Blessed are the Peacemakers - Part One

The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of
the wicked. 10:11 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins. 10:12 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 15:1 A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention. 15:18 A gift in secret pacifies anger, and a bribe behind the back, strong wrath. 21:14 Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. 26:20 As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife. 26:21 For as the churning of milk produces butter, and wringing the nose produces blood, so the forcing of wrath produces strife. 30:33

This is just a small selection from Proverbs. It shows that anger and wrath are
undesirable and that there are ways to assuage it. In today's lukewarm Christianity, we interpret the above scriptures as meaning we should not offend anyone with our gospel. If strife results from preaching the gospel, we should amend our ways. It does not matter what has been said, but the way it has been said. It does not matter who is right or wrong, but the love of God. And this is the thing they misunderstand the most: the love of God. They love to quote Proverbs when it suits them, when they don't want to be warned or rebuked for their sins. They will even go so far as to ascribe the attributes of the devil to anyone who so offends them (as they quote Proverbs 6:19, A false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren).

When Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers", he cannot contradict himself
when he also said, "Do you suppose that I have come to give peace on earth? I
tell you, No! But rather division; from now on there will be five in one house divided:  three against two, and two against three. The father will be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law."  Luke 12:51-53.

Jesus himself is our peace, who has reconciled us to God through his own death.
This is what it means to be a peacemaker. This is very specific and not open to
discussions about world peace. He said, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword." Matthew 10:34.

His peace does not make friends between the rulers of darkness and God. His peace is not the world's peace. "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you" John 14:27.

Chris Simonson  2/28/2006

Who is blind, but my Servant? - Isaiah 42:19

Jesus said, "I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father who sent Me" John 5:30.

Jesus did not have to "reason something out" as we do. The Father's will was only consulted; there was no room for other thought. Only as Jesus heard, and not until then, did he judge a matter. No prejudice, no leftovers from previous experiences, no anxious thoughts of the future; only, What does the Father say?

It is true that we are not the Christ. Many who claim to be the Christ, or have direct access to God without reference to the mind and the powers of reasoning, are crazy. So God tells us to reason with him, but it is a certain kind of reasoning (Isaiah 1:18). He calls human reasoning folly and traps men by their own reasoning (1 Corinthians 1:19-21; 3:19-20).

Jesus told us, "I am the vine and you are the branches. Without me you can do nothing." Our relationship to Christ is by the supply of the Spirit. It is based on faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So we must hear the gospel in order to have faith. This requires some devotion on our part. Do we "put on the blinders" as Christ did? He humbled himself, stripping himself of glory and honor, and became less than all men, heaping their sin upon himself to bear it, blindly, obediently; as a lamb to the slaughter he was led. This can only be accomplished by the faith of Abraham. As Paul said, "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." Romans 4:20-22. In order to stagger not at the promises of God, we may have to become blind. It is better to pluck out an eye and avoid hell, Jesus said.

The wisdom of man makes him think he can see, but in reality it hinders or stops him from coming to Christ as he should. Jesus said that he came into the world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may be made blind. Some of the Pharisees asked, "Are we blind also?"

Jesus' answer is instructive: "If you were blind, you should have no sin: but now you say, 'We see'; therefore your sin remains."

Instead of judging a matter beforehand, or anxiously fretting about evil, we are told to seek out the gift of God. Pick up the yoke of Christ. Quit judging by the knowledge of the flesh, but rather so to speak, blindly and obediently, as did Christ. Who is blind as he that is perfect and blind as the Lord's servant?

But we find ourselves continually fretting, continually rationalizing, always trying to guess the outcome or the appropriate action. When we ask, "What would Jesus do", is this not just another excuse to use vain reasoning? It would be commendable if we searched the scriptures to see what Jesus actually did, then believe his promise; but usually we try to guess at a favorable course of action based upon our superior capacity to judge matters. This Jesus did not do and would never do.

If we must become blind so that we may see, so be it. Paul says, "Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." 1 Corinthians 3:18-20.

Chris Simonson  2/24/2006

Paul interprets the prophecy to mean that we as individuals must not be bound together with unbelievers. Those not interested in becoming holy look for other interpretations and run to Revelation to make up some stories about the end times. Instead of perfecting holiness in the fear of God, they proclaim to know what Babylon is and warn everyone to flee the organized churches, or the United States or whoever has become their target. One cult, the Children of God, got passports and left the United States, which was no loss to us. They now call themselves the Family (from the Family of Love) and practice adultery and fornication to spread the "gospel." Their women lure men by posing as prostitutes for God, thus introducing them to the Family. If you visit their website, you would not know how evil they are. They just talk about Jesus and his love.

Many in the church today have fallen into this kind of mentality. It’s O.K. to divorce your wife and marry the attractive sister over there (as long as she divorces her husband, that is). Or, the way to win souls is "friendship evangelism." Within baby churches like Golgotha Chapel, the fornication and divorce rate is rampant. That’s because they love to preach on love. They hate to talk about holiness in the sense that it means "to separate." Paul says to Timothy that within a great house there are many vessels. We take this to mean the visible church. Paul warns Timothy to separate himself from the unclean vessels within that house.

That’s a pretty big house. In the last two thousand years, we have a church that is represented by everything from the abomination of desolation down to underground churches that are hated by mainstream Christianity. We have huge organizations like the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and the dozens of Protestant denominations. Each one of these sects has within its territory those who are deceivers and Jezebels, who teach their parishioners to fornicate. Sometimes, the entire sect teaches fornication. Witness the homosexual churches and those churches that are pro-homosexual, like the Episcopalian church. They pretend to be loving, tolerant and non-judgmental, but they hate Christ and the holiness of God - you can prove it to yourself if you begin to call them to account for their lifestyles.

Sometimes, in order to come out and be separate, you really must physically leave a particular church. You would have to leave the Family, for instance, in order to obey the command. This is almost true of the Catholic Church. She teaches so much against the true religion of Christ that it would be a miracle to stay on and remain a believer. You would have to be a missionary to them, or so ignorant as to be forgiven, in order to not provoke the wrath of God. Anyone who stays with the Episcopalian church had better be making a lot of noise against her fornications. All churches hate to be admonished. If you do not admonish them, however, then you become a partaker of her judgments. If you just sit there and smile, you too will be deceived and lose your faith. You will be like the blind being led by the blind. You may get so weird that a cult like the Family will snatch you up and bind you hand and foot to destruction.

You may not believe any of this. You have been taught by your church that Jesus loves you and no man can possibly snatch you out of the Father’s hand. But you should take notice of whether you are in the Father’s hand in the first place. Coming to the Father is not a matter of casual ritual like saying the sinner’s prayer. Nor is it a matter of chronic ritualism (like being in the Catholic Church). Having done something in the past, or practicing outward religious acts like lighting candles, does not make you an entrant of the kingdom of God. Salvation through Jesus Christ is a present fact, not a memento to our emotional need at sometime in our past. Nor is it something we aspire to by carrying statues of Mary. If we believe that Jesus is the right man, then we should do what Paul says and come out and be separate. If we do not come out and be separate, maybe the Holy Spirit is not working inside us like we pretend.

