When I was very young, I remember seeing a sign referring to a “Full Gospel Church.”
Now, having been raised in a Presbyterian congregation, I don’t remember much talk about a gospel. But even after I learned what it was, I was having a problem with certain adjectives.
I wondered…if a congregation defined its gospel competency in fullness, did it distinguish itself from others which chose to function only fractionally in that respect? Did half gospel or quarter gospel assemblies actually exist? More importantly, were they the rule rather than the exception?
This was before the internet, of course, so I had no idea who to ask.
While this observation is absurd on at least one level, many pastors today are indeed serving up the Gospel message on dessert size dishes, leaving only enough room for a sweet slice of God’s unmerited grace on the plate. In other words, the Good News of the Bible [εὐαγγέλιον: (yūôngālion) gospel, good news] is being preached with no relevance to the Bible story as a whole.
But dessert doesn’t begin in the middle of the meal.
The Gospel is a story that began at the creation of the heavens and the Earth and continues to this day. As it progresses, it revolves around the eminence of a just and loving Creator and how He used men and women over the ages to open a door to friendship with Him if they so desired.
Jesus Christ isn’t just a Savior to mankind. He’s also an integral part of a Divine process. As the apostle Paul explains in his letter to the churches of Galatia:
“The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations shall be blessed in You’...Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law...in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” [vs. 3:8, 13a-14] [my emphasis]
So what does “the blessing of Abraham” have to do with my salvation?
Everything.
[Watch the video “Who Was Abram” https://www.facebook.com/cjournal.me/videos/1901573210057028/]
The Lord God promised Abraham that, through his Seed, Jesus Christ, we Gentiles would also be blessed. That’s why Paul reminded the reader that if he belongs to Christ, then, through Christ, he would also inherit what God promised to Abraham. [vss. 3:27-29] [see also: Rom. 8:16-17]
So I can see that, because Jesus was born, lived and died, He fulfilled the promise given to Abraham. And I can also understand why a full course Gospel meal has to begin with the appetizers.
But if I’m a serious student of the Bible, I can’t help but notice that God’s promise to Abraham has always been the only basis for any hope ever expressed by any author in any of the texts—that is, His promise of inheritance.
[What’s inheritance? see: Birthright Through Redemption]
Any good news recorded in the Scriptures cannot alter that hope. Nor can it omit anything or add to it.
It’s only about who’s now included.
Posted: October 6, 2021 by cjournalme Leave a Comment
Don’t Look Too Hard
It’s time to stop waiting for the mark of the beast.
It’s already here. Actually, it’s always been around, it’s only begun to rear a few of its ugly heads. While we’ve been looking for a tattooed wrist to slip out from under a shirtsleeve, the reality of the apostle John’s Revelation from the Lord’s messenger has been unfolding before us.
And what’s happening today has convinced me that Biblical prophesy is just as much a process as an event.
For example, I’d be foolish to declare that the global push for Covid 19 vaccinations is a direct fulfillment of prophesy. Nor do I intend to address the logic of any personal decision regarding health care. I’d only point out that the mindset behind trying to force Jesus Christ’s people to do something against their will is identical to that described in Rev. 13:16 and 20:4.
If you think that’s a stretch, consider first that, in both of these passages, the Greek noun χάραγμα [kárâgmâ], translated as “mark,” is defined as a mark, stamp, image or representation.
But here’s where it gets interesting.
In the Acts of the Apostles, the apostle Paul used the same noun in a speech to the pagans in Athens:
“Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image [χάραγμα] formed by the art and thought of man.” [Acts 17:29]
Imagine that.
The mark of the beast described in the apostle John’s Revelation could also very well be an image–or any number of images “formed by the art and thought of man.” The mark that’s currently being shoved down my throat is one that I’m told I can’t live without. If I accept it, I’d no doubt wear that image on my “forehead” by reflecting it in my heart, or on my “hand” by reflecting it through my actions.
I’m not sure I’d be able to pull that off.
It seems to me that the mark has revealed itself as a series of decisions.
I wonder what’s next?
Last Updated: March 8, 2025 by cjournalme Leave a Comment
Who’s Teaching You?
How often have you heard this?
“Yeah, we like the people and everything, but we’re just not gettin’ anything out of it. We’re lookin’ around for another church.”
