Transition Time

For about a year or so, I’ve been feeling like God has been leading me to take the concept of my weekly blog and transition it into a podcast. At first, that didn’t seem possible due to the fact that when my wife and I adopted our two kiddos, I gave up my “music room”, and thus lost a space to record. However, now that we’ve moved into a more spacious home, I’ve got my home studio space back. No more excuses.

Like my blog, the podcast will be called Reclaiming the Faith, but not because I believe I have the corner on the truth. The reason it’s called Reclaiming the Faith is that I want to bring to light the beliefs, values and practices of the earliest Christians, which are often neglected by Bible colleges, Christian universities and seminaries. However, to make things a little more listener-friendly, my overarching mission is to demonstrate through these writings how the early Christians would respond to the core issues facing us today.

At first, while I’m still getting the hang of things, I plan on posting every other Tuesday. Next week, you’ll be able to find it on iTunes or at the main site.

Thanks so much for listening! And if you have a minute, please rate and review the podcast next week when the first episode goes up.

Grace and peace!

The Faith Once Delivered & Joseph Smith

My wife and I recently moved into a neighborhood where several Mormon families live. I really like Mormon people, and you should too. They are some of the most friendly and sincere folks you’ll come across.

However, engaging in dialogues with them about Jesus can be a little tricky. You see, Mormons talk just like Christians. They use the same Christianese words and phrases as we do, and quote some of the same standard Bible verses that we have memorized. But although they may be using similar words, they have different definitions for those words.

For instance, according to Mormons, “Heavenly Father” (also known as Elohim) used to be a physical man like J. J. Watt. He died a physical death and was exalted to godhood where he had endless celestial sex with his many spiritual wives and produced countless spiritual offspring.

You will hear Mormons say that the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. They also believe it is by grace through faith we are saved. However, their own prophets say that we are saved by grace… after all we can do.

To Mormons, Elohim (one of the Hebrew words for God) is just one of a plethora of actual gods, and though he is the only god they worship, he is neither the first nor the last actual god. Elohim’s first created spiritual offspring was Jesus, and one of his next was Lucifer, thus making Jesus and Lucifer brothers.

I could go on an on about their doctrine, but you’re probably wondering who came up with this belief system.

Joseph Smith founded the Mormon faith in the 1820s. He believed that Elohim manifested himself in a vision, telling Joseph to not join any of the standard churches. According to Smith, Elohim said that all of the Christian denominations had fallen from the path, their creeds were an abomination, and their professors (the Christians) were all corrupt. Also, the Bible was missing many plain and precious things.

If one is to trust Joseph Smith, God restored both His true revelation of the gospel and the correct translation and interpretation of the Scriptures in the 1800s. Thus, if we are to believe Joseph Smith, God cannot preserve His own Scriptures, Jesus’ words did pass away, and the faith once and for all time delivered to the Church by the apostles under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit was corrupted in its infant stages.

But are those beliefs accurate? Did the Church mutilate the gospel immediately after receiving it from the Apostles?

First, we have thousands of Greek New Testament manuscripts from the first few centuries. Our modern word-for-word translations are not translated from earlier English translations or even Latin translations. Our modern word-for-word Bibles (Like the NASB and ESV) are translated directly from those earliest Greek manuscripts. You can absolutely trust that these types of Bibles are giving you the words that the Holy Spirit originally breathed out.

However, some may argue that the proper interpretations of the Scriptures became corrupted. This is where the earliest Christian writings particularly display their value. For instance, Polycarp was the Bishop of Smyrna in the early 2^nd century, and a personal disciple of John the Apostle. His testimony, therefore, provides us with a unique window into the teaching and legacy of the Apostles.

So, what does Polycarp have to say about the faith handed down to him from the Apostles?  

If we entreat the Lord to forgive us, we ought also to forgive others; for we are before the eyes of our Lord and God, and “we must all appear at the judgment-seat of Christ.” … Let us then serve Him in fear, and with all reverence, even as He Himself has commanded us, and as the apostles who preached the Gospel unto us, and the prophets who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Lord [have alike taught us]. … Wherefore, forsaking the vanity of many, and their false doctrines, let us return to the word which has been handed down to us from the beginning. … Let us then continually persevere in our hope, and the earnest of our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ, “who bore our sins in His own body on the tree,” “who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth,” but endured all things for us, that we might live in Him. Let us then be imitators of His patience; and if we suffer for His name’s sake, let us glorify Him. For He has set us this example in Himself, and we have believed that such is the case. – Polycarp 125CE, ANF Volume 1, p. 60-61 [CD-ROM]

According to Polycarp, the faith that was handed down to the Church once for all by the Apostles was first and foremost to make the Lord God Jesus Christ our beginning and end point. We start with Him and we end with Him. He is our righteous example. No one else.