God knows those who are His. God sends His Holy Spirit to reassure us of who we are in Christ. However, there are many who think they have the Holy Spirit precisely because they are deaf and blind sinners and can really tell nothing at all about the Spirit. They are perhaps like the gentleman who had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (he thought) and it was accompanied by lots of tremendous feelings of love, acceptance, speaking in tongues and other cathartic fireworks. Then, two weeks later, he decided to take some mescaline, and lo and behold! the same thing happened, or so he testified. The point here is: we cannot measure our acceptance with God by internal, subjective, manifestations. We must take these internal experiences and measure them against the external written Scriptures, or we become little gods deciding we are loved just the way we are. God resembles us and we are ripe for a fall.

That’s what Paul is trying to get across to the new church at Corinth. He sees a vector for idolatry infecting the assembly. He also sees the Corinthians becoming distant from him by their hardening of heart. He shows them how open his heart is to them, and commends them for taking action against the fornicator that was leavening their church earlier. But there is more to be done. They are admonished to cleanse themselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit. Then Paul launches into the care of the churches. When we become hardened, we become denominational. The sectarian spirit does not come about by division over doctrine so much as self-interest, pride and jealousy. This is a defilement of spirit. Churches will not communicate with one another, except at pastor’s conferences, which are a joke. It is no wonder that the doctrines then become divergent.

Read 2 Corinthians 7, 8 and 9 in light of one church caring for another. The only care that exists in this country is along denominational lines, and it is pride running the show. If any work is done, the pastor has to have his name on it. If evangelism, then it is for each church or denomination. Even para-church ministries, like World Vision, toot their own horn and spend millions on fund-raising (they are actually one of the more responsible practitioners of the social gospel). You certainly don’t hear these ministries putting in a good word for the "other guys." The local churches, the ones that claim that "they’ll know us by our love," have "outreaches" which consist of stealing from one another’s churches. They are the great believers in attracting people to church by sales appeal (or sex appeal, whatever). This merely attracts them away from the church in which they were brought up.

Once in a great while, the churches may come against abortion together, or some other social issue, but their gospels differ widely and they don’t care about that. To them it doesn’t matter whether their cohorts teach a false gospel that lead most men to destruction of their souls. To them, the real issue is that all life is holy, which cannot be taught from the Scriptures. Witness the unholy union of Mormons, Catholics and evangelicals on this very issue. The reason things are the way they are is because the leaven has practically leavened the whole lump. But we are admonished to purge out the leaven and become a new unleavened bread in Christ. We can’t leave the world or the USA or the body of Christ in order to do it.

Instead, we must perfect holiness in the fear of God individually, then corporately. This is done by obeying the doctrines of the apostles. Paul is especially suited for Gentiles, but Dispensationalism has ruined most of his teaching. If you go to a church that pays no mind to the need for holiness and church discipline along the line of Paul’s teaching, then you will not go very far in Christ. You will probably become cold and listless. But if you find some believers that are like-minded, then you will find strength and comfort in your mutual faith. We cannot recommend a church or a denomination, but it is important to find one that is not loaded with sectarianism. Shouts of "We Baptists!" or "My Church!" or "Our Pastor!" drown out fellowship of the Spirit. In order to serve Christ, you may have to separate yourself from the hard party liners. But in order to find fellowship of the Spirit, you may have to go to their well-funded churches. You may find some that need fellowship or even the gospel (not that we ourselves don’t!). There are many young people who do not know Christ precisely because of the churches’ hypocrisy. The hypocrites whine about tolerance and love, but they practice evil. They begin to attack the true ministers of God’s love by demeaning their gospel, fearful that church attendance may go down, or that if the Spirit gets hold of the congregation, they may lose their stipend, or there may be persecution from the wicked.

Yes, we can come out from among them. Babylon the great will certainly fall, and we will be comforted at her destruction. But we cannot physically leave and go somewhere. We must separate ourselves, as have all courageous men and women throughout church history, by preaching the gospel. If you are really the Father’s, you know what the gospel is. You read your Bible and don’t go for wishy-washy new age interpretations of God’s love. You know that God is to be feared, not patronized. You know that the grace of God in your life is directly proportional to the realization of His wrath upon sinners. You have confidence that no matter how much wrath God has against sin and against sinners, you have come out from among them and you are coming out from among them. You know that all is by faith in Christ and not in a church, a movement, or a pastor/priest.

There is a seal. This is the seal: God knows those who are His, and let everyone who names the Name of Christ depart from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19). If you are of the modern opinion that you are sealed in Christ just because your pastor said so, then this verse means absolutely nothing to you. But if you have examined your faith over and over again to make sure that you believe in the Jesus whom Paul preached and found no cause to correct him (Paul), then you can begin to find assurance from the Holy Spirit. If you have found assurance from the Holy Spirit, then certainly, you must find evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life. Are you "assured" and yet remain an adulterer? You will not inherit the kingdom if you are an adulterer. Period. Do you find "evidence" in your life but you are a homosexual? Don’t kid yourself any more. It would be better to drop Christianity and know you are going to hell as a result, than to keep on in your false way.

There are many evil things that men do to themselves and to others. But we must come out of that realm. The time is short; our salvation is nearer than when we first believed (Romans 13:11). Paul says to the believer, "You are the temple of the living God." But this does not mean we are the temple of God and that’s it. No, Paul continues by quoting the prophet: "As God has said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be my people’ ‘Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord; do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty’" (2 Cor. 6:16-18).

Chris Simonson  2/23/2006

God Uses All Methods

If you like putting God in a box, as is the tendency with all religions, including Christianity of course, then you will not like the idea that God uses all things, all things, to His glory. This means He uses the wicked, sin, the devil, angels, powers and authorities, for Himself. Human reasoning also tends to fault God for this, or at least excuse the wickedness of man ("who then has resisted his will?" we say). This is how God traps the unrighteous so He can judge them fairly for their wicked works.

I don't like that kind of God, you may say. Then you don't like God, even though you confess you love Him dearly. God will take you in your own wisdom and turn it upon you. You say, this is not kind, but harsh, and I refuse to believe in a God like this, or I refuse to serve Him (same difference). God will judge you out of your own mouth, said the kind and gentle Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. I have scripture for this.

So please do not define who God is to God. He has already defined himself as
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us be careful when defining Who God Is to our fellow human beings. Those of you who say, "what makes Jesus Christ so special" had better examine the facts concerning Christ before you send yourself to hell for asking the question, not to seek the truth, but to justify your own belief system.

The facts of God are sure, and covered in the Bible. But, God is eternal and knows all things. We are not God. Therefore, He has defined himself in our Lord Jesus Christ, because Jesus took our sins upon himself and reconciled us to the Father. He has limited His direct contact with us by using the method of preaching the gospel. This does not limit God, but gives us a method by which to be saved by the God who is the all-consuming fire (otherwise, we would all be destroyed by His Presence).

In our arrogance, let us not tell God how He must operate. When we are offended
by His message, we should think twice about judging the messenger. Perhaps we
are not judging the messenger but God Himself. God uses all methods for His glory, but He uses the method of preaching the gospel to save sinners.

Chris Simonson  2/22/2006

Kathy has to have her radio on all night while she sleeps, so she says. In special cases the door to her bedroom is left open at night, with the TV left on.

What haunts Kathy at night, that calls for such measures? Is she afraid of the monsters under the bed? No, she is a grown woman and can assure any child there is no such thing. Perhaps the dark creeps upon her, while she sleeps. Can the dark move? Can it grow darker, that it seems there is a weight put upon your bones? What frightens her, a grown woman, that quietness in the night disturbs her?

This is a secret to everyone but Kathy. Kathy tells people its because she is frightened of every little noise, thinking perhaps an intruder is walking about in her house. But the doors are locked and secure, and Kathy knows that her paranoia goes much deeper than this. This terror can be explained with a question.

