God-Centered

Has Christ Accepted You?

2009-07-07T22:51:00.000-05:00

Not long ago I was thumbing through an old Bible, and I discovered a poem written many long years ago by my wife’s great grandmother, Caroline Isabel (Birky) Stutzman. The words she penned convey the urgency I think we need to have when considering the fate of every prson around us and our own soul. Grandma Caroline was born July 18, 1889, and yet these words are so strickingly relevant today. The poem is entitled “Is It True?”

You say you have accepted Christ
How wonderful, if it is really true.
But to be saved for long eternity
Christ too must have accepted you.
For the words of Christ are thus,
If you love Me My commandments you will keep,
Be sure Satan is not deceiving you
Truly many who thought they knew shall weep
For many souls are only deceived
And think to Christ they are true
But some day they shall hear His voice
“Depart from Me for I never knew you.”

Parallels between Modern Abortion and Ancient Child Sacrifice

2009-02-09T14:28:00.007-06:00

Children are priceless gifts from God. What happens to a society that looks at them as things we can throw away for convenience? Since 1973, we have seen over 50 million children have their lives ended by mothers who could have made a different choice, but chose not to.

In Psalm 106:32-48, we have a summary of the history of God’s people in the Old Testament. We learn that they “mingled among the heathen, and learned their works” (verse 35). Today in America, we have done the same. God judged the nation of Israel. But Israel cried out for mercy. I believe the Lord has already begun His judgment upon our nation. We have forsaken Him and he is forsaking us. But it is not too late. He will hear our cry. He demanded that Israel repent of child sacrifice to Molech. In the same way, our nation must repent and turn to the Lord, not only for the sin of abortion, but from the entire unredeemed life. It is my hope that America will turn, one by one, from the radical selfishness characterized by abortion, to radical selflessness in Christ. God is a merciful God. If we repent He will hear our cry. This is the message of Psalm 106.

Micah 6:7 asks a question: “shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

I want to bring you to the prosperous city of Carthage during the time of the prophet Isaiah. It is a city on the tip of northern Africa, just east of modern day Algeria. It was the capital of the Carthaginian Empire, one of the longest-living and largest empires in the ancient Mediterranean. Elissa, Queen of Tyre founded the empire, and with her brought the practice of child sacrifice in the worship of the false deity Molech. At the height of the empire, Carthage was the most sophisticated, well-educated, militarily superior, and technologically advanced nation on in the ancient world. And yet in all their sophistication, knowledge, and advancement, they were also destroying millions of babies in child sacrifice each year. A modern historian asks of the ancient people of Carthage:

…how could a culture so well developed morally, intellectually and materially tolerate so ‘abominable’ a custom? How could a sophisticated people sanction what seems to be such a barbaric practice for so long a time? How at the most [intimate] and critical level could human parents bring about the destruction of their own child? [1]

We could ask the same question about 21st century America. “How can a culture so well developed morally, intellectually and materially tolerate so ‘abominable’ a custom as abortion?” How can we with such an intellectual and moral heritage tolerate 50 million abortions in this country since 1973?

In ancient times, child sacrifice was a prominent part of the pagan religions. People would sacrifice a son or a daughter in order to atone for sin, become prosperous, win a victory in war, or gain the favor of a false god. It is horrendous to think about, but it was quite common in ancient times. In today’s world, we believe we’ve achieved a higher state of humanity. Most believe the human race is much kinder and gentler. The truth of the matter is that as long as the practice of abortion is allowed to remain legal, we remain just as barbaric and pagan today as in the past. We may be intellectually and materially sophisticated, but we are just as brutish and cold as ancient Carthage. One of the leaders of the early church, Tertullian, said, “there is no difference as to baby killing whether you do it as a sacred rite or just because you choose to do it.” [2] He goes on to say:

For us murder is once for all forbidden; so even the child in the womb, while yet the mother's blood is still being drawn on to form the human being, it is not lawful to destroy. To forbid birth is only quicker murder. It makes no difference whether one take away the life once born or destroy it as it comes to birth. He is a man, who is to be a man, the fruit is always present in the seed. [3]

Tertullian was right. Therefore, there is no difference between ancient paganism and modern abortion.

I. As we begin I want you to see the Atrocities of Abortion as compared with ancient child sacrifice. There are many parallels. Ancient rituals of infanticide and the modern practice of abortion have many things in common. Not much has changed except the culture has sanitized the barbarous practices with pleasant sounding words like “pro-choice” and “family planning”.

• Both are premeditated murder.

• Both care nothing for the welfare of the child, only the welfare of the parents.

• Both worship the god of sexual gratification.

• Both were countenanced by the government that was supposed to protect the most weak and helpless.

A. First, consider that both ancient infanticide and modern abortion there is an unwillingness to admit that these practices are premeditated murder.

We read in Psalm 106:37-38, “Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, 38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood”. The Bible makes it clear here that this was premeditated murder of their sons and daughters. They joined with the pagans in this. America’s land too is polluted with blood. The atrocities here are nothing more than they were in ancient times: nothing more than premeditated murder.

Consider that in pagan child sacrifice, no regard was given to the child’s suffering. There would be a bronze image of the false deity [4]……extending its hands, palms up and sloping toward the ground, so that each of the children when placed thereon rolled down and fell into a sort of gaping pit filled with fire. [5]

You would think the mothers would be beside themselves in grief. This was not the case. In fact, when offering a sacrifice, the mothers were not allowed to shed a single tear, or it was believed it would “ruin” the effect of the sacrifice.[6] The screams and pain of the child were drowned out. The parents and the crowd ignored the pain and helplessness of the child. They did not want to admit to their consciences that they were indeed committing murder. Plutarch, a first century Greek historian, says that:“the whole area before the statue [would be] filled with a loud noise of flutes and drums so that the cries of wailing should not reach the ears of the people.” [7]

Today, the mother is taught to ignore the personhood and the pain of the child she aborts. She is told that the baby is just a "mere, unfeeling mass of tissue." [8]

Actually, by eight weeks, the baby has his very own fingerprints and can “feel pain”. [9] The mother ought to consider that this child is a gift from God, that this baby is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) by a loving Creator.

God forbade His people in the Old Testament from practicing abortion and infanticide. He said in Leviticus 18:21, “thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech”. God wanted His people to know that infanticide is premeditated murder. This was the so with ancient paganism, and it is true with modern abortion.

B. Second, the emphasis of the modern abortion movement cares nothing for the welfare of the child, but only the welfare of the mother.

So it was with the pagan religions:

Psalm 106:37-39, “Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, 38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. 39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.” They went a whoring after their own desires and had no regard for their children!

• The pagans would sacrifice their child in order to gain success. Today women will sacrifice their child for the success of finishing her education or of entering into a career.• For single mothers, life is hard with no father in the home. While women today do not destroy their children out of superstition as the pagans did, she does it for selfish reasons: she wants immediate relief from the crisis. …the main reason for sacrificing a child was to avert potential dangers in a crisis…Today many times when a woman faces an unwanted pregnancy abortion seems to be the only way to resolve the crisis she finds herself in. The potential dangers to reputation, education, career, etc., become overwhelming. [10]• The mother wants to have a life beyond taking care of a child. She wants to start a family on her timetable. She looks at the child as an interruption to her life. What selfish thinking! Yet it is prevalent in our country. Sadly, even our incoming president is of this opinion. He said, “if [my daughters] make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby”.[11] I say mothers should think about the responsibilities of a baby before they give themselves to a man. They should reserve their purity for marriage.

• “Another woman may experience much less of the anxiety and fear that accompany a crisis. She may simply see the pregnancy as an intrusion into her self-serving lifestyle and an obstacle in the way of the road to her success. Sadly this woman's offspring must be sacrificed so that she can continue uninterrupted with her plans for the future”. [12]• Another motivation for abortion is avoiding a stigma—perhaps the child was conceived from a relationship of fornication or adultery.

• Other mothers perhaps do not think they can handle the financial responsibilities, much less the emotional toll of motherhood.

Sadly, 3500 times every day in America, a mother believes for her own comfort and welfare she should end the life of the child. I have to stop and ask a question: what about the comfort and welfare of the child? Do you see the deadly and monstrous selfishness of our culture that would take the life of a helpless child in exchange for comfort?

