Monday, August 25, 2014

The Church and the Consequences of Compromise

     We live in a day and in a culture where the highest goods are things such as “tolerance,” “peace,” “harmony,” “political correctness,” and certainly “compromise.” There is really no socially acceptable platform given anymore for the church, or individual believers, to stand up and say “Thus Says the Lord.” Indeed this is the culture of compromise. It is a day and time where the absolute truth of God is drowned out and other, louder voices get the attention.
     Compromise has always been a temptation for the church. In Revelation 2:12-17 the Lord addresses the church at Pergamos as they were guilty of making compromises in order to maintain peace and harmony. The influences of worldliness were all around. The city had a magnificent alter to Zeus, was the seat/center of an emperor worship cult, was a place of culture and learning with a massive library second only to the great library of Alexandria, Egypt, and had a shrine to Asclepius who was the god of healing. Striving to live for Jesus Christ in that environment had to be exceedingly difficult, but certainly not impossible.
     The church was tolerating some of its membership holding to what the Lord calls “The Doctrine of Balaam.” Balaam was nothing more than a prophet for hire (Num. 22-25). Fearful of the Israelites because of what they had done to their enemies the Amorites, Balak King of Moab hired Balaam to curse Israel. After trying 3 times unsuccessfully, Balaam came up with a new plan. This new plan was to corrupt the Israelites by teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the men. He would try to get them to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of sexual immorality. He plotted to use Moabite women to lure these men into ungodly behavior. The theory was that this sinful behavior would destroy Israel’s spiritual power. Like the Israelites of long before, the church at Pergamos was also allowing a mixing of sin with the church which was to remain pure. Also, some at Pergamos were following the teachings of the Nicolaitans who also taught that Christians could participate in pagan rituals, particularly sexual ones.  Consequently, their power and strength were greatly diminished. Peter wrote of those who would follow the error of the Balaamites in 2 Pet. 2:15-16 saying “They have forsaken the right way and gone astray; following the way of Balaam the son of Beor; who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.”
     In 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 Paul strongly warns the church to not mix and thereby become influenced by the world. He writes “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? ‘For you are the temple of the living God.’ As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.’” Sadly, a significant number at the Pergamos church believed a person could attend pagan feasts, engage in debauchery, and sexual immorality and still be a part of Christ’s church! Sin among its membership was taking away the inherent power of the church.
     In our day and age, the church has significantly diminished power. I am convinced this is because of its many compromises with sin. I wonder, on almost any church’s membership rolls, how many persons are living decidedly worldly lives, perhaps even engaging in grievous types of sin. How many drug users, alcoholics, pornography viewers, adulterers and adulteresses, thieves, homosexuals, those living together out of wedlock, etc. might there be? Also, how many speak with curse words, gossip, slander, regularly view filth on television and in movies, and otherwise live for themselves with little or no thought/concern for God or His Word. Yet the church of today, desperate for members, looks the other way. Church discipline is a thing of the past. The church has overwhelmingly lost its moral authority in this world and therefore its power to truly influence. Statistics show the rate of engagement in sinful behavior is no different than that of the world at large. This was the heart of the problem at Pergamos. There were two groups of people 1) Those engaging in grievously sinful behavior and 2) Those, perhaps not engaging in, but ultimatelydoing nothing about those people who were engaging in such behavior.
     Satan loves to fool churches into thinking that tolerating sin is a good thing. If the church were to rise up and take stronger stands against everything from outward, overt acts of sin to slothfulness among its membership, Satan knows it would have a huge impact on the outworking of power seen through the church. Therefore he hopes for the apple cart to not be upset.
     The ultimate answer for the church at Pergamos, as well as the church of the 21st century is simply “repentance.” When used in Scripture, the word “repent” describes a change of mind that results in a change of behavior. In the modern culture compromise is applauded, but we are told that “the angels in Heaven rejoice when a sinner comes to “repentance.”
  
