Blame It on the Spirit

For many years the evangelical world has believed the Holy Spirit operated directly upon their hearts, not only in bringing about salvation but also in day-to-day guidance. How often one might see in religious literature phrases that suggest the Holy Spirit spoke directly to someone or impressed on his heart to pursue a particular course.
Even among churches of Christ, we are seeing churches turning from the truth to error, supposedly at the prompting of the Holy Spirit. An eldership recently wrote a letter to the members of the congregation explaining why they were going to use instrumental music in one of their worship services. They said:

In the last few months we have been led by the Spirit to believe that as one of our tools we need to offer a second service, a service which will include a blend of a cappella and instrumental music. We realize that this is a break from our tradition and that many of you are struggling with this, but we have witnessed the Spirit’s great movement in the Wednesday evening college worship, a worship service with instrumental worship. Where God is moving, we seek to join Him, even if that entails some departure from our tradition. We believe Jesus gave us this pattern in John 5:19 (“The son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing”). …

We have spent considerable time inquiring of God and feel led by His Spirit to pursue the goal we set forth for 2009 and to utilize the implementation of two services as one of the tools for reaching this goal. We ask you to walk with us as we strive to walk with God.

It is indeed hard for me to imagine that the Holy Spirit led them to act divisively by adding a worship activity they knew would violate the conscience of some. While the elders recognized a cappella music as a tradition, they seem oblivious to the fact that it was a divine tradition—a tradition of the Holy Spirit himself. Nor do they recall that neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit would speak new teachings or make new practices not instructed by the Father (John 12:49-50; 16:12-13).
Of course the evidence for their change is not what the Holy Spirit has caused to be written in Scripture but their own observations. They do not tell how they know that the Spirit was moving. We wonder how they knew the Spirit was moving on the college class in their use of the instrument, when there is no record of any church in the first century using an instrument. Did they hear speaking in tongues at they did at the house of Cornelius or at Ephesus? Did they see miracles?
If the Holy Spirit guided the apostles into all the truth in the first century (and He did—John 16:13; this the promise of Jesus), why didn’t the Spirit reveal the need to use the instrument in the New Testament? Why didn’t the early church, who was guided into all truth, understand they were to use the instrument? Why are the members of the congregation being asked to rely on the findings of the elders but given no Scriptural precedence for the practice?
Those who are bringing the Spirit to bear into what they are doing often ignore the all-sufficiency of the Scriptures. They forget the Scriptures claim they are inspired and complete. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If Christianity had all truth and was equipped for every good work in the first, we will not see any new truth or need any further equipping in the 21st century. “All” and “every” means “all” and “every”; not “all,” except when I feel moved.
People today are using phrases such as “the Spirit led me to…,” “the Holy Spirit impressed on my heart to…,” or “the Sprit prompted me to…” to justify their own choices and directions. Such subjective assertions are often more a statement of what they desire than of what the Spirit has revealed.
The argument that they use to justify the instrument is also the argument women who want to preach use to deny the teaching of 1 Corinthians 14:34 and 1 Timothy 2:10-11. It is the argument the emerging church people use to try to reinvent Christianity.
The Holy Spirit is not in the innovation business. Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit only speaks and acts what He hears from the Father. We are now to contend for the faith, which was once for all time delivered to the saints, not innovate and reinvent Christianity.

In the days of Jeremiah, some false prophets were always claiming to speak “the word of the Lord.” Jeremiah said:
Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”
For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? (Jer. 23:16-18)

“I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.
But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds.” (23:21-22)

Jeremiah spoke of prophets who were convinced God had spoken to them but the vision came from their own hearts and minds. God did not speak to them; they weren’t listening to God. They spoke out of their own imagination.
To blame the Spirit and say He moved us to innovate, to originate our own beliefs and practices, is ignorant and dishonoring to the Holy Spirit. Don’t blame the Spirit; obey the Spirit who spoke in Scripture (1 Thess. 4:8). Do not go beyond the teaching of Scripture. Only in this way will you imitate the Son and Spirit.

