The Problem With Patriotism

            In a recent poll (Gallup, July 2013), 85% of people polled said that they were “extremely proud” to be Americans.  When this poll was published, it surprised a number of political and social analysts.  But, it didn’t surprise me.  People are ridiculously loyal to the place where they were born or the place where they live.  Ask anyone from Texas (like Brenda) and they will unabashedly tell you that Texas is the greatest place on God’s green earth.  Ask anyone from New York City and they will proudly tell you how many times they’ve been shot or stabbed and remember it almost fondly.  Even ask someone from less desirable places, and while they may deny that they are connected with that place, they will fiercely defend it when you start making fun of it.  The point is that people are loyal to where they have lived their lives.  And, because of this, people who have been born and raised in America are usually fiercely loyal to America, the greatest nation of our time.

            With all of that said, it shouldn’t surprise us to see this patriotism all throughout history.  We even find it in the Bible.  And, while we could talk about the Jews of the New Testament in this regard, I would like for us to consider the Jews of the northern kingdom of Israel, in particular, those during the time of the prophet Jonah.

            In Second Kings 14, we see a renaissance in northern Israel.  When Jeroboam II became king, he began restoring the proper borders of Israel.  And, even though he did evil in the sight of the Lord, the Lord had mercy on His people and He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam II (14:23-27).  The northern Israelites again became fiercely proud of being Israelites during this time of economic, social, and political resurgence.  And, during this time, it was the proud privilege of the prophet Jonah to proclaim these good tidings to the nation (14:25).  However, there came a time in Jonah’s ministry where the Lord told him to go and to preach to Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria (Jonah 1:1-2).  And, instead of obeying the Lord, Jonah tried to go as far away from Nineveh as he could (1:3).  One might wonder why an otherwise faithful prophet of God would so blatantly disobey a direct command from God.  Jonah actually answers that question for us.  He plainly states that the reason why he ran away was because he knew that Nineveh would repent and, because of that, that God would relent and not destroy the nation who was slated to defeat northern Israel and take them into captivity (4:1-2).  The point needs to be clear: Jonah was fiercely loyal to his home.  And, while there is nothing wrong with liking and appreciating where you live or where you’re from (Philippians 4:11-12), God told Jonah he was in the wrong for allowing his patriotism to become a problem (Jonah 4:3-11).

            You see, this is the problem with patriotism.  In and of itself, it’s a great thing; it gives people a sense of belonging and something to share with those around them, even amidst a myriad of differing opinions.  But, the problem with patriotism isn’t even really patriotism itself; the problem is when a person allows their pride in where they were born or where they live (or, more to the point, their pride in anything) to get in the way of God’s commands.  In particular, I’m talking about the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39), even if your neighbor is your enemy (Matthew 5:43-38).

            From time to time, we might be tempted to be like Jonah and to put our patriotism ahead of our duty to our Lord.  In those cases, let us remember three things.  One, let us remember that the whole of humanity is from one blood (Genesis 1:26-28; Acts 17:26-28); we are all family; we are not borders.  Two, let us remember that our citizenship is in Heaven, not here on earth (Philippians 3:12-21).  And, Three, let us remember that this world will not last forever (2 Peter 3:10), but the Kingdom of Heaven will be eternal (Daniel 2:44-45; 7:13-14).  So, let us always put more personal value on being a part of the Heavenly Kingdom than on any kingdom of this realm or on anything else (Matthew 6:33).  And, may the God of all mankind (Daniel 5:21) help us to remember these things and to fulfill our duties to Him and our neighbor.

~Curtis Carwile

In The Valley Of Decision

            In Joel 3:14, the Lord says, “Multitudes (of) multitudes in the valley of decision!  For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decisions.” 

            It must be said that this is a sorely abused Bible passage as well is the whole book of Joel (and the whole of the Major and Minor Prophets for that matter).  Our Premillennialist friends will emphatically demand that this passage (Joel 3:1-17) refers to some future final battle between good and evil called Armageddon.  This is unfortunate since the actual text doesn’t even begin to suggest that as even a possibility. 

