The Bad News of the Gospel

When God saves a soul, He comes in resurrection power . God saves with the abundant and immeasurable greatness of His power according to the same power which Christ rose from the dead (Eph1:19-20). Paul continues this theme of resurrection power in Ephesians two.  “And you who were (past tense) dead in trespasses and sins." First he mentions Christ's bodily resurrection, then says the church at Ephesus were at one time, dead. The true diagnosis for the human spirit is not sick, or uneducated or needing motivation. The Biblical diagnosis is we are born spiritually dead. Humanity died in spirit when Adam fell and we all became guilty sinners before God.

In order to find the correct remedy, we need to know what is wrong with us. Urging people to do better and act better treats the symptoms, not the cause. It would be a poor doctor who saw a patient with a broken leg and his only course of action was to put a Band-Aid on it with some pain killer. The symptom is the pain, the problem was the broken leg. Morality treats the symptoms, the act of sinning, but the root problem goes much deeper. We get a "spiritual physical" of our soul in Ephesians two, and it's bad news. The Great Physician tells us that we are dead. If the problem was that we needed to straighten up and fly right, I could help you. But the diagnosis is we are spiritually dead! Well then, who can be saved? With men it is impossible. However, we are not without hope because God has come in mercy. Right after the news that we are dead in sins we read in Ephesians 2:4 – “but God”. There is hope. We were dead – but God. We were walking according to the path of the Devil, fulfilling our desires, with no thought or love of God – but God.  

This is why Paul spoke of the resurrection power at the end of chapter one and why that power needs to be worked in us. We were dead and needed to be brought to life! Verse 5 says “even when we were dead, God had quickened us together with Christ! By Grace are ye saved”.  Jesus said “ye must be born again” because we don’t need reformation but regeneration. Not a change of heart, but a heart change (Ezekiel 36:26). Salvation is a miracle of grace that God works in us. By grace, because we are neither willing, nor able to fix ourselves.

God is kind to us, and provided in His Word the true spiritual diagnosis of the soul, otherwise, we would go on deceiving ourselves. The gospel means "good news" and this is the bad news of the good news. The bad news is we are dead in sins, without spiritual life to come to Christ. There is no hope for the dead to do anything – no hope, but God. dougnewell4th@gmail.com

Joel Beeke's Invocaiton for the Michigan State Senate

Natural Born Sinners

You don't have to teach a fish to swim or a squirrel to climb a tree. Spiders don't go to engineering school to learn how to build their astounding webs, they just do it. It is natural. Not exactly a profound observation, I know. But why do we deny the same self-evident truths about our own nature? When a child is born, people gather around to look at the precious little babe, and say things like "What a perfect little angel; so innocent and pure". But new parents soon realize that the "innocent" child is a little bundle of sin. No one teaches the child to lie, or to be selfish, or dishonor their parents, they just do it. It is natural. It's the default human position. They are called the "terrible two's” and not the "innocent and tranquil two's" for a reason. We sin, because we are natural born sinners.

The theological issue is not about whether men have a will; the problem is that man's will is broken and bound. We cannot and will not choose the God of the Bible. Our will is in bondage to sin and we are, by nature, the children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). Our hearts and minds are naturally contrary to the glory of God and is not "subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7). The heart of man is not naturally seeking God, or praising God, or serving God, because no one seeks God (Romans 3:11).  

Why do people choose one thing over another? Because they want to. But that brings us back to what the Bible says about our nature. We naturally want to fulfill the desires of our hearts, but our hearts are corrupted (Jeremiah 17:9; Ephesians 2:3) which makes us unwilling to come to Christ. Spiritually, it is worse than that. We are born dead in trespasses and sins. We don't need to make a choice, we need to be born again. We need the life giving grace of God.

Martin Luther once said "It is one thing to say that a thing was done by free-will and another to prove it." We can say that we freely chose God, but it's quite another thing to take the Bible and show that man is in a neutral state and that salvation hinges upon the choice that he makes outside of the grace and mercy of God. We just don't understand the clear Biblical teaching on  how bad our situation is and how hopelessly lost we really are. The Bible tells us that we of ourselves will not come to Christ that we might have eternal life. Our only hope is that God comes to us in full, free, sovereign Grace. What is required is not a decision, but a miracle of regeneration. When you realize that you cannot save yourself and will yourself to love God, only then will you see your desperate need of a Saviour.

The Sovereignty of God

 Psalm 115:3  But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

God is sovereign and that means He does everything He wants, when He wants to do it in exactly the way He wants it to work out – and there isn't anything that can stop Him. Before He created the world, when there was nothing but Himself, God ordained the history of the universe all the way to the end.  God would do as He pleased and nothing would thwart His plan. From the rise and fall of the Roman Empire to the rise and flight of a cardinal on Buffalo Creek, God ordained it and purposed it, He planned it, and He brought it about (Isaiah 46:9-11).

But if you confirm what the Bible says about our Lord's sovereignty, you need to believe it all the way down. You cannot just believe that God is almighty when it comes to the past or that God is almighty when it comes to the uncertain future. Sovereignty cannot  kept only in the realm of governments and far away events of history. To be truly almighty means that God does whatever He wants in all points of life and that includes your life. God is sovereign over sickness and health, finances and weather. God is also sovereign in salvation, from beginning to end – not just in an abstract philosophical way, but God is sovereign over your soul.

There is much preached about the free will of man, but what about the free will of God? Before you tell me about your free will tell me about God's. Before you advocate your choice, what does the Bible say about God's choice? Does God have the freedom to save who He pleases? If God has purposed it, who can frustrate His plan? If the mighty Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar cannot frustrate God's plan, do you think that you can? The plan and the will of God is unchangeable (Isa 14:27; Heb 6:7) which means God's will is free and your will is not.

God doing what He pleases means that God is sovereign all the way down. We are mere creatures; clay in the hands of a sovereign Potter who can do with us as He wishes. God being partly sovereign is like a woman being sort of pregnant. You either are or you're not.  The evidence of Scripture is that the God of the Bible is the Alpha and Omega, the Almighty King of kings. Instead of coming to the subject of the salvation talking about man's will, I believe a Christian should first affirm the truth that God is Almighty. Christian, confess that the Lord does whatever He wants in Heaven in Earth. There can only be One sovereign and there cannot be two beings that are absolutely free to do as they please. Only God has the freedom to do everything He wants. God's does what he pleases, even in the salvation of sinners. Hallelujah, the Lord omnipotent reigns! 

Worthless, Temporary, and Profitable - Tuesday with Timothy #50

1Timothy 4:7-8  But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

A good pastor will be in God's Word. He will read it, study it, live by it, and be controlled by the Word of God. While he is feeding himself and those he shepherds on the good Word of the Lord, he is also shunning the worthless, wicked old wives' tales. There are two parts here, the taking in of good and the shunning of the wicked. Too many try to have it all. They try to take in all the wickedness and worthless tales they can get their hands on while trying to balance it all out with a good measure of the Word of God. That isn't how it works any more than having a balanced diet by eating  equal portions of salad and chocolate cake.

Athletes have to watch what they take into the body. They eat the right foods at the right times and avoid the junk food, though tasty, it isn't helpful in reaching their goal. Like the athelete, shun the foolishness. It is worse than worthless. It harms your mind, it wastes your time, it takes up your energy that could be better spent doing something else. Many of the profane myths and stories that make their way into the church come by people who are looking for something new and exciting. People come up with some "deep" teaching that no one else has thought of or that no one else can see. Far from being deep, these fables are garbage and are not worth your time, other than to dismiss them and warn others to do the same.

Instead of wasting your time on worthlessness, do something profitable and exercise toward godliness. Use your time becoming more godly. Read good books. Think about profitable doctrine. Think on good, pure, lovely things. Kill sin in your life. Pray. Serve your church. Love your family.

Paul tells us to exercise unto godliness. This is discipline. Don't make the mistake that anything to do with the spiritual life has to come bubbling up from some inner promptings that you feel deep down in your soul. Yes, reading your Bible is Spiritual, but you have to get up and get out of bed and open your Bible and read. This takes discipline and it takes work.  While God the Holy Spirit is responsible for working in us all that is good in our spiritual lives, He does not do this instantly and without our effort. The means He has chosen is our applying ourselves unto godliness.

Physical exercise is profitable. Keeping your body in shape is a good thing to do, but the benefits are temporary. Exercise will help us live healthy, feel better, and live longer, but exercise doesn't let us live forever. There is point  in the life of every athlete where he can't run as fast or jump as high. No matter how good you take care of yourself, you will start to ache and hurt and slow down. The profit of physical exercise eventually comes to an end. However, if you exercise unto godliness, that is good for you now and forever. Exercising towards godliness is not a waste of time. You have the promises from God of the blessings godliness brings you in this life and you have the promises God has given you in the world to come.

The Autobiography of George Muller

God hears and answers prayer and in his autobiography, Muller tells how the Lord saved him, brought him to the truth and into the ministry and showed him that God answers prayer, even today. The purpose of this book was to give glory to God and show that God answers prayer. I was blessed and encouraged by hearing the many stories and instances of how God provided him all the money to build and maintain the orphanages simply through prayer, without asking for a penny.

There are a couple interludes that are wonderful. I got a lot out of the section on why he preached expositional messages and how he learned that Bible reading before prayer was the key to preparing his heart. Feed the soul before prayer helped him to do both.

I read the unabridged version, so there are a lot of figures in monetary denominations that I'm not familiar with from another era. So and so gave this amount. Received that amount on this date, etc.; it was sort of like having to sit through someone else's business meeting. An abridged version might be a little easier to get through for American audiences.

Study the Gospel

Do you study the gospel or have you been convinced the gospel is just for lost people? The simplicity of the message of Jesus Christ, dying as a substitute, a sacrifice for sinners and rising from the dead, does not mean a shallowness in doctrine. I’m convinced that we will spend eternity pondering and examining the “unsearchable riches of Christ” and will never come to the end of the glories of the gospel. When a person is born again, they are awakened to spiritual truths that are plainly laid out in Scripture. A new convert realizes the gospel is a simple to receive but unsearchable in the vast and rich beauty of how it was accomplished. It should be the desire of the Christian heart to know more about Jesus and our salvation. Doctrine shouldn’t be avoided, but it should be desired. The more we learn about our Saviour, the lovelier He is to us.

The only way we can know the details of the work of salvation is if God reveals His mind to us. I can tell you what happened when the Lord saved me from my perspective, but since I didn’t save myself, that is an awfully poor perspective to use as the foundation of my theology. When I was first saved, I didn’t know much more than I was a sinner deserving Hell, and Jesus saved me. I was a theologian after the mold of the blind man in John 9 “one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see”. I thought I knew other things about God and the Bible, but I soon discovered those early opinions were very wrong. I had a lot of assumptions about God, sin, and salvation based upon my preconceived notions, personal feelings, and tradition. But it is not the will of God for His people to remain in this state and to walk around with nothing but our experience to guide us in the details of salvation. Since I was saved by Another, and by grace on top of that, I want to have the perspective of my Saviour about the salvation He provides. Jesus saved me, then gave a book that revealed His mind and His will about the matter of salvation. The question is whether we will receive the truth about salvation from the God who provides it, even if it is offensive to our natural thoughts about God.

The gospel of Christ turns the world upside down. It is a paradigm shifting, idol destroying, world changing truth. Join me in the coming weeks in an examination of the topic of redemption. With an open mind and open Bible, seek to study what the Lord tells us about our salvation. Chesterton wrote “The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.” Truth loses nothing from examination, but the more you look and the more you see, the more beautiful it becomes.  

Read Revelation

Revelation 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

The book of Revelation begins with a promise – if you read this book, you will be blessed. Some shy away from the book of Revelation, because it can be difficult to understand, but it's worth the effort. I want to encourage you to pick up your Bible and read the book of Revelation. When you think of Revelation, you may think of only Satan, plagues, the Antichrist and other such scary images. Really, this book is about Jesus. It is, after all, the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The word translated Revelation comes from a Greek word apokalupsis,  where we get the word "apocalypse". It mostly now associated with disaster and chaos, but the word simply means to lay bear, or to disclose a truth of something before unknown. This book is revealing something that was once hidden. Jesus Christ is telling us things that only God can know – things about the future. But this book does much more than tell us about future things. There is instruction for churches, warnings to sinners, and promises for God's people.  When the world is dark and bleak, when we find ourselves in the middle of trials and heartaches, it is good to go and remind ourselves of the inheritance we have waiting for us. To read of the beautiful New Jerusalem, where no evil doer will ever step foot, or to read of the pure river, clear as crystal, that flows from the throne of God. When so much heartache fills our minds and hearts, let us go and refresh ourselves by thinking of that blessed tree of life, that is for the healing of the nations and glory in the thought of the Earth, with "no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him" (Rev 22:3).

You should read the book because it is about Jesus Christ. In this book alone, Christ is revealed to be the redeemer, a righteous judge and the royal Bridegroom. He is shown to be the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. Christ is described as the Lamb of God, the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Warrior on His white horse. Jesus is proclaimed to be the Truth, the Amen of God, the head of the Church, and the worthy One. He is worshiped by angels, adored by saints, and feared by His enemies. He is the glorious King of the millennial kingdom, the Alpha and Omega, and the bright and morning star. Though Revelation does disclose to us much about judgment, Satan, and evil, it does so to show how God brings judgment to sin and will ultimately set all things right and restore what sins has destroyed. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

 First published HERE.

On Pastoring by H.B. Charles, Jr.

On Pastoring is a book by a pastor, for pastors. Written in a conversational style, and illustrated throughout with personal anecdotes, H.B. Charles has produced a book that gives an honest assessment of the work of pastoral ministry and provides Biblical exhortation and practical lessons that he has learned along the way. The book covers a wide variety of topics; the pastor's spiritual life, his preaching ministry, and leading the church.

