How Much Do We Love the Truth?

How much do we love the truth? Is it necessary for us to be saved, or is it merely an option? Does God care if we fudge the truth about “non-essential” matters as long as we adhere to the main tenets of the Christian faith? Some of the mainline denominations certainly think so. They are willing to compromise with LGTBQ+ ideology in order to attract a larger number of people and maintain “unity,” not admitting or maybe even realizing that taking such a position breaks unity with many who adhere to biblical truth. Is tolerating error in some areas permissible as long as the central gospel message of salvation by faith is preserved? This seems to be what many evangelicals believe when they refuse to embrace potentially divisive issues, such as abortion, in order to win as many as possible to Christ. Are unity and growth more important than truth? 

In this article I will show that truth can be a radically divisive thing that exposes who loves it and who doesn’t.

Jesus identified himself the “truth” (John 14:6). When he stood on trial before Pilate, the Bible records the following interaction.

Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” John 18:37 (NASB95)

Jesus understood his purpose in coming to the earth was to testify to God’s truth in order to destroy the shroud of deception that Satan has cast over humanity.

Interestingly, he also stated that people who are “of the truth” are able to “hear” his words. The rest are either indifferent or hostile. The truth tends to radicalize people one way or the other. The Jewish leaders completely rejected the one who was the living embodiment of truth. They murdered their Messiah with the help of the Romans.

Lovers of truth have a type of hearing that results in understanding and believing the truth.

Those who do not love the truth cannot hear or believe Jesus or his words.

“Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. John 8:43–45 (NASB95)

Something must happen inside a person before he or she is able to hear Jesus’ words and love the truth.

The Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, must “set up shop” inside us to create in us a love for God’s truth and draw us to Christ.

But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth... John 16:13a (NASB95)

When the apostle Peter confessed aloud that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus replied that he could not know that truth unless it were revealed to him by God. (Matthew 16:17) We cannot be saved unless we have a God-given love of the truth which draws us to Jesus, who is the truth.

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 2 Thessalonians 2:13 (NKJV)

Those who do not possess a love for truth will be lost forever, according to God, entrapped and enslaved by the lies they believe. (2 Thessalonians 2:10)

Those who love the truth pursue truth wherever it may lead.

The first apostles followed Jesus even when they did not fully understand his words or were fearful of what may lay ahead. Our pursuit of truth must be just as selfless and fearless. 

Those who love the truth will be at odds with the world in every area where falsehood reigns, not just pertaining to the gospel.

The world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19), who is the father of lies (John 8:44). He has deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9), and we would be naive to think that this is only in spiritual matters. Wholesale deception runs through our educational system, the sciences, including anthropology, psychology, sociology, paleontology, astrophysics, biology, and medicine, the arts and media, finances, and, of course, politics. Those who love the truth must be prepared to stand against a broad array of lies.

The truth of the Bible must spill over into every area of life; otherwise, we have bought the lie that Christianity does not have any place in the “real world,” but belongs inside the church building only.

We cannot allow the great lie espoused during the Age of Reason to stand: science cannot be separated from God’s truth as found in the Bible.

Jesus was not afraid of controversy. He split rabbinic Judaism right down the middle. People had to choose between the Talmud and their Messiah. There was no gray area. Those who were drawn to the Truth were saved. The rest were destroyed, including Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD.

The truth just naturally divides because it exposes those who love it and those who hate it. Those who simply do not care fall into the second group. We cannot love the truth and remain indifferent to it.

Jesus warned:

Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; Luke 12:51 (NASB95)

In the last days, I believe it will be increasing necessary for God’s people to adhere steadfastly to biblical truth without compromising in any area. In addition, we have the added responsibility to stand for that truth with a godly attitude.

The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24–26 (NASB95)

God wants us to exhibit humility, patience, mercy, and love as we stand for truth, without compromising, having the goal to help people repent from their love of error and embrace truth.

It is understood that honest people have different understandings of how to interpret scripture.

When it comes to what some call “non-essential” doctrines, those that will not determine our eternal destiny, we allow for differences of opinion. Such a case would be views about the end times or the Armenian-Reformed theology debate. In both these cases, we hold to what we believe is true, but allow the other person to disagree. We disagree about the end times because it has not taken place yet and we are unsure how to properly interpret some prophetic sections of scripture. We disagree over Armenian vs Reformed theology because we tend to see one side of the issue more clearly than the other side. It is a disagreement over some of the details of how God saves us, not whether he does. When I teach, I present both sides, but then tell my listeners what I believe and why I think it best agrees with the Word of God.

We speak the truth in love, but we speak the truth.

However, some truths are considered to be so important that we do not permit the other side to be taught in our churches and we are willing to divide over them. The LGBTQ+ controversy is a case in point. To embrace homosexuality and transgenderism is the same as rejecting God’s purpose for sexuality, which approaches the core of what it means to be human. It is a rebellion against the Creator and a rejection of the Bible’s testimony.

Another case for us to consider is the debate around whether Genesis Chapter One should be taken as a true history of creation or interpreted as poetry to make room for modern astrophysics. Much to my dismay, I have found that some Christians feel comfortable embracing the Big Bang theory, which contradicts Genesis. Even though I humbly admit that I previously might have held such a position in ignorance, I find this to be most disconcerting and not much different that mainline denominations embracing LGBTQ+. Both are departures from and denials of biblical truth which set the stage for greater errors down the road.

How can we knowingly embrace or even wink at a clearly anti-biblical position, if we are lovers of truth?

Sadly, a large proportion of the mainline church has compromised with LGBTQ+. Perhaps sadder still is that most of the church rejects Genesis Chapter One as a true account of creation, having capitulated to modern astrophysics without so much as a whimper of protest! It seems that sola sciencia might be a better motto than sola scriptura for many evangelicals today. I have encountered mockery, anger, dismissiveness, rebuke, bewilderment, and rejection – all because I take the Bible quite literally when it comes to Genesis Chapter One! To me this demonstrates that we are not yet completely open to the truth of God’s Word. We just think we are. We still have a long way to go, but I thank God that he is very patient with us as we stumble along on our journey toward fully embracing God’s truth, and the Holy Spirit is relentless in guiding us into that truth. Hallelujah!

Is Dispensational Theology at Odds with the New Covenant? Part 4

As we approach Jesus Second Coming, many people have come to believe dispensational theology which I will attempt to show is at odds with Jesus’ own words and the New Covenant in general. This is Part 4. You can read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 by clicking on the links.

Summary

Below are some guiding principles that have helped me arrive at my own conclusions regarding the end times, which I hold “loosely,” realizing that I certainly do not understand everything.

Principle #1: God does not relate to his people via “dispensations” but according to covenants, something that was clearly understood by the early reformers.

A decent book on this subject is The Christ of the Covenants by O. Palmer Robertson. Since the beginning God has related to his creatures via covenants from the one made in the Garden of Eden to the New Covenant inaugurated by our Lord Jesus. Each successive covenant built upon the previous ones, and all pointed to Christ, except for the Mosaic Covenant of Law, which was its own entity that would fade away after the coming of the Messiah. The New Covenant fulfills and expands all previous covenants, except for the Mosaic Covenant, which it fulfilled and abolished. This is no small matter because it influences how we view the entirety of Bible history.

Principle #2: Israel in the New Covenant is defined as all those who put their faith in Christ from every people group, including both Jews and Gentiles.

But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. Romans 9:6–8 (NASB95)

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:29 (NASB95)

Principle #3: The “one new man” in Christ is the focal point of God’s plan going forward.

For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, Ephesians 2:14–15 (NASB95)

Principle #4: The New Covenant is either the fulfillment and expansion of the previous covenants, or, as in the case of the Mosaic Covenant of Law, its fulfillment and abolition. The New Covenant leaves nothing undone or unfulfilled in the previous ones.

The Bible teaches that the New Covenant is a complete change from what preceded it, especially the covenant of Law under Moses. This is because the Mosaic covenant depended on our faithfulness to keep the Law for us to obtain God’s blessings. The Bible teaches that no one is able to do that; so, the Mosaic covenant brings judgment upon us instead of blessings. The New Covenant depends upon the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus, who kept the Law’s stipulations on our behalf, rather than on our own performance. It is radically different.

For finding fault with them, He says, “BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH; 9 NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD. 10 “FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. Hebrews 8:8–10 (NASB95)
If you wish to read more about the New Covenant, click here.

The New Covenant is focused on Christ, not the nation of Israel. What preceded the New Covenant can be thought of as providing us with promises and shadows or types of what was to come in Christ, but not the full revelation.

The true meaning of the previous covenants cannot be understood outside of Christ.

All the covenants before the New pointed to what Christ would accomplish through his death and resurrection. If our teaching or theology of the end times does not feature the centrality of Christ, it is false. (Ephesians 1:10) This means that whatever happens in the end times will glorify our Lord and what he accomplished on behalf of God’s elect.

Just as nothing can pass from this mortal life into immortality unless it is first transformed, all the previous covenants were transformed in Christ and find their eternal significance in him.

Everything in the Old Testament pointed to Christ (Luke 24:27), who fulfilled the types and shadows of the previous covenants.

This means that Old Testament scriptures are interpreted, explained, or expanded by New Covenant revelation.

It can never be the other way around. We do not interpret the New Testament by imposing the Old Covenant scriptures upon it. That would be going backward and away from the centrality of Christ.

Principle #5: What God revealed in Christ and is doing in the end times will fulfill what is revealed in the New Covenant.

The types and shadows of the Old can add texture and depth of meaning for us, but never restrict us to an Old Covenant understanding.

Examples of the Old Covenant Being Fulfilled or Expanded in the New

Descendants

God promised Abraham that he would have descendants and land. These descendants would become the Israelite nation, but even in Genesis, God told Abraham that we would be the father of nations, a clear hint that, through Christ, God would include people from every nation on the earth.

In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Romans 4:18 (NASB95)

The Jews in Jesus’ band of disciples also had a narrow view of what he came to do, thinking that it mainly pertained to their own nation. What followed Christ’s resurrection, however, revealed that the gospel would go to the nations.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19–20 (NASB95)

This was always God’s plan, period, not plan B, as the Dispensationalists claim. Isaiah revealed a conversation between Father and Son at some time immemorial.

He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6 (NASB95)

Land

The promise of land given to Abraham was understood in the Old Testament to include Canaan, extending to the borders conquered during the reigns of David and Solomon. The New Testament, however, reveals that God  expanded that promise of land to include the entire recreated earth.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5 (NASB95)

Some argue that Matthew used the Greek word “ge” for earth, which can also be translated “land,” meaning the promised land of Israel. Interestingly, however, Jesus quoted Psalm 37:11, which uses the Hebrew world “eretz,” which is the same word used in Genesis 1:1, where the clear meaning is the entire earth. In addition, Paul adds that Abraham’s descendants would inherit the cosmos, a word that cannot be limited to Canaan.

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world [kosmos] was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. Romans 4:13 (NASB95)

Kingship

The messianic promise God made to David that one of his descendants would reign upon the throne of Israel forever has been expanded in the New Covenant.

When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 2 Samuel 7:12–13 (NASB95)

Christ now sits at the right hand of God and will return in the clouds in glory at the right hand of power to judge the living and the dead.

But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matthew 25:31–34 (NASB95)
Examples of the Abolition of Old Covenant Types and Shadows after Christ

Dietary Laws

Old Covenant dietary laws were abolished with the advent of the New Covenant. Jesus taught this, and the Holy Spirit later revealed this to Peter in Acts 11. Jesus makes us “clean” through the offering of his blood. We no longer need to be concerned with maintaining ceremonial purity.

And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) 20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. Mark 7:18–20 (NASB95)

Peter, who had been trained all his life to maintain ritual purity by avoiding “unclean” foods, had great difficulty accepting this new freedom provided by our Lord. A word to the wise: we are easily brainwashed into believing lies; so, it is difficult for us to overcome what we have previously believed, even when we are exposed to the truth.

Animal Sacrifices

Old Covenant animal sacrifices were also done away with after Christ offered himself as the Lamb of God for our sins. His perfect sacrifice eradicated the need for animals to be offered.

But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; Hebrews 10:3–5 (NASB95)

Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. Hebrews 10:18 (NASB95)

The Temple

Some forty years after the crucifixion and resurrection, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army, just as Jesus and Daniel had predicted. Animal sacrifice ceased because the Jews no longer had a place to perform them. My personal conviction is that it would be a horrible abomination against Christ to re-institute such sacrifices. They have been abolished by God.