Paganism was just as self-centered. They would sacrifice their children for their own comfort—when they wanted to have great favor in life and great success, or even when they wanted to avoid a crisis, they would sacrifice their infant. [13]

C. Both pagan child sacrifice and modern abortion are from the devil. Psalm 106:37 says, “Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils”. Infanticide in any form is satanic. It is murderous. John 8:44 says, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” Let us recognize that the wicked one would not have us to be merciful and support adoption. He would not have us do the hard work of parenting. He would not want us to sacrifice an education or a career to raise a child. Let us cast off the works of darkness and live as children of light!

D. Another parallel between ancient paganism and modern abortion is the worship of the god of sexual gratification. In ancient times, God warned His people not to have illicit relationships in the groves of Asherah. The Lord tells Israel in Isaiah 1:29, “They shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.” It was in the groves that the people of Israel forsook God and fornicated at pagan shrines of Asherah. “Child sacrifice…may have been a convenient way to dispose of the consequences of the illicit sexual practice…” [14] of Molech and Asherah worship.

“It is no secret that in American society extramarital sexual intercourse (fornication and adultery) is the cause of most pregnancies that end in abortion.” [15]

The pagans wanted sexual gratification with no commitment. It is the same in American culture today. Pregnancy is a risk that many men are willing to take knowing they can do away with their responsibilities with $900 and a trip to the abortion clinic.

E. We see a fourth parallel between modern abortion and ancient paganism. Those leaders in Israel who were in a position to protect the welfare of the helpless were the very people who were carrying out their destruction. So it is in our country today.

In Psalm 82:2-4, God commands us to protect the helpless. In Israel, those who were appointed by God to protect the weak and needy, were taking advantage of them. “How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. 3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.”

Two inscriptions at Carthage even show that occasionally the parents would sacrifice a handicapped child hoping to later receive a healthy one as a substitute. In one inscription a man named Tuscus says that he gave Ba'al "his mute son Bod'astart, a [handicapped] child, in exchange for a healthy one." [16]

It is the same today. Pregnant women facing the possibility of having a handicapped child are given the option of ending the child’s life.

It is a shock that we will do all we can today to give the best life to someone outside of the womb if they become handicapped or debilitated in some way. We have all kinds of technology to help in the best quality of life. Yet inside the womb today, we are no better than the ancient pagans. Like those in Carthage, we are intellectual, sophisticated, and barbaric all at the same time. And all of this is countenanced by the leadership of our country. Those who are ordained by God to protect the weak are the very ones approving their destruction. It was the same in ancient Israel.

Look over at 2 Chronicles 28:1-4. Here we have King Ahaz in the time of Isaiah taking the throne and being the first not only to allow child sacrifice, but to actually participate in it. “Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign…but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father. Verse 3, “Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen.” Ahaz as well as many of the leaders in Israel (particularly northern Israel) either allowed it or participated in it. Those whom God gave to protect Israel were preying on their most helpless citizens!
So it is today. Our senators and congressman were elected to protect and defend our rights and liberties, especially for the weakest among us. Even our declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It seems some men, if they be weak or in the womb, have lost their right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in America!

Application: Our doctors and nurses who are in a place of great esteem are giving advice to young impressionable single mothers. Their advice should be responsible. Instead they in many cases give advice that will destroy not just the child’s life, but the mother’s also as she is left to defy her God-given conscience and deal with the profound guilt of murder. The doctor who is supposed to protect her welfare urges her to break the universal laws of nature, the laws of God in her own conscience.

Having shown you the atrocities of abortion and showing you how it parallels ancient paganism, let us go back to our text in Psalm 106, and let me show you that God

II. The Amazing Grace of God to sinners. With all the atrocities, not only of abortion, but of all sin, God is a merciful and pitiful God. The Scriptures says that we are “without strength” to save ourselves.

Turn back to Psalm 106. The enemies of God’s people had the upper hand. They were influencing the culture and practices of Israel.

Look at out text in Psalm 106:34, “They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: 35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. 36 And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them. 37 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, 38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood”. Look at verse 40, “Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. 41 And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them. 42 Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. 43 Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. 44 Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry”. Listen to their prayer in verse 47, “Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise”.

As horrible as the sin of abortion is, it is forgivable by the grace of God! Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.

There is no unpardonable sin, except the very rejection of grace! God’s grace and mercy can pardon any sin! Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far [will] he removed our transgressions from us”.

As the hymn writer said:

His love has no limits,

His grace has no measure,

His power no boundary known unto men;

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

Conclusion: Our country has adopted the ways and the attitudes of the heathen. The foremost value of the pagan is SELF FIRST. Can we not see this in our culture?

What can you do to make a difference?

1. If you call yourself a Christian, live like a Christian in all of life! If we are to create a culture of life once again in our country, Professing Christians must live as genuine Christians! We are to show that the life lived for God is most fulfilling and rewarding. Just as “the way of the transgressor is hard”, the way of the righteous is spiritual prosperity. If you sow to the flesh you will reap destruction. If you sow to the Spirit, you will reap life everlasting. All of life is to be kept sacred!

2. Secondly, cherish the sacredness of all of life. If children are not to be things we throw away, we must take heed that we not throw away any of our sacred lives.

There is sacredness in moral purity reserved for the marriage covenant. Our children must learn self-control, discipline, and believe that God’s way and plan for marriage is the best.
Consider the consequences of pre-marital sex. You can only give your purity away one time. Your virginity is to be kept as a precious treasure to be given to your spouse on your wedding night.

The your example as an adult in the congregation. You must all show that purity is possible and enjoyable to our young people whether you are married or single. Above all you must exemplify that fidelity to God in your purity is both fulfilling and rewarding.

• There is a sacredness to old age.The Psalmist says in Psalm 71:9, “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth”.

The only way to stop a mindset of paganism in America is to bring the light of the Gospel. God’s grace can cleanse us from every sin!

***This was a message preached by Matt Black on Sanctity of Life Sunday (January 21, 2009) at the Tabernacle Baptist Church of Hanover Park, IL. Free mp3 download of audio and manuscript available at http://www.godcentered.info/. _______________________________________________
[1] P.G. Mosca, Child Sacrifice in Caananite and Israelite Religion, Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1975, op. cit., pp. 273, 274.

[2] Tertullian, Apologeticus IX.- 6,8.

[3] Ibid.

[4] In other cultures, the parents would simply abandon the child to a wilderness where there were wild animals.

[5] "Perpetua," translated by Herbert Musurillo. The Acts of the Christian Martyrs (Oxford University Press, 1972), 127.

[6] Nick Frost. Child Welfare (Routledge: London, 2005), 48.

[7] "Perpetua," by Musurillo, 127.

[8] Gladys Mwiti, Ph.D. Young Lives at Risk (Evangel Publishing House: Nairobi, Kenya, 1997), 6.

[9] Proposed Constitutional Amendments on Abortion: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Ninety-fourth Congress, Second Session, (Published by U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976), 401.

[10] Andrew White, M.D. Abortion and the Ancient Practice of Child Sacrifice (Journal of Biblical Ethics in Medicine, Volume 1, Number 2) 27.

[11] Barack Obama. The Dallas Morning News article, “Obama's "punished with a baby" remark (Topic of the Day)”, Monday, April 07, 2008.

[12] White, Abortion and the Ancient Practice of Child Sacrifice, 36.

[13] P.G. Mosca, Child Sacrifice in Caananite and Israelite Religion, Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1975, p. 22.

[14] White, Abortion and the Ancient Practice of Child Sacrifice, 36 [emphasis author’s].

[15] Ibid.[16] Kennedy, C., "Queries/Comments," Biblical Archeologie Review, May/June 1984, p. 20, citing J. Feuvier's article "Une Sacrifice d'Enfant chez les Numides," Annuaire de l'Institut de Philogic et d'Histoire Orientales et Slave, 1953.

Self-Righteous Garbage - Jacquelyn's Testimony

2008-12-12T15:17:00.001-06:00

I sat spellbound listening to Jacquelyn's Testimony. Please listen to it. Let us all seek and save the lost!

