 Today is November 9th, one day after an election where Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. It is also a fact that he is president in large measure because he received over 80% of the Evangelical vote. Since I was one of those who went through the agony of eventually voting for our president-elect, I also feel very qualified to offer the following article on the other side of the election.
Voting for Mr. Trump was one of the most difficult and excruciating things I’ve ever done. In the end I did so primarily due to one issue – abortion. After watching former Secretary of State Clinton coolly and confidently support abortion up until the last minute before a child is born, while also stating that an unborn child has no rights whatsoever – that was the turning point for me. There was no sense of anything in her except great pride that we do this in America. Because Mr. Trump had made it clear that he would oppose abortion (albeit with a promise – not exactly the most trustworthy currency in an election) I chose to vote for him. I did so without a sense of great pride in my vote – without any kind of bravado – I simply did it to protect the unborn. Having said this – and having read far too many facebook posts from both sides that broke my heart after the election – I want to offer unsolicited advice to those who are evangelicals who voted for president-elect Trump. President-elect Trump needs our prayers (as does President Obama) as he faces the presidency. First and foremost, it is my opinion, based upon his actions and words, that we need to pray for this man’s salvation. I was never under any deception that he was or is a Christian – regardless of what the President of Liberty University says. This man needs to repent of sin and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – period. By the way, if that statement offends you, I believe all men and women need to repent and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. If you are a “true evangelical” then this is THE issue for us ultimately – is he (or anyone else for that matter) someone who has come to understand that he is a sinner by choice and by nature – has come to understand that Jesus is the God-man who came and paid for sin by His death, burial, and resurrection – and has come to repentance over his sin and now has put his faith in Jesus Christ to pay for his sin and make him acceptable to God. President-elect Trump also needs our prayers to govern wisely as the chief executive and commander in chief over our armed forces. Ask anyone who has ever held this office, there is tremendous pressure and responsibility associated with it. And take it from someone who is only a father and pastor of a local church – the more authority you have – the greater the damage you can do by making unwise and ungodly decisions. My unwise choices affect the 14 people in my family – and at least 175-200 people who attend the fellowship I am honored to serve. Things like pride, ego, marital infidelity, foul language, caustic comments, and perverse treatment of women, are unwise and ungodly from a biblical perspective. Sorry if this offends you but I am a pastor who is responsible to teach God’s Word – and advance a godly and righteous lifestyle. We can support him in some ways – but we need to be clear that these actions and attitudes are unacceptable. Should we show our president-elect grace and love? Absolutely. But can we afford as evangelicals to just gloss over the clear elephant in the room when it comes to his character and ungodliness? If we do – we will lose the moral authority to speak to our society – especially those who opposed him in the election who need the gospel so badly. President-elect Trump – and our nation – need our prayers for healing and unity. Only someone who has lived under a rock for the last year and a half is unaware of the incredible rift that there is in our nation. He is not responsible alone for this rift – but this past election cycle only made us aware of how wide it is. I am painfully aware that much of this rift is due to vastly divergent worldviews. Both sides of this divide view the moral stances of the other as moral bankruptcy. He will face deep divides that will require wisdom, patience, and understanding to even begin to address. As an evangelical there are issues within our nation where I have to take a stand that is unpopular – very unpopular with those who oppose it. There are moral issues – issues about sexuality – issues about justice – issues about racism – issues about abortion and crisis pregnancies – issues about how to help those in financial need – so many issues that even trying to list them makes my head swim. What makes it worse is that currently any discourse about them has become so incendiary that basic communication (where we respect one another) seems almost impossible. We so quickly descend into sound bytes and insults at the drop of a hat. Oh how we need to move away from listening to the talking heads and talk radio and actually listen to one another once again. The rhetoric of the election has left us all battered and worn out emotionally. Pray that our President – and our president-elect can begin to heal the fractures – rather than make them worse. One final word though to those of us who are evangelicals – and it is a word of great warning. If we choose to swagger through the next several months before and after the inauguration we are going to see the gospel itself face a terrible backlash. If we act as if Mr. Trump has great moral authority after what we’ve learned about how he treats women and his own marriage – we will alienate a large group of women who need to hear the gospel. They will see our joy over his election as an endorsement of his immoral actions – and will turn a deaf ear to the message of the gospel. If we act as if it wasn’t a problem that he didn’t distance himself from the KKK and other white supremacist groups with the strongest words possible – we will alienate many in the black community. They will see our joy in his election as an affirmation of what they already see as systemic racism and will turn a deaf ear to the gospel. If we act as if Mr. Trump’s bravado and pride – and the many morally questionable insults toward his opponents – should be seen as just politics as normal – we should not be surprised to see a rejection of our gospel as if it is associated with such insults. If we don’t at least attempt to see the political discourse toned down from its new lows in foul language that should offend people’s sensibilities - too many will deduce that we have come to endorse of this kind of talk. They will mock us when we say that the Bible teaches us to reject “corrupt communication from our mouths.” They will see such statements as just another way we’ve embraced hypocrisy as Christians. This will, in turn, justify in their minds turning a similar deaf ear to whatever else we have to say about salvation and the gospel. I’ve already seen too many posts by those on the other side of the political divide who are saying that if Trump represents evangelicalism – they are done with it. Be careful precious saints of God – and be wise in the days ahead. Our attitudes and our demeanor can do much to either advance the gospel or turn people off to it. May God give us wisdom, especially in these days to prove ourselves true sons of God – who embrace both truth and our role to be peacemakers. THE most important thing is that we, as evangelicals, see that what our nation needs most is the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. These are the only things that will bring about the much-needed revival in the church and the even more-needed spiritual awakening among the lost. So that these things may come to our nation may God give us grace to be men and women wise enough to navigate such a time as this.
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 Anyone read facebook lately? Anyone stop reading facebook discussions because of how offensive and incendiary they quickly become? In the aftermath of the United States Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage there have been an avalanche of articles and posts on social media both for and against gay marriage. This was inevitable because people on both sides of this issue are very passionate about what they believe. What does not have to be inevitable is some of the vitriol that begins being exhibited by Christians as things begin to get heated. Whether or not the “they started it first” argument is used or not, as those redeemed by God through Jesus Christ – and – as those who are called to manifest the fruit of the Spirit – we need to learn a very valuable spiritual lesson. We need to learn how to share offensive truth less offensively. Hopefully this article will be helpful in doing so.
