Monday, December 31, 2007

Consistency Is The Opposite Of Hypocrisy

I fear that much of what takes place today in name of worship is little more than the lip service offered by the Pharisees. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees: "You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men"(Matt 15:7-9).

If we are to be true worshippers, worshiping in spirit and in truth, then we should examine ourselves and our worship to see that the two are consistent. Someone once said that more people lie in church on Sunday during the singing of the hymns than any other time during the week. That statement may not be far from true as we sing songs like, "I surrender all," yet in truth we have surrendered very little.

I submit to you that no action can please God. Only action accompanied by a right heart. We may give of our time, our resources, and our money, but if we do so with the wrong motives then we still fail to please God.

If our lives are consistent with our words and our worship, then we will have avoided hypocrisy.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Pride: A Self-Destructive Attitude (Sermon: Luke 2:1-20)

Christ displayed an attitude of submission and humility. Yet, instead of following His example, we often exhibit pride--an attitude that will always lead to self-destruction. Proverbs tells us: "When pride comes, then comes disgrace,but with the humble is wisdom" (11:2). Proverbs also reveals that, "Pride goes before destruction,and a haughty spirit before a fall" (16:18).

Here are some reasons I believe pride is so self-destructive. First, it keeps us from recognizing our weaknesses. Some have mistakenly understood humility as looking down on yourself, but true humility involves not the discounting of ourselves but a accurate estimate of ourselves. Pride causes us to overestimate our abilities and character. The second reason that pride is self-destructive is related to the first. Because we over estimate who we are, we often enter a state of denial about our personal needs which keeps us from taking the action we need to take.

For example, a husband gets into an argument with his wife. Both say things that are inappropriate to the other. Yet, because of his pride he cannot admit that he did anything wrong in the situation. Therefore, he is unwilling to apologize or take any steps toward reconciliation.

Or consider an alcoholic who believes she has everything under control. "I can stop anytime I want," she says. Yet the truth is, she can't go a day without alcohol. It is absolutely controlling her life. As a result, she will not seek help.

Perhaps the most critical scenario is the person who because of pride cannot admit that they have sinned and need forgiveness. Because of their pride, they may never repent and receive God's forgiveness. What a tragedy to be without Christ because of pride.

Yes, pride has a high price. Toy with it long enough and it will cost you everything. Christ was humble; if we are to be like Him, we must repent of our pride.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Jesus’ Fulfillment of the Old Testament (Sermon: Matthew 1:18-25)

Matthew teaches us that Jesus’ birth fulfilled the promises of the Old Testament (Matt. 1:22-23), but what does it mean to fulfill something? I believe that we see two prominent ways in which Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament. First, promises made in the Old Testament come to fruition in Jesus and His ministry. For example, Zechariah prophesied: “behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Accordingly, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Mark 11). Psalms foretells of the crucifixion: “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet” (Psalms 22:16). And so He was pierced as they crucified Him.

A second type of fulfillment is seen in Jesus’ replacement of the Old Testament feasts and institutions. For example, Jesus replaces the Passover lamb. Paul tells us: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:7). Thus, we do not celebrate the Passover today, because Christ is our Passover. In celebrating Him, we commemorate the Passover.

These are but a few examples of Jesus’ fulfillment of the Old Testament. They teach us that God has been working throughout history to bring about His plan of redemption and that the events of Christ’s life, including the betrayal and crucifixion, were all part of God’s plan.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Learning To Read All Of The Bible (Sermon: Acts 4:23-31)

The sovereignty of God is a phrase that scares many people, and yet it is so clearly taught in Acts 4:24. In the light of recent trends toward Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention and among evangelicals as a whole, many Christians have had a knee jerk reaction to extreme views of predestination (I specify “extreme” because predestination is also clearly taught in the scripture, Ephesians 1:11) that deny the free will of man and in turn they have rejected any notion of the sovereignty of God. In doing so, they have thrown out the baby with the bath water.

Many false teachings and distortions of scripture arise from someone trying to interpret a single teaching or passage of the Bible in isolation from the rest of the Bible. As a result, many false teachings are passed on by well meaning people who had no intention of distorting the Word of God. The old adage, “you can be sincere and be sincerely wrong,” still applies to scripture. So we too must guard our understanding and teaching of scripture, lest we unknowing accept or teach false doctrine. How can we do that? One of the best things we can do is to read the whole Bible. We must interpret every passage in light of the overall teaching of God’s Word.

