Christ and Common Sense

Thoughts from a Central Valley Pastor

Page 10 of 13

Feminism vs. Femininty

August 6, 2021 /

Feminism steals from women the beautiful design of femininity that God intended for them to pursue. Instead of rebelling against God’s wonderful design, women can discover the beauty that comes from living the way God intended.


Rebecca Lemke is an author and blogger who writes about her struggle to live as a woman of God in a godless society. I was struck by an article she wrote titled, “Feminism tried to steal my femininity.” In it she describes how, “Feminism, not the patriarchy, was what tried to steal my choices and my femininity.” She included the following quote as an accurate summary of her thoughts on feminism, 
“I think there is a fundamental understanding that lies at the root of feminism. This has impacted women of all ages, but I think it has especially impacted these young girls. This sense that freedom is the ability to do whatever I want, whenever I want, and that the earlier I can experience this total freedom, the better. But we know that freedom is the ability to do what you ought to do, to do the good, to choose the good.” – Coleen Carrol Campbell (emphasis added)


Jesus Christ told his disciples, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) What a beautiful concept! The truth will set you free. The truth doesn’t restrict and burden God’s people. It liberates them to live the way God intended. The truth about femininity is that God has designed women in a wonderful way and he wants them to pursue the high calling He has given them. If a woman will repent of her sin and trust that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save her then she will be saved (Acts 2:38). If a Christian woman will commit her life to Christ, then she will seek to live the way God intended her to live. 


The Bible explains that the essence of femininity is to receive what God has given. God created Eve to be a helpmate for Adam (Genesis 2:18). She was to receive this calling and purpose and find great fulfillment in pursuing her calling as a servant of God by helping her husband in his unique purpose and calling. Unfortunately, Eve wanted to have more than God gave and so she fell into sin and took what had not been given to her. 


Mary, on the other hand, is a positive example of femininity in the Bible. When Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel, she responded the way God intended. She said, “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”(Luke 1:38) Her reply is the essence of femininity. She was ready to receive what God had given her, and she flourished as a result. 


Elizabeth Elliot paints a picture of femininity in a chapter entitled “The Essence of Femininity.” She writes, “Think of a bride. She surrenders her independence, her name, her destiny, her will, herself to the bridegroom in marriage. This is a public ceremony, before God and witnesses. Then, in the marriage chamber, she surrenders her body, her priceless gift of virginity, all that has been hidden. As a mother she makes a new surrender—it is her life for the life of the child. This is most profoundly what women were made for, married or single (and the special vocation of the virgin is to surrender herself for service to the Lord and for the life of the world).” Taken from Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (1991). 


Feminism is at odds with the calling that God revealed for women in His word. The Oxford Leaners Dictionary defines feminism as “the belief and aim that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men; the struggle to achieve this aim.” Bell Hooks wrote that “feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” The last word of Hooks definition reveals how much modern feminism has been influenced by critical theory, which is a philosophy that divides the world into the oppressed and the oppressor. 


According to feminism, men are the oppressors and women are the oppressed. And any God who describes a purpose and roles for women that do not fit with the feminists ideals of equality is thus also considered to be oppressive. This makes the feminist ideology incompatible with Scripture. As Elisabeth Elliot writes, “The feminist theology of Christians (I cannot call it “Christian feminist theology”) is a Procrustean bed on which doctrine and the plain facts of human nature and history, not to mention the Bible itself, are arbitrarily stretched or chopped off to fit.” 
Feminism steals from women the beautiful design of femininity that God intended for them to pursue. Instead of rebelling against God’s wonderful design, women can discover the beauty that comes from how God intended both men and women to live. 

Let God Define Gender

August 3, 2021 /

The question of gender identity can be answered with the clarity that comes from the hard science of genetics and the firm foundation of the Bible. 

