Last Wednesday night several came into midweek worship and Bible classes with the overwhelming disappointment over the election. Those of us who believe partial-birth abortion is infanticide and same-sex marriage is wrong felt deserted by a blind country who would allow such an advocate of evil rule over them.
Some friends have suggested that the America we have known and loved will disappear in days to come. No doubt, the election will make advocates of evil who love to silence the truth even more bold. I admit it... I too am heartsick and a bit angry.
Take a breath.... this too shall pass.
History is a wonderful reminder that evil doesn't last forever, no matter how powerful. Good will win out in the end, even if the devil deceives the nations and enslaves them for his evil agenda. The Lord of lords and the King of kings sees and knows it all. He will destroy evil with the sword of his mouth.
This is not a time to hide in caves; it is a time to stand strong. God has equipped us with a panoply (a suit of full armor). Read about it in Ephesians 6:10-20. Having done everything in this battle with the devil, we are to stand firm. This is not a time for retreat; it is a time to go to war for our souls!
Instead of throwing our hands up in failure, let us redouble our efforts! We have the weapons to win EVERY time! God has given us faith! God has given us love! God has given us TRUTH! God has given us the hope the world needs so badly. We are not puny and poor; we are God's heirs, God's holy nation, God's royal priesthood, a people for God's own possession! In God's eyes we are holy, beloved, and chosen! For us God is preparing an eternal home.
Let us not be surprised that the world is worldly; it always has been. The whole world, after all, lies in the power of the evil one; but we are not of the world. The LORD watches over us. Take a breath, say a prayer, recall the promises, and get to work.
God gave us the Word, a powerful and unstoppable weapon. The world can't burn it up, delete it, or resist it. It stands written! Preach it! Proclaim it to a lost and dying world with love and conviction. The world may hate us for it, but they will not shut us up. The Bible has survived as the seed of the kingdom. Hide it in your heart, and it will produce life eternal for you and for those who will hear you.
Don't quit! Don't give up! Don't give out! We have not yet begun to do all that we can do to light a dark and dreary world with the eternal gospel of Jesus Christ.
Redouble your efforts, love the Lord, love people, let your light shine, and give thanks. Throw aside discouragement and be men. We not only can win souls, we can change lives and lands with the power of love and the word. Preach, love, and stay the course! The Kingdom of heaven needs you!
phil
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
When Paul came to Corinth
When Paul came to Athens and Corinth, he found them filled with idols and immorality. The culture of monotheism he had known in Jerusalem was now replaced with rampant polytheism. There were gods everywhere. Women were quiet in Judea but noisy and evident in Achaia. Only men were priests in Judaism, but the temple priestesses were abundant in Corinth. There were nearly 1000 of them, and they knew how to satisfy a man in their worship. In Judea there was a book of divine law, but in Corinth all one need do is keep the gods happy.
When Paul came to Corinth, he came to a foreign culture very unlike the one he found in Judea, where he schooled under Gamaliel as a Pharisee. In Judea they valued righteousness; in Corinth they valued sexual immorality. "Food for the stomach, and the stomach for food!"
The paradigm shift from a Jewish culture to a Greek one was overwhelming. I cannot imagine even the shift from modern to postmodern culture to be any more radical.
Some say, "A new culture should require a new brand of Christianity adapted to the culture, Amen?" So says the "emerging church." The church must change or die, so says all the experts! We have to be postmodern; we have to be pluralistic; we have to stop being judgmental about anything; and we have to stop beating up on sinners with the Bible. We need a new church for a new age!
Paul did not say that to the new Christians he converted at Corinth or Athens or Colossae or Rome. He didn't argue for an accommodation to culture. He argued for the world to conform to the gospel teaching.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
1 Corinthians 11:2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
2 Corinthians 4:18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Colossians 2:6-8 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established £in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
Colossians 3:1-4 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.
As salt, we are to permeate the earth; otherwise we are worthless.
A new church? Paul said there is one church. A new church cannot be the one church Jesus built; it must be different. A new church is not really a church; it is a counterfeit, pretending to be the real thing.
I think I'll listen to Paul and hold fast to the Lord's way.
phil
When Paul came to Corinth, he came to a foreign culture very unlike the one he found in Judea, where he schooled under Gamaliel as a Pharisee. In Judea they valued righteousness; in Corinth they valued sexual immorality. "Food for the stomach, and the stomach for food!"
The paradigm shift from a Jewish culture to a Greek one was overwhelming. I cannot imagine even the shift from modern to postmodern culture to be any more radical.
Some say, "A new culture should require a new brand of Christianity adapted to the culture, Amen?" So says the "emerging church." The church must change or die, so says all the experts! We have to be postmodern; we have to be pluralistic; we have to stop being judgmental about anything; and we have to stop beating up on sinners with the Bible. We need a new church for a new age!
Paul did not say that to the new Christians he converted at Corinth or Athens or Colossae or Rome. He didn't argue for an accommodation to culture. He argued for the world to conform to the gospel teaching.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
1 Corinthians 11:2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
2 Corinthians 4:18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Colossians 2:6-8 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established £in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
Colossians 3:1-4 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.
As salt, we are to permeate the earth; otherwise we are worthless.
A new church? Paul said there is one church. A new church cannot be the one church Jesus built; it must be different. A new church is not really a church; it is a counterfeit, pretending to be the real thing.
I think I'll listen to Paul and hold fast to the Lord's way.
phil
Thursday, October 23, 2008
A video worth watching
I've been a little lax on posting due to the fact my computer was down for a week at church. This video is really worth watching:
http://www.valuevotersusa.com/"
I hope you will go to the polls and vote in the coming days. Throw out the ungodly people who will not uphold life and morality. Elect people who love life and believe in the teaching of the Lord.
phil
http://www.valuevotersusa.com/"
I hope you will go to the polls and vote in the coming days. Throw out the ungodly people who will not uphold life and morality. Elect people who love life and believe in the teaching of the Lord.
phil
Thursday, October 02, 2008
What really is finger pointing?
The postmodern mindset found in emergents and others says that "modern" Christianity is unworthy of consideration because it points fingers at sin and sinners. Now in the mind of many postmoderns, the Christianity of the Bible and the Christianity of "modern" (not postmodern) America are radically different. Their excuse for fostering the emergence of a new church arises from their utter rejection and questioning of everything in the "modern" church.
