Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Note to Children on The Lovingkindness of God

Sons and daughters,
Well, there are just times that you have to drink in certain portions of scripture again and again. As I have poured out my heart to God for you this morning, I believe in the Lord. I believe that He is working in you right now and will continue to work in your hearts. I am in Psalm 107 once again re-reading these wonderful words and claiming them for my children. V. 6 says that they cried to the Lord in their trouble and He delivered them out of their distresses.
That is my hearts desire. That you are delivered out of your distress. Jesus is a Deliverer. That is His business. These people were hungry and thirsty..their soul fainted in them….THEN they cried to the Lord. That is the time to cry out to the Lord, and He will satisfy your soul and fill it.
There is nothing like just getting alone somewhere and crying out to the Lord. Weeping tears of repentance and at the same time tears of joy because you know that the Lord is near to them that are of a broken heart.
Read this Psalm, I have printed it for you, and see what type of Lord our Lord is. Yes, he allows us to go through tribulations because of our rebellion, but when we cry to Him He hears.
Oh, that my children would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to them.
Look, He is able to brake the gates of brass and cut the bars of iron in two. He is able to brake bonds and to bring you out of darkness and the shadow of death. Did you know that when you are away from the Lord you are sitting under the shadow of death?
That is where some of you are right now. Do you know how that strikes fear into my heart?
He can make your storms to be calm and your waves to be still. And you will be glad to be quiet and He will bring you to your desired haven.
Whoever is wise, and will observe these things will understand the lovingkindess of the Lord.
Your Loving Dad

1 ¶ Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
10 ¶ Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17 ¶ Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men!
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
23 ¶ Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men!
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 ¶ He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.
39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.
Sons and daughters,
Well, there are just times that you have to drink in certain portions of scripture again and again. As I have poured out my heart to God for you this morning, I believe in the Lord. I believe that He is working in you right now and will continue to work in your hearts. I am in Psalm 107 once again re-reading these wonderful words and claiming them for my children. V. 6 says that they cried to the Lord in their trouble and He delivered them out of their distresses.
That is my hearts desire. That you are delivered out of your distress. Jesus is a Deliverer. That is His business. These people were hungry and thirsty..their soul fainted in them….THEN they cried to the Lord. That is the time to cry out to the Lord, and He will satisfy your soul and fill it.
There is nothing like just getting alone somewhere and crying out to the Lord. Weeping tears of repentance and at the same time tears of joy because you know that the Lord is near to them that are of a broken heart.
Read this Psalm, I have printed it for you, and see what type of Lord our Lord is. Yes, he allows us to go through tribulations because of our rebellion, but when we cry to Him He hears.
Oh, that my children would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to them.
Look, He is able to brake the gates of brass and cut the bars of iron in two. He is able to brake bonds and to bring you out of darkness and the shadow of death. Did you know that when you are away from the Lord you are sitting under the shadow of death?
That is where some of you are right now. Do you know how that strikes fear into my heart?
He can make your storms to be calm and your waves to be still. And you will be glad to be quiet and He will bring you to your desired haven.
Whoever is wise, and will observe these things will understand the lovingkindess of the Lord.
Your Loving Dad

1 ¶ Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
10 ¶ Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17 ¶ Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men!
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
23 ¶ Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men!
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 ¶ He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.
39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Letter to My Children On Rebellion