I'll Never Be the Same

2008-11-28T23:02:00.002-06:00

I was profoundly moved this the weekend of November 1st by a man who would go into a literal valley of death and preach the Gospel to a bunch of spiritually dead and almost physically dead people. On a very special Lord’s Day a few weeks ago (November 1, 2008), I got to spend the entire day with a pastor, a native from the country of Haiti by the name of Lucian Saul. Haiti has a population of nine million people. Pastor Lucian has absolutely nothing. The whole island has been destroyed by hurricane after hurricane. Any land that they had is unusable. All they have now is mountainous rock. They hardly have clothes. They hardly have food. There is a 96% unemployment rate. And yet Bro. Lucian is there preaching the Gospel, giving the Word of God. He is seeing God work in many churches that he is establishing. He is training over two hundred men every year in the Bible Institute. Hundreds and hundreds of children come to him in his day school, and he clothes them with a uniform. People from the states send him enough funds to purchase uniforms from the Dominican Republic (not far from them). What he said to me was “I’d rather build children than repair men.” He’s able to get meals of beans and rice and cornmeal for these children every day. And the children never complain about eating the same thing each day. Lucian is there giving the Word of God out to every creature. He’s seeing them spiritually raised from the dead and coming to know Christ. Lucian Saul is the son of a witch doctor. An American missionary went over there and gave him the Word of God. Voodoo witch doctors call demons down to work on their behalf. Now when Lucian gives the Gospel to the people of Haiti the witch doctors have no power. The demons have no power to hurt Lucian. The Word changed Lucian’s heart when he was ten years old. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation unto everyone that believes. Now instead of coming back to the comparative paradise of the United States and staying here like most Haitian people would, he has returned over and over again to that sort of hell on earth called Haiti. He is driven to go back there, and so is his twenty year old son Royden. Now why would a twenty year old want to go back to such a horrible place? He says that when you step off the plane you smell poverty, and it stinks! It just stinks. There’s no electricity, no running water, nothing. Why would he go back to an island of nine million people and live that way? Because the Gospel is the power of God to everyone that believes. Lucian was the son of a witch doctor. Now he’s a child of God! He knows Christ. And he is giving the Word of God to many who have been caught up in voodoo all their lives. And God is calling them in their hearts through the Word of God to come to Christ. Dead, dry bones are now living (Ezekiel 37)! The Gospel is the power of God to those who believe.

Refutation of the Carnal Christian Teaching, Part 1

2008-11-28T11:20:00.009-06:00

The well known British pastor and evangelist of the last century, Leonard Ravenhill said,

“There’s only one proof of the Holy Ghost in your life and that’s a holy life”.

He said,

“Get rid of this bunkum about the ‘carnal Christian’. Forget it! If you're carnal, you're not saved.”[1]

It is quite common to say that someone was saved—they prayed a prayer or they confessed that they were saved and trusting in Christ’s work on the cross to save them. Yet after a while they fall away and go back to their former life. We are told that they have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, but one day they need to accept him as Lord. Some eventually die in their sins. In his book I Call it Heresy Tozer loudly warned of the damage this false teaching does to the offices of Christ. He said:

The Lord will not save those whom He cannot command. He will not divide His offices. You cannot believe on a half-Christ. We take Him for what He is--the anointed Saviour and Lord who is King of kings and Lord of all lords! He would not be Who He is if He saved us and called us and chose us without the understanding that He can also guide and control our lives.[2]

Let me define what I mean when I say the “carnal Christian” doctrine or teaching.[3] This doctrine teaches that there are two classes of Christians: spiritual and carnal. This theory holds that a person who is a new creation in Christ can practice sin as a lifestyle, and though continuing in sin, he still has the hope of heaven. These professors are considered Christians who are carnal, not yet having come to a point of surrender.[4] This is seen in our churches especially with those who have made professions of faith as children. Little or no meaningful growth takes place in their life, but because they asked the Lord to save them on one occasion, they are considered a true and genuine believer in Christ.

The Heart of the Matter
I want to propose to you that the Scriptures teach that the “carnal Christian” is no Christian at all. This kind of person is addressed in Scripture in many places. He is a “hearer of the Word and not a doer” (James 1:23). As Hebrews 6 says, he is the one who seems to taste of Christianity, but falls away. He says he has faith, but he gives no evidence that God is working in him “to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). As James says, faith without the works of holiness that come from the indwelling Spirit is no faith at all—it is a dead faith (2:20).

History of this False Teaching
The carnal Christian doctrine of today is just an old heresy called “antinomianism”. “Anti” means “no” and “nomian” means “law”. In other words, antinomianism is the teaching that a Christian may practice a lawless life without the rule of Christ in his heart.

This is actually not a new controversy. H. A. Ironside, former pastor of the Moody Church of Chicago fought against it in his day when he said:

…there are not wanting[5] professed preachers of grace who, like the antinomians of old, decry the necessity of repentance… Loudly declaring they are justified by faith alone, they fail to remember that ‘faith without works is dead’.[6]

In recent days, this false teaching was revived with the Scofield Study Bible. According to Ernest Reisinger:

One reason why [the carnal Christian doctrine] is so widespread is that it has been popularized for many years in the notes of the Scofield Reference Bible. A statement from these notes will indicate the precise nature of the teaching: Paul divides men into three classes: "Natural" i.e. the Adamic Man, unrenewed through the new birth; "Spiritual" i.e. the renewed man as Spirit-filled and walking in the Spirit in full communion with God; "Carnal", "fleshly", i.e. the renewed man who, walking "after the flesh", remains a babe in Christ" (Scofield Reference Bible, pp. 1213, 1214).[7]

John MacArthur confirms this. He says:

The doctrine apparently stemmed from Chafer's misguided attempts to develop a uniquely dispensationalist soteriology. Chafer (together with other early dispensationalists, including C. I. Scofield) was so zealous to eliminate every vestige of law from the dispensation of grace that he embraced a kind of antinomianism.[8]

Charles Ryrie is also a proponent of it. He said, referring to 1 Corinthians 3:

Paul can only mean that these Carnal Christians lived like unsaved men. That clarifies why the word Carnal can label both unbelievers and believers, simply because the lifestyles of both are the same.[9]

The once well-known Baptist preacher R. B. Thieme frames the argument in the way most of us have heard it from the pulpit.

The behavior pattern of a carnal Christian cannot be distinguished from that of an unbeliever 1 Corinthians 3:3. As far as God’s Word is concerned you may act like an unbeliever; but if you have believed in Christ, you are still a believer – a believer in the status quo carnality – out of fellowship. A BELIEVER OUT OF FELLOWSHIP ACTS LIKE AN UNBELIEVER. In fact he is sometime worse.[10]

Scofield, Chafer, Ryrie, and Thieme assure us that they got this idea from a passage in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4. Let’s look at what Paul says there.

Brief Study of 1 Corinthians 3

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? (1 Corinthians 3:1-4).

Taken out of context, Scofield and the others might seem to be right. But when looking at the entire letter that Paul wrote, we find that in this passage, Paul was rebuking the church as a whole for an area of carnality in their lives. They needed to learn about how to resolve personal conflicts. They were acting as unregenerate people in an area of their lives. He was not saying that they were living without spiritual fruit in their lives. In chapter 1 Paul talked about how they were living lives that were focused on Jesus’ coming, and Paul gave thanks to God for them in verses 4-8:

I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul established that they were growing in holiness before the rebuke later in chapter 1 and in chapter 3! In the above verses, Paul testifies of their holiness. In “every thing’ they were “enriched by Him [Christ]”—in their words (“utterance”), thoughts (“knowledge”), and life (“the testimony of Christ was confirmed in [them]”). Paul affirms that the Lord Jesus Christ who saved them would “also confirm [them] to the end” (verse 8). He is not dividing the people into three classes, natural, carnal, and spiritual, but teaching that truly saved people will grow in holiness. Actually in chapter 2 Paul names only two types of people: the natural man who does not receive the things of God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14), and those who are indwelt by the Spirit, who do. Paul goes to great length to explain how they have the Spirit of God in them. In chapter 2 and verse 10, Paul says God has revealed the “deep things” of God’s Spirit to them. Paul shows further spiritual fruit, how they were being taught by the Holy Spirit Himself (verse 13). He said in verse 14 that the natural or unsaved person could not understand the things of the Spirit, but they weren’t like that. Verse 16 Paul says to them: “we have the mind of Christ”.

