Tag Archives: Bible

January 3, 2017 · 11:30 AM

The Powerful Word of God

This year is the 500th anniversary of a decisive turning point in the history of the church. In 1517 the Roman Catholic Church had dominated in the West for generations. But during that long period of political power the organization descended into corruption.

The corrupt church had to keep its members in the dark in order to protect itself from accountability. Its teachings and practices had departed dramatically from God’s word. But a man named Martin Luther was brave enough to risk taking a stand for the truth.

Luther’s personal spiritual pilgrimage led him back to the Bible. He realized how far Roman Catholicism had strayed from God’s word. Luther challenged the leaders of the church to reform their practices and align their teaching with Scripture.

The hearts of the church leaders were darkened by the wealth and influence they gained from oppressing God’s people. They refused to amend their ways. Instead, they tried to destroy the messenger.

But the Roman Catholic establishment underestimated the power of God’s word. Martin Luther and others like him began to expose the lies of the Roman Catholic institution. The truth revealed in the pages of Scripture uncovered the deceit of sixteenth-century Catholicism.

Other brave and talented people translated the Bible into the languages of the people so they could know the truth. Roman Catholic leaders tried to keep the Bible out of the people’s hands, capturing and killing those who translated and published the Bible for common folks to read.

The results of all this were catastrophic for the Roman Catholic institution’s grip on power. Their refusal to make needed corrections forced genuine believers to break with Roman Catholicism and form new local churches built on the truth of God’s word. What started as reform became a revolt against entrenched falsehood and the birth of a new movement, Protestant churches.

The history of the Reformation is a reminder that God’s word is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. Church leaders may go astray but God’s written word will always restore God’s people to the narrow path which leads to life.

By trying to cover up and subvert the truth of God’s written word, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church caused a painful and radical correction to the Christian movement. Had they allowed God’s word to make many small adjustments along the way they would have avoided the need for such revolutionary change.

The same dynamics are at work in today’s church. When we allow God’s word to make frequent course corrections to our churches and to our individual lives, we will avoid the need for radical changes that can be difficult and painful.

In this 500th anniversary year of the Reformation, let’s renew our commitment to the Bible. Let us be faithful to read, learn, memorize, apply and share God’s word. For “all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God might be capable, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

May God’s Word always be a lamp for our feet and a light for our path,
Brother Richard Foster

Leave a comment

Filed under religion

Tagged as , , , , ,

June 7, 2016 · 10:47 AM

Kids Ask Why And So Should We

Kids love to ask why. Why is the sky blue? Why does the snow melt? Why do I have to go to bed now? Why can’t we have pizza for breakfast?

We answer these questions to the best of our ability, knowing that their curiosity is good because it stimulates learning. But their questions can test our knowledge and our patience!

Sometimes the only answer we can give to kids’ questions is this: “Because I say so!” In these cases, the answer comes not from evidence but from authority, our authority. . . .

Even as adults, we still need the “Why?” question. It can drive us to discover answers and solutions that would otherwise remain hidden.

One question we should ask is this: Why do we believe that some things are right and others are wrong? In other words, what is the basis for our moral standards?

They tell me that I must stop for a red traffic signal. Why? We organize traffic laws in order to avoid accidents. I want to travel without death or injury and so I obey those laws and I hope others will too. In addition, running red lights can cost me expensive interaction with the legal system (a combination of reasoning and authority).

So some actions, like our driving habits, are defined to be right or wrong not because they are inherently good or evil, but because they are practical. They protect life and property. Other actions, however, are of a different sort. They appeal to a higher standard of good and evil.

What about giving to the poor? We all agree that helping the poor is the right thing to do. We also believe that it is right for the wealthy to contribute more in order to relieve the hardships of poverty.

But why? Why should I give away things that belong to me? It seems impractical. What if my family and I need it? What if I want it? Why should I give it to someone else, someone I don’t even know?

Why should I spend time cooperating with others (government) in order to make wealthy people give away more of what they have (taxes) in order to help the poor (welfare)? Why should I care what others do?

For generations we have answered these questions by appealing to the Bible. God’s word tells us that people are created in God’s image, so every human life is of inestimable value. Therefore, I help others, even though it costs me personally.

The Bible tells us that we are expected to be good stewards of our resources, which includes helping those who cannot help themselves. The Bible condemns selfishness. I must be willing to share.

In addition, the Bible tells us that God commands us to help the poor. So we help the poor, because people are precious and because God tells us to do so. I want to please God, so I obey his commands.

But a new voice in culture is trying to convince us that we can be good without God and his commands. We can still help the poor and hold the rich responsible without any appeal to spiritual truth or special revelation, so they say.

According to these secular voices, we can love our neighbor without a word from God. All we need is a scientific worldview. Nature will show us the way.