Phil

Hunger for Righteousness

"Nobody's interested in that." That's what I heard about doctrinal matters of the church. People simply aren't interested in doctrinal things; they want preaching and teaching that meet felt needs.

Well, I beg to differ. "The Affirming the Faith" Seminar in OKC was filled and overflowing. The open forum in Cleburne over the Emerging Church Movement was full of folks, young and old. The lecture and Q & A session I did Thursday night on Instrumental Music in Wagoner, OK filled every pew in the auditorium with people, young and old.

Is there a hunger for truth? Yes. People have not stopped thinking about what pleases God, and they are willing to hear "doctrinal" preaching. The belief that people are interested anymore speaks more about those who say such things than it does about reality. People are interested in what the Bible teaches, because they are interested in God.

Truth matters to God, and it should matter to us. Preachers should get out their sermons on doctrinal matters and preach them. They might be surprised at the people's reactions.

Starving folks makes 'em hungry; and much of religion today is empty of distinctive truth.

phil

Welcome and Wanted

I am working very hard right now on a weekend seminar called "Welcome and Wanted." (All my loved ones at Concord Rd are likely to smile at this point or laugh!)

The purpose of the seminar is to stir churches to greater outreach to the lost. As you know, the 2009 Directory of the Churches of Christ showed that we are indeed on a plateau and not growing as we should. Many congregations do not have the motivation or the tools they need to reach out to the lost. I am hoping to stir them up to reach out once again.

I found while teaching courses in Church Growth that many churches have no plan at all to reach the lost. Many congregations have not seen a single baptism in the last year or two. Some congregations haven't seen a baptism is several years. We can and must do better than this.

I have weekends free in the coming years and would love to come to your congregation and present this material and to tell you of the great work of In Search of the Lord's Way and how it can help your local congregation.

Most of our viewers are NOT members of the church.

You can reach me at phil@searchtv.org or at 405-348-3242.

kindly,
phil

Rules

There is something within all of us that doesn't like rules. We don't like being “told” to do something or to refrain from doing something. Perhaps we don't like rules because we don't like the consequences of breaking rules. Disobedience to rules brings discipline, punishment, disappointment, and pain. We know that when we disobey the rules we have to face the authority behind the rules. Rules are at heart bound up in relationship. We do not break rules; we are breaking the authority of the one who made the rules.
Sin is not simply the transgression of the law; it is the transgression of God's law. When we break God's rules, we break God's will and break from his favor. Isaiah reminds us:

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear. (Isaiah 59:1-2)

One who looks long at the cross realizes that sin breaks God's will and his heart. God grieved at the continually evil heart found in the people of Noah's day (Genesis 6:5-7). God warns Christians not to grieve the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) by unwholesome talk or by an unforgiving spirit. Jesus grieved in his spirit to see Jerusalem rejecting God's will and refusing to embrace him as Lord (Matthew 23:37-39). You can hear the heartache of the Lord:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Rules are not some optional imperative, when they come from God. They are not suggestions. They are founded in God's own holy character. They are part of Him, and we cannot relate to Him without recognizing them.
These “rules” go to the very heart of our relationship with God. One must not confuse them with a legalistic “laundry list” proposed by power-hungry, religious zealots (Col. 2:20-23). God's rules are eternally moral and righteous; they are for our good (Deuteronomy 6:24; 10:13). They bring health of spirit and body. Those who keep them sow to life, while those who ignore them sow to corruption (Galatians 6:7-8).

Lest we forget

Exodus 1:8 "Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph."

Judges 2:10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

Sociologists say that a cultural shift takes place every four to five years, as a new generation comes along unexposed to the social forces of older adults. Many of the youngest adults can hardly remember when there were no cell phones, no cable companies, and no computers. They have lived under a president named Bush, Clinton, or Obama.