The Old Covenant temple was God’s habitation of sorts, although he cannot truly be contained, but now the Holy Spirit inhabits each individual believer and the church as a whole, which is the new temple of God.

you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5 (NASB95)

God destroyed the old temple because he is no longer concerned with bricks and mortar. The New Covanant temple is made of people. If the temple were rebuilt, as some believe will happen, and if animal sacrifices are re-instituted, it will not honor God the Father or the risen Lamb of God. Their time of significance has passed.

The Role of Israel in the End Times

In the Old Testament, Israel served in a couple of notable ways. First, Paul wrote that God used them to receive and safeguard the scriptures. Secondly, he used them to bring the Messiah into the world. They fulfilled both of these tasks. However, they had a less glorious role, too. They betrayed the Messiah and had him executed. As a whole, the Jewish people still reject their Messiah.

Jesus warned the Jewish leaders that the kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to another – the church.

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. Matthew 21:43 (NASB95)

Stephen indicted those in his hearing with the stinging judgment that they always resist the Holy Spirit.

You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Acts 7:51 (NASB95)

His martyrdom effectively ended the gospel being prioritized to the Jews. From then forward it went primarily to the nations, although a remnant of Jews have come to Christ over the centuries. Nothing has changed since then. The Jews by and large still reject their Messiah and resist the Holy Spirit, as do most other people in the world.

It seems to me that Jesus taught that the Jews lost their chance to accept their Messiah as a nation. He gave no indication that they would get another one, although God in his mercy may yet do something amazing with them.

Principle #6: Just as the Law faded away after Christ’s coming, and John the Baptist decreased in significance after introducing the Messiah, I believe Israel’s role diminished greatly, even faded away, after the crucifixion, and certainly after the stoning of Stephen and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

To expect God to raise up the Jewish nation to worldwide prominence in the end times is the same error the early apostles made. That was not Christ’s mission. He came to redeem the elect out of the entire earth and release creation from the bondage of sin.

Dispensationalism has influenced Christians all over the world to give uncritical allegiance to the state of Israel, which is, for the most part, completely ungodly.

It is likely that we will discover that it, like the United States, has committed many atrocities. That nation’s Moussad has likely worked against our nation. Will God yet save a significant portion of Jewish people in the land of Israel at the very end? He may. He is full of surprises and loves to show mercy. I hope that happens, but to make such a happening a central part of our eschatology is probably a mistake. I believe the Lord wants us to keep our focus on Christ and expect him to do exploits through his worldwide church in the last days. Come, Lord Jesus!

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20–21 (NASB95)

Is Dispensational Theology at Odds with the New Covenant? Part 3

As we approach Jesus Second Coming, many people have come to believe dispensational theology which I will attempt to show is at odds with Jesus’ own words and the New Covenant in general. This is Part 3. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 by clicking on the links.

Dispensationalists like to point to the following verses to contend for their belief that God is going to eventually save the people of Israel.

For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved...” Romans 11:25–26a (NASB95)

From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:28–29 (NASB95)

“All Israel” in Romans 11:26 is thought by many to mean all those Jews who are alive at that time, at least those present in the environs of Jerusalem when Christ appears. It is indeed possible that Christ will appear to many descendants of Abraham in a special way at the very end, as seems to be indicated by Zechariah.

I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. Zechariah 12:10 (NASB95)

However, Paul made it clear earlier in his letter to the church in Rome that only a remnant of those descended from Abraham will be saved, those foreknown by him, the elect from among the Jews.

And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed [remnant], We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.” Romans 9:29 (NKJV)

I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew... Romans 11:1–2a (NASB95) 

Nowhere does Paul indicate that the entire nation will be saved, except potentially in Romans 11:26. However, we cannot interpret that verse in such a way that would undo what he stated previously, that only the elect remnant will be saved. The Holy Spirit does not contradict himself. In addition, we cannot redefine Israel in a different way than Paul already did. The Israel of God now consists of both Jew and Gentile who have reborn of the Spirit. (Romans 2:29, Romans 9:6, Galatians 3:29, and Philippians 3:3)

It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. Romans 11:5 (NLT)

God’s plan is to save a remnant from Israel, as he is doing from all mankind. This agrees with the larger idea that Christ redeemed those whom the Father chose from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) to be a part of his Body, the church, which is composed of both Jews and Gentiles.

God’s focus in the end times is on Christ and his bride, the church, which is composed of people drawn from every people group on the earth.

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Revelation 5:9–10 (NASB95)

This new creation people is much grander than the Old Covenant nation of Israel.

God has enlarged the narrow Old Testament concept of the kingdom of God under monarchs such as David and Solomon. God’s focus now is King Jesus, the Lord of all, who will reign from the heavenly Jerusalem over a recreated earth, with the Bride, the church, at his side.

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7 (NASB95)

Paul taught that the Old Jerusalem of his day was still in bondage because it refused to recognize Jesus as Messiah.

Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. Galatians 4:25–26 (NASB95)

Jesus said that the Jewish religious leaders of his day were of the devil.

You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 (NASB95)

John the Baptist and Jesus called them a “brood of vipers.” (Matthew 3:7, Matthew 12:34, and Matthew 23:33) John told them not to count on being physical descendants of Abraham. God is only interested in those who demonstrate the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives, those who are born again. He warned them that God is able to raise up children of Abraham from “stones.” (Matthew 3:9) The new birth transforms any people, no matter whether Jew or Gentile, into spiritual children of Abraham, the only kind of children God accepts. God will take anyone who responds to the gospel and declares allegiance to King Jesus and is fashioning them into a spiritual temple made of living stones.

you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5 (NASB95)

The Book of Revelation reveals that Jesus called those Jews who do not accept his lordship as the “synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews but are not.” (Revelation 2:9) Paul wrote that the only true Jew is one who is spiritually circumcised through the new birth. (Romans 2:28-29) All others are imposters.

Talmudic Judaism has turned its back on the God of the Bible and his Messiah.

Please do not think that I am antisemitic or against Jewish people. I simply do not accept that they are the “good guys” any more than I think any other nation should be thought of in that way. Talmudic Jews, who believe that they are destined to rule the world, think of Gentiles, goyim, as mere chattel to be used by them. They are no different from followers of Islam or communism, the Mafia, cartels, or globalists, who all desire to rule the world and exploit or even destroy anyone who gets in the way. The United States, my own homeland, which is supposedly a bastion of liberty and justice for all, over the years has acted in self-centered and tyrannical ways,  using its money, power, and influence to get our way in the world. No one can claim the moral high ground from which to  judge others. However, it is important that we view the Jews no differently than any other people group, in view of the New Covenant.

God loves Jews and wants to save them through the gospel, but they are not a “special” people with an elevated status. At the foot of the cross, the ground is level.

At this moment, all believers are seated with Christ in the heavenly places.

even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:5–6 (NASB95)

Our destiny as the bride of Christ,  composed of Jews and Gentiles is to co-rule with him. (Revelation 21:2)

If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; 2 Timothy 2:12 (NASB95)

To believe that the Jews will be elevated to a special status over Gentile believers is a corruption of the gospel’s clear teaching about “one new man” in Christ and is to be rejected. Instead, we are to understand that the mystery is that God will reveal his splendid wisdom through the church, not the nation of Israel.

By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, Ephesians 3:4–11 (NASB95)

God’s eternal purpose is bound up in Christ and the church, not the nation of Israel, whose time of importance has passed.

Footnotes
* "Dispensationalism, Its History & Framework (Part 1)" by Jon Brodhagen.

If you wish to read more about Covenant vs. Dispensational Theology, click here and here.
If you wish to learn more about an alternate view of the end times, I recommend Harold Eberle's book, Victorious Eschatology.

Is Dispensational Theology at Odds with the New Covenant? Part 2

As we approach Jesus Second Coming, many people have come to believe dispensational theology which I will attempt to show is at odds with Jesus’ own words and the New Covenant in general. This is part 2. You can read part 1 by clicking here.

The covenantal view, which I believe better agrees with scripture, holds that throughout history God has made promises or covenants with mankind, beginning in the Garden of Eden after Adam’s sin. There he promised to send a Messiah who would crush Satan (Genesis 3:15). God expanded this promise when he covenanted with Abraham that one of his descendants would be blessing to the entire earth (Genesis 22:18). The Abrahamic covenant made it clear that the blessing was not to be restricted to Israel. To David God promised that one of his descendants would rule God’s kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13). We now see through the lens of hindsight that Jesus perfectly fulfilled these promises, as the first apostles taught (Acts 2:30-32, Acts 3:25).

The New Covenant fulfilled and extended all the previous covenants, except for the Mosaic Law, which it fulfilled and subsequently abolished (Ephesians 2:15)

Much to the surprise of the early Jewish Christians, the New Covenant includes both Jews and Gentiles. The Body of Christ, which Paul calls “one new man,” is made up of all people who confess allegiance to Jesus the Lord (Colossians 1:26-27).

The New Testament makes it clear that Israel is now defined as those who are born again by the Spirit of God.

There is no distinction any longer between Jew and Gentile, male and female, free and slave, rich and poor, young and old, etc. We are all one in Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:28–29 (NASB95)

The above passage in itself destroys dispensationalism. It also brings into question whether the current nation of Israel has any connection whatsoever with the kingdom of God.

Everything in the Bible and God’s historical interactions with people points to Jesus. God’s plan culminates in our Lord, who will have first place in all things.

He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. Colossians 1:18 (NASB95)

The old covenant patterns and types all pointed to Christ. The feasts of Israel point to Christ, who either has or will perfectly fulfill them. (Click here to read more about the feasts.) The sacrifices under the old covenant all pointed to Christ’s perfect sacrifice of himself as God’s Lamb. (Click here to read more about sacrifices.) The Law pointed to Christ in that it showed us how much we need a savior. However, once Christ, the perfect fulfillment of the old covenant patterns and promises arrived, the old covenant faded away.

When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. Hebrews 8:13 (NASB95)

Once a person, nation, or institution fulfills its purpose in introducing our Lord, it is fitting for it to move out of the picture so Christ will be have first place.

This was true in the case of John the Baptist, who receded into the background once he introduced Jesus.

“He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. 30 “He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. John 3:29–31 (NASB95)

This was also the case with the Law of Moses. It’s purpose was to define what is righteous and to lead us to Christ. Once it fulfills its purpose, it no longer has the forefront.

Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. Galatians 3:24–25 (NASB95)

The destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army was a giant exclamation point stamped on God’s judgment and rejection of the Jewish nation for its absolute refusal to recognize and come under the lordship of their Messiah, Jesus.

Jesus warned that this would take place.

“But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 “But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 “They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41 They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.” Matthew 21:37–41 (NASB95)

“But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. Matthew 22:7 (NASB95)

“What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. Mark 12:9 (NASB95)

The early church clearly understood that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple was Jesus’ vindication. God punished those who rejected their Messiah and handed the kingdom of God over to another “nation” or people that would produce fruit for him.

“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44 “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. Matthew 21:43–45 (NASB95)

That other nation or people is the church, which is composed of both Jews and Gentiles, all who have believed the gospel and been born again into God’s kingdom.

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 1 Peter 2:9 (NASB95)

The royal priesthood of the New Covenant offers spiritual sacrifices of praise and obedience to God, rather than the now defunct animal sacrifices. Animal sacrifices were never able to provide forgiveness for sins (Hebrews 10:4). They were always only a picture of the sacrifice that Jesus would make at Calvary as God’s Lamb, who took away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Now that the perfect has come, the old order of things has become a stench in God’s nostrils because holding on to it represents rebellion and rejection of the New Covenant.

This is why legalism is so deadly. Whenever we try to blend old covenant forms with new covenant grace, we create a hybrid that is something foreign to God. Therefore, to rebuild the Temple and re-institute animal sacrifices would continue the Jew’s rebellion against God and their rejection of his Messiah.

In fact, it can be argued that the present day existence of the nation of Israel is a direct affront to God because it represents their defiance of his judgment against them.

As Jesus prophesied, God destroyed that nation in 70 AD, but Zionists, who are not dedicated to the God of the Old Testament and certainly not to Jesus, have rebuilt it with the help of wealthy bankers, England, and other nations. It is not as if the Jewish people as a whole have ever shown any trace of repentance and faith toward Jesus. Only a relatively small number of those whom God chose before the foundation of the world have turned to Christ. Most people who populate Israel and call themselves Jews are basically secular, having no interest in Jesus at all, except in a negative way.

