The idea is simple. We would take about four to six books per year and read through them and have special times of discussion about them. The books will be true Christian Classics… “Mere Christianity” by CS Lewis; “Christianity and Liberalism” by J Gresham Machen; “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan, for example.

We would read a portion of the book each month and then meet and talk about the book giving our insights and the lessons we take from it. Obviously, I think this could be a real joy for booklovers and for anyone wanting to grow in their understanding of the Christian faith.

We will have a Facebook group for easy communication about the book… questions as they come up, etc. (You do not have to be on Facebook to be part of the group, it is just one more way to communicate!) Let me know what you think and if you would be willing to participate.

I can get the books at a reduced price for those who do not have them already. For example, “Mere Christianity” in paperback is about $10 each.

I am eager to hear from you!

Psalm 101:3-4 (NKJV) “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.”

To say the very least, I have never been a computer, “Geek!” After twenty-two years of owning and using a computer nearly every day; and even though I am now using a “state-of-the-art” laptop, I am still pretty much of a, “point and click” kind of guy. But, I have remembered a very important lesson that I was taught early on about working with computers: “Garbage In, Garbage Out!”

In the computing world, GIGO simply means that if I put the wrong information into my work, I am going to get wrong information out of my work. Simple. In computing, that is!

GIGO is not quite so simple in living the Christian life! The principle is clearly true: if we take “Garbage” into our minds, we are going quickly become garbage thinking and garbage living people!

We live today in a world that is saturated in its own filth! I could write pages and pages about the intellectual and moral garbage that the present American culture considers to be art and entertainment, but, that is not the point of this post. The point of this post is that if a person – including a Christian person – fills their mind with this rubbish, they should not expect to have a head full of beautiful and God-honoring thoughts.

This is a challenge for many Christians, including me, as we work our way through this sewer of depraved culture we call, “the real world.” Yes, we are called to be “in” the world, but we are not called to imbibe the world! Christians have to be in the world, (we are, in fact, commanded to go into the world) but we do not have to allow, “the world” to be in us!

So, the question is: how do we go out every day into this godless and immoral culture and yet keep it from saturating our thinking and living? Simple!

We need a strong offense! It is found in God’s Word! Philippians 4:8 (ESV) “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Proactively fill your mind with the Word of God, the things of God, and with thanksgivings to God! Read the Bible, meditate on the Bible, and memorize parts of the Bible!

We need a strong defense! It is found in God’s Word! “Psalm 101:3-4 (NKJV) “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.”

Stop watching and listening to godless junk! Stop focusing on and thinking about those things that dishonor God and damage your life!

Who knows… maybe Christians can redefine GIGO to mean, “God In, Glory Out!”

-  William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet ca.1600

The First Baptist Church of Atwood is affiliated with, and works in friendly cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention! Every Southern Baptist Church is an autonomous (self-governing) body that voluntarily partners with the 42,000 other autonomous churches that make up the SBC.

The Southern Baptist Convention was born in 1845 amid the national controversy over slavery which led sixteen years later to the civil war. Unfortunately, the Baptist churches located in the South took the side of their states and their culture in this controversy. They have long ago publicly confessed this as sin and apologized to the Nation for this shameful past and for the many years of supporting those in the South who espoused segregation and opposed equal rights for African-Americans.

Over the past century, the Southern Baptist Convention has come to have churches and missionaries in every State of the Union and in over one hundred and eighty Countries around the world! In a very real way, the name “Southern” does not accurately describe these believers, who have now come to be the largest non-Catholic denomination in the world.

For several years now, there has been some discussion among Southern Baptists about attempting to find a new name for the denomination that better describes who they are now rather than just who they have always been. Few things have caused more emotionally charged talk than the idea of changing the name of the denomination!

At the Southern Baptist annual Convention this past summer, SBC President Bryant Wright appointed a task force to discuss this matter and bring a recommendation to the 2012 annual convention for discussion and vote. The Task Force recently completed their work and will bring their proposed recommendation at a meeting of the Executive Committee in February.

There is not much drama here. Since almost everyone on the Task Force is from the Southeastern states, I would be stunned if they bring a recommendation to take their beloved, “Southern” out of the name! (And even if they did, it would never pass.) By the way, they have already publicly stated they will not recommend taking “Baptist” out of the name.

