Russell Mckinney's Blog

Straight Talk About God and Life

Pureness Of Heart

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8

The Bible doesn’t use the word “heart” in reference to the organ that sits in the chest and pumps blood. It uses “heart” to refer to the center of one’s being. So, to be pure in heart is to be pleasing to God, not just in outer conduct but also in inner motives, attitudes, and desires. And God is able to do true heart exams. He says in 1 Samuel 16:7, “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  

But purity of heart does not mean sinlessness of life. Actually, it is the heart that keeps one from being sinless. Jeremiah 17:9 describes the situation this way: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?” Jesus agreed in Matthew 15:19 by saying, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” 

So, if our hearts are such wrecks, who was Jesus referring to when He talked about “the pure in heart”? The answer is, He was referring to people who, despite the inborn wickedness of their heart, still have a burning inner desire to please God. David was a prime example of such a person. Even though his sin-tainted heart caused him to commit the sins of lust, covetousness, adultery, and murder, he still had a very real desire to please God. This is evidenced by the fact that he cried out to God, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10).     

The Pharisees and scribes of Christ’s day focused exclusively on the outward appearance and completely disregarded anything involving the heart. They would have had Jesus say, “Blessed are the pure in conduct, for they shall see God.” A Pharisee could harbor an intense inner hatred for his brother, but that was alright as long as he didn’t actually murder him. He could go around lusting over every woman he met as long as he didn’t have sex with any of them. But Jesus came with a different teaching. He said, “Let’s focus on the inside. If you have hatred toward your brother, we need to treat that as murder (Matthew 5:21-26), and if you look at a woman lustifully, that’s adultery” (Matthew 5:27-30).

Jesus even reserved His harshest preaching for the Pharisees and scribes. He said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.” He was saying, “You men seem to look so good on the outside, so devout and holy, but you are rotten to the core on the inside. Only when you become clean on the inside can you truly be clean on the outside.”

In Psalm 24:3-4, David wrote about the direct relationship between pureness of heart and godliness of conduct. He wrote: “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.” You see, idolatry and deceitful swearing are merely outward evidences of an internal problem. If a person’s heart is pure, he won’t be committing those public sins. This explains why Proverbs 4:23 adamently says: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”    

As with each of the beatitudes of Matthew 5:1-12, Jesus was referring to saved people when he spoke of “the pure in heart.” The “pure in heart” have a desire to please God, and that desire will ultimately lead them to believe in Christ as Savior. This only makes sense because God desires that every person get saved by believing in Christ as Savior (1 Timothy 2:1-6; 2 Peter 3:9). It’s simply impossible for someone to be pleasing to God without knowing Christ as Savior.

And what reward does Jesus promise for those who are pure in heart enough to want to please God enough to believe in Christ as Savior? He says, “For they shall see God.” Let’s not be so quick to explain away this promise. Let’s not make it little more than, “They will see God in a sunset, a baby’s smile, or a charitable deed.” No, the Bible clearly and consistently teaches that Christians will not only one day see God but spend all eternity with Him. 1 Peter 1:3-5 tells us that Christians have an incorruptible, undefiled inheritance reserved for us in heaven, one that doesn’t fade away. Just as the pure in heart have a desire to please God, He has a desire to be around them for all eternity. What a promise this was to all those commoners who served as the audience for Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, and what a promise it still is to every Christian today.

February 17, 2010 Posted by russellmckinney | Belief, Desires, Eternal Security, Heaven, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Righteousness & You

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6

I’ve been a pastor a long time, long enough to have learned some things about professing Christians. One of those things is: not many of them hunger and thirst after righteousness. When you do come across such a person, you are actually taken aback by how much he or she stands out from the crowd. Your reaction is, “Wow, now that’s the way this Christianity thing is supposed to work. That’s the kind of person it’s set up to produce.”  

I take no pleasure in reporting that a high percentage of professing Christians are only interested in living righteously enough to keep God from getting too ticked off at them. The time they spend in prayer is minimal. Their Bible study is barely a blip on the radar. They attend church only if all the planets align and nothing else comes up. They give sparingly and many times even begrudge that (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). They’ve never witnessed to anyone in their lives.

Even those who do better in some of these areas typically fall short when it comes to actually repenting of sins and making needed changes in their lives. I’ve known professing Christians who were at church every time the doors were open, but they were petty, bitter people who refused to forgive any perceived slight. I’ve known others who made prayer a vital part of their lives but didn’t mind engaging in pre-marital sex or “shacking up.” Others would give generously to the church but spend even more on alcohol or drugs. To all of these people, the idea of hungering and thirsting after righteousness was foreign. They had just enough religion to keep them at peace with themselves and certainly didn’t have a burning desire for anything more than that.

Imagine a man who hasn’t eaten for two days. He gets the opportunity to sit down at a buffet filled with delicious food. The way that man’s eyes dance over that food is the way the Christian’s eyes should dance over righteousness. The way he craves that food is the way the Christian should crave righteousness.

Imagine a woman who has been stranded in the desert for hours. When she is rescued, a rescue worker hands her a bottle of water. At that moment, there is nothing on earth she wants more. That’s how the Christian should thirst after righteousness.

