Category Archives: Theology

Bible, Church, Culture, Culture War, Patriotism, Politics, Terrorism, Theology, US History

The first pastor arrested, and what happened next…

Quote from Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel:
 
Today I want to share additional details about the first pastor arrested this year for worship. The story is shocking, but also reveals that God can turn evil into good. Read on to learn exactly what happened to the first pastor in America jailed for opening his church. – Mat
 
Police helicopters circled above and marked cars lined the street in front of his home. The pastor grabbed only his driver’s license and a little cash for bail, before answering the door.
 
The pastor opened the door.
 
“ARE YOU PACKING?” the officer asked.
 
“Of course not,” the pastor replied. The police officers cuffed him like a common criminal. His wife watched as her husband was placed in the back of a squad car and driven to the county jail.
 
He was booked, fingerprinted, photographed for a mug shot, and placed in a cell while his wife waited in the lobby. After posting bail, he was released.
 
The Hillsborough County Sheriff made many false statements during a sensational press conference while the arrest was in progress. As a result, Pastor Rodney and The River at Tampa Bay Church received many death threats.
 
On the prior Thursday, March 26, the same Sheriff assured the pastor he could meet on Sunday. Florida had not banned worship, but the local county late Friday night issued new restrictions.
 
On Saturday night, the pastor had an uneasy feeling. He preached the morning service, yet the feeling grew. For the evening service, another preacher held the lectern, and Pastor Rodney attended from home.
 
It turns out the pastor’s unease was well founded, and likely a divine message from the Lord. The same Sheriff who gave the green light had planned an ambush, because of pressure over the weekend from the lesbian mayor.Deputies were sent to the evening service to arrest the pastor in front of the congregation.
 
When the deputies arrived and saw that Pastor Rodney was not there, they left. The next morning this shocking spectacle unfolded. The Pastor was booked on two misdemeanors.
 
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department’s written policy for handling misdemeanors is not to arrest, but to treat such citations like a traffic ticket. But Pastor Rodney was targeted to “send a message,” the Sheriff said. Within days of the arrest, the same Sheriff released over 100 convicted criminals. Tragically, one of them committed murder the next day!
 
Let me tell you a bit about The River at Tampa Bay Church.
 
Inside the church is a self-contained sustainable agriculture center. Tilapia fish and chickens fuel an aquaponic vegetable farm that feeds 900 needy inner-city families each week. The church has received several awards and commendations over the years, recognizing its long history of caring for the community. The River Church had even received a commendation from the Sheriff’s office, honoring the church for daring to go into the most dangerous parts of the city – places where even the police admit they do not go unless they have to go. The church has been credited for reducing crime in the inner city.
 
For a body of believers, “church” is more than music and a message. This church is active, and the people are encouraged through fellowship. For 24 years, this church has been the hands and feet of Christ in the community.
 
On March 30, 2020; Pastor Rodney was the first pastor in the nation to be arrested for exercising his Constitutional right to worship.
 
But this apparent tragedy gave courage to many more around the world, including some pastors we represent.
 
As a result of Liberty Counsel defending Pastor Rodney, two days later on April 1, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared attendance at churches and places of worship “essential activity.” He overrode every local restriction.
 
Following Christ’s example, Pastor Rodney prayed for the Sheriff. Several weeks later he called, seeking forgiveness. The Sheriff recently attended the church where the pastor publicly forgave him.
 
Because of the death threats, Pastor Rodney did not immediately re-open the church for in-person worship. The church met online until May 31, Pentecost Sunday, when it began outdoor services. Each evening, the church has held a four-hour revival for 91 consecutive days, counting today. The revival continues, as does indoor worship. The Stand, as Pastor Rodney calls it, has spawned many similar revival meetings across the country, even in cities town apart by riots. Last week, the church held an all-night prayer meeting for our nation.
 