Oddly, those who put down "modern" Christianity use Matthew 7:1 to do so. They believe that the rational "moderns" have sinned against the global society by unfairly labeling sin and sinners.
Matthew 23 is not "modern" belief; this chapter contains the words of LORD Jesus. In verse after verse he is there judging the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites. Note these labels that point fingers and judge from Matthew 23: blind, blind guides, blind fools, children of hell, whitewashed tombs, full of lawlessness, sons of murderers, serpents, and brood of vipers. He asked them how they will escape being sentenced to hell?
If you read Matthew 7:1-5 and Matthew 23, you see two sides to the concept of judging. Jesus didn't want people to judge according to appearances but to judge with righteous judgment. His rule was needed in the day when Pharisees judged others as sinful for breaking their human traditions (Matthew 15:1-14), and it is needed today.
People who read Matthew 7:1-5 and then judge people for righteous judging don't realize their blind self-contradiction. They are as blind as the fellow with a log in his eye. To condemn others for judging righteously is a not what Jesus is teaching in Matthew 7:1-5 but a popular, human reinvention of the passage. Merely repeating Matthew 7:1 in response to everything right or wrong is is both blind and ignorant. It is not inappropriate judging to call sin what God calls sin.
Now if the problem of sin is real, and the consequences of such sin is hell, one can understand the passion Jesus showed in denouncing the hypocrites. He did not do it angrily or self-righteously. I believe Jesus denounced them with a broken heart, honestly (because there is a real problem) and lovingly (because he had hopes of redeeming even them).
Physicians are not castigated because they tell us of a disease. Teachers correct the errors of their students in order to teach them properly. Parents discipline their children so they can endure and prosper. All this is done for our good (Heb. 12:1-11). Why then is preaching the truth about sin so hateful to postmoderns?
Could it be that emergents and postmoderns have fallen into an old error, when they reject all finger-pointing?
Solomon frequently recognized that fools spurn instruction and correction. Perhaps the problem is not in "moderns" finger-pointing to the ANCIENT, premodern, Bible laws but in postmoderns rejecting the ANCIENT, premodern, all-culture, Bible instruction of God. Consider the inspired, ancient words of Solomon:
Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 1:22 "How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?"
Proverbs 8:13 "The fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate."
Proverbs 8:35-36 [Wisdom speaking] "For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death."
Proverbs 10:8 "The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin."
Proverbs 12:15 "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."
Proverbs 13:1 "A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke."
Proverbs 17:15 "He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord."
It is loving and virtuous to restore the fallen and to bring back those who have been captured in sin (Gal. 6:1; James 5:19-20). One does this by being honest about sin and speaking of repentance, which is a good thing. One shows no love to the lost by refusing to call sin what it is or to gloss it over with human opinions. Leaving sinful people in sin by justifying their sin is an abomination to God and soul-threatening.
God is not impressed by the legislation of human opinions; He has not needed to ask our postmodern advice. Jesus thrice told the devil, "It is written," to solve some "right-wrong" issues. Perhaps we should follow suit without fear that we are finger-pointing in doing so. The words of Jesus stand and do not need editing.
I have no desire to promote unwarranted finger-pointing and judging; but the false relabeling of sin (such as homosexuality and abortion) as finger-pointing is actually "scoffing." Scoffing is simply the showing of contempt. When people scoff at sin, they are showing their contempt for God not their piety. They point fingers at God; they judge God.
Scoffing at God is postmodern, but it is not new. It was abominable in Solomon's day, and it still is. Scoffing at sin is no advancement over moderninsm.
I am truly amazed that people would rather hate, dismiss, or judge God than they would admit to their friends they believe sin leads to hell. But such is characteristic of our culture.
O Lord God, help us to return to you.
Phil
Oddly, those who put down "modern" Christianity use Matthew 7:1 to do so. They believe that the rational "moderns" have sinned against the global society by unfairly labeling sin and sinners.
Matthew 23 is not "modern" belief; this chapter contains the words of LORD Jesus. In verse after verse he is there judging the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites. Note these labels that point fingers and judge from Matthew 23: blind, blind guides, blind fools, children of hell, whitewashed tombs, full of lawlessness, sons of murderers, serpents, and brood of vipers. He asked them how they will escape being sentenced to hell?
If you read Matthew 7:1-5 and Matthew 23, you see two sides to the concept of judging. Jesus didn't want people to judge according to appearances but to judge with righteous judgment. His rule was needed in the day when Pharisees judged others as sinful for breaking their human traditions (Matthew 15:1-14), and it is needed today.
People who read Matthew 7:1-5 and then judge people for righteous judging don't realize their blind self-contradiction. They are as blind as the fellow with a log in his eye. To condemn others for judging righteously is a not what Jesus is teaching in Matthew 7:1-5 but a popular, human reinvention of the passage. Merely repeating Matthew 7:1 in response to everything right or wrong is is both blind and ignorant. It is not inappropriate judging to call sin what God calls sin.
Now if the problem of sin is real, and the consequences of such sin is hell, one can understand the passion Jesus showed in denouncing the hypocrites. He did not do it angrily or self-righteously. I believe Jesus denounced them with a broken heart, honestly (because there is a real problem) and lovingly (because he had hopes of redeeming even them).
Physicians are not castigated because they tell us of a disease. Teachers correct the errors of their students in order to teach them properly. Parents discipline their children so they can endure and prosper. All this is done for our good (Heb. 12:1-11). Why then is preaching the truth about sin so hateful to postmoderns?
Could it be that emergents and postmoderns have fallen into an old error, when they reject all finger-pointing?
Solomon frequently recognized that fools spurn instruction and correction. Perhaps the problem is not in "moderns" finger-pointing to the ANCIENT, premodern, Bible laws but in postmoderns rejecting the ANCIENT, premodern, all-culture, Bible instruction of God. Consider the inspired, ancient words of Solomon:
Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 1:22 "How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?"
Proverbs 8:13 "The fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate."
Proverbs 8:35-36 [Wisdom speaking] "For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death."
Proverbs 10:8 "The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin."
Proverbs 12:15 "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."
Proverbs 13:1 "A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke."
Proverbs 17:15 "He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord."
It is loving and virtuous to restore the fallen and to bring back those who have been captured in sin (Gal. 6:1; James 5:19-20). One does this by being honest about sin and speaking of repentance, which is a good thing. One shows no love to the lost by refusing to call sin what it is or to gloss it over with human opinions. Leaving sinful people in sin by justifying their sin is an abomination to God and soul-threatening.
