Category: Faith Fix

The Law or The Spirit of the Law? (ATP)

This week’s Faith Fix answered the following question: “In John 8:17 which law is Jesus referring too? Is He talking about a spiritual concept?”

In context, Jesus was answering the Pharisees, who we know were the “religious” people of the time. It’s interesting here, and in various places in scripture, that those who were supposed to know the Word of God, the Old Testament, most, were those who couldn’t see what the scripture was pointing to all along, Jesus! You’ll see this in the words of Jesus, that He often responds to people where they’re at, in a place they can understand. Jesus is referring to the law of Moses, which is what the Pharisees adhered to religiously and to their own hurt.

Let’s look at the scripture, John 8:17, “It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.” In Deuteronomy 17:6, the Bible says, “Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses…” This is again found in the Law in Deuteronomy 19:15, “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.” Of course, we must understand that the laws of God of the Old Testament were really various protections for the people of God. Imagine if someone accused you of something you did or didn’t do and no one witnessed it other than the guy who’s had it out for you your whole life. Should one person be able to determine guilt without witnesses? Of course not; that’s dangerous ground!

Jesus answered the devil in the garden of Gethsemane in Luke 4:2-4, “being tempted for forty days by the devil. (And) in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” In just the same manner, He was answering the Pharisees in a sense saying, “it is written” in your own law, the Old Testament, the Word of God that even you know to be true and stand on, that by two or three witnesses shall a matter be established. Listen, I am the Messiah your law points to! My Father is my witness, you know, YOUR God?!?

Now, we could go on and talk a great deal about the law, but let me touch on the second part of your question, “Is the law a spiritual concept?” You may have heard the phrase “the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law.“ The law of God always pointed to a need for a Savior, proving that humanity in the flesh could never arrive at righteousness on their own, with a sin nature on the inside, after the fall of Adam in the garden. The law of the Old Testament showed morality and righteousness in the sight of God. Look at Romans 7:5-7, “For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law…” The law showed mankind how to live to avoid sin. Of course, we should not go back now and do the opposite, supposing that sin will be acceptable.

Look also at Romans 8:2-3, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.”  Again, these scriptures teach us the easily understood principle that it would be foolish to think we should ignore the truths of the Old Testament about sin and how we ought to behave as His people.

When Christ came, as He was trying to get over to the Pharisees, He fulfilled the law, meaning He closed the gap between the sin nature of fallen humanity and the righteousness of God. The law was no longer the foundation or the cornerstone for morality, but Jesus was and His example, always in line with the truths of the Old Testament, was a greater understanding of the character of God and His truths.

As Christians who desire to know God fully and truly, we must embark on a search through the entirety of His Word. In this journey, we will see how it’s perfectly connected, perfectly ordered, and leads to the perfect picture of God’s plan for humanity and for His children.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée

Rooted In Truth (ATP)

“My sister is dealing with an evil spirit; she feels guilty because she is sick and not able to do “her responsibilities” as a wife and mother. How do I explain to her these feelings are not hers, but suggestions that satan and his followers are putting into her mind?”

Often times, as I have seen over and over, what seems to be the issue isn’t the issue at all. I’m starting by saying this because as I read this question, in my spirit I already know the answer. The first question I would ask if I were standing in front of this person would be this, “Do you have a pastor and are you in a good Bible teaching church?” It would be my guess the answer to both of these would be no.

Psalms 92:13 tells us, “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.” Matthew 9:36 says, “But when He (Jesus) saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” You can see some very important truths here, mainly without a good local church and pastor you cannot flourish and you will be both weary and scattered.

We have to understand that these things were and are important to God. If it were not so the Bible wouldn’t stress these things in various ways all throughout it.

Somethings we know for sure about the devil is that he is a liar and he always tries to deceive “believers” from the truth. Through many various methods he has convinced people against what God has given them to prosper. Whether through pride, hurt, evil doctrine, or a myriad of other things God’s people have been manipulated into believing they don’t need the things God gave them to prosper, in order to prosper. They reject God’s way and then convince themselves that the hell they are living is God’s will. That’s twisted theology, but even many church leaders have bought into this! However, you simply cannot get away from truth.

Whenever I have counseled someone I tell them the same thing, “If you come to church, do your best to follow the instruction you get, and get yourself in the plan of God, a year from now you will not recognize your life.” I stand by this statement. I was as lost as one could be. I was as bound as a human can be and yet none of man’s ideas, whether secular or theological, could set me free. It wasn’t until I got planted in a church, and under a true pastor who taught me the Word of God that my life changed.