But along with the rise of more brave pastors and strengthened resolve, so too came a renewed resolve among the tyrants. In the months that have passed since Pastor Rodney was arrested, other governors and local officials have launched their own illegal edicts against churches.
 
Pastors have been arrested – some with criminal charges. Churchgoers have been put on the equivalent of house arrest. And the City of Chicago has threatened to seize and destroy church buildings.
 
All because the brave pastors and their flocks chose to stand on the Constitution and the will of God in their lives.
 
Liberty Counsel is currently fighting for scores of churches against the illegal, unconstitutional restrictions placed against them by the Governors of California, Illinois, Kentucky, Virginia and Maine. We also represent about 2,000 pastors and churches in 44 states. We are deeply honored to stand alongside and represent these brave shepherds and believers.
 
We are fighting for the God given, unalienable and Constitutional RIGHT of religious freedom. Our fight for the church is the most important fight we wage. We are assured that the Gates of Hell will not prevail.
 
The church has never belonged to Caesar. The church belongs to God alone. Therefore, any surrender of the church to Caesar is nothing short of treason to the King of Kings.
 
We need your help like never before, to defend the faith in the earthly halls of justice. We anticipate this fight will have to go all the way to the Supreme Court. That’s why I am so honored that a challenge grant has been established to DOUBLE THE IMPACT OF YOUR DONATION. We never charge for our services, and these brave pastors need your help now. Please, make your best possible donation today.
 
Mat Staver,
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel
Church, Doctrine, Ministry, Theology

Wisdom from Bishop T.F. Tenney

Bible, Culture, Israel, Miracles, Technology, Theology

Israel to land on moon on 110th anniversary of founding of City of Tel Aviv

I could not agree more with my friend, Kasim Hafeez, who just posted the following:

“What an interesting day today is! April 11 marks 110 years since the founding of Tel Aviv, when 66 Jewish families gathered on a desolate sand dune to parcel out the land by lottery using seashells. While we marvel at what Tel Aviv has become today, this is just a tiny part of a much bigger and greater story. If you look at the picture of the empty desert below and think of what Tel Aviv is today, it is truly astounding given the circumstances, but today 110 years on from the day Jewish families gathered on those desolate sand dunes that would become, Israel, the Jewish state, will touch down on the moon. From barren deserts to the moon in 110 years! Yes the reborn state of Israel is younger that 110 years, yet it didn’t just spring into being in 1948. It took a movement, the realization of a dream. It took pioneers, dreamers, men and women who wanted to fulfill that most basic need in human kind, to go home. So while the skyline of Tel Aviv is incredible, to see and witness where it has come from to where it is, in the skies above, something much more incredible is happening.

“Look, I know I’ve talked about the miracles of Jewish history for a while now, but this is just another example. It’s not just in the skylines and in buildings, it is the rebuilding. It’s bringing a dead language back (Hebrew). It’s in creating rich and vibrant culture, arts, theater, science, technology, and an endless desire to be a light to humanity.

“Let every nazi, antisemite, antizionist and islamist see, that while you peddle in hate, while you call for the murder of Jews, while you think you can destroy the Jewish state and people, the reality is this: Israel thrives, and in a few hours a space module with a flag with the Star of David will sit on the moon, marking an incredible, impossible achievement. And if witnessing the first 72 years of Israel’s rebirth is anything to go by, this is just the start.”

Update:

“#Beresheet crashed on the Moon. Connection was lost before the landing. Still this is an incredible achievement for #Israel ……next year on the moon?

“Israel has achieved something most of the world has not even come close to. It’s a testament to what Israel has achieved in 71 years that this is not being celebrated as the great achievement it is but as a mission partly accomplished. An Israeli moon landing will happen, and I see it happening in the near future.”

Bible, Church, Doctrine, Theology

Christian Pastor responds to Mormon doctrine on Baptism for the Dead

This video published by Mormons (below) proposes to defend / explain their doctrine and practice of Baptism for the Dead:

 

This is my reply, as a Christian pastor who holds the Bible as our supreme authority in matters of faith and practice.

