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Authority Redefined

 

 

 

 

 

Authority is real and a necessary part of life. It has responsibility to govern and therefore possesses the ability to rule and bring correction as needed. Every government must have structure of some sort, with people at different tiers of responsibility. Those who are on the higher tiers carry more responsibility and therefore have more authority. As long as this authority and power are used properly, things work as God intended. But because human beings are rebels at heart, we tend to corrupt everything we touch, including government. The misuse and abuse of authority is rampant in all levels of society.

Mankind’s problem with authority goes back to the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve were under God’s benevolent rule. They did not really consider that was the case because it was all they had ever known. God had only been good and kind to them, but that did not prevent them from falling for the serpent’s lie and immediately suspecting the Creator of having wrong motives. Having drunk from the devil’s cup, they decided to rebel against God’s rule and establish their own. Ever since then, authority has tended toward being misused by those who are rebels at heart.

Jesus taught his disciples that godly authority never abuses others, but always serves those under its oversight and care.

But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 26  But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27  and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 28  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28 (NLT)

The two words he used to describe what worldly rulers do are to “lord it over their people” and to “flaunt their authority.” This is what self-important leaders do, those who do not understand that to lead is actually to serve. Jesus contrasted that way of leading to what he modeled and expected from his followers. He used two very different words: to “servant” and to “slave.” The contrast could not be more stark. Jesus also taught that the way to the top of the hierarchical leaderclean-and-jerkship pyramid, so to speak, is through humble service – a giving away of one’s life in behalf of others. In other words, the way to the top is down.

We can liken the role of kingdom authority to lifting weights. One of the most exciting Olympic lifting events is the clean and jerk, whereby the lifter picks up the barbell from the floor and lifts it overhead. Success is measured by how much a competitor can lift.

Successful kingdom leaders are measured by how well they are able to lift those whom they serve. In other words, the leader’s job is to help others to succeed.

The ultimate goal is to propel those who are under our care onward and upward in the kingdom, not to work things out so that we stay on top and they always serve us.

It is vital that we accept the radically revolutionary aspect of Jesus’ teaching on authority and not relegate it to the realm of unworkable idealism. The church is not meant to talk, look, or act like the world. Authority in the kingdom of God is real and must be used for the guidance, protection, provision, and development of God’s people, and always with a servant’s heart. Those times when we must use that authority in a strong way for the good of the flock, it must be done humbly and with loving care.

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Authority Is Not a Four Letter Word

 

 

 

 

 

In the post-modern world in which we live, all authority is suspect, except when it can be used to advance a political end. Authority in general is likely to be viewed skeptically as being a means to exercise power over others to advance a self-serving agenda. Authority is often equated with authoritarianism, which is an unbridled and oppressive exercise of power. Most people naturally recoil from abusive authoritarianism, but we should be careful not to lump all authority into that one basket. There are benevolent forms of authority, too. Jesus is a benevolent and just King, the rightful lord of the universe. The Kingdom of God is overseen by servants of God who exercise Christ’s authority in humility and love. At least, that is the ideal. This article will focus primarily on authority in the home and the church.

Authority in the Kingdom of God

When Jesus overthrew Satan’s domination of darkness and birthed the Kingdom of God, it was not something simply laid over what already existed or a rearrangement of what was already there.

Christ’s kingdom is radically different in all respects. Jesus taught his disciples.

And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ 26  “But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. Luke 22:25-26 (NASB)

Most problems with government begin with individuals in power thinking more highly of themselves than they should.

Such people imagine that they are great ones who deserve to be able to have their own way, no matter what. The more power and wealth a government accumulates, the more corrupt it generally will become. People, without God’s intervention, have an insatiable lust for wanting to be considered great and powerful. Going all the way back to the garden of Eden, people want to be God, or at least a god. As a result, glory hungry people use their power for their own ends for self-aggrandizement, wealth, and pleasure. When power goes over to the dark side, it is used to hurt one’s enemies and those we despise.

But Jesus taught that in his kingdom things will not be this way. Instead, the more authority one has, the greater the responsibility to serve others.

Corrupted power hurts others in order to protect and enrich the leader; whereas, in the kingdom of God authority is used to bless, protect, lead, and provide for the ones under its care. Worldly authority pushes others down, but godly authority pushes others up and forward.

Authority in the Home

A great example of the proper use of benevolent authority is the role of a father in the home.

If a family is following God’s principles, the father has the most authority and responsibility in the home and is called the “head.” (Ephesians 5:23) For this reason, he also is the chief servant. His responsibility is to provide for his family, love them, give guidance and instruction, model godly living, bring correction and discipline as needed, and protect them from all threats. That is the definition of service!

Authority always is connected to responsibility. The more responsible a person is, the greater the authority.

Problems arise when irresponsible people use authority selfishly.

Since fathers are fallible humans, they sometimes misrepresent God through the misuse or abuse their authority. Dads may use their “headship” for selfish ends or to dominate the wife and kids, alienating them in the process, breeding resentment, and giving them a very poor model for the future. Failures at fatherhood do not nullify God’s principles. Instead they reinforce God’s ways by contrast. God’s ways produce life. The world’s ways, just the opposite.

Authority in the Church

The church is another realm where authority is given to protect, provide, lead, guide, and correct. Disciples of Christ know that Jesus alone is the Lord of the church and of their lives in particular.

What is not so commonly understood is that Jesus delegates authority to those whose God-given responsibility is to shepherd the flock.

Proper pastoring is a great example of how authority is meant to be used. Shepherds exist for the welfare of the sheep. They have authority over the sheep to determine where they go, when and where they feed, and when and where they drink. Shepherds lead their sheep in and out of the sheepfold, guard them from predators, and discipline wandering sheep to keep them from getting picked off by wolves and other predators, who prefer to attack stragglers and wanderers. They give special attention to those who are weak and sickly.

When followers of Christ choose to distance themselves from the flock and shepherds, we can be sure that they are ripe for being picked off by the enemy.

God has established pastoral authority in the church in the form of elders and five-fold ministry (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers).

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12  for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13  until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14  As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15  but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16  from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:11-16 (NASB)
Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3  Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 1 Peter 5:2-3 (NLT)

Other people also can have delegated authority under the oversight of these shepherds. Pastoral authority serves the church through teaching the Bible, modeling the Christian life, training and equipping disciples, correcting those who stray from the path, and guarding against threats from both within and without. The chief threats come in the form of sin and false prophets and teachers.

The Benevolent Use of Authority

Below are some important verses relating to this benevolent use of authority.

Not that we lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are standing firm. 2 Corinthians 1:24 (NASB)

Godly authority teaches people how to be under Christ’s authority. Correction by those in authority should need to be exercised rarely in the lives of mature disciples. It is primarily for the immature and wayward, in a similar way to how parents are required to discipline young children far more than older ones. If parents are still holding domineering sway over older children, something is very wrong. A parent’s goal is to produce self-governing adult children. It is the same in the kingdom of God.

For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. 2 Corinthians 4:5 (NASB)

Anytime those in authority use their position to focus people’s attention on themselves for the purpose of preserving their preeminence, something is very wrong.

