Okay, here it is. I am going to warn you first. I read this and was sickened, appalled, terrified and as a Christian and as a parent, extremely bothered.
I have a MySpace account. I used it to talk about my revival that I did back in October of 2007.
The church that I used to attend had a couple of little girls who liked me and they asked if I could add them as a "friend" on myspace. So, I added them. Every now and then, I send them a message just saying hi and how is the family doing. That sort of talk. I let them know I am praying for them and hope all is well for them. Since they are a part of my friends list, whenever anyone of my friends post a bulletin, I can see it on the side of my site.
I got an email this morning saying I had a message from someone, so I went to it to read the mail. When I got to my site, I noticed a new bulletin on my sidebar.
Here is what it said...
Name Date Message
Paige Jan 29, 2008 "if u were alone with me for 24 hours wat would u do?????????????
I did not like the way this looked. This girl is only 9 years old, maybe 10 by now, not sure.
I clicked on it to read the message.
if u were alone whith me for 24 hours wat would u do??????? Body: IF YOU HAD ME ALONE... LOCKED UP IN YOUR ROOM FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS & I HAD TO DO WHAT EVER YOU WANTED ME TO, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH ME? TELL ME IN MY INBOX... CUZ ITS A SECRET... THEN REPOST THIS IN YOUR BULLETIN... YOU MIGHT BE SUPRISED WITH THE RESPONSES YOU GET. THEY COULD MAKE YOU LAUGH OR EVEN SMILE .. lol IF YOU DONT REPOST THIS YOU ARE A COWARD AND IS TO AFRAID TO SEE WHO ACTUALLY LIKES YOU...........DONT BE SHY...love,paigexooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxooxoxoox
This is how little girls (and little boys) get kidnapped, sexually abused and even murdered.
This girl is from my own hometown.
I have sent a message to MySpace asking them to have it removed for her safety (as of 2pm CST it is till there)
I have sent her a personal message asking her to remove it. I told her how dangerous it was to put something like this on the Internet. I told her as a Christian, this is not the kind of things we should be doing. God wants purity, wholeness and godly behavior. This is just inviting sin to come into her life.
I have sent a messge to her pastor so he can confront her and her parents on this. I have sent a message to the mother of her best friend. I want to make sure this message gets out. I am borderline thinking of calling the police. If it is still there tomorrow, I will call them. Not to have her arrested, but to stop by the house and warn her about the dangers of something like this on the Internet. Maybe it will wake her up to the truth.
Speaking about the truth. I am going to scream this out so bear with me. I have to scream it because this also makes me sick.
PASTOR! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. YOU HAVE IGNORED SIN TOO LONG IN YOUR CHURCH. YOU HAVE TURNED A BLIND EYE FOR THE SAKE OF NOT OFFENDING ANYONE. DO YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DO NOT CONFRONT SIN? LITTLE GIRLS SEE NOTHING WRONG WITH PROMOTING SEX ON THE INTERNET. (THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME IT HAS HAPPENED IN YOUR CHURCH!) HOMOSEXUAL BOYS FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH THEIR LIFESTYLE. ADULTS THINK IT IS OKAY TO FLIP PEOPLE OFF AND JUST SAY, "I AM SO HAPPY THAT GOD FORGIVES ME WHEN I DO THAT!" WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY CHURCH DISCIPLINE IN YOUR CHURCH, YOU ARE OPENING THE DOOR FOR WEAK AND WIMPY CHRISTIANS TO LEAD THE FLOCK. YOU HAVE A HOMOSEXUAL BOY IN YOUR YOUTH GROUP AND ALL OF THE OTHER YOUTH ARE FINDING IT AS AN ACCEPTABLE THING. THEY SAY THEY DO NOT THINK GOD WILL JUDGE THEM. YOU KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THAT, DON'T YOU? AND YET YOU DO NOTHING TO CURB IT. YOU SAW THE EVIDENCE OF IT WHEN THE GROUP OF ORIGINAL MEMBERS GOT UPSET ABOUT SCRIPTURE BEING READ FROM THE PULPIT DURING PRAYER TIME! WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU ABOUT THE HEALTH OF YOUR CHURCH?
See people, when God's Word is not only preached in church, but BELIEVED, it will keep people from doing these kinds of things. When a pastor says he preaches from the Bible, and yet is unwilling to practice church discipline, he is allowing Satan a foothold in his church.
I have contacted everyone I can think of in order to get this off of myspace. The little girl is most likely going to hate me for doing this. I DON'T CARE. I care greatly about her and I will say it again and again...
If you want to show TRUE CHRISTIAN LOVE, you will say things that might make people mad. They might end up hating you. But it is a message that needs to be given. If all I did was to call her up and say, hey Paige, let's go out for a coke. I want to talk with you over the next few days about something (never mentioning what it is I want to say), what would I do, if during the next day, or even later that same day, if a man shows up at her house or at her school and kidnaps her, rapes her and kills her? Do you think it shows love to ignore the true message that needs to be given if in fact it will save her life? I tell you, when friendship evangelism started taking over our churches, we are in fact, doing the same thing. We see someone in trouble, but we fear offending them so we don't mention anything that might make them mad at us. If a blind man was headed for a cliff, would you just say, HEY, DO YOU WANT SOME COFFEE??? or would you say,
BLIND MAN, STOP RIGHT NOW! YOU ARE HEADED FOR A CLIFF AND ARE GOING TO FALL OFF!!!!!!!!
Do you think he would stop? Sure he would, he does not want to die. no one wants to die. But we know that 10 out of 10 people do die. We just don't know when. This little girl needs to hear the truth. She needs someone to step up to the plate and be a real man or woman of God and proclaim the news she needs to hear. She might reject it at first, but later on (when it matters) she will be thanking you for all eternity!
here we go again, please bear with me...
PASTORS! DO YOU NOW SEE WHY TELLING JOKES AND A BUNCH OF STORIES IS NOT THE WAY TO GO FOR A CHURCH SERVICE? DO YOU NOW SEE THAT GOD'S WORD IS TRUE AND IT IS A LAMP UNTO OUR FEET. IT WILL DIRECT OUR PATHS. WE DO NOT NEED MULTI-MEDIA AND HIP HOP MUSIC AND A LOT OF STARBUCKS COFFEE AND DONUTS. WHAT WE NEED IS GOOD OLD FASHIONED BIBLICAL PREACHING. PREACHING GOD'S LAW AND THE NEED TO REPENT OF SINS. WE NEED TO HEAR HOW TO PUT OUR TRUST AND FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST AS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR. WE NEED TO HEAR THE NEED TO BE OBEDIENT TO GOD'S WORD. AND WE NEED TO SEE PASTOR'S WHO ACTUALLY DO ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!! THAT IS WHAT IS MISSING. OBEDIENT PASTORS!!!!!!!! THEY SAY THE RIGHT THINGS, BUT THEY DO NOT DO THE RIGHT THINGS. IF YOU HAVE SIN OPENLY DISPLAYED IN YOUR CHURCH BY A LEADER OR EVEN A MEMBER, YOU NEED TO PRACTICE CHURCH DISCIPLINE. THE IDEA IS TO SET THEM APART SO THAT THEY CAN REPENT OF THEIR SINS AND COME BACK INTO THE BODY. YOUR WORDS ARE NOT EDIFYING THE BODY IF YOUR ACTIONS ARE NOT CONSISTENT WITH SCRIPTURE. HOW MANY PEOPLE DID YOU WITNESS TO TODAY? ARE YOU FULFILLING THE GREAT COMMISSION. MOST PASTOR'S I KNOW, THE ANSWER IS A BIG AND TERRIBLE NO!
Telling jokes while little children are being raped and murdered. Telling stories while teenage boys think it is okay to be gay. Wearing the coolest looking outfits so the members can say, I am glad God forgives me every time I flip someone off!! does that sound like the church that God intended? NO it does not!
Please keep this little girl (and all children who are doing the same thing) in your prayers. Please pray for the pastor's who have decided that doing things their own way is better than doing it the way Jesus did it.
Law to the proud and grace to the humble.
Oh, God, please help our little children and remove from the pulpit those pastor's who are deceiving their congregations. Remove from the pulpit those pastor's who are not obedient to your word. Those pastor's who are not truly evangelizing. Because if they do not love you enough to want to tell people about you, I have to wonder, what kind of love do they have.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Mormon video propaganda
it seems the MORMON CHURCH has taken this video off their site or it is down for the time being. I will see if I can find it elsewhere and publish it for you!
Myths about the Mormon Church explained by Steve Young (Great Great Great Grandson of Brigham Young, Steve also played in the NFL as a QB for the San Francisco 49ers)
some words used by Steve: character, resolute, charitable, generosity.
He says that today, only 14% of all mormons live in Utah (and yet, 72% of the Utah population is Mormon). He says that less than half of all mormons live in the United States.
He says they want to dispel some myths that are still out there (notice his smile as he laughs about it, deception has a way of frosting the cake so you don't know it is really a lump of manure)
Myth #1 -- Mormons practice polygamy. He says that the mormons stopped the practice of polygamy over 100 years ago. And it bothers them to know there are some "who call themselves mormons" who are still practicing it. They are not mormons (yes they are, the follow Joseph Smith as their prophet!) he also did not say "why" polygamy was done away with. Go here to find out why! POLYGAMY
Myth #2 -- Mormons are a close knit group only interested in taking care of themselves. (this topic is such a poor use of space for them. Do you notice they do not talk about supposed myths of false prophecies by their prophets? They do not talk about supposed myths that they will become gods of their own planets? They do not talk about how supposedly Jesus had three wives?
Myth #3 -- Sharlene Hawkes comes in and talks about Mormons are not Christians. Oh she has the smile down pretty good. They don't like to hear Mormon Church. The Mormon Church is filled with people who think they are Christians. The Mormon Church worships a different Jesus Christ than the one found in the Bible. I will not give them the pleasure of referring to the Mormon Church as His church. They follow a false god. She does not mention the supposed myth that the Mormon Church considers ALL Christians to be apostate!! That is you and me, brothers and sisters in Christ! They think we are apostate! And yet, they want to be just like us. They want to be called Christians too. Joseph Smith wasn't wanting that. He was proud to be a MORMON and leader of the MORMON CHURCH! She does mention geneology. How come they don't acknowledge that the Bible says we are not to do that!!??
Sad thing is, their current prophet and president just died. How sad that he did not know the One and Only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Why will they NEVER be considered Christians and what MUST they do to be Christians?
As long as they hold on to wanting to be gods themselves and as long as they profess that Joseph Smith is a TRUE prophet of God (contrary to all of his FALSE prophecies), they will not only not be called Christians, they will be headed for hell. To become Christians, they MUST renounce Mormonism. They must throw their Book of Mormon away along with all of their other man made doctrines and fully and totally accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (the TRUE Jesus of the Bible, not the fairy tale one made up in the minds of false prophets!)
If they want to make a video on supposed myths in the Mormon Church (they hate that name don't they?), yes, if they want to truly make a video on the supposed myths about the Mormon Church, then let's see them make one on blood atonement, Jesus' many wives, the angel having sex with Mary, baptism for the dead, spirit babies up in heaven and the list goes on and on. It is a church built upon lies and deceit. They won't even tell their members how much money they have. It is a very secret society and something to be feared. I will not be voting for Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon. If he can believe and be so gullible as to believe all of the lies of his own church, I do not want to trust him with my life and the life of my family. The goal of the Mormon Church is to take over the world. I know that sounds radical but their goal is to fill the whole world with Mormons. They want polygamy back so they can ensure their heavenly existance.
Don't fall to their propaganda. Satan wants you to believe it in the same manner that he has them believing it. You can tell by the undergarments they were constantly as a reminder of Lucifer, the god of this world!
Reach out to your local MORMON CHURCH, witness to them about the one and only Jesus Christ as found in the Bible. Which is the ONLY BOOK we need!
Here is a link of a bunch of other topics on the MORMON CHURCH!
Believing, Faith and Fruit by Spurgeon
A Sermon
Published on Thursday, November 26th, 1914.
Delivered by
C. H. SPURGEON,
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."—James 2:17
WHATEVER the statement of James may be, it could never have been his intention to contradict the gospel. It could never be possible that the Holy Spirit would say one thing in one place, and another in another. Statements of Paul and of James must be reconciled, and if they were not, I would be prepared sooner to throw overboard the statement of James than that of Paul. Luther did so, I think, most unjustifiably. If you ask me, then, how I dare to say I would sooner do so, my reply is, I said I would sooner throw over James than Paul for this reason, because, at any rate, we must keep to the Master himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought never to raise any questions about differences of inspiration, since they are all equally inspired, but if such questions could be raised and were allowable, it were wisdom to stick fastest to those who cling closest to Christ. Now the last words of the Lord Jesus, before he was taken up were these, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," and what was this gospel? "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved." To that, then, we must always cling, but Jesus Christ has given a promise of salvation to the baptized believer, and he has said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, and whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."
Here it is clear he promises everlasting life to all who believe in him, to all who trust in him. Now from the Master's words we will not stir, but close to his own declaration we will stand. Be assured that the gospel of your salvation as a believer, with a simple confidence in Jesus Christ, whom God raised from the dead, will save your soul, a simple and undiluted reliance upon the life and death, and resurrection, and merit, and person of Jesus Christ, will ensure to you everlasting life. Let nothing move you from this confidence: it hath great recompense of reward. Heaven and earth may pass away, but from this grand fundamental truth not one jot or tittle shall ever be moved. "He that believeth in him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the Son of God."
