How To Be Good For Nothing

“Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? (Job 1:9 NKJV). Doth Job fear God for naught? (KJV) In other words, “Is Job good for nothing or is he good for selfish mercenary motives?”

        

In 30 minutes or less, Job found out that he had lost everything, including his children. “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong” (1:20-22).

         Satan accused Job of not being good for nothing.  So God tested Job to prove Satan wrong.

         Satan knew the nature of the natural man.  “Because the natural carnal mind [Paul says] is hostile toward God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Rom 8:7).  But some people, even like animals, sometimes seem to behave unselfishly.  Dogs often adopt orphaned cats, squirrels, ducks and even tigers.  Dolphins support sick or injured animals.  But animals do this out of natural empathy and instinct.  Their kindness is created by God.  Though it is beautiful, only God gets the credit.  Humans can also be kind out of the same natural animal instinct, but not because they fear God for naught. 

         Men can appear to have the right motive, but “man looks at the outward appearance, and the LORD looks at the heart” (1Sam 16:7).  God sees that, in the natural, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isa 64:6). 

         Three times the Book of Job asks if it is really possible for a man like Job to be right with God.  Satan said, “No.  Job has an ulterior motive.”  But God described Job as “a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil.”  How is this possible?  Can a leopard change his spots?  Can a man change his motive?  No.  But God can.

         This is the question: How?  How can a man be pure before his Maker and fear God for nothing?  Is it by works righteousness?  Is it by deciding to not do the bad things you used to do?  Well, that’s a start, but not good enough.  Jesus said unless our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, it is not good enough.  Is it by piling up a mountain of deeds until the volume is enough to be accepted by God?  No.  You could never be good enough.  God’s word says it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5).       A person can do many good things from a wrong motive.  God rejected Cain’s sacrifice because his motive was selfish.  It was based on what he could get.  Abel’s focus was on gratitude and the excellence of God’s glory.  He feared God for naught.

         The difference between a false convert and a true one is the motive.  Is the motive to glorify God or for fire insurance? 

         It’s true that men can be frightened into seeking salvation.  But seeking salvation is not the same as seeking God.  The difference is the motive.  Men should seek salvation, but seeking salvation is not the same as seeking the Lord. They call them “Seeker Friendly Churches,” but men never seek God till they are born again after God creates a new heart in them.          

         Man cannot change his heart… his motive.  But God can.  How does God do that?  How does God give men a pure heart?  He does it like He did with Job: through the work of humiliation.  Yes Job already feared God and was no doubt a true convert.  But the work God does in saving conversion is the same work that He does after conversion.  It’s called sanctification. 

         The work of humiliation is also called the work of preparation.  The 1^st thing the Lord does is to send “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isa 40:3).  “And one shall say, ‘Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way, Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.’”  God says, “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me.  And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple” (Mal 3:1).  After the way is prepared the Lord comes to His temple.  The convert becomes God’s temple.  But notice it says, “the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come.”  All the time during the work of preparation the natural man is not really seeking the Lord.  He is seeking escape or comfort.  To the natural eye it might seem like he is seeking God, but in reality he is not.  His motive is mercenary. He is NOT good for nothing yet.  But after the work of the Holy Spirit makes the way straight and takes the stumbling block out of the way, the Lord comes suddenly; in the twinkling of an eye.  But how does He do this?

The Awakening

         He does it in steps.  1. First He sends His messenger to awaken us: the voice of one crying in the wilderness.  His messenger could be an accident or a tragedy, it could be someone witnessing to us, or many other things that cause inspirational dissatisfaction.  This is called, “the awakening.”  “Therefore He says: ‘Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light’” (Eph 5:14).  2. Secondly, He makes the way straight by sending the Holy Spirit to convince the sinner of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  The Messenger says, “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” The Holy Spirit uses God’s law to set us straight.  He convinces of sin by convincing the sinner that he is a sinner.  He convinces of righteousness by showing the sinner that God’s word is right and man is wrong.  Once the sinner sees that, he is convinced that judgment is on the way.  Jesus said the Holy Spirit “will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8).  Once humbled, the convicted sinner is prepared to see the solution: the atonement of Christ.

         The way God creates the right motive in us is first by making atonement for our sins.  The guilt problem has to be taken care of.  Satisfaction must be made, and Christ did that by taking our guilt and punishment on himself.  Although atonement is made for all men, there is still no forgiveness until there is faith in God.  And there can be no faith in God till there is no more faith in self.  The work of humiliation takes care of that.

