Seeking the Old Paths

Trip to Boston

2009-02-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

In 2 days my wife and I will be flying to Boston, Massachusetts for her business conference. As a history buff and student of the Puritans I can hardly contain my excitement. To walk where the Pilgrim Fathers walked, to be in the land of Jonathon Edwards, and those sturdy old Puritans that planted the seeds of the American Revolution, what more can I say?

Of course, modern day Boston would make the Puritans roll over in their graves. Harvard, originally founded to train ministers to preach the gospel, has been a hotbed of humanism, communism, and moral relativism for longer than anyone can remember. The majority of those that claim the Christian religion take communion with the church of Rome, descendants of the Irish that settled in the area following the Potato Famine. This is a state that produced Ted Kennedy and Barney Frank-enough said! Per capita, Massachusetts probably has the most educated population of any of the 50 states. Book sense, therefore, does not equal common sense and when that knowledge is based on anything other than the knowledge of the Lord, the result is modern day Massachusetts.

Enough with lamenting over the current state of affairs as God is sovereign and is fulfilling His purposes. I look forward to seeing the Old North Church, walking the Freedom Trail, and hopefully discovering some fantastic old bookstore.

Blogging Again-Reformation Heritage Books

2009-02-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

After a 2 year hiatus I have decided to return to the blogosphere where I will be talking about my favorite subject-our Lord Jesus Christ!

One of the resources I have discovered, besides the Bible, in helping me in my daily walk with Him is Reformation Heritage Books. They are a great resource for reformed, biblically based books. Beware to the Christian that is used to encountering the fluff that passes for Christian books in most Christian bookstores today. I am finding more and more that to purchase theologically sound books I must go to the internet. What a sad commentary.

I am wrapping up a series on the great hymns of the faith by Douglas Bond that I purchased from Heritage Books. I would recommend them to anyone, especially those that struggle with the new music and new forms of worship in the church today. Bond weaves into his story the importance of the great hymns of the faith that connect us to Christians across the centuries. How sad that the church would trade this treasure for theologically inept little ditties that nobody will remember in 5 years.

Reformation Month

2006-10-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

It is October again and the stores are filled with Halloween candy, costumes, and decorations. Churches that truly understand the holiday shy away from celebrating it and are planning fall festivals. What a shame it is that these same churches are not celebrating Reforamtion Month. This used to be a common theme during the month of October in Protestant churches. In the politically correct climate in which we live the very word Protestant is seen as derogatory and divisive. Many of my fellow Baptists are so ignorant of what constitutes a true Protestant that they refuse to be labelled as one.

What were our spiritual forbears protesting against? Simply, the unscriptural teachings and practices of the Roman church with it's priestly hierarchy and that most blasphemous of offices we know as the Papacy. We all know the story of Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses to the door of the chapel in Wittenburg. This simple act of scholarly protest ignited a fire that spread throughout Europe and the British Isles. William Tyndale, the father of the English Bible, gave his very life's blood to make available the Word of Truth in the English tongue. Great men of God such as these passed the protestant torch from one generation to the next for over 400 years. Sadly, this torch has almost been extinguished today due to the lack of a backbone and spirit of protest against error among bible believing Christians. We are seeing one Protestant church after another join the unbiblical ecumenical movement, seeking to join hands with Rome. They have little or no regard for the sacrifices of those that died to give us the true gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

I pray that my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ will stand up and be counted and continue to protest against the church of Rome and any other church or organization that preaches another "gospel." Let us read and study the lives and works of men like Wycliffe, Luther, Tyndale, etc. and thereby fan the flame for the true Protestant witness in this age or error. Lobby the so-called Christian bookstores to include more books by Bunyan and Spurgeon in lieu of the cream-puff spiritual books that fill their shelves. Finally, I challenge all bible believing Protestants to read John Foxe's Book of Martyrs to truly understand the sacrifices and willingness of our spiritual forbears to bear reproach for Christ.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Hebrews 11:13

The Middle East

2006-07-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

One of the signs or our Lord's imminent return to this earth to set up His kingdom is armed conflict between nations. The naysayers will quickly point out that nations have been at war with each other since the beginning of time and right they are. But how anyone can take an honest look at history and state that the armed conflict of the past century is similar to previous centuries is not only ignorant but dishonest.

Among all of the wars and conflicts of the past century one event stands out in my mind that we are now having to deal with and that is the birth of the Israeli state in 1948. Most Christians here in America blindly support Israel because in their minds there is some sort of connection between the modern day Jews occupying Palestine and the Israelites of the Bible. Some even go as far to call the Jews God's chosen people. Personally, I believe most modern day Jews(racially) are descended from Esau rather than Jacob but that is for another post.

Before we fall behind the ranks of the Christian Zionists let us review a little history between the Jews and the Arab peoples, specifically the Palestinians. A little document known as the Balfour Declaration (1917) allowed Jews to settle in Palestine as neighbors of the then present Palestinian occupants. Following the Holocaust, the entire world was sympathetic to the plight of the Jewish people and the West caved in to Jewish demands of a national homeland. We Americans have short memories and we would do well to remember the Jewish terrorists that blew up the King David Hotel and hung British soldiers with piano wire. They were no different than the terrorists we are facing today with a single minded goal and the use of any means to achieve it.

America and Britain have stood behind Israel since 1948 more so than any other nations in the West. However, we are now reaping the whirlwind we helped create with our unilateral support of the little state known as Israeli. I hear often that they are the only democracy in the Middle East and we must stand behind them. Did you know that in this supposedly democratic country you can be fined and jailed for distributing bibles? Not quite as harsh as your fate would be if you attempted the same in an Islamic coutry, but hardly democratic.

This post is not meant to be anti-Jewish in any way or should it be inferred that I support the Arab nations. The extremists among them have declared themselves our enemies with their hatred and zeal to kill us in whatever cowardly manner they deem necessary. I fully support the war on terrorism to eradicate the Muslim extremist cancer from this planet. At the same time I support the right of sovereign nations to defend themselves against cowardly thugs with rockets and missle launchers. With all of that being said, we should not blindly support Israel because of their supposed democracy or because of some false belief that they are God's chosen people. I believe the final outcome of the conflict between the Arabs and Jews will be the spark that ignites the final world war and ushers in the return of our Lord and the setting up of His kingdom.

Vanity Fair-Pilgrim's Progress

2006-04-04T11:43:00.000-07:00

We just finished reading about the events that transpire at the Vanity Fair, ending in Faithful's death. In Hebrews 11:37-40, the conclusion of the heroes of the faith chapter, we are told that these that suffered for righteousness’ sake are those of whom the world was not worthy. In every time period since the Day of Pentecost men and women have suffered for their Lord and Saviour. We think of the Roman Christians who died violent deaths in the colliseums. During the Dark Ages some 50 million Christians sealed their testimonies, being hounded and persecuted by the church of Rome. God has always had his witnesses, those that stood for His truth and would not be swayed, no matter the consequences. For many years after the Protestant Reformation, many Protestant homes had two books, the Bible and Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. The second book they read and taught their children so as not to forget the price paid by their forebears in handing down the faith. Now it sits on clearance shelves in so-called Christian bookstores. This type of suffering is very foreign to us in 21st century America but we should commemorate it and never forget their sacrifice. Some today are offended or even ashamed of the name Protestant when they are the ones who should be ashamed. Will we forget their sacrifice? God Forbid!

In Acts 5:41 we see the disciples rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. Paul tells us in Romans 8:18 that whatever suffering we may encounter in this life is nothing compared to the future glory that will be revealed to us when our Lord returns to set up His kingdom. There is no more definite condemnation of today’s “prosperity gospel(which says that if you become a Christian then you will be wealthy, healthy, and without trouble)” than 2 Timothy 3:12 where we are told that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Thankfully, today’s persecution does not include being fed to lions or burning at the stake. Another thing to be thankful for is that the Roman church does not have the power to persecute here in the West. Persecution comes in many forms –slander, ridicule, exclusion. How many of us are willing to bear this reproach for the name of Christ? Are we living with one foot in the kingdom and one foot in the world? Do we speak out against error and apostasy or just go with the flow so as not to offend? These are dark days, morally and spiritually, and the church must fulfill it’s obligation to stand for the truth. 1 Peter 5:8-9 says that our adversary, the devil, is like a roaring lion, seeking to devour whoever he can. As soldiers of the Cross we must memorize Ephesians 6:10-17, which gives us the Christian’s weapons of warfare.

Psalm 46-God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Bible Translations

2006-02-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

This is a subject that I have pondered over often since discovering that there were other versions of the Bible besides the great King James. I have followed the tireless debates over this issue on countless forums and must say that most conversations usually degenerate into name calling and vindictiveness. However, there is an incredible amount of ignorance among Christians concerning bible translations which is not helped by the bible-of-the-month "Christian" bookstores and their advertising methods.

For my twelfth birthday I was given a brown leather King James Bible, which sadly collected a lot of dust as it sat on my bookshelf for the next 10 years. When I was growing up in church in the 1980's most people still read mainly from the King James and I seem to remember this being the version of choice in the Southern Baptist church of my childhood. When I turned 22 the Lord began to call me back to Him and I began devouring His Word like a sponge. Of course, the only bible I possessed was the King James given to me ten years earlier. I loved the language of the King James and had no problems whatsoever understanding it. Sure, there were some tough places in the Old Testament, but overall fairly easy to read.

It wasn't long before I heard about the debate over Bible translations and those known as "King James Only." I read many books/booklets from the KJVO point of view, and for a while became convinced of their arguments. You could not get me near a modern "perversion" for anything. A few years ago I read James White's "King James Only Controversey" and it really opened my eyes to the fallacy of many KJVO arguments. So, what did I do next? Naturally, I went out and purchased numerous modern versions of the Bible-NKJV, NASB, ESV, RSV, NIV. I found the New King James to be the most familiar and my favorite among the modern versions. The New American Standard, in my opinion, is the most honest of the Critical Text versions because it includes the disputed verses in brackets. I have really enjoyed the English Standard Version, but am puzzled as to why they would use the liberal RSV as their starting point. The RSV and NIV have pretty much remained on the shelf since they were purchased. The RSV due to it's untustworthy liberal scholarship and the NIV for it's simple butchery of scripture and the tendency of the translators to interpret instead of translating. All of this being said, I still prefer the King James/New King James bibles and unless I am reading from them I always feel as if something is missing.

One of the reasons for this is my belief in the Divine preservation of scripture. I believe it was nothing short of God's sovereign hand in history when the Jews were expelled from Ferdinand and Isabella's Spain in the same time period of the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Could it be just pure coincedence that the Hebrew Masoretic and Greek Received Texts just happened to show up in northwest Europe at the dawn of the Protestant Reformation? Would God have led Luther and Tyndale to inaccurate copies of the Hebrew and Greek texts? I think not! Revelation chapter 10 was being fulfilled as the "little book" was opened and men like Tyndale gave their very life's blood to translate the Bible in the common tongue. How sad it is that few Christians today even know who Tyndale is! Are we to believe that God led his servants, in fulfillment of Revelation chapter 10, to restore His Word to the church based on corrupted Hebrew and Greek texts? God forbid! Do you mean to tell me that the church did not possess an accurate copy of the Bible until those spritual dwarfs on the Revised Version committee produced their revision, or should I say overhaul of the King James?

