Catholicism is not Christianity- No matter what Rick Warren says

Why am I not celebrating with Rick Warren over the entrance of a new pope?  The celebration of the ascension of Pope Frank to the role of the false vicar of a false christ seems like it would be counter-productive and hypocritical for a person who believes in the Bible and the doctrines of grace as taught in the Word of God. This has motivated me to take out a series I have written on the book of Galatians. I will add some of the Canons of the Catholic ‘church’ as an introduction. As we can see in the canons from the Council of Trent, the apostle Paul would be anathema.

CANON IX.-If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema.

Galatians 2:15-16 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

CANON X.-If any one saith, that men are just without the justice of Christ, whereby He merited for us to be justified; or that it is by that justice itself that they are formally just; let him be anathema.

Galatians 2:20-21 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

CANON XI.-If any one saith, that men are justified, either by the sole imputation of the justice of Christ, or by the sole remission of sins, to the exclusion of the grace and the charity which is poured forth in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, and is inherent in them; or even that the grace, whereby we are justified, is only the favour of God; let him be anathema.

Galatians 3:1-9 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? 7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

CANON XII.-If any one saith, that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ’s sake; or, that this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified; let him be anathema.

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Jesus Christ paid the ultimate penalty to set us free from sin and from death and from the yoke and slavery of the law. This penalty was paid with His precious life, as the ultimate demonstration of love, mercy and grace from God the Father above. He did it for His glory ultimately, to make us trophies of His grace, demonstrating to all the world that He is a God of Justice and a God of love. As a secondary benefit, we are delivered from our sins, redeemed out of slavery, and adopted as sons of God. All of this is for God’s glory first and our benefit that He would take those who deserve His wrath and treat us as though we do not because of His payment on our behalf for our sins. Jesus Christ paid this penalty so that we could be set free, and so that we could experience the freedom of having our sins forgiven and have the penalty paid.     Paul exhorts us to stand firm in this freedom, for It is the ultimate insult to this gift to resort back to the old slave-master, the one who treated us so cruelly and abused us so greatly to ask him to give us this gift of righteousness. He cannot and he would not, for the slave master of the law is cruel and demands our constant attention and obedience. He holds the fear of failure over our heads at all times, holding our feet and our lives to the fire if we fail to perform perfectly the requirements of the slave-master.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

Paul wants his readers to clearly understand that if you attempt to use the law or works of the law to gain salvation, Christ is no advantage to you. To start with, he is saying that if you accept circumcision as the means to enter into right relationship with God, then there is not place for Christ. He is not saying it is wrong to be circumcised, however, he is saying that to rely on circumcision to save you makes Christ of no effect. In his commentary about Galatians, Martin Luther notes:

“Paul does not condemn circumcision in itself. Circumcision is not injurious to the person who does not ascribe any particular importance to it. Neither are works injurious provided a person does not attach any saving value to them. The Apostle does not say that works are objectionable, but to build one’s hopes for righteousness on works is disastrous, for that makes Christ good for nothing.”

Paul is very vehement here, because he sees that the problem with trusting in circumcision makes one obligated to keep the whole law. When you fail in one part of the law, you are guilty of the whole law. In the same way, when you submit to the law in one part, you open the door to have to keep the whole law. If you are resting on one tradition or keeping one set of rules in order to be saved and you fail in that, you are in big trouble. Worse than that, for those who have heard the Gospel and know the Gospel to return to dead works and law-keeping for salvation severs you from the life you have in Christ. It makes him of no effect. John 15 says that Jesus is the vine, we are the branches.  If we are not getting our life from the vine, if we are cut off, we cannot get the life giving energy from the vine. We cannot bear fruit. We are worthless and ready to be gathered up and burned. The law does not give life, it can only bring us to an awareness of our need for Christ. If we go to the law for our life that we can only have in Christ, we have fallen away or fallen out of grace. We are now under the penalty (death) for not keeping the whole law, we are cursed (Deut 27:26) and we are like those who have no hope for we have rejected the way that was provided for us.

Thomas Boston, in his work The Marrow of Modern Divinity rightly encourages us here. It is often hard, in our Christian walk, to be able to distinguish between law and gospel.