The whole idea of Christians backing the reestablishment and defense of the nation of Israel is derived from Dispensationalism, which argues that it is our moral duty to support secular Israel, no matter what, on pains of incurring God’s judgment if we fail to do so. Such a threat of being cursed by God is antithetical to the New Covenant. Our loyalty is to Jesus, not the nation of Israel. The promise that God would bless those who blessed Abraham and curse those who cursed him (Genesis 12:3) cannot be extended to present day unrepentant Israel. Abraham was a man of faith who walked with God through whom God would bring the Messiah. Present day Israel is not serving God, living by faith, or honoring the Messiah.

Those who are called Jews are no different from any other people with regard to their need for salvation through the gospel.

Every person, whether Jew or Gentile, is guilty of sin and stands under God’s judgment. Unless we repent and believe the gospel and acknowledge that Jesus is the Lord, we cannot be saved (Romans 10:9-10). Anyone who properly responds to the gospel will be saved and become part of God’s people, the church, the new nation to whom Jesus has turned over his kingdom. There is no other way to be saved, except through Jesus. The Jews are not a special people with a special way to have a right standing with God. There is only one way for Jew and Gentile alike. (Acts 4:12)

Footnotes
* "Dispensationalism, Its History & Framework (Part 1)" by Jon Brodhagen.

If you wish to read more about Covenant vs. Dispensational Theology, click here and here.
If you wish to learn more about an alternate view of the end times, I recommend Harold Eberle's book, Victorious Eschatology.

Is Dispensational Theology at Odds with the New Covenant? Part 1

As we approach Jesus Second Coming, many people have come to believe dispensational theology which I will attempt to show is at odds with Jesus’ own words and the New Covenant in general. 

Dispensationalism arose within the last 150 years; it is a system of interpretation for reading and understanding the Bible. It is distinct from, and incompatible with, the covenant theology held by our Reformed tradition and other Christians over the past 2,000 years of church history. A key aspect of dispensationalism is its unique views regarding the end-times events laid out in the Bible. Yet, more central to its uniqueness is its separation of Israel and the church. While covenant theology holds to the historic view that the Old Testament people of Israel and the Church are one covenant people in God’s redemptive plan throughout history, dispensationalism introduces a unique view: that God has a different plan for salvation for ethnic Israel (the Jewish people) and the Christian church.*

Central to this theology is the contention that God relates to man primarily on the basis of dispensations of grace. This conflicts with the reformed view of scripture, which holds that God has always related to mankind through covenants, about which you can read by clicking here.

Below is a graphic representation of the rather complicated dispensational scheme as developed by Clarence Larkin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image Link

As can be seen, the above graphic neatly lays out the dispensational timeline. It seems to fit in many ways, but is generally incorrect because some of its presuppositions are false.

If our presuppositions are incorrect, so will be our conclusions.

The dispensational system of biblical interpretation first crystalized in the mid-1800s due to the ministry of John Nelson Darby with the Plymouth Brethren in Great Britain and Ireland. One of the emphases of the Plymouth Brethren movement was their anticipation for Christ to return at any time (and likely within their generation)… Darby stressed the two distinct peoples of God: Israel and the Church—a sharp division between the Old and New Testaments in how God dealt with those peoples—and he adopted a futuristic understanding of Revelation, in which God would remove the church from the world and finish his prophetic promises to the people of Israel.*

(I have written elsewhere about the various approaches to interpreting end time scriptures. I personally do hold to a futuristic view because I do not think it comports with most scripture. I recommend the book, Victorious Eschatology by Eberle and Trent, if you want to learn more about the partial preterist position.)

The idea of a “rapture” developed from the combination of this new distinction between Israel and the Church, end-times fervor, and ecstatic revivalism. Out of these, dispensationalists developed the idea that in this rapture (which would occur before the coming tribulation), God would remove the church from the world before their futuristic understanding of the events described in Revelation would occur. The first known articulation of a “pre-trib rapture” came from fifteen-year-old Margaret MacDonald in the form of an ecstatic prophetic utterance at a prayer meeting in her brother’s home in western Scotland, 1830 (MacPherson). Darby further popularized this view among the Plymouth Brethren and exported it from Great Britain to America. In America, Cyrus Scofield popularized these doctrines with his immensely popular Scofield Reference Bible, which was one of the first study Bibles, and contained dispensational commentary throughout the text of Scripture. The Scofield Reference Bible’s pessimistic views towards the history of the Church in the world, and the timing of its publication on the eve of World War I, cemented the idea into the evangelical psyche that the world was getting progressively more evil and would continue in that way until the Antichrist would arise after the Church was raptured out of the world.*

I have written elsewhere that I think the rapture is a false hope and will not comment further here.

During the Cold War, in the 1960s through the 1980s, dispensationalism went mainstream into the wider culture with the publication of Hal Lindsey’s book The Late Great Planet Earth and Edgar Whisenant’s book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. As dispensationalism matured in the 20th century, confidence was stirred in its views when the modern nation of Israel was birthed in 1948, and when it miraculously won the Six-Day War in 1967 against a coalition of Arab states. In light of these historical developments, many dispensational teachers and groups continued the trend from 19th-century religious movements to believe that the current generation was the last generation before Christ’s return. Many dispensational ministers (e.g. Edgar Whisenant, Harold Camping, Chuck Smith, and others) would set specific dates or a range of years for Christ’s expected return. As the year 2000 approached, rapture fever increased and was fueled by the fictional Left Behind franchise of books and movies by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, which presented dispensational end-times views in story form. *

I became a follower of Christ in 1971 and was inundated with this view of the end times. In my early days this was the predominant, if not only, view of the end times to which I was exposed. It was not until later that I became aware of alternate ways of interpreting the Bible regarding the end times.

Dispensationalists believe that the Jews’ official rejection of Jesus Christ was a significant moment in history that essentially stopped the “prophetic clock” in Scripture. They teach that the prophetic promises in Daniel, Matthew 24-25, and Revelation are now on hold during the dispensation or “age” of the Church, which has lasted 2,000 years (from Pentecost to today). According to dispensationalism, the Church exists in a parenthesis in prophetic history, as they believe the prophetic promises described in the Bible are for the people of Israel, and that the “true” Church will be raptured before the prophetic events described by Daniel, Jesus, and the Apostle John are destined to occur (during the Tribulation, and before the Millennium, when according to dispensationalists, Christ will finally rule as the Messianic King on Earth).*

Since dispensationalists are futurists, they do not generally take into account what has already taken place in church history. I have written elsewhere my position that Daniel’s prophecies describe the coming of the Messiah, his crucifixion, and the subsequent destruction of the Jewish nation and Temple.

Having restored Israel to nationhood status in 1948, dispensationalism teaches that God is actively protecting the nation of Israel. In this scenario, Israel is largely the focus of what God is doing in the end times. One could say this is an Israel-based eschatology.

As these dispensations are different ages in which God is doing different things, the dispensationalists believe that God was doing something different during the time of the Mosaic covenant from the New Covenant initiated by Christ. They completely distinguish between Israel and the Church, and believe that they have separate future destinies. According to them, the Church did not exist in the Old Testament and did not begin until Pentecost. Therefore, all the promises made to the people of Israel, in particular the physical blessings, are only for Israel and not the Church. L.S. Chafer wrote:

“The dispensationalist believes that throughout the ages, God is pursuing two distinct purposes: one related to the earth with earthly people and earthly objectives involved, while the other is related to heaven with heavenly people and heavenly objectives involved” (Chafer, Dispensationalism).*

 

Footnotes
* "Dispensationalism, Its History & Framework (Part 1)" by Jon Brodhagen.

If you wish to read more about Covenant vs. Dispensational Theology, click here and here.
If you wish to learn more about an alternate view of the end times, I recommend Harold Eberle's book, Victorious Eschatology.

Abortion: An Evil Sacrament that Empowers Satan

Is abortion merely a political hot potato or is it something far more substantial? Could it be that abortion is actually an evil sacrament for those who worship and serve the prince of darkness? Could it be that Satan deceives people into offering children to him as a sacrifice that empowers his evil kingdom?

Satan has always derived his authority and power from the consent of those he deceives into following him.

This began in the Garden of Eden but must be renewed in every generation. Therefore, he must continually convince people to chose him over God, lies over truth, and death over life.

We also know from Scripture that idols represent demonic beings that empower those otherwise lifeless objects. Paul wrote this enlightening passage.

What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods? 20  No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons. 1 Corinthians 10:19-20 (NLT) 

The devil adapts himself to changing circumstances. The Enlightenment has changed our perception of the spiritual world. Today most modern people would not bow down to a physical object as if it were a god. Nevertheless, we have our idols, too. Anything we serve or honor in place of God effectually becomes an idol. There is a reason some movie stars and other famous people are called idols. A popular television singing competition is called American Idol. If we put more value in money than we do in God, then we serve the idol called Mammon.

All false gods require us to offer sacrifices.

Many have sacrificed their families and souls in the pursuit of Mammon. Likewise, countless people have traded their souls for fame. Satan even offered our Lord the opportunity to gain it all without having to die on a cross simply by bowing to him.

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Matthew 4:8–9 (NASB95)

In many religions, offerings are required to obtain the favor and protection of local deities. It could be compared to how gangs and the mafia extort protection money from businesses located in areas in which they operate. These sacrifices could be a great as offering children to these demonic spirits. Child sacrifice was integral to the worship of Chemosh and Molech in the Old Testament and has existed in other pagan religions. Sadly, people have willingly sacrificed their children in order to gain some sort of occult spiritual advantage from Satan and these local deities.

The Bible provides us with an intriguing example.

When the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he led 700 of his swordsmen in a desperate attempt to break through the enemy lines near the king of Edom, but they failed. 27  Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would have been the next king, and sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. So there was great anger against Israel, and the Israelites withdrew and returned to their own land. 2 Kings 3:26-27 (NLT) 

In this instance, evil power apparently was released against Israel when the king of Moab sacrificed his son to the devil. This man willingly killed his heir to enlist Satan’s power to defeat God’s people, which was granted.

We may consider child sacrifice to be barbaric, but is it any less gruesome and horrific than modern day mothers choosing to execute over 60 million of their own unborn babies with complete government approval and support in the United States alone since 1973?

The king of Moab wanted victory over his enemies. What do modern Americans who abort their babies seek? Who can plumb the depths of the human heart? It seems that most of the time mothers kill their unborn babies to out of a desire to avoid the fear of embarrassment, economic hardship, or an uncertain future for the child and mother. Sometimes it is merely an escape from inconvenience or a , career interruption. Some may have more humanitarian reasons, such as protecting their own health in the case of an extremely hazardous pregnancy. Some conceptions are the result of rape, and the mother does not want anything or anyone reminding her of that travesty. Whatever the reason, there is almost always another option – giving birth and placing the child up for adoption.

Most of these women probably have been deceived into thinking that these babies are not really human beings at all, just undeveloped blobs of tissue. They do not understand that God has known all of us before the creation of the world. He knows us when we are being formed them in the womb.

13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb...16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. Psalm 139:16 (NASB95)

Unborn infants may be just tissue to these mothers, but to God they are beloved children.

Some deceived women have declared they rejoice in their abortions, but many others rue having taken the lives of their unborn child or children. Thankfully, God offers forgiveness, if we turn to him with a repentant heart.

We are engaged in a spiritual battle between the kingdom of God and the realm of darkness and evil ruled by Satan. We understand that even though Christ dealt a decisive blow to Satan and his kingdom when he rose from the dead, God in his wisdom has permitted us, his people, to be part of the “clean up operation” here on the earth. It is our Lord’s intention that his people have the privilege of crushing Satan under our feet.

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Romans 16:20 (NASB95)

This verse references the promise made to the serpent in the garden back in Genesis that one of Eve’s descendants would crush the serpent’s head. (Genesis 3:15) Many consider this to be the very first messianic promise in the Bible. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy, but we his people will be part of the final act in this great drama unfolding over the centuries.

All will be concluded when Jesus appears in the clouds with great glory, just as he promised. Until then, we are living through an intense contest between two opposing kingdoms for the hearts of people. Each kingdom is enlisting the consent of people to be governed by their respective kings. Each kingdom has a different leader, goals, sources of power, and ways of doing business.

God’s kingdom employs the gospel to awaken people to his offer of redemption. Jesus will set free everyone who declares allegiance to him and his kingdom.

The only way for Satan’s plan to work is for masses of compliant people to willingly surrender to it. This requires a massive amount of deception, since no one in his or her right mind would choose to follow the lord of death. 

Just as some cultures repeatedly offer animal sacrifices to demonstrate their allegiance to the devil, we also have such a blood sacrifice in our country.

I am convinced that a power source used by the satanic realm is child sacrifice through legalized abortion.

