Are You Ready to Die for Christ?

Two views of man and morality are at war in the United States. There are many nuances and varieties, but the crux is this: Is man to be free to live under the law of His Creator [the Ten Commandments], or is he to be coerced to live under the law of the collective wisdom of man [human law arising out of the experience of the human race, as interpreted by "scientific" experts.] The social, civil, economic, legal, educational decisions will be guided by a person's idea of morality. The front of the conflict now involves abortion, homosexuality, educational theory, but it will soon involve every decision of life. Are you ready to die for Christ?

Grace Doesn't Do Moral Darkness, You Know.

God cannot be the source of disobedience, for that would be to deny Himself. "God is light, and Him is no darkness at all, " is the way James puts it.

Paul puts it this way, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world...." [Titus 2:11,12]

How can you say that you can live in an ungodly way because you believe in grace? Grace teaches something else. In the school of grace you learn to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. In that school you learn to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.

So, why would those who talk of grace lie to one another? Why would they lie about their ministers and elders? Why would they thumb their noses at the judicatories of the church? Why would they say, "Lord, Lord," and do not the things that Jesus said?

Must the minister apologize to his congregation for teaching them what the Scriptures say about esteeming highly those who are over them; a text that specifically applies to the officers of the church who are to admonish the unruly? [1Thess. 5:12-14] "Are over" means to have rule, to preside, to administer. The Lord Jesus has prescribed a government and order to His church. Must he be sorry that is written in the Scripture and apologize for it? Must parents apologize to their children because the Scripture says, "Honor your Father and your Mother?" Does the Scripture and grace teach us to hate our parents and spurn them even unto their deaths? To defy and slander those who try to obey this order? Even worse, are we to be abettors of those who live unruly lives?

Of course the rebels always have a ready response. They like the idea that there is truth on both sides of everything and are ready, "You must be Roman Catholic and deny the priesthood of the believer and the freedom of the Christian." Neat, self comforting, and wrong.

This perversion and corruption of grace does not come from heaven, but from somewhere else. It is a wisdom that does not descend from above but arises from somewhere else.

"For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." James 3:16, 17

A good minister will refuse profane old wives fables, but will be nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine and will exercise himself unto godliness. [see 1Tim. 4:6] Godliness means obeying God and not the tizzy fits that silly women have. ["silly women" is to be considered as a single idea, denoting only one class of women. The Bible also speaks of wise, sober, and godly women who do not run from house to house stirring up strife in the church.]

Not only is sin contrary to grace, but the counsel that aids and abets the behavior is also not of grace. That which is contrary to godliness cannot be of grace. Every work of darkness is contrary to grace and is to be reproved, rebuked, and corrected, or what is the ministry for? Jesus was no enabler and comfort for those who rebelled against the truth. Neither must we be.

"They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you." --Jer. 23:17

The Real Bigotry

A couple of years ago I was called to jury duty. I didn't expect to be called, because I had heard that ministers and especially seminary professors would not be chosen. But I was.

But the case and the jury is not the story. After we were chosen and given our instructions, we walked outside, I with a tall, middle aged, urbane and soft-spoken man. We exchanged few pleasantries and he asked me what I did. [A very Western Civiilization question, for we define ourselves by what we do].

I told him that I taught systematic theology at New Geneva Seminary. My next remark would have been been a question about what he did, but I never had the opportunity.

He launched into a bitter, albeit soft-spoken and urbane, tirade against the Bible and Christianity. It did not seem to matter whether or not I believed the things that he attributed to Christianity, because he never attempted to find out what I thought. He without even a ripple in his thought KNEW what I thought and what kind of person I was and what kind of relatives I had and, I suppose, knew what I had had for breakfast. I just looked at him, turned my back and walked away. We had no opportunity to speak again.

He was elected foreman of the jury, and I flatter myself that several times during the deliberations I saved his sorry hide, by helping define the issues, the law, and the facts. The jury could have been deeply divided, but I think I served justice well by what I said, although I did not speak much. He warmed some to me as the proceedings advanced.

His attitude toward Christianity would have been stereotypical of the white male's attitude toward "those people" who had black skin in the thirties and forties of the 20th century.

He was well-educated, well-spoken --did I say that? I hope I get an opportunity to speak to him again someday, but it is doubtful, I suppose. I hope I was a good witness for Christ. I do not feel guilty about turning and walking away at the end of his tirade, for the scripture says to answer a fool according to his folly. It was not the time or place to engage in religious polemics; he would have known that if he were not a fool.

I also feel good about my performance on the jury, for I think I was a good witness for Christ, although I did not quote the Bible or behave in a sanctimonious manner. Others did, for there were some simple Christians on the jury and that is the kind of Christianity they knew. I wanted him to know that even if he was a jerk, I was certainly not one and could behave with discretion and do the job we were called to do. I have a warm feeling that my remarks at a critical time in our discussions were what defined the issues, threw light on the law in terms of the judges instructions, and united us in a fair and just decision. It was an answer to my prayer that I would be a good witness for Christ.

He was the modern bigot. Is his disease curable? Yes, but only by the Christ that he despised.