But will this pass the “Why?” question? Let’s see: No God means no Creator. No Creator means that we are a fortuitous cosmic accident, a happenstance. As such, we are not accountable to anyone but nature (whoever that is!).

Now the godless ‘natural’ version of reality is clear. In order to grow smarter and stronger we have evolved by ruthlessly taking hold of every possible advantage. The strongest, smartest and fastest get the natural resources they need to survive and thrive and everyone else . . . well, everyone else does not deserve to survive.

The weak and slow ones cannot be favored because they will use resources that should go to the stronger and smarter. The weak and slow should not reproduce because they will impede or even permanently derail the evolution of the race, according to the God-free version of reality.

The stronger and smarter ones survive and propagate the race. Each generation gets a little better because the weak are weeded out, so the ‘natural’ scientific view says.

At this point the secular crowd must interrupt and say that being kind to the poor will somehow make us stronger and better, so it is right to help the poor and weak even if you only appeal to natural forces. They must convince us that a more compassionate humanity is a stronger humanity.

But is that true? Why? How? How does it propagate the race and help humanity to grow stronger if we keep the weak ones alive?

Nature is heartless with the weak. In the animal kingdom the weak are food for others. Now we are told by secularists that people should go against nature and act as if nature is wrong. Why? The Bible has the answer, the only answer. Because the natural world is broken as a result of sin and God made people superior to animals; he made us in his image.

The love ethic that is advanced by the Bible generally and by Christianity especially is built upon the firm foundation of God’s revealed word. The love ethic is not a free-floating ethical notion.

We help the poor because we believe that human lives are valuable and worthy of dignity. We believe this about human lives because the Bible tells us that people are created in the image of God and that God loves his creation; he loves people so we should love people.

We believe that God is the creator and sustainer and that he holds successful people responsible for how they use the wealth which he has enabled them to gain. We expect the rich to give because God says they should do so.

Secular humanists wish to retain this kindness toward the poor and this responsibility for the rich but they want to remove the foundation of trust in God as Maker, Sustainer, Judge and Savior. We can help the poor and exhort the rich without believing in God, we are told. But will this house of love stand on a foundation of natural selection? If God is not Maker, Sustainer, Judge and Savior, then who is?

Darwinian evolution is no foundation for loving our neighbor. God’s word is. More than that, Jesus and his personal sacrifice at Calvary, a sacrifice made for the sins of a world that is hostile to him, this is more than a foundation for an ethic of love. Jesus is the ultimate inspiration for sacrificial love.

Sometimes we discover what is right from an authority, from someone who has the right to tell us, “Because I say so!” Sacrificial love is so out-of-step with the heartless forces of nature that we must either abandon such an ethic or build it on another foundation, a higher authority. That higher authority is the Living God, who sent Jesus to die for our sins so that we can be saved from this broken world.

If we ignore God then we abandon the ethic of love and compassion. Instead of trying to ignore our Maker, we should abandon atheism and embrace Christian love.

Richard Foster

2 Comments

Filed under religion

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

April 6, 2016 · 11:31 AM

Digging Deeper Into God’s Word: Lazarus and the Rich Man

Jesus pulls back the curtain and gives us a glimpse of eternity. He does so by speaking about a certain rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). These two men experience a great reversal after death. The rich man, ostentatious in life, finds himself tormented in hell. Lazarus, pitiful in life, finds himself comforted after dying. More than the images Jesus paints, the words he reports unveil a vital truth.

The ensuing dialogue in this pericope is between the rich man and Abraham, the great patriarch of faith who is alive in eternity. In v. 29, Abraham is responding to the rich man’s request that someone be sent to warn his brothers, who have not yet died. In his eternal anguish, the rich man realizes that his brothers are in jeopardy and he has
compassion on them.

The remarks between the rich man and Abraham are always introduced by an aorist tense verb in the Greek text (εἶπεν in vv. 24, 25, 27, 30, 31) with the one exception of Abraham’s statement in v. 29. Here, Luke chooses to employ a so-called historical present tense (λέγει), which marks Abraham’s response to the rich man as emphatic and therefore critical for understanding the Author’s purpose in this text. Abraham’s grammatically marked statement is the key for properly interpreting Jesus’ teaching in this account.

A literal rendering of v. 29 is as follows: “Now Abraham says (vs. “said”), ‘They have Moses and the Prophets, they must listen to them.’” Moses and the Prophets, of course, is a first-century reference to Scripture. Abraham tells the rich man that nobody need go to his living brothers from the dead in order to warn them about hell because they have the Bible and they should read it and obey it.

The present-tense introduction, “Abraham says,” elevates the status of the patriarch’s statement from a simple response which is bound to the immediate context of the rich man’s request and instead places it on the level of an unchangeable truth (gnomic). They have God’s written word and they must listen and obey. So the idea of obeying God’s written word emerges as the crux of the matter for the rich man and for Jesus’ listeners (and Luke’s readers), and for us.

Abraham is affirming that God’s primary method of revealing himself is his written word. This is not to deny the work of his Spirit (see Joel 2 and Acts 2) or the revelation of his Person through his handiwork in creation (Psalm 19:1-6), or through the testimony of his people (Psalm 9:11). Nevertheless, the revelation of God through creation, sometimes called general revelation, is incomplete without special revelation: God’s written word (see Psalm 19:7-11). In addition, God’s Spirit works through his written word by illuminating the Bible to the human heart (Luke 24:45). Moreover, the spoken word of the prophet/apostle (and the witness of every believer) is empowered by God’s Spirit to reflect the apostolic message with precision, that is, to express accurately in a given historical context the universal truth revealed by Scripture (Matthew 10:19; see also Romans 10:17).

The rich man in Jesus’ teaching erred when he discounted the critical importance of hearing and acting on God’s written word. His hard-hearted response toward the poor man (Lazarus) who was left begging at his gate every day was the visible manifestation of his rejection of God’s word (which repeatedly enjoins God’s people to be gracious toward the poor; see Exodus 23:11 and many more OT examples). The rich man ignored the poor man because he ignored God’s word. The rich man’s indifference toward the poor man was a symptom of his indifference toward Scripture, which reveals an indifference toward God himself. This understanding of the rich man’s error keeps us from missing Jesus’ real point in Luke 16.

Jesus’ presentation strongly implies that the rich man’s cavalier attitude toward the poor man at his gate contributed to his disappointing eternal destination. As a result, some readers of this text might conclude that one’s merciful attention to the poor is the desired end result, therefore, any who care for the poor have no real need for the Bible. After all, they are obeying God’s word on their own impetus. In fact, they might decide that they are morally superior to those who study the Bible because they have no such need for God and the Bible to inspire them to do the right thing, no need to be frightened into acting right by an eternal fiery hell. But this would be a grave mistake as surely as the rich man’s error.

In another place (Matthew 5:14-16), Jesus tells his disciples that they are the light of world, so they should let their light shine before people so that people will see their good deeds and glorify their Father in the heavens. Helping the poor is good. Glorifying God is the goal. Helping others without bringing glory to God will ultimately bring glory to the helper instead of the Maker. The Maker of the heavens and the earth who is the Giver of life is also the one who provides us with the resources to help the poor. To take his resources and help others without giving him credit is robbing God of the honor that he rightfully deserves. In other words, helping people without worshiping God is an eternal mistake.

The rich man emphatically denies the necessity of God’s word in his rejoinder to Abraham by beginning with a strengthened form of a Greek negative particle (οὐχί vs. οὐ): “No! Father Abraham, but if . . .” (see Luke 16:30). His personal conviction is that God must do more than merely provide his written word (at least for important people like the rich man; he and his five brothers deserve more from God!). He insists that someone return from the dead and convince his brothers to change their ways. And this is the rich man’s eternal miscalculation, insisting that a miracle is necessary to inspire belief and obedience, insisting that he can demand of God how God must do his business, and dismissing the power of God’s written word (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Hebrews 4:12).

How many people today respond to the Bible by saying “No! God, but if . . .”? They reject the idea that God’s word is sufficient. They imply that their unbelief and disobedience is God’s fault for not doing more, for not giving them the obligatory miraculous sign. If only God would do right, then they would act right, so they imply.

Others assert that they have discovered a way to experience the Living God which circumvents or minimizes Scripture. But anyone who suggests that there is an avenue to God and to his truth which trivializes or ignores the Bible should be corrected quickly and rejected completely if they persist in promoting such a dangerously incorrect notion.

For instance, those who seem to elevate God’s Spirit above God’s word are apparently unaware that the Spirit of God is committed to the word of God. The primary revelation of Christ is the New Testament. Our choice is not between Spirit and word. The choice is between Spirit-word and confusion-ignorance (which leads to eternal disaster).

No doubt the rich man had concluded before he died that his apparent success in life, which came without serious attention to Scripture, meant that God’s written word was of little or no consequence, at least for him and people of his privileged status (or his intellectual superiority). He was assuming an elite position, either not knowing or not considering seriously enough the truth revealed in God’s word that the Lord opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).

The rich man exemplifies the proud. Lazarus exemplifies the humble. The rich man, pampered in life, finds himself in hell after death. Lazarus, poor and pathetic in life, finds himself carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom in death (a place of honor at the heavenly feast). Jesus’ teaching in this text shatters the rich man’s deadly illusion that Scripture is somehow insufficient or optional. The Bible is more important than the most impressive miracle: even someone rising from the dead.

The statement about rising from the dead is ironic because Jesus would be resurrected and show himself to eyewitnesses with many proofs of his conquest over the grave. After a cruel and shameful execution on a cross at Calvary, in fulfillment of God’s written word, Jesus was raised alive by God from his tomb, also fulfilling God’s written promise. But despite the magnitude of Jesus’ greatest miracle, his resurrection, some would still refuse to believe (Matthew 28:17). So this teaching about the rich man and Lazarus is prophetic, predicting with accuracy that his own resurrection would be insufficient to inspire faith for some who were eyewitnesses.

Miracles cannot take the place of the Bible. We must accept the reality that God’s word is sufficient for saving faith. And the written words of the Prophet, in this case the Lord Jesus Christ himself, are worthy of our greatest and most careful attention. Eternity demands it.

Brother Richard Foster

Leave a comment

Filed under religion

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

March 1, 2016 · 10:10 AM

Don’t Try To Hide The Jesus In You

Jesus says that we are the light of the world. We are to let our light shine before people so that they will see our good works and praise our Father in heaven. Nobody lights a lamp and hides it under a bowl, he says, but they put it on a lampstand and it gives light to everyone in the house (see Matthew 5:14-16).

What is his point? As followers of Jesus, we are not to hide our Christianity. Keeping our faith in Christ a secret is like putting a lamp under a bowl; it is useless. Instead, we are to do good works so that people will see them and praise God.

What does Jesus mean by “good works”? What should we be doing? Jesus gives us several examples in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).

Jesus tells us that we are to be merciful. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy,” he says. People should see us do things that demonstrate mercy.

Jesus tells us that we are to be peacemakers. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God,” he says. People should see us making efforts to bring peace into their lives.

Jesus tells us that we should be men and women of our word. “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’,” he says. People should see us as faithful in all that we say.

Jesus also tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecutes us. Most of the time people hate their enemies and hope for their demise. Jesus’ good deeds are different from the ways of this world. Following Jesus will bring attention to us.

The goal of our good works is this: that people will see our works and will praise our Father in heaven. We obey Jesus publicly so that people will be turned toward God.

Many humanitarian organizations exist to do good works for people, to be kind and compassionate and to help those in need. They usually enjoy a place of honor in society. If we also do good things but say nothing about God, then folks may honor us, thinking that we are good people.

If the world sees our good works and gives us credit, then we have failed. Our works are not supposed to persuade people that we are good. Our works are supposed to convince others that God is great.

Jesus expects us to teach others to obey all that he has commanded us (Matthew 28:19-20). In order to ensure that our lives bring glory and praise to God, we must open our mouths and tell people about Jesus and about his words.

So it is not enough to simply learn from Jesus. As true disciples of Jesus we must learn and do. And, more than that, we must also speak. We want our lives to lead people to God so they can know his abundant love.

Our job as believers in the Lord Jesus is to be the light of the world so that people will praise God. We learn, we do, and we speak for the glory of God.

May God’s Spirit make us shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father,

Brother Richard Foster

Leave a comment

Filed under religion

Tagged as , , , , , ,

February 24, 2016 · 2:51 PM

Equality Is Not Justice

Justice and equality are not the same. Equality implies that everyone, no matter who they are, no matter what they’ve done, should be treated exactly the same. Justice means everyone, no matter who they are, gets treated fairly. Everyone plays by the same set of rules.

If we are all to be equal, then jails and prisons are unacceptable. Criminals must be released and allowed to go free, otherwise, they are not equal. If we are to be just, however, then some people will forfeit their freedom by disobeying fair and just laws.

If we are to be equal, then competition is a curse. Every worker, no matter how many hours they work or what job they do, must receive the same annual salary. Every team in the NFL must get Super Bowl rings at the end of each season.

If we are to be just, then workers will receive fair wages based on their willingness to work and their abilities. If we are to be just, then competitive endeavors will have both winners and losers.

If we are all to be equal, then siblings should be allowed to marry each other. And men to marry men, women to marry women, marriages of three, or four, or whatever. If we are to be just, however, then we will place healthy and holy limits on who can and cannot marry.

If we are all to be equal, then children should be allowed to do all the same things as adults. I hope anyone will agree that this is a foolish statement, which demonstrates that absolute equality is a ludicrous notion. Justice and wisdom require proper limits.

Justice means that people require different treatment based on the facts. To treat a criminal like a law-abiding citizen would be foolish. To promote incest would be unwise. To treat children like adults would be dangerous. In fact, parents who treat their kids like adults may find themselves in legal trouble.

Equality is not automatically a virtue. To treat the weak exactly the same as the strong can be heartless. We build both stairways and ramps because we believe that people should be treated differently based on facts and circumstances. It is wrong to make some people use the stairs.

“Equal” has become an emotionally-charged term that is unfurled like a banner to rally public support for normalizing immoral and sinful behaviors. Sin is recast as a civil right and civil rights are redefined as equality. But true civil rights do not guarantee everyone equal treatment, they promise fair and just treatment.

The Bible calls for justice, but never insists on absolute equality. In fact, Scripture tells us that some people deserve special considerations. Widows, orphans, and aliens require extra help. God insists upon it.

The Bible says that some people have the right to take freedoms from others. The Bible says that some people have no right to marry. The Bible says that nobody has the right to pervert justice.

Using equality as a cover for immorality undermines justice. Any sinful behavior can be added to an endless list of supposed civil rights. Absolute equality as a guiding principle leads us further away from justice, not closer.

Not only does the Bible elevate justice above equality, God’s word also elevates mercy above judgment. More than simply judging sin and immorality, God’s desire is to demonstrate mercy and grace to the sinner. But without justice there is no mercy, no grace.

Only when we truly understand the justice and holiness of God can we appreciate his mercy and grace. If we try to replace God’s justice with mistaken notions about equality, then we obscure and even erase God’s standards. Rejection of God’s standards leaves us ignorant of our need for God’s grace.

Without a healthy understanding of God’s grace, we find Jesus dying on the cross not as our Savior but as a fool. Who would die for a world that has no need for a Savior?

Despite all the attempts to replace justice with equality, the sinfulness of humanity is still blatantly evident. And great sin requires a great salvation. Praise God we have a great salvation through our great Savior Jesus Christ!

Let us not demand human equality. Instead, let us cry out for God’s grace.

May God’s Spirit give us wisdom and compassion,

Brother Richard Foster

Leave a comment

Filed under religion

Tagged as , , , , , ,

November 25, 2015 · 8:38 AM

What About the Syrian Refugees?

My knee-jerk reaction to the idea of bringing thousands of Syrian refugees into the U.S. was “Don’t do it!” Muslim immigration in Europe seems to have caused an alarming increase in terrorist attacks, shedding innocent blood and threatening personal freedoms.

How many of our soldiers have fought, bled and died in order to secure and protect the precious liberties we enjoy in America? Is it not an insult to their sacrifice if we throw away our freedom and security by foolishly welcoming potential terrorists into our communities?

After the attacks in Paris on November 13, which claimed the lives of 130 and injured many others, the debate about immigration quickly moved to front and center. Some insisted that we should bring in thousands of Syrian refugees who are fleeing the death and destruction spread by ISIS, a radical Muslim group murdering thousands and pillaging an entire region.

The Bible is being cited as support for the idea of helping refugees by bringing them to America. God instructed his people not merely to be compassionate toward aliens, but to love them (Deuteronomy 10:19).

Therefore, since our society claims a Christian heritage, we should follow the admonition of the Bible. (Never mind the fact that we have been lectured to stop thinking of our country as a Christian nation.)

I welcome the opportunity to apply God’s Word to our current lives, including the immigration question. But let’s listen to the full counsel of God’s Word.

The Bible shows us that the Lord Jesus himself reached out to the marginalized and oppressed. His compassion is famous. But he had more in mind than alleviating suffering. Jesus was concerned about saving souls in addition to healing bodies.

I wonder if those who are quoting the Bible to support immigration will agree that conversion to Christianity should be an important goal when offering assistance to refugees.

If the Bible has the authority to urge us on toward compassion for immigrants, then it also has the authority to demand that spiritual goals be included. One cannot duck and cover behind “separation of church and state” when the Bible’s commands are unwelcome, but then turn and appeal to Scripture when it happens to support one’s political agenda.

In addition, Jesus did not endanger the lives of his fellow citizens in order to help others. The Bible places responsibility for keeping law and order and providing security in the hands of the state (Romans 13:1-6).

If the state adopts policies that endanger the lives of her citizens, then she is not fulfilling her biblical duty. We have a right to insist that our leaders take strong precautions against bringing terrorists into our neighborhoods.

Christian love compels us to work hard and find ways to help the Syrian refugees, but not by risking our neighbors’ children and grandchildren. It is not too much to ask that we help refugees, nor is it too much to insist that it be done wisely.

May the God of all compassion give us love for our neighbor,

Brother Richard Foster

Leave a comment

Filed under religion

Tagged as , , ,

October 29, 2015 · 9:43 AM

Following Jesus Leads Where?

Jesus said, “Follow me!” When we do, where will he lead us?

Jesus’ custom was to attend worship on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16). When we follow Jesus, we will have the same custom. We will gather with fellow believers on the Lord’s Day for worship: to sing God’s praises, to hear God’s Word, to give God offerings, and to fellowship with God’s people.

Once, when Jesus attended worship in his hometown, they asked him to read the Scripture and give a sermon. His message upset them. They were so enraged that they dragged him out of town and tried to throw him off a cliff (Luke 4:17-30).

Some folks complain about how poorly they are treated at church. Jesus attended with people who wanted to kill him! When we follow Jesus, we will have the habit of worshiping with others on a regular basis, despite the shortcomings of some who attend.

Jesus also had a habit of withdrawing to lonely places in order to pray (Luke 5:16). When we follow Jesus, we will be a people of frequent intentional prayer.

When Jesus slipped away for prayer, large crowds came looking for him. They wanted to hear him speak and to be healed by him (Luke 5:15). They were interested in what he could do for them.

Things are no different today. We are tempted to see prayer as wasted time, or at least as a low priority. After all, we have so much to do! It’s easy to push prayer into the background.

Jesus was busy, too, but he put prayer at the top of his list. When we follow Jesus, we will take prayer seriously.

Jesus appointed his followers and sent them out (Luke 10:1). Their task was to prepare others to meet Jesus. When we follow Jesus, he will send us out to tell others about him, too.

Jesus told his followers that he was sending them out like lambs among wolves (Luke 10:3). He knows how difficult this task can be. But Jesus also said that there is an abundant harvest waiting for those who go before him (Luke 10:2).

Harvest is a time of great joy and celebration. In fact, harvest is used in the Bible to picture the end of this age. For those who have worked in the Lord’s field, the Day of Judgment will be one of rejoicing and enjoying the fruit of their labor.

This reminds us of the greatest place that we will go when we follow Jesus. After his resurrection, Jesus led his followers to the vicinity of Bethany. While blessing them, he was taken up to heaven (Luke 24:50-51).

Jesus promised his followers that he was going ahead of them to prepare a place. He promised to come back and take them, and us, to be with him (John 14:2-3). When we follow Jesus, we have a marvelous destination: heaven.

As followers of Jesus, we attend church regularly, we intentionally and frequently spend time in prayer, we tell others about Jesus, and we look forward to the day when our Lord will return to take us home.

May we be faithful to follow our Lord Jesus in all things,

Brother Richard

Leave a comment

Filed under religion

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

September 30, 2015 · 9:56 AM

How Do We Know That God Is In Our Lives?

What is normal for a Spirit-filled Christian? What should we expect from a life of walking in step with God’s Holy Spirit?

If our expectations are wrong, then we may find ourselves confused or disillusioned. If we know what to expect, then we will not be disappointed because God is always faithful.

What was normal for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?

Abraham had three mysterious visitors one day. It turns out that they were angels sent from the Lord. The Bible never mentions angelic visitors to Abraham’s son, Isaac. Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, wrestled with a man all night and then realized that he had come face to face with God.

Did Isaac do something wrong that God did not send three angels to visit him? Did Abraham fail somehow so that God did not wrestle with him all night?

God changed Abraham’s name and he changed Jacob’s, but not Isaac’s. God warned Isaac not to go into Egypt during a famine, but told Jacob that he should go to Egypt because of a famine. Did God contradict himself? Which one is normal?

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not share the exact same experiences with God. What they did share was a set of promises that God originally gave to Abraham. Those promises were passed down to Isaac, then to Jacob, and then to their descendants, the Israelites.

What about New Testament believers? What is normal for the people of God in the church age?

So-called “Pentecostal” teachers have challenged Christians to believe that only those who have spoken in tongues are initiated into the empowering Presence of God’s Holy Spirit. They point to the Day of Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2, telling us that every believer should expect to undergo such an experience.

But the account in Acts 2 speaks of a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire resting over the believers (vv. 1-4). Pentecostal teachers insist on speaking in tongues but not audible wind or visible fire. On what basis do they choose speaking but reject hearing and seeing?

More than that, the tongues spoken on the Day of Pentecost were foreign languages. God miraculously enabled that small band of believers to speak so that out-of-towners could hear about his mighty works in their heart languages (vv. 5-11).

Should we believe that no one has God’s indwelling Spirit until they have miraculously spoken a foreign language? Is that what the New Testament teaches?

A quick reading of the Book of Acts shows that some converts spoke in tongues but others didn’t. Which is normal? What should we expect today?

To complicate matters more, Pentecostals often teach that new believers should expect to receive God’s Spirit at a time after they have been saved, separating a special “baptism in the Spirit” from confessing Jesus as Lord. Are they right?

When Phillip preached the gospel in Samaria, the new believers did not receive God’s Spirit until Peter came from Jerusalem and laid hands on them. This experience seems to support what Pentecostal teachers assert, that God gives his Spirit sometime after salvation.

But when Peter was preaching to Cornelius and his household, the Holy Spirit fell upon those listening while he was still speaking, no delay. Which is normal? What should we expect?

Narratives about how God worked in the lives of his people may or may not present us with “normal” Christian experiences. James was killed by the sword (Acts 12:2). His brother, John, lived to be an old man. Which experience is normal?

Using the Bible’s narratives to define a normal Christian experience is a flawed approach. The interpreter must arbitrarily choose some experiences and ignore others. But this does not mean that “anything goes.” An experience is not from God simply because someone sincerely believes it to be so.

