Practice, Practice, Practice Courage

Christian Friend, do you Really love the LORD?

If a gun is put to your head by somebody telling you to denounce Christ Jesus, will you exercise courage to confess that you know and love Him?  How do you know you will?  

Have you been practicing courage even in the smaller things of life?

Did you ever raise your hand in school to openly challenge the atheistic evolutionist or philosopher?

Have you ever asked a co-worker to not profane the Lord's name?

Do you walk away from your friends as they enjoy a dirty joke?

Have you stood by yourself, holding a sign, on a public sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood?

When was the last time you mentioned God within the first 10 minutes of a conversation with a complete stranger?

Do you know the feeling of your heart racing as you enter a store without wearing a mask?

Have you ever held the hand of an injured stranger and prayed aloud for them while waiting for the medical personnel to arrive?

When bullets are flying on the battlefield, we want soldiers there on our behalf who have previously practiced these scenarios.  We don't tell them to just take it easy at bootcamp and on the base. "You don't need to practice the live-fire drills;  we know you'll stand strong when it really matters," said no sergeant ever.

If you're going to be courageous when it really matters, you need to be practicing now.

Psalm 27:14 - "Wait on the LORD:  be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart:  wait, I say, on the LORD."

The End Is NOT Near

I don't think Jesus is coming soon.

The end is Not near. Well, the end of my life (and yours) is near -- sometime within the next 70 years, maybe even today. So we need to be always faithful to Christ. Be prepared.

But Christians need to read Ephesians more, ... more carefully, more often.

"God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, ... has made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." -- Ephesians 2:4-7

God has made us sit in Christ. And where is Christ? At God's "own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named" (Eph. 1:20-21). To continue, God has "put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body" (Eph. 1:22).

Do you see that? We the church are positioned with great authority. ~ But is that the sense you get from the brothers and sisters in your particular Christian circle(s)? Do they go about with the confidence of "conquering and to conquer"?

Notice, too, that Paul speaks of "ages to come." The age in which Paul was living was coming to an end, but there were yet "ages to come" including the one in which you and I now live. And what's to be expected in these ages? "Exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Exceeding riches!

So let's live as if our Father "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the Power that works in us" (Eph. 3:20). Take dominion. Take charge. Conquer the world! Build the kingdom! After all, "the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 11:15).

More Than a Feeling

I've been impressed at how quickly a good country song can take me, in just 4 minutes, from tapping my toe to crying.  I've also stood in the edge of the ocean and, in about the same amount of time, felt the waves take sand from under my feet and bury them without any effort on my part.

Emotions are sand.  And what did Christ tell us about the house built on sand (Matthew 7:26-27)?  Too many in our culture build their worship experiences and their marriage relationships on emotions.

As long as you're tryin' to do what's right ..., right?

"In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." -- Judges 17:6 & 21:25

This verse is not a compliment to the culture in Israel during the time of the judges. This verse shows up twice in the book of Judges as book-ends to two very strange stories that show the depravity of a culture where God, the One Who is Truth, Beauty, & Goodness, had been all but forgotten. But if the implication of those crazy stories doesn't quite convince you that "every man doing what was right in his own eyes" was actually a bad thing, then please consider the following clear instruction from Deuteronomy 12:8 -- "Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes."

Have you ever been to a church where you were encouraged to worship the Lord in your own way? Were you ever given the impression that God doesn't care so much about what you do or how you do it as long as your why (your motive) is right? Sure, if your motive is wrong, that's not good. But as long as your doing "whatsoever is right in your own eyes," well, then ....

Only a Few Good Men?

I’ve been thinking a lot about Dr. Gordon Steinke’s article entitled "A Biblical Perspective of Marriage" in the Jan/Feb edition of the Communion together. Now I’d like to weigh in on the discussion.

I’ve heard Ravi Zacharias (perhaps quoting another) say, “Intent is prior to content.” This is not necessarily to say that intent is more important than content, but it does affect how we perceive what another says. For example, if my wife makes a joke about my German nose, I can laugh with her and enjoy the joke, but if a stranger tries the same joke, I probably won’t take it so well. Nevertheless, content should not be totally disregarded just because of the delivery: I dare you to refuse to pay a bill just because the mailman threw it in the mud. – At this point, it would not be wise for me to surmise Dr. Steinke’s intentions for his doctoral dissertation; but please give heed as I share some of the background reasons for my holding the views that I do.