“Let us consider and take this for a note, that when in Scripture there is any moral work commanded to be done, either for eschewing of punishment, or upon promise of any reward, temporal or eternal—or else when any promise is made with the condition of any work to be done, which is commanded in the law—there is to be understood the voice of the law.

“Contrariwise, where the promise of life and salvation is offered unto us freely, without any condition of any law, either natural, ceremonial, or moral, or any work done by us, all those places, whether we read them in the Old Testament, or in the New, are to be referred to the voice and doctrine of the gospel ; yea, and all those promises of Christ coming in the flesh, which we read in the Old Testament ; yea, and all those promises in the New Testament, which offer Christ upon condition of our believing on his name, are properly called the voice of the gospel…”

“Briefly, then, if we would know when the law speaks, and when the gospel speaks, either in reading the word, or in hearing it preached ; and if we would skilfully distinguish the voice of the one from the voice of the other, we must consider : “And now, knowing rightly how to distinguish between the law and the gospel, we must, in the fifth place, take heed that we break not the orders between these two in applying the law where the gospel is to be applied, either to ourselves or to others; for albeit the law and gospel, in order of doctrine, are many times to be joined together, yet in the case of justification, the law must be utterly separated from the Gospel. “

5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor un-circumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Those who have been born again place no hope in anything that they do to become righteous. They understand that their righteousness is a present reality. Justification is the active verb of being declared just or ‘not guilty’ This righteousness comes when you turn to Christ for salvation. You are declared righteous by faith in Christ’s righteousness and God’s promise, not based upon your good or bad deeds. Now, the reality is that in the physical we are not completely righteous. This is where Sanctification comes in. Though we are seen as righteous based on the righteousness of Christ, we become more and more like Jesus as we give ourselves over to the Holy Spirit day to day and moment by moment. The Spirit makes us more righteous as He changes us into the image of Christ and allows us to bear fruit in keeping with  repentance. Finally, one day we will become righteous either when Jesus returns for his saints:

1 Corinthians 15:49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Or when we die and go to be with the Lord

Hebrews 12:23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

The promise is that we will be like Jesus, we will finally be righteous like Him. There will be no more sin, no more sorrow, no more death. All of this is not accomplished by the works of the flesh. As Paul puts it, circumcision or non-circumcision makes no difference in this reality of righteousness. It is about being in Christ Jesus, the result of having faith in Him and trusting His righteousness alone to save you. As the Apostle John says:

1 John 4:17-19 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

When we love Him, we have no fear of judgment, no fear of Hell. We only have the hope of being made righteous in Him. Of course, between now and then there is life, and that life is not easy because we believe. But in Christ we have a wonderful hope, and an everlasting joy. We are seen as righteous, are becoming righteous, and will one day be righteous because He is faithful and His promise is true. Let us keep the promise by believing on Him alone, casting aside the idea of works for righteousness and trusting alone the promise of Christ. Anytime you begin to think you are not doing enough, or begin to fear for death and judgment, remember that is not the Gospel. And the Catholic church preaches a false Gospel- a Gospel that requires Jesus plus sacraments, attendance at mass, holy days of obligation, prayers, indulgences…It is no Gospel at all.

The only prayers we should say for the Pope is that he would repent and believe the Gospel, and that he would burn all the traditions and dogmas and go back to sola scriptura- and urge the 2 billion Catholics to do the same.

Lance Armstrong the Liar

I was watching the outrage as Lance Armstrong stated the obvious; that he was a cheater and a liar and a slanderer. All of his adoring fans and supporters are bailing on him out of frustration and anger about his lying. These are humans that are rightly angered and are demanding justice because this man’s lies negatively affected them.

Now imagine: God is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY! He HATES (yes HATES lying lips (Proverbs 12:22). Every single lie that is told is an eternal offense to God, and He promises that all liars will spend eternity in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). We are all in big trouble, because I do not know about you, but I have also lied. And God’s anger is HOLY His wrath is HOLY and his justice will never be perverted. All liars will be punished- he will not wink an eye at sin, because if He did he would be corrupt.

What are you going to do? God judges all liars- the anger at Lance Armstrong by humans is nothing compared to the fierce wrath of God towards those who have sinned against Him (Psalms 7:11-12).

