There Is a God

Posted on May 22, 2025 by russellmckinney

“Salvation” series (post #2)

The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world… (Psalm 19:1-4, New Living Translation)

Any talk about salvation, a plan of salvation, or getting saved must begin with talk about God. After all, if atheism is correct, the very idea of salvation becomes pointless. Saved from what? Saved to who? Saved to where?

So, how do we know that God exists? Well, the go-to answer is still: creation. As one writer has said, “The Bible does not waste time proving the existence of God, because the evidence of Him is everywhere.”

Of course, atheists hold to the idea that nothing + nobody = everything. But that idea is simply ludicrous. They give me a hard time for believing in a Creator God when they believe that all this creation we live in just kind of “happened” on its own without any impetus, power, or intellect behind it. Please. That’s so illogical and nonsensical it makes my head hurt.

I’m reminded of a story from the life of Sir Isaac Newton. He once built a miniature replica of our solar system. At its center, the replica had a large golden ball that represented the sun. Revolving around the ball were smaller spheres that were attached to it by way of rods of varying lengths. These smaller spheres represented the solar system’s planets in proportion to how far each one is situated from the sun. The replica was made even more impressive by the fact that it featured cogs, belts, and gears working together in unison to make the “planets” actually move in an orbital pattern around the “sun.”

One day, when Newton had the replica set up and was studying it, an atheist friend of his happened to stop by for a visit. The friend marveled at the replica and watched as Newton worked it to make the “planets” orbit around the “sun.” The friend said, “My, Newton, what an exquisite thing! Who made it for you?” Without looking up from his work, Newton said, “Nobody.” In disbelief, the friend asked, “Nobody?” Newton replied, “That’s right. I said nobody! All of these balls and cogs and belts and gears just happened to come together; and wonder of wonders, by chance they began revolving in their set orbits and with perfect timing.” His point was made.

Currently, the leading explanation for how the universe began is a theory called “The Big Bang Theory.” The website space.com says the following about this theory:

The Big Bang Theory stands as the most widely accepted explanation for the origin of the universe. According to this theory, the universe began as an infinitely small, hot, and dense point, which rapidly expanded and continued to stretch out over 13.7 billion years. This initial period of rapid inflation set the stage for the vast and still-growing cosmos we observe today.

Okay, with this definition in mind, here’s a good question to ask: “Where did that infinitely small, hot, and dense point come from?” You see, nothing will continue to be nothing endlessly unless some kind of Creator God creates that “something” the advocates of The Big Bang Theory call a “point”? I mean, a “point” (even a small one) doesn’t just appear out of thin air. For that matter, thin air doesn’t just appear out of thin air!

Delving a bit deeper into The Big Bang Theory, atheist Matt Williams, on the website phys.org, writes:

Today, the consensus among scientists, astronomers and cosmologists is that the Universe as we know it was created in a massive explosion that not only created the majority of matter, but the physical laws that govern our ever-expanding cosmos. This is known as The Big Bang Theory.

Here again, we’re supposed to believe that “nothing” suddenly exploded and out came a whole bunch of matter. Really? Doesn’t that theory raise more questions than it answers? I mean, “nothing” doesn’t just inexplicably explode and produce “something,” let alone produce the primordial elements of what would become our ENTIRE UNIVERSE. I’m no astronomist or physicist, but my head is starting to hurt again.

Somebody else says, “Aliens created it all, even this universe in which we live.” Fine, let’s run with that idea for a second. All it does is set the fundamental question back a bit further by making it: “Who created the aliens?” At the risk of me repeating myself, nothing will continue to be nothing endlessly unless a creator God interjects Himself into the process and creates something. As one fellow has said, “I’m amazed at how much stuff evolutionists (and I would add in atheists) start with to tell us how everything came into existence.”

Hey, listen, I don’t claim to have God all figured out myself. I don’t know why He does do this and doesn’t do that or why He allows one thing but doesn’t allow another. But me turn atheist and believe that our indescribably structured and ordered creation — a creation that operates in finely tuned orchestration like a gigantic machine with a zillion moving parts — just happens to be here apart from a Creator God? Sorry, that ain’t happening. No, there HAS TO BE a God out there somewhere. You can love Him or hate Him. You can agree with Him or disagree with Him. You can believe in Him or not believe in Him. But He’s out there somewhere, and He’s very much real. And to know that, all you have to do is look around at the creation in which you find yourself.

Posted in Atheism, Creation, God's Omnipotence, God's Sovereignty, Life On Other Planets, Salvation, Series: "Salvation" | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Gate into Heaven Is Still Narrow

Posted on May 20, 2025 by russellmckinney

“Salvation” series (post #1)

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14, N.K.J.V.)

There’s an old negro spiritual that contains the famous line: “Everybody talkin’ ’bout heaven ain’t a goin’ there.” Incorrect grammar and spelling aside, that line gets it dead right. That’s why I want to use this post to begin a new series entitled “Salvation.”

