Why is A&E in such a predicament over Duck Dynasty?

Posted on by kevinjandt

duck-dynasty-e

Warning:  The message contained below is a Biblical worldview.  If you wish to express disagreement do so with respect or you will be promptly deleted, if you wish to convince me of a contrary position, present Biblical truth or don’t bother.

There has already been so much written on this subject, that it almost seems hopeless to use my little blog to discuss it.  Yet I’ve had some observations that I want to put on paper, figuratively speaking of course.

The other night a friend sent me a text message asking me what I thought about it.  He and I discuss God quite a bit, although we have very different views on Christianity, he being Catholic and me being a Reformed Protestant.

I’ll get to my response later.

A&E has attempted to make a stand because they’ve responded to a very small segment of the population.  But let’s not be fooled, this segment is powerful in their voice and they will be heard.  They will be heard through any tactic necessary.  Even though very few people agree with them.

Let’s also realize the folks at A&E are in agreement with the aforementioned community and therein lies their predicament.

You see they’ve partnered with something they don’t agree with.  They no more agree with the Robertson family lifestyle than they agree the Bible is truth.  Yet it’s pragmatic for them to partner with the Robertson family and especially as the show grew to be the most popular show on cable and reality television.

In order to appeal to their, I’ll call them their constituency; they must make a stand against Phil Robertson’s comments.  To not do so would certainly cause offense and backlash.  Would it have the same effect as the backlash now against A&E?  That’s arguable, but doubtful.  We need look no further than Chick-fil-A to see which group has more muscle.

The problem for A&E is that they’ve awakened a sleeping giant, ask Cracker Barrel how that worked out.  The much greater share of the population does not approve.  While most of these people are not truly regenerate, born again Christians, many profess Christianity and will agree to some extent that Phil Robertson is not totally out of touch with reality or “modern” America.

So now what does A&E do?  The Robertson Family has clearly stated they won’t go on with the program without Phil.  Phil has clearly stated he is standing behind his statement that the Bible is truth and what he said he believes.

It seems to me A&E has a big problem.  Will they stand by their convictions or will they stand by the almighty dollar?  Do they have the convictions Phil Robertson has about his beliefs?  What an incredibly interesting situation.

The last and most important predicament the brain trust at A&E has them in and it’s by far the most important; they are at enmity with God, I speak generally, because I don’t know any of them personally.

Phil Robertson has placed his trust in God’s word and God’s word tells us all mankind is under the wrath of God.  See Romans 1:18 through 3:20.

My response to my friend was as follows:

I affirm all that he said.  He spoke biblical truth quoting 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.  He probably could have been a little less crass in his description of the homosexual act, but he spoke truth.  It’s certainly a longer conversation than a text message if we were to dig deeper into sin and depravity and what it means to be at enmity with God vs. being at peace with God.  All unrepentant sin is an offense to God.  I would encourage you to read 1 Corinthians and Romans Chapters 1-5.  Let me know if you’d like to discuss.

1 Corinthians 6 9-11 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived.  Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you. 

This is crystal clear.  You can reject this, but there is no doubt what Paul is saying.  Homosexuality is no worse than adultery.  No worse than fornication (having sexual relations outside of marriage; that’s Biblical marriage, not a redefined marriage).    And so it goes… but let there be no doubt, it’s all sin and if you live in this lifestyle you will NOT inherit God’s kingdom.

But did you notice the good news?  “And such were some of you.”  We must understand that those who are changed by God’s word through the revelation of sin will be saved from the wrath of God.

What a glorious truth.  What a glorious hope for those in sin.  Many people will say his statements are judgmental or unloving.  No, I can’t imagine anything more loving.

The gospel is good news, do you believe that?  Jesus came to earth and lived the perfect life that you and I are incapable of living.  He went to the cross to save those who would believe in Him.  He saved us from Himself.  The Son of God became man, to save Believer’s from God.  What an incredible act of love.

For Believers Phil Robertson’s stand should give us cause for great joy.  What an opportunity to start a conversation with someone today about their eternal destiny.  What an opportunity to show them God’s word.  No matter what you think of Phil Robertson, or certain positions his church might teach let’s look at this as a wonderful opportunity.

Philippians 1:15-18 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill:  The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.  What then?  Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached: and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

Soli Deo Gloria!

 

Kevin

What are you talkin’ about?

Posted on by kevinjandt

fear

Evangelism should be an important part of the life of a Believer.  There is plenty of scripture that leaves no doubt about the truth of this.  The Lord Jesus Christ commanded us to “Go” did He not? (Matthew 28:19)

The gospel is “good news”, the word means news, Euaggelion – glad tidings of salvation through Christ the proclamation of the grace of God manifest and pledged in Christ, the gospel, as the messianic rank of Jesus was proved by his words, his deeds, and his death, the narrative of the sayings, deeds, and death of Jesus Christ came to be called the gospel or glad tidings.

