 Born Again
The Lord Jesus told the Pharisee Nicodemus that he must be born again (John 3:1-16). It is important that we understand Nicodemus is a moral man seeking to obey the laws of both Moses and tradition. Nicodemus is also a theologian and teacher. Jesus even points this out referring to Nicodemus as the “teacher of Israel”. But Jesus still tells him that he must be born again. Jesus' point is really that being born again is the only way to see or enter the Kingdom of God. Since this is the case not only for Nicodemus but also for us, the most important question is have you been born again? If your answer is yes, then how do you know that you have been born again? Many people relate this with some experience or feeling but we have all had experiences in our lives that later proved false and we have all had feelings that were not valid. So is there something more objective that we can use to validate our subjective experience and give us confidence in our spiritual life? New Hearts In Ezekiel 36:25-28, the Prophet proclaims the coming new covenant that God will make with His people. God promises that in this new covenant He will cleanse away all uncleanness and idolatry and give the covenant people new hearts. God is going to perform spiritual heart transplants on those who are brought into this new relationship with God. This is the same thing as the new birth that Jesus is telling Nicodemus about in John 3. So if Ezekiel tells us about the fruit of these new hearts then we should be able to conclude that we have been truly born again from the consequences of the new heart being evident in our lives. The Holy Spirit The text in Ezekiel tells us that with the coming of the new heart we also receive the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. In the New Covenant, we have the Holy Spirit living us as believers. The new living heart is a hospitable home for the Holy Spirit. We are no longer spiritually dead people but we are made alive by the Holy Spirit who lives in us. If you have the Holy Spirit living in you then you have been born again. Holiness The second thing that the scripture tells us about the effect of having a new heart is that the presence of the Spirit will cause us to walk in God’s statutes and keep His rules. This means that those who have been truly born again are also people who are growing in obedience and holiness. While born again people do not live in sinless perfection, we must sin less. Those who continue in willful rebellion against God’s commands and character are not born again. A New Relationship God’s promise in this new covenant is that those who are born again are now His people and He is our God! Just imagine how amazing this is! God is bringing us back into the right relationship with Him through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and the victory of Christ from the grave. In this we are now able to enjoy a fully restored relationship with our thrice holy God and even be called His people. Not only do we have a new relationship with Him but He has a new relationship with us as our gracious Lord! But how are we born again and receive this new heart? In short, this is a miraculous gift from God that He gives to us of His own will. But we receive it by faith. In the famous verse from Jesus' discussion with Nicodemus we are told that the hearts belong to whosoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ!
0 Comments
 Politics
So often, in the church, we say that we do not want to get involved in politics. However, it really is not possible to be truly severed from politics while holding any genuine convictions. What is really meant by “not getting politica”l is that we don’t want to get into partisan division. In truth, I don’t trust either party or very many politicians, regardless of their party affiliation. With that said, the real issue is do we as God’s new covenant people have anything to say to the political entity of our local, state, and national governments? The answer is yes! We should bring the truth and ethical stipulations taught to us in the word of God and call out to the government to enact laws that are in keeping with the moral equity of the word of God. I believe that we can call on the government to enact moral laws in keeping with the Scripture without the government establishing any preference or prejudice toward any religious entity. Governance I can hear ‘theonomists’ now saying that they were right with me up to the point when they would see it as a claim to moral or religious neutrality. But I am not granting neutrality. We as Christian citizens certainly are not neutral in arguing for moral and just laws and our Christian legislators and political executives are not to act in a neutral manner either. They should call for and vote for moral and just laws and state that they do so because Christ is King and Lord! But the state itself is not an entity with a soul and as such the state cannot become a disciple of Jesus, cannot be baptized, and cannot be taught to observe everything that Christ commanded; only individuals who are a part of the new covenant through regeneration can do that.(Matthew 28:18-20) This means that to see the kind of just and moral legislation that we all long for in our land we must be proclaiming the gospel and seeking the salvation of our families, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. Only if God is so pleased to grant that many more individuals would become born again disciples would we see the government coming under the general influence of a true Christian majority. Our goal is not for the state to become Christian, but for the people of our country to become Christians who are baptized and taught to obey everything commanded by Jesus and enjoy His promise even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20). The Gospel This means that the hope for our nation is not a quasi-christian political movement or moral majority coalition of co belligerents but rather our hope is the proclamation of the gospel by individual believers who are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15), the raising of godly families under the Lordship of Christ (Ephesians 5:22-33), the building and strengthening of local churches under the head of the church the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-20), all influencing the governing authorities who regardless of their affirmation or submission are under the sovereign reign of the Lord Jesus Christ!  Fellowship