The fact is, James and Paul are perfectly reconcilable, and they are viewing truth from different standpoints; but whatever James may mean, I am quite confident about what Paul means, and confident about the truth of the two.
A second remark. James never intended, for a moment, nor do any of his words lead us into such a belief, that there can be any merit whatever in any good works of ours. After we have done all, if we could do all, we should only have done what we were bound to do. Surely there is no merit in a man's paying what he owes; no great merit in a servant who has his wages for doing what he is paid for. The question of merit between the creature and his Creator is not to be raised; he has a right to us; he has the right of creation, the right of preservation, the right of infinite sovereignty, and, whatever he should exact of us, we should require nothing from him in return, and, having sinned as we have all, for us to talk of salvation by merit, by our own works, is worse than vanity; it is an impertinence which God will never endure. Talk they of morals, O! thou bleeding Lamb,
The best morality is love of thee." Talk of salvation by works, and Cowper's reply seems apt: Perish the virtue, as it ought, abhorred,
And the fool with it, who insults his Lord." What James does mean, however, is this, no doubt, in brief and short, that while faith saves, it is faith of a certain kind. No man is saved by persuading himself that he is saved; nobody is saved by believing Jesus Christ died for him. That may be, or may not be, true in the sense in which he understands it. In a certain sense Christ died for all men, but since it is evident that many men are lost, Christ's dying for all men is not at all a ground upon which any man may hope to be saved. Christ died for some men in another sense, in a peculiar and special sense. No man has a right to believe that Christ peculiarly and specially died for him until he has an evidence of it in casting himself upon Christ, and trusting in Jesus, and bringing forth suitable works to evince the reality of his faith. The faith that saves is not a historical faith, not a faith that simply believes a creed and certain facts: I have no doubt devils are very orthodox; I do not know which church they belong to, though there are some in all churches; there was one in Christ's Church when he was on earth, for he said one was filled with devils; and there are some in all churches. Devils believe all the facts of revelation. I do not believe they have a doubt; they have suffered too much from the hand of God to doubt his existence! They have felt too much the terror of his wrath to doubt the righteousness of his government. They are stern believers, but they are not saved; and such a faith, if it be in us, will not, cannot, save us, but will remain to all intents and purposes a dead, inoperative faith. It is a faith which produces works which saves us; the works do not save us; but a faith which does not produce works is a faith that will only deceive, and cannot lead us into heaven. Now this evening we shall first speak a few words upon:
I. WHAT KIND OF WORKS THEY ARE WHICH ARE NECESSARY TO PROVE OUR FAITH IF IT BE A SAVING FAITH.
The works which are absolutely necessary are, in brief, these: First, there must be fruits meet for repentance, works of repentance. It is wrong to tell a man he must repent before he may trust Christ, but it is right to tell him that, having trusted Christ, it is not possible for him to remain impenitent. There never was in this world such a thing as an impenitent believer in Jesus Christ, and there never can be. Faith and repentance are born in a spiritual life together, and they grow up together. The moment a man believes he repents, and while he believes he both believes and repents, and until he shall have done with faith he will not have done with repenting. If thou hast believed, but hast never repented of thy sins, then beware of thy believing. If thou pretendest now to be a child of God, and if thou hast never clothed thyself in dust and ashes; if thou hast never hated the sins which once thou didst love: if thou dost not now hate them, and endeavour to be rid of them, if thou dost not humble thyself before God on account of them, as the Lord liveth, thou knowest nothing about saving faith, for faith puts a distance between us and sin; in a moment it leads us away from the distance between us and Christ; nearer to Christ, we are now far off from sin. But he that loves his sin, thinks little of his sin, goes into it with levity, talks of it sportively, speaks of sin as though it were a trifle, hath the faith of devils, but the faith of God's elect he never knew. True faith purges the soul, since the man now hunts after sin that he might find out the traitor that lurks within his nature; and though a believer is not perfect, yet the drift of faith is to make him perfect; and if it is faith to be perfected, the believer shall be perfected, and then shall he be caught up to dwell before the throne. Judge yourselves, my hearers. Have you brought forth the fruits of repentance? If not, your faith without them is dead.
Works of secret piety are also essential to true faith. Does a man say I believe that Jesus died for me, and that I hope to be saved, and does he live in a constant neglect of private prayer? Is the Word of God never read? Does he never lift up his eye in secret with "My Father, be thou the guide of my youth"? Has he no secret regard in his heart to the Lord his God, and does he hold no communion with Christ his Saviour, and is there no fellowship with the Holy Spirit? Then how can faith dwell in such a man? As well say that a man is alive when he does not breathe, and in whom the blood does not circulate, as to say that a man is a believer with living faith who does not draw near to God in prayer, that does not live indeed under the awe and fear of the Most High God as ever present, and seeing him in all places. Judge yourselves, ye professors. Are ye neglecting prayer; have ye no secret spiritual life? If so, away with your notion about saving faith. You are not justified by such a faith as that; there is no life in it; it is not a faith that leads to the Lamb and brings salvation; if it were, it would show itself by driving you to your knees, and making you lift up your heart to the Most High.
Another set of works are those which I may call works of obedience. When a man trusts in Jesus, he accepts Jesus as his Master. He says, "Show me what thou wouldst have me to do." The Father shows what Christ would have him to do. He does not set up his own will and judgment, but he is obedient to his Master's will. I will not tonight speak of those who know not their Lord's will, who shall be beaten with few stripes, but I do fear me there are some professors who are living in wilful neglect of known Christian duties, and yet suppose themselves to be the partakers of saving faith. Now a duty may be neglected, and yet a man may be saved; but a duty persistently and wilfully neglected, may be the leak that will sink the ship, or the neglect of any one of such duties for the surrender of a true heart to Christ does not go such and such a length and then stop. Christ will save no heart upon terms and conditions; it must be an unconditional surrender to his government if thou wouldest be saved by him. Now some will draw a line here, and some will draw a line there up to this, and say, "I will be Christ's servant"; that is to say, sir, you will be your own master, for that is the English of it; but the true heart that hath really believed saith, "I will make haste, and delay not to keep thy commandments; make straight the path before my feet, for thy commandments are not grievous." "I have delighted in thy commandments more than in fine gold." Now, sons and daughters of sin, professedly, what say you to this? Have you an eye to the Master, as servants keep their eye to their mistress? Do you ever ask yourselves what would Christ have you to do? or do you live habitually in the neglect of Christ's law and will? Do you go to places where Christ would not meet you, and where you would not like to meet with him? Are some of you in the habit of professing maxims and customs, upon which you know your Lord would never set his seal? You say you believe, you have faith in him? Ah! sirs, if it be a living faith, it will be an obedient faith.
Living faith produces what I shall call separating works. When a man believes in Jesus, he is not what he was nor will he consort with those who were once his familiars. Our Lord has said, "Ye are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." Now Christ was not an ascetic; he ate and drank as other men do so that they even said of him a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber, because he mingled with the rest of mankind; but was there ever a more unearthly life than the life of Christ? He seems to go through all the world a complete man in all that is necessary to manliness, but his presence is like the presence of a seraph amongst sinners. You can discover at once that he is not of their mould, nor of their spirit, only harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. Now such will the believer be if his faith be genuine, but this is a sharp cut to some professors, but not a whit more sharp than the Scripture warrants. If we are of the world, what can we expect but the world's doom in the day of the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ? If ye find your pleasure with the world, you shall meet your condemnation with the world; if with the world you live, with the world you shall die, and with the world you shall live again for ever, lost. Where there is no separation there is no grace. If we are conformed to this world, how dare we talk about grace being in our souls; and if there be no distinguishing difference between us and worldlings, what vanity it is, what trifling, what hypocrisy, what a delusion for us to come to the Lord's table, talking about being the Lord's sons, when we are none of his? Faith without the works which denote the difference between a believer and a worldling is a dead, unsaving faith.
Now I have not said that any believer is perfect. I have never thought so, but I have said that if a believer could be a believer altogether, and faith could have her perfect work, he would be perfect, and that in proportion as he is truly a believer, in that proportion he will bring forth fruit that shall magnify God and prove the sincerity of his faith.
One other set of works will be necessary to prove the vitality of his faith, namely, works of love. He that loves Christ feels that the love of Christ constraineth him; he endeavours to spread abroad the knowledge of Christ; he longs to win jewels for Christ's crown; he endeavours to extend the boundaries of Christ's and Messiah's kingdom, and I will not give a farthing for the loftiest profession coupled with the most flowing words, that never shows itself in direct deeds of Christian service. If thou lovest Christ, thou canst not help serving him. If thou believest in him, there is such potency in what thou believest, such power in the grace which comes with believing, that thou must serve Christ; and if thou servest him not, thou art not his.
This proof, before we leave it, might be illustrated in various ways. We will just give one. A tree has been planted out into the ground. Now the source of life to that tree is at the root, whether it hath apples on it or not; the apples would not give it life, but the whole of the life of the tree will come from its root. But if that tree stands in the orchard, and when the springtime comes there is no bud, and when the summer comes there is no leafing, and no fruit-bearing, but the next year, and the next, it stands there without bud or blossom, or leaf or fruit, you would say it is dead, and you are correct; it is dead. It is not that the leaves could have made it live, but that the absence of the leaves is a proof that it is dead. So, too, is it with the professor. If he hath life, that life must give fruits; if not fruits, works; if his faith has a root, but if there be no works, then depend upon it the inference that he is spiritually dead is certainly a correct one. When the telegraph cable flashed no message across to America, when they tried to telegraph again and again, but the only result following was dead earth, they felt persuaded that there was a fracture, and well they might; and when there is nothing produced in the life by the supposed grace which we have, and nothing is telegraphed to the world but "dead earth," we may rest assured that the link of connection between the soul and Christ does not exist.
I need not enlarge. We should just put it into that one sentence: "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Bring forth, therefore, works meet for repentance." And now we turn to the second point with more brevity:
II. SOME FACTS THAT BACK UP THE DOCTRINE THAT "FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD."
These facts show that it is evident to all observers that many professors of faith without works are not saved. It would be very ludicrous, if it were not very miserable, to think of some who wrap themselves in the conceit that they are saved about whose salvation nobody but themselves can have any question. I remember a professor who used to talk of being justified by faith who was most assured about it, when he contained most beer. Such professors are not at all uncommon, sad is it to say so. They seem at the moment when their condemnation seems written on their very brow to all who know them, to be most confident that they themselves are saved. Now, brethren, if such cases are convincing and you entertain no doubt, but decide in their case, apply the same rule to yourselves, for although you may not plunge into the grosser vices, yet if you make your homes wretched by your selfishness, if you fall into constant habits of vicious temper, if you never strive against these sins, and the grace of God never leads you out of them; if you can live in private sin, and yet pacify your conscience, and remain just as you were before your pretended conversion; when you sit in judgment and pronounce the verdict on others, feel that you pronounce it upon yourself, for surely for one sin that is openly indulged in, which is manifested to you in the dissipation of your fellow-creatures, it is not hard for you to believe that any other sin, if it be constantly indulged and be loved, will do the same to you as it does to him. You know men who have not faith, but have a sort of faith, are not saved. It must be true, or else where were the Saviour's words, "Straight is the gate and narrow the way, and few there be that find it"? For this is no straight gate and no narrow way, merely to be orthodox and hold a creed, and say, "I believe Jesus died for me"; but it is a very narrow gate so to believe as to become practically Christ's servants, so to trust as to give up that which Christ hates. Truths which Jesus bids us believe are all truths, which, if believed, must have an effect upon the daily life. A man cannot really believe that Jesus Chris has taken away his sin by such sufferings as those of the cross, and yet trifle with sin. A man is a liar who says, "I believe that yonder bleeding Saviour suffered on account of my sins," and yet holds good fellowship with the very sins that put Christ to death. Oh! sirs, a faith in the bleeding Saviour is a faith that craves for vengeance upon every form of sin. The Christian religion makes us believe that we are the sons of God when we trust in Christ. Will a man believe that he is really the Son of God, and then daily and wilfully go and live like a child of the devil? Do you expect to see members of the royal court playing with beggars in the street? When a man believes himself to possess a certain station of life, that belief leads him to a certain carriage and conversation, and when I am led to believe I am elected of God, that I am redeemed by blood, that heaven is secured to me by the covenant of grace, that I am God's priest, made a king in Christ Jesus, I cannot, if I believe, unless I am more monstrous than human nature itself seems capable of being, go back to live after just the same fashion, to run in the same course as others, and live as the sons of Belial live. We see constantly in Scripture, and all the saints affirm it, that faith is linked with grace, and that where faith is the grace of God is; but how can there be the gift of God reigning in the soul, and yet a love of sin and a neglect of holiness? I cannot understand grace which abideth for ever to the inner man; and for this man to give himself up to be a slave of Satan is a thing impossible.