Do I believe in the sovereignty of God? Yes. Do I believe in the free will of man? Absolutely. How can the two seemingly contradictory ideas be reconciled? That is a question for God, not for me. I only know what God reveals to me through scripture, the rest I must accept by faith. I only know that the Bible teaches both and so I must accept both. To believe without having all of the understanding or evidence is called faith. And if we read the entire Bible and seek to follow all of it, it will indeed require faith.

Monday, December 3, 2007

The Unhindered Gospel (Sermon: Acts 4:13-22)

In Acts 4, we find the Sadducees trying to stop the preaching of the Gospel, but their efforts were in vain. In fact, each time the unbelieving Jewish leaders tried to stop the spread of the Gospel they actually spurred it on. Here in Acts 4, when Peter and John were commanded not to speak in the name of Jesus, they went back to their fellow believers and had a prayer meeting. What was the result? They were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. When Stephen was stoned, it launched the first major missionary movement of Christianity. Believers all over Jerusalem feared for their lives and so they fled. But as they fled to different parts of the world they carried the gospel with them.

Not only was the gospel unhindered by persecution, but it also refused to be held by geographical, social, and ethnic boundaries. The early believers were commissioned to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8), and so they were. Samaritans and Gentiles, viewed as the scum of the earth by the Jews, were brought into the early church by those Jews who became believers in Jesus Christ.

Often today, we hear dismal reports about the future of the church. Yet, we should remember what Jesus said: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18). The gospel was unhindered in the days of the early church, and today it is no different.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Reading the New Testament in Light of the Old (Sermon Acts 4:5-12)

Who were the believers who wrote the Gospels? They were Jews—Jews who celebrated Passover, sacrificed in the temple, and lived by the Levitical laws. They had their own language and culture. Like all human beings, they did not live or write in a vacuum, but in a certain time and place in history. When we forget this reality, we are in danger of completely missing what they were saying in the New Testament.


In Acts 4, Luke tells us of Peter’s designation of Jesus as the stone. If read apart from other scripture, it might appear that Peter was saying that Jesus was strong and immovable, but when read in the light of the Old Testament that both Peter and the Sadducees were so familiar with, it becomes apparent that Peter was pointing to Jesus as God in the flesh, the Messiah. The stone was an image used to refer to God in the Old Testament (Psalm 18:2) and in Daniel (2:35) it was used to prophesy of the coming Messiah. Peter draws upon these images to forcefully proclaim to the Sadducees that the Jesus whom they had crucified was the Messiah.


Acts 4 is just one example of a phenomenon that saturates the New Testament. Most of the theology and many of the images of the New Testament are grounded in the Old Testament. Just one more reason New Testament Christians today should read the Old Testament.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Our Resurrection: Hope or Hoax?

Many people today believe that the idea that we can be resurrected is a hoax. If it is then all that we believe is in vain. Paul said: "12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." 1 Cor 15:12-19 (ESV)


Paul's statement about the resurrection is as clear as any other biblical teaching; all of Christianity hinges on the reality of the resurrection of Christ. Yet, some today would have us believe that belief in the resurrection of Christ is a leap of faith. I submit that it takes very little faith at all to believe in the resurrection of Christ if you simply look at the evidence. No one in history has ever given a satisfactory explanation of the evidence in favor of Christ's resurrection. The only way to believe the resurrection is a hoax is to ignore the evidence or distort it.

Once we accept the resurrection of Christ as a reality, it is a very small step to believe that we too can be resurrected. This is our hope.


If you would like to examine some of the evidence in support of the resurrection, let me recommend some resources.

Josh McDowell's book, The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, is an excellent resource. Chapter 9, "The Support of Deity: The Resurrection-Hoax or History?," is dedicated to examining the evidence in favor of the resurrection. It also combats some inadequate views of the resurrection.

An free online resource is provided by Dr. Danny Akin. Dr. Akin is the President of the Southeasthern Baptist Theological Seminary--an outstanding theologian and scholar. He has both a manuscript and an audio version of a lecture he presented on the subject of the resurrection. Download the manuscript (PDF). Download the Mp3. Visit Dr. Akin's website.






Monday, November 5, 2007

Even Religious People Can Be Saved

In Acts 3, Peter preaches in the temple to a crowd of Jews. Their presence in the temple at the time of prayer indicates that these were religious people who observed the Jewish laws and rituals, but even religious people need a relationship with Jesus Christ. No one can get to heaven by obeying rules or attending services. We must repent of our sins and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior to be saved.

One of my friends Dexter Tucker recently wrote down his testimony. It is a powerful story that illustrates our ability to pretend to be believers, but not to commit ourselves to the Lord and be saved. As you read this life story about a preacher’s son turned deacon, remember that even religious people can be saved.

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I grew up in a country boy with no TV or any toys. I had a big imagination and my dreams were made from that. I was very rebellious toward my daddy and I didn’t mind him very well. I got a lot of whippings because of that. All those whippings just made me more rebellious and hard headed. My mother had a softer touch and her words to me hurt me more than those whippings from daddy.

When I was 15 years old, I walked the aisle at church one Sunday morning after two of my school mates had done so. I was baptized in the local lake and now everybody looked at me with that look of “What a nice young man—a preacher’s son.” Yes, my daddy was a preacher, logger, farmer and he worked in the county government.

So I joined the Navy at the age of 18 to see the world and all that was out there. When I walked that aisle in church I had a mind change but not a heart change. So I really didn’t let God come into my life. I did my own thing in the Navy for four years. I got discharged at Norfolk, VA and I was on my way to Charleston, S.C. when I had the strangest feeling come over me as I was hitchhiking that day. Somehow I felt like I was going into a new world and I was not going to have any control of it. When I got to Charleston I went to see my old buddy who was stationed there with his wife, and I reenlisted back in the Navy for six years.

The next day, I was walking the street in Charleston at noon and just then this girl came out of a building and turned and passed right by me. I fluttered and I have never felt so shook up in all my life. After a few minutes, I calmed down. I went to my buddy’s house and we were sitting on the porch playing music and he said “There’s a girl next door that you gotta meet.”

Well, this girl came out of her door with the cousin she was staying with and I almost lost my breath. It was the same girl I had seen at noon on the street downtown. So I said to her about what and when I saw her and she said it could have been because she was going to lunch at that time. She didn’t know me from Adam. So, I asked her to go to the movies with me and she did.

After three dates and three months later, I asked her to marry me and she said yes. We went to my hometown to introduce her to my parents and my mother said to the “Honey I’ve been praying for him every day since he left home. Now you can pray for him.”

My wife got saved the first year of our marriage and then came our first child, a boy. I was deployed during his birth. She read the Bible to him every night and prayed for him and me every night.

Well, this rocked on for years. I would come home and go to church and Sunday School with them and played the part of a Christian. Yes, I was a good actor.
I had been in the Navy for 10 years and was on shore duty in Panama City, FL. My wife was pregnant with our 2nd child. She had a good pregnancy for almost 9 months and then we suddenly lost our beautiful baby girl. I almost lost my wife too. I cried and my 3 year old son cried too.

I was still playing the good old boy Christian routine and after a few years, 5 to be exact, my wife was pregnant again and this time God gave us another son.
Well, we ended up my last three years of the Navy in Orlando. I played the part at being a Christian so good that I was ordained as a deacon.

After I retired and moved my family to Douglasville, I was sitting in the choir loft listening to the preacher, who was Bro. Jack Evans, and he said something when I hear God call out to me. My response was yes, Lord, come into my heart, I surrender my life to you and He did and I came out of that choir loft shouting “hallelujah Bro. Jack, I just go saved!!”

Now to summarize my life story to you, it goes like this:

My wife knew all the time that I wasn’t saved. I knew deep down I wasn’t saved because of my actions away from home.

When I got saved and I gave myself to God, He changed my desire and my wants and I love Him and worship Him every minute of every day.

I look back and see how I worked for the devil all those years and I also see how God gave me my precious wife through my mother’s prayer, and how god saved me through my wife’s prayers. I’m still working on my Masters Degree and I’ll graduate when I get to heaven. Praise God for the Holy Spirit and for letting Jesus, His son, die for my sins.

