The Puzzle Came into View

The history of mankind can be likened to a puzzle being pieced together by the Lord. After the sin of Adam and Eve, mankind witnessed the connection of the first few pieces of the puzzle. In this story, looking back, it can be understood that the fig leaves did not cover the first couple’s new sinful nature. Instead, the Lord shed the blood of some animals and clothed His wayward creatures with the hides of those animals. Those alive at the time could not conceive of what is now clearly understood—that God would one day send His “only begotten Son” (John 1:18) to die and shed His own blood to bare “the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2) “in his own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). That revelation, along with many others throughout history, is progressive.

Doing Satan's Work

Adam and Eve’s faith in Satan’s attack of God’s word placed them outside of the garden and outside of God’s will. The application of this truth is twofold and has far-reaching consequences. First, any man (no matter how scholarly) who questions, changes, or denies God’s word is doing Satan’s work. Second, any man who places confidence in these assaults places himself outside of the will of God.

Jesus and the Religious Establishment

God the Son took upon Himself the form of man and lived a life completely free of sin. Though He adorned a body of flesh, He remained God. One would think the Pharisees (religious leaders) most familiar with scripture would have humbly yielded to Christ’s authority. Yet, they repeatedly sought to trap the Lord in His words. After all, the identity of the Lord Jesus and His presence upon the earth exposed the Pharisees’ hypocrisy. This is why they desired to cast doubt upon the identity of Jesus’ Father to which Jesus replied that had they known the Father, they would have certainly known and recognized the Son also.

Jealousy Is Not Envy

Over thirty of the fifty-four references to jealousy in the Bible ascribe this virtue as belonging to God. Several other references are attributed to men of God (in a godly sense). In fact, it appears that there are only two references in the Bible that could be construed as an inappropriate jealousy. The confusion concerning jealousy occurs when people think of jealousy in the same fashion that they think of envy.

The Pride of False Humility

Though despicable in the eyes of God, humility can be feigned or faked. Colossians 2:18 touches on this principle. The saints were admonished against demonstrating a “voluntary humility” while being “vainly puffed up” by their fleshly minds. Humility and being “puffed up” are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Yet, these believers pretended to be humble, while they were, in reality, puffed up. Colossians 2:23 reveals a second clear proof that humility can be false. Here the Bible speaks of things having “a shew” of “humility.” In other words, people can “shew” humility while being overtaken with pride. False humility can sometimes convince and satisfy others, but rest assured that God clearly knows the difference.

Every Story Has Three Sides

Anybody who has ever counselled, parented, or managed people understands all too well that there is more than one side to any story. While the common saying is, "there are TWO sides to every story," the more accurate truth is that THREE sides exist for every story:

(1) one party's perspective;
(2) the other party's perspective;
(3) and the truth, or God's perspective.

Perhaps this truth is communicated nowhere more clearly than in 1 Kings 3:16-28. Two women appeared before newly crowned king Solomon, each claiming to have had her baby stolen by the other. No doubt, both ladies presented themselves as responsible and respectable women who had newly become loving mothers. At the same time, each lady presented the other lady as a horrible mother and the villain of all villains. Had Solomon made a ruling based solely upon the perspective of either of these ladies, it would have been uninformed, at best, and quite possibly devastatingly erroneous.

In a world where we are constantly bombarded by information and opinions, we must be cautious in the taking of sides. Solomon had sought and found God's wisdom and therefore was able to discern the third side of the story—the truth. Before weighing in with our opinions, we too ought to appeal to God's wisdom and understand that any one person's perspective is likely tainted by biases and inaccuracies whether purposeful or simply the shortfalls offered by a matter of perspective.

What Does that Word Mean?

The English language is unique in its whole, but in its parts it borrows words from various languages. The study of the history of words and how they came into the language is called Etymology. When studying Bible words, it can help to study the history of the word—both how it came into the English language and how it has been historically used within the English language. Keep in mind that the manner in which a word is used in the Bible more than likely will match its historical usage rather than its modern usage. This is a common problem associated with any living language compounded by the fact that man continues to warp the once rich English language.