Proper Submission to Authority

Authority in the church is very real and should be honored and obeyed as to the Lord. In other words, our submission to delegated kingdom authority is based on our submission to Jesus the Lord. Since all authority comes from God (Romans 13:1), when we choose to submit to delegated authority, we are actually submitting to God by faith.

We have to see that God is behind authority, or we will have a tough time submitting to another human being who has all the faults and frailties as we do.

I am referring here primarily to the proper use of authority. When those in government use their power to oppress and abuse those under them, we still must understand that God is sovereignly using that authority, but we may not be required to obey them in all things.

Any time authority demands we violate our faith, our conscience, or God’s Word, it must be resisted, however, without being disrespectful.

When we obey and honor those who have delegated authority, we do so as a way to honor our Lord. We have to believe that God “has our back” and will correct his delegated authorities, if they get out of line with his kingdom principles and Holy Spirit.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. Hebrews 13:17 (NASB)

Leaders will answer to God, which is why it is important for us to answer to them.

In answering to them, we answer to God. In caring for us, they are serving Christ. This is not optional for those who have authority or for those under authority.

The apostle Paul gave us a great example of the proper use of authority.

As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. 8  We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too. 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 (NLT)

It is easy to see Paul’s love and care for God’s people and his determination to use his authority as a shepherd to teach, correct, care for, and protect them. Truly, authority properly used is not a four letter word, nor is it something to be taken lightly. It is part of God’s loving provision for us. It is in our best interest for us to honor and submit to those who have been given God’s delegated authority over our lives. Who knows? We may be wishing that one day people will take our authority seriously and listen to what we have to say.

Since we always reap what we sow, let’s show honor and submission to God’s delegated authority as a way of honoring God himself.

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“and the books were opened” – a preview of the last judgment

 

 

 

 

 

Everything as we know it now will come to an end one day. Whether it is our youth, our health, our looks, our wealth, our dreams and ambitions, our jobs, our families, our physical lives – every one of these things upon which people pin their hopes will eventually cease to be. According to the Bible, even the earth and heavens will “wear out like a garment” and pass away. (Psalm 102:25-26, Isaiah 51:6, Hebrews 1:10-12) In their place will be something new and amazing. But until that day arrives, the only thing most people can count on is that eventually we will die, and, after that, what? The Bible has some very specific answers. These answers will determine whether or not we can look forward to that day with hope.

What Is in the Books?

Daniel the prophet was given a vision of the coming Day of the Lord, when God will judge all people who ever lived. He describes a heavenly courtroom scene, which is both majestic and terrible. The Judge is called the Ancient of Days, whose presence creates awe and dread. Nothing here on earth can prepare us for what that day will be like.

As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. 10  A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. Daniel 7:9-10 (ESV)

Would you like to know exactly what is in those books? Is there something in them about you and me? Will the last judgment be that personal? God gave John the Revelator a similar vision, when he was exiled for his faith in Jesus the Messiah on the Isle of Patmos. Here is his written record of that experience.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15 (ESV)

According to this passage and other Bible verses (Matthew 16:27, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Ephesians 6:8), the books that will be opened before the Ancient of Days contain a written record of how we lived here on earth during the time allotted to us. This will include, according to Jesus, not only what we did, but also what we said. (Matthew 12:36) Our utterances are what we might consider to be verbal deeds. And according to the Bible, even our thoughts and intentions will be made known, which makes this an even more horrifying spectacle. (Hebrews 4:12, Ecclesiastes 12:14)

None of us desires our worst thoughts to be made public, but that is what is going to happen. Imagine a book that contains all our thoughts, words, and deeds!

By What Standard Will We Be Judged?

Another question we might ask ourselves is by what standard our thoughts, words, and deeds will be measured? Will we be compared to other people from our socioeconomic group who lived about the same time as we, or will we be graded against all people who ever lived? Will we only be scored against others from our own religious grouping, or against all other world religions? Will we be graded “on a curve,” which would allow most of us to pass, despite our poor showing? But what if some, as is often the case, did so well that the normal curve no longer applies? What if someone made a perfect score and that is the standard by which the rest of us will be judged? And what if we did not even believe that there was such a person as the Ancient of Days? Will we get a do over?

The Bible makes it clear that God’s perfect righteousness will be the standard for judgment.

It is call the Law, which revealed what God is like and what he expects of us. The Ten Commandments are the bare essence of this standard. When we consider our lives in light of these commands, some of us might think we will come away pretty well at the Last Judgment. Most of us have never murdered anyone, right? That is, unless abortion is murder, or, as Jesus taught, being angry with someone is tantamount to committing murder. (Matthew 5:22) What if hatred, which wishes ill on another, is in the same category as murder? That’s a horse of different color for sure! What about adultery? Adultery, like murder, under the Law was punishable by death. It is an extremely serious offense in God’s eyes, the only eyes that will matter at the Last Judgment. Jesus raised the bar even higher when he told his followers that lusting after another person in our hearts makes us guilty of adultery. (Matthew 5:28) Does this mean that lustful thoughts are worthy of death? According to Romans, every form of sin earns death for us. (Romans 6:23)

What Is This Thing Called “Sin?”

God created human beings to live in joyful and liberating dependence upon him, drawing our life, wisdom, and everything good from our Creator / Sustainer.

Sin derives from our determination live on our own – to direct our lives without reference to God.

It’s not just when we do “bad things” like murder. It is when we do the most evil thing of all – forsake God and try to live without him. Adam and Eve decided God could not be trusted; so, they made the break away from the Source of Life into sinful independence, which, not surprisingly, brought death. This rebellion has been passed down genetically and spiritually to each of their descendants, including us. Sadly, we have all taken up the torch and run with it. Every single human being has fallen short of God’s glorious standard of right living. We may not like God’s standard for judgment. We may not think that our way of doing things is all that bad, but what we think doesn’t really matter. What matters is what the one called the Ancient of Days thinks.

Who Is This Judge Called the Ancient of Days?

Your first guess would probably be “God,” which is true, but not the complete answer. The Bible teaches that he is none other than the risen and glorified Messiah of Israel, Jesus, the eternal Son of God, who is also identified as the Son of Man. This should not surprise us, since before his ascension Jesus told us that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to him. (Matthew 28:18) He also spoke these clear words:

For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, John 5:22 (NKJV)

Jesus, the only person who ever lived a completely surrendered life to God in the way God always intended, has been given the authority to judge everyone who has fallen short of that mark.

So, ultimately, he is the standard by which every person will be judged. He is the one who scored 100% on this test called life. Jesus, the Perfect Man, the Son of God, the Lamb who was slain to take away our sins, the Risen Lord of glory, is the only person worthy to judge the rest of us. He lived, breathed, walked, talked, and thought as a man, but without sin. He, the perfect man, blew the curve right out of the water. He ruined our chances for being compared to other miserable sinners at that last tribunal. We will be judged against Christ’s perfection and obedience. We have absolutely no chance of being found righteous. Amazingly, however, his perfect score made a way for us to skip the test!