According to a 2025 article published by The Center for the Study of Global Christianity, 32.3% (2.6 billion people) of the world’s total population profess to be Christians. The next largest religious group consists of Muslims, who make up 25.2% (2 billion people) of the population. So, despite the fact that in many places Islam is growing faster than Christianity, Christianity remains what it has been for centuries now: the largest religion in the world. 

But wait a minute. Didn’t Jesus say the way to life is narrow and few people find it? That certainly doesn’t sound like the makings for the world’s largest religion, does it? How, then, do we reconcile these contradictory facts? Well, that’s a really good question, one that I’ll try to answer.

For one thing, even if 32.3% of the world’s population truly are Christians, that means 67.7% are not. Consequently, there are more than two lost people to every one Christian. Proportionately speaking, that would have to make the gate that opens into life narrow in comparison to the gate that opens into destruction.

For another thing, though, we simply cannot overlook the Catholicism factor in regards to the reported number of Christians. Unfortunately, the world’s Catholics all get classified under the general heading “Christian” even though Catholicism isn’t the same as biblical Christianity. It is, instead, a bizarre mix of biblical Christianity and Roman paganism that was begun when Rome’s emperor Constantine set himself to the task of “Christianizing” his empire.

Constantine knew that him forcing his citizens to completely do away with their pagan practices would result in chaos and uprising, and so he skillfully enacted a plan by which he and his bishops, over the course of several years, took those practices and figuratively baptized them into Christianity. This baptizing extended to Rome’s pagan worship services as well as its pagan holiday celebrations. I won’t take the time here to say any more about all that, but under this site’s category labeled “Catholicism” you’ll find several posts where I delve into the topic much more extensively. Read those if you like. For the purposes of this post, however, suffice is to say that any study that automatically regards Catholics as Christians skews that study to a point of making its numbers useless.

To be clear, I’m not prepared to say that all Catholics are lost. Nevertheless, I do believe that most of them are. You see, Catholicism is a man-made, works-based religion that elevates Peter to the status of the first Pope, Mary to the status of perpetual virginity, and the Catholic church to the status of the “true” church. Not one of those doctrines holds up in the light of scripture, and that casts serious doubt on anyone who supposedly becomes a Christian via that religious system.

For this reason, I don’t hesitate to say that we can dismiss out of hand the nonsense that 32.3% of the world’s population are authentic Christians. How can that be when a 2022 report released by the Vatican showed that 1.36 billion of the world’s professing “Christians” are Catholics? That’s more than half the world’s supposed “Christians.”

As for how many genuine Christians there are in the world, only God knows the number. Undoubtedly, though, that number is relatively small in relation to the world’s reported population of 8.062 billion. Again, even if we give every Catholic automatic credit for being an authentic Christian — and we shouldn’t — the world’s Christian population would still only sit at 32.3% of the total population. Doing a bit of math then, if 32.3% claim to be Christians, but 50% of those are Catholic, I think we can reasonably assume that the true percentage of Christians around the world is no higher than 15%. Actually, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the number is much, much lower. I say that because it’s not like every person in all the other subcategories of Christianity — Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Lutherans, Episcopalians, etc. — is legitimately saved, either.

But, of course, the real question for you is: “Are you a genuine Christian?” That’s the question I want to help you answer over the course of this series. In order to find your answer, this series will focus on doctrine that is drawn directly from the Bible’s teachings. We have to make this a doctrinal series because, when it comes to the all-important subject of salvation, only the Bible’s teaching will do. So, I hope that you’ll take the time to read and seriously consider each of these upcoming posts, and even more than that I hope that you are right now on your way to heaven. If you aren’t, this series will explain to you how you can pass through that narrow gate and get on the way that leads to eternal life.

Posted in Assurance of Salvation, Catholicism, Eternity, Heaven, Salvation, Series: "Salvation" | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The “Others”

Posted on May 16, 2025 by russellmckinney

Hebrews 11:1-40 is the Bible’s famous “hall of faith” passage. It cites example after example of Old Testament characters who “by faith” did extraordinary things and received extraordinary blessings and deliverances. And the list of victories is certainly impressive. By faith:

  • Enoch did not see death.
  • Noah built an ark and saved his family.
  • Abraham left his home in Ur and journeyed to his promised land of Canaan.
  • Sarah gave birth to a child when she was past age.
  • Abraham offered up Isaac and received him back alive.
  • Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.
  • Jacob blessed Joseph.
  • Joseph gave instructions that his bones should one day be buried in Canaan.
  • Moses’ parents hid him as a child.
  • Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
  • Moses forsook Egypt and led the Israelites through the Red Sea on dry land.
  • The walls of Jericho fell.
  • Rahab’s life was spared.
  • Israel’s Judges, Kings, and Prophets won great victories over their enemies.
  • Kingdoms were subdued.
  • Righteousness was worked.
  • Promises were obtained.
  • The mouths of lions were stopped.
  • The fires of violence were quenched.
  • God’s people escaped the edge of the sword
  • Weak people were made strong.
  • Cowards became valiant in battle.
  • Enemy armies were turned to flight.
  • Women saw their dead resurrected (see 1 Kings 17:17-24 and 2 Kings 4:8-37).