What does the future hold for Kathy? “We can’t tell”, you say. But can’t we? No matter what steps a person takes, what their hands find to do, there is one fate for them all, Death. Death is what pursues Kathy.

What hateful person is telling Kathy she’ll die? “Surely its because of those doomsayers”, you say. No, Kathy has been able to isolate herself from such people. So what’s the problem? “Kathy must have some paranoia disorder, or she’s caught up in depression”, you say. No, there is someone speaking to her, just not the doomsayers; its her own mind. “Then she is crazy”, you say. No, she wants to be, but there are no voices in her head, just her thought processes. “Then she is depressive, her thoughts tend toward thinking on dark things”, you say. No, people are dying around her left and right and her own life has been in danger recently.

What would any normal mind think about, when faced with death? Death, of course; but she doesn’t want to think about death… judgment… condemnation. So Kathy makes sure there is no quietness even while sleeping, to “keep her mind from thinking”.

What hope does Kathy have? She has already rejected God’s only Son, Jesus, whom He sent. She will be dead shortly, but she is not dead right now. The dead cannot call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

With what do you distract your eyes and ears, that your brain does not think about the inevitable?

“It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:2)

Matt Simonson  2/21/2006

The Stench of Unregenerate Man

In order to discuss pleasant subjects, like the removal of sin from our lives, we must also discuss unpleasant subjects such as what is being removed and why.

Other gospels, which are not good news at all but the devil's own work, try to convince us that God loves us just the way we are, which leads to stench-permeated 'service' to God. The Bible is clear that such worship is condemned by God and that he hates it. (Isaiah 61:8, Amos 6:8, Zechariah 8:17, etc.) Those who practice evil will get their just reward whether or not they claim to love God; whether or not they appear to be Christians. (Romans 2:11-16, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Colossians 3:25, 1 Peter 1:17, etc.)

Until a person is convinced of their own stench, they are without hope. Many who suspect they stink put on religious perfumes, combined with scrubbing, sanitizers and stain removers. The Bible says their efforts are futile and incur the wrath of God. (Exodus 30:38, Jeremiah 2:22, Amos 5:21, etc.). They do not understand (nor care) that the stench comes from their unregenerate nature. Paul the apostle simply calls this condition 'the flesh'. This is no quibbling of words. It is a simple explanation of why the stench cannot be removed. It is a simple observation that the human race is indeed flesh, not spirit. The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, says Paul. The two are opposed to one another. (Romans 8:1-13, Galatians 5:16-24, etc.)

The false gospels make much of the flesh, even if they are supposedly against the flesh. The law-keepers are entirely under the flesh. These are those who are the scrubbers and the perfumers, who hope to purify themselves by outward means. But they do not understand that the flesh goes all the way to the bone, right into the marrow, and it is impossible to rid oneself of bondage to the flesh by one's own effort (even if they say they are obeying God's rules to do so).

Another false gospel, closely related to the legalism bunch, consists of platitudes and slogans that if slung around with appropriate smiley faces, allows the slinger to indulge in his stinky flesh. The Bible calls this wickedness "turning the grace of God into lasciviousness" Jude 1:4. Most of the modern church falls into this category. This explains why homosexuality is flooding into the church. These defilers of the flesh have been given over to unnatural acts because they did not worship God, but liked the creation better. All the religions centering around nature, goddess worship ('the Da Vinci code'), mother earth, holistic health, etc., etc., etc., all come from
following after the flesh.

But the smell of the unregenerate flesh goes up into the nostrils of God and he hates it. How did the flesh get into such a state? Genesis tells us how Adam and Eve disobeyed and that's what did it. The unregenerate man twists this simple doctrine to mean something else, because he loves his flesh.

The God who hates the tainted flesh also loved the world and provides a way to remove the stench. He destroyed the works of the devil, and put the flesh to death when he brought his dearly beloved Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. His death provides the only way for us to become clean before God. This is all covered in the New Testament. The Old Testament sacrifices and ordinances were never able to make anyone clean, but were instituted to show that the flesh cannot do the will of God.

But our flesh is not just put to death and that's it. We have a new man, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, that is able to please God. Only those who have believed in Jesus Christ as the only way of coming to God can partake of the new nature that is "Christ in us". The unregenerate try to fake this because they are jealous of the inheritance that the children of God obtain through faith. So they fake faith, love, hope, etc. This accounts for all the smiley faces. They persecute the children of God, because they know that only one of us is correct. If they can get rid of their enemy, then they must be right. This has been the story of the Church since it began.

So the righteous ones, those that have been regenerated by faith in Christ, are looking and smelling good before God. This may not appear to the wicked, who have clothed themselves with the goods of this earth to fight against faith, but the Father who sees in secret knows his own..

The smelly unregenerate man continues in his perversity and disbelief, putting on perfume and scrubbing himself with lies, heaping up to himself wrath against the day of wrath, in which he does not believe.

As for those of us who have the fragrance of Christ, let us put aside the sin that so easily besets us and run the race to win. Let us stop trusting in the flesh. Let us trust in the word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit, the sword that divides between the joints and the marrow.

There remains therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:9-16

Chris Simonson  2/20/2006

Faith

Perhaps the concept of faith in God confuses more men than it helps, but faith has always driven the actions of men throughout the ages. Most people recognize the need for faith, and the majority of these realize  that their faith is supposed to be in God, but most of them, sadly, still do not have the faith that leads to eternal life. Their faith is lacking some very important qualities that disqualify them from pleasing God. 

In speaking of faith in this way, we have made some very important assumptions. One: The number one basic principle of correct faith is to believe in the true God. Two: The goal of faith is to please God. Three: Eternal life comes as a result of pleasing God. Just these three statements throw out most of what men call “faith.” There is far more at stake than opinions, here. If true faith leads to eternal life, then anything else, whether it is called belief or disbelief, leads to eternal damnation. This is another principle that is held by faith among true Christians. Some Christians do not hold this belief. As a matter of fact, they say things like “I don’t think anything has been done in the name of Christ and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to human personality and, hence, counterproductive to the evangelism enterprise than the often crude, uncouth, and unchristian strategy of attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition” (Robert Schuller, quoted by Dave Hunt in The Seduction of Christianity). Paul simply says, “not all men have faith” (2 Thessalonians 3:2).

The subject of faith should not make us uneasy, we, may say to ourselves. True, the goal of faith in God is not meant to be a bone-chilling reminder of our mortality, of our enmity with God. Faith is supposed to give us assurance of things hoped for, an evidence of things not seen. By faith we come to the place where we do not fear death, but look forward to a new life that will go on forever and ever. That is the message of the Christian gospel.

The hope of eternal life is not unique to the Christian religion. In one form or another it has been the hope of many religions. For some this hope dissolves them into nothingness or numb bliss, their consciousness is scattered like chaff into the blackness of cosmic wind; for others it is a place to satisfy lusts not attainable on earth. There may be thousands of ideas about what eternal life means, and thousands of ways to get there. Some men think that any belief system that gives such hope is faith.

They are wrong. The Bible says “there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of that way is death.” The Bible is a very exclusive book. That’s what makes many men reject its message. Its message is faith, but most men do not understand faith and will perish regardless of their Bible knowledge. Jesus said “wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go that way; but narrow the gate and crimped the way that leads to life, and few there are that find it.”

I hope the reader is still with me. Christianity is not a religion of soft sell. It does not try to trick people into faith. Regardless of what men like Schuller say, it identifies a problem and deals with it. Man is challenged to have faith and his faith is what delivers him. But the quality of faith is everything; the word or concept “faith” is only effectual if faith is real. Hopefully, the reader’s faith is real.  But it will take more than being hopeful in a wishful way in order to reach heaven.

Faith is not merely being hopeful about a possible outcome of events. That is like gambling, America’s number one pastime. Faith is not a gamble. Neither is it like buying insurance. Many look upon faith as a way to “hedge your bets” or “buy fire insurance.” They feel that even if there is no hell, a side bet that there may be makes sense. There is no gambling when it comes to true faith. There are no side bets. When a person places their trust in the living God, that’s it, all bets are off. Otherwise, their faith is no faith at all, but only a hope for a favorable outcome (whatever that means at the moment). Real faith sees the danger of continuing on without being sure, and does something about it. “The prudent man sees the danger coming and hides himself. The fool keeps on going, and perishes,” says the proverb.  False confidence, however, is no cure. “The silly person believes everything, but the prudent man considers his steps. A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and confident,” says another proverb.

Faith is not a list of proverbs, however. Faith must have something deeper and more substantial as its goal or as it object. Faith is not merely “going through the motions,” no matter how Biblical the motions look. Many people think that if they do things in the proper way and in the proper order, this is tantamount to faith.  They say to themselves, “I’m doing what God told me to do, and it looks like it fulfills the commandment, and so as long as it looks good on the surface, and I’m sincere about it, I must have faith.” These are the people who are very active in their church. They go to as many meetings and retreats as possible and even help out at church. They do not shun the humble duties of baptizing bathrooms and sanctifying sanctuaries with vacuum cleaners. There is nothing wrong with this, but do they love the gospel of Jesus Christ?  Too often, the importance of doing menial chores outweighs the necessity for knowing and believing the gospel. Even miracles should not displace faith in Christ. When Jesus’ disciples returned to him joyous that they could cast out demons in his Name, he told them, rather, to be joyous because their names were written in the book of life. They had misplaced their affection of God’s gift of eternal life for outward effects of God’s power in this temporary age.

In this post-Christian age, faith is often seen as mind-over-matter. God warned against this ancient sorcery and called it witchcraft, not faith. The book, The Seduction of Christianity, is a clear presentation of how the New Age movement has come into the church and changed the meaning of all of its words. Faith can mean almost anything, nowadays. It usually means that if a person can imagine or visualize something strongly enough, God or the Force or a Supreme Being will answer by manifesting miracles, usually resulting in increased box-office sales. 

Faith is not a gamble. Faith is not a list of things to do. Faith is not blind. Faith is not belief in one’s self, or one’s likes and dislikes. Faith is not a back door or fire insurance. Faith is not a private thing, unknowable to others. Faith is not strong belief in what one believes. Faith is not belief in what others believe. Faith is not an acknowledgment of certain facts or assent to empirical evidence. Faith is not a power that materializes things for the believer, or gives wealth and health, or changes the material of the universe. This list could go on and on. In this list, I am putting down a few things common to man’s misunderstanding of faith.  Many will perish due to their false beliefs about faith.

Faith must be connected to reality, or it cannot be faith. Faith does not manifest reality, it believes in reality. Faith in God does not mean that one merely acknowledges His power and might. “Even the devils believe, and tremble.” Faith in God means that one believes what God has said about things not directly sensed by present circumstances. Faith believes what God has said about the past, and what God says about the future. Even in the present, we must take by faith certain facts or we will almost certainly find ourselves living lives of delusion. Science and faith are not enemies or mutually exclusive; they are two ways of dealing with evidence. Science develops around facts gathered by direct observation and experimentation on phenomena in the material, amoral, universe only; faith develops around facts gathered by direct observation and experimentation in the spiritual, moral, universe. There are not two universes, however, one moral, one not. It’s just that science does not deal with the moral implications of its own findings. Faith does.

If we live in an amoral universe, then concepts like justice and freedom are a delusion, and anyone who believes the universe is not imprinted with morality should not ever bring up their rights or expect anyone to give them respect. They should not be angry or sad. They should have no feelings whatsoever, including love. They should not look for deliverance of any sort. They should acknowledge their feelings as delusions only, their identities as madness, and their continued existence absolutely contrary to their belief system. Sadly, there are religions based upon these conclusions and they come from the east. Instead of freeing the adherent, they make them stick to the pavement in front of the steamroller of death.

The true Biblical explanation or expression of faith can be found in Romans 4.  Abraham is looking for a country, a city made without hands. He is looking for a future determined not by his own righteousness, but a righteousness found only in God. God has made him a promise. Now listen to the following and see if it doesn’t explain faith: “In hope against hope he believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken: ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised He was able also to perform” (Romans 4:18-21).

According to “science,” Abraham and Sarah could not have a baby together.  According to God’s promise, nothing could stop it. Even though Abraham and Sarah may have scoffed at the promise to begin with (Genesis 17:17 and 18:12), Abraham’s faith in God’s promise, “So shall your descendants be” prevailed and stood the test. This is faith: To believe God’s promises. Even if it involves hope against hope, hope in the flesh versus hope in the spirit. Abraham put his hope in the child Ishmael, thinking that he would fulfill the promise (Genesis 18:18). But God, in his mercy, overlooked this lack of faith, and strengthened Abraham and Sarah in faith (Hebrews 11:11) and she conceived a child after the promise of God.

So we come to the conclusion of the matter. We must ask ourselves a question: Are we putting hope in the flesh and calling it faith? The gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to renounce such foolishness. He promises us eternal life if we believe in him (John 6:47). But he also says that not everyone who calls him Lord will be saved (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 13:23-30). So there must be a way of calling upon the Lord that seems right, but is totally wrong, and it leads to death. This way of calling on the Lord is not faith, but involves something so sinister that Jesus says, “Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23). We know that righteousness comes by faith. We know that we inherit the promise of eternal life by faith. We are justified before God by faith. If someone is excluded from the kingdom of God for doing lawlessness, then that person had no faith, or God is lying about his promises. Better to let every man be a liar and let God be true! (Romans 3:4).

That’s why Paul urges us to examine ourselves to make sure what we believe is correct (2 Corinthians 13:5). We should examine what we believe about the promises of God. Many throw out the promises they don’t like and twist the rest to their own understanding. They are convinced they are working for God (Matthew 7:22, John 16:2), but their works show that they are His enemies (Titus 1:16, 1 John 2:4). We should not look for assurance of our salvation from others’ testimonies about us. We can fool them, but we can’t fool God. Our assurance must come directly from God. After all, the goal of the whole matter is this: Love from a pure heart, a good conscience before God and man, and a sincere faith (1 Tim 1:5, 19, Acts 23:1, 24:16).

Chris Simonson  2/17/2006

Acceptance With God

I am desperately seeking acceptance with God.

I have tried many things. Jesus appears to be the answer.  

I have gone to the churches, and I have faked a lot of love around a lot of other people faking love, but I still feel it’s fake, obviously.  

I have been baptized several times, cast out demons and spoken in tongues.  

I know all the doctrines about acceptance and forgiveness.  

But I still don’t feel accepted or forgiven.  

I have hugged and brotherly-kissed.  

I have washed feet and baptized toilets.  

If you tell me another religious saying like, “God loves you just the way you are,” or “I love you,” or “Don’t worry about it – you’ll come through it just like me,” or some such, you can save it for the judge.  

I have my serious doubts that you believe a word of what you say.  

You don’t appear to have acceptance with God yourselves, because you are hedging your bets, as they say.  

Out of one side of your mouth you say that God will provide your needs; out of the real side of your life you amass as much stuff as your conscience can stand in order to throw up a bulwark against want.  

Are you accepted by God?  Prove it to me by living the truth and speaking the truth.  

Give me some truth, not worldly garbage about forgiving myself.  

Or am I just another notch in your “fruit” gun?  

If so, I can’t stand your religion.  

You come with smiling faces and flattering words, but you leave without having done a thing but pat yourself on your condescending backs for “saving” me.  

Are there any Christians left out there, or have you all become covetous?  

Do not respond if all you want to do is make merchandise out of me, hypocrite.  

Jesus, the lowly and meek One, where are You?

Chris Simonson  2/16/2006

The Abundant Life

Many have come with methods for obtaining “the abundant life” promised by Christ to those who really believe. Glowing testimonials accompany the salesmen of seventh heaven. An over-stimulated generation seeks after a new experience, and these promoters of Christ as the ultimate satisfaction of this life are completely opposed to the gospel Jesus Christ preached.

We are each of us at a crossroads. This intersection has a way that says, “Come over here where we are happy and full of goods! We have the gospel that gives us riches and pleasure in this life. We are happy, sublime and smug. Come with us and experience joy! Don’t worry about all those self-denial things that are legalistic. Look at our faces! We are happy, happy, happy.” Now if we look at the fruit of their happiness, we see despair, sickness, fear – all the things they claim to be freed from. So we see another gospel – a lying spirit.

Another direction at the crossroads goes to a place that leads to a cross. Jesus is there. And those who go that way must bear a cross. He says to them, “I am with you, even to the end of the world.” And sure enough, we see Jesus. He is the suffering Savior, not like the slick salesmen who promise freedom but place men into bondage of lasciviousness and covetousness, with which this present world
abounds.

If we want the abundant life, we have to lose our lives. This will not seem very blissful to the flesh, or to the complacent hoards around us who seek pleasure in this life. It will seem a contradiction, to have life we must lose our life. But Jesus will be with us, and that will be the abundant life. There is no other.

Chris Simonson  2/15/2006

Love is Patient

So says the scripture (1 Corinthians 13:4). In our haste to jump to other attributes of love, we forget that this comes first on the list. We try to fake kindness, gentleness, etc., and we fall into the trap of being hypocrites. We say we are kind, but when our patience runs out, we become monsters and destructive of others’ lives, usually the very ones God appointed us to protect or obey. Such is the religion of the lost.

But we who are not trying to make the outside look good at the expense of the inward cleansing of the Holy Spirit – we need to be patient. There is a scripture that tells us that in our patience we possess our souls (Luke 21:19). There is another that says that we need patience to inherit eternal life, even after we have done the will of God (Hebrews 10:36).

Many have thrown away their faith because they became impatient. These are like dogs returning to their own vomit, says another scripture.

Our American culture breeds impatience into our souls. If we do not separate ourselves from the culture, we become hypocrites, trying to appear loving but all the while impatient and greedy after gain. We then become expert at faking kindness, gentleness, etc., so we can obtain things our impatient greedy selves demand. This is not Christ, however Christian it may appear. Many souls are damned to perdition because of greed. They lack contentment because they lack true faith (1 Timothy 6:3-12).

Love is patient. This means it does not seek bigger and better things, but is composed as it waits for the outcome. If we have nothing to look forward to, like the reaping of what we have sown, then of course we have no patience. But if we have sown to the spirit (or Spirit), then we wait with patience for the reward (James 5:7, Hebrews 10:35-36).

This causes us to be patient towards others who are stumbling along, bumping into objects in their search for true faith (1 Thessalonians 5:14). We do not jump their bones when they do stupid things, but we with patience instruct them: perhaps God will reveal their error and they will repent. In this we judge the error, but we do not proceed with the trial and the execution. God does. Our job is to live holy lives and rebuke the darkness around us.

Patience causes us to preach the gospel, maintaining our composure while the unlearned and wicked mock the Word of God.

This usually means the stumbling Christian is not going to applaud us when we present the untarnished gospel. It probably means the opposite. But once in a while, God will show someone the light and it’s all worth it. 2 Timothy 2:24-26.

Chris Simonson  2/14/2006

The Setting: A certain train is bearing certain people to a certain land. Among those on the train are two passengers. One is named Great, Wealthy Citizen and the other’s name, Poor Citizen.

Poor Citizen, seeking to strike up conversation, asks his neighbor, Great, Wealthy Citizen: “Where are you headed?”

Great, Wealthy Citizen answers: “Oh, a fabulous place, most glorious, I will be calling it home for quite some time.”

Poor Citizen: “Quite, for I am also headed to a place of permanent residence.”

Great, Wealthy Citizen: “Perhaps then, our destination is the same, where it would seem the hills roll forever and the mountains have no top—“

Poor Citizen: “So you’ve seen the place then?”

Great, Wealthy Citizen: “Not so. You see, I have had my mind so long set on this journey, and contemplated its joy, that a sort of fantastic image formed itself in my thoughts. I knew it not to be this way exactly; but the thoughts were nevertheless good, no?”

Poor Citizen: “You mean you thought of a place you’ve never seen before, and looked forward in anticipation to what you could only imagine? Quite something if you ask me. What else did this place look like, what color was the sky?”

Great, Wealthy Citizen: “I can’t say; you see the sky was not in sight. A tower rose up before me, and the king of the land was showing me all the wonderful things that are awaiting my arrival.”

Poor Citizen: “The king awaiting your arrival, with gifts!? I don’t suspect he’ll even greet me.”

Great, Wealthy Citizen: “Surely this cannot be. His prince came to us for a short time advising us to buy gold from him refined in fire, riches that would not rot, would not rust, would not make themselves wings and fly away.”

Poor Citizen: “Indeed, the wealth I had in my previous life seemed to be never enough and though I strived and strived to get ahead, it seemed there were always unlimited bills and taxes something or someone demanded of me. If only there were riches to work for or buy that were not fleeting, but lasted forever.”

Great, Wealthy Citizen: “You mean to tell me that though you knew your stay in that land was only a short time, you sought its riches, and wealth? Surely you did not spend your efforts trying to live securely in a foreign land, when your stay was assuredly passing.”

Poor Citizen: “I did well. My family did not go a day without eating. My house was very spacious and warm. I provided so well for my family, each of my five children were able to go through college and have a promise of a successful career. My wife never had to borrow a neighbor’s car, as a matter of fact, I provided a car for each of my children when they were of age.”

Great, Wealthy Citizen: “I could have applauded you back in the foreign land, for not being a burden to anyone, and seeing to it that you saved up for your children as a parent should do. However, by what means did you prepare your wife and children for the journey to the new land?”

Poor Citizen: “I… didn’t… couldn’t, you well know that what we had in the old land cannot be taken with us. As for my family, I have searched diligently this train, walked through all the box cars, and passenger cars; my heart aches because I found them not.”

Great, Wealthy Citizen: “Truly I am beginning to see that you are very poor indeed. Had you no understanding that the works of the foreign land were just as temporary as the land itself? Now all the work of your hands is burned up with the world from whence we came. But if you knew the land to which you were going would last forever, why did you not put up works there to receive you?”