In the last installment of this blog, we discussed the importance of the home and family for the passing on of the faith generationally. Of course we want to see the gospel go far beyond already believing families, but we certainly desire to see those brought to the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4) following Christ faithfully for generations to come. But our immediate families are not the only group where we should find close relationships in the Lord. It is amazing how two people who have never met can connect almost instantly when they discover that they are both true believers in Christ. I am sure sociologists could offer many theories relating our mutually held beliefs and common lifestyles to explain this phenomenon. However, I think it is the fact that both people are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and even if parts of their lifestyles and cultures may be different, the unity is found in their shared love for Christ, trust in His word, and experience of saving grace. In the Scripture, we are told that at the very beginning the church was focused and devoted to fellowship. I know we love to emphasize doctrine and we should! But in the book of Acts (2:42) it seems that doctrine, breaking of bread (Lord’s Supper), prayer and fellowship are equal in importance and devotion by the church. The reality is that no church can be strong and healthy without devotion to the truth of God revealed in the Scripture and taught authoritatively in the church, but neither can a church be a healthy, organic, spiritual body without genuine biblical fellowship. This is one of my favorite topics so I may end up repeating some things you have heard before, but we all need to hear it again I’m sure. Dr. Donald Whitney has a very helpful definition of Christian or Biblical fellowship in his book on Spiritual Disciplines. He says that biblical fellowship is more than Christians socializing because it involves talking about God and the things of God. The church is where like minded and life hearted believers enjoy true fellowship which is a blessing to the believers and glorifying to God. Meeting Together The church can be defined in terms of the universal or invisible church which consists of all believers of all time. But in terms of our experience and the usual way that the New Testament is speaking about church the emphasis is on the local church. Believers ought to think first about the brothers and sisters with whom they meet weekly when we think about the church. The church is these people whom I love and who love me. The church is these people who we pray with, and sing with, and study with, and share with, and eat with, week in and week out. When the Apostle Paul is dealing with the problems in the Corinthian church surrounding their observance of the Lord’s Supper (remember their sin concerning the Lord's Supper had even the punishment of death), in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Paul keeps pointing to when you “come together.” The sin of the Corinthians was not a blasphemous dismissal of the bread and wine but a breakdown of fellowship and sharing in the body of the church. We also see that in the letter to the Hebrews we are instructed to keep meeting together and even more as we see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25). Regardless of how we interpret the day that we see approaching, this text is certainly an encouragement for Christians to meet together more not less. And when we meet together I see no good reason from the Scripture why we would not devote ourselves to the Apostle’s doctrine, the Lord’s Supper, fervent prayer and deep biblical fellowship (Acts 2:42). The Temple of God Again, the issue in understanding the church involves a right view of the shift from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was marked by physical forms, functions, and facilities that pointed forward to greater spiritual realities contained in the promises given by Christ. This means that while God met with His people in specific places in the Old Testament such as the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem, now we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) and the spiritual house in which the Lord dwells on earth (1 Peter 2:4-10). Since this is the case, then we all need to regularly and weekly (at least every Lord’s day) gather with our local church for the unique fellowship of the saints and the unique presence of our Lord!  Family
The most basic structure of interpersonal relationships in the human experience is the family. Even friendships which can at times supersede familial relationships are necessarily second to the family. This is because the existence and care of the family members is rooted in the primary relationship which is the marriage between the husband and the wife. Of course, in a fallen world still dealing with the effects of sin and judgment, individual families may not reflect this ideal, but the exceptions in this case prove the rule. Marriage At the center of the family, as designed by God before sin marred His good creation, is the marriage of man and woman (Genesis 2:18-25). Since this is the case, this is also the point that is most critical in both individual and societal development. So goes the phrase “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” It is true that marriage and forming families is the most important foundation in cultural edification. This is why marriage has always been the point of attack from the world, the flesh, and the devil. The corruption of marriage and perversion of children is a direct attack against the image and glory of God in this world. This means that to see the promotion and proclamation of the kingdom of God it must first and fundamentally come to the family home before the chambers of the political