To answer the question about what we should expect in Christian life we must listen to the words of teaching in the Bible. As God’s promises united the various experiences of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Old Testament, God’s promises bind together the variety of experiences in the church age.

In the Book of Ephesians, believers are instructed to be filled with God’s Spirit (5:18). The text goes on to tell us what we should expect from the Spirit-filled life (5:19-6:20).

Spirit-filled believers have relationships with other believers which result in building one another up. Spirit-filled believers have a heart of gratitude toward God that fuels passionate worship.

Spirit-filled wives submit to their husbands. Spirit-filled husbands sacrifice for their wives. Spirit-filled children obey their parents. Spirit-filled fathers do not exasperate their children.

Spirit-filled workers labor for their managers as if they were working for the Lord. Spirit-filled managers treat workers with honor and respect.

Being Spirit-filled means being equipped with the full armor of God in order to stand against the devil’s schemes, praying in the power of God’s Spirit for God’s truth to be proclaimed in all the world.

If we cannot get along with fellow believers, don’t want to worship, don’t submit to our husbands, don’t sacrifice for our wives, don’t obey our parents, discourage our children, despise our bosses, mistreat our workers, ignore the battle against evil, and care not for sharing God’s truth, then we have quenched God’s Spirit in our lives and we are grieving God’s Spirit.

In the Book of Galatians, believers are instructed to be in step with God’s Spirit. When we are, God’s Spirit works to set us free from selfish pursuits so that we can serve one another in love (5:13-16).

If we are more interested in serving ourselves than others then we are not in step with God’s Spirit. If we are in bondage to pornography, sexual immorality, alcohol, drugs, anger, or any such things, then we are out of step with God’s Spirit (5:17-21).

When we walk by the Spirit we have power over sin. Liberated from selfish desires, we have freedom to love others as Christ loves us. We bear the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (5:22-23).

So, if the narratives in the Bible do not teach us what to expect from God, then why are they included? The narratives are included in Scripture in order to show us how God has faithfully interacted with his people in the past.

We need to know that God fulfilled his promise to Israel and brought them out of the land of Egypt and into the Promised Land. But not every generation of Israelites needed to be saved from Egypt. The Exodus was vital, but not necessarily repeatable. Subsequent generations did not pass through the Red Sea on dry ground, but they did serve the same Lord.

We need to know that Jesus went into Jerusalem for Passover and became the ultimate and final Passover Lamb. We need to know that a small group of believers saw the resurrected Jesus ascend and a cloud hid him from their sight. Not every generation of believers will see Jesus ascend, but one generation will see him return.

Narratives in the Bible show us what God is capable of doing and inclined to do. They remind us that our Lord will often do something new and refreshing, something unexpected and exciting, but always something in accordance with his character and his revealed word.

Teaching in the Bible tells us what God promises to do in our lives, what we can and should expect. Narratives illustrate the teaching and the teaching explains the narratives. We need the teaching in the Book of Romans to understand the narrative record of Jesus’ acts in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The Bible makes another great promise about what we can expect. According to Scripture, God gives us an internal witness in order to confirm that his Spirit dwells in our hearts (Romans 8:15-16). God’s Spirit testifies to our spirit that we are his children; and by his Spirit we cry out to him, “Abba, Father.” This internal witness combines with the above-mentioned visible results of God’s presence to form a strong testimony.

As Spirit-filled believers we can expect victory over sin, triumph over evil, freedom to love like Jesus, and a personal experience of God’s presence that gives us confidence and peace in every circumstance.

May God’s empowering Presence enable us to bear the fruit of the Spirit always,

Brother Richard

Leave a comment

Filed under religion

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 3, 2015 · 11:25 AM

Thinking about Gay Marriage on Independence Day

The Supreme Court of the United States of America legalized same-sex marriage. Will freedom be denied those of us who believe that same-sex relationships are sinful? What about the spiritual future of our culture? Can we get a word from our Lord about how we should respond?

In 1 Peter 3 we read that “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears on their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those doing evil.” This is a quote from Psalm 34, which was written some 1,000 years earlier. Peter applies an ancient and established truth to current circumstances. The passage of time had not diminished the Bible’s truth.

This is a much-needed affirmation about the Bible and about the God of the Bible. Our circumstances will change, but God’s word and his character do not change. His holiness and righteousness, his love and mercy, they are established and they will never alter.

Leviticus 18 has not changed. Romans 1 has not changed. God’s design for human sexuality, for marriage and for family has not changed. God’s design for marriage is still one man and one woman committed to one another for life, raising their children together and enjoying their grandchildren. And more than that, Christian marriage is still meant to be a living parable of the love relationship between Christ and his church. None of this has changed. Nobody, not even the Supreme Court of the United States of America can change these fixed realities.

