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.

More on the carnal Christian

Some would say that Jesus has saved them but they haven’t surrendered to Him as their Lord. Theologically they are saying that they are justified but not sanctified, It is like asking Jesus to save you but still allow you to sin. Imagine saying to the Holy, Holy, Holy God, “I want you to save me but I don’t want to be holy.” It would be saying that I want God to save me in my sin not from my sin. Matt.1:21. Our Savior came to take away our sin. John 1:29.

This carnal Christian idea does not see the seriousness of sin nor do they seem to understand how much even one sin offends God. That is exactly what Paul says in Rom.6:1-2: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! If the carnal Christian teaching is right then Paul should have answered the question with an affirmative. Instead his answer was the strongest negative possible.

What bothers me the most is that this false doctrine portrays an inadequate and low view of Christ. It pictures Him as a savior who is weak and helpless and unable to save anyone from their path of destruction unless they allow Him. At the same time it pictures man as in complete control of His life. Man becomes sovereign instead of God. God is reduced to someone like an old grandfather type who winks at his grandchildren’s sinfulness and continues to supply them with more gifts so they can sin even more. This false doctrine portrays Jesus as Savior but not Lord. They think they someone can accept Him as Savior and then later (if they choose to) as Lord. Again this is foreign to the teaching of the Bible. Even at the announcement of His birth He was declared both Savior and Lord. Luke 2:11. Jesus is one person. All who truly receive Him must receive all of Him. Matt.7:23.

There are other points of concern that I have but my burden is for so many of those who have been led astray into thinking that they are saved when in reality they may not be. My dear reader, do not be among those who will hear the words of our Lord, Depart from me because I never knew you.

Carnal Christian?

For the last several weeks I have been preaching through Romans 6, 7, and 8. Recently while in Romans 8 the question of the ‘carnal’ Christian came to the surface. Some believe that you can be a Christian but not live like one, thus the carnal or sinful living while still claiming to be a Christian. Space will not allow me to go into much detail so I will give you the highlights of my thoughts. First, the Scripture clearly puts all people into one of two categories – saved or lost, sheep or goats. Either you are born again or you are not. There is no third category. Second, the only place this is mentioned is in 1Cor.3. The Corinthians were certainly carnal in their preferences of one leader over another but it was certainly not a way of life for them. (Paul did imply that some of them may not be saved. 1Cor.15:34, 2Cor.13:5) All of us struggle with sin. I am not advocating perfection; but I am saying that for anyone to claim that Jesus has saved them from their sin yet show no sense of repentance or desire to live a life that is pleasing to God is a very dangerous and deadly doctrine. Matt.7:21-23 Third, the new covenant that was the result of Christ shed blood insured at least two things for all who are in the covenant – forgiveness of sin and a changed heart. Heb.10:15-17. If the carnal Christian theory was true it would then appear that a new life and new heart were optional. And I can be justified (saved) but give no evidence of sanctification (holy living). It would then appear that the ‘Holy’ Spirit, if He is even in the so called believer, is at best dormant. Why would the thrice holy God even consider saving someone so they could continue in the very thing that he hates and His wrath is against it? Fourth, if there has not been a radical change i.e. a new heart, then we have no reason to believe that Christ’s blood has covered our sin and our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life because there would be no distinguishable difference a biblical faith and the kind of faith (belief) that the demons have. James 2:19. When the gospel has really been believed then those whom God has justified will live by faith. Rom.1:16. Receiving the gospel is receiving God’s power in the Holy Spirit to live by faith. (There is no other way to please God.) Living by faith means that you trust in what God says and act on it. If anyone tells you that he is a believer but still lives in his sin, it is your duty to assure him that his faith is like those of the demons and he is not saved. Love him, pray for him, and witness, but do not compromise the gospel. Life and death are at stake.

Easter – Our Joy

In the last post I expressed my concern that God may be judging our nation. But I do not want those who read my articles to think that all is gloom and doom. I believe there is hope because our Lord overcame the worst possible circumstance – He overcame death! For this reason, even though we may be facing hard times you can still rejoice. The apostle Paul said it this way: as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; … I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. (2Cor. 6:10, 7:4) How can we rejoice in sorrow and tribulation like Paul did? Can we find joy even though our nation may be under judgment? My answer is a resounding yes! The reason Paul could rejoice even in the worst of circumstances was because his source of joy was not in circumstances. Paul’s joy was in the Lord. Our Lord Jesus promised His disciples that He would rise from the dead and when they had seen Him, He assured them that their heart would rejoice, and their joy could not be taken from them by anyone. (John 16:22) Our Lord endured the cross (suffering and sorrow that we can’t even imagine) because of the joy that was set before Him. (Heb.12:2). Our precious and loving Lord said that He would rise from the dead and ascend to His Father so that we could have His joy fulfilled in our hearts. (John 17:13)Because of Easter we can have joy that no one can take away. No matter what you are going through, even if you are facing your death or that of a loved one, you can have joy that is inexpressible and full of glory. (1Pet.1:8) The reason we assemble ourselves every Sunday to joyfully worship is Easter. See you on Sunday.