First of all – a true confession is in order. I am a recovering offensoholic. In my past I have kind of enjoyed being sarcastic. The ability to slip in truth wrapped in little barbs of sarcasm and veiled insult is a “skill” I am wanting to unlearn as quickly as possible. God is revealing to me that more often than not these verbal darts are not very effective when sharing truths that in themselves are going to be offensive to the person hearing them. The proverb, “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar,” has sparked repentance for the way I’ve said things more than once. There are times when I finish writing a piece that I have to go through a Holy Spirit edit several times – before I have any peace in posting or sending it. The problem is that in our current situation – barbs and sarcasm will quickly turn what could be a logical, profitable conversation into an all out verbal war. After being nailed by the verbal shrapnel of several of these conversations, I want speak so that if there is a descent into ugliness, it is because of truth shared in love. There is no gain when truth is shared in an effort to win – or to score points with Christians who quickly gather to “my” side. The biblical fact is that God wins in all matters of truth. If I speak His truth with love and a genuine desire to engage in an exchange of ideas, I believe God will use it to do deeper work in people’s lives. One of the things we must understand is that our culture no longer has any clear authority by which it speaks. Just like in the book of Judges we live in a society where every person is their own authority. Judges 21:24 says, “. . . and everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” That is where we are currently. Therefore we need to grasp that everyone we speak with is an authority unto themselves. Thus when we share the Scriptures, they will not accept them as an authority. Now please understand that God’s Word was, is, and always will be truth. Whether people agree with that or not does not matter – God’s Word is still true. When you try to share this, people will be offended – and often will say things that will be offensive to you. We will be accused of being someone who does not think, someone who holds to antiquated ideas, someone who is brainwashed, or as I was recently called . . . an idiot. Are these things offensive? Yes they are. BUT – this is where we can become even more effective in what we share. Let me explain. When we are insulted, we have a choice to make. First, we should review what we’ve said to make sure that while sharing the truth, we did not descend into any kind of name-calling or inflammatory statements. Remember, our message itself is offensive to the lost. Paul spoke of the offense of the cross – and Jesus Himself told us that we would be treated like He was treated. People who are already offended with our moral point of view, and who do not know Christ, will more often than not say offensive things. Get used to it – and be ready for the temptation to say similar things back to them. Also know that if you do – the opportunity will no longer be there to influence someone. It will most likely deteriorate into stronger and stronger comments, insults, and end in a verbal barrage and a scorched-earth mental landscape. Once we determine if we said something unnecessarily offensive, we can proceed in the conversation. (By the way, if you said something you should not have said – apologize. You’d be shocked how many times this begins to disarm the conflict allowing it to move back into a conversation.) The second thing I am going to suggest may seem very hard, but it will allow you to be able to converse with the person so much better. In order to share it though I need to ask a question. Do you want to know what they think? Please re-read that question because I did not ask if you want to convert to their way of thinking – but – do you want to know what they think. What I’ve found over several conversations is that when I genuinely try to hear what they are saying and thinking, it helps me to share truth with them more effectively. Too many of the conversations I’ve read recently have made a quick trip to the most commonly used arguments against each other. I can almost predict what will be said in the first two or three rounds of statements. What I cannot predict is the reasoning behind them – or the hurts that a person has because of previous barbs thrown their way. If you don’t want to genuinely hear what they have to say – you won’t have any genuine ministry to offer them. But if you go deeper – even being willing to listen or read things you won’t agree with – you will be able to discern what needs to be discussed. You may even find room to offer an apology for how they’ve been dissed and dismissed. If they know you care enough to listen – they may start listening to you. Once you begin the conversation in earnest – listen for statements that reveal serious conflicts with the message of the gospel. I usually read and listen looking for their source of authority (usually themselves in the end), their view of Who God is (this usually is a hodge-podge of ideas from self, internet sites, and on some occasions actual study of the Bible), and what they see as the problem with things as they are currently. This last concept is basically what they see as sin (which is a word they will almost never use as you do) and what offers redemption or salvation from the problem (again two words they will tend to avoid). From this point I begin to engage the person with questions involving these things: 1) What or who is their authority? (Who or what has the final say in their life) 2) What determines if something or someone is good or bad? 3) What is the problem or problems in life? And then finally, 4) What is the answer or answers to these problems. As I ask questions about these things, I respond to their answers with the gospel – sharing lovingly, graciously, and usually with reference to my sin and how God saved me from the penalty for it. I make a beeline to the gospel – and seek to eventually draw things in that direction. That does not mean that I try to share the “plan of salvation” at every turn. Instead it means that I deal with issues concerning salvation such as: Who is God? What is sin? Who or what has the right to call something sinful? How can a sinful person know a holy God? How can a righteous and holy God love us without being a hypocrite about His righteousness and holiness? What did God do to pay the price He demands as the penalty for sin? These are the things I head to in the end – because they are the things that matter. But in the meantime I also try to understand where they’ve come from – and if there are serious hurts and problems in their past. When these things come up – I want to genuinely care for them, apologize when Christians have been unloving and unkind, and offer real love to them in praying for and empathizing with their offenses. The goal in all this is to truly love them and share and show them Jesus. This is not hard . . . actually, apart from God’s grace it is impossible! I cannot tell you how many times I have to stop and pray – back up – and deal with wanting to offend back because I’m offended. I thank God that He did not deal with me in this way – because I would have been consumed in wrath very early in His gracious dealings with me. We cannot back up from sharing that sin is sin. We cannot back away from being honest about what the Bible proclaims. This is not love – it is dangerously stepping away from God’s righteousness and truth simply because it may offend. We share the truth – but we do so without the verbal barbs – without referring to the most offensive examples of homosexual activism (or any activism for sinful activity). We speak the truth without name-calling (even if we’ve been called and are continuing to be called names). We choose to ask penetrating questions not just so we can probe their thinking – but hopefully so that they will probe their own thinking as we lovingly share what the Bible has to say. I go back to John chapter 4 and how Jesus addressed the Samaritan woman at the well. Let’s be honest saints – that situation was made for some serious name-calling. She was a Samartian – she was guilty of adultery – she was an outcast from her own society – she held errant spiritual views – and she was currently in a sexually immoral relationship. Wow, what a list of potential names that provides. Yet Jesus did not use a single one of them. He asked questions – made biblical statements boldly yet lovingly – and eventually through hearing and understanding her – was able to address her deepest spiritual needs. Her need, by the way, was not to be proven wrong in an argument. She needed living water. The result of that conversation was that her sin was boldly and lovingly addressed, she was drawn to admit her sin and turn to God, and finally – she became a witness to others of God’s grace as she was saved. Now that is where I want to see a conversation go in the end! Just one more comment though – as you learn to do this not everyone will be converted instantly – or possibly even at all. But the sound of loving, biblical, redemptive conversations will ring further than you think. Imagine what one would look like on facebook? We’ve all seen the ones that turn nasty – with both sides eventually walking away with verbal bloody noses. Imagine one where the believer does not descend into name-calling of any kind – but – where they endeavor to do their best sharing the truth in love. That, my precious saints, will look very different. It is also what we need to begin seeing more and more as the grace of God is expressed in love through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. So share the truth, precious redeemed ones! Share it even if it carries with it the offense of the cross – the offense of seeing ourselves as sinful and lost – the offense of being in need of God’s forgiveness – and the offense of being available only through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just DON’T do this one thing – share this wonderful message in an offensive way that adds to the offense of the cross – and does NOT reflect the love and patience of God or the fruit of His Spirit.  What is happening in the realm of Christian music lately? There is a growing number of those who have been in the Christian music circles who are coming out as being gay. There is also a growing trend among others to come out in support of gay marriage. But possibly the most disturbing of these trends is that more and more of these individuals are not only commenting on these decisions, but are making some very bold “theological” statements about God – and how God views this sexual choice. So what is happening here? Why has it become more and more acceptable to the Christian music industry for these people not just to come out about their sexual choices – but also to begin airing their thoughts and views as acceptable?
It is almost becoming a common event for someone in the Christian music industry to affirm homosexuality openly. Vicky Beeching, the author of the song “Glory to God,” is the most recent to admit to this choice in her life. One slight difference with Beeching is that she has studied theology at Oxford. Beeching, who left the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) scene to become a television commentator, made the following comment about how she views God and the homosexual lifestyle. “I feel certain God loves me just the way I am, and I have a huge sense of calling to communicate that to young people.” This is the most disturbing aspect of this move within the industry. There is a growing acceptance of homosexuality and homosexual marriage – not in the world – but within what should be an industry that embraces evangelical biblical doctrine. As an example of this kind of thinking you only have to turn to comments made by the former editor of Contemporary Christian Music magazine, Matthew Paul Turner, who said the following about his support of gay marriage when asked why he voted against Tennessee’s marriage amendment. He made it clear that he did not believe that homosexual behavior was sinful. He said he might be wrong but in his own words said, “I'd much rather be wrong and pursue grace and open acceptance than right and be arrogant and cruel.” First of all please understand that I do not hate homosexuals. My heart goes out to them and desires for them to be saved and drawn out of this sinful lifestyle. Also understand when I say this, I say it knowing that God called me out of heterosexual immorality when I was saved. It is not that I consider myself or my views superior to theirs. I needed to be rescued from my sin, just as I am stating they need to be rescued from theirs. So I do not come from an angle that says, “Your wrong and I’m right.” I come from saying, “My behavior was wrong and God rescued me – your choice is wrong too and God wants to rescue you too! The reason I, or anyone for that matter, can say this is because the Scriptures teach that homosexuality and heterosexual immorality is sin. And here is where I have my core concern for the Christian Music industry. My core concern is that too often, the Christian music industry is far more interested about “music” than it is about “Christianity.” It is far too much about our experience than it is about the Word of God. This has been the case for several decades now. The unfortunate reality that we are seeing today is simply the fruit of an activity done more and more out from under the Lordship of Christ and the authority of Scripture. Early in the rise of Christian music this was not the case. The early years of Christian music was dominated by people who wanted to sing about God, about His Word (often singing His Word), and about how God had saved them. It was all about music that spoke often of God – openly of God – and radically about loving and serving Him. Now much of our Christian music could be about God – or – it could be about your girlfriend. Too often we find little focus on God and far too much focus on us – or honestly, on how God makes much of us. You might be wondering how all this fits into the current trends in the Christian Music Industry today? Here is where the problem lies – in the lack of a strong theological background in those making and producing it. Go back a few hundred years and look at those writing much of what we sang in the hymns. You will find among them people with very strong theological backgrounds. You will also find among them people who wrote songs to be sung in times of corporate worship than in a performance or concert. They also made much less money for what they did – therefore for many of them – theirs was a labor of love. Today, there is big money in the Christian Music industry. Their percentage in the music market is rising substantially. Thus entities like Word Music and others have far more “music industry people” than they do “church-loving, theology-driven song writers.” The difference you see is pretty amazing when it comes to God-centered, God-focused lyrics. It truly matters when people are passionate about their relationship with Jesus Christ. It truly matters when people are taught the Scriptures and taught so that they grasp sound doctrine. Where is the Christian music industry? I would submit to you that even though they can effect “some” change through their music, the real issue has much more to do with where the church is today. When the church is no longer living in radical obedience to God and His Word, this will eventually be reflected in its music. When the church is no longer standing fast in sound theology, it will be reflected in its theology in music, or the lack thereof). When the church is no longer standing for clear biblical morality, it will be reflected in those who minister (or in too many cases perform) through music. What we have here is not a problem primarily with the Christian music industry but with how the church’s heart is reflected in it. The Christian Music industry is simply reflecting where the church is in our day. The reason we are seeing the CMI (Christian Music Industry) struggle with moral issues is because the church itself is struggling as well. The church is struggling with these issues because it no longer lives with the Lordship of Jesus Christ as its rudder. This leads to a church that does not submit itself to Scripture as the absolute authority in faith and practice (which includes moral stances upon the Scriptures, rather than on the prevailing culture). There is a problem – but that problem in not in the CMI at its core. The problem is where the church is in our day – in desperate need of a revival of biblical Christianity. If you have read of the ongoing downgrade of biblical Christianity in the CMI – then step back and take a breath before calling down fire upon them for what is happening. There is a root to all this, and I honestly believe that it is the lack of biblical Christianity in the church. This root system will point us to a loss of our first love for Christ. It will point us to an abandonment of the Scriptures as authoritative and instructive to every aspect of our lives and culture. It will point us to the general malaise of apathy and hard-heartedness toward God’s Word, and indeed, toward God Himself. Saints, I realize that I sound like a broken record on this, but what we need is true revival where we address our own hearts first. If there were true revival where our hearts turned back to God – these issues would eventually be addressed because of the change happening in our lives as a result. May God do this work in us – so that what affects the church most is not music icons in search of fame and fortune – but men and women who love God with all their hearts, live according to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives, and submit to the moral, theological, and practical rule of Scripture in all that they do.  Three Raspberry Cheers for Hello Kitty . . . and the Postmodern Lie
Most of you know that I am a confirmed Bible, history, and worldview nerd. That is why when I arrived at work today to the shock that Hello Kitty’s questionable identity was a “breaking news story” by many, I found myself in a quandary as to whether to be amused or in be despair. Before I receive emails telling me to lighten up or to realize what is meant as tongue-in-cheek humor, let me make a few introductory jabs at this entire fiasco. If Hello Kitty is a little girl, I feel for her now that she is in her 40’s and still wears a full length kitty costume (or is it a kitty costume?). If Hello Kitty is not a cat, then is it possible that I should be concerned about the prescriptions I have from Dr. Dre? If Hello Kitty is not a cat, should I be horrified to learn that Taylor Swift may not be either a pop or country artist, but rather a punk rocker who dresses in an understated way? Please forgive me for these - but I hope it does show that I do grasp humor - well at least I think I do. Actually I may have just engaged in horribly depressive hate speech disguised as humor? Who knows any more? I hope that this exercise helps you understand my main point in this article. I do not care who Hello Kitty is - except that, come on folks, that’s a kitty! But in our postmodern world in which truth is in the eye of the beholder, your kitty does not have to be a kitty. In order to get a ton of free press, as well as increased sales of Hello What-ever-you-are (which I believe should be the new “truth in advertising” ruling against Hello Kitty), all you have to do is make an outlandish claim that what is clear to everyone, everywhere - is actually a 40 year old, clever ruse. (Note: by the way I think Hello What-ever-you-are is better than Hello Creepy-40-year-old-cat-dressing-freak - don’t you think?) But back to my point about our postmodern society. This entire situation is actually a good example of our postmodern thinking. Imagine with me this entire story back in the 1960’s and 1970’s. People would not have probably even considered arguing that their kitty was not actually a cat because it stands on two legs, and it has a pet cat named “Charmy-kitty.” (Boy is that a future cover story waiting to be written - “Charmy-kity” confesses to being a cat trapped in a dog’s body!”) But I digress yet again - sorry folks but this one truly brings out the sarcasm in me. Let me get to my point. Postmodern thinking says, “What you believe to be true, is true.” It is true because you believe it to be true. No one has any right to tell you your beliefs or practices are wrong as long as you think that are true, are not hurting anybody. This has what has paraded for truth, or I guess at least anit-truth, for years in our educational systems, as well as among certain philosophers and deep thinkers. But there is a problem here - and I would like to use a well-known children’s story (although it can be a bit racy) to illustrate my point. Enter the emperor, stage right. As he enters, it is apparent to all that the man is completely naked - as the day he was born. There are all the tell-tale signs that he is naked - such as - well . . . nakedness. As he rides or struts across the room, showing off what he thinks to be his new duds, all the post-modern ones in the crowd collude with him about his nakedness. They oooh and ahhh at the latest in minimalist fashion (yeah, minimalist is an understatement for a guy who should at least have on underwear) as they all agree together to lie about their ruler’s current unclothed state. Now for my personal million dollar question. “Is this guy naked?” Maybe we should listen to the tailors who tell us that he is not naked. They assert that he is clothed in kingly splendor no matter what he is wearing. We are also told that clothes do not make the man. We are chided that our view of clothing is outdated, pedestrian, and nude-phobic. We need to get with the times so we can understand why we have such a narrow definition of clothes. I can tell you why I have that narrow definition. It is because the king in the story WAS NAKED! It does not matter to me what he or anyone else there believed - naked means, not having on any clothes. He does not have on any clothes, therefore, he is naked. Now, having put a huge bullseye on my back that I am woefully out of touch with current trends (For which I daily thank God - Who’s Word IS truth - and Who has also defined nakedness pretty clearly in the Scriptures. By the way, He also defines who we should see naked - which is an incredibly more narrow list than what the world currently embraces.) I would like to comment on Hello Kitty for the last time, and then hopefully make a point concerning epistemology (Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.) Hello Kitty is a cat. Granted whatever weird version of a cat in a cartoon form is eventually agreed upon - that is a cat. People have bought into Hello Kitty for years as a cat, and since I’ve never seen a zipper on the cartoon version - or any of its multitudinous money-making products - I’m gonna go with the whole cat idea. Why wouldn’t we think Hello Kitty is not a cat? We are engaged in this ridiculous news story - and the ensuing ridiculous commentary (mine included) because the creator of Hello Kitty believes that his Kitty is not a cat. In earlier (non post-modern enlightened decades) we would have written this whole thing off as a story illustrating someone who needs to re-take Biology 101. Or honestly, we would have shrugged and thought that the creator of this cartoon, albeit very gifted at kitty drawing, takes his cartoon a little too seriously. But in our post-modern society, this is what passes for a tongue-in-cheek breaking news story. Yet, here is what disturbs me a little. We have been led to believe by post-modern thinking that if someone believes something is true - then it is true and we should let them hold that belief without criticism. If that is true, why is it that those who believe in God are treated with greater disdain than the Hello Kitty creator? There is actually epistemological support for belief in God according to classic apologetics. Even widely held philosophy has valid arguments for the existence of God. Yet, in spite of all this, bible-believing Christians who hold to the existence of God are being treated as if they are some sort of factually challenged freaks. If you really want to see an escalation of rhetoric, look at what is being said about those who say homosexuality is sin according to God’s Word - or that life begins at conception and what is in a woman’s womb is not just a blob of tissue, but a living child who deserves adequate protection from harm. There is where the lie of post-modern thinking is exposed. You see, it is perfectly reasonable to defend Hello Kitty. What is utterly indefensible according to many in our society today is bible-believing Christianity. What is indefensible is anyone who believes in the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus Christ. What is indefensible is the audacity of believing that there are 10 commandments applicable to the morals of present day society. And thus the facade of post-modernism is revealed. What we have here is not a philosophy that embraces all views, but rather a pseudo-philosophy that embraces the Kitty - but throws out the dangerous idea that God might actually exist. Now there is a breaking news story! The Utter Uselessness of Spiritual Self Beat-Downs, part 5
