A Vital Issue

Photo by prozac1 from freedigitalphotos.net

Friends, I'm convinced we live in a time where tares have been sown among the good seed. Few seem to notice, or care, and the good seed is suffering. I've been reading a book published in 1987, and I believe much of what it says has never been truer than today.

Following is an excerpt from the book, which summarizes a situation I think many churches face today. When the flock is not nourished, cared for, and led the way Christ commanded, the sheep look for other shepherds and vets. If each of us steps out, stands up, and speaks out in truth and love, we will be able to have a church whose Husband one day will come and find her pure and blameless in the sight of God. But if we neglect the Word and the flock, and walk about indifferently as if we have nothing to improve, nothing to repent of, and nothing more to learn as a church and as individuals, we will continue to have sheep without a shepherd, wandering in darkness, seeking for what they could have easily had if some of us would just quit playing church, and begin doing church as Christ commanded.

I welcome your comments and questions since you are not able to see the context of this excerpt. I am certainly not against counselling from the Word of God; in fact, I believe (as the author says at the end of this excerpt), counselling and discipleship should be as much a part of the ministry of the church as preaching and teaching, and many other things the church does. The Bible says that it pleased God to use the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe, but preaching, as essential as it is, is not a set of irresistible magical spells that change a person the moment it is heard. Preaching the Word must be followed by careful counselling and discipleship (and exemplary modelling). Otherwise, we will continue to be puzzled, and wonder why so many nice people throw up their hands and don't choose to stay in our church to make a difference in the right direction.

A Vital Issue

In summary, by accepting a “new interpretation” of the Bible that comes from outside and cannot be supported by Scriptures themselves, the church has embraced an alien gospel administered by a new class of priests supported by humanistic authority. With its own vocabulary and rituals and academic knowledge, this new clergy has gained authority over those who know only God and His Word and are thus no longer qualified to counsel from Scripture. That long-established function has taken on new meaning: It now involves the diagnosis of psychological problems and psychological solutions and must therefore be under the direction of those trained in this art. No one can appeal to the Scriptures as a means of correcting this new priestly class, because they alone hold the keys to a vital part of “God’s truth” that supplements the Bible.

In fairness to the Christian psychologists, most of them have been motivated by the genuine desire to help the many hurting people who are not receiving the care and guidance they ought to have from their brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. One of the most desperate needs within the church is for personal and family and marriage counseling—but it must be biblical and not psychological. For this need to be supplied, the church must be willing to support biblical counselors who can thereby provide the necessary help without charging for it. Many young people sense a call of God upon their lives to work in this vital area, but the only possibility for support is to charge a fee—which means that they must be licensed by the state and therefore conform to secular standards of education and competency. The church must provide adequate training in biblical counseling, yet at the present almost nothing of this nature is available. Christian colleges and seminaries have succumbed to the pressure to be accredited by secular agencies, and the academic courses in “pastoral counseling” are therefore generally heavily weighted with psychology.

It would be unthinkable for the state to license and impose such control over those who preach and teach from Scriptures. Yet we consider it normal for those whom we expect to counsel from the Bible to be regulated in this way. Only when the church considers counseling of individuals to be as important as preaching to and teaching congregations will biblical counseling take its rightful place in the church. Until then the best of sermons will unfortunately continue to turn to psychologists for lack of the real solution being put into practice by the local church.

The healing of broken lives, moreover, cannot be accomplished by an hour of counseling once or even several times a week. It can take place only in the context of the caring and loving family of God, the body of Christ concerned for the welfare of each member. There ought to be older couples, mature in the Lord and leading exemplary, Spirit-filled lives of leadership, who will give the time and expend the effort to take under their wing younger couples who may be having marital or financial problems. Again it is an individual matter: Revival begins with each of us. We dare not wait for someone else to say or do what is needed, but each of us before the Lord must step out in the leading and power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill that ministry to which God has called us. God’s Word enjoins us:

“Warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14).

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort therewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (w Corinthians 1:3, 4).

“Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

We are spending considerable time on this issue because it is vitally important that we understand how we got to the present impasse.  If we are to return to a biblical Christianity, then we must undo what has already been done. We must cease adding to and taking away from the Bible. God has specifically forbidden this and has prescribed heavy penalties for it, yet we have violated His command and are reaping the inevitable results.

-David Hunt, Beyond Seduction: A Return to Biblical Christianity.

Harvest House Publishing (1987), pp. 144-145

What do you think? Is any of this something you have seen in your experience? What are you doing to make a difference, and make the church more like what Christ intended it to be?

