The Party of Murder

“The thief comes to kill.” In 2024, after many public personalities called for murder against Donald Trump, he was shot. Yesterday, Charlie Kirk was murdered. These men were attacked because they support America and see more good in her than bad.

A clear divide shows itself. On one side are those who share these marks:

  1. Viewing America as a leader in evil, injustice, and oppression
  2. Opposition to or even hatred for Donald Trump
  3. Opposition to Israel or serious doubt about her actions since October 2023
  4. Support or sympathy for the sin of denying the sex God gave
  5. Minor concern about the growth of Islam in America and Europe
  6. Concern about racism from whites against blacks in America
  7. Critical attitude toward the dangers of capitalism

This describes today’s Democrat party in the USA. They are on one side of this debate. Democrats support transgenderism which sent a man to murder children in a Catholic school in Minneapolis in August. Another from this same unnatural group shot up children shot children in a school in Nashville in 2023, and another in 2022, and 2019. One political party supported the perversion that opened the door for the demons. Are we surprised that when a man turns from God in the most basic areas, he begins acting like the devil who comes to kill?

One side of the chasm and all its supporters in the movie industry, media world, and academic fortresses supported race riots, freeing violent criminals, and reduced sentences for crime. The murder of the white Ukrainian in Charlotte in August by a released violent criminal who openly shouted that he was trying to kill white people was enabled by the Democrat party. This party talks about racism, but their talk is subterfuge for more lawlessness in society.

These are the ones who want to dilute America’s culture by a steady stream of migrants from cultures who do not share a Judeo-Christian heritage. And these are the ones who love abortion, write laws that crush small businesses, and see churches as a threat.

America is under attack because the strongest presentation of Christianity anywhere in the world in the 21st century is in the USA. More Biblical churches are in the US than any other country in the world by far. More missionaries hold US passports than any other sending nation in the world by far. More money goes to planting churches and other righteous causes from the US than any country in the world.

The USA does this because it has been influenced so heavily by the Bible and the preaching that says, “Ye must be born again.” With all her sins, America has a more Christian culture than any place in the world.

And the demons know this so they are eager to attack. Charlie Kirk’s murder reminds us that there are only two sides, and any who calls himself a Christian must stand on Kirk’s side. Not only in doctrine since Kirk was a Protestant and believed in salvation through Christ alone by faith alone revealed in the Bible alone, but in the temporal matters that he so clearly promoted. God is using America. Marriage and children should be a man’s goal. Israel deserves our support. Freedom makes businesses and wealth grow better than the government. Kids growing up without fathers is a far bigger problem for blacks than racism.

Christians around the world must get as far away from the party of murder and its evil marks. “Come out from among her that you receive not of her plagues for her sins have reached to Heaven.” African Christians should love America like Kirk did because the only other option is to look like the murderers.

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Pride in Missionaries

When the Lord said, “Go into all the world and make disciples,” He began the most complex industry in the history of the world. It is a call that is exhausting, terrifying, confrontational, demanding, and humbling.

Who can go? Only those who have met the 16 qualifications in 1 Timothy 3. They must be men of God. Further, there is commonly a personality trait that could be called individualistic because they are willing to leave their familiar structures and move to the unknown. Or from another perspective, we could call that trait boldness because they are willing to come into other peoples’ circles and try to change them. Without this Christian grace for which Paul told the Ephesians to pray for on behalf of missionaries (Eph. 6:19), men either will not go, or they will struggle and return to their home culture.

So a missionary must be a man of character with real strength and grit—a Petrine lion.

And to whom does this man go? He goes to people whom Peter says are deceived by the useless lifestyle of their ancestors (1 Pet. 1:18). They are bound in habits of lying and laziness. Their minds and consciences are defiled (Titus 1:12 and 15). So demonic are their ways, that even wearing clothing was too much grace for many of them. What kind of mud must a man be in if he must be told from the outside how to write his name?

The word civilized was defined during the eras of European exploration as 1. Having a written language, 2. Musical notation, and 3. Buildings that reached above a single story. When men come from societies with those three marks and also numerous churches, schools, and industries, and arrive in societies that lack those marks, their arrival produced and still produces a dramatic shock for both sides.

Now the missionary must be a man of character, so he must in a vital way be a moral example. He must be in that sense, superior or above as a teacher is above the student. How profitable would a Brazilian missionary be were he to arrive in Japan if he were not in the most important, spiritual way above the lost Japanese? If a Philippine Christian went to plant churches in Iraq and yet his wisdom, morals, lifestyle, and marriage were below or even at the same level as those to whom he came, what good could he do?

