We Must See People First

This will be another short post on race before I move on.  Many others are weighing in on race here in the United States and my voice is just one among many.

I want to add that if we see race first in a person before we see them as made in the image of God as a human being, we must repent.  Certainly I agree that God made us with color.  All of us.  But that does not define us as people.  If you strip away my color, I am no different from my Japanese neighbors or my black neighbors or any other color.  We are all human beings.  We are all made in the image of God.  This is the Christian truth.  Secular humanists tell us that we are nothing more than pond scum but we are not.  We are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and we know it.  We must see each other as people before we see race or culture.  God does not favor the Jew above the Gentile.  He loves both and sent His Son to redeem us all who are children of Adam (Romans 5:12-21; Galatians 4:1-6).

I love how Paul the Apostle was willing to lay down his race for Christ.  In Philippians 3:2-11 we read:

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Notice that this Jewish man laid down his Jewish identity for the sake of Christ.  He was willing to trade in his culture, his religion, his everything for Christ Jesus.  That should be our call as well.

You see I am not first a white man.  I am not first an American.  I am first and foremost a disciple of Jesus Christ.  I am a Christian.  I happen to be white.  I happen to live in the United States.  I speak English.  That is not what defines me.  What defines me is the gospel.  I am a sinner redeemed by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).  I was dead in my sins and my color would not change that.  I was dead in my sins and my nationality would not change that.  I was dead in my sins and my parents could not change that.  What changed me was the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26).

If we see that people are in need of Jesus because they are human beings, that is the heart of God (Matthew 28:19-20).  People need Jesus.  All people.  All colors.  All creeds.  All religions.  There is no other way to God but through Jesus Christ (John 14:6).  He alone is our mediator before a holy God (1 Timothy 2:3-6).  Jesus alone shed His blood for our salvation (Matthew 26:28; Galatians 2:15-16).

Let me close this by pointing out that Paul loved his race.  Paul prayed for his race to be saved (Romans 10:1).  There is nothing wrong with loving your people.  But don’t let that define you.  Don’t allow your race to define who you are.  Let the gospel inform you.  Notice that while Paul loved his race, he prayed for their salvation earnestly and he also preached to those outside of his race (Acts 13:44-48).  Paul even rebuked Peter for being a hypocrite with the Jews from Jerusalem (Galatians 2:11-14) because it hindered the gospel to the Gentiles.

My prayer is that the Church would rise up and lead the way of preaching the gospel of peace to a sinful, hateful world.  Jesus came to die for all sinners (John 1:29) and He alone can bring peace to this storm.  The hope for the races is not found in government or wars.  It is found in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The gospel will bring true peace.  The gospel can unite sinners like nothing else.  May the Lord have mercy on the United States and send us a revival of truth.

It’s Easy to Be Racist When You See Men As Animals

Racism is always a hot topic.  I grew up in the South of the United States.  As most people know (who know history), the South was mainly where many of the Africans came when the US brought slaves over in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.  The North and South fought the Civil War (not primarily) over the issues of slavery.  The US Civil War brought a new history of racism to the South.  After the Civil War, Northern leaders forced Southern plantation owners to give up of their land to the new freed slaves.  The idea was to help former slaves become independent but what it brought was hatred from the Southern whites toward their former slaves.  After the era of Reconstruction ended just a few years after the Civil War, the South created “Jim Crow” laws which ensured segregation and when the US Supreme Court upheld “separate but equal” rulings, the South created law after law to keep former slaves down.

I grew up long after the Civil War was fought of course and I grew up in a integrated society.  In the 1960’s, the Civil Rights movement begin in the South and brought down the Jim Crow laws.  This was a good thing in my estimation.  For the life of me, I can’t understand how Christians could hate people based on the color of the skin.  How in the world do you read John 13:34-35 or 1 John 4:20-21 and still approve of racism?

When I was in elementary school, my school was mainly white.  The black friends I had were great and we got along well.  When I got to middle school, they forced three schools to combine because of race (two of the schools were about 80% black or higher and the middle school I was suppose to attend was probably 80% white).  The whites who could went to private schools.  The school went from 500 students to over 1200 students (in middle school) with over 70% black.  It was here that I begin to see racism like never before.  This racism was aimed at me for my skin color.

Over the next 7 years of school (my high school today is 100% black but at the time was about 90% black), I was taught that I was guilty of many sins against the black man for it was my ancestors who had owned slaves.  I was taught that whites should be ashamed, forced to pay money to blacks for the sins of our fathers.  I was taught that the problems with the black community could be laid at the feet of whites.  I was hated for just being white.  And in turn, I begin to hate back.