What’s the point? Paul is not saying that their lives were characterized by carnality as a way of life. These were not people living in sin and rebellion to God who had professed salvation but had no spiritual fruit. They were people with new hearts who were producing authentic spiritual fruit, but like all believers they were struggling with an area or two of their lives, and it was affecting the whole church in this instance. They needed to progress in their sanctification.

So having shown briefly that this passage does not teach another class of believers, I want to show you that the Word of God refutes this doctrine throughout. As we look at the span of the Bible, the message is that those who are saved are new creations. They have a new heart and a new nature, and they grow and change to be like Christ. If you have no measure of fruit in your life, you are not a Christian no matter how many times you prayed a prayer.

This is not only my conclusion, but many before me have refuted this doctrine. A. W. Tozer called this doctrine a heresy.[11]

John Bunyan, who spent twelve years total in the Bedford prison for the faith, though not addressing it directly, refuted this false teaching, saying this:

…a life of holiness and godliness in this world doth so inseparably follow a principle of faith, that it is both monstrous and ridiculous to suppose the contrary. What, shall not he that hath life have motion! (Galatians 2:20). He that hath by faith received the Spirit of holiness, shall not he be holy? (Galatians 3:2), and he that is called to glory and virtue, shall not he add to his faith virtue? (2 Peter 1:4-5).[12]

The Bible teaches that an ongoing life of carnality is an impossibility in the Christian life. Why is that? The Scriptures teach that all those God has elected for salvation are also foreordained by His unchangeable decree to produce the fruits of holiness. We are "chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit for obedience" (1 Peter 1:2). The Bible teaches that all who are justified are predestined to be sanctified. All saints are predestined for holiness.

Certainly there are baby Christians, but baby Christians are guaranteed to come to some sort of holiness. There are different levels of holiness in the life. We are all growing and changing at different measures, but there is a measurable holiness. Christians also may struggle with an area of carnality in their life. The point is there is a battle. There is a difference in attitude toward sin in the Christian. A Christian longs to be holy. Why is that? We are going to see that God has ordained it to be so. He has also made sure that holiness would occur through regeneration, which gives the person a new nature that longs for holiness. He also made sure that holiness would occur by putting His Spirit inside of believers to “cause” them to walk in holiness and obedience (Ezekiel 36:27).

The Word of God directly refutes the so-called “carnal Christian” teaching in many, many places, first because of God’s decree that all Christians will be conformed to the image of Christ progressively in this life. The Scriptures teach that all those God has foreordained for salvation are also foreordained by God’s unchangeable decree to produce the fruits of holiness. In other words, it is impossible for a person who has been called by God to salvation to not be holy. We can see this clearly from the book of Ephesians.

The Teaching of Ephesians
The teaching of Ephesians is that we are foreordained for good works. God has ordained and decreed before the foundation of the world that all those the Father gives to the Son will walk in good works. Paul tells us why we have come to Jesus Christ in Ephesians 1:4, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love”. No one can claim election and justification who does not practice a lifestyle that is “holy and without blame before God in love”. Ephesians 2:10 likewise says that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them”. We were created to be lights on a hill and candles on a candle stick. God created us anew so that we could shine as lights in this dark world. Shall those who do not shine have the right to bear the name Christian?

Sealed with the Impression of Holiness
In other words, God has predestined our holiness. If we are called into His family He will be sure that we bear the family likeness. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that all Christians “are sealed unto the day of redemption.” God’s Holy Spirit has sealed us. In other words, He put the impression of God’s likeness on our soul when we were regenerated. Regeneration is God giving to us the new nature. With that sealing of the Holy Spirit, every child of God is guaranteed to become more and more like Jesus Christ.

The Teaching of Romans
We see God’s predestination for holiness for all genuine Christians again in Romans 8:28-30. We are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. In other words, all who God “foreknew” and “called” and “justified” (i.e. all true Christians) are predestined for a holy and blameless life, being “conformed to the image of God’s Son”. Who is Paul talking about? Again, it must be emphasized that Paul is speaking of all true Christians without exception. All who are predestined are called. All who are called are justified. All whom God justified, He is conforming to the image of His Son, and He will one day glorify them with sinless perfection in glory.

If you are called, you are not simply called to be forgiven of your past sins, but you are called to forsake your present sins and follow Christ and to be conformed to His image. This is the purpose of God in drawing a sinner to Himself—to conform them and mold them into the image of Christ. As I said, a Christian will fail along the way. He will be very aware of his daily failure, but he will cling to Christ along the way. And day by day he will be more conformed to the image of Christ. This purpose of God cannot be defeated in any one of His chosen people. If some measure of a holy life does not follow salvation, then God’s purpose in saving you is defeated, and that is impossible.

We are predestined to walk in good works and to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. If that can be taken away from this chain of redemption, then our whole salvation falls.

The Teaching of 2 Corinthians
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creation”, literally a new creation, “old things are passing away, all things are becoming new” (author’s translation). Why must the old sinful life go and the new holy life take its place?—Because we are Christ’s new creation. In other words, we have a new nature. The new heart (new nature) produces a harvest of holiness. New and godly and God-pleasing fruit are coming out of your life if you are born again—guaranteed by the eternal decree of God from before the foundation of the world.

An Objection
Someone might say that demanding holiness makes works a necessary element of salvation. By salvation this person means justification. Works have nothing to do with justification. A person must come as he is to Jesus Christ. He must not seek to change himself, but simply come. As Jesus said, the sinner’s need is to be “born again” (John 3:3). Until the new birth he cannot change. But the Bible’s contention is that if a person does indeed experience the new birth (i.e. regeneration) he will inevitably and most certainly change.

Yet as far as making oneself ready to come to Christ, there is nothing that the sinner can do to make himself fit. He cannot change himself. He must utterly yield himself to Christ to perform the miracle of the new birth. If he tries to make himself better before coming to Christ, he will never come because he will never be fit. It is just as the glorious hymn says:

Let not conscience make you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream,
All the fitness He requireth Is to feel your need of Him.
I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in his arm.
In the arms of my dear Saviour
O there are ten thousand charms.[13]

God’s purpose for every one of His redeemed children is to conform them in this life to the magnificent image of Jesus Christ. That is the doctrine of progressive sanctification, or progressive holiness. All who are genuine Christians will most definitely become more and more like Christ. We either believe this doctrine or we do not. We find it every where in the Scriptures.

Teaching of Hebrews and Philippians
Hebrews 12 and Philippians 1 are also clear about this. Hebrews 12:1 tells us that Jesus Christ is not only the “Author” of your faith (Hebrews 12:1), but He is also the “Finisher”. As Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6, “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”. Christ conquered death to make us holy like Himself. As Hebrews 12:14 says, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”. The word “follow” indicates “an earnest pursuit or a dedicated striving after”. This pursuit is the fruit of the new heart.

Let me say unequivocally and absolutely with no exception that all who are called and justified in Jesus Christ will be conformed in some noticeable measure to Jesus Christ. “By their fruits ye shall know them” was our Lord’s promise. Those who teach otherwise are false teachers who twist and contradict the Scriptures.

Tyndale's Words
Let us take heed to the words of William Tyndale from his introduction to the book of Romans:

“Right faith is a gift wrought by the Holy Ghost in us, which changes us, turns us into a new creature with a new nature, and ‘births’ us anew in God making us the sons of God….Right faith kills the old Adam, and makes us all together new in our heart, mind, will, desire, and in all our affections and powers of the soul. It brings the Holy Ghost with it in us. Faith is a lively thing, mighty in working, valiant, and strong, ever doing, ever fruitful so that it is impossible that those who are endued with it should not work always towards good works without ceasing.”[14]

With Tyndale we ought to say it is impossible that those endued with divine faith and the transformation of heart in regeneration should not have holiness of life! Every child of God without exception is regenerated, given a new nature, passed from death to life, or as John so often says, “born again” (John 3:3).

