This is a totally different post than I will normally ever put up here, but yesterday at 2:45 PM, my wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
Vitals:
Glory to God for all of His blessings.
If you want to see pictures of the whole the family (who am I kidding, you don't want to see me, but there are pictures of Noah), click here!
In relation to my latest few posts on how we need to understand the Bible, check out John MacArthur's recent series called "The Power of the Word in the Believer’s Life." You can stream it online or download the mp3 for free. If you have any problems with it, let me know, and I'll see what I can to do help you get the programs. This series starts on 11/29 and goes (at least) through today. I haven't been able to listen to the entire series yet, but I plan on catching up today.
Enjoy!
I pray that you will be encouraged with this series on the Bible and it's power and importance in our lives.
Ok, so I know that in my last few posts I have been describing my encounter with KJV Onlyism and I believe that this is an issue that is very divisive and the proponents of this idea are mislead and substituting the translation of the Word for the Word. We must never place our preference of a translation over the Word of God.
That being said...
Have you read the Message or the Message Remix? I have not read the entire bible in either The Message (MSG) or the Message Remix. However, I have come in contact with it a few different times in the last year or so. Each time that I have read a passage, I have been more than concerned.
Before I launch into my explanation of my concerns and conclusion - let me restate something. I believe that none of our current translations (NASB, ESV, KJV, NIV, etc) are totally infallible or inerrant. They are infallible and inerrant insofar as much they completely reflect the exact original inspired writings.
When looking at how the bible should be translated, I prefer that the bible be translated in a word for word fashion as much as possible. Translations that used this method are the NASB, NKJV, ESV, KJV and others. Another very good way to translate the bible is a phrase for phrase or thought for thought method. Translations that used this method are the NIV, NLT, and others. The reason that I prefer the first type is that this gets the closest to the exact meanings of the individual words of the inspired text and I find it more useful for teaching and studying. For a visual representation of where the different translations stand, I have included the following chart from the International Bible Society:
Notice that The Message doesn't appear in either of these categories. That is because the Message (as well as The Message Remix) is more of a paraphrase of the word instead of a translation. Maybe a better way to understand it is that it is almost an interpretation of the text instead of a translation. Let me show you two of the examples of this:
Jude 1,2
First of all, I have issues with the way verse 1 is phrased, and I would (if I were to take up more time) love to go into that, but not today. In any event, the more gross embellishment in this text is in verse 2. When looking at verse 2 in most translations, we see a sort of general greeting of the blessings of knowing the Lord. However, in the Message, the author(s) go further and try to explain what it means by saying "Relax, everything's going to be all right; rest, everything's coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!" What in the world does "love is on the way" mean? And following that thought, how would I find out what it means? Would I do a cross reference in The Message to find out where the phrase was used elsewhere in the Bible to get a better handle on it? Try it, and you get nothing. That would be absurd. The reason this would not work is that The Message is not written in a way that the same thoughts or phrases of the various authors are expressed in the same way. Also, since there is no Greek phrase saying "love is on the way” it is impossible to come to any understanding other than a "This is what I think it means." or, worse yet, "this is what I feel this passage means."
Ok, so a good place to start to understand what a word or phrase means is to see where else this appears in the Word. Well, when I looked through The Message, I was unable to find one other occurrence of this phrase. When I looked for the phrase that was used in the NASB in the rest of that translation, I found this, “Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” (1 John 3) This seems very similar to the way that Paul greeted the readers of many of his letters (Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Php 1:2; Col 1:2).
Look at these verses in the NASB. Do you see how similar, and in many cases identical, these greetings are in the NASB (also see the KJV, NKJV, and ESV). Now, look at these same verses in the MSG. If nothing else, the liberty that the MSG takes when telling us what these passages say is a matter of concern. It is even more concerning when you look at the Greek. Now, even if you know no Greek, compare this (these are the Greek passages of 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Php 1:2):
The exact same words are used in the same order (except for Gal 1:3), but the MSG translates them with added phrases like “May all the gifts and benefits” (1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2) or “with the great words” (Gal 1:3) and “poured into our lives by God” (Eph 1:2).