If you die as a liar, without your lies atoned for, you will bear that fierce wrath of God for all eternity in Hell. That scares me that I have so offended a Holy God that knows everything about me.

If it scares you to, GOOD- because the FEAR of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. You see, God has done something that allows his fierce WRATH to be satisfied, without compromising His justice. He sent His one and only Son Jesus Christ- who never lied- in fact he is the way, the TRUTH and the life (John 14:6) Jesus Christ was tempted in every way such as we are, yet He was without sin. Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost- and He laid down His life as an atonement for sin so that your lies and my lies could be paid for, so that we would not have to face the punishment for sin that we so deserved.

Allow me to paraphrase 2 Corinthians 5: 21 which says: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

God treated Jesus as though He had lied (stolen, committed adultery, blasphemed God’s name, insert sin here) on the cross, pouring out on Him the righteous wrath that we all deserved, so that we (anyone who would trust in Christ alone) could be treated as though we were righteous, even though we have sinned and offended GOD.

It is the great exchange. Jesus paid the penalty for all the sins of all those who turn- repent- to Him and place their trust in Him alone for salvation from sin.

Even Lance Armstrong, who will surely feel earthly consequences for his past, can be completely forgiven by God if he will repent- if he will turn to Christ and trust in Christ alone for salvation. And you can to.

http://www.needGod.com

Mark Cahill, Calvinism, and Division

Over the years, I have been encouraged and motivated to evangelize more. One of the men on this earth who has encouraged me along the way was Mark Cahill a brother who, no doubt, makes many people look lukewarm when it comes to sharing his faith. When he was scheduled to speak in our town of Marshall, MN he was late to one of the meetings because he was sharing the Gospel with a person at the hotel he was staying at. I love his books, and have handed out many in the course of witnessing to those who claim Christ (One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven) and those who do not (One Heartbeat Away). I consider this man a brother I would be honored to labor with any time any where.

Another man who has challenged my walk with Christ in terms of sharing my faith is Tony Miano. This gentle giant has demonstrated to me how to share my faith with power and compassion from on the box- that is in the open air. I have had the honor of serving with Tony at the Ambassador’s Alliance, in NOHO and at Cerritos College. I got to link arms with him at the Super Bowl last year. This is a man who is also a voracious author, writing many articles that encourage thousands to go out and share their faith with others. I consider him a good brother, and I would have his back in any situation- and I believe he would have mine.

In the last two years these two men have become linked together for unfortunate reasons. Mark Cahill has come out as a vocal anti-Calvinist, going so far as to say that people who believe in the doctrines of grace are believing a different gospel all together. This disappointed me, because I believe the Doctrines of Grace, and consider those who call upon Jesus Christ alone by faith as brothers, even if they don’t understand the way that they got there the same way that I do. I labor with these folks out on the streets and worship with them in our church all of the time! I do this because I used to believe as Mark Cahill does, and over time in my study of scripture have come to a different conclusion. But I do not call these folks non-believers, I call them brothers and sisters. I may have a hearty debate with them, but at the end of it I will still love them and labor with them.

This has not been the case with Mark Cahill. He has gone out of his way in public and in private to call those who believe differently than he does non-Christians. He has also slandered good brothers like Tony Miano (as well as John MacArthur, John Piper, Ray Comfort, and others) because of their beliefs. Despite repeated efforts to reach out to Mark Cahill by these offended brothers, there has been no response from Mark. Since Mark has such a disdain for Calvinism, and has attacked those who believe in the doctrines of grace as non-believers, It makes me wonder aloud- why does he profit from the great preachers and theologians of the past that hold to these doctrines of grace by quoting heavily from them in his books?

“Several Christians, including this writer, have encouraged Mark Cahill to remove his books One Heartbeat Away and One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven from circulation until such time as he edits the books to remove all of the quotes from Calvinists and every positive comment he made about some of those same Calvinists. These admonitions have been communicated to Cahill multiple times over the last two years, and he has ignored them. Cahill continues to print and distribute these two books, in spite of the fact he believes Calvinists teach a different, anathematized gospel and believe in a Jesus who is not the Jesus of the Bible. Evidence of this is found in Cahill’s Calvinism and the Bible article.

