For a while now, I have been uncomfortable with a particular area of teaching in the modern Church. It is a sacred area, an area off-limits to criticism by anyone who wants to maintain any respectability. For whatever reason, I seem to lack the desire for respectability (And it is a good thing, too! I would be utterly depressed for lack of any). So without further delay, here is my problem. I have a problem with the Dave Ramsey money management program, classes and books. A big problem. I have thought about it for over a year, but today listening to his call-in radio program I was able to put into clear thought what was bothering me. The problem is that his advice and methods do not take into account the full teachings of Scripture. I know, I know. I can practically hear the furious typing already as his defenders give reference to verses concerning faithful stewardship and the scattering on many waters. But as the call I heard today was a perfect example of what bothers me, I will simply discuss that. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Random Thoughts’ Category
Dave Ramsey has a Problem…
February 28, 2010Sermon Mix
February 25, 2010Here is a good “Sermon Jam” of Paul Washer. A lot of truth in here…
Why did you OBEY today?
February 4, 2010Throughout your day, why do you obey God? Are obeying Him because that is what He expects out of you, and you know you had better keep it straight if you are going to avoid His wrath when it is all over? If this is the case, you are in trouble! That means you are still trying to earn salvation and you are rejecting the work Jesus did on the Cross in redeeming you. If you are obeying God out of love for Him, so you don’t disappoint the one you love, great! It means you understand grace and the Father’s love. Sometimes a Christian will suddenly realize that it is difficult to explain the motivation behind obedience, they just know they don’t like to disobey Him. That’s ok, too. When we are made new creatures our desires are slowly changed by the one who is purifying us (see Philippians 2:13). The more our Lord changes our desires, the more obedience feels “natural”. It can be difficult to pin down your motivations, and often there are multiple and mixed motivations, but may I submit to you that it would be a wise thing to examine them. An honest evaluation of the motivations behind obedience can tells us a LOT about where we stand with our King.
Love God & Love others…Seriously??
January 22, 2010
“Love God and love others.” It is a modern english summary of the greatest commandment found in Mark Chapter 12. But let’s take a quick look at exactly what the Scripture really says: “One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” When Jesus taught we should love God and love others, it was in response to the question “What is the greatest commandment?” So in Jesus own words, this is a summary of the commandments, or the moral law of Moses. So now the puzzling part; Why are so many American churches telling us that the Gospel message is “Love God and love others”? Paul made it very clear in Romans Chapter 3 that ”No one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are” So if following the law doesn’t save us, why is it being taught as the Gospel that brings salvation? It may sound good, it may sound loving, but all this message really teaches is salvation comes through your obedience to the law, and that is NOT the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ suffered in our place on the Cross and lived the perfect life that we are unable to live ourselves. Go ahead and try to fulfill the “Love God, love others” commandment. You will fail, and fail big. The law was designed by God to expose your sin and drive you to Christ. To try earning salvation on your own is to rebel against God’s call of repentance, and to spit in the face of Jesus, the one who cared enough to die for you. The only way to actually fill the commandment of “Love God, love others” is to be made into a new creature with a new heart and the indwelling spirit of Christ. This comes only through the salvation offered by our savior. Think about it.
Comfort of Pain
January 15, 2010“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” Ezekiel 36:25-27 (ESV) This Scripture is talking about what happens at salvation. The Spirit of Christ lives within a person who has been truly converted. They receive a new heart, “a heart of flesh” which indicates a tender, feeling heart in place of the unfeeling stone heart before salvation. They are careful to obey God because that is what they want to do. Their desires have been changed. Have you ever felt as though to go to heaven you need to stop doing what you like and start doing what you hate? Well, then this verse is telling you you don’t understand salvation, and probably aren’t saved yourself. This verse also explains something else. When a believer falls into sin (we all still do that from time to time) it hurts. It isn’t something we want to repeat because we hate the sin we momentarily embraced, and this Scripture tells us why. Our tender heart is now wounded when we stab it’s tender flesh with sin. This is good. It keeps us from sin and reassures us after our fall that we are indeed saved. If you hate the sin in your life because it brings pain, that is a good sign, and it should be comforting. Now stop stabbing your heart, stop betraying your savior and “Go, and sin no more!” Not because you want to go to heaven, but because you are already headed there as a citizen!
The Christian Jellyfish floating in Church Waters
January 7, 2010It seems as though a strange disease is creeping over the some of the Christian populace. I have seen Godly men, men with a sound understanding of salvation, men who have submitted their lives to Christ, and follow hard after Him with passion, sitting silent when they should be standing. Let me explain the situation. More and more Churches in the Bible Belt are drifting into false doctrine. These Churches are preaching and teaching anything and everything except the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some embrace Purpose Driven non-Biblical goals, others begin redefining the Bible through Emergent Doctrine or Nooma videos, and still others focus on topics deemed relevant to the congregation rather than the Word of our Creator. And these Godly men who are left, the remnant of true believers that haven’t fled from the encroaching heresies… do nothing. They sit quietly as their Lord is portrayed as one who winks at sin. They do not raise their voice as the same Christ who suffered for them is described to others as being no more than a wealthy Grandpa in the sky. These men who have sacrificed much in their own life stay quiet, afraid to show any passion or a godly jealousy for the one who loves them. If someone came to these same men using, not vulgar language, but well spoken eloquent terms delivered with a smile to describe the Godly man’s wife as a whore, these men would be outraged. “Just because you use eloquence and a smile,” they would yell, “do not think I will sit idly by as you spread these horrible lies!” And yet, while Pastors and small group leaders use eloquence and a smile to slander Jesus Christ (the only one that should be loved more than a wife) they do nothing. They treat the slander of Christ as nothing more than a religious discussion. “Well, they are from a liberal viewpoint” or “I am hoping they come around” they will offer as a defense. Let us call this what it is. It is fear. It is fear of men over a fear of God. It is the fear as being ostracized as a fanatic, a fear of confrontation. It is cowardice. Spineless Christian jellyfish. Revelation 21:8 states this : “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” It is bad company that the coward is listed as being among. I am not stating that cowardice will cost the salvation of a man truly redeemed, but I am stating two things. 1) Cowardice is far more serious than you think, and you will answer to a Holy God for a lack of spine. 2) A fear to stand boldly for the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a strong sign that you do not fully understand what was done for you, and you do not love Him as you should. So what to do? Repent! Seek God for the strength to stand boldly for His name. He knows you are but a child, and He will lend His Spirit and His strength to those who seek Him.
