Ashamed of Christ?

"...what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels." - Luke 9:25-26

I hope somebody will soon point out these verses to our supposedly Christian president, Mr. Obama. It appears that the Obama family briefly considered doing without a nativity as a means of being sensitive to those of other faiths. See here for more on that.

Now I know there are many people who deny that we are a Christian nation, and I agree with this sentiment. We are NOT a nation that abides by the teachings of the Word of God. We are, however, a nation founded upon Christian principles and a nation where the majority of people at least give lip service to Almighty God. Only a revisionist would try to deny this (and a silly revisionist at that since it would require ignoring actual historical data!). As a nation founded upon such principles, I think it is silly for us to attempt to minimize any mention of Christianity in the public realm for fear of offending those who believe differently or those who are atheist (who possess their own form of faith as well). Trust me, if we travel to Muslim nations, Islamic teachings will not be obscured for fear of offending our delicate American sensibilities. If we travel to Latin America, Catholicism will be overwhelmingly in our faces! And yet, we in America are so afraid of offending others that we have set aside our own faith in order to appease those who immigrate to our country...forgetting that it is the duty of the one coming here to assimilate to our culture and not the other way around.

The point, however, is this: We have a man who professes to be a Christian as head of our nation (though based on the lack of fruit I question the sincerity of his faith). This man was more than willing to have a Ramadan dinner with Muslims IN the white house, yet in order to appease these very Muslims and all others, he is hesitant to display a nativity? Hmm...it's okay to celebrate the beliefs of others, but not our own? That is foolishness and political correctness run amock!

Saddest of all, however, is what this means for our President. He will one day stand before the Lord and will give an account for all that he had done, is doing, and will do. If he continues to deny the Lord he claims to believe in, then the reality is that he will not be recognized by the Lord of Lords on judgment day.

Let us pray that our President comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and that he bears fruit worhty of the Master.

Brief Thoughts on Genesis 15

Those of you who know me well are aware that the book of Genesis is among my favorite books in Scripture. In addition to this, chapter 15 has to be among my favorite chapters from Genesis! The reason is quite simple...it serves to remind me of the awesome trustworthiness of God. I know that I can rely upon Him to remain true to the promises He has made; true to His covenants. And so it is that I know that my relationship with Him cannot be severed by my stupidity or by my failure to fully ignore this body of flesh in which I dwell.

Indeed, if my salvation depends on myself, then I am eternally lost! I have recently come across people who believe they are unable to sin, indeed that they are holy as God is holy. I don't share their views...the children of God sin, did not David have a man killed in order to cover up his lust? Was he not a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14)? Indeed he was. Therefore it seems to me that it was a good thing for David that God had chosen him, or David's actions would have separated him from God forever! Likewise, in my own life...I see that I am so unworthy of His mercy, of His grace. I could catalogue the number of sins I am guilty of on this day alone! Don't worry, I won't actually do so, but I hope you understand what I mean!

So yes, when I read the book of Genesis, it is such a joy to turn to Genesis 15:17 and read that "...it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces."

I could go on and on about the meaning of this verse, but I've already done so on a different post. Suffice it to say that it ranks right up there with Romans 8:38-39 as far as giving us assurance of salvation. So as I get ready to head to bed, I do so with a heart at rest.

My God is worthy of trust. For while God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

Amen!

"Christian" Chat Rooms and Discussion Boards

Well today is the last day of August and it strikes me that this has been one quick summer! I realize that as we get older time seems to speed up for us but still...

In my own life, many of you know that I have been going through quite a bit in the last couple of months. Well while the worst of that situation appears to be over, it is not completely over nor will it truly be over for the next three years! Unfortunately we live in a wicked society, but this gives me all the more reason to be in the Word and remain faithful to my God! I will not sit down to rest from the battle while the enemy indeed seeks to devour the followers of our Lord!

But aside from that quick update, my purpose in writing tonight is to share a brief thought I've had over the last few weeks. As you know from my blog, I have an account with LibraryThing (you can see the widget that shows my books on the right of my posts). Well I have catalogued all my books on theology and am seriously contemplating doing the same for my books on history and my novels. The only thing that has kept me from doing this so far has been that my widget is on this blog and I don't want my books on WW2 or my novels to show up on my blog! But I may do so anyhow and then remove the widget...we'll see. If I do leave it on the blog just don't be surprised when you start seeing Louis L'Amour novels show up from time to time! lol

Back to my thesis here though...on my LibraryThing account I joined a Christian discussion board and over the last few months I have been reaffirmed in my belief that the vast majority of those who refer to themselves as Christians are not truly saved nor do they even pretend to acknowledge that there is such a thing as the Word of God! They act like members of the Jesus Seminar, deciding for themselves what they will and what they will not believe! So many times I have attempted to engage someone in discussion about some theological point, or about some passage of Scripture in the OT and then found out that the person or persons I was communicating wth did not even believe the passage could really be real or have any possible application to our "modern" times. Only one God and one Mediator (Jesus)? Ha! I must be very arrogant to believe such a thing! Homosexuality, abortion, lust...dare I call these sins? Well I must be a very judgmental person! Does the Bible teach what I have declared? No, and if it appears to do so then it is either my misinterpretation or the Bible is wrong on the issue! After all, it was written by mere men, right?