The horror and tragedy of mothers choosing to destroy their own unborn children has to be one of Satan’s greatest deceptions and triumphs and our nation’s saddest legacy.

Since Roe v. Wade was passed, which used the courts to bypass the legislative process and opened the door to legalized murder in this country, some sixty million unborn babies have been put to death legally.

Abortion is sanctioned in the eyes of the law, but it is murder in God’s eyes, the only eyes that count.

Most of this slaughter has been hidden from public view within the confines of abortion clinics and hospitals, but God has seen every last drop of innocent blood that has been shed. This blood cries out to God for vengeance. Thank God that Jesus’ blood cries out for mercy!

The Bible teaches that life is in the blood (Genesis 9:5). God holds people, cities, and nations accountable for the shedding of innocent blood (Numbers 35:33). The guilt for all the innocent blood shed by the abortion industry is shared by those who promote it to gain money and spiritual power. This includes politicians who champion it to gain and maintain political power, providers – doctors, clinics, hospitals, and other medical personnel, who have tapped into the wealth this industry supplies, and those who procure their services for whatever selfish reasons. Our entire nation will be held accountable for what we allowed to happen under our watch. When judgment falls, even those who were not directly involved usually are affected. Sometimes the Lord’s judgment falls immediately, but often God delays judgment, allowing it to accumulate (Matthew 23:35-36). But we can be sure that God will not be mocked: we will ultimately reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). I am understandably troubled, as I hope you are, when I contemplate how much wrath has been accumulating due to the travesty of abortion which has piled up such an enormous death count over almost fifty years.

Thankfully there is hope for those who come to realize the horrendous nature of abortion and ask God for forgiveness.

The Bible says that without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22). This is why Jesus had to shed his blood on the cross on our behalf. It was the only way to atone for our sins.  He offers to forgive anyone who comes to him in humility and faith, but unless a person or nation turns to God in repentance and finds forgiveness in Christ’s atoning sacrifice, he, she, or they eventually will encounter God’s judgment.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade is has not stopped abortions in this country or around the world. Those who serve Satan must continue to prop up this sacrament of evil because it is a source of evil power. It is also a satanic plot to bring down God’s righteous judgment upon us for the shedding of innocent blood.

May God lift this horrendous weight of judgment from us by enabling us to repent and mend our ways at an individual and the national level. We cannot afford to be passive onlookers in this battle between light and darkness. The least we can do is pray and declare the truth to others.

“The Character and Doom of the Sluggard” by Pastor David Caldwell

The Reverend David Caldwell (1725-1824) was born in Lancaster, PA. He moved to NC where he became a Presbyterian minister over two congregations, a physician, an educator, and a farmer. He was a Regulator and was present at the Battle of Alamance as a peace negotiator. He ardently supported the Revolution; although, he served mainly as a doctor for the wounded. The British hated and feared his influence so much that they put out a bounty of two hundred pounds on him. When General Cornwallis seized his home before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Caldwell was with Greene’s army in Virginia. The British burned all his sermons, but two escaped the flames, one of which is printed below. I edited some of the text to make it more readable.

The Character and Doom of the Sluggard

The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute. Proverbs 12:24 (KJV)

Paying tribute or tax is an acknowledgement of subjection and dependence; and is opprobrious or not, according to the circumstances under which it is paid. When we pay a tax to the support of a government whose constitution we approve and in whose measures we have a voice, it is paid cheerfully; and then we are more than compensated by the personal security and by the facilities for improvement which it affords; but still it is an acknowledgement of dependence upon, or of subjection to, that government.

When it is paid to a foreign government; and especially, if it be paid from compulsion, and not from choice, it is always considered as degrading. Thus, the Jews considered the tribute which they paid at different periods of their history to the surrounding nations; and finally, to the Roman government. So all nations in all ages have viewed the payment of tribute by compulsion, whether it be paid to their own rulers, or to those of another nation; and this arises from that innate love of liberty which belongs to all men, as well as to their sense of justice and propriety; for the exaction from a people of a tribute more than they themselves, when properly informed, admit to be necessary to enable the government to give adequate protection to their persons and property, no matter by whom it is done, is felt to be a violation of justice; and the government which will make such exactions from downright avarice, or for ambitious purposes, is not guided by a fair appreciation of the rights of mankind, or by those benign principles which alone can render its operation acceptable and salutary to the governed.

When an individual is said to be under tribute, as in the text, the meaning is that he is in a degraded state of subjection to, and dependence upon, those around him; and such, we are here told, will be the condition of the sluggard. We are so constituted that vigorous and well directed exertion is necessary to the attainment of anything that is valuable; and all the powers we possess, bodily and mental, ought to be employed assiduously in pursuance of the end for which they were given. The powers with which we are endowed are various; but the employments for which they are required are also various; and it is not important in what way we are employed, provided it be at something that is right and useful. If we refuse to exercise these powers in the way in which it was designed we should exercise them, we must remain destitute of that which would be obtained by a proper industry; and this neglect, and the consequent destitution, may be either partial or total.

For example: a certain degree of bodily exercise is necessary to health; but, if we neglect that exercise, we must want the health and vigor which might otherwise be enjoyed. The acquisition of knowledge depends upon a diligent use of the means and the due exercise of our mental faculties; but, if we refuse to take this course, we must remain in ignorance. Industry, as to the things of this world, is necessary to obtain the means of subsistence and the comforts of life; but, if we refuse to labor, we must remain in poverty and wretchedness. We are surrounded by enemies and dangers of various kinds; and to avoid being overcome, both vigilance and efforts are necessary; but if we refuse to watch and to take the proper precautions, or to defend ourselves when attacked, captivity or ruin will be the certain consequence.

It has been said that the word, which is rendered slothful, in the text, ought to be rendered deceitful, or fraudulent; but we need not detain you with any critical remarks in order to settle that point, as the two characters are very much alike; for we generally find that the deceitful and fraudulent are indolent too; and there are certainly some of the same elements in both. As it stands, it answers better also to the antithesis in the first part of the verse. The hand of the Diligent shall Bear Rule; but the Slothful shall be under tribute. Besides there are many other passages, both in the Old aid New Testament, and especially in the book of Proverbs, of the same import, and about which there is no dispute.

A man may be so intent upon gain, or so absorbed in scientific or literary pursuits, or so engaged in something else that is lawful and even important in its nature, as to neglect his health, and, not only become the subject of debility and disease, but go down to a premature grave. The effect in this case is owing, not to indolence, but an imprudent or a too eager pursuit of the object; yet indolence will be followed by the same result; for in both cases the laws of our physical nature are violated in a similar way. We need not enquire whether there is any culpability in the former case; for that depends on circumstances and is not necessary to our purpose. It is with the sluggard we have to do at present; and about him there is no apology. While he is impairing his health and shortening his days by his inactivity and sloth, he is gaining nothing in any other way, and must therefore be chargeable with his own ruin. To say nothing of the injury to his health from inattention to cleanliness and from the want of fresh and wholesome air, which is very great, the laws of our physical existence require frequent and regular exercise; and without it the vitality of the system will languish, and its energies become impaired. As the door upon his hinges, so doth the sluggard upon his bed— turning from one side to the other, but still remaining in the same place. The slothful hides his hand in his bosom: It troubles him to bring it again to his mouth— that is, the slightest exertion is irksome to him; and he neglects, not only the muscular exertion necessary to health, but also to make suitable provision for his nourishment. Such a man cannot enjoy the health and vigor of other people; nor have the same number of days to live; for, as a matter of fact, we always find that those who live long upon the earth are people of regular and active habits.

If the sluggard commences in poverty, he will remain poor; and, if he commences rich, he will become poor. He may desire wealth and comfort, but his desire kills him; for ” his hands refuse to labor.” He may ” covet greedily all the day long;” but, while “the righteous have enough and to spare,” he is in want. While many a man, who began life poor, has become rich by honest and persevering industry, many a fine estate has been wasted by sloth and inattention. The slothful man saith there is a lion in the way: a lion is in the streets,— that is, in the very places where he ought to be at work, or attending to his business; and the amount of it is that he is ready to make any excuse, and will indulge his sloth upon any terms. The consequence is that, if he has a farm, it is in disorder, and becoming waste. I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding. And lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. To an observing and reflecting man this was a source of instruction. Then I saw and considered it well: I looked upon it and received instruction. The amount of it was, that while the man was saying to himself, Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep, his poverty was seen coming as one that travelled, and his want as an armed man. If he is a tradesman, or a merchant, and neglects his business, his customers, his debts, or anything belonging to his occupation, the same result will follow.

Sloth is usually at the bottom of all negligence, disorder, or bad management in business; and there is more sloth among us, and more of the evils resulting from it, probably, than many of you have ever supposed. But these are not all the evils, nor the worst evils to which the sluggard is subject; for those of a mental and moral kind are much more serious in their nature and their consequences. A certain amount of knowledge is necessary to a man’s welfare, here and hereafter; and the more knowledge he has the better, if he makes a right use of it; for then his satisfaction and his usefulness will be in the same proportion. But even that amount of intelligence which will enable him to understand his own interest and make him acquainted with the duties which he owes to God his Maker, and to his fellow beings, a diligent use of the means of knowledge, and much reflection on what he reads or acquires in any way. He may be very positive or dogmatic all in his opinions, without being able to tell why he entertains them; and is positive just because he is ignorant. The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. Seven was considered as the number of perfection among the Jews, and being in common use it was employed by the inspired writers, as it was by the people to whom they wrote, to express the whole class of persons or objects lo which it was applied; and by “seven wise men” was therefore meant all the wise men in the world. The sluggard thinks he is wiser than anybody else; and this state of mind, in addition to his aversion to any proper exercise of his mental powers, keeps him in ignorance.

While the due exercise of all our powers, mental and physical, is the only condition on which our present and future welfare can be secured, of which we are expressly informed by the great and good Being who gave us existence, and the proof of which is manifest everywhere around us; he who will not comply with the laws of his being and fulfil the only condition on which his welfare is attainable, must become a certain prey to “all the ills that flesh is heir to;” for if he is not aware of these evils how can he escape them! It he is ignorant, how can he know in what they consist, or in what direction they will come, or if he does not know the things that make for his peace, how can he seek them, though ever so anxious!

Knowledge, like everything else that is good, is the reward of industry; and if we or anybody else, is as really an object of reprobation as the miser, the spendthrift, or the highway robber; and the blessings which he foregoes and the evils which he brings upon himself, here, are but forerunners of the heavier losses which he will sustain, and the more insufferable woes which he will bring upon himself hereafter; for the unprofitable servant will be bound hand and foot, and cast into outer darkness where no ray of comfort can ever cast even a momentary radiance over the gloom, and where there is weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth forever. The evils which he is bringing upon himself here are those of privation and of suffering: they are physical, intellectual, and moral; and increasing, as they are, from day to day, both in number and degree, they can be regarded only as the beginning of sorrows.

We have seen that while the sluggard is impairing his health and shortening his days, he is wasting his estate, or depriving himself of blessings and privileges which he might otherwise enjoy; and is not only acting in a manner very similar to that of the most prodigal spendthrift, but is pursuing towards himself, and perhaps others also who may be dependent on him, a perfectly suicidal course. God hath declared that “he is brother to him that is a great waster;” and that he “who sleeps in summer shall beg in harvest,” exposing himself to poverty, shame, and misery. As he will not disturb his ease that he may become acquainted with his duty to God or learn upon what terms the divine favor may be obtained, and what will be the consequence of neglecting to comply with those terms, neither will he take the trouble to ascertain what is due to him from his fellowmen, or what he owes to them. Hence being deficient in his duty to his God, his kin, and his country, he not only becomes an easy prey to every bold intruder who is either desirous of gain or greedy of power, but is exposed to all the evils, of whatever kind, that can come upon him from those towards whom he has violated his obligations.

While he is spending or losing, by his ignorance and sloth, the inheritance that has been handed down from his predecessors, perhaps through a number of generations, with all the temporal comforts which it might have afforded, or is neglecting to acquire the means of comfort and respectability which a kind Providence has placed within the reach of his industry, the ambitious and the covetous, those tyrants of the human race and pests of society, view him as an object fit for their purposes, and mark him for their prey, believing that his ignorance will screen them from his notice, and that his indolence will make him perfectly submissive, or prevent that vigilance and exertion on his part which are necessary to his safety.

Thus, they are encouraged to make the experiment, and they too often succeed. Here your own memories may easily suggest examples, both in public and in private life, in which the weak, the ignorant, and the slothful were outwitted and imposed on, defrauded and subjugated, by some unprincipled villain or other, who was destitute alike of honor, humanity, and everything else that could entitle him to the respect and affections of his fellow men; and of such the world is full.