God is not impressed by the legislation of human opinions; He has not needed to ask our postmodern advice. Jesus thrice told the devil, "It is written," to solve some "right-wrong" issues. Perhaps we should follow suit without fear that we are finger-pointing in doing so. The words of Jesus stand and do not need editing.
I have no desire to promote unwarranted finger-pointing and judging; but the false relabeling of sin (such as homosexuality and abortion) as finger-pointing is actually "scoffing." Scoffing is simply the showing of contempt. When people scoff at sin, they are showing their contempt for God not their piety. They point fingers at God; they judge God.
Scoffing at God is postmodern, but it is not new. It was abominable in Solomon's day, and it still is. Scoffing at sin is no advancement over moderninsm.
I am truly amazed that people would rather hate, dismiss, or judge God than they would admit to their friends they believe sin leads to hell. But such is characteristic of our culture.
O Lord God, help us to return to you.
Phil
Monday, September 22, 2008
Changing times
Peter Drucker, a well-respected management and business guru, writes in his book Post-Capitalist Society:
Every few hundred years in Western history there occurs a sharp transformation. Within a few short decades, society rearranges itself—its worldview; its basic values; its social and political structure; its arts; its key institutions.
Fifty yeas later, there is a new world. And the people born then cannot even imagine the world in which their grandparents lived and into which their parents were born.
We are currently living through just such a transition (1).
The change to a postmodern worldview isn't quick. It is feathering the generations as the modern fades and the postmodern overwhelms. The coming generations are more pluralistic, more mystical, more experiential, more global, more fluid, and more convinced of subjective preferences. They do not like logic and refuse to be judgmental about anything. It doesn't like Christianity, because Christianity appears to point the finger at them.
How do we address these changes?
We hold fast to what we believe. We live convicted lives with love. We won't win everyone, but we will survive. We hold fast to faith, hope, and love. We do not forget who we are, whose we are, from where we have come, and where we are going.
We try to understand those with whom we must live (1 Chron. 12:32) but do not conform to them (Rom. 12:2). We identify with others but never lose focus of the imperatives of who we are (1 Cor. 9:19-23).
We understand that the gospel message is eternal not temporal. We understand that the kingdom of God is eternal not a reinvention in succeeding generations. We look to an eternal God who transcends cultural shifts, which are themselves destined to die.
We must once again see the utter uniqueness of Jesus as the one and only Lord. We must again proclaim all the reasons why we should believe. Our pulpits must once again ring with evidences for faith, hope and love.
We must live as people born again to a new life in a world bound for futility and confusion. Postmodernism has nothing to offer better than Christ.
Just as generations came back to God in the Old Testament, so there will be returns to the one and only faith of all time (Jude 3). That it may take time should not cause us to despair. The Lord is still on the throne, and his hand is with his people.
blessings,
Phil
Every few hundred years in Western history there occurs a sharp transformation. Within a few short decades, society rearranges itself—its worldview; its basic values; its social and political structure; its arts; its key institutions.
Fifty yeas later, there is a new world. And the people born then cannot even imagine the world in which their grandparents lived and into which their parents were born.
We are currently living through just such a transition (1).
The change to a postmodern worldview isn't quick. It is feathering the generations as the modern fades and the postmodern overwhelms. The coming generations are more pluralistic, more mystical, more experiential, more global, more fluid, and more convinced of subjective preferences. They do not like logic and refuse to be judgmental about anything. It doesn't like Christianity, because Christianity appears to point the finger at them.
How do we address these changes?
We hold fast to what we believe. We live convicted lives with love. We won't win everyone, but we will survive. We hold fast to faith, hope, and love. We do not forget who we are, whose we are, from where we have come, and where we are going.
We try to understand those with whom we must live (1 Chron. 12:32) but do not conform to them (Rom. 12:2). We identify with others but never lose focus of the imperatives of who we are (1 Cor. 9:19-23).
We understand that the gospel message is eternal not temporal. We understand that the kingdom of God is eternal not a reinvention in succeeding generations. We look to an eternal God who transcends cultural shifts, which are themselves destined to die.
We must once again see the utter uniqueness of Jesus as the one and only Lord. We must again proclaim all the reasons why we should believe. Our pulpits must once again ring with evidences for faith, hope and love.
We must live as people born again to a new life in a world bound for futility and confusion. Postmodernism has nothing to offer better than Christ.
Just as generations came back to God in the Old Testament, so there will be returns to the one and only faith of all time (Jude 3). That it may take time should not cause us to despair. The Lord is still on the throne, and his hand is with his people.
blessings,
Phil
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Remembering my father
On September 24, 2008 my father will mark 102 years from the time of his birth. Dad died on June 12, 1985 at the age of 78 in Dallas, Texas. I was 33 at the time, and it was the hardest experience I ever endured. I still mourn my father.
He had just turned 45 when I was born, 48 when Beth was born, and 51 when Patti was born. Oliver Harley Sanders was a strong and healthy man most of his life. At six foot tall, he weighed 157 pounds nearly all his adult life. Dad liked to walk in his later years and often did so, even when he had a car to drive.
Dad was born in Oklahoma Territory, less than a year before Oklahoma was admitted to statehood. He was born in the township of Stella in Canadian County, Oklahoma about ten miles east of Norman, Oklahoma. He is buried with my grandparents and brother in Tecumseh Cemetery, half-way between Shawnee and Tecumseh.
All of these memories seem to flood back to me. I'll be going to my home town, the place of my birth, the place where I graduated from high school, in a few weeks. I don't usually go to the cemetery (I like to remember people alive), but I probably will go out there this time. I want to see the gravestone. I likely will see the burial places of some other relatives--some kinfolk I never knew: my brother and my grandfather. When I find dad's stone, I'll also find my grandma Booth. Mom will be buried there beside dad, but not soon I pray.
2008 marks the 90th year since my grandparents and their family obeyed the gospel at the Central Church of Christ in Shawnee. The building was located on Union Street in those days instead of the fine edifice at 10th and Bell.
I am to preach at Central on October 5-8, and nothing in quite some time has kindled all the feelings that going home seems to stir in my soul. While I am there I will tell the story of William Lee and Rebecca Sanders and of Curtis G. Booth. I love to tell these stories, and they are Shawnee stories. Just thinking of them brings a little tear to my eyes.
