Perspective on the Church Nursery

There seems to be some confusion on what it is to be a Family Integrated Church. I will be the first to admit that FIC means different things to different people. That means that a church who takes the name FIC must define what that means at that particular church. I know that at Waco Family one area that needs consideration is that of the church nursery.

We have all grown up and many of us had our children in the typical church nursery. Some of those nurseries are hi-tech fortresses with beepers, security cameras and armed guards (well maybe not armed...) Because "we've always done it that way" we may have a tendency to just assume that it is the best way and that we are following a model that fits with the Bible (our only certain rule for faith and practice). We do need to question all of our practices. We are not only reformed, we are reforming. This means that we are constantly being shaped to better fit the biblical mold – constantly adapting our practice to match our faith as guided by scripture. (Semper Reformanda)

The best study I've found on the subject of the nursery was done by Dr. Voddie Baucham. You can read his blog from the link on this page. Here are some thoughts I had and a synopsis of my findings in studying the subject.

First, can we admit that churches today are basically anti-family and anti-child/anti-baby (especially anti-baby). Here's what I mean. The typical church takes great pain and pride (and spends great budget dollars) to ensure that there is a separate place for each age group represented by any given family. Emphasis on SEPARATE place. It is not at all uncommon to have a different area of meeting for infants/toddlers, grade school children, middleschoolers, highschoolers, college students, and adults. Even in the small churches that can't take on the burden of all of these groups they ATLEAST have a separate place for the babies (which is why I said "especially anti-baby"). "The family that prays together stays together", but in the typical American church there is no family that prays together – or sings together, or hears the Word of God together. Most churches intentionally segregate families. The majority opinion seems to be that children are disruptive and are not capable of being otherwise. It is thought unreasonable to ask a child of 1-8 years of age (some would say 0-18) to stay in a worship service for 60-90 minutes without a meltdown. (I'll address this thinking, but not now)

Well, that's what happens. Adult Christian people don't want to be bothered by infants and children in church so we exclude them. The next logical question is, "does the Bible speak to the matter?" There is no specific "nursery passage" that we can turn to and get our direction from. Because of this, it is important to say that no reasonable position on the subject should be cause for us to break fellowship over. But at the same time it is important that we weigh the indirect teachings of Scripture to guide us in our practice and obedience.

Passages for the Nursery:

Some suggest that Nehemiah 8 makes the case for a nursery. This is based on the fact that the assembly is stated to include "both men and women and all who could understand ". The assumption is that this is a comprehensive lists of the attenders. It is assumed that there were no children, and therefore we should not include children in our worship services as well. Dr. Baucham has done a superb job at addressing this issue, and I urge you to read his writing addressing these verses (there are 2 parts, so read them both). I know of no other passage that can even be stretched to speak in favor of a nursery (and the Nehemiah passage has to be stretched to do so).

Passages against the Nursery:

As I already stated, there are no "thou shalt not..." passages about the nursery. There are, however, some passage that speak in opposition to such age segregation without a direct command.

First in Deuteronomy 31:12-13 we see an instruction for the teaching of God's law. "Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones,...their children" does explicitly state that this assembly was to include children. Ezra 10:1 speaks of "a very great assembly of men, women, and children". There seems to be more on inclusion than there is on exclusion. Zero places explicitly state that children are left out of the assembly, and here are 2 that explicitly state the opposite. But, you might think, we are New Testament Christians. Did Jesus ever address this issue? Yes He did. In Matthew 19, the people were bringing their children to the worship service (well they were bringing them to Jesus). The disciples said (paraphrased with tongue-firmly-in-check), "Those kids can't come in here. They need to be in the nursery or in children's church." (end of sarcasm) Jesus told them to allow the children to come to Him. Only one chapter earlier, Jesus was teaching and called a child out of the congregation to use as an illustration. I kind of think He probably just picked up the closest one – He definitely didn't send Peter to fetch one from the nursery. The children were not in isolation, but rather they were in the crowd following Jesus.

Similarly, Paul addresses the subject indirectly. Paul says in Ephesians and Colossians, "Children, obey your parents." Paul did not say, "Father's when you pick your children up from the nursery tell them that I said..." Paul's assumption was that the children were in the assembly where the letter was to be read – so he just addresses them directly and specifically. Pauls letters did not include the adult version and the accompanying children's lessons that should correspond.

I'd like to address more on this:

"Age appropriate" worship

What about observing the Lord's table with young children present?

Is there a place for "Jesus Loves Me" and "O Be Careful Little Hands What You Do" ?

What should we do about visitors who expect a nursery?

I must leave that for another time.

