October 25, 2013 · 4:53 PM

If My People

Why did God visit Abraham on his way to Sodom and Gomorrah? He said that he would go down and see if things were as wicked as it seemed in Sodom. But the God of heaven and earth has no need to “go down and see” in order to know the state of Sodom or any city.

On his way to Sodom, God stopped by the home of Abraham. Abraham looked up and three men stood near his tent in the heat of the day. According to the customs of his day, Abraham was quick to offer gracious hospitality for the men. They accepted his offer of a restful meal.

During the after-dinner talk, Abraham realized that he was not entertaining normal visitors. In some mysterious way, God’s very presence had come to call. And God decided to share his mission with Abraham. He was apparently on a fact-finding trip that would determine the fate of a city and its citizens.

Abraham could have kept quiet and let the Lord go on. After all, what business was it of his? So long as God did not bother Abraham and his household, what good would it do to get involved anyway? God knows what he is doing. Let him go to it.

Or Abraham could have offered his opinion. After all, he lived just a few miles away from the city. He could have told God that what he heard about Sodom was right. It definitely was a desperately wicked city. Abraham could have told God that he would not blame him for sweeping the place away in judgment.

But what Abraham did was simply astounding. He appealed to God for mercy. He asked that God spare the wicked citizens of Sodom. God agreed with Abraham that if just ten righteous people could be found in the city then he would spare everyone. Abraham interceded with God for a corrupt, violent, and immoral people.

True, Abraham’s nephew, Lot, lived in the city. His intercession could have been for selfish reasons. But he did not ask God to save only his kinfolk. He pleaded for God to show mercy on the entire population of Sodom. Abraham appealed to God for undeserved favor.

Abraham’s example of intercession with God is timely for us. By almost every measure imaginable the cities around us are declining rapidly. The most important measure, of course, is spiritual. And the spiritual condition of America is deplorable. We are driving hard and fast toward a truly desperate situation.

We could easily feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem and choose to simply protect our own. We could rightly be angry about the horrible circumstances and just agree that God should wipe out the wicked. But Abraham, the man of faith, offers us a better response: we should intercede with God for America, appealing for his great grace.

America needs godly people to cry out to the Lord for mercy. God our Savior is gracious. He told Abraham that for just ten righteous people he would spare the desperately sinful city of Sodom. Unfortunately for Sodom, not even ten righteous people were left in the place.

We must cry out to God for his grace and mercy before the righteous dwindle away to nothing and it is too late for our communities and neighborhoods. The Lord has promised that when his people, those called by his name, humble themselves and pray, that he will hear and forgive and heal the land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

May we be found faithful,

Brother Richard

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September 24, 2013 · 11:44 AM

A Pleasing Aroma

Jesus expressed his dissatisfaction with the goings-on in the Temple in a dramatic and eye-catching way. He fashioned a whip out of some cords and started driving out those who were buying and selling in the Temple courts. He also overturned the tables of the moneychangers – very aggressive!

Once Jesus had everyone’s attention, he made an announcement about God’s house. He accused the people in the courtyard of turning God’s house into a den of thieves. Of all the sin and disobedience that Jesus observed, why did buying and selling in the Temple courts inspire so much fury from him? Because, he declared, God’s house is meant to be a house of prayer, not a marketplace.

Consider all the things that Jesus could have said about the house of the Lord. He could have said that it was intended to be a place of sacrificing to God, of singing God’s praises, of learning God’s word, of giving offerings to God, of giving alms to the poor, or of encouraging God’s people. Why did he single out prayer and mention it alone?

Prayer is at the heart of our relationship with God in this age. In the Book of Revelation we are promised that someday God’s people will see his face (22:4). For now, we enjoy God through his Holy Spirit, his invisible, powerful, personal presence dwelling among us and living in the hearts of all his people.

How do we commune with someone who is invisible? We pray. We speak to God as if he were sitting right in front of us. We speak confidently because God is in fact right in front of us. More than that, he is all around us. And he has poured out his Spirit into the hearts of all who belong to him. In fact, God’s Spirit is available to anyone who calls on him as Lord.

Prayer is not just a therapeutic exercise or an emotional experience intended only to make us feel better. We do not pray simply to relieve ourselves of the distress brought on by heavy burdens. Prayer is communing with God. We pray so that our words will rise up before the very throne of God as a pleasing aroma. Prayer is at the core and essence of all that we do in church. Church without prayer is an oxymoron, and an irritant to our Lord.

Jesus was angry because he knew the extent to which God was willing to go in order to open up an avenue for loving communication between himself and his people. Jesus was outraged because he would soon willingly sacrifice his own precious life so that God’s people could enjoy unhindered access to the Maker of heaven and earth.

When we gather in church in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ let’s sing his praises, teach his word, preach his gospel, encourage his people, and remember his sacrifice. Let’s also remember, however, that in God’s eyes prayer is not an afterthought or an add-on; prayer is the foundation for worship. Let’s pray more.

May Jesus Christ always be our ready access to the exalted throne of God’s unmatched grace,

Brother Richard

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September 18, 2013 · 2:57 PM

Why So Much Confusion About Marriage?

Family has become a free-for-all. In the mad rush to affirm everybody’s right to do whatever they please with their private lives, our society is dismantling the institution that serves as the bedrock and basis for any culture. As family life weakens, other critical institutions in our society suffer. The legal system has to keep up with all the dead-beat dads and domestic violence. The welfare system has to keep up with all the abused and abandoned children. The education system is on life-support in many places because so many kids live such insecure lives that they cannot focus on classroom learning.

Not only is family becoming a do-it-yourself affair, it is becoming a do-it-for-self arrangement. Many people want to redefine family in order to suit their lifestyle, instead of adjusting their lifestyle in order to have a healthy family. If they don’t want to be faithful to their mate then they simply find someone else. If they don’t want to raise their own children then they simply abort or abandon them. If they don’t want to support the children they have left behind then they simply vanish or claim to have no resources. Any culture that lets the sinful and selfish human heart define acceptable family behavior is bound for serious turbulence. When children grow up around broken lives and broken relationships then they are at great risk for simply repeating the pattern of unhealthy family life. The resulting tangled nest of modern families seems to be expanding exponentially.

