I'm off to China

To my brothers and sisters in Christ, I want to thank you all for supporting the Acts 27 Blog Spot. I’ve been amazed at how many people have been encouraged by these writings, praise God for the work He has done! I wanted to let you all know that my wife and I will be going to China tomorrow morning for 2 and a half weeks as part of a second reception (since we only got married less than a year ago). So I wanted to let you all know in advance since I won’t have any access at all to The Acts 27 Blog Spot for 2 weeks. The amount of people who keep visiting this blog spot is every reason why I keep writing blogs, I do this first and for most for the Lord and also to encourage each of you on as you serve the Lord with your many gifts and talents. I would appreciate it if you would please keep both my wife and I in your prayers as we travel around China as it is still very much a closed country. We plan on sharing the gospel in an uncompromised way during the reception, please pray for strength and that the Lord would open the eyes of the blind. I will miss blogging even for these 2 and half weeks. In the meantime, you are more than welcome to check out the links relating to Sola YouTube videos or the links relating to the downloadable sermons from Sermonaudio.com. Thank you once again, God bless and I shall return blogging as soon as I get back from China J

The Expounding Joy of Certain Hope

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

Often in my walk with God I question whether or not I’m ‘lukewarm’ (Revelation 3:15-16). And this morning (without going into great detail) I was praying that the Lord would free my mind from such confusion. I often wrestle with what lukewarm means and I end up thinking about that passage in a seemingly unhealthy way. But praise the Lord that He had freed my mind from such confusion this morning from my confusion of sin, waking up to it and never fully recognising the Lord’s holiness, sovereignty and supremacy. Now I know that in dwelling on these things is unhealthy enough, since these great attributes of the Lord can only be expressed in eternity.

As I was reading Romans 10:9, it was as if a wave of pure and wonderful joy had hit me then and there. Certainty of salvation is found in this one amazing verse! Now in knowing these beautiful truths, I know that I cannot express the sheer depth of what this verse truly means. But since a wave of joy had struck me, I felt it was my joy and duty to share likewise the truth of this wonderful verse. Now I know that many Christians use this verse in an unhelpful way, a way to defend their carnality and friendship with the world. But surprisingly enough in reading this verse, I would think that such a verse with tremendous depth would be enough to rebuke such people, allow me to explain.

Paul is describing a Christian here in this verse a bit like a well-oiled machine. For in confessing that “Jesus is Lord,” one must also believe in their heart that the Lord did in fact raise Jesus from the dead. Paul in NO WAY means a partiality of heart, what do I mean by that you say? As I mentioned earlier of Christians who use this verse to defend their trivialities with the world, they themselves would have to agree that there is division of the heart, one that seeks after worldly desires and one that simply attends church on a Sunday. I believe that when Paul wrote “believe in your heart” he actually expects us to first examine ourselves to see where our heart truly is!

This verse expresses the conditions of salvation! Jesus Christ has provided the foundation to build on, we’re to confess and believe in our hearts. I don’t believe that Paul means a flippant way as well! Let us never forget that Romans was written to a church that suffered extraordinary persecutions which is exactly why Paul thanks the Lord for the faith of the Roman church being heard throughout the world (Romans 1:8). What does it mean to believe in your heart then? To believe in Christ is to live for Him that each and every day is set aside for His desire, His calling and His shaping of you. This is what it means to believe! And in believing you are unwavering in your confession of Christ regardless of what opposition you may face, even if that is certain death.

Christianity is a battle against the self. It is a battle against the self when we become so caught up with not wanting to offend others or ‘rattle a few cages’ regarding the message of the gospel. But let us learn from this perfectly well put verse and spur one another on in representing Christ with a believing heart and a confessing tongue.  

It Is Finished!