But if the sluggard is so reckless as to destroy his soul, body, and estate, it is almost a matter of course that he will so undervalue his civil and religious liberties as to lose them in the same way.

Were he careful to examine into the rights of society and to ascertain what each individual parts with, for the sake of the government, the aggregate of which is the royal prerogative, and is committed into the hands of the supreme magistrate to be exercised for the public good, he would easily see when his civil liberties were secure, or when endangered by the attempts of ambitious and designing men; but he does not consider that the king, as such, is created, protected, and supported by the State; and that all his acts should therefore promote the public good. While the sluggard continues ignorant of these leading principles, no wonder if he is easily awed into slavery, stoops his shoulders to the burden, becomes a servant to tribute, and yields to all the unjust demands of usurped prerogative.

In acting thus, however, he is an enemy, not only to himself, but also to his children. Can this be possible, you will say. Can he divest himself of such inanity! Can he lay aside the tender feelings of a parent! Can he forget the civil interests of his children! Can he expose his helpless infants to the lawless demands of tyranny, and to all the cruelties of despotism! Can he be so infatuated as to ruin his tender offspring by surrendering their liberty and property into the hands of those who exercise usurped prerogative!— I would say it was impossible, if incontestable facts did not prove the contrary.

Who are capable of such blackened crimes? who can deliberately ruin himself and his children at once? the sluggard; and whoever else may do the same thing from other principles or in other ways, the sluggard is sure to do it, in whom ignorance, disregard of moral obligation, and a supreme love of ease are inseparably united.

Should such a monster of human society appear at a time when the royal prerogative is extended beyond the bounds of reason, or the just limits of the constitution, would he act the champion in the cause of liberty, bravely withstand the shocks of an arbitrary and tyrannical government and bid defiance to all the illicit requirements of despotism! Would he vindicate the cause of political truth, and firmly resolve to transmit to his infant sons the fair inheritance of liberty! The answers to these questions I beseech you to conceal. Let not the friends of the constitution, or the “Sons of Liberty,” know that such an enemy to the common interests of mankind anywhere exists, lest their patriotic zeal should raise undue resentment and cause it to burst upon his devoted head— conceal, I pray you, conceal it from his unoffending family— add not infamy and disgrace to their bondage and oppression. It will be enough, and more than enough, for them to answer the demands of tyranny, and the lawless requisitions of an unprincipled minister, if, for lack of courage and firmness, the chains of slavery should be now fastened upon us. Alas, they must groan out their days in lamentation and wretchedness, suffering whatever a corrupt minister, or ministerial tools, can invent; and tamely surrender all that is most dear and valuable to the demands of avarice and the menaces of power.

Let them not know that their bondage and degradation must be ascribed to the ignorance and indolence of their progenitors, who, from cowardice or the love of ease, tamely surrendered all that was their own and all that should have been their children’s, into the hands of a minister or an infatuated senate. This would sink their sinking spirits still lower and add infamy and shame to poverty and oppression. Let oblivion spread her dark veil over their ignoble principles and unmanly conduct, who, for a little ease, or the hope of securing a trifling estate, or some mere selfish advantage of comparatively small value and short duration, would resign their own and their children’s liberty, overturn the constitution, and expose themselves, with their posterity, born or unborn, to the groping paw of arbitrary power.

When men of this character, ambitious and unprincipled, are a majority in the State, or have the control of public affairs, what unjust prosecutions, what shipwrecks of property, what fines, confiscations, and imprisonments, the black history of some former inauspicious reigns fully manifest, I refer to the time when a set of slothful and unprincipled wretches disgraced the British Senate, suffering the Council Table, Star Chamber, and High Commissioners to engross almost the whole power of making and executing the laws— at which time they enforced their loans, benevolences, and ship-money, by illegal prosecutions, intolerable fines, and long imprisonments, to the ruin or serious injury of the nation; for vast multitudes of the most industrious, upright, and valuable citizens left the country; and with all classes there was a want of confidence in the government;— while the disregard of moral honesty and good faith manifested by the men in power, and the temptations held out to the ambitious and covetous to stifle conscience and trample on the rights and justice and humanity, produced a general deterioration of moral principle.

The sin and danger of sloth, in relation to our civil liberty, or of yielding to the unjust demands of arbitrary power, is further evident from the fact that those in high life, or who administer the government, have all the allurements by which to turn the active spirits of the age, and cause them to act in concert with themselves. Some they bring over by promoting them to high stations; some by pains and penalties; some are influenced by the apprehension of not being able to obtain justice and of losing what little they have; some are brought into subjection and held fast through a kind of depravity in their understanding, not distinguishing between reasonable taxation and oppression; while others seem to have so much infidelity in their make that they will not believe what all mankind assert, and will hardly believe the testimony of their own senses.

But the sluggard from mere indolence, or from an aversion to exerting himself in any way, will not observe these matters, nor inquire into what is conducive to his own and his children’s safety and happiness. He would rather stoop his shoulders and take on him the whole load of oppression and slavery, with all their train of privations and hardships.

Were these evils confined to the persons and families of such indolent wretches, it would be more tolerable; but, alas! posterity, in all its extent and in its distant generations, may fuel the burden, made more insupportable by repeated additions.— France and Spain, yea, all the enslaved nations Europe, can bear witness that it was the sluggish disposition of their remote predecessors, and the inactivity of succeeding ages, which introduced, increased, and perfected their present bondage— a bondage which makes them to this day groan under a load that it is not likely they or their children will be able to throw off.

Had our forefathers in England given up the cause of liberty and indulged in sloth, or inglorious ease, when recreants, assisted by the French, and headed by an angry and disappointed Prince, attempted our subjugation and ruin, we should have been under the domination of popery, and exposed to all its persecuting tenets, to slavery, and all its poverty. Attempts have been often made, since the reformation, to introduce popery and slavery into the British nation; but they were always resolutely and successfully withstood. Charles I, prompted and sustained by his alliance with France, the depravity of his understanding, and his uxorious obedience to his queen, encouraged popery in his kingdom; and those who professed the protestant religion were both oppressed and persecuted. At this time, the British parliament was adorned by men of honesty, zeal, and activity, who effected such prodigious revolutions in church and state, as were the surprise and wonder of all Europe.

When James II abdicated the throne of England, and raised an army of papists and confederate French, to establish popery and slavery, the British nation did not betray their religion or their liberty by an inglorious submission, nor did they desert the mighty cause of truth and freedom through sloth or cowardice. They valiantly repelled the force and fury of his attacks and fearlessly proclaimed the prince and princess of Orange to be the king and queen of Great Britain. Thus our forefathers, or many of them, sacrificed their lives at Londonderry that they might hand down to us the fair inheritance of liberty and the protestant religion; and in the whole course of their conduct in the support and defense of their rights, they have set us an example which ought not to be disregarded.—

But the sluggard gives up his all: all that is his own, and all that should he his children’s and their children’s under them, into the hands of ambitious, arbitrary, and wicked men,— in consequence of which, he and they, so far as he is at all concerned to prevent it, are exposed to unremitted slavery, poverty, and distress.

If the sluggard be thus an enemy to all above him, to all around him, and to all that will come after him, as well as to himself, in soul, body, and estate, he ought to be well observed in every well-regulated community; for he despises and tramples upon the laws of God and the most salutary institutions of men— institutions that have been handed down, as invaluable and sacred, from father to son, through many generations. Among these we may mention that of trial by juries, which is a very ancient institution or usage in Great Britain; for it seems to have been known to the first Britons, was practiced by the Saxons, and has been confirmed since the invasion of the Normans by the Magna Carta and by continual usage. Trial by juries, however, is not only of great antiquity but is essential to the safety and happiness of every British subject, and, in fact, of all mankind. Juries are England’s Euphoria and Tribute; and are the living bulwark of the laws and the liberties of the people. If we look at those nations that are destitute of this constitutional or essential safeguard, we find the condition of the inhabitants is miserable, being either entirely subjected to the arbitrary will of tyrants who plunder, dismember, or slay them from mere caprice, according to their humor, often without any provocation, and merely to gratify a savage cruelty; or at least we find them under such laws as render their lives, liberties, and estates liable to be disposed of at the discretion of men acting as judges, who are perfect strangers, whether mercenary than otherwise, and the mere creatures of the prerogative; sometimes malicious and oppressive and frequently partial and corrupt.

But such has been the patriotism, prudence, and activity of our ancestors, that they have never suffered the most evil prince, or princes, that ever swayed the British scepter, to destroy this invaluable privilege; nor can it ever be destroyed until the constitution, and the liberties of the people, which are now secured by it, are wrested from them and trampled underfoot, which can never be done, except from their own supineness or mismanagement. If Britons, when under the influence of heathen superstition, or in the ignorance and thralldom of popery, were thus jealous of their rights, and maintained the privilege of being tried by their peers, or by a jury of the wisest and best men to be found in the vicinity, as the only means of securing their lives and fortunes against the arbitrary, partial, and corrupt judges, would it not be a blot on the escutcheon of Britons or the descendants of Britons, professing the protestant religion, and enjoying so much light, now to give up, from sloth or cowardice, a privilege so valuable that every other of merely a civil kind can hardly be brought into the comparison.

The sluggard who gives up such an important branch of the constitution is worse than a thief or a robber; for the one takes from you only what he needs, or can take away at present, but the other undermines the constitution; opens door for tyranny and oppression; and exposes all around him and all that will come after him as well to the paw of arbitrary and despotic power. The consequences of sloth are therefore most pernicious; and the sluggard, being a perfect nuisance to society, must be under the eye of his Maker, and despised by all good men; for he will not unite with the people of God and the friends of humanity, either to procure or defend their common rights and privileges.

This seems to have been the case with the inhabitants of the city Meroz; and God expressed in the most forcible manner his displeasure at their indolence and cowardice. When Jab in, one of the kings of Canaan, who reigned in Razor, had subjugated Israel, and mightily oppressed them for the space of twenty years, Deborah, a prophetess, being influenced by the spirit of the Lord, called for Barak out of Kedesh-Naphiali; and ordered him to go to Mount Tabor, and take with him ten thousand men out of the tribes of Naphtali and Accordingly Bark issued a general proclamation for these two tribes to meet him at and they obeyed, except the inhabitants of this city Meroz, who, it seems, chose rather to be under the tyranny and oppression of that cruel prince, Jabin, than to join with God and his people in vindicating their rights and maintaining their common privileges. God, that he might shew his indignation against those sluggish or timid wretches who would not join in the common cause of liberty, nor unite in defending those rights which he hid originally given them, and which, though lost by their pusillanimity, he was about to restore, provided they shewed themselves worthy of such a favor, inspired the prophetess Deborah, and Barak, the chief commander of the expedition, with that celebrated song, recorded by the divine historian, in which there is this remarkable passage.

“Curse Meroz,” said the angel of the LORD, “Utterly curse its inhabitants; Because they did not come to the help of the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the warriors.” Judges 5:23 (NASB)

There seems to be a dreadful similarity between our sluggard and the inhabitants of this devoted city, both in the measure and in the manner of sinning. They regarded neither the command of God, nor their own or their children’s happiness; and preferred their present ease to the good of the community, the cause of truth, and the welfare of posterity. They seemed to despise, or disregard, all that was above them, all that was around them, and all that might come after them, just like the person mentioned in our text, who shall be under tribute.

If this be so, may we not say, without any violence to the sacred text, curse ye the sluggard, saith the angel of the Lord, curse him bitterly, because he will not come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against those mighty oppressors who break down the sacred enclosures of the constitution, and make inroads upon the life, liberty, and property of the subject; who take away or mutilate our charters that have been solemnly ratified by British sovereigns and guaranteed by the plighted faith of government; who take away or deprive us of the right of trial by juries, which is indeed the palladium of English liberty; who tax us and take our money, without our consent; and who extend the courts of admiralty and vice-admiralty beyond their ancient and proper limits.— Thus the sluggard is an object of execration everywhere, and at all times; and the evils of his conduct attend him in all his interests and relations, in public and in private; yes, in every circumstance or situation of life, his way is as a hedge of thorns, he is cursed in his relations, as being numbered among the profligate and profane, and nearly connected with the most abandoned spendthrift; for he is brother to him that is a great waster. He shall be cursed with groundless fears and apprehensions, when called to the discharge of any necessary or important duty: There is a lion without: I shall be slain in the streets.— He shall be cursed in his possessions; for it is manifest to everyone who takes a view of the sluggard’s field, and of the vineyard of the man void of understanding, when he sees its whole surface covered with thorns and nettles, and its wall broken down, that poverty shall overtake the owner as one that traveled, and that famine shall seize him as an armed man. He shall be cursed in his dwelling; for, by much sloth the building decays. He shall be cursed as a felon-de-se, a person who is deliberately guilty of suicide, because he neglects the ordinary means of preserving his life and securing his best interest. The desire of the slothful kills him; for his hands refuse to labor. He shall be cursed of God forever: Thou wicked, slothful, and unprofitable servant— you must take up your everlasting abode in the blackness of darkness, where the excruciating pain inflicted upon you by divine vengeance, will be productive of eternal weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

But why need we attempt to mention in detail the numberless evils— the poverty, shame, and remorse— the contempt, misery, and despair— that he shall suffer in his person and character, here and hereafter? All the curses in the book of God are leveled against him; and they will, ere long, break upon him like a bursting cloud. The united execrations of the present, and of coming ages, will render him truly contemptible; and the gnawing reflections of a guilty conscience, will make him completely and forever miserable.