I often hear the oldest is best argument and it just doesn't hold water. Would not the accurate manuscripts have been so used and worn in their circulation as to warrant continuos copying? So why then, do today's scholars rely so heavily on the shaky testimony of a few contradicting and incomplete manuscripts such as Sinaiticus and Vaticanus? And excuse me, but I don't for one second believe in James White's harmony theory, where the scribes would add words and phrases from memory to make the verses similar to other verses found in the New Testament. For one thing, the scribes devoted their lives to copying the manuscripts and I do not believe they would have added to that which they considered to be holy. If anything, certain scribes would have erred by leaving verses and phrases out, which we see in the less accurate copies of the New Testament. Why would God preserve His Word at Satan's seat in the Vatican library or in a trash pile in some God-forsaken monastery while His people labored over inaccurate copies of His Word? Those poor Reformers and Puritans just didn't know any better, I guess.

All of this being said, I would not describe myself as King James Only but rather King James Preferred. I do not believe this is an issue that should divide Christians. There are a few modern translations, such as the English Standard Version and the New American Standard, that are very good translations of less accurate copies of the New Testament. However, many versions such as the NIV, NRSV, REB, NLT should be avoided. For those that have problems with the Elizabethan language of the King James I would recommend the New King James any day. Do not believe the lies being told by the KJVO about the NKJV, it is an excellent version in my own humble opinion.

Duke 87 North Carolina 83

2006-02-07T20:39:00.000-08:00

My beloved Tarheels lost a heartbreaker tonight to the cross-town rival Blue Devils. Too many turnovers and missed opportunities and too much J.J. Reddick. I must say that I live and die with UNC basketball and this will take a little while to get over. March Madness is right around the corner and tonight was good preparation for it.

Tomorrow my wife and I leave for Chicago for her business trip. I hope to visit the Moody Bible Institue while I'm there. It is snowing in Chicago now and is supposed to snow every day we are there. Just wish I had bought some longjohns, but here in sunny South Carolina they are not needed.

When the Church Becomes Like the World

2006-02-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

Over the past several months I have visited a small Baptist church here in Columbia and the contrast between it and the program-driven churches in our area is amazing. First, there is no band or expensive sound system in this little church. Secondly, there is an air of reverence that seems to missing from many churches today. Also, people do not appear to be dressed like they are going to the beach or the mall in this little church. In this little congregation of 20 or so they sing the old hymns of the faith and the central focus of the worship service is the preaching of the Word. The preaching in this little church is not centered on "felt needs" nor is it designed to make the worshippers feel good about themselves. The pastor is young and most in the congregation are 40+ in age.

By the world's standards this church is a failure, and since most of our churches view matters through the lens of the world, they would view this church as a failure as well. They would be the first to offer pragmatic advice to ensure that this church does not die. "Bring in a band to attract the young people in the area. Emphasize fun and a casual approach to worship without making it sound like entertainment. Get rid of the hymnals and appease the traditionals with a few hymns played in an upbeat tempo by the band. Make the youth group exciting by taking them to concerts and not focusing on spiritual growth."

This advice should be appalling to bible-believing Christians, but sadly many Christians no longer trust God to grow His church His way. This little congregation of 20, like small churches that dot our landscape, are being faithful to the One that called them into fellowship. Let us all pray that they will continue to trust in Him and His ways and not succumb to the daily pressure coming from "worldly" Christians.

Prophetic interpretation

2006-01-30T09:39:00.000-08:00

Most Christians I have talked to seem to avoid the books of Daniel and Revelation for various reasons. The reason I hear most is that they cannot understand what they are reading. However, in Revelation 19:10 we are told that "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." For many Christians, the Left Behind books and teachings of dispensational futurism provide the foundation of their prophetic beliefs. Our churches and seminaries are responsible for the ignorance of bible prophecy that is so evident among Christians today.

Basically, there are three main schools of prophetic thought. Most Protestants are not aware that two of the three schools, Preterism and Futurism, came directly from the minds and pens of Jesuit priests. Preterism teaches that the book of Revelation was fulfilled at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. They have a problem here because most bible scholars agree that John wrote the Revelation around 95-96 A.D. Sadly, many of our Presbyterian brothers have resurrected this false prophetic system in our day. Futurism has dominated the scene for the past century, especially in the last 50 years. Futurists tell us that at some point in the future the church will be raptured out, Satan will enter a man known as the antichrist, who will make a covenant with the Jews and their rebuilt temple, and the Great Tribulation will last for 7 years before the Lord returns with His raptured saints.

Let's take the teachings of futurism one at a time. First of all, you will not find the term "rapture" anywhere in your bibles. Paul does tell us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 that when the Lord returns the dead in Christ and those that are alive will be caught up into the air to meet Him. Nowhere are we told that He will secretly rapture His church. Look again at Paul's description of the Lord's return..."the Lord will descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God." No secret rapture here! Our Lord compares His return as the lightning that shines from the east to the west(Matthew 24:27). No secret rapture there either! Futurists point to our Lord's return as a thief in the night mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 5:2. If they will just read the verse in the context of the passage they will realize that Paul is referring to the timing of our Lord's return, not the manner.

Let us now deal with this idea that at the end of this earth age that a man known as the antichrist will rule the world and deceive millions. The futurist foundation for this belief is found in Daniel chapter 9 and the 70 weeks prophecy. Futurists make their first mistake in trying to identify the Prince in Daniel 9:26-27 as the antichrist who will make a covenant with the Jews. Sorry Mr. Futurist, but the Prince referred to here is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one that confirmed the New Covenant with Israel in His blood, and His sacrifice brought an end to all sacrifices. Instead of seeing Daniel's 70 weeks for the amazing fulfillment of prophecy that it was, futurists make a fatal mistake by detaching the 70th week from the other 69 without any scriptural justification whatsoever. With one voice the Protestant Reformers from Wycliffe to Charles Spurgeon identified antichrist as a system, not a single individual and that system is known as the Papacy. I will deal with the biblical details of the antichrist system in a later post.

The next fairy tale being told by futurists is that the Jews will rebuild the temple. Now, how they will do that, which requires moving/demolishing the dome of the rock, without starting world war 3, I have no idea. Biblically literate Christians know that the many references to the temple in the New Testament do not refer to brick and stone but to the "naos" of God, the universal body of our Lord. Sadly and pathetically many Christians here in the U.S. are being persuaded to send money to Israeli so more Jews can go back to their homeland. Sometimes I think that many Christians are more Jewish than Christian. The Bible tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people and to this day the Jews still reject our Lord. Newflash to all Christian Zionists-the glory of the Lord left this little strip of land we know as Palestine centuries ago, just as His glory has left many of our churches.

I urge true bible believing Christians everywhere to seek out the writings of the Reformers on this very subject. You will be greatly blessed when you see that bible prophecy and world history go hand in hand. Our Lord said "ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." Unshackle your minds from the lies of futurism and take heed to the historical protestant position on prophecy as you would unto a light that shineth in a dark place.

To Be Continued.

John Wesley

2006-01-22T04:51:00.000-08:00

I am about halfway through Iain Murray's "Wesley and the Men Who Followed." There is no doubt that God used Wesley and his brother Charles to bring revival to the British Isles. During the same time period He was using George Whitefield to bring the Great Awakening upon the 13 colonies. It is interesting to contrast what was happening in Roman Catholic Europe during this time of revival in Protestant countries-wars and upheavels and bloodshed at every turn. The countries that had rejected the open bible and the gospel(Spain, France)were being defeated on sea and land by Protestant Great Britain. The secret source of the greatness of England was to be the Bible, and they(English) would become known as a people of the Book.

John Wesley was a man of one book and one book only, the Bible. He would have no use for our so-called Christian bookstores of today that sell mostly self-help trash and play rock music while you browse. I wonder what Charles Wesley would think of the music played in churches today that calls itself Christian. What would John think about the social gospel being promoted by the Methodist Church or their acceptance of homosexuality? Would he be proud of all the female pastors whose very existence as pastors is in direct violation of 1 Timothy chapter 3?

The end of the age

2006-01-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

Our most recent Sunday School lesson covered our Lord's discourse with His disciples concerning the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and of the end of the age as found in Mark 13:1-27. So many futurists have hijacked this passage to fit their version of prophecy and little do they know that the very beliefs they cling to were given to us by Mother Rome herself. Wouldn't the Reformers shudder to think of what the prophetic vision of the so-called Protestant churches has become. We must be like the wise virgins of Matthew 25 and get oil for our lamps to understand these things.

I have always thought it odd that the disciples would point out the greatness of the temple to Jesus, as they do in verse 1. It makes me wonder if He chuckled to himself as these things were being pointed out to him. In verse 2 the Lord predicts the destruction of the temple that would take place in 70 A.D. when Jerusalem was sacked by the armies of Cestus Gallus. In verse 4 the disciples ask two questions. The first one is "When shall these things be? and secondly, what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?" The second question takes us beyond 70 A.D. because we have not come to the point in history where all of these things are fulfilled.

In verses 5-25 we are given the following signs that apply not only to the destruction of Jerusalem but also to the whole span of Christian history:

1. Deception within the church
2. People claiming to be Christ and also false brethren that come in His name
3. Wars and rumors of wars
4. Earthquakes in various places
5. Famines and troubles
6. Persecution and martyrdom of Christians(mainly applying here to the disciples)
7. The abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet(already fulfilled)
8. Verses 15-20 are direct warnings to the Christians in Jerusalem of the Roman invasion.
9. False signs and wonders
10.Deception in the church will increase
11.In verses 24 and 25 we see the reference to the sun, moon and stars-this in not a literal reference but refers to the fall of political powers(See Genesis 37 and Revelation 12)
13.In verses 26 and 27 our Lord returns visibly(no rapture here) and gathers His elect(for all Arminians, you are elect too, you just refuse to believe Scripture) from the four corners of the earth.

The problem most Christians have with this passage is when they try to make all of the events listed apply to one specific time period at the end of the age, which has no scriptural warrant. It is a shame that so many in the church are so focused on that little stip of land over in the Middle East we know as Israeli(which has no connection to the Israelites of old, except in name only) that they cannot see the wonderful fufillment of bible prophecy(especially the books of Daniel and Revelation)that has unfolded in the past 2,000 years of Christian history. I urge all Christians to read about the prophetic beliefs of the Reformers and please, please throw away your copies of Left Behind books.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts...(2 Peter 1:19)

Reconsideration

2006-01-15T11:21:00.000-08:00

Ever since my wife and I began attending our current church home I have been on a non-stop critical crusade. From the casual attire of the leadership and laity, to the music played in our worship services, I have been the first in line to criticize. Have I changed my mind about entering into our Father's presence with reverence, fear and respect-God forbid! Have I embraced contemporary christian music and rejected the great hymns of the faith-God forbid, again! Have I come to agree with the more liberal minded members of our congregation regarding doctrine-my conscience would not allow me. Recently, I even considered attending Presbyterian churches, but I do not see that as a solution, especially considerning my conviction on believer's baptism.

For all of the negative things I have said(not all deserving) about my current church home, the major positive I cling to is this-the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is lifted up every Lord's Day. The past two Sundays our preacher has preached on the theme of holiness in the life of believers-not something you would expect to hear in a contemporary church. This is a topic that is ignored in too many churches these days, including traditional churches. We are beginning a series of sermons on the Book of Daniel that will encourage us to take up our crosses daily and follow our Lord, despite the pagan culture that surrounds us. In 1 Peter 1:16 we are commanded to be holy, because He is holy.

Today we sung praises to our Lord, accompanied by a keyboard and an acoustic guitar. Here's the thing, not one of the songs was a hymn, and what is even more is the fact that I was o.k. with it. The music was beautiful and the words/lyrics were theologically accurate. I still yearn, however, to hold a hymnal in my hands and sing more of the great hymns. Lately, however, we have been singing more and more hymns and the contemporary selection has been better than ever before. I guess those that say we can only sings hymns are similar to those that say we can only sing psalms. Too often modern Christian music sounds like the music produced by the world and is lacking in theological content. However, there are many good contemporary songs that are suitable, I believe, for a worship service. The danger with music, as I see it, is when music becomes entertainment or just is not appropriate for a worship service. There are many out there that believe any music can be used in a worship service and I cannot agree with them-the line must be drawn somewhere.

As for the preaching each Sunday, it is excellent in my opinion. Personally, I walk away convicted each week, ready to do battle with the culture around us until the following Lord's Day. Our pastor is not afraid to step on toes that need to be stepped on, including his own. Our mighty God is presented as not only a God of love, but also as a God of justice and holiness and wrath. Jesus is not presented to us as a buddy or a pal, but as our Redeemer, Saviour, and Lord. We are not taught that when you become a Christian life will be grand, but that we will encounter daily struggles and obstacles on our path heavenward.

I mention these things because our church does not fit the sterotypical label of a contemporary church. Maybe, just maybe, God is not as narrow-minded as many of us tend to be. For those who love tradition as I do, e.g. hymnals and the King James Bible, we must always guard ourselves against being overly critical on non-essentials. Some of my previous posts regarding worship have possibly painted too broad of a stroke and may have put labels where they were not deserved. However, one thing many modern Christians lack is a backbone, so afraid of offending. I see discussion on these matters as essential, and as long as we are speaking the truth in love I do not see the harm.

Another note on worship

2006-01-12T10:58:00.000-08:00

I read this on one of my many travels through blogdom and think that all Christians should consider what is said here, no matter what your persuasion is concerning worship. Enjoy.

The Heart of Worship

Late last year, I found myself in London on business for a couple of days. I arrived on Sunday afternoon and decided to attend the evening worship service at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, the church that the great baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon, pastored in the late 19th century.

About halfway through the singing portion of the service, I noticed a man whom I assumed to be a fellow American Evangelical (he was dressed in bluejeans and a polo shirt) slip out the back of the auditorium. He did not return. Now I realize there could be a hundred reasons why he left. But I began to believe that he left because he shared the impression that I was feeling about the service.

I didn't like it.

The music was slow. There were no guitars, no drums, not even a piano. The accompanyment consisted of an old organ (it wasn't even a pipe organ!). It was boring.

I thought a lot about my feelings as I rode the underground back to my hotel in Westferry Circus, and I realized that the problem was one of two things: either the Metropolitan Tabernacle was deficient in orchestrating their service, or I was deficient in my worship of the Almighty God.

The people around me (and my fellow Amercian spectator) were not not overtaken by emotions, there were no spontaneous raisings of hands (in fact very little about the service could be described as spontaneous). But those people were engaged in worship, filled with the Holy Spirit, and I was looking at my watch.

That experience made me reconsider my attitude about worship music, because it is not just about enjoying the singers and musicians up front or the emotions that well-performed stirs up within me (I might experience the same emotions listening to secular music). It's about changing my focus to center on God and His Glory and praising Him.

I'm glad my church has a more contemporary sound in its worship music, but I now realize there is a hidden danger there. I must continually remind myself to focus on worship and not just the music. We have a God who demands and deserves our worship with our whole being.

soli Deo gloria

Spiritual Discernment

2006-01-10T04:34:00.000-08:00

We know from the Scriptures that the Lord gives us discernment in all areas of life. What continues to baffle me is the lack of spiritual discernment among Christians. This lack of discernment has resulted in weak theology and weak doctrine. Churches that once stood rock solid on the scriptures now operate as social clubs and business organizations. Just look at the Methodist church-wouldn't John Wesley be horrified by the liberal theology that has as it's slogan "Open hearts, open minds, open doors." The fact that denominatonal bodies are arguing about the abominable practice of homosexuality is evidence enough of their slide into the "slough of despond." If you visit the main Methodist websites in the U.S. and the U.K. you will learn more about their social causes than the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some have even taken our Lord's command to love our neighbors as ourselves to the extreme. I was visiting a Baptist website the other day and one of their major focuses was to eradicate poverty worldwide. While this is a noble aspiration, where do we find that as the mission of the church in the Bible? Christians today are very fond of talking about the love of God without referring to His justice and holiness, which is evidenced by the casual approach to worship so many take.