For the Christian, this is all wildly encouraging stuff. It makes you want to take on the world for God, right all the wrongs, and claim every victory in Him. You think, “If I fight for God and He fights for me, how can I possibly come out on the losing end?”

Unfortunately, however, there is more to the passage than all these “feel good” stories. For one thing, the list of Old Testament characters actually begins by talking about how Abel (by faith) offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, only to have Cain kill him because of jealousy (Hebrews 11:4). For another, about halfway through verse 35, the passage takes an abrupt turn down a much darker path. That change begins with a single word: “Others.” Read carefully what follows that word:

…Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented — of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise… (Hebrews 11:35-39, N.K.J.V.)

Now, let’s be honest, these “others” just don’t fit into our idea of God fighting for those who show faith by doing His bidding, do they? Oh, we love to read the story of Daniel in the lions’ den as the example of how the mouths of lions were stopped. But what do we do with those faithful servants who “were sawn in two”? (For the record, Jewish tradition holds that Israel’s wicked king Manasseh had the prophet Isaiah placed in the hollow trunk of a tree and then commanded the tree be sawn down.)

You see, this section of the “hall of faith” deals with a completely different category of faith. It deals with the faith it takes to be an earthly “loser” and yet still retain your faith in the Lord. It’s one thing to remain strong in your faith as you are walking through the Red Sea on dry land or watching the walls of Jericho fall, but it’s quite another to retain it as you are being stoned to death (as Zechariah was: 2 Chronicles 24:20-22) or killed with a sword (as Urijah was: Jeremiah 26:20-23).

So, how is it possible to keep one’s faith during times of persecution and even martyrdom? The answer is found in the hope of afterlife rewards. According to the Hebrews passage, there is such a thing as “a better resurrection” that can be earned. Along these same lines, in Matthew 5:11-12 Jesus said in regards to persecution earning a believer greater rewards in heaven:

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (N.K.J.V.)

Blessed are the reviled servants of God? Blessed are the persecuted servants of God? Blessed are the slandered servants of God? You got it. You see, while earthly victories and deliverances are rousing and inspiring, they are just that, earthly ones. And while these victories do merit a certain degree of reward in eternity as the believer’s faith is rewarded there as well, it’s the earthly losses and martyrdoms that carry the most eternal weight, assuming they were accomplished by faith in the Lord’s service. This is the great promise these “others” can claim, and it’s the one you can claim, Christian, concerning those times when you do God’s will and the enemy still walks all over you.

Posted in Adversity, Commitment, Courage, Disappointment, Doing Good, Eternity, Faith, Faithfulness, God's Will, Heaven, Persecution, Perseverance, Problems, Resurrection, Reward, Suffering, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Waiting on God’s Best

Posted on May 14, 2025 by russellmckinney

Dr. Doug Cecil was an Associate Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary for many years and now serves on staff at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas. He loves to use a quote from Orel Hershiser, one of the best pitchers ever to suit up for the Los Angeles Dodgers, as an illustration of how Satan tempts us. The quote comes from George Will’s book Men At Work: The Craft of Baseball, which takes a close look at four baseball players, Hershisher being one of them. On his philosophy of pitching, Hershiser says:

There are two theories of pitching. One is that you try to convince the batter that a particular thing is coming and you throw something different. The other theory, that you don’t hear as much, but that I use, is that if the batter expects a particular pitch, you throw it, but you throw it in a place where he can’t hit it.

Cecil then elaborates on Hershisher’s philosophy and employs it as an illustration by saying the following:

That is: Know what a batter expects and throw the ball almost there. If he is a highball hitter, throw it a bit too high. His eagerness will prevent him from laying off it, but it will be hard to hit well.

Isn’t this the way the enemy works in our life? He knows just what kind of pitch that we are a sucker for and then throws it our way. But, it is just a little higher or just a little bit more outside than where we like it, and most likely we will bite on it every time. After all, it looks so good. It feels so right.

Could it be that right now in your life you are swinging at a slightly askew pitch that looks good and feels right but isn’t something you can truly hit hard? Let me put it another way, are you somehow settling for “okay” when God’s BEST is still out there for you if you will wait for it? Don’t let Satan tempt you into swinging at his pitch of temptation when God stands ready to throw you a slow, straight, easy-to-crush batting practice fastball you can hit for a home run.

Posted in Choices, Desires, God's Provision, God's Will, Impatience, Needs, Patience, Satan, Temptation, The Devil, Waiting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Generation That Had to Die Off

Posted on May 12, 2025 by russellmckinney

I once heard a preacher’s thoughts regarding a troubled church. He said something to the effect, “There is a generation that is going to have to die off there before God can get in there and change things.” The preacher wasn’t mad when he made that statement. He wasn’t trying to be cruel or cold. Really, he had no relationship to the church in question. He was simply conveying a matter-of-fact assessment that, at least in his opinion, was true.

