The Immutability of God by Lewis Kiger

Humanity is in a constant state of flux. We are always changing. Our age changes, our temperament, our feelings, our health. Everything about us changes. Days click off the calendar. Decades pass. Centuries roll on. Our homes get old and worn out. Our cars need to be fixed and repaired. Even more than that, everything in nature is always shifting and moving. The grass grows, but soon withers. The plants and flowers bloom, and then hide before the cold chill of winter. Animals and pets grow old and weary. Seasons change. The weather changes. The earth itself is constantly fluctuating. Tides changes. Mountains slowly move. Continents drift.

 Look beyond our small planet, and see that even the universe itself is ever-changing. Stars go supernova and erupt. Comets hurl through the far reaches of outer space and leave trails of dust in their wake. Everything changes – everything, but not God. In Psalms 102:25-27 The Psalmist speaks of the foundations of the earth and the heavens above us; and states that they will one day perish, but God will endure. They will get old, like a used piece of clothing, but God is the same, and His years have no end. Indeed, “All that God is, He has always been, and all that He has been and is, He will ever be.”

 The fact that God does not change is simply staggering to our mortal minds. God is immutable, or God is always the same. JP Boyce writes: “By the Immutability of God is meant that He is incapable of change. Either in duration of life, or in nature, character, will, or happiness. In none of these, nor in any other respect; is there any possibility of change with God.”  God doesn’t increase, or decrease. He doesn’t get better, or get worse. He is fixed in who He is. He doesn’t change because there is no need for Him to change. If God changed, it would be because there was some impurity, some incongruity in Him, so that He needed to alter. But the Bible teaches us that God is eternally, unchanging. Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. For God to change, He would either have to go from better to worse or from worse to better. He would need to either improve or decline. Change naturally implies imperfection. But God is eternally perfect, in every way so there is no need for change, and in fact, demands that God cannot change. God cannot change for the better, because He is perfectly Holy. Likewise, He cannot change for the worse, because He is perfectly Holy.

 His very character is Immutable. God is Irreversibly Glorious. Unchangeably Wise. Unalterably All-Powerful. Inflexibly Just. Unwavering in His love. There are some who think there is a vast difference between the Old Testament God and the New Testament God, but this isn’t so. You don’t get to pick and choose which version of God you like better, He is immutably the same. In fact, James 1:17 states that God doesn’t even cast a shadow of change. God was just as pure, perfect, and unimpeachably judicious when He delivered the people of Israel by parting the Red Sea, as He was when he drowned the armies of Pharaoh moments later.

 Kingdoms rise and fall. Civilizations change. Ideals change. What men accept and condone, change, but not God. God’s will is immutable. His Word is immutable. What God determined to be evil in eternity past, is still evil. Woe unto those who call evil, good and good, evil. (Isaiah 5:20) God’s hatred of sin is unchanging. His righteous indignation towards ungodliness is inflexible. His wrath and anger is fixed, but so also is His grace and love.

 God’s means of salvation is also Immutable. Regardless of what our pluralistic society suggests, there is One way, and only One way to life eternal. True salvation can only be found by faith in the virgin birth, the perfect life, the atoning death, and the victorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This may seem a troublesome truth, but it is God’s truth; and His truth is immutable.  Rather than being critical that God only provided one means of salvation; let us rejoice that He provided any means of deliverance. This One way may seem narrow, but it is broad enough for all who will, by faith, repent and turn to the unchanging Christ.


Pastor Lewis Kiger
Memorial Heights Baptist Church

The Mystery of Godliness - Tuesdays with Timothy #36

I Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Here is something we can all agree on, great is the mystery of godliness. This mystery, is not something we are trying to figure out, but it is the truth the church (who is the pillar and the ground of the truth) upholds. Before God revealed to mankind this truth, it was a hidden mystery, but not anymore. As the church upholds the truth, she expounds and declares the great mystery that has been revealed by God in His Word. How is it that a sinful man could be justified before a holy God? This is the question of the ages, concerning righteousness, godliness, sin and redemption. For Christians, there is no controversy, there is nothing but consensus - the mystery, the great problem of humanity, has been revealed.

As a quick aside, some suggest that Paul is quoting a hymn of the early churches. If so, want an instruction to us as God's people as to what a real praise and worship song looks like. Look how theologically rich and deep this song is! I know there is sentimentality to many of the songs we sing, but what does "I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses" have anything to do with Christ Jesus the Lord? It's no wonder we have a hard time getting men to sing out in churches. Give me songs of Christ!

God was manifest in the flesh. This is an important point, and one you need to get it right. God appeared in flesh. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14; 1 1 John 1:1-3). The eternal Son entered in to His own creation and was made flesh. Jesus Christ, added to His divinity, humanity and is fully God and fully man. Jesus came with the purpose of redeeming and saving those the Father had given him. To do this, according to the eternal covenant, He voluntarily came to give his life as a ransom, His blood as an atonement. He came to be the substitute, the Lamb of God. The propitiation for our sins.

This verse is the "proof-text" for a certain sect of heretics. God did not switch from Spirit form to fleshly form. That is the heresy of Modalism.