“‘If you believe in the god [sic] and jesus [sic] of Calvinism, you are either in Galatians 1 territory, or you are heading straight toward it.’

“Mark Cahill continues to profit — if not financially, by way of notoriety and popularity — from the distribution of his first two books. This shows either a lack of integrity and/or a lack of care for those he seems to be so determined to save from Calvinism. CARM believes in order for Mark Cahill to be theologically consistent and have integrity in his first two published works he must remove any and all quotes by Calvinists and positive references to the same. We also believe Mark should issue a public apology for misleading Christians by positively quoting Calvinists who he believes worship a false god.”

The above is a quote from a CARM article written by Tony Miano to warn Christians of the continued divisive nature of Cahill’s ministry, as well as a call for Cahill to repent of his behavior towards other Christians. It is a good read, and you should check it out. While you do so, please pray for Mark that he would repent. He is a benefit to the Body of Christ with his love for Jesus and his compassion for the lost. Pray for Tony also; I know this situation has burdened him greatly as he sorrows over the loss of a brother in Christ.

How would Jesus Vote?

There is much debate out there about who one should vote for and why they should vote for them. I am not a man that lacks political conviction, but I would never tell someone whom they should vote for, nor would I call into question a person’s faith if they supported someone different than me. This is why I am writing this lesson; I believe that the teachings of the Bible should inform every decision we make in life. Let us break it down from politics. Does the Bible inform what you will be doing this weekend? Does it inform what you listen to on the radio, or watch on T.V., or what movies that you see? Does the Bible advise you on your dating, who your close friends are, and who you choose as a Pastor?

If you are a born-again Christian, the Bible should be your voter’s guide. You must vote according to conscience formed by the Holy Spirit through the application of the Word of God. Remember also, there are no perfect candidates. All candidates for office are like you and me; they are sinners in need of a Savior. What we are looking for as we vote ideally are those who reflect our values and beliefs (the best candidate would be a born again Christian!!) Can a candidate be a good one and not be born again? Let us look at some words from scripture:

President, Representatives, and local government:

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
but when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29:2.

The people that we choose to put in office are supposed to represent our views. As Christians, we rejoice when a righteous person is in office in the same way that we rejoice when we are around Christian friends or our church family. We love to see God glorified and we love to see His principles put into action. Know this: even for unbelievers, a morally righteous person in office benefits them as well. A person who is righteous will judge evenly and fairly, not according to race, or based upon the wealth of the individual but with justice, guided by the law.

1 Timothy 1:8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

When a wicked person is in power, there is only benefit to the wicked person and his friends. The law is re-written or loosely interpreted to justify the wicked person’s actions. There is no standard of righteousness, thus people are treated unfairly. Does the candidate uphold the rule of law?

1 Peter 2:13-17 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
We do have the unique opportunity in this country to vote, and we must use the Bible and our faith as a guide. However, no matter who is elected, we are subject to that institution, and we must honor the rulers that God has sovereignly placed over us. God has placed them there for a purpose, which includes punishing those who break the law and rewarding those who do what is right by providing a safe and lawful country in which to live.

Jesus said, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” John 7:24.

So often times, politicians are judged based upon their appearance and the popularity of the stances that they take. Many times we are selfish and we vote based upon ‘what can a candidate do for me?’ For example, I suspect that if a candidate said he would pay off all outstanding school loans on his first day of office, I suspect many young people on this campus would vote for him/her. So many times, Politicians change their opinion based upon which way the wind is blowing, and also to gain a larger constituency.  That is why Christians must be informed by the Bible and look past the veneer of the claims of the candidate and look at his or her history. We are called to judge with right judgment; and right judgment is informed by the scriptures. Even if one policy would seem to benefit us, we must consider the entire package.

We have an obligation to examine and judge the candidates.

