The Gospel

The spiritual laxness in many of our churches should burden every concerned Christian. Multitudes who claim to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ show no noticeable change in their lives. Yet the Bible clearly states that Christ produces a radical change in the lives of those who receive Him. They were once in darkness, now they are light. They have been born again, regenerated, and become new creations. These are radical, life altering changes! Still too few show any interest at all in spiritual things. Many attend church only when they have nothing else to do. Can you help but wonder, “Why?” Since the Gospel really is God’s power unto salvation (Rom.1:16) why do so many claim to have received the Gospel but are still unchanged? While I cannot go into all the details about what is wrong, one thing is certain—God and His Word have not changed. Since the Gospel was changing lives when Paul wrote Romans, it still has the power to change lives now. So why aren’t we seeing more changes than we do?

I believe we have presented the Gospel either wrongly or that what we are presenting is not really the Gospel at all. Most people start out by telling lost men and women that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives. Then because most lost people think that they are already pretty good they readily accept the fact that God loves them. Having received this message, they begin planning their own lives without taking God into account. They seem to think that God sends whatever successes or wealth they obtain. Then when they face hardships they abandon God and His church since they are still centered on themselves. They do not deny themselves, neither are they willing bear any cross, and certainly they do not follow Jesus. Luke 9:23. Jesus and Paul never started with God’s love; they always began by showing sinners their sin. You will find no place in the Gospels where Jesus begins by telling sinners He loved them. But certainly He did and does love us! John 3:16. The closest we come is John 3:16. But Jesus said this after Nicodemus realized that it was impossible to enter the kingdom on His own. And even then it was a general statement that Jesus loved the world.

So if we don’t start out with the “God loves you plan,” what do we do? We begin where Jesus and Paul did—with the law. People need to see their sinfulness or they will never see the need to repent. Until they see that they have broken God’s law and offended the thrice holy God, continue being deceived—thinking that they are saved when they may not be. Their last state is worse than the first. Consider a couple of examples. Mark 10:17-22 tells of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus enquiring what he needed to do to have eternal life. Our Lord immediately took him to the law. (10:19) But the young man still didn’t understand, since he thought that he’d kept all of the law’s requirements. Jesus loved him enough to tell him the truth. He needed to get rid of whatever possessions he had that kept him from taking up his cross and following Jesus. Our Lord’s style of evangelism is far different from many today. Jesus did not start with love—the young man and all of us who are converted must be convicted of our sin. God uses the law as the tool for that. In the book of Romans Paul does the same thing that Jesus did. Paul takes almost three chapters to convince readers that all have sinned and come short of God’s glory. Only then does he show that faith in Christ provides the way to escape the law’s punishment for sin. For an example he points to Abraham—Abraham was a sinner (he worshipped idols), but a radical change took place when he trusted God. Romans 4:16 says that we must have the same kind of faith that Abraham had—faith that shows that a radical change has taken place.

Note: Those who already broken over their sin are ready to be led to the cross and God’s love. The general rule is: the law should be applied to those who think highly of themselves (pride which God hates), and grace to those who are broken by their sin.

Take Heed

Two days ago I received word that one of my dear friends had succumbed to temptation. Since then his wife has left him, the church he served in has dismissed him and no one seems to know where he is. My heart aches for him and the church. This is the second time in the last few months that this has happened to one of my friends and I am grieved because of it. People's emotions and feelings are running rampant (mine included). Some are disappointed and upset while others are bewildered and confused. What is even worse is that reproach and shame has been brought on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and His church. These men are my friends. I prayed with them and served alongside them. We shared our heartaches with each other. They are my brothers. We live in perilous times. While these men are near and dear to me I'm sure there are others who could repeat my story. There are questions that I want answered: Why are these things happening? How can they be prevented from happening again? What can I do?
Most of us think that this would never happen to us. I know I thought it. Several years ago while I was in seminary we had an outbreak of moral failures. Our professor addressed the issue in class. I was sitting there thinking that I would never do such a thing. In my mind I was listing reasons why I would never be unfaithful to my wife. About the time I had convinced myself how wonderfully pure I was and would remain that way, the professor said that if you are sitting here and thinking that you would never do such a thing and that you would always remain faithful, you are the very one that is most likely to fall!
(I knew those guys were really smart but could he actually be reading my mind?) Needless to say he had my attention. The Bible says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)
I do not have all the answers but God’s word does. The 1 Corinthian 10 passage speaks to this issue. What is amazing to me is that Paul spoke of the people eating and drinking then rising up to play (10:7) before he cited other sins and rebellions. It seems that most of our failures usually begin when we are full and satisfied, when we don’t seem to ‘need’ God. Then we begin to look elsewhere as our hearts lust for something more. These things usually happen because we seek our satisfaction from others instead of God. And knowing why they happen is a sure way of preventing them in the first place. We must, in the power of the Holy Spirit, keep our minds stayed upon our Lord. He will keep us in perfect peace. (Ia.26:3) And what can you do? Take heed, be on your guard. If you are a follower of Christ you are an enemy of the devil. He seeks to devour you and your family. Never think you are above any sin or temptation. Have some accountability in your life. When possible, don’t allow yourself to be put in a situation where you can be tempted. And above all keep yourself close to God and your spouse. We live in perilous times but not impossible times. Don’t allow Satan to ruin you and those close to you. Have faith in God.