First, certainly anyone is free to believe such a thing. I do not oppose anyone’s right to believe this and practice it. I seek to address whether their doctrine is biblically sound, and whether it is therefore something that Christians should buy into. I find it to not be biblically sound.

The Mormon’s doctrine and practice of Baptism for the Dead is a notion quite strange to me. There are several underpinnings worth looking at.

I watched the video and noticed some things while listening to the narrator’s explanation of “proxies.”

Proxies have no authority to represent someone unless the unable person has granted that power to the proxy. To use the examples given in the video:

  • A substitute teacher cannot be a proxy for a regular teacher unless the regular teacher has consented to be temporarily replaced by the substitute, and/or the school / principal / school board has consented and has asked the substitute to stand in.
  • Likewise, a person cannot just show up and claim they have power of attorney. An unable person who wants to be represented needs to have previously signed, granting the power of attorney, or else they cannot be represented in that way.

In contrast to this essential requirement of permission being granted before any proxy can represent someone else… persons who died without choosing to be baptized, do not leave in their wills (nor say aloud before dying) that they designate anyone to represent them as their proxy for being baptized in their place. The reason is clear: if they actually wanted to be baptized, they would have simply gotten baptized themselves. Thus, what permission do the Mormons have for representing dead persons that never gave such permission? Bear in mind they don’t just get baptized for ancestors they personally knew prior to the person having passed. They get baptized for many literally distant ancestors, who died long ago, well before the “proxies” were born, and this is after doing extensive genealogical research.

This weakness regarding permission seems to have led to their effort to address it in the video.  The narrator states, “You may be asking yourself, ‘Isn’t it a little presumptuous for Mormons to perform a baptism for the dead, who may not even want it?'”

Yes, we are asking ourselves that very thing.

In their “reply” to their own posing of the question, they then “beg the question” — which means that they presume something to be true without questioning why (in hopes that you will too). Begging the question means asserting something while making no effort to support it.

They start off using the Bible: “Well, the Bible teaches us that individuals have the right to choose.” That’s accurate, and it’s all well and good. However, after that is when they start begging the question.

“Mormons believe” that the right to choose continues after death. Is that biblical?

The narrator’s next statement is that “Mormons believe” that the right to choose continues after death. Notice he does not say, “The Bible teaches…” but rather that “Mormons believe….”

However, there are actually passages of the Bible giving us reasons to hold that the truth is the opposite of the Mormon position.

The Bible leads us to conclude that a person’s right to choose upwardly (re: toward salvation / God) is limited to their earthly life, as the Scriptures lead us to understand that in the afterlife, unsaved persons cannot negate their anti-salvation choices made during this life, nor can they renegotiate upwardly regarding God / salvation (see verses below). This is not to say that such people cannot experience a change of mind / heart during their resulting punishment, just as the wicked rich man did in the account told by Jesus (Luke 16) of the righteous, poor beggar, named Lazarus, and the wicked rich man, who was unnamed. Jesus told how that the man who had been both wicked and rich during his earthly life had a great change of heart during his suffering/punishment in the afterlife. However, despite that change of heart, the man’s spirit was told by Abraham’s spirit (from a distance) that it was not possible for either the righteous or the wicked to traverse the fixed gulf between them. Mormonism would have us believe that either the gulf is not “fixed” (while it is indeed said to be fixed), or that someone can indeed cross it, which the Lord Jesus (in telling the account) indicates “cannot” happen, i.e. is not possible.

The Scriptures make clear that the judgment known as the “second death” is to be everlasting, eternal — not something that can be shortened or escaped from. Consider these verses:

  • 2 Thessalonians 1:9 – “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,”
  • Matthew 25:41 – “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”
  • Hebrews 6:2 – “…of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.”
  • Matthew 25:46 – “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
  • Mark 9:44-48 – “[where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell”
  • John 5:29 – “…and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”
  • Daniel 12:2 – “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.”
  • Revelation 20:10 – “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

“Mormons believe” that the spirits of the dead not only can hear the Gospel after death, but that they can choose to accept the Gospel after death. Is that biblical?