Or maybe you’ve said it yourself because the social buzz is starting to wear off.
On the other hand, your congregation might be thriving as an institution where trained leadership is as skilled at drawing the crowds inside the walls as it is fishing money out of pocketbooks. The activities are fun and the food is good. You meet a lot of people. It’s a nice place where nice people go to do nice things.
And the more the merrier.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with developing social skills in a Christian fellowship setting. In fact, it’s crucial to growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ. But when did the apostle Paul ever encourage his apprentice Timothy to build membership in the assembly at Ephesus?
If he did, he would’ve had to done it in person because there’s no record of it in the Bible or any other historically relevant document. Instead, he urged him to stay in Ephesus primarily to “…instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines…”[1Tim. 1:3, 6:20; see also: 2Tim. 2:23, 4:1-4]
But what about spreading the Good News of the kingdom of God?
Perhaps that went without saying, because evangelism has always been an effective tool of discipleship given the right time and situation. Nevertheless, Paul wrote two different letters to Timothy instructing him to focus on rebuking, teaching, training and emboldening other men in the Body of Christ.
That’s because his mission to bring the Gospel to the outside world would have accomplished nothing without those things:
“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” [2Tim 2:1-2]
Our congregations are cells of His Body which, just like the human body, function on different levels with different purposes at different times. Coming together as a group helps the Body to grow in certain ways. [see: Acts 2:42]
But individual spiritual growth in Jesus Christ is rarely accomplished in a corporate setting—it has to be one on one.
Not only that, men who belong to Christ must become FAT men in order to grow spiritually. That is to say, faithful, available and teachable. There are plenty of faithful men who are eager to make themselves available with their gifts. Yet, too many of them are unwilling to be taught themselves.
The man who makes provisions to learn and grow is courageous, allowing himself to be challenged both intellectually and personally by his peers.
But the FAT man doesn’t gain Biblical insight looking in the rearview mirror.
He knows that learning is the chance of a lifetime.
Last Updated: October 17, 2024 by cjournalme Leave a Comment
The Fate of the Idle Servant
Ignorance may very well be bliss, but I might want to consider where it actually leads me.
Perhaps I should be regarded as somewhat of an authority on this subject. Having grown up with a twin brother, I soon learned that, quite often, we were both disciplined equally for an offense committed by only one or the other.
I can also testify that, more than once, I was completely unaware of what he was up to.
It seems that, as we mature, we have a tendency to exchange our childish obsession with unfairness for ignorance on demand. If we can just get our heads buried in the sand at the right time, then it all becomes irrelevant.
Ignorance is always likely to get a pass. And sometimes it’s justifiable.
But, according to the Man, Jesus Christ, not realizing what His will for me in this age isn’t likely to be an acceptable excuse when He returns to repay me for my works in the next one. In Luke’s gospel account, a conversation between Jesus and His disciples eventually evolved into the topic of personal responsibility–a pattern of dialog often repeated.
In a parable, He described different scenarios of consequences for the servants of a master who trusted them to be faithful to his instructions while he was gone. As a result, when he returned, the evil servant was severely punished and then put into a place with the unfaithful. [Lk. 12:45-46] On the other hand, the servant who actually knew his Master’s will but didn’t do it received heavy punishment. [vs. 47]
But there were also the servants who did not know what their Master’s will was. [vs. 48] While their punishment was to be less severe than the others, I think it’s important for Jesus Christ’s disciples to understand that no one gets off the hook simply because he was unaware of his job description.
If I can’t read the Bible, I can learn to. If I’m too lazy to read it, I suppose I could ask someone what it says or listen to what others say about it. Good luck with that.
Either way, I can’t be Christ’s disciple and not know what He wants me to do.
But neither can I be a jet mechanic with limited knowledge about hydraulics and turbofan engines. No one would dare let me get away with that.
So why would He?
“From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.” [Lk. 12:48b]
Last Updated: June 4, 2024 by cjournalme Leave a Comment
It’s All About Also.
When I was very young, I remember seeing a sign referring to a “Full Gospel Church.”
Now, having been raised in a Presbyterian congregation, I don’t remember much talk about a gospel. But even after I learned what it was, I was having a problem with certain adjectives.
