Russell Mckinney's Blog

Straight Talk About God and Life

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

Big Snows, Global Warming, & God

I don’t know how the weather is where you are, but here in Spruce Pine, NC we’re still buried in snow. It started snowing early Friday morning and didn’t stop until late Saturday night. By that time we had twelve inches on the ground. Yes, that’s right, a full foot of the white stuff. Actually, the highest elevations in our three-county area got two feet.

Since this snow is one of those “heavy” ones, we’ve been living under the constant threat of broken branches falling down onto power lines. Fortunately, our house only lost power for about three hours on Friday night. But other folks in the area didn’t fare so well. Some were without power for over a day. As for church today, we cancelled, just like virtually everybody else around here did.

The thing that has fascinated me about this snow is the effect it has had upon my two boys. They’ve seen snow before, but they haven’t seen a big storm like this. These mountains of western North Carolina get a fair amount of snow, but you have to go back to the winter of 1993 to find a storm that dumped this much on us. 

Actually, when I was a kid, some thirty or thirty-five years ago, we got these big snows much more frequently. I’m being serious and literal when I say that one year we were out of school for virtually the entire month of January. But, alas, now our typical snows are in the two to four-inch range. That’s what made this one such an event for the boys.

Over the past couple of days, they’ve ridden their snowboards for hours on end, built not one but two snowmen in our front yard, and begun construction on a couple of snow forts in the back yard. I don’t think the forts will get finished, but the boys have never even begun such forts after previous snows. That right there tells you that this storm is one for the memory banks.

Ryan, the twelve-year-old, said something interesting to me yesterday. He said, “Daddy, I’ve never seen a snow this big. Is this one of those like you got when you were a kid?” I said, “Yes, son, it is. It really is.” Following that conversation, I thought to myself, “Here is a boy twelve years old, and yet he’s just now seeing a snow this big. What should I make of that?” What I made of it is that our weather seems to have changed even over the course of my lifetime.

But, please, don’t put me on the global warming bandwagon with Al Gore and the others just yet. I have no point of reference for the weather in other parts of the world. Furthermore, even if our planet is getting warmer, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the increase is the result of what mankind has been doing to the planet. Maybe we have simply entered into a different long-term weather cycle.  

What I’m absolutely, positively, don’t have a doubt in my mind about, 100% sure of is that global warming isn’t going to bring about the end of life of earth. I’ve studied Bible prophecy and I know how things are going to play out. Yes, the book of The Revelation describes ecological disasters and cataclysmic events, but they all take place under the sovereign control of God. Our weather operates inside His mighty hands.

So, Chicken Little, calm down and know that God is in charge of such big departments as the weather and life on earth. I don’t mean to convey a “don’t worry, be happy” attitude, because much of the prophesied stuff for this earth’s future is very grim. But let’s never forget that God is in control. Not man. Not mother nature. Not mother earth. Not big business. Not Greenpeace. Not the United Nations. There is no panic in heaven, and the whole situation down here is in no way spiraling toward some undetermined end.

I can’t speak for you, but that simple, childlike faith in a sovereign God gives me great comfort. It makes me feel “safe.” What’s even better is the fact that this sovereign God once took human flesh upon Himself and was crucified on a Roman cross for the sins of the world. Even better than that is the fact that He arose from the dead and ascended back to heaven. Even better than that is the fact that I have placed my belief in Him as Savior. So, come deep snow, wintry mix, rain, or sunshine, I can rest in the knowledge that I will spend eternity with Him. That should give anybody a warm feeling on a night when there is a blanket of snow on the ground.

December 21, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Christ's birth, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, God's Omnipotence, Personal, Prophecy, Worry, faith, fear, salvation, weather | , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

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

What Jesus Was Thankful For

For a Thanksgiving sermon this year, I did something I’d never done. I got down my concordance and looked up all the instances in which Jesus is specifically mentioned as giving thanks. I found that there are four things for which the Bible says He gave thanks. 

#1: In John 6:11,23, Jesus gives thanks for the food by which He feeds the multitudes. In this passage, that food is five barley loaves and two small fishes, and those multitudes are 5,000 men. In another passage, Matthew 15:36, He gives thanks for the seven loaves of bread and few small fish that feed 4,000 men. Obviously, this teaches us that we should give thanks for food.