Faith, again, is always in connection with regeneration. Now regeneration is making of the old thing new; it is infusing a new nature into a man. The new birth is not a mere reformation, but an entire renovation and revolution: it is making the man a new creation in Christ Jesus. But how a new creature, if he has no repentance, if he has no good works, no private prayer, no charity, no holiness of any kind, regeneration will be a football for scorn. The new birth would be a thing to be ridiculed, if it did not really produce a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. That kind of new birth which is dispensed by the Church of Rome, and also by some in the Church of England, is a kind of new birth which ought to excite the derision of all mankind, for children are said to be born again, certified to be born again, made members of Christ and children of God, and afterwards they grow up, in many cases, in most cases, let me say, to forget their baptismal vows, and live in sin as others do. Evidently it has had no effect upon them, but regeneration such as we read of in the Bible changes the nature of man, makes him hate the things he loved, and love the things he hated. This is regeneration: this is regeneration which is worth the seeking: it always comes with faith, and consequently good works must go with faith too. But we pass on to the last matter, which is this:
III. WHAT OF THOSE MEN THAT HAVE FAITH, AND THAT HAVE NO GOOD WORKS?
Then what about them? Why, this about them, that their supposed faith generally makes them very careless and indifferent, and ultimately hardened and depraved men. I dread beyond measure that any one of us should have a name to live when we are dead; for an ordinary sinner who makes no profession may be converted, but it is extremely rare that a sinner who makes a profession of being what he is not is ever converted. It is a miserable thing to find a person discovering that his profession has been a lie. A man sits down, and he says, "Why, I believe," and as he walks he is careful, because he is afraid of what others might say. By and bye, he begins to indulge a little. He says, "This is not of works; I may do this, and yet get forgiveness." Then he goes a little further away. I do not say that perhaps at first he goes to the theatre, but he goes next door to it. He does not get drunk, but he likes jovial company. A little further and he gets confirmed in the belief that he is a saved one, and he gets to much confirmed in that idea that he thinks he can do just as he likes. Having sported on the brink without falling over, he thinks he will try to say, if Satan wants raw material of which to make the worst of men, he generally takes those who profess to be the best, and I have questioned whether such a valuable servant of Satan as Judas was could ever have been made of any other material than an apostate apostle. If he had not lived near to Christ, he never could have become such a traitor as he was. You must have a good knowledge of religion to be a thorough-faced hypocrite, and you must become high in Christ's Church before you can become fit tools for Satan's worst works. Oh! but why do men do this? Oh! what is the use of maintaining such a faith? I think if we do not care to get the vitality of religion, I would never burden myself with the husks of it, for such people get the chains of godliness without getting the comforts of godliness. They dare not do this, they dare not do that; if they do they feel hampered. Why don't they give up professing? and they would be at least free; they would have the sin without the millstone about their neck. Surely there can be no excuse for men who mean to perish coming to cover themselves with a mask of godliness! Why cannot they perish as they are? Why add sin to sin by insulting the Church through the cross of Christ?
When men make a profession of religion, and yet their works do not follow their faith, what about them? Why, this about them. They have dishonoured the Church, and, of all others, these are the people that make the world point to the Church and say, "Where is your religion? That is your religion, is it?" So it is when they find a man who professes to be in Christ, and yet walks not as Christ walked. These give the Church her wounds; she receives them in the house of her friends; these make the true ministers of God go to their closets with broken heart, crying out, "Oh! Lord, wherefore hast thou sent us to this people to speak and minister amongst them, that they should play the hypocrite before thee?" These are they that prevent the coming in of others, for others take knowledge of them, as they think religion is hypocrisy, and they are hindered, and, if not seriously, they get, at any rate, comfort in their sin from the iniquity of these professors. What their judgment will be when Christ appeareth it is not for my tongue to tell; in that day when, with tongue of fire, Christ shall search every heart, and call on all men to receive their judgment, what must be the lot of the base-born professor, who prostituted his profession to his own honour and gain? He sought not the glory of God. What shall be the thunder-bolt that shall pursue his guilty soul in its timorous flight to hell, and what the chains that are reserved in blackness and darkness for ever for those who are wells without water and clouds without rain? I cannot tell, and may God grant that you may never know. Oh! may we all tonight go to Christ to be our complete Saviour in very deed and truth. Then shall we be saved, and then, being saved, we shall seek to serve Christ with heart, and soul, and strength.
Lest I have missed my mark, this one illustration shall suffice, and I have done. There is a vessel drifting. She will soon be on the shore, but a pilot is come on board; he is standing on the deck, and he says to the captain and crew, "I promise and undertake that, if you will solely and alone trust me, I will save thy vessel. Do you promise it; do you believe in me?" They believe in him; they say they believe the pilot can save the vessel, and they trust the vessel implicitly to his care. Now listen to him. "Now," says he, "you at that helm there!" He does not stir. "At the helm there! Can't you hear?" He does not stir! He does not stir! "Well, but, Jack, haven't you confidence in the pilot?" "Oh! yes. Oh! yes, I have faith in him," he says; "he will save the vessel if I have faith in him." "Don't you hear the pilot, as he says have faith in him, and you won't touch the helm?" "Now, you aloft there! Reef that sail." He does not stir, but lets the wind still blow into the sail and drift the vessel on to the coast. "Now then, some of you; look alive, and reef that sail!" But he does not stir! "Why, captain, what shall I do? These fellows won't stir or move a peg." But "Oh!" says the captain; "I have every confidence in you, pilot. I believe you will save the vessel." "Then why don't you attend to the tiller, and all that?" "Oh! no," says he; "I have great confidence in you. I don't mean to do anything." Now when that ship goes down amid the boiling surges, and each man sinks to his doom, I will ask you, had they faith in the pilot? Hadn't they a mimicking, mocking sort of faith, and only that? For if they had been really anxious to have the vessel rescued, and have trusted in the pilot, it would be the pilot that had saved them, and they could never have been saved without him. They would have proved their faith by their works. Their faith would have been made perfect, and the vessel would have been secured.
I call upon every man here to do what Christ bids him. I call upon you, first of all, to prove that you believe in Christ by being baptized. "He that believeth in Christ and is baptized shall be saved." The first proof that you believe in Christ is to be given by yielding to the much despised ordinance of believers' baptism, and then, having done that, going on to the other means of which I have spoken. Oh! I charge you by your soul's salvation neglect nothing Christ commands, however trivial it may seem to your reason. Whatever he saith unto you, do it, for only by a child-like obedience to every bidding of Christ can you expect to have the promise fulfilled, "They that trust in him shall be saved." The Lord bless these words, for His name's sake. Amen.
Published on Thursday, November 26th, 1914.
Delivered by
C. H. SPURGEON,
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."—James 2:17
WHATEVER the statement of James may be, it could never have been his intention to contradict the gospel. It could never be possible that the Holy Spirit would say one thing in one place, and another in another. Statements of Paul and of James must be reconciled, and if they were not, I would be prepared sooner to throw overboard the statement of James than that of Paul. Luther did so, I think, most unjustifiably. If you ask me, then, how I dare to say I would sooner do so, my reply is, I said I would sooner throw over James than Paul for this reason, because, at any rate, we must keep to the Master himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought never to raise any questions about differences of inspiration, since they are all equally inspired, but if such questions could be raised and were allowable, it were wisdom to stick fastest to those who cling closest to Christ. Now the last words of the Lord Jesus, before he was taken up were these, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," and what was this gospel? "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved." To that, then, we must always cling, but Jesus Christ has given a promise of salvation to the baptized believer, and he has said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, and whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."
Here it is clear he promises everlasting life to all who believe in him, to all who trust in him. Now from the Master's words we will not stir, but close to his own declaration we will stand. Be assured that the gospel of your salvation as a believer, with a simple confidence in Jesus Christ, whom God raised from the dead, will save your soul, a simple and undiluted reliance upon the life and death, and resurrection, and merit, and person of Jesus Christ, will ensure to you everlasting life. Let nothing move you from this confidence: it hath great recompense of reward. Heaven and earth may pass away, but from this grand fundamental truth not one jot or tittle shall ever be moved. "He that believeth in him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the Son of God."
The fact is, James and Paul are perfectly reconcilable, and they are viewing truth from different standpoints; but whatever James may mean, I am quite confident about what Paul means, and confident about the truth of the two.
A second remark. James never intended, for a moment, nor do any of his words lead us into such a belief, that there can be any merit whatever in any good works of ours. After we have done all, if we could do all, we should only have done what we were bound to do. Surely there is no merit in a man's paying what he owes; no great merit in a servant who has his wages for doing what he is paid for. The question of merit between the creature and his Creator is not to be raised; he has a right to us; he has the right of creation, the right of preservation, the right of infinite sovereignty, and, whatever he should exact of us, we should require nothing from him in return, and, having sinned as we have all, for us to talk of salvation by merit, by our own works, is worse than vanity; it is an impertinence which God will never endure. Talk they of morals, O! thou bleeding Lamb,
The best morality is love of thee." Talk of salvation by works, and Cowper's reply seems apt: Perish the virtue, as it ought, abhorred,
And the fool with it, who insults his Lord." What James does mean, however, is this, no doubt, in brief and short, that while faith saves, it is faith of a certain kind. No man is saved by persuading himself that he is saved; nobody is saved by believing Jesus Christ died for him. That may be, or may not be, true in the sense in which he understands it. In a certain sense Christ died for all men, but since it is evident that many men are lost, Christ's dying for all men is not at all a ground upon which any man may hope to be saved. Christ died for some men in another sense, in a peculiar and special sense. No man has a right to believe that Christ peculiarly and specially died for him until he has an evidence of it in casting himself upon Christ, and trusting in Jesus, and bringing forth suitable works to evince the reality of his faith. The faith that saves is not a historical faith, not a faith that simply believes a creed and certain facts: I have no doubt devils are very orthodox; I do not know which church they belong to, though there are some in all churches; there was one in Christ's Church when he was on earth, for he said one was filled with devils; and there are some in all churches. Devils believe all the facts of revelation. I do not believe they have a doubt; they have suffered too much from the hand of God to doubt his existence! They have felt too much the terror of his wrath to doubt the righteousness of his government. They are stern believers, but they are not saved; and such a faith, if it be in us, will not, cannot, save us, but will remain to all intents and purposes a dead, inoperative faith. It is a faith which produces works which saves us; the works do not save us; but a faith which does not produce works is a faith that will only deceive, and cannot lead us into heaven. Now this evening we shall first speak a few words upon:
I. WHAT KIND OF WORKS THEY ARE WHICH ARE NECESSARY TO PROVE OUR FAITH IF IT BE A SAVING FAITH.
The works which are absolutely necessary are, in brief, these: First, there must be fruits meet for repentance, works of repentance. It is wrong to tell a man he must repent before he may trust Christ, but it is right to tell him that, having trusted Christ, it is not possible for him to remain impenitent. There never was in this world such a thing as an impenitent believer in Jesus Christ, and there never can be. Faith and repentance are born in a spiritual life together, and they grow up together. The moment a man believes he repents, and while he believes he both believes and repents, and until he shall have done with faith he will not have done with repenting. If thou hast believed, but hast never repented of thy sins, then beware of thy believing. If thou pretendest now to be a child of God, and if thou hast never clothed thyself in dust and ashes; if thou hast never hated the sins which once thou didst love: if thou dost not now hate them, and endeavour to be rid of them, if thou dost not humble thyself before God on account of them, as the Lord liveth, thou knowest nothing about saving faith, for faith puts a distance between us and sin; in a moment it leads us away from the distance between us and Christ; nearer to Christ, we are now far off from sin. But he that loves his sin, thinks little of his sin, goes into it with levity, talks of it sportively, speaks of sin as though it were a trifle, hath the faith of devils, but the faith of God's elect he never knew. True faith purges the soul, since the man now hunts after sin that he might find out the traitor that lurks within his nature; and though a believer is not perfect, yet the drift of faith is to make him perfect; and if it is faith to be perfected, the believer shall be perfected, and then shall he be caught up to dwell before the throne. Judge yourselves, my hearers. Have you brought forth the fruits of repentance? If not, your faith without them is dead.
Works of secret piety are also essential to true faith. Does a man say I believe that Jesus died for me, and that I hope to be saved, and does he live in a constant neglect of private prayer? Is the Word of God never read? Does he never lift up his eye in secret with "My Father, be thou the guide of my youth"? Has he no secret regard in his heart to the Lord his God, and does he hold no communion with Christ his Saviour, and is there no fellowship with the Holy Spirit? Then how can faith dwell in such a man? As well say that a man is alive when he does not breathe, and in whom the blood does not circulate, as to say that a man is a believer with living faith who does not draw near to God in prayer, that does not live indeed under the awe and fear of the Most High God as ever present, and seeing him in all places. Judge yourselves, ye professors. Are ye neglecting prayer; have ye no secret spiritual life? If so, away with your notion about saving faith. You are not justified by such a faith as that; there is no life in it; it is not a faith that leads to the Lamb and brings salvation; if it were, it would show itself by driving you to your knees, and making you lift up your heart to the Most High.
Another set of works are those which I may call works of obedience. When a man trusts in Jesus, he accepts Jesus as his Master. He says, "Show me what thou wouldst have me to do." The Father shows what Christ would have him to do. He does not set up his own will and judgment, but he is obedient to his Master's will. I will not tonight speak of those who know not their Lord's will, who shall be beaten with few stripes, but I do fear me there are some professors who are living in wilful neglect of known Christian duties, and yet suppose themselves to be the partakers of saving faith. Now a duty may be neglected, and yet a man may be saved; but a duty persistently and wilfully neglected, may be the leak that will sink the ship, or the neglect of any one of such duties for the surrender of a true heart to Christ does not go such and such a length and then stop. Christ will save no heart upon terms and conditions; it must be an unconditional surrender to his government if thou wouldest be saved by him. Now some will draw a line here, and some will draw a line there up to this, and say, "I will be Christ's servant"; that is to say, sir, you will be your own master, for that is the English of it; but the true heart that hath really believed saith, "I will make haste, and delay not to keep thy commandments; make straight the path before my feet, for thy commandments are not grievous." "I have delighted in thy commandments more than in fine gold." Now, sons and daughters of sin, professedly, what say you to this? Have you an eye to the Master, as servants keep their eye to their mistress? Do you ever ask yourselves what would Christ have you to do? or do you live habitually in the neglect of Christ's law and will? Do you go to places where Christ would not meet you, and where you would not like to meet with him? Are some of you in the habit of professing maxims and customs, upon which you know your Lord would never set his seal? You say you believe, you have faith in him? Ah! sirs, if it be a living faith, it will be an obedient faith.
