Hymns For Sunday Sept. 1

Opening, Blessed Assurance, Hymnal #108
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IUMTJoH-PQ

Benediction, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Hymnal #347
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDbllO1LrvM

Two Kingdoms

Reading the gospels it is easy to notice that two kingdoms dominated the world Jesus lived in.  One was the Roman Empire, which controlled much of the world at the time of Christ including Israel.  the second is the Kingdom of God.  Each kingdom had a role to play in human affairs, and both still do today.

The Gospel writers describe several events in Jesus’ ministry that brought him face to face with politics. For instance, shortly after Jesus’ baptismat about the age of 30, the Devil offered him the position of world ruler.  Later in his ministry, a crowd wanted to make him their king. Still later, people tried to turn him into a political activist. How did Jesus react? Let us consider these events. The Gospels state that the Devil offered Jesus rulership over “all the kingdoms of the world.” Think of how much good Jesus could have done for suffering mankind if he had wielded the power of a world ruler.  What politically oriented individual sincerely concerned with mankind’s advancement could resist such an offer? But Jesus refused it.—Matthew4:8-11.

Many of Jesus’ contemporaries were desperate for a ruler who could solve their economic and political problems. Impressed by Jesus’ abilities, the people wanted Jesus to join the political process. What was his reaction? Gospel writer John states: “Jesus, knowing they were about to come and seize him to make him king, withdrew again into themountain all alone.” (John 6:10-15) Clearly, Jesus refused to become involved in politics.

Note what happened days before Jesus was put to death. Disciples of the Pharisees, who favored independence from the Roman Empire, joined by Herodians, members of a political party favoring Rome, approached Jesus. They wanted to force him to take a political position. They asked if the Jews should pay taxes to Rome.  Mark recorded Jesus’ response:

Why do you put me to the test? Bring me a denarius to look at.’ They brought one. And he said to them: ‘Whose image and inscription is this?’  They said to him: ‘Caesar’s.’ Jesus then said: Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but give to God what belongs to God.’ ” (Mark 12:13-17)

Jesus refused to act the part of a political messiah and carefully established both the boundary of Caesar and that of God.  The same holds for today.  The church has a clear boundary as do the governments.  

Problems such as poverty, corruption, and injustice did not leave Christ unmoved. In fact, the Bible shows that he was deeply touched by the pitiful state of the people around him. (Mark 6:33, 34) 

Still, Jesus did not start a campaign to rid the world of injustices, although some tried hard to get him embroiled in the controversial issues of the day. Clearly, as these examples show, Jesus refused to get involved in political affairs. But what about Christians today? What should they do?

Christians today should not participate in politics. Why not? Because they follow Jesus’ example. He said about himself: “I am not of the world.” Regarding his followers, he stated: “You are not of this world.” (John 15:19; 17:14) Consider some reasons why Christians should not become involved in politics.

1. Human ability is limited

The Bible states that humans have neither the ability nor the right to govern themselves. “It does not belong to man who is walking,” wrote the prophet Jeremiah, “even to direct his step.”—Jeremiah 10:23. 

Just as humans were not created to fly successfully on their own strength, so they were not created to rule successfully by themselves.  Speaking about the limits of government, historian David Fromkin noted: “Governments are composed of human beings; therefore they are fallible and their prospects are uncertain. They exercise a certain power, but only a limited one.” (The Question of Government) No wonder the Bible warns us not to put our trust in man.  Psalm 146:3.

2. The influence of  Satan

When Satan offered Jesus world rulership, Jesus did not deny that the Devil had the power to offer him all the kingdoms of theworld. In fact, on a later occasion, Jesus called Satan “the ruler of the world.” Some years later the apostle Paul described Satan as “the god of this system of things.” (John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4) Paul wrote to fellow Christians: “We have a wrestling . . . against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) Behind the scenes, wicked spirit forces are the real rulers of this world.   How should that fact influence our view of politics?

