When is it time to leave a church?

Posted on by kevinjandt

I had a conversation with a friend last night and he announced to me he and his wife were leaving our church.  I am grieving this loss and I began to think about why one would leave a fellowship of God’s Church.  There are certainly legitimate reasons to leave which I think primarily revolve around the lack of the gospel or truth.  If this is the case that person should go seek restoration and call leadership to repentance (Matthew 18:15-17) or in the case of a sinning leader scripture speaks clearly how to handle (1 Timothy 5:19).

What if we just don’t like what comes from the leadership?  This really is the point of the rub.  Can we disagree and still be in fellowship?  Can we be like-minded and still have some points of disagreement?  Paul tells us to strive for the unity of the gospel (Philippians 1:27).  This is a major problem, sinful man likes autonomy.  Merriam-Webster defines autonomy as “self-directing freedom and especially moral independence”, we like this don’t we?  Isn’t this what it usually comes down to?  I don’t like to be told what to do, if it disrupts my world-view I would rather rebel than consider my-self directed freedom.  Scripture is full of examples of this.

Matthew 8:19-20 Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”  And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Do we understand that following Christ is difficult?  Have we not seen the many examples the Lord Himself has provided.  What about John Chapter 6?  This message was so shocking and so scandalous that Jesus ran them all off, all but the twelve that is.  This shook people to the core.  John 6:61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this.  He said to them, “Does this offend you?”  verse 66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

But this was Jesus right?  If Jesus was the one getting up and preaching it would be no problem.  If He made challenging demands it would not be an issue.

Hebrews 13:17 Obey those who ruler over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls as those who must give account.  Let them do so with joy and not with grief.  For that would be unprofitable for you.

The writer of Hebrews gives us clear direction that we are to be submissive to leaders in the church.

John MacArthur commenting on this verse:

That God is a God of principle, that God is not a God who says, do your own thing. But God has some very strong and very rigid and very clearly defined standards of behavior…

In order that those who read might understand that joy is produced by obedience. And in order the readers might understand that witness to the world depends upon the consistency of the pattern of their living.

And I want you to notice how this submission is ordered, verse seventeen, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves,” and we’ll stop there. Now here is a responsibility toward God. You say it sounds to me like a responsibility towards some rulers. Yes it is, but the wonderful thing that is evident in this text and evident in other texts in the New Testament is this, that God, now watch it, that God mediates much of His rule in this world through men. God has done that for a long time. Throughout the Old Testament God mediated His rule at times through kings, through prophets, through judges. And in this age God mediates His rule through Spirit-controlled men. Someday God will mediate His rule in the living Christ who sits on the throne of David and rules in the world and the kingdom, right? And He’ll mediate His own kingdom. But at this time God is literally ruling His people through certain Spirit-led men.

These men were ordered of the Spirit of God to have the rule of the church. They do not rule for themselves, they rule in the stead of Christ. They are called undersheperds, and that’s really what I am. That’s what your pastors are, that’s what any pastors are in any given church. So when in seventeen it says obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves, the submission here is not really to men but it is to God, as He rules, mediating His rule through Spirit-controlled men. So there were in that assembly, as in all early local churches gifted men, chosen by the Lord, granted to the church to rule.  You can read or listen to the sermon here:  http://www.gty.org/Resources/sermons/1642

Here is the issue.  Pastors and Elders are called to rule well.  Not for their own gain.  Believers are called to submit to them.  This is an act of the will, a decision to do so.  Many will attempt to say I’m submitting myself to God but they won’t submit to men appointed by God.  The truth is they are NOT submitting to God.  This submission thing is a big deal to God.

So what should we do if we disagree?  I’ve already shown above that we are to go to those that we have disagreements with or that have sinned.  Proverbs 1:5-6 A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.  If we don’t follow this we are doing the opposite.  Proverbs 18:1-2 A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment.  A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart.

The issue with my friends was persecution and trials that came from making tough decisions and challenging stances.  Are these sin issues?  They may or not be depending on how they are handled.  This is why one should attain wise counsel.  Didn’t Jesus teach us that persecutions would come when we stood on His truths?

Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecute the prophets who were before you.  We know Paul affirmed this 2 Timothy 3: 12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Jesus also said we should count the cost.  https://uncommonfaith.org/2012/11/16/count-the-cost/

Is this a salvation issue for my friends?  I hope not but I know the scripture shows them to be in rebellion to God’s Word.  I say that as the most loving thing I can possibly say to them.  They have rebelled against God’s authority through His Church.  Is it time for them to leave?  NO, it’s time for them to talk and work through the issues, not flee.  I hope they will attain wise counsel and search diligently to see if they are in sin.  I hope they will seek restoration.  This is what scripture call them to do.  What is my responsibility?  I must pray for them and I must plead with them to work through this.  If we call ourselves Believers then we have a guide book.  We must use that to seek truth and to seek like-mindedness.  Not because my opinion matters, but because God’s opinion matters.

