So, when was the last time you murdered someone? That's a pretty blunt question isn't it? But I am not (for once) being sarcastic. When was the last time you murdered someone? “Well, I never have!” you may be thinking. “Stop this presumptuous nonsense!” But according to the bible it is not nonsense. See, in Jesus’ sermon on the mount He stated, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:21–22) “Oh is that all.” you may be thinking. “I thought you really meant killing someone!” But I am. See that is Jesus’ point: when you get mad, you are just as bad as a murderer in your heart. I think because we are not actually committing the act, we take this too lightly. But Jesus didn’t mean for this to be taken lightly. He meant to do exactly what it is doing to you right now…cut to your heart. Think of a horrible person that went to prison or was executed. Like Ted Bundy, Son of Sam, Jeffery Dahmer, the bike path rapist, Timothy McVeigh, the beltway sniper, Cain etc. Whenever you get mad, your heart is EXACTLY like theirs. Who would have thought you would ever be compared to such people?!

Yet this is the point Jesus is trying to make. We too often look to the outside, the actions alone. Where God looks at the heart. So let this sink in very clearly: when you get angry at someone your heart looks just as evil as someone like Marylin Manson! And why is this? It is because it is all the same emotions. It is all selfishness. We get angry when we do not get our way. It's just that some people yell, scream and slam things to get what they want. While others kill a person to get what they want. But it is still rooted in the same emotions. “Yeah but I didn’t actually kill someone! So it is not as bad as that.” you may be thinking. And while, yes, there is a bit of truth in that, it is because of that thinking that people don’t think being angry is all that bad. This is why Jesus had to teach this. People were thinking it was not a big deal to get mad and call people names as long as they didn’t physically hurt someone. But Jesus wants us to see the truth. And the truth is that it is just as bad. Even if you think you are justified in your anger. John Chrysostom said, “No matter how just your words may be, you ruin everything when you speak with anger.”

We need to see our anger at this level of volatility if we are going to be serious about curbing it. It reminds me of that scene in Lion King where Simba learns the truth about his dad’s death and how it wasn’t him but his uncle that was responsible. Simba jumps on Scar and yells “MURDERER!” When we come to the truth about ourselves when we get mad…murderer! Edward Welch on this passage said, “You see where [Jesus] is going. Jesus has just enlarged the boundary of murder so that it includes all kinds of anger. In order to do this, he links them at the level of the heart, where they share the same lineage of selfish desire. We want something-peace, money, respect-and we aren't getting it. The only difference is in our choice of weapons. Some use guns, others use words.” Ever call someone an “idiot”, “jerk”? Maybe something a little stronger? Even angry name calling falls into this. “Jesus is putting casual name calling within those same murderous boundaries.” Welch And if you think that is a little far-fetched, Proverbs reminds us that, “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts…” (Proverbs 12:18a)

I'll ask again: when was the last time you murdered someone? Using the standards laid out by Jesus, it is probably more recent than you realize. So, realize the true condition of your heart when you get angry. It is a lot more ugly than you realize. Know that anger doesn’t resolve anything. This has nothing to do with being right or wrong. This has everything to do with your emotions and how you handle being right in a situation. As Neil T Anderson said, “When you resort to shouting in conflict, you are reacting in the flesh. You have lost control of the only person you can control: yourself.” And just to make sure no one is avoiding the indictment here, anger has many faces. Just because you may not yell, scream, stomp or throw things, doesn’t mean you are not angry. Anger doesn’t always equal loud. Anger can rear its ugly head in many ways; grumbling, gossip, cold shoulder, complaining, indifference, controlling, irritable, sarcasm (that one hurts), defensive, criticizing, jealously, eye rolling, envy, avoidance or giving someone the “silent treatment”, annoyed, entitlement and more are all forms of the same angry murderous heart.

So, take up your cross. Die to yourself. Kill the anger within you by the power of God’s Spirit. Resist the temptation (which is not beyond what you can bear) to give into those angry emotions next time you are crossed. Because every angry harsh word is like another killing. You are stabbing that person(s) with your words. Jesus means it to be that dire. And because our anger is that dreadful, we need to be more serious about addressing it. “Do not say, "I cannot help having a bad temper." Friend, you must help it. Pray to God to help you overcome it at once, for either you must kill it, or it will kill you. You cannot carry a bad temper into heaven.” Charles Spurgeon

There is so much wrong with the world. It doesn’t matter your gender, social status, age or political leanings to see there are problems everywhere. Division, anger, crime, depression, death, war, violence, mental and physical illnesses are just some of the issues that plague us. No matter what we do as a nation, it never seems to get any better. Still, everyone has an opinion about what is wrong with the world. Along with these opinions are ideas on how to fix what is going on: change the politicians, change the education, change the laws, change in technology, change in religion, change in policy and even changes in consumerism have all been suggested to better where we are at. Then there are the wannabe philosophers that throw out bouquets of flowery phrases like: choose love, just follow your heart, coexist, just get along, justice for all, equality and so much more. But these flowers of “wisdom” just blow away. These phrases ring hollow as there is little thought to applying them in a practical way. You can tell someone to choose love all you want, but if they don’t, then what? And if you try to force it, would it ever be the genuine article? You can’t change people, and that's the real problem.

Yet the reason we struggle so much with fixing the problems of our world is because we are trying to figure out what has already been solved. See we have the answer to all our dilemas, we just do not want to accept it! We are spending so much time trying to fix what God has already restored. We are trying to find an answer to our many questions, when God has already told us the answer. And the answer is Jesus! Christ’s work on Easter weekend solves all the problems that plague us. At the root of all of which ails us is sin. We are all born with sinful selfish hearts. We desire and choose that which is immoral. And to fix something like this will take more than a twelve step program. We are not talking about outside actions. We are not talking about breaking a bad habit. We are talking about the core of humanity. We are referring to who someone is as soon as they are born. No medical, psychological, therapeutic or religious exercise will resolve this. It will take someone dying and starting all over with a new life. And this is exactly what we can have in Christ. By Jesus dying on the cross and then rising again three days later, we can have a newness of life. We can die to ourselves and be born again in a new purified self. As Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) Jesus. He is the answer to all of our problems.

Are you looking to end crime and violence? Christ defeated that by nailing our sins to the cross. Are you looking to stop hate and for everyone to love one another? We can love because Christ first loved us and showed us how much He loved us by dying for us. Are you looking to stop division and have unity? We are all unified with Christ in the body of Christ i.e. the church. Are you looking to stop all physical and mental ailments? Christ offers us eternal life with Him in heaven where there will be no more pain or suffering. Are you looking for peace? Christ offers us peace, not as the world does, but a peace that passes all human understanding. Are you looking for change? Christ offers us His perfect life in exchange for ours. Are you searching for meaning and purpose? In Christ you have direction and purpose. For Christ is the real reason for why you  were created.

So as we reflect on the meaning of Easter weekend, let us be reminded that this is the answer to all our problems! Everything that is wrong, was defeated and solved by Jesus dying on the cross and coming back from the dead three days later. We just need to look to Him in faith and be saved. Will all problems evaporate when we do? No. But that is not because Christ didn’t solve them. That is because there are still millions of people out there who have not accepted Him. They would rather try and solve life on their own. And in doing so, they are contributing to the problem instead of turning to The  Solution.

A recent court decision in Finland should grab the attention of Christians in America. Recently a Finnish Supreme Court decided 3-2 that politician Päivi Räsänen was guilty of “insult” and a hate crime. World Magazine reported, “Finland’s Supreme Court handed politician Päivi Räsänen a win and a loss in a ruling on Thursday. The court cleared her of charges for a tweet she sent years ago showing a Bible passage. But it found Räsänen guilty of hate speech for a 20-year-old booklet called “Male and Female He Created Them.” What was this booklet that was at the center of this big court case? It was written by Räsänen and Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola to explain the biblical teachings on marriage and homosexuality. What is interesting about this court decision is that they didn’t condemn Räsänen for referencing the bible on Twitter (now called X), yet literature about what the bible teaches is a condemnable offense. This is also after, mind you, she was exonerated by two lower courts.

But the hypocrisy here is not even that superficial. Finland has always proclaimed itself to be a land of tolerance. A place of neutrality where it doesn’t matter what beliefs you hold. In so doing they have the War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Law which states, “an expression of opinion or another message where a certain group is threatened, defamed or insulted on the basis of its race, skin color, birth status, national or ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation or disability or a comparable basis.” However this is the law they used against Räsänen to convict her. In an effort to be inclusive they have excluded a woman for her Christian faith. The law is to protect someone from being “threatened, defamed or insulted” based on their “religion”. But that is exactly what happened to her by her own government! Her name has been defamed and threatened with criminal action by the very institution that is supposed to protect her from it! The very law there to protect someone, the government used to target them.

What is even more stunning is the Finnish government openly admitting that they are being hypocritical. Finland’s minister of justice, Leena Meri, described the nation’s law in this case as “not sufficiently precise and especially not predictable as required by the principle of legality in the criminal code. It is very difficult for people to know what is prohibited and what is permitted.” But did that stop them from pursuing Päivi Räsänen criminally for her Christian beliefs? No. In response to this, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Riley Barnes stated forcefully: “Holding Christian convictions isn’t a hate crime. Finland’s ‘hate speech’ conviction of MP Päivi Räsänen—for simply writing a pamphlet defending the Bible—shows the tragic state of religious freedom in the West. The United States stands opposed to these ideological attacks against the Christian faith.”

Now why should this be on the radar for all christians in America? Because this is the type of governing many of our politicians want America to have. It has been widely said that if you want to see where America is headed, just look at where Europe is now. Many Democratic (and some Republican) politicians want exactly the same type of “tolerance” in America. The type of tolerance where people have freedom of speech, except for the traditional Christian teaching. For years we have seen lawmakers try and punish Christians that have been outspoken about their faith. For example, back in 2019 Congressman Beto O’Rourke said, “There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for anyone or any institution, any organization in America that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us.” Just this year alone there have been cases all over the country that American entities attacking Christians for their beliefs: a christian photographer in Louisville where the cities laws prevented her from expressing her faith, a bible college in Chicago excluded from a student-teaching program, a public library in Alabama closing its doors to a christian non-for-profit, an Indiana school district discriminating against a Christian  music teacher, a fire chaplain in Texas fired for sharing his religious beliefs on his personal blog, Vermont lawmakers attempting to prevent Christians from being foster parents because they do not support LGBTQ+ ideology, Hawaii censoring Christian political speech and so much more!

To understand and stand up to this we must look at it for what it really is. It is not a public effort for tolerance. It is not about Christians being hateful. This is not progressing forward for the better. This is all about the sinful world silencing any talk that challenges their sinfulness. The world loves sin. The world does not want to be told what they are doing is wrong. They do not want to be challenged to show that what they believe is not logical. They do not want to be held up to criticism. They do not want to have to protect what they love against scrutiny. They want to protect what they love…their sinfulness. They love it and they don’t want to give it up simply because they love it so much. They love their sinfulness and they want to protect committing their sins at all costs.

The bible told us about this a long time ago when it said, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:19–20) This is why it is the Christian religion, above all others that is always being attacked. Because we teach what is true. The heart is convicted when hearing what God has to say about a matter. And no one wants to feel conviction. No one wants to hear that what they love to do is wrong and they must stop or face punishment from God. And this is why they attack with such vehemence. This is why they are hypocritical in their attacks. They don’t care if it makes  sense, they just want to silence us! Is this unfair what we are seeing? Yes! But the world loves sin so much, they don't care about being fair. This is why this case should warn us in America. We must unflinchingly stand on the authority of the bible and face any consequences that may come. We must speak the truth in love. Or else we will see our country progress into the hypocritical practice we see here in Finland.

“Christians everywhere must pay close attention to this case. There are many on the left who want the United States to adopt similar hate crime and hate speech legislation. Far too many Americans take comfort that such prosecutions can’t happen here. Christians in Finland have just been stripped of that comfort. Christians all over the world must see the danger clearly. At the same time, we have no choice but to stand on the authority of the Bible and speak the truth. It may well come with an increasing cost and even larger threats. Just ask Dr. Päivi Räsänen.” Albert Mohler

Recently, renowned author J.K. Rowling came out against the practice of assisted suicide. Rowling, known for authoring the Harry Potter books, was being public about her position because Britain is debating a new law to make euthanasia legal. According to World News, she used to support it but then changed her position because of her husband. “Rowling no longer supports assisted suicide and is speaking out against her country’s effort to legalize it. She credited her physician husband, Dr. Neil Murray, with opening her eyes to the possibilities of coercion against vulnerable people. Rowling’s announcement came as the U.K.’s House of Lords debated a landmark assisted suicide bill that passed the House of Commons in June.” This is not the only political stand she has taken publicly. She has also been very vocal against transgender ideology over the years. She believes that supporting such beliefs would and is infringing on women’s rights.

On the surface, this is a very good thing that Rowling is supporting. Being vocal against two sinful actions should be commendable. She is being vocal against something God Himself would be against. Yet, regardless of her moral platitudes, she still misses the mark. While I can agree with her that euthanasia and transgenderism are wrong and should not be embraced by society, I would still keep my distance from her. When looking at right and wrong, we often water it down to a simple action. Lying is bad, and killing someone is a sin. Having an affair is wrong. Assisted suicide is sinful. Transgenderism should not be practiced, and so on. But the Bible teaches that something is right or wrong, not simply because of the action itself. It goes beyond that. There is also the morality of the reason behind the action. This is why the bible teaches that our best actions (i.e., obedience to God’s word) are still filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). If I choose not to lie, on the surface that may seem like a good thing, but it can still be a sin. If I decide not to lie because God is the author of truth and I wish to glorify Him in my actions, then that is good. If I choose not to lie just so I won't lose my job, then that is a selfish motive and still sinful. Because while my actions may be good, my motives are bad. This is why Jesus taught that we are to do good works so that when people see our moral action, God is glorified (Matthew 5:16).

Now, back to J.K., we see that her motives are not as genuine as they ought to be. Her reasons for not supporting transgenderism are because of how it affects women's rights. As far as euthanasia goes, she is worried about people being coerced into doing it. So it seems as if someone can decide to kill themselves without anyone forcing them, she’d be all for it. These “good” actions of hers fall very short of God’s glory. In fact, while she does support conservative efforts, she is not even a Christian. While she attends the Episcopal Church of Scotland, in a recent post on social media, she stated, “I’ve struggled with religious faith since my mid-teens,” Rowling admitted. “I appear to have a God-shaped vacuum inside me, but I never seem quite able to make up my mind what to do about it. I suppose that’s the meaning of faith, believing without seeing proof. That’s why I’ll probably go to my grave with that particular personal matter unresolved.” This is a perfect illustration of what God means by our best actions falling short.

My friends, may we never reduce sin to something that it is not. While our actions are important, this only tells part of the story. Actions stem from the heart. This is why God looks beyond our actions to our hearts. Be careful not to align with those who only do what is right on the surface. Do not just focus on changing your actions. All that we do should be for His glory and not for any other reason, no matter how noble it may seem. This is why His Spirit continues to renew our inner man day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).

I was made aware of an interesting application for your phone this past week called “Text With Jesus”. No, that is not a typo. You can download, for free, mind you, an app for your phone or tablet where you will text with the Son of God. How is this possible, you may ask? With artificial intelligence (AI), of course. After downloading the app, you then choose your Bible character, send a text, and get an immediate response! So not just Jesus, but you can be texting buddies with Mary, Moses, Paul, Daniel, Isaiah, and more. An example given is someone texting Paul, “I’m struggling with feeling judged by others at church.” The AI version of Paul texts back, “Remember, ‘Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.’ (Romans 14:4) Focus on your relationship with God, not the judgement of others.” Or someone else texts Moses, “Hi Moses! I’ve always been curious about the parting of the Red Sea. How did you feel then?” Moses texts back, “It was a moment of faith and obedience traveller. With the Israelites at my back and pharaoh's army fast approaching I trust in God’s promise. His power, not mine, parted the sea.” followed by a wave emoji.

Fox Business reported, Text With Jesus, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that lets users message biblical figures, has grown quickly since its launch, and its creator says most users are embracing it despite skepticism and calls of blasphemy. "Since launch, most people have come to the app out of curiosity, and it’s been incredible to see how many want to try a conversation with biblical figures," Stéphane Peter, CEO of Catloaf Software, told FOX Business in a statement. On the app, users can text with "Jesus," "Moses," or other figures and receive AI-generated responses that quote scripture directly. In one exchange displayed on the app, "Jesus" tells a user anxious about work, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6).

Now, some of you may think this is just a bunch of nonsense, but the app currently has a 4.7 out of 5-star rating by almost three thousand people! One of the reviewers (Diana224) gave it a five-star rating and said, “I love this app. It's a great way to get the answers to questions you're wondering about. I thought it would be silly, but I was curious and downloaded it-to my surprise, I asked a couple of questions, and it has answers to all the questions I asked. The answers are immediate and well-written. The app has a very good feel or vibe to it…helping me search out in my bible, going deeper and learning more!”

But this is a bunch of nonsense. More so, it is foolish. While some of you may be sitting here going, “It is answering with bible verses. What is wrong with a computer giving someone a bible verse or two?” And the answer to that is…context. While the AI computer may respond with bible verses, did it respond with the right bible verses? Did it use the verse in its proper context? With the proper interpretation? Did it take into account what the whole Bible has to say on the topic, or just randomly grab the first verse it saw? What if someone texted Jesus what He thinks about homosexuality? And the AI computer sees that there is not one quote from Jesus in the bible that has the word homosexual in it? Would the computer say something like, “I have never spoken on this topic because I have felt that you should just love everyone.”??

But more importantly, this has to do with how we relate as humans. Being made in His image, we have a need to relate and have meaningful relationships. God saw that man being alone was not a good thing. So He gave us marriage, families, communities, and the church. But Satan, in his craftiness, has shifted our relationships into a whole different dimension. To an unhealthy and ungodly way of filling our needs to relate. We now relate in superficial and artificial ways on so many different platforms. It started off with so many people relating with one another mainly on social media and not in person. But now we see many people shifting to relating with computers and not with humans in any way anymore!

Even still, that shouldn’t be our biggest worry about this new app and what it indicates. Our biggest fear with all of this is how this impacts our most important relationship… with God Himself. Now the world has created a way for us to relate to a fake Jesus, instead of the real one. Think about this: Jesus died on the cross for us to have a relationship with Him, and now people (supposedly Christians) are choosing to relate with a computer version instead of the real thing! The whole point of the gospel is for us to restore that relationship with God and then to be with Him forever in eternity. Jesus told us, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) And yet so many people, instead of opening the door, are going to their phones and talking to a computer pretending to be Jesus. My friends, God has given us all that we need for life and godliness. Including Himself. Let us never look for anything beyond that.

Recently, the new pope, Pope Leo XIV, weighed in on US politics. NPR reported that Pope Leo stated, "Someone who says I'm against abortion but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life," Pope Leo said. "And someone who says I'm against abortion but I'm in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don't know if that's pro-life." His statement falsely claims that to be pro-life means that killing anyone for any reason is not moral. Also, not allowing people in your country is not a pro-life stance either, as that is inhumane. Yet, he is completely wrong. Both of these points are not only illogical, but they are also unbiblical.

First, let us review the stance he has taken on immigration. His point is that if you deport someone, this is inhumane, and you are not being morally good or pro-life. Yet he qualified his statement in a very unfair way: he called them immigrants. It would be more correct and honest if he called these people criminals. There is nothing inhumane, unbiblical, or immoral about disciplining criminals. The United States welcomes anyone from anywhere to come to our country. We have nothing against immigrants coming to our country. But there is a legal way to go about it. There are rules and guidelines to follow to protect our country from its enemies. So anyone who comes in illegally or who is found out to be a criminal is deported for being just that, a criminal. It has nothing to do with them being immigrants. Having a standard of law and punishment for someone who is unlawful is godly. The bible is full of scriptures that state you should punish criminals and have law and order in a society. The Israelites (God’s nation) had a list of laws to follow and punishments if they were disobeyed. God is a God of law and order. And what is morally correct is defending what is right by punishing the guilty. It is not godly at all to ignore crime and allow lawlessness. There is nothing unbiblical about punishing the guilty. God wants His people to stand up for justice. He assigns the government to punish the guilty and fight against evil. It is also godly to have borders that you protect. The whole book of Nehemiah is about the people of God building a wall around the city of Jerusalem. And why? To have a border of protection! So that the city can be protected from its enemies. There is nothing about this that has anything to do with being pro-life. If anything, disciplining the guilty is pro-life because you are protecting the innocent lives that are being affected by the criminals.

Now, let us look over the Pope’s next point on the death penalty. On the surface, his opinion seems to have a little more teeth to it. He believes that if you are pro-life, then you shouldn’t be behind the death penalty. To him, this is killing another human being, just like what happens with abortion. So if abortion is wrong, so should executions. Yet, once again, the pope is misguided and showing a level of naivety about scripture.  The bible clearly teaches in multiple locations (Romans 13 being the most popular one) that it is the government’s job to execute evil in this world. This could be capital punishment all the way up to going to war. If the cause is just, the government has the right to eliminate evil from this world. Some of you may be thinking to yourself, “Isn’t this inhumane? This can not be pro-life, can it? How could you be against abortion but for capital punishment? They both kill humans!” The question that is being asked is the wrong question. Being biblically right or wrong when taking a life is just about killing someone or not. What it is about is why that life is being taken.  What is the reasoning? The purpose behind it?

Just like earlier, the way the Pope laid out his remarks was loaded and stacked in his favor. The question is not as simple as, “Does this action promote life or take away life?” like you would ask when referring to abortion. The context is all different when you are talking about criminals. The question that should be asked is, “Is this just or not?”. Did a serial killer do something that could justify execution? Yes. Did an innocent baby in the womb? No! The pope is trying to make these two different actions morally equal, and they are not. The bible does not make these two things equate, and so neither should we. And neither should the Pope, who supposedly believes in the same bible we do. God, going back to the first point in this article, supports justice because He is a just God. And there are just killings that He allows to defeat evil and uphold what is right and true.

This is actually a little bit of a surprising take for the Pope to have. He is being hypocritical in the point he is making. The Vatican has its very own armed services called the Swiss Guard. They are responsible for protecting both the Vatican grounds and the Pope himself. And they are not just ceremonial guards. This is not about presentation for those who visit the Vatican. No, these men are trained in “anti-irregular military counterintelligence, commando-style raids, counter-sniper tactics, counterterrorism, close-quarters battle, defusing and disposal of bombs, executive protection, hostage rescue, human intelligence, medical evacuation, reconnaissance, tactical driving, tactical medical services, and tactical fast shooting by small arms” and are considered an “elite military unit”. So he obviously believes in just killing, because if someone made an attempt on his life, his guards would kill that person in self-defense. So what exactly is the difference here? If his guards kill a criminal attempting to end the Pope’s life or if the government executes a convicted killer? Are these not both just killings? If I were to use the Pope’s logic, wouldn’t that mean he is not pro-life either? This is why all of these statements are not just unbiblical, but they are also illogical. All the pope is doing is sending out nice bite-sized platitudes to appease the masses. This makes good print, scores points, and gladhands the ones that matter most to his power. This is why we do not blindly follow any religious leader, but test them according to scripture. Because the Bible is the authority and Christ is the head of the church. All this is, is just a bunch of pope nonsense.

In a previous article, I had highlighted a point given by pastor Thomas Brooks in one of his last sermons to his church. At the end of the sermon, he rattled off 27 of what he called “legacies”. These were short points to leave his church to reflect on during his absence. I want to highlight three of them here in this article. They all have to do with reflection, remembrance, and perspective.

The first one I want to reference, Thomas said, “Eye more, mind more, and lay to heart more, the spiritual and eternal workings of God in your souls, than the external providences of God in the world.” That is very interesting to bring up. How often have you done that? Have you ever done that? Have you ever taken the time to reflect on how God has worked on your soul? Because He is, isn't He? He continues, “Not a soul but he is carrying on some work or other in it, either blinding or enlightening, bettering or worsening; therefore, look to what God is doing in thy soul. All the motions of God within you are steps to eternity, and every soul shall be blessed or cursed, saved or lost to all eternity, not according to outward dispensations, but according to the inward operations of God in your souls.” I think Brooks’ point is that we too often look at what God does externally, instead of internally. But what a thoughtful exercise. Taking the time to look at how you have changed, how you have grown, how you have repented in varying areas, how you have matured, etc. He finishes his point by saying, “If God should carry on never so glorious a work in the world, as a conquest of the nations to Christ, what would it advantage thee if sin, Satan, and the world should triumph in thy soul, and carry the day there?” That is a very good question. So reflect on the inner workings of God’s Spirit in your life.

The next legacy that Thomas mentions is, “Look as well on the bright side as on the dark side of the cloud; on the bright side of providence as well as on the dark side of providence.” How often have we fallen prey to this? To always look at the negative of our circumstances? Thomas refers to this as a weakness in our faith: “Beloved, there is a great weakness amongst Christians; they do so dwell on the dark side of the providence that they have no heart to consider the bright side.” There is a hopelessness in always looking at things pessimistically. But we are never to lose hope! We are on God’s side! And everything that happens to us, He allows for our good in some way, shape, or form. Brooks then gives some great biblical examples of this: “If you look on the dark side of the providence of God to Joseph, how terrible and amazing was it! But if you look on the bright side, his fourscore years' reign, how glorious was it! If you look on the dark side of the providence of God to David in his five years' banishment, much will arise to startle you; but if you turn to the bright side, his forty years' reign in glory, how amiable was it! Look on the dark side of the providence of God to Job, oh, how terrible was it in the first of Job! But compare this with the last of Job, where you have the bright side of the cloud, and there God doubles all his mercies to him. Consider the patience of Job, and the end that the Lord made with him.”

How right is he? Too often, we allow our minds to focus on just the negative as if that is the whole story. Imagine reading the Christmas Carol only to stop reading once Scrooge is done speaking to the ghost of Christmas future? How depressing and fatalistic would that be? But that is not the whole story! There is still more. The bright side. He had a second chance. And so it is with us. We may never see things so clearly as a story in the bible, but we don’t need to! We know God and should trust Him that this trial is all for our benefit and His glory! Do not just concentrate on the clouds. Do not just fixate on the dark. Do not just gaze on the negative. There is always a light side to God’s providence! He finished his point by saying, “Do not remember the beginning only, for that was the dark side; but turn to the end of him, and there was his bright side. Many sins, many temptations, and much affliction would be prevented by Christians looking on the bright side of providence as well as on the dark.” So let us take heed and look properly at our situation.

The last point I want to feature has to do with some physical activity. Brooks says that Christians should “Record all special favours, mercies, providences, and experiences.” Have you ever tried this? Have you ever taken the time to actually write down all that God has done for you? To put pen to paper and write out every blessing, favor, mercy, experience, gift, and grace, both big and small? In fact, Thomas admits that if we were to do that, “...a man should do nothing else, should he record all the favours and experiences of God towards him…” Which is true. We could spend a lifetime recording all that God has done for us. And if you engage this practice and can only fill a page or two, then you are not thinking hard enough. Or you do not realize just how much He does for you. Which is the whole point, isn't it? To help us realize just how wonderful and awesome God is! How much He has given to us that we do not deserve! Brooks actually says, “Little do you know the advantage that will increase to your soul upon this account by recording all the experiences of the shinings of his face, of the leadings of his Spirit. Many a Christian loseth much by neglecting this duty.” Do not lose out by neglecting this duty, my friends. Too often, what we focus on in our sinfulness is what we don’t have. We like to think about what we want that we still don’t have. Take the time and reflect on all that He has given to us! Grow your gratitude toward your Father. Consider how much He has blessed you and worship Him because of it! And don’t just think about it. Actually write it down so that you can physically see how much more you are blessed than you realize and often take for granted.

One of the big items occupying the news cycle in the last couple of weeks is the murder of Iryna Zarutska. She fled Ukraine in hopes of finding a better life in America, only to be stabbed to death on a commuter train in Charlotte, North Carolina. But it wasn’t her brutal murder that drew people’s attention to the case. It wasn’t that she left a war-torn country only to die in America. It wasn’t because she was just 22 years old. It wasn’t because of how gruesome and brutal the killing was. It wasn’t even because mainstream media wasn’t covering the story. No, this news story got everybody’s attention because of who killed her and his past. The “alleged” murderer was 34-year-old Decarlos Brown, and he has quite the criminal record. According to Newsweek, “Records show that Brown has been arrested 14 times in over a decade and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He has previously been convicted of felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and communicating threats, leading to a six-year prison sentence in 2015 for incidents dating to 2013 and 2014. He was released in 2020; then, months later, he was charged with assaulting his sister.” A man who was arrested 14 times with a mental disorder and a violent history was running loose in society. This is unacceptable. One of the God given directives for the government is to protect its people from evil, and the governing body in Charlotte has failed its people.

The Bible is very clear that one of the roles for the government is to justly take care of the evil in the world. Romans 13:2–5 says, “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore, one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.” Then in 1 Peter 2:13–14 “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.”

But the failure by the Charlotte government is more than just people falling asleep at the wheel. If only it were so simple. No, the real problem is deeper than this. What has caused this tragedy is a belief system. An idea. A philosophical viewpoint that is different from the bible’s. A progressive and sinful worldview has led to the unjust handling of criminals. The two big problems of their worldview are that they view man as inherently good. And secondly, they see bad acts as a medical problem, not a sin problem. Therefore, criminals are just decent people who need proper social work, and it would be cruel to incarcerate them. It is inhumane to give them jail terms or executions. No, the merciful thing to do would be to “cure” them of their ills. Liberal politicians believe they are doing the humane and merciful thing by not punishing the guilty. This is why we see so many liberal municipalities defund police, have cashless bail, randomly release prisoners, give more rights to prisoners in jail, and not have the death penalty. Just earlier this year, a judge had Brown released without bail from one of his criminal charges, even though his mother pleaded with authorities that he was violent at home.

Conservative politician Dusty Deevers, a Christian, said on this particular crime, “This is why government must be a terror to evildoers. Iryna Zarutska is dead because North Carolina officials caught and released this murderer 14 times. What fear of the law could such a man possibly have? You cannot be more compassionate than God. The "empathy" to the guilty shown by Soros DAs is cruelty to the innocent. The idea that you can social work and medicate your way out of a society with people like this is liberal fantasy.”

CS Lewis also spoke to this in an essay titled The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment. In the essay, he addresses the progressive viewpoint of trying to cure criminals instead of punishing them. This is what he refers to as the humanitarian theory. He says, “I believe that the "Humanity" which it claims is a dangerous illusion and disguises the possibility of cruelty and injustice without end. The Humanitarian theory removes from Punishment the concept of [the person getting what they deserve]. But the concept of [a person getting what they deserve] is the only connecting link between punishment and justice. There is no sense in talking about a "just deterrent" or a "just cure". We demand of a deterrent not whether it is just but whether it will deter. We demand of a cure not whether it is just but whether it succeeds. Thus, when we cease to consider what the criminal deserves and consider only what will cure him or deter others, we have tacitly removed him from the sphere of justice altogether; instead of a person, a subject of rights, we now have a mere object, a patient, a "case". The Humanitarian theory, then, removes sentences from the hands of jurists whom the public conscience is entitled to criticize and places them in the hands of technical experts whose special sciences do not even employ such categories as rights or justice.”

This is exactly what has happened in our society. Ideas have consequences, and our philosophies have led to letting violent people out onto the street. Our twisted way of being merciful has led to the innocent being preyed on by criminals. We are no longer looking at criminal acts as evil, but as someone being “sick”. We think our job is to “cure” people. To make them “better”. The criminal justice system aims to rehabilitate them and then allow them back into society. But when you are not looking at the problem properly, how can you begin to solve it? Does it look like our efforts are helping in reducing crime? No. And why not? Because we do not seek justice. Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.”  And so many in our society are fully set on doing evil. When the diagnosis is all wrong, so will the cure be. The problem with criminals, the problem with evil, is spiritual, not medical. It is because people are inherently bad that we have crime. It is not because we are basically good and just need some corrective therapy and a few pills.

Not only that, but rehabilitation is not the government’s job. Where in scripture are we ever told that it is our political leader's job to “cure” those with social “illnesses”? But maybe that is where the problem really lies: the government is playing God. The government is trying to “save” the criminal. Yet it is the Lord and the Lord only who could ever “cure” what ails lawbreakers. Because He is the only one where salvation is found. And while trying to appear merciful to the criminal, they are inviting evil on the innocent. Just like what we saw here with Iryna. Andrew Walker said, “Iryna Zarutska should be alive. Mercy without justice is not mercy—it's surrender to criminal anarchy. The murder of Iryna Zarutska is exactly what C.S. Lewis warned about with progressive theories of punishment: when sin and evil are treated as illnesses to be rehabilitated, justice gives way to false conceptions of 'compassion,' the innocent are harmed, and evil thrives.” This is the problem with our criminal justice system. We seek to cure instead of seeking justice. Proverbs 17:15 says, “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.” Charlotte, and many liberal municipalities like her, are an abomination to God.

The beginning of the book of Habakkuk is a prayer, or maybe better put, a cry to God about what is happening in his country. “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.” (Habakkuk 1:2–4) As I have been reflecting on the events that have unfolded over the past week in our country, I believe Habakkuk encapsulates well how many of us are likely feeling. With all that has happened over the past couple of weeks, I can easily picture many Christians having the same thoughts. There has been, the school shooting in Minnesota from a couple of weeks ago, then Iryna Zarutska was horrifically stabbed and killed on a train in Charlotte, Charlie Kirk was assassinated, another school shooting happened in Evergreen, Colorado, a motel manager who was beheaded right in front of his family in Texas, a father in Michigan shot his three children killing one of them and a man was arrested in Tennessee for killing the parents and grandmother of a baby and leaving the baby abandoned in the woods. And this is just what has happened in the last couple of weeks!  There are so many more violent acts that have been committed in the previous months.

It doesn't take one long to look around and see hate and violence everywhere. We can easily cry out like Habakkuk and say, “Why?” or “How long, God?”. How long must we witness unjust killings? Why are there so many unprovoked murders? How long must we witness assassinations and senseless violence? We could feel the same bewilderment that Habakkuk did about there being no justice and the law being paralyzed. A couple of these killings I mentioned were done by repeat offenders who were let out of jail prematurely or unjustly. Why God? Why is this happening? We thought you loved justice? We thought you hated evil? We read in the bible about you defeating our enemies, yet they are prevailing. Why? Where are you? Why does it seem to get worse instead of better? Once again, the bible captures our feelings and emotions. Let us take some points away from Habakkuk’s cry to help our weary souls.

The first thing I want to highlight is the need to wrestle with God. Habakkuk is not being disrespectful to God. He is asking honest questions. He wants to know why. He was taught the truth about God, yet what he is witnessing doesn’t seem to line up with what he was taught about God. So he is being open and honest with God. He is having raw emotion in his prayer. We need to do the same. We should have such a close and intimate relationship with God that we are not afraid to tell Him how we really feel. Not be disrespectful, mind you, but honest and forthcoming. Telling God what is really on your heart is not disrespectful. God already knows how you are feeling anyway, so why not express it to Him? There are many times in our life where we will feel lost, scared, emotional, depressed, angry, confused, trapped, defeated, and more! Who better to go to about what we are feeling than God Himself?

I myself am not a very emotional person. Yet when the news came out about Charlie Kirk's assassination, I was very sad. I was more emotional than usual. I couldn't understand why I was feeling this way. Not only did I not know the guy, but I didn't follow him or watch many of his videos. Yet I was still upset. So I went to God. I wrestled and was honest with Him. I said, “Lord, I feel this way, yet I don’t know why. Help me. Comfort me. Direct me.” It is a healthy thing for our hearts to wrestle honestly with the Lord. Make this a common practice in your prayer life. Walter Chantry, on this passage, says, “The weight of these burdens compels us to wrestle with God in prayer.”

The other point I would like to make is about the appearance of God not doing anything. We first must never assume God is tolerating sin. He never does and never will. What we need to keep in mind is that the very presence of evil and injustice can very well be how God is judging godlessness. When you read Romans 1, it explains that when people vehemently reject God, God will, as a form of punishment, allow them to continue in their sin and reap the consequences of it. The Bible says that God “gave them up…” to whatever sinful acts they wanted to practice. And the destruction of themselves and others around them because of their sin is a form of God punishing them. Chantry again, “It was Paul, in Romans 1:18-32, who taught us that when nations are far advanced in rejecting God’s revelation and in moral corruption, God does not always hasten either to reform them or to destroy them. Often, when it still seems to us that God has not acted to ward evil nations, the first wave of divine wrath against the evil has already begun.”

And have we not seen this? For decades, our country has been teaching that there is no God. That we are the gods of our lives. That there is no such thing as truth. Whatever you believe to be true, then that is true. That we are free to do whatever we want, however we want. We are so sovereign over ourselves that we can choose to have sex with whoever we want, marry whoever we want, and be whatever gender we want to be. That we are all inherently good. That there is no basic moral right and wrong. So many things that were basic common truths are just pushed aside as social constructs. They aren’t real. They don’t mean anything. And with our constant pushing back against, not only God and the truth, but also against His created order, God has let us go to our own devices. To work out our beliefs, theories, and worldviews. And this is what it has led to…violence, murder, butchering, and devastation. There is now no regard for human life. People not only wage war against each other, but even against themselves, cutting up their bodies to be something different. No, my friends, God has been responding to the sinfulness in our country. It has just been in a way we would never have thought of.

With all of this in mind, keep wrestling with God and trusting in his providence. He knows what is going on and knows how best to deal with it. God’s silence is not avoidance. Eventually, Habakkuk comes to this understanding. “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:17–19) So cry out to God. Wrestle with Him on your deepest and most passionate thoughts. Be comfortable with going to Him with what is heavy on your heart. And trust that even if you do not see it, He is always working things out for His glory.

A recent study has shown that young adults in America have increased their attendance at church. World reported, “Researchers found that Millennial and Gen Z Americans attend church the most consistently of any generation, according to a report released Tuesday by Barna Group and Gloo…According to the new report, Gen Z attends church an average of 1.9 weekends per month, while Millennials attend about 1.8 times per month. That is nearly double from the rates reported in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when both groups attended about once a month. The rate is also higher than the total churchgoing population, which attends service about 1.6 times per month, according to the study.” This is wonderful news. I have also seen an increase in attendance from this age group in both our church and from other churches I know across the country. Many pastors across America have been reporting this very thing. It is truly a blessing to witness this.

What was interesting to me from this research was not so much the increased attendance by a younger generation, but the conclusions drawn from it. While yes, attendance has increased, the attendance is still irregular. As the data just previously mentioned shows, it is not quite two times a month. So then the question remains, how do we increase that attendance? Gloo, a church technology company that was a part of this research, says we should tailor our church practices to the younger generation. Gloo president Brad Hill told Christianity Today, “These shifts in church attendance open the door for leaders to innovate. Churches that prioritize relational touchpoints and digital engagement—through text, social media, and other online tools—can better reach younger generations where they already are.” And David Kinnaman, the CEO of Barna, said, “The fabric of congregational life is changing,” he told Christianity Today. “We really need to grapple with the learning needs, the content needs, of younger generations and how we’re structuring discipleship and teaching calendars and building communities when people are at church two out of every five Sundays.”  

To summarize, what they believe is the answer to these findings is to cater to the younger generation. Cater to them in a digital and pragmatic way. Using things like social media and texting to really relate to them. While both of these companies that did the research are supposedly Christian, this advice could not be any more unbiblical. For starters, none of their advice has any biblical reference. It is all worldly, business-like, existential, and pragmatic. The whole approach is how a business would look at gaining more customers. This is never how a church should operate. A church is to be holy, not “successful”. The church is to be faithful and grow in fruit, not in attendance numbers.

The other issue I have with their conclusions is the exclusion of other generations. They are actually saying it is a good idea that a church focuses its attention on only the young people. Since when are we ever called to prioritize one generation over another in the bible? Or prioritize anyone over anyone else from any other categorization? Favoritism in any way is sinful! “But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” (James 2:9) So if you prioritize the young over the old, that is sin. If you prioritize the longest members over the newer members, that is sin. If you show emphasis to the more well-off members as opposed to the poorer members, that is sin. If you show preference to the new Christians over the more mature Christians, that is sin. If anything, God tells us to prioritize the ones in your church that may be less desirable: “On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.” (1 Corinthians 12:22–25) This is where business practices applied to a church can lead you into ungodly application.

But still, the greatest dispute I have with their conclusions is thinking that worldly methods will translate into spiritual growth. We have younger people coming to church every couple of weeks. And their solution to bring them to a point of coming more often is digital connections? Why are they even attending more often to begin with? Have they ever thought of asking that? More than likely, it is due to the church being the only institution left in our society that practices common sense. With all the crazy beliefs and thinking today, the church is the only place left operating on truth, logic, and common sense, regardless of how people feel.  Regardless, to bring anyone (young or old) to a point of coming to church all the time, they need to want to come. And the reason they should want to come should be God, not technology. If digital technology is what brings someone to church every week, can you really say you have them there for the right reasons? Can you really say they are a disciple of Christ? Can you really say they have grown in their relationship with God because now they are coming more often because of the church’s Facebook page? They are completely missing the point. What matters is not that they just attend more often, but that they come for the right reasons. If you are successful in getting them to come to church more, but they are not doing it to worship God, does it really matter?

I had a professor at seminary wisely say that whatever you use to bring people into your church, that is what you will need to have to keep them there. If you use fancy technology to bring them in, then fancy technology is what will keep them coming every week. But if it is the truth of God that brings them in, if it is the gospel that brings them back, then you will have a true disciple who will attend for all the right reasons. And it won't matter what kind of music, technology, building, service, chairs, location, or service time you have, because that is not why they are there. They are coming for God, and this is all that matters. Because it is for God that we should be coming to church to begin with. This is why, again, business practices applied to a church can lead you into ungodly application.

In the closing of Paul’s letter to the Roman church, he gives them a final instruction about people who cause division.  He states, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” (Romans 16:17) He tells them to avoid such people. Anyone who may be divisive by nature. Or people who seek to stir up controversy about the things of God. Plus, you are also to avoid anyone who could trip you up on the things of God.

This is sound advice. A principle that must be taught and learned in the church. Sometimes we are so loving and gracious that we keep the people around that the Bible commands us to stay away from. God actually gives us the OK to not have close contact with certain types of people. Having made this clear, this is not what I want to focus on with this verse. What I want to highlight is the reason why Paul says to avoid them.  He continues in the next verse, “For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” (Romans 16:18). This is important to realize: that naivety can be destructive. That being naive in the things of God can lead to your downfall. There will be people in your life who are no good, but it won't be obvious. Because of this, they can lead you away from God. And how? Because of their smooth talk and your immaturity. Naivety can be damaging to our souls. Paul makes it very plain that if we are spiritually ignorant, we can easily be led astray. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived. No matter how much we think we would never be fooled, we must heed the warning and realize that being spiritually naive could be a problem. Proverbs warns us that “The simple believes everything…” and so we must work to not be simple-minded.

Because this is so important, we must work hard at building up our faith. Spiritual immaturity is understandable for new Christians. But as we continue in the faith, we should be increasing in our knowledge of the things of God. Our faith is living, and so it needs to be fed. It needs to grow. Too many Christians do not look at it in such stark terms. Is your heart malnourished? How long do you go without spiritually eating? We always talk about laziness being a sin in the church. But we only think of it in terms of physical work. You can be spiritually lazy as well. This should never be for the Christian. We must work and work hard at growing our faith. No excuses. You don’t need a degree or to understand Greek or Hebrew. You already have all that you need in the Holy Spirit. He is your spiritual helper and will help you grow if you just apply yourself!  Or the alternative is being misled.

Paul warns us, “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” (1 Corinthians 14:20). Jesus told us, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) My friends, we need to diligent in growing up. It would actually show you are naive to think that just going to church and reading some nice verses here and there would be enough for your faith. This is why so many churches believe and practice ungodly things. Some Christians praise and promote downright sinful things! And why? Because there were those in their lives who were charismatic and smooth in their delivery, and misled them into thinking that what they were doing was godly. This is why you see so many Christians affirming liberal and ungodly ideologies and think that they are just being loving. Because they are immature, they think that by affirming sinful behavior, they are showing the love of God! Or by standing idly by ungodly practices, they think this is being a good Christian because they are not being “judgmental”. By being immature, they are doing things against the bible while thinking they are obedient. This is why we must work hard at maturing our faith. There is no plateauing in the Christian walk. We must press on and expand our thinking and understanding of God and His word, or else how would you even know if what you believe and are practicing is the right thing to do?

This is one of the goals of the church. God has assigned pastors and elders to lead the people of God. “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:11–16) Church is not there for you to be entertained. But to be pressed and stretched in your thinking to grow your faith. Simply put, if you don’t grow up…you will be deceived. And what is even scarier is that, because of your naivety, you won't even realize it.

So apply yourself! Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Study the bible, don’t just read it. Have pen and paper to make notes, ask questions, highlight, underline, pray, cry, read good Christian books, investigate, pursue, and grow. This will help you see the error in what the ungodly tell you. This will help prevent you from being deceived. I think Sproul said it best when he said, “Here then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God’s word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy.” Being spiritually simple is not a good thing. It is the first step of spiritual failure.

In a popular story in the Bible, we learn much about what leads us to do foolish things. The story I am referring to is in 1 Samuel chapter 13. Saul and his son Jonathan are leading the Israelite army against the Philistines. They see that the Philistines' army is greater than theirs and go and hide. See, they are waiting for Samuel to arrive to offer a sacrifice to God so that they will have victory over their enemy.  Samuel had told Saul, when he was anointed as king, back in chapter 10, to wait seven days once he arrived at Gilgal, and Samuel would make a sacrifice to the Lord. But after seven days, Samuel was not there yet, and Saul made the sacrifice instead, which was wrong. He did not listen to what God had commanded him through Samuel.

It is in this story that I want to highlight something to show what leads us to being foolish. When Samuel did come to Saul eventually, Samuel asked him what happened? And this is what Saul said, “Samuel said, 'What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” (1 Samuel 13:11–12 ) And there it is. Saul did two things that ultimately led to our downfall: he moved based on what he saw and what he thought. Yet, what he was looking at and what he was surmising led him to sin. We tend to do the same thing. Too often, we base our decisions on what we observe and what we think, instead of what God has said. And this can lead to trouble. This happened with the first sin, did it not? Genesis tells us that Eve saw that the fruit looked really good and she thought to herself how nice it would be to be wise from eating it, so…she did!

What Samuel then told Saul encapsulates it perfectly: “You have done foolishly.” And why? “You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you.” Simply put, he didn’t obey. Instead of just listening to God, Saul made his decision by trusting in what he was monitoring and by what he was reasoning from what he observed. This is what leads us to trouble. When we sin, what we are doing (most often without realizing it) is we are trusting (i.e., placing our faith in) what we see and think, not in what God has said. And whenever we do that, we are being foolish just like Saul.

The same is true for the Apostles when they were in the boat with Jesus. Jesus fell asleep, and then a large storm came, and so they all freaked out. They feared for their life! And why wouldn't they? Based on what they saw and what they thought, who wouldn’t draw that conclusion? They saw the storm. They saw the boat and how it was maneuvering and floundering. They saw the water getting inside the boat. And then they thought to themselves about what this added up to…drowning! Death! Sinking! Mind you, some of them were very experienced sailors and knew what they were talking about. It wasn’t like this was their first time in a boat or out on water. And what did Jesus tell them? You have so little faith! And why? Because they trusted in what they observed and what they concluded. Instead of trusting in the one who made the sea that was causing all this havoc.

Now, to be clear, I am not saying we should be like robots and not look at anything or think for ourselves. If I observe my son’s diaper sagging to the ground and I think to myself, it is full and I should change it, then I should change it!  What I am talking about is when we think for ourselves on something God’s word has clearly spoken on what to do. For example, when a man sees a beautiful woman and thinks that a lustful thought is no big deal. That it is only in his head and no one knows, and so it doesn’t do any harm, he is foolish. He has sinned because he placed his faith in what he saw and thought, and not in what God has said about lust. When a woman at work notices how mad her boss is about something and she thinks to herself that it would probably help the situation and the anxiety that she is feeling, to just not tell the whole truth about what happened to calm her boss down, she is foolish. She has placed her faith and trust in what she saw and what she thought, not in what God has said about lying. If you spot someone pulling into church with a brand new Mercedes and think to yourself, “Must be nice to have money. While I'm over here struggling to pay the bills and driving a car old enough for the Smithsonian, you are a fool. Because you reacted based on what you saw and what you thought. What if they were given that car as a gift? What if it were a rental car? What if it were someone else’s car and they were just borrowing it because theirs was in the shop? And even if it is their own car that they bought with their own money, you are still being foolish! Because instead of being happy for them with how God has blessed them, you instead chose to disobey God by being jealous, discontent, and coveting!

My friends, let us be careful to trust our instincts. We too often feel confident in what we observe and what we think. We can convince ourselves how right it all is. It may all logically add up correctly in our minds. Yet it will still lead to sin if it goes against anything God has commanded us to do. Don’t place your faith in yourself like Saul did. That is foolishness. Trust in the Lord instead. No matter how illogical it may seem at the moment.

A recent opinion article from World News references an NPR podcast about gay seagulls. No, that was not a typo. The article explains, “The episode, which recently re-aired after its 2023 debut, begins with the story of a seagull colony on an uninhabited island off the coast of Santa Barbara. In the late 1970s, researchers documented a strange phenomenon: Roughly one out of 10 nests on the island were inhabited by pairs of female seagulls. These gulls were “go[ing] through the motions of mating, lay[ing] sterile eggs, and defend[ing] their nests like other couples,” their report read.”

I found a NY Times article from November 23, 1977, that reported on this event. At the time, the Times reported,  “A university research team says that about 14 percent of the female seagulls on an island off the California coast are lesbians, calling it the first solid evidence of widespread homosexuality among wild birds.” Now going back to the podcast from NPR, the host is Lulu Miller, and she is a lesbian. I mention this because her whole point of talking about this discovery from 40 years ago was in hopes that it would show that homosexual relationships are natural. See, as you might have already known, a lot of times the argument against homosexuality has been made that it is not a natural relationship. That is not biologically sensible. You can not produce life this way, and so this is not how God has designed it. This leads to homosexuals always looking to find gay relationships in nature. They hope to show how relating in this manner is fully “natural”.

But unfortunately for Lulu, the seagulls were not gay as she would have hoped. The article continues, “After further study, researchers discovered there had been a crisis amid the male population of seagulls on Santa Barbara Island. They theorized that a chemical in the air or water was killing them off. For a brief period, that meant the female birds struggled to find a mate, prompting them to “playact” mating with each other. When the government regulated the harmful chemicals and the male seagull population rebounded, the “female-female pairings” disappeared.” To this day, you can not find the female-female pairings in this area of Santa Barbara.

But all of this means nothing. Once again, our post-modern age has missed the point. Stanley Hauerwas correctly said, “ From my perspective, 'postmodernism' merely names an interesting set of developments in the social order that is based on the presumption that God does not matter.” And this is where Lulu is coming from. Everyone in the LGBTQ+ alphabet soup keeps reshaping and redefining standards and definitions as if there were no God. But there is a God. And He is the one we look to for the answers in our lives. It doesn’t matter if the seagulls were really gay or not. There was a more recent NY Times article that stated there have been as many as 450 animals observed engaging in homosexual actions. Even so, this does not matter. Because God does exist, and He is the one who defines for us what is right and wrong for humans to do in their relationships. And He states very clearly that homosexuality is wrong and thus a sin.

It is interesting to note, though, how hypocritical our post-modern age is. The standards are not just redefined, they are also only partially used. While Lulu and others are looking to animals to confirm their sexuality, they don't want to look to animals in other practices for some reason. Hamsters, polar bears, rabbits, and hippopotamuses have all been known to eat their young. Yet we do not hear our secularists suggesting we do the same. Apes have been known to pull the hair out of their head, causing great harm. But Lulu isn’t reporting how this is natural since nature is doing it, and so let's do likewise. The praying mantis is known for eating its spouse after mating. Are women parading around demanding the right to the same? Of course not. Just because something may be natural, that doesn’t make it natural for humans. But even beyond that, natural does not mean moral. We do not look to nature or what is natural to know if something is right or wrong. We look to God. He is our moral compass, not seagulls. He is the one who sets the standards, not Lulu Miller. In our nihilistic age, we are putting the creature over the creator. Just as God warned us we would do (see Romans 1:18-23). But it is even worse than that; we are looking for anything, even a bird, to justify our sin. This is the epitome of being foolish.

August 24, 1662 is often referred to as the Great Ejection or Black Bartholomew’s Day. Following the restoration of the United Kingdom by Charless II in 1660, Parliament passed the Act of Uniformity in 1662. This was enacted to force out many of the puritan pastors ministering in the UK at that time. When this was passed over 2,000 ministers were exiled from their churches. It did not stop there though. This continued on to horrific persecution for those that would not conform to the English Church. I have been reading the sermons of some of those pastors that they gave to their congregations on their last Sunday in their churches. The most recent one I read was from Thomas Brooks. His sermon was titled A Pastor’s Legacies. A very edifying sermon if you ever want to read it. I wish to share with you a small section of that sermon. I thought it was very insightful and applicable to our day.  In the middle of his sermon Brooks asks the question of what would happen to a country if the gospel were nonexistent? If the gospel of Christ were to leave a people, what would happen to them? How would society be if the gospel was absent? He gives us six short answers that I think would do our hearts good to reflect on…

[Question] When the gospel goes from a people, what goes? I shall give but a touch here.

1. When the gospel goes, peace, plenty, and trading go. Consider 2 Chronicles 15:3-6, ‘For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law…’ Why ? They had priests ; but they were Jeroboam's priests, as you may see,'Have you not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes for ordination with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are not gods.’ (2 Chronicles 13:9) A little business will buy a priesthood ; and so they are said to be without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law. Mark what follows in verse 5 and 6: 'And in those times, there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in ; but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the country, and nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city, for God did vex them with all adversity.'

2. Safety and security goes when the gospel goes ; so in the text but now cited. The ark was taken away, and when that was taken away,their strength and safety was gone. When the Jews rejected the gospel, the Romans came and took away both their place and nation : ‘If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’ (John 11:48) About forty years after, Titus and Vespasian took away their city ; they cried. And this was the ready way to bring the Romans upon them.

3. When the gospel goes, civil liberty goes. When the Jews slighted the gospel, and turned their backs upon it, they quickly became bondslaves to the Romans.

4. When the gospel goes, the honor and glory, splendor and beauty of a nation goes. It is the gospel that is the honor and glory of a nation, and when that goes, all the glory goes. As old Eli said, when the ark was taken away, 'The glory has departed from Israel…' (1 Samuel 4:21) ‘Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.’ (Jeremiah 2:11)that is, the worship of God into the traditions of men. What is it that lifts up one nation above another but the gospel ? Above all nations of the earth, England has been lifted up to heaven.

5. When the gospel goes, all soul-happiness and blessedness goes. The gospel, you know, is the means appointed by God to bring souls to an acquaintance with Christ, to an acceptance of Christ, to an interest in Christ, to an assurance that he is theirs, and they are his. Now, when this goes, all soul-happiness and blessedness goes.

6. Lastly, When the gospel goes, the special presence of God goes, for that still goes with the gospel. There is a general presence of God, as the psalmist speaks, ‘Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?’ (Psalm 139:7) This presence of God reaches from heaven to hell ; in that sense, God is included in no place, not excluded out of any place. But, alas ! What is this general presence ? When the gospel goes, the special presence of God goes.

These insights from Brooks should reinforce for us three important Christian principles. The first is that we need to continue to evangelize. Because, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans 10:14–15) And the world needs the gospel if there is to be any hope of lasting change in our country.

Next we need to be salt and light in the world around us. To prevent the deterioration of our civilization, Christians need to live out their faith in their sphere of influence. We must not be hiding our faith. A light is meant to be seen, not hidden. Also do not fool yourself thinking you can compartmentalize your life. If you are saved, then this affects all areas of your life, including your public one. So stay salty and let your light shine!

Lastly, we need to pray. Pray for more workers to spread the Kingdom of God because there is more than enough work to be done (Matthew 9:35-38). Pray too for our government and the people that lead us. For there to be change God’s Spirit needs to be poured out onto them. We all want peace with our government so that we can live out our faith without fear (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

While politics is important, the gospel is more important. While we need to be active voting, serving, debating and other political action, it is more important to evangelize. While we try to avoid conflict and be passive, true peace is only found when people are saved. Let’s not fool ourselves, the gospel is vital for our nation. Let us pray and evangelize to that end to bring about true lasting peace to our fellow citizens.

A couple of weeks ago, the British Parliament voted on a new bill legalizing euthanasia. PBS News reported, “U.K. lawmakers…approved a bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives in a historic vote in Parliament that takes it a step nearer to becoming law. Members of Parliament voted 314-291 to back the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill following an impassioned and respectful debate.” As you can imagine, this was a very divisive issue for England. The debates and stances went well beyond the governing body of the U.K.

One of the MPs (members of parliament) who voted for the bill was Chris Coghlan. Chris is a practicing Catholic whose faith came to center stage because of his vote on the bill. The Times reported, “Chris Coghlan’s priest wrote to him before the House of Commons vote to legalize assisted dying, warning he would be “obstinately persevering” in sin if he supported the bill.” But Chris did not listen to his priest. This escalated the matter.  Eventually Chris was refused to participate in communion as a form of discipline from his church for voting for the bill anyway.

Chris then took to X (formally called Twitter) and wrote: “My Catholic Priest publicly announced at every mass he was denying me Holy Communion following the assisted dying vote. Children who are friends of my children were there. This followed a direct threat in writing  four days before the vote. It is a matter of grave public interest the extent to which religious MPs came under pressure to represent their religion and not necessarily their constituents in the assisted dying vote. This was utterly disrespectful to my family, my constituents including the congregation, and the democratic process. My private religion will continue to have zero direct relevance to my work as an MP representing all my constituents without fear or favour.”

It was very interesting how this was all made public. What is interesting is that Chris went ahead and committed the “wrong” of going public ,which he accused his priest of. His rant is full of horrific logic and theology. Not to mention it comes across as if his priest struck a nerve. As professor Craig Carter said on the matter, “this man evidences a guilty conscience. He is acutely embarrassed by his priest and is trying to rationalize his behavior. And that demonstrates that his conscience is still working.” I mean if you believe you voted the right way, why are you so upset? He is not standing up for what is right. He is voting for what was popular and wants everyone to support his decision. The emperor has no clothes, but he wants you to go on pretending and treating him like he has a full wardrobe on.

Looking at his reasoning for why he voted, it seems pretty clear Chris is not saved at all. His “faith” is of his own making. To him “faith” is the way he defines it, not God. When kids play outside in the mud sometimes they like to shape it into a circle and call it a mudpie. But deep down everyone knows it's just for fun and no one is running to get the cutlery to have a slice. Yet Chris thinks his “faith”, made of the stuff you find on the ground, is the real deal. And he is trying to make us believe it. He wants us to trust him and is asking us to take a bite of his mudpie faith.  Not thanks, I'll pass.

First let us look at the fact that his priest warned him privately, then publicly that he would be disciplined if he voted for this bill. Right there that shows his unwillingness to submit to the religious authority in his life. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying a priest’s theology is something to submit to. Priests are not real ministers as they do not believe in the real gospel. Although, what Chris’ priest was telling him to do was not against the bible. It was in line with what the bible teaches. It was lined up with what God says is right! But Chris did not heed these warnings. By him not listening to his priest, he was actually not listening to God. Because what the priest was telling him to do was correct in the eyes of God.

But the most telling thing of his whole social media temper tantrum was his last line of, “My private religion will continue to have zero direct relevance to my work as an MP representing all my constituents without fear or favour.” Where do I begin? That his constituents are more prevalent in his life than God? Or that his “faith” does not have any effect on his public life? This is why I do not believe he has a saving faith. The lesson to take from here is that true saving faith reaches out to all aspects of our lives. Faith is not something you just pull out on Sunday mornings when you go to church. And then pack it away in the closet until the next time you are there. True saving faith is not a hat you put on and off. It is a heart. A new heart. A heart of flesh. A heart of a new life. A heart that is transformed. And as the heart it pumps through to all aspects of who you are. True faith is at the center, pumping life, purpose and meaning into you. You can not turn off true faith, just like you can not turn off your heart. Do not be misled by so many people like Chris who say they have “faith”. Realize that true faith in God is transformative. A dying to the self. It is repentant. It is…being born again into a new person who is now in Christ.

You may or may not have seen how there was a record broken this past week. In Washington D.C. our government was tossing around a bill that President Trump was trying to pass. The bill was labeled “ The Big Beautiful Bill”. As you can imagine the debate of the bill was the same old political story: the Republics were for it and trying to pass it and the Democrats were against and tried to stop it. This led to legislators making the most of their time in front of the microphone. Yet with all the grandstanding and politicking done, the Democrats knew they did not have the votes to stop the bill from passing. Enter Democratic Minority Leader of the House ,Hakeem Jeffries. Knowing they could not stop the bill, he tried a different approach: wearing out the Republicans. Once he had the floor, he began a speech that he planned on being the longest the House of Representatives had ever seen. He went on to speak for a record eight hours and forty four minutes. While the bill still passed, he’ll probably use the event for getting reelected later on. “Oh look at me and how I stood (see what i did there?) for you the people for almost nine hours”.

As is par for the course in these matters, Hakeem threw every negative, racial, socialistic, demonic, dramatic, metaphoric, political, colorful, economical word salad out there he could to slander the opposing party. He at one point even labeled the vote for the bill a crime! “People will die. I never thought I’d be on the house floor saying that this is a crime scene. And the House Democrats want no part of it.” If the drama was peanut butter, Hakeem laid it on quite thick. But what caught my eye about his long speech (no I did not listen to the whole thing) was his biblical references. He quoted preachers, civil rights leaders, referenced his faith, his church and  cited actual bible verses. And yes, before your mind goes there, he did cite the passage correctly. Yahoo New reported that, “The Brooklyn-bred Democrat turned to his roots growing up in the Black church to call out the hypocrisy of Republicans, who claim to put a high premium on their faith as part of their conservative values. “I grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church,” said Jeffries, who quoted Matthew 25:35-40. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in. Connecting scripture to the role of government, he continued, “Maybe I needed Medicare or Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act…I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me.” Referencing the Trump administration’s immigration detainments, he added, “We have a right, as members of Congress, to visit people who are detained. It’s not just in law, it’s right here in Matthew. “Our job is to stand up for the poor, the sick and the afflicted, the least, the lost and the left behind, the everyday American,” said Jeffries. “That’s what Matthew teaches us, and that’s not what’s happening in this one big, ugly bill. That’s not consistent with what my faith teaches me.”

Is this true? Are we as Americans supposed to give to all those in need? Is our country, by our laws and politics, taking away from those that are not as well off? Is that what Jesus was teaching in this passage? Hardly. Hakeem has followed the quote perfectly, “I can do all things with a verse taken out of context.” And taking it out of context is an understatement. He twisted this verse around so much I was impressed he cited the biblical address correctly. Context is everything for correct biblical interpretation. When you scroll back a couple of verses here in Matthew 25, you begin to see why. Back in verse 31 Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory…” So right there you have the context and the government aint it. Jesus is talking about what will happen when the end of the world occurs, not policy making. Jesus is talking about Himself, not Hakeem and the other House legislators. But context doesn’t matter to the elected legislator from New York. It can’t! Because if it did matter, he would quickly find out that the passages in the bible that do talk about government will not have anything to say about how the government is morally responsible to feed, give money, and provide health insurance to the unemployed. Jeff Carter was right when he said, “A quote without context is like a recipe without ingredients.” And Hakeem is trying to bake a cake with nothing but air in the pan.

But what is the passage really saying? I mean the verse was quoted correctly by Hakeem. Jesus did commend those that people gave food, clothing and drink to those in need. So is Hakeem that far off the mark? Yes. In fact ,his shot is not even on the firing range. Jesus explains in this passage that when He comes back, people will be separated. The haves and the have nots. Or to use the biblical term: the sheep from the goats. Once that separation is completed. He then blesses those that fed and clothed Him. But the people were confused and very humble (being that they were true christians) and asked Jesus, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?” (v37-38) Jesus then said to them, “Truly I say to you as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (v40) The key part of Christ’s response is “my brothers”. So when Jesus was talking about giving to those in need, he was referring to fellow christians.

So let us take a step back and summarize it here: when Jesus returns, He will reward Christians who gave to those Christians who are in need. Does this sound like anything that is going on in Washington? In fact, what it does sound like is the early church in Acts: “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” (Acts 2:45) This is the job of every christian. We are to love and give to those in need, especially those who are our brothers and sisters. In fact looking throughout Scripture, you do not see the government being called to give to those in need. No, that is reserved for both family and the church. God did not create a government to be a welfare state. The government is not our genie in the bottle to provide for us. Those able to work to provide for their families. And if certain people in certain situations can not, then family is supposed to help them. And if there is no family to help them, then the church is supposed to step in. It is very easy to stand self-righteously and condemn people for not being generous when it is not your own money. I wonder if it was Hakeem’s money being put on the table to give to those in need how much he would put up for the cause? Don’t forget it was the rich man not willing to part with his money that Jesus wouldn’t let follow Him.

Recently the Democratic party has selected who will run for mayor of NYC in this year’s election. Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani was chosen after Andrew Cuomo conceded earlier this week. Zohran will likely be the next mayor elected this November as NYC has only had two republican mayors since 1946! What is very unique about this candidate is his radical socialist views. I want to look at one of his claims that he made at a rally recently in comparison to the christian worldview.

At a recent rally, Zohran stated how he wants to empty out the jails and restructure the entire criminal justice system in NYC. One of his arguments for this is the use of the word “violent” or “violence” when someone is charged. He said, ““Oftentimes, we’ve even found as legislators, when we go into these courts, the term violent crime is even used when people are stealing packages…violent crime is even used when people are accused of burglary and there happens to be a housing unit in that same dwelling. So violence is an artificial construction. We have to be very clear that what is happening here with these district attorneys, that is violence, that is violence at the highest degree.”

Now before even getting to his claims in light of what the bible teaches, let us look at just this very paragraph. He contradicted himself without even knowing it. He claims that violence is a social construct, i.e. something that we make up as a society. That it is created out of thin air by legislators. And he is painting it as a very bad thing to do this. That is because it’s not real but something made up. Violence is not a real thing, just something we made up to detain people.  Yet he claims the district attorney is being violent with their prosecution! Wait…didn’t he just socially construct the term “violence”? Didn’t he just redefine what violence is? Isn’t he committing the very thing he is condemning?  

His hypocrisy was displayed even more so when news came out that more security was required for him after winning the nomination. When he won the Democratic candidacy, he received death threats prompting the NYC police department to beef up security. But wait a minute, if violence is just a social construct we create and not a real thing, why would he need to bother with security at all? it is not real? He shouldn’t feel threatened at all. He contradicted himself again when he said on a recent news show, "I have developed a proposal, for the Department of Community Safety, that would include an 800% increase in funding for hate crime prevention programs." Hold on a second…if violence is just what we have created and doesn’t really exist, how could there possibly be hate crimes? According to him the only violence there is, is the “violent” prosecutions of the district attorneys.

Just this candidate's hypocrisy is enough to not support him. There is a lot the bible has to say about avoiding people that are hypocritical. Jesus said that a house divided can not stand. And neither can a person who is divided in their own heart. This is the world we live in. This is an example of living out the modern philosophies of our day. We do not believe God exists and so we are gods ourselves. Because of this we make up the rules as we go. So we think terms like evil and violence are just man made phrases that are used to pick on certain people in our civilization. But what is even more surprising is that Zohran is not even an atheist or a secularist. He is a Muslim. And their religion believes there is right and wrong based on their god and their scripture writings. They don’t believe that violence is a social construct.

But what does the bible say about his theory? Is violence something we make up? Not at all! The bible is very clear that there is evil in the world. That we as humans are evil at heart. And due to this, it will lead some to violence. Jesus taught us, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:21-23) This violence is wrong, evil, sinful and to be punished by the government. And if the person doesn’t seek forgiveness, God will punish them as well. The second sin recorded in the bible was a violent act condemned and punished by God. When Cain killed Abel, God was displeased and cursed him for the rest of his life. The law of God was not even written yet and we see that violence is real and not to be tolerated but punished. This is why in the Old Testament law murder, rape, kidnapping, physically attacking your parents and sacrificing your child are all viewed as sinful, evil and punishable  by death. The Psalmist tells us that, “The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.” (Psalm 11:5) And then don’t forget that when Peter tried to violently defend Jesus when He was being arrested, Jesus told him to put his sword away. No, violence is not a social construct. It is a real thing from within us that is sinful, evil and to be disciplined. Now are there righteous acts of violence? Yes. But this is not what Zohran is talking about. He is talking about things that would send someone to prison. Not war or self defense which are violent but not necessarily wrong.

Is it possible that societies redefine terms for pushing their own agendas? Absolutely! We see that today with the redefinition of marriage. But that doesn’t mean the thing in and of itself doesn’t exist at all. Just because we have redefined marriage, doesn’t mean marriage is just a social construct and should be done away with altogether. Zohran makes it seem like violence only exists because humans invented it and defined it. But we don’t need to scrap it completely. Instead we need to go back to its truthful definition. Its godly definition.  This is the problem when you do not use God’s word to set the standard. The moral compass gets turned all around and we don’t know which way is up. People end up fighting over what everything should mean.  This is why we look to God and His definitions of social terms and moral standards. Because He is THE TRUTH. And unless we go by His definitions, we will be living in a lie.

I came across a sermon clip on social media the other day. I was very surprised to hear what the pastor said. It was something new for me. The pastor was Mike Cameneti, he is the pastor at Faith Family Church in Canton, Ohio. He states, “So there is only one we worship. We don't worship a person ever. We worship a God whose name is Yahweh. His name is Jehovah. We worship one God, no one else, period.” So far, so good. Yet, he continues, “We’re not worshiping anyone else. The only one that’s worthy of worship is our God in heaven, Jesus. They’re the only ones. We don’t worship the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is involved in our worship. We don’t worship Him. But we worship God, our Father.” That was certainly unexpected. I have heard a lot of people saying they will worship other gods or they will not worship our God. But this is the first time I heard someone specifically say they will not worship the Holy Spirit.

Hearing this brought about more questions than answers. Is the pastor saying the Holy Spirit is not God? Is he saying the Holy Spirit is God, but we don’t worship Him because He is just involved in our worship? Is he saying that the Holy Spirit is a different kind of God? From here I went all over the internet to try and find the full sermon. I wanted to hear the sermon in its context to give the pastor the benefit of the doubt. But I could not locate it anywhere. I actually was starting to wonder if the church scrubbed it off the internet because of what the pastor said.

I felt like I was missing something here. I wanted to know this pastor’s position on the Trinity. So I did the next best thing and went to the church’s website to see what they believed. I found a place where they said one of their core values was, “The Holy Spirit lives in every believer. He is our Comforter, Counselor, Helper, and Guide. We invite His direction in all we do.” Ok. Nothing super crazy about that. It doesn’t say either way if they believe the Holy Spirit is God Himself, though. Then I located another spot that stated their beliefs on God and the Trinity. It said, “We believe in one eternal God who is the Creator of all things. He exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” Nothing wrong with that statement there. Yet, it appears to contradict what the pastor preached. So for the sake of argument. I am going to take his words at face value in that he doesn’t believe we should be worshiping the Holy Spirit. Is this pastor right? Does the Holy Spirit just get “involved” in our worship and we are just supposed to worship God the Father?

Because I do not know exactly where this pastor makes his theological lines in the sand, I am going to take a step back and first show from scripture that the Holy Spirit is indeed God. First, think about the great commission. Jesus commands us to make disciples and to baptize them in the name of the “Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Would we baptize anyone in any other name other than God? Or let us look at 2 Peter where we are told that prophets spoke for God because they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). Also the Holy Spirit was there and active at creation (Genesis 1:2). When scripture refers to God making the world, this includes His Spirit. And then, when man was made in the image of God, the bible uses a plural word “us” referring to the Trinity (Genesis 1:26-27). So when we are told that we are made in His image, that means the Trinity. Then we are told when we are born of God we must be born of the Spirit (John 3:5). And we know that salvation is only by God Himself. In scripture, a lot of times the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are used interchangeably when speaking of God because they are all God. For instance, the best scripture to show the Holy Spirit is God is in Acts chapter 5. When Ananias was caught in his sin of lying, Peter says that he lied to the Holy Spirit. Then a couple of verses later he says he lied to God. Peter refers to both equally, as if to say it is they are the same. So yes the Holy Spirit is God Himself.

Next let me say a few words about the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity simply stated is that there is only one God in three distinct persons. We do not believe in multiple Gods, nor is God (singular) just one person. Some people believe incorrectly that the Trinity means one God and He wears three different hats, depending on the job He has to do. That is not what scripture teaches. Scripture shows that they are three distinct persons. The best example of this is looking at Jesus’ baptism. The bible tells us that all three beings were separately present at the event: Jesus in human form being baptized, God the Father calling down from heaven that He is pleased with Jesus, and the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove. Yet, there is just one God, not three. Pretty much what was said on Pastor Mike’s church’s website. So when he is saying from the sermon clip we only worship Yaweh, he is right. We only worship the God of the bible and the God of the bible alone. Yet what he fails to realize is that, that would include the Holy Spirit!

I will say that Chrisitnas in general subconsciously overlook the Holy Spirit. When you hear others pray, you hear them address the Father and the Son. Then they close their prayer by saying “in Jesus’ name…”. But how often do we hear prayer or praise to the Holy Spirit? Directly talking to Him? Or singing to Him? This is because he doesn’t have a name that would give Him a person type feel when we read about Him. We read “the” Holy Spirit. But we don’t say that when talking about people. No one calls me “the Clint”, just “Clint”. Then in the KJV of the bible, there are times when referring to the Holy Spirit it says “it” instead of “Him”. This again gives the feeling of not being a person to be addressed. But this could not be further from the truth! When we pray, we pray to God and that includes the Holy Spirit. When we worship, we worship God and that consists of the Father, the Son AND THE HOLY SPIRIT! Thomas Watson, in his book called Body of Divinity, says, “IF there be one God in three persons, then let us give equal reverence to all the persons in the Trinity. There is not more or less in the Trinity; the Father is not more God  than the Son and the Holy Ghost. There is an order in the Godhead, but no degrees; one person has not a majority or supereminence above another, therefore we must give equal worship to all  the persons…Adore Unity in Trinity.” Let us make sure we are in consistent and constant practice of lifting up all of God in our prayers, praises and worship. Including the Holy Spirit. Anything else and you are not worshiping the true God.

While Bill Gates is not a Christian and thus no one we should listen to with any seriousness about anything except computers, he is still a social influencer. Because of his wealth, prestige and entrepreneurial spirit, he has an influence on our society and culture that you and I will never have. So while I may not listen to what he says, I still want to know what he is up to as it may impact our everyday lives. With that in mind, I came across something he said that can very well impact our lives in a profound way. He was doing an exclusive interview for the Indian Express. Windows Central reported: “The philanthropic billionaire recently shared more insights about the impact of AI on jobs while in an exclusive interview with The Indian Express.” For those that do not know AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. And with more and more of AI being used all around us, we need to see what the philosophies are driving the use of it. Computers in and of themselves are not bad. AI can be used for common good in some respects. Yet we are still sinners and so are the people designing and making these super computers that can think for themselves.

In this interview Bill opened up on the end game of using AI more and more in society. He said, “We weren't born to do jobs. Jobs are an artifact of the shortage that, oh gosh, somebody better be a farmer. Okay, somebody better drive those trucks around. All of that is based in creating the human intelligence to provide a broad range of services." We see right here the worldview of Mr Gates and how it is shaping what he is doing with computers. He believes humans were never meant to work. He thinks that we have been forced into working based on circumstances. His convictions are that people were never created for this purpose. In fact the NY Post reported that while on the show Jimmy Fallon, Bill believed that most jobs will not be done by humans anymore. That the, “...advancements in artificial intelligence will significantly reduce humanity’s role in many traditional tasks such as medicine and education — and the seismic shift could happen in less than 10 years.” And that in the future humans will no longer be needed for most things as the technology will be there for AI to perform most of the functions humans are performing now. The age of robots all around us seems to be fastly approaching with computers running the whole show!

While for some this may seem interesting, and for others scary, we always need to look at things through a biblical perspective. When you look at the worldview that is behind some of this AI advancement, you begin to see why it is happening and happening so fast: they think humans are not meant to work. Yet, when we  look at this through  a biblical worldview, you see how this is completely ungodly. Seeing this through the lens of scripture it is very clear that humans were made to work! So work we shall!

Many believe that we have to work because of the curse from our sin. But that is not correct. We were made to work before sin entered into the world. Genesis 2:15 says, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” We are made to work because we are made in the image of God. This is because God also works: “Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?” (Ecclesiastes 7:13) And so does Jesus: “I must work the works of My Father. I must work the works of My Father.” (John 9:4) God also displayed a work ethic by establishing a day of rest from work when instituting the sabbath during the creation week (see Genesis 2:1-3). This explains to us why laziness is viewed as a sin in the eyes of God: “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

The bible goes even further to show how much work is involved in our lives. Yes, there is the labor that one  does to get a paycheck. But that is not the only work we are called to do.  There is work in the church by serving with your spiritual gift. There is the work and service we do to those in need and to our family. You are also to work out your salvation as you grow in your faith. There are also good works that we do as Christians that God has prepared in advance for us to do!

So regardless of what the future holds, we must remember that humans were designed and made by God to work. Just because society may set up for us a life where we sit at home and everything is done for us, doesn’t mean that we should live that way. We must stay away from sinful lifestyles. It is very easy to see blatant sins that the lost do and stay away from them. But it is harder to notice the subtle sins. To notice how our lives may be structured by our culture to pull us away from how God has made us. An easy example of this is our work week. The average American works five days a week and is given two days off. Yet God has told us we should work six and rest only one. It is so subtle and so a part of how we live that we may not even realize we are out of God’s design. Let us not lose sight of who made us and what we were made to do. We were made to work. No matter what changes may come in our country, we still must live the way God has designed and called us to.

We have all heard it. It is nothing new. It was always discussed in the church when you were young. Even if you are not a christian, or don’t go to a church, you have still been so instructed. Instructed in what? Abstinence. Celibacy. We were always told to wait. To wait until we are married. Save yourself till you find the one. It is God’s will that you only have sex with whom you are married to. But what if we are wrong? What if this was incorrect? What if such commands are found nowhere in the bible?!

That is what one pastor preached recently in his church. Senior Pastor Delman Coates of Mount Ennon Baptist Church was preaching a series on sex and the bible. In a portion of his recent sermon he stated that: “The living Bible translation that says this, another problematic translation, ‘but sexual sin is never right.’ These translations give unlearned readers the impression that the text is saying that sex before or outside of marriage is wrong. But the Bible is not saying that. It is critiquing prostitution, the immoral and unjust sexual and economic exploitation of poor people, slaves, women and young males who are oftentimes forced into prostitution in the first century…Every time the word ‘pornea’ translated fornication is used in the New Testament, it is talking about prostitution.”

Could he be right? Could our English translations have it misinterpreted and when we go into the Greek we see that the bible was talking about something different? Well let us look at it. The word that Delman is referring to, porneia, is a Greek word defined: “sexual immorality, fornication, marital unfaithfulness, prostitution, adultery, a generic term for sexual sin of any kind”. The Strong's Greek Lexicon defines it as: “illicit sexual intercourse in general” So what he is saying is only half right. The word can be referring to prostitution, but that is not all it is referring to. The word is a generic term that means any type of sexual activity, that is not within the way God has designed it, is sinful. That is why most bible translations will use the english word “fornication” or the phrase "sexual immorality”. This is not at all the right way to translate the greek word.

Delman continued, “It is not talking about or condemning consensual sexual relations. I told y’all, this the first time you have ever heard this preached in a church. Therefore, teaching Christians that sex before, outside of marriage is a sin, may be tradition, it may be something that’s been passed down from generation to generation, it may be something that you learned from an esteemed Bible preacher or teacher, but it is not something supported by the Word of God. There is no biblical basis for that teaching. I know this comes as a shock to many of you. It may sound sacrilegious to others, but I am obligated as a preacher of the Word of God to preach the truth of the Bible and not to further myth, superstitions, and lies. Jesus said, ‘and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.’” While yes he is obligated to preach the word, that is not what he is doing. Instead he is giving his people a license to sin thinking it is perfectly okay.

Now let us say, for the sake of argument, that he is right about the definition of the word porneia. Let’s change it to mean prostitution. If you look at every scripture verse that has the phrase “sexual immorality” and put in prostitution, it will not make sense. The context in these passages speaks to sexual sins beyond that. And that still does not change the narrative of what the bible has to say about this topic in other places without ever using the porneia. If Delman is right, then why did Paul say that if you can not abstain, then get married! “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband.” (1 Corinthians 7:1–3) Clearly Paul is not talking about prostitution in this passage! He is saying, because it is wrong to have sex outside of marriage, if you have trouble staying abstinent then get married!

Then look at the dozens of marriage metaphors that God uses throughout the bible! He uses marriage as an illustration of the special union between Himself and His people.  And in every one of them, He shows it as a marriage. Never is it shown as a coming together before a marriage. Even the church is referred to as the bride of Christ. And we are shown of the great marriage feast that will take place before we are with Him in eternity forever. Plus having multiple “partners”has always been condemned in the bible. Yet if we are to take Delman’s preaching seriously, you can be with as many people as you want as long as it is consensual and before marriage. And let us not also forget that Jesus taught us that even thinking of another person in a sexual way is sinful. If just your imagination about this can be sinful, how could we possibly conclude that the act itself is not wrong as well?

No, any form or sex (consensual or not) that is not within the way God has designed it is sinful. This goes to show that context is key when interpreting scripture. Simply looking up a word in a Greek dictionary will not always give you the right interpretation. This also reminds us about the bible warning us to be aware of false preachers and teachers. We are told that we are to test what we are taught. We are supposed to take it back to the scriptures and see if what our preachers are preaching is true. We are not supposed to do what the 9,000 members of Mt Ennon Church did when they heard Delman preach these lies: applaud.

I came across a conversation between two pastors on a podcast in regards to Christian maturity. Landon Macdonald, a pastor of Mission Church in Arizona, was speaking with Chad Moore pastor of Sun Valley Church. As they were discussing Christians in the church Chad said, “Everyone thinks they are spiritual based on their watering system. Did you read the bible today? Did you pray today? Did you go to church today? Did you do the practices today?” Initially this seems a little shocking? My spiritual life and maturity has nothing to do with prayer, reading the bible and going to church? Well let us give him the benefit of the doubt and hear Chad explain what he means.

He continues, “But what Jesus examines is the fruit. And that is how you recognize a tree.Which is why the Pharisees who did read the bible today, who did pray today, who did go to church today, their fruit sucked, right? So they had a lot of knowledge, [but] they didn’t have much maturity.”  So I kind of see where he is coming from. It is true that religious practices do not mean you are a follower of God. There are people who go to church and read their bible that will not be going to heaven. Jesus even illustrated this at the end of His sermon on the mount after saying you will know them by their fruit (see Matthew 7:21-23).

Let’s see what else Chad has to say: “This is my problem with church people; they got a lot of knowledge and no love. Church people in quotes, so I mean the negative Pharisaical kind…just to clarify, so they’ll come to me and say, “Pastor, well I’m a mature Christian.” As soon as somebody says that I’m, you know, immediately: “Well you are the worst kind of ignorant, you're the arrogant kind, right?” At this point Landon starts laughing. Chad continues: “And what they mean is, you know, I’ve done some Beth Moore bible studies, right? Like, I know some stuff” Landon laughs some more. Chad continues; “So after I throw up in my mouth for a little bit…” Then Landon, still laughing, goes “Hey coach I’m a good basketball player. What other category would that be even vaguely acceptable?” And then the clip ends.

This was very interesting to listen to yet full of half truths. Is he right in what he is saying that your “watering system” does not amount to maturity? Yes and no. Yes you can read the bible, pray and go to church a lot and still not be a mature christian. But that doesn’t mean you can be mature without them either. And that is almost what Chad is alluding to. That we can be mature without all of this “religious” stuff. But that couldn’t be further from the truth!

The problem is he is drawing his conclusions from people in the bible instead of what the bible actually teaches. Yes the Pharisees were very religious and at the same time very immature. But that wasn’t because they were reading the bible and praying. That was because they were not saved! They were not reborn. They never repented of their sins and followed God by faith alone. We walk by faith, not by religious works. And the Pharisees never had faith that would be counted to them as righteousness to begin with.

What did Jesus say would produce fruit in His people? By being “in Him”. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) What does being in Jesus mean? To have a relationship with Him! I.E. to be saved. Then maintaining and strengthening that relationship. The reason the Pharisees didn’t have fruit was not because they prayed a lot but because they were never “in Christ”. And once we are in Christ how do we continue to develop and grow our fruit (i.e. our christian character)? By growing our relationship with Christ. And how do we remain in Him and grow our relationship with Him? Just like any other relationship: spending a lot of time with Him. And how do we spend a lot of time with Jesus? By reading our bible, praying and going to church!  

But Chad thinks it is just about love. He said, “This is my problem with church people; they have a lot of knowledge and no love.” But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Love is actually one of the fruits itself! So if it is a fruit, how can it be the thing that grows fruit? Whoever heard of an apple on a tree growing the other apples on the tree? It's the tree that grows the fruit! And in Jesus’ analogy the tree is Himself! And so the more we remain in Him and He in us, the more fruit we will bear. Not, the more we love the more fruit we bear. By the apple being attached to the tree it flourishes and grows. Once it is no longer connected to the tree, it has lost its life source. It is the same with us. An apple by itself can not grow, it needs the tree. So love by itself can not grow. We need to remain in Christ. Reading the bible, praying and church are vital to the health and maturity of our faith. But you have to have saving faith to begin with. Do not neglect the graces that God has given us to strengthen our relationship with Him, grow us and give us much fruit!

Mark Zuckerberg thinks he has the answer to cure your loneliness. According to the Independent, Mark (creator of Facebook now known as Meta) was on a podcast with Dwarkesh Patel when he said he thought his company could cure all of that. The article states, “Zuckerberg suggested his company’s increasingly integrated AI assistants and chatbots could help Americans make up for the friends they wish they had in their lives.” You read that right, a computer is now your new best friend. Mark said on the podcast, “The average American has fewer than three friends,” he said. “The average person has demand for meaningfully more, I think it’s like 15 friends or something.”

He is not wrong in that respect. We are hurting as Americans when it comes to our relationships. A recent survey done by the American Psychiatric Association discovered that one in three Americans feel lonely every week with as much as 10% feeling lonely every single day. So how does Mark think that Meta with AI (artificial intelligence) can solve this for us? It is programmed to get to know you personally. The more you interact back and forth with AI the more it can relate and respond catering to you specifically. “I think as the personalization loop kicks in and the AI just starts to get to know you better and better, I think that will just be really compelling …”

Now he does throw out there that he knows this will not completely replace actual human socializing: “There’s a lot of questions that people ask of stuff, like, ‘Okay, is this going to replace in-person connections or real life connections?’” he continued. “My default is that the answer to that is probably no.” But because human interaction is clearly not working (based on how many people feel alone) he says, “but the reality is that people just don’t have the connections and they feel more alone a lot of the time than they would like.”

Mark also realizes that hearing this probably sounds strange and wrong to many people. Reading about a computer being our best friend just doesn't sound right on so many levels. How could this possibly be viewed as normal? He accepts that but believes our view on this will change and will be more accepting of it over time: “we will find the vocabulary as a society to be able to articulate why that is valuable and why the people who are doing these things, why they are rational for doing it and how it is adding value for their lives.” In some ways I agree with him. Our reliance on computers has increased exponentially more than our grandparents could have ever imagined. It would not surprise me in the least if grandkids of my generation view it as normal to befriend an AI program.

But while this may be a future possibility, that will never solve the loneliness problems we have in our culture. What Mark is missing is why we need relationships to begin with. He is missing the fact of  how we were made by God and about why He made us the way He did. Yes we are made to relate. This is why we feel lonely at times. We need other people. This is how God created us. A lion out in Africa does not feel alone because he is not made in God’s image. But we are. In the Trinity you have perfect fellowship and communion. And being made after His image we can and need to relate to others. This is also why God created marriage, family, societies and the church! Knowing how he made us He knew we would need to socialize.

Yet even beyond that, where Mark misses the point, is that we were made to relate to other people, not machines. So while people in the future may relate to computers, that will not solve any problems they have inside. No matter how sophisticated and human-like the computers get, they will never be able to solve our loneliness because they are still not human! We were made in the image of a living being to relate to other living beings. And computers are not that!

Nevertheless it will still not matter even beyond that, because there is even a more important reason we were created to relate: to be able to relate to God Himself! The whole point of us existing and God doing everything He does is to relate to His people. That is the main reason He created us in His image. It is why marriage, families and church exist. It is why Jesus came to earth, died and rose again. It is the reason that He adopts us as children and is creating a people for Himself.  “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [10] Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9–10) And no computer will ever fill that need that we have to relate with our Creator. No matter how human-like a computer gets, it will never replace God Himself. And that is who we need to relate with most of all to not feel lonely.

It is interesting that in that same survey by the APA, they asked people if they thought technology fosters meaningful relationships? The responses were split. 54% said yes, 46% no. And why can’t we be sure if it does or not? Because our heart is not fully filled until we relate with God Himself. How could we possibly think a computer could ever replace that? “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in You.” Augustine

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A recent article from Christianity Today caused a bit of a firestorm when it was released. So much so that the magazine had to issue a correction and apology. The title of the article is “Was Jesus Crucified By Nails?” with a social media post stating, “The Bible doesn’t say Jesus was nailed to a cross. One evangelical Bible scholar thinks the crucifixion may have been done with ropes.” As you could imagine, this caused quite the reaction as they published this just a day before Easter.

Looking at the article itself it starts off right away by saying, “The Bible doesn’t describe Jesus being nailed to a cross. Telling the story of Christ’s death, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John simply say that Roman soldiers crucified him. They don’t say how. Each of the Gospels include specific detail about the soldiers’ method of dividing Jesus’ clothes—a lottery—but none describe the way the soldiers put him on the cross. There are no nails mentioned in any of the four accounts of Christ’s death.” This right here is a complete lie. Not only are there multiple passages that state Jesus was nailed to the cross, one of them is actually in the Gospels! John’s gospel mentions how Thomas would only be convinced Jesus rose from the dead by seeing the holes that the nails caused! “So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25)

Why would someone believe otherwise? The article continues, “Jeffrey P. Arroyo García, an evangelical Bible scholar who teaches at Gordon College, thinks maybe there weren’t any nails. “The word used there, stauroo, just means ‘to hang on a cross,’” García told Christianity Today. “But it doesn’t give the method of how they hang, right? Maybe the reticence is telling. Closely reading the Bible, looking at the long historical record of Roman crucifixion, and examining the archaeological evidence, García has come to the conclusion that the Crucifixion might have been done with ropes. While Christians from Emperor Constantine’s mother to documentary filmmakers today have searched for relics of the “true nails” and many have meditated on the iron piercing flesh, the nails might just be the stuff of legend.” Now to be fair Romans did at times secure people to the crosses by ropes. Not everyone who was crucified was crucified by nails. But the bible clearly states that He was nailed. Yet, this then begs the question: does it matter? Does it matter how Jesus was crucified? Are we just being nit-picky? Is all that matters is that He did die and came back to life? As long as blood was shed, is it such a big deal if he was tied or nailed?

The short answer is “Yes”, Jesus being nailed to the cross is significant and important for three reasons. First is the symbolism that it brings. In Colossians chapter two, Paul is talking about Jesus paying the debt we owe God. In so doing, he mentions the fact that Jesus was nailed to the cross to get his point across. “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13–14) By referencing the nails, Paul is illustrating the permanency about our debt being paid to God. If Jesus was just tied to the cross how would that correlate? “Our debt was paid as long as the knots don’t get loose on the ropes”. Doesn’t exactly alleviate our concerns that we are all settled before God. Theologian Benjamin Gladd stated, “Of course, Paul is speaking symbolically of the believer’s spiritual debt being “nailed” to the cross, but the symbol’s power rests in the reality of Christ being physically nailed to the cross.”

The next reason being nailed is important is due to prophecy. The Old Testament has numerous prophecies that mention Jesus being “pierced” while on the cross. For instance: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) or “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10) So another important reason that Jesus was to be nailed and not tied was to fulfill the prophecies about his death.

Just like the fact that no bones were broken on His body was another prophecy that was fulfilled. When someone was crucified what was basically happening to them was they were drowning in their own blood. Asphyxiation was basically what would kill them. To give them help to breathe, the person on the cross would push up on their feet to bring their head up to breathe a little better. So a common practice by the soldiers to speed things along was to take a hammer and break the legs of the person so they couldn't be lifted up by them. But that never happened with Jesus. And why? To fulfill the prophecy in Psalm 34, “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.” (Psalm 34:20) It is the same with Jesus being nailed; it is fulfilling a prophecy. Now some may think, maybe the piercing being referenced in the prophecies is the piercing of his side by the spear. But in Psalm 22 is specifically mentions his hands and feet: “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—” (Psalm 22:16) So it is important for Him to be nailed to the cross as this will fulfill the prophecies about His death.

The other importance of Jesus being nailed to the cross is the redemptive significance. In the Old Testament we see that it was a common practice to punish an enemy by piercing them. For instance, “and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped.” (Numbers 25:8) (see also Judges. 9:54; Job 26:13; Isa. 51:9; Zech. 13:3) And this is precisely the point; Jesus became the enemy of God on our behalf, thus being pierced. We hear it in Jesus’ cry “My God, my God why have you forsaken me.” He that was perfect and God’s son, became an enemy of God on our behalf. And enemies were pierced.  Benjamin Gladd again gives us insight: “By preserving the details about nails that pierced Jesus’s hands and feet, we’re reminded that at the gospel’s heart lies One who is pierced, One who bore God’s wrath, so you and I can enjoy God’s favor.” This article from Christianity today is wrong on many levels. It is clearly referenced in the bible that Jesus was nailed to the cross. And the reason it is, is because of its significance in the Gospel. Praise Him for being nailed to the cross in our place!

At the end of the book of John we see the exchange that Jesus had with Peter. This was an important moment for Peter. Up until this point, no one has addressed Peter’s sin of denying Christ three times before going to the cross. You can just imagine the nervousness pumping through Peter. He was devoted to Jesus all those years. He was even bold enough to claim that he would never leave Jesus (Matthew 26:33). But Peter not only deserted Christ, he denied even knowing who He was. And now here is Jesus; back from the dead. They are on the shore, having just finished breakfast, probably a fire crackling in the sand, and Jesus walks up to Peter: “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15–17)

You can just imagine the guilt that is burdening Peter. You know that he is so sorry for being so foolish. We have all been there too, haven't we? Where we told God, “I promise I will never do that again!” And what do we end up doing? We have all felt regret, guilt and anxiety before God about our sin. Maybe ours are not as public as Peter’s. Yet we still know what that feeling is like. But notice how Jesus decides to address this. He doesn’t come up to Peter and ask “Hey, are you sorry?” Nor does Jesus say, “Do you have something to tell me?”. Or who could have said something like, “Peter, have you learned your lesson?”. No, nothing like that at all. Instead Jesus questions Peter’s love for Him. This is quite profound in many respects. For starters, Jesus asks Peter this question of his love three times. This is probably to symbolize Peter denying Jesus three times. Now Jesus is getting Peter to profess his love to God three times in repentance. Another tidbit to highlight is that Jesus does not call Peter, “Peter, but “Simon”. This was to cut Peter to the heart. The name and title Peter was given to Simon because he was going to be the rock that Jesus was going to build His church on. Now Jesus is almost questioning this title. As if to say, “Simon, did you really live up to the name Peter?” You could say that Jesus was peeling away the layers to Peter taking him down to his bare bones. Exposing the flesh of his heart to correction and change.

The next interesting point is that each of the three questions are different. The first time Jesus ask’s Peter if he loves Him more than “these”, referring to the other disciples that were there. Jesus was asking Peter in a sense; do you love me more than these other followers love me. And Peter said that he did. Then He just asks Peter directly, do you love me? As if Jesus was saying, “Ok Peter, no more comparisons. Let me just ask you straight out. Do you love me?” Then He asks Peter a third time and it looks similar to the second time He asked him. But if you look at the Greek, there is a change in the verbiage for the word love. See the first two times Jesus asked Peter, He used the word agape for love. Peter responded with the affirmative but used the word fileo for the word love in his response. So when Jesus asks Peter a third time He asks using the word fileo as opposed to the word agape. In the third question Jesus was questioning Peter’s response and ensuring his devotion to Him. As if to say, “OK Peter, you say you fileo me, do you really fileo me?”

Now after all three of Peter’s answers, Jesus gives Peter a command, or a job if you will. He is to tend to the flock of God, i.e. God’s people. What is interesting to note here is that Jesus takes Peter’s word, forgives Peter and then tells Him to serve just as He was always planning on doing. He doesn’t make Peter show or prove he is truly sorry. If this was us, we would not trust so easily. We would want some reassurances. We probably will say “Hey, prove that you are sorry and do this, this and that.” Or maybe say something like, “That’s fine, but its gonna take some time for me to trust you again.” Not Jesus! No, He takes Peter at His word and accepts Him back. Immediately!

But even more startling than this is that Jesus never asked Peter if he was sorry! Instead He asked Peter if He loved Him! There is a big difference between the two.  This is the most important point of all. Let us not overlook it.  See people can be sorry, but still not care. Sometimes people just say sorry because they think it's a quick fix to change what they did wrong. People could feel sorry, not because they feel bad about what they did, but because they got caught. People can also be sorry and then a few days later go back to being how they were. Jesus cut through any facade Peter would have put up. He wanted to get to the heart of the matter.  He wanted to know if Peter really loved Him or not. The lesson here is that Jesus isn’t looking for us to be sorry. He is looking to see if we truly love Him. That matters more than just  being sorry. If we truly love Jesus, then we will genuinely be sorry too. If you hurt someone you love, you will regret it and feel bad. But if you could care less about the person, sorry doesn’t amount to much. And so this question asked of Peter is also being asked of us: do we love Jesus? Love Him more than we love other people in our lives? Love Him more than anything else we may like? Because that is all that matters. We are not to just be sorry. We are to repent and love Him above all. That shows true devotion to Him. Really caring about Jesus and who He is. Loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. If you do, then you will regret your sin and seek forgiveness. Because you love Him so much, you hate the fact that you let Him down. So ask yourself, honestly, in your heart of hearts: Do you love Christ? Because that is really all that matters.

There is a famous quote by  Friedrich Nietzsche about his philosophy that God is dead.  And that because there is no God, we have to become gods ourselves. It goes: “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?” Some say this was where it all began; secularism. The absence of religion. The focus of the here and now. The inflating of the self. Moving man into the position of God. While we may not talk in these terms, the language is still spoken: “This is my life”, “I want to do what I feel like”, “If you don’t agree with me you don’t love me”, “My body, my choice”, “I want to do what makes me happy” etc. etc. And when we remove God from the equation, by natural consequence we will have to make choices that we were never intended to make.

Case in point is a recent article in the NY Times. The title of the article is  “How Dementia Derails Plans for Assisted Dying”. The article then lays out the “tough” decision that awaits Irene Mekel. She is a former nurse who is 82 years old and has Alzheimer’s disease. So what is the big decision? No, it is not funeral arrangements. No, it is not making up her will or how to divide up an inheritance she will be leaving behind. No, the hard decision is on choosing when to die. That is right. See Irene lives in Holland where it has been legal for quite some time for someone to be euthanized. But the big decision was not even about getting euthanized. The thing that is weighing on her mind right now is deciding when exactly to die! The article states, “Soon Irene Meckel will need to pick the day she dies. She’s not in any hurry, she quite likes her life. In a trim, airy house in Castricum, a Dutch village by the sea, she has flowers growing in her back garden and there is a street market nearby where vendors greet villagers by name. But if her life is going to end the way she wants, she will have to pick a date sooner than she might like. It’s a tragedy.”

Why is this such a tragedy if she is deciding this for herself? Because, by law, someone has to be in their right state of mind to choose this, and they have to make the decision for themself. Well someone who is in late stages of Alzheimers or dementia are not normally in their right state of mind. So people like Irene have to then choose the date to die while they are still mentally capable to do so! That is right. Even though no one knows when they will not be legally competent anymore, people in Holland still have to determine ahead of time when to die. But what if she chooses a day where her mind is still solid? What if the day comes, her disease hasn’t progressed as much as the doctors thought and she is still fine? Still healthy? Still have her wits about her? Can she change her mind? No. It won't matter. By law the doctors would still have to kill her, because that is what she told them to do!

In fact there was a public case in the Netherlands that took place in 2016. It was referred to as the coffee case. A lady predetermined to have herself euthanized. The day came and the doctor came to her home and put a sedative in her coffee. The woman had changed her mind and didn't want to die. The lady was fighting back (fighting to live!) and so the doctor had her family hold her down while they injected her with the chemicals that eventually killed her. Years later the doctor was taken to court as prosecutors thought the doctor did not follow the law as it was intended. But she was exonerated and found not guilty of any wrongdoing.

How crazy is this?! We desire the autonomy, freedom and god-like status so much that we are predetermining the day we die! But yet Irene, and so many others like her, are struggling with this decision for not the reasons they think. No, it's a hard decision for  a completely different reason. This is such a hard decision, not because she doesn't know what date to choose for her death. This is a hard decision because it's a decision that is not hers to make! This was never meant to be something human beings were to ever grapple with. We are not God! We have lost sight of what Job knew so well: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21) God is the giver of life and the one who determines when it ends. This is a decision meant for the one who is all-knowing. Not for finite creatures. This is a decision for the Lord who is sovereign over all. Not for limited humans.

But this is what happens in secularist society. This is what happens when we try and remove God from our lives. When God is removed that void needs to be filled. The throne is then filled in by us. We want our freedom so badly, to play god so strongly, that we don’t even stop to think what that may lead to. We don’t play out the consequences of our beliefs and philosophies. We desire to be the god of our life no matter what it takes, even if it kills us. Which in these cases, it has.