My dad was not a perfect man, but he was "faithful in a few things." Orphaned at 12, driven from home at 14, he suffered many lonely hardships with his brother Hill. Dad had his oldest daughter kidnapped from him in early adulthood; he did not see her again for more than 30 years. Dad was among the first five men in Pottawatomie County to be drafted at the onset of World War II. He rose to the rank of sergeant and trained soldiers to shoot artillery. He went to the island of Luzon in the Philippines, where he saw violent action. When dad came home from the war, he never wanted a gun in the house.
My mom, who obeyed the gospel at the age of 16 in Shawnee, was the best thing that ever happened to my dad. Though they lost a son, my brother Richard, mom and dad loved each other dearly. They were good parents and did the best they could in many ways. Dad smoked for many years until he learned that smoking was harmful. He laid down his pipe and never took it up again (he didn't want his boys to smoke).
Mom and Dad wanted to be sure that we were Christians, so in the year 1967 we began attending Dale Church of Christ, where Hill and Alice went. Dad wanted us to have some training. I still treasure friends I made there. Danny Fredman and I still email at least once weekly. I preached my first sermon there at the age of 16 in 1968. They let me do Wednesday night devotionals as well. I remember hearing Steve Bracken preach, and I knew that's what I wanted to do! Mom and Dad always encouraged me. I don't think I would be preaching today if they had not gotten us involved in church at this critical time in my life.
Dad baptized a few folks, preached some sermons, and wrapped Bibles for World Bibles for Christ. He and Mom were very involved in their later days at Northridge, and I am thankful for the service they gave.
I hope to see a lot of loved ones and old friends at Central in October. I remember hearing such great preaching there when I was young--Richard Black, Perry Cotham, and others. A sweet sister who helped me gave me a tape of Alan Highers in 1970. Alan preached a sermon on the tape entitled, "Five Minutes After Death." That was the most powerful sermon I had ever heard up to that time. It still is. I will preach that sermon Wednesday, Oct. 8. I've preached it no less than 100 times over the last 35 years. Little could I imagine what good friends Alan and I have become in these later years and how often we have labored together in the Spiritual Sword.
Going back to your roots reminds you who you are, whose you are, and where you belong. Shawnee is home--Louisa, Kickapoo, Harrison, and Broadway are streets that fill me with memories. Long before the mall there was downtown. I remember Jr. High across the street from a 12 cent hambuger place with a Scottish name (but not McDonald's). I remember high school on Union St (not out by the football field). I remember Jim Thorp Stadium and 5-cent taffy.
Dad didn't have much of anything to impart to me or my siblings, except a faith that leads to eternal life that is far more precious than gold or jewels. For my part, I am glad I received the greater, for the rest just doesn't matter.
with love and appreciation,
Phil
He had just turned 45 when I was born, 48 when Beth was born, and 51 when Patti was born. Oliver Harley Sanders was a strong and healthy man most of his life. At six foot tall, he weighed 157 pounds nearly all his adult life. Dad liked to walk in his later years and often did so, even when he had a car to drive.
Dad was born in Oklahoma Territory, less than a year before Oklahoma was admitted to statehood. He was born in the township of Stella in Canadian County, Oklahoma about ten miles east of Norman, Oklahoma. He is buried with my grandparents and brother in Tecumseh Cemetery, half-way between Shawnee and Tecumseh.
All of these memories seem to flood back to me. I'll be going to my home town, the place of my birth, the place where I graduated from high school, in a few weeks. I don't usually go to the cemetery (I like to remember people alive), but I probably will go out there this time. I want to see the gravestone. I likely will see the burial places of some other relatives--some kinfolk I never knew: my brother and my grandfather. When I find dad's stone, I'll also find my grandma Booth. Mom will be buried there beside dad, but not soon I pray.
2008 marks the 90th year since my grandparents and their family obeyed the gospel at the Central Church of Christ in Shawnee. The building was located on Union Street in those days instead of the fine edifice at 10th and Bell.
I am to preach at Central on October 5-8, and nothing in quite some time has kindled all the feelings that going home seems to stir in my soul. While I am there I will tell the story of William Lee and Rebecca Sanders and of Curtis G. Booth. I love to tell these stories, and they are Shawnee stories. Just thinking of them brings a little tear to my eyes.
My dad was not a perfect man, but he was "faithful in a few things." Orphaned at 12, driven from home at 14, he suffered many lonely hardships with his brother Hill. Dad had his oldest daughter kidnapped from him in early adulthood; he did not see her again for more than 30 years. Dad was among the first five men in Pottawatomie County to be drafted at the onset of World War II. He rose to the rank of sergeant and trained soldiers to shoot artillery. He went to the island of Luzon in the Philippines, where he saw violent action. When dad came home from the war, he never wanted a gun in the house.
My mom, who obeyed the gospel at the age of 16 in Shawnee, was the best thing that ever happened to my dad. Though they lost a son, my brother Richard, mom and dad loved each other dearly. They were good parents and did the best they could in many ways. Dad smoked for many years until he learned that smoking was harmful. He laid down his pipe and never took it up again (he didn't want his boys to smoke).
Mom and Dad wanted to be sure that we were Christians, so in the year 1967 we began attending Dale Church of Christ, where Hill and Alice went. Dad wanted us to have some training. I still treasure friends I made there. Danny Fredman and I still email at least once weekly. I preached my first sermon there at the age of 16 in 1968. They let me do Wednesday night devotionals as well. I remember hearing Steve Bracken preach, and I knew that's what I wanted to do! Mom and Dad always encouraged me. I don't think I would be preaching today if they had not gotten us involved in church at this critical time in my life.
Dad baptized a few folks, preached some sermons, and wrapped Bibles for World Bibles for Christ. He and Mom were very involved in their later days at Northridge, and I am thankful for the service they gave.
I hope to see a lot of loved ones and old friends at Central in October. I remember hearing such great preaching there when I was young--Richard Black, Perry Cotham, and others. A sweet sister who helped me gave me a tape of Alan Highers in 1970. Alan preached a sermon on the tape entitled, "Five Minutes After Death." That was the most powerful sermon I had ever heard up to that time. It still is. I will preach that sermon Wednesday, Oct. 8. I've preached it no less than 100 times over the last 35 years. Little could I imagine what good friends Alan and I have become in these later years and how often we have labored together in the Spiritual Sword.