It was said of William Carey in his old age by a new missionary wife who had just met him that he was the most humble man alive and that everyone knew it except Dr. Carey himself.

This morning I read from Thomas A Kempis,

Thou has nothing of which thou canst glory, but many things for which thou oughtest to account thyself vile; for thou art much weaker than thou art able to comprehend. …

Let thy own extreme unworthiness be always displeasing to thee. Fear nothing, blame nothing, flee nothing, so much as thy faults and sins.

One of the preachers most used by God in America’s history, Asahel Nettleton was recorded by his closest friend as weeping often from an overwhelming sense of his own vileness.

Are missionaries not unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10)? Are we too not dogs who have scrabbled after the crumbs mercifully allowed us (Matt. 15:26-27)? Are the heathen sold under sin (Rom. 7:14), but not us because of our passports? Are we above King David who called himself a dead dog (1 Sam. 24:14) and a worm (Ps. 22:6)? Is the Apostle Paul the chief of sinners because of his pre conversion life, but we are the chief of saints?

Many of the religious bodies that style themselves churches in Africa began generations ago by splitting from churches started by missionaries. I wonder if some of those splits could have been avoided had the missionaries been as much experts in humility as they were in linguistics.

Should new converts have a greater degree of humility and abasement for the vile condition in which they were not only found, but which they were actively supporting? Of course, they should. But maybe we missionaries would make disciples in humility more efficiently by clearer examples for new believers to follow.

Who can balance this matter? Before we cast stones at the missionary, try his role for a few years, or better, a few decades. It may be easier to critique than surpass. Leave your home, pull a language out of the air, raise your children without any relatives around, and keep a strong marriage with the added temptations of an unreached society hammering on your weaker vessel.

But the best missionaries simply want their new nation to be all for Christ. Have we paid for plane tickets, but the price of humility is too steep? Can we pass out tracts, but not start the day with confession? Should we review grammar, but not the Biblical descriptions of who we are as sinners? Can we have any hope that the Spirit of God will come to us with life and power while our old man still lives and his stench drives the lost away?

What souls might come to the Savior from a man who has no rights but plenty of love? What levels might our disciples reach were we at those levels giving them a hand up? What is more persuasive than humility and love?

“Father, do Thou perform in me the heart work that will make me glad to be a spiritual beggar—stepped on, neglected, used, or forgotten—if only Thy sheep will hear that voice through some of my weak efforts. I would that my mind not forget so quickly the greatness of my sins and guilt against so much light as I was born into and yet which these dear people had not the grace to receive until just recently. Drain from us the septic self and fill us with that Spirit who is content that only the Son would be known.”

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Revival Prophecies

At least 14 books of the Old Testament promise a remarkable change in the world. Though now the gate is narrow, persecution is promised to the little flock of believers, and few are chosen, the OT promises that a revival is coming.

This revival is complex, but there are 4 positive elements commonly repeated in the prophecies.

  • Israel will be saved. This country will believe in Jehovah. He will be their God, and they will be His people.
  • The nations will be saved. A day is coming when the earth will be full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
  • Israel will be prosperous. The country will have successful harvests, safe houses, happy families, and respect from the world.
  • The nations will be prosperous. Not only Israel, but all nations will be wealthy and safe.

These messages are found in 92 prophecies which employ some of the most striking metaphors and pictures in the Bible.