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Maybe you are like Dexter once was—playing the part of a Christian. If you are like he once was, you can also become like he now is—a child of God. If you have any doubts about your salvation, please contact me and let me share with you how you can know for certain that you are saved and that heaven will some day be your home.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

The Child of God and the Word of God

The apostle Paul chastised the believers at Corinth for not being mature enough to receive the meatier teachings of God: “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh” (1 Cor 3:1-3). I’m not sure that many Christians would fair much better than the Corinthians. So many things have crowded into our schedule that there is little time left for meditating, memorizing, reading, and studying the word of God.


Let me offer a couple of tips for busy people who want to be in God’s word. First, consider redeeming your driving time by listening to the Bible. You can purchase the entire Bible on CD. It’s a little expensive, but a great investment. If you can’t afford to make a large investment, you can buy individuals CD’s of the Bible at the Dollar Tree for $1. If you have an iPod, there is a free daily podcast of Bible readings (http://thebiblepodcast.org/podcast/). Second, consider making a schedule for Bible reading. If you planned 10 minutes a day, by the end of the first week you would have completed more than a hour of Bible reading. Who can’t spare 10 minutes? And yet what an improvement 1 hour of Bible reading would be to the devotional life of some believers.


Most importantly, if God is to be a priority in your life—which is a necessity if you are to worship God—then consider marking off a significant amount of time each week to be in His word. I want to encourage you to read Psalm 119. David had a passion for the word of God and in this Psalm it comes through with great beauty and clarity. Each time I read it, I am refreshed and given a renewed desire to be in God’s word. If you will take time this week to read and reflect on this passage, it may be the start of a personal revival in your life and you more deeply commit yourself to enjoying God’s word.

Monday, October 22, 2007

The Cost of Compromise

Caught between choosing what is right and choosing what is popular, the temptation to compromise can be overwhelming. In the sterile environment of a class, it is easy to take a firm position on ethical and moral issues. At the dinner table, surrounded by supportive family and friends, boldness comes easy. And perhaps nothing is easier than chastising someone on television, who lives on the other side of the continent and who we will never meet. In all of these situations, we may be a stalwart of uncompromising morality, a fierce defender of the faith, a bastille of all that is good and true.
However, it is the moment is which we have something to loose that we are tempted to waiver. When our best friend commits the same sin, that just last week we crucified some celebrity for, the cost of taking a stand stares us in the face. Then we realize (maybe for the first time) that commitment to the Lord requires sacrifice. In the post-modern age where the only acceptable absolute is that there is no absolutes-which is of course self-contradicting, but let’s not confuse its adherents with the facts—it is extremely unpopular to take a stand on anything. If we oppose the homosexual lifestyle, then we are homophobes. If we teach that Jesus is the only way to heaven, then we are closed minded and intolerant toward other religions. Of course, in America, when we hear the cry for religious tolerance, it means that all faiths, except evangelical Christianity, are to be accepted, which is of course a form of intolerance, which leads us to ask how can the tolerant practice intolerance in order to further tolerance—but again I am, perhaps unfairly, appealing to reason and common sense which apparently are irrelevant to some of the prevailing ideas of our day and time.
Many things may be uncertain today, but persecution for holding an unwavering commitment to God’s truth is as certain as death and taxes. Hold to the faith regardless of your crowd and you may loose your job, your position, future opportunities, income, and in some cases your life—hence, the appeal of compromise. But compromise only provides temporary relief from the tension between the ways of God and the ways of the world, and like a lie that must be maintained with new lies, compromise quickly grows into a reoccurring necessity, for some it will becomes a lifestyle.
Yet, no matter what the cost of taking a stand maybe in any given scenario, it pales in comparison to the cost of compromise. When we compromise what we believe we loose respect and credibility among those who share our convictions. We disappoint the Lord, and may even forfeit some opportunity that would have been available to us, had we been a person of character and integrity. And last, but not least, we lose self-respect and dignity, and the way the economy is going these days that is all some of us have left.
It is difficult to take a stand when so much is at stake to lose, but what profit is it if you gain the whole world and yet forfeit your own soul? Character is never forged in a rose garden, but in the fire of life’s difficulties. The only way to truly know what is inside of a person is to see what comes out when they are under pressure. The next time you face the temptation to compromise, consider the consequences.