R C Sproul sounded the alarm on this so-called “carnal Christian” teaching on James White’s radio program. He said:

“You know, you hear so much about the carnal Christian—the person who is really saved, but his life doesn’t change. You can’t find that in the Bible. That’s nonsense. That’s a theology that’s been created to account for false professions.”[15]

The most sobering reality in this entire study is the fact that people’s souls hang in the balance. If we do not understand the Gospel rightly, we can very easily give the people we influence a false assurance of heaven and inoculate them from the true message of the Gospel. If we do not expect the Gospel to be the power of God to change the very nature of man, then we very likely may be preaching another Gospel.

[1] Leonard Ravenhill. Holiness Quotes for the Remnant (Life and Liberty Ministries, available at: http://www.lifeandlibertyministries.com/archives/000239.php).
[2] A. W. Tozer, I Call It Heresy! (Harrisburg, Pa.: Christian Publications, 1974), 18-19. Available online at: http://www.theboc.com/freestuff/awtozer/books/icallitheresy/1.html, from chapter 1.
[3] I found five articles particularly helpful:John Bunyan’s “Christian Behavior: http://www.mountzion.org/fgb/Fall99/FgbF6-99.html Ernest Resinger’s refutation of the carnal Christian doctrine: http://www.peacemakers.net/unity/carnal.htm. L. R. Shelton, Jr’s “The True Gospel of Christianity versus the False Gospel of Carnal Christianity”: http://www.mountzion.org/text/TFG_1-6.rtfAW Pink’s “Sins of the Saints”: http://www.mountzion.org/PDFs/sosa.pdf Brian Schwertley. The Necessity of Sanctification: A Brief Refutation of the Carnal Christian Heresy: http://graceonlinelibrary.org/articles/full.asp?id=37%7C37%7C90
[4] A.W. Tozer has a full treatment on the false idea that Jesus Christ can be our Saviour but not our Lord in his book Call It Heresy! (Harrisburg, Pa.: Christian Publications, 1974). It is available online at: http://www.theboc.com/freestuff/awtozer/books/icallitheresy/1.html.
[5] lacking
[6] Harry A. Ironside. Except Ye Repent. Available online: http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/BTP/Dr_Harry_Ironside/Except_Ye_Repent/01.htm.
[7] Ernest Resinger’s refutation of the carnal Christian doctrine: http://www.peacemakers.net/unity/carnal.htm
[8] John MacArthur. A 15-Year Retrospective on the Lordship Controversy. An article available on the Grace to You web site: http://www.gty.org/Resources/articles/2263.
[9] Charles Ryrie, So Great Salvation (Victor Books, 1989, p. 62)
[10] Robert Thieme, The Prodigal Son (R.B. Thieme, Jr. Bible Ministries: Houston, 1967), 7-8 [emphasis by Thieme].
[11] A. W. Tozer, I Call It Heresy! (Harrisburg, Pa.: Christian Publications, 1974), 18-19. Available online at: http://www.theboc.com/freestuff/awtozer/books/icallitheresy/1.html.
[12] John Bunyan. Christian Behavior (Mount Zion Chapel Library: Pensacola, FL, no date), 8.
[13] Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy. Words by Joseph Hart. Accessed at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/m/comeyspn.htm on 04 September 2008.
[14] William Tyndale, Sermon on the Book of Romans from Writings of A Puritan's Mind, Vol. 1 (Puritan Publications: Coconut Creek, FL, 2008), 28ff.
[15] RC Sproul appeared on the Dividing Line radio program hosted by Dr. James R. White. He said these words on this program on August 7, 2008.

AW Tozer on Radical Christianity (the only kind!)

2008-11-22T19:25:00.002-06:00

I have been challenged by A.W. Tozer's classic applications from the book of 1 Peter. The title is a bit shocking: "I Call it Heresy". Specifically what he calls heresy is the idea that a person can have Christ as their Saviour without Him also being their Lord. In other words, he concludes that regeneration of the heart by the Spirit of God has a radical effect on the will! Amen. Read it for yourself!

Kirk Cameron testifies to God's Sovereign Grace

2008-11-21T17:36:00.005-06:00

What a delight it is to watch Kirk Cameron speak of how God raised him from death to life. It has been a joy to watch him from a distance growing in Christ. Check it out! John MacArthur gives some very helpful commentary on the nature of salvation in this video.

Here's a quote from Kirk: "I was lost and God found me and He drew me in to the truth of the Scripture and caused me to embrace it with all of my heart. That's the beauty of the power of God--to take a guy who's not seeking God at all and to seek him out, to find him and make him a new creature in Christ." Hat tip: Ken Fields.

Audio: How God Converts the Soul

2008-11-21T14:55:00.010-06:00

Here is a short audio excerpt of how God converts the human soul [The length is 3:51 minutes--background music by LeaRon Reid]. The text is Ezekiel 37 with the prophet in the valley of dry bones. The excerpt explains how we are to give the Gospel to sinners with expectation of the miracle of regeneration.

For a more fully developed treatment of regeneration, check out the following:

An Evangelistic Church: manuscript mp3
How God Converts the Soul: manuscript mp3

Anthony Flew: Atheist to Theist

2008-11-20T23:49:00.006-06:00

Psalm 19:1, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork."

Here is an astounding set of videos of Anthony Flew, a world renowned atheist turned theist because of new cosmological and microbiological discoveries. Flew first publicly expressed Deist views in 2004. In 2007, he wrote the book There is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind. Many thanks to Lee Strobel for his work in conducting these interviews.

*Note: Though Flew has left atheism, he is still without Christ. Please pray for his salvation.

Video #1: Flew's understanding of Christianity and the afterlife.

Video #2: Flew goes beyond Deism saying a Creator was involved in the creation of life.

Video #3: Why Flew changed his views on theism

Video #4: Flew's understanding of what God must be like

Video #5: Flew's relationship with C. S. Lewis

Ravenhill: Dead to Sin or Dead in Sin?

2008-11-20T20:01:00.003-06:00

Leonard Ravenhill was a prophet of the 20th century. He was mentored by A.W. Tozer, but most of all he was a humble bond slave of Jesus Christ. Listen to him speaking about the need to go to the Cross and also to get on the Cross. May God give us the grace to be dead to sin!

I'll Be Honest website

2008-11-18T21:58:00.002-06:00

This is a website that will challenge your soul!

Revival Can Conquer Sexual Sin

2008-11-18T20:23:00.003-06:00

In the age of the Internet, this is a message that needs to be heard. Truth plus passion for Christ can conquer the biology of lust and sexual sin (as Piper says). May God reign in this day and age of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Video: True vs. False Christianity

2008-11-18T20:03:00.002-06:00

Please listen to this approximately 5 minute testimony. It is about true vs. false Christianity. Pray for those who have anything less than a totally converted, regenerated, and Holy Spirit filled heart!

Video: Revival Hymn

2008-11-17T23:04:00.003-06:00

This is an amazing video. I've watched it so many times, and each time it is very convicting and motivating. May we pray that God's Spirit would have His way with our churches, our nation, and our world.

Ephesians 5:14
Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give thee light.

Videos: Shepherding a Child's Heart

2008-11-17T18:08:00.004-06:00

Please check out these new online videos from Tedd Tripp telling us "How to Shepherd a Child's Heart".

The Call to Formative Instruction

Giving Kids a Vision for God

Helping Kids Understand Authority

Helping Kids Understand the Heart

Overview of Corrective Discipline

John Piper on the Influence of Family

2008-11-17T17:49:00.005-06:00

This was a very interesting video from Dr. John Piper. He speaks very candidly about the influence of his father, his wife, and his children. BTW, I do not necessarily subscribe to everything Driscoll or Piper do, but I know this will be an edifying video to watch!

Snow at Aierdi

2008-11-15T22:13:00.003-06:00

This past summer we had the great privilege of helping Andy Bonikowsky at the Aierdi Farmhouse in Spain.

It usually looks like this:

But today it looked like this:

And this:
Let it snow! Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Why Did Some Professing Christians Vote for Obama?

2008-11-15T21:38:00.001-06:00

I think I know why. Check out these words of wisdom from my friend, Bob Bixby in his blog article entitled, "Why Evangelicals Hope in Obama". (Bob's the pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church in Rockford, IL).