Good Morning Sons and Daughters,

Or whatever time of day it is that you are reading this. I imagine afternoon or evening.
Which reminds me. You all need to get into the habit of reading the bible every morning. At least one chapter. It would take all of 2-3 minutes on average; Sometimes one. And those very few minutes each day would impact your life dramatically if you were consistent.
I am amazed at how gracious God is with me. Psalm 106 reminded me through His patience with the children of Israel. It’s kind of a mini picture of the first five books of the Bible. Time and again God had been gracious with them, and yet they would come to a place where it seemed better to them to take another way. God would punish them, and they would return asking for mercy, and of course God gave it. Now don’t think that people didn’t die in the midst of all of this. They did. As a matter of fact, not a one of the children of Israel who started out the trip into to wilderness ever made it out. Their lives were vicious cycles of drifting from God into rebellion, experiencing His punishment, asking for mercy, receiving it; then wondering off into rebellion again, etc. ad nauseum.
Remember that scripture that says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of that way is death.” Yes, God is merciful. I am surprised that I am still alive. Not that I have ever wandered off into blatant adultery, drunkenness, thievery, or rebellion. But that at fifty years old I still have too many times that my flesh is weak. I hate the flesh. But I love the Lord. And I pray that He will purify my heart and my mind so that you kids see more of Jesus in me by the time I die. I don’t want my life to be a picture of Psalm 106, but a picture of Jesus.
So my exhortation to you my dear, dear children, is to avoid the vicious cycle of rebellion that the children of Israel experienced and so died in the wilderness. Does your life seem like a wilderness from God right now? He is willing to have mercy and restore all that sin has taken. Yes, since He is a loving heavenly Father, there will be times of chastisement in order that you may learn not to stray. But if you cry out to the Lord, in due time, He will answer and come in power and glory. I have seen this kids. The Lord has come upon me in power. He has done this as I have cried out to Him for you. And He has assured me that He is working. For that I am eternally grateful.
1. Do not forget all that God has done in the past.(v.13) Gave you a Christian home. Gave you parents that love you. Allowed you to hear the gospel. Spared your life thus far. Kept you healthy thus far. Girls, He has given you healthy children. Gave you responsible husbands.
2. Be careful what you ask for (v.15) Don’t just desire a fun-filled life. Ask for a joy-filled life. Ask for God’s best for you in all things. Ask for God Himself.
3. Don’t forget God. (v.21) He is always there. He sees all. He knows all. And He loves still.
4. Do not complain against the Lord. You can complain to the Lord all you want. Just don’t complain about the Lord. We can’t even see what is going to happen tomorrow, much less today. And He can. He has already planned what is going to happen tomorrow.
5. Do not yoke up to unbelievers. (v. 28) I know this verse is about Baal, but the general teaching of separation from unbelievers themselves is throughout scripture. Believe me, they didn’t just happen upon Baal. He was introduced by the heathen around them. Come out from among them and be separate from them.
Kids, these are not rules, but principles to live by. Ignore them at your peril.
I love you.

Dad

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Note to Children on the Fear of God

My Dear Sons and Daughters,

In studying this morning Psalm 111, we are reminded of the perfect faithfulness of God and of the foundational theme of Proverbs, the fear of the Lord.
To walk in the ways of God and to follow the principles we are taught in the Bible is certainly the wisest course we could take. In fact, woe be to us if we walk another way. You merely need to go back two chapters to see the end of the man who opposes God in his ways.
There is such comfort in the fear of God. When you bow to the Lord of the universe, you know that you are bowing to someone who is competent, someone who is faithful, and someone who can be trusted. If your shrine lies elsewhere, then you can only rely on yourself, and in the end you will see that we are too feeble to be relied on to even handle one day apart from God.
It is simply awesome to think that God the creator is our Savior and our Friend. That is why we can both fall down before Him with tears in reverent awe and gleefully laugh as we rejoice in Him as He reveals Himself to us in power. The only way that we can possibly respond to the goodness and grace of God is to faithfully live by His principles.
If we refuse to live by His principles, then we are fools. That is why the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. He holds the keys to life. Life is all about Him and what He is doing in and through your life. Ignore him and you will fall. Despise His reproofs and you will die.
The voices will be many and often which compel you to take another route, but you must be resolute. You can’t afford to walk in the ways of the unwise. You know better. (You have sat under an average of 150 sermons a year from your father for most of your lives…. ). Anyway, as you walk, keep your eyes on Jesus and listen to His voice as the Holy Spirit guides you. The resulting blessings that begin to rain down on you will refreshingly remind you that God is faithful. He has written your name on the palm of His hand. He numbers every hair on you head. Ignore His promptings only to trudge once again agonizingly slowly down the muddy ruts of pain and isolation from God. I say slow, because it is such a dreary way once the initial thrill of rebellion wears off, but it happens all of a sudden if you are not alert to what Satan is trying to do. Be sober. Be alert. Satan is like a roaring lion seeking to devour you and your children. Fight for them. You boys fight for your future wives and children. Do it now! Tomorrow you will be old men. Listen to your father. Fight my sons. Pray my daughters. Do not be deceived. I am praying for you and am confident that God is faithful.