            If you are to read Joel 3:1, you will read when this is supposed to occur, namely, “in those days and at that time.”  Our questions should be: when are “those days” and when is “that time”?  If you go back a few verses into Joel 2, you will see that “those days” and “that time” are the time when the LORD would “pour out [His] Spirit on all mankind” (Joel 2:28-29).  In Acts 2:16-21, Peter said that the Holy Spirit coming upon the Apostles enabling them to preach the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ in various languages so that all could hear and understand to the point of belief was the fulfillment of that prophecy.  In essence, what Peter said was this: that “that time” was the day of Pentecost there in Acts 2.  Additionally, one might ask about all of the judgment terminology in Joel 3.  Well, with the coming of the Holy Spirit also came judgment on the world in a very real sense.  In John 16:8, speaking of the Holy Spirit, Jesus says, “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”  And, in essence, this is what the Holy Spirit did when He brought the fullness of the Gospel to the world to either accept or reject (Matthew 12:30-32); the whole world was judged by their acceptance or rejection of the Holy Spirit.  And, let us be clear: while spiritual gifts have been done away with because they are no longer needed, the judgment of the Holy Spirit is still happening today and will continue until Final Judgment.  So, when we read about the “valley of decision,” we must not believe that it is referring to the outcome of Armageddon (which is another false doctrine coming from a misunderstanding of Scripture).

            Likewise, we must not believe that the valley of decision in this passage refers to what all of the gathered nations will do (i.e., decide whether to accept the Lord or to reject Him) in that valley at that time.  If you just read Joel 3, you will see that no one in that valley will be deciding anything for the LORD will be doing all of the judging (3:2, 12-13) and the nations will be powerless to do anything about it (3:16-17).

            Now, while the “valley of decision” in this passage does not refer to Final Judgment, Final Judgment IS coming.  In Acts 1:11, the angels said that Jesus would return in the clouds.  In Revelation 1:7, John said that every eye would see Him when He comes.  In Second Corinthians 5:10, Paul says that everyone will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.  And, while we cannot know when that Day will come (2 Peter 3:10), we DO know that it is coming.  And, because of that, while the “valley of decision” in Joel 3 does not refer to any decision that man makes, before the final Day of the Lord, we all must make the decision as to whether or not we will serve the Lord.  It is our decision to make, to choose between God and idols, wisdom and foolishness, righteousness and wickedness, salvation and condemnation, Heaven and Hell (Joshua 24:15).  Therefore, in our own “valley of decision,” let us all make the only real decision there is and decide to serve the Lord, working out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) by obeying His Gospel from the heart (Romans 1:16-17; 6:17).  And, let’s understand that this means more than repenting of our sins and being baptized for the remission of them (even those things are necessary for salvation, Acts 2:38); it means being a living sacrifice to Him every day to His glory (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:31).  So, again, let us decide to serve the Lord today and every day until He comes.

~Curtis Carwile

Christian Parents and Enabling

            If you were to sum up the role of a parent into one sentence, how would you do that?  Solomon, the wisest man in the Old Testament, said it this way: “Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).  The great prophet and law-giver Moses put it this way: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength and these words which I command you today shall be in your heart and you shall teach them diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7a).  In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul combined these two thoughts in this way: “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

            Not that I believe that I could do a better job of this than three of the greatest men to ever live as they were inspired by the Lord Himself, but I would like to offer some of my own thought to this.  The role of parents is to appropriately discipline their children so that their children can appropriately discipline themselves.  The idea is that parents train their children to be ever-maturing Christians.  This is a responsibility parents take on even before their firstborn is born and a responsibility which will last for the rest of their lives. 

            You know, when you step back and look at it, there is a delicate balance here.  On one side, a parent is always training their children (Deuteronomy 6:7b-9).  But, on the other side, a parent is training their children to not need their training any longer (Proverbs 22:6).

            With all of this said, there is a problem which arises in many homes regarding this delicate balance.  The problem is that their homes are out of balance; either the parents are not always (or ever) training their children or their children never mature to the point of self-discipline.  Whichever way it is out of balance, this is a huge problem because this is NOT what God wants.

            A reason for both sides of this imbalance is that many parents today follow the philosophy of the day.  Parents are supposed to be helpers, helping their children do what they can’t do for themselves (i.e., providing basic necessities and training until they can provide for themselves).  However, instead of this, many parents choose to be enablers (i.e., doing for them what they can and should do for themselves).  (And, please understand, I’m talking about a parent’s general approach to child-rearing and not special occasions).  This is the problem and this is why we have so many physical adults who are mental, emotional, and spiritual children.

            Friends, children should and must mature in various ways because this is what the Lord expects of them (Luke 2:52); this doesn’t happen by accident, but with the diligent training done primarily by their parents.  They need to learn to bear their own burdens or, as we might say it today, carry their own weight (Galatians 6:5).  They need to learn to be earnest workers (1 Corinthians 4:2; Colossians 3:23) and not lazy bums who should be ashamed of their sinful laziness (2 Thessalonians 3:10-15).  And, friends, children cannot learn what they need to learn if their parents are enabling them.