But our country’s definition of marriage has changed. It has moved sharply away from God’s design. Will those who believe in God’s design for marriage be penalized in this rapidly changing moral storm?

The text from 1 Peter 3 continues: “Who will do you harm if you are zealous for good? But if you suffer because of righteousness, you are blessed.” Jesus agrees with the notion of suffering for doing what is right. In Matthew 5 he says, “Blessed are the ones persecuted for the sake of righteousness, because theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.” But do American Christians actually believe that suffering is a blessing? In other countries, China for instance, Christians understand these frequent Scriptural statements about suffering for the truth. Because of our religious freedom, this aspect of the faith is unfamiliar territory in the U.S.

1 Peter 3 continues: “Don’t fear what they fear, nor be upset.” Fear is not the answer. Fear is never to be our master. God has not abandoned his people or his plan. He can still be trusted. Some may fall away, but those who believe will discover the anointing of God’s power enabling them to represent him faithfully regardless the cost.

So what should we do? Next, 1 Peter says, “Set apart Christ as Lord in your hearts, always be ready with an answer to everyone who asks you for a word about the hope which is in you.” Notice that it does not say that we should always be ready to defend our right to speak, but we should be ready to speak.

Christians in America have sometimes been quicker to defend a right than to exercise it. Tell believers that they cannot pray and they will line up for battle, rightly so. But do those same believers take the time to attend a prayer meeting? Instead of fighting for the right to speak, we must speak what we know is right.

But what about religious freedom? Is legal same-sex marriage not a threat to our religious freedom? Should we not fight for our religious freedom? It has become popular to call religious freedom our first freedom. But is this really true? Religious freedom is a great heritage, a right for which many fought and bled and died. Our first freedom as believers, however, is our freedom in Christ, not political liberty but spiritual freedom.

A person can be politically free and spiritually bound. It is also true that one can be politically bound and spiritually free. Given the choice, we would embrace both freedoms simultaneously. Forced to choose, we relinquish our political liberty in order to remain faithful to our Lord.

The kingdom of God has advanced for millennia, often without the benefit of religious freedom. In fact, sometimes religious persecution has spread the fire of the faith more effectively than religious freedom, which sadly seems to produce spiritual complacency.

We are instructed by 1 Peter 3 to be ready to give a word about our hope. What is our great hope? It is not freedom of religion, nor is it freedom of speech. Our great hope is not the Constitution of the U.S.A. Religious leaders who tell followers of Jesus that they should put their hope in freedom of speech, freedom of religion or the Constitution are at best confused and at worst false teachers.

The Bible tells us to set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts, not our political freedoms or our political documents, as helpful and brilliant as these things may be. Our struggle is not a battle for religious freedom but a battle for spiritual truth. What should we do? We must set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts and be prepared to speak about him, nothing less.

Richard Foster, Grace Baptist in Camden, AR, July 3, 2015

Leave a comment

Filed under religion

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

May 26, 2015 · 3:43 PM

Time for Vacation Bible School!

LifeWay’s Bible verse for VBS this year is Isaiah 30:21, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

The voice spoken of in this verse is none other than the voice of the Lord. Our faith is grounded in the wonderful truth that God himself has spoken and he is still speaking.

God has spoken to us through his written word, the Holy Bible. When we read the Bible, we are reading the words of the Almighty. What a thrill it is to have in our hands and in our hearts the written message of our Maker, Sustainer and Savior!

God’s word takes us back to the beginning of the heavens and earth and forward to the new heaven and earth. Only through God’s special revelation can we know about our true origin and final destination. Only through God’s special revelation can we learn about his unfolding plan for our lives now.

The voice of God also comes to us through the presence of his Holy Spirit. As God’s people we have his Spirit in our hearts illuminating his written word, enabling us to comprehend what we read.

God’s Spirit empowers us not only to grasp the great Truth revealed in his written word but also to apply it to our daily lives. We can see “the way” and “walk in it.” We understand and obey.

What a great honor and tremendous responsibility it is for us to teach these things to children. God has entrusted his word to us and called us to pass it on to the next generation. We are the most recent link in a gospel chain that stretches almost 2,000 years back to Jesus, and even further back into Old Testament times.

In this generation we face a pernicious spiritual darkness that threatens to silence the voice of the Bible in our country, thus denying children the joy of knowing Jesus. God’s word increasingly meets with a hostile reception in the halls of our government and in the classrooms of our schools.

But God assures us that his word is like a seed, carrying the power of life. Planted in receptive soil, the seed of God’s word brings a harvest of eternal life. It is our great joy to plant and nurture the word of God in the precious hearts of boys and girls in our community.

What greater hope do we have for the future?

May our hearts be tuned to God’s Spirit so that we will always hear his word clearly and always walk in obedience to him,

Brother Richard Foster

Leave a comment

Filed under religion

Tagged as , , , , , ,