Let’s face is, sometimes the old guard is the problem. “We’ve never done it that way before.” “That’s not how we do things at this church.” “What makes you think you can come in here and change everything?” These are the classic statements of the old guard of a dying church.

When I think about this subject, my mind goes to that generation of Israelites who refused to claim their promised land of Canaan because of cowardice. I won’t rehash the whole story, but you can read it for yourself in Numbers chapters 13 and 14. All I’ll note here is that because of their refusal to trust God and obey Him as He led them into a new place, He pronounced a death sentence upon every Israelite twenty years old or older. That resulted in all of those people dying off in Israel’s “wilderness wandering” over the course of the next 40 years. Only after all of them were dead did God bring Israel back to Canaan again for its conquering.

The point is that it was Israel’s younger generation who got to enjoy the blessing of claiming Canaan and settling there. As for the old guard, well, they proved that they just weren’t the right spiritual timber to get in on God’s highest and best. Sadly, this describes the older generation of far too many churches. These people have become so entrenched in their way of thinking, so set in their ways, that they either can no longer hear God’s voice or won’t listen to it.

I wonder how many churches could be listed under this same category. Could it be that God is sitting up in heaven waiting for a certain generation of leaders to die off so that He can revisit these churches and begin doing fresh, exciting work in them? I also wonder about myself. As I get older and become more set in my own ways, what kind of a church member do I make? Am I part of the solution or the problem? These are questions that all of us “over 50” Christians need to ask ourselves. One thing I know for sure is that I don’t want to die and be buried in a wilderness when a Canaan is there for the claiming.

Posted in Aging, Attitude, Change, Church, Courage, Death, Faith, Fear, God's Guidance, God's Work, Leadership, Ministry, Personal, Worship, Youth | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Walking in the Midst of the Fire

Posted on May 9, 2025 by russellmckinney

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Daniel 3:23-25, N.K.J.V.)

The May 8th devotion of the classic devotional book Streams in the Desert features an insightful word from George Matheson. In his remarks about our text passage, he points out that in Christ even the fires of life can cause us to experience freedom. Matheson writes:

When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the furnace, the fire did not stop them from moving, for they were seen “walking around.” Actually, the fire was one of the streets they traveled to their destination. The comfort we have from Christ’s revealed truth is not that it teaches us freedom from sorrow but that it teaches us freedom through sorrow.

I love the idea of Christ’s people being able to walk (i.e., “make progress”) even when we are in the midst of the fire. This plan of attack is so much more productive than the one wherein you look around at the flames and say, “I’m in the midst of a fire, and so all I can do is come to an all-stop, hunker down, and just try to endure this difficult season.” No, you can do a lot more than that. Even as you are feeling the intense heat, you can obediently allow God to lead you step by step along the paths He wants you to cover while you are experiencing the flames.

What am I saying? I’m saying that you waiting on God to either put out your fire or rescue you from it shouldn’t equate to passivity on your part. Much to the contrary, the fire gives you a prime opportunity to manifest your inner faith by way of your outer works. These outer works should include you praying multiple times each day about your circumstance, continually seeking God’s wisdom and guidance about the circumstance, and promptly carrying out whatever assignments God gives you while you’re in it. By doing these things, you’ll be able to walk (make progress) in the midst of your fire.

It has often been noted that the only things that got burned when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego went into the fire were the ropes that had them bound. That burning of the ropes was the reason Nebuchadnezzar could say that he saw the men loose. Marvelously, God used that fire in a very specific way. Even as the smell of smoke could not be found upon the men’s clothes afterward, the fire targeted for destruction the ropes by which the men were restrained. Therefore, we can correctly say that being in the midst of the fire created a level of freedom in those men they did not have in the moments before they were forcibly thrown into the fire.

You see, God can do important, helpful, life-changing work on you while you are in one of life’s fires. As a matter of fact, sometimes the work He wants done cannot be done in any place but a fire! Whether the fire be one you build by way of your own disobedience, one someone else builds for your unjust punishment, or one that ignites simply from the sparks of life, God can use the fire to your betterment if you will allow Him to loose you and lead you in the flames. Just as Jesus (the Son of God) was the fourth man in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, He can be the second man in the fire with you if you will look to Him.

So, Christian, are you in the midst of some type of fire right now? If you are, please know that when the Bible says all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose, that word all includes times of fire. Even as you find yourself engulfed by flames, loosing can take place, walking can be done, and godly progress can be made. But none of it happens if you just sit there paralyzed by fear, anxiety, regret, anger, bitterness, or self-pity. That’s why the Lord wants you up and walking — walking with Him to be precise — anytime the fire is raging all around you. Rather than waste our fiery times, He wants to use them to do work in us and through us that can only get done in the heat.

