The Holy Spirit

God accomplishes His purposes in and through us by His Spirit.  Its important for us to understand a few things concerning the Holy Spirit.

1) A believer is saved if he is born of the Spirit.  This is what it means to be born again.  This makes -all- the difference in a person or a church.  Unless a person has the Holy Spirit inside him, he is not born again and not saved.  This is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

2) A person does not receive the Holy Spirit except by the will of God.  There is no singular determining factor except the will of God.  There is no clear time at which the Holy Spirit indwells a person, except for a few times recorded in the book of Acts.  The coming and going of the Holy Spirit is like the wind; its hard to know when and where.

3) Baptism is not required to receive the Holy Spirit.  There is at least one example in the Bible of a person we -know- received the Holy Spirit before being baptized (that being Cornelius and his household, Acts 10).

4) Speaking in tongues is not required to prove the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  In the book of Acts the Holy Spirit manifested different tongues/languages in some people for His own purposes.  God has a plan for all of human history, and the examples of tongues in Acts are one piece of that plan.  To show His power and to announce His presence, the Holy Spirit manifested tongues.  But nowhere in the Bible, which the Holy Spirit authored, did He tell us that this would happen every time.

5) The one clear indication that a person has the Holy Spirit inside him is the fruit of the Spirit.  Jesus taught us that a good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.  A tree is recognized by its fruit.  So we can recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit by seeing the fruit of the Spirit.

6) The Holy Spirit is essential.  While there may be a lot that we don't understand about the Holy Spirit, as they say, "God works in mysterious ways," there are some things that He has revealed to us.  What we do know about the Spirit, its important for us to talk about and understand.  It is also very important for us to understand the false doctrines about the Holy Spirit, so that we can counter them.  False doctrines about the Holy Spirit are very pernicious and destructive; we must teach/preach the truth concerning the Holy Spirit, from the Bible, as much as He has revealed Himself to us.

A Christian Republic Pt3

In my previous note I talked about how the US could become a Christian republic.  Now I'm going to talk about what I believe will actually happen.

I have said a number of times already, the condition in the US is pretty dire.  Worse than anything else, there is an overall immorality in the US.  And if divine judgement were to come to America, God would be just in doing so.  Will judgement come to America?  I believe so.  God rebukes and disciplines those He loves, because correction is better than blessing.  America has already been blessed with great abundance and power, but that blessing will be the world's curse if America continues down the path of evil.  I believe, in the context of a number of other things, something major will happen in the US within the next three years.  A nuclear attack against the US, targeting major cities like DC, NYC and LA.  Now let me describe that context, so that it may make some sense.

I have written already about the connection between the white horseman and the USA; you can read it here: http://wordingforjesus.blogspot.com/2011/09/white-horse-and-rider.html...  In short, the US is the white horse and rider of Revelation 6:1-2.  The question is, has the US conquered what it will conquer and is now on the decline, or has it only just begun?  There's more prophecy to know and understand to fit this all together.  Just like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces of prophecy must be put together in a way that makes sense.  They all relate to the same timeline.

The blessing of the church in Philadelphia
Jesus tells John to write to seven churches in Asia Minor.  In truth, to the angels of each church.  This is in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.  The key to understanding these letters is understanding what the churches represent.  They are, literally speaking, seven cities and churches in Asia Minor in the first and second centuries.  But these churches prefigure churches throughout the church age.  Each one is prominent in succession.  Ephesus in the first century.  Smyrna in the second and third centuries.  Pergamum in the fourth to seventh centuries.  Thyatira as the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches throughout the middle ages until today.  Sardis as the Protestant churches from the Protestant Reformation until today.  Philadelphia as a church that is just now emerging in the world.  And Laodicea has yet to come.  In His letter to the angel of Philadelphia there is a promise of blessing.  He says that the synagogue of Satan, which there represents Islam, will come and worship at their feet, and acknowledge that He has loved them.  This can be interpreted as a physical blessing, since they acknowledge it; it must be something seen by those who oppose Christians.  Today Muslims persecute Christians throughout the world more than any other religion or entity.  But God will turn this around sometime soon.  How?  There's another prophecy to answer that.