#2: In John 11:41, Jesus gives thanks that God the Father has heard His prayers concerning the death of Lazarus. This shows us that we should give thanks that God the Father, despite all of His majesty, glory, and power, will take the time to hear our prayers.

#3: In Luke 10:21, Jesus gives thanks that God the Father hides spiritual truths from the earthly wise and prudent and reveals them to “babes.” This teaches us that we should give thanks that God doesn’t have to depend upon the world’s intellectual elite to get His message out or His work done. He is perfectly willing and able to work through common folk. (This same lesson is taught in Matthew 11:25 and 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.) 

#4: In Luke 22:17-19, Jesus gives thanks for the symbolic elements He uses in the Lord’s Supper. The bread symbolizes His body and the cup symbolizes His blood. This teaches us that we should give thanks for Christ’s death. After all, it is because of that death that any of us have the opportunity to believe in Christ as Savior and be granted forgiveness of all sin and eternal life.    

Of course, I’m not saying that Jesus never gave thanks for anything outside these four categories. The Bible in no way gives us a complete record of His earthly life and ministry. But for those of us who believe that all the words of the Bible are divinely inspired (2 Timothy 3:16), we can find great meaning in those facts the Bible actually includes. We figure, if they made the cut, God had a good reason for putting them in there.

So, this Thanksgiving, take the time to thank the Lord for these four things. I can tell you from first-hand experience since Sunday that you will find this a helpful spiritual experience. And that, I know, will allow you to have a better Thanksgiving all the way around.

November 25, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Bible Study, Christ's Death, God's Provision, God's Work, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving, The Bible, prayer | , , , , | 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

Life Is A Vapor, But Then What?

I got the call yesterday morning that a faithful member of our church passed away during the night. What made the news so shocking was the fact that Bill had seemed fine Sunday morning. He and his wife, Celeine, had taken their usual seats in church and enjoyed the service just like they always did. 

I myself wasn’t fine that Sunday morning, and Bill picked up on it as soon as he saw me. For various reasons, I didn’t sleep well Saturday night. Then I woke up Sunday morning with a fair amount of vertigo. That was only the second time in my life I had experienced vertigo, and I don’t want there to ever be a third. As I walked into church, I put up a brave front and figured that nobody would be able to tell that I was struggling a little just to remain upright. But when I walked over to shake hands with Bill and Celeine, Bill looked right at me and said, “You’re sick.” I’ve got to admit that I was taken aback by the straightforwardness of his remark and the accuracy of his diagnosis.

After I explained to him what was going on with me, he asked me something I will never forget. His question was, “When was the last time you had a physical?” I stuttered and stammered a little and then finally got out the answer, “Oh, I don’t know, I guess it was five or so years ago.” The truth was, I couldn’t remember. Bill’s reply was, “You ought to go have one. You might have some high blood pressure.” (For the record, I’ve had my blood pressure checked in the past few months. It was fine.)

After the Sunday service, I got involved talking to other people and didn’t really say much to Bill and Celeine. I regret that now. If I had known that was the last time I would see Bill on this earth, I would have made a point of spending a lot of time with him. But we never know such things, do we? Life really is “a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).

We don’t know exactly what took Bill’s life around 1:00 a.m. Monday morning. He lived each day with a garden variety of physical ailments. I can’t even begin to remember the number of hospital stays he endured, the surgeries and the procedures. At his home yesterday afternoon the family showed me the list of medications that he took. It looked like an encyclopedia of Latin. He had to have a chart just to keep it all straight. I think that’s why he encouraged me to get a physical. He knew far better than most how quickly your health can deteriorate.

I took great joy in informing the family that Bill no longer needs all his pills or his oxygen machine. His soul has now departed (Genesis 35:18-19) from his “body of death” (Romans 7:24). I’m happy for him. I’m also a little envious. I’ve noticed that something strange has happened to me over the past few years. I’ve begun longing for heaven to a degree I didn’t expect to reach until I was much older.

And here’s the shocking thing (at least it’s shocking to me): My increased longing for heaven springs much more from a desire to leave behind the pain, suffering, injustice, and wickedness of this world than it does a desire to see the splendors of heaven. I’ve begun to see heaven not so much as a desirable location but as an escape from an undesirable one. I’m as excited about getting to leave this world as I am about getting to enter into heaven.            