Going back to your roots reminds you who you are, whose you are, and where you belong. Shawnee is home--Louisa, Kickapoo, Harrison, and Broadway are streets that fill me with memories. Long before the mall there was downtown. I remember Jr. High across the street from a 12 cent hambuger place with a Scottish name (but not McDonald's). I remember high school on Union St (not out by the football field). I remember Jim Thorp Stadium and 5-cent taffy.
Dad didn't have much of anything to impart to me or my siblings, except a faith that leads to eternal life that is far more precious than gold or jewels. For my part, I am glad I received the greater, for the rest just doesn't matter.
with love and appreciation,
Phil
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Good reports
I have had several reports from a couple of states that people are being baptized following their study of the "Upon the Rock Bible Studies." They are free online, and you may copy them as much as you desire. Brian Gregory up in Kentucky, a prisoner minister Larry Ware in Oklahoma, Roderic Armstrong and Charles Howard from Nashville School of Preaching all report baptisms this year using the studies. I have also taught three and baptized two recently using them. Go to the link www.God-answers.org, click on online tools, and then go to the "Upon the Rock" section.
I pray many more souls will be won.
kindly,
Phil
I pray many more souls will be won.
kindly,
Phil
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Deceptive Sin leads to atheism
I teach a course in Christian Evidences at Amridge University, an accredited school that offers everything from an Associate Degree to a Doctor of Philosophy in Bible. I found this quotation in the textbook I thought worth sharing, considering the comment I made August 11 on "Rebellion and Amorality":
J. Budziszewski, a repentant former atheist says:
"Not many people disbelieve in God and then begin to sin; most atheists adopt some favorite sin and then find reasons to disbelieve in God. In this common sequence of intellectual events, an individual does not begin by denying God or even by denying moral law. Rather, he begins by denying a part of the moral law, perhaps even a single moral law. Perhaps he denies only the precept of chastity--that sex is a privilege of a marital union. Perhaps he denies only the precept of fidelity--that vows are to be kept. Perhaps he denies only the precept of filial reverence--that parents are to be held in respect. Or perhaps he denies only the precept of justice--that one must not seek unfair advantage."
He further argues:
"One eventually loses control of the 'no to just a part' gambit because it is impossible to reject just a part of the moral law. To affirm that the unitive and procreative power of sexuality may be used outside of matrimony is to deny a great many things about human nature besides. To affirm that a vow may be broken is to call into question the very idea of personal responsibility. To deny to one's parents their due respect is to reject the chain of obligation that links all generations. To maintain that one may seek unfair advantage is to unleash the gods of the jungle." ("Why I Am Not an Atheist" in Why I Am a Christian, ed. by Norman Geisler, 57).
Deception breeds deception, and self-deception breeds more self-deception. One lie must cover up another, until an individual is blind to his own soul and to his own God.
Sin breeds thanklessness and dishonor to God (Rom. 1:18-21). We must be aware that all sin has a vulnearability to self-deception.
Think about it,
Phil
J. Budziszewski, a repentant former atheist says:
"Not many people disbelieve in God and then begin to sin; most atheists adopt some favorite sin and then find reasons to disbelieve in God. In this common sequence of intellectual events, an individual does not begin by denying God or even by denying moral law. Rather, he begins by denying a part of the moral law, perhaps even a single moral law. Perhaps he denies only the precept of chastity--that sex is a privilege of a marital union. Perhaps he denies only the precept of fidelity--that vows are to be kept. Perhaps he denies only the precept of filial reverence--that parents are to be held in respect. Or perhaps he denies only the precept of justice--that one must not seek unfair advantage."
He further argues:
"One eventually loses control of the 'no to just a part' gambit because it is impossible to reject just a part of the moral law. To affirm that the unitive and procreative power of sexuality may be used outside of matrimony is to deny a great many things about human nature besides. To affirm that a vow may be broken is to call into question the very idea of personal responsibility. To deny to one's parents their due respect is to reject the chain of obligation that links all generations. To maintain that one may seek unfair advantage is to unleash the gods of the jungle." ("Why I Am Not an Atheist" in Why I Am a Christian, ed. by Norman Geisler, 57).
Deception breeds deception, and self-deception breeds more self-deception. One lie must cover up another, until an individual is blind to his own soul and to his own God.
Sin breeds thanklessness and dishonor to God (Rom. 1:18-21). We must be aware that all sin has a vulnearability to self-deception.
Think about it,
Phil
Monday, September 01, 2008
When a family member sins?
What do conservative Christians do when people fail? They understand, they forgive, and they show compassion. They follow Jesus. Jesus understood, forgave, and showed compassion. What they don't do is act like sin isn't sin. Christians treat sin as sin and forgive the sinner. Forgiveness means they don't hold the sin against the sinner.
If you listen to the critics of the faith, you would think that they are ready to stone the seventeen-year-old daughter of Sarah Palin. But the conservative Christian leaders didn't. Some progressives, postmoderns, and liberals and media love to point the finger at anyone whom they think is a conservative as judgmental. They label such people as self-righteous and hateful toward sinners... what is interesting is how the liberals never let a failure go, while conservatives know how to forgive. What is amazing is how judgmental the media has been and how kind Christians and conservatives have been.
(But you see, one is only judgmental when one is conservative. Liberals don't judge other liberals; they just judge conservatives--but judging conservatives isn't judgmental; it is broadminded. Hmmm! How self-serving.)
The liberal, progressive media wanted so badly to label Gov. Palin as a hypocrite because she backed abstinence as a way to combat teen pregnancy.
As the father of four daughters, I grew to realize that my daughters (as good as they were) were not perfect; but no matter what they did, I loved them and supported them. How could I do otherwise?
Those who do not hold God highly would rather dismiss or ignore sin. They leave it unconfessed and unresolved. To them it is not an issue. Their amorality, however, comes back to bite them. There is always a payday for unresolved sin, whether they want to admit it or not. Paul said about unresolved sin: "a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough." When sin is not treated as an evil and resolved then it spreads. That's what has happened in our postmodern (unwilling to condemn) world.
A Christian confesses sin and finds resolution to sin in forgiveness. The Lord's way works; other ways fail to deal with sin. The cross and the love of God forgives sin and leads the way out. The liberal way of denying there is a moral issue is utter foolishness.
thinking
Phil
If you listen to the critics of the faith, you would think that they are ready to stone the seventeen-year-old daughter of Sarah Palin. But the conservative Christian leaders didn't. Some progressives, postmoderns, and liberals and media love to point the finger at anyone whom they think is a conservative as judgmental. They label such people as self-righteous and hateful toward sinners... what is interesting is how the liberals never let a failure go, while conservatives know how to forgive. What is amazing is how judgmental the media has been and how kind Christians and conservatives have been.