The “Trends vs. Truth” series at GBC Lemoore is off to a good start. Last week we looked at Critical Race Theory’s insistence that the world should be drawn with skin-colored crayons. Everything is about race, CRT proponents claim, and if you don’t agree then you are being racist. My article made the argument that God’s word encourages humans to look past someone’s skin and realize the problems in the world come from their sin! Each human is born in rebellion against God and each of us must repent and be made right with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

This week we are looking at the “Gender Question.” Proponents of gender theory like to pull out the crayon box as well. They argue that gender is fluid. You can color in your gender from a veritable rainbow of colors. Here is a partial list of the gender colors you can choose from: agender, bigender, cisgender, gender fluid, transgender, gender varient, and two-spirit. In case you are wondering, male and female don’t get their own color, they are both contained in the term “cisgender,” which means “a person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth.” (Merriam-Webster dictionary) 

Did you notice what just happened there? The term “cisgender” assumes you will accept the notion that there is a difference between biological gender and biological sex. Gender theory is built on that assumption, but you don’t have to take that theoretical leap. The Bible certainly does not. Genesis 1:27 makes it very clear, “male and female he created them.” There is no difference between gender and sex. There are only two options and each person’s gender and sex are decided for them when the sperm enters the egg at the time of conception. 

Jenny Graves is a distinguished professor of genetics at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. She knows that if a human sperm has a Y chromosome it will join with the X chromosome in the egg and create a little baby boy. She also knows that if the sperm has an X chromosome the little girl will be a girl. Gender and sex are determined at conception based on the irrefutable evidence of human biology. 

In 2017, Moran Gershoni and Shmuel Pietrokovski published a research paper in the BMC Biology journal that made Jenny Graves realize her belief in the genetic impact of someone’s sex was much more pervasive than previously thought. The paper was titled “The landscape of sex-differential transcriptome and its consequent selection in human adults.” In it, evidence was given that shows that almost one third of the 20,000 genes that men and women share behave differently based on whether the individual is a man or a woman. So, not only does a man and woman’s brain tissue function differently. If I understand the research correctly, almost one third of human tissue behaves differently based on whether the original sperm had an X or a Y chromosome. 

Once again science and the Bible correct the coloring box of critical theory. In this case it is gender theory that needs to reduce the crayons in the box. Male and female are the genders that God has given humanity and we need to learn to live with the gender He has graciously given each of us at birth. Is it easy to live as a woman in this world of ours? No, it is not. Is it easy to live as a man, same answer. Why? Because we are all living in a fallen world. We all struggle to live the way God intended. We have all lied and lusted. We have all felt the pain of sin and death. There is sickness and disease. We are constantly tempted to follow desires that we should not pursue. 

This is not to say that one desire is worse than another. In God’s sight all sin is the same. Lust for someone who is not your spouse is sin. It is that simple. Marriage is given as a wonderful gift from God to encourage men and women to have companionship, hopefully have children, and make disciples among the nations (Matthew 28:19-20). We need to submit to God’s definition of gender so we can think and act in the way that He intended. 

This article was published in the Hanford Sentinel under the heading, “We all struggle to live as God intended, no matter what gender we may be.” The editor made the change and I am not too concerned because if you read the article you can tell I do not advocate gender fluidity.

The Myth of Critical Race Theory

August 3, 2021 /

Many people refer to Derrick Bell as the father of Critical Race Theory (CRT). He worked tirelessly to promote a racially driven philosophy of law during his tenure as the first African American professor at the Harvard School of Law (1971-1990). He wrote books and articles. He spoke at conferences and even staged protests to seek to legitimize CRT in the American consciousness. Those who agreed to the presence of systemic racism in the United States were said to have “woken up” to the endless oppression of minority groups. Those who disagreed were dismissed as narrow-minded racists. 

One political scientist named Adolph Reed Jr. heard Derrick Bell speak at a Harvard conference in 1991. He remembered that Bell made the audacious claim that African Americans had made no progress in society since the end of the Civil War. Mr. Reed dismissed Bell’s comments as “more a jeremiad than analysis.” A jeremiad is a “long, mournful complaint” made against a perceived injustice. In Bell’s case his complaint was negated by the fact that he was a tenured African American Harvard professor. 

We shouldn’t be surprised that Derrick Bell’s teaching was lacking in logical clarity. You see the philosophy he believed in did not require it. Critical Race Theory is not like other social sciences that encourage analysis and critique. No, CRT is the opposite of analytical. It is subjective. It does not try to explain why something exists. It merely declares that systemic racism is real and then looks for ways to support it. Common sense is not needed with CRT. The only sense that is needed is one that looks for racism under every stone.  