1 Corinthians 2:14-16. 14 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. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

We are not talking about condemnation, or judging them unto Hell. In the reality, all people who do not have their sins paid for are under the condemnation of God (Ephesians 2:1-3, John 3:16-18, 36) We are speaking about making sound judgments based upon scripture. How do we get the mind of Christ? First we must be converted, we must be born-again. A non-believer cannot discern the things of the Spirit of God. When we have the mind of Christ, we can use the scripture to discern all things, in other words, it can help us make day to day decisions including whom and what to vote for. An example would be a candidate who would say something like ‘I think abortion is wrong except in the case of rape or incest’ The scripture tells us that murder is wrong (6th commandment) and never gives an exception. The Bible also teaches that God knows us before we are formed in the womb- and that God the creator is involved in the weaving together of our parts:

Psalm 139:13-16
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

God’s involvement with a baby is from start to finish, no matter how that baby was conceived. We know from modern science that there is a human in that womb that is developing, has a heartbeat, hands, fingers, toes, etc. But we already know from the Bible that it is God that puts together that child, and even has wonderful plans for that child!  Abortion is a moral evil, it is murder in the eyes of God, and when we vote for a candidate who supports any form of abortion, we are supporting abortion. This is why we need to have the mind of Christ, because my friends this takes wisdom and bravery to do something that is so opposite to what the whole world is telling you to do.

Unfortunately (in our country) no one man can re-write that law at this point. This is the confusing part- (and this is why prayer for wisdom is needed). For that issue to be overturned, there needs to be a majority of votes on the Supreme court. Since it is the law of the land, a challenge would need to be brought to the Supreme court, and the Supreme court would be able to overturn the law.  A person who is conservative could replace a retiring member of the Supreme court- that could swing the vote that could overturn Roe v. Wade. For some, this would be too pragmatic, and a violation of their conscience. For others, they will see it as a chess game, giving up a pawn in order to gain the King.

Remember that Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.

13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

I would say that this is pretty close to what politicians do, and this is why we must be very wise about who we, as Christians, support. That is why it is so important to spiritually vet our candidates for office. And by the way, pray! If you do not know, ask the Lord for guidance and wisdom. Sometimes we fail and are wise in our own eyes and vote for the one who seems best to us without ever seeking the Lord.

He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just; both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord. Proverbs 17:15.

We justify the wicked when we vote for someone who supports sin. When a candidate outright supports something we (as Christians) know is wrong, that one issue is enough to disqualify that person from our vote. Again, we must let our conscience, formed by the Word of God, and submitted to the Holy Spirit, be our guide. It is an issue of trusting in the sovereignty of God when we must, because of conscience, refuse to vote for either candidate that is before us.

Issues Voting

Issues are a lot more easy to vote for or against on their face. In other words, we can read an amendment, and the amendment is what it is and does what it says it will do (if the people elected govern by rule of law). Issues are usually cut and dry.  Still, in the case of issues, we must seek wisdom from God to know how to vote. The big issue that is on the ballot (or will be on the ballet) in many states is that of homosexual marriage. As a Christian, you must obey the law of God. In the eyes of God, homosexuality is an abomination (as is heterosexual sin), and evidence in a person’s life that he or she has rejected that which God has made evident to them in their conscience and by nature.

“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22).

For this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one, (Romans 1:26)

And by the way, Leviticus 18 is primarily about heterosexual sexual sin. It is not wise to point fingers at other sins when heterosexuals are also under the judgment of God for their wickedness-

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

The point is, God’s Word is very clear on what marriage is and what it is not. When God instituted marriage, He did so after creating a help that was meet- or compatible- or filling perfectly according to God’s plan- for man. This was woman. And God brought them together and established marriage.

Genesis 2: 21-24 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Jesus reiterated this definition in the Gospels:

6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

So as a Christian who believes and practices what the Bible teaches, the choice is pretty clear in terms of same-sex marriage. It is not marriage. Many people are calling it a civil right; I would argue in terms of financial, inheritance and even legal protections, a homosexual person has equal protections under law already. What it comes down to is a concerted effort by activists to attack and infiltrate religious and social institutions to get worldly approval for the sin that they are caught in. It is really not a human-rights or civil rights issue. it is a special or extra-rights issue, and, for many activists, it is an attempt to redefine not just marriage, but the entire fabric of religion and culture.

