Schoolgirls in buses

I am tired of hearing about schoolgirls in buses. It's been going on for years now. So why is it that everyone sounds so shocked when they hear of the latest episode. I think we should be shocked that they have parents who obviously didn't successfully instill good morals in their children. Yes, I know that children may rebel but I think that good foundations are hard to ignore. Just my opinion. I find it far-fetched that well brought up girls will have sex in a men's laps in the back of buses during afternoons without remorse. We need to punish the parents for a change. Tired of the righteous indignation that society pours on the situation. Pressure the parents. Regulate the buses. Engage the girls in activities that build their self-esteem. Just my opinion. Feel free to ignore me.

A plea for Increasing relevance to the church for the youth. (Reprinted from the scripturist)

Suffer the Little Children

Mark 10:14 says in the King James Version, "But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, ‘Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God."

When I was young, I always wondered why the little children had to suffer to come to Jesus. It didn't seem in Jesus character to make little children go through suffering just to come meet Him. Why, would He want the weakest and most fragile to suffer in order to come to Him? Well, it turns out He didn't. As I grew older I came to understand that the word “suffer,” as I understood it, was not what was meant in this verse at all. More modern versions more accurately translate this verse saying, "Permit the children to come to Me" (NASV) or "Let the little children come to me" (NIV). It still perplexed me why the King James translators used the word “suffer.”

The Greek word translated as suffer in Mark 10:14 is afihmi (af-ee’-ay-mee). This word can mean forsake, lay aside, leave, let alone, send away, permit, or allow depending upon the context. Most interesting to me is that 47 places in the King James Bible it is also translated as the word "forgive." For example, in Matthew 6:12 "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." and again two verses later in Matthew 6:14, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." What if the translators had translated “suffer” as “forgive” in Mark 10:14? It would have read, "But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, 'Forgive the children so they can come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

I love to work with young children. They are a joy to me. However, anyone who works with kids, no matter how they love and enjoy them, must admit that it takes forgiveness to work with them. Children struggle with a lack of focus, self-control, maturity, self-esteem, wisdom, discretion, tact, and experience. All these things make it hard to minister to them. It takes a special and gifted group of people who have the patience, gentleness and resolve to work with other people’s children on an extended basis. In order for children to come to Jesus, it is we who work with them that must give something up, lay something aside, and help them find Jesus.

Jesus didn't want children to suffer to come to Him. He was asking the disciples to "suffer" or "permit" the children to come to Him. He was asking the mature disciples to "suffer" the immature children to come to Him. Children's ministry takes quite a sacrifice. In years past, churches were designed for adults when children were the best prospects. It has been said that 80% of people accept Christ before the age of 18. Young hearts are the most open to the Gospel. Yet, churches focused their programming on the already saved or less likely to accept salvation. It was kind of like doing an advertising campaign for air conditioners only among Eskimos in Alaska when 80% of your sales were from Florida. It doesn't make sense.

Thankfully in the past few decades churches have seen the need and value of programs tailored to children and teens. Between nurseries, children's church, youth groups, and Sunday School classes, churches have created opportunities to truly "permit the children to come" to Jesus. Some adults have selfishly resisted this because of the inconvenience to organize, plan, and recruit workers for these programs. But thankfully many selfless servants have sacrificed over the years to bring these Children to Jesus. At times it's hard. It's almost always a thankless job. The children themselves can be very difficult, especially with the way many parents raise children today. But it's worth it. We "forgive them to come to" Jesus because "such is the kingdom of God."

But it's not just the programming or organization that is difficult. It takes humility to teach children. When I teach children, I can't teach the way I do when I teach adults. I have to use smaller words. I have to explain simple things. I can't assume they know anything. I have to start at square one. If they are very small, I may have to get down on my knees to their level to catch their attention. I have to act silly and be very animated. They can't concentrate for long, so I have to change my method of presentation every few minutes to keep their attention. I use object lessons, drama, stories, coloring pages, crafts, music, pictures, skits, videos, and drawings (I have given up on the flannel graph. Its day has sadly passed).

To teach kids you have to compete with what they are used to like T.V., video games, movies, computers, and toys that talk, walk or light up. To teach them I have to use language they understand. I have to relate to them and stoop down to their level. It is a paradox and irony that the mature must regress to help the immature become mature. The adult must become child-like to help the child become an adult.

Paul taught this concept of suffering, sacrificing, and serving to permit people to come to Jesus. Paul explained this in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 when he said,

"Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."

Paul knew that to share in the Gospel’s blessings, he must imitate the Gospel in his own life. Jesus descended from Heaven and stooped from His divine form to assume the role of a man, a servant, a sacrificial lamb on our behalf so that we might ascend with Him into the heavens. Likewise, we must sacrifice to "become all things to all men so that by all possible means" we might save some.

Now we have applied this to literal children. I think most of us realize we need to patiently, lovingly, sacrificially permit children to find Jesus. I think we realize our need to cater to their needs by sacrificing what edifies the mature for what builds up the immature. We cater to the weakest, the neediest, those least able to be edified without our help. We have applied this principle in most churches for the sake of children. But have we done this with those who are babes in Christ?

Have we applied this principle to the newest believers or to the unbeliever? We all affirm that an abortion is wrong. But how many spiritual fetuses have been killed in the womb of the church because we tailor our services for the mature not for the spiritually immature babes in Christ. We translate our Bibles into foreign languages for the lost in Africa but don't bother to make our services intelligible to visitors in America. We spend our money training missionaries to work in cross-cultural situations, but ignore the fact that modern American culture is very different from the church culture. We ignore the fact that the majority of Americans did not grow up in the church culture. Thus the 50 year old music and culture of the church is alienating and irrelevant to them. We use "church words" like justification, redemption, or sancitification without explaining it. How many babes in christ have choked to death on meat when they needed some milk first?

We have changed the music for church camp to reach out to kids and minister to them. We have changed the music for VBS so the songs relate to the kids but we have not changed the music on Sunday morning to be music that relates to the lost. We will sacrifice our comfort to reach out to children on their level and where they are, but we won’t sacrifice our comforts for the lost visitor or younger member in the faith. We will tolerate the immaturity in children, but never tolerate for a second the immaturity of a babe in Christ.

I’m not advocating watering the service down to please people to the point they don’t follow apostolic tradition. I do mean that we should do things in a way that the immature can understand what is going on. I don’t want to compromise the message to please the “itching ears” of a wicked generation. I am talking about making the unchanging doctrine of the church palatable to the next generation of believers in their cultural context.

God's Word has something to say about what we are doing. Paul commands us in Romans 15:1-2, "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."
Our church services and programming should reflect this attitude. We are too focused on what we want, and not on what the weaker person needs. We, who know the Scriptures in depth, should bear the failings of the weak and realize our sermons and lessons can't always be meat, but often need to contain milk for the newborn in Christ.

We, who are strong in the faith and mature enough to know that worship happens in the heart despite music styles should bear with the weak who can only worship when it's music they relate to. We, who are strong, need to allow music styles to please our neighbor for his good to build him up. We, who are strong in the faith, should easily forgive the missteps of those just learning to walk with the Lord. Like babies, we should feed them milk, change their diapers, hold their hands as they learn to walk, and comfort their hurts when they fall and bruise their knees. What kind of older brother and sister are we?

The same grace and forgiveness we afford to young children should be given to young believers and unbelievers, so that they might be built up. The same way we get down on our knees and meet children at their level with open arms of love, we should extend to the spiritually immature. The strong should bear the weak. However, too often churches expect the visitor, the new believer, to bear the preferences of the older Christians. We cater to the wants of the saved and alienate the needs of the weak. We alienate those who need help the most. Then we through our hands up and wonder why not many are saved. We wonder why so many new believers fall away. We blame them saying, "Well they were selfish and wickedly demanded what they wanted." When a baby cries and wants it's way, that is normal. When a older child does it they are just a spoiled immature brat. When a new believer doesn't understand church culture and wants it his way, that is normal. When a older christian does it, they are a spoiled immature brat. If the new believers suffer from selfish attitudes, did they learn it from the older christians?

When Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come to me." He meant for the mature disciples to suffer the children, permit the children, or forgive the children so they might come to Him. But sadly today in so many churches it's those who are but "little children" spiritually who have to suffer the mature disciples in order to find Jesus. It is no wonder why so few “little children” are finding Him today. We have it backwards. I guess I still wonder why the “little children” have to suffer to come to Jesus.

Hairstyles

Some churches believe that women's hair shouldn't be processed. I don't see that in the Bible either. It's the person's hair! Let them wear it the way they please according to the Spirit at work within them. Only thing I'm against is that the women shouldn't cut off ALL their hair as Paul said that the hair is their glory. Just my opinion. Later.

Jewellery

I believe that jewellery is ok to be worn by Christian girls. Some churches interpret certain verses in the Bible to say no jewellery but I don't see any verse that says that wearing jewellery IN ITSELF is wrong. Just don't over do it. I remember one of my students being chastised by an older Christian for wearing a toe-ring & an anklet but I honestly believe that it's up to the individual conscience. Why not allow the Holy Spirit to convict? Let God do His Work. He doesn't need our help. Only jewellery I am against is the rings on the sexual areas. Those are not of good report or fully safe. Just my opinion Later.