The High Price of Indoctrinated Education

During the earthly ministry of Christ, the devils or spirits crippled bodies, caused men to be deaf or mute, or caused them cast themselves in fire, etc.. Today, devils and spirits do the Devil's bidding, but through altogether different means...seduction by doctrines.

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Truly, I stand amazed how people today could believe the things that they say they believe. How could intellectual beings be so ignorant? But, I am reminded that the Devil is doing his work today through doctrines (or teachings). He starts his education in cartoons and books that children are exposed to before ever entering school. He continues this indoctrination through the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

 

It is no surprise there is a growing movement pushing free college for all, after all, the first eighteen years of indoctrination is not enough and the seducing needs to continue for another four, six, or eight years of college. The hope is that by the time one's "education" is complete, you will have an indoctrinated twenty-two to twenty-six year old individual totally void of common sense. The result? What was historically the most God-fearing country on earth will be like every other Godless nation on earth.

They Were Wrong on the End-Times

To this day, the body of Christ is divided on the events surrounding and preceding the return of Christ. Much of this can be attributed to a lack of biblical understanding, especially as it pertains to rightly dividing the word of truth, but another problem exists.

Historically, churches witnessed great spiritual stirrings that led to thousands of souls being saved, the closing of wicked establishments, and the purification of communities. One can easily see why they would assume that they were building the kingdom and paving the way for the King to come sit on His throne. In order to match the scripture to what they saw, they would often spiritualize kingdom prophecies and apply them to the church. The wolf and the lamb of Isaiah 11:6 were not, in reality, a wolf and a lamb, but were representative of fierce men being altered by the power of the gospel of Christ to the point where they could fellowship with the meekest of men.

As the stirrings slowed and evil men began to “wax worse and worse” (2 Timothy 3:13), believers became more aware of the reality that scripture taught things would get worse before getting better. One by one, believers began to return to the doctrinal philosophy of the earliest Christians – that Christ’s coming would be the only means by which a kingdom could be established. There is no doubt that many good Christians merely allowed what they saw to influence their doctrine. As the tide turned, believers were reminded that scripture is the only trustworthy authority. The closer we get to the return of Christ the more obvious this will become.

The Inferiority of Satan's Ways

The scriptures set forth a unique distinction between God's ways and the Devil's ways. Of the Lord, the scripture saith, “Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known” (Psalm 77:19). On the contrary, the scripture says of Satan, “we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11). The Devil is not adding new weapons to his arsenal, but reloading and reusing the same old weapons; nor is the Devil scheming new battle plans, but reusing the ones that have been useful to him for thousands of years.

Two Men and 2,000 Years

The first 2,000 years of human history is covered in the first nine chapters of the book of Genesis and is primarily a history of two men: Adam and Noah. The remainder of the Old Testament scriptures only encompasses another 1,600 years. Another 400 years followed the Old Testament scriptures and served as a time of silence, meaning there was no open vision from the Lord.

The First Adam vs. the Last Adam

The first 1,000 years of human history was dominated by a man named Adam (lived 930 years) who failed to heed God's warning and lost his place in the garden of Eden. The final 1,000 years of human history prior to stepping into eternity will be dominated by the Lord Jesus Christ who is identified as the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45). During that time, He will rule and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords as He restores everything lost by the first Adam.

A Poor Choice for a Soldier

When I became the pastor of Antioch Baptist Church, I did so because I believed it was the Lord’s will for my life. Our pastor, David F. Reagan, had gone home to be with the Lord—in my mind, in the prime years of his ministry, and I had had every intention of serving alongside him for the foreseeable future. Obviously, God had different plans! I remember to this day lying awake one night fearful that I had taken up arms in a spiritual warfare so supreme that I was sure to be a poor choice by Pastor Reagan, Antioch Baptist Church, and ultimately the Lord.

