Nonsense, Baloney, Gobbledygook, or “No Stinking Gimmicks, Part 3”

Some time ago, I posted “No Stinking Gimmicks” and “No Stinking Gimmicks, Part 2.” Even though this sermon excerpt does not actually say, “no stinking gimmicks,” it is a fitting conclusion to a three-part series.

 

Our pastor is very Biblical in His approach. The mission statement of our church is as follows:  “Grace Bible Church exists to bring people to Christ and toward Christ-likeness by equipping believers to know, live and defend God's truth.” For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel (Ezra 7:10, NKJV). This is carried out by reading the Scriptures, explaining the Scriptures, and applying the Scriptures. So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading (Nehemiah 8:8). Man’s opinions carry no weight. Only the Word of God is, as many have said, “our rule of faith and practice.”

 

Following is an excerpt from Pastor Jeff Anderson’s sermon entitled “Celebration of Completion,” based on Nehemiah 7, which he preached on March 15, 2015. This excerpt falls under the “application” part of the sermon. The entire sermon can be heard here.

 

… I want to describe to you the continuity of identity that is the Christian church. Did you know that the Christian church is a matter of faithful people who have served God not just in this generation but for thousands of years in the past? What we find in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 is the same thing you find in Hebrews Chapter 11 … a listing of God’s faithful people – people who have walked by faith. And when you start thinking that you are few and far between and that you are the only believers, remember, God has had His faithful people in every generation, and our identity is found with them.

 

Here is the truth – the American Christian church has become so arrogant that we think that we need to reinvent the church. We need to protect the church for the coming generation. If we don’t totally reinvent and do everything in a whole newfangled way, well then, we’re going to lose our relevancy and we’ll lose the next generation. You know what I say to that kind of thinking? NONSENSE, BALONEY, GOBBLEDYGOOK – and if you want to add any other strong words in there, I’ll add them, because all of that is a bunch of nonsense.

 

We’re not here to reinvent the church. We’re not here to revitalize or even protect the church from irrelevancy. What a bunch of nonsense-type of thinking. That’s the kind of nonsense-type thinking that says everything has to be new and cool and hip for a coming generation. We’re going to market our church to “Gen X.” We’re going to market our church to this or that or the other. Bunch of baloney; and here’s why it’s baloney – because Jesus said He would build His church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it. That means it is not my job to build the church. It’s not my job to protect the church. It’s not my job to reinvent the church. It’s my job to, in the fear of God, be faithful to what God has given and be confident that Christ is building His church. And here’s the deal – our church is tied in with an identity of a whole long history behind us and a future in front of us, and that gives us the inspiration to take risks and be faithful and obedient and to walk by faith … A majority of the American church is trying to be new and hip and do their own thing ...

 

I love the fact that a younger generation has some new music that celebrates the grace of God. There’s nothing wrong with something that’s new, but to think that everything has to be new and to abort the past – that’s a HORRIBLE mistake. The reason we sing ancient hymns that were written hundreds of years ago, the reason we sing ancient songs that were written thousands of years ago, is to remember that we are not new. We’re not reinventing… We are something that’s built on a foundation that goes back millennia. Just as we enjoy those ancient hymns and the depth and the solid foundation that is there, we come to these new choruses or new songs, and we rejoice in them because they are expressions of the same grace and the same faith and the same Savior that goes all of those years back. [Note:  Our church sings plenty of new songs and new choruses, but they are selected very carefully for solid doctrinal content. We avoid the frivolous, shallow songs that are so often used today.]

 

There is identity, and the identity is that we are part of something that is far bigger than us … We just don’t market and scheme and plan and somehow run it like a business. We are part of what God has been doing among His faithful people for all that time. That gives us identity and it gives us inspiration, and the inspiration says, “Just as they have been faithful, brothers and sisters, let us be faithful. Let us sacrifice. Let us take risks. Let us be obedient. Let us walk in the fear of God. Let us be for our generation what a previous generation risked to be for us.”

 

I praise the Lord for giving our church a pastor who is true to the Word of God and who gives God all the glory. If you are ever in Colorado Springs, come and visit Grace Bible Church. You won't be disappointed.

I Will Praise Him

Yesterday morning in church we sang an old hymn, "I Will Praise Him." It was written in 1898 by Mrs. Margaret J. Harris and provides a great statement of praise. This statement of praise is based on the powerful truth that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ can wash away the stain of sin from our lives.  

 

Some of the words are as follows:

 

Blessed be the Name of Jesus!

I’m so glad He took me in;

He’s forgiven my transgressions,

He has cleansed my heart from sin.

I will praise Him! I will praise Him!

Praise the Lamb for sinners slain;

Give Him glory, all ye people,

For His blood can wash away each stain.

 

The song made me reflect on the real problem we have in our churches today. In today’s world, there seems to be an overemphasis on "the positive" and a total non-emphasis on "the negative."

 

I remember when I took a personal evangelism class in college. The students were asked how we would present the gospel, and every one of us started with the fact of sin as the reason the gospel was necessary. We were told that approach was wrong and would turn people off. Instead, we should start with the positive: "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." I quickly came to disagree with that, because many of those I talked to would respond that they already had a very good life and saw no need for God’s love and plan. Salvation does not seem necessary to someone who is not really aware of the reality of sin and its consequences. A person has to realize he is a sinner before he can be saved.

 

Nevertheless, much of the professing church today has degenerated into a social club that revolves around trying to make people’s lives here on earth better. There is nothing wrong with improving one’s life, but that is not the primary purpose of church. There seems to be an unending string of seminars, conferences, "encounters," etc. on topics such as finances, physical fitness, self-esteem, marriage, parenting, teaching methods, prophecy, communication, etc., Ad infinitum. While there is nothing inherently wrong with such topics, especially if they are conducted by a biblically-oriented church and if the content is thoroughly biblical, the problem is that so often such seminars are very long on "pop psychology" and very short on biblical truth. (By the way, I do believe there is one exception: "self-esteem." This topic is very unbiblical and should not be a part of Christian teaching. Click here for an article on self-esteem by James M. Bramblet.)

 

In all of this positivism, there is often a de-emphasis on the reality of sin, which is the cause of all the problems in the first place. Sin is real and needs to be dealt with. We have locks on our doors because of sin. We have laws because of sin. We have corruption in government because of sin. We have police departments and the military because of sin. We have the U.N. because of sin. The U.N. does not and cannot work because of sin. People are condemned before a Holy God because of sin. Sin is the issue that brings everything down, and that fact is ignored by the culture, and sadly, by much of the church also.

 

Sin cannot be ignored. Believers need to be reminded of the terrible state from which we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and our response ought to be, "I will praise Him." Unbelievers need to be warned of the terrible results of sin and the necessity of coming to Christ as the only remedy for that sin. Churches that want to emphasize "the positive" and ignore "the negative" are doing a great disservice and really have no function of any eternal value. No matter how much a person’s life is improved here on this earth, it means nothing if the reality of sin and its consequences are ignored. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mark 8:36, NKJV).

 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

 

All of this points to the necessity for believers to find and attend a church that stands firm on the Word of God instead of on the wisdom of men. If you live in or near Colorado Springs, you are invited to Grace Bible Church. If you are looking for a church that is thoroughly biblical, you will not be disappointed.

In Memory of James M. Bramblet

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15).

 

On December 1, 1988, the day Dr. J. Vernon McGee died, my wife Janet’s late husband, Ken Bonebright, came home and said to her, “A great man died today, and the world never even noticed.” The same could be said now about the death of my father-in-law, James M. Bramblet, on Saturday, January 25.

 

Jim Bramblet was not as well-known as Dr. McGee, but he was a great man and great servant of the Lord in his own right. He was a pioneer in the Christian school movement of the second half of the 20^th Century. Even though I had heard of him before I met and married his daughter Janet in August of 2003, I had no idea what a great man of God and a giant among Christian school educators he truly was. It has been my privilege and blessing to get to know him and benefit from his insight and wisdom. He is one of my heroes in ministry.

 

Janet had the privilege of helping take care of her mother in Tacoma, Washington for the final week of her life before she went to be with the Lord on October 4. We had her dad living with us here in Colorado Springs for the final three months of his life. He would have been 90 years old in March. We are planning a memorial service for him in early March in Tacoma.