Now to be fair, I played baseball in school and had black team mates and we got along great.  I also had black friends outside of sports who were dear to me.  Keep in mind also I was not saved.

At 17 I was saved.  This opened my eyes to my own racism and to my need to repent.  Our Bible study group was mainly white but we reached out to black pastors and black students to try to bring healing and show the power of the gospel to bring down divisions.  The church I attended had several black families in it and I loved them dearly.

My point here is that I saw where racism was (in our wicked hearts).  I saw how it was fed.  We were taught in school that we were products of naturalistic evolution.  We were just glorified animals.  We were not created in the image of God.  I could see how racism could grow in that environment.  We are nothing but animals.  You kill an animal, it just ceases to exist.  No right or wrong.  Only animals.  The whites use to point at the blacks and call them “monkeys” while I am sure black people called us names as well.  Racism was alive and well and why should it not be in such a wicked environment.

Look at our world today.  For the last 50 years we have been teaching nothing but secular humanism.  We have taught that people are animals, that evolution is true, that morality is based on individual liberty.  We have taught people to look to the Government for help, to fight your battles, to solve your problems, to take from your neighbor and give to you.  We have rejected the gospel as a foundation.  We have turned our back on our Christian heritage.  We have been taught to kill just for the sake of killing and there is no God so nothing will happen anyway.  And we wonder why racism still exists?  We wonder why wicked sinners kill?

When I begin to see that my black neighbors are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27 ) and that Christ died for them, that changed my views.  I would  be lying if I said that all racism is gone from my heart.  I have to fight it but I fight it with the gospel.  Jesus didn’t die for Jews only or for Gentiles only but He died for all sinners (Luke 19:10; 1 Timothy 2:3-6).  The gospel goes out to all people (Matthew 28:19-20).  In Revelation 5:9-10 we read that God has His people from every tribe, tongue and nation.  God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:10).  The Bible is clear that whosoever can call upon the name of the Lord and be saved (Romans 10:13).  Thus the gospel is not for Jews only but for all (Romans 11:32).

What our society needs is the gospel.  The gospel tears down the sins of our hearts.  The gospel brings people together in unity like nothing else (Ephesians 2:14).  The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7) and Jesus shed His blood for all races.  When we see that people are created in the image of God, we see that they are truly loved by God (John 3:16).  The Chinese person.  The Japanese person.  The white person.  The black person.  The Hispanic person.  They all are made in the image of God.  They are not animals.  They are loved by God and He desires to save them by His grace.

My prayer is that the gospel will go forth and save every racist.  The truth is that Jesus died for all sinners (Romans 3:23) and all sinners need salvation which comes not by skin color or by language but by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).  The gospel is color blind.  The gospel is the cure for our society because the gospel transform a man into seeing that another man is created in the image of God.  The gospel shows us that despite our culture or our color, Jesus shed His blood for our salvation.  The gospel shows us that heaven will be full of all kinds of people (I rejoice to see that day!).  When we see people thorough the gospel, this transforms how we see people for we don’t see a person by their skin color or their creed or their language but we see them as people made in the image of Almighty God.

Using Tragedy to Pray

Seems as if everyday we find news coming out of evil abounding.  People murdering people.  People lying.  People giving themselves to sexual immorality and to drugs.  We see the work of the devil all around us.  We see politicians lying, sports stars living in wickedness, and yes, sadly, the church has its own people falling into sin.  We need only to look in the mirror to know that sin abounds (Romans 3:23).

I believe that before we take to social media to talk about the sin around us and in us, we need to go to our knees to pray.  I believe the Lord can use tragedy to help us pray with His heart for this lost world.  The Lord is no doubt the Savior of the lost (Luke 19:10) and He draws sinners to Himself by His grace (John 6:44) but He also uses the means of grace to bring the lost to Himself.  This is true for Arminians as it is for our Calvinist brethren.  The Lord uses the means of preaching (1 Corinthians 1:21) and the means of prayer to bring sinners to salvation (Romans 10:1; 1 Timothy 2:1-2).  The God of glory allows us (fallen human beings) to join with Him in prayer to labor for souls (1 Corinthians 3:9).

When we see wickedness around us, let us pray.  When we see people living in sin around us, let us pray.  When we hear of Muslims committing works of evil, let us pray.  When we hear of cults, let us pray.  When we hear of Christians falling into sin, let us pray.  When we hear of loved ones who are living in sin, let us pray.  When we hear the news of evil, let us pray.