Love,
Dad

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Note to my Sons


Some Observations Concerning Joy

My sons, it is with the greatest concern, love, tender care and fatherly emotion that I write to you concerning your present and future experience of joy. I write this, not because you don’t know joy, but because I fear that at the very least, my example has not been one of consistent joy. I assure you, that the times that you have observed me in a state of anxiety or fretting has only been caused by my own sins.
I do know, having observed you very closely, with the eye of a paternal intensity not unlike a father over the crib of a badly injured newborn babe, that there are times when you do enjoy the experience of joy and there are times that you do not. What concerns me is not something that I have misdiagnosed or misinterpreted. I am no novice when it comes to my children. I have studied them all of their lives and have been keenly sensitive to every wisp and movement that affects them. Some may say that perhaps this kind of fawning observation is unmanly, or not fatherly, but I cannot help overseeing my offspring in a way that causes me to be in continual prayer, concern and care.
I feel like I have set you free to fly, but that in some ways I have clipped your wings. The kind of love that I have for you, I feel, is unusual. I don’t see it in a lot of men for their children, yet they proclaim that it is a sort of tough love that kicks the nestlings from their homes to survive on their own. Perhaps, but at least these same nestlings should be adequately trained and equipped to handle the various aspects of independent life necessary to prosper in all sorts of circumstances. In that I have fallen short, and have thereby clipped your wings. Not to worry though, because you have sprouted fine on your own, and have learned and are learning the hard way to fend for yourselves, God having slowly restrained me from gathering you under my wings against your will, you both being men of God who yearn to live free. Free from restraint, but also free from sin. It is this area that I want to address.
The times of joy that I have most often observed you, not to put you both in the same category, because you are both so different yet you do struggle with some of the same sins, are times when you are out of your ordinary element. By that I mean that you are away from home and are with those that are not your family. This is partially unfair in that we have had thankfully not a few times of delightful fellowship with only our own family in glorious discussion of the things of God, which times have sustained my life.
But having lived with you for the past few months, and that, under strained financial circumstances, I have concern for you future families. It may not always be well, as I have stated in another letter, with our economy, even though God’s economy is what we actually live under. You may often have your character tested, and this same character must be iron-clad before your family. That is what the times you are going through right now are for. There are going to be people depending on you, and you must show your wife and children that you are trusting implicitly in the ROCK, who cannot be moved.
I have observed the leak of joy from your lives, even though my observations are tainted and cannot be fully trusted, because I only see the outward man. But I do see your demeanor around your family, and that demeanor will affect the whole family. Not that you are to live for the happiness of others, but others’ happiness is often tied up with yours, and that will be perfectly clear to those others, when you are the head of your home.
So let me cut to the chase. The absence of joy often means the presence of or a struggle with sin. We are taught that in order to overcome our sins, we must walk in the Spirit. One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy, the others being of equal value. Love, peace, long-suffering, self-control, etc. As we walk in continual and humble obedience to His leadership, and submission to His will, and yieldedness to His presence, His affect in our lives will be the fruit we bear of love, joy, peace, etc. I say again, we simply cannot walk after the flesh and have joy. It is impossible, because joy is a fruit of the Spirit. And if it is a fruit of the Spirit, then it is not something that we can call up at will. It is something that we live in. My sons, walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. This is a lifelong lesson, but something that we must take up everyday and wage war about. I know that I am preaching to the choir, and to myself. Painfully aware of that in fact, but your loving Dad is thankfully, still growing in grace, and still has a fiery desire to see my sons full of joy. Don’t get me wrong, I want you to also walk in sorrow for your sins, but godly sorrow results in repentance and the resultant joy. The sorrow of the world works death.
I wish to see my boys know the full joy of the Lord, as I know that you have known. I simply want it for you more, and I want it for your future families. I want you to be overcomers, conquerors, warriors, who can lead a family to the fountain of joy. Otherwise, I feel that you may taint your offspring more than I have tainted mine. You both have strong personalities, lots of talent, leadership capabilities out the wazoo, and limitless possibilities. So….you are on dangerous ground, being heirs of pride. My sons, cast your all once again, and every day on Jesus. I am so…so proud of you both, but I must hasten to add that it is a humble and thankful response to God rather than true pride.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Letter to My Children - 2nd


Well Dear Children,


How my heart is enlarged for you. As I pour out my soul to God on your behalf this morning, my prayer is that you would experience the reality of the presence of God in such a way as to change you forever.

There are times that a child of God slips, and at such times he will find that God is there. And that God understands. Psalms 103:14 tells us that “He knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”

In other words, the Lord knows the foundation of our thoughts, actions and intentions. He knows what we are made of, what we have experienced, what we have been taught, what we have grasped and haven’t grasped. He knows the basis upon which we act and speak. And he knows that he made us from the dust of the ground and he doesn’t have expectations that are out of the realm of our ability to fulfill.

He is a merciful God. In fact, v. 17 of that same Chapter tells us that God’s mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon those that fear Him.

There will never be a time that one of His children is not able to receive mercy. Sometimes we will feel differently. As if we have sinned too much to go to God with it. But that is a deceptive feeling. The truth is, if we are God’s children, then every time we sin we can go to God with it and ask for forgiveness. In fact, we must go to God with it. Where else can we go?

