority opinion about him are perfectly safe barometers of whether his teaching is really dangerous or not. We also shouldn’t imagine that common sense, intuition, or first impressions are reliable ways of determining whether this or that error poses a serious threat or not. Scripture, and Scripture alone, is the only safe guide in this area.”
(John MacArthur, “The Truth War”, pg.77)

Some Never Learn

I know that this is not new news any more, and others have already commented on this, but I will give my two cents any way. Bill Hybels has apparently had a life changing experience after the facts revealed through their evaluation of their ministry. After years of instructing multitudes of churches and leaders about how they should be doing church, they have come to realize that what they have been doing has not been grounding people in Scripture and maturing them in the faith. As Phil Johnson pointed out in his post, isn’t this what many have been warning about for years, because Willow Creek was failing to follow a Biblical model for ministry? And it is only now, as a result of their own poll, that they have realized the truth. Wouldn’t they have avoided all of this had they followed a Scriptural model of church ministry?

What is frustrating is that there is not really any hint of true repentance for their actions. The only remedy they are going to offer apparently, is some new program for training on how the congregation can read, learn and apply the Bible for themselves. Now, I think that teaching people how they can read and learn the Bible for themselves is extremely important and certainly should be a fundamental part of what a church does. And it is also true that Christians should not rely solely on the church to provide all of their spiritual nourishment, spoon-feeding them all truth. Christians need to take responsibility for their spiritual growth. But in addition, God has ordained that there should be leadership that assists with that process as well. (Ephesians 4:11-16) And the church is biblically obligated to provide solid Bible teaching to help believers grow. This is why Paul exhorted Timothy to "be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 3:15, NASB) Pastoral leadership is to labor in the Word of God, seeking to teach with precision and accuracy. In fact, those who "work hard", putting forth greater effort at preaching and teaching are considered worthy of greater honor (1 Timothy 5:17). This describes seeking to teach the more in-depth truths of Scripture. That is fundamental to contributing to the spiritual maturity of the congregation. Simply offering what is essentially a do-it-yourself kit is not going to achieve what they think. People need to be exposed consistently to solid biblical preaching. Also fundamental to the ministry is a mutual exhortation and accountability, and this can only occur as members have opportunities to share biblical truth with one another, challenging one another.

What is even more astounding though is what else is taking place at Willow Creek. You would think that after their discovery, they would be inclined to return to the Word of God, and be even more vigilant to make reforms to align themselves with Scripture. But instead, they are now cozying up with leadership in the emerging church, scheduling Brian McLaren as a keynote speaker at their youth conference. This is not the first time that they shared the platform with an emerging leader. They have had Rob Bell speak as a guest at their church before. So perhaps it is a case where they are exchanging one error for another jumping on the Emergent bandwagon.

But a similar revelation was also shared by Gilbert Bilezikian some time ago. Bilezikian was one of the founders of Willow Creek.

But these sudden revelations that what they have been doing has not proven beneficial has been realized by others in the popular seeker church movement. Take Sally Morgenthaler's realization that falls in line with what Bill Hybels has come to realize. I wrote a post on this awhile back. But then she partners with popular emerging church leaders Tony Jones and Doug Pagitt.

Paul warned the Ephesian elders of the wolves who would enter the flock in Acts 20. But instead of warning and protecting the flock, leadership today is merely going to allow the wolves to come in and play with the sheep. This graphic from Phil Johnson at TeamPyro captures the essense of the situation.

I am afraid that the evangelical church has become so removed from the truth, that even when they seem to come to their senses, they lack any real discernment to implement any true reforms.