Don’t lose focus, Christian

Every time a presidential election rolls around, I witness fellow believers in the Lord Jesus Christ lose their focus. I’ve done it myself.

We have a tendency to say and believe things like…

• “This election is critical.”
• “This is the most important election in our lifetime” (Just like the last election — and the one before that).
• “We have to pray that God will bring about the right outcome.”
• “If we don’t win this election I’m afraid our country is doomed.”

Well, I’ve got news for you — our country is doomed. It is a temporal, man-made institution and it will end up on the ash heap of history just like every other temporal, man-made institution.

Furthermore, if we honestly pray to God for the “right” outcome of this (or any) election we should be aware that what we regard as the “right” outcome and what God regards as the “right” outcome may not be the same thing. Every country in history has been nothing more than a tool in God’s hand. They are raised up to accomplish His purposes and they are brought down to accomplish His purposes. If the destruction of our own country is what accomplishes God’s purposes and brings Him glory are we okay with that? If not then it means we love something more than God, what the Bible calls idolatry.

Consider the words of our Lord…

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” — John 18:36-37

Remember, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) Our spiritual enemies would love nothing more than to use “the most important election in our lifetime” to distract us from our calling in Christ Jesus.

Dear Christian please pay close attention to this: We must not lose focus.

We were saved for a purpose — to bring glory and honor to our Lord Jesus Christ. To be about HIS work. To participate in the building of HIS kingdom.  Our attention should be so radically focused on these things that “the most important election in our lifetime” fades into obscurity.

Here are some things to think about that hopefully will help us maintain a proper focus during this potentially distracting time:

• Are we truly kingdom minded? Or are we more concerned with our own earthly empires?
• Are we allowing ourselves (as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ) to be manipulated by men who have nothing but worldly aspirations?
• Have we allowed our concept of “patriotism” to morph into gross “nationalism”?
• What are we really doing?
• If we are really focused on God’s Kingdom then what regard should we even have for the arbitrary borders of men?

Something to think about.

Peace on Earth

Something remarkable happened in December 1914. On a battlefield in France — the “Western Front” of World War I — the armies of Great Britain and France were facing the army of Germany. They had been killing one another for weeks. And yet, one night, as Christmas approached, compassion held sway.

German soldiers helped French soldiers carry their wounded back to their lines. The English and the French helped the Germans bury and honor their dead. Then, rather than return to their lines and aim their guns again, the soldiers shared chocolate and cigarettes with one another. They shared stories of home. Showed one another photos of their wives, their children. They met one another for the first time, not as nameless, faceless uniforms they’d been ordered to kill, but as people.

You can read the entire account of this World War I Christmas truce here. It has been commemorated in a movie entitled Joyeux Noel. It is a remarkable story.

There is an interesting aspect to this story — the chain of command from the respective armies had issued standing orders against this sort of thing. It was a court marshal offense. You see, if a soldier “fraternizes with the enemy” he might discover what these men discovered — your enemies are people, too. The soldiers on all sides were disobeying direct orders, risking courts marshal and even being shot, in order to show compassion to fellow human beings.

Now, let’s take this a step further…

All of these men came from cultural backgrounds that claimed to be Christian. Now, I know not everyone who claims to be Christian is actually Christian (Scripture makes this abundantly clear) but, for the sake of argument, we will assume these men at least had a basic knowledge of Scripture and some measure of respect for it’s teachings — if only because it was their cultural background.

What they did in their direct disobedience to their respective chains of command was exhibit obedience to the very words of Christ, Himself…

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” — John 13:34-35

Jesus commanded believers to love one another. In fact, it would be a sign that they really are His disciples. Their commanding officers, in effect, had ordered them to kill their brothers in Christ. On this night, they decided to obey Christ, instead.

Now, before you send me e-mails directing me to Romans chapter 13 and arguing that God has told us to obey those in authority over us allow me to point out this…

These soldiers called a truce during a time of year when we commemorate the birth of Christ. Consider the biblical account of this…

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. — Luke 2:8-11

Who was born?

Christ the what?

The LORD.

HE IS LORD! His commands come first. He is Lord over everything, even the laws of men and their institutions. I recommend you read Lord of the Law (particularly Part 4, Higher Law) for a better understanding of this concept.

He commanded we show love one for another. Who does the Bible say we should obey — God or men?

Now, you may object and say, “Okay, fine. These three armies came from Christian cultures. Maybe they ought not to have been fighting. But what about armies from non-Christian cultures? To fight such an army would not be killing a brother in Christ, is that okay?”

Let me answer with an account from Scripture…

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He [Jesus] said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” — Luke 10:25-29

This lawyer is offering a similar objection. Christ answers him with the parable of the Good Samaritan. The point being to show love to everyone — even those our culture tells us we should despise.

Never forget: the Kingdom of God is comprised of the elect from every tribe and language. Look forward to that day…

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” — Revelation 5:1-10

The word here translated as “nation” is the Greek word ethnos. It is where we get our word “ethnic.” The Kingdom of God is comprised of people from every ethnic group. So it really does not matter who our earthly kingdoms order us to kill. The army we would see through our gun sights is almost certainly populated with God’s elect.

The announcement of Christ’s birth concludes this way…

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” — Luke 2:13-14

Those “with whom he is pleased” refers to God’s elect — those he will bring to faith in Christ. The apostle Paul said he “endures all things” for their sake.

Do we?

A Lesson from “Schindler’s List”

The highly acclaimed 1993 film Schindler’s List is based on a true story — and it contains a very real, very valuable lesson every Christian ought to consider.

The film begins in Krakow, Poland in 1939. The forces of Nazi Germany, led by the SS, begin rounding up Jews for relocation to ghettos — and later to concentration camps. Meanwhile, a German businessman named Oskar Schindler arrives in the city in hopes of making his fortune supplying arms to the German army. He is a member of the Nazi Party and bribes members of the German army and SS in order to gain lucrative contracts. He begins by operating a factory making army mess kits.

However, Schindler does not know a lot about running a business, so he hires a man who does have some business sense to help him run his factory. The man he hires is Itzhak Stern, a member of Krakow’s Jewish Council with contacts in the business community.

Schindler hires Jewish Poles to work in his factory because they cost less than Catholic Poles. The Jews who work in his factory are deemed “essential” to the German war effort and are allowed outside the ghettos. Later, when Jews are packed into trains for transportation to concentration camps and “extermination,” the Jews in Schindler’s factory are allowed to stay.

Things begin to get a little complicated when the SS officer in charge of Krakow, a man named Amon Goeth, develops a taste for blood. He likes to kill Jews for little or no reason — including the Jews at Schindler’s factory. During the course of the war Schindler has to go to greater and greater lengths to justify the Jews in his factory and to try to get more Jews hired. It is an attempt to save their very lives. Schindler has to bribe Amon to accomplish this.

As time goes on Schindler has to utilize more and more of his resources to save the lives of Jews in Krakow. So…

…what does any of this have to do with Christians?

Only this: Like Oskar Schindler we live behind enemy lines and we have both limited resources and limited opportunity. For a short time we have the opportunity to use the resources God has given us to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a world that is lost and dying. The day will come sooner than we think when we will be called home to be with Christ — our chance to reach the lost forever gone.

I know most Christians realize this to be the case. What I fear is that we do not know the extent of the situation.

At the end of Schindler’s List the war comes to an end. Oskar Schindler is able to see first hand the crematoriums where Jews were murdered. Although he knew there was work to be done, and he was doing it, he did not realize just how grave was the situation. When he finally sees, and realizes the horrors of Nazi Germany he wept openly, broken that he had not done enough. Here is the exchange between him and Itzhak Stern at the end of the film…

Oskar Schindler: I could have got more out. I could have got more. I don’t know. If I’d just… I could have got more.

Itzhak Stern: Oskar, there are eleven hundred people who are alive because of you. Look at them.

Oskar Schindler: If I’d made more money… I threw away so much money. You have no idea. If I’d just…

Itzhak Stern: There will be generations because of what you did.

Oskar Schindler: I didn’t do enough!

Itzhak Stern: You did so much.

Oskar Schindler [looking at his car]: This car. Goeth would have bought this car. Why did I keep the car? Ten people right there. Ten people. Ten more people.

Oskar Schindler [removing Nazi pin from his lapel]: This pin. Two people. This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one. One more person. A person, Stern. For this.

Oskar Schindler [breaking down in uncontrollable sobs]: I could have gotten one more person… and I didn’t! And I… I didn’t!

