Word of God – Part 2

Psalms119:11 “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

When John the Baptist, forerunner of the Lord, appeared on the scene he had some choice words to say to the religious leaders of his day.

Matthew 3:7-10 “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.”

 
One of the things that the religious leaders were doing was relying upon tradition. Tradition was taking over the Word of God. Later Jesus told them: Matthew 15:3  “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?”

 
Some years ago I was speaking in a church on the subject: WHAT IS REAL SPIRITUALITY?  After the message a number of people came forward and I sensed that they had come into a real freedom. However, I learned later that the pastor was very upset with me, for what I did not know. I felt that I should go and see what the problem was, so I went the next day.

 
When I spoke to the pastor I first mentioned that if I was saying something that was not biblical that I needed to know so that I might correct it. What he did was he pushed the Bible aside and said: “Let us not get into that right now.” He said the real problem was that in my preaching I had gone against seventy years of tradition. Ah! That was the real problem: I had gone against tradition! This made me wonder how much of our work today is based on tradition and not the Word of God, and how this could be the major problem today in some of our churches.

 
When I think of our denominations today most of them were started by men and women of vision and some of the things that they did were right on for their time, culture, etc. However, today is a different situation and yet we carry on with many of these things not because we are obligated by the Word of God, but because of tradition. As a matter of fact our tradition has begun to take the place of Scripture.

 
Why do we do some of the things that we do? Are they biblical? Do they fit in the culture that we live in today? I was preaching in a church in Europe where the pastor had a real desire to go back to the Word and make sure that what they were doing as a church was really based on Scripture, and not tradition.

Later when he wrote to me he told me that there were many blessings and they were praising the Lord for all that He was doing. The only thing that was negative, he said, was that they were kicked out of the denomination they were in. Interesting! But perhaps that is not so negative after all.

Perhaps the biggest issue facing us in the Western world is the rejection of ultimate truth. People say today that we make our own truth. What is true for me might not be true for you. Or, those who have the places of power are telling us what truth is. (Like the U.S. Supreme Court telling us that the Ten Commandments are not ‘constitutional’ and cannot be hung up in our court rooms throughout the land.)

Reformation brings us back to the ultimate truth: the WORD OF GOD.

The Word of God – Part 1

Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

When we pray for reformation we are praying for His people to come back to the Word of God. Our US Supreme Court has announced that it is unconstitutional for the TEN COMMANDMENTS to be hung in our court rooms. We can hang them in our State Houses, but not in the courts. How ridiculous this is when the Supreme Court itself has a statue of Moses the Law Giver as well as the Ten Commandments in different places throughout the highest court in the nation.

The Bible has been banned from our public schools and some are trying to get it banned from any public forum. What these so-called elites are wanting is a secular society – with no mention of God and morality. This is why in our postmodern world there is no such thing as truth. It has been banned as well. What is the result? Isaiah tells us in 59:14-15 “So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.”

What this is telling us is that there is no honesty, no truth and no justice working in the areas of our public lives. How long can a society function like this? Not long. In our Western world we are going down a path where we will soon reach a place of no return. Reformation is urgent! Reformation will bring us back to the Word of God. We, His people, must begin to see His Holy Word for what it really is – the very Word of God for our lives.  

A REPORT by the Bible literacy program suggests that young Americans know very little about the Bible. But what is a real stunner is that a fair number of Americans don’t see why teenagers should know anything at all about the Bible.

A study was done by a major denomination trying to find out why so many pastors were leaving the pastorate. They came up with four things. First, they were treating the pastorate like just another profession and not as a calling. Secondly, immorality was a major reason why many were leaving the pastorate. Thirdly, a desire for material things and fourthly (this is the one that blew me away), is what they called biblical illiteracy. They did not know the Bible although many were seminary graduates and some even doctors of theology. They did not know the Word of God as they should. They had studied books about the Bible and they could give you all the arguments about higher criticism, etc., but they did not know it in a personal way; how it applies to them personally, as well as knowing it from beginning to end.

This is why in another survey done by Frank Barna, he concluded that almost one half of the protestant pastors did not operate from a biblical worldview. They were ignorant of the Word of God and consequently this was true of the congregations as well.