         Secondly, to bring about faith there must 1^st be an awakening.  “Awake, you who sleep.”  Thirdly, He convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  Fourthly, He says, “Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”  The new birth is the 1^st resurrection.  It creates in us a new heart and a right spirit.  It makes us good for nothing.  Now we no longer serve God for what we can get.  We now serve God for naught.  The Lord becomes our salvation and our righteousness.  No longer do we look for fire insurance or trust in good works.  Now God can say what he said of Job: a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil.  God alone can do that.  Salvation is of the Lord.

         So we have the careless sinner, the awakened sinner, the anxious sinner, the convicted sinner, and the converted sinner.

The 5 Point Covenant Model

1.   The Careless Sinner does not believe God is in charge.

2.   The Awakened Sinner starts coming to church (God’s delegated authority on earth.)

3.   The Anxious Sinner is nervous about the rules (God’s Law).

4.   The Convicted Sinner is convinced of the covenant sanctions.

5.   The Converted Sinner looks to inheriting the earth.

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The Law Fulfilled Not Abolished

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

(Matthew 5:17 ESV)

         In the above verse Jesus contrasts the words “abolish” and “fulfill.” What did He mean? Too many people think “fulfill” means the same as “abolish.”  They actually think He came to abrogate the Law and the Prophets. To show what He really meant let’s look at some of the laws He did not abolish but fulfilled.

         Circumcision is not abolished. It is fulfilled in baptism according to Colossians 2:11-12. “In him also you were circumcised… in baptism…”  Since Christ kept the law by being circumcised, those who are baptized into His body are, too.

New Moon Sabbaths

         The Feast of Passover is not abolished. It is fulfilled in The Lord’s Supper. The Lamb of God fulfills the Passover lamb.

         The Feast of Pentecost is not abolished. The feast that celebrated the giving of the Law on Sinai is fulfilled by the giving of the Law in the heart by the Holy Spirit.

         The Feast of Tabernacles is not abolished. It is fulfilled in the Great Commission throughout history.

         Unclean foods are made clean in the conversion of Gentiles. “What God has cleansed you must not call common” (Acts 10:15).

       “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17 ESV).

The High Priest is not abolished but is fulfilled in Christ our High Priest who makes intercession for us.

The Temple is not abolished, but is fulfilled as the living stones of the church.

Israel is fulfilled as the church, the “Israel of God” (Gal 6:16). “And so all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26).

Jerusalem is fulfilled in the New Jerusalem and Mt. Zion. “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels…” (Heb 12:22).  

The Promised Land is not abolished, but is fulfilled by making Abraham’s children heirs of the whole world and not just that small piece of real estate. Paul understood this when he said, “the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans 4:13 ESV). Nowhere does the Old Testament say that Abraham’s heirs would inherit the world, but Paul was able to read the Promised Land type.

The Ten Commandments are not abolished, but are fulfilled by the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. By being under grace instead of under law, the Holy Spirit enables believers to keep them.

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14).

The Civil Laws are not abolished but are to be fulfilled when civil governments obey the moral law of God. Armenia was the first Christian nation state, then Rome, then Christendom.

Now we are living in a time when Gog and Magog are coming against the Camp of the Saints. But God will again rain down fire on them and the Little Stone of Daniel 2 will grow and grow until it fills the whole earth. The meek shall inherit the earth before Christ comes because “the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” (Daniel 7:22) when Christ ascended to the Ancient of Days.

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Thanksgiving And The Rest Of The Story

Thanksgiving And The Rest Of The Story

The first half of the story came to the north; the rest of the story took place in the south. Both halves had to do with the covenant.

The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in America, came in 1620 to be free from tyranny. 44 Puritans calling themselves saints sailed from England with 66 others, whom the Puritans called the "Strangers."

An agreement was worked out before landing, and they made a covenant called the Mayflower Compact, that unified the two groups and named themselves the "Pilgrims."

Freedom is not easy. Of the 110 Pilgrims and crew, less that 50 survived the first winter. But God’s providence brought an Indian named Squanto who spoke English that taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn and other survival methods. As a slave he had learned English. His importance to the Pilgrims was enormous and it can be said that they would not have survived without his help. As a result, the harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims found themselves with enough food to put away for the winter.

The Pilgrim Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native Americans.

