Accept All or Separate and Expose?

This status from Joel Osteen Ministries was recently shared with me.  “Galatians 5 says, “Don’t think that your group is the only one that’s right.” We’re all missing it somewhere. The main thing is that we agree that Jesus is the Son of God, He rose from the dead, and now He’s our Savior. Let your love for others be bigger than what church they belong to.”

At first glance it seems to be a neat statement that would bring peace to many a situation, yet as I considered it I felt I needed to respond to it.  Here is my response.

Joel,

Yes, we are thankful for those who minister the gospel of Jesus Christ, and for those who have Jesus Christ as their Savior.  Unfortunately it is not as simple as this quote makes it sound.

I do not want to come across as proud, in fact, I humbly realize that those who teach will receive a stricter judgment (James 3:1) yet this is where God has lead me.  As a teacher of scripture I have a great responsibility and do not want to hear what Christ told the Pharisees in that they were making their followers “twice children of hell.”  (Mt. 23:15)  So if I am missing it somewhere I want someone to come along and show me the scripture I am violating and help me to understand it because I do not want to lead anyone astray.

Yet, Jesus (Mt. 7:15) and Paul (Acts 20:29) both warned of wolves who would come in sheep’s clothing.  Paul warned twice in two consecutive verses in Galatians 1:8-9 about those who would preach a different gospel.  You see there are churches that teach that because Jesus died on the cross all are going to heaven.  This is universalism and it is contrary to the truth of John 3:16 and many other passages.  Christ’s blood is sufficient for those who have put their faith in Christ for salvation but not for those who do not. (Rom. 5:1ff)   There are also those churches that teach that you must have works on top of your salvation so they are not trusting in Christ alone but Christ and works too!  This seems to be the entire theme of Galatians.

There are churches that do not believe that Jesus was born of a virgin. If He was not born of a virgin then he too is a sinner and therefore was not the perfect sacrifice for us.  Rom. 5:12ff.

There are churches also that do not believe that Jesus is God (John 1:1).  If he is not God he is a liar and therefore would once again not be able to be our sacrifice.

You see, we are encouraged by the Bereans of Acts 17:11 who searched the scriptures to see if what the preachers were preaching was consistent with what the prophets had written.  We too need to search the scriptures to make sure that the preachers today are preaching truth as well.  Yet, there are many pastors who seldom refer to scripture and many professing believers who do not even take their Bible to church open it or open it when they get home to see if the preacher is really speaking the truth of scripture.  In regards to this I just read through ten different translations/paraphrases of Galatians 5 (NKJV, AV, NEB, NAB ESV, NET, LEB, HCSB, NLT, NRSB) .  The point of the passage is not to accept anyone else’s view of how to get to heaven, rather Paul is rebuking the Galatians for being lead away from the truth and is challenging to come back to the gospel.  The fruit of their lives would reveal whether they were walking in the flesh or in the spirit and we are challenged to walk in the spirit!

So in closing we are grateful for those who teach the whole counsel of God faithfully proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and challenging those who repent to live lives that bring glory to God because of their separation from the world.  But regarding those who twist the truth and preach another gospel we have to separate from them and expose them.

Sincerely,

Larry, a country preacher.

2 Reminders From Melting Snow

Seeing the last of the melting snow reminded me of a song we sang Sunday morning.  "The earth shall soon melt like snow" indeed 1Peter 3:10 says, "elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works in it will be burned up."  yes, the melting snow can remind us of the coming judgment of God on those who don't believe.

But the melting snow also reminds us that the new life of Spring is almost here.  The new life of spring can remind us of the new heaven and earth that God promises for believers in vs. 13!

Where have you placed your hope? In Jesus Christ?

God's response to the repentant going back!

In the book of Nahum God reveals how He responds to a country that once turned from its sin (read Jonah) only to go back to it again.  where does this put the USA? once a nation that had a majority who feared God but now don't give him the time of day.

A Secure Foundation

In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus in concluding His “Sermon on the Mount” speaks of the wise man and the foolish man.  Both of them have built their houses and there is no distinction in the houses.  Outwardly we may not see any difference.  Both of them would face a storm but the consequences of that storm would be drastically different.  The wise man’s house stood firm but the foolish man’s house fell with a great fall!  Why the difference?  Because the wise man built on the rock and the foolish man built on the sand.  The passage is also clear regarding the rock, it is the fact that he has heard and obeyed the sayings of Jesus Christ.

Though there may be many applications to individuals enduring the “storms of life” because of their obedience of Christ that is not to be the primary understanding of this passage.  The storm in this passage would be God’s final judgment.  We learn this from the context of the passage.  Backing up to verses 13-14, we learn that there are two paths in life the narrow way that leads to life and the broad way that leads to destruction.  Verses 15-20 tell us of the differences in the fruit of individuals. The following section then tells of those who seemingly have done all the right things even “serving” the Lord, yet He says “depart from me I never knew you.” 

I challenge you, “Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation?”  God’s judgment is coming and the results of that judgment all depend upon our response to Christ.  Are you ready to face Him? Is your foundation secure?  We can be assured that the storm of His Wrath is coming. Will your house stand? 

# 9-10 Ten Commandments of Thanksgiving Psalm 105

Psalm 105:4–5 (NKJV)

⁴Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!

⁵Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,

Today we will finish our study in Psalm 105.  We have been looking at the Ten Commandments of Thanksgiving which were first penned by David for Asaph at the dedication of the tabernacle in I Chronicles 16:7-14.

The ninth command we are told in verse four is to, “Seek His Face.”  This seek is to search for, look for with the intention of learning more information about God.  It implies a diligence or hard work in gaining that information. ^[1]  Yet here it is not just God that we are seeking but his face.   God’s people should be aware that his face can be turned away from them in grief and displeasure or turned towards them to smile upon them in favour and approval.^[2]

One can do a study of  the passages in scripture that talk about “pleasing God” or doing His will.  But does that idea of pleasing God even concern us?  Do we train our kids to seek God’s guidance and try to please him as they make decisions regarding their life plans?  Do we make decisions based on what is pleasing to God?  So that his face is shining on us?

The final commandment for us in this passage is, “Remember His Marvelous works.” Vs. 5

When we remember we recall the information or events that God has done.  His Marvelous works can be wonderful, marvelous, or amazing; but part of what makes them wonderful is the attitude of great surprise and awe over what God has done or is doing. ^[3]

The passage goes on and says to remember his wonders.  These wonders are miracles or prophetic signs that show God’s power or causes a response of awe. ^[4]

And then he finishes the statement encouraging us to remember his judgment.  It is God who will decide our legal standing in regards to his law.

This choice to remember has to be a purposeful thing.  Those who do not can quickly turn from God.   In Joshua 24 Joshua had challenged the people to “Choose you this day whom you will serve.”  They agreed to do so and to serve God all their days.  Yet as we turn just a couple of pages to

Judges 2:10–13 (ESV)  we read,  ^10”And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. ¹¹And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. ¹²And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.”  One generation of not remembering and the nation quit serving the LORD! 

What are we doing for our children and grandchildren?  Are we sharing with them God’s wonders?

The video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/churchoflittleton FW #25

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^[1] Ibid.

^[2] Roger Ellsworth, Opening Up Psalms (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2006), 152.

^[3] James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament), electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

^[4] ibid