Let us pray for the souls to be saved.  Let us pray for God to send forth workers to work His harvest fields (Matthew 9:37-38).  Let us pray for the Word to go forth and bear fruit to the glory of God (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2). Let us pray for cities and nations to experience revival (Acts 2:17-18).  Let us pray for the Lord to bring sinners to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  Let us pray for holiness in the Church (1 Peter 1:15-16).  Let us pray for the glory of God to fill His Church (Ephesians 3:20-21).

We live in this world as ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).  We can speak to people for God but we also can speak to God for people.  God doesn’t hear the cries of wicked sinners who have not repented of their sins (Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:2; John 9:31) but He does hear those of His children (Psalm 34:15).  As His children, we have the right (John 1:12-13) to come into His holy presence through His Son (John 14:12-14; Hebrews 4:14-16).  We have a faithful high priest before the Father and we can approach the throne of God through faith in the Lord Jesus who died for our sins and now sits at the right hand of God praying for us (Hebrews 7:25).  Through the name of Jesus, we have the right to pray and the Lord hears our cries.  The Bible says that He acknowledges the humble (Psalm 147:11).

As we pray, let us praise with the Psalmist and rejoice that God hears our prayers (Psalm 66:20).  Let us pray,

“Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul.  I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was extolled with my tongue.”  – Psalm 66:16-17 (NASB)

We have the joy of praying for the nations, for the lost, for the Church, for God to be glorified.  Let us not waste this time by wasting our energy on social media ranting about evil but let us pray in the name of Jesus knowing that our Father hears our prayers and He will be glorified through our cries.

Don’t Use Evil To Destroy Another

I was sad this week to read after the Paris attacks from Muslim terrorists that a brother went on Twitter to attack Calvinists over their view of divine determinism.  While  I agree that divine determinism is not biblical, I don’t believe we should use evil to try to attack Calvinists.  People lost their lives in France and we should mourn that.  Now is not the time to use the wicked acts of these Muslims to attack our brethren.

Both Arminians and Calvinists mourn over the loss of lives.  We both agree that the only hope for Muslims, for the people of France, and the world is the precious truth of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the answer to the problem of evil.  We both preach that Jesus saves sinners (Luke 19:10) and we both agree that none are saved apart from Christ Jesus (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5-6).  We agree that the preaching of the gospel is necessary to bring people to salvation (Romans 10:14-17).  Let us focus on this, on getting the gospel to the lost souls in France and throughout the world (Matthew 28:19-20).  This is the heart of God, for the lost to come to faith in His Son (John 3:16).

Let us pray for the world to hear the gospel and be saved (Matthew 9:38; Romans 10:1).  Let us pray that people in France will heed the gospel and repent (Luke 13:1-5) as well as the Muslims.

Why the Secular World Has No Answer For ISIS

I recently watched a video on the Islamic State or better known as ISIS.  The video was not produced by Christians so the video simply wanted to tell the story of ISIS and why they do what they do and what is their goal.  The reality was that ISIS members were not murderers bent on simply killing infidels in the name of Islam but they are simple, normal Muslims who truly love Islam and are seeking to follow the ways of their Prophet.  These Muslims fill their day with learning from the Quran, with prayer, and with seeking to imitate the life of Mohammad in every way possible including jihad.  Their passion is simple: they want to do the will of their god as it gave it to their prophet.

The secular world simply cannot fathom this devotion.  They look at ISIS and see a people who must be mad at the West for something.  Perhaps its our morals (and that is part of it) or our freedom (they see it as bondage because the will of their god is not being followed).  The secular world thinks it’s about land or oil or money or even sex.  The reality is that the members of ISIS and especially the leadership are well-educated Muslims who are bent on being true to the Quran and to their prophet.  This is not about a fight for land.  This is not a fight over the US involvement with Iraq or Afghanistan per se (though ISIS hates the Americans for being in Muslim lands).  This is not about Jews or Christians (though they despise them both for their “false worship”).  This is about their god.  And the secular world has no answer.

The reason is simple why the secular worldview has no answer: they have no god.  The “god” of the secular is themselves (Romans 1:22-23).  The false god of Islam is not much different other than that the Muslim believes in a god outside of themselves.  Their god is still a false god.  Either way, the secularist has no answer for Islam.