Living faith produces what I shall call separating works. When a man believes in Jesus, he is not what he was nor will he consort with those who were once his familiars. Our Lord has said, "Ye are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." Now Christ was not an ascetic; he ate and drank as other men do so that they even said of him a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber, because he mingled with the rest of mankind; but was there ever a more unearthly life than the life of Christ? He seems to go through all the world a complete man in all that is necessary to manliness, but his presence is like the presence of a seraph amongst sinners. You can discover at once that he is not of their mould, nor of their spirit, only harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. Now such will the believer be if his faith be genuine, but this is a sharp cut to some professors, but not a whit more sharp than the Scripture warrants. If we are of the world, what can we expect but the world's doom in the day of the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ? If ye find your pleasure with the world, you shall meet your condemnation with the world; if with the world you live, with the world you shall die, and with the world you shall live again for ever, lost. Where there is no separation there is no grace. If we are conformed to this world, how dare we talk about grace being in our souls; and if there be no distinguishing difference between us and worldlings, what vanity it is, what trifling, what hypocrisy, what a delusion for us to come to the Lord's table, talking about being the Lord's sons, when we are none of his? Faith without the works which denote the difference between a believer and a worldling is a dead, unsaving faith.
Now I have not said that any believer is perfect. I have never thought so, but I have said that if a believer could be a believer altogether, and faith could have her perfect work, he would be perfect, and that in proportion as he is truly a believer, in that proportion he will bring forth fruit that shall magnify God and prove the sincerity of his faith.
One other set of works will be necessary to prove the vitality of his faith, namely, works of love. He that loves Christ feels that the love of Christ constraineth him; he endeavours to spread abroad the knowledge of Christ; he longs to win jewels for Christ's crown; he endeavours to extend the boundaries of Christ's and Messiah's kingdom, and I will not give a farthing for the loftiest profession coupled with the most flowing words, that never shows itself in direct deeds of Christian service. If thou lovest Christ, thou canst not help serving him. If thou believest in him, there is such potency in what thou believest, such power in the grace which comes with believing, that thou must serve Christ; and if thou servest him not, thou art not his.
This proof, before we leave it, might be illustrated in various ways. We will just give one. A tree has been planted out into the ground. Now the source of life to that tree is at the root, whether it hath apples on it or not; the apples would not give it life, but the whole of the life of the tree will come from its root. But if that tree stands in the orchard, and when the springtime comes there is no bud, and when the summer comes there is no leafing, and no fruit-bearing, but the next year, and the next, it stands there without bud or blossom, or leaf or fruit, you would say it is dead, and you are correct; it is dead. It is not that the leaves could have made it live, but that the absence of the leaves is a proof that it is dead. So, too, is it with the professor. If he hath life, that life must give fruits; if not fruits, works; if his faith has a root, but if there be no works, then depend upon it the inference that he is spiritually dead is certainly a correct one. When the telegraph cable flashed no message across to America, when they tried to telegraph again and again, but the only result following was dead earth, they felt persuaded that there was a fracture, and well they might; and when there is nothing produced in the life by the supposed grace which we have, and nothing is telegraphed to the world but "dead earth," we may rest assured that the link of connection between the soul and Christ does not exist.
I need not enlarge. We should just put it into that one sentence: "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Bring forth, therefore, works meet for repentance." And now we turn to the second point with more brevity:
II. SOME FACTS THAT BACK UP THE DOCTRINE THAT "FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD."
These facts show that it is evident to all observers that many professors of faith without works are not saved. It would be very ludicrous, if it were not very miserable, to think of some who wrap themselves in the conceit that they are saved about whose salvation nobody but themselves can have any question. I remember a professor who used to talk of being justified by faith who was most assured about it, when he contained most beer. Such professors are not at all uncommon, sad is it to say so. They seem at the moment when their condemnation seems written on their very brow to all who know them, to be most confident that they themselves are saved. Now, brethren, if such cases are convincing and you entertain no doubt, but decide in their case, apply the same rule to yourselves, for although you may not plunge into the grosser vices, yet if you make your homes wretched by your selfishness, if you fall into constant habits of vicious temper, if you never strive against these sins, and the grace of God never leads you out of them; if you can live in private sin, and yet pacify your conscience, and remain just as you were before your pretended conversion; when you sit in judgment and pronounce the verdict on others, feel that you pronounce it upon yourself, for surely for one sin that is openly indulged in, which is manifested to you in the dissipation of your fellow-creatures, it is not hard for you to believe that any other sin, if it be constantly indulged and be loved, will do the same to you as it does to him. You know men who have not faith, but have a sort of faith, are not saved. It must be true, or else where were the Saviour's words, "Straight is the gate and narrow the way, and few there be that find it"? For this is no straight gate and no narrow way, merely to be orthodox and hold a creed, and say, "I believe Jesus died for me"; but it is a very narrow gate so to believe as to become practically Christ's servants, so to trust as to give up that which Christ hates. Truths which Jesus bids us believe are all truths, which, if believed, must have an effect upon the daily life. A man cannot really believe that Jesus Chris has taken away his sin by such sufferings as those of the cross, and yet trifle with sin. A man is a liar who says, "I believe that yonder bleeding Saviour suffered on account of my sins," and yet holds good fellowship with the very sins that put Christ to death. Oh! sirs, a faith in the bleeding Saviour is a faith that craves for vengeance upon every form of sin. The Christian religion makes us believe that we are the sons of God when we trust in Christ. Will a man believe that he is really the Son of God, and then daily and wilfully go and live like a child of the devil? Do you expect to see members of the royal court playing with beggars in the street? When a man believes himself to possess a certain station of life, that belief leads him to a certain carriage and conversation, and when I am led to believe I am elected of God, that I am redeemed by blood, that heaven is secured to me by the covenant of grace, that I am God's priest, made a king in Christ Jesus, I cannot, if I believe, unless I am more monstrous than human nature itself seems capable of being, go back to live after just the same fashion, to run in the same course as others, and live as the sons of Belial live. We see constantly in Scripture, and all the saints affirm it, that faith is linked with grace, and that where faith is the grace of God is; but how can there be the gift of God reigning in the soul, and yet a love of sin and a neglect of holiness? I cannot understand grace which abideth for ever to the inner man; and for this man to give himself up to be a slave of Satan is a thing impossible.
Faith, again, is always in connection with regeneration. Now regeneration is making of the old thing new; it is infusing a new nature into a man. The new birth is not a mere reformation, but an entire renovation and revolution: it is making the man a new creation in Christ Jesus. But how a new creature, if he has no repentance, if he has no good works, no private prayer, no charity, no holiness of any kind, regeneration will be a football for scorn. The new birth would be a thing to be ridiculed, if it did not really produce a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. That kind of new birth which is dispensed by the Church of Rome, and also by some in the Church of England, is a kind of new birth which ought to excite the derision of all mankind, for children are said to be born again, certified to be born again, made members of Christ and children of God, and afterwards they grow up, in many cases, in most cases, let me say, to forget their baptismal vows, and live in sin as others do. Evidently it has had no effect upon them, but regeneration such as we read of in the Bible changes the nature of man, makes him hate the things he loved, and love the things he hated. This is regeneration: this is regeneration which is worth the seeking: it always comes with faith, and consequently good works must go with faith too. But we pass on to the last matter, which is this:
III. WHAT OF THOSE MEN THAT HAVE FAITH, AND THAT HAVE NO GOOD WORKS?
Then what about them? Why, this about them, that their supposed faith generally makes them very careless and indifferent, and ultimately hardened and depraved men. I dread beyond measure that any one of us should have a name to live when we are dead; for an ordinary sinner who makes no profession may be converted, but it is extremely rare that a sinner who makes a profession of being what he is not is ever converted. It is a miserable thing to find a person discovering that his profession has been a lie. A man sits down, and he says, "Why, I believe," and as he walks he is careful, because he is afraid of what others might say. By and bye, he begins to indulge a little. He says, "This is not of works; I may do this, and yet get forgiveness." Then he goes a little further away. I do not say that perhaps at first he goes to the theatre, but he goes next door to it. He does not get drunk, but he likes jovial company. A little further and he gets confirmed in the belief that he is a saved one, and he gets to much confirmed in that idea that he thinks he can do just as he likes. Having sported on the brink without falling over, he thinks he will try to say, if Satan wants raw material of which to make the worst of men, he generally takes those who profess to be the best, and I have questioned whether such a valuable servant of Satan as Judas was could ever have been made of any other material than an apostate apostle. If he had not lived near to Christ, he never could have become such a traitor as he was. You must have a good knowledge of religion to be a thorough-faced hypocrite, and you must become high in Christ's Church before you can become fit tools for Satan's worst works. Oh! but why do men do this? Oh! what is the use of maintaining such a faith? I think if we do not care to get the vitality of religion, I would never burden myself with the husks of it, for such people get the chains of godliness without getting the comforts of godliness. They dare not do this, they dare not do that; if they do they feel hampered. Why don't they give up professing? and they would be at least free; they would have the sin without the millstone about their neck. Surely there can be no excuse for men who mean to perish coming to cover themselves with a mask of godliness! Why cannot they perish as they are? Why add sin to sin by insulting the Church through the cross of Christ?
When men make a profession of religion, and yet their works do not follow their faith, what about them? Why, this about them. They have dishonoured the Church, and, of all others, these are the people that make the world point to the Church and say, "Where is your religion? That is your religion, is it?" So it is when they find a man who professes to be in Christ, and yet walks not as Christ walked. These give the Church her wounds; she receives them in the house of her friends; these make the true ministers of God go to their closets with broken heart, crying out, "Oh! Lord, wherefore hast thou sent us to this people to speak and minister amongst them, that they should play the hypocrite before thee?" These are they that prevent the coming in of others, for others take knowledge of them, as they think religion is hypocrisy, and they are hindered, and, if not seriously, they get, at any rate, comfort in their sin from the iniquity of these professors. What their judgment will be when Christ appeareth it is not for my tongue to tell; in that day when, with tongue of fire, Christ shall search every heart, and call on all men to receive their judgment, what must be the lot of the base-born professor, who prostituted his profession to his own honour and gain? He sought not the glory of God. What shall be the thunder-bolt that shall pursue his guilty soul in its timorous flight to hell, and what the chains that are reserved in blackness and darkness for ever for those who are wells without water and clouds without rain? I cannot tell, and may God grant that you may never know. Oh! may we all tonight go to Christ to be our complete Saviour in very deed and truth. Then shall we be saved, and then, being saved, we shall seek to serve Christ with heart, and soul, and strength.
Lest I have missed my mark, this one illustration shall suffice, and I have done. There is a vessel drifting. She will soon be on the shore, but a pilot is come on board; he is standing on the deck, and he says to the captain and crew, "I promise and undertake that, if you will solely and alone trust me, I will save thy vessel. Do you promise it; do you believe in me?" They believe in him; they say they believe the pilot can save the vessel, and they trust the vessel implicitly to his care. Now listen to him. "Now," says he, "you at that helm there!" He does not stir. "At the helm there! Can't you hear?" He does not stir! He does not stir! "Well, but, Jack, haven't you confidence in the pilot?" "Oh! yes. Oh! yes, I have faith in him," he says; "he will save the vessel if I have faith in him." "Don't you hear the pilot, as he says have faith in him, and you won't touch the helm?" "Now, you aloft there! Reef that sail." He does not stir, but lets the wind still blow into the sail and drift the vessel on to the coast. "Now then, some of you; look alive, and reef that sail!" But he does not stir! "Why, captain, what shall I do? These fellows won't stir or move a peg." But "Oh!" says the captain; "I have every confidence in you, pilot. I believe you will save the vessel." "Then why don't you attend to the tiller, and all that?" "Oh! no," says he; "I have great confidence in you. I don't mean to do anything." Now when that ship goes down amid the boiling surges, and each man sinks to his doom, I will ask you, had they faith in the pilot? Hadn't they a mimicking, mocking sort of faith, and only that? For if they had been really anxious to have the vessel rescued, and have trusted in the pilot, it would be the pilot that had saved them, and they could never have been saved without him. They would have proved their faith by their works. Their faith would have been made perfect, and the vessel would have been secured.
I call upon every man here to do what Christ bids him. I call upon you, first of all, to prove that you believe in Christ by being baptized. "He that believeth in Christ and is baptized shall be saved." The first proof that you believe in Christ is to be given by yielding to the much despised ordinance of believers' baptism, and then, having done that, going on to the other means of which I have spoken. Oh! I charge you by your soul's salvation neglect nothing Christ commands, however trivial it may seem to your reason. Whatever he saith unto you, do it, for only by a child-like obedience to every bidding of Christ can you expect to have the promise fulfilled, "They that trust in him shall be saved." The Lord bless these words, for His name's sake. Amen.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Two kinds of repentance. What kind have you experienced?