Think of this comparison: Just as small boats are swept along by powerful sea currents, human political systems are pulled along by powerful, wicked spirit forces. And just as the sailors in those boats can do little to change those powerful currents, politicians can do little to change the influence of those powerful spirit forces. Those forces are bent on corrupting humans beyond reform and on causing “woe for the earth.” (Revelation 12:12) 

Therefore, real change can be brought about only by a person who is more powerful than Satan and his demons. That person is Jesus Christ himself.—Psalm 83:18; Jeremiah 10:7, 10, Revelation chapters 19 and 20.

3. Christians should give allegiance only to God’s Kingdom. 

Jesus and his disciples knew that at a set time, God himself would establish a government in heaven to rule over the entire earth. The Bible calls this government God’s Kingdom and reveals that Jesus Christ has been appointed as its King.(Revelation 11:15) 

Since that Kingdom affects all humans, Jesus made “the good news of the kingdom of God” the main subject of his teachings. (Luke 4:43) He also taught his disciples to pray: “Let your kingdom come.”

Why? Because under that Kingdom, God’s will is sure to be done in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 6:9, 10.)

What, then, will happen to man-made governments? The Bible answers that the governments “of the entire inhabited earth” will be destroyed. (Revelation 16:14; 19:19-21) If an individual truly believes that God’s Kingdom is about to remove all man-made political systems, he logically would refrain from supporting those political systems. After all, if he tried to prop up doomed, man-made governments, they would, in effect, be taking a stand against God.

Important Announcements

Dear brothers and sisters:

Our ministry here in Dallas is about to come to full bloom.  With this comes bearing fruit and after that it is time to graft from this fruit bearing tree to a new soil.  After the New Year I shall be going to Japan to found a mission of the Puritan Church there.  While our time here was short we accomplished much.  We have a church that shall be led by a very competent pastor of your choosing.  We have ministered to battered women and their children.  We have reached out to the homeless and to the lonely.  We shall continue to do so.  I shall do so in Japan and you shall continue here.

Itsuko is progressing in hear deacon studies.  She read the gospel this morning and is almost ready to assist at the Table of the Lord, and to preach her first sermon.  Itsuko has the heart of a true humble servant of the Lord.

The Missions Office in Washington DC is drafting the mission charter for Japan.  The preliminary working name is The Protestant Christian Church of Japan (日本プロテスタントクリスチャン教会).  I shall be consecrated Presbyter November 9 and shall be fully responsible for the mission in Japan as it begins to grow.  Itsuko shall be more than able to assist in our ministry to both the Japanese and expat communities in Nagoya.

We shall not be without helpers in the vineyard.  Rev. Takeshi Amazawa of Tokyo Baptist Church shall be advising on church planting in Japan.  In all there shall be challenges and unexpected problems but how they are handled shall be the difference.  So long as Itsuko and I stay faithful to the Lord, help one another, and be of comfort to those in need then all shall work out to the greater glory of God.

As our Puritan forefathers braved ocean, New World, and famine they clung to the phrase Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam - All for the greater glory of God.

Intolerance of Sin

Whatever religion or doctrine condones or makes allowances for sin is not of Christ. The Doctrine of Christ everywhere teaches self-denial and mortification of worldliness and sin. The whole stream of the gospel runs against those things. Scripture emphasizes the "holy" and the "heavenly" not the sinful and the worldly. The true gospel has not even the slightest tendency to extol corrupt nature, or feed its pride by magnifying its freedom and power. And it rejects everything that undermines and obscures the merit of Christ, or tries to give any credit to man, in any way. And it certainly never makes the death of Christ a cloak to cover sin, but rather it always speaks of it as an instrument that destroys it! 

The goal of Christianity has always been to please God and to be rewarded by God with heaven. It has never been to compromise faith and scriptures in order to find favor with people. Christians are not called to tolerate sin and to become enablers for sin, on the contrary; we are called to bring sinners to repentance and to save them from their disobedience to God. Those who profess a doctrine that excuses sin, that tolerates sin, or that teaches there is no punishment for sin is not a doctrine but a deception of Satan.