Mormons may say they are Christians, but they clearly don’t worship the same heavenly Father as we do. They may say believe the gospel, but they obviously have a different understanding of salvation. They say they believe in Jesus, but they don’t believe He is the one true God. They are often very good people, but Joseph Smith, not Jesus, is their example.

What about you? Is the Lord God Jesus Christ honestly your example for righteous living? Do you believe in the faith once delivered?

The Pope and the Paraclete

The most current self-proclaimed Vicar of Christ has been making the news again. Pope Francis recently wrote a scathing letter to a few tenacious African priests who rejected the papal appointment of their local bishop.

Francis compared the actions of these priests to the “murderous tenants” in Jesus’ parable of the vineyard, and declared their disobedience to his directives a “mortal sin”. To regain proper standing, the priests must first write a letter of apology, seeking the forgiveness of the Pope. And second, they must clearly manifest total obedience to him.

Do these actions of Pope Francis shock you? What about the time he said that trying to convince nonchristians to convert to faith in Christ is an illicit poison? Or when he declared that one of the ten secrets to a happy life is to not proselytize? And finally, what about the article he wrote in 2013 stating that even atheists have already been redeemed by the blood of Jesus and are children of God just like Christians?

Perhaps you’re wondering how someone would have the audacity to say and do such things. If that’s the case, maybe it would help to understand Francis’ point of view.  

First, Pope Francis views himself as the Pontifex Maximus, which literally means that he believes he is the supreme bridge builder between God and mankind. Francis also believes that, because he possesses Papal infallibility, he is incapable of erring in even the slightest way when teaching on matters of faith and morality. And why would anyone come to such an extreme conclusion about themselves? The reason is that the Pope teaches that he is the Vicar of Christ, or the visible head of the Church on earth who is acting for and in the place of Christ.  

So basically, if you disagree with the Pope, the Pope says you are disagreeing with God. If you disobey the Pope, the Pope says you are disobeying God.

But what did the early Christians believe about the Vicar of Christ? Who did they believe is the primarily agent acting on Jesus’ behalf on earth?

Our Lord Christ has surnamed Himself Truth, not Custom. … Whatever savors of opposition to truth, this will be heresy, even (if it be an) ancient custom. … The reason why the Lord sent the Paraclete was that, since human mediocrity was unable to take in all things at once, discipline should, little by little, be directed and ordained and carried on to perfection by that Vicar of the Lord, the Holy Spirit. “Still,” He said, “I have many things to say to you, but you are not yet able to bear them: when that Spirit of truth shall come, He will direct you into all truth, and will report to you the things that must take place.” – Tertullian 207CE, ANF Volume 4, p. 44-45 [CD-ROM]

Most of us would agree with Tertullian. The true Vicar of Christ on earth is the Holy Spirit. After all, Jesus told His disciples in John 14:16-17, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

It’s one thing to intellectually agree that the Holy Spirit is Christ’s representative on earth, and thus speaks on His behalf with all authority. However, it’s another thing all together to have that intellectual belief become a functional reality in our lives.

So, who or what holds the functional place of God in your life? Your feelings? Cultural norms? Your finances? A certain person? A quest for more money, control or security? Your appearance? What is the actual driving-force behind your decision-making?

It can be scary and sometimes frustrating to begin to honestly answer that question. But the real Vicar of Christ, the Holy Spirit, is here to help us. He is for us, not against us. He is the Spirit of truth, and one of His main jobs is to transform us to become more and more like the One who is the Truth and the only way to God the Father, Jesus Christ. And though Pope Francis may disagree, He is someone that everyone needs to know about.

Bernie Vs. The Believer

Is it unloving to believe and then proclaim that those who reject Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be condemned by God? Does holding that belief make a person incapable of demonstrating love and fairness to the individuals he or she believes currently stand condemned?

These are the issues that Russell Vought was faced with during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill recently. President Trump nominated Vought to be deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, but it has not been a smooth transition thus far.  

Vought is an alumnus of Wheaton College, which in 2015 suspended a tenured professor who declared that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. In response to the professor, Vought wrote a blog stating, “Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ his Son, and they stand condemned.”

Various groups latched on to Vought’s statement about condemnation and questioned whether his beliefs allow him to be capable of serving all Americans fairly. At Vought’s confirmation hearing, Senator Bernie Sanders repeatedly questioned Vought about his faith, and strongly insinuated that Vought’s beliefs make him Islamophobic.

So, Is Sanders right? Is it hateful to believe and proclaim that those who reject Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be condemned by God?

Let’s begin to answer that question by taking a simple look at perhaps the most popular passage of Scripture in the New Testament. 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. – John 3:16-19 ESV

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle John clearly wrote that those who do not believe in Jesus stand condemned. In fact, verse 18 was specifically cited by Vought in his blog post. To be sure, there are Christians who don’t agree with Vought’s choice of words. But if they are ashamed of his statement that all are condemned apart from faith in Christ, they are actually displaying that they are ashamed of some of the most foundational words of Christianity.

The Apostle John later testified that the words of his gospel are true and have been recorded so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in His name. Therefore, it is more than reasonable to conclude that one of the most loving things we can do is testify to others about their dire need to receive Christ.

What about Sen. Sanders’ second assertion? Is it impossible to demonstrate love and fairness to those one believes currently stand condemned in the eyes of God?

To be fair to Sanders, historically speaking, the merging of the cross with the State has neither been beneficial for the lost nor the Church. The first recorded act of homicide committed by a Christian against a nonchristian did not occur until after 380CE, when Roman Emperor Theodosius virtually made it illegal to not be a Christian. A few decades later, Augustine began to develop a theory of Just War, by which a Christian could feel justified in slaughtering pagans.

But that is not how it was in the beginning.

Early Christian writer, Irenaeus, was the Bishop of Lyons throughout in the mid-late 2^nd century. He was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle John. What we find in the writings of Irenaeus is a man who unashamedly testified to the simple words of Christ, and also a man who, like Christ, would lay down his life for the salvation of his enemies. 

First, let’s take a look at Irenaeus’ interpretation of John 3:18.

And for this purpose did the Father reveal the Son, that through His instrumentality He might be manifested to all, and might receive those righteous ones who believe in Him into incorruption and everlasting enjoyment; … but He shall righteously shut out into the darkness which they have chosen for themselves, those who do not believe, and who do consequently avoid His light. … For it was fitting that the truth should receive testimony from all, and should become [a means of] judgment for the salvation indeed of those who believe, but for the condemnation of those who believe not. …  Wherefore did the Lord say to His disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life and no man comes to the Father but by Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.” – Irenaeus 180CE, ANF Volume 1, p. 781, 783-784 [CD-ROM]

There was no dancing around challenging doctrines with Irenaeus and the early Christians. If the Jesus said it, they believed it. Therefore, when the Scriptures spoke of the Holy Spirit empowering followers of Jesus to love our enemies and walking as Jesus they believed that too.

From the Lord’s advent, the new covenant which brings back peace, and the law which gives life, has gone forth over the whole earth, as the prophets said: “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; and He shall rebuke many people; and they shall break down their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, and they shall no longer learn to fight.” … The word of God, preached by the apostles (who went forth from Jerusalem) throughout all the earth, caused such a change in the state of things, that these [nations] did form the swords and war-lances into ploughshares, and changed them into pruning-hooks for reaping the corn, [that is], into instruments used for peaceful purposes, and that they are now unaccustomed to fighting, but when smitten, offer also the other cheek. – Irenaeus 180CE, ANF Volume 1, p. 859-860 [CD-ROM]

Christians being put on trial and persecuted for their uncompromising, nonviolent faith is as ancient as the days following Pentecost in the book of Acts. So we should not consider it strange when similar events unfold before our eyes in the 21^st century.

Unfortunately, it is rare these days to see Christians who will literally turn the other cheek. Who will literally bless their persecutors. Who will literally refuse to repay evil with evil. Who will seek to do good to all people. And at the same time, who will boldly proclaim the truth that all who reject Jesus Christ will face eternal destruction.

So, we need to pray for Russell Vought to remain faithful, courageous and hopeful during this trial. And finally, pray Senator Bernie Sanders as well. Pray that that the eyes of his heart will be opened, he will turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that he may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Jesus.