capitals of the nations. Godly men loving their wives as Christ does the church and godly women respecting and submitting to their husbands as the church does to Christ (Ephesians 5:22-33) is far more formidable against the principalities and powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:11-12) than any decision from any congress, court, or caesar! Children Children are a blessing from the Lord for parents, churchess and communities (Psalm 127:3-5). Today, many societies and nations, especially among the developed world are in a demographic crisis because for far too long these nations, including our own, have not valued kids as the blessing that they are. The problem in our world is not a swelling population but rather an aging population. We need more children, not less. The secular world has considered children either a luxury for those who want them or a liability to be discarded on the altar of convenience. This claim is easily established by even a cursory look at abortion statistics are the ongoing debate over something that should not only be illegal but unthinkable. Our children are the most direct, important and receptive opportunities that we will ever have to advance and extend the kingdom of God in the world. Through the evangelization and discipleship of our children and children the Lord providentially brings under our care and influence we can not only advance the kingdom numerically and geographically but chronologically into the future. This has always been key to God’s intention to spread His kingdom through the catechesis and education (Deuteronomy 6:7-9) of believing children for the building of believing communities. So as individual people become truly transformed believers as we saw last week, they form godly families that are crucial to the advancement of God’s glory and kingdom in the world which cannot be thwarted by any political regime. Next week, we see how these families should commit to one another in healthy Biblical churches.  Autonomy
In our exercise to understand the right relationship between our faith in Christ and the sovereign reign of Christ over all things, I want to begin with the smallest realm of authority and work our way out. Jesus is Lord and He has all authority (Matthew 28:18). I am not conceding the idea of Christ as the ruler of all things at all. But rather, arguing that the application of Christ’s rule works its way out from the smallest to the largest jurisdiction. It must be noted that while this article deals with the smallest unit, it is the most crucial and foundational to the rule of Christ in every sense. In this post we are dealing with individual or self government. The term “autonomy” refers to self-government, or the right of self government. This is probably on a popular level what most of us think about when we think about liberty or freedom. However, our self rule still means that the self is being governed. This is not anarchy. Each one of us, even those under regimes that attempt to destroy human agency and freedom are still autonomous at least in that our thoughts and beliefs cannot be controlled regardless of what is done to our bodies. Your Bad Self But the issue at hand in a fallen world is that left to ourselves we are sinners. This means that the acting governor over our hearts is our own sin (Titus 3:3). In this text Paul calls this state of governance slavery. It is ironic that the more humans rebel in sin, thinking that we are exercising our liberty, in reality we are only becoming more enslaved to those very passions and pleasures. We must remember that our sinful self rule is illegitimate. All humans are fully under the reality of all authority being subject to Christ, this includes our self authority. So while still in sin it is not only the sinful actions that are sinful but our rebellious self governance that is sinful. This is why in the quintessential passage (Exodus 34:5-7) about God’s character we are told by the LORD Himself that He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. Transgression is rebellion. If God would not forgive rebellion then no one would be saved because our every sinful action and attitude is rebellion. This is the bad news that we are dead in trespasses and sins (Colossians 2:13). If God would only deal with us upon the condition of our own righteousness then we are justly to be utterly condemned and doomed. A New You But God does not just leave all of humanity to the judgment of our own self rule. In the sovereign purpose of God Jesus comes as the good Shepherd (John 10:11-14) and the righteous King (1 Timothy 6:13-16) to bring us under His good government. We must therefore be born again and regenerated so that we are set free from the tyranny of our sinful self governance to true citizenship under the reign of Christ (Philippians 3:20)! God explained to us through the Prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:33-34) that this new government would not by the external means of legislation and enforcement but by the eternal means of a changed heart. Upon this new heart is written the good and righteous law of God, and dwelling in this new heart is the very presence of the Holy Spirit of God! So, the most relevant question at this point should be how do we move from our bad self to a new you? The answer is that we must trust in this gracious sovereign King and humbly by His power repent of our rebellion, while confessing truly and honestly that He is Lord (Romans 10:8-13)! If you have not yet been born again then I implore you to look to Christ and plead for Him to rescue you right now!  The Covenantal Commission