Five Questions to Ask to Determine Whether You are in a Spiritual Self Beat-Down For the last several weeks we’ve been looking at the total worthlessness of engaging in spiritual self beat-downs. This is the last week for this series of articles. In concluding them, I want to give you five things to ask yourself to determine whether or not you are engaging in a spiritual self beat-down or in genuinely constructive fellowship with God. The first question is this. Is this leading you to confess specific sin to God? One of the hallmarks of a spiritual self beat-down is that specific sin is not being confessed to God. Instead either some sort of spiritual insult of your condition is being rehearsed for your self-non-edification or you are dealing in generalities. An example of this would be God saying you are bad – or that you are a complete failure – or you’re a doofus for doing the things you’ve done. The living God, as He works through the Holy Spirit, convicts of specific offenses. He does not convict in generalities. Therefore, if you are spending your time in generalities or in heaping spiritual insults on yourself, know that this is self working, not the Holy Spirit. If you, on the other hand, are confessing specific sin – saying the same thing God’s Word says about those sins – that is the work of God. Look at the confessions of God’s people in Psalm 51 and in Ezra. As God worked, His people knew the specific ways that they had sinned against God – and were confessing them specifically. Second question: Is this leading you to turn to God, expecting to be received lovingly by Him? A great example of this is the prodigal son. The father in this story is a type of our heavenly Father. The wayward son had turned to his father already in his heart – admitted to sin within himself – and was on his way to confess his sin to his father. What did he find as he got home? Did he find a father who received him lovingly? Did he find himself shut out and not received? Did he come to his father – only to get the cold shoulder after he confessed his wrongs? What he found was probably pretty shocking. His father was waiting for him – and when he saw him returning, ran to embrace him and greet him. Once he confessed his sin – he didn’t get the cold shoulder. He was lovingly received by his father – who subsequently threw a party celebrating his return. Too often we want to impose on God how we might receive someone else who has hurt our feelings. We hear their confession – but want to make them pay a little more for how they’ve hurt us. That is completely contrary to God’s heart and how He receives repentant sinners. He runs to us and embraces us – already knowing the change in heart that is about to issue forth in a verbal confession of sin. How does He receive us? He does so with rejoicing, with a party to celebrate repentance, and with an embrace that does not require some additional payment commensurate with the annoyance we’ve been in the past. That may be what some humans require – but God responds with grace, forgiveness, and love! The third question is similar to the second. Is this leading you to experience forgiveness from God? The answer we get from our spiritual self beat-downs is this – eventually. He forgives me – but only after I’ve had a good quiet time. He forgives me – but only after I show that I’m going to be good, by acting right for a few hours, days, weeks, months, etc. What God says is that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. That is what is written in 1 John 1:9 – and God meant it. In the moment we confess our sin – in that moment He has forgiven our sin, no longer counting it against us. He does not hold grudges for our behavior – not even partial ones. His forgiveness and restoration to fellowship are instant! There is no required testing period where we have to behave much better. There is no confession plus penance in doing some religious stuff first. There is just forgiveness – full and complete – the moment we confess sin. Is this leading you to live in expectancy of God’s blessing? Here is a hard one for most of us. How long after we’ve confessed sin are we in line for God’s blessing? If we see what God says in Scripture – it is immediate. We were out of fellowship due to our sin – but the moment we confess it to God – we are returned to fellowship and the blessing of God. Far too often Christians feel there is a period between getting right and getting back under his blessing. Just as forgiveness is immediate – so is the expectancy of blessing from Him. We cannot make God out to be mad and sullen – refusing to receive and bless us because, even though He has forgiven us – He still is pretty ticked about what we did in the first place. Remember . . . the Father received the prodigal immediately into his blessing – even after all he has done – all he has wasted – and all he did to shame the family name. Boy, you’d think God would make him pay for all this. But the truth of the matter is Christ Jesus paid for ALL OF IT – for ALL PEOPLE! Therefore as we come confessing sin – we are received with all the same astounding grace the prodigal was received. The last question is this: Is this leading you to enjoy renewed fellowship and intimacy with God? Spiritual self beat-downs do not lead to renewed intimacy or fellowship. They lead to being able to talk – but it is talk where God is distant. He might say something like, “Oh, it’s you – wow, you are actually coming to talk to me?” There are numerous other ways we sadly impose ourselves on God with how we’ve been treated or treat others when we are offended or sinned against. We need to grasp something. God is NOT sarcastic with us! He does not take the “poor pitiful me” stance where He reacts with passive aggressive statements. This is a very sinful and sad representation of Him and His glory. He provided a payment for the full price of your sin. Because of this – and this alone – He hears your confession, forgives your sin, and restores you to full, complete, loving fellowship with Himself. That means that He will once again embrace intimacy and gracious fellowship with you – without you sitting in spiritual time-out for an hour or two after your confession. What is the hallmark of God’s dealing with us when we’ve sinned? It is this – mercy and grace. First, He does not give us what we truly deserve for our sins. Second, He gives us what He Himself purchased with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ – GRACE! You may not want to give yourself grace as you come near Him to confess your sins. Know this though – that is your issue, not His. He hears, forgives, and restores – all by the grace that comes through Jesus Christ. Learn to receive that and humble yourself as His astounding love overwhelms you in its generous graciousness! The Worthlessness of Spiritual Self Beat-downs, part 4
Why Does the Holy Spirit Convict Us of Sin? For several weeks we’ve looked at our natural tendency (at least for some of us) to practice spiritual self beat-downs. For some reason we do this thinking that God approves or somehow enjoys this process. The facts as they are related in Scripture, though, do not support this thinking. In order to make this point I want to ask a very simple question – and then seek to answer it from how God has revealed Himself in the Scriptures. Here is my question, “Why does God the Spirit convict us of sin?” And in a follow up question to that one we should ask ourselves what is God wanting to accomplish by doing this. What exactly is He after or even what is the end-game in conviction? We all know that we do things wrong. We sin. There are times when we sin that we either don’t realize it at the time – or worse – we deceive ourselves that what we did is not that bad. Whatever the case may be with sin – the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of our sin. We’ve seen that very clearly in previous studies. But what is the Spirit’s goal in bringing conviction. If we looked at the way that some of us practice a subsequent spiritual self beat-down, we might think that God’s purpose is to bury us under a mountain of guilt. That guilt is then meant to stimulate a period of condemnation, devastating accusations of every