My Concern:
Regardless of the intention of the author(s), editor(s), and others involved with The Message or The Message Remix, we must be very careful what we do with the Word of God. Let me also say this: I assume that the intentions of all those involved with the MSG are all above board and desiring to serve and honor God as well as bring the Word to the world. But intentions - even the best intentions - do not make a bad or troublesome thing better. "The ends don't justify the means."
Let's remember what we're dealing with. We're dealing with the Word of God. The written word of God that He gave to Apostles and Prophets who wrote it down and that He has soveriegnly preserved over thousands of years! So where in any type of thought do we feel that we can "edit" or "embellish" or "enhance" the Word of God?
This may sound just like what I was arguing against when dealing with KJV Onlyism. The difference is that I believe that it is possible to stay true to the inspired text while translating the bible into the language of today where KJV Only believers believe that you cannot and should not.
My Conclusion:
Basically, my conclusion is this. My main concern with The Message is that it is presented as a translation or version of the Bible. I think that it would be best understood as an interpretation or commentary on the Bible. So the fact that it is presented as the Word of God, but inserts ideas or comments into it is a source of great concern.
Hey, I did a little editing on a previous post. Go ahead and re-read (or read for the first time) my post titled Being Offensive is Necessary. Also, if you've ever been hammered on because the gospel that you talk about or believe is offensive or intolerant - let me know.
I have thought about this whole encounter and the implications on the gospel for weeks and weeks. I keep experiencing a serious sadness over not only this encounter that I had (and sadly participated in as well as probably made it worse), but also over for the damage that this encounter (probably) did to the gospel when relating to my witness to my neighbor.
Lessons that I have learned:
Once the H-Bomb (heresy) was dropped, my defenses rose quickly. Now, I had heard of and read about King James Onlyism in the past year or so, and so I knew of some of the arguments and the way that the issues are approached - so, I was not totally unprepared, but I was less prepared than I would have liked to be.
One of the biggest issues is the "removal" of important words or phrases from the content of the new versions as opposed to the AV 1611.*
I included the information showing that he is now dead because I find it all the more powerful to konw that this man is now in the presense of his Lord. I find that it makes his powerful preaching about heaven, hell, sin, righteousness, and judgment all the more poignent and stirring. Click here to visit the official Dr. Adrian Rogers site.
Or should I say with meekness and fear? Sound like an inconsequential difference? Read 1 Peter 3:15 in the NASB and in the King James Version (or click here to read it in the AV 1611 KJV), and tell me if a way to understand the instruction would be misunderstood or wrong by saying that meekness means gentle or a non-abrasive presentation and fear means to above all show reverence for He whom you are defending.
The way that I understand the bible - these explanations stay true to what the bible says in 1 Peter. Meekness could or should be understood as "enduring injury with patience and without resentment" or by being "not violent or strong." Fear should be understood as "to have a reverential awe of <fear God>."
Now, why do I bring this up?
Last Saturday, I was working on my Sunday School lesson in 1st Peter 3 (it's amazing how God works, huh?) when a pair of men came to my door. They politely introduced themselves as being from a local church and asked for a moment of my time. I invited them to continue the conversation, and they asked me a few questions.
Q: Are you born again?
A: Yes, I am.
Q: When did that happen?
A: I was 5 years old, and I prayed that God would forgive me of my sins. I knew that I was a sinner (even though more complete understanding of that truth has been revealed and will continue to be revealed to me over time), and I asked Jesus to come into my heart (which I understood as Christ was now going to be in control of my life and the leader that I should follow). When I did this, I prayed next to and into a heat vent because I thought that God would hear me better (I could always hear mom and dad better through the vents, so I figured that it should work for prayer too).
Now, the two gentlemen didn't make any comments or ask further questions about my conversion, so I assume (hope) that they understood and accepted that I am saved. I do have to say that whenever I have witnessed to strangers, I don't usually accept a basic conversion story like I gave without furhter information. I ask the person for a profession of faith, of sorts - specifically regarding these issues:
Tonight, my wife and I were watching the television. And I, being a man - and doing what men are so prone to do, was flipping the channels during a commercial. I ended up stopping on one of the religious channels, and like an open sore on the face of a stranger - I couldn't stop myself from looking in horror.