The covenant of the Mayflower Compact was the foundation for America’s blessing. According to Scripture, God swears with an oath to bless those who keep the covenant and to equally curse those who break it. God remembers the blessings of the covenant to a thousand generations, but visits the iniquities of the fathers on the 3^rd and 4^th generation. For this reason America is still enjoying the blessings in spite of our sins.

Liberty brings the blessings of prosperity. Tyranny brings the curses of poverty. The key to prosperous liberty is obedience to God’s covenant.

Now, the rest of the story: The other key element to America’s freedom took place in Scotland 18 years later. In 1638 Scotland made a national covenant with God. But 22 years after that it was violated when the king of England made himself the head of the church and seized the churches of Scotland. 400 Scottish Covenanters said, “No. Christ is the head of the Church. We’ll preach in the fields. This freedom cost them their incomes, their homes, and death for many. The penalty for preaching in the fields was death. But as many as 14,000 would attend these field meetings.

After 20 years of persecution only a small handful of field preachers remained. They were all that remained of the Covenanters. One of them was a young schoolteacher called, The Lion Of The Covenant, Richard Cameron. He went to Holland to be ordained by some exiled Covenanters. After the three ministers laid hands on him and prayed, two of them removed their hands, but Rev McWard’s hand stayed. He had sort of a trance and found himself in the field in Scotland watching while they beheaded Richard Cameron. Then he found himself transported to Edinburg where he witnessed Cameron’s head on display. He reported this to the congregation.

So Richard Cameron knowing what was in store for him, returned to Scotland and began to preach in the fields. Two men who had opposed him came and asked his forgiveness. He said, “I freely forgive you for what you did to me. But because of what you did to God’s cause,” he said to one, “Your house will burn down.” To the other he said, “You will be childless.” Both prophesies by this Presbyterian Covenanter were fulfilled.

The Sanquhar Declaration was the idea of our Declaration of Independence. A public declaration for freedom had to be made. The Bible calls it, “The word of our testimony.” Richard Cameron rode into the town of Sanquhar Scotland with 20 horsemen with a legal document written by his lawyer brother. They posted it in the town square, read it out loud, and distributed copies throughout the town. It declared the illegitimacy of the king of England on the grounds of his tyranny. This precedent of the Declaration of Independence made him the most wanted man in the British kingdom.

In one of his last sermons he prophesied the genocide and ethnic cleansing that would take place in the sinful highlands of Scotland. This was fulfilled 66 years later at the Battle of Culloden. This battle brought a great migration of Scots to America. That’s when my ancestors came. America became the Greater Scotland. There are now 5 times more Scots in America than in Scotland. Country-Western music, Blue Grass, and even Negro Spirituals came from Scotland. The Scots mixed with all the other races in America and scholars say the culture became essentially Scottish, especially in the South.

Cameron was convinced that his blood would not be shed in vain. He knew it would bring liberty after he was gone. Eight years later was the Glorious Revolution in England. Just before he was killed, Richard Cameron said, “Do not be discouraged for you few numbers. For when Jesus Christ comes to do His work in Scotland, He will not lack volunteers.” The volunteers showed up in America 100 years later when America’s War of Independence was raging.

America was losing the war until it went south. The Scots then came down out the hills and ran the British all the way to York Town and won liberty. Cameron’s Puritan hope came true! Jesus Christ had come to do His work in the Greater Scotland and did not lack volunteers.

That, my friends, is the rest of the story of thanksgiving. The Pilgrims brought the covenant in the North and the Scots completed it in the south.

Our fathers' God, to thee, author of liberty, to thee we sing; long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light; protect us by thy might, great God, our King.

What Does God Tell The World?

What Does God Tell The World?

Has anyone ever been born again because they thought Christ was coming soon? Did the apostles ever tell unbelievers that? No, they only shared that with believers as the blessed hope. Paul preached that God “commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31 ESV). Paul also “reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come.” In other words he sought to convince the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8).

            That is the only Scriptural way to bring men to Christ. No one comes to Christ without the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit has not been telling lies for the last 2000 years by telling people Christ is coming soon. If so, He would have been lying because 2000 years is not soon.

            Both John and Jesus preached saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Mt 3:2 & Mt 4:17). The kingdom of God is at hand because “kingdom” means “rule.” The rule of God is at hand. The rule of God has rules. Seek first the government of God and His righteous rules, and all your other needs shall be met (Mat 6:33). Only by preaching “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” will men be saved (Acts 20:21).