I grew up in the wonderful home of a Church of God minister, his wife, and my three siblings. My father’s visions for our local church led him to do things which brought him under criticism from others within our fellowship. One such thing was the Christian school that was a ministry of our church for nine years. Ten years following our church’s beginnings enjoyed growth and apparent good health. God blessed our church such that we became known within our fellowship for our youth group.

But well into my teen years, I began making observations that were of great concern to me. As they began to come of age, my friends, who had grown up with me in the church and Christian school, were beginning to leave the Christian school, the church, and even the faith. Why? At the same time that my personal relationship with God began to blossom in more exciting and more intimate ways and opportunities to serve the church became more abundant, my friends who’d grown up in Christian homes were becoming less interested.

The next few stages of my life allowed me to observe a general ignorance of the Bible among all ages of the church folk. It was disappointing that the little children were not as familiar with the basic Bible stories as was I at their age, but who could blame them when their parents also seemed challenged with similar Bible quiz questions? Then as I was a candidate for the pastorate at various Churches of God, I saw many churches whose demographic consisted mainly of those just-past to way-past middle age. Of course, there were likely many healthy churches still around who wouldn’t have considered me as a viable candidate, given my youth and lack of experience. But the question still remains: Where are the youth who’ve undoubtedly had some start in these same churches where their parents still attend to this day?

For over twenty years now, I’ve been studying what I believe to be the cause of this problem. Of course, when answering any important question, statistical, philosophical, and psychological approaches should take a back seat to the Holy Spirit and His inspired Word. So what does Holy Scripture have to say about multigenerational faithfulness throughout church history? Indeed, this was a common problem throughout the history of Old Testament Israel, from which we gain insight for the New Testament church.

In Deuteronomy 5 and 6, the Holy Spirit inspires Moses, when speaking to the second generation rescued from Egypt, to remind them of that which their fathers who perished in the wilderness had failed to honor. Moses declares again the Ten Commandments and then “the first and greatest commandment.” Then he immediately follows that up with the command to “teach them diligently unto thy children,” and he adds some detail about how to do such. Then he immediately follows that up with a warning that they not forget God once He has blessed them with many good things in the new promised land. He assumes, if they are faithful to God’s laws and ways, that the children will ask, “Why do we do these things?” They are then to take advantage of such opportunities to teach their children about God, His Word, His will, and His ways.

But upon the death of Joshua’s generation, “there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10). How could this be? Except that Israel apparently hadn’t done as they were commanded (in Deuteronomy 6) just before entering the promised land. Israel then goes through seven cycles of disobedience, oppression, repentance, and deliverance throughout the period of the judges, ending with the High Priest Eli being cursed for not restraining his sons in their wickedness. Such a cycle is what we might expect if one generation is failing to pass on the faith to the next generation. And this cycle seems to have continued throughout history.

But what does all this have to do with marriage, which is what Dr. Steinke’s article addresses, correct? Well, the last record of Old Testament Israel before the Messiah takes center stage includes these words regarding the oneness shared by the married man and woman: “Did not He make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That He might seek a Godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.” (Malachi 2:15) So reasoning backward: If a Godly seed is lacking, there is apparently a problem at the marriage level. A moment later, the Holy Spirit inspires these very last words of the Old Testament as a final promise regarding the coming Messiah: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6)

Are you following this? It is very obvious that the spiritual training of children is the responsibility first and foremost of the parents (much more so than the Sunday School teacher, the Christian school teacher, the youth leader, or even just the pastor). The environment of good teaching and preaching during one’s youth will most often not make up for the significant failures within the home.

So then is it enough to say that God has ordained the teaching and training of children to their parents and then leave it at that? Does the Holy Spirit gives us any further specifics? I’ll remind you of a couple: “Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). “Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: …” (Hebrews 12:9). – Now that sounds to me like male spiritual leadership.

I’m just getting started ...

Not Really a Christian?

Man: Ma'am. Ma'am? Excuse me, Ma'am. Is that your child, over there in the blue t-shirt?

Woman: Why do you want to know?

Man: Well, he's being rather difficult. He pushed a girl off the swing and took it from her, he's throwing sticks at the children going down the slide, and he's not respecting any of the adults who are trying to correct his behavior.