After this description of the sluggard’s character, and of the complicated train of evils which will pursue him, in soul and body, through time and eternity, blasting his name and character here, and involving the ruin of his hopes hereafter, you are perhaps saying, if this picture be just or if the sluggard’s character be so odious and his punishment so terrible, we will not indulge in sloth ourselves, nor connive at it in others. These are good resolutions and may be a good beginning; but these distempered times call for more than resolutions.

You know that some years ago the British Parliament took a notion to be arbitrary; and proceeded to pass acts which were unknown to the constitution, alarming to the wise and prudent in Great Britain and oppressive to their American subjects. They sent out their odious Stamp Act; but it could find no entrance, although it was said there, that it would execute itself. It was repealed, but the design of taxing these colonies, without their consent, was not laid aside. Probably they saw that American virtue would not readily yield to such arbitrary measures; and that therefore more time and deliberation were necessary; but in the meantime there was laid up a decree of the Parliament for future use, viz: “That they can make laws to bind us in all cases whatsoever.” They seem to be maliciously zealous to obtain domination over us,— a proof of which was given in the case of New York, whose legislation was suspended by an act of Parliament, for a supposed offense against the crown. Thus, they officiously stepped in and stripped his majesty of his prerogative, that they might usurp authority over us. They proceeded to lay a tax on a variety of things, though, with respect to most of them, it was again repealed; but the duty on tea still remaining, they resolved that it should be paid; and sent large quantities of it into various parts of this continent. Some was sent back; some stored up; and some destroyed, as at Boston. But the tea being the property of the East India company, the destruction of it was a trespass; and the perpetrators of the act were liable by the common law. Those concerned in that riot, however, were not apprehended, nor was the town of Boston called upon to deliver up the offenders. The justice of Parliament was invoked in this trifling matter; and it will surprise the less civilized nations to learn that it was granted. Their armies and fleets were sent, in virtue of this inhuman law, bearing down after the trespass at Boston was committed, and exposing the innocent with the guilty, to the most complicated distress that ministerial vengeance could invent, or that a British Parliament, filled with rage and the insatiable thirst of power, could inflict.

The sense of the United Colonies was taken on this important matter.— We set forth our grievances: We petitioned his majesty in a most humble manner to intercede with the Parliament on our behalf. Our petitions were rejected, while our grievances were increased by acts still more oppressive and by schemes still more malicious, till we are reduced to the dreadful alternative either of immediate and unconditional submission, or of resistance by force of arms.

We have therefore come to that trying period in our history in which it is manifest that the Americans must either stoop under a load of the vilest slavery, or resist their imperious and haughty oppressors; but what will follow must be of the utmost importance to every individual of these United Colonies; and should be the hearty concern of every honest American.

— What will be recorded on the following pages of our history must depend on our conduct; for if we act like the sluggard, refuse, from the mere love of ease and self-indulgence, to make the sacrifices and efforts which the circumstances require, or, from cowardice and pusillanimity, shrink from dangers and hardships, we must continue in our present state of bondage and oppression, while that bondage and oppression may be increased until life itself will become a burden; but if we stand up manfully and unitedly in defense of our rights, appalled by no dangers and shrinking from no toils or privations, we shall do valiantly.

Our foes are powerful and determined on conquest; but our cause is good; and, in the strength of the Lord, who is mightier than all, we shall prevail. If we fail to do our duty in this momentous crisis, bondage and oppression, with all their unnumbered and interminable woes, will be entailed upon us, but if we act our part well, as men and as Christians, in defense of truth and righteousness, we may, with the help of the Lord, obtain a complete and final deliverance from the power that has oppressed us, or at least secure our rights, and attain a prosperity and happiness which no other nation has ever enjoyed, or even dared to hope; for then the consciences of men being unawed or unbiased by human authority, and the truth of God being unadulterated and unfettered, the gospel will have free course; and we may hope that truth and righteousness will prevail until the predictions of the inspired writers, however vivid and glowing, shall be all fulfilled.

If I could portray to you, in anything like their reality, the results of your conduct in this great crisis in your political destiny; or if I could describe with any tolerable degree of correctness, the feelings which you will have of self-approbation, joy, and thankfulness, or, of self-reproach, shame and regret, according to the part you act— whether as men and as patriots, or as cowards and traitors— I should have no difficulty in persuading you to shake off your sloth, and stand up manfully in a firm, united, and persevering defense of your liberties; but I would hope that enough has been said— enough in reason— enough for my purpose; and we expect that none of you will be wanting in the discharge your duty, or prove unworthy of a cause which is so important in itself, and which every patriot and every Christian should value more than wealth, and hold as dear as his life.

2025 Challenge: Declare Allegiance to Every Word of God

We enter the new year with great expectations of what God will do and concern regarding what Satan and his cohorts will try to pull off. Wherever God is at work, there is warfare and confusion caused by our archenemy, the accuser of the brethren and deceiver of the world. Thankfully, God has already won.

While we await the return of our Lord, we must never forget that Satan’s primary objective is to destroy our allegiance to God and his Word.

Jesus warned us that he will judge us in this area.

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26 (NKJV)

What does it mean to be ashamed of Jesus’ words. In 2024 I gained a deeper understanding of that. I discovered that many of us who call ourselves Christians are ashamed of what the Bible teaches about the creation and nature of the heavens and earth. We try to avoid embarrassment by contorting Scripture to make it conform to generally accepted astrophysics. We may even convince ourselves that we are being honest when we do this, but the Lord is not fooled.

It is not enough to simply believe “in” Jesus. Even the devil does that. The real test is whether we will believe and live by his words, or just pay them lip service.

Our Lord knew that his purpose for coming to earth was to die for our sins and rise again after three days as the Lord of Lords to restore mankind and the Creation back to his Father. How did he know this? He relied completely upon was what is written in the Bible.

Jesus had absolute confidence in the truthfulness of God’s Word – all of it. He taught that it cannot be “broken.” (John 10:35)

Leading up to his death, he told his disciples that everything would happen to him as was written.

Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. Luke 18:31 (NKJV)

As he hung upon the cross, enduring the mockery and taunts of his enemies and the excruciating pain of crucifixion, feeling his life blood drain away, he clung to God’s promises in the Bible. Our Lord “risked” his life, ministry, reputation, and eternity – everything – on the truthfulness of God’s Word. He asks us to do the same.

As the “second Adam,” the progenitor of a new edition of humanity, Jesus passed the test the first man and woman failed: he rejected the lure of Satan’s lies and gave full allegiance to God and his Word.

After he rose from the dead, he appeared to two discouraged disciples on the road to Emmaus and gently rebuked their despondency, indicating that it was rooted in their failure to believe the Word of God.

Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24:25–27 (NKJV)

Faith resides in the heart. It surpasses what the intellect can comprehend. Only those whose hearts are open are able to receive and believe God’s words. To everyone else, the written Word seems to be foolish. (1 Corinthians 1:21-23)

I am convinced that the Holy Spirit is challenging us today to lay aside our fears and embarrassment and show loyalty to every single word of God.

Jesus gained victory over Satan’s temptations by quoting the following important verse.

But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” Luke 4:4 (NKJV)

We are not allowed to pick and choose which words of the Bible we are going to believe. We either believe all of it, or everything in the Bible comes into question.

The Lord warned us against invalidating God’s written word with our man-made traditions. 

Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. ...13 And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.” Mark 7:9,13 (NLT)

We may be guilty of placing men’s traditions ahead of the Word of God in more areas than just religious matters.

Anything that is handed down from one generation to the next that contradicts God’s Word is an anti-God tradition of men.

For example, when Charles Darwin proposed his anti-biblical theory of biological evolution in the 1800’s, many in the church stood firm against that lie that all living beings self-generated out of inanimate matter over eons of time, which was also an assault on the Bible’s young earth timeline. As the years passed, however, despite its never having been proven and its violating proven scientific laws, such as entropy, the deception has grown and is endlessly propagandized by leading scientists, educators, and media pundits. Our children are thoroughly brainwashed into this false narrative by the public school system.

It should be clear to us who adhere to the Bible that the purpose of the lie of biological evolution is to obscure God and his glory as Creator. Those who deny God and antagonistically suppress the truth of creation jumped on the evolution train, seeing it as the vehicle that would carry atheism to new levels of acceptance, and they were right. This unproven anti-biblical theory is now taught as fact and believed by countless millions all over the earth.

In addition, even Christians have accepted the more foundational lie that the Bible is not a good source for scientific truth, only religious principles.

In other words, they say that God’s Word is purely subjective and unprovable, unlike what is called “science.” The irony is breathtaking: it is impossible to prove evolution, but it is accepted without question. It has become a religion, which must be believed in order to progress in the secular world. This is the power of the lie. Anything that helps people deny God’s existence and rule is gleefully accepted and mandated. Bible-believing Christians are often labeled as ignorant rubes, if we do not go along with the deception.

Many who call themselves followers of Christ, only God knows the heart, cave to the lie and reinterpret the Bible through the lens of biological evolution, denying the clear teaching of literal days and nights in Genesis in favor of indefinable eons of time. When we do this, we elevate man’s opinions of what is falsely called “science” above the God’s inerrant Word in the Bible.

This is the sin of negating the Bible for the sake of a tradition of men.

When we do this, we invent ways to confuse what before had been quite clear and twist Bible truth into a satanic lie.

The devil has not changed his tactics. He still manipulates us the way he did Eve by making us feel stupid for accepting what God says, instead of trying to figure out things for ourselves or going along with the wisdom of men.

Thankfully, I am part of a group of Christians who reject Darwin’s evolutionary narrative of the origin of life. We have come down on the side of the Word of God on this matter. However, to my great disappointment, some of us still embrace other elements of evolutionary thought.

It is fashionable today, even among some of those who confidently reject biological evolution, to compromise the biblical account of creation in favor of widely accepted evolutionary cosmological theories of the origin and design of the heavens and earth, such as the Big Bang theory.

Recently I was conversing with a fellow believer who said he believes in the Big Bang theory, which completely contradicts Genesis One. (I have written more about this elsewhere.) I responded that I do not believe in the Big Bang, but we did not have time to talk further. Hopefully we can discuss this in the future so I can better understand how he justifies rejecting the Genesis One account of creation.

Many of us have abandoned the Word of God and surrendered our minds and hearts to unproven and anti-biblical cosmological theories without flinching.

We use such excuses as that the writers of the Bible were “pre-scientific” and did not understand how things really work to justify our disloyalty to the Bible. We try to justify our abandonment of the Word of God by saying that the biblical authors described events as they observed and understood them (phenomenologically), rather than as they really were (“scientifically”). If this way of handling the scriptures is valid, then how do we know if anything in the Bible is actually true? Perhaps the resurrection did not really happen either, but was just an unscientific attempt to describe what the authors of the gospels did not scientifically understand. I trust we can all see the fallacy of this line of thought.

Either God spoke the truth about the origin and nature of the cosmos in Genesis and elsewhere in the Bible, or everything in the Bible is called into question. And this is exactly the direction Satan wants lead us. He knows that rejecting Genesis One opens the door to rejecting the entire Bible and God.

Maybe those of us who already believe that Jesus is Lord can juggle these inconsistencies somehow, but those who listen to the church’s arguments against believing the Genesis One account understand that such a position invalidates the Bible and the gospel. This is a great evil in which I too unwittingly participated for many years. I have repented and write this in the hope of helping others see the light.

Deception is getting more pervasive and harder to detect, requiring us to completely rely upon the truth of God’s written Word and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Taking a stand for biblical truth brings honor and glory to God and protects us from being swept away by satanic lies.