On the day we face our Lord Jesus Christ I suspect we will realize just how grave is our situation. We will realize that we had opportunity after opportunity to witness, to share, to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ — and we didn’t. What will we say…

“I had an opportunity to share Christ with my neighbor, why was I so afraid?”

“My car, for the amount of money I spent on my car I could have funded a church plant in Nepal for a year.”

“This watch! This watch could have provided Bibles to a poor congregation in the Andes Mountains!”

“I didn’t do enough!”

“I could have paid for one more Bible. One more Gospel tract. One more missionary… and I didn’t! And I… I didn’t!”

The apostle Paul, while in prison, wrote a letter to young Timothy and said…

“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” — 2 Timothy 2:8-10

Paul said he endured “everything” for the sake of the elect. For the people out there in the world who will run to Christ when they hear the Gospel.

Are we willing to “endure everything” for their sake?

What earthly treasures are worth more to us than the very lives of the elect who are still out there…

…waiting?

Note: My wife originally came up with this analogy during a discussion in our Sunday School class. She is a smart lady and gets the credit for this idea — all I did was put it in written form. She also writes her own blog at porkchoptuesday.com.

The blessing of… persecution?

Kencho Kinle is a Christian brother who lives in the mountainous kingdom of Bhutan — an area dominated by Buddhism and shamanism. And not a day goes by that he does not share the Gospel door-to-door. As a result, he and his family were cursed by a sorcerer in the area. His wife and three of his children have died. Read his story here.

He is persecuted for his faith…

…and he views it as a good thing.

“It is necessary to be persecuted,” he said, “the work of God becomes greater.”

Contrast the faith and perspective of this dear brother with the prevailing attitude infesting the Church in the west. We pray to avoid persecution. We ask for comfort, health, wealth and the like. Those who preach messages of prosperity draw crowds by the thousands — while we have brethren who risk their very lives to make Christ known.

Of these two brands of Christianity, which one to you suppose is being blessed?

A Christian’s Primary Focus

Collin Hansen has written a fine essay examining how Christians ought to prioritize their limited time, treasure, and talent — it’s entitled Mission Critical and can be read in its entirety over at The Gospel Coalition.

Essentially his essay takes a look at what is the primary responsibility of any Christian. While many in the church would argue Christians should invest their time in the political process so that our society might reflect the principles of Scripture, Hansen leans more toward a Gospel-focused mission. And I agree.

The Great Commission was not a call to build great societies, it was a call to build Christ’s Church. Our goal is not to force people to adhere to biblical principles through the enforcement of law, it is to have them embrace biblical principle through hearts changed by the Holy Spirit.

Don’t forget, the law was given to us to show us our need for a Savior. We are incapable of obeying the law. The law condemns us…

For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. — Romans 3:20

To make matters worse, Jesus pointed out that keeping the letter of the law is insufficient.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” — Matthew 5:21-22

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” — Matthew 5:27-28

According to Jesus, the sin is not in the action itself, the sin is embedded in the heart. The action just reveals the sin already present. This is a much tougher standard.

So, if we succeed in owning the political process and passing laws that perfectly mirror Scripture and we further succeed in convincing men to follow that law, what have we really done? We have succeeded in getting men to behave as something they are not (because the sin is still present in their hearts) and we have made the world a better place to go to hell from.

That’s it.

For this reason I consider politics to be a dangerous distraction for Christians. It prevents us from keeping the main thing the main thing, which is to share the Gospel and let God change men from the inside out.

Hansen concludes his essay with a quote from Abraham Kuyper, the noted Dutch theologian. And, as is always the case, the noted theologian said it better than I ever could…

“I give thanks that so many Christians look at the social decay around them and want to make a difference. We should remember, however, the wisdom of theologians who have gone before us. In particular, Abraham Kuyper’s “Sphere Sovereignty” distinguishes between the responsibility of the state, society, and the church. What we see now in the West is a breakdown of society, which includes families, voluntary organizations, and local communities. The government has overstepped its responsibility by seeking to occupy this sphere. Our financial crisis and political stalemate should disabuse us of any notion that the government is capable of replacing these so-called mediating institutions.

