Congratulations Alex and Bethany

I received a phone call from Alex B tonight, he excitedly told me that he asked Bethany to be his wife.

The Unger family had a white elephant gift opening and they rigged it so that Bethany would get the last gift...the ring.

When she opened it...Alex dropped to one knee...asked her to be his wife...

And she said yes.

I can only imagine the ear to ear grin on Alex's face.

Congratulations Alex and Bethany and God bless you.

'My Covenant View, Biblical Interpretation

Biblical Interpretation

In my many debates with my brothers, who hold to a believers baptism only [I used to be a Baptist] I sometimes would begin the debate with this area. How do we interpret the Bible? In many cases you will hear the Baptist saying “show me in the New Testament where babies were baptized?” What this person is showing is that they have a certain way that they interpret the Bible. Something must be stated or commanded in the New Testament for it to be binding on Christian beliefs and practice. But this is not consistent with the Bible itself.

How many times does God have to command something before it becomes binding in His peoples lives?

The correct answer is once!

When God commands something back in the Old Testament it is binding on God’s people UNLESS He says otherwise. What this means is when God commands something in the Old Testament it is still binding on God’s people unless He annuals it in the New Testament. Unless God specifically commands that children are no longer to receive the covenant sign and to be brought into a covenant relationship with Him [as infants], then we are to continue to do what we have been commanded.

No Harm Done?

The Canadian Supreme Court [that is what they think] has made a ruling that there is nothing wrong with night clubs that promote "partner swapping" and "group sex, and that these activities should not be deemed as criminal.

Why?

Because it is practiced by consenting adults [I am sure the age limit will be removed eventually], and it does no harm to society outside of the clubs.

What the "so called" Supreme Court fails to factor into the equation is that we live in a world created by a Holy God.

He is the Supreme Judge, and not they.

He is the Supreme Lawgiver, and not they.

Our Supreme Court would do well to study history in light of God's word. Countless nations have been destroyed by God because they practiced evil...government endorsed evil.

We have slaughtered millions of our "unwanted" children [and continue to do so], practice open idolatry, practice every kind of sexual perversion, and openly reward those who practice evil.

But these things are ok because they are done by consenting adults...right?

"For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup,
and the wine is red;
It is fully mixed, and He pours it out;
Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth
drain and drink down." [Ps 75:8]

Think again.

The cup above is not full of a nice Merlot or Chianti...it is the cup that is filled with God's fury and wrath!

The wicked will try to hide behind the Supreme Courts rulings...but on the day of reckoning there will be no hiding.

The Supreme Court will stand as trembling ants before the True Supreme Judge...
and there will be hell to pay...literally.

My Covenant View, God’s Fore-ordination

God’s Fore-ordination
In the Reformed camp most would agree that God is the One who sovereignly elects His people. From before the foundations of the world God chose for Himself a people. God chose a Bride for His Son. This election is founded upon God’s grace, and grace alone. It is not as if God looked through the corridors of time and saw that some people had earned His favor. All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. God predestined that “some” would be saved and that others would not.
But we must always keep in our thoughts that God didn’t merely predestine the “end”, He also predestined every “means” that reaches that end. When God predestines that a certain person is going to go to heaven, He also predestines every minute, detailed step that reaches that end goal.
God predestined that His Son would suffer, die, raise from the dead on the third day, and ascend into heaven on behalf of His people. God predestines that a man hears the gospel, that people are praying for him, that he receives the truth, and that he continues to receive the truth his whole life. God’s foreordained ‘means’ do not go against His foreordained ‘end’.
If a person lives their whole life in a country where there has been no missionary bringing the gospel then it is very likely that they are not one of the elect. If they have been raised their whole life to trust in idols, and have never heard the gospel, then how would they ever trust in the Lord Jesus Christ [Romans 10].
On the other side of the coin, if a child is born into a Christian home should we doubt that they are one of God’s elect? No, we shouldn’t. Should we train them in faith or to doubt? Of course we train them in the faith! The sad thing is that many Christians train their children to doubt and then wonder why their children grow cold towards the faith. God has given them these children to encourage and nurture in the faith, and instead these parents discourage and weaken the child’s faith.
One obvious way of doing this would be to never teach my children God’s word, never pray with them, never live out God’s word from Monday to Saturday before them. There is also a less obvious way that many discourage their children with. Keep in mind that God foreordains the end [a strong Christian life] and the means to that end [God’s word, prayer, fellowship, sacraments]. Many Christians put their children in the place of the hypocrite, rebellious, or unbeliever and wonder why their children grow up to be hypocrites, rebellious and unbelieving.
An unbeliever can come to church and listen to God’s word. When it comes time to pray the elders don’t come over to him and say “keep your head up and eyes open pal, this is for God’s people only.” So we see that he is allowed to pray. He can even hang out afterward at coffee time and have a nice time of fellowship with the other people. But when the Lord’s supper is given he is not allowed to partake. Do parents not think that their children do not also get this message? We baptize our children and then treat them like unbelievers for the next 14, 16, 21 years? We train our children to doubt their position with the Lord because we treat them practically like those who are outside of the covenant. We act like baptism means and does nothing.
We need to get away from trying to figure out the secret things [is the child really regenerate, do they really have faith] and need to live according to what God has revealed to us [this child belongs to God and is to receive all the blessings of the covenant, including meals].
We need to begin to practice the “means” that will bring our children to God’s foreordained “end”.

My Covenant View, Creator/Creature Distinction

I have often verbally explained my covenant view to people but I have never done so in written form. The following will be a short explanation of why I hold to my view.

Creator/creature Distinction
A person doesn’t have to go far in the Bible to begin to find support for this belief. In the very first verse of God’s word we read “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. In this verse we see a very important distinction that we would do well to mark and remember.

In the opening verse of God’s revelation to man we see the Creator, and we also see the things He made [the creation]. The Bible teaches us that there is only one God and that this God is infinitely greater than His creation. Only God is infinite in His Being. God alone is: independent, eternal [past and future], all-knowing, all-seeing, everywhere present, all-wise, and all-powerful.

God’s [Creator] thoughts and ways are infinitely higher then that of man’s [creature][Isa 55]. Not only is man’s mind on a lower plane than God’s, because God is the Infinite Creator and man is the finite creature, but we see that man has an additional dilemma that separates his thinking from that of the God who made him.

Because of the first man’s sin and rebellion men are born with sin’s corruption blinding and distorting their thinking. Sin’s ruling power is broken when a man is converted and is regenerated by God’s Spirit, but sin’s power is not completely removed from man until the day he is glorified. Even the most sanctified Christian will have this war raging within him, between his old and new natures. With these truths in mind we need to walk in humility, remembering that we are mere creatures, we are not God. God’s shoes fit God alone, we should never assume that our puny feet could even begin to try them on for size. As we read God’s word we need to keep these very important truths constantly in mind.

In Deut 29:29 we read “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God but those things which are revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law”. There are some truths that God tells us about that are secrets ‘to us’. It’s like your mom and dad telling you ‘that’ they got you something very special for your birthday but then won’t tell you what they got you. They told you that there is a secret [their getting you a present] but they won’t tell exactly what that secret is [for this you will have to wait and see]. God tells us that He has predestined who will ultimately be saved and who will be lost. God has chosen for Himself a people [a specific number] who He has chosen to redeem out of sin and rebellion. God has sent His Son into the world to save these people, and God has sent His Spirit into the world to give the people whom He has chosen ‘new’ life, life from above, so that they may trust Him and cling to Him all their days.

God tells us that He has chosen a people, and God has ‘revealed’ to us a way that we as creatures can identify these people, this way is called baptism. But God has not told us how we, as creatures, may infallibly know who are of the ‘secret’ elect. As a matter of fact God has specifically told us not to try to find out His secrets but to spend our time wisely on the things that He has revealed to us.


Jesus spoke about the second birth but then went on to say that all those who were born of the Spirit were something analogous, to the moving of the wind, no one knowing where it comes from or where it is going [John 3]. In other words Jesus is telling us that the working of the Holy Spirit, in mens hearts, is something that men cannot read with infallibility, it falls into the realm of the“secrets things”.

It is a sad reality that often time Christian’s will focus their minds on where God tells them not to, and then neglect focusing their attention on the very areas where their Lord does command them to. I know that it is unintentional but whenever someone wants to try to define a person as a Christian by trying to make sure that they are “elect” or “regenerate” they have taken a responsibility that is far above their abilities, a job that only the Holy Spirit is able to perform.

I was debating with a dear brother in the Lord, over infant baptism and he said to me, “the difference between you guys and us is that we demand faith before we baptize.” My response to him was, “no, you demand the profession of faith.” What I meant was that is no matter how hard we may try to delve into man’s inner being we will never be able to see [infallibly, as God does] whether that person’s faith is saving and enduring. Waiting for a person to reach 16, 18 or even 21 is no guarantee that they are going to endure to the end. I have seen men older than this accept the message of the gospel, endure for a time, joyfully [as in Jesus parable of the sower], and then fall away. Their older age was no fool proof safe guard.

Defending the Faith

When I share the good news, the gospel, I realize that the truth of the Christian faith is objective. What I mean by this is the truth of God's Word is true whether
someone "subjectively believes and acts upon it or not.

But a part of God's revelation, a part of this "objective truth" is that God is "beauty", "goodness", "love", "patience", "merciful", "holy", and those in whom God brings into His family will also begin to take on His family traits, and resemble their Father.

Knowing the truth and speaking the truth need to be backed up by loving and living the truth.

If I want to teach people about Jesus great love for sinners then I need to begin to love sinners, while I share of Jesus love for them with my mouth.

I can have a 32 lesson course on God the Father's and Christ's love for His people, with all the right words, but if I haven't learned how to sacrificially give myself for my wife and children, then for those who know me [wife and children especially], my words will be like a clanging gong.

I believe that many people reject the "doctrines of grace" because they do observe the "grace" aspect in the ones who present it...just blah, blah, blah doctrine.

God humble us and help us to understand that knowing and doing are two different things.

I want to be able to be a defender of the Christian faith, but not just with my words...I want people to see in my life that I have a hope within me.

When they see how I love my wife and children, how I act at work, at play...I want them to see the beauty and love of God.

And these things can not be "faked", not for the long haul anyway.

A man who neglects his wife and children will not be able to hide this truth from the world around him. He may be able to fool himself, but not others.

May we be doers of the word and not merely hearers, deceiving ourselves.

Judas...the weasel

In my last blog I made the comment that none of the disciples guessed that Judas was the betrayer. I used the word "weasel" and put it into the mouths of the disciples. None of them said I bet its that weasel Judas.

We live in a society of ultra-tolerance. I guess I should feel ashamed that I used a word like weasel to explain Judas. Someone who is a weasel would be someone who is sneaky, crafty, tricky, hard to catch. Ya know, like someone who would steal from the churches collection bag [oopps, like Judas did]. Someone who would sell out a friend who never, ever did him any wrong, and then go eat with Him. Someone who would lead a mob of armed thugs to capture this friend and then try and hide it with a sign of affection.

I cannot be sorry for saying that Judas was a weasel...because he was.

God says he was the son of perdition, a thief, and that it was better if he was never born.

God shows Judas character right at the very beginning of the story. When you read through the list of disciples Judas is described as "the betrayer".

God doesn't want you to be the judge on this man's character..God is telling us that this guy is no good.

Judas...is that you?

To plot against someone behind the scenes...and then be able to eat with them and even give them "the kiss" of friendship in the public realm is a real act of cowardice...and imitates one who we should not set as our example.

Judas was such a good hypocrite that he had all the disciples fooled. When the Lord Jesus announced that one of them would betray Him, all of the disciples said
"is it I". None of them said "I bet it is that weasel Judas".

Do note that Judas played the actor until the very end...with the money jingling in his pocket he too said "is it I"?

A Day in the Life of Mr. Unbeliever

After listening to my Christian friend share about the love of God and the forgiveness of sins that is in Jesus Christ, I sat there for a second thinking up a nice way of expressing my thoughts.

"I don't want to hurt your feelings Wayne, but I have always viewed Christianity as a crutch for weak people to use to get through life." I announced.

As Wayne opened his mouth to respond, I quickly looked at my watch and told him that I had to go and get some errands done.

I turned from Wayne and headed towards my car. I didn't lie, I did have many things to do.

As I sat behind the steering wheel of my car I pulled out my "to do list".

I had many things "to do" so I quickly scanned over my planned schedule.

To Do List

11 a.m.--Psychiatrist appointment

- refill prescription [sleeping pills, pills for depression]

- Go to book store and pick up new book [How to overcome fear and anxiety with positive thinking].

2 p.m.--Go to alcohol and drug dependancy group.

4 p.m.--Appointment with personal trainer at the gym.

8 p.m.-Go to the bar for some drinks with the guys

11 p.m.--Meet "you know who" and pick up "the stuff" for the party tonight.

I folded up the paper,put it into my pocket, and started the car.

As I pulled out of the parking lot I saw Wayne getting into his car.

"Poor guy", I thought to myself.

I am so glad that I don't need "religion" as a crutch to help me through life.

Mountain Top Resort

The man was weary...his labours almost finished. He took with him a arm-full of lumber and some nails.

He was going to build a kingdom that would have no end.

A kingdom that would house a multitude so large that eye could not number it.

He was going to build this kingdom, beginning at the top of a small mountain...

Mt. Calvary!

He could do this because He was the Master Carpenter.