How did we get into such a twisted and confusing place? If we go back a little more than fifty years into the 1950s, we discover significantly different attitudes about family from what we see today. In retrospect, one indication that changes would soon take place was reflected by some striking research about human sexuality. Compiled by supposed experts, the book claimed that large percentages of the population were engaged in sexual misconduct, more than anyone realized (Kinsey, Pomery, and Martin, 1948). The findings of this pseudo-scientific study were shocking. The writers alleged that vast numbers of people were breaking society’s established sexual boundaries. The implication was that perhaps the boundaries should be moved, or removed.

A generation came of age in the 1960s that apparently took the ideas that were reflected in that report about human sexuality to heart. Many of them concluded that traditional ideas about family, marriage, and sex were hopelessly outdated and perhaps completely obsolete. They insisted on a new approach to sexuality: ‘free love.’ As time went on that shocking research about human sexual behavior in America was exposed to be fraudulent. It turned out that those reports were not very scientific (Reisman and Eichel, 1990). In other words, the so-called experts had lied (or at least been mistaken). But it was too late. ‘Free love’ had been loosed on an unsuspecting society. Or perhaps the facts did not matter to a large number of people who only wanted to justify irresponsible lifestyles.

Unfortunately, ‘free love’ resulted in too many unwanted babies. But experts claimed that an unborn baby was nothing more than a troublesome blob of tissue, a piece of opportunistic tissue that if allowed to grow, would become a major inconvenience, a bothersome liability. Women had the right, they said, to remove useless tissue from their bodies without any intervention based on the moral scruples of some self-righteous, backward, uneducated, religious zealots. In fact, aborting babies became the centerpiece issue for women’s health and a badge of honor for those who prided themselves in taking measures to save the Earth. Without abortion on demand, women would be denied healthcare and doomed to outer darkness and the Earth’s natural resources would be raped and depleted before the next Earth Day could be planned. This new attitude about unborn babies solved the ‘free love’ problem. Unwanted pregnancies were simply terminated—by the tens of millions.

But people discovered that they wanted children, despite the risk to the planet and the inconvenience to their personal lives. As a result, many continued to have babies, but they also continued to engage in irresponsible sex. Lack of sexual commitment, however, destroys families by ripping away an important foundation for a long-term relationship. This instability in family devotion puts children in a precarious situation. ‘Free love’ resulted in an explosion in the number of marriages that ended in divorce. Kids from broken families struggled with deep feelings of insecurity and abandonment. And parents were getting loaded down with dark feelings of personal guilt as they saw what their decisions did to their offspring.

The experts were standing by once again with yet another solution: simply redefine marriage and family—change the definition of what is right and acceptable. If family requires fidelity and lifelong commitment but sexual freedom demands infidelity and short-term relationships, then a new vision of family that allows for more personal freedom must be envisioned and promoted. Culture had to evolve and adapt to the needs (wants) of the people who make up society. What right does some faceless society have to make demands for sacrifice from individuals who have their own ideas about happiness? But what about the harm that would be done to the children living in unstable household environments? Experts could convince everyone that kids are flexible and actually happier when removed from a home where one or both parents are unfulfilled, and the problem is solved, supposedly.

With all this experimentation about how families can be deconstructed and redefined came an ever-increasing openness to other boundary-busting ideas about human sexuality, marriage and family. Gay and lesbian relationships, long understood to be outside the realm of healthy family arrangements, were suddenly provided with an opening to move toward the mainstream in popular culture. With so many people breaking down the boundaries of healthy human sexual relationships, who was left to say that same-sex couples should not take center-stage and redraw the lines even more? If personal sexual satisfaction is so important that we must kill the unborn so that they do not get in the way, then why not let same-sex couples murder a few moral standards?

So we have arrived in a place of utter confusion about marriage and family. Everyone has a right, we are being told, to define marriage as they see fit. Limiting marriage to one man and one woman is denying people their constitutional rights, supposedly. This argument is designed to paint supporters of biblical marriage as cold-blooded and hard-hearted. This is no surprise since proponents of ‘alternative’ forms of family and marriage sometimes claim that traditional families are oppressive to women and children. Raising children, some lament, is nothing more than a punishment. Alternative lifestyles liberate women, so the argument goes. How ironic it is that liberal sexual lifestyles have placed so many women in the tough and demanding position of being single parents!

Meanwhile, the children who have survived abortion since 1973 have been at higher risk to live in a broken home. More children are growing up with only one of their biological parents, or with parents whose commitment to the family is nebulous at best. An unsettling number are being raised by someone other than their parents, like a grandparent or other guardian. Despite all the assurances from experts that children are flexible and able to bounce back, kids often struggle with suffocating anxiety and bitter anger over their sense of abandonment because one or both of their parents apparently had more important things to do than to raise their son or daughter.

So the fight to define (or destroy) family rages on. Who would have imagined that ‘free love’ would result in so many murdered babies, angry youth and dysfunctional families? Where is the love? Where is the freedom? We have no time to stop and answer questions or reflect on the terrible cost of all these alternative moral visions for family life because the changes only seem to be accelerating. Same-sex families are the most recent experiment. Who knows what horrible social destruction may be caused by allowing “gay marriage” to take hold and multiply. When will our society learn that the so-called experts who promote all of these alternatives are leading us deeper into disaster?

The age of ‘free love’ has provided plenty of evidence that children generally do better when they are raised by their biological parents. Unfortunate and heartbreaking is the fact that we had to learn this the hard way, by watching millions of kids grow up without their parents and observing the disappointing results. It is clear that kids need mom and dad, even if the marriage is less than stellar. Despite this hard-won knowledge, we now stand poised to place kids in families where they will be denied mom or dad, or both. Children raised by two dads are denied a mother. Children raised by two moms are denied a father. Vague and emotional assertions about love and affection being the most important thing of all cannot make up for what is missing in a mom or a dad.

Sadly, “gay marriage” is not the last enemy of the family. Waiting in the shadows are those who wish to reduce or abolish the age of consent. Once again, children are at greatest risk, as they always are in these tragic social experiments. And the so-called experts will be ready with quick answers to soothe the consciences of those who step into their trap. Once again, the personal desires of adults will trump the legitimate needs of children.

The experts lied about sexual behavior, they lied about unborn babies, they lied about divorce, and they are lying about “gay marriage.” Any other alternative model will be just as deceitful. Why are these destructive distortions about family met with such eager acceptance by so many people? Because the spiritually rebellious heart wants God to be proven wrong at any cost. The fight for family is not a contest between tradition and progress or conservative and liberal. No, it is a conflict between truth and deception. The current fight to define marriage is only the latest manifestation of an ancient struggle between the holiness of the One Living God and the wickedness of the desperately sinful heart.

Destructive desires call us to satisfy self now, no matter what the cost might be to our marriage or our children. And the world at large echoes and amplifies those selfish desires, calling out, “Give up on God’s way. Serve yourself and be happy now. Forget tomorrow. You deserve it. You need some ‘me time’!” But the one who wanders through life guided only by their own immediate happiness or pleasure will end up with an empty heart and a barren soul. And the society that not only allows but promotes so many broken and sinful models of family is driving quickly toward ruin.

But there is good news. God himself, the Maker of humanity and the inventor of human sexuality, has indeed given us his plan for marriage and family. His plan is for one man and one woman to stay together for life, raise their children, and then enjoy their grandchildren. God’s plan goes against the selfish desires that tempt us to put immediate gratification above all else. And living according to God’s plan is an expression of love for the Lord who has given us our lives. Adopting God’s design for family is an act of faith that is rewarded by God with blessings which far surpass anything we can manufacture from lifestyles that ignore his commands.

Those who trust God’s plan will work hard to save and strengthen their marriages even at great personal effort, risk and sacrifice. Those who trust God’s plan will work to nurture and care for their children no matter what the losses to professional development, financial security, personal excitement, or any other secondary consideration. They will stand in the face of great challenges and terrible disappointments. They will reject the tempting voices of selfishness. They will sometimes sustain deep wounds but refuse to change course. Those who trust God and fight for their family will fill their hearts and households with great rewards. They will have the deep love that only a lifetime marriage can yield. They will see their children stand strong and confident in the face of trials and temptations. They will rejoice over their grandchildren with gladness because of the solid foundation that parents forged for their children’s futures.

Lifetime love grows a physical and spiritual union between husband and wife that soars far above the emotional junkyard of the broken relationships that are currently scattered throughout our land. In an age of increasing confusion about gender roles, gender identity, parenting, raising children, and all things pertaining to family, lifetime love leaves a heritage of faith for children and grandchildren so that they can build their own families with confidence and with victory. When strong families are the rule instead of the exception in a culture, then that culture is on a more sure footing in every conceivable way. After decades of failed experimentation with selfish models of family, our land needs a return to the family model that has God’s endorsement and enjoys God’s blessing. The benefits of protecting marriage are great, so the risk of letting marriage wander further into the spiritual wilderness is also great.

The current threats against marriage are daunting. Our nation’s legal definition of marriage continues to be a fierce battle ground. Bible-believing Christians want to preserve God’s design for marriage: one man and one woman freely and fully committed to one another for life. Radical gay activists are working diligently to undermine and redefine marriage in order to include same-sex couples in the mainstream of family life. Much is at stake in the struggle over how to define marriage. Countless lives will be affected if our country continues to distort and erase the boundaries for legal marriage, both in ways that can be predicted and in ways that cannot yet be imagined. Who could be harmed, and how?

As always, when society loosens the laws that establish healthy limits for marriage and family, children pay the highest price. Single-parent families have taught us the hard way that children generally do much better when they live with both mom and dad. Nevertheless, gay activists insist that two moms or two dads will be just as good. Why should we believe them? Why should we subordinate God’s word to their unfounded and untested opinions? As children grow into adults they desperately need godly models for healthy and responsible sexual behavior, not gender confusion.

Some who oppose same-sex marriage argue that tradition has established heterosexual marriage as the best foundation for society. But traditions are established by people and they can change. Traditions evolve, often to meet the seemingly expedient demands of different groups in a given society or culture. Marriage, however, is bigger than tradition. Marriage is too critical to be left up to the dictates of unpredictable currents in human tradition. Marriage is instituted and designed by God, fixed and unchanging. In addition, marriage and family are much more than building blocks for human society. The Bible presents higher ideals for marriage.

In the Old Testament God used husband and wife as a picture of the relationship between himself and his chosen people Israel. In the New Testament God’s design for marriage is presented as a picture of Christ’s bond with his church, his Bride. More than nurturing children, more than mentoring young people about their God-given sexuality, more than providing the building blocks of culture and society, marriage is about God’s love for his people. Essential spiritual truth is transmitted through God’s design for marriage, and that truth becomes a living reality in marriages where husbands and wives follow God’s design, not out of love for society or as a pragmatic solution to family ills, but out of love and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Marriage is a spiritual relationship with far-reaching spiritual ramifications for all of us.

These ideas, some say, are ancient and culturally bound. Now that culture has moved on, we are told, the notions of yesteryear must recede into the background and give way for new and progressive ideas. But God has not recalled his design for marriage. It is not defective. It is not obsolete. It is not even a work in progress. Marriage between one man and one woman is a fixed design feature of humanity and it is still God’s plan for family today and all the tomorrows of this age. God is not required to answer to human society or to conform to popular human ideas. God is the author of what is right for culture and he is the source of all truth.

Some would argue that the fundamental spiritual truth that is meant to be communicated through marriage is simply love and commitment. Marriage and family are not about the outward forms, supposedly, but about genuine affection and devotion. Therefore, loving and committed same-sex couples, we are told, fulfill the Bible’s vision for family. If that were true then loving and committed relationships of any kind could eventually be proposed as fulfillment of this Scriptural principle. But such an argument ignores the fact that homosexuality is condemned every time it is mentioned in the Bible. A holy home cannot be constructed on an unholy union. Marriage is about more than tradition and it is about more than love and commitment. God’s design for marriage is cosmic in scope. It is a reflection of God’s plan for the ages.

