The Undiscerning

We Christians go to church and believe in Jesus so therefore we should be a shoo-in for getting into heaven, right? Today we will read a verse that may cause us to reconsider what we say and do. It might also challenge our very belief system. Are you ready?

The Apostle Paul laid out a very clear path that members of the church in Rome could take to salvation (ie. The Romans Road).

In the last part of Romans 1, Paul lists a bunch of sins that are detestable to God. But then, in the very last verse, Paul offers up something else for us to consider.

"Though they (Roman church members) know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." - Romans 1:32

Paul is writing to a church! Some people in the church in Rome were approving of the sinful acts that a portion of its members were committing!

Romans 1, Galatians 5, and Leviticus 18 clearly state that same sex sin is abomination to The Lord. Remember, these are people IN the church that Paul is writing about. For example, based on Romans 1:32, a lesbian pastor or bishop would REALLY be on God's naughty list. Instead of prayer meetings, are we holding gossip sessions?

The text also makes it sound like any church members who allow these things to go on in their churches also face the same wrath.

And what happens to an entire denomination under church leadership that practices or condones these things? This seems like a rather big deal. Will millions of members in these churches face God's wrath instead of heaven by approving / allowing sin? It kind of sounds like it.

There is a word that we Christians need to become very familiar with - "discerning." We must discern ALL things that come into our eyes, ears, heart, and mind. The undiscerning face an eternity FAR different than what they are expecting.

We need to be filtering everything we take into our Spirit-filled bodies through the Word of God. If it doesn't line up with scripture, discard it. Paul is a New Testament teacher. Wake up church!

When Jesus spoke to the woman caught in adultery, what did he tell her to do? "Go and sin no more." - John 8:11

We must first examine ourselves and then come alongside those we see living contrary to what the Bible says, and then lovingly point out these things. God wishes that none would perish.

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9

Road Trip - Part 3

"But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:23

Last time we got off "the road" and took a look at just how much God loves us. Maybe just one more reminder....

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life." - John 3:16

The first few verses of our Romans Road road trip have been a pretty dismal. Basically, no one is good, and we're all going to hell. But today that changes. We finally receive some GOOD news!

First of all Romans 6:23 says that we get a gift! A FREE gift!! And what a gift it is - eternal life! To be honest, we ALL will live forever, it's just a matter of location, right? Heaven or hell.

For those of us who have chosen Jesus, heaven will be our destination. For those who don't believe in God or don't want to partake of God's free gift, well, those people will get to live forever too - in a lake of fire.

As believers, God's gift of eternal life sounds good until we remember that we have family members and friends who will basically choose to go to hell because of their refusal to believe in Jesus. That hurts us deeply. Why? Because we love them.

There's that word again. Love.

Jesus died so that ALL might live. "The WHOLE world" John 3:16 says. He died for all of us! In our place. How incredibly humbling for us, that God Himself would die for us. We are not worthy. Yet God, in His divine grace, sacrificed His own life so that we could be with Him forever.

But not all of us choose to believe that. And that makes us sad. Why? Again, it's because we love them.

Next time we will learn just what is meant by 'believing' in Jesus. As James says? "Even the demons believe."

[Come back on Wednesday for the final leg of our journey along the Romans Road to Salvation.]

On My Mind

Hey look! There's a rest stop up ahead. Let's get off this Romans Road Road Trip we're on and rest up for this next verse on our journey. We really need to be properly prepared for it.

*****

"When I woke up this morning, you were on my mind."

That's the opening line from an old 60's song by We Five. I'm thinkin' that that line needs to be active in our daily lives, especially these days.

What do we think about when we first wake up in the morning? This morning (Friday, as I am writing this), I find myself thinking about a young friend of mine who is battling addictions and how I haven't seen any replies to my latest texts.

That led me to the FIRST thing that I should be thinking about every morning and that is God.

After praying for my friend I began thinking about God and his incredible love for us. My conclusion is that most of us don't really understand His love fully. As Paul said....

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39

Amen to that!