kind, followed by a period of somehow “earning” back our place with God as we seek to do a lot of good things. Those kind of choices do not deliver us from sin – in fact they usually lock us into more guilt, condemnation, and often a feeling like no matter how many times we confess or do more godly things – we just won’t measure up to what God wants from us. What does God want from us! For those who have gone on one of these extended guilt trips – not enjoying the ride or the sights – we wonder why we have to go. We also wonder, like the proverbial kid in the back seat, “Are we there yet?” What might be shocking to learn is that the one driving on these ventures into the darker regions – is not God. God does NOT want this from us. He has a purpose in conviction – and extended guilt is not one of them. You might want to note that I said “extended guilt,” because guilt is part of His purpose in conviction. Let me explain. When David confessed his sin with Bathsheba (along with his pitiful attempt at a cover up – which only led to more sin) he used the following phrase in his Psalm 32 confession to God. “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.” Psalm 32:5-7 (NASB) Let’s take a look at what we can learn from David. First, we do see that David admits to his sin. He said he acknowledged his sin – he didn’t try to hide his iniquity – and he confessed his transgressions to God. That is pretty thorough on David’s part. He agreed with God (what acknowledged means) that he missed God’s mark. When David said this he was stating plainly that God has standards, absolute ones, and that David clearly did not live up to them. Second of all David admitted that he wasn’t going to hide his iniquity. This is an interesting phrase. David had tried to cover up his sin for so long – but now he was saying that he was willing to bring his sin out into the light and deal with it entirely. The word for sin here is telling too. David speaks of his “iniquity.” This word speaks of sin as particularly evil because it means to twist or deliberately pervert something. Here it refers to perverting and twisting God’s purpose for sex and marriage. Finally, David said that he confessed his transgressions to God. The word “confess” means to cast toward and it represents the picture of David casting his sin before God – admitting it and bringing it fully into the light of God’s presence. He does this with his “transgressions,” which refers to rebellion. David states that his actions were done in rebellion to God and His ways and Word. Once David has confessed his sin, note what he says is God’s response. “And You forgave the guilt of my sin.” God desires us to feel guilt over our sin. The fact is we are guilty! But once we deal with sin as David did – God forgives the guilt of our sin. It is comforting to know that the word used for guilt is the same as the word iniquity earlier. The evilness of our sin is what God forgives and carries away from us. So, we see that one of the major purposes in God bringing conviction is so that, as we confess it completely, He can take away the feelings of guilt and condemnation. David then turns others who will read this and offers godly counsel to them. He speaks of calling out to God in times of trouble – in times when we feel like we are in a flood of waters – drowning in our guilt and overwhelmed by our sinfulness. Even in a flood of great waters (read here – our deepest and most devastating moments of sin) God will prevail and will be heard. If you don’t believe that part you might want to remember the depth of David’s sin – or maybe even Jonah’s (which did involve drowning in literal water as well as great rebellion against God). His counsel is for us to pray to God – to call out to Him – to come to Him humbly confessing our sin. Spiritual self beat-downs are useless in these situations. They will actually keep us from God – as well as keep us drowning in our guilt and self-condemnation. Go to God is David’s counsel! David says one more thing here in Psalm 32. He says that as we come to God in this way, God will surround us with songs of deliverance. God’s purpose in all this is not a beat-down – but a deliverance. The conviction of the Holy Spirit will yield songs of deliverance. There will be an encircling of our lives and hearts with songs that speak of how God delivers and rescues us from sin and from sin’s unkind rule of our lives. What does God want from us when He convicts us? He wants us to acknowledge and see our sinful choices as He does. But then He wants confession of that sin. Once that is accomplished and we confess our sin, rebellion, and evil – He desires us to KNOW forgiveness and deliverance from that sin. He wants us surrounded with marvelous songs that tout His grace and His gospel which has won for us such amazing things. May we learn to receive these things as precious gifts of His grace – not resisting them – but embracing them and rejoicing in our most gracious God and His wonderful love for us. Speaking According to the Word or the World?
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope that that God will bless you today with ears that hear the Word rather than hear the world. May God give you a sensitivity to what He says, as well as a discernment to differentiate it with what you hear from the world. We’ve been looking at the difference between the conviction of the Holy Spirit versus the religious practice of giving ourselves a beat down when we sin. Knowing the difference between these two things – between yourself and the true work of the Holy Spirit is vital to your spiritual health. Let’s look again at the passage where we are being exposed to the Holy Spirit’s convicting work. "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. John 16:7-11 (NASB) The Holy Spirit is going to make a distinction between what He says and what the world says. Note that the passage says that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict the world concerning some very important things. For now, though, I want to focus in on the fact that He will convict the world. This means the Holy Spirit is going to show us some things and, regardless of what the world has to say on the issue, what the Spirit says is right every time. This is priceless to us because the world has a lot to say when it comes to the way we live and the morals we hold fast. There are a number of ways that the world can be an accessory to a beat-down. First, the world can say something is right, when it is not. The world may say it is morally OK for a woman to have an abortion when she has an unplanned pregnancy, but God’s Word does not agree. In this case, what is beat down is God’s Word. All aspects of sexual immorality play this hand, saying that it does not matter what a person does in their private life. God begs to differ, and says so numerous times in both the Old and New Testaments. The second way the world can be an accessory to a beat down is by speaking through religious people. So often religious people – even Christian religious people - say that something is right or wrong, yet do so outside the bounds of Scripture. Over the years religious codes take on a life of their own and are used to beat down those who dare to live contrary to them. Hair lengths, hem lengths, music styles, among others have been added to religious code books, even though they are not specified in God’s Word. Some of the worst spiritual beat-downs ever come from those who use the code book to beat those who do not live by what is written in it. Another way we see the world participating in spiritual beat-downs