Do you not think that I struggle with the same sins as you do? Yes, we are all made of the same dust. And we have very much the same points of reference in which to live our lives. All that I have learned I have taught you. How much you have grasped, I don’t know. That is the difference. But certainly I have had to make much use of the mercy of God, which fount thankfully never runs dry for the believer. His mercy is indeed from everlasting to everlasting upon those that fear Him.

Read that whole chapter of Psalm 103 and you will find comfort in the mercy of God. And then cry out to Him that He will give you His mercy. And He will. He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. Oh that His mercy would flood the lives of my children and that they would flee to Him for refuge. He will take you in and comfort you. He will rescue you from the power of sin and self and the ultimate despair that sin will take you to if you let it.

Remember, He has come that you might have joy. And that you might have LIFE.

And God is going to give it to you. I know this. Drink of it deeply! Children drink of the riches that God has for you right now.

Your loving Dad

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Two Young Street Preachers Murdered!

Two men preaching religion shot to death in Boynton Beach

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/two-men-preaching-religion-shot-to-death-in-211257.html

These men were martyrs. They were men of God who gave their lives proclaiming the gospel in a situation they understood could very well bring death. They had been part of gangs and knew that the results of their mission to bring the gospel to the streets may very well end in their deaths, but they went anyway. Day and night preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Would to God that we had some preachers with the holy boldness of these young men. As a missionary in New York City for seven years, I know what it is like to go into the darkest parts of the city to proclaim the gospel. Only nowadays it is even worse.
Lord give us more young men who are willing to lay down their lives and go to their Jerusalems, their Judeas, and to the uttermost parts of the earth to give their lives. It is going to take the blood of countless martyrs on the streets of the middle east to see the kingdom furthered. Right now, it is the nationals who are giving their lives. May the Lord call us further into lives of death for the cause of Christ. Even if it means our literal death.
May we not forget these two young brave warriors.

What Kind of Preachers Do We Need?


"There must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting. Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many) he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom." A.W. Tozer

Monday, February 8, 2010

Three Simple Questions for Fathers

Father’s, Where Is Your Heart?
Proverbs 4:23




1. Is your heart__________ __________to your wife?
Eph 5:25; Col 3:19


Be not _____________ against them






2. Is your heart __________ to your children?
Col. 3:21; Mal 4:4-6






3. Is your heart __________ ___________ God?
Is 29:13; Matt 6:21; Col 3:3

Friday, February 5, 2010

A Letter To My Children

Dear ones,

I want you to think for a minute about what real wisdom is. I have gone back to Psalm 111:10 once again. There is so much there. How my heart longs that you would fear God…..that you would shun the wisdom of the world and fear God. You can be wise in the things of the world and still fear God.

All the wisdom of the world, without the fear of God is vanity. All who live their lives without knowledge of the purpose they were born for are fools. Normally those who protect their own interest, have business savvy, and even are good at deceiving people for the purpose of gain, are looked at as wise. But even if that is true, their wisdom is unprofitable and twisted, because true wisdom manifests itself in fearing God.

“The beginning of wisdom”,….. that phrase has caused many to think that the fear of God is kind of like a key to wisdom, but that is not true. The fear of God is absolutely comprehensive in understanding God, living for God, knowing about life and what we are to do.

It is a fear of His goodness and grace. A fear of offending someone so good and kind as He is. Think for a minute about what Jesus did on the cross for you. How knowing before the world was created, that He was going to take on Himself the sins of His people, and that you were one of His people.(Of this the scripture is absolutely clear. God knew who were His, not because of some merit or choice He foresaw in them, but because of His own mere pleasure, He loved His own before the creation of the world.)