When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:30

Often when I know I’m in sin, I’ll try running away from God before seeking Him in forgiveness. The guilt is too much to come to God with, which is nonsense when I think about it. But I do this so often! Only moments ago after praying for forgiveness I was thinking to myself “Even my prayers don’t recognise the sovereignty of God, the holiness of God or His supremacy!” I had burdened myself with a larger problem. As I was stuck in my ways thinking about the calamity of my sin, I was listening to a song by reformed rapper IV Conerly. And in this particular song, I’d found the answer to my problem.

When Jesus spoke those eternally beautiful words “it is finished” there are a number of great things attached to this statement. We cannot do anything to improve, deepen or strengthen our salvation since Christ has done everything! I will never know the depth of the Lord’s holiness, sovereignty or supremacy (at least in this life time). But when Jesus said “it is finished” I believe that He truly meant that. Now in no way does this give me a free ticket to sin (says in Romans 6:1). But it does mean that when I do sin, I forget the depth of what Christ has done in order to free me from that which I enslave myself to.

Naturally the Lord reminds me of my sin, and I repent and repent again and again. For in being reminded of sin, the Lord keeps me from dwelling in sin. It hurts, and Christ knows it hurts as well! In Matthew 21:44 Christ mentions the one who falls on the rock will be broken into pieces. And that is me through and through! Despite the amount of blogs I write or encouraging notes I post on Facebook for people to read, the Lord knows me better than I know myself. That’s a humbling thought! I may read a hundred books on reformed theology and wonderful preachers who have inspired many people to look to Christ. But if I have no fear of the Lord, then all my reading becomes futile.

I’ll share the truth and a truth I believe many reformers struggle with. It is so easy to become ensnared in the trap of reading up on great preachers and miss the message that it was Christ who moved these men all along. Recently I had to go back and re-read the gospel of John just to be refreshed of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe we’d do well to be reminded of the gospel on a daily basis, so not to see our joy shift to trivialities of this world. I’m in no way attacking reformed preachers; I think that Spurgeon, Luther and Calvin have had wonderful impacts regarding the gospel of Christ. But I believe we can often overlook the gospel, or perhaps presume that we even know the gospel. If the apostle Paul is so convinced that the gospel is something not to be ashamed of since it is the power for salvation (Romans 1:16) than we ought to adopt the same mindset and trust in Christ for our strength to deliver such a powerful message of hope.

The Impossible Made Possible

He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹ because he was fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. Romans 4:20-21

There are a number of things that I’m thankful of when I reflect the character of Abraham and his story. I think Paul highlights something rather important regarding faith through the lens of Abraham. Let’s consider first and for most that it was impossible for Sarah to conceive through natural conception! I want to make that very clear, even though Isaac was conceived naturally, it is first and for most important to realise that Sarah’s womb was dead (Romans 4:19). Now despite Sarah’s womb being dead, what was considered impossible was made possible only by God. I believe that Abraham KNEW that God would deliver a child out of Sarah in the deadness of her womb. Not that God could restore her to full health, BUT that through what was considered impossible would be seen as possible only by God Himself.

We see a similar contrast with the birth of Christ in Matthew 1:18. Where what is considered impossible by human nature, is made possible by God! I believe we have an understanding of what is impossible so that God may demonstrate His glorious unbounding strength to achieve anything of His desire! These two events speak greatly first and for most of God’s ability to complete what is impossible by mankind. The other is the ability to trust God through given faith in knowing that the Lord can complete the impossibility through His promise.

Read enough of the Old Testament and you’ll see exactly that the Lord delivers His promise. He always keeps His word, even if it meant scattering the Israelites for the sake of His glory. If the Lord always keeps His promise, than what is it that we as Christians today need to consider? Let us consider the greatest promise the Lord has left us with in scripture, His return. This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:44

We have full assurance that this great event will happen. How do I know? Because the Lord has spoken this promise AND He’s called us to be ready. Our faith, actions and words we speak should amplify the very fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is returning at an hour and a day we do not know. Each of us should feel the sting of eternal suffering in so much that we take heed to the urgency in sharing the gospel in order that the Lord might save through this wonderful message.