Do I still love my wife and want to spend our “golden years” together? Yes. Do I still love my two boys and want to watch them finish growing up? Yes. Do I want to hold grandbabies in my arms and get to spoil them? Yes. Do I want to keep on enjoying all the pleasures of life? Yes. But do I now see this life for what it is and look forward to a better afterlife? Most definitely! I think it’s quite appropriate that the text God has given me for Bill’s funeral sermon is Job 14:1-6, a passage which begins with the words: “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.”

Bill is out of that trouble now. He is in that better place that we like to talk about. But his is only a better place because he knew Jesus as his personal Savior. Can you imagine how awful it would be if this life was the highlight of your eternal existence? Can you imagine being born of woman, living out your ”few” days (few in relation to eternity), experiencing all of life’s trouble, and then having your soul depart for a gruesome place of suffering and anguish? Can you imagine lifting up your eyes in hell and being in torment (Luke 16:19-23)? I don’t even want to think about such a horror.      

But the stark reality is that most of the people on earth right now are staring straight down the gun-barrel of that horror. They don’t know Christ as Savior and if they die tonight their souls will not go to heaven. This should compel us Christians to be all the more involved in evangelism. We must share the good news of Christ’s gospel with those who need it. Someone once shared that gospel with Bill, and he responded by placing his belief in Jesus as his personal Savior. For that reason, I won’t have problems preaching his funeral and his family won’t have to search fruitlessly for comfort. But that puts us in the minority, not the majority. And that, Christian, is not a good thing.

You say, “But Russell, I’m just one person and the task of world evangelism is far too overwhelming.” You’re right, it is. That’s why Jesus doesn’t expect you to take on that task. What He expects you to do is engage in individual evangelism. Don’t focus on winning the masses of China to Christ. Focus on that one person the Lord puts right in front of you today. You know the one, the one with your name on them.

Maybe the person is a family member. Maybe the person is a friend. Maybe the person is a co-worker. Maybe the person is a neighbor. Maybe the person is a fellow parent from your kid’s ball team. What I’m saying is, door-to-door evangelism to rank strangers has its place, but so does relational evangelism to people you already know.    

You see, the fact is, some “Bills” will die tonight, and one of them might just be a lost person you know. That person needs Christ, which means that he or she needs you to tell them about Him. Stop talking about politics, the weather, the economy, or the ball game, and press on into spiritual matters, eternal matters. Be tactful, but get the conversation there. Tell that person about Jesus.

If you don’t feel comfortable quoting scripture, at least tell the person what Jesus has done for you. Talk about the trouble you’ve experienced in this world and then talk about heaven. Make a point of explaining that you are guaranteed heaven only because Jesus died on the cross for your sins and you have believed in Him as Savior. You don’t have to hold an evangelistic crusade. You don’t have to try to be someone you’re not. But you do need to be a witness who’s trying. And don’t worry about how the person responds to what you say. That’s not your department. Your job is simply the telling.      

I will miss my friend Bill, but I know his soul now resides in heaven’s glory. He has been reunited with Christian loved ones who passed on before him. Most importantly, he now sees Jesus face to face. That Savior that he only knew by faith he now knows by personal appearance. That’s a joy that everyone should get to experience. I realize that’s not going to happen, but you and I can help it happen for some folks if we will open up our closed lips and share the gospel.

October 6, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Adversity, Belief, Christ's Death, Coming Judgment, Evangelism, Heaven, Witnessing, death, hell, salvation, trials | , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Got Your Baptismal Certificate With You?

This past Sunday at Disciples Road we observed the two ordinances that God has given the church: the Lord’s Supper and believer’s baptism. The Lord’s Supper points us to Christ’s death. Believer’s baptism points us to His resurrection. Each ordinance hinges upon a right understanding of its symbolism. If we don’t get the symbolism, the reason for the ordinance will be lost upon us.

The symbolism of the Lord’s Supper isn’t hard to understand. The bread symbolizes the body of Christ, that physical, human body that hung dead on the cross for the sins of the world (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19). The wine symbolizes the blood of Christ, the blood that coursed through that body, the blood that has the power to cleanse sin (Matthew 26:27-28; Mark 14:23-24; Luke 22:20). As Christians eat the bread and drink the wine, we proclaim Christ’s death until He returns (1st Corinthians 11:23-26).

The symbolism of believer’s baptism isn’t complicated either. However, Christians seem to have more trouble grasping it. Baptism is a two-fold object lesson. First, it shows what has happened in the Christian’s earthly existence. Second, it shows what has happened in the Christian’s eternal existence.

Concerning the earthly existence, when the Christian goes under the water he publicly says, “I am now dead to my old, sinful way of living” (Romans 6:1-3). When he comes up from under the water he publicly says, “I am now alive to walk in the newness of the Christian life” (Romans 6:4, 6-7, 11-23).

Concerning the eternal existence, when the Christian goes under the water he publicly identifies himself with Christ’s death and burial (Romans 6:4). When he comes up from under the water he publicly identifies himself with Christ’s resurrection (Romans 6:5, 8-10). You see, by submitting to baptism, the believer says, “Because Jesus died and arose from the dead, my body will one day be resurrected as well, and I will enjoy my resurrected body throughout eternity.”

But it is that symbolism involving the Christian’s earthly existence that I want to deal with a little more. Christian, what if the minister who baptized you caught you committing a sin and said, “You are certainly not living up to your baptism.” You would probably ask, “What do you mean?” He would reply, “When you went under the water that day you were saying, ‘I am now dying to my old, sinful way of life.’ When you came up from under the water you were saying, ‘I am now alive to walk in the newness of the Christian life.’ But what you are doing right now looks like your old way of living, not the newness of the Christian life.” How would that make you feel? Would it drive home the point that getting baptized is a BIG deal? Would it remind you that the Christian is supposed to shun sin and live differently than the rest of the world?  

Perhaps it would do us good if every Christian was required to wear his baptismal certificate around his neck. That way we could be constantly reminded of exactly what it was we committed to when we got baptized. Maybe us pastors need to carry copies of those certificates around so that we can pull them out whenever we see a Christian sinning. That would make for an interesting experiment, wouldn’t it? My guess is, it would cut down on the rate of sin quite a bit.

July 28, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Baptism, Choices, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Commitment, Crucifixion, Disobedience, Doing Good, Dress and Appearance, Holiness, Personal Holiness, Rebellion, Sin, Temptation, The Lord's Supper, obedience | , , , , | Leave a Comment

The Blessing Of Changing A Sermon

Two Sundays ago I had in mind to preach a sermon on prayer. Specifically, I planned to preach on the so-called “Lord’s Prayer.” But as I began to ease into my studying and preparing for that sermon, the Lord made it clear that He wanted me to preach something else. He commanded a sermon on salvation.

The text He told me to use was Matthew 7:21-23, where Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Since preachers are always being told how important it is to grab the listener’s attention with the sermon’s introduction, I opened up with these words: “You can die and go to hell from a seat in church just as much as you can from living in a box in some rat-infested alley, taking your meals out of a garbage can.” Pretty attention-grabbing, huh?

From there I proceeded to explain that the person who has experienced genuine salvation will evidence that experience in his or her conduct. The state of being saved will show up in the way the person lives life. As James 2:20 so succinctly puts it: “faith without works is dead.” Good works can never produce salvation, but salvation will inevitably produce good works. Good works can never flow into salvation, but they must flow out of it.

This doesn’t mean the person who gets saved will never sin again. Romans chapter 7 is the Bible’s best passage on why saved people (Christians) still sin. There Paul explains that the Christian has two inner natures that are constantly at war. On the one hand, at the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit comes to live inside the Christian’s body, and the Spirit brings the nature of God to the person. That nature seeks control over the person, a control that will lead to deeds of righteousness. But, on the other hand, even when the Spirit comes to indwell the individual, His presence doesn’t eliminate the individual’s old nature (the nature with which everyone is born, the nature of Adam). This nature also seeks control over the Christian, a control that will lead to deeds of sin.

The point is, though, that the truly saved person will evidence salvation, to some degree, in his or her life. Some Christians evidence it more than others because they handle the Romans chapter 7 set-up better, but every Christian must evidence it somewhat. That was my central message.

As part of the sermon, I walked the listeners through the plan of salvation. I told them that salvation required a head knowledge of certain facts:

Fact #1: There is a God. Psalm 14:1: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

Fact #2: God is thoroughly holy. Psalm 47:8: “God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.”

Fact #3: You are a sinner. Romans 3:10,23: “There is none that is righteous, no, not one…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Fact #4: Your sin separates you from God. Psalm 5:4: “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You.”

Fact #5: Jesus (God the Son) left heaven, came to the earth, took human form upon Himself, and ultimately died on a Roman cross for all the sins of the world (and that included all your sins). 1st Timothy 2:5-6: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all…”

Fact #6: On the third day after His burial, Jesus arose from the dead and eventually ascended back up to heaven. Matthew 28:5: “…the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen…’”

Once you have these six facts settled in your mind (you believe them, you agree with them), then you have to get your heart involved. It is with your heart that you must voluntarily, willfully, purposefully place your belief in Jesus as your personal Savior. In Acts 16:30-31, a jailor in the city of Philippi asks Paul and Silas a straight question: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The answer they give him is, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” And then Romans 10:10 shows us that this belief must be from the heart. That verse says: “…for with the heart one believes unto righteousness.”

Please understand that the Bible uses different terminology to describe this saving belief. It speaks of coming to Jesus, opening the door to Jesus, putting your faith in Jesus, trusting in Jesus, and calling upon Jesus. But these aren’t separate experiences. They are just different ways of describing what it is to believe in Jesus in a saving way. Salvation is not a process; it is a moment-in-time experience.

But now let me get back to my story. What were the results of my sermon on salvation? Well, at the close of that Sunday-morning service, I got no response. That was a little disappointing, but I thought, “Lord, I obeyed and preached what You told me to preach. That’s all I can do. I’m sure You had Your reasons for having me preach that today.” Then I put the sermon out of my mind and went on about my business.

The following Monday was an especially busy day. I hardly stopped all day. Even at 7:00 that night, I had to have Ryan at baseball practice for his all-star team. I’m an assistant coach on that team, and the practice lasted for over two hours. Ryan and I got back home around 9:30. I was whipped.

No sooner had I gotten in the door than Tonya said to me, “We need to talk.” Royce, our eight-year old, was sitting in her lap. The whole scene made me respond, “Oh, no, what do we need to talk about?” She said, “It’s nothing bad.” That calmed my fears, but I was still a bit apprehensive. We ended up taking Royce back into his bedroom, where Tonya explained to me that he wanted to get saved. My sermon had bothered him. He didn’t want to go to hell; he wanted to go to heaven. He wanted Jesus to forgive him of all his sins and be his personal Savior.

And what did I do? Right then and there I took him by his hand and said, “I’m going to pray and I want you to repeat what I say.” Then I led him through a version of what you might call “a sinner’s prayer.” I kept the focus on the basics: sin, Christ’s death, belief, and forgiveness. Don’t ever force a child to become a Bible scholar to get saved. That child has the rest of his or life to learn all the finer points of Christian doctrine. Just keep things simple and anchored to the basics. That will do just fine.

Since I never want to rush a child into the waters of baptism, I’ll wait a while before baptizing Royce. Over the coming weeks, I’ll talk with him some more and make sure that he really does know Jesus as his Savior. Then, when the Lord tells me he’s ready, I’ll gladly baptize him. In all honestly, though, I have full confidence that the little fellow experienced authentic salvation that Monday night. What a glorious thing that is! As a father, there’s nothing better than knowing that both my sons are now Christians. 

And now, as I finish up this post, I want to leave you with a word. That word is obedience. Just as I obeyed God by changing my plans and preaching that sermon on salvation, you must obey God and do what He is telling you to do. Even if you don’t fully understand it or agree with it, you must obey. If He is giving you a command, He has His reasons and they are good ones. I’m not saying that your obedience will lead to someone getting saved, but, you know, you just never can tell.

July 15, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Belief, Change, Children, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Disobedience, Forgiveness, Parenting, Personal, Reward, Seeking Forgiveness, Sin, The Holy Spirit, obedience, preaching, salvation | , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

My Runaway Child

Last night Tonya had to chaperon a school-dance for a couple of hours. That left me at home with the boys. Everything was going fine until Royce, my eight year old, decided that he wanted to go outside and practice his baseball swing. There he stood, holding his plastic ball and bat, while I told him that it was getting too dark to go outside. He didn’t like my verdict, but he seemed to take it in stride.

Not long afterwards, I heard some kind of crash down in our basement. I didn’t think too much about it because I knew that Royce had gone down there after I had told him he couldn’t go outside. I also knew that he has an average of three or four “crashes” every day. If they are serious enough, he comes and reports. Since he didn’t report, I figured that everything was okay.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes had passed, Royce came to me in tears. As it turned out, he had taken his ball and bat downstairs to practice his swing. He had thrown the ball up and hit it straight into one of our fluorescent lights. The light was now lying in a milion pieces all over the basement floor.