True Repentance
Two kinds of repentance are possible in human experience. One is ‘the sorrow of the world,” a feeling induced by the fear of getting caught. Many people recognize the unpleasant consequences of their sin and are persuaded that they are guilty. This results in a superficial sorrow that may lead to a temporary reformation but not to a genuine turning to Christ for forgiveness. (this would be spoken of by Ray Comfort as a horizontal repentance. They have sinned against man)
Godly sorrow, on the other hand, is accompanied by conviction of sin, the work of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:37). This stems from the realization of offending a holy God. It leads to genuine repentance. (Ray Comfort calls this vertical repentance. They have sinned against God and God alone)
An unknown author wrote, “There is a radical distinction between natural regret and God-given repentance. The flesh can feel remorse, acknowledge its evil deeds, and be ashamed of itself.
However, this sort of disgust with past actions can be quickly shrugged off, and the individual can soon go back to his old wicked ways. None of the marks of true repentance described in 2 Corinthians 7:11 are found in his behavior. Out of a list of 10 men in the Bible who said, “I have sinned,” we believe only five actually repented. They were David (2 Sam. 12:13), Nehemiah (Neh. 1:6), Job (Job 42:5,6), Micah (Micah 7:9), and the prodigal son (Luke 15:18).” - H.G.B.
To repent means to turn. In the N.T. repentance means to turn from sin. We were called by God to turn from sin. In fact, all men everywhere are commanded by God to repent of their sins (Acts 17:30). God’s longsuffering leads us to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9) as does His kindness (Rom. 2:4).
Just as there are True and False Converts, There is true and false repentance, “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Cor. 7:10).
Sorrowing over and forsaking sin, a wholehearted turning away from all that is evil. This is more than regret or remorse, attitudes that point to sorrow over sin but no more. Repentance was looked for in Old Testament times (Ezek. 14:6; 18:30). It was the first item in the preaching of John the Baptist (Matt. 3:1-2), Jesus (Matt. 4:17), and the apostles (Mark 6:12; cf. Acts 2:38). Beyond repentance, faith is needed. But repentance is indispensable. Sin must be forsaken decisively.
So you say you have repented of your sins. It is very important to take a good hard look at what kind of repentance you experienced. Did you sin against man and feel sorry for it. Did you regret that you sinned. Did you apologize to the people you sinned against and not do it any more? Is that repentance? True repentance?
Or do you realize how utterly depraved you are in God's sight? Has the Law of God convicted you of your sins and you cry out to God, "against you and you alone have I sinned Oh Lord?" Genuine repentance is a fruit of the spirit.
So maybe you say the right things...
I believe in the Word of God -- good!
I repented of my sins -- which kind of repentance was it?
I trust Jesus for my salvation -- is it the Jesus of the Bible? Do you really know Jesus of the Bible?
So what does it mean to "believe" in Jesus? Because even the devil believes and trembles. There must be a difference between his belief and our belief in Jesus. Do you know what the difference is?
tomorrow's post will talk about believing and our beliefs!
Intelligence Test
I want to take a little time to share with you how I approach people that I am going to witness to.
My day starts off in prayer and reading the Bible. We need to keep our minds sharp and our hearts ready for each and every opportunity that comes across to us.
So read along and then tell me if you think a person would be offended by how I present God's Word to them.
I go to my fishing-hole daily (McDonalds). I sit there and eat something or just get a large coke to drink. If I am reading my Bible, I am sure to leave a couple of tracts laying out for people to see them. (They are great conversation starters). If someone sits at the next table to me, I will give them time to eat their food. As they are finishing, I give them eye contact and say hi to them. I ask them how their day is going so far. We talk about the cold weather we are having (Illinois). I start out in the natural realm. They are comfortable. I then tell them I have a fun intelligence test that takes just a couple of minutes and ask them if they would like to help me out. Unless they are in a huge hurry (they go to the drive-thru if they are really in a huge hurry), almost 100% of the time, they are willing to do it. So here we go...
INTELLIGENCE TEST
1. How many of each animal did Moses take into the Ark?
2. What is the name of the raised print that deaf people use?
3. Is it possible to end a sentence with the word "the?"
4. Spell the word "shop." What do you do when you come to a green light?
5. It is noon. You look at the clock. The big hand is on the three. The little hand is on the five. What time is it?
6. Spell the word "silk." What do cows drink?
7. Listen carefully. You are the driver of a train. There are 30 people on board. At the first stop ten people get off. At the next stop five people get on. Now for the question: What is the name of the driver?
8. How many of the Ten Commandments can you name?
Okay, there are actually 16 questions but I usually just do the first eight to save some time. I will post the answers down in the comments section along with the usual responses I get. The first seven questions all end with the people laughing at how badly they have gotten the answers wrong. They are all smiling and within a matter of a couple of minutes I have made them feel good and relaxed. I was able to find out their spiritual maturity by asking them to name the Ten Commandments. They are not offended because it is just one of the fun questions. So we have deliberately swung from the natural realm to the spiritual realm.
I then ask them if they think they have done a good job of keeping the Ten Commandments. Most everyone says, yes! Okay, so would you consider yourself to be a good person? Most everyone says, yes! (the Bible tells us that every man will proclaim his own goodness!). I then say, do you mind if I ask you a few questions to see if that is true? Everyone has agreed because they have had fun answering the questions and because they all want to prove that they indeed are a good person.
First question -- Have you ever told a lie? everyone will say yes they have. What does that make you? a sinner. No, more specifically, what does it make you, what are you called? a liar
Second question -- Have you ever stolen anything, regardless of the value? most people will say they have stolen something. But, if they say no, you can just say, "come on now, you just admitted you are a liar. They will always come back with, yes, when I was small I maybe stole something.
Third question -- You have heard it said you shall not commit adultery, but Jesus said that any man who looks after a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. Have you ever looked at another person with lust? they will all say yes. Even the homosexual is guilty of looking at another man with lust.
So, by your own admission, you are a lying, thief and an adulterer at heart. (now this is not me pointing a finger at them and saying you are a sinner headed for hell. No, I am just repeating with they have already admitted to. They do not get offended by you saying this to them) They usually laugh at this point because they had said they were a good person and by their own words you just proved to them that they are not good at all.
Now if God were to judge you based on the Ten Commandments, would you be innocent or guilty? Now some people will still say they are innocent (because they do not want to admit that they are guilty before God) At this point, show them what would happen if they used that logic in a court of law. "Judge, I know that you have evidence of me stealing that car, but I am innocent." The judge will look at the evidence at hand and say that regardless of what you think, you are still guilty and I must punish you for your crime. You want to get the person to admit they are guilty of breaking God's Commands, because they are guilty.
When they say they are guilty, then ask them, "Will you go to heaven or hell? again, many people will try to justify their position before God and say heaven. Ask them why they think that. Is it because they think they are a good person and God will forgive them of their sins? Yeah, that's it. He'll forgive me of my sins. Again, try that in a court of law. "Judge, I raped that girl several times and I am really sorry. I know you are a good judge and will forgive me of my crime." The judge will look at him and say, "you are right about one thing, I am a good judge and BECAUSE I am a good judge, I MUST punish your crime. See, just telling God you're sorry is not enough. You SHOULD be sorry for what you have done. You have broken God's Law and God is a Holy and Just Judge. By His very nature, He MUST punish you for your sins. You would have to say you are guilty before God. They will say, you're right. I am headed to hell.
Does that concern you? Because it concerns me. They will most always say, yes it does concern me.
Do you know what God did so you wouldn't have to go to hell? He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for your sins. He took the punishment that was due you. What you have to do is, Repent of your sins. Don't do them any more. And put your faith and trust in Jesus much the same way you would trust a parachute. You wouldn't just "believe" in the parachute, you would put it on. And that is what the Bible tells us, we are to put on the Lord Jesus. If you do that, then you will be saved. You need to get into God's Word. Read it every day and obey what you read. Does that make sense to you? yes it does, thank you. I have never heard it put to me like that before.
People will thank you for talking with them. Why? Because you were not judgmental. You did not accuse them of being a sinner. You just presented God's Law to them the way Jesus did. The way Paul did and the way the other disciples did. Paul said, I did not know what sin was but by the Law. We are also told that the Law acts as our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. What is perfect converting the soul? The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.
See people, we do not need new ideas, new books on how to build a larger church full of programs and community. We do not need a book on our purpose for life. We do not need to redefine Scripture to make it more relevant for today's society. We have the Bible! THE LAW OF THE LORD IS PERFECT CONVERTING THE SOUL.
either you believe the Word of God to be true. All of it! Or you don't. There is no middle ground.
If you have any questions that I can help you with, please email me or leave me a comment. I am always happy to help.
HOW MANY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CAN YOU NAME?
(answers to test are in comments section along with typical responses)
2. What is the name of the raised print that deaf people use?
3. Is it possible to end a sentence with the word "the?"
4. Spell the word "shop." What do you do when you come to a green light?
5. It is noon. You look at the clock. The big hand is on the three. The little hand is on the five. What time is it?
6. Spell the word "silk." What do cows drink?
7. Listen carefully. You are the driver of a train. There are 30 people on board. At the first stop ten people get off. At the next stop five people get on. Now for the question: What is the name of the driver?
8. How many of the Ten Commandments can you name?
Okay, there are actually 16 questions but I usually just do the first eight to save some time. I will post the answers down in the comments section along with the usual responses I get. The first seven questions all end with the people laughing at how badly they have gotten the answers wrong. They are all smiling and within a matter of a couple of minutes I have made them feel good and relaxed. I was able to find out their spiritual maturity by asking them to name the Ten Commandments. They are not offended because it is just one of the fun questions. So we have deliberately swung from the natural realm to the spiritual realm.
I then ask them if they think they have done a good job of keeping the Ten Commandments. Most everyone says, yes! Okay, so would you consider yourself to be a good person? Most everyone says, yes! (the Bible tells us that every man will proclaim his own goodness!). I then say, do you mind if I ask you a few questions to see if that is true? Everyone has agreed because they have had fun answering the questions and because they all want to prove that they indeed are a good person.
First question -- Have you ever told a lie? everyone will say yes they have. What does that make you? a sinner. No, more specifically, what does it make you, what are you called? a liar
Second question -- Have you ever stolen anything, regardless of the value? most people will say they have stolen something. But, if they say no, you can just say, "come on now, you just admitted you are a liar. They will always come back with, yes, when I was small I maybe stole something.
Third question -- You have heard it said you shall not commit adultery, but Jesus said that any man who looks after a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. Have you ever looked at another person with lust? they will all say yes. Even the homosexual is guilty of looking at another man with lust.
So, by your own admission, you are a lying, thief and an adulterer at heart. (now this is not me pointing a finger at them and saying you are a sinner headed for hell. No, I am just repeating with they have already admitted to. They do not get offended by you saying this to them) They usually laugh at this point because they had said they were a good person and by their own words you just proved to them that they are not good at all.
Now if God were to judge you based on the Ten Commandments, would you be innocent or guilty? Now some people will still say they are innocent (because they do not want to admit that they are guilty before God) At this point, show them what would happen if they used that logic in a court of law. "Judge, I know that you have evidence of me stealing that car, but I am innocent." The judge will look at the evidence at hand and say that regardless of what you think, you are still guilty and I must punish you for your crime. You want to get the person to admit they are guilty of breaking God's Commands, because they are guilty.
When they say they are guilty, then ask them, "Will you go to heaven or hell? again, many people will try to justify their position before God and say heaven. Ask them why they think that. Is it because they think they are a good person and God will forgive them of their sins? Yeah, that's it. He'll forgive me of my sins. Again, try that in a court of law. "Judge, I raped that girl several times and I am really sorry. I know you are a good judge and will forgive me of my crime." The judge will look at him and say, "you are right about one thing, I am a good judge and BECAUSE I am a good judge, I MUST punish your crime. See, just telling God you're sorry is not enough. You SHOULD be sorry for what you have done. You have broken God's Law and God is a Holy and Just Judge. By His very nature, He MUST punish you for your sins. You would have to say you are guilty before God. They will say, you're right. I am headed to hell.
Does that concern you? Because it concerns me. They will most always say, yes it does concern me.
It is at this point that you NOW PRESENT GOD'S LOVE!!
Why? because now it will make sense to the person.
Why? because now it will make sense to the person.
Do you know what God did so you wouldn't have to go to hell? He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for your sins. He took the punishment that was due you. What you have to do is, Repent of your sins. Don't do them any more. And put your faith and trust in Jesus much the same way you would trust a parachute. You wouldn't just "believe" in the parachute, you would put it on. And that is what the Bible tells us, we are to put on the Lord Jesus. If you do that, then you will be saved. You need to get into God's Word. Read it every day and obey what you read. Does that make sense to you? yes it does, thank you. I have never heard it put to me like that before.
People will thank you for talking with them. Why? Because you were not judgmental. You did not accuse them of being a sinner. You just presented God's Law to them the way Jesus did. The way Paul did and the way the other disciples did. Paul said, I did not know what sin was but by the Law. We are also told that the Law acts as our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. What is perfect converting the soul? The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.
See people, we do not need new ideas, new books on how to build a larger church full of programs and community. We do not need a book on our purpose for life. We do not need to redefine Scripture to make it more relevant for today's society. We have the Bible! THE LAW OF THE LORD IS PERFECT CONVERTING THE SOUL.
either you believe the Word of God to be true. All of it! Or you don't. There is no middle ground.
If you have any questions that I can help you with, please email me or leave me a comment. I am always happy to help.
HOW MANY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CAN YOU NAME?
(answers to test are in comments section along with typical responses)
Saturday, January 26, 2008
A disgrace in the pulpit
I have told this story in the past, but felt it necessary to post it again. I feel it will help others to understand "WHY" I am so strongly against poor preaching and the unbiblical love-fest that seem to come out of our churches today.