I believe that taking God at his word regarding the creation and nature of the heavens and earth is going to be critical now and in the future as more and more emphasis likely will be put on the reality of aliens from what is called outer space.

I cannot predict the future, but I think it is likely that the powers that be will tell the world that space aliens do indeed exist and have been in contact with us for a long time. Their supposed “proven” existence will provide the devil with yet another argument against the Bible, which will fool many. The deception even may include a pretended invasion by these supposed extraterrestrials. Hollywood has been preparing us to accept this scenario for decades. If this happens, and I hope it does not, Christians who believe the Bible’s account of the heavens and earth will not be deceived like the rest of the world. We know that there are no such alien beings, but only demons or other known entities posing as a such. We will know not to bow to anyone or anything, demon or human, that purports to be our savior or lord. No antichrist will be able to steal our hearts. We will only bow the knee to the one and only Lord Jesus, the King of Kings!

For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. 25 See, I have warned you about this ahead of time. Matthew 24:24–25 (NLT)

We cannot say that we were not warned.

 
If you want to read more of my articles on Biblical Cosmology, click here.

Why I Am No Longer a Roman Catholic: Part 1 – Introduction

I was a Roman Catholic for the first eighteen years of my life. My parents converted to Catholicism after they were married because they were looking for a church that took a firm stand for the sanctity of marriage and against divorce, which was prevalent in both their families. I, on the other hand, was raised as a Catholic and accepted it as normal and right. I served as an altar boy for many years and attended Catholic school from third grade through the eighth. I was baptized as an infant, received my first Holy Communion as a boy, and was later confirmed. Our family was active in the church and attended regularly. It was only as an older teenager that I began to ask a lot of questions and have significant doubts about God and the church.

Catholic teaching did not provide me with a clear path to having a personal relationship with God. The church actually stood between me and God with its rules and mediatorial priesthood. I could never be sure that I would one day go to heaven because that depended on dying in what was called a state of grace, which came and went depending on sins I would commit and subsequent confession to a priest. I seriously tried to keep the rules, but the more I tried to live without sin, the more I realized how hopeless an endeavor that is. Later I read in the Bible that this frustration with trying to be good was exactly what God intended to lead us to Christ (Galatians 3:22), but then I did not know that.

I attempted to please a God who was “out there” looking at me, but whom I did not know personally and was never there to help me, it seemed. In my frustration I began to wonder if God even could be known. I called myself an agnostic and began looking for God and truth outside the church. When I went to college, I discovered Zen Buddhism and Transcendental Meditation, which were trendy at the time. I tried meditation, thinking that perhaps truth could be discovered there, since Christianity had let me down.

It was about this time that the girl I was dating, who is now my wife of fifty years, wrote to tell me that she had become a Bible believing “born again” Christian. This was strange news to a Catholic, especially from someone with the same background as me. I found myself resisting and criticizing her beliefs and experience, but could not sway her a bit. That made an impression on me. Maybe she was on to something.

After a couple of weeks of wrestling with these things, I decided to experiment. I prayed to Jesus, whose very existence I doubted, asking him, if he were real, to come into my life and reveal himself to me. I left it at that. I did not struggle with it any more. I even temporarily forgot I said the prayer. Interestingly, however, I noticed that I was changing. I was happier and more willing to do nice things for people. I thought that perhaps my meditation was having a good effect. My girlfriend, Martha, came to visit, and we talked about Jesus some more. After dropping her off at the women’s dorm where she was staying, I caught a ride back to my dorm. Being hungry, I decided to stop by a small room with vending machines, where I bought something to eat. I was all alone, as it was late at night. Thinking about everything Martha and I had discussed and wondering about my life, I suddenly remembered that prayer to Jesus. At that very moment, God’s presence seemed to fill the room. Somehow I instantly knew Jesus is real and went from unbelief to having a strong conviction that he is everything the Bible says about him. Joy and peace filled my heart in a way I had never known. This was what I call my born again experience. From that time on everything became new and different.

Later I read the following verses and realized that God has been very gracious to me by opening my spiritual eyes and heart.

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” John 3:5–8 (NLT) —

The first thing I did was go to my nearby dorm, where several of my friends were still awake. I told them what had happened to me and let them know that Jesus is real and can be known. That was my first attempt at sharing the good news. I did not know much, but I knew that. That night it was difficult for me to fall asleep. I was excited and also wondering if I would still believe in the morning. Was this just a passing fancy or a new permanent reality? The next morning I woke up still believing, and here I am writing this article some fifty-two years later. I told Martha what had happened. She was surprised and overjoyed, as you might imagine. We have served the Lord together ever since.

That night changed my life in the most fundamental way. I went from feeling lost and alone in the universe to knowing I am loved by its Creator. I transitioned from doubt to having the assurance that God is real and loves me, his words are true and faithful, and I have eternal life. I want others to know about this amazing God who is willing and able to reveal himself to us!

One thing I understood right away was that my new birth had absolutely nothing to do with the Catholic Church. Priests never even told me that I could know God in this way. Only one older gentleman named Allen Graham, who taught a class for teens, said that God can be known, but at the time I did not know how. Eventually, as I became more and more familiar with the Bible, I realized that the Catholic Church long ago departed from Scripture in many areas. Instead of being a vehicle for people to experience the freedom of the gospel, it became an enslaving religious institution. Eventually I realized that I had to part ways.

I do not write this to condemn any family or friends who are still part of the Catholic Church. There are many truly born again believers who have remained in that church. However, I believe that I have a responsibility to share how Catholic doctrine has combined elements of the Old Testament with the New to alter the gospel message. The apostle Paul wrote that if anyone or group preaches a different gospel, they are cursed or under God’s judgment. (Galatians 1:8-9) The Catholic syncretistic betrayal of the New Covenant cannot be ignored. I hope that these articles will make it clear why I believe this and help you in some way.

Pete

Click here to see more articles in this series.

Why I Am No Longer a Roman Catholic: Part 8 – The Papacy

The papacy represents the Roman Catholicism’s solidarity with the world system of government as opposed to Christ’s. The RCC recognizes the Pope as its titular head. He is said to be Christ’s Vicar or representative here on earth. He is called the Holy Father, and his pronouncements, when he speaks and writes ex cathedra (“from the chair” – authority derived from one’s office or position), are supposed to be infallibly correct, even if he contradicts Scripture.

The office of the papacy was a logical outgrowth of the doctrine of the elevation of the clergy class over the common people or the laity. I showed how the clergy-laity divide is antithetical to the New Covenant in my previous article on the priesthood. Once a group accepts a clergy class and accepts the concept that the church has the form of a worldly kingdom complete with a king, it is only natural to end up with a Pope. Jesus made it clear that his kingdom is not of this world, however.

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” John 18:36 (NASB95) —

The Roman Catholic Church claims is that it is the only church whose spiritual lineage of leaders goes all the way back to the Apostle Peter in Rome. Peter is considered to be the first pope from whom the current pontiff is descended spiritually through successive ordinations.

What the RCC does not comprehend is that every New Covenant believer is part of the new creation initiated by Jesus, the “second Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45) through the new birth. The entire church goes back to Christ. Even if it were true that Peter were the first pope, it would not matter one whit relating to a spiritual pedigree. The only pedigree that matters is what comes via the new birth, something disconnected from any church organization. (You may wish to read my first article in this series for more on this topic.)

Historically the papacy claimed and exerted even greater religious and secular power than it does today. In his papal Bull of 1302, Pope Boniface VIII (on the right) wrote: “Indeed we declare, say, pronounce, and define that it is altogether necessary to salvation for every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”

Boniface’s assertions of papal plenitude of power did not go beyond those of his predecessors in the 13th century. They were in fact more moderate than, for instance, those of Innocent IV and were in any case well within the range of the opinions gradually elaborated in the schools of theology and canon law in the period between the age of Gregory VII, the great 11th-century reformer, and that of Boniface.2

Although such secular authority is not currently claimed by the Pope, during the Middle Ages the papacy was the most powerful political force in European Christendom, having the ability to leverage kingdoms and even excommunicate recalcitrant rulers in order to bring them into line. For many centuries most of these kingdoms were nominally Catholic and looked to the Pope. Such power did not go uncontested, however. Some secular rulers vied with the papacy over the right to appoint bishops, etc. Wars were waged by kingdoms under the auspices of the Pope in a contest for power. Money was a big part of what was at stake, and, as one would expect, great power was accompanied by great corruption, and the “Vicar of Christ” was often a very poor representative of our Lord.

The early church had no such office as Pope. Jesus warned his disciples against having such pretensions of power and greatness.

Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. 25 Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ 26 But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. 27 Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves. Luke 22:24–27 (NLT) —

The desire to be considered a “great” person with commensurate power and authority is rooted in our sin nature and is antithetical to Christ’s teachings.

Adam and Eve wanted to be great, which led to their downfall. Satan’s told them that they could be “like God,” knowing good from evil for themselves, rather than having to rely upon God. This desire continues in the human makeup and manifests itself over and over again. The tower of Babel was constructed by a group who wanted to “make a name for themselves” and be famous. (Genesis 11:4) This evil desire originated in Satan, who is thought to be represented in the following passage from Isaiah, which is ostensibly written about the King of Babylon, but seems to be about the prince of darkness, too.

How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. 13 For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. 14 I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’ Isaiah 14:12–14 (NLT) —

Any time a church group elevates an individual to a position of enormous power and prestige, whether it is the RCC or any other organization of believers, we can be sure that it is not something birthed by God’s Holy Spirit.

The early church did not have an hierarchy. Instead it made decisions by coming together to seek the Lord’s will and discuss important issues in order to arrive at a consensus. This can only happen where there is unity and humility. The first big issue that arose was whether Gentile converts should be required to keep the Mosaic Law, specifically circumcision. The church in Jerusalem, quite naturally, had many Jewish converts; whereas, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, witnessed multitudes of Gentiles believing the gospel. As might be expected, the Jews viewed Christianity as an extension of Judaism and wanted these new Gentile believers to become full-fledged Jews in addition to putting their faith and allegiance in Christ.

Paul was in the eye of the storm. Having observed uncircumcised Gentiles being filled with the Holy Spirit without being circumcised, a proof of their complete acceptance by God, he taught that we are saved by faith alone and that circumcision is not necessary. This agreed with the passage in Genesis which says that Abraham was justified by faith in God’s promise before circumcision was even introduced. (Genesis 15:6) Paul wrote:

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. Romans 2:28–29 (NASB95) —

However, Paul’s view was contested. People called Judaizers followed Paul and injected their legalistic teaching on circumcision into the congregations that Paul started. As a result, people were getting confused, and Paul believed that the integrity of the gospel message was at stake. As he saw it, the future of the church hung in the balance. Therefore, the believers turned to the apostles in Jerusalem for the answer.

Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. Acts 15:1–2 (NASB95) —

This was not because Paul recognized them as the supreme authority. He made that clear in his letter to the church in Galatia many years later.

Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. 2 It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain... 6 But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. 7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised 8 (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), 9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Galatians 2:1-2, 6–9 (NASB95) —

After much discussion, in which Peter voiced his strong viewpoint in agreement with Paul, James, the Lord’s brother, who appeared to be the leader among the apostles and elders, stood to give the decision. Here is what he said.

Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 When they had finished, James stood and said, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. 15 And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted...19 “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. 21 For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.” 22 Then the apostles and elders together with the whole church in Jerusalem chose delegates, and they sent them to Antioch of Syria with Paul and Barnabas to report on this decision. The men chosen were two of the church leaders—Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas...[the letter contained the following statement] 25 it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, Acts 15:12-15, 19–22, 25 (NLT) —

James, not Peter, took the lead. This significantly undermines the RCC’s assertion of Peter’s being the first Pope.

Every group needs a leader, but not a pope. The leaders God uses are those who humbly submit to the written word of God, listen to the Holy Spirit and to the counsel of those around them, and humbly use their authority in the fear of the Lord. James’ leadership was not codified or otherwise made official. It seemed to be organic and based upon natural and spiritual gifts. There is no record that any sort of policy of succession existed in the early church.

It is true that God raised up Moses to be a very strong leader who exercised enormous authority. He was followed by Joshua who operated in the same way. It should be noted, however, that God used those two leaders to lead Israel out of slavery in Egypt and bring them into their inheritance in Canaan. The enormous mission required great leadership and commensurate authority. In addition, these two leaders fulfilled another purpose in God’s larger plan. Moses represented the Law and Joshua, the New Covenant. Moses, the Law, could not bring them into the promises, but Joshua (another form of the name, Jesus) did. The obvious significance is that legalism can never save us. Only Christ can do that through the new birth. Their leadership fulfilled a larger purpose in foreshadowing God’s plan of salvation.