Now, I had a whole litany of things written out concerning the abuses of scripture and some blasphemy (yes, blasphemy) that was on this show during the time that we were watching, but, it is not my desire to further proclaim false doctrines and evils done in the name of the Lord. I can only plead with you that we need to be faithful to the true gospel and be diligent in our study and proclaiming of it.
I am almost overcome with sadness that so many people are being led astray and are being told to hope for financial prosperity and physical healing when the only thing that we really need is Jesus' precious blood shed on our behalf. From that point, whether I am a rich man like living in a nice house in the suburbs, a poor man living in a shack in the slums, or a new convert in Africa who is murdered because of my faith in Jesus - my life needs to be for Christ. My Best Life Now might be to die a martyr. My Best Life Now might be to scrape by while raising children who love the Lord. My Best Life Now is not determined by worldly success or stability, but it is determined by the perfect will of almighty God. And the will of that same God required that the Best Life Now of His Son was to die a criminal's death. How much more do I deserve that death than He did. So if I have been born again, every moment that the Lord gives me breath - no matter my circumstances - that I am living for Him is my Best Life Now.
Do not pervert the gospel and the work of Christ and the sacrifice of generations of martyrs by making the focus of your faith on making you healthy, wealthy, and wise.
On Halloween, I had my wife journey out to a local retailer and purchase Luther so that we could watch a good movie on this more interesting of nights. In short - I loved it. Some of the dialogue between Luther and his opponents and supporters was very inspiring. I whole heartily recommend this movie to any Christian.
One of the main thrusts of the life of Luther (to the best of my limited understanding) was the integrity of the gospel of Christ. Moreover - he was standing up to a corrupt but very powerful church organization basing his dissent on nothing other than the Word of God. This was in a time, where simply questioning practices of the church resulted in severe persecution and death. John Huss, a Czech priest, was burned at the steak for his desire to give full communion to all congregants and not just the special people.
How many of the church fathers, reformers, ministers, missionaries, and regular Joe and Jane Christians have been killed, burned alive, butchered, torn to pieces, sawn in two, and suffered many other more horrible types of deaths than I can even imagine for the cause of Christ. Many died because they would not renounce or reject the Bible, and some just for having a bible.
Reality Check Time.
How much do I esteem the Word of God? Knowing that the time and era that we live in is so unique in the fact that we our ability to worship God is not only allowed, but protected by law - how captive to the Word of God am I? This is the same book that Christians are anxiously desiring in Africa, China, Saudi Arabia, and other countries and are restricted from having. Jesus quotes the Old Testament when he said, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
Q: Am I desiring the word of God as much as (it should be more than) my body desires food?
I know - your first reaction is likely that this question from a Bible teacher that it's almost cliche. Well - it's only cliche because so many people hear this and don't ACT on it. It's cliche because it has to be said over and over and over and over and over again and there still might not have been any change in the lives of the hearers.
In a prayer prior to his sermon on 12/15/2002, John Piper eloquently articulated this dichotomy. A transcript of this part of his prayer (as best as I could transcribe it) follows. Piper is preaching in the Maranatha Auditorium at Northwestern College and it is being simulcast to his church in Minneapolis.
"Lord, there are hundreds in these two places that should measure their affections for Jesus and expectations of being with Him, with the level of anticipation that they look forward to the of the 2nd installment of the Lord of the Rings. I pray that we would take that measure, and then repent and plead that the music of our eagerness would be transposed into the key of Christ."
Don't turn a deaf ear to the Word of God. Do you desire it more than food? I don't. Because of that, I need to pray and seek after God that He would make Himself and His Word my uttermost desire and longing.
If I started making fun of you in a hostile manner - not joking - and to your face, how would you react? Moreover, if the things that I were saying were definitely false, how much more pointed would your reaction be?