How to Raise a Pharisee (12 Steps)

2008-11-14T23:03:00.004-06:00

We all want our children to have a heart for God. Of course, if you have a Christian home, your children probably say they love God. They seem to be “good kids”—obedient, kind, thoughtful as far as you can tell. But why is it then that many young people change so drastically for the worse after they are out of the home? I believe it is because we have not reached the heart. Jesus said, “This people honoreth Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me” (Mark 7:6). We as parents must not aim for behavior modification. Behavior modification is never the goal. Any lost person can attain behavior modification without the help of God. The goal is always to reach our child’s heart for Christ. Without reaching the heart, we are in danger of raising our children as Pharisees.

As parents and children’s workers, none of us wants to raise a Pharisee. That is why we must all be spiritual heart surgeons. Giving an aspirin to someone who has serious heart disease will not work. In the same way, no parent should be content with a superficial change of behavior. What our children need is a heart change! Has your child experienced the new birth? Has their HEART been reached for God?

In this session we will cover 12 steps to avoid an outward, shallow understanding of salvation, and ways to point our children to a passionate relationship with the living Saviour.

If you have a Bible, look at Matthew 23. Here we have the Lord’s warnings of WOE to the Pharisees. He is saying: this path may look good, but it is a path to destruction!

So let’s get started…

I. Step #1: If you want to raise a Pharisee, Major on the externals instead of internal issues. The Lord said in Matthew 23:27, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” The Pharisees were outwardly beautiful but inwardly dead! There’s nothing the Lord condemned more than hypocrisy, which is outward conformity without inward reality. We can be easily deceived by the good behavior of our children and young people because we look on the outward, but we need to learn how we can get into their heart.

The Pharisees were meticulous about the outside. They may have looked beautiful on the outside. Yet when Jesus saw the Pharisees, what he saw was very ugly. You and I wouldn’t have seen what the Lord saw. When you looked at the Pharisees outward appearance what you saw were beautiful, wonderful people. Remember that “man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). These Pharisees looked awesome on the outside! Yet Christ said of them in Matthew 15:8, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.”

It is very easy to major on controlling the child's behavior without using Scripture and prayer to deal with his heart. This will produce a Pharisee—everything looks good on the outside, but inwardly he is corrupt.

The Lord gives us two word pictures here in verses 25 and 27 for someone who only knows an outward, shallow view of salvation.

A. Majoring on Behavior instead of reaching the heart is like being a Good actor. Christ called the Pharisees “hypocrites” which is a word that means ‘actors’. He says in verse 25, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess”. The word “excess” has the idea of “self indulgence”. Good actors love to make the outside appearance “clean” (verse 25) and “beautiful outward” but inwardly they are still living the self-life. Self is still on the throne of their heart and rules every action. They’ll say they love God, but their heart is far from Him. We don’t want children who are only “playing the game” and “acting” their way through the Christian life. We want God to give them a radical heart change.

B. Majoring on Behavior instead of reaching the heart is like Dressing up a corpse. Jesus said a Pharisee is “like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones” (Matthew 23:7). A child can have behavior that conforms to the strictest of standards, yet Christ says unless you deal with the inner man—the heart—they are still dead and ugly inside. We must connect the life of God to this child! We want to raise genuine children of God, not good actors.

C. And here is the Most Frightening Thing about majoring on behavior instead of reaching the heart. If we settle for outward conformity instead of God touching the heart—no matter how good our children look on the outside, without a changed heart verse 33 says there is no way our children will “escape the [CONDEMNATION] of hell”. As Jesus said, “Except a man—[or a child0—be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

So Step #1 is to major on behaviour while neglecting the heart. Let’s look at the next step.

II. Step #2: If you want to raise a Pharisee, instead of leading by example, never practice what you preach. Matthew 23:3, “All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not”.

We need to ask the question raised in James 1:22: Are you a hearer of the Word only? Or are you a doer? God saved us to shine our light for Jesus, not simply to be a very biblically educated heathen.

Jesus said, “This people honoreth Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me” (Mark 7:6). If all our children hear are empty words, and they are never backed up by a passionate commitment to Christ in our life, then we may very well raise a Pharisee.

Application: It’s not enough to have our children in 5-Day Clubs and Sunday school and to teach them carefully from the Bible. We must be a living Bible before them. Our children need to see that our heart is so passionate for Jesus Christ that it actually affects the way we live.

If we do not practice what we preach, our children will honor God with their lips, but their hearts will be far away from God.

III. Step #3: If you want to raise a Pharisee, Use Excessive control & Manipulation instead of relying on the Holy Spirit of God.

Matthew 23:4, “they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers If the people did not comply with the Pharisees, they could be put out of the synagogues. The Pharisees loved to control the lives of people, but they did not want their lives to be controlled.

The Pharisee’s did not rely on the Holy Spirit to convict of “sin, righteousness, and judgment” (John 16:8). Their preferred METHOD was to use guilt and excessive control to conform behavior. God’s method is to convert the heart to change behavior.

A. Grouchy Parent Syndrome. When things are going all wrong—the kids are out of control, it’s easy to get into GPS mode? I’m not talking about the electronic Global Positioning System in your car. I’m talking about Grouchy Parent Syndrome. How do you know if you have it?

1. Instead of relying on the convicting power of the Holy Spirit to press down on their heart, you use your overbearing spirit in order to produce the desired behavior. It is easy to nag and berate a child in order to get the desired behavior. We should never threaten or put a child down! This is a burden the child cannot bear. You will get the desired behavior, but you will drive his heart away.

2. You may even start raising your voice to get desired behavior. The temptation when we don’t see the desired contrition is to threaten our children or make them fear. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict of “sin, righteousness, and judgment” (John 16:8). Instead of raising your voice, you must instead speak the truth in love to your children in a calm controlled manner. If you raise your voice, you will hinder your children from hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit. We must never take the place of the Holy Spirit of God in our children’s lives. We must use the Word of God to gently convert the soul of the child.

B. Let me tell you about Grace filled parents.
1. The grace filled parent knows we are warned never to use manipulation but to nurture our children. If you use harshness and control to get desired behavior, your children will outwardly conform, but they will inwardly rebel. You will provoke them to wrath. According to Ephesians 6:4, parents, specifically fathers, are not to “provoke their children to wrath” but to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition (discipline) of the Lord”.

2. The grace filled parent believes James 1:20, “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” We should always be motivated by a God-centered love for the child, and the fruit of the Spirit. We ought never act because of being angry, annoyed, irritated or upset. What does Christ say? Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

3. The grace filled parent knows that “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). Raising a child should never mean raising your voice. As a parent, you can be effective in reaching the heart of your child only if you are in control. If you have a gentle humble attitude, your children will reflect that. Your tone of voice is heard louder than your words!

4. The grace filled parent believes I Corinthians 13:1, that “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” We’ve got to be a vessel for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit of God.

C. Let me finally say this: a godly humble spirit in the home does not mean that we do not deal with sin! In fact we must deal with sin swiftly and firmly. Our children are to obey immediately, sweetly, and completely. But anger and irritation are not fruits of the Spirit! It is absolutely essential to correct sin, but you must speak the truth in love.

We don’t need to do the work of conforming our child’s behavior—that’s the Holy Spirit’s job. We need to have an environment where the Holy Spirit reaches the heart of your child. He changes the heart, which in turn changes the behavior.

Transition: So, if you want to raise a Pharisee, don’t rely on the power of God! Don’t rely on the Spirit of God, Don’t rely on the Word of God, all you need to do is make sure they know that you’re boss. Raise your voice! Don’t let them hear the voice of God. You just pounce on them with manipulation and an overbearing spirit, and you are sure to raise a Pharisee.

IV. Step #4: If you want to raise a Pharisee, teach your children to please men instead of God. The Pharisees were people pleasers! Verse 5, “But all their works they do for to be seen of men”. The Pharisees greatest desire was to get the praise of men. Of course Jesus said in Luke 6:26, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you!”

Remember that pleasing Mom and Dad is not the ultimate goal: Pleasing God is!! 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” In the most ordinary of things, we are to please God.

Application: In the Word of God, human success is not the goal; pleasing God is the goal! How do you spell success in parenting? S-A-L-V-A-T-I-O-N! If your child experiences the new birth and lives a life hungering and thirsting after God, you have succeeded.

(1) Some parents raise their children as a museum piece for you to show off to the world. “Look at how successful my child is in the world” is the attitude. My friends, our children are not our own. They are on loan from God. They don’t need to succeed in the world to succeed in God’s eyes. They are sinners that you ought to pray will be saved by grace.

(2) Some parents see success as their child getting a degree from a good school or getting a job with a high income. Actually some of those things if they are pursued in place of God is spiritual failure. Success is not bad if it is in the will and plan of God. But if my child is poor and in ordinary job and loves God fervently, then I am a success. The goal is not to please men, but to please God!

Application: Our children are not going to stand before our friends and neighbors on judgment day to see if they were a success. They are going to stand before God.

V. Step #5: If you want to raise a Pharisee, focus on personalities instead of the Person of Jesus Christ. Look at verses 6-10. Pharisees “love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ”.

The Pharisees would not look to Christ. Instead they looked to all their doctors and teachers.

A Christian is not a follower of a man or a movement, but of Christ. God uses people, and for that we are all profoundly humbled. But let us not exalt the hammer! Let’s exalt the Architect! You and I are just hammers. Our children need to see us not exalting each other. We are just pieces of clay in the Master’s hand!

To be a Christian is not to be a man follower, but to be a Christ follower. It is to have Christ living in you—to have Him as your Master. It is not “doing what the pastor says” or even “doing what mom and dad say”. Children should obey authority, but ultimately to be a Christian is to have ONE Master, Jesus Christ as the ruler of your heart. As verse 8 says, “one is your Master, even Christ”. We must get our eyes off of man and get our eyes on Christ. If you put your eyes on men, you will soon be disappointed. If you have your children esteem men, they too will be disappointed. It’s not about me! It’s not about you! It’s about Christ! It’s about Him!

Signing a doctrinal statement does not make a child a Christian. We are to have correct doctrine, but Christ must dwell in the heart by faith! Agreeing to good doctrine does not transform you. “The devils also believe and tremble” (James 2:19).

We ought to always have correct doctrine, that’s something to contend for, but having correct doctrine does not make you a Christian. To be a Christian is to have Christ living in you, to have a new birth, raised from the dead, and to have be a new creation in Christ Jesus. It is not outward conformity. It is a total heart change that desires submission to Christ. Understand what it is to enter the Kingdom. Jesus said, “except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Understand that the entire goal for the life of a child is to have a broken moldable heart for God.

VI. Step #6: If you want to raise a Pharisee, create an environment of pride instead of humility in the home. The Pharisees really did think they were the next best think to sliced bread. They sincerely believed they had it all together. Rule number one for the Pharisees was: never admit fault. They had proud, hard hearts. Look at verses 11-12. Jesus rebuked the proud Pharisees and said: “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”

The answer to almost every spiritual problem your child has answered by Peter in 1 Peter 5:5, “God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble!” Or as David said in Psalm 34:18, “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

The greatest example a child can have is that of a humble mother and father who know they are sinners worthy of the God’s eternal punishment. The kind of broken home that God loves is to have a mother and father with a broken heart. Do you have a broken heart for your children? Are you gentle with them? Are you serving them up the Gospel or do you think they are there to serve you? Take the TIME to serve your children. Spend time with them. They should know you intimately.

A. Serve them through prayer. Pray for them. Gather them around you each night and pray for them by name. Then let them pray and listen to their spiritual heartbeat. If your children see you on fire with a broken, fervent, joyous prayer life, they will want to pray!

B. Serve them through humble confession when you sin.

1. Confess your sins before your children. If they see you really want to change in your life they will want to change.

2. When they sin, don’t act as if you are holier than thou. You tell them, Daddy and mommy are sinners too. That’s why we all need Jesus.

VII. Step #7: If you want to raise a Pharisee, make the Ten Commandments merely rules to live by instead of a mirror to show their corruption and need for Christ. It was said of the Pharisees in verse 13, “woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” The parallel passage in Luke 11:52 tells us how the Pharisees blocked the way to heaven. “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.”

The ‘key of knowledge” is referring to the Law. The Pharisees thought the Law was given as rules to keep. The Pharisees were trying to keep the Law to get into heaven—instead of allowing the Law to be the “Schoolmaster” that shows us how sinful we are and lead us to our need of Christ (Galatians 3:24)! The Law was not given to justify man. It was given to give us knowledge of our sin.

The Pharisees were trying to keep the Law to get into heaven—instead of allowing the Law to be the School master that shows us how sinful we are and lead us to our need of Christ! The Law was not given to justify man. It was given to give us knowledge of our sin.

Romans 3:19-20, says that the Law was given “that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

God’s Law, the 10 Commandments does not merit us favor in God’s sight—it measures our corruption in God’s sight!

Application: We need to use the Ten Commandments to show our children their wretchedness. They need to come to Christ. The Law shows us that there is none good. We are constantly sinning

We need to hold up the 10 commandments as a mirror to show our children just how corrupt they are and how much they need Christ. They need to see themselves as lost sinners before they can be saved.

Luke 5:31-32, “And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole [WELL] need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

VIII.Step #8: If you want to raise a Pharisee, Don’t be transparent about your struggles with sin, instead use Spiritual Smokescreens.The Lord says in Matthew 23:14, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” A pretence is a show. In other words, the Pharisees were not transparent people. They did not let people know their struggles but instead covered them up with spiritual smokescreens.

Are you able to teach something to the children at church or in a 5-Day club, but not willing to live it out at home? Then you are making a pretense. You don’t intend to live it out.

A. Let’s look at the Problem. The Pharisaical parent has everything in order on the outside. They seem spiritual to people at church and in the grocery store. But nobody sees the real you. Except your kids see the real you. And God sees the real you. If you think adding more spiritual activities to cover all your warts at home, you might be on your way to raising a Pharisee. Spiritual smoke screens need to be taken away, and your children need to see you dealing with sins and struggles honestly.

You may have an anger problem. Sunday morning comes along and you are having a time trying to get everyone to church on time. And you might lose it. Admit it. Your family already knows it. They need to hear it from you. The worst thing you can do is not say anything, and then act all spiritual at church.

You may have an over-commitment problem. Your family already knows it because they never see you. Admit to your wife and children that you need to say NO to others so that you can say YES to them. Again, the worst thing you can do is not say anything about your stuggles, and then act all spiritual around others.

We can have all the right standards in front of others. But if who you are at church is not the same person you are at home and at work, then you are using a spiritual smokescreen.

Ø Can you laugh at what God hates on television? Do we say “Amen” against fleshly living at church and then go home and watch it on the TV?

Ø Do you act differently at church than at home? Do you speak to your children differently at church than at home?

These are just a few ways we can “make a pretense”. We all struggle, that’s for sure. But we ought never to make a show of spirituality with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and then act a different way with our family.

We need to deal with this because if you don’t, when your child grows up he may very likely go the opposite direction of Christ.

B. What’s the solution?
1. Transparency. Our kids need to see us transparent about areas of struggle against sin. They need to see us confessing our sins to one another as Christians. They need to hear us praying that God would change us. They need to see us applying the Word to areas of struggle in our lives. They need to see us repenting having the joy that follows.

2. Time and work. Instead of making a pretense and then living for yourself at home, take that time with your kids and invest time on your knees and in the Word. That’s going to take a real investment on your part.

3. Begin simply. Take a walk with your family and ask spiritual questions. Take ten minutes and open the Bible after a meal time. Start applying the
Word of God to your life and to your children’s life. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll all begin to live a transparent life.

IX. Step #9: If you want to raise a Pharisee, Substitute outward standards for Spirituality. We see this in Matthew 23:23 , “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”

What does Christ say? Standards of holiness are good, but you left the most important part out! To jump to the outward Christian disciplines without dealing with the heart is nothing more than behavior modification.