GOD LOVES YOU!
Yep, that was my message when I first got into the ministry. Nothing wrong with that message. It is true! God loves you! Every sermon I prepared was geared towards the same theme...
GOD LOVES YOU!
are you struggling with addiction?
GOD LOVES YOU!
is your marriage faltering?
GOD LOVES YOU!
are you giving your tithes to the church?
GOD LOVES YOU!
do you hate your neighbor?
GOD LOVES YOU!
are you gay or involved in pornography?
GOD LOVES YOU!
That was me! Every sermon, the same. God loves you so much that he sent his Son to die on the cross for you. That's how much he loved you. He wants us to love each other too. If someone hits you on your right cheek, turn to him your left cheek! If someone steals your Ferrari, give him your Lamborghini too! I preached about how we should all be out witnessing to people because we are to fulfill the Great Commission. Of course, I wasn't doing it. I just told everyone else to do it. My bulletins were always filled with at least one joke for people to take home and share with others. My sermon always started out with a joke. It was good to see people laughing because it was a gift from God! I was really good at it too. I would read a line of Scripture, sometimes I would read almost a whole chapter (not too long, because I did not want people to get bored). I remember that my first sermon took me a whole 12 minutes! Twelve minutes and the people loved me. They got out early and were on their way to the restaurants in an effort to beat the church crowds. They said they enjoyed the sermon because it was right to the point. Never mind the fact that half of it was a joke and a good story. Remember how Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?" He said it three times! Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep. Feed my sheep! I was offering potato chips and french onion dip! For the new Christians, I was doing nothing to help them grow in their faith. For the mature Christians, I was doing absolutely nothing for them. We all know we are to love one another. Now, give me some meat and potatoes is what they would say. (they didn't actually say this, but as I look back, I would have said it had I been them!)
One day early in the morning a lady came into my office. She said that her son was going to be in church that day and she didn't want me to mention anything about homosexuality because he was gay. I assured her that I wasn't going to talk about that. She was relieved. When church service started, I saw the young man and was very careful about what I said because I did not want to offend him or his mom. When the service was over, they both came up to me and said it was a very good service. I never saw that young man again!
How did I get people saved? Notice the wording...
how did "I" get people saved??!!
At the end of a really special service I would work on the emotions of people and if they were not saved, I would have them come forth to say the sinners prayer and to be baptized.
I was a pastor that was not saved. Hard to believe? read my story here
I used to preach "once saved, always saved." I would tell people that we as Christians will never fall away because God won't let us fall away. We had His promise that He began a good work in us...
So, I completely blew it as a pastor! I had a great ability to relate to people. I would listen to anyone and would not challenge anyone when it came to the Bible. I would shake my head in agreement but did not know the Bible well enough to stand up for it. I knew that God loved us and that He said the greatest commandment was to love Him and to love our neighbors as ourselves. I knew that and I preached it every Sunday. When it came time to actually trying to witness to people, I would say the classic line...
Are you saved? Do you know how you can get to heaven? If you say this prayer, you can know for sure you are saved!
I wanted to grow in my ability to relate to people so I bought several books. I purchased Rick Warren's Purpose Drive Church and Purpose Driven Life. I read them and loved them. I thought, "wow, this book is great! I have to get my church doing this!" I also went up to Chicago and visited the Willow Creek Church and fell in love with Bill Hybels preaching. It was good. I felt I wasn't doing too much different than he was doing. Just to about 10,000 fewer people!
Yep, I was a pastor! You could call me Pastor Brian, Pastor Culver or Reverend Culver. It was a badge of honor and with it came instant respect. I was liked by everyone. My church loved me, the community loved me, even the other churches loved me.
I WAS A PASTOR AND I WAS NOT SAVED!
The problem with Once Saved, Always saved is this...
many people "think" they are saved when they are not!
I thought I was saved. I believed in Jesus and I got baptized. I preached and was fulfilling His calling in my life. I had to have been saved. But I wasn't!
How do I know that I was not saved?
It wasn't until I heard Hell's Best Kept Secret and True and False Converts that I realized I was not saved. For the first time, I heard about God's Law. As a pastor, I could only name 4 or 5 of the Commandments. I did not know all of them, let alone, know them in order. How could I as a pastor, not know the Law of God? I was preaching against sin, but I truly and honestly did not know what sin was. Oh, sure, I knew that telling a lie was wrong, I knew adultery was wrong. I knew all of them were wrong and were sins. But it wasn't until I was confronted with how God's sees me in light of Scripture.
Have you ever told a lie?
yes I had, that makes me a liar.
Have you ever stolen anything?
yes I had, that makes me a thief.
Have I ever looked at a woman with lust?
yes, I had, that makes me an adulterer
So far, I am a lying, thief and an adulterer at heart and I have only looked at three of the Ten Commandments. I am guilty of breaking ALL TEN of the Commandments!
If God were to judge me based on the Ten Commandments, would he find me innocent of guilty of breaking His Laws? I was guilty. In fact, I still had unresolved sin in my life as a pastor. Not only had I broken all of the Commandments, but I was knowingly sinning with no idea of repenting or no second thought of wanting to repent of my sin. I was hiding it from the world...
but God knew about it!
He knows about your sins too.
Once I truly and honestly repented of my sins, I then put my faith and trust COMPLETELY in Jesus Christ to save me. What a difference it has made.
The world hates me now and I am okay with that. Other pastors look at me like I am crazy, and I am okay with that. Because the Bible tells us that if we follow Him, the world will hate us. When I set out to do a revival in town here this past October, I was persecuted by many pastors. I had one pastor of 30 years tell me that the revival won't do any good because they had tried it before and it didn't work. Of course they felt they had to entertain the people first in order to get people to come. God's Word should be enough. IT IS ENOUGH!
When I became truly saved, I still give a message of love but now I do it while pointing to the cross. I always used the cross as a sign of His love for us. Now I use the cross AFTER people realize and admit for themselves that they are a sinner headed for hell. At that point, they will realize just how much love God has for us. We have all fallen short and are all with sin. We are all headed for hell but because of the cross we do not have to go to hell. But if people don't hear the whole message they will continue to be lost. Just like I was lost even as a pastor.
Now, back to the gay guy at church. I never gave him the Word of God that he needed to hear. I never saw him again. Unless someone preached repentance to him, he will end up in hell when he dies. I don't want that to happen to him and I don't want his blood on my head! (read Ezekiel 3:17-18)
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous [man], that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul. If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked [man], thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Knowing what we know now...
if it were Sept 11, 2001 and you were in the Twin Towers in NY, one hour before the planes hit, would you tell people, "let's go out for coffee tomorrow and chat!" Or would you give them the information they need to hear? Are you a good person? The Bible says there is none that is good, no not one! Have you ever told a lie? they will admit they have. Do the rest like I did earlier. They will have to admit they are a lying, thief and an adulterer at heart and will stand guilty in front of God one day (that very DAY!) They will not be offended because they have willingly admitted their guilt to you.
Now, if inviting them for coffee is not the right thing to say (knowing that they will die in an hour), then how can that be the biblical way to present the gospel message to them? Because we don't know when any man or woman will die. We don't know when any teenager will die either. We must give them the TRUTH of GOD'S WORD. God Law to the proud and arrogant person and God's Grace to the humble of heart.
Believe me, people will thank you for loving them enough to care about their eternal destiny!
Once saved, always saved?
Are you truly saved in the first place.
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 1Tim 2:19
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matt 7:21-23
Are you a disgrace in your pulpit? think about it!
Listen to a very good sermon on controversy here.
www.blueletterbible.com
GOD LOVES YOU!
Yep, that was my message when I first got into the ministry. Nothing wrong with that message. It is true! God loves you! Every sermon I prepared was geared towards the same theme...
GOD LOVES YOU!
are you struggling with addiction?
GOD LOVES YOU!
is your marriage faltering?
GOD LOVES YOU!
are you giving your tithes to the church?
GOD LOVES YOU!
do you hate your neighbor?
GOD LOVES YOU!
are you gay or involved in pornography?
GOD LOVES YOU!
That was me! Every sermon, the same. God loves you so much that he sent his Son to die on the cross for you. That's how much he loved you. He wants us to love each other too. If someone hits you on your right cheek, turn to him your left cheek! If someone steals your Ferrari, give him your Lamborghini too! I preached about how we should all be out witnessing to people because we are to fulfill the Great Commission. Of course, I wasn't doing it. I just told everyone else to do it. My bulletins were always filled with at least one joke for people to take home and share with others. My sermon always started out with a joke. It was good to see people laughing because it was a gift from God! I was really good at it too. I would read a line of Scripture, sometimes I would read almost a whole chapter (not too long, because I did not want people to get bored). I remember that my first sermon took me a whole 12 minutes! Twelve minutes and the people loved me. They got out early and were on their way to the restaurants in an effort to beat the church crowds. They said they enjoyed the sermon because it was right to the point. Never mind the fact that half of it was a joke and a good story. Remember how Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?" He said it three times! Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep. Feed my sheep! I was offering potato chips and french onion dip! For the new Christians, I was doing nothing to help them grow in their faith. For the mature Christians, I was doing absolutely nothing for them. We all know we are to love one another. Now, give me some meat and potatoes is what they would say. (they didn't actually say this, but as I look back, I would have said it had I been them!)
One day early in the morning a lady came into my office. She said that her son was going to be in church that day and she didn't want me to mention anything about homosexuality because he was gay. I assured her that I wasn't going to talk about that. She was relieved. When church service started, I saw the young man and was very careful about what I said because I did not want to offend him or his mom. When the service was over, they both came up to me and said it was a very good service. I never saw that young man again!
How did I get people saved? Notice the wording...
how did "I" get people saved??!!
At the end of a really special service I would work on the emotions of people and if they were not saved, I would have them come forth to say the sinners prayer and to be baptized.
I was a pastor that was not saved. Hard to believe? read my story here
I used to preach "once saved, always saved." I would tell people that we as Christians will never fall away because God won't let us fall away. We had His promise that He began a good work in us...
So, I completely blew it as a pastor! I had a great ability to relate to people. I would listen to anyone and would not challenge anyone when it came to the Bible. I would shake my head in agreement but did not know the Bible well enough to stand up for it. I knew that God loved us and that He said the greatest commandment was to love Him and to love our neighbors as ourselves. I knew that and I preached it every Sunday. When it came time to actually trying to witness to people, I would say the classic line...
Are you saved? Do you know how you can get to heaven? If you say this prayer, you can know for sure you are saved!
I wanted to grow in my ability to relate to people so I bought several books. I purchased Rick Warren's Purpose Drive Church and Purpose Driven Life. I read them and loved them. I thought, "wow, this book is great! I have to get my church doing this!" I also went up to Chicago and visited the Willow Creek Church and fell in love with Bill Hybels preaching. It was good. I felt I wasn't doing too much different than he was doing. Just to about 10,000 fewer people!
Yep, I was a pastor! You could call me Pastor Brian, Pastor Culver or Reverend Culver. It was a badge of honor and with it came instant respect. I was liked by everyone. My church loved me, the community loved me, even the other churches loved me.
I WAS A PASTOR AND I WAS NOT SAVED!
The problem with Once Saved, Always saved is this...
many people "think" they are saved when they are not!
I thought I was saved. I believed in Jesus and I got baptized. I preached and was fulfilling His calling in my life. I had to have been saved. But I wasn't!
How do I know that I was not saved?
It wasn't until I heard Hell's Best Kept Secret and True and False Converts that I realized I was not saved. For the first time, I heard about God's Law. As a pastor, I could only name 4 or 5 of the Commandments. I did not know all of them, let alone, know them in order. How could I as a pastor, not know the Law of God? I was preaching against sin, but I truly and honestly did not know what sin was. Oh, sure, I knew that telling a lie was wrong, I knew adultery was wrong. I knew all of them were wrong and were sins. But it wasn't until I was confronted with how God's sees me in light of Scripture.
Have you ever told a lie?
yes I had, that makes me a liar.
Have you ever stolen anything?
yes I had, that makes me a thief.
Have I ever looked at a woman with lust?
yes, I had, that makes me an adulterer
So far, I am a lying, thief and an adulterer at heart and I have only looked at three of the Ten Commandments. I am guilty of breaking ALL TEN of the Commandments!
If God were to judge me based on the Ten Commandments, would he find me innocent of guilty of breaking His Laws? I was guilty. In fact, I still had unresolved sin in my life as a pastor. Not only had I broken all of the Commandments, but I was knowingly sinning with no idea of repenting or no second thought of wanting to repent of my sin. I was hiding it from the world...
but God knew about it!
He knows about your sins too.
Once I truly and honestly repented of my sins, I then put my faith and trust COMPLETELY in Jesus Christ to save me. What a difference it has made.
The world hates me now and I am okay with that. Other pastors look at me like I am crazy, and I am okay with that. Because the Bible tells us that if we follow Him, the world will hate us. When I set out to do a revival in town here this past October, I was persecuted by many pastors. I had one pastor of 30 years tell me that the revival won't do any good because they had tried it before and it didn't work. Of course they felt they had to entertain the people first in order to get people to come. God's Word should be enough. IT IS ENOUGH!
When I became truly saved, I still give a message of love but now I do it while pointing to the cross. I always used the cross as a sign of His love for us. Now I use the cross AFTER people realize and admit for themselves that they are a sinner headed for hell. At that point, they will realize just how much love God has for us. We have all fallen short and are all with sin. We are all headed for hell but because of the cross we do not have to go to hell. But if people don't hear the whole message they will continue to be lost. Just like I was lost even as a pastor.