The Oxford dictionary of Critical Theory defines the theory like this, “The word critical should thus be understood to mean the opposite of analytical. It refers to a set of concepts whose reach is always greater than their grasp. Critical Theory is interested in why human society failed to live up to Marxist enlightenment and became what it is today, unequal, unjust and largely uncaring.” This pessimistic perspective on society feeds off a victim mentality. As long as people buy into the myth of the oppressed and the oppressor it can survive, but when the bubble of critical theory bursts, the subjective foundation of CRT crumbles. 

The apostle Paul warned the church in Ephesus about false teachers who would promote “myths and endless genealogies.” He warned Timothy that they “do not understand either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.” (1 Timothy 1:7 ESV) The Bible reveals CRT to be a myth because the Bible teaches all humans belong to one race, the race that God created in His image (Genesis 1:27). If proponents of CRT would accept the bible’s unifying outlook on humanity then the divisive worldview of CRT would come to an end. 

When Max Horkheimer (1895-1973) coined the term “critical theory,” Darwinian thought was very much in vogue. Race was not seen as a social construct, but as a scientific category that separated one group of people from another. Geneticists did not know that 99.9% of human DNA is shared by all humans, regardless of differences of skin color or ethnicity. The myth of racial division was maintained because people had been taught to think in terms of the color of their skin and not the content of their character. 

Thankfully, geneticists are now calling for “race” to be disbanded as a category. Michael Yudell, a professor of public health at Drexel University in Philadelphia wrote, “It’s a concept we think is too crude to provide useful information, it’s a concept that has social meaning that interferes in the scientific understanding of human genetic diversity and it’s a concept that we are not the first to call upon moving away from.” 

As with any myth, there comes a time when truth makes it fade away. I for one am tired of people referring to each other by the color of their skin. We need to realize race is not a helpful category for humans. Darwin had no problem referring to people by their skin color because he thought certain people came from chimps and others from gorillas! He promoted referring to people like animals because he thought that is where we came from! 

I won’t be surprised if evolutionists continue to use racist terminology to describe people, but Christians should not. According to the Bible, there is only one race, the human race. We believe humans are made in the image of God! Let’s honor Him by referring to his creation in an honorable way. That will help bring an end to the myth of Critical Race Theory by reminding everyone that we all come from one race, the race of Adam and Eve! 

Waiting-Expectantly

August 3, 2021 /

At the end of the day, a father’s great delight is to be greeted with “Daddy!” A child’s excitement and anticipation of his or her father’s arrival is so encouraging. Their chatter and smiling faces are the highlight of any day. One may want to play catch and another may want to read a story. Most of all, children want to spend time with their dad. They desire his attention, love, and praise.

The Apostle Paul wrote to Titus about another reunion that will happen one day, “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” (Titus 2:13, Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)) This event is called the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Vance Havner, a prominent twentieth century Southern Baptist pastor and evangelist said, “We are not just looking for something to happen; we are looking for Someone to come! And when these things begin to come to pass, we are not to drop our heads in discouragement or shake our heads in despair, but rather lift up our heads in delight.” Jesus Christ’s return is imminent. Believers are to be expecting it.

“Looking for” in the Greek New Testament (GNT) has several facets of meaning. The first is to accept or receive someone or something to yourself. The second facet is to patiently wait for that expected event. The third is to look forward to the arrival of a future event. The GNT uses “looking for” to refer to the believer’s persistent outlook of the Lord Jesus’ return.  (Luke 2:25, 38; Mark 15:43).

The phrase “looking for” is in the present tense with continuous action indicating we are to always be looking for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It carries the concept of patience with expectation of Christ’s return. We do not know when Jesus Christ will return. However, we know it is imminent, meaning it can take place at any time.

Some have made the mistake of trying to predict when Jesus will return. That is a waste of time. Scripture tells us we will not know when He will return, but we must be ready. Matthew 24:36 says, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

At the time of Jesus Christ’s ascension, the angels prophesied the Lord would return to earth in the same manner that He went to Heaven. Acts 1:11 records the following, “They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” Paul described Christ’s appearing as the blessed hope and glory. The Lord’s return will bring happiness and be filled with great expectations. Jesus will come with high honor. He is called the great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.