Christian, when you are obsessively hungering and thirsting after righteousness, when righteousness is what you are chasing in life, you won’t have to be goaded into coming to church. You won’t have to be begged to pray. Your pastor won’t have to chide you into Bible study. It won’t take a ten-sermon series on stewardship to get you to give generously. You won’t have to be coerced into telling others about Jesus and inviting them to church. All of that will come as naturally to you as breathing. It will flow effortlessly out of your hungering and thirsting for righteousness. 1 John 2:29 describes this as “practicing” righteousness: “If you know that He (God) is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 5:1; John 3:1-8). 

And, furthermore, Jesus promises that your pursuit of righteousness will not be in vain. He says you shall be filled. I see a two-fold meaning in this promise. First, it only makes the sense that the more you devote your life to righteousness, the more righteousness will be exhibited in your life. Second, as for your eternal standing with God, the moment you realize that your life is stained by unrighteousness and you place your belief (faith) in Jesus as Savior, God actually imparts to you His spotless righteousness (Romans 1:16-17; 3:21-26; Philippians 3:7-9). That is an even more important filling.

So, Christian, how hungry are you? How thirsty? Are you burdened enough about righteousness to do some repenting? Will you commit to moving up to a higher level of practicing righteousness in your daily life? When you get hungry and thirsty enough to actually make some changes in how you conduct yourself, you’ll find Jesus standing ready to help you. He’ll be right there with the never-ending buffet and bottomless well. You will be filled, no doubt about that. But never forget that no one can be filled who is already full enough to suit them.

February 11, 2010 Posted by russellmckinney | Belief, Bible Study, Change, Choices, Church attendance, Discipleship, Doing Good, Evangelism, Holiness, Money, Personal Holiness, Righteousness, The Sermon On The Mount, Witnessing, faith, giving, obedience, salvation, stewardship | Leave a Comment

The Poor In Spirit

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:1-3)

Christ’s most famous sermon is the so-called Sermon on the Mount. The word “Mount” comes from the fact that Jesus gave this teaching to His disciples while up on a mountain (Matthew 5:1). It seems clear, though, that He preached either the entire sermon or selected parts of it at least twice. I say this because Luke 6:17-49 gives us the record of a shortened version of the sermon, a version that Jesus preached “on a level place” (N.K.J.V.) (“a plain” K.J.V.) with not only His disciples in attendance but also a great multitude of people.

Furthermore, there are slight differences in the two accounts of the sermon. In the Matthew version, Jesus promises the kingdom of heaven, while in the Luke account He promises the kingdom of God. While it’s true that both descriptions refer to the same kingdom (see Matthew 6:33), it’s also true that the word heaven brings a different image to mind than the word God.

Another example of certain differences in the accounts is found in the sermon’s opening. Whereas the Matthew version quotes Christ as saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” the Luke version omits the words ”in spirit” and cites the quote as, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”

It seems that Jesus changed the wording a bit to accomodate His two different audiences. Up on the mountain, it was just Him and His disciples. But down on the level place they were joined by “a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon” (Luke 6:17).  

And why had that multitude sought out Jesus? They had come “to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits” (Luke 6:17-18). It doesn’t take much of a stretch of imagination to figure that diseased and demon-possessed people were poor. Diseased people couldn’t work and spent what money they had on doctors (Luke 8:43-44). Demon-possessed people certainly couldn’t hold down jobs either (Luke 8:26-39). 

Of course, the fact that Jesus would say to a crowd of such people, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” offers us a glimpse into why He was so popular with the common people of the land. In large part, the Jewish people still lived under the Old Testament mindset that wealth was evidence of the blessing and favor of God. To be poor, then, was to be under God’s judgment, disfavor, or curse. But here was a teacher who flipped that mindset completely on its head. According to him, the kingdom of God belonged to the poor, not the rich. That was mind-blowing news if you were a poor person!

Even before preaching the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had preached a sermon at Nazareth in which He had referenced Isaiah 61:1-2 in saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor” (Luke 4:18). Later on, He would have word sent to the imprisoned John the Baptist that “the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Luke 7:22). Clearly, Jesus wanted poor people to realize that the kingdom of God wasn’t just for the rich.     

Still, we must understand that the Sermon on the Mount is not the gospel. No one goes to heaven just because they are monetarily poor. One must be spiritually born again by believing in Christ as Savior and thereby becoming indwelt by God the Holy Spirit (John 3:1-18; Romans 3:10-26). Merely standing there listening to Jesus and being poor didn’t provide salvation. Those people had to believe in Him as Savior.

Also, it will help you to better apply the term “poor in spirit” if you will think of it as a deliberate choice rather than a natural personality trait. To be poor in spirit is to make yourself walk in a constant realization of your utter spiritual helplessness without God. It is to abandon any and all attempts at self-righteousness and throw yourself completely upon divine-righteousness (Titus 2:5-6; Ephesians 2:8-9). It is to truly grasp the teaching of Isaiah 64:6, that all your supposed works of righteousness are, in reality, like “filthy rags” in the sight of an infinitely holy God.  

Also, to be poor in spirit is to be humble in nature. It is to approach God as a lowly servant (Matthew 8:5-8), a respectful child (Matthew 18:4), or even a pititful beggar (Matthew 15:21-28). The person who struts toward God and thinks, “He’s lucky to get me” isn’t poor in spirit. Neither is the person who says, “I’m going to allow God into my life, but I’ll be bringing as much to the relationship as He does.” The Greek word translated here as “poor” is ptochos, and it refers to abject poverty. The one who is this poor in spirit knows that he brings nothing to God because, frankly, he doesn’t have anything to bring.

So, tell me, is this you? Do you think of yourself as such a spiritual beggar? Or do you pull back from having such a degrading opinion of yourself? Since Jesus (God the Son) thought you were valuable enough to die for, I’m certainly not saying that God sees you as nothing in His eyes. But the truth is, He wants you to see yourself as nothing in comparison to Him.

He doesn’t necessarily want you to be poor in life (even though He doesn’t want everybody to rich either), but He does want you to be poor in spirit. This will allow you to have the attitude and perspective that will make it easy for you to not only experience salvation by believing in Jesus but also to look to Him each day to meet all your needs. After all, that’s what beggars do. They look to someone else to take care of them. Jesus will be that person to you if you will let Him.

February 5, 2010 Posted by russellmckinney | Attitude, Belief, God's Holiness, Humility, The Holy Spirit, The Sermon On The Mount, Trusting In God, faith, needs, salvation | , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

The Burned Spot

In the days when America’s west was being settled, praire fires were the scourge of the land. The very thought of them struck terror into the hearts of the people. With dry grass standing high, sometimes as high as a horse’s head, the fires could sweep over vast acreages and not lack for fuel. To get caught out in the midst of such a fire meant certain death.

Over the course of time, though, people figured out how to remain safe during such a time. The trick was to take a match and start another fire in a circular pattern in the grass. Once the grass inside that circle was consumed, a stand could be taken inside the burned spot. The praire fire would burn all around the spot but not come inside it. It couldn’t come inside because the grass there to fuel it was already burned.

When God looks down upon the earth, He still sees a certain spot just outside the old city of Jerusalem. It is a burned spot that the fires of His holy wrath consumed some two thousand years ago. The spot goes by different names: Calvary (Luke 23:33), Golgatha (John 19:17), and the Place of a Skull (Matthew 27:33). Scholars debate the precise location of it, but God knows exactly where it is. It was at that spot that Jesus died on a Roman cross for the sins of the world. The burning of the spot reached its climax when Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)

The fact is, the fire of God’s wrath must sweep through the life of each sinner. His indescribable holiness demands it. Those who have believed in Jesus as Savior are granted the privilege of standing inside the burned spot of the cross. Jesus has already taken God’s wrath for us. We can watch in safety as the fire rages all around us but never touches us. On the other hand, those who have not believed in Jesus as Savior must face the fire of God’s wrath out in the open, on their own. As John 3:16-18 and 36 put it:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God…He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

 

 

February 1, 2010 Posted by russellmckinney | Belief, Christ's Death, Coming Judgment, Crucifixion, Forgiveness, God's Wrath | , , , , , | Leave a Comment

The Importance Of A Child’s Salvation

(Post 4 of a series of 4)

This post will be the fourth and last in this series on parenting. In my previous three, I’ve dealt with the importance of obedience in a child, the importance of individuality in a child, and the importance of spanking a child. With this one, I want to talk about the importance of a child’s salvation.

Let us never forget that little boys and little girls need salvation. Salvation isn’t just for the drunk lying in the street, the convicted killer on death row, or the Muslim terrorist. It is also for young sons and young daughters.

To get us into this, let’s look at 2 Timothy 1:1-5, where the apostle Paul writes:

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.”

In this fifth verse, Paul talks about a genuine saving faith (an authentic belief in Christ). He says to Timothy, “This saving faith (this authentic belief in Christ) was first in your grandmother Lois. She then passed it down to her daughter (your mother) Eunice. Then Eunice passed it down to you.”

The idea is that Lois and Eunice created an atmosphere in their family wherein Timothy wanted to personally put saving faith in Jesus. Lois put saving faith in Christ, and her salvation played a big part in her daughter, Eunice, putting saving faith in Christ. Eunice’s salvation, in turn, played a big part in her son, Timothy, putting saving faith in Christ.

Now, with that said, I want to devote the rest of this post to offering some practical advice about how parents should share the gospel with their small children. I’ve put this advice under the headings of three general statements. You shouldn’t have any trouble following along.

Statement #1 is: Parent, before you ask your child to believe in Jesus as Savior, it’s a good idea for you to have a basic foundation of Jesus already in place in that child’s life.

When it comes time for a child to seriously deal with Jesus and His offer of salvation, it will be so much better if there is a basic foundation of Christ already in place in that child’s life. But how does a parent lay such a foundation? The obvious ways include taking the child to church every Sunday and buying the child a children’s Bible. The sad truth is that many parents fail even in these basic areas.

Moving on from these basics, there is what I’ll call the spoken word. By the spoken word, I mean that from a child’s early days that child should hear his or her parents talking to Jesus and about Jesus.

Here are a few examples of how a child can hear a parent talk to Jesus. Parent, at mealtime let your child hear you say, “Jesus, we thank you for this food.” When it rains, say to your child, “Well, Jesus is sending us some more rain.” When your child goes to bed, make your child’s bedtime prayers to Jesus. Get on your knees beside the child’s bed, have the child close his eyes, and then you say things like, “Jesus, thank you for watching over us today. Thank you for this home. Thank you for this warm bed to sleep in.” You pray like that a few nights and then let your child do the praying. Hopefully, that child will learn to pray like you pray.

And, by the way, be sure to remind the child that Jesus is God. If the child tries to act silly during the prayer time, just say, “Now remember, you are talking to God.” You see, if you will talk to Jesus correctly in front of your child, you can build all kinds of great theology into your child’s thinking.

Just through the things your child hears you pray, your child can learn that Jesus is: God, our creator, our sustainer, our protector, and our provider. Then, when the child is mature enough to honestly deal with the issue of believing in Christ as Savior or rejecting Him, that child will have all of that wonderful foundation already in his mind. If a child already thinks of Jesus as his God, creator, sustainer, protector, and provider, it won’t be too hard for him to add Savior to the list..

Now let me mention a few examples of how a child can hear a parent talk about Jesus. Parent, when you go to the beach, stand with your child on the shore, look out at the ocean, and say, “Didn’t Jesus create a big, beautiful ocean?” When a problem comes up, say to your child, “Don’t worry. Jesus will help us with this.” At Christmas tell your child the story of how Jesus left heaven, became a baby, and was born to a virgin named Mary. At Easter tell the child the story of how Jesus died for the sins of the world and then arose from the dead. Read Bible stories about Jesus to your child. Make it a point to talk about Jesus as if He is a real person, because, after all, He is. Don’t let Jesus get lumped in with SpongeBob SquarePants, Elmo, or Big Bird.

What I’m saying is, let your child hear you using the spoken word to talk to Jesus and about Jesus. In a hundred different prayers and a hundred different conversations, use the words you speak to saturate your child’s world with Jesus. This is a great way for you to lay a basic foundation of Christ in that child’s life.

My second statement is: Parents, when it comes to the matter of salvation, don’t rush your child.

Any right-thinking parent wants their child to be saved from that fiery place the Bible calls hell. But what each parent should remember is that children under the age of accountability are not in immediate danger of hell.

If you look for the term “the age of accountability” in the Bible, you won’t find it. That doesn’t mean, though, that the idea of an age of accountability is wrong. While it’s true that each child is born a sinner, it’s also true that small children simply do not have the ability to understand the idea of salvation, let alone God’s plan of salvation. We hear a lot about the love of God, but the Bible also says quite a bit about the justness of God, and, quite frankly, it’s hard to imagine a God of justness sending the soul of a small child to hell.

The issue is not the child’s innocence because each child really is a born sinner. The issue is the fact that the plan of salvation is totally beyond the understanding of a child. How can you share the gospel with a child when that child can’t even understand your language? I know that Romans 1:20 teaches that every adult on planet earth is without excuse before God (even those who have never heard about Christ), but adults aren’t the same as little children.

Matthew chapter 18 comes into play here. In that chapter we find the story of Jesus calling a little child to Him. In using that child as an object lesson to teach His disciples, Jesus said to them, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” That’s interesting, isn’t it? Little children have angels who always behold the face of God the Father in heaven. I don’t know everything there is to know about that, but I sure like the sounds of it.

In addition to that passage, we have the story from 2nd Samuel chapter 12. David’s infant son died, and David said of him, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” When David thought about the afterlife he certainly wasn’t planning on spending eternity apart from God. He wrote in Psalm 23:6, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” His words about his son, then, seem to indicate that David thought of the soul of his dead, infant son as being with God.

Furthermore, 2nd Samuel chapter 12 isn’t just a story from the life of David. It is also a part of the inspired word of God. That means that those words aren’t just wishful thinking on David’s part.

Because of these passages and some others I could mention, I have enough confidence in the idea of an age of accountability to say that a parent shouldn’t rush their small child to “make a decision” for Jesus. Parent, the last thing you want to do is rush your child into making some kind of shallow, uninformed, false decision for Christ.

If you do that, here’s what might very well happen. After your child makes that false decision, you will then get the child baptized as soon as possible. Following that baptism, you will want the child to officially join the church membership roll. But that baptism and that joining of the church membership list will hurt the church and the child.

It will hurt the church because ideally each person on the church’s membership roll is a true Christian. It will hurt the child because the child will grow up thinking that he or she is on the way to heaven when in reality they are not. That might very well make that child resistant to truly believing in Christ.

You see, parent, you and your child stand to lose far too much if you rush that child on the matter of salvation. That’s why you should wait until you are rock-solid sure that your child is ready to decide either for or against Christ.

Of course, the age of accountability is different for each child. Anyone who knows children knows that children don’t mature at the same rate. Therefore, I don’t know how old your child will be when he or she has the mental capability to genuinely believe in Christ as Savior. But what I’m saying is, please don’t rush your child on this.

And then my third and last statement is: Parent, when you explain the plan of salvation to your child, keep it simple.

When you are giving your child the gospel, stay on topic and stick with the essentials. You don’t need to include a teaching on the Rapture. You don’t need to get into what the Bible says about bodily resurrection. You don’t need to try to explain election and predestination. You don’t need to bring up the topic of spiritual gifts. Just stick with the basic, vital, mandatory information. The child is a sinner; Jesus is the Son of God; Jesus died to pay for the child’s sins; the child needs to believe in Jesus as Savior. Once a child truly believes in Christ as Savior, then you can start the gradual process of giving that child more and more knowledge concerning Christ.

On the other hand, don’t oversimplify things and pronounce the child a Christian when he or she isn’t. Lay out the bare bones of the gospel and see how the child responds. Ask the child, “Do you understand this?” Even if the child says, “Yes,” don’t just take the child’s word for it. Quiz the child to see if he or she really does understand. If the understanding is there, push on to the decision part. If the understanding isn’t there, the child is probably just too young to really grasp what you are saying. He or she hasn’t reached the age of accountability yet.

In closing, let me remind each parent that a child’s salvation is the most important goal in bringing up a child. Parents put such careful thought and work into planning for a child’s college education, but they give little attention to bringing that child to saving belief in Christ. Parents knock themselves out to see to it that their children have food, clothing, and a home, but they put little or no effort into leading their children to Christ. What we need today are some parents like Lois and Eunice. If we have those, some Timothys will surely follow.

January 30, 2010 Posted by russellmckinney | Baptism, Belief, Children, Church attendance, Evangelism, Parenting, Witnessing, salvation | , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Lessons Learned From The Tiger Woods Story

Things are getting kind of bizarre in the story of Tiger Woods, the world’s top-ranked golfer. News broke early Tuesday that an ambulance had been dispatched to his Florida mansion sometime around 2:30 a.m. in response to a 911 call. The ambulance picked up Barbro Holmberg, Woods’ mother-in-law. She was rushed to a local hospital and listed as an “advanced life support” patient. Such a listing simply means that paramedics went beyond basic CPR methods in helping her. She was admitted for “stomach pain,” evidently responded well to treatment, and was released Tuesday afternoon to return to Woods’ home. 

This was just the latest chapter in a sad series of events that have played out over the past couple of weeks. The timeline runs like this:

-At 2:25 a.m. of November 27th, Woods crashes his vehicle into a fire hydrant and his neighbor’s tree. He is taken to a local hospital and treated for minor facial lacerations. He is quickly released and returns home. (Woods refuses to talk to Florida State Troopers for the next three days, and is finally cited for careless driving and fined $164.) 

-Shortly after the accident, the tabloids and internet become abuzz with rumors of Woods’ marital infidelity. (As of now, it’s impossible to sort out fact from lies, but the current number of alleged mistresses stands anywhere from seven to ten.) 

-On November 29th, Woods releases a statement on his website in which he says the accident was his fault and asks for privacy while his family works through a difficult time.

-On November 30th, it is announced that Woods will not be participating in his next scheduled golf tournament. The given reason for his withdrawal is injuries from the accident.

-On December 2nd, Woods releases a new statement in which he says, “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart.”

-A few days later, several media outlets begin reporting that Woods’ wife, Elin Nordegren, has moved out of the house. (I haven’t heard whether or not she took the couple’s two-year old daughter and infant son with her.) 

-Then comes Tuesday’s story about the mother-in-law being rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night.

As for Woods, he still hasn’t been seen publicly since his accident. Whatever the exact details of everything are, it now seems fairly obvious that it’s a sad situation. The entire family needs our prayers. I have been praying for them, and I hope you will as well.

With that said, I’d like to offer some Biblical lessons here. I don’t do this to kick Tiger Woods while he is down. As I said, I’m praying sincere prayers for him and his family. I offer these merely as a way to view the story through the lens of God’s written word.

Lesson #1: A son needs his daddy. Tiger’s father, Earl, died on May 3rd, 2006. He was a military man who stood for honesty, integrity, and responsibility. Up until his death, he was the driving influence in Tiger’s life. He was the one who molded young Tiger into a golf prodigy. Later on he wrote two books about his no-nonsense parenting style. Tiger has often mentioned how much he misses his dad. In 1st Thessalonians 2:11, the Bible teaches that a father should exhort, comfort, and charge his children. Proverbs 1:8 speaks of a father instructing his son. Would Tiger be in the mess he’s in now if his dad was still alive? No one can say for sure, but many would answer, “No.”

Lesson #2: Every husband must work at remaining sexually satisfied with his wife. Affairs typically occur when husbands aren’t sexually satisfied with their wives alone. The lust for more sex or “different” sex is a powerful, primal thing. That’s why Proverbs 5:18-19 warns: “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving deer and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and always be enraptured with her love.”

Lesson #3: The sin of adultery is a fire that burns the one who commits it. Proverbs 6:27-28 says: “Can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be seared?” 1st Corinthians 6:18 says: “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.”

Lesson #4: No matter how much success, fame, and wealth a man has, his world can still come tumbling down if he doesn’t practice self-control. Proverbs 25:28 says: “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.” A city without walls is wide open to be attacked and destroyed. So is a life lived without self-control.

Lesson #5: If you want to fall, be full of pride. Tiger Woods is well known for being supremely confident in his abilities, even to the point of being egotistical. Proverbs 16:18 says: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Surely one of Woods’ motivations for committing adultery was that his ego told him he could get away with it.

Lesson #6: All the self-will one can muster will eventually lose out to the power of the flesh (that inborn sinful nature of individuals). Woods’ strong will on the golf course is a major part of what makes him so good. But no man is so strong-willed that he can keep his inner nature of sin at bay for long. In Romans 7:18-19, the apostle Paul writes: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”

Lesson #7: Your sins WILL eventually be discovered. Numbers 32:23 says: “…be sure your sin will find you out.” Isaiah 29:15 says: “Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord, and their works are in the dark. They say, ‘Who sees us?” and ’Who knows us?’”    

Lesson #8: Wealth doesn’t equate to contentment. Even though Woods has earned multiplied millions through his golfing and endorsements, there was obviously still something that prevented him from being content with his family life. 1st Timothy 6:6-8 says: “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.”

Lesson #9: When you raise a child to worship the idol of sports, you shouldn’t be surprised when that child grows up to be lacking in morality and character. As I mentioned earlier, Earl Woods was an uncommonly influential father. No one can deny that he raised a champion golfer. But all those championships came at a high price. As far back as Tiger can remember, Earl led him to obsess over the sport of golf and devote himself fanactically to mastering it. Earl never taught Tiger how to keep golf in proper perspective and allow his spiritual side to develop. That inevitably caused some chinks in Tiger’s character and morality. In Matthew 16:26, Jesus asks the profound question, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”  

Lesson #10: Buddhism simply cannot offer the help people need. By Woods’ own admission, he is something of a nominal Buddhist through his mother, who is from Thailand. He especially values the Buddhist practice of meditation. In a March, 2008 interview with Reuters, Woods said of Buddhism, “In the Buddhist religion, you have to work for it yourself internally in order to achieve anything in life…and in Buddhism to set up the next life. But in Buddhism it’s all about what you do and internal work.” Sadly, this religion and philosophy fly right in the face of Christ’s words from John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” They also go against Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God., not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

So, let me close by saying that Tiger Woods is just like anybody else on planet Earth in that he needs to place his faith (belief) in Jesus as his personal Savior. That will bring him forgiveness of sin (Colossians 1:14), spiritual life (John 5:40), salvation (Acts 16:30-31), and the empowerment to resist temptation and sin (Philippians 4:13). Certainly Tiger’s life has taken a tragic turn for the worse, but if that turn leads him to the open arms of Jesus, the best will be yet to come for him. That’s my prayer, for not only Tiger but his entire family.

December 9, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Adversity, Belief, Character, Choices, Desires, Fatherhood, Forgiveness, Husbands, Marriage, Money, Parenting, Priorities, Seeking Forgiveness, Sex, Sin, Sports, Temptation, adultery, contentment, faith | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Five Good Questions About Water Baptism

There is much debate and confusion concerning water baptism. This is sad because the subject is such an important aspect of Christianity. Only by going to the Bible and studying all of the passages that relate to the issue can we get at the truth. When we do this, we find the answers to five fundamental questions.

Question #1: Who Is Qualified For Water Baptism? 

The Bible plainly teaches that only born-again Christians can rightly submit to water baptism. To be born again, one must put saving belief (faith) in Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13; 3:3; 3:16-18; 1st John 5:1). Born-again Christians are people who have heard the gospel of Christ, seen themselves as sinners bound for hell, understood that Jesus died to pay the debt for their sins, and genuinely believed in Him as their personal Savior. This belief (faith) in Jesus brings eternal forgiveness and salvation to the individual (John 3:16; Acts 10:43; Romans 1:16-17; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1st John 5:1,13).

Such “believers” are qualified for water baptism because they have experienced Holy Spirit baptism (Matthew 3:11; John 7:37-39; Acts 1:5; 10:44-48; 1st Corinthians 12:13). Holy Spirit baptism is God the Holy Spirit taking up residence within the person who has put saving belief in Christ. This happens at the initial moment of the saving belief. Actually, it is Holy Spirit baptism that produces the “new birth” that makes one a born-again Christian. It is nonsense for people to claim to be Christians if they haven’t experienced Holy Spirit baptism (Acts 11:15-18; 15:6-8; Romans 5:5; 8:8-11, 8:14-16; 1st Corinthians 6:19; 2nd Corinthians 1:22; 3:3; 5:5; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30; 1st Thessalonians 4:8; 2nd Timothy 1:14; 1st John 3:23-24; 4:12-13).

All of this means that the common practice of baptizing infants is wrong. Likewise, it is equally wrong to baptize any adult who hasn’t put legitimate saving belief in Christ. The fact is that anyone, regardless of age, race, or religion, who hasn’t been baptized with the Holy Spirit has no business whatsoever being baptized in water. This is why water baptism is oftentimes rightly referred to as “believer’s baptism.”

Question #2: Does A Person Have To Submit To Water Baptism To Be Saved?　

The answer is, NO. In the New Testament there are over two-hundred verses that teach that salvation comes through belief (faith) in Christ. Many passages use the word “faith,” while others use words such “belief,” “believe,” or “believed.” Obviously, these words are interchangeable.

If water baptism played any part whatsoever in salvation we would find it consistently mentioned in the Bible whenever the plan of salvation is presented. What we find, however, is the exact opposite. For example, the apostle Paul said that he didn’t do much baptizing (1st Corinthians 1:13-17). He also didn’t mention water baptism when he gave the Corinthians his definition of the gospel (1st Corinthians 15:1-11). Paul’s words and actions seem very strange if water baptism is required for salvation. Paul was like Jesus, who Himself didn’t baptize anyone (John 4:1-2).

It’s true that Peter mentioned water baptism in the invitation he gave in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37-38), but he didn’t mention it in other sermons he preached (Acts 3:12-26; 5:29-32; 10:34-43). As a matter of fact, the Bible even points out that those who were saved after hearing the Pentecost sermon were saved by belief (Acts 2:44).

To contend that water baptism is vital to salvation is to create two plans of salvation. The people of the Old Testament age, not being baptized, would have been saved in a different way than the people of the New Testament age. Furthermore, the believers who lived during Christ’s earthly life did not experience Christian baptism. This group included the apostles. Many of these believers were baptized in the Jordan river by John the Baptist, but John’s baptism was not Christian baptism. When an individual was baptized by John, that individual was simply making a public profession of repentance (Matthew 3:4-12; Mark 1:4-5; Acts 10:34-37; 18:24-25; 19:1-5). This repentance was supposed to prepare the individual to accept the Messiah, who was soon to come and offer salvation (Matthew 3:11-12; Luke 7:24-30). This explains why John was hesitant to baptize Jesus (Matthew 3:13-14). John knew that Jesus had no sins to repent of and that He was the Messiah.

Still, despite the fact that they did not experience Christian baptism, the Old Testament believers and those who believed during Christ’s earthly life were saved (Psalm 23:6; Luke 7:37-50; 23:39-43; Hebrews 11:1-40). There is even an entire chapter (Romans chapter 4) of the Bible that is devoted to the teaching that salvation has always been through saving faith in the one, true Lord.

Question #3: Why Should The Christian Submit To Water Baptism?

Water baptism is a beautiful object lesson. First, it shows what has happened in the Christian’s earthly existence. In going under the water, the Christian is publicly saying, “I am now dead to sin” (Romans 6:1-2; 6:6-7; 6:11-14). The waters of baptism have even been called “a liquid tomb.” In coming up from under the water, the Christian is saying, “I am now alive to walk in the newness of the Christian life” (Romans 6:4; 6:6; 6:8; 6:10-14).

Second, water baptism shows what will happen in the Christian’s eternal existence. In going under the water, the Christian is publicly identifying himself or herself with Christ’s death and burial (Romans 6:3-5; 6:8). In coming up from under the water, the Christian is publicly identifying himself or herself with Christ’s resurrection from the dead (Romans 6:5; 6:8-9). By submitting to water baptism, the Christian is saying, “I know that Christ will not leave my body in the grave. My body will one day be gloriously resurrected, just as His body was” (1st Corinthians 15:20-24; 15:42-50).

Understanding how water baptism is a two-fold object lesson makes it easy to see why Jesus commanded that those won to Him should submit to it (Matthew 28:19). The Bible even says that a Christian can be saved from a guilty conscience toward God only by submitting to water baptism (1st Peter 3:21). If the Christian refuses water baptism, he or she will eventually feel guilty about the disobedience (Luke 6:46; John 15:14; James 4:16).

In the days of the early church, those who believed in Christ as Savior were expected to immediately submit to water baptism (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:37-41; 8:12; 8:26-40; 9:17-18; 10:44-49; 16:14-15; 16:25-34; 18:8; 19:1-7). Keep in mind that the early Christians had no church buildings, pews, aisles, or altars. Therefore, a public water baptism was a profound way for an individual to openly show that he or she was believing in Christ as Savior (Matthew 10:32). For that matter, it still is!

Question #4: What mode of water baptism is correct?　

Total immersion is the only mode of water baptism that is described in the Bible. This is plainly seen in passages which describe John the Baptist’s baptisms as well as Christian baptisms (Matthew 3:13-16; John 3:23; Acts 8:35-39). The modes of sprinkling and pouring are not scriptural.

Keep in mind that the object lesson is what makes the mode so important. Water baptism is supposed to show the Christian’s death and burial to sin as well as Christ’s own physical death and burial. Total immersion in the water is the only mode that truly pictures death and burial. When we bury a corpse, we don’t just sprinkle or pour a bit of dirt over that body. Instead, we immerse that body completely in the ground.

Question #5: What Words Should Be Said During Water Baptism?　

Frankly, the exact words don’t seem nearly as important as the mode. Jesus told His followers to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Peter told a group of Jews to be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). Later, he told a group of Gentiles to be baptized “in the name of the Lord” (Acts 10:48). Paul baptized a group of believers “in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5).

Most churches use the Matthew 28:19 words. This verse is one of the Bible’s proof texts that God is one God who exists in three distinct personages. In the verse, Jesus says to His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” You see, there is no need to immerse the believer three times into the water. To do so is to confuse the fact that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are One. It is also to miss the fact that corpses aren’t buried three times.

December 1, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Baptism, Belief, Bible Study, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Doctrine, The Holy Spirit, church, obedience, salvation | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Faith

Last night was movie night at the church. I showed the film Flywheel. That was the first movie that was done by Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga. Most of my crowd had seen the church’s other two movies, Facing The Giants and Fireproof. Only a few, though, had seen Flywheel. (For the record, I highly recommend each of the films.) At the end of Flywheel, the lead character names his new baby girl Faith. This comes on the heels of all the lessons about faith that God has been teaching him.

I once heard David Gibbs. Sr. say, “The faith walk is on a need-to-know basis.” In my own walk with the Lord, I’ve experienced enough to learn the truth of these words. God never gives me the full revelation of what He’s up to in my life. I pretty much just get the guidance and instruction I need to take the next step. Whenever I think I’ve got the path figured out and can, perhaps, run ahead, He throws me a curveball to keep Me looking to Him.

Hebrews 11:1 in the New Living Translation describes faith as “the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen” and “the evidence of things we cannot yet see.” Tell me, are you “hoping” for a particular thing from God? Are you desiring something you “cannot yet see”? Rest assured that if the thing is God’s will, He will bring it to pass in His timing and way.

But in the meantime He wants you to have real faith that He is going to do what you want Him to do. There simply is no substitute for this faith, and it makes an incalculable difference in your overall attitude and mindset. Faith creates optimism, hope, and joy; a lack of it creates pessimism, despair, and gloom. So, if you were naming your baby girl today, could you honestly name her Faith? If you couldn’t you need to admit it and have a long talk with God about it. The answers you are looking for are found in Him.

November 21, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Belief, God's Will, Patience, Personal, Reward, faith, perseverance, prayer | , , , , | Leave a Comment

God’s Delays

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “God, you are taking too long,” you come from a large tribe. I, for one, am very impatient. You know that you are impatient when microwaves, fast food restaurants, and remote controls are too slow for you!

But we must learn that God’s timing, though oftentimes seemingly insane, is always best. Consider the story found in John 11:1-45. Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus, lay sick and near death. Lazarus’ two sisters, Mary and Martha, sent word to Jesus. Those women fully expected Him to drop whatever He was doing and rush to Lazarus’ side.

But after receiving the news that Lazarus was gravely ill,  Jesus remained where He was for the next two days. His reaction to the news was simply, “This sickness will not end in death. It is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” It was only after the two days had passed that Jesus said to His disciples, “Lazarus is dead.”

By the time that Jesus arrived at Lazarus’ home, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Apparently, he had died shortly after that messenger had been dispatched to Jesus. It took the messenger a day to get to Jesus, and it took Jesus a day to get to Lazarus. Add in the two days of delay and you get four days in the tomb. I’ve read that the Jews believed that the spirit hovered near the body for three days and then departed. With Lazarus being in the tomb for four days, it seemed that even Jesus wouldn’t be able to do anything. 

Understandably, Mary and Martha were angry and disappointed with Jesus. On separate occasions, each of them uttered the same line: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Martha did add in a touch of faith to her complaint by saying, “But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give You.” She wanted to believe that Jesus was going to do something miraculous.

And, of course, He did. He went out to the tomb and, with many onlookers in attendance, raised Lazarus from the dead. When Lazarus came out of that cave still loosely wrapped in burial cloths, Jesus said to some of those people, “Loose him and let him go.” I wonder who volunteered for that job. How would you like to unwrap a mummy?       

Then, just when we think the story can’t get any better, we get the payoff. John 11:45 says: Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in him .” You see, just as Jesus gave physical life to Lazarus that day, He gave spiritual life to all those new believers. That two-day wait of His had set the stage for a prolific evangelistic harvest.

This story should teach us that if God delays doing something, He has a good reason for the delay. He doesn’t make us wait just so He can watch us squirm. He’s not trying to toy with us like a puppet on a string. No, He’s always up to something bigger and better. So, if He currently has you in the midst of a delay, make yourself be patient. Keep your faith high that He hasn’t forgotten about your situation, and just let Him work things out not only in His will but in His timing. You never know what miracle, either physical or spiritual, He might have in mind.

November 16, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Belief, Patience, faith | , , , , , | Leave a Comment

God’s Thoughts, Plans, & Love

Jeremiah 29:11 is an often-quoted verse. It says: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the Lord, “thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (N.K.J.V.) The Hebrew word that is translated as “thoughts” carries with it the idea of planning, plotting, intending, devising, imagining, and purposing. That’s why every translation other than the King James and the New King James translate the word as “plans.” For example, the N.I.V. renders the verse: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The point is, God doesn’t just think good thoughts; He also devises plans that will bring those good thoughts to pass.

Obviously, this is a beautiful verse that conveys a very pleasant idea. But we must be sure to take the verse’s context into account. This isn’t Paul writing to Christians. This is God speaking through the Jewish prophet Jeremiah to the Old Testament Jews. God is telling them what He is going to do for them once their seventy-year captivity in Babylon has ended. The previous verse, verse 10, makes this clear. It says: For thus says the Lord: “After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place (Jerusalem).” So, you see, there really isn’t anybody alive on Earth right now who can specifically claim verse 11 as their own.

This doesn’t mean, however, that the general principle of the verse can’t be carried over into our day. We shouldn’t think of God as creation’s mean-spirited policeman. We do Him an injustice when we depict Him as a cosmic killjoy who won’t let us have any fun. The truth is, He would much rather think good thoughts than bad ones toward people. He’d much rather devise plans for good than bad. He’d much rather bless than judge.

God didn’t enjoy allowing the Babylonians to conquer Judah and carry the Jews off to Babylon for seventy years of captivity. He only did that because those Jews needed chastening. For a 490-year period, they had ignored His command to let the land rest every seventh year (Exodus 23:11). This meant that they owed the land seventy individual years of rest. The land got each year of that rest during those seventy years the people were exiled in Babylon (Leviticus 26:27-35; 2 Chronicles 36:15-21).  

Certainly that punishment conveys one side of God’s nature. But it isn’t the only side. As soon as the seventy years of whipping were finished, what was God’s word to those Jews? It was, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Do you see the perfect balance? 

If there were ever any lingering doubts about God loving all people, they were dispelled when Jesus (God the Son) came into this world and became one of us. This was God giving to all humanity the absolute best He had: Himself. He did this even though He knew the gift would be ridiculed, misunderstood, mocked, rejected, arrested, whipped, and nailed to a cross to die. Why would God do such a thing? To save believers from their sins! As John 3:16 says: ”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (N.I.V.)        

I don’t know how you are feeling right now. But I can tell you with all certainty that God loves you. He loves you so much that Jesus died for you so that God can spend all eternity with you. You’ve got to love someone a whole bunch to want to be around them forever!!! Jesus came to Earth so that you could go to Heaven. He lived and died so that you could die and live. He paid a debt He did not owe because you owed a debt you could not pay. So the next time you to start to doubt that God loves you, look to the cross. There you’ll find the indisputable measure of His love.

November 11, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Belief, Christ's Death, Crucifixion, Disobedience, Forgiveness, God's Love, Heaven, balance, salvation | , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

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