How sad, no? Due to this, I have shaken the dust from my sandals and have decided not to engage in discussion with these groups of people. Does this mean I don't want to stand firm for Biblical Truth? Not at all. But allow me to give you an example of what my thinking is. Back when I was teaching Sunday school, one of my great joys was to present the Scripture and then discuss the passages with people. Not because I thought we could see what we "thought" the passage was saying but because my hope was to teach and to correct misunderstandings that people had about the Word. But what if someone came into my Sunday school class and denied the authority of Scripture? Or denied the doctrines of the Trinity, eternal security, Deity of Christ, etc...? I tell you honestly right now that I see no reason why in
Sunday school we need to pause the teaching in order to address these people who would voice such thoughts. I say set the question aside and meet with the person one on one later on. Sunday school is, as shocking as it may sound, for the teaching of the Believer!

If ever again it pleases my Lord to permit me to teach His Word, I will continue to teach with this foremost in my mind: there are Truth's that must be assumed. What I mean by this is that when I come before a Sunday school, I have the right to assume that those sitting with me acknowledge the basic Truth's of Christianity. For someone to say they are a Christian and deny these is for them to expose themselves for what they are: Non Believers. NOT Christians. For them, I need to present the Gospel and explain to them their need for a Savior. And this I am happy to do one on one with them. But as I've said often before, if the person devoid of faith in Jesus Christ comes into our churches and our Sunday school classes, let them listen in silence and let them ask questions of the pastor and teacher later on. And most of them do...remain silent that is. For it is my experience that those who speak up with their doubts in the midst of a class are those who wish to attack God Himself. They don't really want answers...they want to present their own worldview and mock Christianity! Fine. Let them mock it all they want, just not in the assemblage of the saints!

Can We Win the War Against Sin?

This won't be a very long post...I just wanted to quickly touch on something that Mormon President Thomas S. Monson said in his address to the LDS faithful. I read a news report about it, which you can find Here.

At any rate, the comment I want to focus on is where he says that "We [LDS] are waging a war with sin," Monson said. "But we need not despair. It is a war we can and will win." This comment pretty well sums up one of the many beliefs that separate Mormonism from Christianity...one that provides a pretty wide gulf, showing that though the Mormon may argue that s/he is a christian ("see, we have "christ" in our name!"), the sad reality is that they do not believe in one of the basic foundational truths of the Word of God...that it is Jesus that has already won the victory over sin for us!

What does the Bible say about Jesus and sin?

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29

"Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" Romans 5:18-21

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:20-22

This is merely a sampling of the verses that speak of the work of Christ in regards to sin...indeed when our Lord said in John 19:30, "It is finished!" He was speaking of the work of atonement! Guess what? The "war with sin" was ended on that very day! For He died that we might live! The wages of sin were paid in full on that day! No, dear brothers and sisters in the Lord...Monson has it very wrong when he says his faithful will win the war...such a works based mentality is what blinds people to the Truth that He is our Champion and the true Victor over sin...the Bible says that all we need to do is to repent of our sin, and if we don't we will perish! But nowhere is it even implied that we, through our own efforts, can and will defeat sin. In fact, why should we attempt to defeat that which has already been vanquished by the Lord?

Before I end this post, I want you to read this quote, which comes from the LDS website:

"To become worthy to live in Heavenly Father’s presence after this life and to receive this peace and strength, you must learn and follow the principles and ordinances of the gospel. The first principles of the gospel are faith in Jesus Christ and repentance. The first ordinances of the gospel are baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. After you learn and follow the first principles and ordinances of the gospel, you must seek to follow Christ’s example throughout the remainder of your life" [emphasis mine]

What are these ordinances?

"Ordinance: A sacred rite or ceremony performed by the power of the priesthood and intended to bless God’s children. Some ordinances, such as baptism, are essential for salvation. Other ordinances, such as administering to the sick, constitute gifts from God to His children which are not essential for salvation. Many ordinances have symbolic meaning." [emphasis mine]

Essential for salvation? A true Apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ said that "...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

Whom will you believe?

I hope and pray that while this gives you a glimpse of the deception inherent in Mormonism, it also gives you a heart for sharing the true gospel with them.

You can find the quotes I cite above here.