These issues cause a lot of human division, as they should. The Bible does divide people, and does make issues black and white. These issues should be weighed seriously by Christians. What we must remember is that these issues have impacts on real people. Being right in our stances is not enough. We are called to love and serve God primarily, but out of that we are also commanded to love people. In our stances for moral issues, we must still do so in a loving manner that communicates love and respect for others. Understand, in some of the more contentious issues, there will be huge divisions, and no matter how loving we are, we will be accused of hating people because we stand for truth. It is an unfortunate reality, which is why in our righteous stands we must be gracious and loving. The ultimate goal is not to win an argument, it is to win people to Christ. Christ, not politics or politicians, is the only hope this world has.

God’s View of Marriage

There are many people today, especially in my state, that are considering this question at this time. Regardless of what the voters decide on the subject in my state (Minnesota) or nationally, there is one thing that we must know: The God of the Bible not only instituted marriage, but He has spoken that the institution is to be between one man and one woman for life.

This has nothing to do with what God says about homosexuality (though the God of the Bible has proclaimed homosexual sexual behavior as well as heterosexual sexual behavior outside of the covenant of marriage as a sin- see 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:8-10, Romans 1: 18-32 and others). This has to do with the first institution that God has established and that Jesus Christ- the one true and only begotten Son of God confirmed while he walked the earth. Please read and consider the scriptures in terms of marriage:

Genesis 2: 20And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

There are a few things that we can commonly learn from this passage. The help that was meet for the man was not found in all creation. Not one of the animals could fulfill the role of a help that was meet, in other words, one that could complete the man and strengthen him where he was weak. To solve that problem, God decided to create a help that was meet. When God, the sovereign, omnipotent, and omniscient(all-knowing) King of all the universe created woman. God did not create another man to be a help that was meet, though He could have, if that would have fulfilled God’s intentions. The reason woman was created is that she was the perfect complement for man and the man was the perfect complement for woman in terms of the marriage covenant, which God established the same time that He created woman. He established this covenant that humans would rule over the earth and populate it, ultimately that the marriage relationship would demonstrate the relationship between Jesus (the Savior) and the church (those He has saved) (see Ephesians 5)

Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, also agreed, quoting the book of Genesis, and adding his interpretation in terms of divorce:

Matthew 19:4He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 19.5:”Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? So they are no longer two but one flesh. 19.6: What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Herein lies the conflict between those who are calling for marriage laws to be extended to same-sex couples. It is not marriage the way that God planned it, it is not the way that the Chosen people (the Jews) recognized it, nor is it the way that Jesus, the incarnate Son of God and the founder of the faith we call Christianity, indeed the Head of the Church says it is. Jesus proclaimed that God created man and woman, and that God established marriage as a life-long covenant between one man and one woman. Nothing changes this- not the failure of man and woman to keep the covenant, not the changing times and the opinions of man or the state, nothing. Marriage is an institution founded and established by God to be between man and woman.

There are many questions that arise out of these absolute statements. Allow me to place my two cents here.