My own denomination, Southern Baptist, is not exempt from criticism. Baptists have always been know as a "people of the book." Most Southern Baptist churches today
are a "people of the world", focusing themselves not on Jesus Christ and Him crucified, but on programs and innovation. It is disgusting to me the way some of our churches fall all over themselves to welcome visitors and make them comfortable. I agree that we should be warm and inviting to all visitors, but this gushing over visitors reeks of pop-psychology. A lot of Baptist churches have embraced the theologically inept Willow Creek and Purpose Driven models. I do not find any of these models in the book of Acts when souls were being added to the church. All of these pragmatic approaches to church growth speak loudly to the world that the church no longer trusts God to bless and add to His church as He sees fit. Many churches no longer live at the foot of the cross, but at the feet of Warren, Osteen, Willow Creek, etc.

Recently I attended a business meeting at my church and the subject of elders and deacons was being discussed. The pastor was listing the qualifications, and it was as if he threw a cherry bomb into the center of the sanctuary when he said that the leadership of the church should be of the male species. Most of the women present were quite upset with this statement. Over the next hour or so we heard things like, " I feel like a second class citizen; what kind of role model are we providing for the young ladies of the church, blah, blah, blah. I was told recently that one of these women had done a lot of research on the matter and the other ladies were quite impressed by her knowledge. New flash-it doesn't take a scholar to know the Lord's thougths on the matter, which are clearly laid out for us in 1 Timothy 3. God made us male and female and gave us different roles to play not only in the family unit, but also in the operation of His body of believers. Those churches and denominations that employ female pastors and elders/deacons have tossed aside the Scriptures in favor of popular culture.

Why is the church being tossed about with every wind of cultural and liberal doctrine? The answer is simple-most Christians no longer study His Word and seek to live by it. They are anemic Christians and don't even know it. They can talk all day long about God's love and loving their neighbors, but please do not attempt to discuss theology with them. They would rather read some fascinating book from the local Christian bookstore than the book that God Himself wrote for us. How many Christians know what men like Wyclffe, Tyndale, and the translators of the Geneva Bible went through to give us the Bible in our native tongue? Do they even care? Actions speak much louder than words and by their actions they are dishononoring the testimonies of those great Reformers. All that live in the Word daily must be as the watchmen in Israel of old and call the church back to it's anchor. I close with Psalm 119:105: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

Clapping in worship

2006-01-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

It has become trendy in a lot of churches to clap following the music. I have always felt uncomfortable about this because we are removing the focus from God and to ourselves. Below is a very good article concerning the matter.

HOLD YOUR APPLAUSE:
Sound theology is sometimes as simple as good manners.

When I first met her she was a spirited feisty young teenager. I supposed she was born that way. When she was eight years old, her family attended a conference where her father was one of the speakers. One evening there was a musical program during which the enthusiastic leader encouraged, "Let's give God a hand." At that she got up and began to walk toward the exit. Her surprised father reached her before she fulfilled her intention.

"What are you doing?" he inquired.

"I'm leaving," she firmly replied.

"But," he reasoned, "wouldn't that be rude?"

"Well," she clenched her argument, "they're being rude to God!"

The family followed her out.

As a college student today she knows it gets a lot worse. People aren't just flippantly "giving God a hand." In many services they routinely give each other a hand, especially in response to musical offerings.

Ministers will note that the practice has not caught on as a response to sermons. Perhaps we will have to install applause signs in our sanctuaries (or "worship centers" as they're now called) before people will get the idea. Then we'll have to learn to pause until the clapping subsides.

In this context, it's a pleasant surprise to hear a word of sanity from the secular priestess of manners, Judith Martin. In Miss Manners Rescues Civilization, she answers a question about applause in church with, "Having forgotten church manners, people are substituting those that would be proper for a performance...Hard as it may be to imagine, musicians in church are supposed to play or sing for the glory of God, not the pleasure of the congregation (which people interestingly slip and call 'the audience'). That is why there should be no applause in church. Not even for small children, who particularly need to have the purpose of the performance explained to them."

In response to the protest that the Bible authorizes clapping (as is Psalm 47:1), Miss Manners proves herself a better theologian than many evangelical worship leaders. "Where," she asks, "is the Biblical reference by which God commands applause to honor musicians...?"

Miss Manners hopes she is not pressing too fine a point when she distinguishes between the clapping of hands as an "expression of religious awe or joy and the clapping of hands to denote approval and appreciation for the achievements of our fellow mortals."

The specific problem Miss Manners addresses is the tip of the iceberg of worship malpractice. Too many evangelical worshipers are like the man shopping for his wife's Christmas present and choosing something which pleases himself. So we go to church expecting to be soothed, entertained and sent home feeling good.

It hardly occurs to us to ask, "What will please God?" The subjects, not the Object of worship, are the focus. The result is that we no longer know how to conduct ourselves in God's house. We lack worship manners or even the sense that we need them.

If you invite me to your home, I'll come with my manners, which are both attitude (I respect you) and actions (I'll conform to the expectation of your household).

What attitudes should you bring to worship? God wants exuberant joy (Psalm 100:1-2) and reverent awe (Hebrews 12:28-29).

What actions does He approve in worship? Singing, praying, reading and preaching His Word, testifying to and confessing our faith, giving offerings, celebrating sacraments and making holy vows.

If you think worship manners are no big deal, you might check out the story of two Old Testament fellows who forgot their manners and lost their lives because, "Among those who approach me, I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored" (Leviticus 10:1-7).

The gift of salvation

2005-12-26T14:14:00.000-08:00

An excellent email I received a while back and thought it prudent to post here-enjoy.

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr.
Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small
college in the Western United States. Dr. Christianson
taught the required survey course in Christianity at
this particular institution. Every student was
required to take this course his or her freshman year
regardless of his or her major. Although Dr.
Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of
the gospel in his class, he found that most of his
students looked upon the course as nothing but
required drudgery.