Just as God spoke to Moses from the fire of the burning bush (Exodus chapters 3 and 4), He can speak to you from your fire. Just as He led the Israelites by means of a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22), He can lead you by means of your fire when you are in the darkness. Just as He descended upon Mount Sinai with fire to meet with Moses, He can meet with you in the midst of your fire. Just as silver is purified by the heat of the refining pot and gold is purified by the heat of the furnace, He can purify your heart through the heat of your flames. Just as the quality of your faith is tested by fire (1 Peter 1:7), He can help your faith be found genuine. Just as John saw the eyes of the glorified Jesus as being like a flame of fire (Revelation 1:14), Christ’s penetrating eyes can see everything about you and your fiery furnace.

The point in all this is not hard to understand. You, Christian, can actually be strengthened by the fires of life rather than weakened by them if you handle them correctly. Don’t fall apart. Don’t fly mad. Don’t get bitter. Don’t start doubting God’s love for you or even questioning His existence. Instead, let Him come to you in the midst of your fire and begin the process of Him instructing you, purifying you, refining you, and guiding you. To use the imagery from the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, let Him loose you. This will enable you to walk with Him in the middle of the flames. And this world being what it is, that is a skill that is constantly in demand in the life of any Christian.

Posted in Adversity, Anger, Attitude, Commitment, Complaining, Courage, Depression, Disappointment, Doubt, Faith, Faithfulness, Fear, God's Chastening, God's Omnipresence, God's Guidance, God's Omniscience, God's Work, Human Life, Persecution, Perseverance, Problems, Restoration, Spiritual Warfare, Suffering, Trials, Trusting In God, Waiting, Worry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Church Boss

Posted on May 7, 2025 by russellmckinney

The epistles of 2 John and 3 John paint a small corner of a larger picture of what life was like in the early church. Those two epistles speak of how itinerant teachers would travel around to different places and enjoy the hospitality of the Christians who lived in those places. Since there weren’t hotels or motels on every corner in those ancient cities and towns, it was common practice for Christians to put fellow Christians up for the night and offer them a meal (Romans 12:9-13). Even more than that, since the congregations of the early church were “house churches” (Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 1:1-2) that met in homes, if a teacher spent a day or two in a home that served as the meeting place for a “house church,” that teacher would be asked to speak to that congregation.

Now, after reading that you might think, “That all sounds just fine. What could go wrong with such a practice?” Actually, however, there were a couple of problems that developed.

Problem #1 was that some Christian homeowners showed a serious lack of discernment in regards to knowing the difference between true teachers and false teachers. For example, the epistle of 2 John is written to a specific woman who showed hospitality to so-called “Christian” teachers who taught that Jesus was something less than God in human flesh — either that He wasn’t fully divine or fully human (v.9). John’s loving rebuke to that Christian lady was, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring the doctrine of Christ, do not receive him into your house or even greet him, because if you do you will be sharing in his evil deeds” (v.9-11).

Problem #2 was the exact opposite of problem #1, and it’s the one that John addresses in the epistle of 3 John. A certain Christian (at least he called himself a Christian) named Diotrephes refused to allow the homes of anyone who attended his local congregation to be opened to traveling teachers, even genuinely God-called teachers who spoke the truth (v.10). He wouldn’t even allow the apostle John or John’s traveling companions to be received (v.9). Furthermore, he spoke malicious words against John (v.10).

And what happened if one of Diotrephes’ fellow church members broke ranks with his standing order by showing hospitality to a traveling teacher? Diotrephes would have that church member excommunicated (“churched”) from the congregation (v.10). The situation was so bad that John actually sent a letter, one now lost to history, to that congregation to address the problem. True to form, though, Diotrephes either refused to allow that letter to be read or, even worse, destroyed it (v.9).

Standing in stark contrast to Diotrephes was a Christian named Gaius, to whom the letter of 3 John is addressed (v.1). Since “Gaius” was a very common name in the first century (Acts 19:29, 20:4; Romans 16:23; 1 Cor. 1:14), it’s hard to say with certainty who this man was. Some speculate that he was a pastor whose home was used for a “house church.” Others think he was a member of the congregation Diotrephes attended. All we know for sure is what John tells us about him, which is:

  • Gaius was beloved, especially by John. (v.1,2,5,11)
  • Gaius’ spiritual health was robust, even though it’s at least possible that his physical health was somehow lacking. (v.2)
  • John had heard glowing reports from others about the hospitality that Gaius extended to traveling Christian teachers. (v.3, 5-8)
  • Gaius was either one of John’s personal converts to Christ or one of the members of the churches over which John had apostolic authority. (v.4)
  • John hoped to visit Gaius shortly and have a good visit with him. (v.13-14)

Another Christian that John praises in 3 John is Demetrius. John describes him as a man who has “a good testimony from all” (v.12). The praise that John lavishes on both Gaius and Demetrius evidences the fact that many of the Christians of the early church were kindhearted, selfless people who enjoyed being able to help any Christian teacher who was out and about ministering to others. It seems that Diotrephes was the exception rather than the rule.