1. What about equal rights? Shouldn’t people be free to marry whomever they want? Yes, people should have equal protection (see the 14th amendment) under the law of the land. That is why any man can propose marriage to any woman, and if she agrees, they can be married (depending on certain age restrictions and familial relationship) in any state of the union. Any woman can agree to marry any man who decides to propose to her. Thus men and women have equal protection under the law, it matters not their race, their background, their religion, or their sexual orientation. What the homosexual agenda attempts to hoist on the rest of the country is special rights. They desire to have the law of the land recognize their orientation as a special class of people that ought to be able to marry someone else of the same sex. They already have rights that are equal, but they want special rights. What is keeping the Jerry Sanduskys of the world from demanding a reestablishment of pedastry for those who have an affinity for young boys? After all, he was born that way.
2. Why can’t I marry the one that I love? See # 1 above. You can marry the one that you love, if that person is of the opposite sex and that person agrees to the marriage. I have loved lots of women; however only one agreed to be my wife. You have the right in this country to love whomever you want. Indeed, though it is immoral in the eyes of God, you can have sexual relations with that person you love outside of the covenant of marriage, but that sin (along with lying, stealing, coveteousness and other sexual immorality) will bar you from the kingdom of God (see 1 Cor 6:9-10) You just cannot marry that person.
3. Doesn’t the will of the people or legislation change the definition of marriage? It may in the eyes of the state, but like the laws concerning abortion (infanticide) it does not change God’s view or the Christian’s responsibility concerning being obedient to the word and the will of God. Abortion is murder in the eyes of God, and no murderer will inherit the Kingdom of God. Marriage, for the Christian, is always between one man and one woman for life. Any other definition is not the way that God intended or supports. You cannot vote for gay marriage or participate in a homosexual union and be a Christian in the Biblical sense, as you are rebelling against the Word of God.
4. Doesn’t the Bible change with the culture? Many people believe this, but it is simply not so. They look at the Bible and try to interpret it to justify their particular sin or their lifestyle choices. They might say that Paul ( for example) could not possibly know that homosexuals were born this way etc. etc. By saying that, you are saying that humans wrote the Bible, that it was not inspired by God and the human others were not carried along by the Holy Spirit, and that the Bible is just a book like all other books. In claiming this, a person who claims to be a Christian could have no assurance of salvation, could not be assured that Jesus is God, that He rose again- indeed that He even ever existed.
5. Doesn’t the fact that over 50% of marriages ending in divorce demonstrate what a broken institution it is? Absolutely, but that does not change God’s view on marriage. It is humans that fall short of His perfect standard. Just because two men or two women could be lifelong partners does not change the fact that God’s only definition of marriage and the only good marriage is between one man and one woman for life.

We have all fallen short of God’s standard; indeed there is no one that is righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10) We are all in big trouble on the day of judgement if we have only told one lie (Prov 12:22, Revelation 21:8) if we have stolen, committed adultery, even looked with lust. That is why we need a Savior, to save us from our sins. That is why Jesus came. He was perfect, never transgressing the law of God. When He was crucified, God treated Him exactly how we deserved to be treated. He crushed His Son for our iniquities (See Isaiah 53) so that we could could gain His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21, 2 Peter 2:24). What we must do is recognize that we are sinners, that our most righteous works- even religious ones- are filthy rags in the eyes of God, and turn from our way (repent) and trust (believe/faith) in Christ alone for our salvation. If we will do that, God will rescue us from sin and give us a new nature, one that actually desires to love, follow, and obey God.

Legislation will not save you, marrying the one you love will not save you, religion will not save you. Only Christ alone can save you. Turn from your way (which is the wrong way, it is the broad way that leads to destruction) and turn to Jesus. He is the only way that leads to life.

President Obama, Same Sex Marriage, and the Bible

Part one of a series

President Obama has made the announcement that he approves of same-sex marriage. This should come as no surprise; Obama is a not a Christian, and He is the leader of a secular nation that has a foundation of Judeo-Christian morality, but has drifted far afield of that morality many years ago. As Christians, however, we must stand on the Bible and what the Bible teaches on this subject as our standard. How must we respond to this announcement? How must we deal with our neighbors, friends, and family that are enslaved to a lifestyle that keeps them from God? How should the church respond? These are all questions that we must answer very quickly because it directly affects our day-to-day lives and ministry. Make no mistake: This very public announcement by the leader of the free world will embolden those who are enslaved to the lifestyle called homosexuality in the same way that many came out of the closet in the military when ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ was repealed.

God Speaks on Homosexuality

There are very clear passages in the scripture which deal with the sin of homosexuality. I do not know the percentage of the Bible which speaks on homosexuality or any other particular sins. However, God does deal harshly (yet justly) with homosexuals throughout the scripture. There is one thing that we must make clear that you will see borne out in the scripture: Homosexuality is one of the sins that cannot be named among God’s chosen people in any generation, including this one.

Read Article HERE

Monumental Disappointment

Last night I drove with friends to Mankato, MN (about a 2 1/2 hour drive) to see Monumental.

I drove that far on my night off because I love Kirk Cameron, I love his movies that have given thousands of people a clear Gospel message. I love his work on The Way of the Master, training thousands of people how to share their faith effectively and biblicaly. I have met him three times, twice at the Ambassadors Alliance and once at a Promise Banquet here in my town. He is genial to a fault, and seems like a very genuine believer in Jesus Christ because of the way he lives and the way he speaks to and treats people. He seems like the real deal, with no difference between the guy in front of the camera and the guy you meet in person. There is no question in my mind that he is a real Christian, that he loves Jesus Christ, his family, and other people.