Pastor

Worship: God is Love

Worship: God is Love


God is love. The Bible is very clear on this. 1 John 4:7-8, Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2 and John 3:16 state, along with innumerable other passages, the great love of God. “God is Love,” says 1 John 4:8. The entire book of Romans gives testimony to this truth in its portrayal of God’s death for utterly sinful man. The Psalms are satiated with testimonies of God’s great love. In Romans 5:8 Paul sums up every scriptural teaching on God’s love when he says, “God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” From the very beginning of the book of Genesis to the very end of the book of Revelation, The Bible is soaked with testimony to God’s great love. The fact that God is Love is inseparable from His character. A.W. Pink proclaims the depth of God’s love in his book “The Attributes of God,” where he states, “‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8). It is not simply that God ‘loves,’ but that He is Love itself. Love is not merely one of His attributes, but His very nature” (44). The vastness of such a statement is incomprehensible. The Hymnist Frederick Lehman penned my exact feelings toward God’s love when he said, “The Love of God is greater far than pen or tongue could ever tell; it goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest Hell.” Though its depths are unfathomable and there are none worthy enough to proclaim its greatness, it cannot be emphasized enough. It is the very fabric of this essay. But how can we better understand God’s love? How can we grasp the “great love with which He loved us” (Ephesians 2:5)? This essay will attempt to show you that knowledge of God’s attributes and Man’s nature are prerequisites for an understanding of God’s love and worshiping Him because of it.
21st century Theologians spend tremendous amounts of time thinking about God’s love; however, many of these theologians fall very short in their understanding of love. Most of these men have a Graeco-Roman understanding of what love is. This mythological love is portrayed as a mere emotion, subject to change, not bound to the Human will, but rather to emotional interference. This emotional love is not what we see in scripture. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is possibly the best definition of love that Scripture gives us. It states, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” The Dictionary defines an emotion as “A mental state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort and is often accompanied by physiological changes; a feeling.” An emotion, such as joy, may arise spontaneously, unprecedented by the situation, and vanish just as quickly as it appeared. The words Paul uses to define love are not emotions. Patience and kindness do not spontaneously flow from a person’s being. You have to make a conscious effort to be patient or kind. In order to avoid envying, you must compel your mind to be focused on contentment. It is safe to say that all of the adjectives used to describe love require conscious effort, thus we can conclude that love requires conscious effort and is, therefore, not an emotion that arises spontaneously, but an action that is, at times, a struggle. When our science of love is based on Scripture, we are unable to believe that love is an emotion. In light of everything we have read, we must conclude that love is an action, not an emotion. Voddie Baucham, in his book “Family Driven Faith: Doing What it Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk With God,” stated, “One of the biggest problems with the Greco-Roman myth is that it does me absolutely no good in non-romantic relationships. The Biblical model fits my relationship with my wife, my daughter, my son, my mother, my neighbor, and my God. In each of these situations I can love as an act of the will accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of its object.” Pastor Baucham’s definition of Love is phenomenal: an act of the will accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of its object. The Theologians who believe that God is a God of romantic love are people who believe in a limited view of God’s love. God’s powerful love is not a limited chemical reaction, but a volitional action accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of its affection. The Graeco-Roman myth of love is merely emotional, and chemical. It’s not a love that lasts. It is not true love.
“Emotional love” many times does not leave room for hate. It gives the idea that love and hate cannot coexist. This assumption has no logical basis whatsoever. The Bible does teach us that hate can exist in isolation, but it also teaches that love always coexists with hatred. John MacArthur, in a sermon entitled “The Love God Hates,” stated, “There can be no love unless there is the antithesis of love, which is hate. Those two emotions are inseparable. For example, if you love someone, you hate whatever it is that would harm that person. If you're a parent, you hate anything that would harm your children. If you're married, you hate anything that would defile or injure your spouse. If you love what is good, then you hate evil. If you love God, you hate Satan. If you love unity, you hate discord.” If MacArthur is correct, and I believe he is, then we must accept that the action of love is always accompanied by the action of hatred. Based on this conclusion we must assume that if God is love, He must hate. This does not at all mean that He is hatred; however, it does mean that God has the ability, even the requirement to hate, and He does exercise His ability.
God is also Righteousness. Everything about Him is perfect. He “is “light (i.e. Righteousness) and in Him there is no darkness (unrighteousness) at all”(1 John 1:5). Not only that, but He cannot even be around Sin. “Our God,” according to Hebrews 12:29, “is a consuming fire.” If He were around sin, or something sinful, He would consume it with His Holiness. His righteousness is so great that He cannot justly be around Sin. He is unfathomably righteous. God’s righteousness is one of the main reasons for His love. However, since He is a consuming fire, He is unable to be around Sin. He cannot treat sin in a loving manner, lest He be unjust. God, because He is righteousness, can have only one attitude towards sin, and that is an attitude of Hatred. If Hatred always accompanies Love, and God is Love, God must hate, and He must, and does hate sin.
The fact that God hates is not a popular subject. The contemporary scholars of our day want us to believe that God does not hate sin. “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.”(Jeremiah 6:14) The attitude of God towards evil doers is clear. The Bible constantly describes the relationship between God and a sinner as enmity. Romans 8:7 states, “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law.” David gives us a glimpse of it in Psalm 5:5, which reads, “The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity.” God loves a human person. God created Man and He said that His creation was good. But God Hates all who do iniquity. God’s attitude to the sinful men of this world is clear in Genesis 6:6, which states, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” God hates Sin, and he is grieved with Humanity. God hates sin. God is love, God must hate, God hates sin, but more specifically, God hates you. As long as you continue in your sin you are an enemy of God. As long as you are not a child of God, you are hated by Him.