"Modalism  is a “heretical view that denies the individual persons of the Trinity. [It] views biblical terminology of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as merely modes of existence or manifestations of the one God” (p. 153). - For Us and For Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church"

This issue is alive and well and today and has a home in the Oneness Pentecostal Movement, which denies the Trinity. Proponents of this heresy, such as T.D. Jakes, try to weasel out of denying the Trinity by quoting this passage. However, their definition of manifest is different than Paul's. The text is not saying that Jesus was a manifestation of God, but God appeared in flesh. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, always has been the son of God. He did not become the son in Bethlehem, but He is the Son of eternal generation.

“There are two things which every child of God has the greatest reason to dread; the one is evil, the other is error. Both are originally from Satan; both have a congenial home in the human mind; both are in their nature deadly and destructive; both have slain their thousands and tens of thousands; and under one or  the other, or under both combined, all everlastingly perish but the redeemed family of God.” - JC Philpot 

He that was born of a Virgin in Bethlehem has been and will be from everlasting to everlasting (Micah 5:2). The Lord our God, He is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4) and the one God is revealed in Scripture as one God in three persons. This passage shows the personhood of the Son, who is the Word made flesh.

Justified in the Spirit. Christ Jesus was not "justified" in the sense that we are, the forensic act of God declaring us righteous. But he was justified in the sense of he was proven to be, declared to be who He said He was. He was justified in the Spirit much in the same way that Abraham was justified by works (James 2:20-23). As Abraham's works justified the faith he had, the Holy Spirit justified Jesus as Christ. He did this at His baptism (Matthew 3), His preaching (Isaiah 11:1-3; Luke 4:14-21), His ministry (Isaiah 42:1-8), and His miracles (Matthew 12:22-28). The Spirit witnesses and confirmed Jesus was the Christ.

Seen of angels. The holy angels attended to Christ throughout His earthly ministry. Angels announced the forerunner, John the Baptist, told Joseph and Mary that she would give birth to the Redeemer, announced His birth to the shepherds, protected the family from Herod's villainy. Move forward to the ministry of Jesus and we see that the angels were charged to protect Jesus, and ministered to Him in the wilderness of temptation and in the Garden of despair. They declared to the disciples that Christ had risen and they told the disciples that He was coming back after He ascended to Heaven. This text doesn't just say that angels saw Him, but that the holy angels of God knew, worshiped, and served the living Christ.

Preached unto the Gentiles. The ministry of Jesus Christ was local in physical location, but global in impact. His message is preached now across the globe (Acts 1:1-3). He is the Saviour, not just of Israel, but of the world.

Believed on in the world. He was not just preached to the Gentiles, but believed on in the world. Would Gentiles bow the knee to a crucified Jewish king? Indeed we do. Down through the centuries, and throughout the world, Christ is believed upon. Not believed in, but upon. We put our souls trust in Jesus the Christ. He died for me, died for my sins. He was my substitute, my saviour, my redeemer.

Received up into glory. Jesus was born and the world doesn't have a problem with that. Jesus died, and the world has no issue with that. But Jesus didn't stay dead. Jesus rose from the dead! He rose, victorious and for our justification. His body did not stay in the grave, but bodily, he walked from the tomb, victorious over death and ascended unto Heaven. Victory. Completion. Success. Jesus accomplished what He set out to do.

Great is the mystery of godliness. Great is the story of redemption. Great is the plan of salvation. This is not a mystery that cannot be known. It is not a mystery that we cannot understand. It is not a mystery that doesn't have an answer. This is a mystery, but God has given the answer. He has graciously revealed to us His plan of salvation and given the promise to all those that come to Him in repentant faith, He will save.

We are sinners. We have broken that law of our God. You know it, I know it. We have all sinned against God and are guilty. Yes, everyone sins. Yes, you are probably better than your neighbor. But we are not judged on a grading scale of better than most. When we sin against a holy God, we are found guilty.

Are you guilty? Are you burdened with the shame of your sin? Here is the mystery of how a person can be justified before a Holy God and how that burden of guilt and shame can be removed. Christ Jesus came in the flesh, showed Himself to be the prophesied Messiah, died on a bloody cross as a sin substitute, and rose from the dead. The gospel promise is this: trust in this Savior. believe that he died for your sins and rose from the dead. Trust in Him for the forgiveness of sins, that He died the just for the unjust, and the Bible declares that God will forgive you, and justify you. You will be clean and forgiven of all your sins.

Worth Fighting For

"The type of religion which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases, regardless of their meanings, or shrinks from "controversial" matters, will never stand amid the shocks of life. In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight."

J. Gresham Machen - Christianity and Liberalism

The Omnipresence of God by Lewis Kiger

 Today, we consider the last of the three “Omni’s” of God – the Omnipresence of God.  The word comes from the Latin omni meaning “all” and praesant which simply means “here or next to.” Simply stated God is “All-here” or GOD IS ALL PRESENT and that extends to the farthest reaches of both space and time.  