And so, He took all of your sins on Himself. Of course, He also took on himself the sins of every one of His own, but what is important right now is that you understand that He actually took your sins on Himself while hanging on the cross. And think about how He suffered. How they mocked Him in a mock trial, placing a crown made of thorns on His head and beating upon it with canes so that it pierced down threw His skin and into his skull. Slapping and punching Him in the face and tempting Him to guess who was hitting Him, so many threw the blows. Oh, He knew. Yet nothing could keep Him from what He was going to do for you. He knew that without His suffering, you would have no hope. How He took the beatings with the cat o’ nine tails. A cruel leather whip with many strands laced with broken glass, shards of pottery and metal. They whipped Him 40 times. Count them out. And with every whip the glass and shards buried themselves in His precious skin. Then the executioner would rip the strands out of His body tearing flesh and muscle until the Bible says that looking at Jesus, you could not tell He was a man. A man shaped form of blood and tissue walked up the hill of Calvary to hang on the cross for you. They spit on Him and tore out His beard on the way up. He fell and stained the pathway up the hill with the blood He was shedding for you. I can barely described the scene as they threw Him down, stretched Him out on the cross and pounded large Roman nails through His hands and feet. They raised Him up on the cross and He hung there, bleeding and gasping until He had shed down the cross all that was necessary for death to come and for the price of your salvation to be paid. Then He determined to die and said “It is finished.” I have barely scratched the surface, because He endured so much on our behalf. He was forsaken by the Father as He took your sins on Himself. Think of that. The Son of God, forsaken by God the Father, for you. The wages of sin is death, but Jesus was the perfect Lamb of God. He had no sins to die for. So the agreement between the Son and the Father was that the Son would take your sins and my sins on Himself and die for them. And pay for them He did. He died…..And then, He rose from the dead to prove that He was worthy to do what He did. And He is alive today and speaking to you right now. Gently calling you to love and adore Him. All of your sins are gone. Worship Him. Bow down and praise Him. Never intentionally sin. If you do, think about what Jesus has done for you in His goodness and repent. And then praise Him for His grace and goodness. Fear to offend such love.

Psalm 111:10 says that all who have a good understanding practice the fear of the Lord. What is it to practice the fear of the Lord? It is to live daily with the knowledge and memory of what He has done for you, is doing for you and will do for you. But mainly it is the knowledge of who He is. Read the entire chapter again. This is our God. Full of splendor and majesty. Never was there such a King. What a mighty God. And gracious! He is Holy and awesome. And He is our Lord and our God. Hallelujah!

Now, …look at the promises in Psalm 112 of the one who fears the Lord.

I love you all.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Why Baptists (Arminian and Calvinists of all kinds) Should Cooperate

Well, considering some recent discussions in the convention, the subject was brought up again and we talked about opinions. Since I had written an opinion for the Missouri Baptist paper, the Pathway, I thought I would simply post it, but in an un-edited form:

Any discussion of “Missionary Calvinism” would be incomplete with mentioning such Calvinist missionary giants such as: George Whitfield, Charles H. Spurgeon, David Brainerd, Jonathan Edwards, Adoniram Judson, Luther Rice, Lottie Moon, Andrew Fuller, and the father of modern missions; William Carey. Yet, sadly we find that the vast majority of Southern Baptist do not even know that these great missionary men and women were even Calvinist.

Why All Of Those Who Are Baptist Should Cooperate Together In Spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I copied the following four statements from SBC websites. The second and fourth are duplications of point number 5 and 14 of the Baptist Faith and Message. The third is a duplication of points 4 and 5 of the original charter of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, commonly called the Abstract of Principles. I include these foremost in order to show that what both sides of the issues need to understand is that there is historical precedence set for the stand each side is taking. From my point of view, the historical Calvinistic stand is the least understood, and has been relegated to a hyper-calvinistic view, when in fact it is not.

(I.)
God's Purpose of Grace

Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. …All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.

(II.)
God's Purpose of Grace
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.
All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

(III.)
IV. Providence.
God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures.

V. Election.
Election is God's eternal choice of some persons unto everlasting life -- not because of foreseen merit in them, but of his mere mercy in Christ -- in consequence of which choice they are called, justified and glorified.

(IV.)
XIV. Cooperation
Christ's people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches. They are voluntary and advisory bodies designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our people in the most effective manner. Members of New Testament churches should cooperate with one another in carrying forward the missionary, educational, and benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ's Kingdom. Christian unity in the New Testament sense is spiritual harmony and voluntary cooperation for common ends by various groups of Christ's people. Cooperation is desirable between the various Christian denominations, when the end to be attained is itself justified, and when such cooperation involves no violation of conscience or compromise of loyalty to Christ and His Word as revealed in the New Testament.