Church Fundraisers

Why do churches ALWAYS want fundraisers? If they serve such a wonderful God, why don't they ask Him for ways of earning money? That's my view. Sometimes I think churches forget that God is interested in little things too. Why not ask Him to help them GENERATE income? I hate when churches beg money from the public. Why should I get saved to join a company of beggars. Aren't we Christians salt of the earth? Let's start acting like it! Let's organise our churches to become income generaors. Why must we have raffles & rallies (which are avenues of gambling anyway), fundraising barbecues (getting boring), walkathons (also boring & over-used) & block drives (mistrusted)? Let's start companies in the church! Can't we manage a company together? We are not that incompetent! Are we? Let's go out here and show the world what God can do through us. We need to learn to be independent. I'm learning (kicking & screaming tho). Later.

My exes.

I am just reminiscing about my first ex. She was my first love. I really cared about her though. But I learnt a lesson I still apply to my life to this day. Never trust the love of a girl under 19 years old. It RARELY lasts! We broke up after 4 years (even after God told me to allow it to end & I refused!) and it took a while to recover. Being single again after 4 years took a while to adjust to but I began to see the benefits of it ("comfort" from friends) and the hurt began to subside. It's now non-existent as I've forgiven her & moved on to better relationships. I'll always remember her though and am grateful as she was the one who carried me to church & (indirectly) got me saved. Always be thankful for that.
The second one was sweeter & cuter (to me) with GREAT skintone & an even greater smile. She was the first girl to get me to the engagement stage. I miss her too. We had a great relationship but jealousy was a bit too powerful as I maintain A LOT of friendships & acquaintances. She didn't like that very much. I learnt a lesson fro her I still apply to this day. NEVER choose your girl over your friends. Dangerous thing. She took 2 years of my life but was also instrumental as she threw me closer to God. Thanks God for your wisdom.
I just wanna say thanks to my exes ( & my other "companions") as you have made my life so very interesting. Thanks.

Kissing

What's wrong with kissing? Why is it considered fornication in some pastoral circles? Is it possible to have a long-term relationship leading to marriage without kissing at least once? Personally, I like kissing in the context of an emotionally committed relationship. But then, I'm rather open-minded sexually so I don't know if my opinion counts so let me rant. Kissing is over-rated. Yeah, that's right! It's over-rated! And don't think it's because I can't kiss. I've gotten rave reviews (just like great movies) so it isn't for lack of expertise. I've noticed that my teens seem to love it but I think that it's not really a big thing to do. My other worry is that it may lead to more intimacy that they're not ready for. I warn them but they think I'm old (ironic, huh?) so I don't know what I'm saying. Oh boy. French kissing, in my opinion, is basically exchanging saliva or internal spitting or drooling in someone's mouth so why the big fuss over doing it? If someone spit on you, wouldn't you get upset? Please remember that I'm merely ranting so don't think I actually practicing what I'm ranting. Just felt like being a little crazy that's all. Go share your saliva. Someone out there wants to taste it (sarcasm intended). I'll save my saliva for pizza. Later.

Elders who don't set examples

It annoys me. They talk a talk that they can't (or won't) walk. What's the point? For instance, there is a "no cinema" rule for church members but when "The Passion of the Christ" came out, so many prominent members went to watch it IN DIRECT CONTRAVENTION OF CHURCH RULES. So what is a poor impressionable youngster like me to do? Go to watch a movie too? (To be fair, it wouldn't be The Passion of the Cjhrist" but probably "Kill Bill"!). Then we are supposed to have manners to them as young people but they pass you without a good morning, they ignore you unless they want you to do some stuff for them, etc. I have gotten so upset with the situation that I've declared a "war" of sorts with older people (christians over 40) as they are falling down badly when it comes to common respect for all. I know it's wrong as 2 wrongs definitely don't make a right but I won't take crap from people who should know better. If God saved us all so we could all work together as one body, at least have common courtesy to all members of the body. Just my opinion. I could be wrong. Read 1 Corinthians 12. It may help you. Later.

Thank God for some acts of providence.

• He let me have my tyre fixed for free today.
• He hasn't allowed my van to stop running despite some mechanical defects I can't afford to fix right now.
• Despite so many acts of sin, He still allows me to keep my ministry.
• Sends money to me to allow me to live despite being unemployed for 14 months.
• Making sure my utilities are paid (except cable which isn't necessarily a bad thing).
• Helping me to rise above my destructive critics.
• Allowing me to meet people who have changed my life.

Thank you God

Who is my neighbour? - Chris Hampton (Reprinted)

GODISNOWHERE.org - Ministry of Truth & Challenge

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In Romans 13:8-9, Paul tells us to "owe no one anything except to love one another." He says all the commandments are summed up in this saying: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

In Matthew 18:21-22, Peter asks Jesus, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Our Lord responded, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

So the question arises, "Who is our neighbor?" All people in the world? Or some smaller subset of the world? How do we discern whom we should treat like a "neighbor?" We need to know where to draw a line, if at all, so that we can relate to others based on a biblical perspective rather than our own assumptions or personal preferences. This topic paper will attempt to answer that question from a biblical perspective and by rightly dividing the word of truth as it proclaims the correct relationship and divisions between believers, the world and unbelievers.

Paul begins to clarify this for us in Romans 14 where he teaches us to "Receive one who is weak in the faith." He continues on to teach us to avoid disputes over those secondary issues that could cause a weak brother to stumble. Paul further strengthens this example in Romans 15 where he calls for us "to bear with the scruples of the weak" and "Let each of us please his neighbor for good, leading to edification."

The answer to the question is that our neighbor is our fellow brother in Christ. Jesus Himself lays down this same premise in John 13:34-35.

John 13:34 "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another"

John 13:35 "By this, all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

The world will know we are of Christ because of the love we have for one another, and not the love we have for the world.

So the world of unbelievers is not our Neighbors?

Idolaters, God-haters, false prophets and the followers of these are not our neighbors. We do not honor God by showing tolerance and love towards these people. We honor God by loving our neighbor, which is one another in the Body of Christ. Our love towards the world is that of warning, that of preaching the "Bad News" which is the condemnation of Law, and by offering God's gift of reconciliation through Christ and Christ alone (the "Good News"), as the solution to that condemnation.

It does no good to put our love and God's grace upon unbelievers. This will only give them a false sense that the life they are living and the darkness they love is valid in our eyes and in God's. The only outcome will be that these people will remain in the darkness and will remain under the wrath of God.

The Law is for the unrighteous and the wicked

What is the purpose of the Law? Why did God give the Law to man? To bring life… or death?

Gal 3:19 Why then the Law? It was added because of transgressions, until the Seed should come to those to whom it had been promised, being ordained through angels in the Mediator's hand.

The Law was given for our transgressions, until Christ came. Once we come to Christ we are no longer under the Law. However, those not in Christ are still under the Law.

Gal 3:24 So that the Law has become a trainer of us until Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

The Law is a tutor for the unbelievers to point them towards Christ. The law was made for the unrighteous and the wicked, and it should be used to elicit the desired effect, which is the destruction of the flesh and the realization of the failing of one's own system of justification.

1Tim 1:8 But we know that the law is good if a man uses it lawfully,

1Tim 1:9 knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous one, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

1Tim 1:10 for fornicators, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and anything else that is contrary to sound doctrine,

The Law should be applied to the unbelievers in the world, for it is made for them! We should not reach out and tolerate, or embrace, or love the world of unbelievers, but we should teach the Law and apply it to their actions and lifestyles. This is the only hope for unbelievers to come out of the darkness, to look into the mirror of the Law and see for themselves that they are sinners and that they are under God's wrath.

Paul used the law in this way on the false believer in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13.

1Cor 5:1 On the whole it is reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even named among the nations, so as one to have his father's wife.

1Cor 5:2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, so that he who has done this deed may be taken from your midst.

1Cor 5:3 For as being absent in body but present in spirit, I indeed have judged already as though I were present concerning him who worked out this thing;

1Cor 5:4 in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, with my spirit; also, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ;

1Cor 5:5 to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

1Cor 5:6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

1Cor 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For also Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

1Cor 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast; not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1Cor 5:9 I wrote to you in the letter not to associate intimately with fornicators;

1Cor 5:10 yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then you must go out of the world.

1Cor 5:11 But now I have written to you not to associate intimately, if any man called a brother and is either a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one not to eat.

1Cor 5:12 For what is it to me to also judge those who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?
1Cor 5:13 But God judges those who are outside. Therefore put out from you the evil one.

Paul makes the case clearly that the church was in grave error in the tolerance, love and even boasting of the man within their midst who was living a life of unrepentant sexual immorality. Paul calls for this man to be removed from the church and delivered over to Satan or the world for the destruction of his own flesh. Paul further judges this false believer and calls him evil and wicked.

How do we as believers interact with the world and unbelievers?