The short chapters are full of wit and wisdom, grouped together in three sections: The pastor's heart, the pastor's leadership, and the pastor's public ministry. However, it is not necessary that your read the book straight through, each chapter can stand alone. Where some books on the ministry are not very applicable to pastors of small churches, this book's focus was upon faithfulness to God. I found it very encouraging to press on in the work of the Lord and think seasoned pastors and those who desire to get into the work would learn and be encouraged by the book.

There are books that are written about how we wish things could be in the church. There are books written about how things should be in the church. This book is written from the perspective of  how things usually are in a church, which makes it both challenging, and encouraging.

My thanks to Moody Press for the review copy.

Habakkuk's Humble Question

This is a repost and edited version of an older post from several years back.

The book of Habakkuk is named for the prophet  of Judah who lived to see the nation fall from the blessings of godly King Josiah's reign to diving headlong back into idolatry.  Habakkuk surveyed the spiritual state of  the people and marveled that God didn't stop the violence, strife, contention, and iniquity that was running rampant in Jerusalem. God told him that he would not let this continue but would chasten Judah by raising up the “Chaldeans( Babylon) to come and batter the land and take the people captive. Babylon was a dreadful nation to their enemies; strong, fast, and ruthless. They were everything you do not want your enemy to be.

This presented another problem for Habakkuk (Hab. 1:13). Since God is holy and cannot bear to look upon sin, and will not allow His people to continue to live in iniquity, how God could raise up a nation who is worse than His own people and give them strength and power? He decided he would wait on the Lord to answer. Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

Something wasn't adding up in the mind of Habakkuk. He came upon a dilemma that he couldn’t understand in reconciling God’s sovereignty and the problem of evil. In his mind there seemed to be a contradiction. He said I will see what God says and then I’ll have my answer when I have been corrected. This is the way to come to God’s Word. Too often people will pick up the Bibles trying to prove themselves right instead of sitting and being reproved and taught by God. Habakkuk assumed he was the one with the problem, not God.

Because Habakkuk knew that there was no contradiction in God, and God is both sovereign and holy, he knew the problem was not with God but with himself and his understanding. So he sought God in humility to be shown where he was wrong. Habakkuk 2:4  Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Pride will cause men to assume the worst of God and suppose that there is contradiction with the Holy One before admitting they might not have full understanding or they might be the one who is wrong. It is the just who live by faith and trust in the goodness and mercy of the Lord God.

The answer was that Babylon would eventually be punished too and every sin they commit will be accounted for and would come back upon them in due time. God would be faithful to Israel and to His promises, despite their unfaithfulness. Habakkuk remembered the history of Israel, what God had done in the past and that God keeps his promises and He will again (Habakkuk 3:17-19) so he trusted in God's goodness.

What makes a good pastor? - Tuesday with Timothy #49

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.

What makes a good pastor? Everyone has an answer to that question, but I wonder how many would answer the question like Paul? Paul said in order to be a good minister, you need to preach the truth of God's Word and remind your hearers that the Spirit said that some will leave the faith. To remind them that there are seducing Spirits preaching false and devilish doctrines.

Paul doesn't say anything about his style of delivery. He doesn't say anything about his "vision casting" for the future of the church. It was a good thing Timothy wasn't required to be like a CEO of the church because CEOs hadn't been invented yet. Timothy, preach the truth and warn the people. Preach the positive truths and warn of the evil of heresy and apostasy. As we've studied this pastoral epistle, you see what is important. The only ministry skill that Paul said is a requirement is that he be apt to teach. Everything else is about the man's character. Do you want to be a good minister? Preach the truth. Always improve in the skill of teaching. Be a godly man.

A good pastor will remind you of what you already know. He won't be looking for the new novel. A good pastor will warn and will love you enough to tell you the truth, even – no, especially when it hurts. A good pastor will be nourished in the words of faith and good doctrine. He will be feeding himself from the Word of God and feeding on good doctrine and then dispensing that food out to the flock. A good pastor will be a man that studies and mines God's Word and feeds his own soul. He will be nourished himself by the Word and then give the church the fruit of his labors and study in the Word.

The God of the Birds

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Georgia a few years ago, I took my family on a walk down a nature trail the county had developed. Along the wooden boardwalk through the swampy marsh we saw some tall and ornate bird houses; beautifully crafted, white with high pitched roofs. Mentioning to my son that they looked like church buildings for birds got his three year old mind churning. He wondered what the birds called their pastor, or if the baby birds had to get dressed up for service like he did. He asked about the quality of the bird hymnody, but reckoned the fowls have a very pretty song service and were not at all hindered by the lack of piano. After a few other observations, he asked, "Since the birds went to church, who is the bird’s God? I wonder what his name is?” I told him, “The birds do have a God, and His name is Jesus.”

Jesus is Lord of everything in this earth, including the birds. He created them on the fifth day for His glory (Gen 1:20; Psalm 148:10). Jesus watches over and cares for even the smallest of sparrows and not one of them are forgotten or will fall to the ground without His notice. Jesus knows and cares for every bird in Clay County (Psalm 50:11). Birds don't need to plant gardens and build barns because God takes care of them and feeds them. God gave the beautiful wings to the peacock and cares for the eggs of the ostrich, since mamma ostrich won't do it (Job 39:13-17). Sometimes the chirping you hear are the birds praying for food, according to Job 38:41  "Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat."

Jesus told us to consider the birds and then to think about our own lives. Walk outside one evening and watch the birds and think how God cares for them. Take a moment, mull over that if God takes care of the birds, wouldn't it stand to reason that He would take care of His own? If the Father sent His only begotten Son into the world to die for His people, don't you think He would take care of the lesser things, like our earthly needs? If God provides so much for the birds, would He at least provide the same for His people? Aren't we worth more than the birds? Jesus reminds us that we are worth more than the birds, and our Father, who is the God of the birds is not only our God but our Father. Trust him with your soul and with your life, Jesus is the good Lord of all, come to Him and He will not cast you out. The birds may not have a church building. The birds may not have a pastor. But the birds do have a God, and His name is Jesus.

Christians get depressed too by Lewis Kiger

 Becoming a born-again follower of the Lord Jesus Christ does not exempt anyone from the difficulties of this life. Regardless of what some of the money-hungry charlatans on TV promise, we are all going to face our share of sorrow and sickness. No matter how dedicated we are to serving God and no matter how great our faith, we ARE NOT immune to depression, disease, or disaster.

 I have faced my own battles with bouts of melancholy, and throughout my time in the Gospel ministry I have known many good and godly saints who have struggled with mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, panic attacks, personality disorders, and even suicidal thoughts.

 Readers, we live in a fallen world; everything and everyone around us, has been affected by sin. Just as surely as there are sicknesses that weaken our bodies, there are also illnesses that attack the mind. Far too often, when someone is struggling with mental health issues we draw back from them, rather than wrapping our arms around them and embracing them. Stop and think about this; if a church member announced they had been diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, or leukemia, the whole church body would weep with them, support them, and pray for them. Yet, most of those who struggle with some form of mental health issues are reluctant to publicly mention anything for fear they will be considered a lesser Christian.

