The Big 5-0

Yesterday was the big day. It was the day I turned 50. I woke up about 5:15. Normally I would easily roll over and sleep for another hour (or more). Not this day. I don't know why. It's not like I was all excited as I was when I was a kid. I wasn't getting a Davy Crockett coonskin cap or a Bowie knife, or anything like that. I just wasn't able to go back to sleep. So during that time I reflected on God's grace to me over the past 50 years. It was a good time of reviewing His goodness and giving thanks to Him.

Then I got up and waiting for me at the kitchen table was a box of Krispie Kreme donuts. Not a bad way to start off a celebration of the big 5-0, however, I need to be more careful about what I eat if I want to see the big 5-1.

I was in the church office during the morning. I get the great privilege of spending most of my time studying God's word. This time was spent diving in to Galatians 3. I am amazed by God's grace in salvation. How foolish we are to add works into the equation. While I was studying, the ladies of the church were doing a Bible study on the attributes of God. Their children were being taught in The Happy Bible Club. What a great atmosphere for me to get to be in.

I left the office at noon because I was going to play golf with two of my sons, Bill and Ben. We had a great time out on the course. They say they let me win because it was my birthday. This is how it works in golf: When the other guy is better, you say you let him beat you. Right! I shot par (72). Not bad for a guy celebrating the big 5-0. We had a delightful time.

When I got home from golfing I received a call from my other son, Bobby. It was his wedding anniversary yesterday. Bobby and Christa got married on my birthday three years ago. Christa is still the best birthday present I have ever received. She is a wonderful and godly daughter- in- law. You can read her writings at blakeyblog. I had a nice conversation with Bobby. He tells me that these next 10 years should be my most fruitful years of ministry. I pray that this will be true.

Well, then Roberta, Bill, Ben and I went to a local restaurant for a birthday dinner. It was no big deal just a relaxing meal together. Mercifully, my family did not tell the restaurant that it was my birthday. It was a good thing too, because we heard the waiters sing Happy Birthday to some one else and it wasn't too good. Our waitress was a nice young lady and I noticed that she had a tongue stud. Why do people get tongue studs?

After dinner we came home to a "surprise" birthday party. It would have been a real surprise, but as we got closer to the house I recognized a lot of familiar looking cars. Cars that looked a lot like the ones I see in the church parking lot all the time. Sure enough, there was a large group of wonderful folks from the fellowship there to celebrate the big 5-0 with me. We a had a great time together and they were all very kind to me. I thank God for all the wonderful friends I have made as I have walked with Him. Most of all, I am thankful to my family and especially my terrific wife. She planned out this surprise and I really appreciated it.

The evening ended with a phone call from my dad. I have many special memories of great birthdays while I was growing up. I am one of seven children but I always knew that my parents loved me and they knew how to have a great birthday party for their kids. It was great to talk with my dad. We always have a good laugh together when we talk.

As I think about the big day yesterday, I again give thanks to my Heavenly Father. I was treated like a king yesterday. My friends said a lot of very nice and kind things about me. But I am very aware of who I am. I know the struggles that go on in my own mind. I know the sins that I wrestle with in my own heart. I know the desires that I continually have to fight against. My Heavenly Father knows all these things too, but He loves me nonetheless. If my friends and family could see in my heart they would probably think differently about me. The Heavenly Father does not hold these things against me because He sent His Son to die in my place to pay for all of my sins. I am amazed by God's grace and patience over these 50 years. I want to develop a more thankful heart and a greater love for Him in this coming year.

Thank you Lord for letting me enjoy turning the big 5-0.

Teaching the Bible

It is my privilege to teach the Bible every week. For the past 10+ years I have preached every Sunday morning and evening at Believers Fellowship. When you consider other special occasions, I have preached well over 1,000 sermons in my time here. And I never cease to be amazed at how God uses His Word.

Right now I am going through Galatians on Sunday nights. Paul is aguing passionately for justification by faith alone. He is also arguing against the false teachings of the Judaizers. The Judaizers wanted to add getting circumcized and keeping the Law as necessary for salvation. The error of the Judaizers is still with us today in many forms.

Yesterday a lady visits our church and after the morning service she asks if she can speak with me. She wants to talk to me about leaving the false teaching church that she and her husband have been attending. So I meet with her before the evening service. The church they had been attending teaches that you must believe and be baptized in order to be saved. Just another version of the old Jadaizer error. After talking with her about justification by faith and baptism she had some other questions about the sovereignty of God in salvation. We had a good conversation and then the evening service began. During the service I preached from Galatians 2:11-21. What a powerful passage on justification by faith alone and the intimidating power of legalism. Legalism can be so intimidating that even Peter and Barnabas got swept along by it. Read my previous article on legalism (Keeping the Rules). After the service the lady thanked me for talking with her and told me how helpful the sermon had been for her. Who would have known that this woman would be at this service? Our sovereign Lord did and I marvel at His wisdom and grace.

Today I see that the good folks over at The Hold Fast quote from my article on legalism. But they also quote form Matt Chancey who complains about people crying legalism all the time while over looking blatant sin in the church. Therefore, I think it is necessary to clarify some things regarding legalism.

Legalism is when you add to justification by faith alone. When you say that you must believe and be baptized or you must believe and home school or you must believe and avoid churches that use drums. Of course it is necessary to address issues like fornication, husband-wife relationships, and rebellious chidren. Those are all biblical issues and should be dealt with accordingly. Not every one who talks about legalism is antinomian (against law, living like there is no law). However I have noticed something interesting that you may have encountered as well. Some people who are very legalistic about things at church (no drums) are very antinomian when it comes to what their own children listen to and do. Go figure.

What am I getting at? Let's teach the Bible. Let's cut it straight. Let's consistently apply it in our churches and our lives. Sola Scriptura. When we teach the Bible we have the great joy of seeing the Lord bring forth fruit for His glory.

Keeping the Rules

Legalism is a constant threat to Christianity. There are always those who come along to find fault and to add rules. If you are really saved, according to them, you will keep the rules that they have devised. Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, based on the Scripture alone, focused on Christ alone is not enough for the legalist. Therefore, salvation is not for God's glory alone because legalism puts man in the place of God. It is all about what I do or don't do rather than all about what God has done in the person of Christ. Legalism is so enticing because our flesh, our pride, wants some of the credit. Legalism is also very intimidating because we don't want others to question our salvation or our spirituality. Legalism is attractive because it feeds a tendency in us all towards self-righteousness.

I know about legalism because I've been there. When I was in college and growing as a new Christian I started to ask questions about some of the things I saw Christian groups or churches doing or practicing. Being new in the faith I didn't know what to think of this or how to respond. Then I was introduced to a man who was pastoring a church in our area who addressed the very issues I was wondering about. In fact, he had written some books. He made a strong case for 2nd and 3rd degree separation meaning that not only do you separate from those engaged in unbiblical ministry, but you also separate from those who don't separate from them.

This seemed so right at the time. Pretty soon though a mentality arose that our little church was about the only place in the world that was standing for the truth. The pastor was a great Bible teacher and we were learning, but we were separated. The pastor's name was Charles Woodbridge. He had been a disciple of J. Gresham Machen and had stood with Machen against liberalism in the Presbyterian church. But by the time I met him he was an older man with a charming personality and a skilled teacher, but he had carried the fight against liberalism to the fight against just about everything.

Eventually that little church crumbled. This is the inevitable result of a self-righteous, legalistic mindset. I've seen it throughout my time as a Christian. I remember a time a man in our church said that if he ever saw a set of drums on the church platform that he would leave. What does that imply? That is intimidation. That's a reflection of a legalistic mindset. I've heard people say and even seen books written that take the position that to have your children in a public school is a sin. Then I guess I am a sinner. Again, what intimidation.

Sadly, a lot of legalism is spread by those who call themselves Calvinists or reformed. Keeping their rules is how you prove your election. How intimidating is that? Strange that those who proclaim the wonderful doctrines of grace want to add rules to grace. Even sadder is that they look down on those who do not hold their views. Sometimes the self-righteousness is overpowering.

If you don't think that legalism is intimidating then read Galatians 2:11-14 and see how even Peter and Barnanbas were affected by it. Notice also how Paul took a strong stand against this because he knew that this struck right at the heart of the gospel. From this point Paul launches into one of the strongest statements of justification by faith alone found anywhere in Scripture.

Soon I will be leaving my church here in San Antonio that I have had the privilege of pastoring for the past 10+ years. We have all grown in our walk with the Lord. It will be hard to say goodbye to people we have grown so close to. But we are going home. I will be serving on the staff of Grace Community Church in the LA area. Grace is the first church I started attending as a new believer back in 1974. Grace Church was the church I "separated" from in my days in the fundamentalist movement. I am looking forward to going back and serving in this ministry.

I have appreciated the consistent teaching and practice of Grace Church over the years. Obviously the ministry of John MacArthur has greatly influenced me. I have appreciated his stand for the truth, especially justification by faith. I look forward to working with the other men in this ministry. Phil Johnson has done some really helpful stuff in the area of Calvinism, fundamentalism, and justification by faith. You can check out his stuff at the gracechurch.org web page. Look under adult ministries and Gracelife. You can also read his blog, Pyromaniac, at phillipjohnson.blogspot.com. Not only does Phil write good stuff but he also has helpful links. Phil periodically does some blog spotting so we will see if he catches this link.

In conclusion, watch out for legalism. It ruins relationships. It robs you of joy. It repalces God with man. We walk by faith not by our efforts at being holy.

Relying on the Lord

Good to be back in the blogosphere. Have you seen the entries on Smilingatthefuture? There's some good blogging going on there by the woman I've been happily married to for the past 28 years. Can't wait for an update from bigthinktank. Is the swelling going down? Is the ankle turning different colors? Good stuff is going on at blakeyblog. I wish Christa could have been around to clean up after Bobby when he was living with us. The author of stepontoliquid is the "games guy" at VBS this week. If he survives that then maybe he really can walk on water. And how about those Spurs? Tonight could be the night. If they don't win tonight, though, the whole city could be a nervous wreck on Thursday.

I've been thinking this week about how we can't fully rely on men, but we must learn to rely on the Lord. The Jews of the first century would follow their favorite teachers and rather than study the scripture, they would study the interpretations of men and decide which one they liked best. We do that today. We have our favorite "Bible teacher" and we listen to or read them more than we do the Bible. I remember once at a previous church hearing some one quote from their favorite teacher and actually they were quoting from 1 John. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

God uses men in our lives. There is no doubt about that and I am thankful for the many men that the Lord has used to help me grow spiritually. However, we can't depend on men because inevitably they will let us down. In 2 Timothy 4 Paul gives a long list of names of men who couldn't be there to help him. Some were legitimately serving somewhere else. Others had sinfully deserted him. Many were too fearful to stand up for him. Was Paul depressed, blue, bummed out? No doubt he was disappointed by some of these men but he wasn't bummed because he was not relying on them. Paul had learned to rely on the Lord. And the Lord stood with him. And you know what? That's all that matters.

Appreciate the ministry of others, but learn to rely on the Lord. When you feel disappointed because others did not do what they could have or should have done, look to the Lord. He never leaves us. He always stands up for us.

Trunk Monkey Christians

Have you seen the trunk monkey ads? They are really quite amusing. You can find them at trunkmonkeyad.com. In these ads we are told that whatever the problem might be, whether it is dealing with road rage, kids throwing eggs at your car, or even your wife giving birth in the back seat, all you have to do is hit the trunk monkey button and out pops a monkey to take care of the problem. Wouldn't that be nice?

While the ads are meant to be funny and entertaining the reality is that even many Christians think this way. They want the Lord to just take away all their problems. They think that if they just pray it will go away. Many Christians are frantically searching for that spiritual trunk monkey button and they follow the latest fad that comes along that is sure to take away all their problems.

The ads are a joke! There is no such thing as a trunk monkey! And problems don't just go away. In fact the troubles, trials, and even the persecutions of the Christian life are designed by God for our good. 1 Peter 1:6 talks about the distressing, but necessary, trials associated with following Christ. They are necessary because the Lord uses them to refine our faith (1 Peter 1:7a). Then our refined faith is rewarded by the Lord (1 Peter 1:7b). Amazing! The Lord graciously gives us faith, then He refines it, then He rewards it. How gracious! How wise! How generous is our loving Lord! Now you can see why we are to consider it all joy when the trials come our way (James 1:2-4).

So put some duck tape over the trunk monkey button and keep driving by faith, trusting that the Lord is at work and what He is accomplishing is of far greater value than what could be realized if there even was such a thing as a spiritual trunk monkey.

It's About the Truth

In these postmodern days truth is not taken very seriously. My truth is taken seriously, but your truth might be different than my truth and that's no big deal. Truth is that truth is whatever I want it to be. Nobody can be absolutely certain about anything and about that we are absolutely certain.

Unfortunately, this kind of thinking is infecting the church which is supposed to be the pillar and support of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). God has given us the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15) and we are to handle it accurately, proclaim it publically, and guard it tenaciously. Sadly, we don't do that very well. We compromise. We waffle. We rationalize.

The Apostle Paul stood for the truth and he calls for you and me to do the same. When some false teachers came to Galatia teaching the churches another gospel what did Paul do? Did he reason that even though the false teachers add things like circumcision and observing the Law to faith alone as necessary for salvation that's no big deal because, after all, they still speak about Jesus, and the cross, and the resurrection, and grace, and faith? Not at all and not for a minute. He called the false teaching for what it is. It is not another gospel. It is no gospel at all. There is only one gospel. Look at the strong words that Paul uses in Galatians 1:6-9. Pauls says that to depart from the one gospel is to desert God. The reason is that if you add works as necessary for salvation you put man in the place of God. It is to say that man saves himself rather than God saving man. This is a serious error but it is overlooked all the time.

Today evangelical churches have a hard time defining the truth. Are the Catholics our brothers? Are the Mormons really talking about a different Jesus? They both claim to preaching the gospel. They both talk about Jesus, the cross, the resurrection, and faith. Should we make a big deal out of the differences? Paul did. He pronounced an apostolic curse on those who preached a different gospel. Why is this so important? Because only the true gospel of God has the power of salvation (Romans 1:16).

Today we need to seriously return to the Bible. Perhaps nothing could be more timely right now than a careful study of Romans or Galatians. Let me encourage you to do this. Get the truth fixed in your mind and then be ready to stand for it. It's all about the truth.

Ya Gotta Have Hope

I had thought I would have posted more by now but you know how it goes. Glad to see that blakeyblog jumped back on line and that Bill is still shooting the ball (bigthinktank). I am anxiously waiting for godsongmusic to have somethiong more to say and I'm looking forward to heartofezra and dolphinboy54 coming back on board. BTW when you're surfing the net looking for something fresh, you might want to check out monkeytrunkad.com. Surely monkey trunk will become a standard feature on all cars in the near future.

This past Sunday I taught on hope from 1 Peter 1:13. We are to fix our hope on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is a command. Hope is a matter of the will. We have the choice to live in hope or not. Now most Christians seem to live in a state of semi-hopelessness. They know their sins are forgiven and they are going to heaven some day but that seems to have little practical impact on their daily living. They don't seem very hopeful. They are bogged down by their problems (health, work, bills, relationships, etc.). This is becuase they are not making the choice to live in hope nor are they doing the things that promote real hope. Peter says that we fix our hope by girding our minds and by being sober. We have to make a decision to face life from the biblical perspective (gird our minds) and we must stay constantly alert, relating biblical truth to every new situation (be sober). We need to fill our minds with the truth of God's Word and then apply that truth in our daily lives. We have to evaluate our situations by what the Bible says. We must look at circumstances from the perspective of God's revealed character. So often we evaluate God based on what we think of our circumstances. That's why we struggle with hope. We must learn to live in hope by disciplining our mind according to biblical truth. Then we will have our minds set on the Savior and our hearts will be filled with hope.

Hope is necessary, becuase apart from hope we won't do the hard things we must do in living a life that is pleasing to the Lord. More about that in a future post but for now let me encourage to diligently practice biblical thinking which is the only way to hope.

The Glory of the Gospel

To my multitude of readers I apologize for my lengthy hiatus from blogdom. Things have been busy for me lately but I look forward to posting several new entries in the next week.

My last entry was written the day before my mom's memorial service. At the service I had the privilege of giving the gospel. The gospel was the subject of my last face-to-face conversation with my mother. I am so glad we talked about this topic and not something trivial. Why do we ever talk about anything else or talk about other things as if they were unrelated to the gospel?

Is there any subject of greater worth than the gospel? Romans 1:16 says that the gospel is power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Does any other subject have that kind of power? Or is there any other topic that has such a great breadth to it? The gospel deals with life and death, sin and righteousness, heaven and hell, God and man, etc. It is comprehensive and it is overwhelming to think that Jesus Christ would graciously give Himself for my sins so that I would be set free from the irresistable pull of sin, Satan, and this evil age.

And the gospel truth has implications for every day life. The gospel deals with the past, present, and the future. For example, for the two days after my mom's service, my wife and I scoured the Santa Clarita valley looking for a house to buy for when we move there later this summer. Talk about an overwhelming experience. Whew! We left astonished and amazed and without a home. But we did not leave without hope. We believe that our God will provide for all of our needs (Philippians 4:19). We believe that in Christ that we not only have the forgiveness of our sins but all of God's blessings (Romans 8:31-32). So we are not depressed. We will keep looking with hope. But, because of the gospel, we keep our house hunting in perspective. Someday we'll be living in the Father's house. Jesus is right now preparing a place for us (John 14:1-2). I'm confident that the place in the Father's house will be infinitely better than the nicest place in California. What do you think?

The gospel! It is glorious! It is good news!

This week I'm preparing sermons on Hope and The Gospel. I'll share some of the things I learned in my study in future posts but for now let me encourage you to rejoice in the gospel, dwell on gospel truth, and share the gospel with everyone you can. You never know when you might have your last conversation with someone.