The war of Gog
 In the 38th and 39th chapters of Ezekiel he describes an incredible war in which God pours out His wrath on the enemies of Israel.  Gog, which must represent something else since Gog is the name of an early patriarch, brings out its entire military force to invade the land of Israel, along with a number of other nations with it.  And when they have surrounded Israel with a military force immensely large, God pours out His wrath on them in spectacular fashion.  Why does He do this?  His purpose is stated in the last verse of 38: "So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations.  Then they will know that I am the LORD."  God will demonstrate His existence, and the fact that He is the God of Israel - the God of the Bible - by pouring out His wrath in a supernatural way.  You can see what it is by reading the whole passage.  Even fire comes down from heaven, and this is not to be interpreted as a nuclear attack or anything man-made. Whatever the fire is, it is something supernatural, so as to prove that it is God who defends Israel.  So He reveals Himself to the nations, and He greatly humbles the Muslim nations, both by proving their error, and by defeating many Muslim nations in one stroke.  Gog is actually the nation of Turkey; it was there in Asia Minor that Gog settled.  Meshech and Tubal also settled in the land that is now Turkey, so its clear that Gog signifies Turkey, and its no coincidence that Turkey has begun to be more hostile towards Israel.  As for the other nations that attack Israel along with Gog, they are simply the Muslim nations surrounding Israel: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Iraq.  This is precisely how God will humble the Muslim nations, and make them acknowledge that God has loved the Christians.  In other words, the tables will be turned completely, and the Christians who are now persecuted in Muslim nations will be handed the authority of all these nations.  They will go from prisons to palaces.  So the question is, when will this happen?  To answer that we must go to another prophecy.
 
The seventy sevens prophecy
 In the 9th chapter of Daniel there's a prophecy called the seventy weeks, or seventy sevens, prophecy.  It predicts, some say the first coming of Jesus, others say the second coming of Jesus.  I believe it most specifically predicts the second coming of Jesus for two reasons.  One, because there was never an edict to exactly rebuild and restore Jerusalem before Jesus' first coming.  There were edicts like it, like one to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and another to rebuild the temple, but there was never an edict to rebuild Jerusalem itself.  And the timing is not exact to the year either, no matter which edict you base it on.  The other reason is that the antichrist is clearly referred to in the prophecy, in verses 26 and 27.  The interesting thing about these seventy weeks, which most people agree represent Sabbath Years (seven year periods), is how they are divided up.  Daniel divides them up into 7 sevens, 62 sevens, and one final seven, which is the period of the tribulation.  Its a wonder why he has to divide it up into 7 sevens and 62 sevens.  He hints at the reason for the final seven in verse 27, that is, its the tribulation period that is spoken of in Revelation.  But he gives absolutely no reason, or even a hint, for the division of 7 sevens and 62 sevens.  I have a theory for what it is.

Let me start with the edict itself.  In the spring of 1969, only two years after the Six Days War in which Israel captured Jerusalem for the first time in modern history, the Israeli Knesset passed a resolution that formed the Jewish Quarter Development Company.  Its mission was to rebuild and restore the Jewish Quarter of the old city of Jerusalem.  Here is its website: http://www.jewish-quarter.org.il/chevra.asp.  I believe this was the exact edict that Daniel prophesies.  And the reason for the division of 7 sevens and 62 sevens?  It must signify something important.  If we start with the edict of 1969, and we add 49 years to that (7 sevens), it brings us to the year 2018.  It also happens to be the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel as a sovereign nation.  An interesting coincidence.  And why not, if this signifies something major, the war of Gog?  The events of Ezekiel chapters 36 through the end of the book are in chronological order.  Chapters 36 and 37 foretell of the return of the Jews to the land of Israel (that has happened, and continues to happen, in the exact way that Ezekiel describes).  Chapters 38 and 39 foretell the war of Gog.  And the rest of the book describes a temple that has never been built (the third temple).  Its interesting, because if its in chronological order, which it certainly seems to be, then the next thing to happen is the war of Gog.  And since the return of Jews to the land of Israel, and the prosperity of the land of Israel, has, for the most part, been fulfilled, it would seem that the war of Gog is just around the corner.  Indeed it is.  If God gave Israel 70 years of exile, why would He not choose 70 years from the founding of Israel to the great turning point - the war of Gog?  You see, all of these things come together to strongly suggest that 2018 is the precise year in which Turkey (Gog) will lead middle-eastern nations on a massive invasion of Israel (we all know they hate Israel).  And when this happens, all of the people on the earth will see the most extraordinary thing in all their life.  God will reveal Himself to the nations.  God will pour out His wrath on the enemies of Israel in a way unimaginable.  Woe to the enemies of Israel; as the scripture says, do not touch the apple of His eye.  Let us consider now what the world will be like following this massive turning point in world history.