Judge Not

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Judge Not

Mat 7:1-23

 Jesus did not say, “Judge not,” period. He told how to judge without being judged.

"Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” 

Christians Are Accused Of Being Judgmental

         When Christians are accused of being judgmental there is some truth in it.  Sinners feel judged when honest people just live a righteous life & mind their own business.  The whole Bible is judgmental.  That is the one and only reason proud men can’t stand to read it.  The Bible describes believers as seated on thrones with judgment committed to them (Rev 20:4).  Ephesians 2 says believers are seated with Christ in heavenly places.  Daniel foresaw this when he said, “the court shall be seated” (Dan 7:26) “and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High.”

         The way this judgment takes place is by the preaching of God’s word.  To preach God’s word or to obey it requires a judgment.  But to reject it does also.  All through this chapter Jesus makes judgments and calls on the listeners to make judgments.  You be the judge. 

So when He says, “Judge not,” He does not mean what hypocrites think He means.  When Jesus said, “Repent,” that was judgmental.  When God’s Law says, “Thou shalt not,” that is judgmental.  But the only legitimate way we can judge is if we first judge ourselves.  We must side with God’s judgment against ourselves.  The judging that Jesus hates is the one that has a “holier than thou” attitude or a self-justifying attitude, an attitude that “I’m good and you’re bad.”  Mercy, empathy, and love with a spirit of meekness should be our motive.  Redemption is the goal, not condemnation. 

On the other hand, anyone who encounters the convincing power of the Holy Spirit is going to feel condemned (judged) just like we do.  To escape that feeling, rebels justify themselves and judge the messenger as being judgmental.  They justify themselves and judge God’s law.  They project onto the messenger their own condemnation.  Jesus is not saying simply “Judge not.”  He is saying if we judge ourselves first, then we can judge.  The only way to not be judged is to side with God against our selves and be justified by grace through faith.

         Unbelievers try to justify themselves by judging the messenger.  Calling Christians judgmental is judging.  When they say, “Judge not,” they themselves are also judging.  Everyone makes judgments.  It’s impossible to not make them.  To discern between good & evil is to make a judgment.  But when man thinks he can decide for himself what is good and evil instead of submitting to God’s judgment, he has eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  He has created a law unto himself.  He has become an autonomous judge that makes up his own rules of political correctness.        

Autonomous Thought Is Judgmental

         “Autonomous” means “self-made law.” Autonomous thought forces men to make a judgment by picking out some aspect of the creation as the origin of all meaning; and that aspect of creation is usually the state.  The state replaces God. In picking some aspect of creation as the origin of all meaning, the autonomous thinker is made captive to a kind of idol (a god) of his own making. Political correctness is an example of autonomous judgmentalism. This idol, this god bends his understanding to conform to its dictates as in statism.

         Then Jesus continues in this same chapter into the matter of making a judgment concerning dogs and pigs (false teachers).  

Judging Dogs And Pigs

"Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you” (Mat 7:6).

  To obey this command, one has to make a judgment as to who is or is not a dog and a pig.  Paul called the false teachers dogs (Phil 3:2).  Dogs not will enter the celestial City (Rev 22:15).  Jesus then makes a connection between not casting pearls to pigs and the prayer of faith.  Keep in mind He is not changing the subject.  This is in the context of judging in church discipline. 

Judgment In Prayer

 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Mat 7:7).

         What has prayer got to do with dogs and pigs?  The other time Jesus talks about asking and receiving in faith is in the context of making a judgment in church discipline.  In Mat 18:18 He says, “But if he refuses even to hear the church [false teachers refuse to hear the church], let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.  Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind [forbid] on earth will be bound [forbidden] in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit] on earth will be loosed [permitted] in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven” (Mt 18:18-19).  “Two of you” means two or more of His disciples (not two of just anybody).  Binding and loosing has to do with making a judgment in prayer, a prayerful decision by the church to reject false teachers…dogs.

         What do we learn from this?  How do we apply this to current events?  Any so-called Christian church that denies the infallible inspiration of Scripture, for example, as it is interpreted in the judgment of the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds is under the wrath of God.  We have a great historical example of this judgment in the Arian controversy.