Reformation brings us back to the Word of God in a very personal way.

Who is Man? Part 6

Post-modernism and Culture 
Worldview and the Gospel

1 Corinthians 15:4-8 “…that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”

Another aspect of the Gospel that we need to consider is in the verses above.  Jesus Christ was buried; He rose from the grave and was seen by a number of witnesses, over five hundred witnesses at one time.This is good news!

God had told us that every matter should be established by the testimony of two or more witnesses. (Deuteronomy 19:15) However, how does this build a Biblical worldview? Francis Schaeffer talks about the “mannishness of man.”  He said: “This draws attention to the fact that humans are different from all other things in the world.  Several things bring this out:  1. Creativity; 2. People fear death; 3. We are able to choose and we are able to verbalize.  People are able to remember the past and make plans for the future.”

For a worldview to be a true worldview it must answer this question about man, what Schaeffer called the “mannishness of man.” With the Gospel being the core of a biblical worldview we see how this question is answered. When I think of what Christ has done for me (for man) it makes me realize that I (or man) am different from all other creatures. I can think, verbalize, create, love, fear, feel and express emotion, etc. One of the things that Francis Schaeffer brings out is that man fears death.

There seems to be within the heart of man a sense for the eternal. Even in our post-modern culture we see this coming out with man trying to remain young and not looking old. Look at the medicines being propagated that will reduce aging and exercises that we do to remain healthy. Pseudo spiritual mantras are being voiced and all because of the sense of the eternal in the heart of man placed there by God.

Man knows that he is different, but why?  The Gospel tells us that man is unique, made in the image of God. Man has a longing for eternal life because God has placed eternity in his heart. Man fears death. But the Gospel gives us hope. Jesus rose from the dead. To collaborate this truth He was seen after the resurrection by over five hundred brethren at one time.

So what does the Gospel teach me?
1. God made the world and He is in control.
2. Man is made in the image of God. Man is different from other creatures.
3. Man has sinned and fallen out of fellowship with God his Maker.
4. Jesus died for my sin so I might be forgiven and brought back into fellowship with God.
5. Jesus rose from the dead and so will I.

Another question that comes is: Why do I know that this is true? The answer lies in the Word of God. 1 Corinthians 15 states that “according to the Scriptures” we know this is true.

These are the core beliefs in creating a biblical worldview.  How important it is to be grounded in these truths!

Who is Man? Part 5

If paradise has been lost it can be regained. Man can be regenerated. The image that we had can be renewed. This is one of the great truths in the Word of God. Instead of the devil’s image of pride, malice and envy – the righteousness and goodness of God’s image can be recovered.

Colossians 3:10 “…and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”

This image repair can be accomplished only by God. In Hebrews 1:3 it says: “…who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” He is the only One that can restore His image in us. How did He do this? This is what the Cross of Jesus is all about. This is why reformation is so important. It brings us back to the cross and what it means. In Adam we die, but in Christ we are made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22)

Truly God does all things well. In the future there will not only be the blessings of the resurrection, eternal life, immortality and all being manifested with Christ, but also a restoration of the dominion that we lost through sin.

When Christ returns He will exercise all the power over His creation that was lost through sin. (Hebrews 2:6-8) “But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.” Psalms 8:4-8

It is through His grace that those who are ‘in Christ’ will share in His glorious reign. When God raises us up in Christ we possess a dominion that Adam would never have known had he remained innocent all his days.

We will be given a new name. It is interesting to see that what Nimrod and the people of his days wanted was to make a name for themselves, but God gives us a new name through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Genesis 11 we learn that they wanted to make a name for themselves, but in Genesis 12, where Abram is chosen, we read “I will make your name great.”

Later in his life we read that God gave to Abram the name Abraham. Genesis 17:1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.”

Most of the world, with the different religions, are like Nimrod leaving God out of the picture and trying to gain their own righteousness, but His righteousness is being offered to us by grace through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Needless to say that reformation brings us back to this truth: IT IS ALL GRACE AND NOTHING OF WORKS.