What is impossible for us is possible for the Lord. Let us never forget this simple and great truth! Let us be mindful of the Lord’s coming and use our gifts for His glory, producing fruit leading to sanctification (Romans 6:22). Our Lord will return, let us be ready as He has called us to be. Be a people of prayer, be a people who encourage, strengthen one another and spur one another on in good works and of sharing the gospel.  

 

The Tongue like a Raging Fire

And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell. James 3:6

We can all identify when someone has said something hurtful or that makes us embarrassed to say the least. But I want to consider the truths of what James is saying here, in particular the idea of the tongue like that of a fire. So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites. James 3:5

Like a small spark that starts a forest fire, so too does boasting that starts a course for disaster. But what is the connection you might say? The connection is simply this; any boasting is an elevation above another person. And the initial boasting sets a course for further boasting and self-pride. But I believe there are more truths involved in the likeness of a forest fire here. Imagine for a moment a forest fire; live in Australia for long enough and you’ll know all about forest fires. A forest fire is dangerous in it of itself and it takes not only time to extinguish but also time for the forest to produce regrowth.

So what is James also saying here? In boasting, in elevating yourself above anyone else and in doing so with insult or foolish talk, can take time until trust is repaired. I don’t believe the focus is purely on the fire but also on the forest, for the forest in itself is the victim of the fire. And thus James gives us an insight into the effects of boasting with this one simple example of a forest fire through cause and effect.

What else does James teach us about the tongue? But no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ We praise our^[d] Lord and Father with it, and we curse men who are made in God’s likeness with it. ¹⁰ Praising and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers, these things should not be this way. James 3:8-10

In the above passage James teaches us a simple truth, that the tongue cannot be tamed. How true it is for James to say that we praise God and yet curse men with it. But James emphasises a great truth here “who are made in God’s likeness.” Despite our anger toward anyone we forget these simple yet great truths, but I believe James tells us this plainly as a harsh rebuke for us to be reminded that before we speak evil of anyone, we are speaking to someone who is made in the likeness of God Himself!

These things should not be says James, we all agree and yet we all know that the tongue cannot be tamed. We will say things that hurt others, we will express our heart with our tongue (Matthew 15:18) and we will continue to praise God and curse men. We would do well therefore to consider very carefully the words we speak to others prior to saying them. We would do well to examine our hearts, our motives for saying such things. Is there boasting in you? Get rid of it! It is a fire of great destruction. Is there cursing in you? Get rid of it! For the person you curse is made in the likeness of God! Let us be humbled by these simple and great truths and examine closely the way in which we use our tongues for the glory of the Lord.

The Sins of Judas Mirrored in Us

Get up; let’s go! See, My betrayer is near.” Matthew 26:46

With such a title I want to remind everyone that once again I’m willing to be corrected if I’m wrong in anyway biblically speaking. But that said I feel like I need to explore Judas and understand what he’s sin was and how it reflects in us as well. When we read the character of Judas we can easily point the finger at the guy and say “he’s bad, I’m glad I’m not like Judas!” But as we begin to unfold Judas’ sin, we will in fact see just how similar we are to Judas.

We know of Judas’ betrayal earlier as Christ announces to His disciples in Matthew 26:21. So we know of Judas’ betrayal, but do we know why? Yes, we do know why! The reason why Judas betrayed Christ was a motivation of greed as we see in Matthew 26:14-15 Then one of the Twelve—the man called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” So they weighed out 30 pieces of silver for him. Ironically this amount of silver was enough to purchase a slave.

Something had changed in Judas after he had betrayed Christ. In Matthew 27:3-4 Judas returns back to the chief priests and confess his sin in betraying Christ. Judas knew that he had done something incredibly wrong; something that he himself knew outweighed his need to fulfil his greedy desires. So how is Judas’ sins mirrored in us you say? Let us pause for a moment and reflect on what Judas did.