As believers in Christ, we stand justified before God our Father. He calls us to be sanctified through Christ, for "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Gal 2:20

As believers, we must hold to all that is true, all that is good and all that is righteous. Part of our sanctification is our separation from the world, not a separation of contact and sharing in truth but rather a separation in thought, desires, motives and morality. We now live for God, and we stand for his truth, against the world of which we used to be a part.

We must be able to judge the sinful acts of both unbelievers and believers as evil. We must take a stand for everything that is Good. We fight against abortion, torture, pornography, rape, homosexuality, etc. When we are in the presence of evil, we must be ready to call out that which is evil, without pause.

We do not sit with lying or wicked men

Psa 26:3 For Your loving-kindness is before my eyes; and I have walked in Your truth.

Psa 26:4 I have not sat with lying men, neither will I go in with hypocrites.

Psa 26:5 I have hated the congregation of evil-doers, and will not sit with the wicked.

We will not set any wicked thing before our eyes

Psa 101:3 I will set no wicked thing before my eyes. I have hated the work of those who turn aside; it shall not hold on to me.

We will hate every false way (Righteous hatred)

Psa 119:103 How sweet are Your Words to my taste! More than honey to my mouth!

Psa 119:104 Through Your Commandments I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

We fear God, which means we hate evil, pride, arrogance and evil ways (Righteous fear)

Prov 8:13 The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil; I hate pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the wicked mouth.

Psa 139:21 O Jehovah, do I not hate those who hate You? And am I not grieved with those who rise up against You?

We have no fellowship with the Darkness but rather expose it

Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience.

Eph 5:7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.

Eph 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light

Eph 5:9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth),

Eph 5:10 proving what is acceptable to the Lord.

Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

We avoid those who cause division and make offenses contrary to the doctrine

Rom 16:17 And I exhort you, brothers, to watch those making divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them.

Rom 16:18 For they who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches they deceive the hearts of the simple.

We will not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers (this is not about marriage)

2Cor 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship does righteousness have with lawlessness? And what partnership does light have with darkness?

2Cor 6:15 And what agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what part does a believer have with an unbeliever?

2Cor 6:16 And what agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are the temple of the living God, as God has said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."

2Cor 6:17 Therefore come out from among them and be separated, says the Lord, and do not touch the unclean thing. And I will receive you.

We do not love this world, or the things in the world

1John 2:15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him,

1John 2:16 because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

We won't take into our home or even greet he who doesn't bring the teaching of Christ

2 John 1:9 Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ but goes beyond it does not have God. The person who abides in the teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

2John 1:10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your home or even greet him,

2John 1:11 for the one who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

We will preach the Word, and we will rebuke and judge

2Tim 4:2 preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.

2Tim 4:3 For a time will be when they will not endure sound doctrine, but they will heap up teachers to themselves according to their own lusts, tickling the ear.

Jesus came to divide, and we must love Christ more than even our mother or father

Matt 10:34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to send peace, but a sword.

Matt 10:35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

Matt 10:36 And a man's foes shall be those of his own household.

Matt 10:37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

The world is a highly organized system of evil at constant war with God… and is therefore at war with us

John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

More than ever today, Christians need to know where they stand in relation to their brothers and sisters in Christ, and in relation to the world. Compromise and postmodern liberalism are infiltrating the Body of Christ at an unprecedented rate. At the same time, the most important responsibility a Christian has today is to share the gospel of salvation by grace through faith, apart from works, to the world around us. If we treat the world the same as we treat our brother and sister, our neighbors… then our evangelical mission as Christians is compromised. If we condone and tolerate and accept the world just as it is, as if nothing is wrong… then we are effectively telling the world that there is no need for any Good News. The Bad News must be preached, before the Good News is relevant; a man won't care how great a doctor is, if he doesn't think he is sick. How would you treat a drug-abusing friend?

Love your neighbor as yourself. Forgive your repentant brother as many times as it takes. But put the Law on the unbeliever, and convey to them the condemnation they are under. The Law is the tutor to bring them to Christ. Once they are in Christ, they will no longer need that tutor.

"When tribulation and persecution arise because of the word, then chiefly the trial is, whether we love better, Christ or our relations and lives; yet even in the days of peace this matter is sometimes brought to the trial. Those that decline the service of Christ, and opportunities of converse with him, and are ashamed to confess him, for fear of disobliging a relation or friend, or losing a customer, give cause to suspect that they love him better than Christ." - from Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible


Chris Hampton

The Value of Suffering - Sue Bohlin (Reprinted)

There is no such thing as pointless pain in the life of the child of God. How this has encouraged and strengthened me in the valleys of suffering and pain! In this essay I'll be discussing the value of suffering, an unhappy non-negotiable of life in a fallen world.

Suffering Prepares Us to Be the Bride of Christ

Among the many reasons God allows us to suffer, this is my personal favorite: it prepares us to be the radiant bride of Christ. The Lord Jesus has a big job to do, changing His ragamuffin church into a glorious bride worthy of the Lamb. Ephesians 5:26-27 tells us He is making us holy by washing us with the Word--presenting us to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish. Suffering develops holiness in unholy people. But getting there is painful in the Lord's "laundry room." When you use bleach to get rid of stains, it's a harsh process. Getting rid of wrinkles is even more painful: ironing means a combination of heat plus pressure. Ouch! No wonder suffering hurts!

But developing holiness in us is a worthwhile, extremely important goal for the Holy One who is our divine Bridegroom. We learn in Hebrews 12:10 that we are enabled to share in His holiness through the discipline of enduring hardship. More ouch! Fortunately, the same book assures us that discipline is a sign of God's love (Heb. 12:6). Oswald Chambers reminds us that "God has one destined end for mankind--holiness. His one aim is the production of saints."{1}

It's also important for all wives, but most especially the future wife of the Son of God, to have a submissive heart. Suffering makes us more determined to obey God; it teaches us to be submissive. The psalmist learned this lesson as he wrote in Psalm 119:67: "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees."

The Lord Jesus has His work cut out for Him in purifying us for Himself (Titus 2:14). Let's face it, left to ourselves we are a dirty, messy, fleshly people, and we desperately need to be made pure. As hurtful as it is, suffering can purify us if we submit to the One who has a loving plan for the pain.

Jesus wants not just a pure bride, but a mature one as well--and suffering produces growth and maturity in us. James 1:2-4 reminds us that trials produce perseverance, which makes us mature and complete. And Romans 5:3-4 tells us that we can actually rejoice in our sufferings, because, again, they produce perseverance, which produces character, which produces hope. The Lord is creating for Himself a bride with sterling character, but it's not much fun getting there. I like something else Oswald Chambers wrote: "Sorrow burns up a great amount of shallowness."{2}

We usually don't have much trouble understanding that our Divine Bridegroom loves us; but we can easily forget how much He longs for us to love Him back. Suffering scoops us out, making our hearts bigger so that we can hold more love for Him. It's all part of a well-planned courtship. He does know what He's doing . . . we just need to trust Him.

Suffering Allows Us to Minister Comfort to Others Who Suffer

One of the most rewarding reasons that suffering has value is experienced by those who can say with conviction, "I know how you feel. I've been in your shoes." Suffering prepares us to minister comfort to others who suffer.

Feeling isolated is one of the hardest parts of suffering. It can feel like you're all alone in your pain, and that makes it so much worse. The comfort of those who have known that same pain is inexpressible. It feels like a warm blanket being draped around your soul. But in order for someone to say those powerful words--"I know just how you feel because I've been there"--that person had to walk through the same difficult valley first.

Ray and I lost our first baby when she was born too prematurely to survive. It was the most horrible suffering we've ever known. But losing Becky has enabled me to weep with those who weep with the comforting tears of one who has experienced that deep and awful loss. It's a wound that--by God's grace--has never fully healed so that I can truly empathize with others out of the very real pain I still feel. Talking about my loss puts me in touch with the unhealed part of the grief and loss that will always hurt until I see my daughter again in heaven. One of the most incredibly comforting things we can ever experience is someone else's tears for us. So when I say to a mother or father who has also lost a child, "I hurt with you, because I've lost a precious one too," my tears bring warmth and comfort in a way that someone who has never known that pain cannot offer.

One of the most powerful words of comfort I received when we were grieving our baby's loss was from a friend who said, "Your pain may not be about just you. It may well be about other people, preparing you to minister comfort and hope to someone in your future who will need what you can give them because of what you're going through right now. And if you are faithful to cling to God now, I promise He will use you greatly to comfort others later." That perspective was like a sweet balm to my soul, because it showed me that my suffering was not pointless.

There's another aspect of bringing comfort to those in pain. Those who have suffered tend not to judge others experiencing similar suffering. Not being judged is a great comfort to those who hurt. When you're in pain, your world narrows down to mere survival, and it's easy for others to judge you for not "following the rules" that should only apply to those whose lives aren't being swallowed by the pain monster.