My Sunday School Memories

This is something I shared at our church's Sunday School picnic on August 3, 2015.

Photo by Stuart Miles (freedigitalphotos.com)

          I used to be a little boy just like many of you here today. I played with toys, I had pets, and I loved biking and climbing trees. I loved to play with water and get muddy. And I enjoyed admiring nature—the tall trees that whispered when a storm was coming, the colorful birds that filled the trees and the summer skies, and the clumsy tadpoles that swam in a pond or ditch somewhere. And I also enjoyed hearing Bible stories and going to Sunday School.

At home, on Sheldon Ave. in Kitchener, we had a large mirror in the front entrance. I was probably five, and I remember going up to it sometimes, and making all sorts of ugly faces. I would stretch my mouth or my eyes, stick my tongue out, push my nose up. And I loved doing that. Why was that so much fun? I don’t know. But my grandma never liked it when I did it. When she’d catch me, she would say: “Edy, dejá de hacer eso, que te va a quedar así la cara”. (Stop doing that, or your face will stay that way!”) I don’t think I really believed her, but I wanted to behave, because I loved her bed-time stories.

         You know, even if today my mouth does not look like a frog’s, or my nose like a pig’s, there is a lesson to be learned from my grandma’s scoldings. As we grow older, some of the things we do as children can become bad habits that are hard to break. If we lie when we’re young, we will likely lie more when we’re older. When we get used to disobeying when we’re 6, we will likely disobey worse when we’re 12. But the things our godly parents and Sunday School teachers tell us as we’re growing up, can really help us develop good habits, so that when we are 10, 12, 15, it’s easier for us to turn our life to Jesus.

         For example, when I was very young, I had the bright idea that if I bit my finger nails, Mom would not have to trim them anymore. Ridiculous! Isn’t it? And yet today, at 31, biting my finger nails is a habit I have a lot of trouble shaking off. When I read something interesting, I bite my nails. When I’m nervous, I bite my nails. When I’m impatient, I bite my nails. It’s not a serious problem, but it’s not such a great habit. Let’s listen to our parents and Sunday School teachers when we are young. Believe me: life will be much better for you if you do!

My experience with Sunday School is divided into different periods, because our family moved several times. But today I will mostly focus on my earlier Sunday School years.

I was born in Canada, so my first glimpses of Sunday School were at the Apostolic Christian Church in Kitchener. The way they did it there (and still do), on Sunday mornings the young people ages 5 to 14 go to the basement for Sunday School. When you are finished at 14, they give you a thin book with the history of the Apostolic Christian Church, and with your name engraved on it. And then you get to go upstairs, and sit in church with the adults.

         In 1991, our family moved to South America. Argentina was where my Gutwein great-grandfather found refuge for refusing to take up arms in Europe. It was where my grandparents and parents were born. And it was where I lived for over 7 years until I was 14. I went to school there from Grades 2 to 9, and made a lot of Spanish friends.

The other week I asked my grandfather if they had Sunday School when he was young. That would have been around 1938, right before World War II. He said, “Yes, we had Sunday School. I remember when I was six, we had Sunday School and church in the country, which was where we lived.” He listed a few names of people that used to come. I asked him if there were any community people, and he said, “Yes, there were some”. And then he explained that in those days, the church group we belonged to brought their children to Sunday School at 11 am. And while the children had Sunday School, the adults had a member’s meeting. At twelve everyone had lunch, and after that, they had two services in the afternoon. That’s how they did it. You need to remember that way back, travel was more difficult, and it made more sense to do two services back to back, instead of one in the morning and one in the evening. And later they continued doing that for many years. That’s my theory. Later, they built a meeting house in town, where they more or less kept the same service format for many years. In 1991, when I was seven, it was still the same, except for the member’s meeting. And services were held later, starting at 5 pm.

        

Back in Argentina, a typical Sunday morning probably went something like this:

We got up in the morning and had breakfast early enough to be ready and waiting for the Sunday School pickup truck. Breakfast in our culture was very light. Later, when I came to Canada, it was strange to hear about eggs, and bacon, and potatoes for breakfast. That was like supper for us!! We had hot chocolate, tea, or milk coffee for drink. We were not used to sliced bread like here. We ate a lot of French bread—fat crunchy sticks, with soft, spongy dough on the inside. We ate it at breakfast, and often with food at lunch and supper. For breakfast, on the bread we spread butter, and fruit jam, honey, or as a treat, a sort of caramel milk spread called “dulce de leche” (milk jam). That was it. Milk and bread. Our family rarely had cereal.

         Soon, the Sunday School pickup truck came around. You see, since the Sunday School children were more than 60% community people, and mostly from poor families, the young men from church would drive around town picking everyone up. I wonder how different our Sunday School would be with 60% more children who came from non-Christian families. I remember jumping in the back of the pickup, choosing a spot on either side, and wiping the dust as I sat down on one of the padded benches. We probably piled up to 20 children in there. Sounds crazy, but that’s how we did it!

         Just picture bumping along some dusty road, like a motor-boat in choppy water, in the back of a pickup crowded with impatient, sweaty children. The benches were full, and I remember clearly that at times some of us had to crouch on the floor. It was not the most pleasant ride. I also remember that sometimes, when we could hardly take the heat and the bumps and the dust, the driver and his privileged passengers could hear a cranky little tune from the back that went like this: “¡Chofer, Chofer! Apúrese el motor, ¡que en esta cafetera nos morimos de calor!” (Driver, driver. Rev up the motor, that in this coffee maker we are dying from the heat!” (For some reason, “coffee maker” was used for a rickety old vehicle, but it also did fit the heat and stickiness of the ride).

        

         When we finally got to our little white church in town, we were ready to jump out, and run in. The iron gate would open. We would run into the small backyard and played until the rest of the children arrived. Down there it is common to see properties surrounded by brick walls, topped with glass shards to discourage people from climbing over. This is how it was at the church too. All sides were surrounded by a 7-foot wall.

         Before Sunday School, all the students lined up on the grass according to their grade. Sometimes we would struggle a bit to be the first in line, and I’m sure it was hard for the teachers to get everyone to stay still and be quiet. Once we were settled, we sang two or three songs. One song I remember singing was, “Soldado soy de Jesús” (I’m a Soldier of Jesus) (Tune: I’m In the Lord’s Army”)

Soldado soy de Jesús

Soldado soy de Jesús

Aunque no ande en la infantería

caballería, artillería;

Aunque en avión no vaya volando,

Pero soldado soy.

         The Sunday School hour was similar to what we’re familiar here. We did some singing, went through our Bible lesson, and gave money for the offering. We sang songs like, “Jonás no le hizo caso” (Jonah Did Not Obey), “Este es el día” (This Is the Day), and “Esta lucecita” (This Little Light of Mine). My teacher would pick up her guitar and we would sing:

Esta lucecita la dejaré brillar 
Esta lucecita la dejaré brillar 
Esta lucecita la dejaré brillar 
Brillará, brillará, brillará. 

En México y Perú la dejaré brillar 
Colombia y Venezuela la dejaré brillar 
Honduras, Nicaragua la dejaré brillar 
Brillará, brillará, brillará. 

We didn’t have individual Sunday School books like we have here. If I remember correctly, as adolescents we may have gotten photocopies of the lessons, with questions for us to answer at home. And then we would discuss them the next class. We sang songs like, “Mansión gloriosa” (I’ve Got a Mansion), “Tu fidelidad es grande” (Your Faithfulness Is So Great), and “Encuentro con Dios” (I Want to Have a Meeting With God). And this song I will leave for at the end.

        

         Here I would like to pause for a moment, and ask myself the question: What does Sunday School really mean to me? I’m sure my view of Sunday School changed over time, but today, what are my thoughts about Sunday School in general?

         To me, Sunday School is a place where we can find a deeper understanding of God’s will in God’s Word. It’s not really a place for entertainment, or a time to waste away with endless speculations, but it’s a tremendous opportunity to learn absolute Bible truths that cleanse our thinking, purify our speech, and transform our way of life.

         Sunday School is not a replacement for a father and mother’s duty to teach God’s Word to their children. It’s not babysitting (though it may feel like it sometimes). It’s not something we do simply because it’s part of the church program, and we have to labor hard to fill 20 or so minutes of time, and quickly move on to the next thing. 

         It’s a time for delving deep into the things of Christ. It’s a time for meditating on the greatness of God, on the seriousness of disobeying His commandments, and on the peace and joy we have when we live in His will. It’s a time for listening to others, and a time for sharing what God has taught us in His Word. It’s a place for encouragement, commitment, and growth.

         Back to the typical Sunday morning in Argentina: At the end of the Sunday School class, children were given a slip of paper with a Bible verse to take home, in hopes that their parents also would read it. Then, we returned to the church yard, and we lined up again for the second time. We sang a song, prayed, and everyone got a couple candies to eat on the ride home.

        

         The ride home! As you might have guessed, my brother and I were the last ones to get dropped off. So, at the beginning of the day, we got to see every spot on the bench get filled as we stopped at each house. And on the way back, we saw the benches get emptier and emptier, as everyone was dropped off at their homes, and finally, after one last bump on the road, we saw the big pine tree on our front lawn, the flat little house where we lived, and through the barred window, my Dad cooking dinner.

         Here I should explain that later on, my mom also came along and helped teach Sunday School. (At that time we rode in a nicer Volkwagen van, with comfy seats.) Since all services happened in the evening between March and November, my Dad stayed home while his family was gone, and had some good dinner waiting for us when we returned. Again, our culture was a bit different. We normally didn’t have roast beef and potatoes for Sunday dinner, like here. A delicious dinner was a homemade pizza, or spaghetti and sauce, or meat pie, or albondiga burgers and mashed potatoes. And Dad knew how to cook any of these dishes.

         The other day I reminded Dad about this, and he said, “Yes, I used to cook on Sundays, and at the same time I would take notes for the evening sermon.” I’m not sure if this is how our preachers do it here too. As long as they don’t confuse their sermon outline with their recipe instructions! Or else someone may end up having roast preacher for dinner!

        

         There would be many more things to say, but I think we’ll leave it at that. And now, the song I promised you earlier:

         The translation goes like this:

         In this happy day, in this holy place,

         I want to have a meeting with God.

         His love is for real, and his peace I will feel.

         I want to have a meeting with God.

                  I want to have a meeting with God,

                  In this holy place of prayer.

                  His love is for real, and His peace I will feel.

                  I want to have a meeting with God.

En este día feliz, en este santo lugar,

         Quiero tener un encuentro con Dios.

         Su amor es real, y su paz gozaré.

         Quiero tener un encuentro con Dios.

                  Quiero tener un encuentro con Dios,

                  En este santo lugar de oración.

                  Su amor es real, y su paz gozaré.

                  Quiero tener un encuentro con Dios.

Ye Shall Never Fall

This is something I shared this morning at Livingston Manor in Listowel, ON.

Text: II Peter 1:1-11

This week I’ve been trying to memorize II Peter 1:3, and while looking for something to share this morning, this verse came to mind again. And as I read the context, I was deeply impressed by Peter’s message. Several statements stand out, and we will look at them shortly, but one that is very outstanding is found in verse 11: “If ye do these things, ye shall never fall”.

Do we really understand what this means? “Ye shall never fall”. The Bible promises that if we do what it tells us to do, we will never fall. Do I believe this? Do you? What does it mean to fall? And what is it that we need to do in order to avoid falling?

Let's read the text first (II Peter 1:1-11). And as we read, notice the words “through” and “whereby”.

The first “through” is found in verse 1. “To them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ”. This tells me that true faith does not happen apart from righteousness. We cannot say that we have faith, that we are Christians, if we deny God’s righteousness; if we don’t live according to His righteousness. A person of faith is a person of righteousness —Jesus Christ’s righteousness.

Another important teaching found in verse 1 is that the Christian faith is obtained. We are not born with it. We can’t say we are Christians simply because we were born in a Christian home, or because we were baptized in a Christian church. Faith must be obtained by accepting God’s righteousness, and living by it. We must be born again in order to see the Kingdom of God. Faith is not inherited; faith is obtained by personal choice, by personal repentance, by a personal acknowledgment that we were born sinners, in utter need of redemption.

The second “through” happens in verse 2. It says: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord”. Grace is the kindness God shows us, to save us from sin and hell, and to fill us with power to live a godly life. Peace speaks of tranquility and harmony in the soul. This verse tells me that if I want grace and peace, I will find it as I get to know God. The more I know God, the more grace and peace I will receive. The only way to know God today is by reading His Word and allowing God’s Spirit to teach us from it. The Bible is the only book that reveals who God is. The more I absorb God’s Word, the more I know God.

The third “through” is found in verse 3. It says that all things pertaining to life and godliness are given to us “through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue”. The Bible says that we have been given absolutely all we need to live a godly life. This tells me that we have no excuse for being failing Christians. God has provided everything —all the instructions and all the power— in order for us to live victorious and abundant Christian lives. He has given us absolutely everything we need to know in order to live above bitterness, above unforgiveness, above immorality, above every sin we might think of. It seems too good to be true. But it is true! The Bible says that we are “more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). We must believe it. We don’t have to be saved by the skin of our teeth. We have been rescued to live full, abundant lives that radiate God’s glory and love to others. Am I, are you living in this way?

This verse says it again. All these things come “through” knowing Christ. Essentially, everything we need for an abundant Christian life is found in the Bible. We are deprived of nothing. The Bible informs us how to be saved, how to find forgiveness, and how to forgive. It teaches us how to relate to our parents, our children, our siblings, our neighbours, our enemies, and our government.  It shows us how to deal with real life problems, no matter how young or how old we are; no matter who we are, what job we have, or where we find ourselves in life. The Bible has everything. And if we read it, believe and obey it in faith, we will find the right answers to life’s problems.

The word “whereby” in verse 4, also means “through” (or “through which”), and it refers to the previous verse. Through God’s Word we receive great and precious promises, by which, in turn, we share God’s nature. This is pretty amazing! God loved the world so much that He gave us all the resources, and all the power we need for our daily life. And not only this; He enables us to share in His nature. We are able to reflect God’s love, holiness, and righteousness in practical ways. Man was created in God’s image, and sin marred that image. But today we can be restored to reflect that divine image and character.

As we read through these verses, we already notice that Peter is trying to impress us with the idea of “building up” or “adding on”, as we move from verse to verse. Faith comes through God’s righteousness. After faith, comes grace, peace, and everything in God’s Word that enables us to live a godly life. After this come God’s great promises, and the sharing of His divine nature.

And then we continue in verse 5, where Peter says, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue…” and we continue to see this idea of adding on, building up, moving up in maturity. In fact, he concludes the whole letter with the same thought: “Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (3:18). The Christian life is way more than simply getting saved. It involves constant growth, constant upward movement, constant renewal. Romans 12:12: “..be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.  

And so, to faith we must add virtue; to virtue, knowledge, to knowledge, temperance; to temperance patience; and to patience godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, charity or love.

Verse 8 is another of those astounding statements, that we just have to believe in faith, because it is humanly impossible outside of God’s enabling power: “If these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. If faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, and so on, are in us and abound, we will be diligent and fruitful in knowing Christ. In other words, there will be no hindrance in getting to know Jesus.

Do I want to know Jesus? Do you? Then these things need to be a part of our life. Verse 9 is clear that if we lack these things, we are blind and shortsighted. In fact, we have forgotten the great miracle of cleansing God performed in our life at conversion. When we fail to grow in our Christian life, when we fail to add on to our faith, when we fail to build up ourselves on our most holy faith (Jude 1:20), we lose purpose in life, we lose victory, and possibly our faith in the end. Constant diligence is of the essence.

In fact, verse 10 brings this out. “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall”. It’s a promise. If we are diligent, we will not fall from the faith. If we are diligent, we will be fruitful and more than conquerors. And in the end (verse 11), “an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”; as Revelation also says, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son” (21:7).

I would like to leave off with the words of a song, but first I want to say this. Through His Word, God has revealed Himself, He has given us all the instructions and the advice we need to get through life, He has given us the power to be more than conquerors, and has given us great and precious promises for this life and the next… What else do we think we need? When we experience trouble or grief in life, why do we turn to other things for advice, comfort, or help? Why do we keep searching elsewhere for what is all found in the Word of God?

Once, after being abandoned by many followers, Jesus asked His disciples, “Will you also go away?” And Peter said: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:67-68). When we have trouble in life, when we fear, when we think we are starting to fall away, come to Jesus, turn to His Word. He has the words of eternal life.

The song is called, What About Now?

You may tell me a date, and tell of a place,

When you walked an aisle, and you first prayed.

And you’ll quickly point to that moment in time,

If someone should ask what God’s done in your life.

I’m sure you’d agree that life’s where He lives;

There will be proof if we’re truly His.

So please hear my heart, and know I’m your friend,

But please take this moment to look deep within.

Are you loving God, and hating your sin?

Please don’t depend on some year way back when.

Do you take time to know Him? Is your spirit stirred

To hear and obey His Holy Word?

I’m not here to judge, or to cause any doubt;

Just want you to look at the faith you live out.

It’s not about a prayer you repeated one time;

Joining a church or tears that you’ve cried.

Do you love God and others? Are you drawn to His Word?

Do you feel convicted of sin? Are you sharing the Good News?

Forsaking what’s wrong? Have you stood faithful and strong?

Chorus:

What about now? What about now?

Is there evidence seen by those you’re around

That He’s your Savior, and your Lord beyond any doubt,

Not just somewhere in your past somehow?

What about now?

(Written by Jim Brady, Barry Weeks, Tony Wood; Brady House Publishing/New Spring/

SONY/ATV/Songs from Exit 71/Building Bridge)