 Webster defines omnipresent as “Presence in every place at the same time; unbounded or universal presence.” God is the Ever-present Eternal Spirit.  Where is God? God is everywhere. Is God always around? God is in every place, and always sees and knows everything. There is no time or place where God isn’t.

 This is clearly stated to us in Psalms 139:7-12 The Psalmist asks “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? Then declaring the universal presence of God he says; If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” The inspired writer understands that there is no place one can go and escape from God. Neither darkness nor shadow can conceal us from the presence of the Almighty. God can see in the shadows.

 Whether it be the deep cold of the Artic or the burning sands of the desert, God is there. From the top of Mount Everest, to the depths of the Mariana Trench, God is there. Land or sea, up or down. North or south. Daylight or dark. God is everywhere all the time. There are no “God-free zones.” The Law of God may be foolishly removed from the schoolhouse and the courthouse, but the presence of God is immovable. Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. God cannot and is not contained by anyone or anything.

 A story is told of a missionary who witnessed those of the Hindu faith who would walk around tapping on trees and stones and asking; Are you there? Are you there? To the god they hoped might be inside. The God of the Bible is indeed there. He is there. And He is here. And He is everywhere.

 This attribute is one of the most convicting truths that one can ever consider! How foolish for anyone to think that they can hide from God. Lost sinner, the God whom you have refused to obey, the God that has commanded all men everywhere to repent has been an eyewitness to every deed you’ve ever done. He is the ever-present Divine observer who will serve as both judge and jury of the activities of all men. I urge you to flee to the cross and find forgiveness and reconciliation with this Omnipresent God.

 Once there was a man and his wife playing scrabble. The husband was an atheist, the wife a Christian. The unbelieving man took some extra letters from the bag and sarcastically spelled out God is nowhere. And his wise praying wife, looked at it, and slid the tiles apart and made it read God is now here!  

 This is a wonderful truth for the believer. No matter whether we are walking along the mountain tops or down in the valley, God is there. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. The words of the old hymns should bring solace to our weary souls:

  No never alone, no never alone; He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone.  

 Just when I need Him, Jesus is near; Just when I falter, just when I fear. Ready to help me, ready to cheer; just when I need Him most!

 Finally, when our time here on earth is done, and the hour of death is upon us, and we begin our walk through that valley of the shadow of death, we need fear no evil. The Psalmist says: “for Thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” The omnipresent God will be with us in the sunshine and the rain. In the times of joy, and in life’s darkest days, and we will enjoy His Divine presence throughout all of eternity.

Pastor Lewis Kiger

Memorial Heights Baptist Church

Pillar and Ground of the Truth- Tuesdays with Timothy #35

I Timothy 3:14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

By my count, 30 times in the Scripture God is referred to as “the living God”.  Three times in this epistle, Timothy is reminded that we serve and put our trust in the living God, by our living faith in our living savior. We have a living God who rules, controls, and sustains the universe. He is the true and living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God is not the God of the dead but the living. Pray that God would deliver us from dead religion of ritual and tradition but would bless us daily that our souls would thirst for God, for the living God (Psalm42:2). If God is not alive, then all you have is formalism, tradition, and emptiness. The church can be anything and be for anything if her founder and her head and the God she worships is absent or is not alive and present.

But since the house of the true and living God is the church, which was established and created by God, that changes everything! The church was purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ and ruled by Jesus Christ, who is her head. Christ is present with His church as she meets and worships Him and is blessed as she goes out to serve Him. The Spirit empowers the church as she comes together to exalt her Beloved and is with His people as they labor in the mission given by Jesus. The living God has instructed his living church that we might know what God expects of His people. We are instructed in what God wants us to do and how God wants us to act in His houses.

The house of God is the pillar and the ground of the truth which tells us that God desires truth in worship. The truth is preached, taught, expounded, defending, and published by the Church. It is the will of God that His people be active in His churches and it is the will of God that the institution of the church be the means by which truth is taught and published. God has never intended that the truth and doctrine be separate from the church. It is not the para-church ministries or the seminaries that God has ordained as the pillar and ground of the truth. No doubt that individual men and institutions have helped God’s people through the generations, but it is through the church that God has ordained the truth to be proclaimed and passed along. 

The church does not decide what the truth is, but expounds God's revealed truth. Pillars and foundations hold up a house. The church doesn’t invent the truth or have business meetings to determine the truth, but a church holds up the truth that it might be known among the nations. It seems a daunting task, does it not? It isn’t daunting, it is impossible, without God’s grace. Our task to publish the doctrine and pass it along to the next generation. Generation after generation for two millenia have been faithful in the task that once they have received the truth, declared it and passed it on. This whole chapter was dedicated to that point. Find men who are faithful and qualified to continue on in the work of the Lord, to continue in preaching the doctrine that was first delivered. This is the responsibility of the church and should be the highest priority.

Another aspect of this verse shows us that doctrine is important. Doctrine is not just things theologians fuss over. Doctrine, or the teaching of God’s Word is essential in the worship of the Lord. The truth about who God is and what He has revealed about Himself in His Word.

