JasonS Uncategorized

Do God’s Blessings Equal God’s Endorsement?

Today many people are quick to respond to warnings against those who are immoral or those who teach false doctrine and say, “But look how God is blessing them and how many converts they have.” The question that we must ask of the Scriptures is this: “Do God’s blessings equal God’s endorsement?”

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:43–45) God’s blessings often fall equally upon the righteous and the unrighteous and upon the unthankful as well as the evil (Luke 6:35). We cannot equate the blessings of God to the endorsement of God.

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21–23) Sometimes amazing things are done by those who profess the name of Jesus, and yet that is not an endorsement of God. Jesus warned earlier that we know them by their fruits. If we think that we will know someone by the approval and endorsement of men, we will go wrongly. If we recognize the fact that the fruit of which Jesus speaks is the fruit of obedience to His Word, we will understand that there are those who may do “many wonderful works” in Jesus’ name while speeding toward hell and eternity without Christ. Remember, numbers are not what indicates true spirituality and Christianity. Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13–14) In this instance it is much better to be among the few than among the many.

Sometimes folks will say, “But surely the blessings of God on them shows that they are truly His and sent by Him.” It is then that we must remind them of the words of God through Paul, who said, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;” (Romans 2:4–5) God’s blessings are not always indicators of God’s endorsement and approval. Sometimes God’s blessings are His tender mercies calling us to repentance and, should a person use these blessings as reason to continue in sin, false doctrine, or to continue in the ministry while having disqualified himself, he is warned that he is treasuring up for himself wrath in the judgment!

Finally, the blessings and presence of God do not mean that a church or person is doing the right thing. Five of the seven churches of Asia in Revelation chapters two and three were rebuked of God, while He still accepted them as His churches. Consider the things for which they were rebuked:

  • leaving their first love Rev 2:4
  • teachers who led others astray into greed, lust, fornication, and idolatry Rev 2:14-15
  • having a woman preacher who led folks into fornication and idolatry Rev 2:20
  • having a name of being alive while being dead Rev 3:1
  • for being complacent, self-satisfied, and self-righteous Rev 3:15-17

These folks were still Christ’s churches, yet He was not endorsing their behaviors. They still had the presence and blessings of God although many were sternly warned about the judgment that would be coming on them if they did not repent. While I cannot pretend to know what any of you who read this would think, I do know that I do not want experience any of the things with which Christ threatened these churches! Not only do I want to experience the presence and the blessings of God, but I also want to experience the smile and approval of God. Sometimes we will speak of sin and say, “God won’t bless where that is going on.” These church letters teach us otherwise. God is longsuffering, merciful, and gracious to us, and will often bless us despite ourselves; but we should never think that mercy and grace are equal to an endorsement of us when we are involved in false doctrines or living unrepentant in sin.

JasonS pastoral work

Addressing Symptoms Rather Than The Disease

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed ye be not consumed one of another.  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,  envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another” https://ref.ly/Ga5.13-26;av1873

    One of our greatest problems in the ministry is that of trying to fix problems by addressing the symptoms. Do you see that Paul does not tell them to stop biting and devouring one another; but rather told them to love one another and walk in the Spirit? Just as a sinus infection cannot be cured simply by addressing the symptoms of a runny nose, but by treating the actual infection, neither can we heal divisions among professing Christians by treating symptoms rather than the disease.

    Too many times we try to address the problem of division by telling folks to stop fussing and be nice. That is insufficient, and it is not a Christian approach. Jesus didn’t come to make us nice: He came to save us from our sins. We overcome the sin of division through repentance and learning to love as Jesus loves us.

    Another thing we tend to do is tell people that they need to do better than they are; but that is also insufficient. None of us have the strength to overcome the evil selfishness and divisiveness  that is within our hearts. This is why we are commanded to walk in the Spirit. If we try to fix the problem by telling folks to stop, or to act better than they are, we are addressing the flesh. Verses nineteen through twenty-one tell us how that will end up: things will ultimately get worse, even if there is the superficial appearance of improvement. The things we seek after are the fruit of the Spirit, and not that of fleshly effort. 