I pastored the First “Southern” Baptist Church in Waukegan, Illinois for seven years. The Lord blessed the church with exciting growth over those years, but almost all of the growth was from people with either Southern Baptist or at least Southern backgrounds. I have already publicly stated that it is my personal opinion from this experience that having “Southern” in the name of a church in the Midwest is a real hindrance.

I believe it is a moot point. As I said earlier, I would be stunned if the Task Force recommended taking “Southern” out of the name of the denomination; and, I would be even more stunned if it was passed at the Convention in 2012.

And, what if they did? Would changing the name change the character of the denomination in any meaningful way? Probably not; but, it would help to remove an unnecessary barrier to those living outside of the south when they are seeking a church.

The Dispensation of Innocence ended with the temptation and sin of Adam and Eve. Man had seen, and ought to have learned, that even in a perfect environment human beings rebel against God! Once that lesson has been demonstrated, God allows humans to follow the dictates of their own conscience, or moral reasoning.

The word, “conscience” is simply a compound word meaning, “with knowledge.” And the knowledge with which the conscience is equipped is the moral nature of God which is part of His image in mankind – but, which was marred in the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Bible.org points out on their website that there are several God-given functions of the human conscience:

1) It produces guilt. John 8:9-11; Romans 2:14-16

 2) It produces a need to repent. Genesis 4:1-4

 3) But, it cannot create righteousness in a person and it can be seared (made callous) by continually being ignored. Romans 3:10; 1^st Timothy 4:2

Human beings want to live by their own conscience, (let your conscience be your guide) because it can be calloused and overcome. It is impossible for the conscience to serve as a faithful guide for living because it was marred at the time of Adam’s and Eve’s fall into sin.

During this time (approximately 1,000 years) humans, who were living by the leading of their fallen consciences, became worse and worse to the point that God said in Genesis 6:5-7, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.”

So, the Dispensation of Conscience ends with God’s judgment upon mankind in sending the world-wide flood. Being a God of mercy, He spared Noah and his wife, his sons, and their wives to begin the human race again!

Dispensation (Lesson) One: In a perfect environment and with no history of sinful behavior, human beings rebel against the authority and commandment of God!

Dispensation (Lesson) Two: While being allowed to live according to the dictates of their conscience, human beings sear their conscience and devolve deeper and deeper into sin rebelling against the authority and commandments of God!

Next Time: (as the Lord allows) “The Third Dispensation” – Human Government.

This is, of course, the Christmas Story – the Miracle of the Incarnation! Cf. Matthew 1:1-25; Luke 3:23-28; John 1:1-3, 14

Key Verses: John 1:14; Matthew 1:20-21; Luke 2:11

Jesus Christ is God come to earth in human flesh! And the reason He has come is to, “save His people from their sins.”

Jesus Ben Joseph of Nazareth is the only Jew alive today that has His genealogy intact to prove that He is a descendant, (and heir to the throne) of David!

This is the legal genealogy of Jesus to King David through Joseph. If this were the source of Jesus’ bloodline to David, Jesus could not sit on the Throne of David because of the curse on Jeconiah (Coniah) and his sons! Cf. Jeremiah 22:28-30

*Luke 3:23-28 is the genealogy (the bloodline) through Mary to David’s son Nathan. So, Jesus has both the legal right to David’s throne through His step- father Joseph and the birthright to David’s throne through His mother Mary!

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.  ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” ¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” ¹⁹ So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²² And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³ Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” ²⁴ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.²⁵ And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” Genesis 2:15-25 (ESV)

As I said in the original post, dispensations are a specific period of time in which God deals with humans in a specific way. And, HE does so to teach us a specific lesson. What then is the lesson of this first of the seven dispensations?

Even in a perfect environment and with no history of sinful behavior, humans will rebel against God! Tens of thousands of people have argued over the years about that which we CANNOT KNOW… i.e., “why” God allowed Adam and Eve to sin. But, we DO KNOW that while HE DID ALLOW them to sin, HE did not compel – or even tempt – them to sin!

¹³ “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵ Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” James 1:13-15

 One of the great, and inescapable, mysteries of sin is that while God is not the Author of sin, HE did create at least two kinds of creatures that are capable of sinning against Him: angels and human beings. The existence of evil is the source of much anti-God sentiment in the world and much confusion and debate among believers.