The sad reality is much of professed Christianity lacks a desire for the truth and for doctrine. As long as there are programs for the kids, a decent song service, and the preacher makes us feel good and ready for our Monday, that is all that is important. How can we worship God if we don’t know Him? How can we take comfort in Christ if we do not know the grounds whereby we might plead to Him and take our assurances? How can we be consoled if we do not hear the promises of God and not just the dreams and empty words of someone who “God told me…” Doctrine is practical. Doctrine makes the child of God to rejoice. The Word of God is what rebukes us and exhorts us. The truth is what is sure and steadfast and unwavering. A good services that gets you emotionally pumped won’t last when the boss is screaming at you come Monday morning. It was vapor, it doesn’t last.

Truth is central in the purpose and mission of the church. The pastors and the churches duty is to uphold the truth. The church is built upon the truth and holds it up as we worship our God, who is Truth. To round out this post, I want you to look at the following verses. I’ve grabbed these verses and parts of verses just to illustrate the high priority Paul put on doctrine. In the pastoral epistles, look and see how focused and how interested Paul was in doctrine and in making sure pure doctrine was taught, defended, studied, and preached. Does your church think doctrines is important like Paul? Would your pastor agree with Paul and does his ministry to you reflect this importance on the preaching of God’s Word? If so, be thankful. If not, encourage Him to get in the Word and bring the book. 

• 1 Timothy 1:3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
• 1 Timothy 1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
• 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 (as opposed to true doctrine DPN).
• 1 Timothy 4:6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.
• 1 Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
• 1 Timothy 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
• 1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
• 1 Timothy 6:1 Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.
• 1 Timothy 6:3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
• 2 Timothy 3:10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
• 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
• 2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
• 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
• Titus 1:9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers
• Titus 2:1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
• Titus 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
• Titus 2:10        Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

Though You Slay Me

Sin has lost dominion

"There must be a constant and increasing appreciation that though sin still remains it does not have the mastery. There is a total difference between surviving sin and reigning sin, the regenerate in conflict with sin and the unregenerate complacent to sin. It is one thing for sin to live in us; it is another for us to live in sin. It is one thing for the enemy to occupy the capital; it is another for his defeated hosts to harass the garrisons of the kingdom. It is of paramount concern for the Christian and for the interests of his sanctification that he should know that sin does not have the dominion over him, that the forces of redeeming, regenerative, and sanctifying grace have been brought to bear upon him in that which is central in his moral and spiritual being, that he is the habitation of God through the Spirit, and that Christ has been formed in him the hope of glory. This is equivalent to saying that he must reckon himself to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ his Lord. It is the faith of this fact that provides the basis for, and the incentive to the fulfilment of, the exhortation, ‘Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to the end that ye should obey its lusts, neither present ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God’ (Rom. 6:12, 13). In this matter the indicative lies at the basis of the imperative and our faith of fact is indispensable to the discharge of duty. The faith that sin will not have the dominion is the dynamic in bondservice to righteousness and to God so that we may have the fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life (Rom. 6:17, 22). It is the concern of sanctification that sin be more and more mortified and holiness ingenerated and cultivated."

John Murray Redemption Accomplished and Applied  

The Omnipotence of God by Lewis Kiger

 “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Revelation 19:6. The word Omnipotent or Omnipotence comes from “Omni” meaning all and “potence” meaning power. It means that God is all-powerful; that He possesses absolute authority and has infinite strength. Over fifty times He is called the Almighty in Scripture. The very name El-Shaddai means God Almighty. He is the Divine Sovereign of the Universe.

                                                                                                

  Each Sunday, men rise to stand behind pulpits and talk about a god that is far different from the God of the Bible. God is likened to some old, weak, hand wringing, gray haired grandpa who really, really wants to do this or that, but is either unable or unwilling. This is not the God of Heaven and Earth that is revealed in Holy Writ. This pocket-sized powerless god is of human invention. He may fit well into the mind of the self-sufficient, but is of no true value to the desperate.

 Men will say things such as “God is trying” or “God has done all He can”, but this is mere religious superstition. The God of the Bible is not governed by anyone or anything, except His own good pleasure. God has never “tried” to do anything and the suggestion that the Almighty is handcuffed by the will of man is mere folly. Listen to what this Babylonian king said of God in Daniel 4:35 “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he (God) doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”  Does this sound like a God who has done all He can and is now dependent upon man? Does this sound like some impotent deity pacing the halls of Heaven, hoping His purposes will be accomplished? No, no, a thousand times no. God never has, and He never will ask mankind’s permission to do anything. Rather let the words of faithful preachers and a devoted multitude ring from the rafters: The Lord God Omnipotent reigns!

 The God we serve is able to accomplish whatever He desires to do. He possesses all might, He never grows old, or tired, or weary. He has never had to “call for back-up” because He was overrun or overwhelmed. He has never needed a vacation or even needed to rest. He is eternally, omnipotent. How encouraging is this truth that the God we depend upon is supreme in power. Paul gives great encouragement to our prayer lives when he is inspired to write in Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”

 Consider the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.” (Jer. 32:17). He created everything out of nothing, merely by the word of His power.

 Nothing is too hard for the Lord. God has never sought to do something that His omnipotence could not carry out. He caused it to rain manna from Heaven and He brought water from a rock. Christ fed a multitude with five loaves and two fish. He healed the sick, cleansed lepers, and raised the dead. He restored broken bodies and restores broken families. He even walked on water! His power is unlimited.

 Finally, God alone has redemptive power. We do not have the strength to save ourselves. God alone has the ability to raise the spiritually dead. The disciples asked Jesus a very pertinent question; who then can be saved? His reply was this: in Matthew 19:26 “with men this is impossible, but with God; all things are possible.”

 The Gospel of His Son is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried and rose again in glorious power. And now ever lives to make intercession for us.
 

 What a glorious Omnipotent God we serve!

Pastor Lewis Kiger

Consider The Birds and the Myth of Neutrality

Matthew 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

On my commute to work, I rotate between listening to sermons, audio books, and podcasts. This particular morning, I was listening to a podcast about a particular species of hummingbirds.  I listened to it three times in a row, and laughed with joy on the first listen, laughed with contempt on the second, and laughed with thanksgiving on the third. Here's the transcript:

Here’s a story about a hummingbird: the Purple-throated Carib. 

It lives on many of the Antillean Islands in the Caribbean, and the male and female birds have differently shaped bills. The female’s is long and deeply curved. The male’s is shorter and straighter. And this one species of bird has a specialized relationship with two different species of flowering Heliconia plants. 

One plant has a blossom that has a long, curved corolla — an excellent fit for the bill of the female Purple-throated Carib. The second plant has a flower that’s an excellent fit for the male bird. It delivers a larger dose of nectar, which the male needs because it’s 25% bigger than the female. The birds help pollinate the flowers, so the relationship has a payoff for the Heliconia, too. 

This is an example of co-evolution, where different species evolve in conjunction with each other, continually matching each other’s changing adaptations. When research documenting it was published in 2003, one scientist remarked that this Carib-Heliconia relationship was the most convincing evidence for co-evolution that he’d ever seen. “The only thing better,” he said, “would be if I could live for a million years and watch it actually happen.” 

Here is a great example of how what you believe and your founding principles color how you see the world  and interpret what it is you are seeing. Neutrality is a myth, no one comes to the table with a blank slate, perfectly neutral and open minded. The Scientist can clearly see how both the birds and the flowers adapt themselves by Evolution's mighty hand to suite one another in the tropical ecosystem. But I wonder, where did that information come from? How does he know this is what happened?  He sees conjunction evolution when he considers the birds partly because he believed it before he started looking.

When I see the birds, I consider their Maker. I glace over and consider the flowers and their Maker. I see design, not adaptation. I see Wisdom, not chance. I see complementary purpose, not survival of the fittest.

We are both looking at the same evidence and both have taken our presuppositions and come to wildly different explanations. What he sees as the most convincing evidence for co-evolution to me is most convincing evidence that God is awesome in his creative purpose.

The researcher speaks more truth than he knows when he wished he could live millions of years to watch it happen. In other words, no one has actually witnessed this doctrine and so it can't be tested or proven, it has to be taken by faith. He wishes he could observe it, but he can't live that long, but has faith that if he could live that long, he would be able to see it.  He must take his doctrine by faith. He looks through the research binoculars and sees a world shaped by evolution because he picked up the evolution glasses. His presuppositions color his world.

I come to the birding binoculars with presuppositions too. I'm not neutral either and don't pretend to be. I presuppose that God exists and has revealed Himself in His Word and that we what can know, we know because God has revealed it and Jesus has rose from the dead. I look at the world through those lenses. I see the world through the glasses of the glory of Christ. I believe in the creation account by faith too, but not a blind faith.  My faith is in the written testimony of the Bible and I believe what that book says. You may dismiss that argument because I'm taking the word of guys who wore robes and lived thousands of years ago. But your assertion on taking the word of men that wear lab coats and live in an age where Donald Trump may be president and Facebook memes constitute a compelling argument doesn't give me much confidence in modern thought over the Word of God that has and does endure.

Here is the kicker. You have to decided who you  are going to believe. You can say that you believe in science, but what vintage? I hear that 1859 is a good year for Science, but it can be a little bitter in light of current research. Do you believe in what Science tells you today? What if Science tells you you are wrong tomorrow? How many elementary school kids come home and preach to their parents how they were wrong about what they learned when they were in school? What if you avoid eating eggs for most of your life because Science tells you it will give you a heart attack. But then, you find out that eggs might be beneficial in preventing heart attack? Oops.

Just admit it, we all have our presuppositions. What is your world colored by? Your experiences? Your emotions? Your preferences? Is that stable enough a foundation to anchor your soul? Especially since all those things are subjective and change daily.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 

Think about it.

Post-Christian Societies

Here is an excerpt from a fascinating interview of Peter Hitchens. His thoughts on the common grace of having Christians in a society is dead on.

Laura Perrins: Many commentators believe that the destruction of the Christian faith will lead to a kinder, more moral, and charitable society.