Christians have holy fruit coming out of their life, but following a set of rules does not make your child a Christian. No amount of good behaviour will ever justify your child. All the good standards in the world will not balance out one of your child’s sins. That is why we want to do all we can to bring our children into an encounter with the Living God!

Application: Sometimes we might forget that being a Christian is not checking off a list!
o Daily Bible reading ... checks.
o Prayed for others ... check.
o Thanked God for something ... check.
o Prayed before my meals ... check.
o Listened to Christian music ... check.

You should have habits of godliness in your life. So should your children. But having these habits of godliness does not make a person a Christian.

Application: Some parents believe if their children have the right amount of verses memorized, says the sinner’s prayer, dress the right way, and are baptized, then their child must be a Christian! Listen, lots of “good children” and lots of “good people” will populate the Lake of Fire (Matthew 7:21). None of us are good. Even our righteousnesses are as “filthy rags”. We are saved by grace through faith, not of works!

We must be looking for Christ be formed in our children, not simply religious standards.

X. Step #10: If you want to raise a Pharisee, have a critical spirit instead of building people up. Look at verse 24: “Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.” It’s so easy to strain at a gnat. Pharisees become judgmental and critical of the smallest issues. It’s so easy to have our eyes on others instead of God. It’s easy to measure others by our own manufactured guide to spirituality. Be careful if you don’t see how big your own struggles against sin are. Sometimes find it easy to criticize others while we fail to see the glaring sin in our own life.

It is so easy to criticize others isn’t it? The Pharisee says in Matthew 7:4 Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye”. But Christ says, “and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

Do you have fault-finding, critical spirit? Remember your children are watching.

What is the right response?

A. Look at your own sins. Get the beam out of your eye. Say with David in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” If you look at all the struggles against sin in your own life, you’ll be way too busy to criticize others.

B. Show love to others who offend you. 1 Peter 4:8 “charity shall cover the multitude of sins”. John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Love covers sin with love and forgiveness, but Pharisees critical and complain. Instead of a self righteous spirit, genuine Christian parents don’t judge others, instead they have compassion on them. Remember complaining is NOT a fruit of the Spirit.

XI. Step #11: If you want to raise a Pharisee, teach them to feed their flesh instead of feeding on Christ. We read in Matthew 23:25, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.”

As parents, it is easy to give our children a hefty diet of things they don’t need. In case you didn’t know, hundreds of generations have raised children without video games, television, the internet, and cell phones. I know that is hard to believe. These things are not wrong, but they can be used as a pacifier for children and young people, and these things can take massive amounts of time from children and teach them to be self-indulgent.

The temptation is to think that going to church or doing spiritual things makes up for all the hours and hours of wasted time. Actually, it is as Jesus said, “cleaning the outside of the cup” but inwardly, we are teaching our children to excess—self indulgence.

We’ve got to deal with our children’s hearts. Your child may be involved in spiritual activity and going to church. Someone once said, “Going to church does not make us a Christian any more than going to MacDonald’s makes us a hamburger!” As parents need to step up to the plate and take responsibility for giving our children an appetite for Christ. How?

It’s easy to set a child in front of the television, but it is a very dangerous and it will not satisfy their soul. Instead teach them to feed on Christ. How?

o First set the example for them. Are you feeding on Christ? Are you getting satisfied with Christ and His Word or with other things? Do your children see you wasting time or feeding on Christ? You need to set the example.

o Second, feed them Christ. The way a child gets an appetite for Christ is by you feeding Christ to them. “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (Psalm 34:8). Tell them how great a Saviour we have. Have daily times with your children, not just reading the Word but asking questions and probing their heart and praying and listening to them pray.

Listen, if you want to raise a Pharisee, teach them to feed their flesh instead of feeding on Christ.

And finally…

XII. Step #12: Finally, if you want to raise a Pharisee, don’t give time to your children—just leave the winning of their hearts to someone else. This is not directly in the passage, but it must be said. If you don’t do the work that is necessary for God to change your child’s heart, he may remain unchanged.

(1) We must take the TIME to reach our children’s heart! Our children need RADICAL SURGERY on the heart, not "quick fixes" so that they won’t embarrass or annoy you. They need the NEW BIRTH. Get to the heart issues in your child. Don't settle for superficial change of behavior by your child. Ask God to change their heart. We need to spend our time wisely with our children instead of letting them dry up spiritually.

The best thing you can do is to gather your children around you on your knees and plead with them to trust in God, and then on your knees worship God at His throne.

(2) We must take TIME to APPLY and IMPRESS God’s Word into our children’s hearts. It is very easy to major on controlling the child's behavior without using Scripture and prayer to deal with his heart. Apply the Word of God at every opportunity. Peter says we are “Being born again…by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23). Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase”. It’s hard work!
.
Listen, if there is one thing I can leave you with in this lesson, is to introduce a real love saturated walk with God to your children, to your wife. It will radically change you. It will change your world. It will make the world bright when everyone else sees that it is dull.

Conclusion: We can’t treat our children any way we want. Once a living breathing Christianity is gone from the picture, we are raising Christianized heathens. No one wants to raise a Pharisee. Remember our children are a stewardship. We will be held accountable for every action in regard to them. We cannot treat them based on whims, but with tender care and love, just as we would treat Christ. We need to bring them to Christ, not simply reform their behavior.

I hope the goal of your home is that Mother and Father and child will all worship God and serve others from the heart! By God’s grace let’s have a God-focused, God-saturated atmosphere in our home, and let’s all aim at the hearts of our children!
[1] Note: several of the spiritual applications for children below were adapted from Carey Hardy’s presentation on the same subject at the 2006 Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Church in Sun Valley, California.

Intelligent Design versus Evolution

2007-01-18T23:44:00.000-06:00

I had to laugh at this mock news article emailed by Ray Comfort's "Way of the Master" ministry. He loves to use humor to get his point across. Read it for yourself...

For Immediate Release

The intelligent design versus evolution controversy is over. That's the claim made by excited scientists after discovering, what they believe, is the “missing link” between modern man and primates. The amazing human-like skull was unearthed in an old grave in England. Experts believe croBritain man is between 180,000 and 200,000 years old, maintaining that its deep overhanging forehead is the first real proof of a genuine transitional form.

A new software allows users to attach markers to a three-dimensional skull model, generated from a laser scan of the skull. Markers are correlated with statistical tissue depth measurements, in order to provide reference points for the software to generate muscles and skin for the model. Using these high tech 3D imaging methods, paleontologists have reconstructed the skull to reveal what croBritain man actually looked like. The scientists said, “We have so perfected this method, we will see an exact likeness.”Here, the first time ever to be seen is the skull reconstruction:

To go to an enlarged demonstration of this reconstruction click here.

Hat Tip: Ray Comfort, Way of the Master

TBC 2007 Theme: The Lord is Good!

2006-12-26T18:50:00.000-06:00

Taste and See that the Lord is Good!

This is our Tabernacle Baptist Church theme for 2007. We will have 12 messages for the year (one each month) on this important theme. Our theme comes from Psalm 34:8. We are having mugs designed with this theme also. The mugs will be given to visitors and also to our own people for birthdays.

Above you can see the banner that will be hung in the auditorium.

Quote in Great Grandpa's Bible

2006-12-26T12:56:00.000-06:00

This Christmas, as we were reading the Christmas story, Grandma was reading from Great Grandpa's Bible and found this quote:

"Happiness is not dependent on where you are, or whom you are with, or how much you have. It is a state of the heart, a wholesome response to your surroundings, whatever they be - a sense of being a part of God's plan, and a giving of yourself to promote peace and good will. Jesus has never met an unimportant person."

Greatest Gift Fund 10 Commandments

2006-12-24T06:23:00.000-06:00

The greatest gift fund this year is going toward a 4 foot high by 5 foot wide cherry wood plaque of the Ten Commandments. We will be taking offerings for this through January.

From the manufacturer (P. Graham Dunn): What a statement of faith and reminder of God's greatness! This collection features carved scripture surrounded by five frames, placed consecutively around each other. The frames are embellished with intricately detailed ivy, Scotchguard treated fabric, and fine cherry molding. The final result is our largest, not to mention one of our most stunning, collections to date. Measuring 54"x 46", we call this "furniture" for the wall. Available in light stain cherry.