 

During his more than 40 years as a Christian school educator, Jim Bramblet started a number of schools in Oregon, Washington, and California. He also taught in the state of Idaho. In addition to his work in Christian schools, he was also an interim pastor for a while.

 

During his college years, he began to understand the difference between secular education and truly Christian education. He said, “I had taken a course on the philosophy of education at the University of Idaho and realized it was all wrong … that it was not Christian. I began, from then on, to change my way of teaching so that it was definitely Christian rather than secular. … as far as I’m concerned, Christian schools are there to help parents educate their children.”

 

“Scripture makes if very clear that God created everything. In other words, all truth, then, is God’s truth. If it’s not God’s truth, it’s not truth. So then we need to realize that mathematics is not a secular subject, English is not a secular subject. History is not a secular subject. Even physical education is not a secular subject. Our God has created us in every aspect of our lives, and this too needs to be passed on to our children in every subject. This doesn’t mean that if we are teaching them mathematics, that every lesson is all about God. But they need to understand that God created mathematics. That he gave the truth about mathematics to us, and as they work these problems, they need to know that they are thinking God’s thoughts after Him. If they make a mistake, then they’re not thinking God’s thoughts. God stands for truth, and they need to try to strive to find the correct answer. And they need to understand that they’re dealing with things of God, because when God created the universe, He did it mathematically. Scientists who study the universe have to know mathematics. God created the universe after a mathematical formula. It’s very easy to demonstrate that, and the students studying math need to understand that so that when they come out of math class, they should have confidence that they’ve been studying the truth of God. It’s the same thing when they come out of their science class. They’ve been studying the things that God has created, and there should be rejoicing over all the wonderful things that He has made. … If it is taught correctly … they will appreciate knowing that they are not just studying dull old subjects, but that they’re studying the truth of God.”

 

These are just a few of his responses in an interview I did with him several years ago. You can read the entire interview here.

 

Jim Bramblet has gone on to be with the Lord and with his beloved Vivian. His impact on so many children and young people over the years will pay eternal dividends. We can be sure the Lord’s words to him are, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

 

 

To read articles by James M. Bramblet, click here.

Labor Day IBC interview‏

Pastor and International Bible Conference founder, Jeff Anderson, describes what drives his life and ministry.

Check out the short videos here, here, and here.

If you are ever in Colorado Springs, come and visit us at Grace Bible Church and hear some Bible-based, sound preaching by Pastor Jeff Anderson.

Pastor Jeff Anderson preaches Titus 1:10-16

Pastor Jeff Anderson from Grace Bible Church in Colorado Springs preaching in chapel at The Master's Seminary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYlt7KutW2U&list=FLcIy5pr74spnT1fbrl-2Kfw&index=1

 

A New and Living Way

It seems that our pastor gives me so much great material for blog posts that I do not need to come up with very many of my own. He is fearless in his proclamation of the Word of God, and he is a great blessing to the people of Grace Bible Church. The following is excerpted from his sermon, "A New and Living Way," based on Hebrews 9:19-25, which he preached on Sunday evening, 11/11/12.

 

...I'm thrilled tonight to have as many young people as we have here because you young people all need to understand that this is not Sunday school games. This is not a bunch of entertainment, fun and games, and a joke.

 

The problem with the American church is we've made the American church all about entertainment and market-driven, and we try to win people in and woo them in by entertaining them. We start getting them on jumping jamborees when they turn two years old. Soon they're in fifth grade and there's more entertainment. Soon they're in high school where there's nothing but rock and roll music and dances and hollering and whooping and rejoicing and entertainment, and then soon they turn eighteen and they find out the world is a whole lot more entertaining than the church. And 90% ... 90% of young people who are growing up in churches today are abandoning the faith. And perhaps they're abandoning the faith because no one is willing to stand and tell them that if they reject the Lord Jesus Christ and do not come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, if they reject and turn away from Him, there is nothing for them except for fearful judgment, and that is eternal judgment in hell.

 

And you young people need to understand that at Grace Bible Church we're not playing games with you. We're not manipulating you. We're not doing everything we can to somehow woo you in and get you to be members simply because we want you to be here.

 

We want you to know that we want to teach the Scriptures because Jesus Christ is a great Savior, and He provides a wonderful salvation, and if you turn from Him and if you turn from His salvation, there's nothing for you but fearful judgment for all eternity, and that is a burning, literal hell that Jesus Christ knew so much about that He left heaven to come to this earth and deliver you from that hell.

 

You must, you must believe in Jesus Christ. And it's not just the children that are here. It's also the adults ... this great Savior Jesus is someone to believe in, someone to be trusted, someone to give our life and soul to ... It's a fearful thing, fearful thing, to fall into the hands of the living God.

 

... It is high time for the American church to get serious about this warning.

No Stinking Gimmicks, Part 2

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post entitled "No Stinking Gimmicks," which referenced a sermon by our pastor. He recently hit some of the very same points as he has continued through the book of Acts. Even though he did not use the words "stinking gimmicks" in this sermon, he nevertheless very strongly reinforced what he said in the previous one. He emphasized repeatedly the tremendous truth that it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not our human efforts and cleverness that brings sinners to salvation.

Following are a number of direct quotes:

... Jesus is the one who who was raised up from the dead and is now ascended ... Jesus died, He was buried, and He rose again, and this is the simplicity of the Gospel message. He died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again, and all of that is according to the Scriptures ... it is that simple message.

Now friends, there's nothing innovative, there's nothing new, there's nothing fresh, there's nothing hip, there's no better way we can proclaim it. We simply proclaim this message. Now God has given to us a message that transcends culture, transcends time, transcends language. This is the message of Jesus:  His death, His burial, His resurrection. It is not an American message that we take to the ends of the earth. It is God's message that we simply proclaim.

...I get so tired of all these new-fangled theologians, new-fangled seminaries, new-fangled missiologists, who think that they have figured out how we're going to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and come up with some new, innovative, fresh ideas ... Baloney! Jesus Christ dead, buried, and risen again is the only hope for people to come to salvation and eternal life, and it's this message that saves people from their sins. This helps and encourages me, because it's not my innovation, my fresh ideas, my creativity. It's not even by my power or by my passion. It's by the message of Jesus Christ that people get saved.

... We don't have to come up with some new way to do church so that we can have young people and the next generation ... All around me I have people who are saying, "If we don't change the way we're doing things, we're going to lose the coming generation." BALONEY! You reach that generation by preaching Jesus dead, buried and risen again. He is the message of our hope!

...It doesn't matter how old you are, how young you are, what culture you are from. It doesn't matter what language you speak. It's not about our innovation and creativity. It's about the message of Jesus who died, was buried, and He rose again. Jesus is the one who saves people from their sin.

Based on this wonderful, glorious message, the message that we go and proclaim ... Forgiveness has always been by grace ... Justification has always been by faith ... None of the law can justify you ...

... There is no way we can innovate, create, improve. There is nothing we can do to enhance and make the message better ... it is a sufficient message right now just the way it is.

... I have been direct and honest with you, and I have told you that Grace Bible Church is not ever going to be the hippest, coolest place in town. Matter of fact, we are so unhip and uncool that I am doing everything I can to hide any kind of technology ... If you can come into this sanctuary and not find a big screen ... if you have to look around and ask yourself, "Where is that projection coming from?" then I've accomplished my purpose, because I don't want to be the hippest, coolest place in town with all the new-fangled things and contraptions ... I'm not trying to be hip and cool, and I'm not trying to be innovative, and I'm not trying to think, "Hey, if we want to reach the college students, we've got to do something cool. Let's draw them in. Take off my tie." NO!...

This place is about one thing - faithfulness to the message God has granted to us, because this message is the only message that can turn people from darkness to light ... As boring as we are, we simply want to be faithful ... We just proclaim Jesus dead, buried, risen.

I praise the Lord for giving our church a pastor who is true to the Word of God and who gives God all the glory. If you are ever in Colorado Springs, come and visit Grace Bible Church. You won't be disappointed.

No Stinking Gimmicks

Our pastor recently preached a sermon entitled "The First Deacons." One of the many things I really appreciate about him is his continued emphasis on the priority of the Word of God. He has a practical, down-to-earth, extremely Biblical approach to preaching. His sermon emphasized the necessity of appointing those first deacons in order to insure that the apostles had ample time to dedicate to the Word of God and to prayer.

Everything we do as believers needs to be based on the Scriptures. Human effort falls so far short when compared to what we find in His Word. At one point, he addressed the many human inventions, and as he called them, "stinking gimmicks," that are so often used in an effort to bring people in to the church. If we are not careful, we can forget the truth of the statement that "what we win them with is what we will win them to." I once had a pastor remind me that the only healthy way for a church to grow is through the faithful preaching and teaching of the Word of God. To that, I can only say a hearty "amen."

Here are some direct quotes from the sermon:

"We're filled with so many stinking gimmicks ... they're all around us, these stinking gimmicks."

"Almost anywhere and everywhere we find stinking gimmicks to try and draw people in. They are everywhere ... trying to be relevant..."

"These people (the early Christians) didn't have any stinking gimmicks. They prayed and ministered the Word."

What more can I add to that?

You can hear the entire sermon at the following web address:

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=72312164078

Faithfulness

By My Anonymous Friend

This past week some friends of ours celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. It was a delight to join with family and friends to help celebrate this significant milestone in their lives.

Our friends served for some years as missionaries in Vietnam before being forced to leave in 1975. They shared many stories of their work there and how they survived the Tet offensive in 1968 and the final weeks before the war ended in 1975. Some readers may recall that several missionaries were killed during the war and our friends were involved in recovering the bodies and seeking to honor their lives with a dignified burial.

Such stories provide intrigue and fascinate a listener but in my view there is something infinitely more significant about the life and ministry of our friends. Their work did not end in 1975. For years and continuing into the present, they have continued to work in various ways in this SE Asian country. They have provided a voice for the persecuted church there. They continue to advocate for those who have no platform from which to speak. God continues to provide amazing opportunities to serve. In recent months positive contacts have been established with individuals in government service. Recently a television station there featured an interview with our friend. I could continue.

All this spells one thing!  F-A-I-T-H-F-U-L-N-E-S-S. What a tribute to be able to say about a person that after 50 years of marriage he or she has been faithful in their service to their Lord!  I have a conviction that their work is not yet complete and that perhaps even greater ministry opportunities await them. This we simply entrust to the sovereign will and plan of God.

Scripture says that of a steward it is required that he be faithful. Our friends have been faithful for sure. They have several children who currently live abroad who are continuing in the pattern created by their parents. Thus their work will continue through their children even after their time on this earth is completed. I celebrate and rejoice.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ whom you are serving”  (Colossians 3:23-24).

I share this with you today to encourage you to be faithful and to serve day by day in the spirit of Paul's admonition to the Colossian church. Perhaps like our friends, you are serving in a way or in a place where you receive little recognition from others. Do not let this discourage you.

Follow-up to "Character Matters"

by My Anonymous Friend

Last week I received more emails in response to last Sunday's writing on character issues than any I have received previously. I find this very interesting. … One person shared an interesting story confirming my comments about people in ministry expecting or demanding preferential treatment. This person told how a musical group insisted on traveling first class by aircraft and insisted on certain kinds of food to be delivered to their luxury hotel rooms. So sad to read these kinds of stories.

All week I have been thinking about why this email appeared to generate more interest than others I have written. My conclusion is that you long for authenticity and genuine humility as much as I do. Since my writings each week are read by people in various continents of the world, I very rarely ever write about political issues that may be of interest to me but not to those in other parts of the world. However, the matter of character most certainly applies in this realm of our society as well. I find that I tend to let the words of politicians go "in and out of my ear." I realize I am "painting with a broad brush" and that there are of course sincere, committed, public servants who stand on principle and core values. I know such people as well and I am grateful for them. But, others campaign and say one thing. Once elected, they often demonstrate something entirely different. I pay little attention to what they say. I can confess to you that when I hear some politicians on TV, I either switch stations or hit the "mute" button. I try to pay a lot of attention to what they do however. That shows me what they really believe regardless of what they might say. I have heard people say over the years that they would rather see a sermon lived than to hear one. I think this is the same principle but in the church context not in the political arena.

All this supports perfectly the concept that Jesus expressed when He said that people would know we are Christians by our love! Once a man said to me, "I am not religious, but if I ever decided to be, I would join......! (certain cult). They at least take care of people." I was saddened to hear him mention a cultic group. Why did he not say that about the church or group with which I identify? Maybe he saw us fighting and squabbling too much and about peripherals no less. I wonder?

I have long liked the thoughts recorded in 1 Corinthians 8:1. Paul writes that knowledge makes arrogant but love builds up. I am ashamed when I think of welcoming cultists into my home at times and then trying to argue them into my way of seeing things. I doubt whether they saw much of a Christ-like spirit in me. I also doubt seriously that they were drawn to explore the truths of Christianity because of my persuasive arguments. Once after a cultist expounded to me all the things that the Bible teaches in its original languages, I handed my Greek New Testament to him and asked him to show me from that text what he was talking about. Of course he did not know the Greek alphabet much less any of its vocabulary. All I probably did was embarrass him in front of people he was mentoring in his beliefs. I felt like a proud peacock with my "superior" knowledge, but in truth I was a stupid Pharisee for doing what I did. I never do that anymore but instead try to have some literature of my own to give them in exchange for what they wish to give me. Rarely do they accept it but that is their choice. I receive what they have to give me and thank them for making the effort. I then hope for an opportunity to also tell them just a bit more about who Jesus really is, for example.

So, I am glad that many of us think the same way here. Let us pray that we will live our lives in such a way that people may be drawn to God and seek to glorify Him.

Character Matters

by My Anonymous Friend

A few days ago I met with a pastor friend for whose church I have done some work this year. He comes from a very different tradition. In a number of ways his political views are much more liberal than mine. Theologically we are fairly close although our church tradition, polity, and so on, are very different. It has been a fascinating journey for me to develop a friendship with this person. Two days ago my wife and I were invited to join my friend and his wife for a concert. It was a wonderful evening and a good step in the formation of a new friendship for us as couples.

This pastor has endured some unfair treatment from a segment of his church parish. They have slandered him and said very troubling things about him. His reactions have reminded me of what Scripture says about Jesus....."when He was reviled, He reviled not again!" My friend has been very gracious and has been careful not to speak ill of his detractors. When we drove into the church parking lot for the concert, I happened to notice that his car was parked in the very last parking place the farthest away from the church. They were expecting a large crowd and he was thinking of others. This in itself is not a particularly important matter but it is an indication of what sort of man he is. I was touched by this simple expression of charity and concern for others. I have seen the opposite as well where clergy have insisted they have a special parking spot reserved for them as near to the doors of the church as possible.

So why do I mention all this?

As I get older I believe more and more that character is what is most important in a person. I have seen many things over the years and find myself now less and less impressed with persons who are eloquent, flamboyant leaders, prolific authors, in demand speakers at conferences and seminars, and so on. I believe our society honors the wrong things at times. We measure the greatness or value of persons by the size of their parish if they are members of the clergy, by the number of employees, or the annual earnings if they are in business, or by the size of their homes or by the number and type of cars they own. I am less and less interested in these sorts of things. I have found that sometimes these sorts of people are narcissistic, self centered, ungrateful, demanding, and difficult to deal with. I recall a visiting musician/speaker, well known in our area, who was determined to tell me, the pastor of the church where he had been invited to preach, how the service would be conducted. I also recall a well known conference speaker refusing to ride in a certain car to the airport because he really thought he should have a limousine at his service. I was shocked when I observed this personally.

I want to be with people who truly are committed to serving others. I want to be with people who have learned to yield their rights instead of demanding that their rights be granted to them. I sometimes wonder just how God will deal with rewards in heaven. I am guessing some of us might be surprised. Those who were greatly revered and honored here on earth may possibly not be so regarded in heaven. Those who served without notoriety and fame here on earth may perhaps be greatly honored in heaven. I really do not know how all this will work, but I do know that God values faithfulness. In the parable of the talents, the "2-talent" man and the "5-talent" man both received precisely the same kind of affirmation and commendation from the master. Only the man who did nothing with his "talent" received a rebuke. So that is a clue to me.

What do you think? I want to live out my years as a faithful person. I want to be gracious and generous in dealing with people. I hope they see a little of Jesus in me when they observe me. I wish that for you too.

What is Worship?

The term “worship” is used, abused, and misused in the 21^st century church. Many churches have a “worship center,” a “worship leader,” a “worship team,” a “worship time,” and some even have a "worship pastor." Of course, all of this implies that there is a specific time, place, and schedule for “worship.”

All too often, the term “worship” is made synonymous with “music,” which would imply that the scheduled music time in a church service is the time of worship, thereby lessening the importance of the other parts of the service, such as preaching and teaching of the Word. In reality, everything we do as believers, both in and out of the church building, can be worship. We can worship God through our faithful attendance at church, through prayer, through the study of His Word, through making announcements, through giving, through music, through doing our jobs in a Christ-like manner, through how we treat others, etc.

Music can certainly be an important part of worship, but it is not all of worship. This being the case, we really ought to rename the “worship team” and call it the “music team,” and we ought to rename the “worship leader” and call him the “music leader.” This would get rid of the idea that music is the only part of our church services that is actually worship and all the other parts take a back seat.

We should also be aware of the fact that music is the source of more false doctrine than just about anything a church does. Many songs that sound good and feel good may not square with God’s revealed truth in His Word. It would do us well to be careful what music we use, whether traditional or contemporary, to insure that it is doctrinally sound.

Much of the practice of “worship” seems to be defined by a warm fuzzy emotional experience rather than by a biblical definition of what worship really is. However, it is clear from the Scriptures that truth always wins out over experience and that emotional reactions have nothing to do with truth. The best way to avoid false or weak worship is to look to the Scriptures for our definitions and our instructions.

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2, NASB).

This Scripture from Romans says nothing about an experience or emotion as part of our worship, and it likewise says nothing about singing praises. However, it does say something very profound about presenting ourselves to God, being transformed into what He wants us to be, and living a life of obedience to Him, doing His will, thereby fulfilling our “spiritual service of worship.” Based on this and other passages, it is far more accurate to describe worship as “obedience to God’s will” rather than to equate it solely with music.

Sandy Simpson says it very well, as follows: “In many churches around the world the concept of ‘worship’ has been redefined and narrowed to mean the time when Christians come together to sing songs, raise their hands, dance around, and get all excited about the Lord together in church. For most of the younger postmodernist relativistic generation the concept of ‘worship’ has become a thing you do once or twice a week to absolve yourself of guilt. The more you can work yourself into a state of bliss in feeling like you are really achieving a state of ‘worship’ by letting yourself go in the music and rhythm of the ‘worship’ time, the more you can justify what you are doing the rest of the week when you are not ‘worshipping’ God. This ‘worship’ then becomes an excuse and justification process whereby Christians can rid themselves of the guilt of not obeying the Lord in their lives. This is not to say that true worship is not done in the time now called ‘worship.’ It can be a time of worship, but worship without obedience is not worship at all."

(http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/biblicalworship.html)

The Nelson New Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines worship as “reverent devotion and allegiance pledged to God.” Obviously, one of the most important ways to express our praise and love for God is to obey Him. All outward expressions of worship become meaningless without true submission and obedience to the one we call “Lord.” Jesus expressed this very clearly – “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15, NASB).

Samuel expressed this in no uncertain terms to King Saul after Saul offered a lame excuse for his disobedience. His excuse for disobeying the Lord was so that he could allegedly worship the Lord by offering sacrifices of the cattle and sheep he took from the Amalekites, even though God had ordered these cattle and sheep to be destroyed.

“Samuel said, ‘Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king’" (I Samuel 15:22-23, NASB).

Saul's disobedience showed that he did not trust God enough to obey Him fully. Saul thought he could do things his own way and impress God with religious acts of worship. Such things do not impress God. Rather, He wants to see our demonstrations of love and trust for Him through obedience. Only then will our outward acts of praise and worship be acceptable to Him.

Christian Schools With God Supreme

by James M. Bramblet

In chapter two it was indicated that Christian education is not curriculum-centered, child-centered, or society-centered, but that it is God-centered. The reason for this is that God is central to all things. We have seen that God is central to the created material world because it was made to “declare the glory of God” and to “show His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). We have seen that God is central to mankind because He is the original to which we have been created images. But the Bible says, “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things” (Rom. 11:36). Our finite minds cannot grasp all things but in this chapter we will try to bring together as many things as we can. We will show that God is central to all, God is supreme and in authority over all, and the glory of God is revealed by all (Rom. 11:36b).