The Christian reply is that the Muslims are worshiping a false god.  A comparison of the God of the Bible with the god of the Quran shows a god who is much different in Islam.  Even a comparison of the life and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ with Mohammad shows worlds difference between the two.  The Lord Jesus was perfect, sinless and He never struck down those who attacked Him (1 Peter 2:21-24).  Jesus even prayed for those who were killing Him (Luke 23:34).  The Bible even says that we are to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48) and Paul the Apostle advocated the same (Romans 12:12-21).  Jesus did teach His disciples to advance His kingdom (Acts 1:8) because of His authority (Matthew 28:18-20) but this advancement is not with weapons of warfare (2 Corinthians 10:3-4) but with the gospel.  The gospel will conquer the nations (Psalm 110:1; Daniel 7:13-14; 1 Corinthians 15:24-26) and the Lord will redeem sinners from every nation (Revelation 5:9-10).  Yet Jesus, unlike Mohammad, never called His followers to advance His kingdom by force or power.  The gospel alone can transform a person and this comes from above (John 3:3; cf. Luke 17:20-21).

ISIS is not following Jesus.  In fact, ISIS hates Jesus and the true and living God of the Bible as all sinners do (Romans 1:18-19).  ISIS, like other forms of Islam, cannot convert one person because they have no gospel, no power.  Islam offers no forgiveness of sins because they reject sin.  Islam offers no assurance of salvation but to martyrs.  Islam offers no hope that their god loves them but only that it is merciful.  Islam has no concept of individual salvation but with only submission to their god.  The very name “Muslim” means “one who submits.”  Yet ISIS views all forms of Islam false who also do not follow sharia law (or the laws put forth by various Muslim clerics about how to follow the Quran and the life of Mohammad).  If a nation or person does not follow sharia law as set forth by ISIS, they are deemed infidels and must repent and come back to the true religion.  This is not a religion of peace but one of submission.

ISIS’s goal is clear: to raise the black flag of ISIS over every nation.  In the video I watched, ISIS promised to raise the flag over Turkey (if they did not open a dam to allow water into Syria) and over all the Middle East (including Iran and Israel whom they both hate).  ISIS even promised to raise the flag of Islam over the White House in the United States.  This is not a religion of peace but as the name states – of submission.  Sharia law is to be the law of the land wherever ISIS comes.

What can the secularist say to this?  They have no solution.  No answers.  The President of the United States will not even see that they are true Muslims but he views them as false Muslims.  Any simple reading of the Quran and the Hadith would show otherwise.  Some secular religious scholar is giving the President of the United States bad advice.  I agree that warfare is not the total answer.  ISIS wants war.  ISIS would love to face the United States to the battlefield (though they would probably lose in my estimation).  ISIS believes that their holy war is from their god.  The US military would just view it as another war with terrorists.  While the US could defeat ISIS in battles, the hearts for the people living in Muslim lands must be won with the gospel.  And the US (and other nations) would not get that part.  Until they do, they would have to continue to fight Islamic fighters for years to come.

The answer for combatting ISIS is this: send missionaries.  You could (and I think should) fight ISIS on the battlefield for they continue to kill people who are simply in their way.  ISIS must be stopped and stopped by a strong military force (just as the European nations sent the Crusaders in the middle ages not to take over the Middle East but to combat the spread of Islam into European nations).  After stopping ISIS on the battlefield, we must turn the work over to the gospel.  Muslims need to freely hear the gospel.  One ISIS soldier even said that he hated seeing the Americans in Iraq because they would build Christian churches.  This is what we must do.  We must send forth the gospel.

The gospel can transform the Middle East.  It did in the first 600 years after the resurrection of Christ until the false prophet Mohammad sought to build a cult off the teachings of Judaism and Christianity.  Since then, the gospel has struggled against the false teachings of Islam.  Islam is not merely another religion from Christianity but it is the antithesis of Christianity.  Islam doesn’t merely teach against Jesus but another Jesus altogether to pervert the true Jesus of the Bible.

Thank God for the reports of Muslims hearing the gospel through the Internet and through radio.  ISIS will kill whoever converts to Christianity and ISIS will kill whoever is found with a Bible or listening to Christian programs.  This is not about peace but submission.  Yahweh is sending forth His truth against the false teachings of Islam.  Yahweh will be glorified through His Son in all nations and the promise is that all nations will bow to His dominion (Psalm 72:8-9).

I pray that ISIS will repent.  God saved a Jew bent on killing disciples of Christ in Acts 9 and He can do the same with members of ISIS.  I pray that nations will see the threat of ISIS and see that the answer is not found in secularism.  It is not found in money or sex.  The answer for ISIS is the gospel of the Jesus Christ.  I pray that members of ISIS will turn from their sins and the Spirit of God would bring deep conviction upon them (John 16:8-11).  Jesus is able to save even the worse of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).  May we intercede for this (1 Timothy 2:1-7).