The Bible says, “Our Savior gave Himself for us” (Titus 2:14). He sacrificed Himself by enduring personal loss for mankind. This phrase adequately describes Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. Romans 5:8–10 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Jesus Christ’s gift of salvation had two purposes. The first was to “redeem us from every lawless deed” (vs. 14b). The Greek word “redeem “means to liberate a captured person by paying the price demanded for his return. Jesus sacrificed Himself for us. 1 Peter 1:18–19 says, “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” Everyone was in open defiance to God’s law because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. This is the reason for Christ’s redemption of believers.

The second purpose was for Christ to purify or cleanse a people for Himself. Jesus is purifying a people group for His own possession. His chosen ones are zealous and enthusiastic for performing good works. It carries the aspect of being militant in serving God. Believers are obliged to do good works. Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

The reason believers are to wait expectantly for Jesus Christ’s return is that “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men” Titus 2:11 (LSB). It is by God’s grace that Jesus died for us. We have been offered the free gift of salvation because of God’s mercy. His grace is unmerited and undeserving favor.

It is important to stress that the phrase “to all men” does not refer to universal salvation. In reality it designates the whole entity of humanity. It is a reference to the whole and not to the individual parts. The gift of salvation is offered to all of humanity, but each individual must respond separately. John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Have you received Christ? God’s word says “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12)

Therefore, believers are to be anxiously waiting for the Lord’s return. We are to always be continually looking for Jesus Christ, obeying God’s Word, and patiently serving our Lord. So, perhaps He will come today! We are to be waiting expectantly! (All Scripture references are from the NASB95 unless otherwise noted). 

Deepening Faith at the Grand Canyon

August 3, 2021 /

There are only a few places in the world that make you feel as small and insignificant as when you are standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon. As you stare down at the Colorado river your mind struggles to comprehend the grandeur of those majestic cliffs and sandstone spires. How was this formed? How could that little river create a chasm that is a mile deep, 18 miles wide, and 277 miles long? 

Our family recently visited the southern rim of the Grand Canyon National Park while on vacation. We decided to go away from the crowds so we turned east at the entrance and stopped at one of the trailheads. We met people who had come from all over America to witness the second most visited national park in the country (the first is the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee). We had brought along some bikes, so we had the privilege of cycling along the most picturesque path I have ever biked on. 

After we were done biking, we stopped and listened to a tour guide give an explanation about the Grand Canyon. She said, “The Canyon was formed over millions of years. The river slowly carved away at the limestone until it created the canyon we see today. The canyon is still expanding 15 inches every year. Water is not the only way the canyon grows. It also changes from wind, tree roots, and rocks that fall down the cliffs.” 

I was listening with my dad, wife, and kids. The adults kept giving each other quizzical glances as the tour guide continued her monologue. At the end of her evolutionary explanation she said, “Can you believe that?” I couldn’t keep my mouth closed any longer. I uttered a quiet “No!” and my dad said, “I’ve got to hand it to her. She has more faith than I do! It would take more faith to believe what she said than what the bible says.”

The book of Genesis describes the flood as a massive upheaval, which caused water to cover every piece of land in the entire world. Recent studies by geologists, such as Dr. Steve Austin, have presented compelling evidence that shows the formation of the Grand Canyon aligns with the biblical account of the flood. As the water rose over the North American continent it laid successive layers of dirt upon the granite basement rock, which some geologists refer to as the Great Unconformity. Once the water stopped rising, a huge amount of water was trapped above the current location of the canyon. When this natural dam broke the torrent rushed down through the newly laid sandstone layers and carved out the 18 mile wide canyon in the form we see it today. 

Dr. Steve Austin explained it this way, “It’s water on a colossal scale and that’s the story here in the Grand Canyon. It’s not a little water and a lot of time. It’s a lot of water in a little time.” As Christians, we know God is able to create the world in the time frame he desires. If he created it in a short amount of time, then why couldn’t the Grand Canyon be carved out in a short time as well? The next time you are at the southern rim of the canyon consider it for yourself? Was it formed by gradual erosion or by a sudden global calamity that coincides with the biblical account? 

I hope you will take the time to question the worldly philosophies of our time and always analyze our world through the clear, God-glorifying pages of Scripture. 