It is not my intention in this article to debate the subject of Calvinism. For one thing, many of our church members today do not know what one means when they use the term "Calvinism". I prefer Augustinianism, if you must have an identifier, because Augustine first espoused what we now call Calvinism, in particular in his controversy with Pelagius. Pelagius made salvation a choice of the free will and did not favor as severe view of the fall as Augustine. (For us as Baptists, it might even be helpful to think in terms of “Spurgeon-ism”, since the much revered Charles Spurgeon held fast to these same truths)

Nowadays, most Baptists that I know hold to at least some of Augustines’ tenets, which are referred to as “The Doctrines of Grace”, or Calvinism.. They may call themselves 3, 4 or 5 point Calvinists if cornered, but normally prefer to simply be known as Baptist. The one point of Calvinism that most in the SBC adhere to is the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, commonly called "eternal security". None of those who have studied modern church history can deny that for years now, there have been at least two major camps within Baptist circles regarding Calvinism: those who emphasize limited atonement, or other points of Calvinism, and those who emphasize man’s free will, or other points of Pelagianism, (or actually today, semi-Pelagianism*) commonly now called Arminianism, after, the Dutch theologian Jacob Arminius. I would suggest a thorough study of both Calvinism and Arminianism, and most Baptists will come to the conclusion that, yes, indeed, they adhere to some of the points of Calvinism if not all. (I will deal with the question of hyper-calvinism, which is a different animal later.)
*Full blown Pelagianism emphasizes man’s will to such a degree, that atonement is not necessary. Men are not seen as born sinners. Instead it is thought that they are able to emulate Christ’s example and save themselves by their good works. Semi-Pelagianism, on the other hand, believes men are born in sin, but have the "capacity" to choose Christ of their own free will regardless of regeneration. Basically, in Calvinism, God regenerates a soul, giving him the ability to believe, and in semi-pelagianism, a sinner believes so that God can regenerate him. Can we not center our fellowship around the doctrine of justification by faith? Can we not focus on repentance and faith being the prerequisites for salvation, resulting in the forgiveness of sins and the imputed righteousness of Christ? These we all agree on. I am willing to uphold my integrity as to my belief in "how and why" faith comes, and yet allow the latitude for my brother to come to a conclusion in that area that is different than mine and still work together with the desire at hand, which is for as many as possible to come to faith. I agree with Spurgeon when he says that "we care far more for the central evangelical trusts than we do for Calvinism as a system; but we believe that Calvinism has in it a conservative force which helps to hold me to the vital truth, and therefore we are sorry to see any quitting it who have once accepted it. We are after all organized to aid in spreading the gospel around the world, not to police one another.

Again, my point is not to debate the subject at hand, but to merely suggest that we, at least we in the Jefferson Baptist Association, are probably not going to finalize a debate that has gone on for years, but that with mature, prayerful consideration of our responsibilities as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can cooperate in order to spread the gospel around the world, and evangelize as many as possible in the short time that we have.

Defamation

Friends, it is impossible for us to have the blessing of God upon our lives if we insist on tearing down our brothers. While it is always helpful for us to study the scriptures and have healthy and sometimes fiery debate, we cannot slander our brothers in Christ or in anyway attempt to undermine their efforts for Jesus Christ and think that God will wink at our actions. On both sides of this issue, I have heard good men cross the line when speaking of those who interpret the scriptures differently when it comes to these doctrines. According to the Baptist Faith and Message, we all agree on the doctrine of election. We simply disagree on how a person arrives at that election. And that is alright. Our main focus in our association should be in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in order that all may hear. It is our job to get the gospel out to the ends of the world. Wherever the banner of our Savior is not being flown, we should be fierce about going, or supporting someone who is going. Surely we understand that the complexity of baptist life would require us to yield to our brothers often, in many areas. We have seen this at the national level. As long as we maintain doctrinal integrity that is within the historic beliefs of baptists, there should be no problem

Extremes

There are some positions on both sides of this issue that need to be pointed out. They should be defined and explained in laymen’s terms in order to facilitate our working together.

1. Hyper Calvinism – Hyper-Calvinism emphasizes divine sovereignty to the exclusion of human responsibility. The doctrine of hyper-calvinism would tell us that there is no need for the believer to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, because God has determined whom He would save and He will save them without our help. They would say, or at least imply that there is no reason for us to evangelize or send out missionaries. That we cannot sincerely make an offer of the gospel to everyone, because God has not chosen everyone to be saved. The result of this error is a “sit and wait” mentality. We’ll sit and wait until God gets around to saving his elect. But we will not do anything to call men to put their faith in Jesus Christ.
These all, we utterly reject.
A true Calvinist, like Spurgeon, or for that matter William Carey the father of modern missions, knows of the great responsibility we have to get the gospel out and to support missions. That hyper-calvinism is dangerous and unbiblical we would all agree. It is important to point this out. A Calvinist is not the same as a hyper-calvinist. As I said, from the Baptist Faith and Message, it is clear that we are all Calvinists to some degree. Broadus and Manley, where we get our "Broadman press", William Carey, that great missionary, Adoniram Judson, John Bunyan, B. H. Carroll, Alvah Hovey, A. H. Strong, J. P. Boyce, John L. Dagg, Richard Fuller, Jonathan Edwards, Luther Rice, Andrew Fuller, George Whitfield, Charles Spurgeon, Lottie Moon and many others were all "Calvinists" of the five point type. It is by no means a new invention that Baptists are Calvinists.
Most Baptists would agree with the total depravity of man, yet would insist that man is responsible to repent and believe the gospel. Many Baptist would agree with unconditional election, that God is at least infallible in His foreknowledge, define it how you will. Most Baptists with a few exceptions believe “once saved always saved”. That is called the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, or the last part of point 5 in the Baptist Faith and Message. Most all of us disagree strongly with Hyper-Calvinism, and reject the notion that we are not responsible to preach the gospel, evangelize and do missions. The apostle Paul rejoiced when the gospel was preached, even if it was because of contention. So should we. And we should never be those who attempt to thwart the work or ministries of those who by preaching HIS GOSPEL are calling men to repentance and faith and are attempting to do so around the world.