Despite his best efforts, most students refused to
take Christianity seriously. This year, Dr.
Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve
was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent
of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was
popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing
physical specimen. He was now the starting center on
the school football team, and was the best student
in the professor's class.
> One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay
after class so he could talk with him. "How many
push-ups can you do?" Steve said, "I do about 200
every night." "200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr.
Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"
Steve replied, "I don't know... I've never done
300 at a time." "Do you think you could?" again asked
Dr. Christianson. "Well, I can try," said Steve.
"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project
in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in
sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need
you to tell me you can do it," said the professor.
Steve said, "Well... I think I can...yeah, I can
do it." Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to
do
this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."

> Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat
in the front of the room. When class started, the
professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No these
weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the
extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting
swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the
last class of the day, and they were going to get an
early start on the weekend with a party in Dr.
Christianson's class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the
first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have
one of these donuts?" Cynthia said, "Yes."
Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked,
"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can
have a donut?" "Sure." Steve jumped down from his
desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his
desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.
Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person,
and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?" Joe said,
"Yes." Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten
push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten
push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the
first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person
before they got their donut. And down the second
aisle, till Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was
on the basketball team, and in as good condition as
Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for
female companionship. When the professor asked, "Scott
do you want a donut?" Scott's reply was, "Well, can I
do my own pushups?" Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve
has to do them." Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want
one then." Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned
to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten pushups
so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?" With
perfect obedience Steve started to do ten pushups.
Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!" Dr.
Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my
class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave
it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a
donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a
little. He just stayed on the floor between sets
because it took too much effort to be getting up and
down. You could start to see a little perspiration
coming out around his brow. Dr. Christianson
started down the third row. Now the students were
beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christianson
asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"
Sternly, Jenny said, "No." Then Dr. Christianson
asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more Push-ups so
Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve
did ten....Jenny got a donut. By now, a growing sense
of uneasiness filled the room. The students were
beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten
donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put
forth a lot of extra effort to get these pushups done
for each donut. There began to be a small pool of
sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow
were beginning to get red because of the physical
effort involved. Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who
was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch
Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten
pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all
of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He
sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could
count the set and watch Steve closely.
Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row.
During his class, however, some students from other
classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps
along the radiators that ran down the sides of the
room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick
count and saw that now there were 34 students in the
room.

He started to worry if Steve would be able to
make it. Dr. Christianson went on to the next person
and the next and the next. Near the end of that row,
Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a
lot more time to complete each set. But Dr.
Christianson went on.
> A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer
student, came to the room and was about to come in
when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't
come in! Stay out!" Jason didn't know what was going
on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him
come." Professor Christianson said, "You realize that
if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for
him?" Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a
donut" Dr. Christianson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let
you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do
you want a donut?" Jason, new to the room hardly knew
what was going on. "Yes," he said, "give me a donut."

"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can
have a donut?"
Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great
effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat
down. Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row, then
started on those visitors seated by the heaters.
Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a
struggle to lift himself against the force of
gravity. Sweat was profusely dropping off of his
face and, by this time, there was no sound except his
heavy breathing, there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two students in the room were two
young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr.
Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and
asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?" Linda said,
very sadly, "No, thank you."
Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would
you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she
doesn't want?" Grunting from the effort, Steve did
ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Dr. Christianson
turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a
donut?" Susan, with tears flowing down her face,
began
to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?"

Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No,
Steve has to do it alone, I have given him this task
and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an
opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not.
When I decided to have a party this last day of class,
I looked at my grade book. Steve, here is the only
student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has
failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior
work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a
player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve
that none of you could come to my party unless he paid
the price by doing your push ups. He and I made a
deal for your sakes. Steve, would you do ten push-ups
so Susan can have a donut?" As Steve very slowly
finished his last pushup, with the understanding that
he had accomplished all that was required of him,
having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him
and he fell to the floor.
Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said.
"And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the
cross, plead to the Father, 'into thy hands I commend
my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done
everything that was required of Him, he yielded up His
life. And like some of those in this room, many of us
leave the gift on the desk, uneaten." Two students
helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat,
physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.
"Well done good and faithful servant," said the
professor, adding "Not all sermons are preached in
words." Turning to his class the professor said, "My
wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend
all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given
to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. He spared not only His Begotten Son, but
gave Him up for us all for the whole Church, now and
forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift
to us, the price has been paid. Wouldn't you be
foolish and ungrateful to leave it laying on the
desk?"

Contemporary Christian Music

2005-12-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

I was just sitting here and thinking about the problems I have with the contemporary church. I see a growing trend in Baptist,especially Southern Baptist churches, towards contemporary worship and this is very troubling to me. Yesterday I was searching websites of different Baptist churches in Columbia,SC and all but one have some form of contemporary worship. The inventors and advocates of this new type of worship seem to have forgotten or were just plain ignorant of the regulative principle of worship, which our forebears believed in wholeheartedly. In the New Testament there is laid out for us what is to be included in our worship-prayers/praises, singing of psalms, hymns,and spiritual songs, and MOST importantly the preaching of the Word. We do not have license to add to these things in order to elicit a response from certain groups of people or to try and get more people into the church.

I believe most Christians today have a distorted or incorrect view of what worship really is. Worship is not performing for the Lord or whipping up the congregation's emotions by playing rock music with a Christian label on it. Nothing nauseates me more than to see or hear the phrases "worship team" or "worship experience" because everything in those phrases is geared towards me and not God. I often hear the question asked "How will we reach our youth or the unchurched unless we offer another style of worship?" Therein lies the problem-we are not to alter our order of worship to meet specific or felt needs of any group and certainly not to cater to the unregenerated. We expect our youth to sit in classrooms for 8 hours a day and gain intellectual knowledge but how dare we ask them to sit through a worship service without entertaining them. So, by the time they are adults they will be theologically and biblically illiterate unless the dialogue includes drama or cute little ditties. What rubbish! The simple answer is that the Holy Spirit calls people to a church, youth included, and convicts us of sin, not the vain imaginations, inventions and practices of men.