Peter Hitches: Do they? I think they hope it will lead to a society in which fewer demands are made on them, which is rather different. But this is the difference which a belief in eternity makes. If we exist in eternity, then what we do here matters somewhere else, and at some other time, and the immediate consequences of our actions aren’t the most important things about them.  It might lead to more public acts of self-publicising ‘goodness’, but this is the problem of all Godless ethical systems. They rely on the appearance of goodness rather than on the inner heart seen only by God, and anyone who has attended a school or worked in an office will know that people are not always exactly as they seem to be.

Read the rest of the interview HERE.

Grace and Peace

The Omniscience of God by Lewis Kiger

How smart is God? How much does God really know? The Omniscience of God, if seriously contemplated is purely mindboggling. It is both intimidating and encouraging to consider that God knows it all. The word omniscient or omniscience comes from two Latin words, “Omni” – meaning all; and “Scientia” – meaning knowledge. To speak of the omniscience of God is simply stating that God is all-knowing, God possesses all-knowledge. Consider this verse: Psalms 147:5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

There is no limit to His knowledge. His wisdom is beyond measure. His intelligence is incalculable. There is nothing, I repeat nothing that God does not know. The full magnitude of this truth is overwhelming.

God’s knowledge is eternal. Isaiah 46:10 states that God declares the end from the beginning; from ancient times, He knows what has not yet come to pass. The Lord does not acquire knowledge, rather has full familiarity of every event that has yet to unfold on the calendar of time. There is an old saying that fits well: Has it ever occurred to you, that nothing has ever occurred to God? God has never had a “light bulb go off over his head.” He has never said, “wow I wish I would have known that.” No, His wisdom is beyond human comprehension.

God knows how many letters and numbers there are imprinted on the newspaper you hold in your hands and on every newspaper in America. He knows what mail-carrier put this paper in your mailbox and when. He knows if you bought it out of a stand, or stole it from your neighbor’s driveway. He knows everything that has ever been printed on ever newspaper, magazine, and book. God knows what’s going to be on tomorrow’s paper. He possesses all knowledge past, present, and future.

Psalms 147:4 says that God tells the number of the stars, and even calls them all by name. We do not even know how many stars there are in this vast galaxy, yet God has them numbered and named. Compared to God’s knowledge, even Einstein was no more than a blithering buffoon. The most intelligent men do not possess even a fraction of what God knows. There is no comparison.

 He knows how many pine combs have even fallen from your neighbor’s tree and into your yard. He knows how many leaves there are on every tree on the planet. How many ants there are crawling beneath us, and how many birds flying above us. He knows every deed that every angel, elect or fallen, has ever committed. He knows how many fish there are in the sea. God knows how many snowflakes fall and the unique shape of every flake that has ever fallen. God has full and complete knowledge of everything and everyone.

 If you stop and meditate on this omniscience of God you will doubtless arrive at the same place Isaiah did, when he wrote in Chapter 40:28 that His knowledge is simply beyond our understanding; it cannot be measured by mortal men.

This is fascinating to think about, but don’t let this be a mere intellectual exercise. Psalms 139:1-6 Teaches that God has intimate knowledge of everything there is to know about you. This too bears repeating, everything. He is perfectly aware of every thought you have ever had. Every word you have ever spoken. Ever deed (good or bad) you have ever done. He is even aware of the motives behind your actions. Even the hairs of our head are numbered. He is before us, behind us, all around us – and we cannot hide from Him. And this extends to every person that has ever cast a shadow on planet earth. This is one of the most frightening and comforting truths in all of Holy Writ. Comforting if you are found in Christ, terrifying if you are not.

 Even with this keen awareness of all our failures, all our doubt, all our rebellious thoughts and even with perfect understanding of all this, God still loves His children with an immeasurable love. What a glorious thought! Still Christ came. Still He went to Calvary’s cross. Still He died, and rose again. Every step of the way He was intimately aware of our every sin. The Trinity’s love for us is so strong, that He knew from all eternity just how greatly we would fail Him, and still He loves.

 Are you prepared to stand before this Omniscient God?

Pastor Lewis Kiger
Memorial Heights Baptist Church

How to Behave in God's House - Tuesdays with Timothy #34

I Timothy 3:14- 15 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Paul hoped to meet with Timothy soon, but if he couldn't, he wanted to make sure that the church was in order. God has spoken to his churches today and it doesn't matter if the church is in New York City or on the side of a mountain in Afghanistan, God has told his people how to conduct themselves in God's house. Let's consider some important areas in which church members are to view the church and this epistle.

The behavior that Paul is speaking of is specifically addressed in this epistle. I know it would be tempting to use this passage to address other issues, but Paul is specific in what he has in mind about the behavior of the church. If Paul cannot deliver the message personally, this letter is sufficient for the instruction. The "these things" refer to the entire letter and are authoritative for us today in how a church is to operate. 