Nevertheless, Diotrephes was a major problem not only to his particular congregation but to unbelievers outside the church who could use his actions to say, “Those Christians can’t even get along with themselves.” John describes him as one who “loves to have the preeminence among them” (v.9), and the Greek word translated there as “preeminence” literally means “to be fond of being first.” That was Diotrephes up one side and down the other. He didn’t see his local congregation as a place where he could serve Jesus Christ by humbling serving others. Instead, he saw it as a place where he could be the egomaniacal dictator who could lord over the congregation and bully it into bending to his warped will. It’s no wonder that many commentators take John’s words from 3 John v.11 to indicate that Diotrephes wasn’t even a true Christian.

Unfortunately, Diotrephes can still be found in many churches today even though he has been dead for some 2,000 years. He’s the church member who has to run the show. She’s the member through whom all decisions must flow. He’s the one who single-handedly prevents the church from moving forward into God’s will and blessings. She’s the one no church member would dare vote against or cross. In his commentary The Epistles of John, Oliver B. Greene writes the following concerning Diotrephes:

There are such men in the local churches today, men who, if they would tell the truth when asked if they belong to the church, would reply, “I do not belong to the church — the church belongs to ME.” There ARE churches (and to my sorrow I have been in a few of them) that are not run by God or by the pastor — nor even by the board of deacons — but by one person. Sometimes that person is a man; occasionally, sad to say, it is a woman; but in such instances, the whole church does what that one person commands.

Greene gives pastors a bit of a break in that quote, but the truth is that some pastors do cross the line into Diotrephes territory. While multiple New Testament passages grant the pastor the rule over the local congregation (Acts 20:28; 1 Thess. 5:12; 1 Tim. 5:17; Hebrews 13:7,17,24), this ruling is to be carried out by a pastor who is “not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous” (1 Tim. 3:3, N.K.J.V.). Likewise, the pastor should be “not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled” (Titus 1:7-8, N.K.J.V.)

Peter, who was a hot-headed natural born leader himself, summed up the pastor’s leadership role best when he said to pastors:

Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock… (1 Peter 5:2-3, N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

As for any other type of “church boss” — whether that person be a deacon, a deacon’s wife, a treasurer, a trustee, a Sunday School teacher, a member of the Building & Grounds committee, a member of the Finance committee, a member of the Pulpit committee, or just a regular lay person who sees advantages in not holding an official title but who dominates everything anyway — Jesus offers a clear word on the subject. And it’s a word that I’ll use as a close to this post. Read carefully, Christian, and understand how this word should manifest itself in any local church setting, including the one in which you find yourself right now:  

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28, N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Church, God's Work, Headship, Humility, Leadership, Ministry, Pastors, Preaching, Service, Sunday School, Teaching, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Were Adam & Eve Real People?

Posted on May 5, 2025 by russellmckinney

The attempts to dodge a literal reading of the Genesis account of creation began in earnest with the rise of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and have continued unceasingly ever since. In recent years these attempts have been used by some to support the idea that marriage doesn’t necessarily have to be between a man and a woman. As the thinking goes, if you mythologize the story of Adam and Eve, you leave the door open for the allowance of same-sex marriages.

The problem, however, with trying to water down the literalness of Genesis chapters 1 and 2 is this: Jesus and the writers of the New Testament took the Genesis creation story quite literally. In keeping with that literalness, they spoke of the story of Adam and Eve as being an actual event that involved an actual man and an actual woman. Therefore, if you are looking for a way to turn Adam and Eve into myths or fictional characters, don’t try quoting Jesus and the writers of the New Testament.

For starters, let me cite a couple of references from Jesus:

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-5, N.K.J.V.)

“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:46-47, N.K.J.V.)

Concerning that John 5:46-47 passage, Christ’s words imply two important truths. Truth #1: In saying that Moses had “writings,” Jesus confirmed the Jews’ long-held historical belief that Moses wrote not only the book of Genesis but also the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy. Truth #2: In specifically mentioning Genesis 3:15 (where Jesus is described as being “the Seed of the woman”), Jesus confirmed the literalness of the entire story of Adam and Eve, which begins in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 and carries over into chapter 3.

Okay, now that we have established that Jesus believed that Adam and Eve were literal people, let’s move on and look at what the apostle Paul taught in regards to the topic. We find his teaching in multiple passages. What I’ll do here is cite each passage and briefly explain how it applies to the question of whether or not Adam and Eve literally existed.

First, in Romans 5:12 Paul distinctly depicts Adam as a real man who not only was the father of the human race but took the race down into sin:

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned…(N.K.J.V.)

Second, in Romans 8:20-21 he speaks of the effect that Adam’s sin had upon all creation:

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (N.K.J.V.)

Third, in 1 Corinthians 15:45 he calls Adam “the first Adam” and Jesus “the last Adam,” and since Jesus obviously existed as an historical figure, Adam must have as well:

And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (N.K.J.V.)