Seven Rules for Rich Living

August 3, 2021 /

Our society is one of the wealthiest in the world. The average annual income of our planet is a little more than $2,500 a year! As a result of our wealth many Christians in the U. S. struggle to live in a way that is rich towards God. This struggle brings specific temptations that must be understood in order to be resisted. The apostle Paul gave seven rules for rich living in 1 Timothy 6:17-19. The following principles will help Christians who are rich in earthly goods be rich in heavenly wealth as well. 


Don’t Be Arrogant
The first rule for rich living is Don’t Be Arrogant. There is a natural tendency for wealth to make people think about themselves more highly than they should. Paul wrote, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty…” Instead of becoming isolated and insulated to others problems, wealthy Christian need to continually think of others as more important than themselves. 

Don’t Set Your Hope on Wealth
The second rule for rich living is Don’t Set Your Hope on Wealth. Paul put it like this, “Charge them not to… set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches.” Earthly wealth is uncertain. We don’t know when an investment will lose value. If we allow the pursuit of wealth to consume our thoughts then we will be ineffective for the Lord. Proverbs 23:4, “Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.”


Set Your Help On God 
The third rule is to Set Your Hope On God. This should be done because “He richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” Our society is consumed with pursuing wealth apart from God. This narcissistic madness will never be satisfied. But those who pursue God will have their needs met in ways that money cannot buy. Isaiah 55 says, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!” 


Do Good
The fourth rule is Do Good. The goodness referred to in 1 Timothy is defined by God. This means much more than being a good neighbor. To do good means to understand that all your wealth is to be used for the glory of God! James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights in whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” If everything you own is from God, then everything you do with your wealth should be done to honor him. 


Be Rich in Good Works
The fifth rule is to Be Rich in Good Works. This does not mean that you can earn salvation with good works. Remember Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Good works come after salvation and those who are wealthy must use their resources to point others to God. 


Be Generous
The sixth rule for rich living is to Be Generous. Paul wrote, “Be generous and ready to share.” This attitude protects against the stinginess that is often connected with those who accumulate wealth. Christians need to constantly have a generous attitude that is ready, willing, and able to give to the needs of others. This has a dramatic impact on how we view our wealth. We are stewards of the resources God has given us. We need to be ready to use them the way God wants them used. 


Invest in Heaven
The seventh rule for rich living is to Invest in Heaven. Paul wrote, “thus storing up treasures for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” Riches on earth naturally turn our thoughts away from heaven. They enamor us with a life that is transient and superficial. Like buying a ticket to Disneyland, the fun and games only last for a while. Those who are thinking of heavenly riches look to make investments that will last forever. 
Instead of thinking about things, rich Christians need to think about people. Every human has a  soul that will either enter eternity without Christ or with HIm. We have to think about how we can use earthly wealth for heavenly good. That means investing in people and looking for ways to share the love of Christ with those in need. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, so they may see your good works and glorify God who is in heaven.” That is the attitude of those who want to live richly. 

Guardians of Marriage

June 25, 2021 /

You’ve probably heard the statistic that 50% of Christian marriages end in divorce. I’ve always questioned that statistic because it does not line up with the almost 20 years of experience I have had working in churches. I have always known biblical churches as communities that guard and protect marriage. I’m often encouraged by the decades of faithfulness that are illustrated in the marriages in our churches. It’s not just one generation of faithfulness. You can see multiple generations who are able to enjoy the fidelity of marriage the way God intended (Genesis 2:24-25). 

By the grace of God, I can attest to the benefit of multi-generational marriage faithfulness in our family. My dad’s parents were married for 63 years. My mom’s parents for 56 years. My own parents remained faithful to each other for 33 years before my mom was taken to be with the Lord in 2011. If you add my own marriage to the mix, then the result is 166 years (and growing!) of God’s blessing. 

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and receives favor from the Lord.” There is a special blessing for those who keep their marriage holy as God intended. The Bible is also clear that there will be consequences for those who fail to stay true to their vows. Hebrews 13:4 says, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” 

Many Christians today forget that Jesus said, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” (Mark 10:11-12) That alone can motivate some to seek marriage counseling to strengthen their relationship because if they get divorced, Scripture says they should not remarry. 