I had high expectations for the movie, and maybe this is why I feel a strong sense of disappointment.

Maybe I had wrong expectations. Maybe I assumed since this movie was marketed in the way that it was that there would be a strong Gospel message to get back to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the teachings in the Bible, to the centrality and need of strong God-honoring marriages and family. You could draw that out, but as evidenced in my conversations with people following the movie, you could draw that out and apply that to the God of their own understanding.

I had planned to preach to the crowd in the theatre, but was unsure of the legality of doing that. So, I took Cameron’s request and videotaped people walking out of the movies and asked them what they thought-( I will post and comment on these later) The overwhelming response was that it was a great movie, well done, people had not known that history of the puritans, and individuals were determined to lay a better groundwork for the future and their families.

The videotaping turned into a great opportunity to witness to people. Some, who did not want to be on camera, asked what I thought. I shared my admiration for the quality of the movie (it was well done, pleasing to the eye, excellent history, etc.) but I was disappointed with it. When they asked me why, I had the opportunity to share the Gospel with them because of their response. A kind baptist and his bride asked why I was disappointed, and I shared with him the lack of Gospel message in the body of the movie, the lack of setting apart Jesus Christ as the God that Cameron was speaking about. One gentleman, a Catholic, heard us talking, and asked if I had expected it to be a Christian movie. He said that this movie was not about religion, it was about History, and that we did not need to worry about anything else. He was, like others, saved because he had been baptized. I explained to him that this is the very problem with the movie- that people can walk away thinking that the god of Glenn Beck and David Barton is the same God of Kirk Cameron, that they all are brothers, and they all share the same goals.

And this is the problem the critics warned us about before the movie. This seems like a revival of the religion of America, manifest destiny, that we are somehow a Christian nation and that God will bless us because we are his chosen ones.

That may have been true, and certainly we know that our forefathers who came to this land to find freedom-the Puritans- they believed in the God of the Bible.  They lived their lives under persecution and were desperate to be free to worship Jesus Christ, they were willing to die to see it happen- the land which they came to, the land which we now know as the United States of America, has fallen far from their ideal. We are no longer one nation under God.

• We murder babies at the rate of 3-4000 every day.
• We sanction and make holy the profane- like calling it marriage when two men or two women want their union blessed by the state and by god.
• We have removed God and the Ten Commandments from our state houses and our school houses.
• Separation of Church and State has become something the founders never approved of or envisioned.

And while we, as individual Christians can (and should) make changes so that we, our families, and our churches are worshiping and honoring the God of the Bible, our Lord Jesus Christ, this will not necessarily bring change to the nation.Getting back to the way the nation used to be (like Glen Beck promotes) will not change our nation. Unless Jesus Christ does the work in our hearts and changes  the individuals in our nation by giving them new hearts, America has no hope.

The command we have from God is that of the Puritan call. We must be born again (John 3:3, 7). This is not a national call, or a church call. This is an individual call. We will not stand before God as Americans. We will not stand before God as Baptists, Lutherans, or Catholics. We will stand before God individually, and will be judged for what we (individually) have done(Hebrews 9:27).

On that day, all will be given justice or will be given mercy.

We will be given justice for our thought life, our motives, and our actions or lack of actions (Hebrews 4:13). Since there is no one righteous (Romans 3:10-18) the judgment of a Holy God will be Hell for all eternity (Revelation 21:8). We will receive the righteous wrath of God that we have stored up (Romans 2:5) through all of our wicked deeds.

Those who have trusted Christ will receive mercy. This is because though Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, He had no sin (Hebrews 4:15). God treated this perfect lamb as though He had sinned, even though He had not, so that we could be made God’s righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). What is required is that we would repent and trust in Christ alone for salvation. If, by God’s grace you can receive this gift (John 1:12-13) you will receive new life in Christ.

There is no hope in History, or in a revival of the American way. The American way is corrupted beyond repair. But God can change your heart, He can and will save you if you will repent and trust in Christ alone.