In a striking statement, Paul introduces the ideas that the church is the house of God. That, in itself is an amazing proposition. I know that our attention is drawn to the imperatives that God has called us to behave in a certain way, but it should not blind us to the revelation that the church is now called the house of God. The Bible begins with God and man in fellowship in the Garden of Eden. When Adam sinned and humanity was cursed, the fellowship with man and God ended. God promised that the broken way would be repaired by a coming Saviour. Whether it was through sacrifice, or building altars at Bethel (the house of God), or through the tabernacle or the temple, God's people desired to be on holy ground, to be where God is and to have fellowship with Him. When Jesus came he tore the partition down that had separated man from God and we have accesses to God through Christ. No longer do we have to worship in Jerusalem or in a certain mountain. No longer is a building needed to be where God is, for God's people are that building. How amazing that we can worship in Spirit and in Truth? Spirit and truth does not mean "whatever suits my fancy and the truth I want to hear." God has given instruction and it doesn't have anything to do with our feelings and preferences and what gets our motor running.

The house of God is not a brick and mortar edifice, but God's redeemed people who have followed their Lord in baptism and assemble together in worship. Do you think of the church as the house of God? It is not the pastor's house or the house of Diotrephes. The pastor has both the obligation and the privilege to do all in his power to do as God has commanded in His Word. The church has an obligation to submit to God's Word and behave themselves in light of Revelation so that all know how to behave in God's house. Paul is instructing Timothy how he, as the pastor there, is to make sure that church operates. This is serious business. Worship ought not to be dead with formality, but it certainly should not be without forethought and preparation. Our behavior in the church is for the ultimate purpose of giving glory to Christ Jesus. The church is not built on the pillar of your preferences and the ground of your pet-peeves but on God's Word for God's glory.

What is the purpose of the church? Who leads God's house? What is talked about in God's house and who does the speaking? We find the answers to these questions in the Bible. This epistle was written so that Timothy would know how he and the church ought to behave in worship. There is liberty and freedom in the worship of Christ. The liberty and freedom is found within the bounds of God's commands. If we want to behave rightly in the house of God, we will submit to the truths found in God's house and not make our own rules and use this verse as our justification. Churches can very easily fall into the error of the Pharisees by making tradition trump scripture. 

The church is God's institution and should operate how God prescribed. The worship service, the ordinances, who can be officers in the church and how they are to carry out this office is detailed for us explicitly in the Bible.  This epistle was written so that Timothy would know and that we would know to to behave in God's house. 

Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat Drowned in a Tub of Goldfishe

Thomas Gray

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173567

’Twas on a lofty vase’s side,

Where China’s gayest art had dyed

   The azure flowers that blow;

Demurest of the tabby kind,

The pensive Selima, reclined,

   Gazed on the lake below.

Her conscious tail her joy declared;

The fair round face, the snowy beard,

   The velvet of her paws,

Her coat, that with the tortoise vies,

Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes,

   She saw; and purred applause.

Still had she gazed; but ’midst the tide

Two angel forms were seen to glide,

   The genii of the stream;

Their scaly armour’s Tyrian hue

Through richest purple to the view

   Betrayed a golden gleam.

The hapless nymph with wonder saw;

A whisker first and then a claw,

   With many an ardent wish,

She stretched in vain to reach the prize.

What female heart can gold despise?

   What cat’s averse to fish?

Presumptuous maid! with looks intent

Again she stretch’d, again she bent,

   Nor knew the gulf between.

(Malignant Fate sat by, and smiled)

The slippery verge her feet beguiled,

   She tumbled headlong in.

Eight times emerging from the flood

She mewed to every watery god,

   Some speedy aid to send.

No dolphin came, no Nereid stirred;

Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard;

   A Favourite has no friend!

From hence, ye beauties, undeceived,

Know, one false step is ne’er retrieved,

   And be with caution bold.

Not all that tempts your wandering eyes

And heedless hearts, is lawful prize;

   Nor all that glisters, gold.

Inaugural Ceremonies for Calvin Coolidge

I'm reading a biography on Calvin Coolidge right now and find the man fascinating. He cared a lot about presenting himself in a way that is becoming the office of the president.

Calvin Coolidge on Forgiveness

“There is an obligation to forgive but it does not extend to the unrepentant. To give them aid and comfort is to support their evil doing and to become what is known in law as an accessory after the fact. A government which does that is a reproach to civilization and will soon have on its hands the blood of its citizens.”

Have Faith in Massachusetts

The Trinity by Lewis Kiger

When was the last time you heard a message on the Trinity? When was the last time you heard someone say much of anything about the Trinity? This doctrine is a distinctive and fundamental truth of the Christian faith and yet scarcely mentioned in Christian assemblies.

 It is a fact that while the teaching of the Trinity is profound and mysterious in nature, it offers further proof that the God of the Bible is a wondrous God. He is a God who is beyond mortal invention. A God we cannot fully find out. Michael de Molinos wrote: “We think more loftily of God, by knowing He is incomprehensible, and above our understanding.”

 Far too often we seek to use trivial illustrations to define the Godhead. Although we mean well, and very often we are merely trying to help someone understand this magnificent doctrine; it detracts from God’s uniqueness. God is not like an egg…composed of 3 parts; the shell, the white, the yolk. God is not like water…liquid, ice, then steam. No, God is immeasurably unlike and above His creation.

 We serve a God who is strikingly beyond all we might grasp. We don’t have to pretend to understand everything about the Trinity. God is Infinitely more than we can comprehend, therefore we need not be embarrassed to admit that this is not a simple doctrine. 