The narrator then goes on to assert, without any support from the Scriptures, that the spirits of the dead can hear the gospel after death and choose to accept or reject it.

This presumes not only a continued freedom of upward choice after death, but it also presumes that the choices of the unsaved made during their earthly life don’t count, when the Bible indicates they do indeed count, and very much so.

For all the reasons shown above, and a host of others, we reject such a notion.

The Scriptures indicate (for example in Revelation 20) that the wicked dead will be raised up to be judged, and their judgement will be based on their deeds during their earthly life.

Regarding the spirits of the dead hearing the Gospel, the indications of Scripture are that when Jesus was crucified and buried, and His soul went to the Abode of the Dead (aka “Hell”), that He preached unto the spirits of the dead (1 Peter 4:6). However, when in His ascension He emptied out the “Comfort” side of the Abode of the Dead, and “led captivity captive” (Ephesians 4:7-10) taking upwards the souls of the saved to be with Him above, there is no biblical indication that He took with Him a single soul that had died having finally chosen wrongly during their earthly life and having changed their mind in Hell. Rather, it seems clear from Scripture that He took with Him those saved souls who had already finally chosen correctly during their earthly life. To hold otherwise goes against numerous verses of Scripture.

Bible, Church, Culture War, Israel, Mentoring, Ministry, Politics, Technology, Terrorism, Theology, Travel

Join us in DC for the CUFI Summit! (Special Group Rate)

The annual Summit of Christians United For Israel is always amazing, and this year looks to be better than ever. Your voice is needed! Join us in DC for the CUFI Summit!

http://cac.wvupci.com/summit/

Bible, Church, Culture, Israel, Politics, Theology, Travel

Never again!

2 Comments

My oldest daughter, Elliana, and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Israel (February, 2017). While there we learned some amazingly beneficial bits of context for the Holy Scriptures, and we experienced many meaningful moments.

In one of those meaningful moments, we were atop Masada, where, in ancient times, Jewish families in a besieged mountain fortress chose to end their lives rather than suffer rape/abuse/slavery/murder at the hands of Roman soldiers. Josephus, a Jewish historian, described the incident (see chapter 8, here).

I was moved to tears all over again (I had heard him say so before) as I listened to our Jewish guide, Ralph Lewinsohn, explain how the Masada incident has become part of the Jewish national ethos, and how that, in light of the determined efforts of the Nazis in WWII to wipe out every Jew in existence, now the Jewish people are determined that, “Never again will we allow ourselves to be put in a position where our only choice is death or slavery. Never again.”

“Never again” is not just a heart-cry of Jewish people everywhere. It’s actually a prophecy about them, made by God Himself:

{14}  and I will bring my people Israel back from exile.

“They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. {15} I will plant Israel in their own land,
never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

Amos 9:14-15 (NIV)

Some Christian believers have succumbed to a false doctrine known as Replacement Theology, which claims that collectively, adherents to Christianity have supposedly completely replaced natural Israel in the mind of God. Those who hold to that notion may think that earlier ancient Jewish returns from exile would qualify as concluded fulfillment of various prophecies that God would bring the Jewish people back to the Land He promised them. However, take note:

  • God foretold a return of the Jews to their land that would be completely permanent (see Amos 9:14-15, shown above). Regarding the Jewish ethnicity of those prophesied to be returned, see also Ezekiel 34:13 (note “their own land”).
     
    God Himself indicated that the same nationality of people that was exiled would be brought back by God’s own hand to the same Land from which they were exiled, and that from thence forward, they would never again be uprooted!
     
  • God foretold a return of the Jews to their land that would be come from every direction, north, south, east, and west, i.e. “from the ends of the earth” (see Isaiah 43:5-6).
     