Judas didn’t only betray Christ for the price of a slave BUT he also did this with such small value of knowing Christ! What do I mean you might be asking? What I mean is that at the time Judas saw that 30 pieces of silver was of more value than Christ himself. And so when I look at my sin, I consider my greed, my lust and my selfish desires of greater value than Christ Himself. However, when I say that Judas’ sins are mirrored in us, I do NOT say that we are LIKE Judas. We can see that in Matthew 27:5 that Judas could not repent of the sin he committed.

So in knowing that we commit sins like Judas much in the same way, we should be like Peter who repents of his action at the time of when Christ was handed over. We see the actions of Peter’s repentance in Matthew 26:75 and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

We should not dwell in knowing that we have always a heavy cloak of sin on our shoulders but that we have a Lord whom we too can go to knowing that we have sinned. He embraces the earnest sinner, and what makes Judas and Peter different is that Peter knew that the Lord was always there to forgive! Let us reflect that great truth, whilst our sin is a heavy burden we should be joyful in knowing we have a great and powerful Lord to cling to who hears the contrite and repentant heart.

God’s Sovereign Goodness (Inspired by Victor Tavitian’s sermon “The Unjust God?”)

What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! Romans 9:14

As the title suggests, this note is inspired by a sermon by Victor Tavitian about God’s sovereign goodness. I highly recommend checking it out (For the Youtube video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LzrRQLzidU or for the sermon audio download go here http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=413131126350)

Often when I’ve spoken with non-believers before about God’s goodness, usually they will ask a question like “if God is so good than how comes so much suffering or evil occurs?” But there is a problem with their question. The position “if God is so good…” already implies that God’s goodness is sovereign but the finality of their question is based on action, that is whether or not evil or suffering occurs. The problem is not initially to do with God; their problem is a true understanding of what is good.

We live in a society whereby our understanding of goodness is based on an event. If I donate money to charity, I may be considered ‘good’ in my actions. But as Christians we understand that God’s goodness is sovereign and unchanging. Let me show you what I mean by this. In Genesis 1 We have an extraordinarily powerful verse, the very verse that pivots all power and authority. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God…” That is His sovereign order and will was already present before things were created FOR His desire!

As we observe Genesis chapter 1 we see a repetition of God’s goodness “and God saw that it was good.” Who had the right to judge what is good? God did! Not by virtue of His actions, but by virtue of who He is! In other words, creation reflects back obedience to God’s goodness. So the question “if God is good, then how come suffering or evil exists?” Whoever asks such a question would do well to know the sovereignty of God’s goodness, rather than to pivot goodness based on an action. For any action of God done or not done is God’s sustained goodness! How do I know this? Look at Paul’s answer in the above verse “absolutely not!” is what he says to anyone who thinks God is unjust. You might be asking, but why? We know that God is not a God of confusion and neither God nor Paul leave us in the dark on this great exploration.

For He tells Moses:

I will show mercy
to whom I will show mercy,
and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. Romans 9:15

God’s goodness is not pivoted on action, but on the very will of who God is! It is God who shows mercy to whom He desires and likewise compassion. Therefore God’s goodness is all sustained and all sovereign and His goodness is not by virtue of any action but purely by who God is. He is good! And anyone who asks these types of questions would do well to understand the premise of their question prior to asking it. I don’t say that out of hatred, but I say that because in knowing God’s goodness, we have a clear understanding of morality and any understanding of what is truly good if we have God who is unmoveable in terms of His goodness.

Let me show you what the problem is with a societal understanding of good. At face value we would all likely agree that what Hitler did during WW2 was wrong, however if you put yourselves in the shoes of any Nazi soldier, you may think otherwise and I’ll show you why. Hitler helped to re-establish Germany during a time of economic depression, in which he succeeded extremely well. And he was also successful at eradicating the common enemy of the German people in order to maintain a type of purity in a sense. These things are not bad, but unless we apply the action to what Hitler has done, then we can only see that he was in fact evil.

Our moral understandings as Christians should never be based from societal understandings of right and wrong. It is God who is good, and therefore our understanding of what is morally acceptable is pivoted on an understanding of who God is. Our perception of God must always be in light of the true gospel, in light of the scriptures (that is God’s infallible word). For if God’s word truly is infallible than we will always have a platform or a foundation to go to in first understanding what good is and then understanding the position of society.  

Are You Ready?

And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷ because the great day of Their^[u] wrath has come! And who is able to stand?” Revelation 6:16-17

When we observe God’s wrath in the Old Testament, it is a demonstration of the power of our Lord. For example, His mighty hand to sweep away Pharaoh’s army with his unrestrained hand against the sea in Exodus 14:26-28. Or perhaps what else comes to mind when we think of God’s wrath, we think of Joshua who took the promise land by force and slaughtered countless men, women and children all for the sake of the Lord’s wrath and the preservation of His people.

However you observe the Lord’s wrath and by whatever example you can think of, one thing is certain which is His anger in light of His holiness being ignored and disregarded. But I have been thinking lately of the final closing to it all, that is the Lord’s coming. And nowhere in scripture mentions a more right anger then the Lord coming! Every example of the Lord’s anger has been a command by God. It is He who raised a pillar of fire against Pharaoh; it is He who sends plagues, famine, disease and death!

All of these actions are a spoken command of God. But what makes His coming vastly more intensifying then all the examples of God’s wrath in the Old Testament is simply put…He is coming back! Christ will move into the world, no longer will there be a spoken command of God but that He Himself will shut the books and the entire wrath of God will be poured out like water! These things should humble us, this knowledge should cause us to think carefully about our walk as Christians. We should be a people who cling to the cross and not presume upon it! For the Lord Christ Himself has said Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whoever it falls, it will grind him to powder!” Matthew 21:44

Our Lord is loving, and it is loving to know these things! It is loving for Him to give us these warnings and it is loving for Him to give us commands to repent and turn to Him daily. Let us be a people who are careful with our ways, who are careful to build upon the Matthew 7 rock. Let us ask ourselves humbly “am I in the faith?” For we all know that no one knows the day or the hour of His return.  And so our command is to keep watch, and by keeping watch let us not make peace with the world but instead be ready. “Go and make disciples” Christ says in Matthew 28:16-20. Let us use our gifts for His glory and always keep Him in the forefront of our minds. Let us fear the Lord, not in a cowering way but in a way that we are drawn to Him knowing the greatness of His mercy and grace!

My First Sermonjams

Hey guys! I've been working on some sermonjams and I wanted to post the youtube videos up here but because of technical error I haven't been able to. Here are the links anyway:

The Cauterised Heart - Sola Church (speaker - Victor Tavitian) http://youtu.be/oaRNbph0QPo

Hypocrisy Sermonjam - Sola Church (speaker - Victor Tavitian) http://youtu.be/MxnpX97098k

I'll try and get some typographies happening with the videos soon enough. These are the first sermonjams I've ever done, I hope you guys are encouraged by the word!

The Radical Impact of Joy

For I am not ashamed of the gospel,^[a] because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

 

During my first year as a true convert (I was a false convert for 12 years, my testimony is also on the Acts 27blog if you haven’t seen it). I went to East Timor as a way for me to praise God for what He’d given me. He gave me a job when I knee deep in depression. But above all, He revealed Himself to me when I realised I had nothing and He had stripped away everything in my life. East Timor was a difficult place to live in, we (the missionaries) often had bush rats and snakes running into our little homes. The homes were nothing special, they were no bigger than a typical single door garage. I slept on a bare concrete floor with a roll out mat, I ate rice, biscuits and spam for two weeks. It was one of the hardest things I’ve done but I praised God that He gave me the strength to complete this mission.