Suffering often develops compassion and mercy in us. Those who suffer tend to have tender hearts toward others who are in pain. We can comfort others with the comfort that we have received from God (2 Cor. 1:4) because we have experienced the reality of the Holy Spirit being there for us, walking alongside us in our pain. Then we can turn around and walk alongside others in their pain, showing the compassion that our own suffering has produced in us.

Suffering Develops Humble Dependence on God

Marine Corps recruiter Randy Norfleet survived the Oklahoma City bombing despite losing 40 percent of his blood and needing 250 stitches to close his wounds. He never lost consciousness in the ambulance because he was too busy praying prayers of thanksgiving for his survival. When doctors said he would probably lose the sight in his right eye, Mr. Norfleet said, "Losing an eye is a small thing. Whatever brings you closer to God is a blessing. Through all this I've been brought closer to God. I've become more dependent on Him and less on myself."{3}

Suffering is excellent at teaching us humble dependence on God, the only appropriate response to our Creator. Ever since the fall of Adam, we keep forgetting that God created us to depend on Him and not on ourselves. We keep wanting to go our own way, pretending that we are God. Suffering is powerfully able to get us back on track.

Sometimes we hurt so much we can't pray. We are forced to depend on the intercession of the Holy Spirit and the saints, needing them to go before the throne of God on our behalf. Instead of seeing that inability to pray as a personal failure, we can rejoice that our perception of being totally needy corresponds to the truth that we really are that needy. 2 Corinthians 1:9 tells us that hardships and sufferings happen "so that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead."

Suffering brings a "one day at a time-ness" to our survival. We get to the point of saying, "Lord, I can only make it through today if You help me . . . if You take me through today . . . or the next hour . . . or the next few minutes." One of my dearest friends shared with me the prayer from a heart burning with emotional pain: "Papa, I know I can make it through the next fifteen minutes if You hold me and walk me through it." Suffering has taught my friend the lesson of total, humble dependence on God.

As painful as it is, suffering strips away the distractions of life. It forces us to face the fact that we are powerless to change other people and most situations. The fear that accompanies suffering drives us to the Father like a little kid burying his face in his daddy's leg. Recognizing our own powerlessness is actually the key to experience real power because we have to acknowledge our dependence on God before His power can flow from His heart into our lives.

The disciples experienced two different storms out on the lake. The Lord's purpose in both storms was to train them to stop relying on their physical eyes and use their spiritual eyes. He wanted them to grow in trust and dependence on the Father. He allows us to experience storms in our lives for the same purpose: to learn to depend on God.

I love this paraphrase of Romans 8:28: "The Lord may not have planned that this should overtake me, but He has most certainly permitted it. Therefore, though it were an attack of an enemy, by the time it reaches me, it has the Lord's permission, and therefore all is well. He will make it work together with all life's experiences for good."

Suffering Displays God's Strength Through Our Weakness

God never wastes suffering, not a scrap of it. He redeems all of it for His glory and our blessing. The classic Scripture for the concept that suffering displays God's strength through our weakness is found in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, where we learn that God's grace is sufficient for us, for His power is perfected in weakness. Paul said he delighted in weaknesses, hardships, and difficulties "for when I am weak, then I am strong."

Our culture disdains weakness, but our frailty is a sign of God's workmanship in us. It gets us closer to what we were created to be--completely dependent on God. Several years ago I realized that instead of despising the fact that polio had left me with a body that was weakened and compromised, susceptible to pain and fatigue, I could choose to rejoice in it. My weakness made me more like a fragile, easily broken window than a solid brick wall. But just as sunlight pours through a window but is blocked by a wall, I discovered that other people could see God's strength and beauty in me because of the window-like nature of my weakness! Consider how the Lord Jesus was the exact representation of the glory of the Father--I mean, He was all window and no walls! He was completely dependent on the Father, choosing to become weak so that God's strength could shine through Him. And He was the strongest person the world has ever seen. Not His own strength; He displayed the Father's strength because of that very weakness.

The reason His strength can shine through us is because we know God better through suffering. One wise man I heard said, "I got theology in seminary, but I learned reality through trials. I got facts in Sunday School, but I learned faith through trusting God in difficult circumstances. I got truth from studying, but I got to know the Savior through suffering."

Sometimes our suffering isn't a consequence of our actions or even someone else's. God is teaching other beings about Himself and His loved ones--us--as He did with Job. The point of Job's trials was to enable heavenly beings to see God glorified in Job. Sometimes He trusts us with great pain in order to make a point, whether the intended audience is believers, unbelievers, or the spirit realm. Joni Eareckson Tada, no stranger to great suffering, writes, "Whether a godly attitude shines from a brain-injured college student or from a lonely man relegated to a back bedroom, the response of patience and perseverance counts. God points to the peaceful attitude of suffering people to teach others about Himself. He not only teaches those we rub shoulders with every day, but He instructs the countless millions of angels and demons. The hosts in heaven stand amazed when they observe God sustain hurting people with His peace."{4}

I once heard Charles Stanley say that nothing attracts the unbeliever like a saint suffering successfully. Joni Tada said, "You were made for one purpose, and that is to make God real to those around you."{5} The reality of God's power, His love, and His character are made very, very real to a watching world when we trust Him in our pain.

Suffering Gets Us Ready for Heaven

Pain is inevitable because we live in a fallen world. 1 Thessalonians 3:3 reminds us that we are "destined for trials." We don't have a choice whether we will suffer--our choice is to go through it by ourselves or with God.

Suffering teaches us the difference between the important and the transient. It prepares us for heaven by teaching us how unfulfilling life on earth is and helping us develop an eternal perspective. Suffering makes us homesick for heaven.

Deep suffering of the soul is also a taste of hell. After many sleepless nights wracked by various kinds of pain, my friend Jan now knows what she was saved from. Many Christians only know they're saved without grasping what it is Christ has delivered them from. Jan's suffering has given her an appreciation of the reality of heaven, and she's been changed forever.

I have an appreciation of heaven gained from a different experience. As my body weakens from the lifelong impact of polio, to be honest, I have a deep frustration with it that makes me grateful for the perfect, beautiful, completely working resurrection body waiting for me on the other side. My husband once told me that heaven is more real to me than anyone he knows. Suffering has done that for me. Paul explained what happens in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

"Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

One of the effects of suffering is to loosen our grasp on this life, because we shouldn't be thinking that life in a fallen world is as wonderful as we sometimes think it is. Pastor Dick Bacon once said, "If this life were easy, we'd just love it too much. If God didn't make it painful, we'd never let go of it." Suffering reminds us that we live in an abnormal world. Suffering is abnormal--our souls protest, "This isn't right!" We need to be reminded that we are living in "Plan B." The perfect Plan A of God's beautiful, suffering-free creation was ruined when Adam and Eve fell. So often, people wonder what kind of cruel God would deliberately make a world so full of pain and suffering. They've lost track of history. The world God originally made isn't the one we experience. Suffering can make us long for the new heaven and the new earth where God will set all things right again.

Sometimes suffering literally prepares us for heaven. Cheryl's in-laws, both beset by lingering illnesses, couldn't understand why they couldn't just die and get it over with. But after three long years of holding on, during a visit from Cheryl's pastor, the wife trusted Christ on her deathbed and the husband received assurance of his salvation. A week later the wife died, followed in six months by her husband. They had continued to suffer because of God's mercy and patience, who did not let them go before they received His gracious gift of salvation.

Suffering dispels the cloaking mists of inconsequential distractions of this life and puts things in their proper perspective. My friend Pete buried his wife a few years ago after a battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. One morning I learned that his car had died on the way to church, and I said something about what a bummer it was. Pete just shrugged and said, "This is nothing." That's what suffering will do for us. Trials are nothing . . . but God is everything.

Notes

1. Oswald Chambers, Our Utmost for His Highest, September 1.
2. Chambers, June 25.
3. National and International Religion Report, Vol. 9:10, May 1, 1995, 1
4. Joni Eareckson Tada, When Is It Right to Die? (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992), 122.
5. Tada, 118.

Worship - Jerry Solomon

Definitions of Worship

During a 1954 interview A.W. Tozer, a great pastor and editor of the Alliance Witness, was asked what he thought would awaken the church from its complacency. This was his response: "In my opinion, the great single need of the moment is that light-hearted superficial religionists be struck down with a vision of God high and lifted up, with His train filling the temple. The holy art of worship seems to have passed away like the Shekinah glory from the tabernacle. As a result, we are left to our own devices and forced to make up the lack of spontaneous worship by bringing in countless cheap and tawdry activities to hold the attention of the church people."(1) John MacArthur, a more contemporary preacher and writer, wrote this indictment in 1993: "In the past half decade, some of America's largest evangelical churches have employed worldly gimmicks like slapstick, vaudeville, wrestling exhibitions, and even mock striptease to spice up the Sunday meetings. No brand of horseplay, it seems, is too outrageous to be brought into the sanctuary. Burlesque is fast becoming the liturgy of the pragmatic church."(2)

These stinging analyses, whether we agree with them or not, remind us that the biblically based Christian is challenged to consider worship, along with all facets of life, in light of the culture in which he or she lives. Worship should be included in the total worldview of each individual Christian. It is a significant part of a believer's life. With this in mind, we will reflect on the meaning and history of worship, hindrances to worship, and the content of worship. And we will offer our own analyses and suggestions.