Woman: Well, then he's not my child. In our home, we teach our children to share with other children and to respect their elders.

Man: Uh-huh. ............ Well, the other parents I asked said that he was your son. So if you're the one responsible for him, would you please exercise that responsibility now?

Woman: I'll admit that he somewhat resembles my son -- may even have the same name, birth-date, social security number, and all that. But if he's behaving that way, then he's not really my son.

Man: Well, then who's going to discipline him?

Woman: Oh, I think God will sort it all out in the end.

Man: But didn't God give you that job?

******************************************

Narrator: The woman's name? Well, her initials are M.E.C. I think it stands for "modern evangelical church."

New Testament References Old Testament

How many times does the New Testament quote, refer to, or allude to the Old Testament? For a quick look at some introductory answers to this question, click on any of the following links:

Quotations in New Testament Order

Table of Old Testament Quotes in the New Testament, in English

The Relationship of the Testaments: the NT View of the OT

Now, some questions: From looking at and thinking about such content (found at the above links), ...
1) What does this say of the modern views of the Old and New
... Testaments?
2) What does this say of the NT writers' views of the OT?
3) Most importantly, what does this say about knowing the Messiah?
... (Is He only to be found in the NT? Is He only occasionally found in
.... the OT?)
4) What then is the big difference between the OT and the NT?
5) How often does your pastor preach Christ from the OT?

Transgender Worship (by Joost Nixon)

It seems that as modern worship has moved toward the front of the church, men have snuck out the back. The executive producer of St. Anne's Public House and pastor of Christ Church in Spokane, WA reveals an interesting connection between these two issues.

(It's in video format because I don't know a feasible way to upload audio to blogger.)

Spiritual or Physical?

They say that bad is already resident within. It is important to not take in anything upon which the bad will feed, grow, and further weaken us. Rather, we should adapt to a lifestyle of purging the bad by faithfully inputting the good. It is never acceptable to pay no attention to what we are putting into ourselves. Of course, a person can become so accustomed to junk that something wholesome seems almost foreign. Compared to the wholesome, the junk is preferred. At which point, a person must be taught, retrained, and disciplined – taught the truth about what is good and bad, retrained to appreciate the wholesome and despise the junk, and disciplined to faithfully follow and mature within this teaching and retraining process.

At this point, someone might ask, “Are you talking about the spiritual life? Or are you talking about the physical body?” To which I could answer, “Yes. I’m talking about them both.” In how many other areas of life may we make a comparison between the two? Of course, this is not an accident or a coincidence since the same God is Creator of both, of all. God created this world such that muzzled oxen teach us about compensating our ministry leaders, our bodies teach us about church relationships, and marriage teaches us about Christ and the Church. Or is it the other way around? Yes, it is. Actually we can and should often look at it from both ends.

So what does our theology teach us about taking care of our physical bodies? I think this is one area where the pulpit has been negligent in its instruction and exemplification. One can understand, to some degree, the preachers’ hesitation. Just look at them.

Another frustration likely stems from the discovery that what was killing us ten years ago is now good for us, and vice versa. So many sources, so much contradiction, – how can anyone say anything about health with any sense of assurance or self-confidence? But this is no excuse for not seeking knowledge and wisdom as for hid treasure. These same challenges exist in the philosophical and theological realm.

Sure, God’s grace allows us to enjoy what He “has created to be received with thanksgiving” (I Timothy 4:3); but that doesn’t mean that we should eat plastic, drink poison, and be blissful in our ignorance. When post-millennial, stake-claiming Christians are suffering and dying from the same diseases as everyone else in the world, where’s the dominion in that?