What’s the last thing you were excited about?  Something you discovered that you really wanted to tell people, and let them know this is something that should interest them?  I’ve told lots of people how great Dropbox is.  I’ve told plenty of people how cool my new Thinkpad is with a solid state hard drive.  This really excites me and causes me to want to share the news with others.

Yet I forgot to tell them that Jesus offers sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and eternal life to the dead, all spiritually speaking of course.  Ooops, how did I leave that one out?

But I must tell them…

I can’t let myself off the hook by saying “use words when necessary”.  Words ARE necessary.  Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher?

The preacher is a proclaimer.  Not just your pastor or the professional evangelist.  You and me, Believer are preachers.  We can’t proclaim unless we open our mouths.

So now what?  How do we do this?  The fact we should proclaim is clear.  The most notable verse about this comes from 1 Peter and one most Christians are quite familiar with.

This all begins with the concept that those that proclaim the good news are going to be persecuted for it.  In case I forgot to mention it, you will be despised when you bring God’s word to bear.

It’s not optional.

Isn’t this why the modern church has changed the message to be palatable?  It’s easier to talk about the love of God because that is just easier to swallow for most people, those fire and brimstone sermons are just not much fun.  Everyone likes the god that forgives sin, loves everyone and never expects anything in return, certainly doesn’t require us to pursue righteousness and turn from sin.

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meeknesss and fear.

I remember before salvation I really didn’t understand this verse.  I get the always be ready part, but I wasn’t sure about the sanctify business and what does it mean with meekness and fear.  What am I supposed to fear?  It just didn’t come together in my mind.  Of course I couldn’t grasp it because my mind was at enmity with God.

Sanctify – means to make holy, that is (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate: – hallow, be holy, sanctify.

The word heart does not mean the muscle beating in your chest; it’s the thoughts and the control center of your being, so when we sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, we are to set Him up in a special place in our minds that He is pure and holy.

Have you sanctified the Lord God in your heart?  This is not something to gloss over; it’s the starting point of this verse.  It’s a directive, not simply a question or a suggestion.  If we desire Him above all things, this should come easy, but it won’t.  It’s not easy; the Christian life is never easy.  This is why the Lord said to strive to enter by the narrow gate.

Charles Spurgeon: Have your doctrinal views, and all your knowledge of Christ, packed away in a handy form, so that, when people want to know what you believe, you can tell them. If they wish to know why you believe that you are saved, have your answer all ready in a few plain, simple sentences; and in the gentlest and most modest spirit make your confession of faith to the praise and glory of God. Who knows but what such good seed will bring forth an abundant harvest? (1 Peter 3 Commentary)

In considering Spurgeon’s exhortation, we must know Scripture.  This doesn’t mean you will be able to give a snappy answer to every non believer that comes along.  This is not the point of this verse it’s a Believer’s responsibility to share their story and offer scriptural truth in a world gone wrong.  The opportunity to point someone to Jesus as the One true hope.

What about the meekness and fear.

The word meek denotes a gentle spirit, or mildness of disposition.  Simply put we don’t need to be aggressive in our approach of presenting the hope we have and as many people will take this as an aggressive stance, we must not offer that in response.

As we take this whole chapter in context Peter is setting us up for the reviling and the suffering that will undoubtedly come our way when we present God to them.  So as a gentle answer turns away wrath, so can we offer our hope with meekness.

What does it mean to fear?

Are we to fear the people we are presenting our hope?  Have you seen the shirt “Fear This”?  Does the wearer of that shirt expect you to be afraid of him or should he be afraid of you?  What he’s trying to let you know is you need to be afraid of him because he’s a tough guy.

Who should we fear?

Proverbs 1:7 Fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

The word fear means to fear and it also means awe and reverence.  We cannot revere God if we first don’t fear Him as one that has complete power and authority over our lives.  So when we present our hope never forget who we are to fear.  Let’s present a gospel message that will give the listener a healthy dose of fear.

The message Jesus loves you generally won’t cut it.  Unbelievers must know they are headed to hell without the saving work of Jesus Christ, which is something to seriously fear.

There is a delicate balance here to offer the message with a gentle but firm dose of reality.  This is something to enter into with fear and trembling knowing that we represent the God of the universe.  He is worthy to be feared.

Kevin

 

Lions, Twitter and bears… “oh my”

Posted on by kevinjandt

twitterI recently had an interesting Twitter interaction.  When I made a comment on someone’s Twitter feed I knew I was setting myself up for this sort of reply.  I’ve decided that when I interact with someone in a format as this I will speak to them as if they were sitting in front of me.  I’ve not always interacting with people this way, and I say that to my shame.  It seems civil discourse has mostly become uncivil discourse.