The preaching in churches of Christ has changed in the last generation. It has over time become afraid to say much of anything with conviction. Preachers preach much love but little truth, grace but little repentance, salvation but little obedience, and much on relationships but little on relating responsibly to God Himself. People speak much on believing and confuse their listeners by speaking little on what to believe.

It seems we have forgotten phrases like "the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27) and have substituted preach only "positive" messages. Such substitution is unfaithful. It seems we have forgotten the instruction to "reprove" and to "rebuke" (2 Tim. 4:2). Have we itching ears that call only for what we want and refuse what we need?

Our youngest adults in the church are confused by their leaders' constant apologizing, qualifying, and "dumbing down." Leaders speak what we believe unless someone gets offended, and then we don't believe it anymore (all of a sudden). No wonder they are confused. Young adults want conviction, and we give them apologies. Young adults aren't afraid of the truth, but some can't seem to bring themselves to admit what they believe. Our youngest adults are confused because their leaders have confused them with doublespeak and doubt in their own beliefs. Tragic.

Spineless leaders who will not speak their convictions have jettisoned their leadership to a chaotic culture. They have left a generation at the mercy of every wind that blows, because they remain untaught. Their preaching will never set this generation free from sin or error. Only the truth can do that.

I have watched a generation of our people lose its beliefs, questioning its most basic tenets. We can't say baptism is "for the remission of sins," because we know good immersed people who were saved before baptism. We can't say baptism is immersion because we know good sprinkled folks. We can't speak against women leading in worship because some good women do it. We can't speak against instruments in worship because some good people use them.

Isn't God also good? When did people count more than God? When did we feel permitted to hush God and the Scriptures so that we don't offend somebody? A new generation feels little hesitance to tell God to hush. He is utterly disrespected, made common, and demoted from His place as the one true and living God, so that we might not offend people. What if God is offended at our silence? Doesn't God matter?

How quickly a generation passes! So much change so fast is not new in history. I only pray that it will not so dilute our faith that we forget.

The Lord bless you,
phil

A Transition Indeed

I have not posted much since my move back to Oklahoma. Well I am here, and the best way to reach me is at phil@searchtv.org or to call me at Search (405)-348-3242. I moved into the house on Salem Creek Rd.

I have not taught a class or preached a sermon since Dec. 28. I guess this is the most unusual change for me. I am ready for speaking opportunities. Of course this will end at FHU, where I will speak twice. Before the week is out, I'll go to Cleburne, TX for an open forum on ECM (12:45-4:30 pm).

I am really looking forward to the Affirming the Faith Seminar in February. As soon as it finishes, I go to Rison, Ark for a gospel meeting. Early in March I'll be in Karns, TN (near Knoxville) for the ETSOP lectures.

In the meantime we tape some more of the Search programs, one this Thursday and one in February. I'm working hard to do my best on them.

Each day gets a little better. We are finding where the businesses are and how to get around. It is really nice to see old friends, though some I don't recognize at first. God is good.

phil

Concord Road church of Christ

I can hardly describe all the feelings I have about the church that has given me the pleasure of serving for these last 13 1/2 years. I have grown to love the elders and remember them with fondness: Maurice Hall, Harold Coggan, Keith Crowe, Bill Lambert, Don King, Sam Gant, Ron Thomas, Buddy Williams, Jim McGee, Mike Hammond, Steve Ellis, Jerry McCormick, Roy Arnold, and David Harper. Each of these men have a special place in my heart.

I have appreciated deeply the people I worked with Shann Jennings, Joe Wells, Ryan Daniels, Will Tidwell, and Paddy Flanagan. I have so deeply appreciated the secretaries: Nancy Smith, Helen Zemmel, Pam McGee, Emily Wilhite, Deborah Pratt, and Melissa Tolbert.

I appreciate so many deacons with whom I spent much time in planning and working on projects. They are hard workers who have a good favor from God. I thank God for so many prayers, so much good.

As they search for a new minister, may the Lord bless and keep them.

phil

Here are some pictures of the house in Edmond that we will likely purchase.

phil

Concord Rd.

Concord Rd was so very gracious to Jackie and me in giving us a wonderful send-off party as we end our time in Tennessee and begin a new work in Oklahoma. We are so blessed to have loved ones in both places.

We can hardly say enough good about Concord Rd. Our prayers of thanksgiving ascend to the Father and our hearts pray the right man will come to work with them. May the Lord bless them.

phil

A Call to America

I'm taking this transition in my life very, very seriously. They tell me that the Search program reaches every corner of America and even to the world. It airs via 84 markets, 4 satellites, 130 cable stations, radio, and internet. This program has been our brotherhood's national voice. We must keep it so and must walk worthy of the name of Jesus Christ.

Several people have said "congratulations" to me, and it is a great honor to speak on one of the three largest religious television programs in America. But, I am also very humbled to think of the awesome responsibility and the need to preach the gospel truth with love. Mack Lyon's shoes are indeed difficult to fill; but the Lord, the Edmond elders, and Mack have entrusted me with this great task. I'm beginning it with prayer, knowing I will need God now more than ever to guide, to strengthen, and to help me. I am not sufficient on my own. My sufficiency is from the Lord (2 Cor. 3:5), and I am praying the Lord will graciously supply all the things I yet lack on my own.

Now I need your prayers and ask your continued financial support for the Search program. My first program on Search will air February 1, and I'm preparing the script now. My prayer is that God will be honored and that I can have a good start with millions of people who don't know me. (The actual audience is about 60 million weekly.) If I am to be a minister and an ambassador for God, then I too must know nothing but Christ and him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2). I must be true to God, honest with the faith, and loving to people.

My task is to point people to Jesus. Like the people who heard Paul at Mar's Hill, America is full of "confliction" (yes I know this is not a word) and confusion. Our country has told God to hush to its own harm. God must not be silenced by cultural bullies. We believe it is high time to start listening to God, to seek out His Way. Jesus always pleased God (Jn. 8:29), and Paul sought to be "fully pleasing to him" (Col. 1:10). So should we. We need to be utterly grateful for God's grace by responding in faith and in repentance. The message of Jesus and Paul to the masses was "repent" (Mt. 4:17; Acts 17:30-31). Repentance is the gift America needs most. People can change, and the need for them to change in the way that pleases God is as great now as at any time.

Please devote yourselves to prayer that God will open doors for the Word (Col. 4:2-4).

With love,
Phil

Moving

Moving is a headache even under the best circumstances. The Holmes-Rahe Stress scale gives change in residence only 20 out of a possible 100 stress points, but change in responsibilities at work gets a 29! A child leaving home also rates 29. Now, Tara isn't leaving us, but we are leaving her. Then we got to add Christa, Laura, Dewayne, John, Haydn, Louise, and Ava. At 29 each! A major mortgage rates 32! I didn't see what selling a house rates, but it's got to be just as stressful.

Let's see: 20+29+232+32+32= 345!! You'll probably find Jackie and me in the looney bin or the hospital before this is over! ;-)

Saying goodbye to our church family isn't listed. Oh well, the Lord is with us (1 Pet. 5:8).

phil

House for Sale

We have put our home up for sale at 224 Kensington Pl. in Franklin. If you would like to know more about our home or someone moving to Franklin, here are the facts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgxMDUlvzrA

Jackie and I have really worked hard. Please pray a motivated buyer will come and want our house. It has a great location in a quiet neighborhood.

phil

A New Beginning

Mack Lyon and the wonderful television ministry "In Search of the Lord's Way" has invited me to come and work with them in Edmond, OK. Beginning in January 1, 2009 I will be working full-time with Search TV. You might occasionally see me in front of the camera. My new email address will be phil@searchtv.org.

I will continue to work with Amridge University and the Theological University of America. I will continue to write for Gospel Advocate, Spiritual Sword, and Think magazine.

While I will greatly miss my loved ones at Concord Rd. in Brentwood, TN, I am very excited about the opportunity to take the gospel to millions by means of television, internet, and radio. I covet your prayers, because I know I can do nothing without God's strength and guidance.

The Real Change America Needs

No greater moral change ever passed over a nation than passed over England during the years which parted the middle of the reign of Elizabeth from the Long Parliament. England became a people of the book, and that book was the Bible. It was read at churches and read at home, and everywhere its words, as they fell on ears which custom had not deadened, kindled a startling enthusiasm. As a mere literary monument, the English version of the Bible remains the noblest example of the English tongue. But far greater was the effect of the Bible on the character of the people. Elizabeth might silence or tune the pulpits, but it was impossible for her to silence or tune the great preachers of justice and mercy and truth who spoke from the Book. The whole temper of the nation felt the change. A new conception of life and of man superseded the old. A new moral and religious impulse spread through every class. (John Richard Green, A Short History of the English People)


There is a greater need today for the Word of God to permeate the lives of people in America than at any time in the history of this country. We need the guidance, the assurance, and the wisdom only God’s Word can give.

Let us read our Bibles, meditate upon its words, and fill our hearts with its messages. The word strengthens (Rom. 16:26-27), nourishes (1 Peter 2:2), purifies our souls (1 Pet. 1:22), gives us life (Jn. 6:63), and is the means of our new birth (1 Pet. 1:23).

The word of God makes the naïve wise (Ps. 19:7-11), brings light to a darkened world (Ps. 119:104), and gives us a never failing measure for truth (Jn. 8:31-32; 17:17).

Pick up your Bible and let God into your heart and your life.

Rise Up, O Men of God

Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and mind and soul and strength
To serve the King of kings.

Lift high the cross of Christ!
Tread where His feet have trod.
As brothers of the Son of Man,
Rise up, O men of God!

William Merrill wrote these stirring words in 1911, and they still call us to a nobler life of service to our great God.

Before we rise up, we must wake up. Let us wake from the slumber which dulls our senses to a lost and dying world. Heaven is calling through the gospel, and hell is real for those who refuse. This hasn't changed.

Let us wake up to the gospel message of love--which is kind and gracious because it tells the truth and gives hope. The gospel is the way out of immorality, the way out of guilt and hopelessness, and the way out of deception. Jesus is still the way, the truth, and the life. Let us wake up to what we have in Christ and who we are in Christ. Let us wake up and remember that we are nearer salvation than when we first believed.

Let us pray before we rise up. Pray for wisdom to know how to live in a world that doesn't understand or appreciate your commitment to God. Pray for strength and courage to do what is right each day. Pray for comfort; God's grace is sufficient for us. Let us ask God to forgive our weaknesses and give us a new heart full of determination to love Him.

Let us rise and take up our crosses; let walk where He walked and as He walked. Let us renew our zeal and build our fervor for the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is our true leader, and only He can take us to Heaven. Only Jesus. There is no other Lord. Let us serve from our hearts to please Him. Die to yourself and grasp His will.

Let your light shine. Speak a good word for Jesus. Refuse to be angry. Rejoice in the Lord. See your friends' burdens and help them. Never give up.

God is not unfair. He recalls the good you do (Heb. 6:7-9). Your labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). It is never in vain. The world is lost in vain pursuits (Eph. 4:17-24); its works are vanishing away (1 Jn. 2:17). But your labor in the Lord is productive of an everlasting good. Get busy.

Phil

Take a Breath

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

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

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

What?

No comment. Listen for yourself!

Check out this link:

http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?swf=http%3A//s.ytimg.com/yt/swf/cps-vfl56573.swf&video_id=4FCNKwHRCQM&rel=1&eurl=&iurl=http%3A//i1.ytimg.com/vi/4FCNKwHRCQM/default.jpg&t=OEgsToPDskLOHeN_yrKUeWv9terA4yH4&use_get_video_info=1&load_modules=1

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