Bumper Theology
January 6, 2010
Funny but accurate breakdown of the most ridiculous bumper sticker ever made by the folks over at DefendingContending.com
Texas Time! – New Website Launched!
January 3, 2010This week we have released a new website! The purpose of this new site is to be an electronic Gospel tract that will be advertised in one specific area…Texas. This is a key area of the so-called Bible Belt and is heavily churched, although churches remaining true to Christ and His Gospel are hard to find. The Home page is aimed at bringing the Gospel to the lost who live in a Christian sub-culture. The Blog page will be various related articles, and hopefully, some discussion with visitors. Check it out and leave some comments on the Blog page. Visit us at What If Texas and let us know what you think!
Where is the Love?
January 3, 2010This website is sometimes criticized that it devotes an unbalanced amount of attention to sin, law, and holiness, but not enough attention to the love and grace of God. How can one define or even shed a small amount of light on the love of God? I know of only one way to even get a glimpse of what His love truly is like. It is a two-step process:
1) Study the Law of God and what sin is. Study the true state of us all (we are all born into sin and filled with iniquity). Study sin and law in the scriptures until you realize the hopelessness of mankind’s situation.
2) Study the Holiness of God. Study His perfection, His righteousness and His justice. Learn how even angels designed and created to be in His presence have to shield their eyes from His glory. Learn how He is unlike any created creature, and if we were to see Him as we are now, our bodies would dissolve and our mind and spirit would plunge into insanity.
It is when you have fully comprehended these things that you will be in a position to begin learning of His love. When you then read the account of the cross, the love of Christ will begin to be of some comprehension. This love exhibited by so Holy a God to such wretched creatures as us will be difficult to wrap your mind around, actually, it will be near impossible. It is then that loyalty will be forged toward Him who loved us when we had done absolutely nothing to earn such love. How can such an incredible love be described or comprehended? I know of no way. It is by studying these things that we begin to get a glimmer of understanding.
Well Meant Pride
January 3, 2010I found myself worrying about death. I was not concerned about the soundness of my faith, where I would spend eternity, or if my sins had truly been paid for. It is clear that my Lord Jesus the Christ has already put these matters to rest, and they are accomplished. The reason I fear death is because the following thought was running through my mind, “If I am gone, who will raise my boys up to be Godly men, to lead them to Christ? And who will provide for my wife?” What a prideful fool I have become! To think that it is me and my efforts that will accomplish these things is vanity. If I am here, then God the author may choose to use me as His pen to accomplish these things, but if I am gone He is still the author and can easily use another pen to accomplish the same tasks. Pride has such an incredible ability to come into one’s life under the camouflage of good intentions!
Old Testament Today
January 3, 2010The Old Testament can sometimes seem like a completely different world. People worshiping silver and gold statues and falling into Idolatry every time they turn around.These accounts of these people and how they fell into sin seem so barbaric to our modern culture. But why does it seem so foreign? They worshipped silver and gold with the idea they would be blessed with success, security and happiness. That is exactly how we look at our jobs, money and 401k’s today. Very seldom do we trust our Lord, going about obeying Him, living for Him, and letting Him worry about our provision. Likewise, we constantly elevate ourselves and our desires to a higher level of importance than Jesus Christ and His wishes, which is the very definition of Idolatry. We do this every time we knowingly sin. Keeping this in mind when reading the Old Testament makes the whole thing suddenly become very real and very applicable.
“That Doctrine is just a Reaction…”
January 3, 2010When they say “That Doctrine is just a Reaction…” you should have a reaction…you should run! What could I possibly mean by that? Well, let me share with you something I have noticed. This is not Scripture, so please do not take it as such. It is just a common trend I see happening in local Churches. When a Church begins to drift into “liberal” theology, often times there will be good, solid believers who will start to have some concerns. They will raise these concerns through quiet meetings with the Pastor, emails or letters sent to the board. They will be questioning as to why the new teachings don’t seem to be in line with what they know to be sound Biblical doctrine. And what is the response? Very often it is something along the lines of the following: “Where did you learn that doctrine? Oh…. from John MacArthur (or Piper, or the Puritans, or Paul Washer, or whoever). Well that whole doctrine is just a reaction (implying over-reaction) to some extremely liberal teachings that were gaining popularity at that time. It really isn’t biblical. They took things too far. You should probably shy away from that guy.” Folks, I am not saying people don’t react and I am definitely not saying people don’t take things too far. But God doesn’t, and neither does His Word. If a doctrine is based solidly on God’s Word, then don’t tell me it is an over-reaction by John MacArthur (or whoever)!!! Truth is truth! I have found this type of attack to be a very common method of misdirection used by “liberal Christians” trying to influence a Church. When you question why Rob Bell’s “nooma” video’s are being used in the Church, or why the women’s retreat has pamphlets about meditation in the greeting bags and receive this response, I have one word of advice. Run the other way from everything they try to teach you. Run, baby, run!
