How many times have your heard this phrase uttered? I have a feeling that as we continue in these health care issues, we will hear this even more. I came across a wonderful list of our rights as Christians, on the Christian singer/song writer/blogger Steve Camp’s blog http://stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/ I hope it reminds you of our rights as much as it reminded me of mine!
The Christian's Bill of Rights
1. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we have only one right: and that is to give up all rights to ourselves (2 Cor. 5:14-16; Romans 14:7-9).
2. We have the right to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (Mt. 16:24-26).
3. We have the right to esteem others more highly than ourselves; and love our neighbor as ourselves (Mt. 22:39;Phil. 2:1-5).
4. We have the right to fulfill the law of Christ in bearing one another's burdens of sin (Gal. 6:1-3).
5. We have the right to be wronged and to maintain a faithful testimony (1 Cor. 6:1-8).
6. We have the right to live in unreciprocated, self-sacrificial love (Eph. 5:1-2).
7. We have the right to forgive others the smaller debt, as God in Christ has forgiven us the larger debt (Eph. 4:31-32; Matthew 18:12-35).
8. We have the right to suffer for the gospel and to take the blows for the One who took the blows for us (1 Peter 2:21-24)
9. We have the right to be "subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be uncontentious, gentle, showing every consideration for all men" (Titus 3:1-2).
10. We have the right to not be political agitators trading the truth of His Word to play politics with men's souls; thinking that true spiritual change occurs through legislation rather than the transforming power of the gospel of grace. (1 Peter 4:10-16).
11. We have the right to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39).
12. We have the right to be stripped of all earthly things (Matthew 5:40-42).
13. We have the right to not repay evil for evil and to be at peace with all men as much as it depends on you (Romans 12:17-18).
14. We have the right to love our enemies, do good to them that hate us, bless those who curse us and pray for those that despitefully use us (Matthew 5:44-45).
15. We have the right to pursue holiness-not personal happiness (1 Peter 1:13-16).
16. We have the right not to be ashamed of the gospel (2 Tim. 1:6-18).
17. We have the right not to harbor revenge, anger, bitterness, clamoring, wrath, malice and slander when wronged by another (Ephesians 4:31).
18. We have the right not to quench or grieve the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19).
19. We have the right to repent of and not cherish our sins (Psalm 66:18).
20. We have the right to guard the trust; and to contend for the once for all delivered to the saints faith (1 Timothy 6:20; Jude 1:3).
21. We have the right to train our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:1-3).
22. We have the right to reflect God's covenantal relationship with us by honoring our vows in the covenant of marriage with our spouse Mt. 19:6).
23. We have the right to worship Christ Jesus as God of very God; Creator; Redeemer; Sovereign Lord and Ruler of all (Col. 1:15-19; Hebrews 1:8; Phil. 2:5-11).
24. We have the right to present our lives as living sacrifices everyday to God (Roms. 12:1-2).
25. We have the right to live in the expectancy and hope of the Lord's return by which we purify ourselves (Roms. 12:1-2).
26. We have the right to march daily on our knees in prayer; praying for our leaders in government; our church leaders; our fellow believers; our families; and the lost (1 Timothy 2:1-3; Ephesians 6:18-21).
27. We have the right to praise and glorify God according to how He has revealed Himself through the pages of His Word (Col. 3:16-17).
28. We have the right to honor our local church pastors; for they keep watch over our souls as those who will give an account (Hebrews 13:17).
29. We have the right to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20).
30. We have the right to have no rights apart from Christ Himself; "for whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it" (Matt. 16:25: John 15:5).
Monday, March 29, 2010
Health Care...
While the health care debate on the surface is political, there are also many moral implications to it. What should be the chief concern for each of us as believers is this issue of public money going to pay for the murder of thousands of babies. No matter how it is buried, explained, or camouflaged by political speech there is no doubt of the damage this will do to our unborn, and what that low value of life it will lead toward. I saw this post about Alexander Tyler which quotes him - I thought it would be well worth copying:
About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:
'A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government'
'A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury'
'From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship'
'The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years'
'During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage'
This should go to remind us that our trust is not in our government - for our government, as every other government, is filled with fallen men. Our trust, our hope and our help comes from the one True and Most High God. This is not fatalism, nor is it a call to do nothing. But, it is most assuredly a call for believers to hold to truth – hold to the ONE KING WHO NEVER CHANGES, WHO NEVER MAKES A MISTAKE AND PRAISE GOD, HE WILL NEVER BE REPLACED!
About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:
'A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government'
'A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury'
'From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship'
'The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years'
'During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage'
This should go to remind us that our trust is not in our government - for our government, as every other government, is filled with fallen men. Our trust, our hope and our help comes from the one True and Most High God. This is not fatalism, nor is it a call to do nothing. But, it is most assuredly a call for believers to hold to truth – hold to the ONE KING WHO NEVER CHANGES, WHO NEVER MAKES A MISTAKE AND PRAISE GOD, HE WILL NEVER BE REPLACED!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
What A Time We Will Have!!!
I just wanted to encourage you to make every effort to be “in your place” as a part of this Body during the next two, very special weeks!
This year has started off with a bang! We have had people saved, join, and come to be baptized - each and every week since beginning “The Church” series! We have finished “in the black” January and February and this is the first January and February that we have finished in the black since 2005! On top of all this, we had 62 families lead out and commit over $500,000 to our “Freedom for Tomorrow…Today” campaign, which officially kicks off this Sunday. All of that - and we have not even gotten to our two biggest Sundays of the year so far! I want to encourage you to come and be a part of the next two weeks in the life of Trinity – not only on Sunday, but at all of our events! But, especially during the next two Sundays, come expecting God to work in a great way! We have some great days before us – keep these dates on your fridge and be here to fulfill your part!
March 26-27: This will be our 24 hour Prayer Vigil; we have bathed this campaign – and this BODY, Trinity - in prayer. I can’t think of a better way to kick everything off than interceding on behalf of one another before the throne of God!
March 28: This is Victory Sunday; we will make our commitments on a card and turn them in, and then we will begin giving not only in our tithes and regular offering, but we will also begin giving towards our commitment this week!
March 31: This will be our Passion Week service. We will not have AWANA or our Student Service on this night, but instead we will be together and we will focus on the cross. We will also be partaking of the Lord’s Supper during this time as we remember our Savior’s amazing grace!
April 4: Easter Sunday, we will do what we do every single week - we will celebrate our Savior’s victory over death! (But, I am guessing there will be a lot more unfamiliar faces) We should be in prayer for this service - praying that God would do a work in the hearts of people that will come in our service but do not know Christ.
All of this in period of about two weeks! It is a wonderful time to be at Trinity, and these are exciting days as we experience together our Lord’s wonderful work.
This year has started off with a bang! We have had people saved, join, and come to be baptized - each and every week since beginning “The Church” series! We have finished “in the black” January and February and this is the first January and February that we have finished in the black since 2005! On top of all this, we had 62 families lead out and commit over $500,000 to our “Freedom for Tomorrow…Today” campaign, which officially kicks off this Sunday. All of that - and we have not even gotten to our two biggest Sundays of the year so far! I want to encourage you to come and be a part of the next two weeks in the life of Trinity – not only on Sunday, but at all of our events! But, especially during the next two Sundays, come expecting God to work in a great way! We have some great days before us – keep these dates on your fridge and be here to fulfill your part!
March 26-27: This will be our 24 hour Prayer Vigil; we have bathed this campaign – and this BODY, Trinity - in prayer. I can’t think of a better way to kick everything off than interceding on behalf of one another before the throne of God!
March 28: This is Victory Sunday; we will make our commitments on a card and turn them in, and then we will begin giving not only in our tithes and regular offering, but we will also begin giving towards our commitment this week!
March 31: This will be our Passion Week service. We will not have AWANA or our Student Service on this night, but instead we will be together and we will focus on the cross. We will also be partaking of the Lord’s Supper during this time as we remember our Savior’s amazing grace!
April 4: Easter Sunday, we will do what we do every single week - we will celebrate our Savior’s victory over death! (But, I am guessing there will be a lot more unfamiliar faces) We should be in prayer for this service - praying that God would do a work in the hearts of people that will come in our service but do not know Christ.
All of this in period of about two weeks! It is a wonderful time to be at Trinity, and these are exciting days as we experience together our Lord’s wonderful work.
Monday, March 22, 2010
When Approaching Scripture...
I mentioned a few weeks ago in a blog that one of the “evidences of grace” recently was when I was speaking with a lady in our church that said: “I didn’t realize we were all called to be theologians” - and she said this in a good way not a sarcastic way! This is a sweet lady who is getting it; we are called to know doctrine, we are called to know truth, we are called to be holy and we are called be thinkers, learners and teachers. Too often we hear well - meaning people destroy a passage of Scripture or reject a truth from the Word because it doesn’t line up with their previous thoughts or experiences. Let me give some examples then, I will exhort the importance of approaching the Word of God.
Matt. 19:19 “Love your neighbor as yourself” I have heard well-meaning people say that this shows that in order to really love someone biblically you must learn to love yourself as Christ wants you to. However, Scripture tells me the opposite! It tells me I must die to myself, I must hate my life – I must esteem others as more important than myself. So what is the point of Matthew 19:19? The point is - I can’t take one verse and mutilate it to prove a point! The context is key: Jesus was talking to a rich man who was living for himself. The point is not him loving himself, the point is that he must love his neighbor… and the problem this man had was that he loved himself and his possessions more than anything. The text is teaching to love other people and not yourself.
I was asked one time after preaching why do I give all this history before my sermon. Well, because if we don’t understand the culture, if we don’t understand the meaning of the terms, we will miss the point of the text. The idea of sitting in a Sunday School class, reading a passage of Scripture and looking around and saying… “What does that mean to you?” The answer is who cares what it means to you, or to me! What did God intend for it to mean? We do this with parables - we forget the parables were told by Jesus to an audience…and many times if we miss the audience, we can miss the parable. John MacArthur did a wonderful job illustrating this in his book “The Tale Of Two Sons” on the prodigal son (s). He points out the elder son, the one that stayed at home is a picture of the religious leaders in the audience that were pressing Jesus for answers -the same group who murdered Him. I pointed this out before, as many preachers have done through the ages, and had some completely confused to say the least. Why? Too often the parable is just a story someone was told in Sunday School and never had to think through. While the Bible is relevant and written to us today, it is written in a context, they were among a real audience when preaching/teaching and this information has relevance to the meaning of the text!
The illustrations like the ones above that have happened in Bible study groups and church services, are too many to count. The bottom line is this - when we approach the Word of God, let it speak, keep it in its context, and be a thinking Christian. As we spend time enjoying the truth of God we must remember that we are not approaching it to validate what we think (or what we want it to say), but to discover what God thinks. As we are nearing an end of our study in Psalm 119 and I hope God has used it to “salt the oats” and make you more thirsty for the Word of God. I hope it has made you long to read it and long to know His mind!
Matt. 19:19 “Love your neighbor as yourself” I have heard well-meaning people say that this shows that in order to really love someone biblically you must learn to love yourself as Christ wants you to. However, Scripture tells me the opposite! It tells me I must die to myself, I must hate my life – I must esteem others as more important than myself. So what is the point of Matthew 19:19? The point is - I can’t take one verse and mutilate it to prove a point! The context is key: Jesus was talking to a rich man who was living for himself. The point is not him loving himself, the point is that he must love his neighbor… and the problem this man had was that he loved himself and his possessions more than anything. The text is teaching to love other people and not yourself.
I was asked one time after preaching why do I give all this history before my sermon. Well, because if we don’t understand the culture, if we don’t understand the meaning of the terms, we will miss the point of the text. The idea of sitting in a Sunday School class, reading a passage of Scripture and looking around and saying… “What does that mean to you?” The answer is who cares what it means to you, or to me! What did God intend for it to mean? We do this with parables - we forget the parables were told by Jesus to an audience…and many times if we miss the audience, we can miss the parable. John MacArthur did a wonderful job illustrating this in his book “The Tale Of Two Sons” on the prodigal son (s). He points out the elder son, the one that stayed at home is a picture of the religious leaders in the audience that were pressing Jesus for answers -the same group who murdered Him. I pointed this out before, as many preachers have done through the ages, and had some completely confused to say the least. Why? Too often the parable is just a story someone was told in Sunday School and never had to think through. While the Bible is relevant and written to us today, it is written in a context, they were among a real audience when preaching/teaching and this information has relevance to the meaning of the text!