What Love's Got to Do with It

.......Two young women, both sisters in their early twenties, were reuniting during summer break after a couple very busy years at their separate colleges. They met at their favorite hometown bakery and coffee shop. The oldest arrived before her sister, who walked in ten minutes later, wearing dyed blonde hair with very dark roots, dark purple lipstick, a black halter top with a picture of a skeleton hanging on a cross, a miniskirt, leather boots, and jewelry in places that her older sister knew hadn’t been pierced a few years ago. Trying to not look shocked, the elder cheered, hugged, chatted, ordered food, and sat down with her sister before addressing what couldn’t be completely ignored.
.......“So what’s with the new look?”
.......“What do you think?” asked the younger.
.......“Um, … well, … I’m not sure what to think.”
.......The younger sister chuckled and then said, “It’s part of my seeking deeper service to the Lord.” Apparently not noticing or simply disregarding her sister’s half-cocked eyebrows, she continued, “As you might recall, I’m heavily involved with the campus ministry to the inner city. So we dress in a way to blend in with those to whom we’re witnessing; we don’t want to scare them off by dressing like FBI agents or whatever. This way, we earn their respect and hopefully a chance to show them the love of Christ.”
.......“Oh, I see,” the elder replied, “you want them to know how much you love them and how much Christ loves them, and this is accomplished by dressing like them.”
.......“Well, not just that, –” the younger started to say, but her sister interrupted.
.......“Is that how we’ve known that Grandma loves us? When we walk into her house, do we often catch her dancing around the kitchen to Beyonce? Does she prove her love by announcing how much she couldn’t believe what happened on the latest episode of Bridezilla? When’s the last time you saw Grandma in hip huggers or a halter top?”
.......While the younger sister laughed, the older continued, “Sure, she may ask us what we’re listening to, or what we’ve been watching. She has even cautioned us about some of the latest styles. And that is actually how she loved us – by caring about us, discussing our interests, warning us, … not by being like us. She also loves us by allowing herself to be interrupted by us any moment of the day, fixing us something to eat even if we say we don’t need it, praying for us, sending cards and packages to us at college, faithfully setting before us an example of grace, temperance, and modesty.
.......“How did Mother Theresa show love for the impoverished? How did Christ show love for Legion? What is more likely to get the attention of a biker gang? – A 220-pound Christian guy with tattoos, a leather vest, and a Harley, who offers to buy ‘em a drink? Or a 150-pound Christian guy in khakis and a button-up shirt, who offers to buy ‘em a drink? Do you think people cannot recognize love just because it comes in a moderately-dressed package?”

Smoky Mirrors

James 1:23-24 states, “If any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” The implication seems to be a man with apparent blemishes looks in a mirror, has no problem with what he sees, and thus contentedly walks away with no intention of addressing the blemishes. How can he be so comfortable with himself looking like that?

The value of a mirror is simply in showing us what we look like; it does not at all show us what we should look like. The value of a model, pattern, or standard, on the other hand, is to show us what something should look like (which is why the term “supermodel” is a lie); but a model does not show us what we actually look like. Scriptural preaching should involve both.

The evangelical preacher should hold up the standard for the church to see. Good exegesis should help Christ’s Bride to see precisely what the Groom desires regarding the Bride’s physical appearance, wedding gown style, jewelry, health, manner, disposition, and lifestyle. The preacher should hold up a mirror almost simultaneously, very graciously pointing out the areas which are inconsistent with the standard. In practical terms, the preacher should combine exposition of what God’s law has required for thousands of years with a competent understanding of the church’s state and condition today, especially as distinguished from contemporary culture.

Many preachers can be found who do a bit of one or the other, but less common are those who do both simultaneously and do it well. Some complain about how bad things are and give us many statistics from George Barna’s polling research, but they provide us with poor instruction as to what we should effectively do about it. Others love to openly share their perspectives in a Bible study, where “what it means to you is good for you. Just don’t try to tell me what to do.” No wonder a hearer of the Word can go away and easily forget what he looks like. Perhaps no one has told him what he should look like.

Frozen Banana Delight

The other night my wife tried an old trick. “Want some ice cream?” she said, and then she offered us some frozen pureed banana with some raw cocoa topping. As I said, the bananas were frozen and pureed such that its consistency and appearance greatly resembled that of soft homemade ice cream. But it tasted like … well, … frozen pureed bananas. – Go figure.

The idea, I guess, is to encourage us to eat more healthy food and less junk food. In spite of what we’re being told by the health conscious around us, we still remember having often enjoyed hamburgers, chicken, pizza, and, of course, ice cream. So now we’re being offered healthy alternatives in the form of soy patties, soy nuggets, fruit pizza, and Rice Dream. Since our taste buds are so accustomed to desiring and enjoying the foods that are not so healthy, we try to trick them by telling the ears and eyes that we are about to enjoy some ice cream, … “healthy” ice cream.

But this is an old trick. The church has been doing it for years now. We know that many are not very excited about what we have to offer, even though it’s better for ya. So we say, “Want some fun? Want some entertainment? – Look! We can give you pop music, and we can show you videos during worship!”

But there’s a problem with this approach in both applications. When we call fruit “pizza,” we are confessing that pizza is more desirable than fruit; and when we call worship “contemporary” or “seeker-friendly,” we are confessing that the world knows how to worship better than we do. As a pastor of mine (Douglas Wilson) has said: “Anything the world can do, the Church can do five years later and worse.”

Who are we kiddin’? Can we no longer recognize truth, beauty, and goodness?

Teach Them to Teach

Two old warriors. Brothers. Scars from many battles – some they fought together, some not; but often on the side of victory in either case. They each have wisdom to share and swords which have become most precious to them.

One warrior’s advice to his son amounts to little more than “I’ve fought and won many battles. I hope you’ve learned something from me. With God’s help, I made it and you can, too.” Then he mounts his sword on the wall as a trophy.

The other warrior says, “Son, ‘I’ve fought a good fight; I’ve finished my course.’ Now take this sword. Remember how I’ve trained you with it. Keep it always with you. – Never, for even a moment, put it aside. – Continue practicing with it daily. It may look dull and feel clumsy to you now, but with much use, it will shine brighter and it will make you stronger, faster, smarter.” Then the warrior adds this very important final instruction: “Be also sure to pass this sword on to your own son, teaching and training him to use it skillfully. And when you’ve come to the end of your course, tell your son all that I’ve just told you.”
* * * * *

I suppose many have been tempted to place a favorite Biblical instruction of theirs under the label of The Eleventh Commandment. If I were to yield to such a temptation, I’d want to cast my vote for those words from the passage in Deuteronomy 6: “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.” And I think I’d have a good argument, too. It’s written in the form of a commandment (“Thou shalt teach …thy children”). Better yet, this mandate is given very shortly after the second generation out of Egypt have just been reminded of the first Ten Commandments. It is preceded even more immediately by the first and greatest commandment; and it is being told to the generation whose parents did not keep the commandments. Then we soon discover in Judges what happens when, after Joshua’s generation, this commandment is not heeded “and there [arises] another generation after them, which [knows] not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” (Judges 2:10)

In short, “Here are the commandments; do them, and teach them to your children. – Then teach your children to teach the commandments to their children. Teach them to teach.” – The Eleventh Commandment? Maybe not, but you’d better do it!

Placing Second in Your Own Look-Alike Contest

Christopher Witmer said, “You don’t resemble my caricature of you because you’re lying.” That may help explain the following, or vice versa: I once heard that Groucho Marx won second prize in a Groucho Marx Look-Alike Contest; and I have no trouble believing it. Without having investigated the truth or the background of this story, I would like to make some conjectures about it because I think it provides a useful illustration. 1) I have also heard and even observed in pictures that Groucho sometimes wore a painted-on mustache, which could offer one plausible explanation for why he placed second. The first prize winner may have had a real mustache. 2) Groucho was also an actor and television celebrity. Perhaps his behavior was somewhat different in person and off camera. But logic still demands that there is no way that a person should place second in his own look-alike or act-alike contest. The first prize winner should have had a painted-on mustache, acted witty on camera but somewhat different off camera, and even had an identical … well, everything that Groucho had.

Are we frustrated that Christ does not always live up to our caricature of Him? It seems that, if many churches today were on the panel of judges, Christ & His Bride themselves would not win First Prize if they were to enter their own look-alike contest. Under cultural influence, we have created our own list of criteria, instead of using the age-old List given to us by the Spirit of Christ Himself – the Holy Scriptures. Many Christians and churches today actually have the audacity to think that we may decide where, when, how, and even why we will worship; but by so doing, we are – without realizing it – even deciding what we will worship. Someone said, “God made man in His image, then man returned the favor.” But, in case you didn’t catch it, that’s a violation of the second commandment.

It's Not Just the Heart That Matters

If you want to commit sin and still be a Christian, then you might like the modern evangelical Church of God. There, in the modern church, if you can only become accustomed to and comfortable with the convicting of the Holy Spirit, you can likely enjoy your sin for quite some time without much interruption. For should anyone else dare to take upon himself that which “belongs to the Holy Spirit,” all you need do is remind such a person of the following presuppositions espoused by the modern church: “Don’t judge,” and “It’s the heart that matters.” In other words, just tell ‘em, “No matter what you might claim about me, with your very limited perspective about me, you obviously cannot see my pure heart; therefore, you have no right, against my wishes, to hold me accountable in my private faith and personal relationship with God. – Mind your own business.” It’s also a nice touch to throw in a little “Biblical” reminder that “Christ reserved his harshest criticisms for the Pharisees, whom He called ‘hypocrites,’ because, even though they did all the right works, their heart was far from God.”