is by making those who hold to biblical morals feel like they are ignorant because they do. Arrogance is disguised as sophistication and education in this worldly ploy. People make fun of the Bible and its views, stating that they are old and outdated. One is left with the thought that they are some kind of spiritual and cultural bumpkin who fell off the turnip truck if they hold such views. And God forbid if anyone tries to champion biblical values publically. They are either shouted down or talked to like they are idiots. The lesson is clear – if you want to hold to such things – just realize that you will be considered an illiterate, uncultured moron by the rest of society. Even worse there are those who are called bigots, racists, fear-mongers, misogynists, and just plain evil if they hold to moral views that are contrary to closely guarded societal norms. Beat downs can even move to being physical in some circumstances. The wise believer though, learns to hear with more than just his or her ears. They learn to filter everything with the Word of God. Thus they avoid either adding to or subtracting from what God has already revealed about Himself and His will. There is one warning you need to hear about thinking like this. What you are avoiding is spiritual beat-downs that are not of God – beat-downs that may seem helpful, but are actually hindering your relationship with God. Seeing and hearing life as God’s Word affirms may actually lead to a different kind of beat-down . . . one that is from the world and those who defend its ways. There is a different name for that kind of beat-down – Persecution. Don’t be upset if you are persecuted by the world, though. That is not a bad thing. Actually, Jesus said that we should rejoice and be glad – because that is how they treated the prophets of God. Don’t be surprised then when the Holy Spirit rises up within you and says that those worldly actions and thoughts you are having are wrong and sinful. Learn to check that conviction with God’s Word – and – if the Word of God concurs – repent and confess those things as sin. But, if the Word and the Spirit show you that your concerns and conviction were in error, learn to let go of them no matter where you got them (either the world or even religiousness). The Holy Spirit will use God’s Word to guide you in this. Discern from the Word what is God and what is not. If the conviction is His, respond in confession and repentance. But if the conviction is NOT – know that receiving it will do nothing to bring you to peace and an intimacy with God.  The Uselessness of Spiritual Self Beat Downs, part 2
Holy Spirit Conviction or Spiritual Insults? What is the difference between a spiritual self beat-down and the work of the Holy Spirit as He brings genuine conviction of our sin? That is what I want to address this week in my article. Knowing the difference between these two things is knowing the difference between the constructive work of the Holy Spirit making us like Christ, and the destructive work of our own self-oriented religious actions. As we begin discerning these two things, we begin by looking at a passage of Scripture that speaks of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in us. "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. John 16:7-11 (NASB) This is a passage about the convicting work that God does in our lives. So how do we know when the Holy Spirit is doing this work? First, we should note that He comes to convict us. The word for convict here is “elegcho,” which means to prove or show someone to be wrong; to convince of error; to refute, rebuke, reprove, or admonish. The word has the idea of doing this on more than just a factual basis – but to actually bring someone to an emotional response as well. That response is shame over what they have done. There are three areas where the Holy Spirit desires to bring us to this kind of conviction. But what might be instructive before we look at these three areas is what is NOT among them. Not among these things is the area of personal attacks. When the Holy Spirit convicts us, He NEVER attacks us personally. Never will He call us stupid – or use demeaning names as He speaks within our spirit. When we say that God convicted us and called us a name like “idiot” or “moron” or something like that, we are stepping outside of Scripture. About as rough as God gets is to call someone a fool – or to refer to their actions as foolish. But let me reiterate that God does not trash talk when dealing with our sin. The problem here is that in our society we have a difficult time accepting correction without thinking it is a personal attack. Let me explain. When we choose to lie, the Holy Spirit is going to convict us that we have lied. There are even a few passages in Proverbs where if we commit certain sins involving departing from the truth, we are called a liar. That causes many in this society to bristle – and accuse God of calling names. He is not calling any names – except those we have proven to be true by our actions. Note that nowhere does God refer to someone as a stupid liar, or a lying idiot. God simply addresses the sin with truth. He does so with authority, honesty, and with tact. He is not out to trash talk us or to engage in some kind of spiritual beat-down. But, with that being said, He is going to rebuke us and tell us that our actions were wrong. We want to say we are dealing with someone who is being mean, and therefore justify rejecting what they say. But God does not work in this way. When we experience genuine conviction of sin we are dealing with Someone who speaks the truth. We face a “truth encounter.” Our problem is that it is difficult to handle the truth – face up to it – and repent accordingly. Let me illustrate with one more example. God says that homosexual activity is sin. When He says this God does not resort to insults or any kind of “street-talk” slurs. He addresses the sin. But society wants to say that God is a “homophobe” for saying this. This is like saying that God is a “lie-a-phobe” for saying that lying is a sin. We want to make conviction seem like a beat-down, when it fact it is nothing more than a truth encounter. When we make it a beat-down, we can then reject Holy Spirit on the grounds He is being mean. The fact is that He is not mean – He is lovingly truthful. We just don’t want to face the truth – whatever the issue may be. Making the encounter seem like a beat-down provides us a sort of perverse comfort that actually God is out of line in saying what He says. But turning His conviction into a reason to insult Him will guarantee us only bondage in the end. Bondage to the very sin He desired to deliver us from by bringing conviction in the first place. We need to learn to receive genuine Holy Spirit conviction in our lives. We need to discern how God defines sin without defiling his work by adding insults. We need truth, not trash talk. May God give us grace to hear Him as He has revealed Himself in His Word. And may we learn in the process that His conviction of sin is not a beat-down or an insult. It is the first step on a pathway to God’s forgiveness – and honestly – to freedom as well.  Last week as we looked at a theology of aging, we saw how God uses aging to remind us that we are returning to Him. We are reminded that life is not just about the here and now – it is also about standing before God. Therefore aging helps us to see a purpose to our existence beyond our own pleasures and desires. This week I want to look at another aspect of aging that will help us to embrace a right way of living.