    Earlier ancient returns from exile that were localized (such as from Babylon) cannot qualify as fulfillment of such a prophecy. By contrast, the astounding, ongoing return of Jews from all around the world to the State of Israel reestablished in 1948, certainly could qualify.
     
  • God foretold a return of the Jews to their land that would be accomplished by God’s own hand (see Ezekiel 20:34, and other verses already cited).
     
    For anyone to resist such a “return migration,” and/or the accompanying necessary right of Jewish people to dwell securely in their own ancestral homeland is to resist God Himself.

As Christian I support and defend the Jewish national declaration that never again will any situation be permitted in which Jewish people are denied their right to exist securely within their ancestral homeland. As a Bible believer, it is the only logical choice.

Abortion, Church, Culture, Culture War, Doctrine, Politics, ProLife, Theology

Is regulation of abortion “evil,” as some pro-life people claim?

Let’s start with a fair portrayal of an alluring, albeit radical, position taken by some within the pro-life movement. The following real conversation actually happened recently on social media:

A friend posted a reasonable comment about the fact that the US Supreme Court panel in 1973, which handed down the Roe v. Wade opinion (in a 7-2 decision) had several justices who had been appointed by Republican presidents. Underneath his post, came this:

Now, a quick word about why I’m continuing my response here, instead of there, and who I’m trying to convince with this post (hint: it’s not the radical guy arguing with me on my friend’s wall).

First, any comment you make (on social media or anywhere else) that someone else has the power to delete, is one you may well see disappear, because it means you’re playing on someone else’s turf, not your own. The above conversation was under my friend’s SCOTUS post (which means he could delete my replies, though I doubt he would), and it was also under the radical person’s comment, and he’s more likely to delete my comments if either he thinks I’ve trounced his argument or he gets tired of me replying (i.e. continual one-ups in a battle over who has the last word).

Second, in any controversial issue, there will be a bell curve, in which one extreme consists of the few on the right side that agree with you and could never be convinced otherwise, and the other extreme consists of the few on the wrong side that disagree with you and could never be convinced otherwise, and the cherry, so to speak, is the huge group in the middle of the bell curve, who are open to reason/persuasion, and could potentially be convinced either way. The radical guy (arguing in the screenshot above) is clearly beyond the reach of my reasoning. Why do I say this? He’s already found what he thinks is a solid argument, and long before he ever encountered me, he had already made his argument so often that he’s what we might call “doubled down” on it, such that he’s personally vested in its validity. For him to ever hear reason and turn back now, would be, according to his words (not mine), “silly,” and committing a “sin” of adopting a position with those who “do not care” about aborted babies. His mind is already made up, don’t bother him with facts. Can someone turn back? Yes, but it’s rare. A Saul who becomes a Paul is powerful, but very scarce.

Why the radicals are wrong

If you were able to read all the way through his replies, you saw the comparison to the Holocaust against the Jews, and you hopefully felt the weight of the radical argument. You sense the allure of it, yet something does not quite sit right. I hope to help you put your finger on exactly why the argument does not sit right.

Since he already pointed to the Holocaust against the Jews in a comparison to the Abortion Holocaust of pre-born humans, please allow me to argue from that comparison, despite both Holocausts being a nightmare of grim historical reality.

The radical approach above is a straw-man argument because it presupposes that the Allies’ war against the Axis powers—the fight from without, if you will—was the only kind of war that could be waged, and furthermore, in his argument, the radical guy actually claims that was the only kind of fight that was waged! When I read the lunacy of statements such as “Abortion is legal because we do not care, just like the Germans did not care if the Jews were being murdered,” it makes me want to say, “Did you never hear of Dietrich Bonhoeffer? Have you never read of the heroes, some Christian, some Islamic, some German, who risked their lives trying to save what few Jewish lives they could, from within the Nazi system?” It would do the radical guy some good to read/watch Schindler’s List, about Oskar Schindler, an ethnic German businessman, who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. Far be it from me to point out the history, since it’s only a click away from anyone on social media.