When we talk about God being supreme, we are talking about the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we say that our Christian education is Christ-centered, we mean the same as when we say that it is God-centered. The first verse in the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In the New Testament we read concerning Christ:

“For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers—all things were created by Him and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist” (Col. 1:16-17).

The Person and work of the three Persons of the Trinity are so intertwined that it is not easy for us to separate them. Christ says, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). He said to Philip, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). From other Scriptures we know He did not mean that He and the Father were the same person but, rather, that since He was the “express image” of God, to see Him was to see the Father. Christ is the “Word” or the member of the Godhead which expresses the nature of God. Paul taught this same truth when he said:

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (II Cor. 4:6).

We can only know God if we know Jesus Christ. To be godly is to be Christ-like. Since Christ is God, “Christ-centered” is the same as “God-centered.” When we say that God is supreme, we mean that Christ is supreme. That Christ is supreme is clearly stated in Col.1:18-19: “That in all things He might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.”

We will consider the supremacy and centrality of God in the following five areas: 1) God’s Word, the Bible, 2) The material world, 3) The nonmaterial world, 4) The world of sin and evil, and 5) The spiritual world.


Excerpted from Chapter 4 of An Introduction to the Christian School by James M. Bramblet, Copyright © 1985 by James M. Bramblet.

Christian Teaching: A Spiritual Ministry

by James M. Bramblet

Some Christians view the work of a Christian school teacher, principal or other Christian school worker as somehow less spiritually demanding than that of a pastor, missionary or evangelist. Perhaps this notion comes from comparing Christian school teachers to public school teachers where the work is purely scholastic and secular and does not include a spiritual dimension.

This idea is far from the truth. If there are Christians who want to be in full-time Christian work but do not consider themselves spiritually minded enough to work in a church or on a mission field, they should not think of Christian school work as a less spiritually-demanding field. Satan is attacking Christian schools and Christian school workers as much as or perhaps more than he does churches and church workers.

It is not easy to maintain Christian standards in a Christian school. Because of the proximity of public schools, there is constant pressure to allow unchristian and even antichristian activities that are taking place in public schools to be brought over by students, parents and even former public school teachers into the Christian school. In spite of careful screening, there are always a few students in Christian schools who still think of school as a place to escape their Christian home and church and satisfy their fleshly desires.

This means that Christian school workers need to be men and women of prayer, dedication and Bible knowledge or they will be overwhelmed by the pressure to secularize that is always present in a Christian school situation. The work of teaching is demanding and time consuming in any school, and the spiritual demands in a Christian school are added to that load.

For this reason, teachers who have only secular training or who are of mediocre spiritual caliber are not suited for Christian school work. This is why the training and screening of Christian school teachers is so important. Christian school teachers can no more be trained in a secular college than can pastors or missionaries be trained in such a college. (Emphasis added.)

Christian school teacher candidates not only need to learn what to teach and how to teach it, but as the Apostle Paul said, they also need to, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:11-13)

Words of Wisdom for God’s Servants

Keep about your work that God has given you. Do not flinch because the lion roars; do not fool away your time chasing the devil's rabbits. Do your work. Let liars lie, let corporations resolve, let the devil do his worst; but see to it that nothing hinders you from fulfilling the work that God has given you.

He has not commanded you to get rich. He has never bidden you defend your character. He has not set you at work to contradict falsehood about yourself which Satan and his servants may start to peddle. If you do those things, you will do nothing else; you will be at work for yourself and not for the Lord.

Keep at your work. Let your aim be as steady as a star. You may be assaulted, wronged, insulted, slandered, wounded, and rejected; you may be abused by foes, forsaken by friends, and despised and rejected of men. But see to it with steadfast determination, with unfaltering zeal, that you pursue the great purpose of your life and object of your being until at last you can say, "I have finished the work which You gave me to do." (Author unknown)

"For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10, NASB)

"Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." (John Wooden)