Category: Uncategorized

Church Discipline – In 2014?

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. Matthew 18 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 2 Thessalonians 3:6 Indictment 7: Ignorance and a lack of loving and compassionate church discipline Church Discipline? You have to be kidding. Sounds like something out of the middle ages. Surely that’s not for today. Let’s look. Brother or sister. We are talking about something initially between you and someone with whom you have relationship, a brother or sister. There is already love there. You are concerned because someone you love appears to be in trouble. Remember […]

Whose the Real Church?

Indictment 6: Ignorance of the nature of the church. The church isn’t a building or a denomination. It’s all of those who have been regenerated into new creations by the power of God. There have been some of these creations in every church I have every been a part of. Sometimes they were a big part. Other times they were such a small minority,  you had to seek them out. The most potent local church is one in which most of its members are real followers. Sadly, that’s rarely the case. Not only are the real followers often the minority; they are usually a silent minority. The loud voices belong to control freaks and look-at-me types. These guys are often up front, running programs, making decisions, and making loud noises when their gold coins hit the collection plate. The real followers  are working with kids, down on their knees in prayer and being quiet blessings to everyone they meet. We need to learn how to identify, multiply and edify the real church. We need to call out and separate from the church fraud types. Let them run social clubs. The Lord’s church is a beautiful bride. If we can clear […]

Ignorant Invitation

Indictment Five: Ignorant Invitation. Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony,honor your father and mother, and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered,“If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Matthew 19:16-22 The simple but most important question.  “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” The answer was there is no way to do a good thing and get eternal life.   Why didn’t Jesus say, “Just invite me into your heart?” I haven’t been able to find any place in scripture […]

And Now the Really Good News

        Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17 When we come to know scripture, the holy and just nature of God and the depraved nature of man, we begin to see the problem. If we are create for relationship with God, how can a God that we know just begin to understand, have depraved man in his presence? The fourth indictment is: Ignorance of the doctrine of regeneration. God the Just and Righteous became God the Justifier. He doesn’t just forgive. What good does that do? We will soon sin again. He creates anew. He makes us new creatures. Things change. Hearts of stone become hearts of flesh. Our dark ignorance becomes knowledge of sin. Our death in sin becomes life in Christ. Our depraved minds become renewed. Slaves of sin become slaves of righteousness. This miracle can’t be performed by clever preaching, emotional pleas, or any act of man. Regeneration is a miracle of God greater even than the initial creation. In the beginning God made man out of nothing. In regeneration he begins with depravity and produces righteousness. Through […]

First the Bad News

I was watching 60 Minutes, a story about refugees from Syria. It was heart wrenching. Thousands of families crossing wasteland with nothing but their clothes, facing a very uncertain future. Many emotions weld up: sympathy, thanksgiving for my own life, anger at those whose greed and quest for power created these situations. There is  so much evil in the world. We see it every day. The World is full of Evil. We see evil on an international scale, but it’s also in our face nationally if we pay any attention to politics, locally, even in our personal lives. We don’t just see evil on television; we know evil people. You would think that with so much evil that the church would not be facing indictment number 3. Indictment Number 3: Ignorance of the nature of man. I am evil. I’m sorry. The “man is basically good” folks are just wrong. We can recognize that there are evil people. We just can’t admit that we are one of them. The problem is that compared with war mongers, murders, and people who post “like this” things on Facebook, we look pretty good. The problem is these obviously evil people are not […]

God, Who Are You?

I have lived in Broussard for thirty years. Last week I saw parts of the area I was not aware existed. I thought I knew Broussard. I don’t.   I realized that for thirty years I have lived in the same neighborhood, taken the same routes to the same places and missed by blocks a great variety of people and places. Indictment 2: Ignorance of God God is a lot more complex than Broussard. My knowledge of Him is based on limited study and experience. How dare I claim to know Him? How dare I discount the knowledge of others? Even if I am His child I will spend eternity exploring and coming to know the vastness of Him. I should start now. How can I know God? The challenge of knowing God can be overwhelming and can discourage us from trying. We have to start where we are. We can learn of God like we learn of anything or anyone else. Read about Him. The beginning of our problem is Indictment 1. Ignorance of Scripture. If I want to know about some person, even if I have never met him, the starting point is to devour everything written […]

The Bible – Too Much or Not Enough

“Every word of God is flawless;     he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Prov. 30:5  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Tim 3:16 Indictment 1:  Ignorance of scripture. As Christians we are woefully ignorant of scripture. We talk about the Bible a lot more than we read it. We use it more to judge others than to guide our own paths. We are often fooled about what it says or doesn’t say. Last night I attended an in-depth Bible study at my church. It was great. I learned a lot. It was poorly attended. That’s sad evidence in support of this indictment. Not only do we not read or study scripture enough. We don’t really understand its proper place in our faith.   On the “Our Beliefs” page of our website, the very first paragraph reads: Holy Bible:The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority for determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, the Bible is inspired, infallible and inerrant. I stand firm on that statement. The problems and controversy comes with issues like: “What […]