God did create angels with the capacity to sin, and some of them did sin! Cf. Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28. He also created humans with the capacity to sin, and all of us sin!                      Cf. Romans 3:10

 Adam surely represented us perfectly when he sinned against the commandment of God! And, as RC Sproul says in one of his sermons, the fact that we do not like God judging us to be guilty because of Adam’s sin proves how well Adam did, in fact, represent us! If any other human had been in Adam’s place, they would have done exactly what Adam did! All humans are sinners by nature, by desire, and by continual practice! So much so that even if we lived in a perfect environment with no previous history of rebellion against God, when God gave us a command, we would rebel against the commandment and the One who gave it!

So here is the first lesson: we are sinners! Thankfully, God is a Savior! Cf. Isaiah 45:22; Luke 19:10

Once Adam and Eve had sinned, God took the life of an innocent animal and made a covering for their sin. In the same way, 4,000 years later God allowed sinful men to take the life of His Only Begotten Son Jesus to make an “atonement” or “covering” for the sins of sinful humans who would repent of our sins and believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord! Cf. John 1:11-12; 3:16, 36; Romans 10:9-13; 2^nd Corinthians 5:21

Next time (as the Lord allows): Dispensation #2 – Conscience!

While this was also the subject of my doctrinal dissertation for Louisiana Baptist University in 1991-1993, (and some of my thoughts will be taken from that document) I am not – let me say this again – I am not interested in debate with other pastors or theologians. I am not going to try to debate back and forth with anyone who is not an active member or a currently attending prospective member of FBC Atwood.

Many great and godly intellectuals have defended this theological position far, far better than I ever could. So, for the benefit of those who want to debate or argue these points, I recommend you read the works of, (and make contact with) Dr. John MacArthur or Dr. Charles Ryrie!

I am working to present this biblical teaching to the members of the Church who God has called me to serve. Let me begin with what I consider to be a very important statement:

I do not believe that any specific structure of biblical prophecy is of such importance that one’s salvation depends on a proper understanding of it! Nor, in my opinion, does it rise to the level of those doctrines agreement upon which would be necessary for believers to worship and work together in a local church. Therefore, I consider them to be tertiary in nature, which is something that we ought to be interested in, and for which we should strive for a correct understanding; but, not something over which we should break fellowship.

With this understanding, let me begin!

I believe in dispensational premillennialism for two specific reasons: first, I believe that the Christian Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and divinely preserved Word of God; and, second, I believe that the Christian Bible clearly reveals a divinely-decreed and revealed plan and purpose for the ages that forms a basic structure for understanding the message of Scripture. I believe that basic structure is dispensational premillennialism!

Dispensational premillennialism is not a “doctrine” it is a “school of interpretation!”

Let me define the words. By “dispensation” I mean a specific period of time in which God deals with people in a specific way in order to teach a specific lesson. While I certainly do not agree with everything that has been said or written by those who claim to hold this view, I do find that I am in basic agreement with the seven dispensation view espoused by John Nelson Darby and C. I. Scofield.

By “premillennialism” I mean that school of thought that holds that the second coming of Jesus Christ will be marked by a return of Jesus Christ in the clouds called the rapture; a seven-year period of tribulation on earth; the second advent of Jesus Christ to earth followed by a literal one-thousand year kingdom rule on this present earth; followed by a final rebellion, the Great White Throne Judgment, and the onset of the eternal state.

NEXT TIME: Genesis 1 to 5: The first dispensation – Innocence!

Read ahead and Remember: Questions are always welcome!

“Pray without ceasing.” (1^st Thessalonians 5:17 ESV)

Contrary to popular belief, 1^st Thessalonians 5:17 is the shortest verse in the Bible! Most of us have been taught that John 11:35 “Jesus wept” holds that distinction, and it is true – in the English language! But, since the New Testament is written in Koine Greek, the shortest verse in the Bible – in Greek – is 1^st Thessalonians 5:17. It is one Greek word that means, “Unceasingly pray.”

We are thinking in these devotionals about Who Jesus is. We have already written much about this question, but I want to focus today on the reality that Jesus is a living Being Who listens to His people!

I would love to know that if I send a letter to the President of the United States he would read it; or, if I called him he would take the call and listen to what I have to say. Fat chance! I can, however – as can you – speak directly with the Creator God of the Universe any time and any place I so choose. WOW!

When Christians describe speaking to God, we call that prayer. I have often said that I do everything else I do better than I pray. And, it is sadly true that I do almost everything else I do more often than I pray. Whether it is a time of formal prayer, or just casually speaking to Him, praying is nothing more than speaking to Jesus.

So, how should a Christian speak to Jesus?