Monday, October 15, 2007

An Age of Disbelief

Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 demonstrates his convictions about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Today, many people doubt the resurrection. Even some “supposedly” Christian scholars produce materials which question the resurrection. ABC in particular seems to have dedicated a primetime slot each Easter season to some type of documentary which mocks Christianity and questions the resurrection. However, Paul told the church at Corinth: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Cor 15:17).
It is important for believers to understand that all of the Christian faith hinges on the resurrection of Jesus. Peter and the early witnesses believed it and we must believe it in order to be saved. For those of you who may still have doubts, let me present a couple of facts for you to consider. First, no one has ever been able to produce a body. The empty tomb stands as an important piece of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Second, for those who argue that the body was stolen, let me ask you a couple of questions. How did a group of uneducated fisherman manage to steal the body of Jesus from underneath the noses of several highly trained Roman guards? What grave robbers do you know that take the time to undress the body and neatly fold the garments to leave behind? Third, it is incredible to believe that if the disciples were involved in a mass hoax to deceive people into believing that Jesus had been raised from the dead that not one of them would have succumbed to the pressure of fear and intimidation the Jews and later Romans placed upon them. How many people are willing to die for a lie? And yet all of the apostles went to their graves proclaiming the resurrection of Christ. Fourth, the Jewish leaders could not disprove the resurrection of Jesus in their own day. Fifth, two skeptics, James and Paul, were converted by the truth of Jesus’ resurrection and become great Christian leaders in their day.
The list of evidence for the resurrection could consume volumes. I am only giving a handful of truths to ask you to think about and consider. Although Christians today are often portrayed as narrow-minded idiots, I submit to you that it would take a narrow-minded idiot to dismiss the evidence for the resurrection. If Christ be not raised, we have no faith, but praise be to God, Christ is raised!

Monday, October 8, 2007

Recommended Resources on Speaking in Tongues

Many people have written about speaking in tongues. However, the best research I have read comes from John MacArthur. I want to recommend two items that he has available. One is a study guide from a sermon he preached on Acts 2:5-13. It is available free to download online at: http://www.gty.org/Resources/Print/studyguides/1704.

The second resource is a book he published entitled, Charismatic Chaos. I have ordered a copy for our church library, but to my knowledge it is not yet come in. You can purchase a copy of the book online at: http://www.amazon.com/Charismatic-Chaos-Dr-John-MacArthur/dp/0310575729/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-1897890-1154309?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191854430&sr=8-1. The current price is $5.99. Full bibliography: John MacArthur, Charismatic Chaos (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992).

**Disclaimer: Please understand that I am recommending these resources because they contain very valuable research. I do not agree with John MacArthur at every point, so if you are offended by something he has written please don't assume that I agree with him on that point and focus your anger at me. Why then would I recommend someone else's resources? Because when I was growing up my pastor once told me, "Kevin, any good mule in Sevier County has enough sense when it comes to a briar in a bale of hay to push the briar aside and keep feasting on the hay." There's a lot of good hay to feast on in these resources, if only we have the sense God gave a mule.

Does God Work in Different Ways? (Sermon: Acts 2:5-13)

The Bible tells us that God does not change (James 1:17). The book of Hebrews tells us that: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). However, can God remain the same and yet work in different ways at different times in history? Hebrews points out that God speaks in different ways at different times: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world (Hebrews 1:1-2).

We must remember that a change in the way God is working does not necessitate a change in His character or nature. The way in which a father interacts with his son will change drastically from the time that child is a preschooler to the time that he is six-teen. Yet, the change in the way the father interacts is not a reflection of a change in the father’s character, but of a change in the circumstances of his son. In the same way, believer’s today do not sacrifice lambs—not because God has changed His mind about the need for sacrifice, but because Jesus fulfilled that need when He died on the cross (1 Cor. 5:7). God walked and fellowshipped in the garden with Adam, yet no one after the fall experienced this relationship. Why? As a result of the fall, the circumstances of the relationship between God and man changed.

