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