As is true with many terms used among Christians, the word "worship" can become a cliché devoid of significant content if we don't stop to consider its meaning. "Our English word means worthship,' denoting the worthiness of an individual to receive special honor in accordance with that worth."(3) The Hebrew and Greek terms found in the Bible "emphasize the act of prostration, the doing of obeisance."(4) Warren Wiersbe offers a broad definition based upon these concepts. He writes, "Worship is the believer's response of all that he is--mind, emotions, will, and body--to all that God is and says and does. This response has its mystical side in subjective experience, and its practical side in objective obedience to God's revealed truth. It is a loving response that is balanced by the fear of the Lord, and it is a deepening response as the believer comes to know God better."(5) A more narrow definition may sound like this: "Worship is pure adoration, the lifting up of the redeemed spirit toward God in contemplation of His holy perfection."(6)

Do these definitions describe worship as you experience it with your gathered church and in your daily life? If so, you are blessed. If not, perhaps you need to evaluate the place of worship in your life. Perhaps you need to consider honestly if you have allowed yourself to become accustomed to traditions that have confused true worship. Perhaps you have approached worship with the idea it applies only on Sunday mornings. Or maybe you have never stopped to consider the importance of worship.

The History of Worship

What comes to mind when you think of worship? Is it a formal occasion? Is it a joyous occasion? Does it contain certain rituals? Are you involved? Are you praising God? Are you learning? Are you hearing from God? Are you in contemplation? Are you singing? Are you praying? Are you alone, or with other people?

Perhaps you can answer some or all of these questions in the affirmative. And you probably can add other elements to what is contained in worship in your experience. But have you ever considered what worship may have looked like when the early church gathered? Were these elements included, or did it look very different? A very brief survey of the history of worship will help us begin to evaluate the purpose and content of worship today. Our ancestors had to wrestle with what worship entails long before our time. We can and should learn from them.

The worship patterns of the Jewish synagogue served as the model for the first Christians. As Robert Webber has written, "It must be remembered that the early Christians came into worship from a different perspective from modern Christians. We accept the Old because we have been informed by the New. But they accepted the New because they had been informed by the Old."(7) The promises and prophecies of the Old Testament had been fulfilled in Jesus, the Messiah. Thus Jesus set the stage for the first acts of worship among the early believers by giving new meaning to the ancient ritual of the Passover meal. Acts 2:46 tells us that the earliest form of Christian worship was a meal--"breaking bread in their homes."(8) Believers were remembering the Last Supper just as the Jews remembered the Passover. Eventually churches became too large to accommodate these shared meals, so a single table with the elements of bread and wine became the focus. Thus "the central act of Christian worship in the history of the church has always been the Communion."(9)

By the second century worship began to look more like what most of us include in our churches. Justin Martyr, an apologist and pastor, wrote of two major parts: the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Eucharist. The liturgy of the Word consisted of lessons from the Old and New Testaments, a sermon, prayers, and hymns. The liturgy of the Eucharist included a kiss of peace; offering of bread, wine, and water; prayers and thanksgiving over the bread and wine; remembrance of Christ's death, including the narrative of the institution of the Last Supper, and a command to continue in it; an Amen, said by all the people; Communion; then the reserved portions were taken by the deacons to those who were absent.(10)

It is unfortunate that by the late medieval period this twofold form of worship was overcome by pomp and ceremony that crowded out its meaning. But even the Reformers of the sixteenth century insisted on maintaining both Word and Sacrament. Their intent was to restore both elements to their primitive simplicity, and in the process the Scriptures were to be given an authoritative place.(11) Most evangelicals attempt to sustain the traditions of the Reformers. But what is the purpose of all this for the gathered church, and the individual believer?

The Purpose of Worship

Why should we worship God? Quite simply, we should worship Him because of who He is--God. In Revelation 4 and 5 we see descriptions that should provide impetus for our worship. He "is the only God, the highest, the Lord God, the heavenly King, the almighty God and Father, the Holy One."(12) To put it succinctly, "in worship we simply tell God the truth about Himself."(13) Each day of our lives we tell God the truth about Himself, if we are thinking and living through the grid of a Christian worldview.

I have a good friend who is a physicist. Years ago his job included the consistent use of a sophisticated electron microscope. This impressive device allowed him to take pictures of the microscopic things he was studying. From these pictures he developed a wonderful slide presentation that served to remind us of the order and complexity that exists beyond what we can see with the naked eye. When we viewed these remarkable images, we responded in worship. Why? Because our worldview prompted us to contemplate the One who created such awesome things. We were filled with wonder. In our response we were telling God the truth about Himself. We were worshiping.

After his death friends of the great French thinker, Blaise Pascal, "found stitched into the lining of his doublet a scrap of parchment with a rough drawing of a flaming cross. Around that cross was the following poem,"(14) entitled "Fire":

God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,
Not of the philosophers and the learned.
Certitude. Joy. Certitude. Emotion. Sight. Joy.
Forgetfulness of the world and of all outside of God.
The world hath not known Thee, but I have known Thee.
Joy! Joy! Joy! Tears of joy.
My God, wilt Thou leave me?
Let me not be separated from Thee for ever.(15)

In this unforgettable refrain we hear the heart of a man in worship. Pascal was responding to the very personal presence of God in his life by pouring out his heart. His contemplation led to worship. Jonathan Edwards, the great American philosopher- theologian of the eighteenth century, shared one of his experiences of worship in his Personal Narrative, which was published after his death.

The person of Christ appeared ineffably excellent with an excellency great enough to swallow up all thought and conception . . . which continued near as I can judge, about an hour; which kept me the greater part of the time in a flood of tears and weeping aloud.(16)

The full account of this encounter indicates that Edwards experienced worship during a time of contemplation and prayer. He sought to focus on God, and God responded in a dramatic way, just as was true for Pascal.

Such experiences don't have to be descriptive only of a few. We can apply at least two things from them. First, as with my physicist friend, our lives should include a sense of wonder. And wonder should lead to worship. As Thomas Carlyle wrote, "The man who cannot wonder, who does not habitually wonder and worship, is but a pair of spectacles behind which there is no eye."(17) Second, as with Pascal and Edwards, we need times of contemplation and prayer. Thoughts about God, and prayer to God can lead to a personal encounter with the One we worship.

Some Contemporary Hindrances to Worship

As of July 3, 1997, I will have known my wife for 30 years. During that time my love for her has become enriched through many experiences. If you were to ask me why I love her, I might respond by telling you what I receive from her. Or I might give you analyses of marriage fit for an essay. I might even attempt to persuade you to believe in marriage as I do. None of these responses would be wrong, but they would be incomplete, and they wouldn't focus on the primary subject: my wife, the object of my love. The lover would have hindered true praise of the loved one.

The same can be said frequently of us as we consider worship in our lives. If we aren't careful, we can hinder worship, both individually and corporately, by emphasizing things that may be good, but don't give us a complete picture of what worship entails. There are at least three words that can describe these hindrances: pragmatism, intellectualism, and evangelism.

Pragmatism as a hindrance to worship. First, pragmatism has led many to find ways of getting what they want, instead of what they need. This means the worship "customer" is sovereign. "The idea is a basic selling principle: you satisfy an existing desire rather than trying to persuade people to buy something they don't want."(18) Many churches are growing numerically through such strategies, but is worship taking place? It's my conviction that the answer is "No." People may be coming, but numbers are not the issue. Worship is done among regenerated Christians who are concentrating on who God is, not on what we want. Paradoxically, what we truly want, communion with God, takes place when we pursue what we truly need.

Intellectualism as a hindrance to worship. Second, intellectualism is not a substitute for worship. Coming from one who believes strongly in the importance of intellect in the Christian life, this may be surprising. But I have come to realize that worship is not a glorified Bible study. This does not mean that the preaching of Scripture is not a key ingredient of worship, but the one who is preaching is responsible to share in light of worship. As Warren Wiersbe has written, "There is much more to preaching than passing along religious information. It must reveal, not mere facts about God, but the Person of God Himself."(19) Wiersbe continues: "When preaching is an act of worship, the outline is to the text what a prism is to a shaft of sunlight: it breaks it up so that its beauty and wonder are clearly seen."(20) Such comments also apply to our private times of Bible study. Our minds are to be used in study, but what is studied includes worship of the One who has communicated with us.

Evangelism as a hindrance to worship. Third, evangelism is not the ultimate reason for worship. Non-believers who are in attendance at a time of worship certainly can be touched by the Spirit, but worship implies the believer's response to God. A non- believer cannot worship the true and living God. Thus an "altar call" should not be the primary focus. Instead, the church should be called to focus on the One who has called them into His family. Then they take what they have heard, seen, and experienced into the surrounding world.

Let's reconsider such hindrances as we seek to worship God, who will be glorified in the process.

The Content of Worship

"I know that Thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted" (Job 42:2). "I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Thy wonders. I will be glad and exult in Thee; I will sing praise to Thy name, O Most High" (Ps. 9:1 2). "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands" (Ps. 19:1). "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory" (Isa. 6:3). "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3). "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns" (Rev. 19:6).

What do these Scriptures have in common? They are statements of worship; they are inspired statements from men to God. And for the moment it's our hope that they serve to stimulate us to contemplate the content of worship.

One of the most pointed scriptural statements concerning worship is found in Jesus' well-known encounter with the Samaritan woman (John 4:23 24). Jesus told her:

But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

Earlier (vs. 21) Jesus had told the woman that the place of worship was unimportant. One doesn't worship just on a particular mountain, in Jerusalem, or any other place. We are free to worship God anywhere. So then He told her what is important.

First, the spirit of worship is important. We are to render "such homage to God that the entire heart enters into the act."(21) Whether we are in a time of private praise and adoration, or gathered with the church in corporate proclamation, we are to respond to who God is from the spirit, from the whole of our innermost being. Second, we are to do "this in full harmony with the truth of God as revealed in his Word."(22) The concept of responding to God in spirit can give rise to confusing individual expressions if those expressions are not guided by Scripture. There must be balance between spirit and truth. One without the other is not complete. "As some see it, a humble, spiritual attitude means little. According to others, truth or doctrinal soundness is of no importance. Both are one-sided, unbalanced, and therefore wrong. Genuine worshipers worship in spirit and truth."(23)

These comments began with quotes from biblical writers who wrote their statements of worship. It's striking to note how those statements contain not only the truth of God, but the truth about God. Truth permeates their worship. But it's also striking to note the spirit with which those expressions were shared. They are from the heart. They penetrate our lives; they are alive with true worship. As we read and hear such expressions they should encourage us to worship God in spirit and truth. And thus the content of our worship will be pleasing to Him.

Concluding Suggestions Concerning Corporate Worship Renewal
We have discussed several aspects of worship: its definition, history, purpose, hindrances, and content. To conclude we will focus on five suggestions that can be applied to corporate worship in the contemporary church.

First, consider how time is allotted when the church gathers for worship. As churches grow they tend to break into various times of worship. Thus the available time for worship is decreased. One group needs to be released from the worship center in time for another to enter. As a result, often there is a feeling of being rushed. And this feeling of being rushed is exacerbated because so much of the available time is spent with things that may be good, but are not conducive to worship. Announcements may concern good things, for example, but they take time from the true intent of the gathered church.

Second, consider how much attention is given to worship by the leadership of the church. The pastor, staff, and other leadership should demonstrate that worship has a very high priority. There should not be a question of how much energy has been given to preparation for worship on the part of the leadership.

Third, consider who is the leader of worship and why. It is my conviction that the pastor should be the one who calls the body to worship and leads it by example. Much is communicated to the congregation when the primary earthly leader implores the people to give their undivided attention to the reason for their gathering. In addition, much is communicated when the pastor is involved in worship beyond just the delivery of a sermon, no matter how good it may be. Having served on a church staff for many years, I know some of the time implications of this suggestion. But I believe if the church makes worship the priority, the pastor should provide the leadership for it. Fourth, consider what has priority in worship. Quite simply, the question is whether or not God has priority. Or do other things tend to crowd the allotted time and distract from the true intention? For example, it may be good to let a visiting relative of a church member sing a solo, but has someone talked with this person in order to discuss the reason for any solos within the time of worship? Remember, worship is to be God- centered, not man-centered.

Fifth, consider the place of style versus substance in worship. It appears to me that the "style" of worship is not the issue as much as the substance. In other words, if the people are called to worship God with integrity and concentration on Him, the style is secondary. This applies regardless of whether the style is liturgical/traditional, contemporary, or something in between. But if the style overshadows substance, true worship may be thwarted. It is a wise church that brings both style and substance together in a manner that pleases God.

These five suggestions and the thoughts that have preceded them have been offered with the hope that you have been stimulated to consider the importance of worship in your life. The worshiping Christian in a worshiping church is a person who is continually empowered to impact the world for the glory of God. May you be among those empowered people!

© 1997 Probe Ministries International

Notes

1. A.W. Tozer, Keys to the Deeper Life (Grand Rapids, Mich.:Zondervan, 1957), 87-88.
2. John MacArthur, Ashamed of the Gospel (Wheaton, Ill.:Crossway, 1993), xvii-xviii.
3. Everett F. Harrison, "Worship," in Baker's Dictionary of Theology, ed. Everett F. Harrison (Grand Rapids, Mich.:Baker, 1960), 560.
4. Ibid.
5. Warren Wiersbe, Real Worship (Nashville, Tenn.: Oliver Nelson, 1986), 27.
6. Harrison, Baker's Dictionary of Theology, 561.
7. Robert E. Webber, Common Roots (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1978), 84.
8. Ibid., 83.
9. Ibid., 86.
10. Ibid., 80-81.
11. Ibid., 87-88.
12. Ibid., 85.
13. Ibid.
14. Peter Toon, The Art of Meditating on Scripture (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1993),
15. Blaise Pascal, Fire, quoted in Toon, The Art of Meditating on Scripture, 13.
16. Jonathan Edwards, Personal Narrative, quoted in Toon, The Art of Meditating on Scripture, 13-14.
17. Thomas Carlyle, quoted in Tryon Edwards, The New Dictionary of Thoughts (New York: Standard, 1936), 713.
18. MacArthur, Ashamed of the Gospel, 49.
19. Wiersbe, Real Worship, 123.
20. Ibid., 124.

5 Lies the Church Tells Women - Sue Bohlin (Reprinted)

[Note: This article is taken from J. Lee Grady's book Ten Lies the Church Tells Women. I do not subscribe to everything in this book, particularly the author's belief that there are no restrictions to women in the church. I do not agree that the office of pastor and elder are open to women, though I believe God has given many women, including me, the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher (which some find easier to receive when it's called "shepherd-teacher"). At Probe, we exhort people to be discerning in what we hear and read. Mr. Grady's book is firmly in the egalitarian camp, but as a complementarian who seeks to be discerning, I can recognize the truth of some of what he says without embracing what I believe is unbiblical. Please see the end of this article for other articles on the role of women I have written for our Web site.]

In this article I look at five lies the church tells women, inspired by the book by J. Lee Grady called Ten Lies the Church Tells Women.{1} I'm not saying all churches say all these things, but there are certain pockets of Christianity where these lies are circulated.

Lie #1: God Created Women as Inferior Beings, Destined to Serve Their Husbands.

The first lie is that God created women as inferior beings, destined to serve their husbands. Those looking for Scripture to back up their beliefs point to Genesis 2:18, where God makes a "helpmeet" for Adam. "See?" they say. "Helpers are subordinate to the ones they help, which proves women are here to serve men." This ignores the times in the Psalms (10:14, 27:9, 118:7) where God is praised as our helper, and He is certainly not inferior or subordinate to us!

Lee Grady points out, "t is a cultural bias, not a spiritual or scientific principle, that women were 'made' for the kitchen or laundry room. This is the most common form of male chauvinism, a burden placed on women by selfish men who want someone to wash their dishes."{2}

This view that women are inferior to men is not biblical, but it has infected the church from the beginning.

The Greek culture into which the early church was born viewed women as "half animal," unworthy of education, to be kept quiet and kept locked away, obedient to their husbands. In Jewish culture it was considered inappropriate for a man to even speak to a woman in public--including his own wife. A woman speaking to a man who was not her husband was considered to be giving evidence that she had committed adultery with him, and could be divorced. You can imagine the scandal Jesus caused when he regularly sought the company of women and talked to them, and taught them, just as he did men. Or when he allowed prostitutes to talk to him or pour perfume on his feet.{3}

Eve was not created to be Adam's servant, but his honored and respected wife and co-regent, fashioned to rule over creation with him. We see another picture of God's intention for the first Adam and Eve in our future as the church. The bride of the Second Adam, Christ, is created and is being fashioned to reign with Him forever.{4}

Lee Grady says, "Jesus modeled a revolutionary new paradigm of empowerment by affirming women as co-heirs of God's grace."{5} Paul continued this completely new, respectful view of women by inviting women to share in the ministry of the gospel and the church, and by teaching the equality of husbands and wives in the marriage relationship (although there is a biblical distinction of roles).

When God created woman, He didn't create an inferior being, He created what He delights to call "the glory of man."(1 Cor. 11:7)

Lie #2: A Man Needs to "Cover" a Woman in Her Ministry Activities.

