Acceptance

1 John 1
1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
2(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
3That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
5This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

This is a blog. It is only a blog. Blog is short for "Web Log". This is not a church. I have posted extensively on the church. A blog is more of the equivalent of the living room of my mind. This is where I opine and you are invited to chime in. I expect respect for myself and other guests who comment here. When I feel this standard is not upheld in the spirit of Christian charity, comments will be removed. I want to assure you that what you say here will not end up on the pages of a gossip blog where folks swallow camels and strain at gnats in the name of being better Christians than everyone else.

Brothers and sisters we do not have to approve of someone's lifestyle of sin nor do we have to agree with their ideas and thoughts to love them and accept them. Consider what God has forgiven you of, and what He loves you in spite of.

How can you apply this verse? "...if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1John 1:7)

Time and Treasures

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

Have you ever thought of time as a "treasure"? Time is a precious commodity of which we are given limited amounts. To squalor time is to waste your life, and I sure don't want to waste my life. I hope you don't either.

Have you ever thought of relationships as "treasures"? Relationships are an extension of who you are and what you can and are becoming. I am fast finishing this thought being delightfully greeted by my early riser two year old.

So now I gotta go. :-)

Time is Precious

Ephesians 5:16 Colossians 4:5

My time is precious and so is yours. That is why I choose to spend and invest my time in -and with- those I value, and who value me. I will not waste any more of my time on the internet or in email with the petulance of those who are hell-bent on badgering others. I will not waste any of my precious time doing the same to anyone else either.

Enjoy the time God has given.

Christ in you, the hope of glory!

What a joy it is to have this anchor moored in the Solid Rock! In favorable conditions, and in the tempestuous sea of life, in the rage of a storm or in the frustrations of being in the irons; He is with me piloting the vessel and adjusting the course when I have miss-charted. God is good! It is a joy and comfort to me to be in Christ. Do you have this hope?

A Question

Is it possible for someone with a diminished mental capacity to become saved?
What are your thoughts on this topic?

Individual Soul Liberty Revisited

I wrote this back in December of 2005. I like it and I have not changed my mind about it. What are your thoughts as you read it through afresh?
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In a nutshell the doctrine of individual soul liberty (ISL) is the teaching that every individual has liberty over their own soul whether saved or unsaved. This is a biblical Baptist distinctive. Baptists should view this blessed doctrine with much satisfaction. According Edward T. Hiscox, it can not be said of Baptists since they have been called Baptists that they ever persecuted anyone for holding to other religious beliefs (cf. Principles and Practices for Baptist Churches p. 493). “Is it not true…” one may ask, “…those Fundamental Baptists want the whole world to be converted to biblical Christianity?” Yes! It is true, but while we do wish the whole world would be saved our evangelism technique is neither by coercion nor persecution! Rather, it is by persuasion, we pray, present the gospel, and God gives the increase.

Here are some thoughts on this topic:

What ISL is not.

ISL is not justification for disobeying Scripture.

A believer may choose to obey or disobey God’s Word, but disobedience is not justified. “My Bible calls it SIN!” (Sketch Erickson)

An unbeliever has liberty to remain in unbelief, but is not free from the consequences.

No one has the right to do as he wishes without regards to others. This is especially true for believers (see Rom. 14). Here are some examples:

I have freedom to drink wine, but not to get drunk.

While at a Jewish Bar mitzvah (when it is recognized that a boy becomes a man) I do not want to offend my Jewish friends by not drinking a glass of wine which they have provided for the occasion. So I partake… I have NOT sinned!

However, if there is a certain sister in Christ with me who has a particular weakness in the area of drunkenness, then I will abstain so I do not offend her. I will be as gracious as possible not to unnecessarily offend anyone, but I am bound to those in Christ first… I have NOT sinned!

ISL is not short for island!

We are not a law to ourselves. I can’t go driving my Neon through traffic like it’s a bumper car track or a rollercoaster ride. In the church I can’t just go on my own little soapbox and expound it to the death (usually the death of the doctrine, or the death of the learners, not the death of me).

We are a church, individuals banned together for the common purpose, to glorify God.

• To Exalt Christ
• To Edify the saints
• To Evangelize the lost
• To Encourage one another

My liberty does not take for granted nor infringe upon your liberty.

Some one said, “Your liberty to throw punches ends where my nose begins!”

Unprovoked, and out of the clear blue sky, a customer of mine announced in a harrumph, “I believe in homosexual marriages, a woman’s right to choose an abortion for any reason, and that it’s OK to burn our flag!” My response, “Hi [Tom], I couldn’t disagree with you more on each of those issues, but I would fight for your freedom to express your opinions.” This ended the discussion and left him scratching his head. I think it threw him off a bit that I didn’t get on my moral high horse and gallop all over his twisted “beliefs”. The point is: it is hypocritical to desire liberty for oneself and not extend it to others.

ISL has also been called the doctrine of the priesthood of the believer practically considered. (God’s Blueprint for a Church, K.H. Good, RBP). I like that idea because no one has more liberty than those God calls His priests. K.H. Good makes an interesting observation about the Reformers who spoke out against “…priestcraft that began in the third century abscessing in the apostasies of Rome’s rituals.” Yet, “…the development of the doctrine of conscience never reached its full application. …this principal was latent with the Reformers but not emergent.” (K.H. Good p.91; cf. Calvin’s Institutes Vol. II page 141) or click here.

Puritans fleeing a church-controlled state came to the new country and began to set up a church-controlled state. Our look at ISL would not be complete if we did not mention Roger Williams and the roll he played in establishing a separation of powers. However, this will fit in nicely with the second S in our BAPTISTS acrostic when we will put “separation of church and state” under the spotlight. For now you may see also see Edward T. Hiscox Prop. III … (you’ll have to turn a few pages on this one.)

In a nutshell the doctrine of individual soul liberty (ISL) is the teaching that every individual has liberty over their own soul whether saved or unsaved.

What is your view of freedom? Some hold the obnoxious idea that freedom means one can do as one pleases, but this leads to bondage. Truly, freedom is doing as one ought to do, not “whatever pleases me”, but “whatever pleases God”! This is true freedom and leads to true happiness and joy.

THE SUN AND THE WIND

ONE day the sun and the wind had a quarrel. The wind said, "I am stronger than you." "No," said the sun, "I am stronger than you."
While they were disputing they saw a traveler coming along the road. He wore a heavy coat.
"See that man!" cried the wind. "Let us see which of us can take off his coat. The one who can do that is the stronger."
"Agreed," said the sun. "You may begin."
The wind blew and blew and blew. But the traveler only drew his coat closer about him.
The wind now blew more fiercely than before. The trees rocked, and the dust flew, but the traveler only buttoned up his coat.
"What a gale this is!" cried he, and turned up his coat collar to his ears.
"I give it up," said the wind.
Then the sun had his turn. He shone and shone and shone.
"How the weather has changed," said the traveler, and he unbuttoned his coat.
Still the sun shone, and presently the traveler wiped the moisture from his face.
"This thick coat is too much for me; I will have to take it off and carry it on my arm," said he, and he took it off.
"You have won," said the wind. "I see now that gentleness succeeds where rudeness fails."