Would you answer back with, "Well, I understand your feelings, and I believe that you are entitled to your opinions. But, I don’t want to cause any bad feelings by disagreeing with you...." No? If you’re like me, you would get crazily upset over the slander and false accusations, and fiercely defend against the falsehood.
So let me ask you a question, Christian. When you hear someone at home, work, or play blaspheming the name of Christ, denying the existence of God, or mocking the Bible – how quickly and loudly do you efend your God? The first phrase in verse 15 says, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts," has a great deal to say of where Christ, His name and His Glory, should be in relation to all other things. Namely - the first and set apart position that nothing else comes close to equaling.
So, I say this: When our ears are accosted with blasphemy and vile things said about God, we need to be ready to make a defense for Him. More ready and willing to defend Him than to defend myself of those people closest to me. He died for me, I need to defend His name.
The following FALSE accusations are meant to provoke you to defend the true gospel. These statements are false, in big or small ways, and they need to be answered. How would you answer them? Don’t just tell me what you know, explain to me how they're wrong by using the Word of God as your primary defensive and offensive weapon.
Concluding the final lesson of 1 Peter 2, we dove into this passage (verse 20 to the end of the chapter). This truth has many implications on how we are to live, love, serve, and worship. One of the the implications from this truth (one that I feel we have missed in our modern Western culture) is the idea of persecution, torture, and death. We see in the text of 2 Peter 2 that Christ was blameless, yet he endured all of these trials.
How many Christians in our time and setting think about the personal reality of encountering severe persecution. In sunday school, I passed around a list of names and stories of people who are currently imprisoned in different places around the world. Following our class, the sermon in the main service seemed to dovetail fluidly with the idea of suffering for the Lord and the need to get the gospel out to the world.
The concept of the necessary suffering of Christians was hammered home again to me on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, I was listening to one of my favorite radio programs, and the host was summarizing something that John MacArthur had said. Aparently (I could not find the information online - and I looked pretty hard), he has given a list of 5 things that would show that you're in the will of God - living the Christian life as you should. Number 5 was suffering. (If anyone knows of a link to this information, please send it to me or leave a comment, and I'll link to it). Well, then on Thursday, I was listening to this same radio program and it was an annual "Send Bibles To Africa" program, and so many of the stories that the African people in need of bibles told was how they were being murdered and abused by their Islamic neighbors and family. Now, other than being spiritually "thumped" for how little I value my bible when compared to these people, I was struck again with the reality that we cannot get away from suffering for the cause of Christ.
I do not relish the idea of suffering greatly for the cause of Christ, but you and I need to pray that we are willing to suffer greatly - even death. Because, if we are not completely leaning on the Lord in the easy times, how much more difficult will it be to lean on him when the times are dire?
I hope and pray that we set out to make our faith so strong and esteem our God so highly that we would willingly endure these trials with joyful hearts when they come upon us.
Recently, I was asked to assist with our church's communion service. I was so excited to help, and even more excited when our youth director (who lead the service) asked me to preach/teach/give a challenge focusing on "examine yourself" from 1 Corinthians 11:28. I have to tell you - I was so ... (struggling to find the right word)... passionate about this that I found it extremely difficult to boil it down to a meaningful 10 minute attempt to accurately give a picture of what this means.
Here's what I came up with (the primary referance used is 1 Corinthians 11):
First of all, it's amazing that while most communion services use the text from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 for the taking of the elements, and they usually stop the reading at verse 26. These 4 verses are set in between different sections (v18-22 and v27-34)and about the observing of the Lord's Supper in an incorrect manner. I trust that you can (and hopefully will) read this chapter to understand the context, but it's clear that there is a very right and very wrong way to observe this ordinance. One of the things that Paul says (v 29-30) is that some people are sick, weak, or even DEAD because of their neglect in correctly observing the Lord's Supper. Now, understanding the cultural differences between 1st century Christian and 20th century western cultures, there are some very good principles that we can observe.