Poor Citizen: “Like I said, there was no possibility to translate those temporary moneys into lasting riches, to take them with me on this trip.”

Great, Wealthy Citizen: “Certainly then, you did miss the prince who came from the paradise to which we go, and all of his sayings; because one of his sayings was this: ‘Make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.’”

Poor Citizen: “I fear that I will be a wanderer on this new world, for I have no place of habitat, and I expect no one to invite me in.” Poor Citizen’s countenance was gloomier than before.

Great, Wealthy Citizen: “It would seem meet for me to invite you out of pity, but my habitat will be full; for many had blessed me and some knew it not. Furthermore, I will not turn one of these fellows out, to turn in a vagrant. As the prince had said, “There are those who are first, which will be last; and those who are last which will be first.”

Poor Citizen: “That is what I told my fellow Christians who worked for me. That if they worked for me as a servant does his master, they would surely do well. Like the scriptures said a servant is to serve their master whether he be kind or harsh.”

Great, Wealthy Citizen: “Now I see the thing in which you stumbled, you used the words of the prince for your own gain; and you did not listen to what he was saying, for he said, “He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.”

Poor Citizen: “I served...”

Great, Wealthy Citizen: “Each person on this train, his work will become manifest; for the day we arrive will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.”

Poor Citizen: “I did many great things in Christ’s name…”

Great, Wealthy Citizen displayed a gold tablet, a miniature of a foundation. On it a mansion gleamed, and so glorious its sparkle –Jade was its shingles and emeralds were its light posts, diamonds for windows and a door of topaz, sidings of bronze and a pathway of gold.

This caused Poor Citizen’s mouth to stop and all nearby gawked at the prize. Poor Citizen could not deny the good works done by its owner; each glimmer seemed to tell the story of the works thereon. Great, Wealthy Citizen’s works were so evident, that Poor Citizen could no longer justify his lack thereof.

Poor Citizen hesitantly reached behind himself, and brought forth a slate of stone. With his head hung in shame, he lifted the spectacle toward Great, Wealthy Citizen so he might spy what was thereon. As Great, Wealthy Citizen strained to see anymore than an empty plate, there stood what appeared to be a hair, which perhaps was there before Poor Citizen boarded the train, or maybe it fell from one of the passenger’s heads. Nevertheless there was more, a single piece of straw and a speck of saw dust. All there laughed, and Great, Wealthy Citizen held back a tear.

Matt Simonson  2/13/2006

Sunday Special - Evolution Sunday!

Hundreds of Christian churches all over the country are taking part in Evolution

Chris Simonson  2/12/2006

Some Evolutionary Thoughts

When we compare the Genesis account against the evolutionary view of the origin of life, it should be immediately obvious to any thinking person that there are irreconcilable contradictions. This does not seem to stop many Christians from trying to believe both.

It took millions of years of billions of creatures living and dying through countless geological ages, and that’s what they believe, not the Genesis account. Indeed, if the evolutionary view of the evidence is true, then God could not have created the world in six literal days initially with no death by bloodshed, and all people and air‑breathing, land‑dwelling animals cannot be descended from the eight people and all the air‑breathing, land‑dwelling animals that were aboard the Ark that Noah built at God’s command. Thus, the early chapters of the Book of Genesis are full of error and can be rejected, as can all the references to God creating and to Noah’s Flood throughout many other books in the Old and New Testaments. This means also that God was telling Moses and the children of Israel a lie when He gave them the Ten Commandments and commanded them to observe a seven‑day week, just as He had observed a literal seven‑day creation week himself, which would mean He was guilty already of contravening His own ninth commandment. Furthermore, Jesus Christ himself must have also lied when He referred to God creating and to the days of Noah, the Ark, and the Flood, so therefore He cannot be what He claimed to be (“the way, the truth and the life”) or the “Son of God.”

This is not Christianity.

If we have made a ‘decision for Christ’, it follows then that we must make a decision about the reliability and truthfulness of these events as recorded in the Bible. And there is no reason why the truthfulness of the Bible cannot be tested historically and scientifically. That is not to say that the Bible is a textbook of science and history, but rather that if it is truth, then whenever it touches on matters of history and science, these should be verifiable by the normal means of scientific and historical investigations. To put it another way, if what we read in the Bible is true, then the evidence in the world that God created, and then judged by a global catastrophic flood, should be consistent with what the Bible records about those events.

And so it is.

The fossil record, touted by evolutionists to prove evolution, has a creature named by science ‘trilobites.’ These creatures occur among the earliest fossils in the so‑called Cambrian rocks, and are the lowermost multi‑cellular fossils with hard parts found in the Grand Canyon, for example. Often regarded as primitive creatures, their anatomy reveals that they are, perhaps, the most complex of all invertebrate creatures.

The trilobite’s extraordinary complexity hardly warrants the creature being called ‘primitive,’ but herein lies the dilemma for evolutionists. There are no possible evolutionary ancestors to the trilobites in the rock layers beneath where the trilobites are found, for example, in the Grand Canyon. In fact, the trilobites appear in the geological record suddenly, fully‑formed and complexly integrated creatures with the most sophisticated optical systems ever utilized by any organism, without any hint or trace of an ancestor in the many rock layers beneath. There is absolutely no clue as to how the amazing complexity of trilobites arose, and thus they quite clearly argue for design and fiat creation, just as we would predict from the biblical account in Genesis.

There is impressive evidence that fossil deposits and rock strata were formed catastrophically. There are also many indications that there were not millions of years, or even thousands, between various rock units. The rock sequence in the Grand Canyon is a case in point. Not only can it be shown that each of the rock units exposed in the walls of the canyon must have formed very rapidly under catastrophic watery conditions, but there are not significant time gaps between the various rock layers. Thus, the total time involved to put in place some 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) thickness of rock strata is well within the time constraints the Bible stipulates for the Flood event (one year total).

No geologist denies that the oceans once covered the land, since rocks containing marine fossils may be found at elevations above sea level today anywhere from one to five miles. That the ocean waters should have covered the land is exactly what one would expect to happen during a global flood, while earth movements concurrent with the retreating flood waters would be expected to leave strata with marine fossils now perched high and dry at considerable elevations, just as we observe, for example, in the Himalayas.

That’s a couple of examples, but there are plenty (millions) more. Just because we have learned a few thousand things about this creation through good science doesn’t mean we can throw out things we don’t understand (like, how did God create all this stuff anyway?).

The whole argument in favor of Creationism rests more with the unexplained complexity of life than with fossils, however. But if we begin to find fault with the Biblical explanation of creation, adapting our belief system to modern man’s conclusions, then we will let the rest of the Bible erode until it is a collection of ‘primitive’ philosophical and theological ideas which we can improve upon by our sophisticated minds. And God takes us out in our own wisdom.

There are problems with all of man’s theories and interpretations. We do not have all the facts. The more a Christian gets to know his God, the more he realizes how very little he knows. But we see Jesus, set a little lower than the angels, come to die for our sins that separated us from God in the first place (Garden of Eden story – very important to believe if one is to have a real relationship with God). Jesus is all we have to know about God, because he is God himself come in the flesh. Yes, the Son is not the Father, but we cannot know the Father except what we know of the Son.

The facts are on our side, because God made the heavens and the earth. We have nothing to fear from real facts, but let us be humble and make sure we do not twist them to demean the very God who made the facts.

Adapted from AiG website; First published in ‘In Six Days’ by Andrew Snelling, geologist

Chris Simonson  2/10/2006

Conflicted

Parents, good Christian parents, try to bring up their children to avoid conflict. They tell them that a good education is the key to a happy life, and all their fellow Christians pat them on the back for doing this. Parents who do not teach their children to pursue the things of this earth are looked down on by the church and their friends. Parents whose children are doing well in pursuing the things of this earth brag on them, citing God’s blessing as the cause and the glory.

On the other hand, children who have not been given the “skills” necessary for avoiding conflict are conflicted. They have this horrible struggle between the love of the world and the love of God. They seek balance and harmony, but it seems that in the end there is this horrible dynamic, a conflict, between two seemingly true opposites. Their parents seem to not care whether they are ever successful, or loved, or anything. They just don’t seem to care about their children the way the Mormons or the Jones down the street do.

This is seen as evil fruit by the comfortable. The non-conflicted see this as proof that the parents of the conflicted child are not of God, or at least immature. Their own children have degrees and positions of power and prestige, but the conflicted only waste their lives away doing work. The conflicted child has trouble with simple tasks such as compromising their belief as necessary. The conflicted child hesitate at whether they should please an invisible God made up by their parents or a visible reward made up by society (not to say ‘church’).

These poor conflicted creatures fulfill the scripture that says, “The flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, and you cannot do the things you would like to do.” But hopefully, they go on in Christ who said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.”

Chris Simonson  2/09/2006

Christianity vs Christianity

There are several forms of Christianity out there today (what an understatement!) Many of them are at odds with each other (another understatement).

One of the forms takes on the burden of accepting (“tolerating”) all other forms of Christianity (not to mention every other religion, philosophy, or lack thereof). This is hard to do unless one comes with a social gospel that reduces the entire Bible down to a collection of a couple hundred verses dealing with making life better for everyone. They must throw out the rest as “nice stories” or “historical material” or “poetic license” etc.

This is why they hate “fundies.” Of course, they tolerate everything else as long as it fits their mushy sentimentalism. This they call “love.”

Anyway, a typical Christianity vs Christianity scenario is when one person who loves a social gospel, one that’s more Mother Earth-oriented than Father God-submitted, comes into conflict with a person who is more concerned with the Biblical gospel.

The one says that a Christian should be an example of God’s love, and this excludes scaring people about things. God should be presented as an accepting, lovable family member who just loves us the way we are, no questions asked. The term “sin” is reduced to a slight misunderstanding we have about God’s good intentions for us. God accepts everyone, whether they are black, white, Muslim, Buddhists, monogamous heterosexual, homosexual predators, etc.

Sin is reduced to a handicap we must compensate for. Our job is to overcome this handicap by loving everybody.

The other says the above is hog slop and blasphemy against God’s pure love. They preach that men should repent. This repentance is so thorough that it even includes repenting of trying to love by ‘accepting everyone’. They say we are under the wrath of God and unless we believe in everything concerning the Lord Jesus Christ as outlined in the Bible, we remain under God’s wrath. But we turn from our own understanding and submit to God’s grace by confessing and turning from our sins, we will be saved. Sin is transgression against the holy law of God, not some misguided missile of misunderstanding. Men either tremble in fear of this God and cry out for mercy, or men are not saved. All other methods of ‘saving’ men are seen as devilish deceptions. God accepts all those who repent, regardless of their present behavior.

The two systems are aggravated against each other and should be. The first one, the one that depicts God as a huge security blanket, is a lie. The second view feels an obligation to let those who are under the deception of the devil (those of the first view) know they are probably going to hell along with the rest of those whom they seek to comfort. This is very antagonistic and hated by the world.

Jesus told his own brothers that the world hated him because he told them its sins. The world cannot hate you, he said, because you are one of them. They mocked him just as those of the social gospel mock his true believers.

Jesus knew those who would come to him and those who would not. He did not give us this list, but he did leave us his words, which if a man hears will be drawn to Christ. If we think we are drawing people to Christ by removing Christ’s words about sin, conviction and the judgment to come, then we are deceived and our “converts” are no more converted than we. Let us faithfully transmit the words of Jesus and let us courageously battle the Christianity that was, is, and yet, is not.

Chris Simonson  2/08/2006

Be Content

1. Be content with such things as you have.
2. Thou shalt not covet.

One of the sayings above is a Christian encouragement; the other is a Jewish commandment.

This is not to say that either comes from a separate religion: They both come from the true God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. One is a commandment to stay away from lust; the other is an encouragement to be content. But aren’t they both dealing with the same subject?

Covetousness comes from discontentment. Or the other way around. Both come from base desire and fear. Our natural desire is to want things, thinking that our belongings will bring an abundant life, protecting us from the want (lack) of basic comforts. We may call it by many names, but the Bible classifies it as unbelief. And whatever is not of faith is sin. This may fly in the face of modern-day Sodom with her commercial come-ons, but it is sin nonetheless.

Sadly, the post-Christian church has been swallowed up by advertisements much as Jonah was swallowed by the whale. It’s all about the lure and glamour of bigger and better churches. And as Jonah was dragged down to hell, so this church goes to Davy Jones locker. Sin brings death, because sin is transgression of the law, whether it is Old Testament law or New Testament encouragement. Death comes in the form of lethargy and listlessness in the church.

Today’s careless Christian loves to quote Old Testament promises for earthly gain, but he hates Old Testament warnings to stay away from covetousness. They think that the New Testament somehow dissolves away all those Laws dealing with greed and lust, but actually, Jesus clarifies Himself (being Jehovah God in the flesh) on this very matter. Jesus warned that our hearts will be with our possessions. The more we possess, the more our hearts stray from God. Then we become discontent. The more discontentment we have, the less we love God. We will come to hate God with time, even though we carefully conceal it with outward piety. This is all in Jesus’ warnings to his disciples.

But the Bible tells us to pursue the kingdom of God, and not earthly treasure. The two are not connected by bands of commonality; they are only connected by the carnal mind. Seeking worldly wealth has destroyed many a soul that started down the path of righteousness but turned back to the love of money.

The true child of God is admonished not to partake of Babylon and her covetous and idolatrous practices. Jesus said the Father would take care of us, so we need not join the shopping frenzy. If we do decide to go against the word of God, He will chasten us (that is, if we are his children; if we are not, then he will allow the pleasures and wealth to take us to hell).

But let’s say you don’t believe this, but you have found comfort and peace in your worldly wealth, and that’s your proud testimony of God’s blessings. Know this: You are not fooling God any more than you are fooling me. You are a menace to the gospel of God’s grace and must pollute the word with your hybrid gospel. I have no words for you, except those Jesus had for such: Woe unto you!

But let’s say you’re struggling to make ends meet. This is the very time you are in flux between going the way of the world, or committing to God. If you keep waiting for something from God to satisfy your fleshly lusts before you will serve Him, then know you are on the dangerous path to covetousness. But if you begin to right now thank your heavenly Father for the wealth he has given you in Christ Jesus, you will be on the road to righteousness.

This all comes by faith. Are we going to believe Jesus who said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? Or are we going to say along with the rest of the lukewarm church, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and when we have met that obligation, seek next things of this earth? This is not faith. It is trusting in the flesh. We must not do this. This is why we are admonished to be content with the things we have (assuming you are fed and clothed). We are so rich in Christ. Why would we sell our heritage for a bowl of mush? That new house, that new car, that new wife... what’s our price? We should recoil with horror at such an idea.