The Conditional Love of God

“God hates the sin, but loves the sinner” has become the motto of American Christianity today. Certainly, God hates sin – about this there can be no equivocation.  And the Bible makes it plain that God loves the sinner.  But the Bible also states unambiguously, with striking frequency, that GOD HATES SINNERS who challenge God's laws and His people.  Scripture makes it clear that when people stand in insolence before God then God destroys them.  The Bible says that He will laugh at the wicked when their calamity comes like a whirlwind, and that He rejoices over the wicked to destroy them.  If you find this concept of God incompatible with the tenets of your religion, I question whether you really know the God of the Bible.

Justice is an attribute of love.  A Judge in a courtroom of justice rejoices to catch the criminals, convict, and punish them.  Is it because he is unloving?  No.  If he is loving, he will be glad the rapists, murderers, car thieves, child molesters are sent to jail - for the greater good of society.  God hates sinners in the same sense a Judge would hate criminals - for the greater good of mankind!  God hates sinners in the same sense that He hates the devil - to promote the general welfare of man.  Not because God is hateful, but because He is benevolent.  For the greater good of the universe, He will rid the earth of all rebels and reign forever.  It’s best, it’s right, it’s the loving thing to do.  As long as sinners serve the devil by continuing their relentless war against God, their Holy Maker hates, abhors, curses, detests, despises them, and will ultimately destroy them in His wrath - because God is Love.

There is a sense in which God loves all men unconditionally, sinners and saints, that is not at all contradictory to the Biblical teaching of God’s hatred for sinners.  God loves the sinner in the sense that He is benevolent to them - He wills their good.  God wills that all men repent and not perish (II Pet.3:9).  His disposition toward man is to show mercy - He is longsuffering, He is slow to wrath and quick to forgive.  He does not send speedy judgment when we sin, but convicts us by His Spirit and gives us time to consider our ways.  God’s unconditional love for mankind prompted Him to send Jesus to die to motivate man to turn from sin to God, and to secure the salvation of those who meet the terms of the covenant.  Most of the time the Bible speaks of God’s love, it is in the context of Jesus death on the cross (John 3:16, Rom.5:8, I John 3:16).  This type of love for man is unconditional.

God’s benevolence for sinners is not emotional drivel or sentimental feelings.  He does not accept sinners “just the way they are”; they must repent (change) and believe in order to be accepted by Him (Acts 10:35).  He doesn’t love sinners the way that they want Him to: He does not give them unconditional approval, unconditional acceptance, unconditional forgiveness, or unconditional friendship.  He has unconditional love for the sinner, but he doesn’t like them.  

The Bible also speaks of a love God has for man that is CONDITIONAL.  Hear the Word of God: 

Proverbs 8:17  “I LOVE THEM THAT LOVE ME: and those that seek Me early shall find Me.” 

John 14:21  “He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and HE THAT LOVETH ME SHALL BE LOVED OF MY FATHER, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” 

Love by definition must be voluntary, so God cannot force His love upon anybody.  That would not be benevolent - just as it would not be benevolent for a man to “force” himself upon a woman.  God wants our love to be a free expression from our heart.  Only in this would He receive glory and be pleased.  God invites, persuades, pleads, and beckons man to leave his idolatrous loves and worship and adore his Creator above all, to give God pre-eminence in his life.  If man complies, God delights in him.  Should God delight in Hitler and Moses alike?  Should God be pleased with Judas Iscariot and John the Apostle the same?  As long as sinners reject the love of God shown in the bloody cross of Christ, they cannot receive God’s conditional love.  As long as they continue in their sins, they are at war with the Lawgiver, and under the condemnation of His Law and wrath of His justice, God’s love notwithstanding.  Unless they meet the terms of the covenant - fear God, repent, obey, love God supremely - they are doomed to the fire of God’s Holy hatred and wrath on Judgment Day!