 Too many of God’s people suffer in silence because they are afraid to ask for the help they so desperately need. Depression and mental health issues are just as real, and just as deadly as sicknesses that affect the body. We would never tell someone with Multiple Sclerosis they just need to “suck it up and get over it.” Yet how often do you hear this said to someone who is battling with despair?

 God’s Word is not silent on this subject, nor should we be. In the 42^nd and 43^rd Psalm we read the candid confession of the inspired writer who is internally at war. He repeatedly asks, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted (troubled) within me?"  The words “cast-down” will lead you to see the discouraged writer actually is asking himself: “Why are you depressed? Why are you so disheartened? Why don’t you have peace in your life?”

These short Psalms tell the story of one who had all the inner tranquility and joy ripped from his life. I believe depression is a double-edged sword that cuts even deeper and hurts even more for the child of God. We know we should not feel this way. We know we have victory in Jesus -- but that does not stop the pain, and so we feel even worse. On top of that, we often receive a cold shoulder from Christian friends or relatives. All the while, the enemy of our soul, Satan, is whispering his twisted words in our ears, stating that if God really loved us, and we really loved Him, we wouldn’t feel this way.  We are not told the reason for the Psalmist pain. As a pastor, I will agree that unconfessed sin can and often does lead to heartache and misery in the lives of people, but sin is not always the root cause.

 The Psalmist here calls out to God for help, but seemingly, God is far, far away. He is an empty man, weary of his own complaints. He seeks help by attending the house of God, and for a short while, he is encouraged, but it is short-lived. Even though we don't know the why of his pain, we know there is hope.

Psalms 42:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

 Finally, if you are battling with depression, I urge you to seek help. First I would tell you to flee to Christ. Burdens are indeed lifted at Calvary. Jesus can give you victory by trusting in Him and His finished work. Secondly, there is no shame in asking for help and by seeking professional Christian counseling. Lastly, just as there are medicines that help heal the body, there are also good medicines that help to heal the mind.

Pray for those who are hurting and battling with these issues. If we could ever get past the ugly stigma that is attached to depression and mental illness and be willing to help them, we will have gone a long way to address a major issue facing our churches today.

Pastor Lewis Kiger

Memorial Heights Baptist Church

TWITTER: @Lndmrkpastor

The Authority of Scripture

Originally posted at The Baptist Classroom - Clay County Free Press

"Oh yeah? Says who?" When I was in elementary school, that was yelled on the playground about every day. One kid in defiance of some other kid trying to impose their will at recess. Actually, it's not a bad question. From Mom and Dad, "says me" is a sufficient answer, but from another kid, it just is isn't a good enough reason. The question boils down to authority.

Religions make proclamations and tell people what to do. Prophets and priests tell people how they should live. Government officials want to tell people how to think. When someone tells me that I have to think a certain way, or have to accept a particular belief, I just might ask "says who?" I don’t ask that because I am against authority, I ask because I am already under authority. I'm under the jurisdiction of my God and my King.  I will not be judged by the words and opinions of men. What counts is what God says.

Because the Bible is God's Word, that makes the Bible authoritative. God has every right to tell us what to do. God, as ruler of this universe, has determined right and wrong. When the Bible speaks, God speaks and when God speaks, we have to listen. As God's creatures, we are under His authority and are accountable to His Word.

The Bible is the final arbiter because God has spoken. We may not like what God says but that doesn't release us from obligation to obey what God has said. Feelings don’t change facts. Likely there are many portions of God's Word, if we are honest, we just don't like very much. What do we do when our opinions and feelings are in conflict with God's Word? There are only two options: we submit to God or we rebel against Him. Since our Creator has spoken, we have to bow our knee to Him and submit Our will has to break to His Word. The Bible is the authority because it is by the Word that the Lord Jesus Christ will judge us all.  John 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

There is no higher authority on Earth than the Book of the Lord . All popular opinions all must bow the knee to Scripture. Traditions, councils, church covenants, or deeply felt and believed positions are not a higher authority. It doesn't even matter if that is the way you have always believed, or if you truly and with all of your heart believe it to be so. The Bible is the final word. God has the right to tell His creation what is right and what He requires from them. God has spoken and when the Bible is faithfully proclaimed and read, the answer to the question "oh yeah, says who?" is "says God!"  

The Holiness of God by Lewis Kiger

This wraps up Pastor Kiger's series he wrote for their local paper on the Attributes of God. I want to thank him for letting me put his articles up on the blog. If you have enjoyed the posts, let him know in the contact info below. DN

We conclude this series on “Getting to know God” by discussing the Holiness of God. This is to my estimation, the “attribute of attributes.” God’s holiness is what the old theologians used to call – the otherness of God. This is what makes God other than any other. His holiness is what puts God in a class all by Himself.

 The word holy literally means to cut or separate. Or to be set apart, sacred, or consecrated. God is a “cut above” if you will. He is the sum of all moral excellence. He is absolute purity, unsullied by any hint of corruption. God is independently holy, infinitely holy, and immutably holy.

 In Isaiah 6:1-5 the Old Testament prophet is given a supernatural view of the glorified Christ sitting on His throne. This is similar to the same scene that is unveiled to John some 830 years later in Revelation 4:8. In both accounts there are angelic beings, called seraphim, hovering around the throne. These glorious fiery messengers have a message. They cease not night and day saying: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts.

 He is the Thrice Holy God. This is doubtless a hint to the Trinity, but the repetition of these words should leap off the page at us. In Jewish writings whenever there is a repetition of words, it demands extra attention. What makes the Holiness of God so conspicuous, is we know this is the only attribute of God, that is mentioned three times in succession in all of Holy Writ.

 As Stephen Charnock said: “the holiness of God, is the glory of the Godhead. It is the glory of every perfection in the Godhead.” God is Holy, Holier, Holiest. He is Eternally Holy. Absolutely Holy. Inflexibly Holy.

 His Supreme Holiness beautifies every attribute. This is the one quality that is used as an adjective to describe His other attributes. God’s love is a Holy Love. He possesses a Holy Wisdom. His grace is a holy mercy. His truth is holy and even His anger is a Holy wrath.  God is never spoken of as good, good, good. Or love, love, love. But Holy, holy, holy.

 If each of God’s attributes composed a golden crown, His holiness would be the incomparable diamond mounted at its apex. God’s holiness is the crowning jewel of His character.

 Everything God thinks is holy. Everything God does is holy. Every word God speaks is holy. "The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works" (Psalms 145:17). The book He gave us is the Holy Bible.

 Moses met with God on the mount, and was told to take the shoes from off his feet, because he was standing on holy ground. It wasn’t the dirt or the sand that was holy, but the presence of God. God alone is perfectly Holy (Revelation 15:4). He is matchless in holiness. 1 Samuel 2:2 says there is none holy as the Lord. Exodus 15:11 states God is glorious in holiness. According to (Isaiah 57:15) His name is holy.  The Father is Holy. The Son is Holy. The Spirit is known as the Holy Spirit.