Fortunately for you – unfortunately, really, – a typical individual within the modern church won’t recognize, let alone correct the various fallacies in your theology, including even your misperception about Christ’s diagnosis of the Pharisees. Christ did not disunite a man’s works from his heart. You likely already know and perhaps are uncomfortable with the implications of the passage which says, “By their fruits, you will know them” (Matt. 7:16, 20 – the same chapter where He said, “Judge not,” by the way). But Christ also applies Isaiah’s prophecy to the scribes and Pharisees when He quotes, “‘This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, …; but their heart is far from me,’” and then explains, “Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man” (Matt. 15:8, 18-20, italics mine). Finally, you should realize that Matthew 23, where we read at least seven “woes” pronounced against the “scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” for their various correlating teachings and works, begins with Jesus Christ “saying, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not’” (Matt. 23:2-3, italics mine).

Wash One Another's Feet

John 13:12-17 – “So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”

If pride was involved with the very first sin and with the beginnings of every sin thereafter – as the Proverb writer states, “An haughty spirit [goes] before a fall,” (Proverbs 16:18), – then perhaps it is also involved in the arguments against and resistances to the practice of Christians washing one another’s feet in modern times. Interestingly and, I think, not coincidentally, pride is one of those very sins which this practice is meant to shame; thus, it is the first to protest even the suggestion of the practice.

“It’s just weird,” someone might say. But such was not the case in Biblical culture, unless, of course, a master would happen to wash his servants’ feet. But then to say such a thing would be to declare the actions of Christ Himself as weird. And although the practice was somewhat common in Biblical times, one should not assume that pride therefore never got in the way back then. Why did Peter at first recoil at his Master’s actions? Why did not the hosting Pharisee wash Jesus’ feet?

At the time of writing this exhortation, I have yet to observe or recall a persuasive argument against feet washing, … at least, not one as clear and precise as the Lord’s own words in saying, “Ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. Ye should do as I have done to you.”

Creedless Religion?

There is no such thing as a creedless religion. A creedless religion is one which makes no statement about its particular set or system of beliefs, except the particularly assertive statement that “we assert no particular statement of beliefs.” If, after I challenge your affirmation that your religion has no creed, you assume a fighting stance, you’ve just illustrated my point. While your religion is a shambles, you and your colleagues at least can get together under the guise that you all share the common belief that you affirm no other particular beliefs; after that, you just have to shut up and stare at each other.

To get around this, the denominational Church of God (the one which has declared that “we are non-denominational”) adds an important qualifier – “we have no written creed but the Holy Bible.” But this has it problems, too, especially if what is meant is that neither an organization nor an individual should paraphrase what it believes but should only quote the Scriptures. If this is the case, then preaching from the pulpit should be nothing more than reading, reciting, or possibly rearranging the Holy Scriptures. For as soon as you open your mouth to expound a particular passage, you are differing little from those who declare a creed.

Another important qualifier for the Church of God Reformation Movement is, I suppose, the word written; because it can, for a moment, appear that we do have an unwritten creed. And what’s more, you have to line up with it if you’re going to be ordained within the Church of God. Ironic, however, is the fact that if you do pursue such ordination, you are required to write out your personal creed and you must do so without quoting Scripture. This more easily enables the Board of Pastoral and Church Relations (BPCR) to compare your creed with the Movement’s “unwritten” creed and thereby determine your level of qualification for ordination.

When presenting my personal statement of beliefs, perhaps I should have provided the following: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. … On the third day, He rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

“I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy [universal] church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”

Of course, these words are not original with me; it is known as The Apostles’ Creed, with a couple minor revisions. It’s been around for quite some time, as I understand, – centuries – even longer than the Church of God Reformation Movement. Does the Church of God or its BPCR have any problems with the Creed’s content? If so, then I have a problem with the Church of God, its BPCR, or both.

God Gives the Increase

Deuteronomy 28:4-5 – “Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.”

Deuteronomy 28:38-42 – “Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it. Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.”

