Our Blog

Filter By:
Showing items filed under “Kids”

Spare Change - June

main image

Anchored in God’s Word

I have already addressed this topic in a couple of articles in a roundabout way, but I think it's helpful to revisit it, this time head on.  We must be anchored in God’s Word to keep pursuing gospel centered, God honoring faith.  We cannot please God without faith and our faith must be grounded in the Word of God.  Moreover, we cannot veer from the doctrines that are taught therein.  Especially the doctrines on the Word of God:
inspiration, inerrancy, sufficiency, necessity, and authority.  We do not have time here to break down each subject so I would recommend Taking God at His Word by Kevin DeYoung for further explanation on these doctrines.  This is a short book that is packed full of theological goodness.  I hope you will check it out.

It is my observation that throughout church history there has always been a tendency to drift from sound teaching that is based in God’s Word.  If you look back over the different controversies such as divinity of Christ, the nature of the trinity or what constitutes salvation, to name a few, we see a common theme.  There is often a tendency for false teachers to rise up by twisting, ignoring, or changing scripture.  Then people begin to follow that person and the church must address it for the sake of keeping sound doctrine.  The very essence of salvation is often in question.  We find these false teachers preaching a different gospel than what is found in God’s Word.  For 2,000 years
Christians have fought this battle, sometimes we have lost and sometimes we have won.

The real problem is false teachers do not walk away from the scripture in one giant step.  It usually is a combination of many small steps.  They begin to question one of the core doctrines found in the scripture, then change the meaning by interpreting scripture in a new way or they just deny that part of the scripture.  It can happen in many ways, but it always goes back to a denial of one of the core doctrines of God’s Word.

One of the greatest examples is the Reformation.  We find that the Catholic church had only authorized the Latin version of the Bible, which by the early 1500’s was primarily only taught to priests.  The common people had to take the word of the church on everything.  By then the Catholic church had defined salvation, not through faith in Jesus, but through the religious sacraments like communion.  In essence they taught a works-based salvation.  A few brave souls sought reform and were instead excommunicated.  They wanted the Bible in the common languages (some like William Tyndale gave their life for this cause) and they wanted to return to salvation in Christ alone through faith alone.  This only happened because people returned to the scriptures.

Do you see how important it is to make the Word of God the preeminent source of truth in your life?  You must know the Word, create biblical doctrine from it and then view all of life through that lens.  Once we have done that, we continue to fight to stay anchored in the Word.  Repeatedly throughout our life we must remind ourselves that we cannot veer from God’s Word, because it is these very words given to us to know the grace of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is the truth by which all truth must be measured.

There are so many ways the Word of God is being perverted, ignored, or misinterpreted today.  We need to be more vigilant than ever.  Do not under any circumstances blindly follow a teacher without comparing their doctrine to the Word of God.  We must draw a line in the sand and defend this belief no matter what.  If we fail to do so, we will stray, drift, and find our faith shaken.  Only the never-changing Word of God can keep us on the path that Christ laid out for us.  The challenge for us remains to study God’s Word continually.  Do not stop filling your heart and mind with its teaching.  Continue to go back to the well of scripture and drink deep, often.  

Posted by Bryan Gotcher with

Spare Change - May

main image

Have you ever sat and wrestled for a while with big questions?  I know that most of us have a little more time on our hands, so this is a good time to meditate and ponder.  I was reading in James this past week and came across a verse that I had read many times before, but it struck me differently this time.

You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.  James 4:4

First, we need to understand the context of this verse. James is the elder of the church in Jerusalem.  He writes this letter to give some very practical instruction to the believers.  You can see that he is getting tired of Christians playing games.  He has had enough of weak faith.  He calls out some very bad habits that Christians were apparently struggling with, like not controlling their tongues or having trouble dealing with trials.  In this passage, he really gets going.  He rebukes the believers for infighting among the brothers. Why?  Because they do not have all they want.  Not that their needs are not met, but rather they are craving things of the world that they do not have.  James speaks up to tell them that friendship with the world comes with a price, you will become an enemy of God.

This theme is not new.  All the way back in Psalm 1 we see there are two paths.  One worldly and the other godly.  Jesus addresses this a couple of times with a metaphor about sheep and goats and again when we talk about two paths: one wide and one narrow.  All these things are driving at the same point.  We cannot walk down the worldly path and expect to find God.

In fact, to choose a worldly path is offensive to God.  You are saying that you know better than the creator and Lord of the universe.  You are saying that all the good gifts that God has given are not enough.  You are saying that sin and wicked deeds are better than the righteous teaching of God.  You are basically saying that you do not trust God.

The world is seductive, with its constant newness, never mind that all the "new" are usually shined up versions of old sins.  The world draws us in like a shiny lure does with fish, but we do not realize there are sharp hooks that grab a hold of our hearts.  We get trapped by the shininess of it and before too long we are addicted to it.  The sad reality is that the world can never fulfill us, that is not its purpose.  Rather it just keeps us craving more and more until we are so deep into sin that we do not even recognize who we are anymore.

I realize it is hard to resist because the world is entertaining and often we can rationalize it in our lives.  The world has a firm grasp on many Christians because, well, it is just easier. Resisting the world and following God takes work.  Paul compared training for godliness to training for a race.  You do not get up off the couch and run a marathon without extensive training.  Godliness does not just happen by accident either.  It takes time and dedication to study God’s word, to pray, to obey and to cultivate a relationship with the Lord.   However, there is great hope even if you have been walking down the path of worldliness.  James helps with this in verses 7-10.

Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.  James 4:7-10

We need to repent, turn our hearts back to God and commit to His ways.  If you have been walking down the path of worldliness, turn back to God today.  The world will only leave you empty, craving more and more.  The path of godliness will fulfill you and bring you close to the Savior.  Forsake the world and turn back to Jesus to walk the path of righteousness today!

 

Posted by Bryan Gotcher with

12...19202122232425262728 ... 4041