The real question is not “Does God love you?” but “Do you love God?”  Never did Jesus or any of His Apostles ever tell the lost multitudes, “God loves you”.  Never!  Rather, they told the multitudes of their duty to love God supremely and love their neighbor equally - this is all the Law of God.  And if sinners would not keep God’s Law, they were warned of the righteous judgments of God, so that they would fear Him.  In the book of Acts, our first example of Church evangelism, the word “love” is not mentioned even once, while the fear of the Lord is referred to ten times!  What is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom?  The Bible says it is THE FEAR OF THE LORD!  One cannot love God in the Biblical sense - benevolence, good-willing, perfect submission - until He fears God!  This extra-Biblical, humanistic gospel that omits mention of God’s wrath and condemnation, focuses on God’s love for sinners, and provokes no godly repentance has quenched the conviction of the Holy Spirit upon so many.  

The rebels hear someone tell them, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” and think it means God accepts them, or that God has good feelings for them, or that God is pleased with them, and that is far from the truth.  God is Holy, and does not accept them as they are - He hates them as they are!  God’s “plan” for them is eternal torment in the lake of fire unless they repent and submit to God!  This “God-loves-you-unconditionally, false Gospel” should be utterly forsaken for the Gospel message of the Bible!

We cannot force our human values upon God, nor can we demand God reshape His laws, nature, and justice to fit our new age everyone is special philosophy.  God has given us the scriptures, His laws, and revelations of countless prophets and preachers of sound Christian teaching, and we shall do well to heed their words.

Why Bad Things Happen

Luke 13:1-9

We read in the newspaper that people have been murdered and maimed in Boston or that an accident has taken the lives of several in West, Texas.  As people we are inclined to search for causes, explanations, and assign blame. People did the same thing back in Jesus’ day. Of course, they had no nightly news or daily newspapers, but news, being news, has a way of spreading and spreading fast. It seems to have been true then as it is true now that when the number of people killed, killed either by intent or accident, is large the shock of the injustice increases proportionately. The more people involved, the greater is the shock.

The first thing that usually happened after the first shockwave is that people turn rather philosophical and ask rather profound questions regarding the event. We ask why or why God permits or causes such evil. We wonder what is happening to the world and say things like, “When I was younger these things were unheard of,” or “What is the world coming to?” We discuss these happenings with whomever will listen- while waiting for transportation, at work, on breaks, with friends and even strangers “Did you hear about…?” “What do you think about…?” “Isn’t it a shame about…?”We play temporary philosopher and offer our observations about the state of the world, human nature, the evil in people and the uncertainty of the time or manner of death.

The next thing that usually happens is that something else happens to take our mind off the latest news, the latest plane crash, the latest terrorist strike, the latest whatever. We forget about it and move on to something else. Deep down we know such tragedies, be they intentional or accidental, will occur again and again. We deal with these very “un-routine” events rather routinely and they indeed become routine, despite the element of surprise they contain and evoke.

Jesus teaches us to handle such events differently. He knows that all experiences of wonder, including religious experiences that evoke conversion, begin with surprise. However, the surprise need not be pleasant. It can even be ugly and horrible, like a great massacre or accident. Jesus teaches us that even the horrible experiences that happen to others can be opportunities for us to think twice, to think in the light of eternity, and to change our ways and our lives. No matter the circumstances of our deaths, our deaths are inevitable. Then, the question, the only question, is, “What happens next?” 

The more philosophical questions of why or even how we died become irrelevant. No matter the answer, we are still dead. The answers to those and similar questions do not change our status. The Lord is saying that the pertinent question is not how we died or why we died, but how we lived and why we lived. The deaths of others have meaning in and of themselves, meaning for the person who died and for his or her loved ones. But, the deaths of others have meaning for all of us, for they are prophecies of our own deaths and therefore messages from God. The deaths of others, daily occurrences, let us know that we also will die and that the circumstances of our deaths, be they by disease, by the aging process, by some accident, by the evil intent of others, by whatever means, pale in importance when compared to our lives. It is how we lived, not how we died, that will be the deciding factor in where and how we live for all eternity.