The question of defining marriage ultimately brings us to an even more fundamental and critical issue. What is the true nature of the Bible? Is it God’s perfect Word to humanity? Or is it a collection of words by imperfect yet inspired people who were searching for divine insight when they put pen to paper? Those who support God’s design for marriage point to the Bible as the premier authority for defining marriage. As a result, gay activists have attacked the church’s understanding of God’s Word. Scriptures that clearly condemn same-sex relationships are said to be irrelevant to our age, archaic and outmoded. But should human desires judge God’s word or should God’s word judge human desires? God’s perfect truth provides the much-needed anchor for any culture when it is tugged by the tides of unholy human passions and blown by the winds of deceptive pop-culture philosophies.

For those of us who have decided to stand on the perfect word of God, we must not be surprised or disheartened when the world rejects God’s design for marriage. Only God’s presence in our lives can give any of us the ability to put his plan before our own agenda. Despite the world’s hostility toward God’s design, we must be committed to the full counsel of God. It is unfair to God’s word and intellectually dishonest to champion some portions of Scripture while remaining silent about others. The Bible not only condemns same-sex marriage, Scripture also condemns all sexual immorality. Any sexual misconduct undermines the spiritual truth that is to be reflected through godly marriage.

The fight is not merely against a radical gay agenda. The fight is for the radical holiness that God has called his people to pursue and promote. The goal should not be to make families more traditional, or pragmatic, or comfortable, but to make families honor the Lord. He who called us is holy, so let us be holy in all that we do, including our marriages. Followers of Jesus Christ cannot simply blame culture for all the confusion about marriage and embrace some vague hope that things will somehow get better. God’s people must know his word, live according to his word, and share his word.

The full counsel of God reminds us that we do not simply speak the truth. We speak the truth in love. Men and women struggling with sexual sin of all types deserve to hear the truth, but they need to hear from someone who genuinely cares. The many angry and bitter voices in the debate over defining marriage easily draw much attention to themselves, but they often drown out their own words by the bitter opposition they inspire. God’s people must be different. Righteous indignation is a legitimate expression, but loving confrontation and encouragement is a vital ingredient. Christians are called to be the true people of hope and change. Salt and light can be uncomfortable but should never be hateful. People may reject the truth, but it should be the content and not the presentation that they find distasteful.

What should Christians do in response to the downward spiral of family? First and foremost, we must live according to God’s word. Despite past mistakes, we must commit ourselves to God’s design for family: one man and one woman committed to each other for a lifetime, committed to raising our children together and enjoying our grandchildren. This includes everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ. If one has had an affair, lived through a divorce, fallen prey to same-sex encounters, or any other failure, forgiveness and restoration is available through Christ. No matter how many failures litter our past, we can decide that this marriage will be a godly marriage; the rest of our life will honor the Lord. If we are presently single, we can determine to remain pure until we are able to enter a godly marriage, or serve God as a single adult, honoring the marriage bed by remaining celibate.

Second, Christians should pray for God’s Spirit to move in a mighty way in the hearts of people throughout the land. We can plead with our Lord to renew a spirit of love for truth in households and hearts everywhere. And third, as Christians we must open our mouths and speak the word of truth. We cannot be intimidated into silence. Too much is at stake in the fight for family. And we must speak the truth in love. As families falter, hungry hearts will multiply; countless souls will be thirsty, longing for a better way. This is an opportunity to explain and to promote God’s ways to a population that is increasingly ignorant about the unvarnished biblical truth.

In order to live according to God’s design for marriage, couples must have commitment, understanding, and ability. The ability can come only from the empowering Spirit of God. The commitment can come only from the married couples themselves. The understanding comes from learning the truth about God’s design for marriage as he has revealed it in his Word, the Holy Bible. To all who are followers of Jesus, let us devote ourselves to knowing, obeying, and promoting God’s design for marriage and family. The need is great but our God is more than sufficient.

Richard Foster
Camden, AR
September 2013

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August 30, 2013 · 5:03 PM

The New Face of Bigotry in America

Fifty years ago a grand march on Washington, D.C. marked one of the high points in the struggle to secure civil rights for racial minority groups in America.  In 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed a massive crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.  In his inspiring remarks he envisioned a time when all people would be judged by their character instead of their color.

In celebrating the anniversary of that optimistic moment, advocates for gay marriage recently continued their efforts to identify their cause with the moral high ground of racial equality.  Gay sex, so they say, is the same as dark skin.  To be denied the same legal and social benefits that marriage gives to heterosexual couples is the same thing as being forced to sit in the back of the bus, so the reasoning goes.

Linking arms with a movement that has already enjoyed huge success is a shrewd political tactic.  But their comparison between race and sexuality is severely undermined if people can actually choose their sexual orientation.  Everyone knows that race is not a choice.  So the strength of the comparison between race and sexuality is based squarely on the argument that sexuality is not a choice either.  Any evidence that sexuality is a choice poses grave danger to the politics of gay activism.

Another assertion made by gay apologists is that the cultural majority forces some people into accepting gender roles that are a mismatch for their true sexual orientation.  In other words, the power group bullies everyone into conforming to the commonly held notion of acceptable behavior.  Only gays and other gender-related minority groups are ever subjected to this kind of coercion in matters of sex, so it seems.  Social pressure is aimed at them and so they are victims who live in constant fear of openly asserting their orientation.  But is that true?

First, people who publicly announce their gay or lesbian orientation are consistently affirmed and celebrated in the pop-culture of today.  The news media falls all over itself to provide a venue for those who are said to be courageous enough to take such a valiant step and “come out.”  Elected officials and judicial types rush to be first in line to challenge the heterosexual status quo, claiming the coveted status of champion or defender of civil rights.

On the other hand, those who share their faith in Christ often risk ridicule and rejection.  Christians are being told that public expressions of religious faith are unconstitutional.  Any faith that embraces Judeo-Christian sexual values is shouted down and accused of being hate-filled.  So it seems that the gay is urged to come out and the Christian is urged to go in.  Anyone seeking popularity and support in our society is apt to find it quicker by proclaiming dedication to what was recently defined as aberrant sexual behavior than to announce their devotion to God’s Savior Jesus Christ.

Second, the gay movement is quickly becoming a rigid and intolerant political juggernaut.  Gay and lesbian people started with seemingly reasonable appeals to fairness.  A large number of kind-hearted and somewhat morally ambiguous Americans have responded to these appeals by making ill-advised changes to the laws which provide structure and boundaries for human sexuality in our culture.  But as their influence has grown, gay groups have become more insistent that anyone who dares question their assertions be silenced, shamed, and punished.  So a new political power has emerged and is vigorously asserting itself.

Power often corrupts those who wield it, and the greater the power the more dangerous the corruption.  Groups with power over large segments of the population, the legal system, or of the economic system are capable of doing great harm to many people.  Groups with great power often become addicted to power and take harsh action against anyone who might threaten their power.  This sad but common characteristic of humanity is so prevalent that organizations of all shapes and sizes have learned through hard experience to craft leadership structures with carefully devised divisions of power and sufficiently durable avenues of accountability.  But some groups avoid accountability.

Gay activism is a recent player in the game of power politics, but already it shows signs of intolerance and small-mindedness.  Should students in graduate schools be banished from counseling programs simply because they question the new dogma about human sexuality?  Where will the forum for critical thinking be if not in academia?  Should Christian photographers be punished for declining to celebrate unions which go against their core convictions, even when other photographers are available?  Where will people of faith be free to exercise their religious beliefs if not in their daily lives?  Should organizations that believe in the Bible’s definition of marriage be labeled as hate groups for expressing their beliefs in non-violent ways?  Where will the forum for public debate be?

Recently a law was enacted in New Jersey that forbids counselors to help young people who are confused about their sexuality and seeking to avoid a gay or lesbian lifestyle.  If people are born gay or lesbian, then some must also be born “straight” as well.  And if people are sometimes forced by society to act straight when they are actually gay or lesbian, then society, or powerful political groups within society, can just as surely put pressure on people to act gay or lesbian when they are really straight.

The gay movement has been a player in power politics for a relatively short period of time.  Nevertheless, a new group is already emerging that presents a problem for them.  The new group is former gays.  This group is a potential embarrassment to the gay agenda for at least two reasons.  First, they are living proof that at least some people may be able to choose and/or change their sexual orientation and that some people who have experienced the gay and lesbian lifestyle have rejected it.  Second, ex-gays represent a new suppressed group that calls into question the original promise of the gay agenda that they were seeking fairness and equality for everyone.  Does fairness and equality stop with them?

Now that gay activism has started to gain power, we see signs that they are apparently willing to deny people freedom in order to protect their newfound influence.  Maybe we are seeing the new face of bigotry in America.  Is it time to speak truth to power, the power of a bullying gay agenda?  Will ex-gays enjoy the attention of all the civil rights activists?  Will there be marches and speeches and songs for them?  Will journalists give them voice and judges give them protection?  Will Hollywood write sitcoms that present them in a positive light?

None of this should surprise authentic followers of Jesus Christ, but it does.  Why?  Some in the North American Evangelical Church have mistakenly confused popularity with success.  As gays and lesbians gain in popularity and Bible-believing Christians experience ridicule, believers either blame the world or doubt the faith.  There is no reason to blame the world because the world is simply acting as the Bible predicts it always will.  Scripture tells us that the whole world is under the influence of evil (1 John 5:19).  And Jesus warned his followers that in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33).

False teachers were a serious threat to the Early Church.  Much of the New Testament was written to combat error and to provide a clear and authoritative statement of faith for followers of Jesus so that they will not remain infants in the faith, “tossed about by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching” (Ephesians 4:14).  False teachers are troublesome for the community of faith today, too.  Some preachers and teachers are selling the notion that we simply need a winsome approach and the world will love us.  If our smile is white enough and our politics are right enough and our buildings are bright enough then the world will beat a path to our door.  Is that true?

If we start to question God’s Word when the world makes things uncomfortable, then we are in danger of compromising the truth.  We may find ourselves wanting to promote “traditional” marriage instead of “godly” marriage in the hopes that our message will be more palatable to the modern culture.  We may wonder if building relationships with people is smarter than sharing the plan of salvation so that we can avoid conflict and rejection.  We may conclude that hell is an embarrassment and start to peddle a god of unqualified love and acceptance because he is more marketable to today’s progressive mindset.  In short, we are tempted to compromise the one thing that assures us power in this age: God’s unchanging truth.

Jesus boldly and consistently proclaimed God’s word, without compromise.  When he was popular and followed by thousands and when he was threatened by hostile leaders, he still spoke the truth in love.  He calls his followers to do the same.  Jesus compared the word of God to a seed that grows and bears a harvest of eternal life.  Like Jesus, his followers are sent into the world to spread the seed liberally, on good soil and bad.  He promises that we will reap a harvest.  The Bible urges us to share the faith, in season and out of season, that is, when it is convenient and easy, and when it is not.  The world will always resist the gospel and oppose those who proclaim it, but Jesus assures us that we can take heart, because he has overcome the world, no matter who happens to be popular or powerful in the world at any given moment.  How did Jesus overcome this dark, confused, and dangerous world?

Ironically Jesus was illegally arrested, falsely accused, and shamefully executed for being a threat to the established political powers of his day.  But he refused to be made king when the opportunity presented itself (John 6:15), he never engaged in violence against the establishment (Luke 22:52-53), and when falsely accused and arrested, he submitted to the authorities, even though it meant sacrificing himself (John 19:10-11).  Jesus warned his followers against the dangers of political power in this world, urging them to seek greatness in God’s eyes by choosing to serve instead of rule (Matthew 20:25-28).

By keeping himself from the corrupting influence of power in this world, Jesus was freeing himself and his followers to see the true value in every person, despite their status in this age.  Jesus did not see people as members of identity groups that either supported or opposed his political agenda.  He reached out to the marginalized and oppressed, but also to those who were comfortable and influential.  He did not judge people by their position in this world and he did not entice them with the promise of sharing in the fleeting power structures of this age.  Jesus was not looking for political supporters, but for spiritual followers.  Jesus challenges all of us to get our identity not from political or social movements in this world, but from citizenship in the Kingdom of God.  Jesus sacrificed himself so that people of all kinds can be citizens of God’s Kingdom, members of God’s family, and living stones in the Temple of God’s Spirit.

–Richard Foster, Grace Baptist, August 2013

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August 19, 2013 · 12:26 PM

Is Religious Freedom Still Important?

The Supreme Court of the United States of America has created bewildering confusion about where the line should be drawn between church and state. Sometimes public displays of the Ten Commandments are acceptable and other times they are not. Sometimes prayer is okay and other times it is unconstitutional. Sometimes a cross is legal and other times it must be removed. Nativity scenes are allowed here, but not there.

Why is religious freedom so difficult? Are decades of conflicting legal rulings evidence that religious freedom does not work? Are we in danger of losing a precious liberty for which so many have suffered and died?

After centuries of cruel oppression and harsh violence in the Old World, people came to the New World hoping to build a better life, one with liberty and justice for all. Even so, some people brought Old World ideas with them to America and oppressed their fellow citizens because of their religious differences. And even though we now have an amendment to the Constitution that guarantees our religious freedom, after more than two hundred years we still struggle.

Despite these persistent difficulties, religious freedom in America is truly ground-breaking and not something that we should abandon. Religious freedom is fundamental. Our cherished political liberties rest firmly on the foundation of our religious freedom. Without religious freedom there would be no political freedom.

It is true, Enlightenment philosophers made important contributions to the great American experiment in liberty, but religious freedom was and is the vital underpinning for political liberty. And religious freedom was championed by Christians who built the house of freedom on the firm foundation of God’s word. Specifically, the teachings of Jesus provide the basis for providing religious freedom to everyone.

Jesus revealed two cornerstone principles that undergird a uniquely Christian concept of religious tolerance and freedom. First, Jesus practiced religious freedom by allowing individuals to accept or reject his message without coercion from him, from religious institutions or from the state.

On one occasion a rich young ruler asked Jesus what he must do in order to inherit eternal life. Jesus instructed him to go beyond following commandments and to sell his possessions, giving the money to the poor, and becoming his follower. The man could not bring himself to leave his riches and so Jesus, although he loved the man, allowed him to walk away. Jesus respected the man’s God-given freedom to make up his own mind.

Proponents of true religious freedom who came to America insisted on laws that kept religious and state institutions from punishing people for their religious beliefs and practices, or lack thereof. They insisted on laws that protected people from religious and state institutions that would force them to support any particular religious organization. They wanted everyone to have freedom to practice religion, or not, based on their own personal beliefs, not someone else’s.

Jesus’ second cornerstone principle is that two kingdoms co-exist in this age, both endorsed by God: Church and State. Jesus made some powerful enemies who constantly tried to trick him into saying something that would allow them to bring legal charges against him. In one such attempt they questioned him about paying taxes. After asking for a Roman coin and pointing out whose inscription was on the coin, Jesus told them, “Give the things of Caesar to Caesar and the things of God to God” (Matthew 22:21).

When Jesus was on trial he faced Pilate, the local Roman governor. Pilate had been told by Jesus’ enemies that he was a dangerous threat to the government. In his interrogation Pilate asked Jesus if he was a king. Jesus said yes, but of a kingdom that is not of this world, a kingdom that does not fight like this world’s kingdoms; a kingdom that instead relies on proclaiming God’s truth.

Jesus refused to use the power of the state, or any coercion whatsoever, to force people into submitting to his message against their will. After all, forced conversion is not true conversion. But Jesus also recognized the authority of the state to impose and enforce law and order, even to the point of his own execution (unfairly, I might add). He saw a clear division between Caesar and God, the state and the church.

Christians in America fought for religious freedom that is based on Jesus’ understanding of two kingdoms. The state has no God-given right to govern the religious beliefs and practices of its citizens. The church has no God-given mandate to enforce law and order. Or, from a positive perspective, the state should concern itself with law and order and the church should focus on religious beliefs and practices.

The state is allowed the sword of physical coercion in its task of enforcing law and order. The church has a sword, too, but not one of physical violence or political coercion. The sword of the church is the word of God. The power of God’s people is in proclaiming God’s truth.

So, is religious freedom still important? Perhaps for those of us who have never really endured violent religious oppression it is impossible to measure the true value of religious liberty. Perhaps Americans have grown somewhat complacent about the great worth of our freedoms because we have no memory of the stockades, the jail cells, the fines, the bloodshed.

Or, maybe Americans take religious freedom for granted, failing to entertain the notion that it really could be lost. But there are no guarantees that religious freedom gained will be religious freedom retained. The confusing court cases in the U.S. over the past few decades are evidence that our religious freedom is still a work in process, still open to conflicting interpretations by various groups who represent divergent points of view.

Ironically, despite their passionate belief in freedom, followers of Jesus have often referred to themselves as slaves. But the master is not the state, a political leader, or even a religious leader or institution. The Master is Jesus. It may seem counter-intuitive, but true and eternal freedom comes through following and serving the all-powerful and all-good Lord.

Religious freedom is precious, but in reality it has come and gone throughout history and its future is precarious. Nevertheless, a true and lasting personal freedom is available to anyone, whatever the direction of political or legal trends may be. Let’s not give up on protecting our religious freedom, but let’s not forget that our greatest liberty of all comes by God’s grace through our faith in the Crucified One; and no human lawmaker can take that away.

Richard Foster, Grace Baptist Church, August 2013

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July 26, 2013 · 4:21 PM

Bablylon

The world around us is changing before our very eyes. Atheists often bitterly oppose any public expression of faith in Jesus Christ. Gays vehemently attack any organization supporting God’s design for marriage and family. Political and legal pressures are exerted against Bibles in schools, prayers in public, the Ten Commandments in government buildings, historical reminders about the Judeo-Christian roots of our nation, and other practices that reflect Christian truth and values.

More and more it seems as if we are living in Babylon, a place of rebellion against God. Ancient Babylon made its debut early in the Bible as a city where people decided to build a tower that would reach to heaven itself. They wanted to make a great name for themselves, without any regard for God’s agenda. The builders of that tower were so far out of step with God that he disrupted their ability to understand one another, effectively putting a stop to their selfish project (Genesis 11:1-9).

Later in Scripture, Babylon emerged as a world power that attacked and destroyed the city of Jerusalem, the spiritual center for God’s people Israel. Nebuchadnezzar’s armies leveled the holy city and destroyed its great Temple, built by Solomon as the premier place of worship for Israel. Those who survived the brutal attack were carried off to Babylon. They found themselves living in a godless country that did not share their beliefs or values (2 Kings 25). Daniel was one of the young Israelites carried away, never to see his homeland again.

Daniel and his friends were hard-pressed to live according to God’s revealed truth in a land full of idols and idol-worshipers. Nevertheless, he and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, courageously refused to go along with the wicked flow of Babylonian society. Daniel’s friends found themselves facing death in a fiery furnace, but refused to disobey God no matter what the cost (Daniel 3). Daniel himself was thrown into a lion’s den because he insisted on praying to God even though the government had outlawed his prayer (Daniel 6).

Centuries later the Apostle Peter, the fisherman-turned-follower of Jesus, wrote to God’s people during the early days of Christianity. In his letter he referred to the Church as “she who is in Babylon” (1 Peter 5:13). His reference was not to a geographic location on any map of the Middle East. Peter was referring symbolically to the godless Roman culture in which followers of Jesus found themselves. Like ancient Babylon, the first-century Roman Empire was out-of-step with the ways of the Lord and intolerant toward the people of God.

Peter opened his letter by referring to first-century followers of Jesus as strangers in the world, scattered, yet chosen by God (1 Peter 1:1-2). God-fearing disciples of Jesus Christ found it very difficult to live righteous lives in such an unrighteous environment. The prevailing cultural values made their lives difficult and it made them unpopular, at times the recipients of brutal and merciless persecution.

God’s people have often found themselves at odds with the societies and cultures of this unrighteous age. Social groups which are guided by and obedient to the values and truths revealed in the Bible have been few and far in between. Political groups that try to govern by the principles of Christianity eventually resort to compromising their core beliefs and values in order to protect their power and privilege in a world full of persistent sin and rebellion.

Babylon appears not only near the beginning of the Bible, but also toward the end. In the Book of Revelation we read that Babylon will be the dominant religious, political, and economic force in the last days. At the very end of this age Babylon, the ultimate representation of the spiritually corrupt power structures in this fallen world, will be persecuting God’s people and promoting godless practices. In other words, this deadly intense wrestling match between culture and the Church will persist until Jesus’ Second Coming.

What are God’s people to do? Perhaps we should take a cue from Daniel in Babylon. Daniel refused to embrace the sinful lifestyle of the society around him. God chose to give him great political influence for a time and gave Daniel great favor with the Babylonians. As a leader in godless culture, Daniel lived and governed according to his faith. He refused to compromise in order to stay in power. He even risked his life to remain faithful to the Lord. And when political fortunes changed, he accepted a role of diminished influence.

God has not called us to overthrow or redeem Babylon. He will deal with Babylon when the time comes (see Revelation 18). Meanwhile, whether we have political influence or suffer political defeat, our mission is to remain faithful to the Word of God by proclaiming the truth and to remain faithful the ways of God by living in obedience to his commands. A great cloud of witnesses has gone before us. Now is our time to serve; and our labor in the Lord will not be in vain.

May the Lord enable us to be faithful in all circumstances,

Brother Richard

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July 15, 2013 · 12:33 PM

Building a Firm Foundation in Children

Broken foundations are costly and heartbreaking. No matter how beautiful or impressive a house is, the future can bring only trouble for a structure when its foundation is unsound. It is always better in the long-run to invest the necessary time and effort in getting the foundation sound and true.

This principle holds for growing lives just as surely as it does for constructing buildings. Without the proper spiritual basics a life is doomed to trouble in this life and destruction in eternity. Living without the knowledge of God’s truth is like putting up walls on sand or clay. Great efforts will be necessary to constantly patch and repair damage, and in the end, the walls will fall despite all effort.

The fundamentals of faith should be prayerfully and carefully laid in the life of a person before reaching the teenage years. Once we become adults, we begin building our lives. If we discover that the foundation we received is unsound, then we must decide whether we will start all over and rebuild, or keep trying to make due with what we have.

If we build a life on anything but God’s Truth then the struggles and temptations of this age will eventually find the weaknesses. Stubborn pride, frustration, or despair can easily persuade us not to do the difficult work of starting over from the ground up. Since anything is possible with God, lives can be remade successfully at any time. Better to get it right the first time, however, because we do not know when our life in this world will come to an end.

When we teach our children God’s Truth, then we are giving them the chance to build their lives on the Rock. We cannot save them or force them to be saved, but we can remove as many obstacles as possible. We can make sure that they know about God’s love and about his plan of salvation and blessing.

We advance God’s Kingdom when we labor to build firm spiritual foundations in the lives of children. Such labor is not in vain.

May God’s Spirit empower us to keep the faith alive in our own hearts and in the hearts of our children,

Brother Richard Foster

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July 9, 2013 · 5:49 PM

Difficult Times? Comforting Words

Jesus had a half-brother named James. James did not believe that Jesus was the Savior sent from God, not at first. After Jesus’ resurrection, however, James became a believer. He also became an important leader of the young Christian church in Jerusalem. As a recognized leader in the church, James wrote a letter that was inspired by God’s Spirit. That letter is part of the Bible.

James’ letter is known to us as the Book of James in our New Testament. In his letter, James writes about the struggles and challenges that Christians often experience in this life. He points out that struggles can be trials used by God to make his people grow into strong and mature Christians. In God’s hands, a trial leads to endurance and endurance leads to maturity.

James is also careful to warn God’s people that struggles can be dangerous. Struggles have the potential to become temptations. Temptation leads to disobedience and disobedience leads to death. So the struggles and challenges in our lives can either be trials that lead to triumph or they can be temptations that lead to tragedy. What makes the difference?

When faced with a struggle, a believer has a choice between two courses of action. One choice is to get discouraged and disappointed. When we are discouraged and disappointed we tend to focus on ourselves and to question God’s goodness. Selfish desires tempt us to disobey God. If we give in to those desires then temptation becomes sin and sin leads to disaster.

The other course of action is to humbly ask God for wisdom. James promises that when we ask God for wisdom and do not doubt, then God will give generously without finding fault. God’s wisdom enables us to see beyond ourselves and to trust that our Lord will turn our trials into triumphs because we love him and because his plan for us is to receive the crown of life.

Even when we are pushed and pulled by the relentless pressures of life, we can be certain that God is preparing us for a marvelous victory. James assures us that all good gift-giving, every perfect gift, is from above, from the Father of the heavenly lights. The greatest riches of this life will pass away like a wildflower, but the crown of life that God has prepared for us is glorious beyond description and forever indestructible.

So if you are struggling, ask God for his wisdom and rejoice because your trial will lead you to victory. And if you are between trials, rejoice and enjoy your success so far. Whatever your circumstance, rejoice and give thanks, because God is faithful. He is worthy of our thanksgiving!

May God’s Holy Spirit fill us with unending gratitude for his great blessings which he has prepared for us,

Brother Richard

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June 30, 2013 · 7:42 PM

What Happens When We Fail to Tell Our Children Bible Stories?

Something went terribly wrong. The Lord brought his people out of cruel bondage in Egypt with a mighty arm. He destroyed their enemies. He gave them a good land flowing with milk and honey, the Promised Land. All seemed well. Surely they would experience the blessings of God for many generations. But they did not, why?

In the Book of Judges we read that, “another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel” (2:10, NIV). After the faithful generation of Joshua fought their enemies and secured the land, things took a bad turn. Generation after generation wandered away from the Lord’s truth and the Lord’s blessing disappeared from their land. By the end of the Book of Judges it says that, “everyone did as he saw fit” (21:25). The result was chaos and disaster.

What went wrong? Notice that a generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. God had instructed his people to tell their children and grandchildren about his great deeds (Deuteronomy 6). In other words, tell them the stories about God, about the crossing of the Red Sea, the giving of the 10 Commandments, the wilderness wanderings, and the conquest of Canaan. In other words, tell kids Bible stories.

The generation that won great victories for God, Joshua’s generation, apparently failed in this one respect. They fought their enemies in Canaan but they failed to simply tell their children about the LORD. The result was a nation sinking into spiritual confusion, a nation that could no longer stand against its enemies. Their children and grandchildren grew up disobeying God and the country suffered.

Today we live in a land where everyone does as they see fit. Generations are growing up without hearing about God’s marvelous deeds, without learning about why it is vital to know God and to obey his commands. The people of God must obey his instruction—trust God by telling children the Bible accounts of God’s great works. God can still raise up a generation who will turn our nation back to him and his blessing.

We can passionately fight the enemies of God in order to secure the land and still lose the country. How? By not preparing a new generation of God-fearing young people who are ready to keep the faith alive. Any positive changes that we make in our society are sure to be lost if the next generation of believers is too weak to carry on the spiritual struggle. Although we may wish to, we will not erase the struggle in this age, but we can prepare our children to prevail.

We must faithfully tell children about God’s great deeds.

May God’s Spirit enable us to keep the faith and to pass it on to new generations,

Brother Richard

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June 30, 2013 · 7:32 PM

Words Worthy of Our Complete Confidence

The words of the Lord are flawless. King David rejoiced over this great truth as he led God’s people in worship some 3,000 years ago (Psalm 12). Nevertheless, he was deeply concerned because his generation was full of empty talk, smooth talk, and double talk. Arrogant men were confident in their own words, their own ideas. They rejected God’s authority.

This old world hasn’t changed much. If David could spend a few days with us in the 21st century he would certainly be surprised by the cars, computers, cell phones, space stations, and other advances in technology. But he would soon realize that humanity is still fighting over the same vital question: Who is Lord? Where can we find the words of Truth?

Like David’s generation, our world is full of empty talk, smooth talk, and double talk. And like David’s generation, those who put their confidence in man’s talk are determined to silence the voice of God. But God spoke in David’s day and he continues to speak now. God will never be silenced. Jesus promised that his words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35).

When God speaks, his words are like precious metal refined to perfection. The Lord’s promises are of the utmost value because God is faithful and he will fulfill every promise he makes. David found confidence in God’s words, despite the foolish talk all around him. We can find confidence in God’s perfect words, too, no matter how dark and deceptive the talk gets in our generation.

God’s perfect Word does more than give us confidence; God’s promises give us a sure footing in life. As he finished his teaching one day, Jesus assured his followers that anyone who builds their life on his words, on his promises, is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rains came down, the waters came up, and the winds came through, but the house stood firm because it was built on the rock (Matthew 7:24-27).

Our confidence is well-placed in the perfect Word of God and our foundation is sure because it is none other than the Living Word of God: Jesus Christ. As a result, we can joyously affirm and celebrate God’s Word in our public worship and we can learn and apply God’s Word in our daily lives, seeing his promises fulfilled now.

Let’s thank the Lord for the power of his Word and let’s continue our commitment to the Lord’s Truth as we prepare our hearts to serve the Lord who has spoken to us. What great things will God do today?

Thank you for your faithfulness, and may God’s Word always be a lamp unto your feet,

Brother Richard

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