 God came down in power and dwelled in the Tabernacle, behind the veil, between the Cherubim; above the mercy seat in the place called the Holy of Holies. His dwelling place, His habitation is Holy. (Psalms 68:5)

 Finally, one need look no further than Calvary to see the Holiness of God. There God’s holy justice was poured out upon Christ. He who knew no sin, and had committed no trespass became sin for us. God is so holy that Isaiah said it pleased the Lord to bruise Him.

 Further yet, God hates sin. It is an affront to His very person. He hates it so much, that when Christ became sin for his people, the Holy Father could not glance upon His Son for Habakkuk 1:13 states: Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. This is why, when at Calvary; God turned away from His Son, and Jesus would cry out: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

  He forsook His Son, because God is Holy. Sin is so offensive to God’s Holy Nature, that the Father put Him to grief, and made His soul an offering for sin.

 What His holiness demanded, His grace supplied in the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh dear reader, if you are truly born again, consider this; we have been saved by God, from God, and for God.

 Now, be ye holy even as He is holy. For Hebrews 12:14 says without holiness, shall no man see the Lord.

Pastor Lewis Kiger

Memorial Heights Baptist Church

svdbygrace2@roadrunner.com

The Bible is Sufficient

2 Corinthians 3:5  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

God is enough and so is His Word.

King Solomon said a long time ago, " of making many books there is no end" and it is hard to imagine what he would say today! Surely, our cup runneth over when it comes to access to books.

 There is a constant stream of new books being released. Just in the realm of Christianity, there are new books being released about the Bible, about Jesus Christ, about how to preach better, different ways to do church ministry.  There are books

I like to read, so I'm definitely not against books. As I type this, I'm looking at a stack right now and I'm thankful for them.  While many books are helpful, we have everything we need to live the Christian life and to have a faithful church in the Bible. The Bible is enough. If every other book was destroyed, the Bible would be enough for us to worship God, love God, and follow God. God’s grace is sufficient for us and God’s Word is sufficient for us.

The Bible is sufficient in our knowing about God.  You will not and cannot find knowledge about God apart from the scripture. You may learn things from other books, but those books will not have new information about God that wasn't already in the Bible.  The big new thing today is Heaven tourism books. Books that tell us that "Heaven is Real".  Did we really need a book to tell us that Heaven is real? Hasn't the Bible already spoken and told us that?

You cannot and will not learn new secrets about God. The Bible is sufficient to know how to be saved and the Bible is sufficient to know how to live. In the Christian life, the Bible is enough to teach us to pray, how to navigate our Christian walk. It is enough to guide our family and our work life. The Bible is sufficient to guide us in how we are to think and how we are to feel.

This is important because in our society, very few think the Bible is enough. The Bible is living and powerful. The Bible gives life. The Bible washes us clean. It reveals our deepest thoughts and intentions, when we didn't realize them ourselves.

Oh, what a blessed book! The Bible is enough because it is about Jesus. From beginning to end, the Bible teaches us about Jesus Christ. The Bible shows us the way of salvation. The Bible teaches us about God's grace. The Bible shows us how lovely and beautiful God's mercies are to wretched sinners. The Bible teaches us that Jesus is a perfect Saviour and all that come to Him will find Him to be. We have the finished Scripture. We don't need to look for further Words, what we have is enough. Think of it this way, if someone comes with a new word from God, the only way we can know if it is true is if it is confirmed in the Bible. If it is not confirmed in the Bible, then it is false. If it is already confirmed in the Bible, then it is unnecessary.

The Bondage of Ungodly Liberty - Tuesdays with Timothy #39

1Timothy 4:3-5  Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.  (4)  For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:  (5)  For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

H.L. Mencken defined Puritanism as "The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” Had he lived today, it would be interesting to see what he would have to say about the secularism. His snipe at Christianity is more of a shot at what is perceived by people who don't want to be told they are wrong and assume that forsaking God's way is the path to happiness. It is somewhat amusing to be called a prude or a puritan today, because it isn't the Christian who goes about worrying that someone may be happy. The Puritans didn't either, by the way; they were champions of liberty in Christ and knew the way to happiness. 

The lie of secularism is that they offer true freedom and liberty. In reality, the further one goes from the liberty that is in Christ Jesus, the more one will find himself in bondage. No society can be free from all  moral law or codes of morality. There has to be a line drawn somewhere and someone has to hold a pen and decide where to start drawing. I would rather have a good and holy God hold the pen than Congress. The standards of Jesus Christ are not bondage but the path to joy and fellowship with Christ for the born again believer in Jesus. We are not saved by the law and we are not saved by keeping the law; but we have fellowship with Jesus by walking in the light, led by the Spirit.

But the secularist and God haters can't abide by the Word of God. That just will not due. They want freedom. They want to be set free from those terribly restrictive edicts the Bible lays down. But what happens? They cast away God's law and make their own. God ordained marriage which is good for everyone involved, when done as God intended. It is good for men, good for women, and good for society in general. God gave liberty in the eating of meats and blessed us with the liberty to eat with joy and thanksgiving. What does secular society do? They destroy the gift of marriage and make so many food laws that Moses is saying "wow, come on guys, lighten up!"

The great libertines of secularism, who have done away with the oppressive puritanical ways of the Bible have opened the door of the liberty that is found in Secularism. This great "freedom"that we have includes laws against soda. Laws against trans fats. Laws about going to the bathroom. Laws about who can bake cakes for whom and when and why. Soon, the unspoken laws about being able to tell the truth will be written laws and they certainly won't be to protect speech. The great proponents of secularist freedom are writing laws about pronouns now and how to use them. I might be jailed for the high crime of saying "he". Pronouns in the hands of a man who knows how to use them can be a dangerous thing in a society built upon lies. Not only are you not allowed to go against these liberties, you are not even allowed to think differently. You have the freedom to shut up and do as your told, or else.

Humanity will have laws and they will have standards. The further you get from God's ways, the more oppressive and harmful the laws. These false teachers in Paul's day were drawing people away from the truth by giving MORE oppressive and restrictive standards. They were adding to the Word of God and this had an appeal. The falsehoods these preachers were selling are very similar to the points of controversy we find ourselves in today, Marriage and food. While we could point to other religions that use these tactics, I think that secularism is the greater threat since evangelical churches are following the leadership of the High Priests of this religion of the unnamed god.  

False teachers draw people away by giving people something to do. Works righteousness is a lot like an old school football coach and his secret health remedies, when it starts to hurt, you know it is working. They were telling people to not enjoy the good gifts of God and through their sacrifice and pain of not enjoying God's gifts, they would be closer to God. The question of marriage was one that circulated in the days of the early church. Paul answers the questions the Corinthians had about this very topic in I Corinthians 7. These false teachers spoke against marriage and were forbidding marriage, either to some or to all. This is contrary to the true Biblical teaching that marriage is a good gift from God.