In Christ,

Dr. Allen Raynor, Pastor

Previous Weblogs may be viewed at www.fbcrogers.com
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Friday, August 22, 2014

Justice, Racial Tensions, and the Situation in Ferguson, MO

          In recent days we have watched events unfold in Ferguson, MO following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson. Circumstances surrounding this shooting are still unfolding and the full truth is not yet known. Americans, and certainly all believers, should reserve final judgment until all the facts are presented. However, this incident along with others in recent memory, expose a glaring problem in our nation.
         No one can argue that there have always been divisions in America going all the way back to its founding. Further, no one can argue there have not been horrible incidents related to racism in the not-too-distant past. Even beyond that, no one can argue that racism has been eradicated nor is there reason to believe it will ever be totally gone from the culture. However, the question becomes – are we as Americans being presented a fair and honest picture of race relations in our country?
          Some of you have read my weblogs since I first began sending them more than 7 years ago and you will recall several times I have addressed and analyzed the media which has become more and more agenda driven over the past few decades. We are long since beyond the point where we can ultimately trust the media to give fair, honest, and unbiased reporting on any issue that has any sort of political implication.
         Another glaring reality is that there are a significant number of persons whose very purpose and livelihood seemingly consists of stoking the fires of racial tensions. The most recognizable names among them are Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. These men have repeatedly exploited situations for their own advantage. They have looked the other way on far more serious matters such as black-on-black violence in Chicago, New York, and other places. Also, they have failed to devote any real efforts to help curb the break-down of the black family unit and the huge problem of out-of-wedlock births within the black community. They have publicly jumped to conclusions and often made passionate speeches and engaged in highly toxic rhetoric before the facts were known in multiple situations. The media has rarely challenged them on their statements, position, or interpretation of the facts at hand. They have, in essence, been afforded a platform by which to advance their cause without proper checks and balances.
         In the case of Ferguson, MO, Al Sharpton, who has his own television show on MSNBC, went to Ferguson and spoke passionately about what he believed to be injustice and in so doing jazzed up the crowd thereby adding danger to police, business owners, and civilians then going back to New York to host his show. Perhaps never before has someone in the role of “reporter” actually been allowed to become a part of the story and then return to reporting on the story!
         Americans elected a black president twice. Many believed in doing so it would largely put to rest racial tensions. But the reality has been that issues related to race have grown. This is not because racism is suddenly worse but because the race hustlers have come out in stronger force and the media, always selective in what stories it actually covers, are more than happy to oblige. Let’s face the truth. Stories related to race garner high ratings and sell papers and certainly can take other stories unfavorable to their worldview off the front page.
        Are true racial tensions growing worse? In light of the events in Ferguson, I have to answer - probably. But I believe it can be unmistakably linked to one thing. That one thing is that good people who were never predisposed to see other races as anything other than simply “Americans” or “God’s children” or “fellow human beings” are seeing some among the black community exploit situations making them into racial issues, carrying signs, marching, destroying property etc. and it cannot help but anger anyone who sees it and then really does begin to divide people on the basis of race. I am deeply concerned that due to the behavior of protestors, the media, and some politicians we are becoming a more polarized nation. And it is all preventable.
          We are an increasingly divided country on political grounds. Sadly, theDemocratic Party has been at the fore-front of attempting to divide Americans on the basis of women against men, black against white, Hispanic against white, homosexuals against straight people, gun owners against those seeking to ban guns, those supporting foreign interventions and those not supporting these interventions, and the list goes on. They have done so primarily for the purpose of gaining political power and winning elections, but the unintended consequences of their actions are having a toxic effect on the culture as a whole.
         When there is no standard for which everyone looks to, chaos will always ensue. The days when Scripture was the standard are gone. We live in the days similar to those in the Book of Judges where “There was no king (standard bearer) in the land and every man did what was right in his own eyes.” We have seen a shift take place inside a few decades that Christian ideals of morality have been set aside in favor of a much more liberal pattern of thought. But even then, there is no standard. Often it is those shouting the loudest that are getting their own way while others with more traditional ideas are labeled as being racists, bigots, homophobic, war mongers, etc.
         The issue in Ferguson is heavily tied to the overall state of America where people are pitted against one another trying to advance their cause and that cause is not really one of a better America and it is certainlynot the advancement of the Gospel which is the only real hope of this nation or any other. The tensions between all mankind are only a symptom of the much bigger problem of mankind’s need for God and to be totally yielded to His Word.
         Only time will tell what really happened in Ferguson, MO and I, along with all other Americans, want to see justice served, but I know that mankind truly being able to achieve justice is a slim proposition. Proverbs 29:26 says “Many seek the ruler’s favor, but justice for man comes from the Lord.” We see people striving to use every tool from grand jury’s to the governor’s office, to the U.S. Justice Department, to The White House, to talk shows, etc. to achieve their definition of justice in this case; but Proverbs tells us that justice can only come from the Lord. Any attempt man makes at justice falls short. When we seek true justice from any other source than the Lord we are seeking something that ultimately does not and cannot exist.

In Christ,

Dr. Allen Raynor, Pastor

Previous weblogs may be seen atwww.fbcrogers.com
Recent messages may be heard atwww.fbcrogers.com

Monday, August 11, 2014

The Church of the Lord Jesus and Persecution

    Over the past year we have watched as details have trickled out concerning the apparent reality the IRS targeted conservative political groups, likely having a significant impact on the 2012 presidential election. Two years’ worth of Lois Lerner’s emails mysteriously vanished – the two critical years in fact that are at the heart of the scandal. Related to this political targeting was the intentional auditing of many Christianorganizations such as Samaritans PurseThe Billy Graham Evangelistic Association andFocus on the Family. Increasingly Christians are experiencing various forms of persecution right here in this nation which was founded upon a strong belief in God and Christian ideals of morality. However, to date, Christians in America are experiencing nothing when compared to what is going on around the globe.
         In recent days we have learned of terrible atrocities taking place in Iraq as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) forces have Christians retreated into the mountains in order to escape those who seek to take their lives. Indescribable pictures of horror posted on the internet of the martyrdom of some of these believers can only be understood in Satanic terms. The U.S. government has delivered emergency food and water to these refugees, clinging to and prayerful for their very lives.
         According to a study by Regent University, nearly 164,000 Christians worldwide were martyred for their faith in 1999. In 2000, that number had risen to nearly 165,000. With each passing year, the number of Christians who face death for their belief increases worldwide. In America, we have largely been sheltered from the atrocities taking place in much of the world, particularly in Islamic countries. It has been estimated that since A.D. 70, over 70 million Christians have been put to death for refusing to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ.
       In Revelation 2, Jesus addressed the church at Smyrna, which came to be referred to as the “persecuted” church. His words were primarily words of comfort to this distraught congregation. He assures these believers that He knows what they are going through, while at the same time encourages them to keep it all in perspective. He reminds them of their need to view what they are going through in the broader picture of the reality that all suffering is only temporary and that He has already overcome this world and the worst that Satan-emboldened mankind can inflict.
         Their “tribulation” (pressure) was real and very difficult, but it was only, in essence, for a moment. In Acts 14:22 we read “We must through many tribulations enter the Kingdom of God.” In John 16:33 Jesus comforts by telling his listeners “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
         The pagans, along with unbelieving Jews, were making things miserable for the church at Smyrna. Jesus even refers to their ungodly collaborative efforts in 2:9 as “a synagogue of Satan.” The accusations hurled against the church were distortions of truth designed to pervert reality. Believers were accused of cannibalism based on a misguided understanding of the Christian celebration of the Lord’s Supper; sexual immorality based on failure to properly understand the “holy kiss” believers greeted one another with upon meeting; breaking up homes since there was often turmoil in households when one spouse became a Christian and the other did not;political disloyalty as Christians would not offer the required sacrifices to the emperor; and even atheism as believers worshiped a God others did not understand or could not see and refused to worship the much more well-known pantheon of deities. With hopes of ultimately destroying Christianity completely, some of Smyrna’s wealthy influential Jews reported these blasphemous false allegations to the Romans. Public opinion was poisoned against Christians.
         Persecution reached its peak around 50 or 60 years after Jesus addressed the church at Smyrna in Revelation 2 when the church’s pastor, Polycarp was burned at the stake after refusing to renounce his faith in Christ; instead boldly reaffirming his Christian commitment.
         Jesus Christ offers hope to the Smyrna church by reminding them that death is a doorway that all will go through, but also that avoiding the “second death” is something one must strive for at all costs. Through the doorway leading to this second death is unspeakable misery, pain, and torment for all of eternity. For believers there is the promise of a “rich” inheritance. He reminded his followers in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
         The perspective of all believers must be the perspective advocated by the Lord. Even in the darkest and most difficult hours of life, God is still alive and in control. We should not waste time fearing earthly persecution from the IRS, the state, or any of the other fiery darts of the evil one; not even earthly death itself.   But we are to make sure to avoid the sobering reality of the “second death.” God loved the local church at Smyrna and he loves His church today. We can be encouraged that if we place our faith and trust in Him, we need not fear anything that comes our way!

In Christ,

Dr. Allen Raynor, Pastor

Previous weblogs may be viewed at www.fbcrogers.com
Recent messages may be heard at www.fbcrogers.com

Monday, August 4, 2014

Declining Love for God: Problem and Solution


         Evidence that people do not love God as they once did is all around. Statistics tell the tale. However, we do not need any statistics to reveal to us what is glaringly obvious. With our own eyes we see more and more empty pews at church, fewer and fewer volunteers, less biblical literacy, fewer people attending Sunday School, less kindness in the world, less sense of Christian community, etc. The kindred link of Christian love has been steadily waning for a long time.
         Octavius Winslow, one of the foremost English pastors of the 19thcentury, traces several characteristics of declining love so that we may identify them and deal with them before they grow worse in our lives and churches. The problems are:
1)      God becoming less an object of fervent desire, holy delight, and frequent contemplation.
2)      Loss of that sweet confidence and simple trust of a child before God.
3)      Hard thoughts of God in some of His dealings.
4)      Duty rather than privilege in spiritual exercises.
5)      A less tender walk with God (that is to say, less trembling at the thought of offending Him, and so lighter views of sin).
6)      Christ becoming less glorious to the eye and less precious to the heart.
7)      Love to Christ’s people starting to decay.
8)      Our interest in the advancement and prosperity of Christ’s cause beginning to wane.
(Octavious Winslow; Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul; chapter 2)
These 8 characteristics can be measured against the individual Christian’s walk and they can, and should, be measured against the practice of each and every church.
In Revelation 2:1-7 Jesus compliments the church at Ephesus in a handful of areas
including that they were patient, were working hard, they had acted swiftly to deal with evil, they had rejected the deeds of a heretical sect who antagonized both them and the church at Pergamos, and this Ephesian church otherwise labored intensely for the Lord’s namesake. But then Jesus drops the hammer on them in vs. 4 saying “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
         The list of compliments hardly seems to matter after the words given in verse 4. Suddenly the perspective changes and the Ephesian church can only hang their heads in shame.
         In verse 5 the Lord offers to them the solution. He says “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place – unless you repent.” To remove their “lampstand” means he would take away their ability to give off light and shine. Any church that has lost its ability to shine is no longer effective. It may continue to function as an organization, refer to itself as a church, and do many “church-like” activities, but in the estimation of the Lord Jesus Christ it no longer is what it purports to be – a properly functioning New Testament church. I fear in these days, we find an overwhelming number of churches not operating as true New Testament churches because the main thing ceased to be the main thing long ago. In its place the highest good became striving to maintain the organization, and grow it when and where possible.
         The fundamentals are the things we should know the best. It is true in sports; it is true in life; it is true in the Christian life. The simple, basic fundamentals such as prayer, Scripture reading, church attendance, sharing our faith, etc. are the most important parts of all. If we become lax in those areas it quickly leads to our drifting from our first love – Christ. Further, if we do love Christ greatly, a failure to be disciplined in the fundamentals will quickly lead us adrift from loving the Lord Jesus as our first love. We must consciously strive to love, practice love, and continually reassess whether or not Jesus Christ remains our first love.

In Christ,

Dr. Allen Raynor, Pastor

Previous Weblogs may be viewed atwww.fbcrogers.com
Recent messages may be heard atwww.fbcrogers.com