So, imagine with me, if you will, that war can be waged on two fronts simultaneously, one working under the best strategy possible for how to abolish abortion (in WW2 parlance, defeat the Axis powers), i.e. a full frontal assault, but not one devoid of strategy, and another to undermine from within the reality of the existing system, using whatever means, regulation laws, acts to defund, prayer walks, sidewalk vigils, life chains, counseling centers, ad campaigns and social media memes, etc. (in WW2 parlance, subvert and resist the Axis powers). The radical approach claims the latter of those two is evil, because it somehow legitimizes the system, since it’s not the full frontal assault happening from without and because a lot of people are still dying. That’s just wrongheaded.

Just as the radical guy was wrong to pretend that no one in Germany cared, that none under the boot of the Nazis was working to subvert the forces of evil, and wrong to ignore the precious lives their work saved, by focusing his argument solely on the ongoing death around them as proof of their failure, so also the radical argument is simply fallacious to claim that no lives have been saved during the past 43 years of the pro-life movement fighting against the scourge of abortion. How can he ignore the evidence of some 11,000 lives saved because of the ban on partial birth abortions? Who is he getting his information from, the pro-aborts?

There is an old saying that “you only have one chance to make a good first impression.” Well, all those on the pro-life side in the current culture war should be aware that any given legal argument only has one chance for the Supreme Court’s “first glimpse” at the argument. That first glimpse, if the case gets taken up by the court and an opinion handed down, will result in a precedent being set. Contrary to what some people think, the worldview of a Supreme Court justice matters! Put simply, we need to have a pro-life Supreme Court empaneled before we have a case to abolish abortion come before them, or the case will just see the effort overturned.

Contrary to the radical’s argument, we are winning.

When I told the radical we are winning the culture war, that we’re succeeding in changing the hearts and minds of society, he expressed a state of denial and responded saying that is “so so not true.” Again, the facts contradict his argument. Just Google “millennials are more likely to be prolife” and you will get this:

Millennials increasingly oppose abortion, even if they don’t identify as …

www.washingtontimes.com/news/…/millennials-increasingly-oppose-abortion-even-if-…
Jun 30, 2016 – The survey found 53 percent of millennials believe abortion should be … to 48 percent who said they were more likely to identify as “pro–choice.

Millennials’ abortion views trend pro-life despite self-identity, research …

www.washingtontimes.com/news/…/millennials–abortion-views-trend-pro–life-despite-…
Jun 30, 2016 – Majority of millennials support tougher abortion restrictions, but … with 48 percent who said they were more likely to identify as pro–choice.

Why Are Millennials More Pro-Life Than Parents? – The Daily Signal

dailysignal.com/2016/03/04/why-millennials-lean-pro–life/
Mar 4, 2016 – Millennials lean more pro–life than the generation preceding them because of advances in medical technology and science, leaders in …

Surveys Show Young People More Pro-Life Than Ever Before as …

www.lifenews.com/…/surveys-show-young-people-more–pro–life-than-ever-before-as…
Jul 11, 2016 – … People More Pro–Life Than Ever Before as Millennials Oppose Abortion. … are less likely than their older counterparts to identify as “pro–life.

Millennials Across the United States are More Likely to Identify as Pro …

www.frcblog.com/…/millennials-across-united-states-are-more–likely-identify-pro–life…
Feb 8, 2016 – The study shows the decline is nearly equal in both the most pro–life and pro–choice states. The decline in the least pro–life states: Vermont …

Millennials across the United States are more likely to identify as pro …

standamerica.us/millennials-across-the-united-states-are-more–likely-to-identify-as-pro…
Jan 12, 2016 – Millennials across the United States are more likely to identify as … The only most pro–life state on the list to see a rise in abortions is Louisiana.

Millennials: The generation most likely to oppose abortion – Red Alert …

redalertpolitics.com/2016/01/14/millennials-generation-likely-oppose-abortion/
Jan 14, 2016 – Although Americans are split down the middle on whether they identify as pro–life or pro–choice, abortion is viewed as less acceptable than it …

Survey: Millennials oppose abortion, yet reject pro-life title – Red Alert …

redalertpolitics.com/2016/…/survey-millennials-oppose-abortion-yet-reject-pro–life-tit…

Jul 1, 2016 – Survey: Millennials oppose abortion, yet reject pro–life title … 48 percent of millennials said they were more likely to identify as “pro–choice.”

So, while I declined to try to battle for the last word in a futile argument with a radical, let me conclude with the last comment I made before breaking off with him:

It will take a lot of time and hard work to win over the culture by changing hearts and minds. We have the truth and all the science on our side. We’re winning. We’re on the same side. If we can avoid maligning each other, we will see victory.

Join me as part of the Pro-Life Generation that will see abortion ended within our lifetime. We’re in this for the long haul. We’re in this to save as many lives as we can along the way. If regulation spares even one life, it will have been wise and right. It has spared many lives. The thousands of babies who have been spared from death, even during the sad reign of “Planned Parenthood” funding and “Roe v Wade” opinions, declare that we are on the side of righteousness.

Abortion, Bible, Culture, Culture War, Doctrine, Politics, ProLife, Theology

Freedom of choice, but not without restrictions

Freedom-to-Choose-Pastor-Doug-Joseph

Bible, Church, Doctrine, Marriage, Ministry, Theology

Tithing: 5 Key Answers | Interview with IBC Perspectives Magazine

Read more helpful content at IBC Perspectives Magazine.

IBC: Why is it so important for Apostolic Christians to tithe?

DJ: The Bible is clear that believers are to dedicate every aspect of their lives to the Lord. Dedicating all except the financial aspect is not all; it’s excluding something. While Christians disagree on what submission in this aspect may look like, the most common error by those who are against tithing is to mistake New Testament passages about “Emergency Relief Effort” type giving as supposedly being how all giving should be done by Christians, yet that type of giving is but one layer in a biblically modeled approach. One cannot ignore tithing and have a truly complete biblically modeled approach.

IBC: What happens if a Christian fails to tithe? Are they lost?

DJ: To presume to declare all such people as either saved or lost is to place oneself in the Lord’s place as judge. We can envision situations in which a believer knows better and willfully disobeys, and in which they don’t know better and are not willfully disobeying. The default position of fallen humanity is lost and cursed. If a believer is himself redeemed, yet he allows an existing curse to abide on his personal finances, might God allow that level of granularity? Save their soul even while their financial life is still cursed? He may well allow it in some and disallow it in others. He’s the Lord who knows the heart and judges rightly.

IBC: Should we tithe on our gross income or net income? Why?

DJ: The biblical answer, which is that tithing is to give 1/10 of all my “increase,” leads to a lot of sticky questions that various believers approach differently. In addition to gross v. net, what about inheritances, insurance settlements, birthday and anniversary gifts, or a litany of other windfalls? Consider Luke 6:38. Generally, the more I include as realized increase, the more room I grant in the “bucket” that God uses when causing future increase to come. Based on Romans 14, I grant fellow believers liberty in how they decide such matters, but I personally tithe on my gross. God has blessed us for it. In our assembly, saints tithe on their home garden’s produce. Our family enjoys every bite. Bottom line: tithing is to be based on all “increase.”

IBC: Offerings are given in addition to the tithe. What should a faithful Christian consider giving for offerings?

DJ: Since the needs vary, the amount or percentage could also vary. The New Testament indicates saints were called upon for longterm sacrificial giving due to needs as a result of emergencies, such as fellow believers starving in another region due to famine. Yet how much is too much? Each believer is free to make up their own mind on their gift (2 Corinthians 9:7). Both willingness and abundance are prerequisites for acceptance of offerings (2 Corinthians 8:12). One should avoid going into debt to give to other believers’ needs. A believer should not reduce himself to being in need while trying to meet another believer’s need.

IBC: How has tithing blessed you?

DJ: From my youth up I have always been as faithful as possible regarding tithing. God has honored His promise and has blessed me and my family abundantly. I am a genuine “testimonial” advertisement for the success that comes when adhering to a biblical model from God’s word for submitting the financial aspect of my life to Him.

Bible, Church, Culture, Culture War, Doctrine, Marriage, Politics, Prayer, Theology

A Pastor’s Statement Regarding Kim Davis

Kim Davis has done an admirable job of executing the portion of her job she could do, and respectfully declining on the part she cannot do, due to the legal chaos of the moment. The flawed and lawless decision of the SCOTUS in June has caused chaos. Between that lawless ruling, and the lawless command of the Kentucky governor to the state’s county clerks, and the lawless command of federal judge Bunning directly to Kim, she is between a rock and a hard place, yet she has taken a principled stand that is to be commended.

The Kentucky laws she is sworn to uphold have not been changed, and she is still upholding them. It would require a legislative response to the SCOTUS ruling to revise any Kentucky laws.

Furthermore, of the Kentucky laws that apply to clerks regarding marriage licenses, none of them pronounce any penalty for refusing to give out a license, but they do provide a misdemeanor penalty for giving a license to a couple who may not, per Kentucky law, constitute a marriage, and that includes a misdemeanor penalty for giving a license to partners of the same sex. Since the Kentucky legislature has not revised those codes, and no revisions or new laws by the Kentucky General Assembly have been signed into law by the Kentucky governor, it is simply too early in the process for same-sex couples to be demanding any licenses there, and it is wrong (see below) for either the governor or the judge to command such, given the current situation.

The state governor is sworn to uphold Kentucky law, which directs him (not just in some ruling, but in written, duly legislated and signed law — see the KY state Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or KY RFRA) to seek out a method of enacting the government’s goals in a way that is “least restrictive” of Kim Davis’ religious freedom. Ordering her to violate existing Kentucky laws and at the same time ordering her to violate her conscience, is not the least restrictive means to enact what he is presenting as a governmental goal.

Similarly, the federal judge is bound to abide by federal law, which requires him (not just in some ruling, but in written, duly legislated and signed law — see the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or federal RFRA) to seek out a method of enacting the government’s goals in a way that is “least restrictive” of Kim Davis’ religious freedom. Ordering her to violate existing Kentucky laws and at the same time ordering her to violate her conscience, is not the least restrictive means to enact what he is presenting as a governmental goal. Jailing her is certainly not the least restrictive way.

Given the comparative ease of simply revising the marriage licenses by removing all clerks’ names from them, the accommodation she requested is quite reasonable, and both the governor and the judge violated existing laws in their actions and inactions. Since both were willing to abide by her being wrongfully incarcerated rather than accommodating her, I advocate for them to be impeached. I certainly urge protest over their violations against Kim Davis. In spite of calling for their impeachment, I have been fervently praying for them, and will continue. If you are not praying for them, you should be.

Ultimately, a pastor’s advice is of most value to fellow believers. Regarding believers, as per Romans 14, we are not to judge or condemn another believer regarding matters of conscience, even if, or rather especially when, his or her conviction of conscience differs from your own. The whole point of religious freedom is that not everyone’s religious convictions will match with yours, and we need to allow other believers, who may have stricter views than ours, to hold those views. That said, I don’t disagree with Sister Kim Davis on this. Even if I disagreed, I would still support her 100%.  Even if you don’t agree with her views and position, I implore you to study Romans 14, and grant her the liberty to have a conviction you don’t share. Don’t bash her on social media. Support and pray for her, as well as praying for her state, her governor, her legislature, the judge, and the SCOTUS whose ruling caused the chaos we’re all enduring.