Jesus is Worthy of My Life

We were blessed to have Dr. John Sullivan preaching for us during our recent "Heal Our Land" conference. On Sunday morning, September 28, he brought this message from Revelation 5. It will be available online for about one month.

Repentance that Leads to Revival

Here is the message I preached from 2 Corinthians 7 on September 21, 2008 during the AM services at First Baptist Church of Homestead. It will be available online for about a month.

Your Share

“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
Proverbs 22:7

It dawned upon me that with our national debt headed for ten trillion dollars, and with our population around 400 million, that means my family of five owns a $125,000 share of that debt. In other words, if the debt were to be spread out evenly, Uncle Sam would have to extract an additional $125,000 in taxes out of ME, over and above what I am already paying, in order to break even! Ummmm...I don't have that.

The Bible makes it clear that the borrower is a servant to the lender. This is true for individuals, but I would argue for governments as well.

Why Are They Mad?

Many in England are in an uproar this week because Baroness Mary Helen Warnock told the Church of Scotland's Life and Work magazine that those with dementia have a "duty to die." She said, "If you're demented, you're wasting people's lives -- your family's lives -- and you're wasting the resources of the National Health Service."

The irony here is that most of those who are upset have already decided that not all life is worthy of protection, especially those within the womb. They arrived at that conclusion by claiming that not all human life is actual "personhood." For a life to be a person, they have to demonstrate several qualities, such as communication and awareness. If that argument is followed to its natural conclusion, then those outside of the womb, including senior adults, who no longer meet the criteria of personhood are no longer worthy of legal protection. Add to that the fact that patients with dementia cost taxpayers a lot of money and thus, lower the services provided to the rest of society, and the result is that some patients with forms of dementia have a duty to die.

Baroness Warnock is as wrong as wrong can be. In fact, I will call her thoughts "evil." But let's also admit that she is consistently applying the arguments made by those who have argued for legalized abortion. Once abortion is ok because personhood is redefined, this is where you eventually arrive. And this is why we must defend the right to life of all "persons" both in the womb and out.

Just Getting Started

Southern Baptists just love numbers. Here are the current totals for Disaster Relief workers currently ministering in the aftermath of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike:

Volunteer Days - 10,369
Meals Prepared - 1,318,907
Chainsaw Jobs - 629
Showers - 18,051
Laundry Loads - 2,944
Water (Gallons) - 700
Messages - 830
Chaplaincy Contacts - 1,381
Professions of Faith - 99
Gospel Presentations - 158
Ministry Contacts - 11,562

We often wonder why God allows such tragedies to occur, but we can identify 99 persons who have accepted Christ after hearing the gospel from a disaster relief worker. You think anyone in heaven (where the celebration is taking place) is questioning God's judgment?

Am I Smart Now?

I entered by blog address into a web tool that scans your blog and determines its reading level. And this blog is supposedly post-grad level stuff. Yeah, right.

"Unplowed Ground"

Here is the message I preached September 7 from Hosea 10:11-12 in preparation for our "Heal Our Land" Spiritual renewal conference. It will be available online for about one month.

Pray for Ray Boltz

One of the first Christian Contemporary cassettes I ever purchased as a teenager was "The Altar" by Ray Boltz. Who in "evangelical-world" hasn't heard someone sing "Thank You" or "Watch the Lamb?" (The former was actually sung at Mother Teresa's funeral.)

This past Friday, Ray Boltz announced that he is gay. Boltz has divorced his wife and moved to Fort Lauderdale, saying it was a place where he could live anonymously and live a "normal gay life." In a coming out article in a homosexual publication, he said, "If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live...I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself."