The second lie is that a man needs to "cover" a woman in her ministry activities. "In many cases, leaders have innocently twisted various Bible verses to suggest that a woman's public ministry can be valid only if she is properly 'covered' by a male who is present. Often women are told that they cannot even lead women's Bible studies or prayer meetings unless a pastor, deacon or some other man can provide proper oversight."{6}

One woman was told that she could not start a backyard Bible school class in her neighborhood during the summer unless her husband agreed to be present at each session and teach all the Bible lessons. Her church elders said she could plan each day's crafts and make all the snacks, but a man had to conduct the "spiritual" aspects of the outreach since he is the proper "covering."{7}

It is disturbing to think of the implication of this belief. When we, as women, use our spiritual gifts and respond to God's call to minister in various ways (within the biblical restrictions for women) without a man present, is our ministry less legitimate and valid than a man doing the same work? What if a woman with the spiritual gift of evangelism senses the Holy Spirit directing her to speak to the cashier at the gas station, and there's no man around? On a personal note, when I am speaking at one of Probe's Mind Games conferences, do my lectures lack legitimacy or truth because the male Probe staff members are busy teaching in other rooms?

Ephesians 5:21 says, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." Out of respect for our own weaknesses and limitations, I believe that all of us who wish to minister to others should pursue an attitude of humble submission to the body of Christ. We need to submit our beliefs and methods (and content, if we're teaching) to trusted believers who can provide support, direction, and, if needed, correction. And anyone engaged in ministry needs prayer support, which some have called a "prayer covering;" although that is not a biblical term.

But there is no verse that says, "If a woman teaches My word, make sure a man is present so she will be covered properly." Paul's instruction that older women teach the younger women doesn't include making sure that someone with a Y chromosome is present! What underlies this erroneous idea that a man's presence somehow validates any woman's ministry is, intentional or not, a profound disrespect and distrust of women.

Lie #3: Women Can't be Fulfilled or Spiritually Effective Without a Husband or Children.

The third lie is that women can't be fulfilled or spiritually effective without a husband or children. Some churches teach that God's perfect plan for every woman is to be a wife and mother. Period. Sometimes Christian women successful in business or some other professional field are made to feel unwelcome at a church, as if they are an unhealthy influence on "purer" women.

In some places, single women are prevented from leading home fellowship groups because they're single.{8} Others have been discouraged from running for political office or pursuing a graduate education because God's plan was for them to marry and keep house--even when God hadn't brought a groom into the picture!

Lee Grady says, "We must stop placing a heavy yoke on unmarried and divorced women in the church by suggesting that they are not complete without a man in their lives or that a husband somehow legitimizes their ministries."{9}

In some churches, women are routinely taught that the best way for them to serve God is to get married, make their husbands happy, and have children. They think this should be the sole focus of women's lives. And to be honest, when God has given a woman a husband and children, especially young children, focusing her primary energies and gifting on her family truly is the most important way she serves God in that season of her life. Children will not be impressed with how many Bible studies their mother teaches each week. And most husbands will be less than enthusiastic for their wives to go off on several mission trips each year when it means the home is falling apart and everybody's life is in chaos.

But women, even women with families, are given spiritual gifts that God intends for us to use to build up the body of Christ, both inside and outside our families. When we exercise those spiritual gifts and abilities, God delights to honor us with a sense of fulfillment. And usually that involves ministry in the church or in the world, as long as it's secondary to our family priorities.

But not all women are called to marriage and motherhood. It is disrespectful to single Christian women to treat them as second-class women because they don't wear a wedding ring. It's heartbreaking and frustrating when a woman would love to be married, but God hasn't brought her to the man of His choice; it just adds unnecessary sorrow for the church to say, "Sorry, honey, without a man you don't have a place here."
Lie #4: Women Should Never Work Outside the Home.
The fourth lie is that women should never work outside the home. Women who take jobs are shamed and judged, because they can't please God if they do anything outside of being a wife and mother.

This is a hurtful lie to many women who don't have a choice about working or not. There are huge numbers of divorced and widowed women in the church who would much rather stay at home with their families, but they're the only breadwinners. And for many two-parent families, they honestly can't survive on the husband's paycheck alone.

This lie comes from a misreading of Paul's exhortation in Titus 2:4 for women to be "workers at home."

Paul wasn't calling them to quit their day jobs to stay home. Women in that culture had no education and usually no opportunities for employment. He was addressing a character issue about being faithful and industrious, not lazy and self-centered. This letter was written to the pastor of a church on Crete, a society known for the laziness and self-indulgence of its people.{10}

Before the 1800's and the Industrial Revolution, both men and women worked at home, and they worked hard. Whether farming, fishing, animal husbandry, or whatever trade they engaged in, they did it from home. The care and nurture of children was woven into the day's work and extended families helped care for each other. There was no such thing, except among the very wealthy, as a woman who didn't work.

This lie completely ignores the Proverbs 31 woman, who not only took excellent care of her family, but also had several home-based businesses that required her to leave her home to engage in these businesses. I personally appreciate this biblical pattern because I had a home-based business and a ministry the entire time my children were growing, both of which took me out of the home sometimes. I was able to grow my gifts as my kids were growing, and now that they're both adults, I am able to use those gifts and abilities more fully with my new freedom to leave home.

On the other hand, an equally distressing expectation common to younger people in today's churches is that women should always work, regardless of whether they have children or not. Our culture has so downgraded the importance of focused parenting that many people consider it wasteful for a woman to be "only" a homemaker. It's sexist to say that a woman's only valid contribution to the world or the church is to be a homemaker, but both extremes are wrong and harmful.

Lie #5: Women Must Obediently Submit to Their Husbands in All Situations.

The last lie says that women must obediently submit to their husbands in all situations. This lie really grieves me deeply, because it is probably responsible for more pain and abuse than any other lie we've looked at in this article.

In Ephesians 5:22, wives are commanded to submit to our husbands. For some people, this has been twisted to mean the husband is the boss and the wife's job is to obey his every whim. That is a relationship of power, not self-sacrificing love, as this marriage passage actually teaches. The wife is called to serve her husband through submission, and the husband is called to serve his wife through sacrificial love.

We have no idea how many women have been physically, emotionally, sexually, and spiritually abused by their husbands wielding the submission verses as a weapon. When they finally tell their pastor about their husband's rage-outs and physical assaults, they are often not believed, and sometimes they are told that if they would learn to submit the violence would stop. Then they are counseled that it would be a sin to separate and hold the husband accountable for what is a crime! Some abused women, who feared for their lives, have actually been told, "Don't worry. Even if you died you would go to be with the Lord. So you win either way. Just keep praying for him. But you are not allowed to leave."{11}

A comprehensive study on domestic violence in the church in the mid 80's revealed that 26 percent of the pastors counseled an abused wife to keep submitting and trust that God would either stop the abuse or give her the strength to endure it. About a fourth of the pastors believed that abuse is the wife's fault because of her lack of submission! And a majority of the pastors said it is better for wives to endure violence against them than to seek a separation that might end in divorce.{12} I respectfully suggest that separation with the goal of reconciliation is often the only way to motivate an abusive husband to get help.{13} Just as we cast a broken limb to enable it to heal, separation is like putting a cast on a broken relationship as the first step to enable change and healing. We see in 1 Cor. 5 that God's plan for unrepentant believers is to experience the pain of isolation in separation from friends and loved ones; why would it be unthinkable for the same principle to be effective within an abusive marriage?

All the lies we've looked at in this article are the result of twisting God's word out of a misunderstanding of God's intent for His people. The way to combat the lies is to know the truth--because that's what sets us free.

Notes

1. Lee Grady, 10 Lies the Church Tells Women (Lake Mary, FL: Creation House, 2000).
2. Grady, 23.
3. George Byron Koch, "Shall a Woman Keep Silent? Part 1."
4. www.resurrection.org/shall_a_woman____part_1.htm. Rev. 22:5, 2 Tim. 2:12.
5. Grady, 21.
6. Grady, 89-90.
7. Grady, 90.
8. Grady, 140.
9. Grady, 143.
10. "Even one of their own prophets has said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.'" (Titus 1:2)
11. Grady, 172.
12. Grady, 174.
13. I especially recommend Dr. Paul Hegstrom of Life Skills Learning Centers. He is a recovered abusive husband and pastor who wrote an excellent book, Angry Men and the Women Who Love Them: Breaking the Cycle of Physical and Emotional Abuse (Beacon Hill Press, 1999). His Web site is
www.lifeskillsintl.org/.

Myths Christians Believe - Sue Bohlin (Reprinted)

In this article we examine some of the myths Christians believe.

There are lots of misconceptions about angels and devils that come from non-biblical sources ranging from great literature to films to the comic strips in our newspaper.

One myth about angels is that when a loved one dies, he or she becomes our guardian angel. While that can be a comforting thought, that's not what Scripture says. God created angels before He created the physical universe; because we know they sang together in worship and shouted for joy at the creation (Job 38:7). When believing loved ones die, they stay human, but they become better than they ever were on earth, and better than the angels. No angel was ever indwelled by God Himself, as Christians are!

An even greater myth that many people believe is the image of Satan as an ugly red creature with pitchfork, horns, and a tail who gladly reigns in hell. For this misconception we have several authors to thank, mainly the 13th century work of Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost, written in the 1700s. The biblical image of Satan is of an angel who has fallen to irredeemable evil and depravity but yet can transform himself into a beautiful angel of light. (2 Cor. 11:14) He can make himself appear winsome, which is why people can be attracted to the occult. But Satan is not the king of hell. Jesus disarmed him at the Cross, made a public spectacle of him and the rest of the demons, and made him into a defeated foe destined for an eternity of torment in the lake of fire. (Col. 2:15, Rev. 20:10)

Another misconception about Satan that many people believe is that he is the evil counterpart to God. In C.S. Lewis' preface to the Screwtape Letters, he answers the question of whether he believes in "the Devil":

Now, if by 'the Devil' you mean a power opposite to God and, like God, self-existent from all eternity, the answer is certainly No. There is no uncreated being except God. God has no opposite. No being could attain a "perfect badness" opposite to the perfect goodness of God; for when you have taken away every kind of good thing (intelligence, will, memory, energy, and existence itself) there would be none of him left.

If I Do Everything Right, Life Will Work Smoothly.

A very common myth that many Christians believe is, "If I do everything right, life will work smoothly." We seem to be immersed in an attitude of entitlement, believing that God owes us an easy and comfortable life if we serve Him. We expect to be able to avoid all pain, and we look for formulas to make life work. Frankly, many of us are addicted to our own comfort zones, and when anything disturbs our comfort zone, we feel betrayed and abandoned by God.

So when life doesn't go so smoothly, we often jump to one of two conclusions. Either we must be sinning, or God is out to get us. The book of Job draws back the curtain on the unseen drama in the heavenlies and shows us that when problems come, it doesn't have to be one of these two options. Sometimes things are going on behind the scenes in the heavenly realm that have nothing to do with our sin. And since God is totally good, it's a lie from the pit of hell that when bad things happen, God is out to get us in some kind of cosmic sadistic power play.

Even when we do everything right--although NOBODY does everything right, not even the holiest, most disciplined people--things can go wrong. The Bible gives us insight into why it might be happening. First, we live in a fallen world, where bad stuff happens because that's the consequence of sin. This includes natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes and floods, and includes moral disasters like divorce and abuse and murder.

Secondly, we live in a spiritual battle zone. Unseen demonic enemies attack us with spiritual warfare. God has provided spiritual armor, described in Ephesians 6, but if we don't put it on, His armor can't protect us.

Third, we have an inaccurate view of suffering. We think that if we're suffering, something is wrong and needs to be fixed. But 1 Peter 4:19 says that some people suffer according to the will of God. That doesn't sound very nice, but that's because we often think the most important thing in life is avoiding pain. But God isn't committed to keeping us comfortable, He's creating a Bride for His Son who needs to shine with character and perseverance and maturity.

The Lord Jesus promised that we would have tribulation in this world. (John 16:33) The word for tribulation means pressure; it means we get squeezed in by trouble. Jesus said that in the world we would have pressure, but in Him we have peace. Life won't always work smoothly, no matter how well we live, but we always have the presence and power of God Himself to take us through it.

God Won't Give Me More Than I Can Handle.

People get baffled and angry when bad things happen, and it just gets worse when God doesn't make the difficult situation go away. We start wondering if God has gone on vacation because we're nearing our breaking point and God isn't stepping in to make things better.

The problem with this myth is that God is in the business of breaking His people so that we will get to the point of complete dependence on Him.{1} Brokenness is a virtue, not something to be protected from. When the apostle Paul pleaded with God to remove his thorn in the flesh, God said no. Instead, He responded with an amazing promise: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Paul realized that his weakness was the very key to experiencing God's strength and not his own.

One of my friends ministered as a chaplain at Ground Zero in New York after the Sept. 11 attacks. She got so tired and exhausted that she knew it was more than she could bear. That's when she discovered that her exhaustion took her out of God's way and He could shine through her, ministering with His strength through her profound weakness.

I love this definition of brokenness: "Brokenness is that place where we realize that all the things we counted on to make life work, don't."{2} God makes life work. Formulas don't. Our own efforts don't. Trustful dependence on Him plugs us into the power source for life. And that often happens when we've crossed over the line of what we can handle on our own.

God Helps Those Who Help Themselves.

This myth has been repeated so many times that many people think its in Scripture. It's not. In fact, the truth is exactly the opposite. A heart full of self-dependence and self-reliance says to God, "I don't need You, I can do it myself. I can handle life without You." God honors our choices and the exercise of our will; He doesn't push His help on us. He waits for us to ask for it. He can't help those who help themselves because we're too busy doing to receive His strength and His help. It's like the way you can't fill a cup with coffee when it's already full of tea. Jesus said, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing." (John 15:5) But that doesn't stop lots of us from trying! The truth is, God doesn't help those who help themselves; God helps the helpless.

Two Myths About Heaven

The first myth is perpetuated by the many jokes and comics about St. Peter at the pearly gates. Many people believe that if our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds, St. Peter will let us into heaven. It doesn't work that way.

God has one standard for getting into heaven: absolute perfection and holiness. The person who has sinned the smallest sin is still guilty and cannot be perfect and holy. It's like a balloon: once it's popped, there's nothing anyone can do to make it whole again. Only one Person has ever qualified for heaven by being perfect and holy--the Lord Jesus. When we trust Christ as our Savior, He does two things for us: He pays the penalty for our sin, which keeps us out of hell, and He exchanges our sin for His righteousness, which allows us into heaven.

Another myth is that heaven is like a big socialist state where everybody gets a standard issue harp and halo and we all sit around on clouds all day praising God in a never-ending church service. Doesn't sound all that great, does it?

Fortunately, heaven's a whole lot better than that. For one thing, the reason we think worshiping God for all eternity is boring is because we don't know God as He really is. We're like the six-year-old boy who declared that "girls are stupid, and kissin' 'em is even stupider." Kids don't have a clue how great love can be, and we don't have a clue how wonderful God is.

Heaven is no socialist state. There will be varying degrees of reward and responsibility in heaven, depending on the way we lived our life on earth. All believers will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, when God will test our works by passing them through the fire of motive. If we did things in His strength and for His glory, they will pass through the refining fire and emerge as gold, silver and costly stones. If we did things in our own flesh and for our glory or for the earthly payoff, we will have gotten all our strokes on earth, and our works will be burned up, not making it through the testing "fire."

There are different types of rewards in heaven: a prophet's reward, a righteous man's reward, and a disciple's reward. Some will receive the crown of life, or a martyr's crown, and there's also the crown of righteousness. Our lives in heaven will be determined by the choices, sacrifices, and actions of earth. Some will be very wealthy, and others will be "barely there." You can check our Web site for the scriptures about this.{3}

Myths About the Bible and Salvation

Many non-Christians believe a myth that is accepted by a lot of Christians as well--that the Bible has been changed and corrupted since it was written. The historical evidence actually makes a rather astounding case for the supernatural protection and preservation of both Old and New Testaments.

As soon as the New Testament documents were written, people immediately started making copies and passing them around. There are so many copies in existence that the New Testament is the best-documented piece of ancient literature in the world. And because there are so many copies, we can compare them to today's Bible and be assured that what we have is what was written.

The Old Testament scribes were so meticulous in copying their manuscripts that they were obsessive about accuracy. They would count the middle letter of the entire original text and compare it to the middle letter of the new copy. If it didn't match, they'd make a new copy. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947, they demonstrated that this collection of Old Testament scriptures has been faithfully preserved for two thousand years.

Many people believe that certain parts of the Bible have been corrupted or deleted, such as supposed teaching on reincarnation. However, this is just hearsay from people who do not understand how the canon of scripture was decided on. From the beginning of the church, Christians recognized the 27 books that make up the New Testament as God's inspired word, and the writings that weren't inspired were eventually dropped. We have some great articles on our Web site that explain about the reliability of the Bible.{4}

Many Christians believe another myth: "I believe in Jesus, but surely God will let people of other faiths into heaven too." Many seem to think that being a "good Muslim" or a "sincere Buddhist" should count for something.

This does make sense from a human perspective, but God didn't leave us in the dark trying to figure out truth on our own. He has revealed truth to us, both through Jesus and through the Bible. So regardless of what makes sense from our limited human perspective, we need to trust what God has said.

And Jesus, who ought to know because He is God in the flesh, said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me." (John 14:6) No other religion deals with the problem of sin and God's requirement of perfection and holiness on God's terms. There may be many ways to Jesus, but there's only way to the Father. It's God's heaven, and He makes the rules: it's Jesus or nothing.

Notes

1. I am indebted to Dr. Al Meredith, the pastor of Wedgwood Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, Texas, for this perspective. Wedgwood Baptist was the site of the massacre the night of the "See You At the Pole" celebration when seven youth and staff members were killed and seven others wounded by a crazed gunman.
2. Jeff Kinkade, pastor of Reinhardt Bible Church in Garland, Texas.
3. "Probe Answers Our E-Mail: Help Me Understand Rewards in Heaven."
4. www.probe.org/docs/e-rewards.html "Are the Biblical Documents Reliable?"
www.probe.org/docs/bib-docu.html. Also, "The Authority of the Bible" www.probe.org/docs/auth-bib.html and "The Christian Canon" www.probe.org/docs/xn-canon.html.