You will hear soft sermons on covetousness. You will hear the man say that you are robbing yourself of joy when you trust in the abundance of your possessions. This is true, but there is far more at stake than your feelings about yourself. There are two possibilities if you are not feeling real good about all those belongings you have: One, God himself is chastening you and trying to get you to move on off those riches you are hoarding for yourself, or Two, you are tasting the first things of hell. Either way, the message is this: A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

If our life is at stake, which it is, then what should be our response? Jesus used graphic symbols when he said, Cut off your hand and toss it far away from you, or pluck out your eye. We have a graphic story about the rich man told to sell everything he has and give the proceeds to the poor, and then follow Jesus. Our greed stumbles us. The modern churches have stumbled. They are jaded and many are given over to reprobate minds. Witness the Episcopalians, who ordain homosexuals. This is due directly to the worship of the creation, the love of mammon. Their god is mammon. Their god loves homosexuality. As the tribe of Benjamin was given over, so the modern church has been given over.

And because this is an article on contentment, I’ll leave you with scripture:

If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:3-12.

Chris Simonson  2/06/2006

The Creativity of Man

Man was created to create. When he is not creating, he is destroying. He who is slothful in his work is brother to him who destroys, says the Proverb. So when we are not on the creative side of things, we sense a terrible despondency, a feeling of worthlessness and impending punishment. Man tries to gloss over this with his psychological tools (something he created). But, if a man cannot or will not create, he is missing his purpose in life. All drudgery, boredom, depression, etc. is born from the inability or unwillingness to create. 

Of course, men create nasty things in their fallen state. Just creating stuff is not good. Most of the things created by man are evil, or at least stupid. The end of those things is death. But the finest things men have created are a reflection of the glory of God, for which man was created. And, there is eternal life waiting at the end of those things. 

Also, remember, creations can consist of anything. They are limited only to the imagination. The most beautiful creations are those that enhance life, which bring goodness into the lives of others. Many may not see these creations, but these are especially dear to God and he calls them silver, gold, precious gems. Are you building out of wood, hay and stubble just so someone can see your creations? All of our works (creations, destructions, or lack thereof) will be judged by fire some day.  Will you be ready to give an account to your creator, or will you call for the mountains to fall on you in order to hide from the face of your Judge? 

God loves you, but he created you for His purpose, not for your own silly pleasures.  Look up to Him. See Jesus Christ, the creator of all. He will show you God, because he is in God the Father and the Father is in Him. Call out to Jesus today. Start creating good today by trusting in the Lord. Do not lean on your own understanding, but acknowledge Him in all your ways. Start asking him for guidance and he will show you his Son, Jesus Christ. This is repentance and life.

Chris Simonson  2/03/2006

We still go out preaching every Saturday night, and we still covet your prayers.

I'm coming up on 15 years in the Lord this spring, and 13-14 of those years I've spent preaching the Gospel out on the streets, from Los Angeles to New York City to San Francisco to Sacramento, and I am always amazed at how much faith I lack.

If I really understood the effectiveness of God's Word when it is preached, I'd be out there every day presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In this modern day we, as the Church, have lost and are losing faith in God's Word; instead, we've turned to methodologies as a substitute for faith. I guess the question is, Where do you find this modern methodology in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Did the Jews, Gentiles and Pharisees' connect' with Christ's death? Even His own disciples were mystified by the death of Christ, at first.

The fact is that Christ obediently went to the Cross despite when His brethren deserted Him, the Jews rejected Him, the gentiles mocked Him and even when His Holy Father turned away as our sins were laid upon Him; Christ continued until it was finished.

All this was done for the glory of God and for our salvation, thank you Lord.

I'm the first one to admit that the Gospel is shameful to the flesh, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree" Gal 3:13. But, through this shameful curse, by the grace of Jesus Christ, we received eternal life.

Jesus said be not ashamed of him and his words, lest he be ashamed of you on that day: "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." Mark 8:38

I don't go out preaching because I get some immediate gain from it or because I am more spiritual, neither is the case. I go out because I believe in my Lord and His Gospel, and I go to suppress my flesh, trusting that God's Word does not come back void, despite what my eyes see and what my ears hear, knowing that it is through the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord that we have salvation. At the bare minimum, as followers of Christ, we must pick up our crosses daily and follow Him.

Steven, fellow worker in the Lord  2/02/2006

Salvation... What is it? 

Men today talk a lot about God's love. They present God's love as a message of hope for depressed people or scared people. I suppose there is nothing wrong with that, if the message also allows room for the truth. The message of God's love is one of salvation, not a "fix-it" for making life here on earth easier or better.

Depression and fear are direct results of sin. If there were no sin, everything and everybody would be happy. There would be no pain, sorrow, sickness or death. This is not the case. Sin has brought all of these things into the world. The effects of sin are everywhere and deeply embedded into the matrix of the world. Without defining sin, except to say it leads to death and destruction, we will use it to define salvation.

"Salvation is deliverance from sin."

Sin has separated mankind from God. Sin has not only brought the curse of death, but it has also cut us off from any hope for reconciliation with God. That is, it has cut us off if we seek to please God in our fallen condition. He totally rejects our efforts. He sees our attempts to be good as filthy rags. His wrath is upon all who refuse to come to him on his terms instead of their own. Sin has made the minds of men into confused, hell-bent thinking machines determined to prove God wrong at every turn. Man proclaims his own righteousness and his love for God; God makes the final decision.

Sin therefore is the problem. There is another problem, closely related to sin. In the Garden of Eden story, sin enters the world through the disobedience of one man, Adam. However, there are a couple of steps to this. God says, "Don't." The serpent says, "Do. " Eve says "O.K." She does and then so does Adam. There is a serpent. He is the old adversary, the devil, Satan. He is crafty and appears as an angel of light. His servants appear as ministers of righteousness. With his deceptions working on us from the outside, and sin working on us from the inside, what possible chance do we have to be delivered from the effect of sin?

"Salvation is deliverance from sin."

God is righteous and holy. We are not. We sin daily and God hates it. He must do something about it. He has shown us what is right. The Ten Commandments, for instance, show the righteous requirements of a God who is holy. He tells us that if we break the law, then we must die. If we keep the law, we will live. He is right; we are wrong. Therefore, by the righteous requirements of the law, we must die.

However, that is not the end of the story. Throughout the Old Testament, there are promises of salvation. We see in the law of God provisions for payment of sins committed. We see the promise that if a man turns from his sin, he will be pardoned by God even if he has committed terrible things in the past. We hear from the prophets that there will be a Messiah, a Christ, who will redeem his people from their sins. This Messiah will deliver the chosen people from their enemies and reign over them forever and ever. This is how it is presented in the Old Testament to the Jews.

In the New Testament, we find that the promises given to the Jews are now open to the Gentiles through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We find that Jesus is the promised Christ. We see him crucified, bearing the sins of the world in final payment for all sins, past, present and future. We find the true repentance in believing in Jesus and calling him Lord. We behold the love of the Father. We find adoption as sons through the Spirit of God. We tremble as we hear, as never before told, that the earth and its ways will be consumed in fire, that the wicked will be cast into the lake of fire along with that old serpent, the devil, Satan.

There will be a new heaven and a new earth. There will never again be pain, sorrow, sickness or death. Only the righteous will be allowed. These are those who have washed their clothes in the blood of the Lamb. They have come out of the great tribulation that vexed both man and all creation. They will live forever with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. They will see their Father and be loved by him for eternity. This is salvation.

Chris Simonson  2/01/2006