Matthew 28:18-20 is the passage usually referred to as the Great Commission. In this text, Jesus tells the disciples about His authority over everything, both heavenly and earthly, as well as their role in heralding this reality to the world. The New Covenant is fundamentally different from what has come before and so news of the kingdom must go forth, announcing the victory and reign of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:15-16). However, Jesus not only tells them to proclaim the good news of salvation and His kingdom, but also to teach or instruct about obedience to Him. The question that must be considered is who are the Apostles told to instruct? This is such a straightforward passage that I think many of us read it almost too casually, assuming that we understand the full meaning. In the course of this article I want to lay out the distinction between the way many in the Christian nationalist and Theonomic camps would understand the text, with the way I understand the text. Disciples of All Nations This is the issue of contention. When you read the phrase “make disciples of all nations” how do you understand it? Before you read on, spend some time thinking about the phrase. What seems to be the most natural and plain way to understand Jesus' words. There seems to be two ways that it is understood. First, it seems that many read that the “nations,” as whole entities, are supposed to be made disciples. This would obviously mean that the individual nations (political entities) would need to be taught how to obey Christ. This would also mean that it is the nations that are to be baptized according to the trinitarian formula. If this is the correct understanding of the phrase then we should all be Theonomists, at least, and maybe even Christian nationalists. The other alternative is that Jesus is telling the Apostles to make disciples “of'' or “from” all the nations. This would mean that it is not the nations as political entities that are supposed to be taught obedience to Christ, but rather individual believers from that national group. This would also make sense of the command to baptize the disciples that are being made, not the national entity. I believe that this interpretation is strengthened by the fact that the word translated as “nations” has a much broader semantic and theological range than just geopolitical nation states. The term is “ethnos” and generally refers to the gentiles or the nations. But these can and often should be taken as referring to the people group not the political group. In this interpretation Jesus is calling for disciples to be made from every kind of person in the world. Regardless of distinction every type or kind of person must be represented among the disciples of Christ. I also think that we see this reflected in the glorious culmination of the kingdom of Christ revealed in heaven. We are told in Revelation 7:9 that there will be gathered before the throne of God and the Lamb a great multitude “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.” If this text is the sovereign fruit of the great commission then it would seem clear that the disciples being made and taught to obey Christ are individuals who hear the good news of salvation and through the convicting and converting work of the Holy Spirit are born again (Titus 3:5). In this case, while we should expect good fruit from more and more people being saved as the gospel goes forth and flourishes in a culture, a nation or all nations cannot be made disciples because that designation belongs to individual image bearers of God who belong to Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20) and are those zealous to do His will (Titus 2:14). And these are citizens of Christ’s Kingdom (Philippians 3:20-21) and members of His body, the church (1 Corinthians 12:27)! Now with this scriptural basis, in the weeks to come I want to argue for Christian Localism in the areas of personal holiness, family discipleship, local church commitment, and faithful community engagement.  The Christian State
The label “Christian Nationalism” is popular these days both among Christians and unbelievers. One of the challenges in commenting on this issue is that there are almost as many different definitions of this term as there are people. The term can mean anything from a God and country flavored Christian patriotism to a call for a Christian political state. The spectrum between these views allows for much misunderstanding, confusion, and miscommunication. For the purpose of this series of articles, I am going to be responding to “Christian Nationalism” as a perspective believing that the theonomic application of God’s law should be the rule for the state as well as the church. By using the term theonomic, I am meaning the equitable application of those principles contained in the Old Testament law to our modern practices. Many would call this general equity theonomy. While I agree with the general application of wisdom from God’s law to our practices today, we must not forget that we live as New Covenant believers from the standpoint of the fulfillment of all the law of God in the covenant keeper, our Lord Jesus Christ. It is my view that church history is clear that the mingling of church and state is fraught with danger not only for heretics but for true Christian brothers with dissenting opinions. However, the issue is what is consistent with Scripture. If the Bible teaches that we should be implementing the general equity of God’s law and the Lordship of Christ through the laws of the state then we should do that. However, I am going to argue in this series that this is not what the Scriptures teach about the role of the government or the church. Biblical Baptist From the outset I want to be clear that I am not writing from a neutral position. I am a biblical Baptist and therefore I am going to make my argument from this perspective. In the Scripture God has laid out for us certain necessary realms of governmental authority. We often think of government only in terms of the political sphere such as local municipalities, state governments and the federal government. But the church is also a realm of governmental authority under the headship of Christ (Colossian 1:18). Also, the family is a realm of governing authority under the headship of the husband/father. Even each individual must learn to govern his/her own actions. Of course, each person should submit to Christ in their self governance. My intention in this series is not to exhaustively critique the Christian Nationalist movement but to instead make a positive argument for what I am calling “Christian Localism”. I believe that this is the most consistent way to understand the Lordship of Christ over all realms of authority while maintaining the biblical distinctions and discontinuity between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Simple Thesis Jesus has all authority on earth and in heaven and He is plundering the enemy’s house (Luke 11:14-23) through the proclamation of the gospel and the regeneration of individuals, which cannot and will not be accomplished through the implementation of governmental mandates or edicts. My simple thesis is that the kingdom of God and Christ does not come as a top down imposition on the nations but rather a bottom up transformation of individual hearts through regeneration (Titus 3:4-7). The text at the root of contention is the Great Commission from Matthew 28:18-20 so we will deal with that text specifically in next week’s post.  Celebration