Paul likely was combating the early sects that would come to be the Gnostics, who felt all things physical were evil. In this section, Paul has grouped two issue relating to the physical together - abstinence from marriage and abstinence from food. Abstaining from food or certain types of food, as a means to holiness. Likely this was similar to the food laws of the Old Testament and the false teachers were saying that in order to grow in holiness, you had to abstain from certain foods, which of course is utter nonsense. Not only is it wrong headed, but dangerous. This is the devilish doctrine that people leave the faith over. These are issues of eternal significance. 

So, get married, within the bounds God has given and praise the Lord for it. Eat what God has provided for you, and praise Him for it. Be thankful for the food and enjoy what God has given. It is not unholy to eat the food God has given to us, if we thank Him for it. We do so by faith and the Word of God, or by God saying it is ok to eat it. We can enjoy barbecue by faith because God said we can enjoy it. God has given permission for us to eat meats, so dig in!  Thank God for the food he has provided and enjoy it with thanksgiving.

When people break from real sins, they have to make their own. Sins such as eating too much gluten. The transgressions of trans fats and the iniquities of preservatives. We pay our tithes and offerings by paying twice as much for free-range chicken eggs. Eat this, don't eat that. Touch this, don't touch that. I'm all for eating healthy and I'm certainly not saying that you shouldn't mind what you eat, but don't make a religion out of it and watch out for those who do. 

The Bible is Innerrant and Infallible

Published in the Clay County Free Press

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple, Psalm 19:7.

In an age of lies and deceit, it is refreshing to renew my mind in something that is perfect and sure. The Bible is that solid ground where we can know what is right and be confident to find the unadulterated truth. The Bible is inerrant which means it is without error. Everything in God's Word is true because it was spoken by God, who cannot lie. Whether it be doctrine, history, or prophesy, the Bible is without error. It is perfect in application and sure in its promises. God is Holy, perfect, and true and so is His Word. God is unchanging, and so are His promises.

Because God’s Word is inerrant, it is a sure guide for our life. Our feelings can change through the day. Our gut instincts can be wrong. Family can give us terrible advise. But the Bible will never lead us into error because it is not only without error, it is also infallible.

Infallible means not capable of being wrong, which is a stronger word than inerrant because the Bible is true, and it will never fail. No future scientific discovery will ever overthrow the Bible. Jesus said that Heaven and Earth would pass away before the Word of God. NASA is going to pass away. Charles Darwin already has passed away. College campuses will pass away. I used to work for Oxford University Press and we sold new text books every year because the old books were already outdated. God’s Word will not pass away.

I've lived long enough that science has told me that the eggs I eat for breakfast would kill me, but now, I'm told that they are good for me. I've been told the Earth will be destroyed in an ice age, but now they say the earth is going to burn up in global warming. Coffee was bad for me once upon a time, but now science tells me it can be good for me. I think I'll stick to God's Word and thank Him every morning over a cup of hot coffee, some eggs and a couple slices of bacon (I Timothy 4:3-5).

God’s Word is not able to be wrong, since it is spoken by an eternal, omniscient God. We can trust God's promises of salvation by grace, through faith, in the finished work of Christ. The Bible's teaching about damnation and eternal judgment are true and sure. Every word of God is true and will not be changed, updated, or found to be incorrect. You can trust God's Word in your marriage, in raising your family, at work, at play. You will never be disappointed by following God because God will never lead you astray. Psalm 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words. Rejoice in the purity of truth.

The Spirit Speaks Expressly. Liars, Not So Much - Tuesdays with Timothy #38

1Ti 4:1-3  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;  (2)  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;  (3)  Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,

There is no debate about this, the Spirit of God is speaking to us definitively. This is a good reminder to us all - God speaks expressly. I find comfort in the fact that God has spoken to us and we can understand what God has told us. You'll find that false teachers in the subversiveness of their agenda against truth, will have more questions than answers. No question, there are some things that are easier to understand than others (2 Peter 3:16), but God gave us the book to read, understand and profit from (Revelation 1:3).

that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith,

The Spirit tells us that some will depart from the faith. The latter times are the times in which we live and the longer we live, the later the times are. It is a way of describing the era between Christ's accession and His return. We do not know the day or the hour of our Lord's return and we look for the soon coming of our Lord and Saviour. As time goes on, some will leave the faith, the mystery of godliness (I Tim 3:16). Will these lose their salvation? No, it will be made evident that they never truly believed the gospel to start with (1 John 2:19).

Nevertheless, these gospel warning are real. There are some who make professions of faith and then later, leave and never again follow Christ. God's people will persevere in the faith. These warnings are given to the people of God that they may persevere in the faith. There is a balance in Scripture teaching both the perseverance of the people of God as well as the preservation of the people of God. The warning passages, speak to our need to cling to Christ Jesus the Lord, knowing that we are kept only by Jesus clinging to us.

What draws these individuals away? False doctrine.

 giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

False teachers do not come out and say "I've got some damnable heresy for you today!" You won't get a knock on your door Saturday morning and have some nice looking couple say "I've to deceive you to leave Christ and become a child of Hell. Come, join us in eternal damnation." No, they will deceive and seduce, looking like angels of light. In fact, they will provide a lot of Scripture and quite a few clever questions to get you thinking and questioning the truth of God. It may even make sense to you at first. The Spirit tells us that these people are speaking demonic doctrine.

People say that they don't like doctrine. What foolishness. Of course they like doctrine. People love doctrine and they love preaching. Why else will countless numbers of individuals turn on cable news religiously to be indoctrinated? Why else will they listen to a person go on for hour after hour, preaching to them about how they should live and how they should think? Or, if not on cable news, how about talk radio? Or, how about in sitcoms and movies? Certainly people love to be preached to, as long as they like the doctrine.

If it were doctrine that people despised, then Satan wouldn't use doctrine to draw people away. It isn't doctrine that people hate, it is true doctrine that people hate. It is doctrine about the sovereignty of God. Doctrine about man's depravity. Doctrine about salvation by grace, through faith. Doctrine about justification through faith. Satan leads people from Christ, through seductive and deceiving doctrine.

Hypocritical liars with seared consciences

You don't have to spend too much time wondering about the souls of false teachers. The Spirit says that these false teachers willingly seduce and lie to people. They are not deceived, but they have so long lied to people that it doesn't bother them anymore. Their God given conscience no longer functions and they can lie to people and willingly and maliciously deceive people and have no problem doing it. The longer they lie to people, the easier it becomes. Their heart becomes hard as a rock and they no longer feel guilty about deceiving people.

Do you regularly push the bounds of your conscience? Behind the pulpit, do you stretch the truth a little in illustrations? Do you preach what people want, knowing that you are not giving them what they need? You are on dangerous ground. The more you inch this direction, the easier it will be to go against conscience and the more you play with fire, the more likely you are to sear. 

Fleshly sermons.

These men draw people away through asceticism. Ironically, false teachers can draw people away just as easily by telling people what they cannot do as they can by giving them permission to dive into sin. There are some who want to hear that they can sin all they want and want people to lead them into hedonism. There are others who would prefer to be told what are not allowed to do, to deny the flesh. Both are opposite sides of the same coin of self-righteousness. One, desires to fulfill their inner self and desires the other deny themselves to get what they want. Neither will bring salvation. Neither hedonism nor asceticism will bring salvation. Legalism and libertinism are cousins. They both focus too much on the law, either in hatred of it or looking for deliverance in it.

In the last days, individuals won't want to hear gospel preaching. They won't want the Bible expounded. Faithful Bible exposition won't be enough for them, the'll need something else and there will be someone around to give them what they want. Would you rather someone tell you the truth or someone to tell you what you want to hear?

Another irony is that often when faithful Bible preaching is going on in the church, and people start to leave, all eyes go to the pastor. If only the pastor was a better speaker. If only he was more dynamic and if only he had better programs, then these people would have never left. Sometimes, we need to realize that people who don't want the true are not going to stick around to hear the truth when there is not anything in it for them. When people leave the church, we should sorrow for their souls, but we shouldn't be surprised. 

Pride and Courage: A Parable

I'm recently read a good book called Endurance, by Alfred Lansing. It is about the British explorer Earnest Shackleton, who led three epic expeditions to the Antarctic. The Endurance was the name of his ship that was crushed in the ice packs and the book tells of  his daring adventure trying to get back home.

There was a point where the men were getting a little self-confident in their perilous condition and just sure that everything was all going to be just fine. They had been stranded on an iceberg for months and they had escaped doom so many times already and had gotten a little use to the daily routine of life on the berg, they became self complaisant. I'll paraphrase the parable he told to caution his crew against their overestimating their abilities.

There was once a mouse who made his way into a tavern. The mouse found an open barrel of beer and drank and drank. When he had had his fill, he sat up, twirled his whiskers and said "Now. Where's that cat!"

The mouse got away with sneaking into the tavern. The mouse got away with drinking the beer. Now he looks for the cat.

Don't confuse God's long-suffering patience for invincibility.

The Inspiration of the Bible

This month, I took over a weekly column in the Clay County Free Press called The Baptist Classroom. I hope to post them here on Friday's.

2Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

"The Holy Scriptures are our letter from home."  So wrote Augustine about the inspired Word of God. When I say inspired, I don't mean the writers of Scripture gazed upon a beautiful mountain one early spring morning and then were inspired to write. No, the Scriptures are God breathed. Men penned the Words God spoke as they were "moved" by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:16-21). People, not just helped by the Spirit, or guided by the Spirit, but moved and carried along by the Spirit of God, so what they wrote was not theirs, but God's.

The Bible was written over a 2,000 year period by 40 different people.  Kings and cupbearers, prophets and priests, fishermen and farmers, scholars and slaves all carried along by the Holy Spirit to write the very words of the Lord. They wrote different genres; history, letters, poetry, and prophesy. They wrote from different places under various circumstances; in times of prosperity, and dominance, times of bondage and suffering.  And through it all, the amazing thing is there isn't any disagreement in the message. From Moses to John, from Genesis to Revelation, there is no discrepancy in the message of the Bible. How is that possible, so many men from so many different walks of life? Because they are not the words of men, but the words of God Himself. You'll find no inconsistency in message because there is one author of the book -- God.

"All scripture is give by inspiration of God" and He didn't give the ideas and let the men fill in the blanks. God gave every word - every part of speech, in every chapter and verse, just the way he wanted it. Our creator revealed the truth about Him and about us. How can we know the mind of God, unless God tells us (1 Corinthians 2:10-13)? When you read your Bible, you are reading what the Holy Spirit is teaching you. "All scripture is give by inspiration of God" and not just the parts we like. The Old Testament is just as much God's Word as the New. The Words in red are not more God's Word than the black.  

So many people want to hear from God. Today, we have more access to Bibles in the United States than any other people in history. Yet, week after week, people cry out for "a word from the Lord." You have a word from God, it is your Bible! Love this precious book. A living book that speaks to us. An active book that comforts us. A relevant book for guidance in your life. How fast we search all over creation to get wisdom, when we have God's Word. Don't leave it on the shelf, hide it in your heart. God spoke to us in His Word!

The Sovereignty of God by Lewis Kiger

Who is in control of this world? Is there one Being who is the absolute authority in the Universe? The Biblical answer to these questions is yes. And that it is God, and God alone. Long and messy is the battlefield over the Sovereignty of God. There still remains a great amount of debate over this doctrine, and though there are good men on both sides of the argument, someone has to be right. 

  We are all prone to exaggerate the doctrinal position of others, in order to make ourselves look better, smarter, or more spiritual. Yet I will say that any “level headed Bible student” should agree, that God is Sovereign. We may disagree on how He chooses to exercise that Sovereignty -  but dear reader, God is either Sovereign over all, or He is not Sovereign at all. There is no such thing as being partially sovereign.

 Some will suggest that the doctrine of God’s sovereignty is a complex and difficult doctrine. One that only theologians and Bible scholars can grasp. But, this isn’t so. I am going to insist God's sovereignty isn’t some obscure doctrine hidden in the far corners of the Bible reserved for the seminary classroom. Instead, it is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith and should be loved and embraced by every believer. The fact that God is Sovereign is not hard to understand. It may be hard to swallow, but it isn’t hard to understand.

 To say that God is Sovereign, we mean that He is Supreme in Power. There is none above God. He possesses Universal Dominion and is Superior to all others. He has Absolute Authority over all things and at all times. God has the unconditional right and ability to do whatever He wants, whenever He wants, and to whomever He wants. God never has asked permission from anyone to do anything, and He never will. 

1 Chronicles 29:11-12 States that God owns everything. He is the Ruler over everything. To Him alone belongs all power, all glory, all victory, the greatness, the Majesty. God alone is exalted above all others. He is the Divine Self-governing Monarch who alone reigns over all creation. His will is not bound by man, or any other. AW Pink rightly said; “God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases. None can thwart Him; none can hinder Him.”

 A gentile king named Nebuchadnezzar quickly learned that God was the Sovereign of the Universe. Listen to his words: Daniel 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he 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?

 In other words, God is answerable to none. He righteously decrees all things as it pleases Him to do so, and there are none who can obstruct Him. All the combined armies of the earth cannot in anyway, impede the will of the Sovereign.

 We live in a nation that is politically divided and are enduring the seemingly endless battles of politicians coveting our vote. But, in heaven there are no brokered conventions. No delegates, or no electoral college. God Almighty rules and reigns over the affairs of men and does whatever pleases Him. Psalms 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

 God has spoken it; God will bring it to pass. God has purposed it and will also do it. Isaiah 46:9-11 Cleary shows that God is Sovereign over time, eternity, life, death, circumstance, and yes, even salvation. Some generous souls will “grant” God sovereignty over everything except the human will.