One of the primary differences between our cultural observances of this ordinance is that we do not observe an entire meal, instead we take the "elements" of this meal to remember the Lord's Supper. The key is that we need to examine ourselves to make sure that we're not taking communion in an unworthy manner (1 Cor 11:27,28). There are other questions that need to be addressed, but in the time that I had, this was the focus of the message. One of the other necessary studies is, for instance, what does being "guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" mean?
Q: What do I need to examine so that I am not observing the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner?
A: Primarily, we need to examine how we take communion. The Corinthians were eating the Lord's Supper as if it were just another meal. Paul mentions that there were those who were getting drunk while others went hungry (v. 21). This is a picture of some having excess (not just in drink) and others being utterly deprived. The overall point is that they were not separating this as a time to remember the sacrifice of Christ, and that led them to eat and drink as if it were just a regular meal or party.
Now that we understand what errors the Corinthian believers were making with the Lord's Supper, we can look at what would cause us to be observing it in an unworthy manner. I have come up with a list of things that I have done (and probably you have too) that will show the principle of taking communion in a wrong way:
The point is this - I should never, NEVER, take communion with an attitude that isn't focused and done in heart-felt seriousness for the reason for this observance. This has served as a good and sobering thought: how much of my current refining is a result of my stubborn heart and casualness toward the Lord? Now, I do not believe that all of the trials or bad things that happen are a direct result of being wicked or not pleasing God in life. If you don’t agree, look into Job 1 and see how God refers to Job before his trials begin, or John 9 and see how Christ explains the reason for this man’s blindness, and not to mention every trial and persecution that Christ went through.
Whether I am at the communion table or at a football game – the sacrifice of Christ, and what that sacrifice has purchased for me should be the overwhelming force behind my speech, actions, and attitude.
The true gospel has never been (and will never be) accepted by the majority of any particular culture or society. Whenever the true gospel is preached and the message is not altered, there are many who are utterly offended by it. We should not be offensive in the way that we present the gospel, preach the Word of God, or live our lives (see 1 Peter 4:14-16), but likewise we should never make the gospel that we preach or the Word of God itself inoffensive in what it says.
Now, this thought itself may seem offensive to you, but I want to show you why I believe it is true, and we need to understand this. In 1 Peter 2:6-8, Peter quotes the O.T. and making the connection that Jesus Christ is the corner stone, or foundation on which all else depends, of true faith and belief in God. These same quotation shows that Christ will be (He is) a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. Nothing can be "true" of God unless it is built upon this foundation. I don't have to tell you that this idea of one exclusive way of salvation (much less anything else) is intolerant (and therefore, it's offensive).
Q: Why is this important?
A: The very Word of God itself declares that God chose the foolish (dare I interject that it is also offensive and unacceptable to an unsaved person) things of the world to fulfill His will. For a good reference, read 1 Corinthians 1 - yes the whole chapter - and note how the Apostle Paul repeatedly makes the point that God chose the foolishness of the message to save those who would believe (v. 21). Also, note verse 23 that the gospel that Paul preaches is foolishness to gentiles and a stumbling block to Jews.
Q: Well, my church doesn't believe that, so why should I care what you believe?
A: It's not what I believe that should be the initial question. It should be this: What does the Bible say? Then the next thing needs to be, if this is what it says why do I discount or disbelieve it?
The true gospel that the Bible sets forth, that Christ preached, and the apostles died for has been offensive because it has ALWAYS said this:
I'd like to alter the saying mentioned in Part 1 to be the following: "You can tell someone's heart or devotion to God by examining one simple thing...their day-planner."
Now, I understand that most of us don't keep a day-planner for our day to day activities, but what if we did? Now, I'm not thinking of a day-planner where you pencil in what you need to or intend to do, but one that is retro-active in its entries. If there were a report like this that would show me exactly what I was doing for my day on a 15 minute increment as well as an overall summary of time, what would it look like? Now, obviously, there is no such report that can be generated automatically that we can look at, but what if you or I were to sit down for a few minutes and sketch one out? It'd actually be pretty easy since most of our lives have a great deal of consistency on a day to day basis.
