Am I a Stepping Stone or a Stumbling Block?

In Romans 14 and part of 15 Paul is intent on telling us that we shouldn’t be critical of one another, but to become as Christ. He didn’t come to please himself, but for the very purpose of suffering under the insults of those who seem to be against God. If I am living my Christian life in such a way that I am an impediment to another’s progress in Christ, I have become a stumbling block to my brother. It is not what I know that really counts with God, but whether or not I am willing to be walked on, if necessary, for the sake of Christ.

 

Taboo or not Taboo!

Sometimes it is difficult for many Christians to stay out of the realm of God—that is to keep from assuming responsibility that is his alone. We often tend to judge our brethren for doing or believing what we don’t, or, if our brethren judge us for the freedom we embrace in Christ, we tend to roll our eyes, despising them for doing so. Paul shows us in Romans 14 that these are merely two faces on the same coin. It is a game we have learned to play only too well.[1]

 

How Can ALL Things Work Together for Good?

Paul tells us in Romans 8:28 that “all things work together for good…” but how can they? How can death, accidents, personal failures and other unwanted predicaments work for my good? Fritz Rindenour uses an entire chapter in his book “How to be a Christian Without Being Religious” to respond to this very question. In it he claims that Christians love to quote this verse to other people, but how many of us are really willing to consider it or believe it works for us? Few of us really put this verse to a personal test, or better, allow ourselves to be tested by it.

 

How Do I Get Out of this Mess?

We left Romans chapter six saying that we are set apart for God’s use, and we belong to the choice we make. The problem often is, however, I keep making all the wrong choices. So where does that leave me? Well, Paul talks about this in chapter 7. I may begin the day feeling pretty good with the best of intentions, but then I hit a snag. I try not to let it bother me, but as sure as God made little green apples I blow it again …and again. If I am a Christian, why can’t I lick this thing? How do I get out of this mess I got myself into?

 

Whose Slave are You?

Now there’s a question that modern man balks at. Most Christians find it difficult to deal with as well. “What? Slave? I’m not a slave to anyone—my faith sets me free!” Well, this is true in a sense. As a Christian I am free from the penalty of sin and from its guilt, but what about the power of sin? I probably have more trouble with sin, now that I am a Christian than before I received Jesus. Why? Because before I knew Christ, I wasn’t concerned with sin at all. Nevertheless, afterward sinning became a very prominent problem, or perhaps a better word would be focus, because, before Christ, I simply wasn’t aware of the problem—or didn’t care.

 

If I Could Only Choose…

Romans 5:12 and following has everything to do with responsibility. Who is responsible for death? Who is responsible for life? Paul tells us that death entered our race through Adam our first parent, i.e. the father of our race. He rebelled against God and took with him all that would come after him. You may wonder if this is fair, but we never wonder about the fairness of where we were born, what school we attended or even that we were born at all. These decisions were made for us by our parents, but who among us would accuse them of wrongdoing, simply because they brought us into the world and in a certain city and had us attend a particular school? Even the choice of religion or lack thereof was made for us. We may be able to express our choices now, but not when we were very young or before we were born. Yet, even the choices we make today are affected by the choices that were made for us a long time ago.

 

Real Faith Brings Practical Results

What do you want out of life? You are probably no different than me and most other people. We desire love, peace, hope, confidence, happiness, security and the awareness of accomplishment—that is, that one’s life has meaning. Fritz Ridenour who wrote “How to be a Christian Without Being Religious” says we may express it in different ways, but by and large this is what most people desire out of life. In Romans 5:1-11 Paul claims the Christian who has been justified, that is, made right with God, may have all of these things. Through our faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us (Romans 5:1) we may enjoy real peace with God. In addition our new faith brings us wonderful and practical results, namely, we are given new potential, new power and a new Friend.

 

Why Should I Become a Christian?

After reading in my previous blog that God places no difference between the most immoral and the religious elite, one my wonder if there is any benefit at all to being a Christian. Well, there are great benefits. First of all, God has entrusted us with his word and to preserve it for succeeding generations, and I believe for the most part we have been faithful to this trust. Secondly, Jesus has entrusted us with reaching the world with the Gospel, and the fact that so many in the world know who Jesus was is a testimony to our faithfulness to this commission. So what, if some of us have been unfaithful, causing the world to hate God; this doesn’t mean that God will be unfaithful to us. His word is true no matter what men do or say. In other words, his promises to us will not fail. God will not allow the unfaithfulness of men to thwart what he desires to do.

 

The World Hates God Because of my Religion!

It’s true, you know, the world does, indeed, hate God because my religion. Earlier we spoke of the “bad guys” who pushed the truth away and with it God, himself, but Paul poses the question: “…am I any better?” According to the Scriptures I am just as guilty as anyone else. You are, too, whoever is reading this. There is no escaping the fact that we all have something to hide. We all have those dirty closets we like to keep locked, so no one sees what is in them.

 

Must a Christian Assassinate his Brain?

Many people today believe that in order to be a Christian one must forget everything he has been taught in school and/or college concerning science and a host of other subjects. Is this true? Of course not, but there are many scholars who say it is so. An unbeliever could quote the testimonies of a host of eminent scholars who say Christians live in la-la land and haven’t a clue what life is all about. Yet, to be honest, I could quote just as many eminent scholars and famous people in government and business who would disagree. Imagine eminent scientists and scholars who teach in universities around the world who actually believe in God in a secular world such as we live in today.

 

Shouldn’t a Christian be Religious?

Over forty years ago I had come out of a church that told me how to live in just about every circumstance of life. Suddenly Upon leaving, I found myself in a kind of wilderness where there were no neatly defined paths. It was the first time in my life that I really felt “on my own” so to speak. Yet, looking back, I understand that I was never really on my own. I am sure just about every Christian has read the poem “Footprints in the Sand.” God is there—he is always there, sometimes it is very evident, but often he works behind the scenes helping his children find their way through this wilderness experience.

 

The Overwhelming Power of False Doctrine!

I teach an adult Sunday school today on the book of Acts, but years ago I remember teaching an adult class when the appointed teacher was on vacation. I would try my best on such occasions to reveal Christ without making differences in doctrine the issue. After one particular class some lingered to continue talking about Christ and salvation. Those who stayed were well grounded in their faith, and one was even on the church board.

 

Is the Gospel Believed, Perchance, by Chance?

Preaching Christ comes out of a heart that has been awakened by God. Its results cannot be measured with worldly means. Too often we look at the success of the world and seek to imitate the methods of the world to accomplish the work of God. The Lord says that his Temple will not be built through force or great ability (Zechariah 4:6) but through his Spirit. If this is so, how spiritual would it be to use worldly methods in our service to God. For instance, a good marketing executive knows that, if his advertisement is seen by x number of people, he could reasonably assume that a known percentage of that number, y, would respond favorably and buy his product. My point is that this is the wisdom of this world. Yet, this same wisdom is practiced today among those who preach the Gospel. Does this wisdom depend upon the grace of God or upon a formula derived from the experience of men dealing with the probability of statistics? If they preach to x number of people they can reasonably expect y to respond favorably. Is this a proper way to build the House of God? Should this knowledge be used to serve him?

 

Why Seek the Living One among the Dead?

The women who waited on Christ during his lifetime (Luke 8:2-3) came to clean his body, to anoint him and to dress his corpse for burial. All the burial preparations on the day of his death were done quickly. Even the tomb where he had been laid was used because it was close by (John 19:41-42). When they arrived at the grave site, the appearance of the tomb was not what they had expected. The stone had been removed from the opening of the tomb, and when they looked into the sepulcher the body of Christ was no longer there (Luke 24:3)! As the women wondered over these things, two angels stood with them and asked, “Why do you seek the Living among the dead” (Luke 24:4-5)? They reminded the women of what Christ spoke to them earlier in Galilee concerning his death and resurrection (Luke 24:6-8). Then they remembered his words and ran to tell the disciples and everyone else!

 

Reconsidering Two Matters

In earlier blogs in this series I wrote about seeking to buy eternal life and the question of God wanting mercy in the place of blood sacrifice. Before concluding this series, I think I should discuss two Scriptures having to do with these two subjects. They have been used on the discussion boards in efforts to show God doesn’t desire a blood sacrifice as Hebrews 9:22 claims is the usual case. It seems that people with a low view of Jesus (i.e.people who believe he was merely a man) are compelled to prove that his sacrifice upon the cross couldn’t have obtained atonement for all of mankind. If it did, perhaps they would have to reconsider who he really is. The idea that Jesus is God, and that God became man to dwell with us in order to show us how to live, and then to die in order to save us from death, this idea frightens people. Why? Because, really believing it would mean one would have to change the manner in which he lives. So, they go about seeking to prove Jesus’ life from a Christian point of view was unnecessary.