Kevin

Heinous Acts

Posted on by kevinjandt

amazing grace

What happens in someone’s mind that causes them to kill?  What happens when someone goes on a rampage that causes them to act out in such an unthinkable way as what we’ve seen in Newtown Connecticut?  Something like this is in-comprehensible to most people.  I write this today, not with any special insights into the mind of a killer.  I write today, simply, as a slave of Jesus Christ.  I’m a man that desires to know Him more and to love me less.  I do not want to join the cacophony of voices commenting on what happened in an attempt to provide any solutions.  Gun control won’t solve the problem.  The government can’t stop it.  That is not the point of this post.

As a Believer I must have compassion, empathy and prayer for those that are suffering.  Today I want to discuss some very simple truths of scripture.  Not all men will act out in the way Adam Lanza did but only by God’s grace is man restrained from being as evil as he could (Romans 13:4).  Do we need more evidence than we already have in front of us?  Do we need to be convinced there is no end in sight?

2 Timothy 3:1-4 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents (does murder qualify as disobedience?), unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

What must we do when these things happen?  What is the Christian response?  If you are a follower of Jesus Christ you will undoubtedly have a conversation about this tragedy.  How will you answer the questions?  Where is God?  Why would a “good” God, allow something like this to happen?  How should you respond to the masses that want to blame God?  Are you prepared to answer with mercy and grace but also never compromising the truth?

What is the truth?

Man outside of God’s saving grace is evil

Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”

Man does not seek God and therefore seeks himself

Romans 3:10-11 As it is written:  “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.”

By nature man is under God’s wrath

Ephesians 2:3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

God is merciful

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)

God requires submission to His will

Isaiah 55:5-6 Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

What do we say in times like this?

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, why not share the news that Christ died to reconcile sinners.  This is the gospel, this is good news, and couldn’t people use some good news today?

If you are not a follower of Christ I hope you will look into your own heart today and seen the wickedness that is there, I plead with you today to do so.  If God has not taken your heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26), look to Him today and be saved (Isaiah 45:22).

And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stop, and not madly destroying themselves.  If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let no one go there unwarned and un-prayed for. – Charles Spurgeon

Kevin

Role reversal, the new normal?

Posted on by kevinjandt

role-reversalI believe gender role reversal is the new normal.  Just look around.  You are subtlety being brainwashed into believing a stay at home dad and working mom are entirely normal and everything is just wonderful if this is the way you choose to live.  The days of Leave it to Beaver and Ozzie and Harriet are done.

If you think I’m being too harsh with the term brainwash turn on your television and see how many families you see living out a traditional familial structure; the man working and supporting the family and the wife staying home to care for the children.  Carefully observe ads that you see and run those through the filter of God’s Word.

I grew up in a family where my dad understood hard work.  I never remember my dad not working and I more often remember how hard he worked to provide.  My mom worked on a very limited basis but was always there when we came home from school.  What’s this world trying to get people to buy into and if you are a Believer are you buying into it?

I’ve recently seen two commercials that I believe illustrate my point quite nicely.  In a new Tide commercial we have a man extolling the virtues of being a man that can fold laundry perfectly and all the things that any woman could do.  Yet he is also manly enough to do pull-ups and crunches at the end of the commercial.  It’s a very catchy commercial and you might even find yourself chuckling at this.

In the second commercial we see an attractive and nicely dressed woman in her power suit instructing these working men how to build a house, or so it seems.  She is the authority in this scene as she points to the blueprints, they look at her with interest and nod their heads in agreement to whatever she is telling them.  These poor guys would be lost without her instructions or so this leads us to believe.  The message is loud and clear, she is in charge.  Note: I couldn’t find this one.

God designed men and women differently for good reasons.  It’s not accidental that men are more equipped for hard work and women are more nurturing with children.  If you bring a baby into a room of men they will probably look at the baby and go back to their conversation.  Do the same thing in a room full of women and they will be drawn to that baby like flies to a dead carcass.

So when did all this change begin?  Some will say the sexual revolution of the 60’s and 70’s but if you look closely you can see examples of this throughout history.  Let’s look at when it really began.

Genesis 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

God’s design was for man to tend the garden, to be a worker.

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone, I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

Woman is to be a helper, her job is to assist the man, this seems to be very straight forward and clear cut to me.  Man and Woman striving together for a cause.   See also Titus 2:3-8 for instructions for men and women.

So what happened when did this go wrong?

Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

Ladies do you have a desire to control and rule over your husband?  If so, God told us this would happen, I doubt any of you would dispute that you have pain in child birth.

Men your natural reaction will be either to show her who’s boss or to allow her to lead to avoid the turmoil that comes when you try to assume leadership.  This is the natural outgrowth of sin.