The Arian Controversy

         The period from A.D. 300 to 400 was one of the most important pivotal times in church history.  The church had just gone through ten persecutions by ten emperors over 250 years starting in 64 AD with Nero.  The last one was the worst, and lasted for ten years.  Multitudes of church buildings, Bibles, and martyrs were burned.  Some of the mightiest men of God in history lived at this time.  One of those was Anthony of the Desert whose life spanned almost 100 years.  Athanasius, the father of orthodoxy, knew him and wrote his story.  These men lived through these times of suffering and cataclysmic change in world history.  The persecution ended when the Emperor Constantine had a vision of the cross and these words written in the sky: “In this sign conquer.”  He then conquered the persecutor and brought liberty to the churches.

         But then another persecution arose.  Christian heretics led this one.  The Arians were followers of a priest named Arius started teaching that Jesus was not God.  He said He was just the Son of God and was a created being.  Athanasius was the bishop of Alexandria who withstood this heresy and was exiled five times.  The followers of Arius (the Arians) with government help gained great numbers and persecuted the Trinitarian believers.  When the emperor Constantine became aware of this he facilitated a church council at the city of Nicea in order to settle this controversy.  318 church leaders from all over the world gathered to decide on this matter.  The result was the judgment made by the Nicene Creed.  All the churches of the world agreed on the doctrine of the Trinity; that God is Three Persons in One Essence.  Because all the churches were united in this decision, what they bound on earth in the Nicene Creed was binding in heaven.  The Arian dogs were judged.

         There were several godly giants that fought in this crucial battle for the orthodox faith besides Athanasius. How dare we exalt ourselves as more enlightened than these Spirit filled men of God who laid down their lives for the Kingdom?  How dare we act as provincial and self-righteous lone rangers by re-inventing orthodoxy on the anvil of anti-historical provincialism!     

         Some have taught that Constantine was bad for the church.  Constantine himself had no say in the Nicene Creed.  Matter of fact, his priest was an Arian.  But like Cyrus the Great whom God called His anointed, even though he did not know God, Constantine brought peace to the church that later resulted in the conversion of the Roman Empire.  As Daniel foresaw, “The court was seated and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the most High God.” Or as John saw it, “I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed” (Revelation 20:4-5).

         Arius, on his way to become the bishop of Constantinople suddenly got sick, went to the latrine, fell in, and died. He judged wrongly and got judged.

Was Elijah A Happy Man?

Was Elijah a happy man? He was not a rich man. He lived for a while off a poor widow. Another time he lived off the bread and meat that the ravens brought him. He was a desert man and a wanted man. At times he felt all alone. When Jezabel swore to have his blood in 24 hours, he was a fearful man. Yet days before that he was very bold. After hiding from King Ahab for three and a half years he dared to meet him for a showdown. Moderns would say he was bi-polar. He ascended to great heights on Mt. Carmel and days later descended to the depths of depression.

            Was he a happy man? He was not interested in being happy. The thought never entered his mind. He only cared about one thing - God’s kingdom. To modern cynics he was too radical. They would say he was too obsessed with the political situation. “Let people be. Why are you so radical? Why do you torment yourself so? You’re mad! You’re delusional. On top of that, you’re self-righteous. You think you’re the only one. You said, ‘It ain’t gonna rain ‘til I say so.’ Besides that you murdered the prophets of Baal! Would Jesus do that? You’re possessed! Why don’t you have some fun? Take a vacation once in a while.”

            Elijah told Ahab to call for 900 false prophets to be present for the showdown at Mt. Carmel. If they all showed up it was and earth-shattering experience that drastically transformed the political landscape, because after that, prophet after prophet appeared to give messages to Ahab. Before that they were all hiding in caves.

            The great passion of Elijah was the restoration of God’s kingdom and the destruction of Baal worship. God ordained him to anoint a new king for Israel, a new king for Syria, and a new prophet to take his place. The new king for Israel, Jehu, stamped out Baal worship and God rewarded him with the longest dynasty in Samaria’s history, 99 years. But the victory was not entire. Jehu failed to stamp out the golden calf worship.

            Was Elijah a happy man? Who cares? Elijah did not.

Bad Things Happen To Good People?

    We should not be surprised at all the atrocities and evil in the world. We should be surprised that most of us escape such curses that we deserve since the Fall. It is only by God’s grace that we are not all destroyed since Adam fell. “For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob” (Mal 3:6). “Nothing can happen to you unless I let it happen,” saith the Lord. “And if I do, it is for your good, even unto death.” The “you” here are those who love God and are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

     Someone might object that it is not fair for God to spare some and let the rest be destroyed. Remember the parable where the owner paid the same wage to those who worked one hour as he paid to those who had worked all day? Those who worked all day said, “It’s not fair!” What was the owner’s answer?  “Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?” (Mt 20:15).