    It is amazing how deep the roots of pride and self are. We wholeheartedly confess that we are saved by grace, yet try to lead Christ’s flock into holiness by works. We tell them that things will improve if they will only act more nicely and be sweeter; but this is destined to fail, because we need God’s free and empowering grace to overcome the sin in our hearts. In doing this we become legalists, who are relying solely on human works rather than yielding to the transforming grace of God and the sanctifying power of His Holy Spirit.

    Brothers, if we are to truly lead people beyond their sins, we must address more than their symptoms. Their problem is that of sinful hearts needing to be changed by the Holy Spirit. This change can only come about by conviction, repentance, and faith, as these are God’s prescription for changing our hearts and lives (See 2 Corinthians 7:7-12;James 3:14-4:10). To address these problems in any other way is less than Christan preaching. From that point it is the duty of each person to yield to the Spirit. Sadly some will refuse and rebel, demonstrating a lack of grace in their hearts (See Galatians 5:19-21); but others, who are truly born again, will hear, believe, obey, and be changed and blessed by the power of God (Galatians 5:22-24).

    Brothers, let us address the disease of division with the Gospel rather than simply treating the symptoms with a call to fleshly works of do-goodism. The Gospel is not only good news for those who are lost, because it is also the power of God to continue His transforming work in us as we are made holy here; and it gives us the hope of future glory when our bodies are redeemed in the resurrection (See Ephesians 1:1-14;2:8-10).

JasonS pastoral work, Uncategorized

Disqualified pts 3&4

Part one

Part two

The Warning To Timothy

“This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.” (1 Timothy 1:18–20)

Paul has a desire for Timothy, and that is that Timothy retain and treasure faith in Christ and a good conscience, because a lack of these things leads to shipwreck. Shipwreck is a description of the destruction and ruin that can come upon one who walks away from God by not trusting Christ and not maintaining a good conscience.

When we know the truth, sin and error will work against our conscience. We will know and be aware of our wrong, and our conscience will bear witness to our error (See Romans 2:14-16;9:1-2). When we ignore the testimony of a conscience that is educated by the Word of God and moved by the Spirit, we know that we are persisting in sin. This can only lead to destruction.

Paul warns Timothy that shipwreck is possible. In no circumstance can we assume that shipwreck is a positive thing. Neither should we dare think that one cannot and will not make shipwreck if they ignore God’s Word, His Spirit, and the pangs of conscience. If one makes shipwreck, he cannot continue as he did before. Some shipwrecks may possibly be repaired. Some shipwrecks may be irreparable. Regardless, shipwreck means that life will not go on as if it were in good repair. Ministry cannot continue as if one’s life were in good shape. Shipwreck is destructive to peace of mind, one’s family, one’s conscience, one’s walk with God, and all else in the person’s life. Those shipwrecks from which one can recover are not things that will be fixed over night.

Some shipwrecks are large scale disasters. Paul spoke of two men who had been turned over to Satan that they would learn not to blaspheme. Paul was speaking of church discipline, or excommunication, when he said this (See 1 Corinthians 5:1-5). There is no way that we could ever put into words just how serious this is and how sobering it should be to us. When one is excommunicated from the church and left at the mercy of the devil, there is no knowing exactly what will happen when the flesh is destroyed as God allows Satan to plague such an one. The purpose of this is to bring the shipwrecked person to repentance. One thing is sure, and that is that while the person is turned over to Satan, God is still in control of the process, and “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31)

Should the shipwrecked person refuse to repent and change their ways, we find that destruction can indeed be a final sort of destruction. We read of some whose sins led to death (1 Corinthians 11:17-34). Solomon was used of God to say, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” (Proverbs 29:1)

I am convinced that one can sin to the point that his life is taken. We are solemnly warned of this: “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.” (1 John 5:16) Sin has no other end than destruction.

Shipwreck is a reality. Please do not minimize sin and shipwreck and act as if the consequences thereof are small. There are times that one must step down from the ministry. There are times that the time out of the ministry is permanent. Shipwreck, when minimized as if it has neither consequence nor impact upon the ministry, can only lead to more heartache and destruction. Please, let us not fall prey to the folly of minimizing shipwreck!

 

 

 

Romans 11:29

            With the above things in mind, we must also address one argument that has been presented in the past regarding disqualification from the ministry. It is said that, since God said, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,” (Romans 11:29) that one cannot be disqualified. After all, God gives gifts that are eternal, and God does not repent of His calling.

First of all, let us realize how simply shallow and errant this interpretation of the passage is; because it ignores the context in which it was written. The question is asked whether God had cast off His people Israel (Romans 11:1-2), to which a negative reply is given. The apostle then proceeds to present his case based upon the fact that God had given many gifts and made many promises to Israel that He would forgive their sins and make them His people. Paul establishes this argument by appealing to a specific passage of Scripture to show them that God keeps His promises despite the sin of Israel: “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.” (Numbers 23:19–20) Balack the king of Moab desired Balaam the prophet to curse Israel. Balaam stated that, though he tried to do so, God had spoken a blessing upon Israel, and would not repent of it. God had given Israel the gift of being His people, and He was not repenting of doing so. Paul stated that, though Israel was temporarily blinded, their ultimate end and salvation was of God, who promised that He would save Israel and make them His people.

This text can be of great comfort to us when we sin, because we know that God will indeed forgive the sin of His people and not cast us away. It is what comforted Jeremiah when he looked around and beheld the devastation of Jerusalem that came because of their idolatry. He said, “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22–23) God’s faithfulness to His promises was the reason that He was merciful to Israel and refused to completely destroy them. This is also why He spoke to cold, callous, and careless Israel in Malachi’s day, saying, “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)  Despite our sins, God keeps His promises. That should indeed comfort us, because we know that those of us who are trusting Christ are securely safe in His steadfast, unchanging love.

What we cannot do, however, is rejoice that this verse tells us that a person cannot disqualify himself from the ministry. That is to disregard the context of the Scripture as God’s promise not to abandon Israel, but to also ignore the fact that people have disqualified themselves and lost God’s blessing upon their labors. Saul is a case in point: He was rejected from being king (1 Samuel 13:13-14;15:22-23), and God departed from Him (1 Samuel 28:15-19). Furthermore, if one could not disqualify himself, it nullifies the qualifications presented in First Timothy chapter three, and makes a mockery of God’s Word by presenting a Bible that conflicts with itself and has portions which are incorrect. This is absolutely unacceptable to any Bible believing person. In fact, this is sin, as we have seen in the previous two articles.

 

Concluding Thoughts

The above truths are hard truths, and they cannot be softened. Sinful men who insist that shipwreck and disqualification cannot happen, or that they are not so serious as many of us believe, must be warned. We must not act as if sin’s consequences are small. We must not act as if our sins will not affect us negatively and even destroy us. We are told that such must be rebuked. “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.” (1 Timothy 5:20)

Finally, this series of articles should not be viewed as harsh, judgmental, and unforgiving. The fact is, we cannot present the forgiveness of sin, God’s mercies toward the sinner, and God’s restoring power unless we first present sin as destructive and damning. Those who desire to stand with God’s Word dare not treat sin lightly. They must present the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Only then can we see the glories of the grace of God. “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20–21) If you are a minister who has fallen and disqualified himself, please take sin seriously. I plead with you to be as David, who confessed his sin and accepted the consequences. Only then can you truly be restored in your walk with God. I do not profess to know your future. I do not know whether or not your ministry can be restored. Maybe it can, and then maybe your reputation is so greatly damaged that you can never again fill the qualifications of First Timothy chapter three. I do know that God will forgive you and restore you to a holy walk with Him, and that is what is of utmost importance.