Joshua conquered Canaan and later died. After that Israel entered the period of the Judges during which God changed how he raised up leaders. Without any policy or line of succession, God raised up men and a woman to lead the nation as the need required. As long as these judges exercised leadership, the nation prospered. When they died, the nation was again leaderless until God raised up the next judge, making the people feel insecure and vulnerable. Nevertheless, this is how God chose to do things.

God wants us to be dependent upon him rather than upon organizations with dynastic rulers.

Over time, the nation grew weary of God’s way of doing things and asked to have a king, “like the nations” (1 Samuel 8:20), whose sons would provide a ongoing succession of rulers, ensuring continuity of government. Samuel was judge and a prophet when this took place. He brought the people’s request to God, who regarded it as a rejection of his rule.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; 5 and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 The LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. 1 Samuel 8:4–7 (NASB95) —

God wants his people to be content to be in a place of liminality or uncertainty in which we have nothing firm to cling to but him. This is the “place” where our faith and knowledge of God grows.

If we can become “comfortable” by faith with God’s being our only real security, we will experience God’s ongoing leadership, protection, and provision. (2 Corinthians 5:7) We are most free and happy when we rely upon the Lord. (John 8:31-32) Human beings in general, however, do not like this set up. We usually will trade freedom for a sense of security. This is what happened in Israel and is an ongoing pattern of behavior in every group, including the church.

The Lord allowed the people to get their way, and Saul was appointed as the first king. (It should be noted that God had a larger purpose in mind. His ultimate ruler, our Lord Jesus, would descend from the line of David to be Israel’s, the church’s, permanent king.)

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Luke 1:31–33 (NASB95) —

The history of the kings of Israel is mainly one of sin and corruption, with several good kings, preeminently David, sprinkled into the mix. Contrarily, there is no record of a bad judge. If we allow God to raise up leaders from among the people as he sees fit, things will go much better.

Unfortunately, there is something built into human nature, going back to Babel, that wants to establish a system and build and empire to provide security and continuity. (You can read more on this subject in a previous article.)

The early church was decentralized, having no pope or other centralized rule. This was part of the genius God built into the church, which allowed it to survive and thrive during years of intense persecution. This same genius has enabled the Chinese underground church to multiply despite decades of suppression by the communist regime there. When a group or movement is decentralized, it is nearly impossible to “kill” it. There are no buildings to seize or central leaders to threaten or kill. If one leader is removed, another one springs up. Meetings can be conducted “underground” in homes and other suitable temporary venues. (If you wish to read more about the genius of decentralization, check out my summaries of The Starfish and the Spirit and The Insanity of Obedience .)

The early church was governed by elders.

When the Holy Spirit gave birth to a church through Paul’s preaching, one of his first orders of business was the appointment or ordination of elders, older men of proven character who had a spiritual gift and calling to shepherd or care for and oversee that local church.

When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Acts 14:23 (NASB95) —

Paul retained a fatherly sort of authority in each of the churches which he preached into existence.

For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. 1 Corinthians 4:15 (NLT) —

Just as natural fathers train and prepare their children to become self-governing responsible adults, so Paul expected the churches he founded to be governed by the local elders or presbytery.

Grown sons govern their own families, but sometimes turn to their earthly fathers for advice and direction. In such cases, fathers do not have the right to rule their sons, but can influence them. Any father who seeks to do otherwise violates his son’s authority as husband and father of his own wife and family and stunts their growth. Likewise, Paul was able to exercise fatherly authority to assist churches in difficulty as invited and allowed. Those churches that honored Paul’s authority benefited immensely. Those who refused it generally suffered.

Nevertheless, Paul’s apostolic authority over the churches he founded depended on the willingness of the local elders to accede to it.

This is the biblical model for all ecclesiastical authority. Local churches are intended to be self-governing but not arrogantly independent. At times local elders need the wisdom and guidance of fatherly spiritual leaders who have their best interests at heart. This can only happen when relationships of trust have been built over time.

The institutionalized church tries to take a “short cut” by appointing overseers or bishops (the episcopate) who rule over the churches under them by means of positional rather than relational authority. This is a violation of the New Testament pattern and keeps people spiritually immature, a condition nurtured by overbearing leaders who prefer power to producing mature disciples.

After the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, the church began to morph into something more like an earthly kingdom, complete with a king or Pope. The church gained prestige, power, property, and wealth after it became the official religion of the empire. Instead of being a persecuted fringe minority, it became socially and professionally advantageous to be a Christian. Church leaders grew in power and wealth over time, rising to the heights of the papacy in the Middle Ages. God may have used this period of church history for some good, as he does in every case for those who believe (Romans 8:28), but by and large this was a dark age for the church. The corruption, abuse, and divergence from biblical truth became so great that it erupted into a massive and turbulent period of reformation. The evil surrounding the office of the Pope provoked Martin Luther and other reformers to consider that he was the biblical Antichrist. 1

At the time of the Reformation, Leo X was the Pope. He was one of the more ungodly pontiffs of all time. Leo X was the head of the de Medici family from Florence, Italy, when he became the pope. Interestingly he was not even a priest at the time of his appointment. He reigned over the RCC from 1513 until 1521. He used his considerable political skills in his years as Pope, appointing family members, writers, and poets to key church positions. His lavish lifestyle quickly emptied Rome’s coffers; so, he came up with ways to replenish the church’s bank account. One of the most famous methods was the selling of papal indulgences. People were told that when they gave money, the souls of the their loved ones were immediately released from Purgatory, a place of suffering where the heaven-bound remained until their last sins were completely expiated (another extra-biblical doctrine about which I will write later). This egregious abuse of power to enrich Rome became one of the main offenses that provoked Luther to post his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Leo X engaged in wars and intrigue as well, joining the emperor of Germany and the kings of Spain and England to drive the French out of northern Italy. Interestingly, the reason he failed to quickly deal with Luther (put him to death as a heretic) was because of his preoccupation with these struggles. Much to his regret, by the time he got around to Luther, it was too late. The Reformation had already gained momentum and Luther came under the protection of powerful secular rulers who had the ability to thwart the Pope’s desires.

The RCC bases its doctrine of papal infallibility and rule on a much debated passage of Scripture.

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:15–19 (NASB95) —

The RCC believes this passage made Peter the first Pope, giving him binding authority to rule. However, if one properly exegetes or pulls out the true meaning of this passage, instead of reading into it what one wishes to see (isogesis), it is obvious that this is not what Jesus meant.

Jesus made a play on words in this passage. Peter’s name, petros, means little stone. The Greek word for rock is petra. It should be apparent that the little stone is not the rock. Peter just confessed that Jesus is the Lord. This confession is the rock upon which the church is built. The acknowledgement of Christ’s lordship along with our declared allegiance to him gives us entrance into the kingdom of God, producing in Christ’s followers the “obedience of faith.” (Romans 1:5) Paul summarized the importance of our confession of Christ’s lordship in the following passage.

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9–10 (NASB95) —

The phrase “keys of the kingdom” refers to God’s giving Peter the authority or privilege to preach the gospel and open the door of salvation both to the Jews and to the Gentiles. Peter is the one God selected to first preach to the Jews in Jerusalem on Pentecost, and he was given the privilege of unlocking the door of salvation to the Gentiles when he preached to the Roman centurion and his family in Acts 10. Peter recognized this God-given favor, as recorded in Acts.

After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. Acts 15:7 (NASB95) —

Regarding binding and loosing in the disputed passage, it is important to note that Peter was authorized to bind and loose what had already been bound and loosed in heaven. It is clear that this was not an authorization for Peter to wield power. I have already shown that he was not even the recognized leader of the church in Jerusalem. Instead this must refer to the his ability to loose people from spiritual darkness through the preaching of the gospel. On Pentecost, he concluded his message with these words.

And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. Acts 2:40–41 (NASB95) —

His exhortation to be set free or loosed from sin resulted in the conversion of about 3000 people! Peter also exercised his authority to bind when he confronted Simon Magus, an evil magician who resisted the gospel message and tried to purchase the power to baptize converts in the Holy Spirit.

But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” 24 But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” Acts 8:20–24 (NASB95) —

The RCC erred by seeking to use this passage to confer on the Pope an almost limitless authority and set him apart as the official Vicar of Christ. It is clear from other verses, that the entire church is Christ’s representative here on earth, carrying the authority of Christ to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons, and make judgments.

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 2 Corinthians 5:19–20 (NLT) —

And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Matthew 10:7–8 (NASB95) — 

When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers! 2 Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? 3 Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. 1 Corinthians 6:1–3 (NLT) —

The natural human propensity to seek order and security by appointing a permanent succession of rulers, as was done in Israel, always leads to tyranny, as God warned his people through Samuel the prophet. (1 Samuel 8:10-18) Nevertheless, just as Israel preferred the tyranny of an earthly ruler they could see over the rule of God, so the RCC choose to elevate men to a position of supreme authority instead of allowing God to raise up leaders as he saw fit.

This is part of the human condition and is not limited to the RCC. Protestant Christianity has often fallen into the same trap.

Often what began as Spirit-led movements morphed into man-made organizations or denominations, complete with centralized government, hierarchical leadership, power, money, and other assets. The modern megachurch movement is largely a capitulation to a business model for doing church, rather than the kingdom model adopted by Constantine.

The true church is a spiritual entity, an organism more than an organization. God meant it to remain decentralized and dependent upon his continuing leadership.

At the time of this writing, the RCC is in turmoil because of the words and actions of the current pontiff, Francis. The Catholic News Agency reported on May 1, 2019: “A group of nineteen Catholics, including some prominent academics, have published an open letter to the bishops of the world accusing Pope Francis of heresy.” 3 This is a huge problem since the is no means to remove the Pope.

Among specific heretical beliefs the letter accuses the pope of holding is the position that a Catholic can, with full knowledge of divine law, violate that law and not be in a state of grave sin. The letter also references a number of bishops, cardinals, and priests whom the authors claim are themselves heretical and the pope either appointed or allowed to remain in office, as further proof of the Holy Father’s “heresy.” The letter also suggests that a cross and staff used by the pope during the 2018 Synod on Young People liturgies were respectively “satanic” and proof of a pro-homosexual agenda.

Fr. Thomas Petri, O.P., Petri, vice president and academic dean at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, told CNA that the letter is”frankly disappointing.” “I cannot understand how one could accuse the pope of heresy based on low-level appointments forwarded to him for pro-forma approval or on vestiture given to him to use for a liturgy.” “It’s quite stunning to include such ‘facts’ as evidence of heresy,” Petri said.

Canon law defines heresy as the “obstinate denial or doubt, after baptism, of some truth to be believed with divine and Catholic faith.” Attached to the letter is a four-page canonical rationale, in which the writers cite previous declaration by Pope Leo II that his predecessor, Pope Honorius, had supported the monothelite heresy in the seventh century. The letter acknowledges that “it is agreed that the Church does not have jurisdiction over the pope, and hence that the Church cannot remove a pope from office by an exercise of superior authority, even for the crime of heresy.” Nevertheless, the letter asserts, a pope with “heretical views cannot continue as pope.” The letter then suggests that the pope could lose office de facto as a result of obstinately holding public heretical views and that the bishops of the Church have an “absolute duty to act in concert to remedy this evil.” The Code of Canon Law explicitly provides for the punishment of Catholics who “make recourse against an act of the Roman Pontiff to an ecumenical council or the college of bishops.” Canon law also defines that both an ecumenical council and the college of bishops can only ever act with and under the authority of the pope. 4

This is the kind of predicament we get into when we violate God’s way of doing things and resort to man-made methods. In light of other areas in which the RCC has diverged from biblical truth, it is not surprising, however.

To conclude, the papacy is just one more error in the RCC, which is a result of its departure from absolute adherence to the scriptures. Serious errors always follow this most basic one. God does not want his church to be organized and ruled like an earthly kingdom. The Lord is the only king of the church. He has appointed no one specific person as his vicar or representative on earth. The Holy Spirit fills each believer, and God raises up leaders on a local level as needed.

The Roman Catholic Church’s decision to institutionalize leadership under the papacy reveals that it is not committed to Christ’s rule through the Holy Spirit or to adhering to the Scriptures.

1 https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1087&context=pd

2 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Boniface-VIII/Bonifaces-capture

3 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/41164/theologians-accuse-pope-of-heresy

4 Ibid.

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