Several issues here. First of all, the Bible defines homosexuality not as someone who is attracted to the same sex, but as someone who engages in homosexual activity. (For example, if you're merely tempted to rob a bank, that doesn't make you a bank robber if you never give in to the temptation.) The fact that Ray Boltz has same sex attractions does not make him homosexual. The fact that he has chosen to embrace a lifestyle that is contrary to the Bible makes him homosexual. Homosexuals frequently use the "God made me this way so it must be okay" argument. Boltz himself makes the same argument in the above quote. However, we do not experience temptation because God intends for us to indulge in it, we experience temptation because we have a sin nature as a result of the fall. Temptation is to be resisted, not gratified. James 1:12 says "Blessed is the man who endures temptation..."

Unfortunately, many Christians will hear this news and err on one of two extremes. Some will elevate his sin above that of the fornicator or adulterer, as if some sins are cleaner than others. Homosexuals are not a "special class" of sinners. The Bible places the sin of homosexual activity right alongside other sins that we have all committed. Others will embrace his actions without realizing the hypocrisy of claiming to follow Scripture while living a lifestyle that contradicts its teachings. (Some try to explain away the Bible's condemnation of homosexuality in Romans 1, but you have to butcher the text in the worst possible way to come up with any conclusion that even remotely endorses - or even allows for- homosexuality.) You cannot, in good conscience, claim to accept the authority of the Bible and endorse homosexual behavior.

Boltz made another statement that I believe gives us a window into his future. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that if evangelicals were wrong about homosexuality, then they were probably wrong about others things as well. And on that, he has a point. If we can't trust what the Bible says about homosexuality, how can we trust what it says about life, death, heaven, hell, forgiveness, salvation and eternity? The truth is, we can't. There is a reason why the overwhelming majority of Christians who fall into this particular sin eventually deny the faith altogether. It is the logical conclusion once you accept homosexual behavior.

What do we do as believers? How do we respond?

#1 - We refrain from elevating Boltz's sin above the sins of others.

#2 - We communicate the positive message of hope for the homosexual in Jesus Christ.

#3 - We define homosexuality Biblically, not as the media would instruct us. The man/woman who is attracted to the same sex yet remains abstinent out of obedience to God's Word is not a homosexual in God's eyes.

#4 - We must reject the notion of homosexual orientation. The issue is temptation, not orientation.

#5 - We can financially support ministries that help homosexuals experience God's redemption and grace. Here's a good place to start.

#6 - We must properly define success for the homosexual. Success is not enabling a gay man to become an ogling skirt chaser. Success is helping the homosexual flee sexual sin of all types and be obedient to Christ. Often times, God will provide an individual of the opposite sex who is attractive to the once gay man or woman. God is more than capable of doing that if it is His will.

#7 - We must practice church discipline. In First Corinthians Five, we are told about a church member who engaged in sexual immorality without repenting. The church was to hand this man "over to Satan" (verse 5), was "not to associate" with him (verse 9) and to "expel him" (verse 13). By the second epistle, repentance had taken place and Paul encourage the church to receive the restored sinner.

#8 - We must pray for Ray Boltz and others who have strayed from God's pattern for human sexuality.

One Million Meals

One million meals have already been prepared by Southern Baptist Disaster Relief for victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in the month of September alone. What a great testimony. You can donate to the efforts here.

Taking a Stand

James Ryan is the pastor of True North Community Church in New York. His church was offered a share of a $3 million dollar lottery jackpot...and turned it down. Pastor Ryan rightly saw the hypocrisy of accepting gambling proceeds while preaching against gambling.

Someone will ask, "But what about all of the good that could have been done with the money?" Look at it this way: If someone robbed a bank and told me they were donating the stolen money to our church, would we accept it? Absolutely not. Stolen money is stolen money. It matters not how it was stolen.

For the record...

#1 - I am the only person you know who predicted that McCain would pick Palin as VP.

#2 - I have never seen the kind of sexism that has been heaped upon Palin by the press. From her husband's DWI over two decades ago to the suggestion that her son is actually her grandson...unelievable. No one would think of asking these questions of a male candidate. I think the media overplayed their hand on this one. The public may revolt.

As for the issue of a woman being president in light of Biblical teachings on the church and family, here's a good article to consider.