The illustrations like the ones above that have happened in Bible study groups and church services, are too many to count. The bottom line is this - when we approach the Word of God, let it speak, keep it in its context, and be a thinking Christian. As we spend time enjoying the truth of God we must remember that we are not approaching it to validate what we think (or what we want it to say), but to discover what God thinks. As we are nearing an end of our study in Psalm 119 and I hope God has used it to “salt the oats” and make you more thirsty for the Word of God. I hope it has made you long to read it and long to know His mind!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
A Guest Blog...on the Church
I only wish I could write as clearly about the local Church as Mr. Dan Phillips! The blog is a quick/easy read despite its length, but if I could ask every reader of this blog to read only one post it would be this one (sad seeing I didn’t eve write it, huh?). I hope you enjoy it, or are convicted by it as we at Trinity continue to study “The Church”... if you want to read comments or more from this post it is found at:
http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2008/11/why-you-need-to-be-in-church-this.html
07 NOVEMBER 2008
Why you need to be in a church this Sunday
by Dan Phillips
"Everything old is new again," and the saying certainly holds true when it comes to heresy, false doctrine and plain old unbiblical nuttiness.
For instance, back in the anti-establishment 60s and 70s, Christianoid kids would verbally trash the "organized church." Didn't need to go to a building, they'd say; they were the church. The real Bible scholars among them (relatively speaking) might yank 1 Corinthians 6:19 out of context and waterboard it a bit, until it said what they wanted to hear.
But no, Trevor, you're not the church. You're part of the church. The word ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) means "assembly," and no, you're really not an assembly. Doesn't matter how many chins you have, you still aren't an assembly.
What you are (you tell me) is a Christian. If you're a Christian, you claim Jesus as your Lord.
Where's your Lord today? He depicts Himself as walking among local assemblies (Revelation 1:12-13, 20), holding their pastors in His right hand (vv. 16, 20). What do you think the message is, there? Why is He not watching a lovely sunset, or fishing, or walking the dog, or riding a comet? Why among churches, among assemblies, cherishing their pastors?
Because that's where Jesus is. That's where His great heart is. Do you know better than He? Which one of you is "Lord," again?
That's the church, that local assembly of believers where pastors lead, the Word is preached, the ordinances are observed, and discipline is carried out. Christ loved it and gave Himself for it (Ephesians 5:25). He died for it.
But you won't walk into one of them, and stay there? Which one of you is "Lord," again?
Before He died, Jesus prayed for the church, all of it (John 17). Even (especially!) with what He was facing, the church was on His heart.
But you won't attach yourself to one, to join it and work in it and pray for it? Which one of you is "Lord," again?
Who is your pastor? Are you fool enough to say "Jesus is my pastor"? Nonsense. When He ascended, He gave pastors to the church (Ephesians 4:11). If He gave them, then He isn't them. Which one is your pastor, your toe-to-toe, eyeball-to-eyeball pastor?
Your "Lord" charged pastors with the care of souls. That means Jesus — your Lord, so you say — thinks your soul needs watching over (Hebrews 13:7, 17). Which individual flesh and bones living pastor is watching over your soul, in person, individually?
If "none," how is it that you decided you are smarter than Jesus? You know, Jesus. Your "Lord." Which one of you is "Lord," again?
Jesus, your Lord, also called you to know, show respect for, esteem highly in love, and submit to the leadership of your flesh-and-blood in-person pastor (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; Hebrews 13:17). Which pastor is it that sees you come regularly to be discipled and led, and sees you loving and trusting God enough to yield him the love and submission to which God calls you?
If you bristle at the thought of embracing what Jesus calls you to — which one of you is "Lord," again?
And if you fall into unrepentant sin, which assembly will even know of it, let alone discipline you? Jesus says you need that, too (Matthew 18:13-20). I don't care what complex, high-sounding Dagwood sandwich of excuses you can slap together. If you say you don't need to be in a local assembly, you say you're smarter than Jesus, and are sufficient.
Fool!
And remember, that Jesus you say is your "Lord" said that the second most important thing in the world is to love your neighbor (Matthew 22:39). He moved Paul to tell you your fellow-church-member is your premier neighbor (Galatians 6:10). That's where you take all that rich doctrine (Ephesians 1—3), and live it out in community (Ephesians 4—6). That's where you do all those dozens of "one anothers."
And if you tell yourself that your spouse or children are all the "one anothers" you need, God already said "No." If you insist, you put your judgment over God's.
Meaning that, whatever your mouth professes, your choices say you find God's judgment deficient, and yours superior.
Meaning you're a fool and a de facto blasphemer — whether you intend to be or not.
And you thereby bring harm on your spouse and children, by preaching and living a lie to them.
That's for starters.
So, Jesus — your "Lord" — says you need to be in a local church. You say you don't?
Which one to believe? You? Or Jesus? You? Or Jesus? Hmm.
Here's the problem, I think. I've said a word thirteen times: Lord. The confession of Jesus as Lord is fundamental to Christian faith (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Philippians 2:11). In repentant faith, we bow the knee to Christ's Lordship.
I think the problem with a lot of these late-blooming hippies is, at root, authority. They don't like to have to sit still and listen while someone else talks. They don't like someone else being in charge. They don't like being encouraged to join, commit, join in, be with, commit themselves, be accountable, be answerable.
Our race was bitten with an anti-authority bug when great-grandma bought the "You shall be as gods" line, and great-granddad followed her lead. But conversion — real conversion — deals with that bug.
It all really comes back to Jesus, the Lord. You may not like the idea of being accountable to a man, or a group of men. You'd rather sit home, watching TV or listening to tapes. Whenever you want, wherever you want. No yucky people to be patient with; don't have to listen to all their whiny problems and needs. No need to adjust to different accents, different ways of thinking, different cultures. Just you, you, you.
But Jesus — the Lord — commands you to go to church, join in church, participate in church, and submit to the God-ordained human leadership of the church.
That's your issue. Is Jesus your Lord in reality, or in theory alone? When convenient, or no? Are your ego and control-issues the boundary of His Lordship?
See you in church.
http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2008/11/why-you-need-to-be-in-church-this.html
07 NOVEMBER 2008
Why you need to be in a church this Sunday
by Dan Phillips
"Everything old is new again," and the saying certainly holds true when it comes to heresy, false doctrine and plain old unbiblical nuttiness.
For instance, back in the anti-establishment 60s and 70s, Christianoid kids would verbally trash the "organized church." Didn't need to go to a building, they'd say; they were the church. The real Bible scholars among them (relatively speaking) might yank 1 Corinthians 6:19 out of context and waterboard it a bit, until it said what they wanted to hear.
But no, Trevor, you're not the church. You're part of the church. The word ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) means "assembly," and no, you're really not an assembly. Doesn't matter how many chins you have, you still aren't an assembly.
What you are (you tell me) is a Christian. If you're a Christian, you claim Jesus as your Lord.
Where's your Lord today? He depicts Himself as walking among local assemblies (Revelation 1:12-13, 20), holding their pastors in His right hand (vv. 16, 20). What do you think the message is, there? Why is He not watching a lovely sunset, or fishing, or walking the dog, or riding a comet? Why among churches, among assemblies, cherishing their pastors?
Because that's where Jesus is. That's where His great heart is. Do you know better than He? Which one of you is "Lord," again?
That's the church, that local assembly of believers where pastors lead, the Word is preached, the ordinances are observed, and discipline is carried out. Christ loved it and gave Himself for it (Ephesians 5:25). He died for it.
But you won't walk into one of them, and stay there? Which one of you is "Lord," again?
Before He died, Jesus prayed for the church, all of it (John 17). Even (especially!) with what He was facing, the church was on His heart.
But you won't attach yourself to one, to join it and work in it and pray for it? Which one of you is "Lord," again?
Who is your pastor? Are you fool enough to say "Jesus is my pastor"? Nonsense. When He ascended, He gave pastors to the church (Ephesians 4:11). If He gave them, then He isn't them. Which one is your pastor, your toe-to-toe, eyeball-to-eyeball pastor?
Your "Lord" charged pastors with the care of souls. That means Jesus — your Lord, so you say — thinks your soul needs watching over (Hebrews 13:7, 17). Which individual flesh and bones living pastor is watching over your soul, in person, individually?
If "none," how is it that you decided you are smarter than Jesus? You know, Jesus. Your "Lord." Which one of you is "Lord," again?
Jesus, your Lord, also called you to know, show respect for, esteem highly in love, and submit to the leadership of your flesh-and-blood in-person pastor (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; Hebrews 13:17). Which pastor is it that sees you come regularly to be discipled and led, and sees you loving and trusting God enough to yield him the love and submission to which God calls you?
If you bristle at the thought of embracing what Jesus calls you to — which one of you is "Lord," again?
And if you fall into unrepentant sin, which assembly will even know of it, let alone discipline you? Jesus says you need that, too (Matthew 18:13-20). I don't care what complex, high-sounding Dagwood sandwich of excuses you can slap together. If you say you don't need to be in a local assembly, you say you're smarter than Jesus, and are sufficient.
Fool!
And remember, that Jesus you say is your "Lord" said that the second most important thing in the world is to love your neighbor (Matthew 22:39). He moved Paul to tell you your fellow-church-member is your premier neighbor (Galatians 6:10). That's where you take all that rich doctrine (Ephesians 1—3), and live it out in community (Ephesians 4—6). That's where you do all those dozens of "one anothers."
And if you tell yourself that your spouse or children are all the "one anothers" you need, God already said "No." If you insist, you put your judgment over God's.
Meaning that, whatever your mouth professes, your choices say you find God's judgment deficient, and yours superior.
Meaning you're a fool and a de facto blasphemer — whether you intend to be or not.
And you thereby bring harm on your spouse and children, by preaching and living a lie to them.
That's for starters.
So, Jesus — your "Lord" — says you need to be in a local church. You say you don't?
Which one to believe? You? Or Jesus? You? Or Jesus? Hmm.
Here's the problem, I think. I've said a word thirteen times: Lord. The confession of Jesus as Lord is fundamental to Christian faith (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Philippians 2:11). In repentant faith, we bow the knee to Christ's Lordship.
I think the problem with a lot of these late-blooming hippies is, at root, authority. They don't like to have to sit still and listen while someone else talks. They don't like someone else being in charge. They don't like being encouraged to join, commit, join in, be with, commit themselves, be accountable, be answerable.
Our race was bitten with an anti-authority bug when great-grandma bought the "You shall be as gods" line, and great-granddad followed her lead. But conversion — real conversion — deals with that bug.
It all really comes back to Jesus, the Lord. You may not like the idea of being accountable to a man, or a group of men. You'd rather sit home, watching TV or listening to tapes. Whenever you want, wherever you want. No yucky people to be patient with; don't have to listen to all their whiny problems and needs. No need to adjust to different accents, different ways of thinking, different cultures. Just you, you, you.
But Jesus — the Lord — commands you to go to church, join in church, participate in church, and submit to the God-ordained human leadership of the church.
That's your issue. Is Jesus your Lord in reality, or in theory alone? When convenient, or no? Are your ego and control-issues the boundary of His Lordship?
See you in church.
Monday, March 15, 2010
As I Preach on "The Church"...
“remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father….”1st Thess. 1:3
I can’t help to think about the impact the local church has had on my life as I preach through our series on “The Church” during our Sunday morning worship. I think about my very early grade school years at Morningside Baptist Church in Valdosta, Ga. where the Lord did a work in my heart and brought me to salvation - a place where my Grandmother and Aunt still attend over 30 years later…Wow, what that church has held to under the leading of Dr. Wayne Robertson. Through the years I have called Bro. Wayne for counsel and he has always shown grace and wisdom. I think of Second Baptist Church in Warner Robins, Ga. where my Dad served as Youth Pastor and then later as Co-Pastor. I think of the men and women there that to this day, mean so much to my life. I was ordained out of Second Baptist, I was married at Second Baptist, but most importantly, I learned the Word of God at Second Baptist. I think of men and women who loved me enough to teach me the Word of God…
I think of the Kingdom impact these two churches have had - the stands they have taken through the years, the eternal investments made through student ministries and children’s ministries, the help that was given to me during Seminary, the men of God that filled these pulpits week in and week out, and then the countless men that are preaching the Gospel and ladies who are on the mission field today out of these churches. As I reminisce, I think about the way the Lord used His people to impact my life and my love for Him. I think about the times I was corrected by people who were not my parents, but loved me enough to get involved and correct, or get my parents involved to correct. All of this reminds me how blessed I was to basically spend the first part of my life (early grade school) at Morningside and was taught the Word of God, then only to go to Second Baptist where from about 9 years old until I was married, I was a part of that body. Each of these churches have men and women, whom I grew up under, that are still apart of those bodies and serving as deacon’s, teachers and in many other areas. I say, that should be what every church strives to attain; generations of families that have served together, cried together, laughed together during the great times and difficult times. Sure, these churches, just as in every church, you have had some move, leave or those who have walked away from the faith (proving it false in their life to begin with). But those are not the one’s I remember - I remember those who I see when we visit family in Warner Robins even today…those that used to have a lot of hair - but now have no hair (or much more gray in their hair)! I think of those who have remained faithful through the years… those who have been dedicated to truth and to a local body – they invested their life in a body of believers for His glory. This is what I have been blessed enough to see from a young child, all the way up to adulthood… a church, a body of Christ with different gifts, personalities, issues, and quirks - but desiring to bring glory to God over all. As a boy I didn’t realize what was taking place - I didn’t realize what was happening, but as the song “I Want To Go” by Larnelle Harris says:
But all through the years
Your eyes and ears
Saw just enough of Christ among the people here
To know that you could trust
To know that you were loved
Until there came the day
Your heart could finally say (pray)
I want to go where You are going, Lord
I want to be among Your people where You are
I cannot live my life alone
I don't know how
But You would not bring me this far to leave me now
This is what happened to me. Because I had parents that didn’t ask me if I wanted to go to Church, but made me go – I was forced, at a young age to watch these people gather and worship and serve and glorify God. Thank the Lord for the many people who have made such an impact on my life, and thank God for His Body!
I can’t help to think about the impact the local church has had on my life as I preach through our series on “The Church” during our Sunday morning worship. I think about my very early grade school years at Morningside Baptist Church in Valdosta, Ga. where the Lord did a work in my heart and brought me to salvation - a place where my Grandmother and Aunt still attend over 30 years later…Wow, what that church has held to under the leading of Dr. Wayne Robertson. Through the years I have called Bro. Wayne for counsel and he has always shown grace and wisdom. I think of Second Baptist Church in Warner Robins, Ga. where my Dad served as Youth Pastor and then later as Co-Pastor. I think of the men and women there that to this day, mean so much to my life. I was ordained out of Second Baptist, I was married at Second Baptist, but most importantly, I learned the Word of God at Second Baptist. I think of men and women who loved me enough to teach me the Word of God…
I think of the Kingdom impact these two churches have had - the stands they have taken through the years, the eternal investments made through student ministries and children’s ministries, the help that was given to me during Seminary, the men of God that filled these pulpits week in and week out, and then the countless men that are preaching the Gospel and ladies who are on the mission field today out of these churches. As I reminisce, I think about the way the Lord used His people to impact my life and my love for Him. I think about the times I was corrected by people who were not my parents, but loved me enough to get involved and correct, or get my parents involved to correct. All of this reminds me how blessed I was to basically spend the first part of my life (early grade school) at Morningside and was taught the Word of God, then only to go to Second Baptist where from about 9 years old until I was married, I was a part of that body. Each of these churches have men and women, whom I grew up under, that are still apart of those bodies and serving as deacon’s, teachers and in many other areas. I say, that should be what every church strives to attain; generations of families that have served together, cried together, laughed together during the great times and difficult times. Sure, these churches, just as in every church, you have had some move, leave or those who have walked away from the faith (proving it false in their life to begin with). But those are not the one’s I remember - I remember those who I see when we visit family in Warner Robins even today…those that used to have a lot of hair - but now have no hair (or much more gray in their hair)! I think of those who have remained faithful through the years… those who have been dedicated to truth and to a local body – they invested their life in a body of believers for His glory. This is what I have been blessed enough to see from a young child, all the way up to adulthood… a church, a body of Christ with different gifts, personalities, issues, and quirks - but desiring to bring glory to God over all. As a boy I didn’t realize what was taking place - I didn’t realize what was happening, but as the song “I Want To Go” by Larnelle Harris says:
But all through the years
Your eyes and ears
Saw just enough of Christ among the people here
To know that you could trust
To know that you were loved
Until there came the day
Your heart could finally say (pray)
I want to go where You are going, Lord
I want to be among Your people where You are
I cannot live my life alone
I don't know how
But You would not bring me this far to leave me now
This is what happened to me. Because I had parents that didn’t ask me if I wanted to go to Church, but made me go – I was forced, at a young age to watch these people gather and worship and serve and glorify God. Thank the Lord for the many people who have made such an impact on my life, and thank God for His Body!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Watching the Grace of God
Last Sunday I had the great joy of teaching our New Members Class at Trinity. In November of 1997, Trinity made the wonderful decision that if a person was going to be received as a church member a prerequisite was that they needed to attend a New Member’s Class. In the past other staff members have taught this class, but this time around I wanted to personally teach it. I was encouraged on several fronts regarding this class; one was the attendance as we met in the choir room because we didn’t have any class rooms available that could hold a class this size (by the way, we will keep it smaller from here out). Also, I was encouraged by the number of members who were willing to take the class if needed – some asked because they had that had joined before 1997 and one who had attended, moved away and then came back to our fellowship- they were willing to attend again! I was encouraged by this because it showed a desire submit to the wishes of the Church. Now, not a single one of those who contacted me needed to “retake” the class, but just the attitude they showed reflected that they were willing to do whatever is necessary to keep unity and harmony in the body. This is an evidence of God’s grace at work in our fellowship. Below are just a few more.
• This week I met with a lady who, as we were discussing books she was reading said, “I never knew we were called to be theologians until now.” All of us are to be students of Theology because the more I learn about God, the more it impacts my worship, my life, my hunger for truth.
• I had two different meetings with individuals wanting to know how to confront someone they love, who is involved in sin. They want to do it in a way that is biblically accurate and approach them as a sinner taking another sinner to the cross. The fact that we are reaching a point where we care enough to move out of our comfort zone and risk being uncomfortable for another is part of what being a church is all about.
• We had a young lady on outreach Monday who had the opportunity to share the gospel with senior adult lady that night, and a family member earlier that day – she was overjoyed at the blessing of simply being used by God!
• Recently we have seen several husbands saved that our ladies have been praying for faithfully.
• God has allowed some families to unite with our church, and some attending our present New Members class that have yet to join, that not only see the importance of serving Christ and being part of the local body, but also are longing to come in and minister to others.
• I have had countless FATHERS e-mail, call or meet with me, who want information as to how to lead their family in worship.
• As we were discussing how to “war for peace” I had a dear lady on our Peace Makers Team say: “Could you imagine what our church would be like in a year if we did this?” Imagine a Church having enough faith to just trust God enough to have “Church” as His Word says we should.
I could go on and on but this has all been in the last two weeks. I really can’t explain why God has blessed me enough to see these things. What I mean is, that each week I come looking and expecting God’s grace to be at work all around this campus and I just don’t want to miss it. The beauty is, every time I come I find what I am looking for – however, I have found this is true of everyone at any church where God’s word is the top priority. You have people coming to see how God is going to move and they find it!! (Yet, in those same churches you have some looking for something not to like and guess what? They find it.) It is so much fun to be at a place where I can honestly say I believe the majority of Trinity’s membership really do come looking for evidences of God’s grace---I bet we will see it again this Sunday!
PS... SET YOUR CLOCKS FORWARD SATURDAY!!!!!
• This week I met with a lady who, as we were discussing books she was reading said, “I never knew we were called to be theologians until now.” All of us are to be students of Theology because the more I learn about God, the more it impacts my worship, my life, my hunger for truth.
• I had two different meetings with individuals wanting to know how to confront someone they love, who is involved in sin. They want to do it in a way that is biblically accurate and approach them as a sinner taking another sinner to the cross. The fact that we are reaching a point where we care enough to move out of our comfort zone and risk being uncomfortable for another is part of what being a church is all about.
• We had a young lady on outreach Monday who had the opportunity to share the gospel with senior adult lady that night, and a family member earlier that day – she was overjoyed at the blessing of simply being used by God!
• Recently we have seen several husbands saved that our ladies have been praying for faithfully.
• God has allowed some families to unite with our church, and some attending our present New Members class that have yet to join, that not only see the importance of serving Christ and being part of the local body, but also are longing to come in and minister to others.
• I have had countless FATHERS e-mail, call or meet with me, who want information as to how to lead their family in worship.
• As we were discussing how to “war for peace” I had a dear lady on our Peace Makers Team say: “Could you imagine what our church would be like in a year if we did this?” Imagine a Church having enough faith to just trust God enough to have “Church” as His Word says we should.
I could go on and on but this has all been in the last two weeks. I really can’t explain why God has blessed me enough to see these things. What I mean is, that each week I come looking and expecting God’s grace to be at work all around this campus and I just don’t want to miss it. The beauty is, every time I come I find what I am looking for – however, I have found this is true of everyone at any church where God’s word is the top priority. You have people coming to see how God is going to move and they find it!! (Yet, in those same churches you have some looking for something not to like and guess what? They find it.) It is so much fun to be at a place where I can honestly say I believe the majority of Trinity’s membership really do come looking for evidences of God’s grace---I bet we will see it again this Sunday!
PS... SET YOUR CLOCKS FORWARD SATURDAY!!!!!
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Church is One BODY!!
One of the wonderful things about blogging is that it gives me the opportunity to restate, or even go into more detail regarding certain statements said or certain truths taught. Without going into exact dates, about eighteen or so years ago, three churches united and became Trinity Baptist Church of Southaven, MS. Throughout the years, this local body has made some decisions - some fairly obvious and some of them, in all probability were debated, and godly people may have had different opinions. There have been several times in the brief history of Trinity Baptist that THE BODY made decision to build or THE BODY called a pastor or staff member, or THE BODY made a decision to give a certain amount to a particular ministry. All of that to say, that if there is anything I am familiar with, it is Baptist people. While I have not seen minutes of any business meetings to see who, or how many voted for or against any of these events, I can say with complete confidence there were individuals who didn’t feel that THE BODY needed a particular building and may have voted against it. I am sure that some individuals didn’t feel THE BODY needed a particular pastor or should support a particular ministry. Knowing Baptists as I do, I can assure you not every member of Trinity gave to a particular mission, even though THE BODY decided to give towards it anyway. All of this to say, that we move together for the glory of God as A BODY OF CHRIST.
I speak to this because it reiterates the subject of my sermon last Sunday as we are going through a study on the doctrine of The Church. As I stated, all of us are accountable to the one another. What you do impacts my testimony and what I do impacts yours. This totally destroys the “lone ranger” concept of “I am responsible for me”… we are responsible first and foremost to Christ, but we are responsible and accountable to one another.
On November 8, 2009 the turning point for THIS BODY took place during our repentance service. We initially took the letters written to previous pastors, and framed them with all the signatures included. In doing so, we realized that we had some who had only signed one letter or signed a combination of the three… so we have taken the letters down and reframed them. They now have a plate on the frames that bears the statement engraved “From the Body of Trinity.”
We did this to make clear that EVERYONE was represented when these letters were sent out. I signed these letters, Bro. Jon Rushing and Bro. Jeff Summers did the same and yet we have never met the previous pastors. However, I am a part of THE BODY at Trinity Baptist Church. So, when “The Church” does something, it includes all of us. Daniel did this when he was praying and asking God to intervene for Israelites. Daniel said: “WE HAVE SINNED” there is no scriptural evidence that Daniel worshipped idols or turned against God in anyway. In fact, we see scriptural evidence of the exact opposite; we see Daniel was faithful when the majority was not. Why did Daniel include himself in his repentant prayer? Because Daniel was including himself with the people he loved and was a part of in the covenant before God. The same is true for us at Trinity; when we signed those letters we were repenting on behalf of the Church because that is what we are. So, as you pass by those letters and see the closing signature as “The Body Of Trinity Baptist Church,” I hope you see your name… I hope you see my name… and, I hope you see the name of our children as this can be a teaching point for our families - regardless of when you joined you can say “On November 8th, 2009 we repented.” Why? Because I want them to know when we sin it impacts the ENTIRE BODY. But when WE repent it ENHANCES THE ENTIRE BODY!
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!
I speak to this because it reiterates the subject of my sermon last Sunday as we are going through a study on the doctrine of The Church. As I stated, all of us are accountable to the one another. What you do impacts my testimony and what I do impacts yours. This totally destroys the “lone ranger” concept of “I am responsible for me”… we are responsible first and foremost to Christ, but we are responsible and accountable to one another.
On November 8, 2009 the turning point for THIS BODY took place during our repentance service. We initially took the letters written to previous pastors, and framed them with all the signatures included. In doing so, we realized that we had some who had only signed one letter or signed a combination of the three… so we have taken the letters down and reframed them. They now have a plate on the frames that bears the statement engraved “From the Body of Trinity.”
We did this to make clear that EVERYONE was represented when these letters were sent out. I signed these letters, Bro. Jon Rushing and Bro. Jeff Summers did the same and yet we have never met the previous pastors. However, I am a part of THE BODY at Trinity Baptist Church. So, when “The Church” does something, it includes all of us. Daniel did this when he was praying and asking God to intervene for Israelites. Daniel said: “WE HAVE SINNED” there is no scriptural evidence that Daniel worshipped idols or turned against God in anyway. In fact, we see scriptural evidence of the exact opposite; we see Daniel was faithful when the majority was not. Why did Daniel include himself in his repentant prayer? Because Daniel was including himself with the people he loved and was a part of in the covenant before God. The same is true for us at Trinity; when we signed those letters we were repenting on behalf of the Church because that is what we are. So, as you pass by those letters and see the closing signature as “The Body Of Trinity Baptist Church,” I hope you see your name… I hope you see my name… and, I hope you see the name of our children as this can be a teaching point for our families - regardless of when you joined you can say “On November 8th, 2009 we repented.” Why? Because I want them to know when we sin it impacts the ENTIRE BODY. But when WE repent it ENHANCES THE ENTIRE BODY!
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Freedom for Tomorrow....Today!
At this time last year, if you would have told me that we would have just completed an incredible revival meeting and would be headed into a debt retirement program, I would have never believed it. This past Sunday, one our sweet senior saints came by to thank our leadership for leading us into our “Freedom for Tomorrow…Today” campaign. In our political world, where much of the debate lately has been about leaving great debt behind for our children and grandchildren, should we not be even more concerned about that in our fellowship at Trinity? While God worked amazingly through our Stewardship Team to make some very difficult cuts at the beginning of our budget year, He has also worked in our church over the last several months, to stretch our faith, to sacrifice, and to have faith that God will supply for our every need. Again, I want you to be in prayer for our upcoming events, praying that God will do a work in your heart and lead us into an area of “hilarious” sacrificial giving. So once again, below you will find the schedule of events for the upcoming month. Please be in prayer for them.
March 5th Leadership Banquet: Because of limited space, this event is for teachers, active deacons and those that will be involved in other aspects of the campaign. However, if you wish to make an early commitment as well, please call the office and we will have you a place at the event. Please understand that it is impossible to list all the servants and those who have crucial leadership areas in our church and not miss someone…so this is the reason we set it up like this.
March 7th Announce our Leadership Commitments: We will announce to the church what the small group committed at the Leadership Banquet. This will be a point of celebration to see how God has worked in the hearts of these people.
March 26-27th 24 Hour Prayer Vigil: If you have not already signed up for this, please do so. We will have people in our church for 24 hours straight, asking God to move in our hearts, to send revival, and to work in hearts of each member of Trinity to lead in sacrifice.
March 28th This will be VICTORY SUNDAY. Again, this will be a day that the majority of our church will commit to this debt retirement, AND we will be giving as much as we can towards our commitment. So, we will commit and give above our tithes and offerings. This is key… if you are not being obedient in your giving right now in regard to your tithes, this can NOT apply to you until you allowed God to deal with that area. Also, this is above our regular tithes and offerings because the goal of this is to free up money for ministry, not to take money for ministry and put it towards a building.
This is a very important time for Trinity, God is moving in great ways. We need to make sure we keep our focus on Him and do not give any place to the enemy. God is up to something great and it is a blast to be apart of it!
March 5th Leadership Banquet: Because of limited space, this event is for teachers, active deacons and those that will be involved in other aspects of the campaign. However, if you wish to make an early commitment as well, please call the office and we will have you a place at the event. Please understand that it is impossible to list all the servants and those who have crucial leadership areas in our church and not miss someone…so this is the reason we set it up like this.
March 7th Announce our Leadership Commitments: We will announce to the church what the small group committed at the Leadership Banquet. This will be a point of celebration to see how God has worked in the hearts of these people.
March 26-27th 24 Hour Prayer Vigil: If you have not already signed up for this, please do so. We will have people in our church for 24 hours straight, asking God to move in our hearts, to send revival, and to work in hearts of each member of Trinity to lead in sacrifice.
March 28th This will be VICTORY SUNDAY. Again, this will be a day that the majority of our church will commit to this debt retirement, AND we will be giving as much as we can towards our commitment. So, we will commit and give above our tithes and offerings. This is key… if you are not being obedient in your giving right now in regard to your tithes, this can NOT apply to you until you allowed God to deal with that area. Also, this is above our regular tithes and offerings because the goal of this is to free up money for ministry, not to take money for ministry and put it towards a building.
This is a very important time for Trinity, God is moving in great ways. We need to make sure we keep our focus on Him and do not give any place to the enemy. God is up to something great and it is a blast to be apart of it!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Is Scripture Enough? Part 5
In Decisions, Decisions the book that I have mentioned previously, Swavely gives an outstanding biblical illustration of decision making. I want to take this final blog and just give you a synopsis of that chapter. We know that 2 Tim. 3:16-17 is true, so we should have an expectation as we approach the Word of God, that there will be examples of biblical decision making. The one example Swavely looks at is extremely helpful, but it will require that you open the Word of God and use this as a mini Bible study. So here we go:
Romans 1:8-15 and Romans 15:18-29 - What we see in these passages is that Paul was facing a decision when he was writing to the Church at Rome. The decision was simply if he should visit there or not. Now, there are some obvious prerequisites in our life before making a decision…as Swavely points out they include:
(1) Walking in the Spirit: Paul was doing this, and we see this through his writings to the Romans.
(2) Recognize God’s sovereignty: Paul obviously had made plans (Rm. 1:13), but there was a complete recognition of God’s sovereign control prior to his planning (Rm. 1:10). We even see that Paul is aware that through God’s sovereign control, he had been hindered from visiting, but he doesn’t complain about it - he just seems to trust in God’s control (Rm. 15:22).
(3) We must be praying for wisdom and providence: Rm. 1:8-10, Rm. 15:30. Prayer was essential in the life of Paul and is just as essential in our lives. A person who has no active prayer life can not be walking in the Spirit. It is safe to say that Paul could live out with complete confidence Prov. 3:5-6.
So, after these three benchmarks are checked, the response Paul had would be the natural response anyone would have if the prerequisites above are being met: he wanted to know What Does The Bible Say? Well in Rm. 1:9-13 we know that he wanted to serve the Lord, use his gifts, encourage others and bear fruit. These are clear scriptural mandates for every believer. God had also commanded him to carry forth the Gospel to the Gentiles Rm. 15:16. So Paul was called to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles and he was called by God to deliver the Gospel to areas that had not previously heard the Word of God. However, God didn’t tell him each specific area, He didn’t send him a map or a check list; that was the line of freedom Paul had and therefore, it became a matter of wisdom and desire. Paul had several choices, and none of them sinful - not a one of them would be a violation of the Word of God. He could have gone directly to Rome, he could have gone somewhere else, or he could have made a stop or two before going to Rome… all the while fulfilling His calling.
What is the wisest thing to do? This was something we know Paul considered based on Rm. 1:13. What prevented Paul from seeing the believers in Rome? It was simply wisest to evangelize the areas with Gentiles closest to Jerusalem and work his way outward (Rm. 15:20-24). It showed wisdom that before Paul goes to Spain, he would stop in Rome. It would help the believers in Rome and Paul believed they could financially help him carry forth the Gospel. There were a couple other things Paul needed to do such as helping the needy (Rm. 15:25-28)…so, as he thought things through his course, it made more sense to travel in a specific order. At this point, we see godly wisdom being used, we see Paul’s first passion was to seek first the Kingdom of God, and we see his freedom to decide the best way to accomplish this.
Paul did ask the question, “What do I want to do?” It doesn’t take a biblical scholar to see this in Rm. 1:11, 15:23. From what we see, it seems that Paul would not have been in disobedience at any time if he were to choose to go to Rome. Now, after Paul thought through all of the information on hand, we know that he had sought counsel previously, and very well could have this time. Paul certainly had contact with the elders in Jerusalem in order to be aware of the need and situation there as he referred to it in Romans. We see that Paul sought, followed, and even rejected counsel at times regarding his journeys (Acts 21:4, 10-12, 13-14).
In short, the question is - do we hold to 2nd Peter 1:19 or not? The truth is, it is much easier to open the Bible and treat it as some Ouija Board, or look at circumstances and get angry at God when I had “God-Bumps” and it turned out to simply be flu. The biblical evidence we have as to how to make a decision takes obedience, prayer, counsel, searching the Word and walking in the Spirit. That is a lot harder than having a hunch or waiting for “open doors” or “open widows” or some mystical “release.” So, the question is this: “Is Scripture Enough?” The answer to that question is a resounding "YES!"
Romans 1:8-15 and Romans 15:18-29 - What we see in these passages is that Paul was facing a decision when he was writing to the Church at Rome. The decision was simply if he should visit there or not. Now, there are some obvious prerequisites in our life before making a decision…as Swavely points out they include:
(1) Walking in the Spirit: Paul was doing this, and we see this through his writings to the Romans.
(2) Recognize God’s sovereignty: Paul obviously had made plans (Rm. 1:13), but there was a complete recognition of God’s sovereign control prior to his planning (Rm. 1:10). We even see that Paul is aware that through God’s sovereign control, he had been hindered from visiting, but he doesn’t complain about it - he just seems to trust in God’s control (Rm. 15:22).
(3) We must be praying for wisdom and providence: Rm. 1:8-10, Rm. 15:30. Prayer was essential in the life of Paul and is just as essential in our lives. A person who has no active prayer life can not be walking in the Spirit. It is safe to say that Paul could live out with complete confidence Prov. 3:5-6.
So, after these three benchmarks are checked, the response Paul had would be the natural response anyone would have if the prerequisites above are being met: he wanted to know What Does The Bible Say? Well in Rm. 1:9-13 we know that he wanted to serve the Lord, use his gifts, encourage others and bear fruit. These are clear scriptural mandates for every believer. God had also commanded him to carry forth the Gospel to the Gentiles Rm. 15:16. So Paul was called to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles and he was called by God to deliver the Gospel to areas that had not previously heard the Word of God. However, God didn’t tell him each specific area, He didn’t send him a map or a check list; that was the line of freedom Paul had and therefore, it became a matter of wisdom and desire. Paul had several choices, and none of them sinful - not a one of them would be a violation of the Word of God. He could have gone directly to Rome, he could have gone somewhere else, or he could have made a stop or two before going to Rome… all the while fulfilling His calling.
What is the wisest thing to do? This was something we know Paul considered based on Rm. 1:13. What prevented Paul from seeing the believers in Rome? It was simply wisest to evangelize the areas with Gentiles closest to Jerusalem and work his way outward (Rm. 15:20-24). It showed wisdom that before Paul goes to Spain, he would stop in Rome. It would help the believers in Rome and Paul believed they could financially help him carry forth the Gospel. There were a couple other things Paul needed to do such as helping the needy (Rm. 15:25-28)…so, as he thought things through his course, it made more sense to travel in a specific order. At this point, we see godly wisdom being used, we see Paul’s first passion was to seek first the Kingdom of God, and we see his freedom to decide the best way to accomplish this.
Paul did ask the question, “What do I want to do?” It doesn’t take a biblical scholar to see this in Rm. 1:11, 15:23. From what we see, it seems that Paul would not have been in disobedience at any time if he were to choose to go to Rome. Now, after Paul thought through all of the information on hand, we know that he had sought counsel previously, and very well could have this time. Paul certainly had contact with the elders in Jerusalem in order to be aware of the need and situation there as he referred to it in Romans. We see that Paul sought, followed, and even rejected counsel at times regarding his journeys (Acts 21:4, 10-12, 13-14).
In short, the question is - do we hold to 2nd Peter 1:19 or not? The truth is, it is much easier to open the Bible and treat it as some Ouija Board, or look at circumstances and get angry at God when I had “God-Bumps” and it turned out to simply be flu. The biblical evidence we have as to how to make a decision takes obedience, prayer, counsel, searching the Word and walking in the Spirit. That is a lot harder than having a hunch or waiting for “open doors” or “open widows” or some mystical “release.” So, the question is this: “Is Scripture Enough?” The answer to that question is a resounding "YES!"
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