Fourth, in 1 Timothy 2:13-14 he can’t be any clearer that Adam and Eve actually existed and that the Genesis account of them rings true:

For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. (N.K.J.V.)

And now, before I close this post let me also mention just a quick word about Luke. Not only did Luke consider Adam to be an actual man who once existed, he traced the genealogical family tree of Jesus all the way back to Adam. The verse is Luke 3:38, the concluding verse in Luke’s genealogy of Jesus. That verse says:

the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. (N.K.J.V.)

Clearly, in all of these references it is obvious that Jesus, Paul, and Luke took the Genesis creation story, including what it says about Adam and Eve, quite literally. Consequently, if you are going to take on that story and try to explain it away as myth or fiction, you are going to have to take on them as well. You see, it’s not just two chapters in the Old Testament you are denying. No, it’s doctrinal teaching given in multiple passages by multiple characters in the New Testament.

Of course, if someone wants to deny all of the Bible, including the entire New Testament, well, that’s a whole other conversation for a whole other time. But let’s have none of this “buffet line” approach to scripture by which we try to keep the passages that suit us and dismiss those that don’t. Frankly, I have more respect for someone who looks me squarely in the eye and says, “I think the entire Bible is about as factual as Jack & the Beanstalk” than I do someone who wants to keep the words of Jesus but mythologize the creation week and the story of Adam and Eve. I mean, how can we trust a literal interpretation of John 3:16 if we can’t apply that same kind of interpretation to Genesis 1:16 and 2:16? Think about it.

Posted in Atheism, Bible Study, Creation, Current Events, Doubt, God's Word, Homosexuality, Marriage, Scripture, The Bible | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

An Interesting Question

Posted on May 2, 2025 by russellmckinney

I once ministered to an elderly man, a member of my church, who was dying from various health issues. During one of our visits, he asked me a question that no one had ever asked me. His question was, “If a man gets saved under the ministry of a preacher, and that preacher later on gets accused of doing something really bad, what does that say about the supposed salvation experience the man experienced under the preacher’s ministry?”

It wasn’t hard to figure out that the dying man had himself in mind, and a short while later he filled in the specifics of the case. Years earlier he had heard a certain preacher preach a powerful message, after which he had accepted the preacher’s invitation to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior. In the years that had followed, though, that preacher had been disgraced out of the ministry by a scandalous accusation. Regardless of whether or not the accusation was the truth — and neither I nor the church member knew that answer — it had caused the church member to always have a sliver of a doubt about the salvation experience.

The whole thing was news to me because the dying man had been one of the most faithful members I’d had during my time as pastor of that church. I certainly had no reason to doubt his salvation. But I could see that the question was weighing on his mind as he lay at death’s door, and so I did my best to assure him that he had placed his belief in Jesus, not the preacher. Jesus was the one who had saved him, and Jesus can’t fail. The preacher was merely the vessel through which the gospel had been given, and that message was untainted no matter what sin the preacher may or may not have committed later on in life. I think the church member already knew that answer, but he wanted to get a second opinion before he went out to meet his Maker. How I wish that everyone was as concerned about their relationship with Jesus as they come to the end of life.

As I think about the characters of the Bible, I can name many who did great things for the Lord only to fail somehow in the days that followed:

  • Noah saved the human race by building an ark, but then he got drunk sometime after the flood was over (Genesis 9:18-21). Did that bout of drunkenness invalidate his building of the ark?
  • Abraham left his hometown of Ur and allowed God to lead him to Canaan, but then he went down to Egypt and, once there, lied about his relationship to his wife Sarah (Genesis 12:10-20). Did that trip and that lie invalidate the obedience and faith he had shown in making the journey to Canaan?
  • Moses faithfully led the Israelites for over forty years, but then he struck the rock in anger and in so doing disqualified himself from leading them into Canaan (Numbers 20:6-12). Did that one act invalidate everything he had done in the previous forty years of dedicated service?
  • David served God as a shepherd boy, wrote Psalms, slew the giant Goliath, patiently waited on God to remove Saul as king, united the 12 tribes of Israel into one kingdom, captured Jerusalem and made it Israel’s capital, brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, and ushered in a golden age for Israel, but then he had a one-night stand with Bathsheba, got her pregnant, had her husband Uriah killed, and married her (2 Samuel 11:1-27). Did his sins of adultery and murder invalidate all the good he had done leading up to them?
  • Solomon succeeded David upon Israel’s throne, received great wisdom from God, built the Jewish temple, and led Israel into its greatest economic and political era, but then he allowed his hundreds of foreign wives and concubines to seduce him into their worship of false gods (1 Kings 11:1-8). Did his idolatry invalidate everything he had done before it?
  • Peter was the leader of Christ’s chosen 12 apostles and was sent forth by Christ with the other 11 to cast out demons, heal the sick, and preach the gospel, but following Christ’s arrest he thrice denied knowing Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75). Did those denials invalidate all of Peter’s previous ministry?
  • Thomas was one of the chosen 12, and he too was sent forth by Christ to cast out demons, heal the sick, and preach the gospel, but following Christ’s death he openly doubted Christ’s resurrection (John 20:24-29). Did that refusal to believe that Jesus had resurrected invalidate all of Thomas’ previous ministry?

As you can see, there is plenty of Bible evidence for the answer I gave that dying man. As a matter of fact, I wish he had given me a little notice about his question so that I could have provided him with a more thorough answer that day. In the end, though, he seemed at peace with not only my answer but also the decision for Jesus he had made under the ministry of that preacher. The church member died not long afterward, and I had no hesitation whatsoever about using my funeral sermon to assure his family that he was in heaven with his Savior. For that matter, that preacher is dead now as well, and if he truly did know Christ as his Savior, regardless of any sin he ever committed, he’s in heaven too. Remember, Jesus forgives the believer of all sins, even scandalous ones.

Posted in Backsliding, Belief, Doubt, Eternal Security, Evangelism, Faith, Forgiveness, God's Work, Grace, Ministry, Personal, Preaching, Salvation, Service, Sin, The Gospel, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Following Your Own Counsel

Posted on April 30, 2025 by russellmckinney

If you ask me to name the #1 problem that Christians exhibit in their daily conduct, my answer might surprise you. It wouldn’t be “sin,” even though we certainly do sin far too much. It wouldn’t be “a lack of spiritual discernment” either, even though we oftentimes showcase that as well. No, my answer would be “following our own counsel.” Of course, it can be argued that following your own counsel is sin and does show a lack of spiritual discernment, but for the purposes of this post let’s just let it stand as its own category.

The Bible contains numerous passages that warn against following your own counsel. Here are a five of them (all from the N.K.J.V.):

Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask the counsel of the Lord. (Joshua 9:14)

They soon forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel. (Psalm 106:13)

Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons — Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High. (Psalm 107:10-11)

There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel — that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21)

“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin;…” (Isaiah 30:1)

Counsel is an interesting thing. Here are five facts about it:

  1. You can have nothing to do with counsel. In Deuteronomy 32:28, God describes Israel as a nation “void of counsel.” Likewise, Proverbs 11:14 says where there is no counsel the people fall.
  2. You can get bad counsel from the wrong people. Psalm 1:1 pronounces blessing upon the person who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Needless to say, the reverse holds true for the person who does walk in such counsel. Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and heir, walked in the ungodly counsel of his foolish friends and in so doing lost the support of Israel’s ten northern tribes. (1 Kings 12:1-20)
  3. You can get wise counsel from the right people. There are times and places in your life when God will use the wise counsel of others to guide you into His will. Moses accepted the counsel of his father-in-law (Exodus 18:13-27), and Proverbs 12:15 says the one who heeds counsel is wise.
  4. You can get God’s counsel and follow it. Receiving wise counsel from others is appropriate in its place, but there are times when God Himself will reveal His will to you in such an undeniable way that you really don’t need to get anyone else’s opinion. In Psalm 16:7, David says, “I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel.” Similarly, James 1:5 says that God will grant wisdom to anyone who lacks it and asks Him for it.
  5. You can get counsel from yourself and follow it. Proverbs 28:26 says the one who trusts in his own heart is a fool. But why is he a fool? It’s because, as Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, our hearts are deceitful and wicked due to our inborn nature of sin. Therefore, you must always be wary of listening to your heart and doing what seems right to you. Frankly, you just don’t know best.

Ah, but how we rebel against the notion that we don’t know what’s best for us! How we kick against the idea that we aren’t worthy captains for our life’s ship! How loathe we are to lay aside our own logic and humbly submit ourselves to either the wise counsel of others or, more importantly, God’s counsel! Even Christians aren’t immune from this problem.

For one thing, the Christian can grieve the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). This is accomplished by doing something the Spirit said not to do. For another thing, the Christian can quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). This is accomplished by not doing something the Spirit said to do. Either way what it amounts to is the Christian walking in his or her own counsel rather than the council of God.

Any decision in which God gets no say is really just a “business” decision because there’s nothing spiritual about it. Many churches make business decisions in electing pastors. Many pastors make business decisions in accepting churches. Many denominations make business decisions in determining how the contributions get allocated. Many individual Christians make business decisions regarding everything from car purchases to where to live. We decide as we think best, sprinkle a little religion over our decision, and call the chosen path “God’s will.”

So, in closing, let me ask you this simple question about that decision you are facing right now: “Have you sought God’s counsel concerning it?” If you haven’t, then take this post as His warning bell to get you to talk to Him about the decision. And then, of course, you should follow whatever counsel He gives you, even if you don’t agree with it. If you go rouge and make your own choice, you’ll miss God’s will just as surely as you are reading this. And that won’t be good for anybody, especially you.

Posted in Choices, Counsel, Decisions, Desires, Discernment, God's Guidance, God's Will, Obedience, Rebellion, Seeking Advice, The Heart, The Holy Spirit, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment