End Times Confusion and Red-Letter Clarification

How and why do unbelievers and believers approach the future differently? 

Does it really matter if a Christian understands the details of biblical 'eschatology' (truth related to the "end times")? 

How does understanding what God has revealed concerning the future impact the here and now? 

We will address this and more on Sunday at Lake Country Bible Church. Revelation 20:1-6; Matthew 24-25. "End Times Confusion and Red-Letter Clarification."

The New Covenant, Israel, and the Church

Why should I care about the Biblical Covenants?  For one, because the character of God is at stake with regards to the fulfillment of these promises.  Two, they are the catalyst for a believer's comfort and hope (especially during dark days).  Three, you will have a superficial understanding of the overarching story line of the Bible, the Christmas narrative, and the future (eschatology).

Having spent a month or so studying the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants Dan brought an overview lesson on the New Covenant on Wednesday night at Lake Country Bible Church.  Here are his student notes.

The New Covenant, Israel, and the Church
(Jeremiah 31:31-37; Galatians 3:13-29; Romans 11:11-36)

Introduction: Brief OT Survey

Genesis 6:5-8- "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every
intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

Genesis 8:21-22 = “And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, ‘I will
never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.
Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains,
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.’”

The Abrahamic Covenant
Summary:
1.) God will give land to the descendants of Abraham.
2.) God will give Abraham a great number of descendants.
3.) God will bless all nations of the earth through Abraham.

Mosaic Covenant
Summary:
1.) The Law was given to govern all of life for the people of Israel.
2.) The Mosaic covenant was bilateral, conditional, and contingent on the people obeying it.

Same Sex Attraction: Attraction versus Lust (pt. 2)

This blog post continues where Pastor Phil Johnson left off.  Johnson is trying to help his readers think through the implications of same sex attraction as these have been issues of compromise within certain Southern Baptist and PCA congregations lately.  

"Regarding the previous post, let me underscore my answer to an objection that keeps coming up. One of my critics on Twitter stated it as succinctly as anyone. He wrote, "Attraction and lust aren't the same thing. [Therefore] your proposition collapses entirely."

I'm aware, of course, that the words attraction and lust have different shades of meaning. Not every attraction entails lust. Attraction is the action or capacity of eliciting interest, affection, sympathy, fascination, or some similar eager response. It's possible—even desirable—to be attracted to things that are altogether holy and good, or even morally neutral, without being guilty of lust.

Lust is a sensuous appetite or desire that is inherently sinful—or one that leads to sin. To explain the idea of lust in the sense Scripture uses the word, it is any desire or affinity for something that God has forbidden. "All that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world" (1 John 2:16).

In short, you cannot define lust without the idea of attraction. What distinguishes a neutral attraction from a sinful one is both the object of desire and the source of your inclination. To desire what God forbids is a sin, full stop. And such desires are "not from the Father." This is never treated as an ambiguous or murky concept in Scripture."

Pastor Phil Johnson is one of John MacArthur's closest friends and is an Ast. Pastor at Grace Community Church.  His main work takes place at Grace to You.

9 Practical and Spiritual Benefits of Home CARE Groups

Do non-megachurches really need home CARE groups?  What are the practical spiritual benefits of starting up such a ministry?  The following thoughts will help each of us in our understanding of what the purpose of a care group (small group) is and why it is important for the growth of the church, families and individuals. When properly done CARE groups can help a local church achieve it's biblical philosophy of ministry- which is to "present every believer mature in Christ" (Colossians 1:28-29).

Care groups are about fellowship – the Greek term (Koinonia) the root word is koinos, koinos, translation is common. So we have things in common and can even be translated as communion. Here with believers it has to do with a sense of community in which Christians share the work and pray together comforting and encouraging one another. Fellowship according to the New Unger’s Bible Dictionary: fellowship means companionship, a relation in which parties hold something in common, familiar interaction. (See Acts 2:42)

Consequently, as we can see from these brief interactions with the term and its meaning we can say the underlined words, communion – community – one another – companionship – familiar interaction is needed in every believer’s life. A smaller, more informal context can be a helpful place to practice the New Testament one anothers and to deepen and sweeten the fellowship of the local church.

With that brief understanding let me list for you some ways care groups help with shepherding and caring for the flock:

1. Care groups foster close relationships and integral community. The small group atmosphere is ready-made for building and deepening gospel friendships. People often share more in small groups and are quick to recognize needs, and willing help to meet them. The relationships formed within small groups form a strong fabric within a church. Many times it is these kinds of relationships that are formed outside of the formal setting of a church service, will endure and strengthen over time. We can say this is a natural place for even discipleship relationships to happen.

2. Care groups provide an ideal way to care for the needs of people within the church. When one believer in a small group is struggling financially, emotionally, spiritually, socially, etc., it is much easier for the members of the small group to notice and provide help. The structure of a small group is essentially a community of believing friends. Friends should help one another, especially Christian friends. (Gal. 6:2, Bear one another’s burdens…)

Regarding "Sexual Orientation," Evil Desire, and the Question of Moral Neutrality. (Is Same Sex Attraction ok?)

Regarding "Sexual Orientation," Evil Desire, and the Question of Moral Neutrality by Pastor Phil Johnson.  "Full disclosure: Here is the development that finally provoked my sense of consecrated indignation enough to motivate me to start blogging again: REVOICE? It's the latest "evangelical" superconference. As you see, their own ad copy tells us they are devoted to "supporting, encouraging, and empowering gay, lesbian, same-sex-attracted, and other LGBT Christians so they can experience the life-giving character of the historic Christian tradition." The conference is being organized and supported by a large cast of evangelical thought-leaders—including some people generally assumed to be sound and reliable spiritual guides.

Fred Butler blogged about it yesterday, and it'll save me some work if you read his assessment of the actual conference itself. (You may need a translator for the cornpone-and-pot-likker dialect he slips into occasionally, but the cardinal points he makes are unassailable.)

Anyway, I want to comment on the conference's underlying theory,because it strikes me as a Really Bad Idea (and a patently unbiblical opinion). Nevertheless, it seems to be gaining traction rapidly—even among many influential and hitherto trustworthy evangelical leaders. It's the notion that homosexual orientation is morally neutral. The claim being made is that gay desires are not really sinful unless they are acted upon. So a person can fully self-identify as lesbian, bi-sexual, gay, transsexual, gender-fluid, or otherwise "queer" and be a church member in good standing—as long as he, she, xe, (or whatever) remains celibate.

I first began to realize realized how widespread that idea has become in the evangelical community two years ago, when the following Tweet was posted from the official Twitter account of The Gospel Coalition (TGC):  "It's more masculine to be attracted to men yet obedient to God than attracted to women and disobedient to God."

I referred to TGC's Tweet as a "hazy, misleading sophism" and added, "Lusting for something sinful is not 'obedien[ce] to God.'" A long argument ensued, with several friends on my FaceBook page and lots of my Twitter followers expressing shock and surprise that I would hold an opinion so egregiously out of step with postmodern political correctness. The "proper" postmodern opinion was succinctly stated by an exasperated commenter on my FaceBook page: "Desires are neutral until they are used sinfully," he wrote. "DESIRES ARE NEUTRAL UNTIL THEY ARE USED SINFULLY- see Romans 6:12-14"

I fear that idea is finding currency among leading evangelicals. But it is dead wrong and subversive to genuine holiness. Scripture is chock full of statements emphatically condemning evil desires—from the Tenth Commandment (Exodus 20:17) to Jesus' words about mental and visual lust in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:27-29). What, after all, is lust but raw, sinful desire?

Those who argue that LGBT "orientation" is morally neutral often point out that an unmarried heterosexual man's attraction to women isn't necessarily deemed sinful, assuming he remains celibate. Why, then, should we consider a celibate gay man's attraction wrong, as long as he doesn't act on it?

I'd like to suggest two replies to that. First, a celibate heterosexual's attraction to women might indeed be sinful, if, say, he is attracted only to married women or underage girls. It would likewise be sinful if he allowed his interest in a particular young woman to become a fixation that distorts his perception of reality. A perfectly innocent attraction can even become a sinful passion for the person who indulges in immoral fantasies. No sane and reasonable person would try to argue that heterosexual desires are always wholesome. Second (and this is pretty straightforward:) Scripture says inordinate affections are sinful and commands us to mortify them (Colossians 3:5). I didn't make that up.

But my Bible uses the expression "evil desire" in Colossians 3:5. How do I know if a desire is "evil"  In short, Scripture teaches plainly that any desire is sinful if it entails a wish for what we cannot righteously have.

Far from "supporting, encouraging, and empowering" people with perverse sexual desires, Scripture repeatedly urges us to repent of all sinful desires—especially those wicked sexual passions that so easily entrap young minds (2 Timothy 2:22; 1 Peter 2:11). All of us—not just LBGTQ folk—are commanded to renounce and mortify every desire for anything God has forbidden. Those who think people beset with perverse desires can wear their peculiar lusts as badges of group identity merely demonstrate that they haven't a clue what repentance means. Furthermore, to omit or purposely obscure the Bible's clear call to repentance is to show contempt to one's unbelieving neighbors.

Let me be clear: I, too, have friends and close neighbors who identify as LGBT, and I abominate the way some Christians seem to think it's OK to heap unbridled scorn, mockery, or insults on them. All our neighbors should be shown Christlike, loving compassion with the dignified respect that befits anyone who bears God's image.

But to encourage them in their sin or offer them the false comfort of approval for their sinful desires is a serious breach of the Second Great Commandment.

Let's not try to make any sin seem less wicked than it is.

I would not necessarily single out homosexuality as the chief example of abominable sin if our culture didn't constantly insist on treating homosexual desire as a privileged category. Sodomy is only one of several notoriously odious abominations, and Jesus expressly said the hard-hearted unbelief of those who have actually seen and know the truth is a worse sin than all the evils of Sodom (Matthew 11:24).

Furthermore, I'm happy to assert, emphatically, that any evil attraction is appallingly sinful, including that heterosexual tendency to want to click on clickbait when the link features a picture of some scantily-clad tart.

But this one class of sins (LGBT etc.) is the only one that demands special status and unconditional affirmation.   So perhaps the main point I want to make will perhaps be clearer if we consider one of the sexual perversions that hasn't yet successfully lobbied for social acceptance and special rights.

Here's a real-life example:  During my first year at Grace to You (1983), a man wrote our ministry looking for affirmation and encouragement. He wanted us to agree with his belief that mere attraction to a forbidden object is not inherently sinful. He gave a convincing testimony about his conversion from a life of sin and rebellion. He said he was now serving as an AWANA leader in his church. Then he got specific about what he was asking us to sanction.

He said he felt sexually drawn to "large farm animals." (Those were his exact words.)

I wrote back, citing Matthew 5:28, and told him it is our position that the desires he was describing are not morally neutral at all but a sinful perversion that he needed to repent of and vanquish through the means of grace. I'd give him the same answer today, even after reading reams of sophisticated evangelical reasoning trying to argue that "attraction" and "lust" are categorically different.

One other point needs to be made before I wrap this up.  People sometimes suggest that all sin is equally vile. That's simply not true. It's true that all sin is damnably wicked, but Jesus Himself made clear that some sins are worse than others (John 19:11; Luke 10:12-14). And Scripture clearly portrays certain sexual perversions (lesbianism and bestiality among them) as unusually and unnaturally perverse. (See, for example, Romans 1:26-28.)

All of this raises an important question: How far do the culturally-engaged evangelical trend-setters want to take the notion that mere attraction is morally neutral? I hope we'd be concerned about the sanctification of someone who insisted on self-identifying as a pederast living a celibate life. Or my cowboy correspondent who harbored a secret desire for a closer relationship with his livestock. Or people drawn to any number of kinky fetishes too perverse to even talk about (Ephesians 5:12).

Yes, all of us struggle with evil desires. That's part of our fallenness. Even Paul struggled with covetousness—evil desire (Romans 7:7-25). But Paul's whole point was that those desires (even if never acted on) are sins to be mortified, not prize ribbons to be worn as badges of one's identity."

Pastor Phil Johnson is on staff with John MacArthur at Grace Community Church (CA).

Preaching that Prepares People to Suffer

Preaching that Prepares People to Suffer-  It’s been eight years since my wife and I were told devastating news. Without any warning signs, Julie had stage-3 colon cancer. We both felt like we had been hit by a train—our four children all young, the imminent medical treatments all harsh, and the toll on our spirits weighty. We were pressed downward like never before and humbled far more than I could have imagined.

So, we did the only thing we could do, we clung to the promises of our gracious God. “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right” (1 Pet 4:19). Then, day after day, and now these many years later, this truth is still the anchor of our treasure.

Pastor, you may never know suffering on such a personal level, but many of your sheep will. Your weekly ministry of the Word, in all its forms, is building into your flock the abiding realities of God’s faithfulness. I did not fully appreciate it at the time, but our church’s commitment to biblical exposition had prepared us to walk through a season of intense suffering. I had been preaching every week, not fully realizing how God was storing up His truth in hearts and lives to be used when the time would come. Suffering is like an audit that reveals what has been stored or treasured in the soul of the believer.

Chasing relevance in preaching will not cultivate a mature people ready to stand under the weight of suffering. So much preaching today is designed to cater to the lowest common denominator of fleshly affections. Some claim such preaching is “relevant” to where the people supposedly are, but the reality is such preaching is basely carnal in nature. I think most pastors have no desire to lead their people down such paths, yet that is what they’re doing when they walk such roads without the lamp of God’s Word. To offer God’s people meatless sermons week after week is to offer a plate of sand to the hungry.

Having been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, pastor Paul Wolfe has walked the valley of cancer too. In his book, My God is True: Lessons Learned Along Cancer’s Dark Road, Wolfe details how careful preaching prepares the people of God to suffer with grace.

With the blessing of the Lord, such preaching prepares Christians for the future as well as arming them for the present. It is sometimes said that the minister must seek in his sermon to meet the people where they are. That is a noble aspiration, of course, but the minister’s job is also to get the people ready for where they will be. No, he cannot know precisely where their roads will take them, but he does know that the truths of Scripture are crucial to prepare them for every circumstance. So let him serve up a steady diet of those truths.

We see this principle drawn out in a little New Testament letter aimed at suffering Christians. Our fellow elder, Peter, carefully measures each word so that the sheep will be ready for whenever a cloudy providence crosses their path:

Men’s Leadership Training and Discipleship

A year ago a large percentage of men from our beloved congregation at Lake Country Bible Church prayerfully decided to make a commitment to Track 1 of a new Men’s Leadership Training and Discipleship ministry.  The basis of this ministry flows out of many passages of Scripture.  Such as 2 Timothy 2:2, And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.  Matthew 28:18-20, ...teach them to observe all that I commanded you; and Colossians 1:28, .... that we may present every man mature in Christ- to name but a few texts.

The specific goal(s) of this ministry was to encourage each brother to be God's kind of man.  A man of the Word and of prayer.  A doctrinally sound member.  A courageous churchman. And for many of us, more exemplary husbands.  Faithful lay leaders are the backbone of any local church.

We have now come to the final stretch of this mini-Marathon. Saturday is our final session before “summer break.” I am asking the Holy Spirit to help these dear brothers to finish strong and to not take a seat on the final lap.