            So, never enable your children, but “bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”  And, if you realize that you have been enabling your children, then do something about it today; stop enabling them and start being the parent God wants you to be.  May God bless us all in our striving to do His will with all of our hearts in all things.

~Curtis Carwile

What Do You Say?

            It is 11PM on September 10, 2013 as I am writing this article for our bulletin.  I wrote most of an article yesterday and I was going to finish it up today after dinner and have it ready for Wednesday night.  However, Becca said something to me, reminding me that Wednesday was going to be the twelfth anniversary of 9/11.  At that point, I immediately stopped what I was doing, sat down and began writing another article in the hope of interest by relevance.  That was two hours ago.  In that time, I did manage to write one article on the topic but, to be frank, it was impressively horrible, even by my own standards.  Finally, in frustration, I threw up my hands and asked the rhetorical question to myself: what do you say about 9/11 that hasn’t already been said a thousand times to the point where it seems like nothing more than a trite cliché? 

            It was during the contemplation of this question that I realized something: everything worth saying has already been said by much smarter people in much better ways.  And, that is when I realized something else: it didn’t matter if those things had been said a million times; if they needed to be said, then I need to say them.  It doesn’t matter that it’s been said a million times that the attack was evil and horrible.  It doesn’t matter that it’s been said a million times that the reaction of good people was amazing and wonderful.  It doesn’t matter; those things need to be said and repeated and repeated and repeated by those of us who still have a voice today.

            With that said, let me ask you this question: do you ever find yourself wondering what to say to someone who is lost in their sins because they are outside of Jesus Christ or because they are in unrepentant sin?  If you are anything like me (and, in this regard, I imagine that you are), then you’ve struggled with coming up with a different way to preach the Gospel of God’s Grace. 

            Friends, there is some flawed thinking in that and I’ll tell you why.  Jesus Christ is the same today as He was yesterday and will be the same into eternity (Hebrews 13:8).  Jesus doesn’t change and neither does His message.  The Gospel is about Man’s sin and the inevitable consequence of that sin, eternal separation from God (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:2; Romans 6:23a; Revelation 21:8).  The Gospel is about Man’s need for forgiveness and God’s willingness to give it (2 Peter 3:9; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:1-9; Romans 5:6-11).  The Gospel is about God giving Jesus to die on the cross as the perfect sacrifice which atones for all sin (Hebrews 9-10).  The Gospel is about Jesus raising from the dead to prove His victory over death (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 56-57).  The Gospel is about Him ascending to the right hand of the Throne of God to reign over His Kingdom, the Church He built and purchased with His own blood (Acts 2:29-36; 1 Timothy 6:15; Matthew 16:18-19; Acts 20:28).  The Gospel is the Lord’s invitation to all of those who are lost in their sins to come and be found by God in Christ by humbly answering the invitation (Romans 6; Acts 2:38-47).  This is the same message which was taught on Pentecost (Acts 2), at the Temple (Acts 3), by Stephen (Acts 6-7), by Philip (Acts 8), to and by Paul (Acts 9), to Cornelius (Acts 10), and all throughout the New Testament and all throughout the world.  The message is the same and it is just as powerful today as it was the first time it was preached (Romans 1:16-17).

            My point is this: when we try to do something in a different way, we make it about us instead of about it.  This goes for 9/11 and this goes for the Gospel.  What the world needs is plain speaking, especially when it comes to the Gospel of God’s amazing grace.  So, let us plain speakers of this greatest of messages (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16).  May we pray for more laborers (Matthew 9:38) and for more open doors (Colossians 4:3) and may the Lord be glorified in what we say (1 Corinthians 10:31)!

 

~Curtis Carwile

Three Types of People

            It is very possible that you have heard that there are two types of people in the world (i.e., those who like Neil Diamond and those who don’t, those with loaded guns and those who dig, those who like Animaniacs and those who don’t, those who lie and those who lie about not lying, those who finish their sentences and those who…).  This is a very popular way to view the world because it allows us to place the people around us into nice little boxes without very much effort.  It also allows us to view people as one or two dimensional characters on a page (that is, not as real people, but as caricatures of who they really are) which makes it very easy for us.  And, since it is totally based on what we believe is important, we feel good by doing it.

            Now, please, do not get me wrong; I am NOT saying that doing this is a bad thing.  As a matter of fact, we NEED to do this because it is impossible to view everybody as the FIVE-dimensional people that we all are.  And, to prove that it is not wrong to do this, I encourage to you read what Jesus Himself on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13-27.  All that I am saying is that there are, in fact, more than two types of people in this world; in reality, there are three types of people.  And, Jesus discusses all three types of people in the Sermon on the Mount.

            The first type of person is the one who hears the words of Jesus and does what He says to do.  In Matthew 7:24-25, Jesus likens the person who hears and does what He says to a wise man who will endure through all of the storms of life.  Ultimately, this type of person is the only type of person who will be happy in this life and in the life to come, despite whatever hardships he may face (Matthew 5:1-12; 6:24-34; 7:13-14).

            The next type of person is the one who hears the words of Jesus and simply rejects what He says and does not do what Jesus says.  Instead, that type of person does what he wants to do.  In Matthew 7:26-27, Jesus likens this person to a foolish man who cannot survive, despite how well things seem to be going at a particular moment.  This type of person will suffer and worry about the wrong things (Matthew 6:24-34), he will hate and oppress his fellow man (Matthew 5:21-48), and ultimately, in his rebellion to the King, he will meet his eventual destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).

            The last type of person is possibly the saddest.  He is the one who hears the words of Jesus and does some of them.  The Sermon on the Mount (among other things) is about the hypocrisy of many of the religious leaders, such as the Scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:20; 5:21-6:18).  This is the type of person who, despite his claim of being the first type of person, is more like the second type of person than he would ever believe.  Jesus called people like this “hypocrites” (Matthew 7:5).  Unfortunately, this type of person will meet the Lord in Judgment and will feign (?) surprise and indignation when he hears the truth about his hypocrisy, that it was damnable sin (Matthew 7:21-23).

            While there are three types of people in this world, the only type of person any of us should be is the first type, the one who hears the words of Jesus and faithfully does them with all of our hearts.  So, let us be this type of people and never the rebellious fool or the self-righteous hypocrite.  And, let God bless us in this earnest endeavor.

~Curtis Carwile

Shine Brightly!

            In James 1:17, we read this: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”  James calls God “the Father of Lights.”  The reason why He is called this is because, simply put, He IS light.  In Revelation 21:23, John tells us about Heaven and how “The City has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it.  The Lamb is its light.”  And, since Christians are to be “sons of light” (1 Thessalonians 5:5), we have the responsibility to put on “the armor of light” (Romans 13:12) and “walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8) meaning that we are to live our lives according to His Holy Word (Psalm 119:1-5, 130).  We are to shine as lights in every aspect of our lives so that the world which is lost in the darkness of its sins will see the light of Jesus and glorify the Father of Lights who is in Heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).

            One additional thing we need to understand about all of this is that, while God’s light never varies (James 1:17), ours does from time to time; There are times when we shine as bright as the sun and, then, there are other times when we flicker or dim or go out altogether.  So, with all of that said, the question is this: what causes this variation in us?  What causes our lights to flicker or dim?  And, while there are a wide variety of things which can affect our light, I will mention just three.

            First, immodest apparel will effectively dim our lights.  Again, as Christians, we are to be different from the world; this is what being “saints” and being “holy” means (1 Peter 1:16)!  We are to be set apart from the world to God.  The way we present ourselves needs to reflect this.  Though given to women, the command is to adorn ourselves in modest apparel, in a way which professes godliness (1 Timothy 2:9-10; 1 Peter 3:3-4).  The way we present ourselves (specifically, in our dress) needs to draw attention to the Creator (God) and not to His creation (us) (Romans 1:24-25).  Likewise, our dress needs to not suggest anything immoral or indecent, but only that which promotes godliness.  It is a sad fact that too many (and one is too many) Christians purposely dim their Christian lights so that they can dress in a “trendy” or in a “cute” way so that they can look just like the world instead of looking like Christians.  And, when that happens, how can the world tell the difference between those claiming godliness and the rest of the world?  So, brethren, let us never present ourselves (or let our children present themselves) in any sort of hypocritical way, but only as those professing godliness with our whole beings (Romans 12:1-2)!

            Second, foul language will greatly affect the brightness of our lights.  As Christians, our speech is to be a beautifully woven tapestry of praise and thanksgiving (Hebrews 13:15), of truth and love (Ephesians 4:15), of evangelism and edification (Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 4:29), of wisdom and grace (Colossians 3:5-6), of meekness and tenderness (2 Timothy 2:24-26; Ephesians 4:32).  When we speak as we are supposed to, we brightly shine as lights in this dark world because this is not how the world speaks.  Yet, when we speak as the world speaks (that is, with bitterness, malice, wrath, profanity, with coarse-jesting, gossip, slander, and the like), we purposefully dim our lights to where the world cannot see the light of Jesus in us.  So, let us never speak like the fool (or allow our children to do so), but speak as the wise lights we are called to be.

            Third, evil companions will cause our lights to dim.  As Christians, we are to associate with other Christians (Acts 2:46).  Admittedly, that is not to say that we cannot have association with those who are not Christians (1 Corinthians 5:10); even Jesus sat and ate with “tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 9:11).  So, I am definitely not suggesting that we sequester ourselves away from the world.  Yet, we are to be very wary of worldly relations.  In First Corinthians 15:33, Paul said that “evil company corrupts good habits.”  Another way of putting it might be “friendship with those who care nothing about God will influence you for the worst.”  If we are to remain righteous before the Lord, we need to “choose [our] friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads [us] astray” (Proverbs 12:26).  And, “friendship with fools” will lead to a person’s destruction (Proverbs 13:20).  James states all of this very plainly when he says that “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4).  The point is this: evil companions will influence us to purposely dim our lights.  So, let us never be “the companion of fools” or have friendship with the world (or encourage our children to do so).  But, as Christians, let us always shine brightly to those in the world with whom we have contact so that their sins might be exposed and that they might glorify the Lord by turning from those sins and by turning to the Lord.

            We are to be lights in this world darkened by sin.  If we look and speak and act like the world around us, then how will they see our lights (assuming that it has not already gone out) and glorify God by coming to Him in humble, faithful submission to His will?  They can’t, at least, not because of us.  So, let us shine brightly by dressing so as to bring attention to God, by speaking as to direct people to God, and by behaving as to bring people to God.  And, may the Father of Lights bless us always in this endeavor!

~Curtis Carwile

"There Is Born To You"

            Earlier this week, William and Kate were blessed with a baby boy.  When someone told me about it, I believe that I said something like, “Oh, well, that’s nice.  I didn’t know they were even expecting... Who are William and Kate again?  Did I go to college with them?”  In case you are like me and have been living under a rock for the last “however-long,” we’re talking about Prince William of England and his wife Kate Middleton and their newborn child who will one day be the king of England.  And, considering the lack of monarchs today, this is truly a momentous event and a time of great rejoicing for all nations.

            Since the new prince was born, we have been bombarded with pictures and stories about it on television, in the newspapers, and on the internet.  People feel the need to share this good news.  And, it gives the world a very rare opportunity to rejoice together.

            I imagine that you all are like me and, when you heard that a new king was born, that your minds went straight to Luke 2 and the birth of THE King, Jesus.

            Oh, how His birth was different than the new prince of Cambridge!  While this new prince was born in a reserved hospital room to royal parents and greeted by the whole world, while this new prince doesn’t even have a name yet, Jesus’ birth was very different.  While Jesus was born to two loving parents, His earthly parents had not even “known” each other yet (Matthew 1:18-25).  While born to descendants of King David (Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38), Jesus was not born to royal parents, but to a lowly carpenter (Matthew 13:55) and his young wife.  Jesus was not born in an “important” place, but the sleepy little town of Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-7).  He had no reserved place or hospital bed, but a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.  And, while this new prince doesn’t even have a name yet, Jesus was given His name by God: Immanuel which is “God with us” and Jesus which is “God saves” (Matthew 1:21-23).  And, while the world greeted this new prince, only lowly shepherds came to greet their newborn King (Luke 2:15-16).  Truly, there are some pretty big differences between the births of these two kings.

            With all of these differences, there is one greatest of all differences.  This newborn prince will inherit the throne and he will affect the course of western civilization for the next eighty-or-so years.  But, as is the case with all men, he will pass from this life and another will take his throne.  Jesus took His Throne after defeating humanity’s two greatest foes, Sin and Death (1 Corinthians 6, 15; Hebrews 2, 9-10); He ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Throne of God (Acts 2:32-36).  And, two thousand years later, Jesus is still sitting on His Throne, ruling over His eternal Kingdom forevermore (Daniel 7:13-14, 26-27)!  His Kingdom will not be passed to another.  Rather, at the appropriate time, it will be delivered to the Father in Heaven where those in it will be with our King and our God in eternity (1 Corinthians 15:23-28). 

            While this newborn prince will be a king of an earthly realm one day, Jesus is the King of all kings, over all mankind (1 Timothy 6:13-16) and, especially, over His eternal Kingdom, His Church (Matthew 16:18-19)!

            So, while we rejoice with the world at the birth of this new prince, let us all always remember the One who is reigning over us today and forevermore.  And, let us all always honor, magnify, and serve our King as long as we have life (Colossians 3:23)!

~Curtis Carwile