 Nowhere in Holy Writ does God demand that we fully understand Him; but rather that we fully trust Him. Men are not lost or unsaved because they do not comprehend the Trinity; they are lost because they have not obeyed the Trinity. The believing heart trusts what God declares without need for further proof.

 None need to fully grasp the vastness of the Triune God to obey Him. There are many mysteries we do not fully understand, yet we agree that they are true. A.W. Tozer wisely says: “To meditate on the three Persons of the Godhead is to tread on holy ground. The doctrine of the Trinity is truth for the heart. Love and faith are at home in the mystery of the Godhead. Let reason kneel in reverence outside.”

 When we speak of the Trinity, we mean that God is in Tri-unity. True Christianity is monotheistic. We do not believe in 3-gods regardless of what accusations are made. In the Bible God reveals Himself to be Triune in nature meaning that God is one in Being and Triune in Person.  He is One God (Deuteronomy 6:4) who exists co-equally and co-eternally as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We are Trinitarian in belief. Not because we wholly apprehend this, but because this is Who God says He is.

 The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one in purpose and one in will. They dwell together in immutable harmony and have from all eternity. The Father is not more God than the Son. The Son is not more God, than the Spirit, but are equally divine.

 Scripture is full of this cardinal truth. Genesis 1:26 And God said: Let US make man in OUR image. This is an early hint to the Trinity. The creation itself is attributed to the Father (Genesis 1:1) the Son (Colossians 1:16) and the Spirit (Job 26:13). The incarnation of Christ is shown to have been accomplished by the Holy Trinity (Luke 1:35). The old theologians used to say: “If you want to see the Trinity go to the Jordan” for it was there that God the Son was baptized, and God the Father thundered from Heaven, and God the Holy Spirit descended on Christ in the form of a dove. Today, when we baptize believers as commanded in the Great Commission; we baptize them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Likewise, the resurrection of Christ is ascribed to the Godhead; Father (Acts 2:32) Son (John 10:17,18) and Spirit (Romans 8:11).

Pastor Lewis Kiger
Memorial Heights Baptist Church 

 Finally, the plan and work of redemption was orchestrated by the Triune God. Hebrews 9:14 states that “Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God.” Further yet, Ephesians chapter 1 makes it clear that we were chosen by the Father, in the Son, and are drawn by the Spirit.

 The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to our understanding of who God is, and the great expense of our salvation. Let us speak of the Trinity. Let us preach about the Trinity. Let us praise the Trinity; for our God is worthy.

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EDITORS NOTE:  If you would like to study more about the doctrine of the Trinity, please see the links below for articles, video teaching series and book recommendations. 

Problems on using analogies in reference to the Trinity,

Carl Trueman video teaching series on the Trinity.

The Most Important Doctrine Many Never Think About

The Athanasian Creed

Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith

The Forgotten Trinity 

The Calling and Blessing of a Deacon - Tuesdays with Timothy #33

1 Timothy 3:8 - 13  Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

The deacon must be a man of faith, a man of wisdom, full of the Holy Spirit and knowledgeable in the Word of God (Acts 6:3). He must hold the mystery of the faith which is more than having knowledge about the Scriptures. The man must hold to the truth and own the truth. 

The deacons need to be “proved” or tried before called to the office. This, like that pastor, must be an act of judgment and discernment by the church and patient service by the man seeking to fill this role. Paul instructs churches to not hear what the man plans to do but look at what he is doing and has already done. The apostles determined that there was a need for the office of deacon and then the church looked at their number and selected men who were already qualified, gifted, and knowledgeable in the Scripture to fill that role. 

There is a bit of a controversy when it comes to verse 11. Does this verse refers to deaconesses or deacon's wives? The context of the passage points to this being about the wife of a deacon. It would be strange indeed to talk of the qualification of women deacons followed by the imperative that deacons be the husband of one wife. 

But why particularly are the deacon’s wives to be especially faithful? I believe it has to do with the nature of the office. The deacon is to be looking after and helping the church members in their physical needs. She will likely know a lot of the problems going on and disagreements among members. If she is not faithful, she will put her husband and the church in a bad situation by flaming the fires of discontent. Not only does the deacon need to guard his mouth against slander, but so does his wife. Like the pastor, a deacon needs to have his house in order.

When the man is called into the office of deacon, he is called to a good and honorable work. They have purchased for themselves a good degree - which means that he is gaining for himself spiritual blessings in the work of the Lord. The Spirit blesses His faithful servants when the are busy about His work. When God's men use the gifts He gives them, He blesses them with strength to do the job when they put their hand to the plow. The deacon, which means servant, is not taking a downward step by becoming a servant of Christ. In fact, serving the church is the way to blessing, as our Lord both taught and demonstrated  (John 13:1-17; Luke 22:25-27). This is not, as some commentators have suggested, a step up in the ranks of the political hierarchy of the church. Those who sacrifice to serve Christ by serving the church will be blessed by Christ. King Jesus approves of faithful men who stoop to serve by blessing them with boldness in the faith, future rewards for serving His bride.