For instance, I work the same time (relatively) each day for the same amount of time during the week. I'm in the car (mostly to and from work) for a similar amount of time each day. And so on and so on. So, once you build a "normal" day, it's easy enough to edit it for any given day.
Q: What's the point here?
A: The point or intention of this exercise is to get an idea of how much of my time do I spend solely devoted to God as opposed to how much time do I spend on "relaxing" or time solely spent on me.
I am looking at this with the same critical eye that I was examining the "giving" issue that I have previously raised. Here's an example:
Many of my Christian friends love our local football team. The Vikings play for about 3 or 4 hours each week during their season. Most fans (Christians and non-Christians alike) are riveted to the TV or radio for that time, and make an event of it. We'll clear our schedule, get food, set up the TV/Family room, dress for the occasion (hat, jersey, etc) - all of this prior to the 3 hours of entertainment - just to watch a football game. But it doesn't stop there, following the game (for days on end) there is the discussion of the game results and the prognostication of the rest of the season, play-off hopes, etc., etc.
How does my dedicated - not gonna compromise this time except in the case of an emergency - time for my football team stack up against time that I devote wholly to my love for and walk with Christ?
My thrust is not to say that every Christian needs to have the same "cookie-cutter" type of quiet time formula, but I think that if I (we, you, or whomever) don't have some sort of designated, set apart, special, intense, devoted time for my walk with God - and yet I have it for my own personal time - I need to do some serious reevaluating of where my true treasure and love resides. Sounds harsh, huh? Well, it should. We (Christians) are warned over and over about what we do and how we act and to be aware that these things will be judged. 1 Corinthians 3:14,15 speaks to how a Christian's works will be judged by God in the end. I think that a good understanding of this passage revolves primarily around the gospel that we preach and we need to make sure that it conforms to the true gospel (there is no other gospel - see Galatians 1:6-10 for Paul's super clear admonishment about this). But, our way of life, and what we show as valuable (with our time and money) reflect the worth that we attribute to the gospel and ultimately to Christ Himself.
Wrap up:
1 Peter 2:2 says that new Christians should desire the pure milk of the Word. This (I understand) means that a new Christian desire and need the plain and simple truths of the gospel just like a baby desires mamma's milk. And parents - you and I both know that babies are never circumspect about their need for food. Psalms 119:9-16speaks for an older believer in God and the scope of his desire for God's truth. When Paul tells Timothy that the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, Paul also instructs him to flee from these things and puruse righteousness, among other things (1 Timothy 6:10-12). Also, we can get an idea of how important it is to make a point of special, devoted time to God by seeing Christ as the example. One of my favorites is Mark 1:32-37 (specifically verse 35) where we see that Jesus got up early after a long night of working to make special time for God.
For His glory, let us examine ourselves in all areas.
Before part 2 of the "Have you ever heard the saying...?" post, I want to encourage you all to read 1 Peter 2 and at least think about what verses 1-3 mean and how that should apply to you and me. This is one of the areas I want to focus on this week.
The saying goes something like this, "You can tell someone's heart or devotion to God by examining one simple thing...their checkbook."
I think that this is a good general idea that we should examine to see if there is any truth in it. This is not something that I would go out and harass someone else with, but it is something that I need to use on myself (likewise you should use this on yourself). There are many reasons why I am bringing this up today, and I think that this mentality of "checking" ourselves is vital for us to grow in grace and truth. I find a good model for giving is the tithing model. Now, many people have a different standard to measure their financial giving (Joy and not the amount given is the key; Old Testament tithing was closer to 30% than 10% and had various purposes; etc.), but for this little article, let's just use the tithing (10%) criteria. Just look back over the past few months and see how much you gave to your local church (first) and other ministries (2nd) compared to how much you spent on other stuff. Now, I'm not saying that you should not pay your mortgage, rent, or other bills - but how much did you spend on "fun" or extra stuff. Was that more - substantially more - than what you gave to God?
Q: What qualifies as "fun" stuff?
A: If I would be so bold, I would use a fairly lose definition with another question, "What do you need to spend your money on to provide for your family and be a good steward of what God has given you?"
The test is an easy one - just go through your credit cards and checking accounts for a few months and add up all of the things that you did that were extra - dinner out (non business), new toys (I mean big boy toys - electronics, tools, etc), monthly bills for Cable TV, high speed Internet, etc. Add these up, and then compare this total to the total that you give. These are all things that, if I stopped spending as much of our money on, my family would not notice, or hardly notice. Now, I am not saying that a family should spend no money on fun things or that we shouldn’t enjoy some of what God has given us, but I am saying that we should examine this type and amount of "fun" and relate it to how much we give to God.
My hope is that most of us have a positive result. But, how close are the two totals? My goal is not to be legalistic about this, but if I spend as much money on myself in the name of "fun" or "extra" stuff as I give to God, is that something that I need to examine more closely? Brothers and sisters, I only bring this up because it is one of the many things that the Holy Spirit is convicting me of. We need to cling to the imperishable things of God and be willing to give all of our perishable and temporary things back to the Lord.
A good quick reference for how wealth can effect my spiritual condition is to look at the story of the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19:16-30. There are many examples of Godly men in the Bible who are very rich, but there are also many examples of those who didn’t have anything. If you doubt that, just look no further than at our Savior, he didn’t have any real property or wealth (Matthew 8
This may not be totally accurate, but in relation to Matthew 19, think of your own financial status (rich, poor, middle class, etc) in relation to the rest of the world (6+ Billion people) and not just Americans or people in Western Europe. You'll find that you and I are among the top 1/5th (at least) wealthiest people in the world. I hope that this will, at least, cause you to ask questions and be willing to look at your money in a new way.
I work in the city, and I work until
Fast forward to last night….
As I was leaving work I passed a bunch of people socializing and waiting to enter a dining establishment. I walked right on by so many people because it just didn’t feel like the right time. Now, it is very likely that this feeling was just me not wanting to share the gospel in a way that would take me out of my comfort zone – I don’t know what it was for sure, but I know that God will break down my personal barriers the more I trust him in obedience (however small it starts out as). Well, by God’s grace I was accosted by a young man for some money to buy food. Out of habit, I told him that I didn’t have any change for him.*
I did say that I had something else for him. I said, “I don’t have any change, but do you want $1 Million?” I pulled out a million dollar bill tract and gave it to him.
Him: “I don’t want it. It’s not worth anything. I can’t buy anything with it.”
Me; “True, you can’t buy anything with it, but if you use it properly, it’s worth a whole lot more than $1 million.”
At this he was a bit intrigued, so I turned the tract over and read him the first line on the back of the tract. “The Million Dollar Question: Will you go to Heaven [when you die]?”
Him: “Oh, man – you know that when you die, you’re already in heaven.”
I was a bit confused by his response, but through some more questions (why do you think that, where did you get that information, how do you know that your idea is true) I came to understand that he just “knows” this with no real thought behind it. I asked him if he believed in the Bible and he gave me some sort of a non-committal response. So I tried to build the case in his conscience for what the Bible has to say. Basically, I said this, "Assuming the Bible is true (I know it’s true), and God judges you when you die – He sees hatred as murder, lust as adultery – will you be guilty or innocent?" Now, his response was a combination of “everybody does it,” to which I replied “You just quoted a Bible verse,” and I quoted Romans 3:23 to him. He then tried to downplay how bad an angry thought or a lustful thought really is. Well, to make this short story long, I left him with a 10 Commandment Medallion and told him to consider the Judgment of God that will come, and to really think about his guilt or innocence.
In hindsight, there are many things that I could have and/or should have done differently, or questions of his that I could have answered better. However, I am thankful that God was gracious enough to give me the courage to bring the law (he had not humbled himself to the law, so I didn’t bring up the gospel because he was not agreeing that he needed the Good Knews) and I trust that the Lord will work in his life. If it be His will, this man will come face to face with his sinfulness on this side of eternity and God will save his soul.
To God be the glory.
*(Sidebar – but important) Truth be told I did have a few dollar bills in my wallet, but I didn’t have any change. I hesitated pulling out my wallet to get some money. A few minutes later I did remember that I had some of my lunch left over (1 sandwich, 1 banana, and 1 Little Debbie Nutty Bar). I offered him my lunch and he turned down everything except the Nutty Bar because he already had a banana and he didn’t like Miracle Whip (on my sandwich). So, I didn’t feel so bad about not forking out some dough for this guy to buy food with. On the other hand I am ashamed and I am afraid that I may have done harm to my witness. You see, before I had given the man my lunch (but after we had started talking), he stopped another man walking by for some money. He said something like, “I asked him (me) for some money, but he didn’t have any. And I’m only talking with him about God because it’s interesting.” The other pedestrian looked at me, then at the gentleman asking for money, looked back at me – smirked, and pulled out a few bucks. Now, I don’t know what went on in that man’s head, but my fear was something like, “Huh, a crazy religious freak wants to push his ideas on this guy, but he’s not willing to help him out.” Even though this gentleman turned down most of the food that I had, my witness was still tarnished because I appeared unconcerned with his immediate needs to the other pedestrian.
Have you ever taken a pop quiz in life? I was at church this 
weekend and I asked if anyone could name me 10 pro sports teams. A brave young boy was the first to respond and he did a very good job of rattling off 10 teams. No stutters, no pauses (or very short pauses). I then asked him if he could name me the 10 commandments. He gave me 3 pretty fast, and then he started to falter. Now, I cut him off (so as not to embarrass)and asked the rest of the congregation if anyone could name me the 10 commandments.... Now, I don't know whether it was a lack of "on the spot" memory, a fear of speaking in public, or just one of the common bonds among Baptists which is an aversion to raising our hands for any reason during a church service. To be fair, I know for a fact that many of the church's members could have told me, if not all 10 in order, 9 without much problem.
Ok, why did I ask these two questions. One word - Evangelism. I did this to show how easy it can be to get someone to interact with you so that you can begin to share the truth of the Word with them. Without belaboring the point (because many others do a better job than I do), we need to be involved in evangelism. We need to go out to the world to show the light of life. The reason we need the 10 commandments is that unsaved people need to be shown how harshly God sees sin. Only then, when we understand how exceedingly wicked sin (any sin) is, are we able to understand the true love of God!Peter first expounds on the fact that we were chosen according to the foreknowledge of God (1 Peter 1:2; Romans 8:28-30), and uses covenant language that the 1st century Jews would understand when he speaks of the sprinkling of the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:2). In the Old Covenant, the priests would make sacrifices with the blood of animals to cover their sins and the sins of the people. See Hebrews 9 for a better foothold on this idea than I could ever give.
Then we see that God has caused us to be born again. Some translations are weaker on this point than I (in my humble opinion) think is appropriate. Contrast the language used in the NIV and the NASB, it's a very enlightening difference (see also James 1:18). I think that it is also very important to see how much Peter contrasts our hope for what is to come with the dead and dying things of this world (1 Peter 1:4,5).
The main emphasis of this study (this week) is the idea that suffering or trials for the believer are not optional. If one raises the quesiton, "If I live the Christian life, honor God, serve him faithfully, shouldn't I not experience trials?" I would answer this person a simple "No." I would also point out that a simple study of the life of Jesus Christ will show the folly of that sentiment. He was (is) the perfect man, He lead a perfect life, He loved God more purely than anyone could even dream, but yet he suffered greater. Christ suffered more than the cumulative sufferings of mankind (I heard this phrase on "the Bible Answer Man" hosted by Hank Hanegraaff, but since I don't have a direct quote, I don't want to actually use quotation marks). See also 1 Peter 3:17; 4:12-19; 5:8-10; and James 1:2-4 for other references to our suffering for Christ. That's not an exhaustive list of referencs, but it's a start.
A note to the reader: If you agree or disagree with what I've laid out as what the Bible says here, please let me know. Especially let me know if you find that I'm in error. I don't take studying or teaching the Word of God lightly, and I'd rather know my error now than at a later date (or never).