    Why do most people object that it is not fair for bad things to happen to some people? Is it not because they assume (presuppose) that nothing bad should happen to anyone, or at least not to innocent people? Is it a valid assumption? Not according to Scripture. No one is innocent. All are stained by Adam’s Fall and death came upon all.

    It is an insult to God’s holiness to insist that He has an obligation to save everyone. For man to insist that is to make himself God’s judge. Such arrogance deserves the wages of sin (death). On judgment day every mouth will be stopped and all the world will be declared, “Guilty.”  The gift of God is eternal life to those whose names are found written in the Book Of Life.

The True Church

The True Church

Revelation 1 depicts the seven churches of Asia as golden candlesticks and calls them the churches of Christ. Candlesticks are used to give light to the world. Jesus said to His church, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden” (Mt 5:14). The seven churches of Asia were visible to the world. They were shining lights that could not be hidden. But even though they were depicted as pure as gold, Jesus pointed out their faults. So it is with the visible church. The church in Corinth is called the church of God (1 Cor 1:1) even though it had many faults and sins. God called the church in the wilderness His son, His firstborn (Exodus 4:22), but with most of them God was not well pleased (1 Cor 10:5).

This seems like a contradiction, but it is a paradox that some cannot discern. Their logic says, “If a church tolerates false doctrine, it is not God’s church. It is a false church.” But is that the logic of Scripture?

Can God’s church have false doctrines and moral corruption and still be God’s church? Can a dead church be the true church? Was the church in Sardis God’s church? Jesus said to it, “you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Rev 3:1). The church in Ephesus lost its first love. Was it still God’s church? Is a church that allows the doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitans still God’s church? That’s what the church of Pergamum allowed (Rev 2:14-15). How about a church like the one in Thyatira that tolerated that woman Jezebel, who called herself a prophetess and was teaching and seducing God’s servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols (Revelation 2:20-21)? How about a lukewarm church on the verge of being vomited out? Are they still golden candlesticks? Was it still God’s Church? And who knows if it is vomited out already or its candlestick removed? Can a church still have a name that it lives and be dead? Who decides that? God alone can make that judgment.

Evidently they were still God’s churches because in each church there were still a few names who had not soiled their garments (Rev 3:4). So we learn from the Scriptural examples that God names His church after the remnant within the church that are conquerors and not after those within it that tolerate false doctrine and corruption.

We have those who say, “The true church is our church.” Or, “The Catholic Church is the false church.” But are there no conquerors in the Catholic Church? What defines a true church? Jesus told us in Mathew 18:18. He said to the church, “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you [plural] bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

When Arius challenged the true faith of the church, the entire church got together in Nicaea in 325 AD and bound on earth and in heaven the essential definition of what the true church. It is called the Nicene Creed. In essentials there must be unity; in non-essentials there must be liberty; liberty to disagree without excommunication. Who gets to decide what the essentials are? Jesus told us in Mat. 18:18.

Therefore, anyone who says he is a Christian, but denies that Jesus is God, cannot say he is a Christian. Who says so? Jesus said the church says so. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim 3:15). The Bible is the word of the church. The Nicene Creed is pure Bible doctrine. The agreement of the one and only church made it binding on earth and in heaven. Jesus said so.

So the question is this: Is the Catholic Church God’s church? Well, according to the logic of Scripture on the visible church, I am forced to admit it is God’s church in spite of false doctrines and corruption because it confesses the essentials of the faith and has true conquerors as a remnant within just as the churches in Asia did.

Is there such a thing as a Christian that has not one ounce of wrong doctrine or corruption? “Reformed and always reforming.”

The same is true of the Baptist churches, the Coptic Church, the Reformed churches, etc. “Reformed and always reforming.”

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. 

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, 
the only Son of God, 
eternally begotten of the Father, 
God from God, light from light, 
true God from true God, 
begotten, not made, 
of one Being with the Father; 
through him all things were made. 
For us and for our salvation 
he came down from heaven, 
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary 
and became truly human. 


For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; 
he suffered death and was buried. 


On the third day he rose again 
in accordance with the Scriptures; 
he ascended into heaven 
and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 


He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, 
and his kingdom will have no end. 

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, 
who proceeds from the Father [and the Son], 
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, 
who has spoken through the prophets. 


We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. 
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 


We look for the resurrection of the dead, 
and the life of the world to come. Amen.