Now, back to the gay guy at church. I never gave him the Word of God that he needed to hear. I never saw him again. Unless someone preached repentance to him, he will end up in hell when he dies. I don't want that to happen to him and I don't want his blood on my head! (read Ezekiel 3:17-18)
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous [man], that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul. If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked [man], thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Knowing what we know now...
if it were Sept 11, 2001 and you were in the Twin Towers in NY, one hour before the planes hit, would you tell people, "let's go out for coffee tomorrow and chat!" Or would you give them the information they need to hear? Are you a good person? The Bible says there is none that is good, no not one! Have you ever told a lie? they will admit they have. Do the rest like I did earlier. They will have to admit they are a lying, thief and an adulterer at heart and will stand guilty in front of God one day (that very DAY!) They will not be offended because they have willingly admitted their guilt to you.
Now, if inviting them for coffee is not the right thing to say (knowing that they will die in an hour), then how can that be the biblical way to present the gospel message to them? Because we don't know when any man or woman will die. We don't know when any teenager will die either. We must give them the TRUTH of GOD'S WORD. God Law to the proud and arrogant person and God's Grace to the humble of heart.
Believe me, people will thank you for loving them enough to care about their eternal destiny!
Once saved, always saved?
Are you truly saved in the first place.
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 1Tim 2:19
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matt 7:21-23
Are you a disgrace in your pulpit? think about it!
Listen to a very good sermon on controversy here.
www.blueletterbible.com
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Will you fight for Jesus? Part TWO
In my original post dated Jan 17, 2007, I asked the following questions.
"How big are the battles you are facing? Are you willing to go to war for Jesus? Will you fight for Him? I would suspect that many people will say yes, when in fact, they should say no. Let me try to explain this in a way you can understand..."I then went on to say there are many people who claim to be Christians, when in fact, they aren't. They say they believe in Jesus but they are missing something. Something very crucial. Obedience to God's Word. The need to repent of their sins.
Now we know that those who are truly saved understand that we are in a battle. It is a spiritual battle marked by false teachings (Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness, Scientology, etc), post-modernism thinking, ermergent theology, and of course, the ever present Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Tony Jones, Brian McLaren and Doug Pagitt's of the world of churchianity.
Well, shortly after the posting went up, I got a response.
Here is a typical response from one who does not want to fight for his faith.
I think that if we showed love (greatest commandment) that we would not have to "fight"
The conversation then went on to "why" we fight. It is a spiritual battle and we know that you cannot expect people to love you back when you love them like Jesus did. If you love Jesus, the world WILL HATE YOU! You will have a battle on your hands! But that is okay.
I would rather fight for Jesus than cuddle up to the world.The commenter went on to say...
I also would say that if you (christian community - not you in particular) would truly love God and love one another and lived in community as the early church did; you would not have to "fight" as you think and presume. I do not see instructions (please show me them, if they are there) where Jesus instructed us "to fight"
Believers in Christ...
Do you agree that we are in a spiritual battle
and should be ready for battle with Satan and the world?
in my post, I also wrote...
Fight for the Lord? I say to you, they don't know the Lord! Why would they fight for someone they do not know? They are professing Christians but they are not obedient Christians. Jesus said: “If you love me, you will obey me.” This was not stated as an option or a likelihood, e.g. most will obey me or you’ll want to obey me. No, if you love me you will obey me. He continued, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” Jesus continued, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” John defined love for God: “This is love for God: to obey his commands.” God’s commands are the teachings and commands of Jesus. If we love God we will obey his commands.
and should be ready for battle with Satan and the world?
in my post, I also wrote...
Fight for the Lord? I say to you, they don't know the Lord! Why would they fight for someone they do not know? They are professing Christians but they are not obedient Christians. Jesus said: “If you love me, you will obey me.” This was not stated as an option or a likelihood, e.g. most will obey me or you’ll want to obey me. No, if you love me you will obey me. He continued, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” Jesus continued, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” John defined love for God: “This is love for God: to obey his commands.” God’s commands are the teachings and commands of Jesus. If we love God we will obey his commands.
The commenter also said...
You may be right, the world that surrounds me does not hate me. The reason is simple: when you love them and are showing the fruits of the spirit ... why would they hate you when you are loving them and bring joy to their life ? (this comment is from a youth and family pastor that is seminary trained!)
NOW, look at what the BIBLE says...
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. *John 15:18-21
Now, you can start to see the battle that we need to fight. There are pastor's who are not saved who are leading the flock astray. They are creating false converts.
Here is another example (again from a seminary trained person)
I love the fact that you bring up homosexuals again. Do you really HATE them ? I will tell them what I tell everyone .. message does not change. God loved you so much that He sent His Son to take your place. (so far, good) Because He died for you / resurrected and seated at the right hand of God; His grace covers your sin. (Whoops, something is missing. Where is the call to repentance?)
To tell someone that His grace covers their sin, does not require them to repent of their sins. Where is the putting away of the old self and becoming new??
here is another point commenter made...
In the situation where it was teenage girls (5) that were part of the group, we told them that we believed that their lifestyle choices were not healthy and that they did not line up with the lifestyle that God has called us to.We, however, did emphasize that you are more than willing to contnue to vcome and be part of the ministry ( this is the welcoming not affirming). We will love you, welcome you but we will (not) affirm or applaud your decisions.
Not once were those lesbian girls told of the need to repent. They just were told the church "believes" that the lifestyle is not healthy. WHY IS IT SO HARD TO TELL PEOPLE THE TRUTH THAT THEY NEED TO HEAR. IT MAKES ME SICK TO SEE HOW PEOPLE WILL WIMP OUT (YOU KNOW, THE WIMPY KIND OF LOVE THAT WAS NOT FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST!!!!)
Again, commenter said... (don't forget, this is a seminary trained pastor)
However, as I look at scripture and see Jesus interact with individuals; can you show me where he said, "repent" ?
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matt 4:17
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark 1:14-15
And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Luke 13:2-5
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. Luke 17:3-4
and out of Revelation we find...
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. Rev 2:5
Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Rev 2:16
And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Rev 2:21
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. Rev 2:22
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Rev 3:3
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Rev 3:19
uh oh, there's a problem, if we LOVE someone we will rebuke and chasten them and tell them of a need to repent!
and let's not forget the woman at the well...
"Go, and sin no more!
Or, how about the rich man?
He brought up several of the Ten Commandments and the man said he had kept them all since his youth (which was obviously a lie), so Jesus then took him to the Second
Commandment and told him to sell all his possession and to come follow Him. The man went away sad. He exposed the man for who he was. A prideful person who loved his money more than God.
Commenter said...
Once again, if you are truly being the hands and feet of Christ - loving and serving them - they are not going to hate you for loving them and serving them. You love reading into scripture to pull out your points that do not really exist.
No response needed on this one! His comments speak for themselves.
Another commenter said (also a seminary trained pastor)
Loving like Jesus is not being wimpy or ignoring Scripture, it is fulfilling it. You know that. When your heart is full of Christlike love for that homosexual or young man whose life has gotten off tract and when you realize that you are no better in God's sight than they are... then you might be ready to engage them. Please don't drag the reputation of Jesus down with misguided attempts at playing the Holy Spirit and feeling that somehow it is your responsibility to point out everyone's sinful ways. It is your responsibility to love people as Jesus did and to deal with your own sin. That is the real fight!
My response...
basically this man does not have a clue as to what the real fight is.
Why did this commenter feel it necessary to post here? The commenter that has been quoted here, went to another blog site and said this...
Everyone:
I am in a conflict over in a blog post and commenting session. Can someone come over and help me 
I am getting slammed:
http://time2changechurches.blogspot.com/2008/01/will-you-fight-for-jesus.html
Sorry for the call out for help. Of course, maybe you will think that I am an idiot there as well
Now, at the time it was basically just Michelle, Stella and myself who were conversing with him. You can read the comments yourself and find that they are not "slamming" him. They are sharing with love, the Word of God. As a seminary trained pastor, it surprises me that he would feel we were slamming him. I put all of these comments on here in the hopes that he can see how unbiblical his thinking is. I am sure he is a good person in his mind and feels he will go to heaven based on that alone. Or based on the fact that one day he said "the prayer."
We are not to be of the world. We are to separate ourselves from the world. If you are obedient to God's Word, the world will hate you. Be ready to go to battle. Satan wants to distort God's Word. He wants just enough of it preached to make people "think" they are saved. But he does not want people to know they need to repent of their sins.
I WILL SAY IT AGAIN AND AGAIN
REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND!
PUT YOUR FAITH AND TRUST IN JESUS CHRIST ALONE!
When dealing with the proud and arrogant person, we are to preach Law along with the wonderful grace of God! When dealing with a humbled person then give them grace. God's Word is powerful, we need not fear preaching it as others would have you believe.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. (Romans 1:16 NIV)
May you challenge the very core of those who would lead you to believe in the foolishness of the Cross. Because those comments are from unbelievers.
Tell them the Truth of God's Word. All of it.
May you go in peace and share God's Word with all you see today and everyday.
**************************************************************************
on a side note, the pastor whose comments appear on here is in need of some prayers for his family. I believe it is his wife that is having surgery today and it will be her 6th one in the last 10 months. Please keep this family in your prayers!
Which goes to show you all the importance of telling people the Truth of God's Word. We do not know when our last days will be on earth. Repent and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone.
Bonds and Chains
By PAUL ELIAS, Associated Press Writer
24 minutes ago 6am CST, Jan 24, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO - Barry Bonds asked a federal judge to dismiss perjury charges against him Wednesday, arguing the indictment is "scattershot" and noted for its "striking inartfulness." Bonds was charged in November with lying to a grand jury about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
In the motion filed in San Francisco federal court, the former San Francisco Giant neither admits nor denies taking the drugs, but argues the questions asked by prosecutors during a December 2003 grand jury appearance were vague, ambiguous and confusing.
The lawyers said "the questions posed to him by two different prosecutors were frequently imprecise, redundant, overlapping and frequently compound."
Prosecutors asked Bonds several times whether personal trainer Greg Anderson supplied him with steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs beginning in 2000. Bonds answered "no" or "not at all," but his lawyers argued the questions were not clear.
Bonds' lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to toss the case or order prosecutors to streamline the indictment, which cites 19 different instances of Bonds' alleged lying. Bonds, a free agent, has pleaded not guilty to four charges of perjury and one count of obstruction.
Prosecutor Matt Parrella declined comment.
Such motions to dismiss cases are frequently filed, though rarely granted in federal criminal cases.
The court papers do offer an early glimpse at Bonds' legal strategy. Legal experts said prosecutors must prove Bonds lied and that their questions before the grand jury were direct and open to little interpretation.
Bonds' lawyers wrote "some portions of the indictment are so vague that it is simply impossible to be certain what untruths Mr. Bonds is alleged to have uttered."
Former Olympic cyclist Tammy Thomas, also charged with lying about her drug use, similarly argued last year for her case to be dismissed. She said multiple alleged instances of her lying were lumped confusingly into a single charge.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who's hearing all cases related to the BALCO steroids ring, has not ruled on Thomas' motion.
Illston is scheduled to hear from Bonds' legal team Feb. 29.
****************************************************************************
When that fateful Day comes that we are face to face with God. Will you say to Him...
"Your indictment is scattershot and noted for its striking inartfulness!"?
When he says you have lied, will you say, "No, or not at all?"
Will you say that the person you lied to asked vague, ambiguous and confusing questions?
All liars will have their part in the lake of fire -- unless they repent of their sins and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ!
Who is your trust in?
Bill Hybels? Rick Warren? Tony Jones? Brian McLaren? Joel Osteen?
How about putting your trust in Jesus alone. Get into God's Word and don't twist it around to justify your stance on things. Know what it says in its full context so that there will be no confusion.
Are you a good person?
Will you be like Bonds?
or
Will you be like Paul, remember my chains!?
24 minutes ago 6am CST, Jan 24, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO - Barry Bonds asked a federal judge to dismiss perjury charges against him Wednesday, arguing the indictment is "scattershot" and noted for its "striking inartfulness." Bonds was charged in November with lying to a grand jury about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
In the motion filed in San Francisco federal court, the former San Francisco Giant neither admits nor denies taking the drugs, but argues the questions asked by prosecutors during a December 2003 grand jury appearance were vague, ambiguous and confusing.
The lawyers said "the questions posed to him by two different prosecutors were frequently imprecise, redundant, overlapping and frequently compound."
Prosecutors asked Bonds several times whether personal trainer Greg Anderson supplied him with steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs beginning in 2000. Bonds answered "no" or "not at all," but his lawyers argued the questions were not clear.
Bonds' lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to toss the case or order prosecutors to streamline the indictment, which cites 19 different instances of Bonds' alleged lying. Bonds, a free agent, has pleaded not guilty to four charges of perjury and one count of obstruction.
Prosecutor Matt Parrella declined comment.
Such motions to dismiss cases are frequently filed, though rarely granted in federal criminal cases.
The court papers do offer an early glimpse at Bonds' legal strategy. Legal experts said prosecutors must prove Bonds lied and that their questions before the grand jury were direct and open to little interpretation.
Bonds' lawyers wrote "some portions of the indictment are so vague that it is simply impossible to be certain what untruths Mr. Bonds is alleged to have uttered."