But neither can or should the church bear this burden; otherwise, it will lose sight of the unique mission Jesus gave us. And that would be a critical loss indeed for all who need above anything else to hear and believe his liberating gospel. Perhaps if we trust God to demonstrate the power of this gospel to save, he will rebuild the fabric of our torn society.” — Abraham Kuyper

“Foreign” Missions

Ask any missionary who has worked in a country other than his own and he will tell you that culture shock can be a serious hurdle. In our own culture we have a certain way of doing things — a way which seems correct to us, but only because we have always done things that way. We have standards and customs with regard to practically everything…

• How we speak to one another
• How much personal space we require
• What we eat
• How we eat
• How we dress
• How we interact with others

Our cultural standards are everywhere. We just don’t see them because they are the context in which we live our lives — much like a fish doesn’t know he’s wet, water is just his world. Our culture is “just how it is.” But, take a trip to another country. It turns out the world, as we know it, really isn’t “just how it is.” People in other places speak differently, eat differently, dress differently, and interact differently. You’ll learn pretty quickly that one’s culture influences everything. It influences the way you see the world — the way you think.

Ask a missionary. They’ll tell you life in another culture can be a shock. It takes time to become comfortable there.

There is another, lesser known, phenomenon that is akin to culture shock. It is called “reverse culture shock.” This happens when a person leaves their original culture and lives in another culture to the point of becoming comfortable. They adapt to the way their new culture does things, which, in turn, will eventually influence the way they think. When the person returns to their original culture they are shocked all over again. This happens for a couple of reasons:

1. Their culture is not exactly as they remember. It has morphed — as all cultures do.
2. They are not the same. In adapting to a new culture people change. They are no longer the same. They will not fit into their original culture in the same way they once did.

In fact, reverse culture shock can be more difficult to bear than culture shock. A person experiencing this simply had a desire to “go home” only to find out that what they thought was their home was not.

This should be the experience of every Christian.

Before we are saved we grow up thinking like the world, acting like the world, setting our goals according to what the world tells us. We have a sinful nature — corrupt and distorted. We are incapable of seeing beyond our flesh. This is our world. It is our culture. And it all seems perfectly fine to us.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. — Proverbs 14:12

We have no other context. We are completely incapable of understanding God or the things of God.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. — 1 Corinthians 2:14

But…

When we are saved we are made into something entirely different.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. — 2 Corinthians 5:17

Our eyes, once shut, have now been opened. We have been adopted as sons and daughters of God’s own family — members of a new kingdom, one completely at odds with the world we’ve known.

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” — John 18:36

If Christ is truly our King then our Kingdom is not of this world either. All of this can come as quite a shock. The things of God are quite different than the things of this world. No longer are our own desires the primary focus of our lives. Now, God’s will becomes paramount. No longer do we seek things for ourselves. God’s glory becomes our primary motivation for everything we do.

As time passes though, it is possible — even probable — that a new Christian will remember the things that he used to regard as important and seek to return to them. But, for the truly regenerate this is not an option. Salvation is a divine act of God that transforms a person from death unto life. And, it is a divine act of God that keeps him there.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. — Philippians 1:6

A Christian will grow in the Lord. He will become more and more comfortable with the spiritual things of God that were so abhorrent to him before — God will see to it.

But here’s the thing. As a Christian grows he will experience reverse culture shock. This fallen world will be revealed for the corrupt distortion of God’s creation that it is. He will learn that the world he used to think of as his home is not.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. — Philippians 3:20-21

Christians are to be set apart — different — from the world. We hold no allegiance here. This is just our mission field, and we should regard it as nothing more.

We live in a world where people don’t speak our language. They aren’t motivated by what motivates us. They don’t understand us. But, if we have been saved, then we have been commissioned to take the Gospel to this lost and dying world.

We are all “foreign” missionaries. Charles Haddon Spurgeon once put it like this, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.”

The question I leave with you, dear reader, is this…

Are you experiencing more and more reverse culture shock?

If you answered “yes” then that could be the indication you are becoming more and more comfortable in God’s Kingdom — evidence that the one who began a good work in you is completing it. If you answered “no” it could mean you never entered His Kingdom in the first place and are an imposter.

Never prouder (and sadder)

I have never been more proud and more discouraged at the same time. During a Wednesday evening student ministry service the guest speaker asked the group of about 50 students (both junior high and high school) to turn in their Bibles to the text he was about to read.

There was very little activity — which prompted the speaker to say, “If you have your Bible with you hold it up.”

Only one student held up a Bible.

Then the speaker said, “If you have your cell phone with you hold it up.”

Every student held up a cell phone except one.

The speaker made the point (quite well, I thought) that we demonstrate what is most important in our lives not by what we say, but by what we do. Is it too much of an imposition to carry a Bible to church but not too much of an imposition to carry a cell phone everywhere?

What’s more important?

It was in this moment that I experienced one of my proudest and most discouraging times. The single student who held up a Bible and the single student who did not hold up a cell phone was the same student — my 14-year-old daughter.

Scripture describes believers as a “peculiar people” “set apart” from the world. In 1 Peter we learn that believers are “sojourners and exiles” in this world. We live here for now, but we are not to look like nor act like the world around us. We are different.

I was so proud to see my daughter being both peculiar and set apart in this manner — and so very discouraged that she was peculiar and set apart in a group of youth who profess Christ as Lord.

Am I saying it’s wrong to have a cell phone? No. But this little instance does make me wonder why 50 students would come to a “Bible study” and not bring their Bible. There are a couple of reasons…

1. If Scripture is true (and it is) then the overwhelming odds are that, in a group of this size, many are present who are not regenerate. They are not Christians. As such, they have no desire to learn about the things of God.
2. However, many Christians are present. Why didn’t they bring their Bible? Could it be that in an attempt to make student ministry “relevant” and “fun” we’ve reduced it down to something quite meaningless? Perhaps the Christians in the group have learned from experience not to expect a whole lot of Bible study at their Bible studies.

This really is an indictment against the culture of “student ministry” as a whole. Alvin Reid, a professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, recently wrote a piece about this very thing. Here is an excerpt…

“We got relevance but we created a generation of teenagers who are a mile wide and are an inch deep. Why do so many students finish high school and drop out (actually many drop out when they get their drivers license)? Because we created a youth ministry culture that taught them to do so. We have not equipped students to be adults, who understand the gospel and live as missionaries. We created a “cool” subculture where they could be treated like the center of the universe and given a bunch of stuff. And not enough Jesus, Scripture, or character.”

Read his entire article. He outlines some wonderful ways to correct this problem. It is high time we did.

Bless “our” troops?

The phrase “Bless our troops” has become a fixture in American culture in recent years. It’s on signs, bumper stickers, car magnets — it’s everywhere. It’s even in our churches and in our prayers. We ask God to “bless our troops.” But, do we ever stop to consider what, exactly, we are saying?

What do we mean by the word “our”?

When I say to my wife, “our children” I am referring to the children that belong to both of us. “Our” two daughters are both hers and mine. They belong to us jointly. So, when we ask God to bless “our” troops, do we mean those troops belong to both Him and us? Do we think these troops are God’s troops?

Why?

Is it because we regard “our” troops as God’s troops, placed on this earth to fight his battles? I know some people do. At the beginning of the Persian Gulf War in 1992 President George Bush made the following statement when he announced to the nation that hostilities against Iraq had begun…

“And so to every sailor, soldier, airman, and marine who is involved in this mission, let me say you’re doing God’s work.”

Really?

How do we make such a determination? I don’t recall seeing it mentioned in Scripture. Throughout history nations and armies have made the same claim for themselves…

• The Crusaders claimed they were God’s army when they marched against the Muslims.
• The Muslims claimed they were God’s army when they marched against the Crusaders.
• The Protestants claimed they were God’s army when they fought against the Catholics during the 30 Years War.
• The Catholics claimed they were God’s army when they fought against the Protestants during the 30 Years War.
• Even the Nazis of Germany (the current Gold Standard of evil among history’s nations) made the claim Gott Mit Uns, God with us.

Where does any nation — any army — get the gall to claim divine favor? Is it because of military success and the accumulation of power? Do we really think the construction of an earthly kingdom is a sign of God’s favor? Please recall that Egypt was the world’s most powerful empire for a long, long time. The Israelites lived in slavery under the Egyptians’ rule for 400 years. Yet, God declared that there was one reason Egypt had ascended to its lofty place…

“But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” — Exodus 9:16

God raised up Egypt so that He might display His power when he delivered His people from the clutches of an empire the rest of the world feared. Egypt was far from finding favor with God.

Do we really think the 200-plus years of America’s existence is evidence of His favor?

Perhaps by saying bless “our” troops we are not indicating joint ownership with God. Perhaps we’re merely asking God to bless “our” (American) troops.

OK. So, does that mean we think “our” (American) troops are worthy of God’s blessing? Why? Are they fighting battles consistent with God’s purposes? Are they making the world safe for the spread of the Gospel? I’ve a couple of comments with regard to this reasoning:

Comment Number 1: Making the world safe for the spread of the Gospel is a fallacy. Using the force of arms to conquer another group of people accomplishes no such thing. Charles Haddon Spurgeon dispelled that myth more than 100 years ago. Besides, history has shown that the Gospel can flourish in oppressive environments. God’s Church doesn’t need the permission of earthly governments to grow — we have the Holy Spirit of God…

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” — Romans 8:31-37

God planted His Church amid one of the most oppressive empires in history — Rome. Where did we ever get the notion that we had to first provide political freedom before sharing the Gospel?

Comment Number 2: According to Scripture, God’s purpose for His people is to make disciples of all nations. This necessitates the sharing of the Gospel and the planting of Churches. Not only are “our” troops not doing this, they are actually working against this goal. Consider…

• When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan there were a number of Christian Churches there. Now, there are none. And the government of the United States vigorously supports the Afghan government responsible for the eradication of Christian Churches.
• American chaplains, ordained ministers, cooperated in rounding up and destroying Bibles. The Chaplain Corps motto is Pro Deo et Patria  which is Latin for “For God and Country.” Yet Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters.” When there were conflicting orders (spread the Gospel or destroy the Gospel) “our” troops obeyed the orders of an earthly king and disobeyed the orders of the King of kings. In an effort to appease the diplomatic objectives of an earthly kingdom these “men of God” took the Word of God out of the hands of lost men.

Why should God bless “our” efforts in this?

Am I saying there is nothing worth fighting for? No. I think individual liberty and freedom are worth fighting for. I think there are legitimate reasons for a nation to go to war. I firmly subscribe to the Just War Theory — that a nation is justified in going to war in defense of itself.

Am I saying we shouldn’t pray for the troops overseas? No. If you have loved ones overseas I think it is completely appropriate to ask God for their protection and their safe return.

However, when it comes to asking God to accomplish things I think the only way to pray is in the manner our Lord, Himself, outlined for us…

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” — Matthew 6:9-13

When we pray our focus should be entirely on His glory, His kingdom, and His will. Period. But, let’s be honest. When we pray for God to “bless our troops” we are not merely asking for safety and protection. We want God to grant them success in their mission. We are asking him to grant an outcome that we have already determined is appropriate. But what if the failure of American troops overseas is what will further God’s kingdom? What if that is God’s perfect will? What if the utter destruction of the United States is what will most glorify God? What if, like Egypt, God raised up the United States so that by our destruction His power could be known throughout the earth? Are you OK with that?

Can you still honestly pray that His kingdom come and His will be done if those things mean the downfall of America? The thing you want glorified the most is the thing you love the most. If you can’t honestly pray for God’s kingdom and will then ask yourself “why.”

For too long we have believed it possible to serve God and country, despite the fact our Lord said we can’t serve two masters. And it’s nothing new. We’re not the first people to struggle with this. This very dilemma is what prompted Joshua to write…

“…choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” — Joshua 24:15

What about you?

Why the Reformation still matters

We think of October 31 as Halloween. But, for the believer in Christ Jesus, October 31 should always be remembered as Reformation Day, for it is the day Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenburg.

Of course, many Christians dismiss this event as just another boring date in a dusty old history book. But Matthew Barrett has written an essay that takes a slightly different stand. In fact, he makes the case that to abandon the Reformation is to abandon the Gospel.

Standing against superstitions

A couple of questions…

Question 1: What kinds of images do we typically associate with Halloween?

Ghosts, goblins, witches, black cats, spiders, bats and the like, right? Well, these images have long been associated with Halloween. In fact, people used to have some pretty interesting beliefs about some of these things. For example…

• If a candle flame suddenly turns blue, there’s a ghost nearby.
• If you see a spider on Halloween, it could be the spirit of a dead loved one who is watching you.
• If a black cat crosses your path it means you will have bad luck. (But that’s only in North America. In England and Ireland it means you will have good luck).
• If a bat flies around your house three times it is a death omen.

Question 2: What do we typically call these kinds of beliefs?

Superstitions.

Definition of “Superstition” — a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge.

I’m going to share a story with you about a very famous monk who fought against superstitions — and one of the most famous things he did was on October 31…

Our story begins some 500 years ago in Medieval Europe with its knights, castles and kings. It is a time when the religious and political worlds are both dominated by the same institution — the Roman Catholic Church. The head of the Roman Catholic Church, the pope, was so powerful that he basically ruled all of Europe.

Enter a young man named Martin Luther. In 1505 Martin Luther was a law student in Germany. One evening he was thrown from his horse during a violent thunderstorm. He became so frightened at the storm that he began bargaining with God. He promised God that if God would not kill him he would become a monk. Well, Martin Luther didn’t die. And, being true to his word, Luther began training to become a monk in the Augustinian Order.

In 1507 he became a priest. In 1508 he moved to the town of Wittenburg to serve as a monk, priest and professor. And, in the midst of all of his religious training an interesting thing happened to Luther. He became more and more unsettled about the condition of his soul.

He was doing all the things the world would consider to be “super” religious. He had given up everything for the sake of service in the Roman Catholic Church. The attitude of the day would have been this: If anyone has a sure-fired ticket into heaven it is an Augustinian monk who is also a priest and professor.

Martin Luther should have been a shoe-in.

But he had no peace. And, he drove his superiors almost crazy with questions. They kept trying to assure him that he was right before God. Luther wasn’t so sure. They finally got so fed up with him that they sent him on an errand to Rome — the “holy” city. They thought if Luther could just go to Rome and see the “Capital of Christendom” he would be more at ease.

They were wrong.

When Luther got to Rome, instead of seeing a “holy” city, he saw a city rife with superstition…

The city was filled with relics. There were pieces of wood or nail that people claimed were from the actual cross of Christ. There were skulls and bones of the apostles (or so the owners of the skulls and bones would have you believe). It was believed that if you viewed the relics (after paying a fee, of course) that you could shave a few years off of your time in purgatory.

Um, maybe we should detour here for a sec and review the Roman Catholic doctrine of “purgatory.”

According to the Roman Catholic Church, Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross may or may not be sufficient. It may be necessary for Christians to pay for some of their sins themselves — kind of a purification process, if you will — in purgatory, a place that is regarded as hell “light.” We’re talking about perhaps millions of years of suffering before being deemed worthy to enter heaven. So, you can see, the prospect of getting out of some of that time in purgatory was very attractive to many people — a fact the Roman Catholic Church exploited for both political and financial gain (as we will soon see). Back to the story…

In Rome Luther discovered…

• You could purchase medallions of saints to protect you against… well… pretty much anything.
• You could pray your way up “Pilate’s staircase” and earn a few years of reprieve from purgatory — just don’t forget to pay your fee.
• You could buy indulgences.

Maybe we should detour again and learn about “indulgences.”

According to the Roman Catholic Church, some people were so good that they actually earned more merit than they needed in order to get into heaven — people like the apostle Paul. The excess merit is then stored in what is called a “treasury of merit” and may be dispensed at the Pope’s discretion.

They believed, even though Christ died as a substitute for sinful man, we still need to contribute our works to the mix in order to be saved. Most of us don’t do a good enough job of this, so most of us can look forward to purgatory — unless we buy our way out.

At that time a person could borrow from the “treasury of merit” and have the good works of others applied to their account. Give some money to the Catholic Church and receive in exchange a piece of paper confirming your transaction. A piece of paper called an indulgence. Okay, now back to our story…

When Martin Luther returned from Rome he was more disillusioned than ever. He had more questions and more anxiety than ever before. He continued to irritate his superiors. So, they allowed him to study theology. In 1512 he earned a doctor of theology degree and, for the very first time in his life, began reading the Bible for himself.

Over the next few years Luther devoured Scripture. Then, in 1515 Luther read Romans — and it changed his life.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” — Romans 1:16-17

“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” — Romans 3:20-25

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — Romans 6:23

For the very first time in his life Martin Luther was introduced to the Gospel. He learned that all of us stand condemned before a holy God, that all of us deserve God’s wrath and judgment, and that God’s own Son, Jesus Christ, took our place as the perfect substitute. God the Father poured out His wrath on His own Son, treating Him as if He were a sinner, so that He might treat us as if we had never sinned.

Christ satisfied God’s wrath.

There is NOTHING we can contribute to that.