Many people are probably excited this time of year, looking forward to a summer full of freedom and fun. School is out and vacations are planned. Those folks who adore the summer heat and swimming or other water sports have been waiting for just this time of year. Maybe you enjoy the summer festivities. My own hometown has the annual homecoming festival this weekend, full of fun for the whole family. Most of all, it is an opportunity to see people that we haven’t seen, maybe, since last year. You may be looking forward to the firework fun of the fourth of July or summer cookouts in the backyard. For those of us who love life, this June marks the one year anniversary of the overturning of Roe V. Wade decision. This is certainly something worth celebrating. Of course, the holocaust of abortion has not been totally ended and we pray for that day. However, we are thankful that many babies are alive today that would have been aborted if the law had stayed the same for another year. We, as Christians, should remember that we do have something to be thankful for as we celebrate Life month, as I saw Dr. Owen Strachan labeled it on (twitter). Haughty But we must acknowledge that our sinsick, secular culture also has something that they desire to celebrate. They call it Pride month. The idea is to celebrate all forms of aberrant sexuality and gender confusion. Yet, it should be obvious to those with a biblical worldview that pride and arrogance are equal opportunity when it comes to celebrating sin. If you fancy yourself as moral and upright because you do not support the secular agenda including homosexuality and gender confusion while you continue in your own unrepentant sin, then you are also captured by your own pride and hubris. The Scripture is clear that pride is at the heart of our sin (1 John 2:16) and pride in our heart will result in our sure destruction (Proverbs 16:18). Christians cannot continue in sin and think themselves more holy just because their sin is of a different kind or classification. I do not dispute that there are classifications of sin, however, the most damaging aspect is the light of truth being sinned against (Matthew 11:20-24). For Christians it should be unthinkable that we would continue in sin any longer when we have received grace from God (Romans 6). The secular world will have to answer for their rebellion against all the clear communication given by God in nature. They are not only fools, but living in willful ignorance of the obvious nature of God’s world and truth (Romans 1:18-32). Humble So what should our Christian response to the overt pride and rebellion of our culture be? I would like to encourage our response to be contrite humility before the Lord. The Bible does not only condemn pride but it also praises humility (Proverbs 18:12). It is humility that marks the Christian becoming more like Christ (Philippians 2:3-5). As we grow in our sanctification we inevitably must grow less prideful and more humble. This is because we understand even more the failings of our own sinfulness and our great need for God’s amazing grace! The contrast that our world needs to see is not that we can match them toe to toe in shouting down the other side, but rather that we excel in humility before the Lord of Glory. I am not saying that we should be passive and quiet referring to sin or the proclamation of the gospel but only that we should do both from a posture of humble pleading and loving persuasion not judgmental and angry condescension (2 Corinthians 5:11-15). Brethren, this is the ministry of reconciliation that we have been given by our Lord and King and it begins with humility that gives us boldness to proclaim the glorious good news of the gospel. This good news is the only true cure for the evil culture cancer of our day.  Love & Hate
Years ago, I heard a speaker recount how he taught the players on a college football team for which he was the chaplain to answer the prompt “love God” with the reply to “hate sin” or vice versa. The point is that the two things are in complete contradiction. If one loves God then he must also hate sin. This is because God and sin are diametrically opposed. Sin is, by definition, anything that is not in line with God’s character, anything that is not done in faith (Romans 14:22-23), or anything that misses the mark of God’s holiness and righteousness (Romans 3:20-23). It is impossible to love God and love sin at the same time! Sinful Hatred However, while it would be accurate to say that love for God necessitates hatred for sin, it does not follow that hatred for some particular sin is always proof or evidence of love for God. Just this week I encountered some graffiti on a bridge in my hometown. It was the combination of a course expletive with a hateful slur against homosexuals. I, of course, believe that homosexuality, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the practice or relationship, is sinful. But, the person that wrote this horrible attack is not on the side of God. It seems obvious to me that this person is angry, but not over the offenses against the nature of God and His good intentions as the creator. Instead, this person is filled with personal animus against something that their own sinful flesh finds appalling. My point is simple: it is possible to hate sin in a sinful way. Sin