Our Way of Escape

The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23  that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24  Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25  “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26  For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27  And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28  Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29  and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. John 5:22-29 (ESV)

Jesus made a way for those who put their faith and allegiance in him to be exempted from the final exam! Jesus, the Righteous Judge, died in our place so that we can be spared from having the hammer of God’s judgment crash upon us. Jesus, the Perfect One, took our sin and punishment upon himself, so that we might walk free from the condemnation and fear of judgment which we so richly deserve. We know this because he said so, and he is the Judge! Those who place their faith in this Savior King will stand before the Judgment Seat, too, but our names will be found written in another book.

If our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, we are home free because all the benefits and rewards of Jesus’ perfect life will be put next to our names and the record of our sinful rebellion against God will have been erased.

“This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” 17  Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.” Hebrews 10:16-17 (NLT)

How Can We Get our Names Written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24  By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25  and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26  They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27  But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Revelation 21:22-27 (ESV)

How can we get our names written in this most intriguing book? Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Ephesus.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4  even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5  he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6  to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6 (ESV)

Our God is so loving and great that he set in motion his plan to redeem for himself a people even before he even created the world! Jesus did not come as a makeshift plan or a mid-course correction. God’s amazing mind saw and planned it all beforehand. What a great God we serve! In the course of time, you and I were born and received our chance to play our parts on the grand stage called life. Having already sent his Son to die for our sins, during our lifetimes God the Father makes sure that we hear the gospel message and that his Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, drawing our hearts toward him and working in us so that we want to know more about Jesus, who said the following.

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38  For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:37-40 (ESV)

If we come to Christ, it means we were drawn. If the Spirit draws us, it is because the Father has already known, loved, and chosen us to be the objects of his love. If we come, Jesus will receive us. Our part is to respond to God’s gracious drawing by choosing to come to Christ, by opening our hearts to him, and by believing in Him. The Holy Spirit guides the process from start to finish, but we must cooperate. No matter where we are in this process of being drawn, we can turn to God right now and tell him we want to keep going. God wants us to be active participants, not passive onlookers. It is a beautiful dance with an invisible partner.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, I can feel you drawing me to Christ. Please keep working in me. I surrender my life into your hands. Jesus, I want to know you and believe it you. I give you my life. Forgive my sins. I receive the eternal life you promised. Open my eyes, ears, and heart to you and your truth. Amen.

Our Eternal Destiny Hangs in the Balance

The final outcome for those who trust in Christ is completely the reverse of what it will be like for those who refuse his generous offer.

Those who do not accept God’s offer of reconciliation will not have their names written in the book of life and will suffer what the Bible calls the second death.

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14-15 (ESV)

But those who choose to trust in the Messiah King will be ushered into a glorious eternity in God’s loving presence.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4 (ESV)

Embracing Hope

Jesus is the Hope for all people. The Bible says that the hope of those who trust in him is his Second Coming in glory to raise the dead and judge the nations.

For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. 12  And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, 13  while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. Titus 2:11-13 (NLT)

Hopeless people do desperate things, but people who have hope live in the light of that hope. Those who have put their trust in Jesus, will live as people of hope.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 1 Peter 1:3-4 (ESV)

Today you have the opportunity to make sure you are on the right side of things on the Last Day. Make the most of it! If you have never asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, what are you waiting for? If you are already a follower of Christ, rededicate yourself to his service. See you on that day, if not sooner!

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Countering Deception by Answering Life’s Crucial Questions: What Will Happen After We Die?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have now come to the last of our five worldview questions, which is: What will happen to us after we die? What is our eternal destiny, and what difference does it make? What we believe about our eternal destiny derives from what we believe regarding the previous four worldview questions.

Unless we are hypocrites, how we answer this final question will highly influence how we live.

Bad News

God created us in his image so that we can relate to him as worshipers who draw life and wisdom from him and fulfill his purposes for us here on earth, which are to be fruitful and multiply and to take dominion over and care for creation. God provided all we need to live happy, productive, and fruitful lives in fellowship with and dependence upon him. But that did not satisfy the first humans. They were deceived and lured into choosing to be independent from God, which sadly introduced sin, sickness, bondage, death, the corruption of the creation, and the distortion of God’s wonderful plan. Adam’s enduring legacy was sin, death, and destruction. God’s creation had been marred and his children sentenced to death. Satan gained the ascendancy and ruled as a tyrant. The situation seemed hopeless (Ephesians 2:12) because no one is able to live up to God’s holy standards or achieve the righteousness that would bring eternal life and reward. We all fall short. (Romans 3:21-24) Our sin earned (earns) for us the just sentence of death. (Romans 6:23) Therefore, every person should face a bleak and hopeless future, since at the Last Judgment we will all be found guilty of sin and rebellion against God and sentenced to the fires of hell.

Good News

The Good News is that God so loved his struggling creatures that he sent his Son, Jesus the Messiah, to save us from this horrible destiny. (John 3:16)

As the Second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45), he lived the way God intended for the first Adam. Jesus also sacrificed his life as God’s Lamb, taking the guilt and punishment for our sins and rebellion upon himself, so that we could be forgiven and our relationship with God restored. (John 1:29) When he rose again three days later, he emerged from the tomb as the glorious, victorious Lord. Anyone who believes the good news that Jesus died for our sins and is now the risen Lord, will receive forgiveness, eternal life, and restoration to a right relationship with God! (Romans 10:9-13)

Through Jesus’, the Last Adam’s, resurrection, God inaugurated a new edition of humanity. (Isaiah 53:10)

All those who believe are born again by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3), who lives within every believer as the internal fountain of life, the revealer of truth, and the one who inspires, assists, and empowers us to live for God. (John 7:37-39) This new generation of people are inwardly motivated to serve God, doing those things which bring joy to God’s heart and blessings to other people. (Philippians 2:13)

How Should We Then Live?

Jesus taught his followers that everyone lives and dies, after which there will be a resurrection and judgment, at which we will be rewarded or punished for what we believed and how we lived. (Luke 14:12-14, Matthew 25:31-36) Those who are born only once (physically, naturally) will die twice. They will die a physical death and one day be consigned to the Lake of Fire, which is called the “Second Death.”

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15 (ESV)

Those who are born twice (physically and spiritually, through the new birth), will only die once – physically. Their eternal life and destiny are secure.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26  and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 (ESV)

Jesus taught us to live in such a way that will maximize our eternal reward. (Matthew 6:19-20)

If we truly believe Jesus’ teachings and the gospel, we will live accordingly. We will put what God values at the top of our own priority lists.

True believers will sacrifice what we cannot keep in order to gain that which we cannot lose.

We will lay aside sin and selfishness in order to pursue the things that bring God glory and honor. We will make the Great Commission our top priority, because others need to find out about this amazing offer from God called the gospel!

John the Apostle summed it up very well.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3  And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 1 John 3:2-3 (ESV)

How we live reveals what we truly believe. What will your life, your values, your priorities, your choices, and your actions say about you at the Last Judgment?

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Countering Deception by Answering Life’s Crucial Questions: How Can I Know Right from Wrong?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we have a moral or ethical question, where should we turn to find the answer? Universities have entire courses devoted to ethics. Businesses provide seminars on the subject. Ethical and moral dilemmas abound in the religious, political, and business worlds. It is part of life for us to be confronted with difficult questions that demand thoughtful answers. How can we properly navigate a course that requires us to make judgments between good and evil, right and wrong, and true and false?