So what makes the difference? How do we ensure the blessings and avoid the curses? Is it the amount of sweat put into the sowing, planting, and begetting? Is it the number of waking hours devoted to such tasks? Is it the magnitude of sacrifice or self-suffering that we offer? No. It’s obedience. It’s faith in God’s commandments. It’s faith in God’s promises. He promises blessings for obedience (to the commandments); He promises curses for disobedience.

It’s not the stone that kills the giant. It’s not the loud horns and shouting, the shattering pitchers, and the bright torches around the camp that cause the enemies to destroy themselves. It’s not the harmonic frequency of marching feet that makes thick walls fall down. It’s obedience. Faith-full obedience.

So do we then just lie back and refrain from idolatry, murder, adultery, theft, and dishonesty? Is that the only obedience required for the blessings to come rolling in? No. Because It also says, “Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work” (Deut. 5:13), and “If any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thes. 3:10).

But again, Men, Pastors, Elders, Deacons, & Ministers in training, successful ministry does not depend on your spending 14 out of 18 waking hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week, serving the church. It’s not your sweating, it’s not your planting, it’s not your watering, it’s not your fertilizing, it’s not even your “passion and heart” for those many sowing and harvesting ministries to which “so few others seem committed” that pulls the tree out of the acorn. God calls you to be obedient. Your wife, your children, your family need you to be obedient. Your church needs you to be obedient. Your community, your culture needs you to be obedient.

“So then neither is he that plants any thing, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase.” – 1 Corinthians 3:7

Confess Your Sin

When Israel was defeated in battle by the small town of Ai, Joshua fell on his face before the LORD and basically asked, “Why did this happen to us?” (Joshua 7:6-9) “The LORD said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! Why are you lying on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, ….’” (Joshua 7:10-11) Was this new news to Joshua? It shouldn’t have been. Before the conquest of Jericho, Joshua himself had warned the Israelites not to take from the spoils that which was to be consecrated to the LORD. Joshua should have immediately suspected sin in the camp. He didn’t know where the sin was, but he could have at least recognized its presence.

In Luke 13:4-5, Jesus says, “Those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, No! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

We in the church of God do not always know where the sin is; and, like Joshua, we hardly seem to recognize its presence. Even worse, we are unlike Joshua in that we fail to at least fall on our faces before God and ask, “Why?” We ought to have some suspicions. Somebody needs to ask the church, “Do we think that when the towers fell in New York, or when a hurricane ruined a big party town in Louisiana, or when wildfires destroyed hundreds of homes in the western United States, that these things happened because they were sinners more than us all? Why are these things happening to us?”

The answer is something like the following: God is grabbing us by the scruff of the neck and saying, “Confess your sin!”

The Reformation of the Home

This is it! – what I believe the church has needed to hear for a long while now. This is a single summary paragraph from a book by Douglas Wilson entitled Standing on the Promises.* I hope every Christian pastor in America (and beyond) will soon grasp this truth and practice corresponding faithfulness in Christ. (Notice the italicized portions are my emphases.)

“The first place where this reformation must come is in the area of the requirements the church places upon her elders and deacons. The Scripture requires that church officers manage their homes well, and requires that the children of church officers be believers. The officers of the church are placed by God in a position to be examples to the congregation. The members of the church are commanded to imitate them, carefully considering the outcome of their way of life. This way of life includes the very important matter of how they bring up their children. There will be no reformation and no revival until those pastors who do not meet the child-rearing qualifications of their office step down, in repentance, from their office. Men who have a household in disarray are just as unqualified for church office as a lesbian is. It is way past time for conservative Christians to cease being outraged with the disobedience of others. Why do we remove the beam from their radical eye when we have a telephone pole in our own conservative eye? If the church permitted polygamy among the elders, then the households of the membership would be in shambles as well. Such disobedience cannot produce good fruit. We are guilty of such disobedience, and we must not be astonished at the results. There are, of course, other areas of childrearing which must be addressed as well. But unless this happens within the leadership of the church, all other efforts are futile. And when it happens, as it will, all other reforms will follow.”

* - Standing on the Promises: A Handbook of Biblical Childrearing, by Douglas Wilson. (Canon Press, PO Box 8741, Moscow, Idaho 83843, USA; copyright, 1997 by Douglas Wilson; pg. 167.)