I wondered…if a congregation defined its gospel competency in fullness, did it distinguish itself from others which chose to function only fractionally in that respect? Did half gospel or quarter gospel assemblies actually exist? More importantly, were they the rule rather than the exception?
This was before the internet, of course, so I had no idea who to ask.
While this observation is absurd on at least one level, many pastors today are indeed serving up the Gospel message on dessert size dishes, leaving only enough room for a sweet slice of God’s unmerited grace on the plate. In other words, the Good News of the Bible [εὐαγγέλιον: (yūôngālion) gospel, good news] is being preached with no relevance to the Bible story as a whole.
But dessert doesn’t begin in the middle of the meal.
The Gospel is a story that began at the creation of the heavens and the Earth and continues to this day. As it progresses, it revolves around the eminence of a just and loving Creator and how He used men and women over the ages to open a door to friendship with Him if they so desired.
Jesus Christ isn’t just a Savior to mankind. He’s also an integral part of a Divine process. As the apostle Paul explains in his letter to the churches of Galatia:
“The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations shall be blessed in You’...Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law...in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” [vs. 3:8, 13a-14] [my emphasis]
So what does “the blessing of Abraham” have to do with my salvation?
Everything.
[Watch the video “Who Was Abram” https://www.facebook.com/cjournal.me/videos/1901573210057028/]
The Lord God promised Abraham that, through his Seed, Jesus Christ, we Gentiles would also be blessed. That’s why Paul reminded the reader that if he belongs to Christ, then, through Christ, he would also inherit what God promised to Abraham. [vss. 3:27-29] [see also: Rom. 8:16-17]
So I can see that, because Jesus was born, lived and died, He fulfilled the promise given to Abraham. And I can also understand why a full course Gospel meal has to begin with the appetizers.
But if I’m a serious student of the Bible, I can’t help but notice that God’s promise to Abraham has always been the only basis for any hope ever expressed by any author in any of the texts—that is, His promise of inheritance.
[What’s inheritance? see: Birthright Through Redemption]
Any good news recorded in the Scriptures cannot alter that hope. Nor can it omit anything or add to it.
It’s only about who’s now included.
Posted: June 21, 2021 by cjournalme Leave a Comment
Prize?…What prize?
Some journeys are only meant to be traveled once.
Yet, the path to our redemption is re-walked so often during Sunday morning sermons that we lose sight of the goal it was leading us to.
You’d think the Body of Christ needs saving over and over again.
[What’s my redemption? see: Different Fruit…Same Good News]
Think about it.
If my Christian life revolves only around what’s been given to me, there won’t be much time to focus on the prize the Lord wants me to win. The wheels driven by discipleship can’t turn when they’re stuck on first base.
And discipleship has always been about the prize.
In his letter to the church of God which [was] at Corinth, to those who [had] been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place [called] on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours, the apostle Paul sought not to be disqualified from receiving the imperishable prize:
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim. I box in such a way, as not beating the air. But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” [1Cor. 9:24-27] [my emphasis]
[ἀδόκιμος: (âdókîmôs) failing to meet the test, disqualified; worthless; corrupted (mind)]
Christ’s Good News needs to be shared with those who have ears to hear it. But nothing is gained by overthinking God’s grace. In fact, if I omit the part about running the race to win or face the penalty of being disqualified as a fellow partaker of Jesus Christ’s inheritance, then I’m passing on false information.
Competing for a prize is a familiar enough concept for most men. It’s an inherent goal that’s demonstrated in the workplace and sporting events alike by both participants and spectators.
But consider the goals of the Evil One. A valuable prize that no one has heard about will never be sought. Even so, the hopeful human heart will still find something to latch on to.
The result?
Christ’s flock soon becomes preoccupied with something it can never lose—its redemption.
If I can’t see the prize at home plate, I won’t even think about trying to steal second.
Posted: June 3, 2021 by cjournalme Leave a Comment
Identify that Familiar Howl
In a community of rational people, the goal of civil debate is best achieved when both sides recognize that reasonable differences are presented as objectives which are actually reasonable.
But in a world unbound by a moral code, reasonability has become a flexible parameter, that is, something needed to accomplish a goal rather than define it. So, I keep reminding myself that’s how the world works.
It’s always re-thinking, re-defining and re-making itself.
No wonder so many discussions don’t make sense. That’s probably why “the disciple that Jesus loved” didn’t have a lot of good things to say about how the world works:
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. [1Jn. 2:15-16]
There you go.
I can’t love the world and love the truth. They’re incompatible.
The world is willing to give me everything my flesh craves. We like to call it the good life. But the only life this world offers is built upon what seems reasonable to those who lust for its treasures. Look around. The rulers of this world sustain themselves with those treasures: power, pride and flesh.
I wonder…do they know where this is all going?
The world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God remains in the age.” [1Jn. 2:17]
[Why is it important to be able to “remain in the age?” see: Let’s Engage the Coming Age!]
I can’t think of a Bible verse that’s more direct and comprehensive in illustrating how much influence this world has over Jesus Christ’s disciples than what the apostle Paul wrote to “the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who [were] at Colossae:”
“See [that] no one shall be taking you captive through human wisdom and empty deception, based on the traditions of men, based on the elementary forces of the world and not based on Christ.” [vs. 2:8]
It’s interesting to note here what he says deception is based on. Human wisdom. Tradition. The fundamental things of the world.
Isn’t it reasonable to assume these things are stumbling blocks to any man who is determined to “remain in the age,” that is, the age to come?
Maybe that depends on who you ask.
Posted: March 18, 2021 by cjournalme Leave a Comment
The Gospel of Urgency
Sure, everybody needs Jesus, but that’s not always where it starts.
I wouldn’t try to start training an injured animal until I could successfully bring relief to its suffering. In the same way, if I want to be an effective disciple of Jesus Christ, I first have to be able to recognize the immediate needs of someone who asks for help over any craving I might have to share God’s Good News with them.
That’s just common sense. Right?
Then why are some of us so eager to dump our religious truck on another’s suffering as the first step in its solution? The reasons would vary, of course, but I often remind myself that immaturity is likely to distort any rational thought process. I speak from personal experience.
On the other hand, the members of a spiritually mature congregation of Jesus Christ recognize immediacy as something critical to constructive problem solving.
Yet, some of us just don’t get it.
It hard to expect the man who just lost his job to respond positively to an invitation to next week’s Bible study or the Wednesday night Couple’s Focus Group.
His focus is on survival and he’s looking for a timely solution. The odds are he’s not even able to think about God right now, let alone ask Him for anything. While prayer, fellowship and personal growth are essential to helping him get back on his feet in the long term, he needs food, money and attention in real time.
Mature Christian love seeks out and fulfills the urgency of genuine need. It doesn’t patronize, misguide or coddle.
It blends an immediate, practical solution with a Biblical path which will help to insure its success.
Posted: December 21, 2020 by cjournalme Leave a Comment
Making Sense of His Good Scents
This passage has been on my mind lately:
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and makes known through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place, since we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” [2Cor. 2:14-15; words of the apostle Paul in his letter to the church of God which [was] at Corinth with all the saints who [were] throughout Achaia]
I memorized it years ago since it seemed to confirm an interesting impression I developed about certain people whom I’d met for the first time. While I rarely ever asked, I often sensed if they were disciples of Jesus Christ.
There was just something about them that made me feel that way.
But then, I’m a disciple too. So, if God is spreading the “scent of the knowledge of Jesus Christ” around me as well, how does it smell to everybody else?
What should the world sense about Him through my presence?
I have to confess that, over the past 10 months, my aura hasn’t consistently spread a “pleasing aroma” of Christ effectively to those around me. Some could even question my diligence about choosing to be led by the Spirit. I believe they’d be justified in doing so.
But let no one challenge the inherent ambitions of my masculinity by calling them toxic.
Because the presence of the knowledge of Christ demonstrates much more than just patience with a smile. The one who senses that I might be Christ’s disciple must also be able to recognize a man of discernment who’s not afraid to stand up to the irrational demands of tyrants and Socialist bullies. He needs to witness my structural preference for protecting children, families and livelihoods from the devastating effects of their schemes, regardless of the cost.