One of the things that the Bible is abundantly clear about is that with age there should come wisdom. Job wrote, “Wisdom is with aged men, with long life is understanding.” (Job 12:12, NASB) This quote helps us to discern one of the things God would have us to do with the years of life that He gives us. He grants us days and years so that we might walk with Him through them. As we do this, we should be growing closer to Him – and understanding His heart and thoughts toward the things we encounter. This will yield to us wisdom – His wisdom – as we walk through this life. Note, according to Job – wisdom is with aged men. The word for wisdom here refers to the knowledge we gain of God’s ways, God’s Word, and God’s heart. Wisdom is little more than seeing things God’s way – viewing all of life as God would view it. Job says more about what we gain as we age. There is a wonderful practical side to the wisdom that the aged man has and offers to others. Job says that with long life is understanding. The Hebrew word for understanding is “tabuwn” and it has the idea of being skillful. The wise man not only has wise sayings to pass along. He also has the ability to take that wisdom and put it to practical use as he walks through life. Oh the blessings of knowing an older man who not only views life from God’s perspective, but he also knows how to walk through the days of his life practically using this wisdom to make decisions. The understanding this man has allows him to discern the difference between two choices he has before him. That kind of discernment comes only one of two ways – either with the seasoning of age – or by one who even at a young age greatly values the study and practice of the Word in his life. In Psalm 119:99-100 David said, “I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, because I have observed Your precepts. (Psalm 119:99-100, NASB) The only time we see wisdom of the younger surpassing that of older men is when a young men takes time to meditate on the Word for the purpose of obeying it. That is a source of great wisdom. Part of God’s purpose of having people age – and leaving older people on this earth is that they would pass wisdom down to the younger ones who will be here long after they are gone. One of the things we’ve watched in the last 100 years is a gradual despising of the elderly in our society. Our culture exalts being “with the times” rather than understanding them. The unfortunate result has been that young fools have become our leaders. We do not properly appreciate the older people in our world. This has even seen its damage in the church – where we seldom see the older men and women making the commitment to teach and disciple the younger ones. They think they have little to offer to them – and that they would probably be rejected. Thus we have a clash of age groups – and a dearth of wisdom being passed on to the next generation. Part of this problem though, needs to be laid at the feet of an older generation more interested in passing on traditions than in walking younger people through Scripture. Jesus spoke of those who valued their traditions more than the Scriptures (in fact they valued them instead of the Scriptures). This is not seen as wisdom, but the height of foolishness. I will dare to make a very bold statement at this point. The church will be wonderfully blessed when the older generations (and I consider myself now among them) realize that rather than retire from church work, as they get older, they mentor the next generation as they turn over leadership to them. I call this the, “I’ve done my time” syndrome. This is where the older generation feels they’ve served long enough – and rather than mentor the next generation – they walk away from leadership. The job of mentoring and passing along wisdom is not easy. I’ve attempted it with varying degrees of success and failure over the last 10 -15 years. What I've learned over the years is that the young people I work with are not looking for someone who is perfect - but someone who will love them, teach them, answer their questions, and be real with them about the journey of life. A proper theology of aging includes the older generation of the church taking up the responsibility for mentoring the next generations so that they walk in wisdom, avoiding the foolish mistakes of the past.  DISCERNING SPIRITS, PART 2
We have been looking at how to discern spirits so that we can know whether a spirit is from God or not. In the 4th chapter of Job we hear from Eliphaz a visitation that he received from a spirit. Was this a godly encounter or an ungodly one? Can we discern anything from this encounter or not? Let’s take a look and examine this situation. "Now a word was brought to me stealthily, And my ear received a whisper of it. "Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed by my face; The hair of my flesh bristled up. "It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice: 'Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? 'He puts no trust even in His servants; And against His angels He charges error. 'How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth! 'Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unobserved, they perish forever. 'Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, yet without wisdom.' Job 4:12-21 (NASB) First of all, before we begin, there are those who say that a person with an experience like this can claim it to be God. This person, as some claim, is not at the mercy of someone who did NOT have the experience. The experience itself, when claimed to be spiritual and from God, is enough and requires no proof on behalf of the one who had it. This view is very dangerous – and actually is NOT supported by what is said in the Scriptures. GOD HIMSELF tells us to test the spirits to see whether they are from God. Therefore a view of this as sufficient in itself is not wise. The first thing we see here in Eliphaz’s testimony is that this was a frightening, if not creepy experience. Whether he was asleep or awake is not something that we are able to discern here. But when being visited by spirits, there is validity to the experience being similar to a dream. Joseph had experiences with holy angels that communicated with him in his dreams. Also there is not sufficient evidence to state whether this was a godly or ungodly experience from Eliphaz’s emotional state during the visitation. This should remind us that how we “feel” about something can be a dangerous measure of whether it is true or not. When we examine the role of feelings in encounters with spirits or angels we learn some very important things that we need to remember to rightly discern these experiences. When you look at the testimony of the Bible on these matters – many who received both godly and ungodly messengers were terrified of them during the visit. Men like Moses, Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel were all very frightened by their visitations from holy angels. They each had a sense of dread in their presence, even though for each of them the messenger was not bringing bad news to them personally. Whether an angel is holy or unholy there is an awesomeness in their appearance that can cause men to fear, even to the point of physical trembling and terror. Eliphaz’s experience is in line with these, even though it is a little more creepy and mysterious than most. One thing that we may be helpful for us to see in these visitations is that in many of the godly ones there is a sense of sinfulness that can be overwhelming to the person in them. Moses hid his face, afraid to look upon God, even in the form of a burning bush. Manoah and his wife (Samson’s parents) had a sense of dread that they were going to die due to the holiness of the angel who visited them. Isaiah was struck with his sinfulness in the presence of God and the holy angels who attended Him. Daniel fell on his face and struggled to breathe because the fear of his sins was so heavy upon him. It was only when the angel of the Lord spoke peace to him that these “holiness” terrors subsided from him. When you think about these particular visits, it seems logical that holy angels bring about a sense of God’s holiness as they appear. That kind of holiness, though only reflected by these beings, should make us feel our sinfulness acutely. So what do we learn from all of these situations concerning our feelings and properly discerning whether a spirit is from God or not? The main thing we learn is that feelings alone – even possible feelings of unworthiness and sinfulness – are not sufficient for this task. We need something more than how we feel about the situation if we are going to determine the difference between a holy or an unholy spirit that manifest’s itself to us. Hopefully we know that when it comes to our feelings – there is a possibility that we are deceived. Therefore we must be extremely careful with them – and go far deeper than just how we feel when dealing with these things. We need to go to what is being said. When we examine what is said – in light of the Scriptures – we will be able to do a far better job of knowing whether a spirit is saying what agrees with what God has revealed about Himself or not. Therefore the wise man or woman measures all things by God’s Word. Feelings can be fallible – and can be misinterpreted. We can be deceived by our feelings as well as misled because of how we respond to them. What is most important is what is written. Just remember this (and we will look far deeper into it). Jesus faced a visitation from the chief of all evil spirits. Even He did not discern this situation through His feelings. Jesus heard what was said – and three times responded by discerning and answering with the Scriptures. We will look at this further next week. Until then – discern through the Word. Hold fast to what God says – and learn to judge all things that come at you by what He says. |
Biblical ArticlesMost of these articles are taken from the Calvary Courier, a weekly newsletter that is sent to the folks who attend Calvary Chapel Jonesboro. Due to the response to these articles, we've decided to print some of them which proved to be very helpful to God's people at the fellowship. 
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