2. Easy-believism – Easy-believism is the notion that salvation entails a mere assent the the facts of the gospel message. It has been termed decisional regeneration or decisionism for short. Those who promote the man-centered tactics of easy-believism would maintain that all that is needed for a man to be saved is for him to affirm the truths of the gospel as they presented to him. It excludes the necessity for the conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit and the responsibility for man to repent.
These, most Baptists who would not categorize themselves as Calvinists, would reject as not belonging to the way of salvation. This type of evangelism is to be rejected outright as being no more than an art of manipulation akin to convincing men to join a club because of its benefits. Baptists have historically required both a true repentance from sin, which is followed by a life of biblical fruit, and a sincere faith in the merit and work of Jesus Christ alone which benefits are applied to the believer upon his conversion.
What is interesting is that those who are either 3, 4 or 5 point Calvinists were among those who began to see errors of decisionism and the lack of fruit in our Baptist churches because of it, and after identifying it, began to categorize many who are not of a like Calvinistic mind as belonging to the those promoting decisionism. This general attack in the direction of any church which held an altar call was unwarranted, and only resulted historically in a return of fire from the other direction, both sides being the worse for it.

The Invitation System

While many Baptists who hold invitations would never agree to the above definition of easy-believism, it is also easy to witness the actual methodology of those who do being practiced in some of our Baptist churches today. While most all degree of Calvinists in our association would insist on a clear call for sinners to repent and believe and for believers to examine their lives, some would also insist that there are other ways to extend that call than to ask people to “come down the aisle.” We have no record of any form of the modern invitation being given in the church for 1800 years, but there has always been a clear invitation given for sinners to repent and trust Christ. Some churches have used a counseling room as a place to go to for counseling if someone has sensed an immediate urge to repent and trust in Christ. I know of no Calvinists even of the 5 point type who would refuse to counsel anyone in the gospel if they “came down the aisle” of their church in obvious spiritual need.
On the other hand, I have seen a number of people converted in their homes after having heard the gospel and brought under conviction by the Holy Spirit. We all know that there is no secret formula that must be prayed when a person is converted, but that it is a matter of the heart.
Unfortunately, many of those who have invitations and have seen the result of many coming down the aisle who nevertheless show no lasting fruit in their lives(thus revealing the truth that they were never truly converted), have failed to be more cautious when dealing with souls. Calvinists have watched the efforts of mass evangelism, and the promotion of numbers and baptisms result in a flood of unregenerated people filling our churches and scores who either struggle with the assurance of their salvation or depend on a time they went down an aisle or prayed a prayer, rather than continuing to trust in the Savior they claimed to be saved by.
The modern resurgence of those who have gone back to the more ancient roots of Augustinianism is greatly populated by the very same people who were either brought up in some type of easy-believism, or once practiced it themselves. Some in this revolution, which those in it would term a “work of God”, have been tempted to classify even good Baptist ministries who adhere to neither a system of easy-believism, or Calvinism, as belonging in the easy-believism camp. This is wrong. I love my dear brothers who do not agree doctrinally with me, but are faithful in preaching the gospel and supporting world-wide missions, and name calling simply does not have a place in our baptist associations.

