NEW MESSAGE --- "JESUS" (PART ONE)
WOULD JESUS BE WELCOME IN YOUR CHURCH TODAY? --- (PART ONE)June 17, 7:49 a.m.
We just got home from being down at the Ohio River. My wife, our daughters, and ten of our 11 grandchildren (Jimmy stayed home to snooze) were there by 6:00 a.m. this morning. We all had gathered to see the Sun rise. What, as adults, we take for granted... hopefully having seen the Sun rise many times... is still something new and a marvel to children.
It was fun seeing them all knotted together and listening to their shrill cries... "Look, it's coming!" "There it is!" (etc.) But, most of all it was fun just being together. Of course Virgil and Stella went along and they had fun watching the ducks along the banks of the river. Just in case though you are a very lazy adult and you have never seen the Sun rise... I'll let you in on a secret: it doesn't come up all at once.
I have decided that I am going to write a full-length message, which I am calling, "Would Jesus Be Welcome In Your Church Today?" However, because that would mean a lot of writing on my part and a lot of reading on your part... I am going to write it in different parts... 1,2,3, etc. as many as it takes. So, if you come into this late... you will have to look in the archives to begin with today's post.
PART ONE: Have you ever considered how humanistic the average person is in their thought processes? (I mean even those who have been in church for years and are most probably born-again.) The problem I am writing about extends well beyond the Christian who sits in the pew, and this type of thinking permeates deacon boards, trustees, and in many cases extends to the pastors themselves.
A working definition for a humanist would be to assert man's capacity for fulfillment through reason and scientific method... rejecting religion. Now, I am not stating that a born-again pastor or leader actually rejects religion, and by "religion" I am using that term loosely to define a believer. However, read carefully the words of the Lord Jesus in Luke 6:46 "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" You must realize that it is grossly insufficient to only honor God with your lips, if He is truly your Lord then honor Him with your service... even if it goes against your church tradition or popular culture or thought. Remember, all of those things change... God does not.
I am confident that no saved person would on purpose cultivate thought processes that more closely align themselves with the world, than to the Lord. I think it creeps in slowly simply because it is everywhere around us. And the most damning of all of the humanistic types of teaching are found to be those that are given by people who are most probably saved themselves: and teaching that sounds both right and good... until it is compared to the light of the Bible and what Christ taught.
For example: I would like to dispose of one sacred cow in part one of my message. In this way it might give the reader an indication of what I am trying to expose. Which of course will be thoughts and practices which are held by large numbers of people within Christianity, yet, both the thoughts and practices are in violation of clear Bible truth.
Also, if I happen to name someone who is teaching wrong... and I can prove it from the Bible with many examples and verses, (in context) then you, dear reader, are going to have to make a conscious decision: will you continue with practices and thoughts that are wrong and learned in the world... or will you show the fortitude and courage to obey God and the truth that is revealed within His Holy Bible?
Dave Ramsey teaches certain things in his money management courses that are in clear violation of Bible principle. He is the first sacred cow I want to dispense with. I chose him first because for many saved people he is an idol to them. Now, don't get me wrong. He seems like a decent and most probably born-again child of God. I only say most probably because I can only be certain of my own salvation. Yet, he continually teaches one thing in particular that has no basis for being taught in a positive way within the Bible. In fact, what he teaches as good, has dozens of verses that teach the exact opposite.
Of course, what he does correctly is to encourage all people to get out of debt... that is good. Clearly the Bible teaches that no person should ever go into debt for anything... period! Now, how many of you has ever heard him say... and if you have ever heard him you would have heard this... for it is a mantra for him... "Build a nest egg." He wants you to have a minimum three months and hopefully a six month emergency fund of cash on hand. And of course... a nest egg that is many times larger than that for your retirement. Before I expose that teaching as clearly not from God... I want to ask you a question. Doesn't it sound like a reasonable and good thing to do? Therein lies the problem. Humanism and humanistic thinking many times sounds good, at least until you understand why God teaches against it.
Here is what you might try. As I try to expose many sacred cows rife in Christianity today, I will do it with Bible verses and Bible principles that support what I am writing about. Will you do the same thing? Search the Holy Scripture and try to find support for what you practice? Now here comes the hard part for you as a believer. If, after diligent search you find what Mr. Ramsey or anyone that you like is teaching is, in fact, error, who are you going to follow... God... or man?
While it is true that there are many things daily that believers do that might fall into a sort of "gray area." That is a place where freewill comes in and hopefully the Holy Ghost of God will direct you to make the right decision. However, in most instances the Bible teaches black or white and right and wrong. And, building that "nest egg" is clearly on the wrong side of Bible teaching. I am going to try and lay this out for everyone in a step-by-step way that will make it easy to understand why God teaches against this practice.
Did you ever wonder what God meant by telling Moses, "...I AM hath sent me unto you." (If I were preaching this rather than writing it I would read the verses, however, in a blog that would take far too much time to write. Therefore, if you are truly interested in learning truth: you will have to take the time and look up and read certain verses and sections for yourself. Read Exodus 3:1-14.)
First, He said, "I AM THAT I AM." Then, He simply called Himself by two-words and He asked to be revealed to the children of Israel by the title, "I AM." Isn't that strange?
(PART TWO --- NEXT BLOG)
posted by Robin Johnson @ 7:46 AM
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