The one thing that struck me about the interaction was this man seemed to operate under some sort of rules of engagement.  He didn’t like what I was saying, but he was never nasty about it.  He was critical of my worldview, he blasphemed God, but he wasn’t as ugly as some people I’ve encountered in the social network world.  Now let me first say I’m not pinning a merit badge on this man, because as I just said he’s a blasphemer of God, and will be held accountable for every idle word he speaks, even though he doesn’t believe that (Matthew 12:36).

Let’s start where it all began.

2 Kings 2:23-25 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up from the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead!  Go up, you baldhead!”  So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD, and two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.  Then he went from there to Mount Caramel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

This is an interesting passage, and one that my friend used to show me that God is unrighteous.  It’s a desire that most people have to justify themselves, and say “I won’t worship that God”.  What happens is that mankind sets himself up as his own god so he can make his own rules.  This man has a sense of right and wrong, there’s no doubt about that, but he decides what’s right and what’s wrong.

If we don’t have an ultimate source of truth, we have complete chaos.  Like we see in government, the rules are always changing; the bar is ever shifting to the left or to the right.  We all do this don’t we?  We all have our view of what is right and wrong and when it doesn’t match up with God’s view we will justify our position, adjust it a little bit to suit our own needs.

So what about these bears mauling these “innocent” youths?  What about God destroying all of mankind in a worldwide flood, or God allowing Satan to kill all 10 of Job’s children, what about Ananias and Saphira struck down dead because they lied to God?  Is there unrighteousness with God?  Some certainly believe that is the case.

Humans are so morally corrupt and our thinking is insidious (Jeremiah 17:9) because we have no concept of the righteousness of God.  He is the creator, and He is the maker, and without Him you don’t even have life, but yet in our arrogant pride we shake our fist at Him and curse Him to His name.  I was once told by a man that he would fight with God if he stood before Him in judgment.  How many people think they will fight with God or explain how “good” they’ve been?  I wonder if for a trial run this man would jump into a lion’s cage at the zoo, and fight against the lion first.  That might give him some indication how he will stand against God.

Man suppresses the truth in unrighteousness, (Romans 1:18) and because he does this it opens him up even more to all kinds of justifiable depravity.  He will do anything and everything he can to say why the Bible is flawed and then they want you to chase them down a rat hole trying to explain why it’s not.

They put God on the judgment seat and say “prove to me why I should worship this God!”  God has spoken to Believers through His word, and He sent His Son to live the perfect life we couldn’t live so some would be saved.  He died a brutal death, bore the wrath of God so God’s wrath would be satisfied, this wrath that He is perfectly just in pouring out on anyone at anytime of His choosing.  This is a hard truth to swallow.

Psalm 4:4-6 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You.  The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.  You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

So what do we do with verses like 2 Kings 2:23-25?

We should fall to our faces and fear the One True Living and Holy God.  We should desire to seek out and understand at a much deeper level why God does what He does.  If we don’t understand things do we somehow think that makes God unjust?  Maybe we are the ones to blame, not God?  Maybe it’s our lack of knowledge that causes us to perish (Hosea 4:6).

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

The fool here is not someone that wears a goofy hat and dances around, he’s a fool in his heart because he denies God (Psalm 14:1) and makes himself his own god, and the most loving thing I can tell him is that he needs to repent and turn from his sin and live.

When our fear of a God that can take our life and send our soul to hell (Matthew 10:28) turns to a fear of awe and wonder of who He is, then we can be saved.  If you don’t understand what it means to fear God then I encourage you to examine your life.   See if you are indeed in the faith.

God’s word will slice you open to see the nastiness of yourself before Him.  Like a leper dressed in a beautiful outfit, it doesn’t take long for the puss to ooze through the fine silk, and become stained and vile.  Without Christ this is how you appear to the perfect God who made you.

My friend seems to have some understanding or at least some reading of God’s word, and I hope he’ll begin reading it with a desire to know the truth, not just his truth, but God’s truth.  The gospel is the power to salvation (Romans 1:16) and there is salvation in no other name but Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).  We have an empty tomb and a risen Lord that proves it (1 Corinthians 15:1-19).

Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the LORD God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his evil way and live.  Turn, turn from your evil ways!  For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

Trying to defend the bible is as useless as trying to defend a lion – you turn him loose and let him defend himself – Charles Spurgeon

Kevin

What are you going to wear?

Posted on by kevinjandt

sunday best

Do you ever struggle to decide what to wear on a daily basis?  I certainly do.  I’m not the type of guy that spends a lot of time on my wardrobe, just ask my wife.  In fact I’m the type of guy that doesn’t give up on a garment just because it has a little wear and tear.   When I find something comfortable I stick with it.

What are the occasions you get dressed up for?  Most people in this day and age get dressed up for very little, but there are certainly times when we desire to look our best.  Funerals seem to be a time when most men will put on a jacket and tie.

When I was a little kid my parents would dress me up in one of those little Lord Fauntleroy suits for church, okay I’m embarrassed even writing about that.  How about the person that dies at that funeral, they certainly dress them in their best attire don’t they?  I wonder why?  They’ve already stepped into eternity and they are now standing before the Lord of all creation.

How will they appear to Him?

Joshua is one of the greatest men of the Old Testament.  He was a man of great faith.  He’s a man that saw Jesus Christ and believed Him.  The name Joshua is the 24th most popular boys name over the last 100 years according to the Social Security Administration.  There must be something about this guy that was special right?

God must see him in a special way.

Joshua 5:13-15 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand.  And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”  So He said, “No, but as the Commander of the army of the LORD, I have now come.”  And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”  Then the Commander of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.”  And Joshua did so. 

Joshua is an experienced warrior and a man chosen by God to lead Israel.  He is in many ways a man of privilege having been given this tremendous responsibility, and he meets Jesus Christ, and receives direct instruction from Him.  This is mind blowing for me, certainly this man is righteous?

So what’s the point?  What does this have to do with our clothing?

Zechariah 3:1-3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.  And the LORD said to Satan.  “The LORD rebuke you, Satan!  The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!  Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”  Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. 

Joshua the man of privilege, chosen by God to do His work, the man of great faith was standing before God and was clothed in filthy garments.  Can we grasp the gravity of this?  What I need to consider, and what I desire you to consider, is how can anyone stand before the Lord and be clean?  For us average folks, that don’t lead armies and conquer cities, that don’t have books of the Bible named after us, where’s our hope?

Since God is Holy, mustn’t we be clean to stand before Him?  Don’t we have to be “good” to enter heaven?

Zechariah 3:4-5  Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.”  And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”  And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.”  So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him.  And the Angel of the LORD stood by.

Today I implore you that your Sunday best clothing will not suffice as you stand before the Lord.  There is not a suit or a beautiful dress you can wear that will make a difference.  Your best acts, your most righteous deeds before God and man are nothing but filthy garments.  (Isaiah 64:6)  You are incapable of cleaning yourself up enough to be presentable before God.  Joshua, Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah and even Abraham were not clean by the perfect standard of God’s righteousness.

How do we stand a chance?

The Apostle Paul speaking about Abraham says this:  Romans 4:23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us.  It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

Our dilemma is that what we choose to wear can never be good enough.  Our righteousness, as seen by God, is without hope.  We will perish in our own goodness.

But Christ is the solution to our problem.  To be ‘justified’ in the sight of God He must see the garments given us by the work of Christ on the cross.    Nothing else will do.  To receive this free gift means we must repent, turn from our sin, and embrace Jesus Christ as the Lord of our life.  Not just by saying something about Jesus, or claiming intellectual knowledge about God.  Not belonging to a church, but sincerely recognizing a need for Christ to cleanse us and to take away our sin.  Without Him all hope is lost.

If you don’t recognize your deepest need for Him you are trusting in yourself, you are in a sense clothing yourself in your best clothes expecting He will find you acceptable.

Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Here is the answer to the problem.  Let’s dump our Sunday best and clothe ourselves in the righteousness of Christ.  He is the solution to the great problem mankind faces.

Kevin

My dear friends and readers.  I want to seek your forgiveness for a mistake on my part in this post.  I inadvertently confused Joshua the High Priest with Joshua the son of Nun (Joshua 1:2), who took Moses’ place as leader of the Israelites.

As my friend James pointed out in the comments it doesn’t modify the main point of the article, which is “We NEED Jesus” to clothe us in righteousness however, it was sloppy exegesis on my part.  It is extremely important to me that I properly explain and interpret scripture to bring glory and honor to God (2 Timothy 2:15).

Thank you for reading Uncommon Faith and I’m grateful that the Body of Christ can strengthen and encourage one another.

 

I’m thankful today

Posted on by kevinjandt

Psalm 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

I spent today away from my family in Cincinnati, OH.  It’s not a bad place to be, but I would certainly rather be home.  I miss Jen, I miss the kids and I miss my church family, as I think about them all gathering together today.

As I’ve heard said many times, “absence makes the heart grow fonder” and I believe that.

The Lord has blessed me with more joy and thankfulness than I could ever imagine.  I’m most thankful for the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  He bore the wrath of God so I could be declared righteous in His sight.

What a gift and what a reason to give thanks and worship Him on this Thanksgiving Day.

I enjoyed a wonderful time with some friends today.  They welcomed me into their home and showed me much love and generosity.

I greatly appreciated my friend Rob’s comment as I left, “I look forward to spending eternity with you”.

What a great thing to consider, that all Believers will spend eternity with one another, enjoying fellowship with the saints and worshiping Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:8-10 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.  For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.

Happy Thanksgiving

Kevin