This article deals with the fourth worldview question in my series. Once we have wrestled with the first three worldview questions,

  1. Origins: From where did we come?
  2. Identity: Who are we?
  3. Purpose: What is our purpose in life?,

we come to the subject of this article.

If we conclude that we originated by chance out of nothing, we may further infer that either we cannot know good from evil or that, more logically, there is no real distinction, since such concepts are human inventions designed to help preserve and promote the human race, without having any basis in reality, whatever that is.

However, if we answer the first question by saying we were created by God, the answer to how do we know right from wrong must also come from God.

Why Do We Even Care?

Through experience, most people believe that there are both good and evil. No one could watch the torture of a loved one and simply shrug his or her shoulders and walk away thinking, “Oh well, what can we expect in an amoral universe?” Injustice rankles even the most atheistic. The Communist Party, a chief proponent of atheism, has overthrown governments and inspired millions by stirring up rage against alleged injustices imposed by the privileged elite upon the oppressed working class. Although they do not seem to worry very much about murdering millions of people to obtain and maintain power, rage over financial, and now racial, injustice fuels the fires of revolution. Even though fomenting hatred against injustice for them is merely a means to an end, for those under their sway who rally to their cause, there is real felt outrage. Why do humans, even godless ones, care so much about justice, if we live in a randomly evolved world in an unsympathetic universe? It makes no sense.

But, if we believe that God created us in his image, we must conclude that he planted a love and desire for justice deep in the human heart.

Unless we are sociopaths or have “seared” it through regularly practicing evil, each of us also has an inner moral guide called the conscience, which tugs at our hearts when we do wrong. From where did the conscience come? Is it a social-psychological construct, as posited by Freud, or did our Creator put it inside us?

Since we were created in God’s image, we have a desire to be like him and an unease when we are not.

Anthropologists recognize that, despite cultural and religious differences, there is a commonality of understanding across the breadth of humanity of right and wrong,

If we believe that God created us, we understand that all humanity came from the same stock and possesses a common understanding, no matter how marred it may be.

Who Told You That?

In the beginning, God did not want Adam and Eve to know good and evil for themselves, because he wanted to protect them from the “Pandora’s Box” of woes associated with such knowledge.

Satan, taking the form of a talking serpent, introduced something new into their pristine lives – doubt. He planted mistrust in Adam’s and Eve’s minds regarding the integrity and goodness of God. He accused the Creator of being less than forthcoming and withholding something good from humanity. Falling for the ruse, our first parents judged God to be a liar and chose to disobey his command in order to gain firsthand knowledge of good and evil and be like God in that respect. They embraced deception and were deceived. They turned away from God and introduced sin, death, and destruction into God’s creation – all to gain the ability to be self-directed agents and make their own decisions about good and evil. They did actually receive a brand new understanding of evil, but it was not at all good. For the first time they felt guilt and fear, which propelled them to hide from God instead of enjoy fellowship with him. God immediately recognized what had happened.

Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10  He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” 11  “Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” Genesis 3:9-11 (NLT)

Because Adam and Eve rejected God as the Source of truth and life and opened their hearts to knowledge from an evil source, they became aware of things that God, as a good parent, never intended for his children to know. Originally God intended that they simply do what he said, without needing to go beyond that. That way he could save them from the dark abyss of knowing evil first hand.

Now as a result of Adam’s and Eve’s transgression, knowing right from wrong is a huge challenge for all of us.

How do we properly know things we were never meant to know?

By default we tend to lean to our own resources in the struggle to differentiate good from evil. Satan always is willing to provide his input, too, which invariably leads us away from God and robs us of joy. Is it even possible for us to get back on track?

Plugging into the Right Source Again

The Old Covenant Law clearly defined right and wrong with respect to morals, diet, sanitation, and religious rites, but it did nothing to help us keep the Law. Basically it exposed the depth of our sin problem and our need for a Savior. Jesus came to introduce a brand new way of doing life, called the New Covenant, in which the Life Giver resides inside the believer, motivating and changing him from the inside out. (You can read more about the amazing new covenant by clicking here.)

All truth is God’s truth. It is part of God’s character and does not exist outside of him.

Jesus is the incarnation of truth (John 14:6), and unless we are reconnected to God through faith in him, we will always be confused and misled.

In addition to having living truth reside in us when we believe, Jesus taught us that God’s Word, the written Scriptures, are truth. This not surprising, since Jesus is the living Word of God, the “Word made flesh.” (John 1:14) All Scripture was breathed by God and written down by people. (2 Tim. 3:16) The Holy Spirit, who is also called the Spirit of truth, inspired the authors of the Bible to insure its authenticity. (John 16:13)

Therefore, we must rely upon Jesus, the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit, if we are to grow in a true knowledge of what is true, right, and good.

The church is also called the pillar and support of the truth. (1 Tim. 3:15) The assembly of those who acknowledge that Christ is Lord and Savior and who have the Holy Spirit living inside them functioning as their guide, teacher, and revealer of truth, have been given the responsibility of guarding, preaching, and applying God’s truth to daily life.

Therefore, we also need to be in a living, working, ongoing relationship with others in a local church.

Going it alone is a repeat of Adam’s and Eve’s initial mistake. We cannot do life as “loners,” because we are very liable to veer off course into error.

Steps to Getting In Sync with God

Sin began with deception, produces deception, and ends in deception and death. Jesus called Satan the father of lies, in whom there is no truth. (John 8:44) The entire world is under the spell of deception woven by the evil one. (1 John 5:19)

Jesus came into this world as the incarnate Truth to reveal God’s true nature and undo the lie about God introduced in the garden.

  1. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6) The first step to knowing what is good, true, and right is to recognize who Jesus is and to surrender ourselves completely to him. On a personal level, this effectively undoes the rebellion against God that began in the garden.
  2. The second step is to submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit and God’s revealed truth, the Bible. We can trust the Spirit of God to teach us what the Bible means. (John 14:26) Unless we put God’s revealed truth at the top of our list as the one most reliable source of truth, we cannot grow in the knowledge of what is true, right, and good. We also must commit ourselves to obeying God’s truth; otherwise, we will likely become religious hypocrites. (James 1:22)
  3. The third step in the pathway to truth is to connect with a local church, which teaches and puts into practice what the Bible teaches. No church or person is perfect, but there must be the desire and commitment to live in truth. Other believers in such a local church will serve as checks and balances to what we are receiving from the Lord directly from our study of the Bible.

If we do the above, we will move forward in our quest for truth. However, no person or church or group is the sole possessor of truth. We must hang tightly to humility, realizing that we only have a portion of truth, not the whole, and that we need one another. Truth is found in a person named Jesus. Everything else points to him.

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Countering Deception by Answering Life’s Crucial Questions: Why Am I Here?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This series examines how the Bible answers life’s greatest questions. In so doing, it give us purpose and clarity for life. It also protects us from being swept away by dangerous ideas that lead to death and destruction. I write from the perspective of a long time Christian pastor and teacher; so, I will apply these principles to the church. They apply just as perfectly to government, family, business, and our personal life.