demolishes trust and relationships. The Apostle Paul wrote to Titus (Titus 3:3) describing the kind of people we all are while still in sin. Here Paul says that we passed our days in malice and envy hated by others and hating one another. In sin, we are prone to find things to hate because hate is reigning in our stony hearts. There is no honor among thieves nor fellowship in the darkness. Partners in crime become enemies when their greed and evil desires entice them (James 1:14-15) to double cross one another. This reality means that we as believers cannot rely on the hope that the enemy of our enemy will be our friend. Just because another person or group agrees with us on an issue does not mean that their reason and motivation is coming from the right place. As Bob King shared with me earlier today, we must be seeking to, “Do the right thing, for the right reason, in the right way.” Hate Sin! It is not enough to hate the sins that offend our cultural sensibilities or our family traditions or our personal preferences. As believers, seeking to rightly bear the image of God we must hate and detest all iniquity, transgression, and sin (Isaiah 59:12-13). Starting with our own wickedness and sin. If a heterosexual man is engaging in sexual immorality with his girlfriend, but detests the evil of homosexuality, he doesn’t love the righteous and holy standard of God’s law. If a man is cheating on his taxes, but hates the thief that stole his lawnmower he is not a lover of goodness. Rather, if we are to judge righteously we must heed the instruction of the Lord and remove the beam from our own eye so that we can judge correctly (Matthew 7:1-5). As God’s people, we must remember that judgment begins at the household of God (1 Peter 4:17-19). Remember as Christians we do have holy hatred for sin in our own lives and in the world but that hatred is superseded by an even greater motivation in our love for our Father, our affection for our Savior, and our adoration for the Holy Spirit.  A Rose
What is the meaning of a name? William Shakespeare considered this age old question in his portrayal of the two star crossed lovers named Montague and Capulet. Probably, better known to most of us as Romeo and Juliet. The point of the question is, does a name really make a difference? It is something that every couple awaiting the delivery of a precious bundle of joy must consider. How will the name given to this child affect the treatment or experiences this precious image bearer of God will have? Of course, we cannot see the future or pick a name according to every possible contingency. However, as another great deceased poet (Johnny Cash) has taught us, life can be very difficult for a boy named Sue. The names are an issue because of the realities that they represent. The issue with Romeo and Juliet is the animosity between their respective families, not the syllables of their surnames. Names are labels that identify who we are and to whom we belong. The reason that our names are passed down in our families and from husband to wife is to identify relationships. Sometimes this notifies us of the relationships between other people or even the relationship to ourselves. Suitable Sue Brother Cash used the name “Sue” to point out that the culturally defined feminine name is not well suited to a boy in our society. While there are many things that could be commented on about the change in our culture from the 1960’s to today, the point that I want to focus on in this post is that the prevalence of inappropriate names is more common than we might think. I don’t mean that people have inappropriate “given” names or legal names. Neither am I referring to people with inappropriate or vulgar nicknames (although, this is probably more common). Rather, I want to discuss the suitability of social labels, specifically religious labels. Christian Just today I was speaking with a missionary and pastor living in Nepal who has visited and preached in dozens of countries and he expressed the reality that people really are the same everywhere that you go. Everywhere you go you find people who are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) for that is the only kind of people that exist. These image bearers are also sinners because all people regardless of society or status have sinned against the righteous standard of God’s own perfect character (Romans 3:21-23). These two realities means that everywhere you go you find that everyone is in need of the same glorious good news that they can be saved through the gospel of Jesus Christ! Jesus came to display perfectly the image of God that Adam and all his children have failed to show accurately (Genesis 3). In living this perfect life, He, in full humanity and deity, fulfilled all the righteous demands of the law of God (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Through this perfect, active obedience, He who had no sin was the rightful inheritor of life. Yet, He became sin so that through His death on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21) He could pay the sin debt of guilty sinners who had earned death (Romans 6:23). Then, in victorious resurrection, His victory was made manifest and those who through faith are His people were eternally saved! The problem is that this missionary and pastor shared with me the heartbreaking reality that nominal faith is not only a reality here among the professing church but also there. What I mean by nominal faith is simply the fact that so many people who wear the title of “christian” or who would self identify as “saved” or as “believing in Jesus” have no visible evidence of true faith. They are Christians in name only. I think that often we think that this is only a problem in the Bible belt, but in truth there are false believers everywhere. I also must report that there are false believers in the false religions. The heart of sinners is fickle and it is saddening to realize just how dead and deceived the lost world truly is. So let me urge you not to be Christian in name only, but rather turn from your sin and trust in your Savior and go after Him with your whole life and leave no confusion about your soul! |