In my opinion, there is nothing inherently wrong with the invitation system per se. Many Baptist churches hold invitations, but are prayerful and careful in counseling with those who are being dealt with by the Holy Spirit. There is often time taken to pray, sometimes continuing on to an inquiry room, there is often scripture read, and there are times when souls are genuinely converted at the front of a church. The problem that many Calvinists see is when there is a mass of people who are led in a prayer, and then told that since they prayed that prayer they are going to heaven. I certainly don’t want to entertain any thoughts that would appear derogatory, but simply let me say that souls are worth spending time with. The Holy Spirit is more than able to finish any work that He starts. (Which does not mean that He does not use man in the process of evangelism, He certainly does.) The problem is when it is apparent that God is not working at all. There is no apparent conviction, no desire to forsake sin and no real faith in the finished work of Christ, but simply a desire to escape hell. I have many examples to site, but on the other hand, I could offer just as many examples where sinners were truly converted after the preaching of the gospel. They “came down the aisle” and were prayed with and God saved them. None of us doubt that! It is caution when dealing with souls that we demand, whether you deal with them during an invitation or during an appointment at a later time. It is entirely too common for those who deal with souls not to be familiar with the gospel and to attempt to convince an inquirer that, if they would simply “pray this prayer after me”, they would be converted. I don’t mind leading someone in a prayer, if I am convinced that they are praying from the heart. But if indeed The Holy Spirit has them under conviction and it is from the heart, and they have understood the gospel, would they not be saved regardless of whether they “prayed the right words” or not, if there was true repentance and faith in Jesus Christ?
Those are some of the concerns of Calvinists when it comes to the invitation system. The downside of all of this is that, many who don’t understand either the Calvinistic roots of our Baptist heritage and/or don’t understand biblical Calvinism (Augustinianism), are prone to identify the lack of an invitation or just the word Calvinist with Hyper-Calvinism. Even the most conservative of those adhering to an Augustinian position would have trouble with the positions they are often accused of having. Let me say loudly, “We are not hyper-calvinists.” I would like to hear just as loudly proclaimed on the other side; “we are not among those who promote easy-believism.” We believe in the Baptist Faith and Message. We believe in the perseverance of the saints. We believe in the doctrine of election according to grace.” Let both sides loudly proclaim, we reject both easy-believism and hyper-calvinism, and we shall be on solid ground. At least solid enough to labor together to get the gospel out, and send the saints around the world in mission endeavors.
Both easy-believism and hyper-calvinism are dangerous positions which should be rejected by all gospel loving, mission-minded Baptists. It is also just as harmful to the cause of Christ, for those on either side to classify our brothers to the extreme side. The desire to defame, destroy or undermine our Baptist brethren does not help the cause of the gospel, but rather hinders it. Hyper-calvinism is not defined by whether you are a 3, 4 or 5 point Calvinist, but by your response to those truths in regards to missionary endeavors, evangelism, and the responsibility and duty of man. Easy-believism is not defined by whether you have an invitation or not, but by how you respond to the need for the gospel to be taken seriously by both understanding that salvation is a work of God whereby the Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin upon a sinner bringing him to repent and believe without doing any damage to his will. Understanding that salvation is a work of God will not only give the confidence needed to clearly preach the gospel, but will result in a reliance on the power of God in conversion rather than the ability of man. Not that persuasion and convincing is not a part of the art of preaching, but that we rely on the power of God in all of these things.
Human reasoning entering into the debate.
On both sides of this issue I have both heard and read men using human reasoning in order to justify what they believe. I don’t believe that is necessary or warranted. Do I believe the debate is necessary? Of course! Iron sharpens iron, and we as God’s men should be diligent about what we believe and why we believe it. But the debate does not have to degenerate. We can, like many of those in leadership of the Southern Baptist convention, have healthy dialogue, yet work together in preaching the gospel. I know of no preacher worth his salt who would preach either hyper-calvinism or easy-believism to a lost man. Yes, we can stand on our doctrine and even debate about it, yet we must be one in keeping our focus on getting the gospel out to the uttermost parts of the earth. That includes working together in our associational Camps in order to come to terms with one another’s differences in approach and methodology and seeking to find common ground where we can not only preach the gospel, but invite sinners to trust in Christ and counsel them to that end. We urge all men everywhere to repent and to trust in our Wonderful Savior.
I think the common ground we need to start on is that God is absolutely sovereign and man is absolutely responsible in the gracious work of salvation. Let us as Baptists make a resolution that in spite of our differences in doctrine and methodology, we are servants of the King and stand shoulder to shoulder with the banner of His gospel, His death, burial and resurrection, and the need for men to repent and trust in Christ as their Savior.
From there, let us send our missionaries out, stand on the streets and preach the gospel, pass out our gospel tracts, preach to our youth, preach to our congregations and give the clear call of the gospel, and advance the Kingdom of God.
Bob Schembre
Rockport Baptist Church