Here’s where I need to give a little background to the story. A few weeks ago, Ryan and Royce busted another light by throwing balls in the basement. At that time I laid down one of those eternal, never-to-be challenged rules concerning balls, the basement, and fluorescent lights. Fathers love doing that kind of thing. Naturally, when Royce busted another light with another ball, he knew he was in for a spanking.

Oh, yes, we practice the art of spanking around our house. We don’t cross the line into child abuse, but we do spank. If you disagree with this time-honored parenting method, please read the following Bible passages: Hebrews 12:5-11; Psalm 119:67; Proverbs 3:11-12; 13:24; 19:18; 26:15; 23:13-14; and 29:15,17. The board of education applied to the seat of knowledge can do wonders for the thought process of the mind. God gave us extra padding back there for a reason! 

And so, Royce knew that he was in for some disciplining. But he had a better idea. While I went downstairs to survey the damage, he headed out the door toward the garage. By the time I came back upstairs, he already had his little scooter out. When I said, “Get in here,” he said, “I’m going to run away because I don’t want another spanking.” I said, ”What are you going to do, just walk the roads?” He said, “That’s why I got my scooter.” I said, “And how do you plan to eat?” At that point he showed me that he had gone to his room and gotten his little billfold. He said, “I’ve got $30.” (That was the truth. He’d been saving his “Grandpaw” and “Grandmaw” money.)

Well, even though he had obviously thought things out pretty clearly, I still made him come in the house. And, yes, I gave him a one-swat spanking. (Two-swat spankings are reserved for really bad disobedience.) When Tonya came home and got the whole report, she said, “I can’t leave you alone with them for two hours.” I said, “I thought I was doing good by not letting him go outside at dark.” I’m telling you, I just can’t win for losing. As for how Royce was going to live on $30, he said he would just keep on buying bags of Cheetos.

Two things struck me about Royce wanting to run away. First, I was actually glad that he had enough healthy fear of me to know that disobedience would bring punishment. Did you know that a child gets his first concept of God from his father? How the father acts pushes the child towards that idea of God. Abusive fathers turn God into a bully. Absentee fathers turn Him into someone who cares more about everyone else than the child. Milquetoast fathers turn Him into a timid, unassertive weakling. I don’t mind influencing Royce to view God as an authority figure who will punish disobedience. After all, that’s what He is.

The same book of Proverbs that has so much to say about spanking also has lots to say about the fear of the Lord. This is far from a coincidence. God understands full well what I just said about a child getting his first impression of God from his father. According to Proverbs, the fear of the Lord:

-is the beginning of knowledge (1:7)

-leads to a departing from evil (3:7, 16:6)

-will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones (3:8)      

-leads to a hatred of evil (8:13)

-is the beginning of wisdom (9:10)

-prolongs days (10:27)

-brings strong confidence (14:26)

-is a fountain of life (14:27)

-turns one away from the snares of death (14:27)

-is the instruction of wisdom (15:33)

-leads to life, an abiding in satisfaction, and a protection from evil (19:23)

-leads to riches, honor, and life (22:4)

Now you see why it is so important for Royce to have a healthy fear of me. As he grows up, he will be able to naturally transfer that fear from his earthly father to his heavenly father. Last night showed that we are on schedule in that department.

The second thing that struck me about Royce wanting to run away was how much it reminded me of Adam and Eve. When they heard God walking in the garden of Eden after their sin, their first impulse was to hide, get away, and keep from reporting (Genesis 3:8). The fact that this was Royce’s same response after he had disobeyed me proved that the inherited sin-nature is alive and well in the little fellow. He was born with mommy’s eyes, daddy’s nose, and Adam’s nature.

Now that I’ve had some time to think about it, I can see even more similarities between Royce’s situation and Adam and Eve’s:

#1: I didn’t want Royce to run away and hide any more than God wanted Adam and Eve to run away and hide. It would have crushed me to lose my son forever just as it would have crushed God to lose His two kids forever.

#2: Like Adam and Eve, Royce was all ready to accept an inferior way of living rather than confess his sin. Adam and Eve had their fig leaves; he had his Cheetos.

#3: Just as God couldn’t wink at Adam and Eve’s disobedience and say, “We’ll let it go this time,” I couldn’t let Royce off the hook. The disobedience had to be addressed.

#4: After the disobedience was addressed, the fellowship was restored. The souls of Adam and Eve are in heaven right now, still enjoying fellowship with God. Royce and I are getting along just fine today too.

#5: Even though the disobedience was dealt with and the fellowship restored, the fallout from the sin remains. We lost our basement light and Adam and Eve lost their sinless perfection, innocence, and immortality. Sin does damage, and there’s no getting around that.

I love Royce, and we’ll buy a new light. God loves Adam and Eve (and their race), and He sent His Son to die so that His blood could cleanse all sin (John 3:16). Adam and Eve placed their belief in the Lord and learned the lesson that forgiveness of sin only comes via the shed blood of a sacrifice (Genesis 3:21). Now the question is, Have you placed your belief in Jesus and allowed the blood He shed in dying to cleanse you from all sin (Hebrews 10:4-14)? Or are you still going down life’s highway on your scooter, living on Cheetos?

May 23, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Christ's Death, Disobedience, Fatherhood, Forgiveness, Parenting, Rebellion, Sin, contentment | , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

A Costly Salvation

The great preacher G. Campbell Morgan was once approached by a miner who said, “I would give anything to believe that God will forgive sins, but I cannot believe He will forgive me if I just turn to Him. It is too cheap.” Morgan replied, “You were working in the mine today. How did you get out of the pit?” The miner answered, “I got into the cage and was pulled to the top.” Morgan asked, “And how much did you pay to come out of the pit?” “I didn’t pay anything,” said the miner. ”Well,” said Morgan, “weren’t you afraid to trust yourself to that cage? Wasn’t it too cheap?” “Oh no,” said the miner, “ it was cheap for me, but it cost the company a lot of money.” That gave Morgan the perfect lead in to explain that the salvation the miner called “cheap” cost Jesus His life. Jesus is the cage God uses to pull men out of the pit. We don’t have to reconstruct the cage. We don’t have to pay for it. All we have to do is climb aboard and let it pull us up from the pit.   

Consider the following passages:

-Mark 14:64-65: And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.     That’s not cheap. 

-Matthew 27:26: And when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. (A scourge was a whip in which the thongs were weighted with jagged pieces of bone or metal to rip away more of the victim’s flesh.)     That’s not cheap.

-Isaiah 50:6: I gave My back to those who struck Me, and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.     That’s not cheap.

-Isaiah 52:14: His visage (appearance) was marred more than any man.     That’s not cheap.

-Matthew 27:28-31: And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.     That’s not cheap.

-Luke 23:35-36: And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.” Then the soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”     That’s not cheap.

-John 19:32-34: Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.     That’s not cheap.

-Isaiah 53:5: But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him. And by His stripes we are healed.     That’s not cheap.

Many of us have seen the Mel Gibson movie The Passion of the Christ. Admittedly, the film is not without its drawbacks, most of which stem from Gibson’s Catholicism. For one thing, the virgin Mary is played up too much. For another, certain scenes are based upon the so-called “visions” of a nineteenth-century nun rather than the Biblical text. Still, though, despite these flaws, the movie has spiritual value in that it graphically depicts Christ’s death in a way that other films don’t. Actually, Gibson probably goes a little too far with the brutality of Christ’s scourging. At least, however, the film doesn’t try to clean up the very messy and bloody process of a Roman scourging and crucifixion.

The bottom line is this:  If we think salvation is cheap, it’s only because we don’t properly understand what it cost Jesus. Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was led as a lamb to the slaughter.” Let’s not miss the imagery of that word “slaughter.” A “slaughter” is not a pretty scene. It isn’t for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. Being whipped with a scourge produces real blood flowing from real stripes. Having a crown of thorns placed on your head produces real blood flowing from real cuts. Having nails driven through your hands and feet produces real blood flowing from real puncture wounds. Being pierced with a spear produces real blood oozing from a real gash.    

Why did they offer Jesus that sour wine as He hung on the cross? They did it because the wine was a narcotic that was used to deaden excruciating pain. Why did Jesus say to doubting Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side” (John 20:27)? He did it because those marks on His body were conclusive evidence of a terrible death.

And why did Jesus voluntarily submit to such a death? He did it to pay the sin debt of the entire human race (1 John 2:2). Now He asks each person to believe in Him as Savior so that death can stand good for the person’s sins and provide forgiveness for them (John 3:16). So, tell me, have you done that? If you haven’t, just know that you are ignoring a salvation that was very, very costly.

May 6, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Christ's Death, Crucifixion, salvation | , , , , , | Leave a Comment

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