(But you see, one is only judgmental when one is conservative. Liberals don't judge other liberals; they just judge conservatives--but judging conservatives isn't judgmental; it is broadminded. Hmmm! How self-serving.)
The liberal, progressive media wanted so badly to label Gov. Palin as a hypocrite because she backed abstinence as a way to combat teen pregnancy.
As the father of four daughters, I grew to realize that my daughters (as good as they were) were not perfect; but no matter what they did, I loved them and supported them. How could I do otherwise?
Those who do not hold God highly would rather dismiss or ignore sin. They leave it unconfessed and unresolved. To them it is not an issue. Their amorality, however, comes back to bite them. There is always a payday for unresolved sin, whether they want to admit it or not. Paul said about unresolved sin: "a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough." When sin is not treated as an evil and resolved then it spreads. That's what has happened in our postmodern (unwilling to condemn) world.
A Christian confesses sin and finds resolution to sin in forgiveness. The Lord's way works; other ways fail to deal with sin. The cross and the love of God forgives sin and leads the way out. The liberal way of denying there is a moral issue is utter foolishness.
thinking
Phil
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
If My Friend Were Not a Christian
Nearly all of us have friends who have not become Christians. Some may not have attended church at all; others may have stopped attending several years ago. What can we do to help bring a lost soul to Christ.
First, begin praying earnestly for your friend that God will open a door for your friend to hear the gospel (Col. 4:2-4). Talk to God about your friend; it will help when you talk to your friend about God.
Second, prayerfully set an example of a believer before your friend (1 Cor. 11:1). Your friend will believe what he sees in you before he does what he hears from you. Your moral life, your proven faith, your sacrificing love, and your unsinkable hope will speak loudly what God has done in your life. Live such a life that people will ask you why.
Third, prayerfully remember you must earn the right to speak to people about the most critical issues of their lives. People will grant you time to speak when they know you genuinely care for them and for their souls.
Fourth, prayerfully begin by planting little seeds. A simple sentence containing profound observation or point can often be far more persuasive than a sermon. In your responses, keep God in the focus.
Fifth, prayerfully give your friend a relevant tract, a Christian periodical, an audio CD or DVD of a sermon, or a guided Bible study. Remember in today’s culture most people want to find the truth for themselves. No one wants to be told; they desire to search it out to establish their own faith. There are many valuable aids available to help them; use them (The “Upon the Rock” Bible Studies are especially effective. Download them free at www.God-answers.org).
Sixth, prayerfully invite them to a fellowship at church so they can meet other Christians. Introduce them so they feel welcome and wanted. Then, invite them to worship to hear a gospel sermon. Encourage them and enlist others to encourage them.
Seventh, prayerfully ask them to obey the gospel. If they are not ready continue working and ask again. Don’t give up, some folks take a while. In the end you’ll rejoice when they become a child of God.
Brotherly,
Phil
First, begin praying earnestly for your friend that God will open a door for your friend to hear the gospel (Col. 4:2-4). Talk to God about your friend; it will help when you talk to your friend about God.
Second, prayerfully set an example of a believer before your friend (1 Cor. 11:1). Your friend will believe what he sees in you before he does what he hears from you. Your moral life, your proven faith, your sacrificing love, and your unsinkable hope will speak loudly what God has done in your life. Live such a life that people will ask you why.
Third, prayerfully remember you must earn the right to speak to people about the most critical issues of their lives. People will grant you time to speak when they know you genuinely care for them and for their souls.
Fourth, prayerfully begin by planting little seeds. A simple sentence containing profound observation or point can often be far more persuasive than a sermon. In your responses, keep God in the focus.
Fifth, prayerfully give your friend a relevant tract, a Christian periodical, an audio CD or DVD of a sermon, or a guided Bible study. Remember in today’s culture most people want to find the truth for themselves. No one wants to be told; they desire to search it out to establish their own faith. There are many valuable aids available to help them; use them (The “Upon the Rock” Bible Studies are especially effective. Download them free at www.God-answers.org).
Sixth, prayerfully invite them to a fellowship at church so they can meet other Christians. Introduce them so they feel welcome and wanted. Then, invite them to worship to hear a gospel sermon. Encourage them and enlist others to encourage them.
Seventh, prayerfully ask them to obey the gospel. If they are not ready continue working and ask again. Don’t give up, some folks take a while. In the end you’ll rejoice when they become a child of God.
Brotherly,
Phil
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Utter Dependence
The older I grow, the more I realize how utterly dependent I am upon God. Life hands us many incredible changes, some of which we never expected. New situations challenge us to find deeper faith, deeper understanding, and deeper love to cope. Yet even with all of our training and effort, we realize our own human weakness and limits. We can't measure up on our own abilities; we utterly need God.
Paul was right when he found his sufficiency not in himself but in the Lord (2 Cor. 3:5). So must we. We aren't wise enough on our own; we aren't strong enough on our own; and we do not have the resources enough on our own to do all that God has assigned us to do. We need God's help.
It is certainly better to take up the yoke of Christ than to try to labor on our own strength. His yoke is bearable and his load is light (Matt. 11:28-30). The yoke of Christ was designed to help us bear what we could otherwise only do with great exhaustion.
It has always been interesting to me to study Paul's discussion of grace (the favor of God). While Paul realized his salvation is by grace (Eph. 2:5, 8), he also knew that his ministry was by the grace of God. God put him into place (Acts 26:18-20; 1 Tim. 1:12-16). Paul didn't earn a spot; God gave it to him and enabled and strengthened him to do the work (1 Cor. 15:8-10). Paul had this understanding that he really did not deserve the ministry he received; yet, Paul was not going to receive the grace of God in vain. He would be obedient to his heavenly calling and walk worthy of it. So should we all.
What a blessing the guidance of the Word is! What a comfort it is to engage the God of heaven in prayer! What consolation to know the Holy dwells in me, and I am never alone.
I am utterly dependent upon my Father to help me, my Lord to save me, and the Holy Spirit to strengthen me.
phil
Paul was right when he found his sufficiency not in himself but in the Lord (2 Cor. 3:5). So must we. We aren't wise enough on our own; we aren't strong enough on our own; and we do not have the resources enough on our own to do all that God has assigned us to do. We need God's help.