 I ask, is God Sovereign over creation, Satan, the angels, the weather, nature, and everything else, but not over mankind? Only human arrogance would be so bold to suggest that God is Sovereign over everything except us. I say again, EITHER GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER ALL, OR HE IS NOT SOVEREIGN AT ALL.

 Someone once asked Spurgeon, how he reconciled the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of men. His reply: “they do not need to be reconciled, they are old friends.” While it is gloriously true that God is the Absolute Sovereign of the Universe, it also true that men are responsible for their every action. Dear sinner, hear these words: this Sovereign God has commanded all men everywhere to repent and all those who fail to do so are personally responsible for their disobedience. God is not to be blamed nor held responsible. Flee to Him, and you will find that this Sovereign God is friend of repentant sinners.

Pastor Lewis Kiger

Memorial Heights Baptist Church

svdbygrace2@roadrunner.com

The Severity of God by Lewis Kiger

If there is any attribute of God that has been greatly neglected and abandoned in modern evangelism, it is the one we will consider now together. This sad, but undeniable statement is evidence of the Biblical illiteracy of American Christianity.

 Where are God’s men who have the courage and conviction to boldly warn sinners of the anger and wrath of God? Where are the Johnathon Edwards who will stand up and preach on “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?” Where are the faithful messengers of God who will, with tears in their eyes and passion in their words fearlessly declare a “Payday Someday?”

    

 Instead, Christianity is suffering from an epidemic of weak-kneed, conviction-less cowards, masquerading as preachers. Men who refuse to take a stand on the full Person of God, and declare that while God is a God of love, it is also true that God is just. And, if men refuse to obey the Gospel, He will in righteous wrath cast them into a lake that burns with fire and brimstone for all of eternity.

 These shallow prophets refuse to address large swaths of Scripture, because it is uncomfortable or unpopular. Prominent denominations bow the knee to cultural pressure and in so doing, have robbed their hearers of the truth about God and eternity.

 Most “evangelical churches” today deliberately neglect the truth about the Severity of God. Yet I submit to you, that the man who preaches only the Love of God, is just as wrong as the man who preaches only the Wrath of God. Regardless of what our society says, there are some things that God hates. Some sins that He calls an abomination, and there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun.

 This is exactly what Paul is warning us about in Romans 11:22 "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God…" He says, behold, or stop and consider both; not only one, but both the goodness of God, and the severity, or “the sharp cutting off of God” which is the exact rendering of the language. 

 Unfortunately, pulpits are only interested in declaring the goodness and not the severity. Ministries are so out of balance that it negates the reality of sin and punishment. On any given Sunday, the sermons you will hear are as out of balance as a see-saw with an African elephant on one end, and a Georgia gnat on the other. It is all love, love, love and never anger, wrath, and justice.

 For example, a so-called evangelical church in Florida recently rented and posted a giant billboard along the side of Interstate 4 that says: “GOD IS NOT ANGRY.” Tens of thousands of people pass by and see this sign every day. Now, this may sound lovingly inclusive, but it actually undermines the Gospel message.

 Friends, the good news of the Gospel, is only good news in light of the bad news. Let every believer go to their grave telling about the forgiveness, compassion, grace, and long-suffering of God; but let us also be faithful to declare that God is also a God of Divine Wrath and Holy Justice. Could you imagine a billboard like this posted just outside the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah?! Before you deny the severity of God, remember Lot’s wife.

Psalms 7:11, 12 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he (the unconverted) turn not, he (God) will whet his sword; he (God) hath bent his bow, and made it ready. Did you see those words? God is angry with the wicked every day and ready to strike.

 John 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

All those who are outside Christ, have the wrath of God abiding on them. And if they do not turn to God’s Son for forgiveness of sins, and find repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; God’s divine wrath demands that He cast every unbeliever into an eternal lake of fire.

God is love. God is good. But God also has a holy hatred of sin.

Psalms 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled…Kiss Him, embrace Him, delight yourself in Him. Lest He be angry, and His wrath is ignited against you.

Pastor Lewis Kiger

Memorial Heights Baptist Church
svdbygrace2@roadrunner.com

The Love of God by Lewis Kiger

 Bill Gaither (who is, in my opinion, one of the greatest Gospel singers/songwriters of our time) was once asked besides the Psalms, what do you consider to be the greatest song lyrics that have ever been written? Without hesitation he said this:

“Could we, with ink the ocean fill

And were the sky of parchment made,

Where every stalk on earth a quill

And every man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll, contain the whole

Though stretched from sky to sky.”

 As this old gospel hymn wonderfully declares, the love of God has never been measured. No amount of books could ever be written to fully declare His infinite love. His love for His people is incalculable. It is inexhaustible. It stretches as far as the east is from the west. The Lord's incomprehensible love is deeper than the oceans, higher than the heavens, and richer than the vast treasures of earth. Love emanates from God. It flows from Him. As 1 John 4:7 states “love is of God.”

 In 1 John 4:8 we find these simple, yet profound words: “God is Love.” Now, this is not all that God is, nor is this the sum of God; but thankfully, it is one of His Divine characteristics. God is indeed love. It would not be accurate to say, that the author of this article is love. Nor, even that the reader of this article is love -- but it is gloriously true, that God is love.

 One day, C.H. Spurgeon was walking through the English countryside with a friend. As they strolled along, the evangelist noticed a barn with a weather vane on its roof. At the top of the vane were these words; “GOD IS LOVE.” Spurgeon remarked to his companion that he thought this was a rather inappropriate place for such a message. “Weather vanes are changeable,” he said, “but God’s love is constant.” His friend replied by saying; “I don’t agree with you about those words, Charles.” “You misunderstand the meaning. That sign is indicating a truth and that is: Regardless of which way the wind blows, GOD IS LOVE.”

 God’s love is an eternal love (Jeremiah 31:3). An immutable and unconditional love. If you are a Christian, if you are indeed born-again, it is not because of good works or some “foreseen faith", but it is because God first loved you. Verse 19 of that same chapter of 1^st John tells us that we love Him, because (and only because) He first loved us. 

 God, in His great mercy, loves the unlovely. Look at this wonderful portion of the Scriptures, Romans 5:6-8 “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” This is what God did. He loved us, when we were unlovely. Not good, not godly, but while we were yet sinners.

 Why He would love us, is simply mind-boggling, yet we know He does. Years ago, there was a well-known and well respected Bible scholar, who had just a tremendous comprehension of Scripture. Someone asked him: “Sir, what is the single greatest thought, you have ever had?” He thought for a moment and then replied… “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so!” Even this great theological mind, was still just a sinner, astonished by the love of God.

 Near the end of Romans chapter 8, the inspired writer asks a question: “what can separate us from the love of Christ?” And then answers his own inquiry by forming a long and inclusive list. After considering all that wars against the child of God, he then summarizes by saying: “I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come; nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Praise God for His Sovereign, unconquerable love!

Oh love of God, how rich and pure;

How measureless, and strong

It shall forever more endure

The saints and angel’s song.”

Pastor Lewis Kiger

Memorial Heights Baptist Church

svdbygrace2@roadrunner.com