Much of my initial suspicion has been proven to be true. The battle for the truth and for the souls of mankind is superior to all other battles. It is a battle to be fought with a fearful sense of the consequences of quitting and a holy awe of the One who chose us to be soldiers. I still consider myself a poor choice for a soldier, but I am honoured to put on the armour and take my station for the One who gave His life for mine.

The Free-Roaming Reptile

While in Florida for a Bible conference, my family was encouraged to visit a wildlife reserve. Ignorant as to the setup of the reserve, we were excited at the opportunity of seeing live alligators. We drove through the reserve thinking it might be similar to our own Cades Cove where we might see wildlife by the side of the road, but we were mistaken. Thinking that there was nothing to see, we proceeded to leave the reserve.

As we were leaving, I asked a lady about the alligators and she informed me we would need to park and walk a trail. She further warned that the gators were free-roaming and could be on or near the trail. How foolish was I to think the alligators would be enclosed for safety or walking alongside a motor trail? The whole thing truly reminded me of our dealings with the Devil. The world finds great curiosity in flirting with the dangers associated with our reptilian enemy. They do not fear the free-roaming foe. Needless to say, we drove on.

Putting the MINI Back in Ministry

It is no coincidence that the first four letters of ministry spell mini. In the words of John the Baptist, “He [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). That is what ministry is all about—making more of Jesus and less of myself. Unfortunately, many have used the ministry for self-promotion. While the apostles’ testimony was “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord” (2 Corinthians 4:5), the opposite seems to prevail today.

Everything we do stands the possibility of being tainted with selfish and impure motives. We struggle to preach of the holiness of God without somehow speaking of our own. We speak of God’s power but all to quickly turn the hearers to contemplate our own. To further complicate the problem, God’s people have grown an appetite for such preaching and teaching. Like in the days of Jeremiah, “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so” (Jeremiah 5:31).

Ten Signs Your Nation Is Distressed

Based upon a message preached in June 2005 from the Book of Jeremiah with Jeremiah 7:28-29 being the foundational passage

10. It defiles the house of God (Jeremiah 32:34).
9. Its men struggle to speak the truth (Jeremiah 20:7-9).
8. It hates the men of God (Jeremiah 18:18-20; Jeremiah 20:1-2).
7. It lays no heart to its heritage (Jeremiah 12:7-9, 15).
6. It rejects the word of the Lord (Jeremiah 8:8-9).
5. Its prophets prophesy their own vision (Jeremiah 23:16-17, 25, 28, 30, 31).
4. It seeks the host of heaven (Jeremiah 8:1-2).
3. It sacrifices its children (Jeremiah 7:30-32).
2. It will not hear in the day of prosperity (Jeremiah 22:21).
1. It walks after vanity (Jeremiah 2:5).

The Mystery of the New Testament

The New Testament church was a mystery in Old Testament times. Because of this, many of the doctrines so prevalent to the New Testament Christian were not alluded to in Old Testament scriptures, nor did they enter the minds and hearts of Old Testament saints. Silence within Old Testament scripture concerning any New Testament church age doctrine should be no cause of alarm today. God’s revelation of truth has been progressive throughout man’s history and many truths “kept secret since the world began,” are now “made manifest” (Romans 16:25-26). Paul frequently testified of doctrinal truths that followed this pattern (Romans 11:25; Romans 16:25; Ephesians 3:3-12; and Colossians 1:26-27).

Rapture: Reward or Reproof?

Some have questioned how the New Testament church could be rewarded with the rapture when the church, as a whole, is visibly in such disrepair. The greater possibility is that the church will be removed prior to the tribulation because of its inadequacy in reaching the Jewish people for Christ in Daniel's seventieth week. Perhaps we should view it, not as a reward, but as a testimony against the church’s overall usefulness.