The first article gave an overview of the series. The second one dealt with origins. The third asked and answered the question, “Who Are We?” This one delves into our purpose for living, which is provided by God in the following verses.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 (ESV)

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. Genesis 2:15 (NASB)

The basic purpose of humankind can be summarized in three points: multiply, take dominion, and tend the garden.

These commands were specific to Adam’s and Eve’s situation, but a case can be made that they are still in effect, since there is no record anywhere that God rescinded them. The “garden” should now be understood as the entire earth in which we live, tainted as it is by sin and the long term effect of our living here. These purposes apply to every human being in a practical and natural way. They also apply directly to the mission of the church.

Jesus summarized our purpose a little differently by giving us two commandments, which I summarize: love God and love our neighbor (Luke 10:27). These commandments provide the environment in which we fulfill the Genesis mandates.

Fruitfulness and Multiplication

The very first command God delivered to man was to be fruitful and multiply, which makes it our enduring top priority.

This command was restated after the flood. (Genesis 9:1) The earth then and now needs to be populated. The Great Commission restated this foundational command after Jesus’ resurrection. “Go and make disciples” is another way of saying, “Be fruitful and multiply.” The earth now desperately needs to be populated with born again believers who seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness.

The ungodly world system argues that we should not obey God’s command to be fruitful and multiply. Here are a few of its reasons.

  • There are already too many people. If we don’t cut back on births, the earth will be over populated, which will usher in many calamities, such as starvation. (This one is fostered by the “scientific” community and the media to scare people into compliance.)
  • Children are too expensive. We cannot afford to have kids. (This one is used by young couples who value money more than family.)
  • The world is too evil to bring children into it. Compassion for the not yet born prohibits our having children. (This is especially used to justify abortion: it is better to kill a child in the womb than let it be born into an unhealthy environment.)
  • Children are too much trouble. They keep us from pursuing our priorities in life. (This is another justification for abortion: I cannot let a child ruin my plans.)

Since this series is somewhat philosophical, this is a good time to ask ourselves, what false presuppositions are contained in the above arguments against God’s command to be fruitful and multiply.

  • The earth cannot sustain a very large population. Those areas that experience starvation usually have corrupt governments and/or false religious beliefs that prevent the population from enjoying the produce of the land. For example, Haiti dedicated the island to Satan following the overthrow of the French government there. The “jewel of the Caribbean” has been reduced to a poverty stricken island by decades of governmental tyranny and corruption. On the positive side, the USA curtails production and throws away large amounts of food. Our nation could supply food to many other countries. Other areas of the world also produce prolific harvests and could supply a much greater population. If God said we should fill the earth, then the earth is able to support a huge number of people.
  • God is unable to supply the needs of large families. The Bible does not adhere to a “zero sum” version of economics, which believes there is a limited amount of supply. God will create supply out of thin air if needed. Faith must guide our decisions, not fear of lack.
  • Keeping children out of the world because it’s an evil place has to come from the devil himself. The world has always been evil. We bring children into it so they can effect change as followers of Christ.
  • The self-centeredness behind not having children because they are too much trouble is appalling; yet, this excuse has led to countless abortions. Children have always required a lot of work and definitely limit our freedoms, but that is part of growing to maturity.

Because of our inherent rebellion against God, Western nations have embraced abortion, birth control, fear, unbelief, and a self-centered lifestyle in direct defiance of God’s command to be fruitful and multiply.

Many nations in the West now teeter on the brink of cultural viability because of low birth rates. The world will eventually go to those groups which are still having large numbers of children.

All of us are influenced by this anti-God mentality. Even churches have adopted variations of these arguments.

Church policies and mindsets are dictated by the following guiding principles.

  • When we have a “large enough” church which can provide an ideal level of fellowship, financial viability, social status, and programs, we sometimes lose the desire to sacrifice in order to “go” and make disciples. We would rather stay and enjoy the fellowship.
  • We invest most of our finances in maintaining the building, programs, staff, and operational costs of maintaining the church plant, instead of spending time, energy, and money on pursuing the Great Commission.
  • Rather than put our people at risk by asking them to immerse themselves in lifestyle evangelism and connecting with broken, unsaved people, we prefer the safety of the Christian fortress called the church. We devise so many programs for our members that they are worn out and have little or no time for pursuing the Great Commission, even if they were willing to take the risks of associating with unsafe people.
  • Missional living is too much trouble. It is far easier to contribute money or volunteer to serve in crisis intervention programs than to get heavily involved in the lives of people who have untold needs and will make unanticipated demands on my time and finances.

Only by prioritizing the Great Commission will the church become the missional force God intends.

Taking Dominion and Tending the Garden

Taking dominion and tending the garden are also important commands. If the multiplied people on the earth and in our churches are to enjoy a good quality of life, we will have to control and tend the environment.

Through the process of being fruitful, taking dominion, and working, people grow to maturity. If we leave even one of these parts out, it can short circuit the process.

Young men and women usually enter marriage with little maturity. Usually it is only after marriage and having children that we truly “grow up” because of added pressures and responsibilities. Why would we think it would be any different in the church?

Taking dominion always needs to be balanced by the command to tend the garden.

In the spiritual context, taking dominion involves learning to identify with Christ’s victory and the internal work of the Holy Spirit in a way that allows us to be victorious over our sin nature, sin, Satan, sickness, legalism, death, and the demonic. Basically anything that seeks to enslave or destroy God’s people must be brought into subjection to Christ through our faith in God’s promises. (1 John 5:4)

The church can also “take dominion” and “tend the garden” by working in our communities to effect positive change.

Unless we learn to take dominion, we will not be able to properly tend and protect (keep) the garden called the church. Tending the garden means caring for the sheep. This includes protecting, feeding, guiding, equipping, and launching them into ministry – discipleship.

Conclusion

When we make multiplication,  for church members – the Great Commission, our top priority, everything else falls into place.

When young married couples have children, they learn to give their lives away for others. Having children, natural or spiritual disciples, changes our lives in a most fundamental and rewarding way. In old age, there is no greater joy than being with our offspring, especially if they are in unity and serving the Lord, and seeing what they are doing in life and ministry. Late in Paul’s life, he rejoiced in his own spiritual children, when he wrote:

Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends! Philippians 4:1 (NIV)

We should not rejoice if our children never leave the home: rather, our job as parents is to prepare them to leave the “nest” in order to start their own families. This is how we fulfill the command to be fruitful and multiply at the family level. The church likewise must think in terms of launching people to start their own church families, which will also reproduce in time. This can be done at a small group level or at a larger church level.

Let’s make the Great Commission our top priority so that we, like Paul, can rejoice in our spiritual children and grandchildren (disciples of disciples)! Let’s make God’s first priority from creation onward our first priority and watch how everything else falls into place.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
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Countering Deception by Answering Life’s Crucial Questions: Who Are We?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Who am I?” is one of life’s most important questions. Where will we find the answer? From our parents, our peers, teachers, books, nature, God, the devil, or ourselves?

If we know who we are, we will be more likely to act in agreement with our true identity. If we believe a lie about who we are, we will probably fulfill the false image.

The devil has made it his mission to defile the human race in order to mar what God created and loves. He does this through deception, murder, theft, fear, and destruction. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they began to receive information about their identity from the wrong source, which added to their problems by propelling them away from God.