 

Each morning as we walked up to the site where we would help build a house for the Sutulan’s, we would sing hymns and praise God in prayer, except for one morning. There was one morning that we didn’t do this; to be honest it made me a little uncomfortable the whole day. And just as the last bit of concrete had been poured in and smoothed out, the rain came over and poured down heavily so that we couldn’t use the concrete at all. I said to myself “we didn’t pray” and I truly believe to this day that is why the rain came down at that particular time. This was rain season, so to be able to pour a concrete slab during this time required God answering prayer! The next day I made sure that we dedicated the time to prayer and praising God. And the Lord answered our prayer, He kept the rain off which was a blessing because we would not have been able to finish the house if it weren’t for His sovereign hand.  

I believe in the power of God not because God held the rain off (although that was an answer to prayer) but because of the gospel and its radical power to change lives so that others make seek Him and put Him first above all things! This is often why I become angry with churches like Hillsong and seeker friendly churches. Your faith in Christ does not rest on the size of a church, whether or not that church has a big stage and good lighting. A big church in it of itself is not a bad thing, for example The Metropolitan Tabernacle in London was considered quite a large church for its time. But there is something wrong with a person’s Christianity if their faith comes through the grasp of a ‘good time’ rather than the grasp of true joy.

Take the example of Job in Job 1:20-21 Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head.^[d] He fell to the ground and worshiped, ²¹ saying:

Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will leave this life.^[e]
The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.
Praise the name of Yahweh.

Job had extraordinary joy to praise God in the midst of his turmoil and suffering. Greater joy comes from knowing God, a full surrender to God! That is often why many Christians struggle with the idea of seeker friendly churches because they often try to muster a false sense of joy. Real joy does not come from whether or not you’re happy, I can guarantee that Job was suffering, the man shaved his head and tore his clothes. Yet the joy that he had in his Lord was immovable even if Satan himself had been given the keys to Job’s life. That is true joy that is the joy that we should seek, that we should know and understand. Let us learn from Job and test these churches with scripture. Let us ask ourselves the question “is this real joy that I have?” Do not rest on experience; rest on the knowledge of God! Do not rest on happiness for happiness is a fleeing emotion! True joy is found at the cross, knowing what Christ has done. He died for you Christian, should your cup overflow with a false sense of joy? I guarantee that when you know the joy of God, it wouldn’t matter if you were sleeping on a concrete floor for the rest of your life, you have joy in Him because He completes you with a knowledge of the gospel!

Catholics vs Christians Part 1 (A summary of the Origins of the Protestant Reformation)

I’ve come across many social networks whereby protestant Christians believe that Catholics are saved. I can only say that this is far from the truth! And I don’t say this out of hatred but out of love (following the 1 Corinthians 13 model). Many people may be offended by this blog post and the ones to come, but I feel like this is something that needs to be addressed. The books need to be opened and we need to see the facts for what they truly are and way up based on scriptural evidence what the mark of salvation actually looks like.

The obvious question that many people including non-believers will often ask is “what are the differences between Catholics and Protestant believers?” To understand this we need to look at the point of the greatest historical protest against Catholicism, the Protestant Reformation. During 31^st October, 1517, Martin Luther led the protestant reformation after nailing his famous 95 theses on the church of Wittenburg in Germany.

In his 95 theses he objectifies the practices of the Pope and his authority over the church. His objectifying also includes the sale of indulgences (that is the purchase of a prayer for the release of loved ones in purgatory) (copy of Luther’s 95 theses http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/95theses.htm)

So why did Luther feel the need to write such a direct and powerful message that would shape the course of Christianity? Luther was a man who wrestled with the scriptures, especially the book of Romans. As Luther desired to know God in the scriptures, he came across a passage in scripture that became his stumbling block. For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith,^[a] just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith. Romans 1:17 (http://www.orlutheran.com/html/tower.html)

Luther actually grew to hate God because he could not see the connection of justification by faith. His perception of God was not the God of the scriptures, since his understanding of faith was one of works and not one of resting on the work of Christ. Finally the breakthrough came when Luther gave heed to the words at the end of 1:17, "He who through faith is righteous shall live." Then he realized that the verse was not talking about the active righteousness that God demands, but the passive righteousness that He freely gives to those who believe the Gospel.

This was the origins of Luther’s conversion and his deliverance of a powerful message that created division between Protestants and Catholics. Our faith was no longer seen as a faith by works but a response to the gospel and that any work done is a response to what Christ has done. During the reformation period, the early reformers had established what is known as ‘The Five Sola’s’ which are basic theological beliefs in contradistinction to Roman Catholic teaching.

-          Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone)

-          Sola Fide (Faith Alone)

-          Sola Gratia (Grace Alone)

-          Solus Christus (Christ Alone)

-          Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)

These five Sola’s were considered the pillars to the Christian life in both theological teaching and practice. This was considered highly important for the early reformers to establish in knowing the clear distinction between Catholic and Protestant beliefs.

The Truth by Al Martin

One Judgment, Two Reactions

About the times and the seasons: Brothers, you do not need anything to be written to you. ² For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2

Have you stopped to consider the absolute truth that each day that passes is a day closer to seeing God in His complete holiness? That it is a day closer to understanding what it means to be with God in perfect unity? Let’s consider for a moment the final day, the day when Christ returns. What a magnificently terrifying day that will be! I truly believe that we as Christians will know what it means to have the full measure of the fear of God right before our very eyes. His glorious state, His perfect, His holiness and His iron rod will make us tremble worse than the very thought of death itself. That is why many passages in scripture tell us to ‘keep watch’, we are to expect that Christ’ return will occur like a thief in the night. (Revelation 16:15, 2 Peter 3:10)

What is meant by Christ’ return like a thief? I can assure you that it is His ample grace not knowing that day or hour. If the day were given to us and we knew that it were 200 years later than we ourselves might fall into the risk of being lazy with God’s word. And if we knew that the day were sooner, perhaps next week than we run the risk of looking like false Christians who would only attempt to share the gospel at the very last hour.

It is God’s sustained abundant grace that none of us know this day or hour! That is why we must always be on guard, that we must not be like the lazy watchman and fall asleep so as to not warn anyone of His coming. But that day will produce two incredible reactions! We go on in 1 Thessalonians 5:3-4 When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains come on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴ But you, brothers, are not in the dark, for this day to overtake you like a thief.

We see one group of people who will try and escape, there’s a great sense of terrifying fear of God’s judgment. I believe to look upon Christ on that day is to KNOW that He is looking into your soul! That is why there are two reactions, one reaction of incredible sheer terror and the other of the fear of God, the one that draws us closer to His given joy. On that day people will ask mountains to fall down on them (Revelation 6:16) but not even the mountains will listen. For they have already bowed their knee to God. What a terrifying day that will be for those who deny Christ, for those who deny the gift of salvation, for those who hated God with all their heart.

But what a day it will be for those in Christ! A day of great joy, a day of COMPLETE joy and by complete I mean that the joy we have in Christ will be overflowing and ample! Where we can gaze upon the son of God we can say and know with confidence “I am finally home!” A day when He will avenge those who have been afflicted by the wicked, a day when true justice will be restored and a day of great everlasting rejoice in our great and mighty king Jesus. What an incredible day that will be! We as Christians should not be complacent in this life, we should not be too comfortable as to forget that this day of judgment is coming. Knowing that our friends and family members are on the wide path to destruction should be the very reason why we should share the gospel with them! Let us run the race, not walk it. Let us strive on using every gift God has given us for the purpose of fulfilling the fathers will (Matthew 7:21).  

The Most Terrifying Passage in Scripture

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. Matthew 7:21

Matthew 7:21-23 is a passage that I have often spoken with Christians face to face about. It is a passage that has kept me awake at night thinking over my own salvation. What makes this passage terrifying is that it talks about EVERYONE who calls themselves a Christian, no one is excluded here! Why do I say that? Look at the address Jesus is making here in verse 21 ‘Lord, Lord’. This is someone who would happily say that they’re a Christian. And so if Christ Himself were to come into your church and announce “not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven” I guarantee that everyone would be hanging onto the edge of their seat in knowing EXACTLY what his next words are. Likewise, we should treat this passage with the same care since Christ Himself spoke this powerful authoritative word into existence.

On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ ²³ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’ (Matthew 7:22-23)

Why is Christ announcing this kind of people to depart from Him? It’s their defence for starters; no merit of anyone’s behalf is enough to open the doors of heaven but only Christ’s blood. Anyone who says “I did this in your name, I did that in your name” cancels out the greatest achievement Christ did! He DIED and therefore any good work done by a Christian is not a means for a Christian to open the doors to heaven, but rather that they themselves KNOW that it is fruit done by the Holy Spirit in accordance with the new life Christ establishes in that person. So that a true Christian will have no bragging rights, any act of good deed done by the Holy Spirit is reason for that person to say “it is only by Christ that I have the strength to do a good work!”

Jesus goes on explaining what is said in verse 21 from verses 24-27: “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!”

Christ establishes a category of two people before Himself. Both hear His words and both are actively building. However, there’s a great difference! One is sensible to check the foundation prior to building, one makes certain that the foundation is in fact rock that they are building on. Anyone building on sand would be careless, they would care nothing for the foundations. The house might look impressive but what survives the test of God’s wrath is the one who has built on the rock.

Christ is the rock! And so as we read God’s word when Christ has given us a command to go and make disciples we should do this, not out of selfish gain or our way into heaven. But that we should do this out of obedience because we were once dead and made alive in Christ! Likewise when we battle the flesh (Romans 8:13) we should do so with the strength of the Lord. Trying to battle temptation on your own is like taking a pin to the front line of a full scale war and expecting to win. All things must be done by the strength of Christ! We are to be a people that resembles the fact that we have truly surrendered to our Lord and master Jesus Christ. Let us be a people who check the foundation, let us be a people who encourage one another in building on the right foundation. Let us be a people of prayer and daily surrender to Him who has given His everything for us. Let us exalt God with our lives since He has established the path of salvation!

The Faith of King David

When David and his men arrived at the town, they found it burned down. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been kidnapped. 1 Samuel 30:3

One of the most intriguing examples of faith from scripture would have to be this passage. And although David doesn’t get a mention about this act of faith in Hebrews 11, you’ll see just how deep King David’s faith goes! What amazes me about 1 Samuel 30 is the way in which David deals with this very personal dilemma. And admittedly I believe anyone who is married would instantly agree that the right thing to do would be to pursue after the men who made the kidnapping!

But not David, instead David waits upon the Lord! And David asked the Lord: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” (1 Samuel 30:8). At every single crossroad that David comes to, he is humble to place on the Ephod (that is an article of clothing representing worship to God). And even at this moment, David has unwavering faith and boldness to wait upon the Lord’s answer ‘yes or no.’ This is faith, this is faith that shows no act can separate David and God! That even if his wife and children are taken captive, he realises the greater importance of consulting the Lord before making a single decision out of fleshly desire!

The Lord grants David the right to pursue after the men, but I believe strongly that even if the Lord had said ‘no’ David would still be obedient to the Lord. Why do I say that? Because David was waiting on a answer from the Lord, whether he liked it or not, David was a man proven to be moved by God and nothing else. We as Christians should likewise learn from David! Let us place on the proverbial Ephod and consult God at every crossroad in our lives no matter how much it grips us. Let us make God our priority and our everything above all things.