We can go all the way back to the beginning to see the cause of this today.  It’s simple.  When sinful man or woman listens to the lies they end up in disobedience to God’s design.  We just happen to see that today it is getting more in your face.

God also told us this would happen.

Romans 1:21because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.      

The world will tell you that having a man work and wife staying at home to raise children is just not fulfilling enough.  There’s more out there for you if you are a smart and intelligent woman and you can earn more than the husband or the man, do it.  It’s a lie and if you are struggling to identify your role I pray you can find peace and solace in the only source of truth, God’s Word.

I recently knew a couple that seemed to have a good marriage with two nice boys.  He raised the kids while she went off to work.  The man enjoyed yard work and gardening, kind of like Adam, but he also worked out.  He was a big guy.  It seems while hanging around the gym he became attracted to another woman and before long the marriage was done.  It’s heartbreaking for me to see those boys and wonder how their lives will turn out because of decisions this man made.

Will this happen in all cases of a woman working?  Of course not; affairs happen when men work because of the ravages of sin but there is peace in God’s plan and His design, but that is foolishness to most (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Kevin

My Bible…

Posted on by kevinjandt

IMAG0416

Psalm 119:159-162 Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness.  The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.  Princes persecute me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your word.  I rejoice at Your word as one who find great treasure.

I’ve been thinking recently about those that claim Christianity but never crack open a bible.  They don’t bring them to church, they rarely go to them for guidance and they don’t use it in the way it has been prescribed by scripture.  Can you truly be a “Believer” and never, if rarely, open God’s Word?

I know you can in extreme examples such as the thief on the cross, the Lord told him he would be in paradise with Him today.  This man never went to church and probably never read the Tora.  He was saved to glorify God, just like all Believers.  I’m not talking about something like this.  I’m talking about Joe Christian that attends a service frequently, probably weekly and would identify himself as an evangelical.  He might even say he’s “born again”.

I want you to look around this weekend when you go to church and see how many people are carrying their bibles.  Take a sampling and then do an estimated percentage in your head.  Would it be shocking if it was less than 50%?  How about less than 10%?  How many read their bibles daily?  According to a recent article by Christianity Today, 80% of church goers don’t read daily.  Here is the article.

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2012/09/lifeway-research-ed-stetzer-most-churchgoers-do-not-read-bible-daily.html

 

Are you in awe of God’s Word and find it as one who finds great treasure?  This may give you an indication of your condition before God.  Don’t check out just yet.  Why would I say that?

In Matthew Chapter 5 Jesus begins His Sermon on the Mount with what it means to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Do you remember this?  This is a road map to salvation.  You will be “Blessed” makarios – supremely blessed such as a blessing reserved for the “gods”.  I don’t intend this to be a lesson on the Beatitudes but I want to point to verse 6.

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

This tells a considerable story about those that don’t hunger and thirst for righteousness.  They won’t be filled right?  You can’t hunger when you’re not hungry.  You can’t thirst when you’re not thirsty.   Jesus tells us if we’ve been poor in spirit and mourned over our sin, if we’ve become meek (power under control of the Spirit) we WILL then do these things.  This is a natural outflow of what happened to us in salvation.

Jesus said you will know them by their fruits.  What fruit is He talking about?  When Jesus changed my life, I had a desire to know Him more.  I wanted Him and His Word.  I craved Him like a hungry and a thirsty man starving in the desert.  It was my changed nature.  I didn’t force myself to “like” the bible.  It just was that way.

People come to church or profess Christ for lots of reasons.  Does it include a testimony?   “I was this….” (You insert all the nastiness you were) And now “I’m this…” (God changed you to something completely different) without a dramatic change in your life, your profession might not be real?

How many times have you been saved?  If it’s more than once you’re probably not saved.  Does that sound judgmental to you?

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   What was it like to be poor in the ancient world?  It was humiliating to say the least.  You had to beg for every scrap of food you ate.  You had to beg people to be merciful; crouched in the corner too ashamed to even look up.  This is what Jesus is describing.  We must come to a point where we realize we can do nothing for ourselves.

When did you realize that your sin separated you from God?  When did you understand that your sin had you headed to hell?  Don’t dismiss this today, I beg you.  Can you be saved without reading your bible?  Maybe, but I think it’s very rare.  Romans 10:17

The other reality of this is what Jesus called the wide road that leads to destruction and many go in by it (Matthew 7:13-14).  Read God’s Word and be saved.  I implore you today.  If you claim salvation and don’t hunger and thirst for God’s Word, I encourage you to examine yourself.

There is dust enough on some of your Bibles to write ‘damnation’ with your fingers. —Charles Spurgeon

Kevin

Who is God?

Posted on by kevinjandt

What do you know about God?

Do you have a biblical understanding of God or some fallacy perpetuated by Hollywood or a concoction of your own mind?  You cannot be saved without a proper view of God, just as you cannot come to a proper view of God without a proper view of man.  I was saved when God’s word revealed His truth.

Psalm 18:31-36 For who is God, except the LORD?  And who is a rock, except our God?  It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.  He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places.  He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.  You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great, You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip.

In the summer of 2009 we took a marriage course that our church was offering; I was excited hoping my marriage could be improved or maybe God would straighten out my wife as I’m sure she was hoping God would straighten out me.  I had no idea the plans God had for my life.  I had been a church going guy for quite a few years.  I grew up in a church going family.  My parents saw to it that we heard God’s word every Sunday.  Most people would say I’m a “good” guy or a nice guy.  “Surely God would not send you to hell”, but hell is where I was headed.

Why?

I had an improper view of God that told me God loved me and wanted to have a relationship with me.  He had a plan for my life….  Jeremiah 29:11.  Have you ever heard that before?  If you haven’t you’ve had your head stuck in the sand.  This is the message that is so popular today that is condemning people to hell and eternal torment.  God may have a plan for you but you may not like that plan.

Most everyone has heard “God loves you” or “Jesus loves you”.  God is “love” right?  Of course He is scripture affirms this (1 John  4:8).  But does this mean He will overlook sin and not punish the unrighteous?  This is a rhetorical question.  If you have read any of the Bible it would not take you long to find out the answer, if God doesn’t punish sin, why the cross?  Why would God pour out His wrath on His Son?  It makes no sense.  Without a proper view of God it honestly makes no sense.

Jen and I are currently in our fifth marriage course.  Yes, I agree with you, whatever you are thinking…

The incredible thing is God continues pour out His grace on our lives as we pursue to honor Him in marriage.  He saved us both in the first course and continues to refine us in every subsequent course.  Sometimes it has been very painful and sometimes very joyful but through it all He has been faithful.

Below I’m once again quoting from the Exemplary Husband by Dr. Stuart Scott. (Pages 17-28)  The companion book is the Excellent Wife by Martha Peace.  I cannot recommend these books enough.  They may shake you to the core but I promise it will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness if you will allow yourself to be trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)

We must bring our view of God in line with His Word.  The following is not a complete study of the nature and character of God, but it should serve as a clear and brief biblical overview of who God is.1.       God is the sovereign, all-powerful Lord of all creation.

“Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’”.  Isaiah 46:9-10

      God is Holy.

Who is like you among the gods, O Lord?  Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonder?  Exodus 15:11

The word holy generally means “set apart.”  Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic Theology, says that “God’s holiness means that He is separated from sin and devoted to seeking His own honor.”  There is absolutely no sin or evil in Him.

       God is a just judge.

Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.  Psalm 98:8-9

God righteously hates sin because it is an affront to who He is and His Kingdom, and because of what it does.  He must judge sin and He must judge every person.  All of God’s judgments are right and just.  He is the perfect judge.      

        God is merciful and gracious.

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  Lamentations 3:22

         God is full of compassion.

He has made His wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate.  Psalm 111:4

         God cares for His own as the Good Shepherd and the perfect Father.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  Psalm 23:1

          God is love.

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  1 John 4:8

God’s Judicial and Parental Aspects Reconciled

… God does indeed relate differently to two groups of people described in the Bible.  If this distinction is not made between the saved and the unsaved, confusion about one’s relationship with God can result.  Every husband needs to determine the group to which he belongs before He can have a right relationship with God.

          God is angry at the wicked.

Due to the sin nature we possess through Adam, we all begin life under the wrath and condemnation of God.

God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.  Psalm 7:11

God will remain angry at the wicked unless they repent and will punish them in hell.  Even their good deeds are described as filthy rags by God…  (Isaiah 64:6)

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him (Christ).  For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  Romans 5:9-10

            God is faithful to His own.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Romans 8:1

We must have a correct view of God before we can exemplify Him.  A.W. Tozer wrote:

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.  The greatest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most {important} fact about any man is not what he at any given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.

By faith every man must line up his thinking with each aspect of God’s person.  If one does not see God rightly, he cannot see himself rightly either.

I have barely scratched the surface of what scripture tells us about God.  If you are struggling today with an improper view of God or wondering about your salvation I ask that you commit yourself to the task of knowing Him.  You could begin with a study of these verses.  God’s Word is what saves.  It saved me.

Romans 11:35-36, Isaiah 46:9-10, Lamentations 3:31-33, Psalm 145:8-9, Isaiah 46:11, Psalm 50:21, Psalm 7:11, Psalm 103:9-11, Psalm 10:15, 1 John 3:1-3, Romans 8:1-4, Ephesians 1:5-6, Matthew 16:24, Luke 6:46.

Kevin