Now, you may think that I dodged the question, but I didn’t, I assure you. The answer is simple: until a person truly submits their life to God’s plan, which always includes a pastor and a truly Bible-based church, no amount of advice or counsel will help them. They will not see change because they are refusing the avenue that God Himself has laid out. So often people pray for things and don’t get answers because they refuse the ones God has already written about. Remember the advice of Naaman’s servant as found in 2 Kings 5. If he told you to do something great you would have done it but what he told you to do was simple, so just do it!

I often have said that the answer to 99% of all problems is actually not very hard. We just have to be willing to accept the answer. If we reject God’s way of doing things, no amount of pleading or begging will fix us. The only cure for disobedience is obedience. It was always this way and I suspect it will always be, according to His Word.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff

Simple Faith

1 Peter 2:2 (NKJV)

as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby

I met a man recently at a coffee shop who was very forward about his faith. Although I didn’t start the conversation, I listened as he reached out to me about his ideas about God. I didn’t argue with him, though scripturally he was very wrong. (Sometimes you just know better.) He was very nice and had the appearance of loving the Lord, yet something was just not right. Also, recently I had a great conversation with a young man who is learning to establish his faith. He asked a lot of questions and even gave his opinion. A very pleasant conversation, in this instance I did engage him, as he was curious of my stance on some things.

These were two very different interactions that I have had countless times. As you get older, walking out your salvation, you will surely learn the scripture that reads, “there is nothing new under the sun.” Though the conversations were very different, there was a common theme in both of them: pride. It was subtle at first. Neither one of these people were blatantly prideful. Both carried themselves in a sweet and even seemingly humble manner. Both seemed well studied, and in search of truth, but there was a commonality in their error, one that I dare say we all succumb to at some point or another. That commonality is in the phrase, “I think”. In either conversation I heard the words “I think” or “I interpret” many, many times, so much so, that it was something the Lord really drew my attention to and had me reflect on my own words with. We live in the greatest country the world has ever known. One thing though that can at times work against us is that we so easily have an opinion on absolutely everything. This is great when you are at Home Depot picking paint colors, but not so much if you are in a relentless search for truth. Sometimes our freedom to express ourselves as individuals can muddy the waters when truth is concerned.

I love what Jesus said in John 17:17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

God’s truth is not subjective and it is not up for debate. He didn’t give us His Word, call it His Word (despite what the man in my first example said), call it absolute truth, only to have us look at it and decide that we can make up what it means. When we interpret the scripture, we add our thoughts to it, and therefore exhibit the biggest form of pride there is! It’s so subtle it’s almost undetectable! I may have never seen it had the Spirit not pointed it out.

The key here is understanding what interpretation means. If you were speaking a language I hadn’t learned, I would need interpretation. If one was speaking things too lofty for you to understand, you would need an interpretation. However, if I decide to give you directions to my house, in a language we both know, there is no interpretation, only obedience, if you want to ever get there.

The Word of God is really an instruction manual for God’s people. He gave it to us in a way that is not hard to understand if we look at it correctly. Here’s the problem. So often people filter scripture through things such as their experience, their own culture, or even their desires. When you fail to filter instruction through the intent of the author, you will always come up with a varied idea of their intent, one that is as individual as the individual.

I’m not saying that no part of scripture is complex. It certainly is! However, a freshman in high school doesn’t start off in college level math classes. You learn the basics, through instruction, and progress as your capacity to learn grows. The problem is, so often we have people who teach scripture who have never learned scripture, and therefore people get confused.

Now, I am not saying in any of this that I know it all. I certainty do not. The key is that I’m willing to learn and I’m willing to have my mind changed if I can be shown through scripture that I am wrong. I told my wife recently, “We have to stop saying I think.” When we do we are setting ourselves up for error. Even when Jesus, the Word in the flesh, answered people or the devil He only said, “It is written.” Not once in all of scripture is He recorded saying, “I think.” If anyone had right to that statement He certainly did!

So my hope is this, that you take away a desire to not have opinion of God’s Word but a desire to know God’s Word. If you become a person who desires to know, God will accommodate you. Save your opinion for when you paint your house.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff

Smoking Section

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

There was a time in my former life when I was a heavy smoker. I was not a person who just smoked because I was addicted, but rather I actually loved to. This was in the time where most restaurants still had a smoking section. One of my favorite hang out places literally divided smoking and non-smoking by an imaginary line only. Walk in, smokers to the left, non-smokers to the right.

In this time of my life I believed all non-smokers were just complainers. They can’t surely be affected way over there in their own section! Oh, how deceived I was! It’s been years since the New York smoking ban in restaurants and almost as long since I finally quit. Recently, in my travels I went to a place where smoking is permitted everywhere. As we were checking into the hotel, I felt like I was being choked out, had a hard time breathing, and thought, “I used to put that garbage directly into my lungs!” No wonder at 28 years old, I was winded climbing a simple flight of stairs!

The purpose of this Faith Fix is not to condemn smokers, not in the least. I don’t believe smoking will keep you from Heaven though it could certainly get you there prematurely! The purpose is found in the above scripture that I started with. 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.” Just like the smoking section with the imaginary wall of separation, people get deceived not realizing the effects of being in close proximity of bad things or people. Now let’s keep this balanced. Like the hotel I was staying at, occasionally being in the presence of evil will not cause me to be winded. It’s when we choose a lifestyle of saturation, that we get corrupted.

Corruption is an interesting word and a good choice to be used here in this scripture. Corruption does not generally happen over night, but through prolonged exposure. Like smoking a cigarette once will more than likely not cause cancer, doing it repeatedly over the course of time will.  Herein is where people get deceived and the devil knows it! Slow but consistent manipulation and influence from the wrong things will absolutely affect you negatively. It will affect your faith, your choices, and thus your actions. Do not be deceived.

There will be some that say, “Well Jesus hung out with sinners!” That’s not entirely and fully true. Jesus went into the world, all the disciples did too, but it was always stressed to spend time with God. They would separate themselves to refresh in His presence and Word. If I miss church for more than a week, or if I haven’t spent much time in the Word and prayer, I start to notice the effects in every area of my life. I must be refreshed. I must be renewed! This is a very important understanding and it is completely scriptural. Romans 12:2 tells us all about that. If you will not be renewed in your mind, you will lose sight of God’s will. Failure is then just a short time away!

As we come out of a busy holiday season, let’s make sure that we refocus our hearts and minds on what really matters. Let’s hit the ground running in this new year, getting refreshed in His presence! Let’s make it our aim to have more of God in our day this year then ever before. I would bet that if we determine to make Him our focus, this will be our greatest year yet!

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff

Connections in the Local Church (ATP)

This week’s Faith Fix is actually a combination of two questions that really go hand in hand. “We are a church family, but what if you don’t connect with everyone in that family? Does it make the church less strong as a unit? Is it wrong to not support someone from church when you disagree with something they’re doing?  I’d hesitate going out of my way for them and I know that sounds so bad, as helping people is what we’re suppose to do but that’s why im asking.”

Let’s just think about it first from a very natural perspective. Jesus taught in parables for a reason, because they helped explain spiritual principles in a way we’d understand. In your own family aren’t there people that you get along with better? At the holidays aren’t there some people you seem to really connect with and others that you love because they’re family but you could take their personality or leave it? Everyone has had a favorite uncle and then an uncle you’d rather not admit belonged to you. As a school teacher I say to my students all the time that you’re just not going to like everybody but you need to learn how to deal with them peacefully.  I say the same to our congregation.

To answer the question of whether or not this will weaken the church family as a whole, that’s entirely up to how you choose to handle people you don’t necessarily feel any natural inclination towards. The family unit will be weakened when you allow strife to form over those sort of preferences. In the local church we have to be higher minded. Over the years as a pastor and even before that, I’ve dealt with Christian brothers and sisters who didn’t seem very Christ-like. Sometimes people can be snarky, rude, and even outright nasty, but something my husband always says is that what matters is how we respond. It’s not up to us to make other people nicer, or to make someone else walk out this life as a strong Christian. We must watch and examine our own walk.

We do know the Word says, in Proverbs 18:24, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly.” If a Christian won’t lead in friendliness and try to reach out and make connections, it’s nobody else’s fault. Sometimes we can feel we haven’t connected with others because we haven’t actually ever tried. The enemy will convince Christian church goers to leave a local church because “there’s no one you connect with.” It’s important we find those who we can connect with, but it does take stepping out. It may be that others are sitting there thinking it’s you or I on the other end who hasn’t reached out to them.

Some may ask, “why can’t we just be a Christian and not worry about making connections?” Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” The strength of a local church body does depend on the body coming together, loving one another, understanding the value of the whole. Remember what Hebrews 10:24 says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.” Christians erroneously think they need to find friends in a local church that match their age, their season in life, their socio-economic status, their hobbies and the like. But, I have found over the years that it’s the least likely people in my church family that have actually been the best in sharpening me and the most edifying for my life. It’s the people whose background was different from mine, whose personality was bolder than mine, who were a decade younger or three decades older than me, that have seemed to be the best connections in my life.  When you feel you don’t connect with certain people, just make sure it’s not being measured only on a natural level. Check your heart and your spirit and the Lord will divinely connect you with the right brothers and sisters who will bless and edify your life. It won’t be everyone, and that’s ok.

Now the next part of this question is regarding supporting those people in the local church you don’t agree with. Support is an interesting term. If by support you mean to financially support someone who’s not being a doer of the Word with their finances or to pat someone on the back and say “there, there” just condoning their sin, you’re right, you should hesitate to do so. We can’t let the world’s definition of help and support distort the Word’s definition of it. At the same time, this cannot be a reason you refuse to help someone in need. Listen to the inward witness, be willing to help even the people you wouldn’t be naturally inclined to, if the Lord leads. There have been times the Lord has led us to give money to people we knew wouldn’t use it for the right things. He’s led us to bless people who we naturally didn’t want anything to do with. Be willing and obedient even in these situations. The Lord’s thoughts and His ways are higher than ours. He sees the bigger picture. Learn how the Lord deals with you. Follow Him and not your own ideas whether it’s being guilted into something or too opinionated to help someone who doesn’t live up to your standards.

Look at Galatians 6:1-2, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” If we know someone is living in sin, our hearts should be to pray for them, to be an example to them, to encourage them to live right and get more connected to the local church and the Word of God. This is the support all Christians should give regardless of whether or not we agree with or connect with someone.  We should go out of our way to be doers of the Word as much as it’s up to us.

As far as connections go, we’re all connected. The whole body of Christ, but especially a local church body of believers, are knit together carefully, all members of the same body with important functions. Our connection to our brothers and sisters isn’t mental or emotional, but it’s divinely orchestrated. Though my hand doesn’t interact regularly with my heart or my big toe doesn’t interact with my ears, they’re still connected to the same body. If my big toe is weak, it weakens the rest of the body. If my heart is strong, all parts are affected. The best way to strengthen the local church is to realize these connections matter and be your part, functioning in your place. Amen?

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée

Is there anything a Christian can do to lose their salvation? (ATP)

The short answer to this is, yes. There are many people and denominations that would outright disagree with this but as always, I prefer to get my answers straight from scripture. First we have to understand a very important thing; we cannot earn salvation. It is a free gift. No amount of works, being good, feeding the poor, or giving of money can ever get you into Heaven. You cannot follow all of the law or any other theology to get you there. Even simply believing that God exists does not gain salvation. Perhaps the most clear way we can be assured of salvation is found in Romans 10:9, which says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” There we two requirements that we see in scripture. You must confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you must believe that He died and was raised again for your sins.

Sometimes people think that because the Bible says salvation is a free gift that it cannot be taken back. This is true, God never removes salvation from anyone. The thing people forget though is that it can be given up. Salvation, like every good gift comes from God, but what if a person rejects it, decides they no longer want it, or refuses to live with it? People can make the choice to give it up and I will give you some examples. First in Hebrews 6:4-6 we see one of the most clear examples of this. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” I do not know if the Bible could be much clearer than this. Now we have to understand that the falling away that scripture talks about here is in the context of completely turning away. This person would have been a very knowledgeable Christian, knowing and being used in spiritual gifts, turning back to sin. This is not a person who misses it, even a lot. This is someone who willfully rejects God after truly knowing Him.

In 1 John 5:16 we see another example. “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.” Sin leading to death would be the same as sin leading to spiritual death in hell. Hebrews 10:39 says “But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.” To draw back to perdition you must first be turned away from it. Since all of mankind is born into sin which leads to eternal death, the only way to have been turned away from perdition would have been through salvation.  Some other scriptures I will just reference are 1 John 2:19, Hebrews 10:29, 2 Peter 2:20-22,  Colossians 1:21-23, Revelation 3:5, Romans 11:19-23, and Matthew 7:21-23. People have to get over this idea that God just orchestrates everything and get the true Biblical understanding that man’s choice is always the determining factor in what they see or don’t see. This most certainly includes our salvation.

Now, all that said, I do not believe scripture teaches us that salvation is laid down by us willy nilly. As I have said, salvation is never taken from us nor is any other blessing of God  the Bible speaks of. A part of the very purpose of salvation is to get to us what God desired from the beginning. If you’ve missed it, and still care to be saved, I would surmise that you are still saved. I would however not play with that salvation, toeing the line by living in sin. The Bible is clear in scriptures like Galatians 5:19-21 that those who practice such things or have these sorts of lifestyles cannot inherit the kingdom of God. This is written to Christians about Christians. A person living in such a way willingly lays down the salvation to carry their sin and the Bible is clear on the outcome.

I want to end with this reminder, God sends no man to hell. In Deuteronomy 30:19, we are told God lays the choice before us but the choice of life and death is always ours. God forces His will on no man, but man willingly decides for or against it. Make it the goal of your life to live in and for His will and you will be blessed. You and those around you.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff