Jesus is the Most Valuable Treasure to be had in This Life

Many people think that the laws that God has given are there to keep us from enjoying the most fun indulgences and activities in life. They believe that God is some mean old rule maker in the sky who is out to get us whenever we step out of line with His list of rules. I’ve contemplated this occasionally in the last couple months or so, and I’m convinced that so many people actually can’t see the absurdity in this mindset.

Let me tell you what I mean…

Let’s take sex, for example. Suppose a young guy and girl get together and start spending time with one another and decide that they want to have sex. They aren’t married, and they have no intention of getting married, but they don’t even consider that they should because everyone else in the world is having sex anyways. What’s the big deal? So, they take that step into sin, and they continue in it until they despise one another and part ways.

Now let me tell you what the big deal is…

The girl finds out that she’s pregnant, and since the guy wants nothing to do with the girl he decides to let her deal with it. “Get an abortion!” he replies. (Of course, this would be a sin as well) The girl decides to reject his “advise” and has the baby.

Now the girl has the burden (yet a blessing) of raising a kid on her own. She seeks child support from the ex, but this is nowhere near as helpful as having the guy around to take part in the kid’s life and help out with the many responsibilities. She has no time to go out or interact with her friends like she used to, so she doesn’t get to meet anyone else to have any kind of serious relationship with. She is lonely and tired and unfulfilled.

This affects the kid also. He wonders why his dad never comes to see him and what he did wrong or what is wrong with him that his dad doesn’t love him. He seeks acceptance by other male “role models” in his neighborhood and ends up being used by the older boys and gets in trouble by doing things for them that he shouldn’t be doing.

At the same time, the guy is struggling financially because of the raping of his paycheck by the child support agency. He wonders what the point of him working is anyways. His paychecks are so miniscule that he can never get ahead and wonders whether he should even worry about getting a good job or if he should just work under the table in order to avoid having to give up so much of his income.

This situation is just one example of the way in which sin can affect the whole life of many people. The most disappointing thing is that even though the guy and girl in this story will recognize their disappointment with the end result, they wouldn’t even consider turning away from the sin that got them into this mess to begin with. They will gladly go out and find someone else to jump into bed with in order to experience the pleasure of that act that doesn’t last long enough to make up for a lifetime of consequence. Not to mention the fact that the effects of the first sin could carry over into the relationships the kid has in the future.

This is just a great big mess.

I hope it’s obvious that God’s laws are a sure way to keep from having to deal with a ruined life. What I’m sure won’t be so easy for some to grasp is the fact that following God’s ways will ensure the most satisfaction and joy in this life. Then again, there’s no way for us to even come anywhere close to following these laws that God has given. However, God has given us real life examples like the one I just shared, and He has also given us His standard to show us that we fall short and are unable to do what we ought to do. Contrary to what some might believe, this is a good thing—if we recognize it.

The reason why it’s a good thing for us to know how far gone we are and how far off from the mark we are is because it shows how much we need something—or more properly, someONE to take care of this problem for us. I also tend to think that many people don’t realize that Jesus is the only one who EVER lived up to God’s laws and who gave Himself (and His perfectly lived life) as a substitute for everyone who will humble themselves by recognizing that they are not worthy but that they need Jesus to do for them what they can’t do for themselves. They apparently don’t realize that they can be changed progressively to want to do the things that please God and to be more like Jesus—the perfect one.

Finally, I’m sure that these people don’t realize that Jesus is the most valuable treasure that may be had in this life, and that He doesn’t cease to be the most valuable treasure in this life alone—He’ll be even more important when we pass from this life. Who would ever choose a moment of pleasure in exchange for a lifetime AND an eternity of pleasure and satisfaction and joy and completeness and TRUE HAPPINESS?

Nobody.

This must mean that people truly are blind. And to prove it, many of the people who have heard this message are going to close this window without confessing their sin and their dependence on Christ and will continue in their dead end (literally) ways. I pray that this isn’t the case for you.

And they say they want EQUAL rights?

Well, James White has again posted another insightful entry on a topic that he has been on top of for a long time. The post has to do with the events happening now in the UK with the "gay rights" activists attempting to have civil union ceremonies performed in churches. He has some good things to add over at his blog HERE. I recommend his post to you.

Dr. White also links to the original article on his page, and I recommend reading that article too.

I have to say, this just seems downright ridiculous. How on earth can a group who is blatantly rebelling against Christianity and its long historical beliefs decide that it wants to storm the doors of these churches in order to have them bless something that they absolutely cannot even accept as valid? Why would this activist group even care what these churches think about their relationships? I would think that they would want to stay away from the churches rather than go to them.

On the other hand, the Bible says that those who reject God's rule over them will be judged in this way. And the judgment is their perverted sexual desires ruling them and causing them to bring more judgment on their own heads. And for those who think I'm merely spouting off bigoted slander, here's the passage in question:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, BECAUSE they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. [NOW WATCH THIS] For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
(Rom 1:18-32 ESV)

So, the Bible affirms this behavior as being the rebellion of creatures against their creator, and the extended vigor with which they pursue this rebellion is God's judgment upon them.

All this behavior coming from the extreme, radical gay activists is similar to the behavior I see from my children. Unless checked, my children will stomp their feet and deliberately disobey my commands just to spite me. They are naturally rebels. This is why it is so important to keep track of their actions and shepherd them in order that they don't end up rebelling against God and ending up eternally regretting it.

I see some gay people who are so extremely and overtly flamboyant and I wonder why they are so concerned with advertising. What I hope, though, is that we as Christ's ambassadors, who possess the only message of healing and reconciliation (II Cor. 5:20) will be willing to overlook these sinners' rebellion and attempt to befriend them in the hope that we will be given the opportunity to be used of God to pull them out of the fire and introduce them to their Savior. After all, we were all likewise rebellious sinners in need of this soul saving message, and we would be to blame and have blood on our hands if we neglected in any way to hold out this message of reconciliation for any reason--even if the sin we confront in the process makes us feel queasy.

A Failure of Local Churches

I'm reading an amazing book called Dear Timothy. It's a clever concept written by a group of seasoned pastors as a series of letters to a young pastor who is just starting out in his first church. It has some great insights for anyone planning to go into the pastoral ministry, and I highly recommend it.

This post, however, is not meant to be a review.

I wanted to share a paragraph cited in the book from another book written by A.W. Pink. This is from Mark Dever's chapter entitled "Do the Work of an Evangelist" on page 163. Apparently, Pink was writing on a subject that is depressingly still relevant that was going on in Australia (his home?) in the 1920s. Allow me to share:

General religious conditions here are very similar to those which obtain in the USA. The vast majority of the churches are in a sorry state. Those that are out-and-out worldly are at their wits' end to invent new devices for drawing a crowd. Others which still preserve an outward form of godliness provide nothing substantial for the soul; there is little ministering of Christ to the heart and little preaching of "sound doctrine," without which souls cannot be built up and established in the faith. The great majority of the "pastors" summon to their aid some professional "evangelist," who, for two to four weeks, puts on a high-pressure campaign and secures sufficient new "converts" to take the place of those who have "lapsed" since he was last with them. What a farce it all is! What an acknowledgement of their own failure! Imagine C. H. Spurgeon needing some evangelist to preach the Gospel for him for a month each year! Why do not these well-paid "pastors" heed 2 Timothy 4:5 and themselves "do the work of an evangelist," and thus "make full proof of their ministry"?

That's quite a question. I thought nothing of the significance or the error behind the position of a full time evangelist who travels to many churches in order to preach revivals and what not until I was in Bible college. I noticed then that there really is no such office in the NT expressed in the way it is now, and I wondered about the validity of it.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who has pondered this, and I think that Pink may have been on to something.

I wonder what makes pastors think that they need to call on some professional "evangelist" when the pastor is to be the one doing the work of an evangelist and training his people to carry on that responsibility into their own lives (Eph 4:11-12). I know that the text in Ephesians names evangelists too, but not in the way that it is now expressed. Maybe it's due to the fact that it's been done for so long. Maybe it's because there are men training for this office and they need somebody to give em some work. I'm not really sure how it has come about, but I (and some godly men too) would like to know why.

I wonder if men leading churches today even care enough to start allowing God's Spirit to work through the faithful preaching of the word and attend to the responsibility of evangelizing people themselves. After all, it's not the visible results that your looking for--it's the faithful obedience that counts (or is it?).

Better to lose sleep.

Yes, it's 2:23 AM right now, and I have to be up at 7 to get ready for the next person to take over for me after this shift so I can go get ready for work. I am actually delighted to be up this late knowing the anguish that I'll be experiencing tomorrow at my other job because of the reason that I'm still up. The reason is because I've been having a Gospel conversation.

I recently posted my status on Facebook as me being ecstatic about being in the world rather than secluded from it in The Middle of Nowhere, WI. I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be than in the city, working 2 jobs with a bunch of complete unbelievers and a Jehovah's Witness (whom I just got through witnessing to). I have had so many opportunities to witness to just about everyone that I work with, and the ones I haven't been able to witness to have heard me talking to others. God is bringing the Good News to my Jerusalem through me.

I just wanted to take the time to praise God publicly while at the same time adding to my blog since it's been suffering since I've been working. And while I'm here, I want to ask for prayer for those to whom I've been able to share my faith with. Please take a second right now to pray that God will save Jacob, Leonard, Brad, Carla, Rashaun, Doug, Dennis, and Steven. Also pray that I will be able to speak specifically with Steven since I haven't yet been able to directly. Pray, as Paul asked, "that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel...that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak." (Eph. 6:19-20).

To God alone be the glory!

Because of HIM

I was thinking earlier about how some Christians may look at unbelievers as people without any sense since they continually disregard the claims of the Gospel. I admit, I have a tendency to look at others with a certain level of disbelief even though I know perfectly well the state that they’re in. This is actually the reason why I’ve decided to post this.

I know that we, as Christians, have a tendency to look at the behavior of the unbelievers around us and wonder what in the world could be going through their heads. My friend and I were talking earlier, and he mentioned the fact that the thinking of the world is, in fact, backwards. He actually gave a list of the ways in which the people of the world have demonstrated this, but I don’t really think it needs repeating. It is obvious. Romans 1 gives a clear presentation of the way that unbelievers look at the world and how they love the sin that they are so saturated in. Paul even goes so far as to say that they applaud one another in their wickedness.

Well, the reason for my writing this is because of the thought that unbelievers should be expected to act or think in any way other than the way that they do. You cannot expect them to reverence God in the least. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be offended by their irreverence. I actually think that it’s a good thing to be zealous for God’s glory to the point that hearing His name profaned stirs up a righteous anger in you. The thing is, we shouldn’t expect anything from them but this kind of behavior and worse.

The more specific reason I decided to post this thought was because I was thinking on this verse:

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
(1Co 1:30 ESV)

If you consider the fact that it had nothing to do with you, you should really appreciate the fact that they are not to be held in contempt for not seeing things your way. They absolutely WILL NOT see things your way (I’m assuming that your way is the way of thinking God’s thoughts after Him) until God acts by changing their hearts. They will not see things the way that you might be tempted to argue with them about until God sovereignly gives them the gifts of faith (Phil. 1:29; Eph. 2:8) and repentance (Acts 11:18; II Tim. 2:25). And I say all that to say this: you can be patient and persistent with the unbelievers you are trying to reach for Christ because you are merely the instrument in the hands of the one who will give that person the understanding necessary in His perfect timing if it be His will.

Apologetics and Evangelism: Roman Catholicism part 1 (I've been neglecting this for too long)

Imagine that you (as I was) were driving through Green Bay, WI and decided to take an alternate route in order to become more familiar with the layout of the city when you stumbled upon this sight:








------------------------------------>If you’re anything like me, you would be very disappointed/enraged/distraught/saddened by this spectacle. You would probably share the same sense of provokedness in your spirit as Paul did when he was walking through Athens amidst all of the idols that were being worshiped.

This picture, by the way, was taken of the side of someone's house.

I have been involved in quite a bit of study and interaction with Roman Catholics (RC’s) in the last 5 years or so and I have had quite a burden for them mainly due to the fact that my in-laws are RC’s. I have learned much about the way in which RC’s understand the Gospel (or misunderstand), and I have spent a lot of time on discussion forums discussing this and other issues with them.

Lately, I haven’t given much time or thought to the subject, but when I see disappointing examples like the one in this picture I have to ask myself why I’ve not been taking the time to evangelize these lost and deceived people. I have spent much time in a priest by the name of Sean’s house attempting to reason with him, but when he realized that the reason I was attempting to convince him of the truth of substitutionary atonement was because I didn’t believe him to be a Christian he told me not to come back. This greatly disturbed me, but it’s in the Lord’s hands, not mine. In the future, I hope to have some more interaction with him, and I pray that the Lord will reveal to him that I deeply care for him and am concerned for his soul. Nevertheless, I would like to spend some time on some future posts to explore the topic of Roman Catholicism and how to approach those infected by the false teaching contained therein.

Without getting into any specific issues in this post, I would just like to lay out some guidelines that I think to be helpful when approaching RC’s with the Gospel:

1. Do NOT attempt to argue with them about Mary, purgatory, the papacy, or any other absurdity that will appear absurd to them upon a realization of the true Gospel and the finished work of Christ.



2. If they attempt to cite any particular Bible verses as a proof text for their position and you have the luxury of looking at that text with them, do it. Without fail, an examination of the context will reveal the fallacy of their understanding of that verse. If you have a prior knowledge of the context of the verse in question and no time to look at it, remind them of it and invite them (humbly) to take a look at it.



3. Ask them if they think that they are a good person, and follow the steps in The Way of the Master evangelistic approach (see the link in the left column that asks if you are a good person). This approach is a good technique for showing someone the weight of their sin in God’s eyes and why they need the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Well, I hope to add to this soon, and I hope to cover as many areas as possible by the time I’m finished. Until then, find a Roman Catholic and tell ‘em about the Jesus Who saves AND keeps to the very end (John 6:39).

Apologetics and Evangelism: JW's side note

I just wanted to make sure that everyone who reads this is clear on the fact that my goal in studying and practicing apologetics is evangelism. I think that I've been pretty clear on it, but I have received a comment on another post that indicates that others think that I shouldn't believe in evangelizing others based on my theology (the theology that I believe is consistently Biblical).

With that being said, I wanted to ask for some input from some more well rounded readers. While witnessing to the JW's at the Kingdom Hall last week, my focus was to understand what they believed and to approach them in the wisest possible way with the Gospel. I found that they would answer correctly when I asked what it takes to become a part of Jehovah's family and to take part in the life to come (more or less). I decided to approach them by pointing out that they can have a real, solid faith in this one whom they call Jesus Christ, but that if their faith was in the wrong Jesus Christ (they believe that Jesus is the alter-ego of Michael the archangel) they were lost in their sins. I attempted to inform them that for them to say that they believed in a Jesus Christ who is actually Michael the archangel then they are about as well off as I would be if I said my faith was in a Jesus who, in my mind, was actually John Fieck (my friend who just happened to be standing there at the moment).

I know that it's pretty evident by my previous posts that I'm not the most tactful fellow, so I wonder if anyone can contribute a suggestion as to how I can most tactfully inform them of this massive detail. I would like to be able to approach them with these facts without being offensive because the Gospel is offensive enough without my foot-in-mouth syndrome getting in the way of the perfectly pure, Spirit-designed offense. So, would anyone like to inform me of my flawed ways and how you would correct them?

Apologetics and Evangelism: JW's part 2

I recently paid a visit to the local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. It was quite interesting. It actually reminded me of some old sales meetings that I used to attend when I sold CUTCO knives (which are the best ever). Thay did some role-playing in preparation for the front door visits and when speaking to people in the workplace. It was not what I expected, but in hindsight I guess it shoud have been. A few of the people from the Kingdom Hall actually stood up to speak and were given feedback by one of the more experienced JW's. I have to say, this type of preparation puts many (if not most) of our churches to shame. I won't say anything more about that.

The reason for my visit (on which I was accompanied by my two friends: John and Enric) was because I have been visited a couple of times by JW's, and the last time (last Tuesday) one of them told me where he attended. My goal was to be an open witness because I was told that it was a question and answer time. It wasn't, though. We had to endure the whole "service" before we were able to interact with the people. By God's grace, we had the opportunity to witness to several people.

I have noticed in my more recent dealings with these folks that they are apt to use Proverbs 8 as evidence for Christ's lack of eternality. They assert that Christ is who is being referred to as wisdom in this passage. They say that since this wisdom speaks of herself (wisdom refers to herself in the feminine) as being "produced" (v. 23 New World Translation=NWT) and "brought forth as with labor pains" (v. 24 NWT), then Christ was a merely a creation of God who was "beside" God (v. 30) during the creation of everything else.

There are a couple problems with this theory of theirs. First, there is no other place in Scripture, to my knowledge, which lends support for this view. I appreciate typology in the OT referring to Christ, but I think that since there are no explicit explanations of this passage as referring to Christ then we should be careful how far we take this. Second (and adding to the first), wisdom is said to "dwell with prudence" (v. 12 NWT). Does this mean that Jesus has a sister named Prudence? Wisdom is also referred to as a she in this passage. I know that that isn't the strongest argument, but no one is going to agree to the idea that Christ is a feminine being no matter how much our post-modern culture tries.

I think that Proverbs 8 needs to be stretched pretty far in order to apply it fully to Christ. Sure, wisdom could be some kind of picture of Christ as the ultimate example of wisdom displayed in history, but in order to fully apply a passage as a type we need more Scriptural interpretation than what is asserted by the JW's. For example, in Isaiah 6 we are told that Isaiah "got to see Jehovah" (v. 1 NWT). We are also told in John 1:18, "No man has seen God (notice the big G) at any time..." but "...the only begotten god (and the little g)..." If this is true, who did Isaiah see. The text says that he saw JEHOVAH. Well, in John 12:41 we are told by the inspired writer of Scripture that Isaiah was speaking of Christ. So if Isaiah said that He saw Jehovah and John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said that Isaiah was speaking of Christ, then we are safe in concluding that Christ is Jehovah. That is a safe way of interpreting unclear passages in the OT. Look to a confirmation of your theory by a NT writer.

If your JW friend has a problem seeing the connection between John 12 and Isaiah 6, tell him to take a look at the cross reference at verse 41 in John 12. It references Isaiah 6:1.

Apologetics and Evangelism: JW's part 1

The thing that has been most on my mind lately is the health of the church today. This has been overwhelming me to the point that I have made that passion supersede the practical outworkings that I’ve been so disappointed not to see in the Church today. Since I’ve been made aware of this problem, I’ve decided to attempt to share some of the things that I think necessary for us in the Church to be aware of in order for us to have a more effective witness with those around us. So I’ll be sharing some of the things that I’ve gleaned from my studies and the experiences that I’ve had with members of false religions in my future posts along with the issues that I believe are important in the Church today.

When I got saved, I was pretty anxious to tell people about Jesus, and I’m sure that this was the case with most upon their conversion as well. I, however, had the urge not only to tell others whom I knew didn’t know Christ, but I was also very interested in telling others from false religions. I began arguing with Roman Catholics and their priests before I got saved, but after I came to know the Lord I began to notice the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW’s) leaving for their Saturday morning rounds as I was delivering newspapers. This introduced me to a unique evangelistic opportunity.

The first few encounters I had with JW’s were slightly confusing. I once had the opportunity to meet with two JW’s at the local Kingdom Hall to discuss their beliefs. I was hoping that it would be a good witnessing opportunity, but one of the two guys was overzealous and my head was spinning dizzily by the time we were through. Since this time, I’ve had encounters with JW’s in discussion forums (an incredible place to learn) and on my front door step. I have been blessed to listen to and read informative resources on JW’s and put that learning into practice. Now I feel quite comfortable speaking to them and find myself hoping to get a knock on my door on Saturday mornings but they have decided not to grace me with their presence anymore.

I’d like to encourage all born again believers to never avoid an opportunity to speak with a JW who shows up on your doorstep. This is a straight to your doorstep delivery of a potential convert. We should be anxious for these opportunities, right? And if a JW or two shows up at your door, consider these tips:

1. Whichever text he attempts to persuade you with, take the time to read through the immediate context with him. This is something that he will most likely not appreciate because the context generally will cause his argument to crumble.
2. Do not allow him to move to another verse to attempt to back up his claims. Make sure that he concedes to the fact that the passage he is hoping to use to prove his position does not in fact teach what he’d like you to think it means.
   
3. Inform him of the fact that Jesus is God and that he is commanded to repent of his sinful denial of Jesus’ position and his attempts to achieve and maintain a right standing before God by knocking on peoples’ doors to tell them about his religion. Inform him that God has commanded that he trust in Christ alone for his salvation. He will inform you that he believes that Christ is the savior, but he must also conced to the fact that he is hoping to maintain his “salvation” by his works.

I just wanted to add some initial encouragements and pointers, but I plan to add more as time goes on. One text I would encourage you to take your JW friend to is Philippians 2:1-11 focusing mainly on verses 5-7:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Php 2:5-7 ESV)

Point out to your friend the fact that Paul is encouraging the Philippian church to have a humble attitude in the first 4 verses, and then he uses Christ as an example. The example that Christ gave them (and us) was in humbling Himself by not grasping the position that He had “in the form of God.” Then ask your friend if an angel (which is who they think Christ to be) would be considered humble by not attempting to usurp the position of equality with God. It doesn’t seem as if that would be considered as humble; it would rather be something to be expected, right? The only way for this passage to make sense is if Christ was actually humbling Himself by stepping down from a position of “equality with God” that He had the right to have in the first place