1) Continually! Our theme verse today tells us that we should pray without ceasing. That does not require that we never do anything else, but it admonishes us to continually be in an attitude of prayer, continually aware of His nearness to us, and be focused on Him all of the time.

2) Reverently! Remembering Who He is ought to give us a sense of awe and respect. Yes, He is our Brother, but He is the One True and Living God. We do not need to fear to speak with Him, but I believe a proper attitude of prayer considers Who He is at all times.

3) Assuredly! He tells us that He hears us. He knows our every thought and hears our every word.

4) Expectantly! Jesus hears every prayer from His people and Jesus answers every prayer of His people! Many times I think that He has not heard my prayers, but scripture is clear that He does hear them.

My problem is that if He does not respond how and when I want Him to respond, I assume that He did not hear my prayer. My problem – and I am sure others feel the same way – is that Jesus does not answer every prayer the same way. Sometimes He answers directly; sometimes differently; sometimes He answers by denying our request; and, sometimes He delays His answer to accomplish His will in our life.

Jesus Christ is alive! He hears us when we speak to Him. He answers us according to His will and for our ultimate good. Jesus is the God Who hears his people when we speak to him.

Sola Deo Gloria!

At high noon on October 31, 1517, (494 Years Ago Tomorrow) at Wittenberg University in Eastern Germany, an Augustinian monk and Professor of Theology named Martin Luther nailed a list of 95 complaints or “Thesis” to the door of the Catholic Church. Intended as a protest against the selling of indulgences, God used Luther and his list of protestations to shake the foundations of the Church of Rome and to usher in the greatest event in the Church since the ascension of Jesus to heaven!

Thus the Protestant Reformation was born! Luther had discovered the one key thing missing in the Roman Church: justification by faith alone! This is the Christian gospel, and any other so-called “gospel” is no gospel at all. Paul is clear that the only true gospel is his gospel:

6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7  not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-9 ESV)

And, just exactly what is Paul’s gospel?

1 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…” (1st Corinthians 15:1-4 ESV)

Paul’s gospel, the biblical gospel, is simply that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for the sins of sinners and rose from the dead three days later! I still remember the day that I first heard Dr. Lee Roberson preach his now-famous sermon, “One Saving Gospel!” I remember how I felt when his words fell upon my mind… “There is one saving gospel, only one.” One Savior and one saving gospel! Amen, Dr. Roberson.

Since the Council of Trent, (1554-1563) the official position of the Roman Church is that whoever believes in “sola fide” (justification by faith alone) is anathema (cursed from God). Of course, the sad truth is when the Roman Church anathematized sola fide, they anathematized the gospel, and thereby anathematized themselves.

God chose to use a struggling, very much imperfect Doctor of Theology in a small German University to challenge the darkness of his day and bring back the light of God’s Word. That gospel light moved across Europe, North America, and then around the world!

“Pax Tenebrae Lux” is Latin for “Out of Darkness Light!” and it is the theme of the Protestant Reformation! Nothing describes a recovery of the biblical gospel better than these words. If we are to see the light of Christ enlightening the darkness of our world, we must get the “one saving gospel” out to a lost, dying, and darkened world.

Happy Reformation Day!

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10 ESV)

We are thinking about knowing Jesus intimately, so we must know the fullness of Who He is. And, Who is He? Jesus is the Holy One Who comes to earth to seek unholy sinners to make them holy.

I am sure that almost every Christian would say that the thing we want the most is to be like Jesus!  I say that often, and I hear others say that often. At some very deep level, we sincerely want to be like Him. The problem comes when we don’t think through what that means. If we are going to be like Jesus, we are going to have to seek sinners!

It is truly amazing to me that Jesus would seek sinners. Anyone who considers what a holy God would do comes to the conclusion that He would seek holy people to be with Him. God does, in fact, demand holiness from those who would come near to him. “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14 ESV)

The problem is that there are no holy people! “As it is written, none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10 ESV)

So, what is God’s solution? He seeks for unholy sinners to make them holy!

Like most people, I have several “favorite verses” and they change from day to day; but, most days I will tell you that my very favorite verse is 2^nd Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” We will never have a righteousness of our own! The only righteous we can every have is the righteousness of Jesus Christ that God accounts to those who repent of their sin and accept Jesus as Savior and Lord.

If we are to know Jesus, we must know that He is a Savior Who seeks unholy sinners for the purpose of making them holy. So should we.

Sola Deo Gloria!