Jesus tells us to view the deaths of others and the tragedies that befall us all as prophecies, as messages from God, regarding our own deaths. If we interpret these experiences in the light of eternity they will motivate us to reform our lives rather than fear our deaths or the manner of our deaths. To simply turn philosophical and wax eloquent on the brevity of life and the uncertainty of the future is to attempt to escape the real message and meaning that God constantly is teaching us through the signs he gives us. Every event is potentially a sign from God, containing both his presence and his message that we can and should change. There is always something within our lives that needs changing. Even the deaths of those not close to us should be interpreted by us not only as proofs of the evil in the world but also as signs of the necessity to reform and reform now.

Everything that happens is not God’s will. God tolerates evil, for a greater long-term good, but he does not will evil or send evil upon humans.

Sin happens all the time and sin, by definition, is not God’s will.

Murders, massacres, and accidents are not God’s will.

Even bad things can be interpreted in the light of eternity and good results can follow.

No one is exempt, no matter what his or her disabilities, from living a life of fruitful love.

God and Evil: We do not have to live for very long to realize that many bad things happen to, what we would consider, good people. We become rather philosophical and ask why. We wonder why God would allow such injustice. We can even wonder if injustice in the world proves that God does not really exist, but has been made up by clever human beings to explain the unknown and to justify injustice. Why did God let those fellows who were worshipping him in the Temple be massacred unjustly? Why did God let those beams fall on those men who were working on construction, men with families to support? The answer to these and similar questions can be found in the very word we use to ask them, that is, “let.” God does let these things happen, but that does not mean that he wills them to happen. “Let” means “allows” or “tolerates,” much as a parent “lets” a teenager do things, the parent does not fully approve of, like staying out late or spending a weekend away from home. The parent hopes the child is mature enough to apply all he or she has learned at home in situations where the parent is not there to support the child’s personal decision. God tolerates evil because he wills that his children freely will or choose to live with him and according to his ways. He will not force anyone to “stay at home,” so to speak, if that person chooses to go off on his or her own. Those who do so cause a lot of trouble in the world, even long after they have died. However, God is willing to pay that price, even to let his good children suffer innocently, rather than have an eternal household of captured children, too scared to disobey him. So, yes, there is evil in this world, a lot of it, not because God wills it, but because he lets it be so for a greater and eternal good. 

Procrastination: One day it will be too late to reform our lives and freely decide to live according to God’s ways. That’s the message of the murdered worshipers and the killed construction workers, as well as the message of the parable of the fig tree. If we look at our lives by the light of eternity we do not have much time and so we are motivated to use well every moment and to live every day as fully as we can. If we lose sight of eternity we can be lulled into thinking that we have plenty of time, that we can reform later, and that for now we can do as we please. We certainly are prone to procrastinate and to justify it by saying to ourselves that we can do later what we could just as well do now.

Parasites: The fig tree that year after year produces nothing good, but only takes up space, time, and natural resources is a symbol for unproductive human beings. These are the takers, the consumers, the parasites. They take out of the environment, but put nothing back in. The world and people exist simply to meet their needs. The Galileans and the Siloam construction workers may have died by malice or chance, but the fig tree will die expressly because of inactivity and counterproductive  This is the “greater sin.” We will be judged according to the opportunities we have had and taken. The parable teaches that nothing will survive that merely takes out and gives nothing in return. That is the definition of a parasite. 

True, we all draw strength and sustenance from a soil not our own God’s grace, but we are to bear fruit so that others may draw from us. The parable teaches that we may get a second chance, or a third, or more, but eventually comes the final chance. And we will not know which chance is the final one, so we had better shape up before then, long before then, now. The time to get serious about the future is not in the future, not tomorrow, but today. Amen.

Easter Blessings

A very blessed Easter.  May the risen Lord bless you today and always.