What does this mean for us today? It first of all means that we should not view everything we see taking place in scripture as normative for today. In particular, we should not expect the miracles that God did as signs to establish the credibility of the early believers and apostles to be taking place today. Does this mean that God is no longer working? Absolutely not! It simply means that God is working in a certain manner, because of where we stand in history. God has always been at work, today is no exception.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Learning What's Really Important (Sermon: Ecc. 3:9-15)

The first church I ever served full-time, tasked me with visiting the shut-ins and the sick. As a result, I constantly faced death. I watched families say good-bye to their loved ones for the last time. I listened as people recounted their lives that were now spent. As a young man just out of college, it was all a lot to process and deal with. I learned a lot during this time and I was forced to grow up fast. Still, in the midst of all of my dismay at the harsh reality of death and dying, I learned a value lesson about perspective.

The seniors that I spent my time with viewed life through different glasses than anyone I knew my own age. We were all concerned with what our salaries would be, what type of car we could afford to drive, how nice our house would be—in a nutshell we thought about success as defined by a greedy materialistic world. Those that were dying seemed to think about only two things: their relationship with God and their family. As I prepared to preach some of their funerals, I realized that although I had spent hours visiting with them, listening to their stories, and asking questions, I didn’t even know what many of them did for a living. I didn’t know where they had previously lived, what kind of cars they had driven, or even what social circles they had ran in. But I could tell you the shoe size of some of their grandchildren. I knew when they had joined the church and when their children had been saved. I knew these things not because I asked, but because in every instance, these were the things that were dear to those that were dying—the things they most wanted to talk about. These were the only things that mattered at this point in their life; aren’t these the only things that matter at any point in our life.

If only we could gain the perspective of these wise veterans of life, while we were young. Someone once said: “wisdom is learning from the mistakes of others.” Have you ever said to yourself, “I wish I knew then what I know now?” I want to ask you to consider that maybe if we listen to those who have gone before us, we can know now some of what we will know then.

Monday, September 24, 2007

One of the Greatest Obstacles to being Filled with the Spirit

The Spirit-filled life—a life of joy, fullness, and satisfaction—what Christian wouldn’t want to experience this type of living? Yet so many believers never seem to arrive at such a life. Why? I believe it’s because we struggle with the complete submission to God that the Spirit-filled life requires.

Born with a sinful nature that loves the instant gratification of sinful pleasures, we are often tempted to revert back to our old nature. We give ourselves to God at the point of our salvation, but as we are confronted with daily choices in life, we gradually take back ground that we had once surrendered. Ultimately, our unwillingness to completely and totally submit to God’s will is a reflection of our lack of faith in His wisdom and goodness. We know that God commands us not to lie, but a white lie doesn’t hurt anyone. Certainly, Jesus did say we should render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, but the IRS is far more unreasonable than Caesar ever was.

And so, if we continue on this path, little by little, we compromise the truth of God’s word and the goodness of His will for our lives, in favor of our own wisdom. We should hear the words of Proverbs 3:5-7: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.”

When we choose our own wisdom, rather than submitting to the will our heavenly Father, we rob ourselves of the great blessing of the Spirit-filled life. As James told the early church: “7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:7-8). When you face moments of crisis in your life when you have to choose between obedience to God and gratification of self, choose obedience. For in denying yourself, you will be receiving a blessing far greater than anything this world has to offer.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Sermon: "Baptized with the Spirit"

Access Pastor Maples' latest sermon, "Baptized with the Spirit."
Listen online.
Download the MP3.
Download the Sermon notes (PDF).

Can a Believer Loose the Holy Spirit? (Sermon: Acts 2:1-4)

Many Christians have wondered if they could loose the Holy Spirit or their salvation. I believe that the answer to both of these questions lies within our understanding of the grace of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 reads: "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast." If we can do something to loose either our salvation or the Holy Spirit then our possession of these gifts is dependent upon our merit and not God's grace.

The Bible teaches in Galatians 4:3-7 that we are sons of God: "4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."

Just as you were born physically into an earthly family, all children of God have been born into a spiritual family. You may not like some members of your earthly family, but they are still your family. Your earthly father will always be biologically your earthly father. You may disown him or refuse to claim him, but that will not change the fact the he is your father. So it is with the children of God. We may disobey God at times. We may even do things to break God's heart, but once we are born into the family of God we are always a part of the family of God.

Therefore, if you have been born again (John 3), then you have been given the Spirit of God and have been adopted into the family of God. Nothing can take that away from you, because God has given it to you. He gave it because of His love for you, not because you deserved it. Can a child of God loose the Holy Spirit? Absolutely not!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

What Does the Old Testament Have to Say to New Testament Christians?

I remember as a child hearing someone ask my parents, "If we are supposed to live by the New Testament, why don't we just tear the Old Testament out of our Bibles?" I don't believe that this person was being disrespectful to God's Word, he was simply struggling, as do many new Christians, to understand how to relate to the Old Testament. Many people find the Old Testament confusing, irrelevant, and even boring. So what are Christians to make of this? I believe that as New Testament believers we must study the Old Testament. Here's why:

First, without the Old Testament, much of the New Testament appears confusing and irrelevant. How would we fully understand the need for Jesus' death without understanding the sacrificial system of the Old Testament?

Second, much of the New Testament is written to show how Jesus and the church fulfill the Old Testament. Paul writes, "For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed"
(1 Cor 5:7).

Third, the New Testament itself testifies to the relevancy of the Old Testament. Paul wrote to Timothy, "16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17). Remember that he wrote this when the only scriptures available to him were the Old Testament.

Finally, John ended Revelation with this statement from God: "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book (Rev 22:18-19). While this warning concerns the Book of Revelation, I believe we would be wise to carefully consider it for all of scripture.

Why then do so many believer struggle with applying the Old Testament? Because, to use a New Testament metaphor, much of it is meat not milk. You can't guzzle Leviticus, not and make any sensible application to our present lives. The meat of God's truth must be carefully considered. It is not irrelevant. It does not need to be made relevant. It simply needs to studied so that its relevance may be understood.

If you are struggling with an Old Testament passage, don't give up or pass it over--study and pray. And when you get discouraged remember Jesus' promise: "7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened (Matt 7:7-8).

Monday, September 3, 2007

"The Imminent Judgment" Obadiah 1:15-18

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Is all sin the same? (Sermon: Obadiah 1:15-18)

I often hear the comment that: “all sin is the same.” By this statement, people most often mean that no sin is any more serious or worse than any other sin. The argument is typically used to justify tolerance of sinful lifestyles. For example, if a person expresses concern about another person’s homosexual lifestyle, they may hear the response that, “a sin is a sin.” Therefore, homosexually is no worse than gluttony or pride (both of which many Baptist preachers are prone toward). How then can we remove the speck from our brother’s eye when we have a log in our own eye (Matt. 7:1–5)?

The verse that is typically used for support of this argument is James 2:10: “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” However, James is not addressing the severity of sins, but the condition that is brought upon humanity by even a single sin. His point is not that it does not matter what sins we commit or how many sins we commit. His point is that one sin makes someone a sinner. Let me illustrate. How many lies do you have to tell to become a liar? One. How many times do you have to steal in order to become a thief? Once. How many sins do you have to commit to become a sinner? One.

Look at what the Bible says about different sins. Proverbs singles out seven particular sins. "There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him" (Proverbs 6:16). John is very clear that not all sin is the same. “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death (1 John 5:16-17).

Also, consider how God dealt with David. The story of David and Bathsheba is one of the most well known passages about David (2 Samuel 11-12). However, David had certainly sinned against God prior to Bathsheba, but it was David’s sexual immorality and disregard for human life that brought God’s wrath upon him (2 Samuel 12:14).

Yes, all sin will separate us from God. However, not all sin carries the same consequences. Therefore, we should never use the unbiblical idea that sin is sin in order to justify our sinful choices.

Monday, August 27, 2007

"The Early Church in Action" Acts 1:12-26

Access Pastor Maples' latest sermon, "The Early Church in Action."
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Quick Facts (Sermon: Acts 1:12-26)

Mount Olivet: Site of the ascension; located just outside of Jerusalem

A Sabbath days journey: .5 to .75 mile

Casting lots: Similiar to throwing dice; two lots would have been placed in a cup and the first to fall out when tipped would have been considered the will of God

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Matthias or Paul: Who is the Twelfth Apostle? (Sermon: Acts 1:12-26)

Acts tells us that Peter lead the early church to promote Matthias to take Judas' place as the twelfth apostle. However, some have suggested that Paul was meant to be the twelfth apostle and that the account in Acts chapter 1 is yet one more example of Peter acting rashly. It is often suggested that since Matthias is never mentioned again and Paul plays such a major role throughout the second half of Acts, that Paul would have been appointed by Christ on the road to Damascus if Matthias had not already been chosen by the early church.

However, several issues must be considered here. First, none of the apostles are mentioned by name after Acts 1, save Peter and John. Thus, the lack of mention of Matthias is no more important than the lack of mention of the other nine. Second, Luke wrote Acts under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and after the ministry of Paul and Matthias were well underway. If the appointment of Matthias was illegitimate, Luke would have surely addressed the issue in his account. Third, Paul's ministry was very different from the twelve. While they primarily led the church in Jerusalem, Paul was specifically called to the Gentiles. Fourth, Paul did not meet the qualifications of the office of apostle. He was not with Jesus during His earthly ministry. He was not a witness of the resurrection until his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Fifth, the other apostles did not recognize Paul as one of them. In fact, they did not even accept that he was a genuine believer until Barnabas interceded on his behalf. (Acts 9:26-31)

With these facts under consideration, we can affirm with all confidence that Mattias was and is the twelfth apostle.

Should Christians Cast Lots? (Sermon: Acts 1:12-26)

We read in Acts of the early church casting lots in order to determine the will of God. Proverbs 16:33 tells us: "The lot is cast into the lap,but its every decision is from the Lord." The question then arises: "Why do we not cast lots today to determine the Lord's will?"

Let me first answer the question whether Christians should cast lots today or not with a clear "no." Why not? I believe the answer lies within the time period of Acts 1:12-26. First, it is important to note that the early church cast lots before the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Second, we do not read of the early church ever casting lots after Pentecost. Why? Because the Holy Spirit indwells believers and guides them in decision making.

What then should we do to seek God's will? First, we should look to the scripture. Many questions can be decided by simply knowing what God has directed us to do in scripture. Second, we should pray in the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20). Romans 8:26-27 tells us: "26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. " In John 16:13 Jesus tells His disciples of the promise of the Spirit: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come."

Having received the gift of the Holy Spirit, Christians today, then have no need for casting lots.

Judas: Traitor or Hero? (Sermon: Acts 1:12-26)

In the spring of 2006, the media informed us of a newly discovered ancient document entitled the "Gospel of Judas." The National Geographic wrote concerning the document: "Unlike the accounts in the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in which Judas is portrayed as a reviled traitor, this newly discovered Gospel portrays Judas as acting at Jesus' request when he hands Jesus over to the authorities."

The document leaves the modern mind with two options for understanding Judas: either he was a traitor, as the Gospels insist, or he was a hero, as this newly found document purports. Since even Christian scholars affirm the authenticity of the document, we must choose which gives the accurate portrait of Judas: the Bible or The Gospel of Judas, for a careful examination of each will reveal that they are completely incompatible.

The Bible clearly portrays Judas as a traitor. Peter prays, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." (Acts 1:24-25) John gives an editorial comment regarding Jesus' statement to be sure his readers know the Judas was the one to which he was referring: "And yet one of you is a devil. He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him." (John 6:70b-71).

So where does this leave us? Well, The Gospel of Judas is most likely an authentic early writing. However, we know of many early manuscripts. The early church knew of them as well, but they only designated 27 books to be added to the scriptures we now know as the Old Testament. The age of a document and the accuracy of a document are unrelated. Further, since there is no external evidence to corroborate the witness of The Gospel of Judas, it seems unreasonable for even the most dedicated sceptic to favor it against the scripture as an accurate witness to history.

Is Judas a hero? Not if the Gospels are true. Yet, some would like to parade The Gospel of Judas as proof that the Bible is in error. Perhaps Paul had this sort of discussion in mind when he wrote: "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

For a view of The Gospel of Judas and to read what the media is saying about it go to:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/?fs=www9.nationalgeographic.com

For an intelligent Christian discussion of the issue you can listen to a previous broadcast from the Albert Mohler show at:

http://www.albertmohler.com/radio_show.php?cdate=2006-04-06

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