It is certainly better to take up the yoke of Christ than to try to labor on our own strength. His yoke is bearable and his load is light (Matt. 11:28-30). The yoke of Christ was designed to help us bear what we could otherwise only do with great exhaustion.
It has always been interesting to me to study Paul's discussion of grace (the favor of God). While Paul realized his salvation is by grace (Eph. 2:5, 8), he also knew that his ministry was by the grace of God. God put him into place (Acts 26:18-20; 1 Tim. 1:12-16). Paul didn't earn a spot; God gave it to him and enabled and strengthened him to do the work (1 Cor. 15:8-10). Paul had this understanding that he really did not deserve the ministry he received; yet, Paul was not going to receive the grace of God in vain. He would be obedient to his heavenly calling and walk worthy of it. So should we all.
What a blessing the guidance of the Word is! What a comfort it is to engage the God of heaven in prayer! What consolation to know the Holy dwells in me, and I am never alone.
I am utterly dependent upon my Father to help me, my Lord to save me, and the Holy Spirit to strengthen me.
phil
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Sometimes life is defined by what you will not do
I am learning a lot about character this week. I have seen it in a group of men whom I love and share much. They are my shepherds.
Over these years I have witnessed their prayers, their tears, their service to the family of God at Concord Rd., and their obvious love for God and each other.
Many people love the thought of leadership. When everything is good and easy, leadership is desired; but when life and decisions get hard, leadership can be excruciatingly difficult. I have learned over these last thirteen years to appreciate the eldership beyond measure. My elders have allowed me to set in on their meetings, to voice my concerns and thoughts, and to share in their prayers for the congregation. I have seen them in all seasons, and my respect could not be greater for their sacrifices and their utter concern for the welfare of the congregation.
Elders can't tell everything they know. Sometimes they make decisions people don't understand or approve. I can tell you, they make these decisions often with great thought and prayer. Sometimes members need to step back from the easy criticism and simply trust. They aren't telling you everything, because they are protecting someone or helping someone. They are willing to bear the brunt of criticism (much of it unfair) in order to see the will of God done and a brother or sister protected. Give them a break.
Elders and all leaders have to give an account for the flock. Let me say here that Hebrews 13:7 and 13:17 says "leaders" not "elders." The word leader certainly includes "elders" but may not fully be limited to just them. That burden weighs on their hearts, every soul of the flock.
Pray for your elders and encourage them. It will bless their hearts.
phil
Over these years I have witnessed their prayers, their tears, their service to the family of God at Concord Rd., and their obvious love for God and each other.
Many people love the thought of leadership. When everything is good and easy, leadership is desired; but when life and decisions get hard, leadership can be excruciatingly difficult. I have learned over these last thirteen years to appreciate the eldership beyond measure. My elders have allowed me to set in on their meetings, to voice my concerns and thoughts, and to share in their prayers for the congregation. I have seen them in all seasons, and my respect could not be greater for their sacrifices and their utter concern for the welfare of the congregation.
Elders can't tell everything they know. Sometimes they make decisions people don't understand or approve. I can tell you, they make these decisions often with great thought and prayer. Sometimes members need to step back from the easy criticism and simply trust. They aren't telling you everything, because they are protecting someone or helping someone. They are willing to bear the brunt of criticism (much of it unfair) in order to see the will of God done and a brother or sister protected. Give them a break.
Elders and all leaders have to give an account for the flock. Let me say here that Hebrews 13:7 and 13:17 says "leaders" not "elders." The word leader certainly includes "elders" but may not fully be limited to just them. That burden weighs on their hearts, every soul of the flock.
Pray for your elders and encourage them. It will bless their hearts.
phil
Charlie Egolf passed today
Lynn, his daughter called me at 11 am to let me know of Charlie's passing into eternity. He was a wonderful friend, mentor, and brother in Christ. I will miss him greatly.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Rebellion and Amorality
I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics, he is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do, or why his friends should not seize political power and govern in the way that they find most advantageous to themselves…For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political.
The freedom to live any way one desires often causes people to deny Jesus and to embrace atheism and evolution. For Huxley, the theory of evolution had to be true for moral reasons, not scientific ones. Robert Morey observed, “The moral implications of creation would be too dreadful to bear” (The New Atheism 35).
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Charles Egolf
For thirteen years, Charles Egolf has been my next-door neighbor. He has been the best neighbor a fellow could ask for. He was far more than a neighbor. Often, he was like a father to me. He knew so much about so many things after more than 80 years of life. But even tonight his mind was sharp and his attitude full of love, joy, and hope.
Mr. Egolf, so I have always called him. Mrs. Egolf once got after me for not calling him Charlie; but I never could quite do that. In my mind, he was MR. Egolf. I respected him so. Mr. Egolf was a Marine, one of the most highly decorated officers in Williamson Co. for his service in World War II.
While his attitude was always superb, full of life and full of goodness, Mr. Egolf had only been a Christian for a couple of years. Tonight he told me that he never felt alone since he came into the church. (He lost his good wife a few years ago.) Mr. Egolf frequently went with me to Nashville School of Preaching. He loved Bible study and loved the other students at the school. I will always treasure the 20 minutes we had together in the car going up to the school and especially the twenty minutes we had coming home. We had marvelous conversations; he always encouraged me.
Mr. Egolf is in ICU at Williamson Medical Center with less than twenty percent lung capacity, and that is declining. He does not anticipate ever leaving the hospital.
Mr. Egolf saw things very clearly. He was exceptionally wise. An avid reader, he built three bookcases for all the books he'd read in recent years. He loved the Lord, loved the church, and loved people. He was the most loved man on our block. Everyone knew him and loved him. He knew everyone by their first name and looked out for all of us. He saw the love in Christ, and that helped him through the intellectual struggles of coming to faith. He saw the forgiveness in Christ and longed for unity among brothers.
Mr. Egolf, I love you.
phil
Mr. Egolf, so I have always called him. Mrs. Egolf once got after me for not calling him Charlie; but I never could quite do that. In my mind, he was MR. Egolf. I respected him so. Mr. Egolf was a Marine, one of the most highly decorated officers in Williamson Co. for his service in World War II.
While his attitude was always superb, full of life and full of goodness, Mr. Egolf had only been a Christian for a couple of years. Tonight he told me that he never felt alone since he came into the church. (He lost his good wife a few years ago.) Mr. Egolf frequently went with me to Nashville School of Preaching. He loved Bible study and loved the other students at the school. I will always treasure the 20 minutes we had together in the car going up to the school and especially the twenty minutes we had coming home. We had marvelous conversations; he always encouraged me.
Mr. Egolf is in ICU at Williamson Medical Center with less than twenty percent lung capacity, and that is declining. He does not anticipate ever leaving the hospital.
Mr. Egolf saw things very clearly. He was exceptionally wise. An avid reader, he built three bookcases for all the books he'd read in recent years. He loved the Lord, loved the church, and loved people. He was the most loved man on our block. Everyone knew him and loved him. He knew everyone by their first name and looked out for all of us. He saw the love in Christ, and that helped him through the intellectual struggles of coming to faith. He saw the forgiveness in Christ and longed for unity among brothers.
Mr. Egolf, I love you.
phil
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Emerging Church Movement
I encourage you to read my article in the July issue of the Gospel Advocate on the emerging church. I wanted to give you just one quote from the article.
Luke 9:23-24 says: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"
Christians who expect to be saved follow Christ and teach others to follow Christ. He is the way the truth and the life. There is no other way to heaven. Making a Buddhist a better Buddhist grants no access to the blood of Jesus. Jesus died for all, but he did not sacrifice himself to leave people in error.
Now, having said that, I must wonder why a Christian University associated with our brethren would invite Bruce McLaren to their campus to lecture to their students?
Amazed at how far some have drifted,
Phil
Brian McLaren, an emerging church leader said,
I don’t believe making disciples must equal making adherents to the Christian religion. It may be advisable in many (not all!) circumstances to help people become followers of Jesus and remain within their Buddhist, Hindu or Jewish contexts … rather than resolving the paradox via pronouncements on the eternal destiny of people more convinced by or loyal to other religions than ours, we simply move on … To help Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and everyone else experience life to the full in the way of Jesus (while learning it better myself), I would gladly become one of them (whoever they are, to whatever degree I can, to embrace them, to join them, to enter into their world without judgment but with saving love as mine has been entered by the Lord (A Generous Orthodoxy, 260, 262, 264).
If McLaren believed that Buddhists, Hindus, and Jews were lost, he would lead them to Christ and not just try to improve their present religion. But you see, he doesn't think that what Jesus said in Scripture (Jn 14:6) is true or should be pressed on anyone. Emergents don't criticize, they connect. And how do they connect? By compromise, by disbelief in the one true way, and by accommodation to the world. There is "one faith" and only one faith. There is one Savior and only one Savior. To leave others in the domain of darkness is neither faithful to Christ nor loving to people.Luke 9:23-24 says: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"
Christians who expect to be saved follow Christ and teach others to follow Christ. He is the way the truth and the life. There is no other way to heaven. Making a Buddhist a better Buddhist grants no access to the blood of Jesus. Jesus died for all, but he did not sacrifice himself to leave people in error.
Now, having said that, I must wonder why a Christian University associated with our brethren would invite Bruce McLaren to their campus to lecture to their students?
Amazed at how far some have drifted,
Phil
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Division in the Church of England
This article appeared July 1, 2008, in The Times, published in England. Apparently, the Church of England is in the midst of a division over right and wrong. Religion correspondent Ruth Gledhill writes:
Churches of Christ are not the only ones to be facing the great crisis of conviction. It seems that these battles are everywhere present as the culture of the world changes.More than 1,300 clergy, including 11 serving bishops, have written to the archbishops of Canterbury and York to say that they will defect from the Church of England if women are consecrated bishops. As the wider Anglican Communion fragments over homosexuality, England’s established Church is moving towards its own crisis with a crucial vote on women bishops this weekend.
Of the 1,333 clergy who signed the protest letter, 60 per cent are serving clergy. Among the retired bishops is the former Bishop of Chichester, the Right Rev Eric Kemp. Some women deacons have also joined the protest. The traditionalists write: “We will inevitably be asking whether we can, in conscience, continue to minister as bishops, priests and deacons in the Church of England . . . We do not write this in a spirit of making threats or throwing down gauntlets. Rather, we believe that the time has come to make our concerns plain, so that the possible consequences of a failure to make provision which allows us to flourish and to grow are clear.”
Phil
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
A Conviction Crisis
“Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:41-42)
“For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord
Jesus.” (Acts 21:13-14)
Jesus and Paul demonstrated their deep conviction and devotion to God by their willingness to suffer and die to do the will of God. Many early Christians like Stephen and James gave their lives for the cause of Christ. One wonders if American Christians today would sacrifice their lives for the Lord.“For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord
Jesus.” (Acts 21:13-14)
According to the U.S. Religious Landmark Survey published last week by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, there are a number of puzzles about religious convictions in America and in the churches of Christ.
While 98% of members of churches of Christ and 88% of all Americans are certain or fairly certain of God’s existence, while 96% of members of churches of Christ and 82% of all Americans say their faith is very or somewhat important to them, and while 94% of members of churches of Christ and 81% of all Americans prayed to God at least a few times this month, far fewer showed strong convictions in their beliefs and practice. For instance, only 73% of members of the churches of Christ attended church at least once in the last month (compared to 54% of all Americans).
Only 39% of members of the church of Christ would say their religion is the one true faith leading to eternal life, while 56% said many religions lead to eternal life. I read this fact broken-hearted. Do brethren doubt what Jesus said in John 14:6 and what Peter said in Acts 4:12? Are there not one gospel, one body, one faith, and one baptism?
Among members of the church of Christ 35 percent felt abortion should be legal in all or most cases (compared to 51% of all Americans). Among churches of Christ 31 percent felt homosexuality should be accepted (compared to 50% of all Americans). Why this lack of conviction? Why does our profession of faith in Christ not also pertain to beliefs and practice?
Among all Americans only 29% rely mainly on their religious beliefs for guidance regarding right and wrong. Most trust their personal experiences. Why do people inside and outside the church compromise their convictions? They do so because they are listening to man and the culture but not to God.
We need conviction if we are to pass our faith on to the next generation. We can no longer sit silently while the world succeeds in the decay of our faith and morals. Let us speak up for the Lord with love. Let’s help people to see that God’s way is the right way and the best way. Let’s not let a crisis of compromised convictions destroy us.
Phil.
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