The Mind

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
One of the best books on spiritual warfare that I’ve read was by Warren Wiersbe, The Strategy of Satan. In the first chapter he says that the spiritual battles begin in the mind. He went on to explain how important the mind is because your mind is the place where God communicates with you. God speaks the truth, His word, to your mind. And Satan’s greatest weapon against our minds is his lies. All of us act and live based on what we believe to be true. If the devil can convince you that a lie is truth then your life will be based on a lie. So, our thoughts are of utmost importance.

What we think about the most usually reveals where our true passion lies. It may be our goals, children, parents, jobs, etc. But most of what most people think about are earthly and will soon perish. Many seem to be running around like ants on a hill, never thinking much of eternity. Most do not even consider that they will one day die and enter into eternity. What will they do then? We are laboring, striving, and exhausting ourselves for what? Is it some fleeting pleasure that will soon pass? It is trying to secure the recognition of someone who will soon not be here? What is it? Set your minds on things above where Christ is seated in heavenly places! The battle for your life begins in the mind. Think on Christ!

One more thought I want you to consider: you can control your thoughts. One of Satan lies is that we can’t help what we think about or how often we think about something. But 2Cor.4:5 tells us that we are to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. We are not to allow certain thought processes to control us. We are to control our thoughts, take them captive so they will obey Christ.
As wonderful as our minds are we can only think about one thing at the time. A person cannot entertain evil thoughts and thoughts about the Lord Jesus at the same time. If, then, an evil thought should come to him, he should immediately get rid of it by meditating on the Person and work of Christ. Satan cannot read your mind but God can and does. Our thoughts are on loud speaker, surround sound and in high definition before Him. The battle really does begin in the mind. Let’s be sure that we are thinking on things that are above, things that are pleasing to Christ.

Lord teach us to pray!

The disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them preach, heal the sick, turn water into wine, cast out demons, perform miracles or even raise the dead. Their request was simple but profound: “Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1 Why did the disciples ask this and not the other? I believe they understood that prayer was the power behind the Person. And since we are lacking in power it is because we are lacking in prayer. Powerless people and churches are due to prayerless people and churches. I fear we have erred in leaving out prayer in our services. We seem more interested in giving time for the preacher to preach and the musicians to sing and the only time we pray is to ask the Lord to stir hearts to put money in the offering plates. Performance is more of a concern to us than having the power of God on us. All the while wondering why we don’t get much accomplished. The disciples and the early church accomplished more for the kingdom with only a few people and little resources than we do with many and more resources. I believe the reason was because they prayed and cried out to God. Lord teach us to pray!

Victorious in Christ

2Cor 2:14
Every servant of God faces hardships and setbacks. Some are because of his shorts comings and some are not. Yet our Lord always leads us in His triumphant possession so that even our setbacks become part of His victorious march. He alone is able to turn defeat into victory. The key for us is to be faithful.(Prov.24:10,2Cor4:1)
If anyone knew about discouragement and depression it was Paul. He had no rest in his spirit even though he had been given a door to preach the gospel. He knew what those sleepless nights were like and he was well acquainted with adversaries. What was it that kept Paul out of the dungeon of despair? How did he wade though the slough of despondency? He had learned a secret that we all must learn or sooner or later the ‘ministry’ will get to us. He had learned to view his life from God’s perspective. In spite of the setbacks Paul knew that somehow some way God was leading him toward the end. He knew that all the hardships and adversaries would be worth it when he reached his final destination.
When our Lord takes us as His captive, He has claimed victory over us. In effect it becomes the first of many victories in Christ. Paul saw himself and a host of others being lead in Christ's glorious victory march through history.
Note: Many of us can look back and see what seemed to be defeat and disappointment now makes the victory even sweeter. Here is one reason why we should not make crucial decisions during hard times if we can avoid it. We can see much better once the darkness has passed and the light has come.