Is Our Nation Under Judgment?

Our nation is in trouble. In fact it seems to me that we are being judged by the Lord. Why do I think this? Throughout history nations has been judged by God. (Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, and Israel, are just a few of them.) And there are similarities with all of them. They were continually at war. Our troops have been fighting on same foreign soil since WWII. Secondly, there was no real solid or sound leadership in those nations that were judged. (Need I say more?) Third, sexual immorality was abundant in those countries and they thought nothing of it. In fact not only did their laws allow it but the religious leaders even approved of it. Today in our own country not only are laws being formatted to allow same sex marriage, but we also have churches springing up across our land that not only allow such practices but even approve of them. And fourthly, like bygone countries, our nation is being evaded by foreign powers. We call them terrorist. And lastly, our economy, like the other nations, is grumbling as we speak.
In spite of all these things I don’t lay of all the blame on the government or congress or any of the leaders, though they will be judged too. I believe the problem lies with us – the church, God’s people! When are we going to wake up? Is there an answer? Is there a word from God? I believe there is. And since we have a word from God I have hope because He is merciful. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God says, ”if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Notice God says that if His people will humble themselves, pray, seek His face, turn (repent) from their wicked ways then He will HEAL OUR LAND! I don’t think anyone questions the fact that our land needs healing. Here is the Judges’ solution. If we will obey God in the power of the Holy Spirit then I believe the church will be restored to its rightful place as salt and light to a miserable and darken world and our land will be healed.

Evangelism

One of the reason we are not as effective as we should be is because we are depending on programs instead of the way our Lord intended. We must evangelize out of a heart that loves the Lord and desires that all worship Him in His beauty and holiness. We are attempting to do spiritual things without the Spirit of God. We have so many programs yet our baptisms are decreasing. Our Lord Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all of our being and the second great commandment is to love our neighbor. If we aren’t loving our neighbor then we aren’t loving God either. If we love Him we will keep His commandments and His commandments aren’t burdensome. If I were forced to list only one reason why many of our churches are simply going through the motions it is because they have forsaken their first love. Love must come from a heart that God has changed. Perhaps our outcry should be Lord, renew my love to you like it was at the beginning.

Judgment

Many believe that God is beginning to judge our nation. They cite the immorality, corruption, selfishness, humanism, and materialism just to name a few. Many have become “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” 2Tim.3:2-4. It seems to me that we are facing judgment. But what I want to remind you of is that if our nation has come under God’s judgment, His judgment begins at the house of the Lord, the church. 1Pet.4:17. Many of those I have spoken to agree that God is beginning to judge our nation. But few seem to stop and evaluate themselves. If we are being judged God will begin the process of purging and cleansing His people. In 1Pet.4:15 Peter mentions murderers, evildoers, and busybodies. The implication is that there were some in the church. When judgment comes all – righteous and unrighteous – are going to face hard times. For those who believe it will mean difficult days but it will draw us closer to Christ. For those who have only a superficial faith it will mean ruin. And if we barely escape what will become of those who do not obey the gospel, those Peter refers to as “the ungodly and the sinner.” (Notice that ungodly and the sinners are the same as those who do not obey the gospel.) 1Pet.4:18.
Since judgment begins with the church, the first ones that God will deal with are the leaders. Notice that Peter exhorts the elders to shepherd God’s people and be examples to them and our motive must be because we love the Lord and His appearing. 5:2-4. My concern is that we are trying so desperately to find programs and techniques that will grow the church when we, the leaders, haven’t been the shepherds that God says we must be. I may share more on this later but for now let me ask you some questions. Do you really love the Lord? Does He occupy your thoughts most of the time? Are the thoughts you have for Him really about Him or are you just thinking about ways you can get more people to your church? Are you more interested in seeing His people becoming more Christ-like or just having more people? Is it your heart’s desire for God’s people to grow in His grace and knowledge or does it really matter whether they grow or not as long as they attend and give their money? Remember, numbers may make us look good as far as others are concerned, but God sees far more that the numbers. If we are increasing our rolls with lost people who think they are saved this is not pleasing to the Lord. And He certainly isn’t being glorified. (Please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I want as many as possible to come under the hearing of the gospel. But as a Pastor I am first to shepherd those the Lord has charged me with.) I am aware that we can’t with absolute certainty know of another’s salvation. But if we will take the time to shepherd and love them then perhaps God will show them the truth before it’s too late.