During the cool part of the day, the LORD God was walking in the garden. The man and the woman heard him, and they hid among the trees in the garden. 9 The LORD God called to the man and said, "Where are you?" 10 The man said, "I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid. I was naked, so I hid." 11 God said to the man, "Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from that special tree? I told you not to eat from that tree!" Genesis 3:8-11 (ETRV)

It seems obvious that, if a person believes in God, he or she should seek the answer to the identity question from the one who created us. God surely knows exactly who we are. Not only that, for those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, our identity has been recreated through the new birth, making us spiritual children of our heavenly Father.

Once again, we turn to Genesis for insight.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV)

Questions from the Text

There are several things in the above passage that should make us ponder.

  • Who are the “us” mentioned in verse 26? We already noticed that in the opening two verses of Genesis, God and his Spirit are both mentioned. We also saw that the eternal logos or Word, who is later revealed to be Jesus (John 1:14), was also present and doing the creating. Therefore, right here in the opening chapter of Genesis, we have the beginning of the biblical doctrine of the Trinity, the mysterious revelation that, even though God is one, he is an “us,” three persons comprising one God.
  • What does it mean to be created or made in God’s image and likeness? We will find out later in Exodus that God prohibits making an idol or image to represent him. The only genuine image of God for us humans is the one presented by the eternal Logos, who became a man, Jesus the Messiah. (Hebrews 1:3) Jesus is the exact representation of the Father. We learn what the Father is like by observing and listening to his Son. But, beyond that, what does it mean that people are created in God’s image? Certainly God shares with us some of his qualities or communicable attributes. Human beings are intelligent, creative, responsible, emotional, and capable of love, truthfulness, and faithfulness, to name a few.
  • What does it mean to have dominion over the rest of creation? The Hebrew word means to have dominion, rule, subdue, or prevail. We know from later verses in the Bible that God gave us the animals for food after the great flood. (Genesis 9:3) We also see that a godly person cares for his animals. (Proverbs 12:10) Putting all of this together, we conclude that mankind has been given dominion over the rest of creation, and he should use that dominion to provide for himself food and shelter, while also being a good steward of and kind toward the rest of creation.
  • How does our sexuality reflect God’s image? In his wisdom, God divided mankind into male and female. We understand from the totality of the Bible that God is a spirit and not a sexual being; however, masculinity is ascribed to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Femininity is ascribed to the church. Males and females have physiological and emotional differences, even though there is a wide variation among individuals. Marriage, the joining of male to female both physically and emotionally, and, perhaps, spiritually, provides a means for God’s image to be more fully revealed.

Some Things We Learn about God

From our opening passage, we also learn some things about God. We must ask ourselves why God chose to create the universe and people.

  • Was it because he was lonely? The One God has existed eternally as a loving unified “trinity” of persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Loneliness could not possibly be part of that equation. Ascribing loneliness to God insinuates that he is less than complete in himself, which is not true. Why then did he create us?
  • In order to glorify himself by sharing his life and glory with others. Everything God does brings glory to himself because everything he does is glorious.
    • By creating the universe, both the visible and invisible parts of it, he demonstrated his amazing genius, goodness, and power for others to see. The natural response of the creature should be to recognize God’s hand in the creation and worship the Creator.
    • By creating people, God glorified himself through amazing beings who can think, choose, love, obey, worship, or the opposite of these things.
    • By creating us and placing his image in us, God set the stage for sharing his very life and glory with his creation.
    • We will learn later that it was his intent to show kindness to his people for all eternity. (Ephesians 2:7)

So What?

What then does it mean to us that God chose to create us in his image and likeness? Our first response should be one of humble wonder. King David illustrated this attitude when he penned Psalm 8.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; 4  What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? 5  Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! 6  You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7  All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, 8  The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. 9  O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth! Psalm 8:3-9 (NASB)

David responded by worshiping and praising God. By doing this we can bring even more glory to God by making the choice to freely worship our Creator. This should be the default attitude in people. When we find something else, such as complaining, bitterness, the refusal to acknowledge God, etc., we know that sin is at work in a vain effort to deprive God of his glory and us of life and joy.

Humans Reflect the Triune Image of God

then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature (literally: soul). Genesis 2:7 (ESV)

God created Adam with a spirit, soul, and body. (If this seems like a strange concept to you, Paul confirmed man’s three-part composition in 1 Thessalonians 5:23.) God breathed his Spirit (ruach – wind, breath, spirit) into the body he formed out of the dust. This combination of spirit and body produced a living soul, consisting of mind, will, and emotions – our personality.

The spirit is the deepest part of a person, where we are able to connect to God after we are born again by the Spirit. When Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God in the garden, their sin introduced death into our lives, which affected every part of us. Spiritually it broke the life giving communion Adam and Eve enjoyed at the beginning. Sin produced guilt, fear, and a desire to  hide from God in their souls. Their bodies began to die, too. Every person who is born into this world since then arrives in the condition being “dead” in our sins, even though for a while we enjoy physical life. (Ephesians 2:1-2) In this condition we are by nature God’s enemies, with hardened hearts that are spiritually blind and deaf. Only God’s gracious intervention through the gospel and the inner working of the Holy Spirit can rescue us. That is why Jesus came. We learn about God’s incredible mercy and kindness through him.

Yes, the Word was full of grace and truth, and from him we all received one blessing after another. 17 That is, the law was given to us through Moses,♦ but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son is the one who has shown us what God is like. He is himself God and is very close to the Father. John 1:16-18 (ETRV)

When a person comes to believe in Christ, the Holy Spirit causes the spirit to be “born again” or made anew in Christ’s image. (John 3:3-8) The Bible says that God’s Spirit and our spirit become one. (1 Cor. 6:17) God’s life and image is planted as a seed in the new believer’s being. (James 1:21) Like leaven in a lump of dough, that seed gradually transforms the person from the inside out. (Matthew 13:33)

For a more detailed explanation of spirit, soul, and body, you can click on the links in this sentence.

The newly recreated spirit is the seat of intuition, communion with God, and conscience. Because we have a spirit, humans are uniquely able to interface with both the spiritual and material worlds. Think about how amazing this is! What a gift God has given to us!

It should not surprise us that God would fashion us with three parts to our makeup. After all, he exists as three persons in one.

Just as it is often impossible to distinguish completely between the operation of three persons in the Trinity, it is also extremely difficult to say where the spirit stops and the soul begins, or where the soul stops and body begins. Sicknesses are often labeled psycho-somatic because a link has been observed between the soul (Greek: psyche) and body (Greek: soma). Similarly, it is often difficult to distinguish between physical ailments and those brought on by an evil spirit. When Jesus ministered to sick people, he recognized both sources of illness and dealt with each in a different way. Only the Spirit of God and the Word of God have the ability to completely discern what is what. (Hebrews 4:12)

Having a spirit created in God’s image gives us a definite advantage over the animals.  By being able to commune with God, we can gain his wisdom and insight into life situations. In addition, we have the promise of eternal life and sharing God’s glorious rule over all things.

Sin and the Image of God

Because of sin, people in general no longer reflect God in the same way as did Adam and Eve. All people still carry God’s image as a result of being created, but in many cases it has been so marred that human beings reflect the opposite of what God is like. Some people make the mistake of thinking that all people are God’s children, confusing the created image of God with the implanted life and person of God, which is given at the new birth.

Although all humans bear the image of God in some form, only those people who have been born again by God are truly God’s children.

This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. Romans 9:8 (ESV)

The image of God is restored through the new birth and will be fully revealed at the resurrection of the just, at which time believers will be completely transformed into God’s image.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 (ESV) 

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54  When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55  “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:51-57 (ESV)

Conclusion

Our identity as beings created in God’s image was marred by sin. Because of the broken condition in which we are born into the world, most people have a false idea of who they are and who God is. We sin when we act in agreement with our sin marred identity. Jesus came to restore us back to the image of God through the new birth. As we learn to live out of our new identity, our motivation and goal should be to glorify God and worship, obey, and serve him from the heart.

Those of us who have been privileged to be born again, can share our blessings by engaging in conversations with those outside God’s family about from where our concept of identity comes.  Perhaps such discussions will open a door to sharing about God’s marvelous offer through Jesus Christ to be restored as children of God who bear the full image of God, our true identity.

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Countering Deception by Answering Life’s Crucial Questions: Origins

 

 

 

 

 

If you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you can be sure that it did not get there by itself. We should have the same clarity regarding how we find ourselves here on planet earth. The first worldview question the Bible answers is the origin question. How did we get here?

Origin determines identity, purpose, morality, and destiny; so, getting the answer to the origin question right is extremely important.

That is why the devil, works so hard to get us off course on the beginning of our worldview journey. He knows that if he can deceive us regarding from where we came, he can more easily dupe us in the other areas.

Genesis opens with the following two verses.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2 (ESV)

We learn from these verses that:

  • There was a beginning of time, and God was there. We have a hint that God is eternal.
  • God acted to create everything in the visible and invisible universe – the heavens and the earth. We learn that he is extremely powerful.
  • Initially the earth was not the place we know today. It was “void” and had a lack of order.
  • The Spirit of God “hovered” over the face of the waters. This introduces the mystery called the Trinity.

Creation Reveals Something about the Creator

Whenever we ponder anything that has been made, we learn something about the maker. A beautiful watch is a doorway into the mind of the watchmaker. If we did not have the Bible as a guide or reference, could we still know things about God by looking at the world around us? The answer is a resounding Yes!

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:20 (NASB)

Some of God’s attributes are unique to him and divine. Others are communicable, meaning that he shares them with his creatures. Theologians call God’s attribute of power omnipotence, which means he is all powerful. It is interesting that Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that God’s power is eternal, which is an inference we can make from seeing that God was present in the beginning. He predates the beginning. Later in the Bible we find out that God has no beginning or end. He is eternal. God has placed something in the heart of mankind that is drawn toward eternity. The author of Ecclesiastes wrote that God has “…set eternity in the hearts of men…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV) 

What can we discern about God’s divine nature? One of the children in our small group responded to this question by saying that God is “amazing, fantastic, and surprising.” (Not bad for an 8-year old!) We can also tell that he is creative and good. We gather that God appreciates beauty, complexity, and diversity by observing the world he created. Perhaps a very good exercise would be for us to ask ourselves, what else can we discover about God by thoughtfully observing creation?

Is the Bible Narrative a Satisfying Explanation of Our Origins?

In order to be open and honest, we should ask ourselves if we have ever encountered another satisfying explanation of how things came to be.

Does it satisfy our intellectual curiosity and resonate as being true in our hearts? There are certainly a variety of theories out there, one of which is materialistic evolution. This theory of origins usually starts with the “big bang,” which posits an extraordinary explosion which originated the known universe. One problem with this explanation is that it is merely an hypothesis regarding the mechanics of how the universe came to be, without answering the question of origins. It does not tell us where the big bang’s matter and energy originated. In other words, what was before the big bang? This fails to pass the intellectual test and the heart test.

Evolutionary theory assumes the presence of the material world, without trying to explain its origin, and tries to explain life’s origin in terms of chemical and physical processes taking place over untold eons, without God being in the picture. Since this is not a scientific paper, I will not attempt to show all the problems related to this unprovable hypothesis. If you are interested, you can do your own research at the Creation.com website. A very informative video is available, entitled Evolution’s Achilles Heels, which I highly recommend. Let me summarize my objections by saying science has already proved that it is impossible for matter to move from chaos to complexity without the application and maintenance of external energy. Things fall apart naturally, not self-create. Our complex and ordered world demands a Creator.

It is obvious that I accept the Bible’s explanation that we and the universe were created God, whose genius we have been studying for centuries, and, in many cases, the intricacies and amazing complexities of his creatures are still being discovered.

The biblical account, on the other hand, is both intellectually and emotionally satisfying.

The Deliberate Suppression of Truth

Those who choose to refuse to acknowledge God’s existence usually work hard to try to refute the Bible’s creation claims. Evolution, when it was first introduced, was readily embraced by communist leaders, because it was thought it gave validity to their atheistic dogma. If people are determined to believe that there is no God, it is easy to understand why Darwinism is so attractive. It appears to lend some scientific credibility to an unsupportable doctrine. Those who wield power in academia suppress the teaching of creationism, insisting that evolution must be accepted as scientific fact, when it is actually an unprovable hypothesis.

Those who accept the existence of the biblical God also believe that there is an archenemy, Satan, whose plan is to destroy faith in God as the Creator in young children in order to subvert God’s plan and purpose for their lives. It is revealing to see how creationism is suppressed in public schools. It is ridiculed, mocked, and often ignored. Creationist teachers often face the wrath of other teachers and the administration. This is no accident. Truth can stand on its on merits.

If evolution is true, then why must creationism be squelched? It is because evolutionists fear the power of the truth they have chosen to suppress.

Research shows that children are naturally disposed to believe that there is a Creator, even when they have been raised in an anti-God environment. From where did this proclivity to believe come? If we accept the Bible account, we must conclude that it was built in at creation. What a travesty it is when childlike faith is undermined by a deliberate suppression of truth!

Conclusion

No matter to which side of the argument we are drawn, we bring to the table certain unprovable presuppositions. The evolutionist presupposes without proof that there is no God; whereas, the creationist presupposes the very opposite. Every worldview depends on such beliefs. After I became a follower of Christ and accepted the truth of the Bible, I have found great joy in acknowledging the kindness, wisdom, and power of the God I serve! For me, the creationist approach to origins passes the heart test and the intellectual test.

If you are still searching in this area, I recommend the study of the writings of dedicated creationist scientists, such as are found at Creation Ministries International and the Institute for Creation Research. You will find that belief in God and the Bible account is not intellectual suicide. Far from it. You will see that in order to hold to evolutionary theory, one must suppress truth.

When we admit that the universe could not possibly have self-originated and recognize that we owe our existence to the Creator God, it automatically sets us up to be able to answer the other worldview questions correctly.

  • We will see that knowing where we come from helps us to know our identity.
  • We will show how knowing our identity helps us to understand our purpose.
  • We will see how understanding our origin, identity and purpose gives us insight into how to determine what is right and wrong.
  • Finally, we will also understand what is our destiny.

A proper understanding of origins is the fountainhead of truth. It opens up a path of revelation into the heart of God that, if followed to the end, provides us with the ability to live with purpose and joy.

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Countering Deception by Answering Life’s Crucial Questions: Introduction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No one really believes in materialistic evolution. If they did, why would anyone care about truth, justice, or anything else, for that matter, since nothing has any significance for me or anyone else beyond our brief personal experience of what we call existence? If we are a random production of a chaotic universe that has no guiding moral principle behind it, why all the fuss about racism, child abuse, sex trafficking, etc? Why not simply shrug our shoulders and plod onward toward our next experience and our certain demise? Obviously people believe that such things as justice and truth actually matter. Why?

Why do such a relatively few people ponder life’s greatest questions?

Instead we have become an easily manipulated sound bite generation, which depends on the media to fashion our view of truth and reality. Sadly many, if not most, people do not even know how to think for themselves and are easy pickings for  propagandists.

What Is a Worldview?

We all have a worldview of some sort; even if it is a patchwork of mutually contradictory beliefs. The technological world in which we live might be thought of as a satanic strategy to keep people’s minds occupied with trivial things – games, social media, etc., rather than ponder questions that might lead us to God.

A worldview is a framework or perspective through which we view and try to understand the world in which we live.

A person’s worldview will not only affect how he or she understands life and reality; it will also heavily influence decision making. It will determine what is valuable to us.

In this series of articles, I will show how the Bible answers five of life’s most crucial worldview questions.

  1. Origins: From where did I come?
  2. Identity: Who am I?
  3. Purpose: Why am I here?
  4. Morality: What is right and wrong?
  5. Destiny: Where am I going after death?

If you think about these questions for very long, it will become obvious that each is related to the others. How we answer the first question will determine how we answer the remainder. If we get the first question right, it will make it easier to get the others right, too. Conversely, if we miss the mark on number one, we will automatically err on the others.

Identifying Our Presuppositions

In order for us to answer these worldview questions, we must agree that everyone has assumed certain things, which cannot be proved true or false.

Presuppositions are what we each consider to be self-evident truths, which simply must be believed, since they cannot be scientifically proved.

Our Declaration of Independence held that certain truths were self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, and that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The writers agreed upon the following presuppositions:

  1. People are created by God.
  2. All people are equal.
  3. All people have God-given rights, specifically, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is impossible to “prove” that these presuppositions are true; however, it was considered to be obvious by the founders of our nation. Where did they get these “truths?” The first one comes from Genesis in the Bible. The second one is found in the New Testament. The third one most likely came from contemporary philosophers. The use of the term “right” is not a biblical term, however, and reflects the mood of the times, especially in the eyes of Englishmen who believed that their rights as citizens were being violated by the Crown. Regardless of their origin, by the time the Declaration was penned, these ideas were considered to be self-evident and beyond question. Sadly, some things were not so self-evident, such as slavery being a contradiction of points two and three. All of us, even our worldviews, have blind spots.

Perhaps some of my readers may not agree with our nation’s founders’ “self-evident truths,” but, whether we like to admit it or not, we all have made such presuppositions. It is unavoidable. Even people who claim to be rational materialistic scientists have presumed in the validity of the scientific method, which presumes that there are scientific truths to be discovered, which presumes there is order and logic to the universe, which necessitates some unprovable reason for this to be so.

Using the Bible to Build Our Worldview

God created the world and people so that many things must be accepted by “faith.”

In other words, we all have to believe something, even if that belief is the self-contradictory notion that there is no such thing as unconditional truth. People jump to unscientific conclusions all the time because of our built in need to believe. That is why people fall for the false narratives of the media over and over again. That is why we so easily believe negative gossip. We are believers by design.

God made us to depend on him to be our interpreter of reality and source of truth.

When Adam and Eve fell for Satan’s lie and rejected that way of “doing life,” humanity descended into the confusing darkness of trying to fathom the meaning of life by ourselves. We lost our way. That is why Jesus came, as he put it, to “seek and save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

In an effort to reorient ourselves, it is a good idea to ask ourselves, “Where did I get my ideas about life and reality?”

If we are followers of Christ, who accept the Bible as a source book of God’s revealed truth, we start there to build our worldview. If we do not accept what the Bible teaches, we must find some other way to construct a view of life and our world that is both satisfying and consistent.

My hope is that you will stay with me as we consider each crucial life question from a biblical point of view. Even if you hold different presuppositions from mine, I believe considering what the Bible has to say will be beneficial and thought provoking. The very first verse of Genesis answers our first worldview question. That is where the second article will begin.

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Watching Our National Descent into Deception

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am appalled that some people I once regarded as having good judgment are falling in step with the horde that is marching off the cliff into the abyss of tyranny. What led up to our national descent into deception? Are we hopelessly past the point of no return? How do we survive and thrive in a world gone mad?

The Source of all truth is God. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the incarnation of Truth (John 14:6) and is  absolutely truthful and faithful. We learn about and experience truth from him. The world’s problem is that, almost from the very beginning, humanity chose to reject God and truth, which plunged us all into deception, destruction, and death.

It is impossible to escape the downward spiral of deception without renouncing our sinful denial and rejection of God.

Until we come under God’s guidance and learn to draw our life from him, we will continue to be deceived by default. It cannot be otherwise.

Truth does not exist outside of God.

Increasingly the United States is turning away from God and biblical truth, causing us to descend headlong into destructive and enslaving deception. Paul’s description of this madness is playing out before our eyes.

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29  Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30  They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31  They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32  They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. Romans 1:28-32 (NLT)

What is most startling to me, however, is not that people in the world are plunging off the cliff into the darkness. To me it incomprehensible that those who name the name of Christ also are imbibing from the intoxicating well of deception. Entire denominations have embraced anti-biblical positions regarding sex, gender, marriage, and abortion. They do this because they want to be loved by the world more than they desire to be faithful to God. (John 12:43) Only godless individuals will trade their eternal reward to gain such approval, leaving me with the conclusion that they never knew God in the first place.

Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. 19  These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. 1 John 2:18-19 (NLT)

Our Lord Jesus is separating the wheat from the chaff. (Luke 3:17) He is removing the weeds from the good grain. (Matthew 13:30)

Our loyalty to biblical truth reveals our loyalty to Christ.

Embracing lies is a form of idolatry, since Jesus is the Truth. We dare not trade biblical truth for the fashionable positions of the world, even if it means being persecuted for it. Satan is determined to peel people away from God and biblical truth. Satan will make sure that those who faithfully cling to God and the Bible will pay a price.

God, however, will make sure that those who endure suffering for truth’s sake will gain a reward.

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32  And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 (NLT)

Do not be deceived. It is impossible to be a follower of Christ without being faithful to his teachings.

Our nation may have already gone beyond the point of no return. It increasingly looks that way. However, for you as an individual there is still hope. If you have strayed away from Christ and what the Bible teaches, repent and come back into the truth. Don’t participate in the great end time apostasy.

Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. Hebrews 3:12 (NLT) 

I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. 2 Peter 3:17 (NLT) 

Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. Jude 1:24 (NLT)
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