If he thinks such confrontational tactics are Biblically unwarranted, perhaps he can recall how our Lord Jesus Himself physically cleansed the temple of corruption and usury, offering no apologies in the process. [see: Matt. 21:12-13, Mk. 11:15, Jn. 2:15-16]
So, even though the fragrance of Jesus Christ surrounding me can sometimes be tainted by the odor of human weakness, it seems to me that both “those who are being saved” and “those who are perishing” have something to verify by witnessing my behavior.
Hopefully, those being saved will be encouraged by the words or actions of a valiant man.
On the other hand, those who are perishing might well be afraid of perishing. Odds are, they’re looking for anything that might delay that process regardless of whether it makes sense or not.
But who knows what the sweet aroma of Jesus will do when it blows across their faces?
Posted: November 6, 2020 by cjournalme Leave a Comment
High Rollers in His Grace
I’m not sure anybody can be a moral person if he’s not courageous as well.
I can profess my undying faith in Jesus Christ, but if I’m afraid to act on that faith, am I really a righteous man?
Courage must consume Christ’s disciple, otherwise fear will. Somehow, I must learn how to become courageous or I’ll never be able to defend what I claim is important to me. But just like anything else of value, I need to be prepared to pay for it.
What, then, is the cost of courage?
Perhaps I could calculate its cost by observing the habits of living men who aren’t afraid of anything. Or, I could read historical accounts about gallant men of the past. Fortunately, the Bible has plenty of stories about some big spenders. But they didn’t just do it for kicks.
I’m convinced that bravery can never be fully experienced without first seeking and securing the bigger prize—that is, God’s grace.
Jesus had a lot to say about how costly God’s grace was, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer understood Him well enough to write a book about it. He articulated the pricing structure of grace, from top to bottom:
“Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ…Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field. For the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has…Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.” [taken from The Cost of Discipleship, 1937, Dietrich Bonhoeffer]
Cheap grace is the temporal bargain of a lifetime. It’s peddled on our television screens and street corners for a profit. It’s even preached in our sanctuaries to keep the pews full.
Conversely, costly grace is that precious pearl many have convinced themselves they can’t afford. It’s the grace they identify with, but are afraid to embrace.
Jesus told His disciples:
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?” [Matt. 16:26]
Understanding this verse wasn’t what made me a Christian man. Nor did it close the deal for my redemption. It simply forced me to perceive discipleship the same way Jesus did––as an all-in deal.
Then it began to make sense.
Last Updated: June 21, 2024 by cjournalme 5 Comments
Lies, Lunacy and Limitations
In this country, the limits of our government’s authority have long been defined by the noble intentions of men.
A fool will argue that those good intentions are the source of his freedom, rather than the guardian of it. But the wise man understands that real freedom is unattainable outside of a regenerate life bound up together with Jesus Christ.
There is, however, another dynamic which sets boundaries for human governing authorities. In his letter to all who [were] beloved of God in Rome, called as saints, the apostle Paul wrote:
“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those which exist have been established by God.” [Rom. 13:1]
The authority that comes from God cannot contradict itself. For example, if God is indeed authority, that authority can never authorize the killing of human fetuses or sanction sexual perversion in any form. So, any act of government which exacts evil upon its moral subjects can never be regarded as either lawful or binding.
In other words, for those who claim to belong to Jesus Christ, the jurisdiction of federal, state or municipal authority ends at the very point it begins to clash with Biblical fidelity.
What then? Should Christ’s disciple familiarize himself with the limits of men’s authority, or should he dwell on the infinite boundaries of God’s authority?
Perhaps by focusing on the quality of life that He wants me to experience rather than baseless fears, I’d be more prepared to identify the lies being fabricated about the severity of a seasonal virus or the frailties of the human immune system.
We must not allow ourselves to be deceived.
Deceit is a transgression of no varied intensity. It doesn’t keep score, nor does it regulate its venom. The lies that have forced us to close our businesses, keep our distance and cover our faces are no less an evil strategy than the abhorrence of murdering children in the womb or the crippling of our national morale by attempting to dismantle our public safety institutions.
So you think that’s a stretch?
Think again. Lies and lunacy are leaven which spread quickly in a free society.
And if I allow even the smallest amounts to invade my life, their potentiality will soon become my master rather than my servant. The illusion of security will consume me, and the myth of their benevolence will eventually crush me.
I’ll never know it hit me.
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