TextAll Israel will be saved.All the nations will be saved.Israel will prosper.All the nations will prosper.
Ps. 2:8-9 X  
Ps. 14:7X   
Ps. 22:23, 27-28XX  
Ps. 37:9, 11, etc.  XX
Ps. 45:16-17XX  
Ps. 46:9-10 X X
Ps. 47:2-3 X X
Ps. 53:6X   
Ps. 67:4 X X
Ps. 72:8-11 X  
Ps. 86:9 X  
Ps. 96:13   X
Ps. 98:9   X
Ps. 102:13-16 XX 
Ps. 138:4-5 X  
Is. 2:2-4XXXX
Is. 2:17-18 X  
Is. 10:20-22X   
Is. 11:4-12 XXX
Is. 14:1-2X X 
Is. 19:21 X  
Is. 27:6, 13 XX 
Is. 30:23-26  X 
Is. 31:7X   
Is. 32:18  X 
Is. 33:20-24X X 
Is. 41:16X   
Is. 43:1, 5, 6X X 
Is. 44:21-22X   
Is. 45:17, 22-25XX  
Is. 49:22-23, 26X X 
Is. 51:5 X  
Is. 52:9-10XX
Is. 54:2-3 X  
Is. 54:13-14X X 
Is. 60:1-22XXX 
Is. 61:1-11XXX 
Is. 62:1-12X X 
Is. 65:18-25X X 
Is. 66:12-24XXX 
Jer. 3:16-18X X 
Jer. 12:14-15X   
Jer. 15:19-20X   
Jer 16:14-16X   
Jer. 23:3-8X X 
Jer. 24:6-7X X 
Jer. 29:13-14X X 
Jer. 30:3-21X X 
Jer. 31:1-37X X 
Jer. 32:37-44X X 
Jer. 33:6-26X X 
Jer. 46:27-28X   
Jer. 50:4-5X   
Jer. 50:20X   
Eze. 11:17-20X   
Eze. 14:11X   
Eze. 16:60-63X   
Eze. 20:40-44X   
Eze. 28:25-26X X 
Eze. 29:21X   
Eze. 34:22-30X X 
Eze. 36:8-11X X 
Eze. 36:23-38X X 
Eze. 37:21-28X X 
Eze. 38:14-23 XX 
Eze. 39:21-29X X 
Dan. 7:14, 18, 22, 27 X  
Hos. 1:10X   
Hos. 2:14-20X X 
Hos. 3:5X   
Hos. 14:4-8X X 
Joel 2:23-27X X 
Joel 3:16-18X X 
Amos 9:11-15X X 
Oba. 17-21X X 
Mic. 4:1-13XXXX
Mic. 5:2-5XX  
Mic. 7:18-20X   
Nah. 1:15  X 
Hab. 2:14XXXX
Hab. 3:3-16X   
Zeph. 2:11 X  
Zeph. 3:9-20X X 
Zech. 2:4-5, 10-12XXX 
Zech. 8:2-23XXX 
Zech. 9:10, 15-17XXX 
Zech. 10:6X X 
Zech. 12:4-12X X 
Zech. 13:2-4, 9X   
Zech. 14:9-21XXXX
Mal. 1:11 X  
Mal. 3:12XXX 

Observations

  1. Many times, God promises that He will not forsake Israel, but that He will regather them to the land of their fathers.
  2. A complete conversion of the nation of Israel to the one, true God is promised repeatedly.
  3. A complete conversion of the nations of the world to the one, true God is promised repeatedly.
  4. The metaphors and terms of these prophecies overwhelm the imagination with thoughts of a Christian world—like the waters cover the sea, to the ends of the earth, change weapons to business tools, all the kings of the earth, all nations, all the ends of the earth, all families, etc.
  5. A universal prosperity where Israel is not threatened, there is no war in the earth, wild animals are no longer wild, and harvests are abundant is promised repeatedly in the OT, but not as often as the promises of conversion.
  6. This age of prosperity is commonly called “in that day” or “the day of the Lord.”
  7. Before this Golden Age, before Israel’s revival, there will be terrible judgment called “the time of Jacob’s trouble” in which many will die both of the Jews and the nations (Jer. 25:29-33; 30:5-6; Dan. 12:1, et. al.).
  8. During this Golden Age, there will still be sin and death in the world (Zech. 13:3; 14:17; Is. 65:20; Ez. 11:21; 47:10).
  9. The feasts, death penalties, and sacrifices of the Law of Moses are found in this time (Is. 19:21; Jer. 33:18; Zech. 13:3; 14:16; Mal. 1:11, et. al.).
  10. 14 of the 16 OT prophets and numerous psalms record Golden Age prophecies making this theme the most commonly inspired prophecy in the OT.
  11. 8 of the 16 OT prophets end their books with clear statements about hope in the Golden Age—Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah.
  12. The descendants of Abraham are contrasted with the nations by at least 8 specific, historic, ethnic names : Jews, Israel, Judah, Jerusalem, Zion, house of Joseph, Ephraim, and my people.
  13. Specific names for other nations, cities, and geographical features are used commonly in the Golden Age prophecies: Moab, Ammon, Edom, Egypt, etc.
  14. The pattern of terrible judgment before amazing blessing (bitter before the sweet) sounds just like the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24-25, Mark 13, Luke 21), John’s Revelation, and the NT motif of suffering persecution before the Blessed Hope.
  15. Israel is first called in Genesis, then redeemed in Exodus, then judged terribly and at length for her vile sins in the prophets, and then finally regathered, converted, and made prosperous in the land of her fathers “in the day of the Lord.”
  16. 95% of the prophecies explicitly speak of spiritual revival either among Israel or the entire world.

Best Phrases for Prayer and Hope

  1. “May he also rule from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth.” Ps. 72:8
  2. “And let all kings bow down before him, All nations serve him.” Ps. 72:11
  3. All nations whom You have made shall come and worship…” Ps. 86:9
  4. “The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.” Is. 2:9
  5. “All mankind will come to bow down before Me.” Is. 65:23
  6. They will all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them.” Jer. 31:34
  7. “All the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him,” Zeph. 2:11
  8. Ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” Zech. 8:23
  9. “The Lord will be king over all the earth.” Zech. 14:9
  10. From the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations.” Mal. 1:11

Prophecies per book

  1. Psalms—15
  2. Isaiah—25
  3. Jeremiah—14
  4. Ezekiel—12
  5. Daniel—1
  6. Hosea—4
  7. Joel—2
  8. Amos—1
  9. Obadiah—1
  10. Micah—3
  11. Nahum—1
  12. Habakkuk—2
  13. Zephaniah—2
  14. Zechariah—7
  15. Malachi—2
    TOTAL—92

Conclusions

  1. The Holy Spirit wanted these themes to be not only declared, but emphasized.
  2. A great revival is coming to the nation of Israel and the entire world.
  3. The clarity and repetition of the words must be fulfilled on earth with Israel and the nations of the world. It is entirely foreign to the laws of language to see these prophecies happening now in our hearts, or in the churches around the world, or in the future in Heaven.
  4. The modern history of Israel since 1948 fits this revelation: the regathering has begun, but they are still hard and darkened.
  5. These truths should fill us with a grand, ultimate hope. We should expect these things to happen. Massive revivals are a Blessed Hope to which we should look eagerly.
  6. We should pray the exact phrases that are so hopeful and victorious.
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The Sacrament of the Sinner’s Prayer

Last night while driving home from evangelism, I picked up a 25-year old Venda man who needed a lift. He had a good job and education. After some conversation, I asked him if he attended church.

Venda man: Yes.

Seth: If a man came to your church and wanted to go to Heaven, what would your pastor tell him?

Venda man: My pastor would pray with him.

Seth: That is important, but is there anything else that your pastor would tell him?

Man: Like what?

Seth: OK, what if my friend Nyiko came to you and said, “I want to go to Heaven.” What would you tell him?

Man: He should pray.

Seth: Do you think you will go to Heaven?

Man: Yes.

Seth: How do you know?

Man [speaking in Venda]: Ndo dzhia “sinner’s prayer.” [Lit. I took the “sinner’s prayer.” Spoken sacramentally as if this action brought grace.]

Seth: What are you forgetting?

Man: I don’t understand you.

Seth: Today before we picked you up, we had already picked up 4 other different people and asked them the same question. 3 of the 4 said they were Christians, and they all gave answers similar to yours. But they all forgot this one great Thing. What did they forget? Now, I will tell you, but when I tell you, you will immediately say, ‘Oh, I knew that!’ But for some reason you didn’t think of it before I told you. If you can’t think of it before I told you, it means you are lost. You are in darkness. You are not born again. You are a goat.

Would you like one last chance? What did you forget? You forgot Christ, His Cross, His blood, His keeping the law, His praying for His people, His promise to come back on a white horse. You thought nothing of God’s Son. And this is proof that you are lost.

Man [surprised as he is about to get out of the vehicle]: Where is your church?

His line that he “took the sinner’s prayer” was instructive and sad. Though I am now hearing from time to time, “I received Jesus Christ,” my experience and conversations lead me to believe that most Tsongas and Vendas and Shonas trust some kind of sacrament to deliver grace to them like a sinner’s prayer and African traditional voodoo charms.

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Alcohol and Drink According to Charles Spurgeon

Do any pastors talk like this today? All the lines below are from Charles Spurgeon in 1869 and 1880, reprinted by the Banner of Truth in 2009 as Spurgeon’s Practical Wisdom.

From a slovenly, smoking, snuff-taking, beer-drinking parson may the church be delivered. page 19

Beer guzzled down as it is by many a working man is nothing better than brown ruin. Dull droning blockheads sit on the ale bench and wash out what little sense they ever had. 89

You young people who want to get on in the world must make a point of dropping your half-pints, and settle in your spirits that no spirits will ever settle in you. 115

The beerhouse is a bad friend. … Those who go to the public-house for happiness climb a tree to find fish. We might put all their wit in an eggshell, or they would never be such dupes as to hunt after comfort where it is no more to be found than a cow in a crow’s nest. 146

They say that drunkenness makes some men fools, some beasts, and some devils, but according to my mind it makes all men fools whatever else it does. … Certain neighbors of mine laugh at me for being a teetotaller, and I might well laugh at them for being drunk, only I feel more inclined to cry that they should be such fools. … We smile at a tipsy man, for he is a ridiculous creature, but when we see how he is ruined body and soul it is no joking matter. [This section is from one of two whole chapters devoted to attacking alcohol] 187

Could we not have a feast without the beer and the headaches? 199

I have tried to convince Joe Scroggs that it would be a fine thing for him to join the teetotallers. … Can nothing be done for such fools? Why not shorten the hours for dealing out drink? Why not shut up the public-houses on Sundays? If these people have not got sense enough to take care of themselves the law should protect them. 209

A man who drinks a glass or two, and goes now and then to the tap-room, is a horse with his bridle on, and stands a fair chance of being locked up in Sir John Barleycorn’s stables, and made to carry Madame Drink and her habit. … Nobody wants to keep a little measles or a slight degree of fever. We all want to be quite quit of disease; and so let us try to be rid of every evil habit. What wrong would it be right for us to stick to? Don’t let us tempt the devil to tempt us. If we give Satan an inch, he will take a mile. As long as we carry his halter he counts us among his nags. Off with the halter! May the grace of God set us wholly free. Does not Scripture say, ‘Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing’? 263

I cannot make out why so many working men spend their evenings at the public house, when their fireside would be so much better and cheaper too. There they sit, hour after hour, boozing and talking nonsense, and forgetting the dear good souls at home who are half-starved and weary with waiting for them. Their money goes into the publican’s till when it ought to make their wives and children comfortable; as for the beer they get, it is just so much fools’ milk to drown their wits in. Such fellows ought to be horse-whipped, and those who encourage them and live on their spendings deserve to feel the butt end of the whip. Those beershops are the curse of this country—no good can ever come of them, and the evil they do no tongue can tell; the publics were bad enough, but the beershops are a pest; I wish the man who made the law to open them had to keep all the families that they have brought to ruin. Beershops are the enemies of the home, and therefore the sooner their licenses are taken away the better; poor men don’t need such places, nor rich men either, they are all the worse and no better, like Tom Norton’s wife. Anything that hurts the home is a curse, and ought to be hunted down as gamekeepers do the vermin in the copses. 69

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Too Many Evangelicals Promote Alcohol

If a man walking after wind and falsehood had told lies and said, ‘I will speak out to you concerning wine and liquor,’ He would be spokesman to this people. Micah 2:11

The NLT paraphrases this verse accurately: Suppose a prophet full of lies would say to you, “I’ll preach to you the joys of wine and alcohol!” That’s just the kind of prophet you would like!

When a study shows that fewer Americans are drinking alcohol, how does the evangelical website Not the Bee respond? Did they say,

“Praise the Lord that fewer people will be ‘confused by wine’ as Isaiah 28:7 warns.”

“We are glad that Americans are no longer ‘looking on wine when it is red’ since Solomon told us this 3,000 years ago in Proverbs 23:31.”

“We have long prayed that there would be no ‘spot or wrinkle or any such thing’ in the church, so it pleases us to see the only possible path toward the dreadful sin of drunkenness which can bar a man from Heaven, yes, even that single, deadly road is now slightly constricting.”

No, the editor of this website thought it would be better to put a cool, manly picture at the top of an actor drinking. The article includes,

The health nuts are killing alcohol, it would appear. Prohibition couldn’t do it, moralism couldn’t do it, but YouTube health “experts” are finally destroying the alcohol industry.

And sadly the final sentence seems to take comfort in the fact that those who do drink alcohol are drinking more of it.

But don’t worry, alcohol manufacturers, some who DO still drink are making up for lost customers.

The sentence before we are told that self-denial is a fruit of the Spirit, Paul warns that drunkenness or carousing will send a man to Hell. Carousing is partying with alcohol. In Romans, Galatians, and 1 Peter it is condemned. Is Hell such a small thing to fear that we can write posts about the only possible path toward this particular soul-damning sin, and not even mention it?

A popular and often insightful author writes, “So Scripture [Psalm 104:15] approves of the ability of wine to alter our mood. We should not think, then, that we must stop drinking before the wine affects our moods; that is its natural and good function.” (John Frame, Doctrine of the Christian Life, page 740)

Doug Wilson famously promotes alcohol even in children’s books. In a children’s book on logic The Amazing Doctor Ransom, pages 187-189, Wilson writes a humorous story where his character finally chooses hard liquor. There are so many examples like this that Pastor Wilson wants to be known as a promoter of alcohol, which he is. He titled one of his books after an alcoholic drink having his son write the foreword and including as the first line of the book a statement about the goodness of drinking alcohol.

Even if the position is correct, ought it to be promoted? Dichotomy is a correct theological position, but it would not be good judgment to speak much of it. Should we be known for our positions on cremation, the authorship of Chronicles, whether Paul had a wife, or our firmness in promoting seatbelts? Assuming that it weren’t a sin to drink, is it good judgment to promote alcohol?

Banner of Truth publishes Whitefield, Nettleton, and Spurgeon rebuking alcohol. Why do today’s writers feel it so important to promote it? It is not difficult to find reasons why many would oppose it. Could it be that a promising church member fell first to social drinking, then to drunkenness, then to leading other members to drink, then to fornication, and now has left the church? I hate alcohol because 2 men in their 20’s fell first to drunkenness and then left Christ entirely. Is there not a cause? These are true stories. Are they of no account so that we should shrug our shoulders, or even laugh as we pass more drink?

If you have found Scripture to be clear about the danger of sin, the horror of Hell, the evil of drunkenness, and the misery that drink has brought to little ones, wives, and families, then guard yourself from the moderns and worldlings who would by constant defense of alcohol take away one brick at a time from the wall that is built up against this sin. Has the church not already become much more tolerant in her pursuit of entertainment regarding filthy words, taking the Lord’s Name in vain, nudity, and fornication ? Has this sinful, sleepy tolerance had no impact on our views of alcohol? Paul told the Roman Christians to wake up! But certainly we aren’t pulled toward slowly accepting worldly pleasures. Are we blind to what kind of flesh still lives in us?

We need help hating the sin of drunkenness. We do not need guides to keep us from missing out on fun.

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The Clearest Biblical Reasons to Hold the “No Divorce” Position

  1. Paul illustrates the exclusivity of salvation in Christ alone by the “no divorce” position (Romans 7:1-4). Any other position on divorce contradicts Paul’s theology here.
  2. Christ’s marriage to the church is a picture of the permanence of the earthly marriage bond (Ephesians 5:32).
  3. Jesus explicitly forbids divorce (Luke 16:18 and Mark 10:2-12).
  4. Paul prohibits divorce 4 times explicitly without any mention of Jesus’ “exception” (1 Corinthians 7:10-13).
  5. Hosea did not divorce Gomer though she left him for other men. Should there be less fidelity in the New Covenant? (Hosea 1:2-3; 2:1-5; and 3:1-3)
  6. Jehovah pleads with His wife to return, still maintains His covenant with her, and still says He is married to her even after giving her a certificate of divorce (Jeremiah 3:8, 12, 14, 22).
  7. Jehovah hates divorce (Malachi 2:16).
  8. The two possible “exceptions” (Matt. 19:9 and 1 Cor. 7:15) both include explicit prohibitions against divorce in their immediate contexts (Matt. 19:6 and 1 Cor. 7:10-13).
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11 Ways We May Love Lying

For the month of July, our churches are praying from Psalm 119:163, “I hate and abhor lying.” But how can a Christian pray from those few words? Especially, if you think of yourself as a generally honest person?

We love lies when…

  1. We speak falsely about events.
    “I bought those shoes for $10!” (It really was a good deal, but you paid $25.)
    “Oh, I didn’t see you.” (Spoken to an acquaintance you had seen in a store but did not want to greet.)
    This is probably the most common thought that we have of what a “lie” is.

  2. We allow, foster, and cultivate false views of ourselves.
    “I don’t have many things to confess.” (How can someone sold under sin not have much to confess?)
    The pictures used in Scripture are heavy, and it is a lie to act or talk as if those do not apply to me–a slave, a dog, and a sinner. False views of ourselves prompted Elihu to pray, “That which I see not, teach thou me.”

  3. We reach negative conclusions about someone with very little evidence.

  4. We remember incorrectly in order to appear more clever, more to be pitied, more authoritative, or more self-denying.
    “I’ve probably read the Bible through 10 times or more.” (In reality, perhaps you read it through 2 times completely, 4 times in the New Testament, and then returned again and again to the Psalms.)
    “My husband doesn’t help.” (Maybe he helps commonly, but that one time when you were having an especially bad day, he ignored you.)

  5. We soften sins that we might be implicated in.
    “The movies I enjoy are honest about this sinful world.” (Perhaps, the Lord Jesus is ashamed of that entertainment, and you know it.)
    “The comforts of this life should be enjoyed.” (Said by a man who spends far more on personal comfort, and only rarely invests in churchplanting.)

  6. We stay in a false religion.
    Every Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, animist, and atheist loves the lies of their religion.

  7. We assume most people are saved.
    “Many, I tell you, will seek to enter [the gate to Heaven] and will not be able.” Luke 13:24
    “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.” Luke 17:24
    “When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8
    “You [few believers] will be hated by all [the world] because of My name.” Luke 21:17

  8. We sound like the world on man, woman, or sexuality.
    “My relative is a lesbian, but she really loves God.”
    “God would want me to show love by supporting these two men at their wedding.”
    “Men are no better at leading than women.”

  9. We refuse to acknowledge the truth about our children, or we quietly hope better for them than the plain words of Scripture.
    Do you raise your children as if they are spiritually lost, dead, and in Satan’s family?

  10. We try to solve spiritual problems with physical solutions.
    “Our son has anger issues, but this medication has been doing so much.” Why would you think pills can do what Paul prescribed repentance for (Col. 3:8)?

  11. We neglect to build our lives and our investments on the truths of the future home the Son is preparing and the eternal, conscious torment of the damned.
    The final end of the world is permanent and terrifying. To the degree that your life is controlled by some other reality, you are controlled by a lie.
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Can We All Agree About Miracles, Prophecy, and Tongues?

I think we can agree on more than 20 points if you are a Christian. Maybe some of these are controversial, but I tried to pick areas on which any serious Christian would agree.

Miracles

  1. The greatest miracle is true conversion (2 Cor. 5:17), and therefore, this should occupy our prayers, conversations, and church meetings by far more than any other earthly miracle.
  2. Some miracles have clearly ceased such as creating bread out of nothing, walking on water, ending funerals by raising the dead person, staying all night with lions, and living comfortably through a furnace.
  3. Many miracles were performed on people with no faith such as the man who wanted money in Acts 3 or the dead man in Luke 7.
  4. Many good men in the Bible endured sickness, pain, and death without being healed such as Stephen, James, Paul, the believers in Hebrews 11:35-38, and of course, Jesus of Nazareth.
  5. Miracles are not a sufficient evidence of godliness because many false prophets perform miracles (Matt. 7:21-23; 24:24; Rev. 13:13).
  6. God often allows the best of His children to suffer greatly such as Job and Epaphroditus.

Prophecy

  1. The greatest prophecies are those recorded in Scripture, and we all should study, read, memorize and speak about the words of those prophecies much more.
  2. The prophets and apostles that are recorded in the Bible deserve much more of our time and attention than any modern teacher, speaker, pastor, prophet, or apostle.
  3. Any prophet who takes part in, is deceived by, or supports the prosperity gospel is helping a false gospel for a false religion.
  4. A massive number around the world believe in miracles, but are still unconverted—especially in Africa and South America.
  5. The majority of false prophets today who claim to be Christian believe in speaking in tongues and miracles (Copeland, Hinn, Dollar, etc.).
  6. True Christians should renounce and separate from false prophets.
  7. Pastors who focus on teaching the Bible, generally do not believe in modern prophecy, miracles, or tongues.

Tongues, or Languages

  1. Evangelists and missionaries need to speak with other languages, and this should be the great focus of our prayers and effort.
  2. Speaking in languages is only mentioned in 3 books of the Bible, Mark 16:17; Acts 2, 10, 19, and 1 Cor. 12-14.
  3. Speaking in languages is clearly the miracle of speaking human, earthly languages in Mark and Acts.
  4. Speaking in languages is ranked below the other gifts (1 Cor. 12:28; 14:5, 19).
  5. Speaking in languages is found in no letters except the one written to the worst church (Corinth).
  6. Speaking in languages is not mentioned in the pastoral epistles, prison epistles, general epistles, or letters to the Seven Churches.
  7. Men should desire to speak in the language of all the people, more than speaking in another language (1 Cor. 14:19).
  8. Only 2 or 3 men may speak in languages in a church meeting (1 Cor. 14:27).
  9. No one may speak in languages in a church meeting without an interpreter (1 Cor. 14:27).
  10. Women may not speak in languages in the church (1 Cor. 14:34-35).
  11. Nothing should be done in the church which is childish (14:20), only strengthens the speaker (14:26), discourages learning (14:31), brings confusion (14:33), or is not proper or in order (14:40).
  12. All the rules of 1 Corinthians 14 must be applied to speaking in other languages.

Don’t you want more Bible knowledge (7, 8, 13)? Are you a believer and yet you desire more firmly to be healed from cancer than to see yourself and your children converted from Satan’s family to God’s (1)? Are you unwilling to endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (4, 5, 6)? Do you refuse to follow God’s Word about the gatherings of Christians (17-25)?

If we could agree on these—even 20 of the 25, then I think most problems with charismaticism would be gone. But a disagreement on things such as an emphasis of comfort or excitement may actually reveal an entirely different spirit. That is my great concern with what I have experienced over and over: Most charismatics I have talked to have very little interest in Biblical evidences of conversion. And our Lord specifically said that many charismatics—“Did we not prophesy, cast out devils, and perform many miracles in your name?”—will be sent to Hell.

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What Kind of Child Are We Trying to Produce?

My wife is attempting to train our children in the classical style. It has cost her a great amount of time in researching books, lists of books, curricula (which are also largely lists of books), and different ideas on what to cut and what to include.

Some say the focus is on character such as Charlotte Mason: An honorable child who can regulate himself, his passions, and his heart—this is the goal of education. Some say the focus is on the good, true, and beautiful such as Andrew Kern: A child who can balance the virtues needed to be a wise citizen. Some say the focus ought to be on Christianity such as Kevin Swanson: A child who has mastered the Bible and church history.

What kind of child are we trying to produce with our understanding of classical education? Or in other words, Why are our children reading the works of pagans such as Homer, Herodotus, Aristotle, and Julius Caesar, or Catholics such as Aquinas and Anselm?

A one-word answer is Excellence. Or another would be Permanent. There could be other simple summaries, but we desire our children to be formed by the “things which cannot be shaken.” Amy and I are looking at the world and looking at history and wondering—along with so many other parents: Why don’t we have any more J. S. Bach’s today? Where are the Rembrandt’s? Why don’t we have any Thomas Jefferson’s running for office? How can I raise a William Carey in my home?

If you took all four of those men and tried to find the similarity between them, what would you call it? What made such glorious paintings, architecture, mission work, and political wisdom come to the surface? Richard Weaver called it, “the metaphysical dream.” Perhaps there is a better name: Christian culture, or enduring culture, or classical culture. We see clearly that there is this common thread binding such men, and that is what we want for our children. It is the aim of our training. It is in my eyes as a father when I pray and start discussions and counsel toward future marriage.

We want to look very carefully at Augustine, Luther, Milton, Washington, Mendelssohn, and Lloyd-Jones, and then when we have found the great similarity in all these men, we want to squeeze it out, bottle it up, and bake it into the cake that is the lives of our children.

So we are planning that our children (and our first already has) read the 10,000 lines of Dante’s amazing Divine Comedy not because he is accurate at all points, but because he had that something that marks these other men—he saw life through the metaphysical dream. His writing was permanent, and it has already lived over 700 years. His pictures are fundamentally Biblical, Christian, and will last into Heaven. I hope they will make our children soulwinners like Charles Spurgeon whether they go into plumbing, office work, politics, or missions.

Homer’s use of language, his reflection on the nature of man, and his pictures—these traits, so difficult to defend in the modern world, are why we have our children read the Iliad and the Odyssey even though some of the actions or lines in these epics are sinful. We believe the positive qualities are permanent, or classical. We think that this is the string tying together the examples listed above.

The Greek philosophers before Christ were masters of abstract thought. This habit of mind is permanent. It is like building with marble rather than bricks made from cement, and so we want our children somehow to have this as well. We believe our children will get more out of Hebrews having read Plato.

Of course, we are Christians, so the Bible is read each day multiple times. If we only had one book, it would be the Best of Books, and we are confident that One would be enough. Yet these other tools hold the gates open more widely so that more and more of the Bible can get in the city. Permanent, classic, enduring works act as a pump to increase the flow of Scripture and Scriptural ideas so that the reservoir is full.

Our aim is to make Puritans who knew Scripture so well and yet could write and act so that their words deserved to be preserved. Our aim is to make good citizens who, if everyone else were like them, would make a Christian society. Our aim is to make men who deserve to be on the world stage, but are quite content to be hidden in a small village for the sake of the elect.

We are not claiming excellence or perfection, but merely that we aim for whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, and excellent in our choices of education.

That is what we mean by classical education, and on Mother’s Day, I thank God for a woman who inspired me to raise our children in this way. The world is dark and getting darker, but may our Father make our kids salt and light so that when He comes, He will find faith in this family.

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