Former Olympic cyclist Tammy Thomas, also charged with lying about her drug use, similarly argued last year for her case to be dismissed. She said multiple alleged instances of her lying were lumped confusingly into a single charge.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who's hearing all cases related to the BALCO steroids ring, has not ruled on Thomas' motion.
Illston is scheduled to hear from Bonds' legal team Feb. 29.
****************************************************************************
When that fateful Day comes that we are face to face with God. Will you say to Him...
"Your indictment is scattershot and noted for its striking inartfulness!"?
When he says you have lied, will you say, "No, or not at all?"
Will you say that the person you lied to asked vague, ambiguous and confusing questions?
All liars will have their part in the lake of fire -- unless they repent of their sins and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ!
Who is your trust in?
Bill Hybels? Rick Warren? Tony Jones? Brian McLaren? Joel Osteen?
How about putting your trust in Jesus alone. Get into God's Word and don't twist it around to justify your stance on things. Know what it says in its full context so that there will be no confusion.
Are you a good person?
Will you be like Bonds?
or
Will you be like Paul, remember my chains!?
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Change in plans! Let's get the message out to the lost (the pastor's and youth pastor's who are blindly following people instead of Jesus Christ)
On Sunday, I was going to do a post on "If we love everyone, you will have joy." The reason I was planning on posting it was to challenge people that love is not a guarantee of joy (human standards of joy). As I see the comments on my JURY DUTY post, it seems necessary to reach out to the lost people out there. For now, I am not talking about non-christians (yes, we need to witness to them), I am actually wanting to reach those who are lost and are in leadership positions within churches.
The pastor's and the youth pastor's.
For now, here are some links...
Do you follow Rick Warren and Saddleback Church? Are you Purpose Driven?
go here
Do you follow Bill Hybels and Willow Creek Church/Association?
go here
Do you follow Joseph Smith and the Mormon Church?
go here
Do you follow Tony Jones and the Emergent Movement?
go here.
I would also like to encourage you to go to: http://www.wayofthemaster.com/ click on witnessing clips and learn how to share you faith
The pastor's and the youth pastor's.
For now, here are some links...
Do you follow Rick Warren and Saddleback Church? Are you Purpose Driven?
go here
Do you follow Bill Hybels and Willow Creek Church/Association?
go here
Do you follow Joseph Smith and the Mormon Church?
go here
Do you follow Tony Jones and the Emergent Movement?
go here.
I would also like to encourage you to go to: http://www.wayofthemaster.com/ click on witnessing clips and learn how to share you faith
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Every one -- continued from Sunday post
Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words 1 Strong's Number: 3956 Greek: pas
Every, Everyone (Man), Everything:
signifies
(1) with nouns without the article,
(a) "every one" of the class denoted by the noun connected with pas, e.g., Mat 3:10, "every tree;" Mar 9:49, "every sacrifice;" see also Jhn 2:10; Act 2:43; Rom 2:9; Eph 1:21; 3:15; 2Th 2:4; 2Ti 3:16, RV;
(b) "any and every, of every kind, all manner of," e.g., Mat 4:23; "especially with nouns denoting virtues or vices, emotions, condition, indicating every mode in which a quality manifests itself; or any object to which the idea conveyed by the noun belongs" (Grimm-Thayer). This is often translated "all," e.g., Act 27:20; Rom 15:14; 2Cr 10:6; Eph 4:19,31; Col 4:12, "all the will of God," i.e., everything God wills;
(2) without a noun, "every one, everything, every man" (i.e., person), e.g., Luk 16:16; or with a negative, "not everyone," e.g., Mar 9:49; with a participle and the article, equivalent to a relative clause, everyone who, e.g., 1Cr 9:25; Gal 3:10,13; 1Jo 2:29; 3:3,4,6,10,15, rendered "whosoever." So in the neuter, 1Jo 2:16; 5:4, often rendered "whatsoever;" governed by the preposition en, "in," without a noun following, it signifies "in every matter, or condition," Phl 4:6; 1Th 5:18; "in every way or particular," 2Cr 4:8, translated "on every side;" so 2Cr 7:5; "in everything," Eph 5:24; Phl 4:12, lit., "in everything and (perhaps "even") in all things."
See THOROUGHLY, WHOLE.
2 Strong's Number: 537 Greek: hapas
Every, Everyone (Man), Everything:
a strengthened form of No. 1, signifies "all, the whole, altogether;" it is translated "every one" in Act 5:16, where it occurs in the plural. In Mar 8:25, the AV, "every man" translates the text with the masculine plural; the best mss. have the neuter plural, RV, "all things."
See ALL, WHOLE.
3 Strong's Number: 1538 Greek: hekastos
Every, Everyone (Man), Everything:
See EACH, NO. 1. It is used with heis, "one," in Act 2:6, "every man," and in Eph 4:16, "each several (part)," for AV, "every (part)." In Rev 22:2 the most authentic mss. omit the numeral in the phrase "every month." It is preceded by kath hena (kata, "according to," hena, "one"), a strengthened phrase, in Eph 5:33, AV, "everyone ... in particular," RV, "severally, each one." The same kind of phrase with ana, "each," before the numeral, is used in Rev 21:21, RV, "each one of the several (gates)," for AV, "every several (gate)."
See EACH, PARTICULAR, SEVERAL.
Notes:
(1) The preposition kata, "down," is sometimes found governing a noun, in the sense of "every," e.g., Luk 2:41, "every year;" Luk 16:19, "every day;" Heb. 9;25, "every year" (RV, "year by year"); so Hbr 10:3. This construction sometimes signifies "in every ...," e.g., Act 14:23, "in every church;" Act 15:21, "in every city;" so Act 20:23; Tts 1:5; Act 22:19, "in every synagogue" (plural); Act 8:3 "(into) every house." In Luk 8:1 the phrase means "throughout every city," as in the AV; in Luk 8:4 "of every city," RV. In Act 5:42 the RV renders kat' oikon "at home," for AV, "in every house;" in Act 2:46, for AV, "from house to house" (marg., "at home"). In Act 15:21 (last part) the adjective pas, "all," is placed between the preposition and the noun for the sake of emphasis. In Act 26:11, kata, followed by the plural of pas and the article before the noun, is rendered "in all the synagogues," RV, for AV, "in every synagogue." The presence of the article confirms the RV.
See SEVERALLY.
(2) In Mat 20:9,10, the preposition ana, "upward" (used distributively), governing the noun denarion, is translated "every man (a penny)." There is no word for "every man," and an appropriate rendering would be "a penny apiece;" cp. Luk 9:14, "fifty each," RV; Luk 10:1, "two and two;" Jhn 2:6, "two or three ... apiece;" Rev 4:8, "each ... six wings."
(3) The pronoun tis, "anyone," is rendered "any" in Act 2:45, RV, for the incorrect AV, "every." In Mar 15:24, the interrogative form is rendered "what each (should take)" (AV, "every man"), lit., "who (should take) what."
1 Strong's Number: 1538 Greek: hekastos
Each, Each Man, Each One:
"each" or "every," is used of any number separately, either
(a) as an adjective qualifying a noun, e.g., Luk 6:44; Jhn 19:23; Hbr 3:13, where "day by day," is, lit., "according to each day;" or, more emphatically with heis, "one," in Mat 26:22; Luk 4:40; 16:5; Act 2:3,6; 20:31; 1Cr 12:18; Eph 4:7,16, RV, "each (several)," for AV, "every;" Col 4:6; 1Th 2:11; 2Th 1:3;
(b) as a distributive pronoun, e.g., Act 4:35; Rom 2:6; Gal 6:4; in Phl 2:4, it is used in the plural; some mss. have it thus in Rev 6:11. The repetition in Hbr 8:11 is noticeable, "every man" (i.e., everyone). Prefixed by the preposition ana, "apiece" (a colloquialism), it is used, with stress on the individuality, in Rev 21:21, of the gates of the heavenly city, "each one of the several," RV; in Eph 5:33, preceded by kath' hena, "by one," it signifies "each (one) his own." The phrase hen kath' hen, lit., "one by one," is used in Rev 4:8, "each one of them."
I will tie all of this together in my post in a couple of days!!
Every, Everyone (Man), Everything:
signifies
(1) with nouns without the article,
(a) "every one" of the class denoted by the noun connected with pas, e.g., Mat 3:10, "every tree;" Mar 9:49, "every sacrifice;" see also Jhn 2:10; Act 2:43; Rom 2:9; Eph 1:21; 3:15; 2Th 2:4; 2Ti 3:16, RV;
(b) "any and every, of every kind, all manner of," e.g., Mat 4:23; "especially with nouns denoting virtues or vices, emotions, condition, indicating every mode in which a quality manifests itself; or any object to which the idea conveyed by the noun belongs" (Grimm-Thayer). This is often translated "all," e.g., Act 27:20; Rom 15:14; 2Cr 10:6; Eph 4:19,31; Col 4:12, "all the will of God," i.e., everything God wills;
(2) without a noun, "every one, everything, every man" (i.e., person), e.g., Luk 16:16; or with a negative, "not everyone," e.g., Mar 9:49; with a participle and the article, equivalent to a relative clause, everyone who, e.g., 1Cr 9:25; Gal 3:10,13; 1Jo 2:29; 3:3,4,6,10,15, rendered "whosoever." So in the neuter, 1Jo 2:16; 5:4, often rendered "whatsoever;" governed by the preposition en, "in," without a noun following, it signifies "in every matter, or condition," Phl 4:6; 1Th 5:18; "in every way or particular," 2Cr 4:8, translated "on every side;" so 2Cr 7:5; "in everything," Eph 5:24; Phl 4:12, lit., "in everything and (perhaps "even") in all things."
See THOROUGHLY, WHOLE.
2 Strong's Number: 537 Greek: hapas
Every, Everyone (Man), Everything:
a strengthened form of No. 1, signifies "all, the whole, altogether;" it is translated "every one" in Act 5:16, where it occurs in the plural. In Mar 8:25, the AV, "every man" translates the text with the masculine plural; the best mss. have the neuter plural, RV, "all things."
See ALL, WHOLE.
3 Strong's Number: 1538 Greek: hekastos
Every, Everyone (Man), Everything:
See EACH, NO. 1. It is used with heis, "one," in Act 2:6, "every man," and in Eph 4:16, "each several (part)," for AV, "every (part)." In Rev 22:2 the most authentic mss. omit the numeral in the phrase "every month." It is preceded by kath hena (kata, "according to," hena, "one"), a strengthened phrase, in Eph 5:33, AV, "everyone ... in particular," RV, "severally, each one." The same kind of phrase with ana, "each," before the numeral, is used in Rev 21:21, RV, "each one of the several (gates)," for AV, "every several (gate)."
See EACH, PARTICULAR, SEVERAL.
Notes:
(1) The preposition kata, "down," is sometimes found governing a noun, in the sense of "every," e.g., Luk 2:41, "every year;" Luk 16:19, "every day;" Heb. 9;25, "every year" (RV, "year by year"); so Hbr 10:3. This construction sometimes signifies "in every ...," e.g., Act 14:23, "in every church;" Act 15:21, "in every city;" so Act 20:23; Tts 1:5; Act 22:19, "in every synagogue" (plural); Act 8:3 "(into) every house." In Luk 8:1 the phrase means "throughout every city," as in the AV; in Luk 8:4 "of every city," RV. In Act 5:42 the RV renders kat' oikon "at home," for AV, "in every house;" in Act 2:46, for AV, "from house to house" (marg., "at home"). In Act 15:21 (last part) the adjective pas, "all," is placed between the preposition and the noun for the sake of emphasis. In Act 26:11, kata, followed by the plural of pas and the article before the noun, is rendered "in all the synagogues," RV, for AV, "in every synagogue." The presence of the article confirms the RV.
See SEVERALLY.
(2) In Mat 20:9,10, the preposition ana, "upward" (used distributively), governing the noun denarion, is translated "every man (a penny)." There is no word for "every man," and an appropriate rendering would be "a penny apiece;" cp. Luk 9:14, "fifty each," RV; Luk 10:1, "two and two;" Jhn 2:6, "two or three ... apiece;" Rev 4:8, "each ... six wings."
(3) The pronoun tis, "anyone," is rendered "any" in Act 2:45, RV, for the incorrect AV, "every." In Mar 15:24, the interrogative form is rendered "what each (should take)" (AV, "every man"), lit., "who (should take) what."
1 Strong's Number: 1538 Greek: hekastos
Each, Each Man, Each One:
"each" or "every," is used of any number separately, either
(a) as an adjective qualifying a noun, e.g., Luk 6:44; Jhn 19:23; Hbr 3:13, where "day by day," is, lit., "according to each day;" or, more emphatically with heis, "one," in Mat 26:22; Luk 4:40; 16:5; Act 2:3,6; 20:31; 1Cr 12:18; Eph 4:7,16, RV, "each (several)," for AV, "every;" Col 4:6; 1Th 2:11; 2Th 1:3;
(b) as a distributive pronoun, e.g., Act 4:35; Rom 2:6; Gal 6:4; in Phl 2:4, it is used in the plural; some mss. have it thus in Rev 6:11. The repetition in Hbr 8:11 is noticeable, "every man" (i.e., everyone). Prefixed by the preposition ana, "apiece" (a colloquialism), it is used, with stress on the individuality, in Rev 21:21, of the gates of the heavenly city, "each one of the several," RV; in Eph 5:33, preceded by kath' hena, "by one," it signifies "each (one) his own." The phrase hen kath' hen, lit., "one by one," is used in Rev 4:8, "each one of them."
I will tie all of this together in my post in a couple of days!!