Love is the answer to all of life's problems. And how can I best describe that for you? Let's try 1st John 4.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." - 1 John 4:7-8

There's a lot of love in that verse. And it's there for a reason. Now, take a look at these verses and see if you can detect a similar pattern .

"Love one another as I have loved you."

"God IS love."

"Love the Lord your God."

"Love your neighbor."

"Walk in love, just and Christ loves us."

Love is the key to this whole crazy life we're living. Love is the beginning of prayer. Love is also the result of it. Love extends grace, shows mercy, and corrects a wrongful child.

Love is the most important thing that we can give or receive. But we must first receive that gift of love into our hearts before we can properly give it.

More about that next time. We'll be back on our Romans Road road trip!

You Were On My Mind - We Five

WTSHTF

I think perhaps it might be time to talk a little bit about a seldom preached about chapter of the Bible - Romans 1. The chapter starts out friendly enough but then Paul gets down to business pretty quickly and tells the truth about sin, evil and just where it is we will be going if we don't change our wicked ways.

These days most churches like to deliver feel-good messages. They feel, "the flock must be happy so they can shine the light of Jesus" . . . and so they will continue to give financially and continue to come regularly. But is that what churches are supposed to be about? Feel-goodism? I think not. Let's read a few lines of Romans 1 and see what the Apostle Paul has to say to the Christians in Rome.

After Paul greets the Christians in Rome he expresses his desire to visit Rome. But then . . . by the time verse 18 rolls around Paul's tone has changed - dramatically! Paul dishes it out pretty severely to a church that he greeted warmly just a few lines before. Try this on for warmth and fuzziness. It's not going to fit.

"18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." - Romans 1:18

It gets worse. Finally in 28 Paul is REALLY rolling. And although Paul is writing to his brothers and sisters in Rome, he might as well be addressing the American people. These days we sound just like what Paul is describing.

"28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." - Romans 1:28-32

Quite the attack! But nearly 100% accurate if you ask me if you look at the world in which we live today. And as we'll find out later in Romans 6, "the wages of sin is death."

There are many who feel we are in the last days before the return of Jesus. I am one of them. The signs are everywhere! Christianity is fading in this country and it shows no signs of turning around. We need to repent and turn back to God or we will surely die as the Bible says.

Alright. Enough "reality." Time for some encouragement. If you would skip ahead a bit and land in the Book of 1st Corinthians you can read Paul's letter to a church who had already begun to go through the same disobedience to God as the Roman church was experiencing. Once again, Paul is reprimanding the Christian church, the sexually immoral, drunkards and idolaters this time, to name a few. But then he offers this reminder to the church in Corinth. Words we need to remember today, especially if we are Christians. And especially if we are in need of repentance. Verse 11.

"11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

When Jesus returns and raptures His church, soon after things are going to get ugly for those who have been left behind. "When the sh . . . when the "stuff" hits the fan (WTSHTF) you do NOT want to be anything other that a believer in Christ.

We have all been offered a priceless gift. A gift that will spare us from the coming wrath. Why aren't more people accepting it? In my opinion, it's because they are too busy enjoying themselves and the life they are living. There's no sign, at least in their minds, that things are going bad. Why should they change?

Reading The Bible is the single best thing you could do, short of placing your faith in Christ immediately. Read it. Investigate it. Ask questions of others knowledgeable in The Word. It stands as a testimony. Though many have tried to break it, it stands to this very day. I thank God for His words to us and His unfailing love and mercy. We ARE a generation, stiff-necked and forever wandering. It's time to go home. Where we belong. :)

"16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes" - Romans 1:16

We Believe - Newsboys

Up Nort Der Hey

Door County is one of Wisconsin's favorite vacation getaways. It is also one of favorite vacation destinations for the entire state of Illinois! Or so it seems. We all have our special places we like to go to get away from it all.

Where do you like to go? The beach? Do you just stay at home to get away from it all? Is your "get away" location a bathtub and a cup of coffee?

Have you ever noticed how most people like to go "up north." My wife and I live in Waupaca, Wisconsin. Waupaca is a vacation destination for many from the Milwaukee area or from Chicago. For them, WE are "up north." So where do WE in the Waupaca area go for vacation? WE too go up north - Eagle River, Tomahawk, Canada.

All this raises a question. Where do Eskimos go for there vacation? They are as "up north" as they can go! The only place they can go is "down south." That makes be think there is SOMEPLACE in between where you don't need to travel for vacation at all. There is someplace where people can live that is ALREADY the perfect destination spot. And guess what . . . Shhhh! . . . I have found it. :O

The place I go to "get away from it all" is very close to where I live. I don't need to get packed. I don't need to fill the gas tank or have a change of clothes to weigh me down. My secret vacation destination, the place where I go to relax and calm down from all the activity, noise and busyness, fits right in the palm of my hands.

No! It's not a phone or a laptop. It's my Bible.

Whenever I feel like I need to take a break, whenever I need to just get away, I open up my Bible and I turn to the Book of Romans . . . chapter eight. MY favorite vacation destination. Won't you please join me?

Romans 8

After I get done reading that chapter I just feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from these incredibly old shoulders of mine. I feel rested and relaxed. All my cares are gone and the sunshine seems just a little brighter. All the benefits of a vacation without having to leave my house.

My prayer for you this morning is that you would take a vacation break, right where you are. Open up your Bible and read Romans eight. You too may find rest and relaxation in the arms of Christ.

"38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39

Amen. :)

Righteous

There are very few movies that my wife and I will watch over and over and over again. One of those movies is U.S. Marshals, staring Tommy Lee Jones, Wesley Snipes and Robert Downey Jr. And it doesn't matter if we come in half way through it. We will sit right down and watch it until it's done.

In the movie Mr. Snipes plays a former Special Ops soldier and now U.S. special agent named Mark Sheridan. Sheridan was falsely accused of murdering two fellow agents. Of course, he was innocent, trying to prove that innocence throughout the movie, all while being chased by U.S. Marshall Tommy Lee Jones. During the films final scene, agent Sheridan, having been proved innocent, is surrounded by a group of reporters on the courthouse steps. One of the reporters asks, "Mr, Sheridan, how does it feel to be in from the cold?"

Sheridan replies, "Righteous. Very righteous."

Do you know what it means to be righteous? Merriam-Webster describes the word righteous as "acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin." In the case of Mr. Sheridan, he was returned to a right standing with the agency he worked for. Rather that being on the outside, he was once again on the IN side. He thought of himself as being "righteous." But was he? Really? And what does being righteous in today's world really mean anyway?

Abraham (formerly Abram) was seen in God's eyes as being righteous . . . because of his faith. That begs the question, how are WE doing? 

"After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness." - Genesis 15:1-6

If Abraham was considered righteous, how are WE doing? Are we seen as righteous in God's eyes? How many of us are good enough and have a faith like Abrams? Check out this from the book of Ecclesiastes 7, quoted by Paul in Romans, to find out.

“None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. 13 Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. 14 Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known. 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.” - Romans 3:11-18

Uh oh.

So how can we ever have any hope of getting into heaven if none of us is good enough to make the cut? Still got your Bible handy? Keep reading in Romans. You won't have to read far before you hear the good news.

"21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it - 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." - Romans 3:21-26

We become righteous in God's eyes through our faith in Jesus! To become righteous in God's eyes we must realize we are sinners and repent of our sins. We must receive the gift of salvation through our faith in Jesus as Lord, and we must receive His Holy Spirit who will give us the power to change our lives. It's not us, it's Him. Make that change today.

So this week when somebody asks you, "How are you feeling today?" You can smile at them and say, "I feel righteous. Very righteous."

We sang a song by Matt Maher in church yesterday. In it there is a line that perfectly describes our situation as an unrighteous people. It goes . . .

"My one defense, my righteousness. Oh God, how I need you!" - Matt Maher

We have absolutely no defense apart from Christ. When we stand before God one day He will look at us and judge us for what we have done. Most will be judged unworthy. And so would we who place our faith in Jesus. However we will be see as righteous in God's eyes because of our faith in His righteous Son, Jesus. That is why the song says, "My one defense, my righteousness. Oh God, how I need you!"

Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher

A Superseding Righteousness - A sermon by Matt Chandler