As my wife and I raise our kids we want to make sure to let them know of the importance of choosing a spouse. Our boys need to make a believing woman be their first priority in marriage. Our girls need to pray for God to provide them with a man of God who will love them the way Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). If Christ’s return comes late enough in the future, then our prayer is that our children will get married and have decades of marital bliss, the way God intended. 

A Story of Perseverance

June 18, 2021 /

Can you guess which church is the oldest protestant church in California? Is it Immanuel Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles? First Baptist Church of San Francisco? Or St. John’s Lutheran Church of Sacramento? If you guessed the church just down the street from Fisherman’s Wharf then you are correct! 

The First Baptist Church of San Francisco (FirstSF) has been in continual existence for 171 years (founded in 1849)! The current pastor, Ben Day, is the 22nd pastor to shepherd the congregationy. I wrote him an email this week, and he was kind enough to write back. He wrote this, “The members at FirstSF regularly speak of the faithfulness of God towards our church. They know that it is only because of God and Him working through faithful members that the church has been able to serve in the heart of SF for so long.”

He also wrote this, “A church that hopes to experience God’s faithfulness towards them must be faithful to God. While God is certainly faithful to us in times when we are unfaithful, we should not use that as a license to be unfaithful. In the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, Jesus makes it clear that he will remove the lamp stand of the churches that aren’t faithful to Him. This means being faithful to His Word.”

I was struck by what a powerful testimony FirstSF can be for true believers here in California. The churches that are faithful to God’s word will last. They will survive the fires, pandemics, and political turmoil of this age. Pastor Ben reminded me that Covid-19 is not the first pandemic that their church has survived. They have pictures from the Flu pandemic of 1918 with people in their congregation worshipping outside with face coverings. FirstSF also survived the great earthquake and fire of 1906! Even though their beautiful sanctuary burned down, they were able to trust in God and rebuild in their current location. 

It is sobering to consider what God has brought their church through. And it is encouraging to know they don’t give credit to created beings. No, they give credit to the Creator God and his amazing faithfulness to them! He is the one who has brought them through those devastating difficulties and he is the one who can bring them through any trial that may come their way. 

This weekend I am preaching on the need for our church to persevere, and I have been meditating on these questions, “How long will our church last? Will we be faithful to the commands of Scripture? Will God allow us to keep the lamp stand for this generation and those to come?” We don’t know when our Lord and Savior will return, but it could be very soon! Are we going to be found faithfully defending the truth? Will we “Keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ?” (1 Tim. 6:14)? 

These are weighty questions that deserve careful thought and consideration. Every church in California needs to consider if they are being faithful to Scripture. If not, they must repent and return to God. If they are being faithful, they must cry out to him to sustain them through the continual temptations of life and the attacks of the enemy! May God protect His church as she awaits the return of Christ! Maranatha! 

Pastor Tim is the teaching pastor at Grace Baptist Church Lemoore. The church is celebrating 42 years of God’s faithfulness! You can read more of Pastor Tim’s articles at www.christandcommonsense.com.

Surprised by the Narrow Gate

June 11, 2021 /

One of the most surprising conversations I’ve ever had was with a professing Christian who believed all religions lead to heaven. I remember it was my freshman year of college and I had travelled back to Thailand to visit my parents. As part of my trip I had to go to the immigration office and that meant waiting in a long line for the paperwork to get processed. While waiting I struck up a conversation with a self-described “seeker” who had traveled from the U.S. to southeast Asia on a religious pilgrimage. We talked for a long time about his travels and life. He told me about his fascination with Hinduism and Bhuddism. I asked him what he thought about Jesus Christ, and this friendly ex-pat told me he was a Christian. I remember being surprised because I had never met anyone who was so confused. He told me a phrase I have unfortunately heard many times since then, “I think all religions lead to God.”  

I wasn’t sure how to respond to such relativistic thinking, but I knew I had to say something. Looking back I think it would have been helpful to ask him a few diagnostic questions to show him the error of his ways, but instead I said, “Sir, I am a Christian and I know the Bible says there is only one way to heaven and that is through belief in Jesus Christ.” I wanted to press the point home so for the first time in my life I told someone to stop calling themselves a Christian. I said, “Please do us all a favor and stop calling yourself a Christian. You are only going to confuse other people and you are going to hurt the reputation of those who are true believers.” 