What are we to do with a God that hates us? “I am a man of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth” (Job 40:4). We cannot respond to it. Man’s naturally hedonistic nature cannot accept the fact that God hates him, and Man’s “small account” prevents him from making a plea on his own behalf. Romans 3:10-18 proves this true when it states, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” What would be our plea? What can you say on behalf of yourself? Has a lie ever proceeded from your mouth? If you have lied, you are a member of the iniquitous party. Have you ever looked at a person with lust? If so, you qualify as an adulterer according to the Sermon on the Mount, and thus you are iniquitous. Have you ever hated in your heart? Has there ever been a grudge you held against a fellow Human being? Christ says that that action makes you worthy of the same fate of a murderer. You say you have obeyed the whole law, but failed in only one point? “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (James 2). You have broken all of God’s law. You are an Evil-doer. God hates you! Because God loves a righteous person, He must hate all, for all do iniquity, and because God is unwaveringly righteous, His hatred is right, and is a necessary response from a Righteous God. Based on this we can conclude not only that God hates us, for we are unrighteous, but that His hatred is justified, for we are unrighteous.
The book “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” by John Bunyan, tells the story of a man by the name of Christian who journeys from the City of Destruction, where he lives, to the Celestial City, a beautiful place where men never die. At the beginning of the book Bunyan tells of a dream that he has in which he sees a man reading in a book, and being very troubled by what he read. Bunyan states, “As he read, he wept and trembled; and not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, ‘What shall I do?’” (1). Christian refers to his fear of judgment throughout the book. Each time an enemy tries to divert him from the path he tells them of the judgment of God that he fears and his surety that it will fall on the city of destruction and its inhabitants. He spoke frequently of God’s wrath against his own sin. It would be impossible to articulate Christian’s fear of God’s wrath; However, it is evident that he feared God’s judgment -- and rightly so. Proverbs 1:7 states that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” At first glance, it seems difficult to fear a God who is love. But if we accept the proper definition of Love, and the proper definition of God, fear is a natural response to God, especially because of His judgment. The Bible is very clear on the fact that God judges sinners. We have established that His attitude toward them is disgust, anger, and even as far as hatred. But we have also established that God is love. We know that at the time He created the earth He called his creation good, but after he created man He “saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 3)
Paul was an apostle with an almost supernatural grasp on the justice of God. The first section of Romans describes God’s justice, who it falls on, and why it falls on them. The first five chapters of Romans are a sort of diagnosis of man. They describe his utterly helpless estate and the hardness of his heart. They go into detail about his righteousness – according to Paul we have none apart from Christ – and God’s response to what the prophet Isaiah calls “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Paul also tells us how widespread this condition of sinfulness is when he states “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Paul’s grasp of God’s judgment and his detailed description of God’s actions as a result of that justice become tattooed on the minds of all who read it. But Paul did not preach justice just to preach justice. Paul’s detailed explanation of God’s justice was only to show us what power His love has on us. In Romans 8:35 He asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” In Romans 5:8 Paul shows us the power of God’s love when He states, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Paul so loved the Doctrine of God’s love that he referenced it in each of his 13 epistles. Many of those times Paul used God’s love as a model for human behavior. In Ephesians 5:25 Paul says “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” At the beginning of that chapter Paul exhorts his readers to “Walk in love as Christ has also loved us” (Ephesians 5:1). The great lengths that have been taken to show you God’s justice are not just to drop your jaw; they are to show you God's love.
God is Love? God is Justice? God hates? How can these things all be true at the same time? How can God act in ways that seem so opposite? How can God be a God of Justice, yet still save men and women? This essay attempted to show you the implications of a God who is love. So far, the implications in comparison to the truth of salvation seem very incongruent. How can they all be true? “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:23-26) We all deserve justice, according to verse twenty-three, and this means that we all need redemption. Paul tells us that Jesus became a “propitiation by His blood.” This word propitiation is the word that all of Scripture hangs on. The Love of God, the Justice of God, and the Wrath of God against sin are all found in this word. The wrath of God against Him who knew no sin displays the hatred that God had for sin, the righteousness that made Him uncapable of forgiving and forgetting, the justice of God against sin, and the love that he had for man are all found in this little word propitiation. It is that word that is the starter fluid to flaming words like 2 Corinthians 5:21, which state, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ’s blood – His death – is the reason for our life. His death is our “propitiation.” His death served as a shock absorber for the wrath of God. Because Jesus was fully God, He was perfect, and because He was fully man he was able to be made the sacrifice on our behalf. He is our hope, and He is love. The weight of your sin was upon His shoulders and God’s hate – that which you rightly deserved – and God’s justice – that which was reserved for you, which you were “storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath” (Romans 2:6) – has been poured out on Christ. He has drunk the poison of your sin. He has inhaled the toxic fumes of your so-called-righteousness. He has become sin, who knew no sin, that you might become His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). While you were still sinning against Him, God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that you may believe in him, and by that belief receive eternal life (Romans 5:8; John 3:16). God loves you. God is love!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Michael Gill

Is God A Control Freak?

Is God a Control Freak?

Not long ago I overheard a conversation between a few friends of mine. They were having a very heated discussion. I don't remember all of the details of the conversation, but I do remember one of them saying, "God is not a control freak!" I vaguely remember hearing, "God wouldn't do that to anyone" or something like that, but I remember "God is not a control freak" as clear as if it were being said right now.

This statement kept me awake at night for some time. I constantly played the words over and over in my head with different emphasis on the words. "God is not a control freak." "God is NOT a control freak." I decided to write a blog post questioning the reliability of this statement. Here goes:

"God is NOT a control freak!"

My first thought at hearing this statement is obviously "DUH!" I immediately push statements like these aside thinking that they are so obvious that I need not bother thinking about them. But God put these words in my head quite frequently. After about a week of hearing them repeated in my head I decided to make an enthymeme of the argument. I wrote:

Enthymeme:

Claim: God is not a control freak

Reason: (blank)

I hit a wall right here. I couldn't find a reason for the life of me. I knew that every good argument required a claim with reasons, so if I couldn't find a reason then this argument was foolish. The warrant was obvious:

Control Freaks are Bad.

But still, without a reason I knew that this was no argument. After a while of trying to find a reason for this statement I decided to look at the psychological definition of a control freak. Wikipedia explained:

In psychology-related slang, control freak is a derogatory term for a person who attempts to dictate how everything around them is done...In some cases, the control freak sees their constant intervention as beneficial or even necessary; this can be caused by feelings of superiority, believing that others are incapable of handling matters properly, or the fear that things will go wrong if they don't attend to every detail. In other cases, they may simply enjoy the feeling of power it gives them so much that they automatically try to gain control of everything around them.

I read this definition alot. I was covinced that the "God is not a control freak" argument was stupid. It was a pseudo-argument -- a claim with no reason. So, after finding that this argument was stupid, I looked at the other side of the argument by examining every sentence of the definition:


1.In psychology-related slang, control freak is a derogatory term for a person who attempts to dictate how everything around them is done...


Now y'all are smart people. You know that God doesn't attempt to do anything, so obviously God does not attempt to dictate how everything is done. He's God. He is in control of everything. I have had alot of people who do not agree with my position ask me "If God Controls everything, why are we held responsible for our sins?" The 1689 talks about God's control and I'll quote that at the end of the article.


2In some cases, the control freak sees their constant intervention as beneficial or even necessary;

I feel like an idiot saying this. It seems so obvious. God's constant intervention is necessary! If God desn( plan, inervene, or allow somethng to happen then it wont happen! R.C.Sproul can putit mor eloquenty than I. I would encourage you to watch his videos entitled Chosen By God. They're on YouTube.


3...this can be caused by feelings of superiority, believing that others are incapable of handling matters properly, or the fear that things will go wrong if they don't attend to every detail.

"Who is like the LORD our God...?"(Psalm 113:5) God's superiority is mentioned throughout the Bible. He sits on the Throne, finished salvation, and does control everything! his intervention is necessary, and other people are absolutely incapable of handling matters properly and if God doesn't do them, they Will not be done. it's not that they won't be done correctly, it's that they won't be done. Everything requires God's intervention. He must intervene, or things won't happen. God could stop pain all together, could end evil, and do a lot of things that He doesn't do. I don't know all of the things that God does stop, but I do know that Some people have a problem with this. To those I would say that God is not required to employ His power on behalf of man and whatever He does or doesn't do He does (or doesn't do) for His glory. He deserves every ounce of it, and will get Glory. Moving on.


4.In other cases, they may simply enjoy the feeling of power it gives them so much that they automatically try to gain control of everything around them.

God orchestrates everything to his desire. He does what makes Him happy, what brings Him Glory, and He is absolutely deserving of it. He doesn't try to gain control, I say again. He is in control of everything.


When I accidentally posted the rough draft of this article, a good friend of ours named Steve Hackett comented and said this: "God is not a control freak, He is control. I agree completely. So before you stat telling everyone that Michael Gill said that God was a control freak you hadbetter remember that I believe that God is control. Also, don't twist my words into meaning that control is god. that's not true. God is love. Is love God? God is Justice. Is justice God? God's attributes make him what He is. We must worship God in His fullness (as much as we are able to grasp his fullness). If we woship one attribute of God we are commiting idoatry, which is our first sin.

Finnaly, some of you may ask, "If God is in absolute control, how can we be blamed for sin?" or "If God is in control, isn't He responsble for sin?" This is where I hand the rest of this article over to the 1689 and the Bible:


"God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein; nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established; in which appears His wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing His decree."





Isa. 46:10 - "I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: My plan will take place, and I will do all My will."


Eph. 1:11 - also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,


Heb. 6:17 - In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the
unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,

Rom. 9:15,18 - For He says to Moses, "I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION." ... So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.


James 1:13 - Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone."

1 John 1:5 - This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.


Acts 4:27,28 - For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.

John 19:11 - Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."


Num. 23:19 - "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? "

Eph. 1:3-5 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will...

I learned something that brought my sin into plain view

My family made a trek to Houston this past week. We enjoy visiting friends there, but I also enjoy the drive to and from. We are a family who have spent much time in a vehicle over the years, and it has become a special time for me. I truly believe that my family, only by God’s grace, is very different from the “average” family in the U.S. My children love one another and love Stacy and I and they love the Lord Jesus. Early on, I realized that car-travel was a great opportunity for teaching – through conversations, and carefully chosen audio material(audio books, sermons, interviews, etc.) So when we were going to be in the car for 5hours I carefully chose the material we would listen to.

One thing I have learned over the years is that we do need some variety in what we listen to. A comedy relief is greatly appreciated from time to time, and in view of the fact that it was Sunday – which meant we’d already heard a long sermon – we needed something as a break. I chose NPR Car-Talk. We have listened to this program before, and really enjoy the automotive information mixed with the antics and humor of “Click and Clack, the tappet brothers”. So I downloaded a couple of these episodes to my player so that we could play it in the car.

Also in light of already having heard a sermon and that I have been encouraged and strengthened through it, I downloaded a few episodes of Dr. Albert Mohler’s radio program. I handpicked discussions on feminism, men’s and women’s issues, and parenting. I think these types of discussions are important right now in my family. I have a young man and young woman living here who are being shaped in how they will relate to a spouse and children and how they will make decisions about who to marry, submission, leadership, and the when/how related to children. They are already active in reading and forming their own opinions in these matters. They ask my input regularly, and I do my best to help them have a biblical view of the world with Christ as the center.

Moving toward the thing that I learned that changed my mind, I’ll give you a hint – Alissa and I had talked a couple of times in the past about birth control. She was reading a book that talked about it, and we had discussed the morality questions/concerns of it. Until the past few years, my view has been the same as that of the world around me. I never thought of birth control as having a moral or biblical answer – If God has given us this technology, then we can use it…like open-heart surgery or chemotherapy. I do see now that the same logic could be applied to creating children to be used as parts for others or to abortion for convenience sake. I guess I never really thought through the topic – maybe afraid of what I would come to believe.

When I mentioned to the family that we would listen to a program that discussed birth control, Alissa said, “Birth control is a form of abortion and I’m against it.” Now if you don’t know Alissa, let me tell you that she is very “opinionated” and as she has grown up I’ve tried to help her make sure that her stronger opinions be based on fact and truth, and preferably biblical/Theological issues. I try to steer toward holding opinions loosely when possible – so as to not alienate others. (If you know me, you know that I’m not very good at this myself. If I truly believe something, I think you should believe it too – even if it is the Ford/Chevy debate – Chevy’s better.)

I told Alissa that the “Morning-After-Pills” were definitely abortion and hence sin, but other methods were not abortion. I went into detail about the barrier methods and how they could not be considered abortion. We believe that life begins at conception, and we weaken our arguments based on that belief if we call barrier methods “abortion and murder” because they prevent conception from taking place. That is the definition of Contraception – preventing conception. We also talked about Judah’s sons and daughter-in-law and how Onan “wasted his seed on the ground” and God was “displeased”. This was a good discussion, but came before we heard from Dr. Mohler.

We listened to The Albert Mohler Program “The Changing Minds on Contraception” (available for free download). The program was addressed to how the Christian’s mind has changed on the subject – but particularly focused on the birth-control pill. Dr. Mohler pointed out that many adopt the view of the culture, but some are now re-evaluating the issue with new facts. He likened the issue to a thick legal document that you may agree to without actually reading the details (like the software license agreement that you see when installing computer programs). He said that many Christians agreed to the pill without actually knowing what it was and how it worked. Now, many are learning those details and are changing their mind on this method of preventing birth.

One man called in to disagree. I think his argument was one that some of you may have, so I want to address it here. He argued that God has given us the wisdom to know when we should (and should not) bring a baby into the world, and there is nothing wrong in using that wisdom to make the best decision for our lives. He agreed that “abortion is wrong…once the egg and the semen interact it is a person”, and I think the guy was confused about the specifics that were being talked about – I think if it were explained in more plain terms that he would agree with the statements made by Dr. Mohler. Dr. Mohler stated that once the sperm and egg unite, they cease to become 2 and are now human life – then anything that would stop that life is not “contraception”(preventing conception) but is an early abortion. I want to say that in my terms so that it is clear. Contraception prevents sperm and egg from uniting, and that is the definition of the word contra- caption. Once the sperm and egg have joined, we call that conception – the fertilization of a human ovum by a sperm – and Christians call that human life created by God and the intentional ending of that life is murder (abortion is just a “nice” term for murder).

Dr. Mohler distinguished the difference in the words “contraception” and “birth control”. We must realize that these words are used interchangeably by some, but the details may have a great effect on how you view one form or another from a biblical perspective. Abortion is in fact “birth control” – it prevents the birth of a living person. Abstinence is also “birth control” – preventing the birth by preventing the conception. Abortion is clearly wrong according to scripture and should be practiced by no Christian, and Abstinence is clearly useful according to scripture and should be practiced by all Christians at different points in their life and always by some. Now for the thing that I learned – it changed my mind about birth control pills.

I learned that certain forms of birth control (IUD, Norplant, and oral contraception/pill) can cause the destruction of fertilized ovum (human life) either as their primary means or as a secondary (backup) means of preventing birth. I learned that there is a chance that a couple who use these methods will actually be causing miscarriage – and since that is an intentional function of these methods, it is actually early abortion. Studies reveal that early abortions are the method of birth control from the pill 4-15% of the time.

I had to tell Alissa that I was incorrect in assuming that "the pill" was not a form of abortion. Apparently she had already read of the data contained in this radio program - that I was hearing for the first time. We had to have more discussion about this subject.

I was devastated by the chance that early in our marriage we used some of these forms of birth control – thinking they were contraception. I have had to go to God in repentance for this specifically. (I have also changed my mind about all contraception as my world-view has become more biblical/Christian, but the prospect that we may have caused the death of a child must be dealt with.) I would challenge you to look up the facts on this issue for yourself. I will provide some links to resources that will help in your study. Then I would ask you, What is the acceptable percentage for a chance that you would destroy a person’s life? If it’s only 4% chance is it worth taking? Is there a tolerance level that you can live with when it comes to human life? These things weigh heavily on my heart – I hope they do with you as well.

Links:
http://www.albertmohler.com/radio_show.php?cdate=2009-08-14
http://www.prolife.com/BIRTHCNT.html
http://www.epm.org/artman2/publish/prolife_birth_control_pill/A_Longer_Condensation_of_Does_The_Birth_Control_Pill_Cause_Abortions.shtml
http://www.abortionfacts.com/learn/birth_control.asp


Pastor

True Woman | Mary Kassian

True Woman | Mary Kassian

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First Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask, Then You Will Be Able To Assist Others

Driving home and searching the radio stations randomly is a lot like playing Russian Roulette. Tonight I found a live one.

Leeza Gibbons has a radio program! There must be some parachute clause in the contract of all Entertainment Tonight hosts that entitles them to a radio talking music show. First John Tesh, and now Leeza. She plays music and between songs enlightens the world with her wisdom. Tonight she had a guest join in the conversation via phone - how exciting. Leeza was joined by Cheryl Seban, author of "What Is Your Self-Worth: A Woman's Guide to Validation". Dr. Seban's stated goal is to help women connect with their own innate value, connect to their unique authentic selves, recognize and validate their contributions to the world. I listened, and I learned some things.

Before I go any further, let me state my position on women. Read carefully, because I am a middle-aged conservative Baptist pastor - that group that has been accused lately of being part of "global mistreatment of women". So you should listen to my view on women before you read further. I'll include here my view on race and racism as well, because it's all related in my view. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. There is not even a true classification of race - there are different ethnicities, but we are all of the Adamic race (Adam is the father of every person, and Noah is our father as well). And there is absolutely no difference in value between male and female.

Let me clarify one caveat. There is a difference between men and women. I remember a talk with my dad, then a high school biology class. Anyone who says there is no difference is a complete idiot. There are physical differences, emotional differences, social differences, and role distinctions. The "women's liberation" movement (should be the "women's domination" movement) is on a course to eliminate these distinctions. I truly believe that the line would be, "we don't hate men, we just really love women." The problem I have with the direction of our world toward women is that it does not help women find their true "Validation" in being women. Rather, it tries to make women INTO men. The logic seems to be that somehow by emasculating men that women move up in the world. That's stupid. It's like me saying when I'm injured that if I injure you, then I won't be injured. Shouldn't we value men AND women - equally. I'm not denying abuse and those who would oppress women, but the answer is not found in women ceasing to be womanly. OK. How did I get on that trail. Back on task.

So proceeding with a belief that women and men are equal in value and both created in the image of God, I would like to address the topic of Self-Worth from a non-gender-specific point of view.

The main point that Dr. Seban brought out was that self-worth is like an oxygen mask on an airplane. She said that you are instructed when you board a plane that in the event of a loss in cabin pressure, you should secure your own mask first - then you'll be able to assist others. The inference was that you should build your own self-worth, then you could help others. If you have a low self-image, you will live out the low expectations that you have set for yourself in life. Leeza was completely in agreement, because (as I learned tonight) she wrote a book entitled "Take Your Oxygen First". This may have just been an opportunity to plug her book on the show.

Well, I think that the air mask word picture is about the most poorly constructed argument for self-worth I've ever heard. I'm imagining the author, educated and completely confident in self, going through life with one of those ridiculous looking masks on all of the time.

In this analogy, I see that the oxygen represents self-thoughts of value and worth. The thing breaks down for me in continued thought. You see, if I'm on a plane and the mask appears I will put on my mask first and then try to assist others. I will then pray a prayer and cry (I'm a big chicken at heart and have an acute fear of dying on a plane). Let's say for the sake of argument that I die - then the oxygen did me absolutely no good. Even if it sustained my life for a few moments or hours, it failed me where I really needed it (perhaps I really needed a parachute). So that line of thinking leads to the conclusion that the "Self-Worth" gospel that is being sold is itself-worth-less.

Let's consider that I don't die on that plane, but land safely and am reunited with my friends and family. Then, I'd look pretty silly showing up at work the following week still wearing the mask. I could get one of those tanks on a dolly to pull with me, and people could ask what it was for and I could tell them my story of how this mask saved my life. I might be able to get some of them to get a mask for themselves as well - I could help them put it on. But this line of thought is stupid (I know that some people are offended by the word stupid, but just get over it. It's stupid)

So I hate the picture of the mask as a self-validation tool, but I want to really stretch to use the comparison as charitably as possible - giving the benefit of the doubt. If my self-thoughts can be truly healing...if they can really have a lasting effect on my life, then they must make a real change. No thinking can help me, especially self-validating thinking, if I must continually be priming the pump. I mean if I have to constantly be refilling the "self-worth" bucket with new and better thoughts and deeper thoughts - because the ones from yesterday don't work any more. Remember Al Franken (before he became a politician) did a skit in which he played Stuart. He would sit in front of a mirror and say "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog-gone-it, people like me." He would have to repeat these self-thoughts because, as the skit made it clear, they were not true and he needed to be continually indoctrinated (brainwashed) to believe it. That is a caricature of what is being preached by Dr. Seban, Leeza, and today's world of philosophy. Keep blowing up the balloon, and keep ignoring the holes that are in it - if you can blow fast enough it will inflate. Well, that's just hot air.

There is a basic problem. People are worthless. There, I said it. People are of no value at all. Apparently, a great number of effort has gone into calculating the worth of a human body (breaking down all of the elements etc). The total value, less the skin, is valued at less than $1. The skin was valued at the market rate for cowhide totalling 3.50 - for a grand total of $4.50. I personally believe this to be inflated and the actual value to be much less. But even in life, people are liars, cheaters, selfish, thieves, murderers...you get the picture. Even the best people in all of history are (using a bible word - I am a preacher) sinners. And sin is a condition that renders people - the whole Adamic race, men and women alike - Worthless.

So you can pump up the psyche. Validate the self-image. Put on the oxygen mask. Inflate the balloon - but the task is hopeless. I wish these prophets of the Self-Worth god would be honest enough to admit that when the books are sold and the crowds are gone, and the speaking engagement is done and they are alone in bed at night - they must still feel like they are not doing enough. They must believe that they have not accomplished enough - that they really ARE not enough. I wonder if they are even that honest with themselves. I fear that they can't be for fear that the balloon will deflate too quickly and their life will be seen for what it actually is - Worthless.

Men and women are so worthless, that we are only to be thrown into the fire - like trash. That would be the end of the story for Worth, but there is actually another chapter. It requires a little shift. You see if this story continues - from worthless - where is there left to go? Nowhere. To see the other chapter, we really have to come to this place from an entirely different angle. We can't start with men and women and end up with worth - we are worthless. We must begin with true worth.

Well, the only One of innate value is God. God is self-sustaining, self-validating, self-worthy. (it just occurred to me that when we try to become those things, we are really trying to be gods) One of God's most wonderful attributes (as if we could rank them on a scale) is His grace. God is truly Loving and Gracious. How could you prove that you are Loving and Gracious? What if you directed your love and affections toward the most unloving and worthless? What if you commended your love to those who hated you. That would go beyond loving some who loved you first - beyond extending grace to those who would be able to offer something. This is precisely what God did for we worthless sinners - men and women, all ethnicities, all positions in life.

People incorrectly say, "The bible says 'God helps those who help themselves'", but that's precisely what God did NOT do. He DID NOT help those who helped themselves. He loved/helped/was gracious toward those who COULD NOT help themselves. That is real grace. That is real love. And coming from the only One of real worth...that is Amazing.

Now that we see that an innately infinitely Worthy (Holy) God has set His love upon mankind (worthless as we may be), we understand that there is now an inferred worth. Let me illustrate. I saw some guitar picks on the Internet for sale - used guitar picks. New picks sell for about $0.50-.90. These were selling used for $1k-$1800.00. They were of no real or innate value - nothing inherent, but were valued because they were the possession of Elvis Presley. Something that anyone would pass up at a garage sale as worthless at any price - now has a value because of factors outside itself. Men and Women, people, have worth based on the fact that God has set a price on us. Our value comes from Him, and as I stated earlier, to attempt to claim value from any other source is blasphemous and an act of idolatry.

OK. now lets talk about the price. God did not value mankind in "fair market" terms. Rather, he looked at the pitiful state that we were in (because of sin) and placed the value based on what it would take to repair the damage. An examination of scripture tells us that God found nothing salvageable - this would have to be a completely new creation. The old would have to go away, and the new life (one of value) would have to come in its place. The cost would be high - frankly, more than I would have paid and more than any person would be willing(or able) to give. The cost...The lifeblood of Jesus Christ. And that's what was paid.

There's a whole lot more to this story, maybe you've heard it but you forgot the price or that your value is ONLY through Christ. Maybe you've never heard it. It's found in the Bible - way better than I have explained it here, it's perfectly presented there in God's own Words. I'd love to share more with you if you have questions or want sources sited - just drop me an email or leave a comment here. Don't forget to tell me how to get in touch with you.

And if you are walking around with an oxygen mask on - take it off. It just looks silly.

Pastor

Doctrine and Debate, Preachers and Pew-Sitters

There has been much talk among my family and friends lately about different views about Bible doctrine, Theology, and salvation (soteriology).  I have been greatly encouraged by it, because I think it is a reflection of people desiring to know God deeper.  I believe (and hope) that people are not willing to “drink the koolaid” of some religion that will not stand up to thought, debate, and analysis.  I think about what God said through the prophet Habakkuk, “My people perish for lack of knowledge.”  There are so many weak and feeble ones filling our churches.  Many are unsaved people with religion only, but others are true children of God so weak in their new man.  My heart breaks for this, and that’s why I love to see thinking studying Christians seeking to know what God said. 

 

This weakness and anemic state of the people does have cause.  There is weak and anemic preaching and discipleship from pastors and those in leadership.  I know personally the temptation to change the message in order to keep a good paycheck and parsonage.  I know the pressure to “lay low” and skip the hard stuff so that you will not become  a target for the church power group.  I know the desire to have “success” and to bend in order to get it.  Many pastors today compromise the Truth for some motivation that holds more weight in their minds than a Holy God and His Word.  Maybe they think God won’t mind a few tweaks – just to knock off the rough edges of the Gospel.  After all, the true Gospel from the Bible is all “gloom and doom” for most, and offensive to all. 

 

Jeremiah spoke of this attitude among those of his day who were supposed to speak for God.  They refined the message in their time too.  They went for a more positive approach.  They preached “Peace”.  What could be a more attractive message – “Peace, Peace”.  It would have been a great message to preach, except for one problem.  God said “there is no peace.”  So when they set out to tweak, they completely changed.  When they tried to refine, they actually polluted and corrupted greatly.  When they wanted to knock off the rough edges, they actually shattered God’s entire masterpiece.  They received truth, but delivered lies.   Why would they do that?  What would motivate those men to compromise like that?  Jeremiah says, “My people love it so.”  That was the real root of the problem.  The people loved it.  If the people had stoned the first “false-speaker”, then I believe there would have been more consideration put into what the next guy said.  If the people would only accept sound truth, then there would be no market for the lies peddled by others.  I believe that we live in the same kind of world today – with the same people who love it so.  I pray for the day when the church will rise up and fire the false-teacher.  No matter how much the attendance is up, no matter how pretty, no matter how well spoken, no matter how much fine-sounding philosophy – if it’s not God’s truth, then you’re out of here.  This would go hand-in-hand with NOT firing the man of God who is faithful to the Word because the numbers are down, or he’s not as popular as we wished, or some other pragmatic criteria that we construct. 

 

Christian, stop touting the man who rides his Harley on stage at church.  Quit praising the guy who brings a fishing boat into the auditorium.  Don’t focus on whether the sermon made good use of PowerPoint slides and video clips.  Start asking, “Did he say what the Bible says?”  Hint: If he’s jumping around the Bible from week to week, be suspicious – is he using the Bible to back up the sermon, or preaching the Word as it is written?  Jeff Noblit (one of my new favorite preachers) says that this is the difference in Rick Warren and John MacArthur – well put.  Church, demand that your pastor preach expositionally – that is just preach what the text says.  Read out of the text the truth that God placed there, don’t read INTO the text the convenient message from me.  When the preacher gets finished, you should be able to look at his passage of scripture and see the points he brought out – the outline should come from the Bible. 

 

I know that for many Christians this seems impossible.  How can we “call the preacher” on something we are not versed in.  That is true, and a part of the problem.  The “average” saved person should be growing in how to handle the Word.  We should be learning how to read what is there rather than what we “thought it said”.  Becoming Bible-Saturated, rather than Bible-Ignorant, would be a great thing for churches…for your church…It would be a great thing for you.

 

So for all of you who are active, studying and thinking, analyzing and considering; Keep it up!  Let’s grow together to bring God glory.  And if you’re not…Today would be a good day to start.  I’d recommend the Gospel of John – It shows the Deity of Christ.  Stop reading the stuff I’ve got to say, and get into the Word –right now. 

   

Pastor