This is what Martin Luther was learning.

In the meantime, Pope Leo X wanted to renovate St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. But, he needed money to do it. So he used one of the most powerful superstitions available to him to raise money — he sold indulgences.

But this was to be a special indulgence. Leo wanted to make sure he raised the money so he authorized an indulgence that would do more than just shave off some time in purgatory. THIS indulgence would get you out of purgatory all together.

A German monk named John Tetzel was especially good at selling these indulgences. His sales pitch was, “When the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.”

The people lined up.

However, the Church manipulating people through superstitions in order to get their money, coupled with what Martin Luther had learned from Scripture, made him furious. And so…

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther wrote down a list of 95 things wrong with indulgences — what he called the 95 Theses — and nailed it to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg.

People read it. Then they stopped buying indulgences. This did not sit well with the Pope, so he tried a few things to “fix” the Luther Problem:

• He sent Catholic theologians to debate Luther in public in hopes of making him look foolish. Luther always won.
• The Pope arranged a special debate with a really smart guy named John Eck. Luther won that debate.
• In 1520 the Pope sent an official decree, called a Papal Bull, threatening to kick Martin Luther out of the Church. The Bull said Luther had 60 days to recant (basically the Pope said, “Take it back”) or he’d be excommunicated. Luther didn’t care. He kept on preaching and teaching. The people kept on believing.

So, in 1521 the Pope sent a second Papal Bull that officially kicked Luther out of the Roman Catholic Church and summoned him to a political assembly — The Diet of Worms. Luther went.

At the assembly, Luther was shown a table full of his writings and asked only two questions:

1. Are these your writings?
2. Will you recant?

Luther answered “yes” to the first question. To the second question he said, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. Unless I am shown from Scripture that I am in error I cannot and will not recant. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.”

Here Martin Luther confronted all the superstitions of the Church — remember, a superstition is a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge — with the infallible, authoritative Word of God. He demonstrated where their superstitions were in conflict with God’s Word and told them God’s Word was right and they were wrong. Do you know what they did?

They declared Luther an outlaw.

Now, Luther had been promised a safe passage to and from the assembly, but the political powers had already decided that if he did not recant they would kill him on his way back to Wittenburg. But, some of Luther’s friends knew about the plan and they staged a kidnapping and took him back to a secret castle in the Black Forest.

He escaped the Catholics and continued to preach and teach until he died in 1546. His actions were a part of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, a remarkable time when the Church actually started abandoning many of the superstitions that had dominated it for hundreds of years in order to return to the teachings of Scripture.

It’s fun for us to look back into history and admire the courage of a man like Luther.  We see the things he stood against and wonder how anyone could have been fooled by such silliness. After all, those superstitions they were believing were NOT in the Bible. How could they believe such nonsense?

We like to imagine that had we been in Luther’s place we would have done the same thing. But the thing is, when you are living in the midst of powerful superstitions you are susceptible to them, too. You are influenced by them.

Luther had people all around him, people he respected and trusted, who tried to convince him that he was wrong and the superstitions they had all believed in  for so long were right.

Do you think you would have had the courage to stand up against such superstition? When everyone around you is telling you that the superstitions are correct — but you see no support for them in the Bible — do you think you would have had the courage of Luther to stand solely on the authority of Scripture?

Do you want to find out?

There are powerful, deeply-held, superstitions in the Church today.

I’ll mention one to you. Take note of your initial response. Here goes…

How is someone saved?

In the evangelical Church today the most predominate answer to that question is something like this…

• You just have to “ask Jesus into your heart.”
• You just have to “pray the sinner’s prayer.”

Those concepts are nowhere in Scripture. They are gross superstitions.

I know. Our initial reaction to this is to recoil a bit. But search the Scriptures — find, “ask Jesus into your heart” or the “sinner’s prayer.” They just aren’t there. Here’s what the Bible says about being saved…

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” — Mark 1: 14-15

“…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” — Romans 10:9

Repent. Believe. Confess.

Today people convince themselves they are saved because one day they prayed a prayer. In Martin Luther’s day people thought they were saved because they were given a piece of paper by some monk or priest.

Neither of these is biblical. The Bible says…

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” — 2 Corinthians 13:5

During October many people in the Church like to confront the superstitions associated with Halloween. This year join them.

Just add one more superstition to the list.