I thought he would get upset, but he didn’t. Clearly, he had never studied the Bible enough to know you can’t use it to create your own spiritual mash-up of religions. I’m not sure how many other people he had talked to about his views, but I wanted to make sure he didn’t leave our conversation thinking Christianity had room for his philosophy of life. 

As I reflect back on that conversation I know the most surprising part was not that he was a professing Christian, it was that I was emboldened enough to tell him he was wrong. I did not consider myself an evangelist or an apologist. I just wanted to make sure he knew he couldn’t get away with such intellectual dishonesty. 

I’ve prayed for the man and I have often wondered how God used that conversation in his life. I hope he was surprised enough to go back and study the Bible for himself. I hope he read Jesus’ teaching in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Or he could have read Acts 4:21, “Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” 

That conversation took place more than twenty years ago. Now, that man’s relativistic attitude has turned mainstream. I have heard dozens of people say they are Christians when the Bible would say they are not. They think they can be a Christian and say “All roads lead to heaven” because no one has shown them the folly of their ways. They need Christians to lovingly tell them about the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. You can’t create a piecemeal version of spirituality that adds other religions to the Bible. Other religions can add teaching under their umbrella of philosophy, but Christianity has no umbrella. There is a narrow gate that leads to life, and Jesus urged the crowds listening to him, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14) May we all strive to enter by the narrow gate to heaven which is only through Jesus Christ.

The Camel and the Needle

June 11, 2021 /

There is fascinating account of a rich man who came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him the answer, but he would not do it because he was unwilling to give up his possessions and follow after Jesus. Afterwards Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 

That image is a vivid illustration of the struggle that exists in every human heart. Will someone pursue possessions, or will they pursue God? Will someone lay up treasures in heaven, or will they settle for investing in the corruptible riches of this world? It can be a surprisingly strong battle in our hearts unless we have been trained to see that wealth often leads away from God because it leads to wickedness.

The apostle Paul made this clear when he wrote, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” We often hear that verse and think it refers to people in the world. The gambler who ruined his family to feed his addiction. The greedy politician who embezzled funds. The shocking realization about Paul’s warning is that he was writing to the church! He wrote, “It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

The tragedy of pursuing wealth is that it often deadens a Christian to the pain they are inflicting upon themselves. Like a leprosy patients who burns themselves without knowing it, a Christian in pursuit of wealth can hurt their spiritual health without knowing it. Their conscience can become deadened to the clear teaching of Scripture which means they are in danger of damaging their soul.

Hebrews 10:24-25 says “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” I have met many professing Christians who act as if this verse has been removed from their Bibles. They know they should prioritize meeting as a church family, but they act as though Sunday is just Saturday with a different name. 

Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26) Our society is super-charged with consumerism. It is built around the premise that the whole world can be yours if you work hard enough. If that means working on Sundays then so be it. As Christians we must be aware of the madness of materialism. We must remember we are different than the world. We take every thought captive. We live to please the Lord and not the consumerism of our society. 

A good litmus test for this is to ask yourself how often you attend church. If you have been able to go a month without attending church, then your conscience has clearly become deadened. If you only go to church when you are scheduled to serve your local congregation, then there is something wrong. If you have taken a job that has you consistently working on Sundays, then you need to reconsider your priorities. Starving your soul in order to pay the bills will have consequences. How much is your soul worth? How much is your relationship with God and the local church worth to you?

So how do we counter our culture’s incessant cry for more wealth, more money, more things? It is quite simple. We have to think of wealth the way the Bible does. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” We have to ask ourselves is this purchase helping me serve God or money? Does this job allow me store up treasure in heaven or only here on earth? Do our plans for this weekend help us serve God or ourselves? 

The apostle Paul gave the solution to the wickedness of pursuing wealth. He wrote “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6) How can we be godly? We have to repent of our sins and commit our lives to Christ! How can we be content? We have to trust in the sovereignty of God. He will provide. And if you can live a godly and content life then your life will natural result in great spiritual gain. Jesus put it like this, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth andrust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth norrust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:19-20)

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