Why Do Homosexuals Want To Be Married?

Why do homosexuals want same-sex “marriage” to be legal?  Most homosexuals have been content to just live out their lives without marriage.  One poll I read from said that less than 5% of homosexuals ever get “married” to their same-sex partner.  Most are content to abide in their relationships while recognizing that, in reality, only a man and a woman can legally get married.  There is no such thing as marriage “equality” and people know this.

That has now all changed.  Our culture is quickly moving to make same-sex “marriage” a part of our society.  Those who oppose same-sex “marriage” are said to be bias, old fashioned, a bigot, a homophobe.  Everyone is being ordered to not just allow for same-sex “marriage” but the drum beat from the culture is that it is to be celebrated.  If someone declares they are a homosexual, we are not to merely remain silent on the issue but should rejoice in their lifestyle.

And that is the bottom line issue of same-sex “marriage.”  Our culture is seeking to redefine marriage in order to legitimize the sin of homosexuality.  Our culture wants to legitimize not just that sin but others as well including lying, greed, stealing, polygamy, adultery, incest, pride, and even pedophilia.  Nothing is out of the range of redefinition.

And why is this happening?  First, the Church has failed to preach the gospel.  The Church has been focused on numbers and the seeker movement has produced a church void of truth.  The teaching of the Bible has been replaced with pop psychology.  Theology has been replaced with “application” teaching and “cool and relevant” teaching.  Prayer has been replaced with programs.  Evangelism has been replaced with making the “unchurched” feel welcomed.  Words have replaced power.  As the Church has become lukewarm, lacking in the presence of God, and focused on numbers instead of faithfulness to God, the result has been churches full of people but lacking in true disciples.  False converts are everywhere!  This has caused the Church to not be able to address social ills and questions with the authority of the Word of God.  How can she when she has been playing harlotry with the world itself?

Secondly, the sins of homosexuality, adultery, lying, greed, etc. will not go away simply because society claims they are not sins.  The fact remains that the human conscience knows that these are sins.  Romans 1:18 says that people seek to suppress the truth because they love their unrighteousness.  When people reject God, God gives them over to their sins which includes the acceptance by culture of sin (Romans 1:28).  People love their sins whether it be sexual perversions or their greed or their false religions.  People know they are guilty before a holy God because there is enough of the Law of God in our society still to convict but the culture wants to suppress the truth and, in their minds, end their guilt they feel for their sins.  If the culture can remove Christianity, they feel that their sins will no longer convict them and they can live in complete wickedness without guilt.  This will never happen.

Thirdly, the Church has failed to preach faithfulness in biblical marriages.  Far too long we have tolerated unbiblical relationships to exist.  We must preach the truth of God’s Word about marriage.  God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16 NKJV).  God’s Word has presented us with biblical marriages and we must obey the texts (Ephesians 5:22-33).  True marriage pictures Christ and His Church.  We have tolerated marriages that are below God’s standard.  We must repent of this and pray for the Spirit to repair our marriages.  Homosexuals look at traditional marriages and they are able to show so many ungodly, unbiblical marriages.  Divorce among Christians is high (not as high as some would suggest) but we must preach against divorce and preach forgiveness, reconciliation, and the biblical roles of men and women in marriage.  I myself had to endure my own parents divorce and despite this happening when I was already an adult, it is not something I want to endure again.

The response from the Church must be the same as always: the preaching of the gospel.  Homosexuals, adulterers, liars, pedafiles, rapists, perverts, drunkards, the greedy, those in false religions, etc. all need the gospel.  Paul makes it clear that God is able to save such sinners in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.  Sinners need the gospel!  Our culture is full of sin and thus now is the time for the Church to preach the gospel.  Paul wrote in Romans 5:20-21:

20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Notice that where sin increased, grace abounded all the more!  The gospel is the answer for our society.  Now is not the time for the Church to conform to the culture and simply allow for homosexuality to become normalized.  We must preach against all sins!  We must stand firm on the Word of God even if the culture rejects us (and they will for the sake of their sins).  The Bible is able to cut people to the heart (Hebrews 4:12-13) even if the culture rejects the Bible.  The Bible is a supernatural book written by the Spirit of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and therefore the Spirit is able to open sinners hearts to the Word of God as we are faithful to proclaim its truth.  Let us pray for sinners to hear the Word of God and be saved (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).