We are treading on very thin ice when we reject the order of worship handed down to us by centuries of Christians in favor of the latest trends. I have never been more disgusted as when I saw the promotion of 2 styles of worship as a matter of taste, as in what blend do you prefer.There it is again, what I prefer with no thought as to what God prefers.Have the advocates and promoters of contemporary worship ever stopped to think that if they are right about worship just being man's preference, then for 2,000 years the true church has had it all wrong. Another question I have is "If this new style of worship is OF God, then why has it split so many congregations?" Those of us that hold to traditional worship are often labelled as petty, legalists, pharisees, or just plain mean-spirited. We are asked how we can judge how someone else worships.Well, contrary to popular belief, we are to judge between right and wrong according to the Bible. Paul tells us that some day we will judge angels and admonished the church he was writing to because they could not judge simple things. I hear often that "God is doing a new thing and bringing people into the church." No, man is doing an old thing and dressing up or watering down the gospel to try and make the church a "relevant and safe place." The church and the gospel we are to proclaim to a lost world is relevant all by itself and the only way to be safe is to have your sins covered by the blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The Reformers cleansed the church of these popish practices and beliefs about worship beginning in the 16th century and now we are almost all the way down the slippery slope to anarchy in worship. There are great principles at stake here that have been reduced to "preference." The worship of our most Holy God and Saviour has no more to do with our preference than does our salvation. I am strongly convicted that the Lord is not pleased with churches that reject His way of doing things in favor of what we are currently doing and then attempting to make Him responsible for it. The whole contemporary worship movement is a subculture within not only the Baptist church but other denominations as well.

Before I close let me relay this story to you. Recently, the pastor of a local Baptist Church spoke to a group of Presbyterians at their Wednesday luncheon over at First Presbyterian Church. Before he finished his message he admonished them(Presbyterians)for faithfully adhering to traditional worship and rejecting contemporary worship. I was embarrassed at his unscriptural admonishment and duly apologized to my Presbyterian friends for the lack of spiritual discernment in the Baptist church. As a pastor, he should know better, and every other pastor that has allowed contemporary worship into their church. I close by asking the question "What would our spiritual ancestors think if they were to visit our churches today?" Jeremiah 6:16 says "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." The last part of this verse is the modern church's response to this command from the Lord-"But they said, We will not walk therein." How sad!

The Chronicles of Narnia

2005-12-14T05:11:00.000-08:00

The church I attend is having a family night this evening at a local theater, promoting the Chronicles of Narnia. Recently, I visited a Christian bookstore and was overwhelmed by the promotions for this movie, very similar to a recent visit to Barnes & Noble. In my mind that is what is so wrong with Christian bookstores today. They cater to the same public as the secular bookstores, using the same marketing strategies. There is no depth to most of the books on display, unless you can find a classics section. The church of the 21st century has a similar problem, no depth and all show.

Back to Narnia. A couple of years ago churches were tripping over themselves to promote the Purpose Driven Life and 40 day spiritual journeys. I was shocked that Bible believing
Christians could be so shallow and gullible. Why did we feel the need to go on a 40 day journey with some pastor in California to discover our purpose in life? Last year the rave was all about The Passion. I had to go and check it out for myself. Even though the movie did cause me to focus on the suffering of our Lord, I would not recommend it to anybody. Once again, churches were battling each other to rent out theater space. They even had post-movie counselors to help people "make decisions for Christ." And now we come to the latest fad of the church, a movie which I hope to see. In Revelation 17 we see a religious system described as a whore, which I believe represents the Roman Catholic Church. However, I believe the modern contemporary church is a whore to the world, falling all over itself to make the Gospel trendy, and unoffensive to those lost in darkness. They will use whatever gimmick seems to work, be it a rock band, exciting children's programs, movies, anything to seem relevant. What they do not realize is that have made themselves irrelevant, not realizing that they are supposed to be stewards of the mystery of the Gospel.

My people perish for lack of knowledge says the prophet Hosea. We are living in a time of famine of the Word of God as it relates to knowledge and doctrine. We as the church are the "called out ones" and let us act accordingly, not fearing the reproach of the world. Let each of us bear our cross daily for our Lord and Saviour and be beacons of Light for His Kingdom. Let us expose false teaching and methods in the church today and point her back to the old paths once again.

Soli Deo Gloria

Pilgrim's Progress

2005-12-12T05:45:00.000-08:00

My bible study group is beginning a study on the Pilgrim's Progress. The first time I read the book I could not put it down. I flew through it and am glad to be slowing down and picking Bunyan's brain. How sad it is that Christians today have never even heard of this book. It sits in the classics section of most Christian bookstores, gathering dust while the self-help books with a Christian label fly off of the shelves. What legacy are we leaving our children?Do most Christian's today have any idea about the journey Bunyan describes? Would they resolve to travel with Christian, no matter the consequences? Could it be that they have been so spoon-fed with the "Jesus loves you no matter what" sermons that they cannot relate to Bunyan? Books such as the Purpose Driven Life and Joel Osteen's latest book only compound the problem. Let us shun the easy believism and sugar coated Christianity portrayed in churchianity today for the Old Paths. Out with Rick Warren and Joel Osteen, give me Bunyan, and Whitefield and Spurgeon.