A new world order
There will literally be a new world order.  Its no surprise, Israel will be at the head of this order.  God will reveal Himself to Israel as well, and they will - those who haven't yet - come to know that Jesus is Messiah and their King.  By this Jews and Christians will join together and have exactly the same faith/religion.  So God will be above Israel and dictate what Israel does by His Holy Spirit.  Israel will rule over all the nations of the world, but not directly.  You see, Israel will have authority over the United States, and the United States will conquer all of the world and have authority over the nations.  Even now Israel has considerable influence over the United States.  Look on the dollar bill, on the obverse of the Great Seal, and above the eagles head you will find the Star of David; it is a symbol of what I'm talking about (read Isaiah 55:5).  The United States is the conquering horseman of Revelation 6:2, and it will go out and conquer.  But itself will be conquered by Israel, and has much already been conquered by Israel.  Not by violence, but by Providence.  So Israel will rule over the nations through the United States, and God will rule over Israel, and the rule of Israel will bring peace to the world, and a general benevolence.  Notice how the next horseman in the series, the red horseman, takes peace from the earth?  This implies that there was peace on the earth to begin with.  When that happens, there will be much warfare.  But until then, while this new world order is intact, the world will enjoy peace.  Notice also that "NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM" (New World Order) is written on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States (the first seal of Revelation).

And what will Israel and the United States do when they have power over all the earth?  I will tell you.  They will hand over authority to the Christians.  No pretending not to play favorites.  No pretending not to be biased.  Those who suffered persecution in countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia and North Korea, they will be brought out of the prisons and put into the palaces (maybe not literally a palace, but anyway).  The Christians will be handed authority in every nation.  There will be a temple built in Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will be the capital of all Christendom.  Israel will be at the head of all Christians on earth, and Jesus will rule over Israel.  America will be the strong-arm of Israel, and America will enforce the rule of Christians in every nation.  So the prophecy in Revelation 3:9 will come true.  Indeed, those who have opposed Christianity will acknowledge that He has loved us.  But to Christians, beware of wealth, because it corrupts people.  Beware of success in this world, because it can water down a person's faith.  Notice how the following church, the church in Laodicea, is lukewarm, and they say they don't need God because they are rich.  Ultimately this is what the blessing God bestows on Philadelphia will lead to, but may we postpone it as long as possible.  May we enjoy peace and prosperity, and not let it distract us from devotion to God.  May we serve God only, and not give in to the deceitfulness of wealth.

Now let me return to where I started.  As you can see, there is a ton of blessing that is about to come.  But did I start this note speaking of blessing?  I started it by speaking of judgement that will come on America.  Horrible judgement.  The kind that will make 9/11 look like a paper cut.  9/11 killed thousands, but I fear the next attack on America will kill millions.  The War of Gog will happen in 2018, and that is when everything will change.  But until then, there is a period of tribulation we must endure.  There is a period of increasing wickedness that we are experiencing now.  There is a time of judgement that will come on America.  In some sense, the night is darkest right before the dawn.  Things will get better, but be ready for some very hard times ahead. 

A Christian Republic Pt2

In my last note I talked generally about what a Christian republic is.  Now I want to be more specific, and talk about how the United States could be a Christian republic.  As it is today, the US is very far from being a Christian republic.  But at its roots, the US is not too far from it.  At certain times in its history, the US has come close to being a Christian republic.  Before the 60s the Bible was read and taught in public schools.  Prayer was allowed in schools, and abortion was outlawed.  Of course our history is not perfect, and there were other evils at that time, like racism.  Nonetheless, the past few decades have seen a major decline in moral values.  Now let me talk about how the US could be transformed into a true Christian republic.

The morality of the people is a big deal.  A republic must stand upon the public.  A corrupted public will certainly mean a corrupted republic.  With that said, the American People must return to God if America is to have any hope of being a nation that is truly one under God, or pleasing to God, as a Christian republic would be.  Abortion must be outlawed.  Its pointless to go any further in this note without saying that.  So long as abortion is allowed in this nation, the stain of evil is upon it.  Its pointless to speak of America being a Christian anything, without first saying this.  So the first practical step in moving towards a Christian republic, the US must add an amendment to its Constitution declaring unborn babies to be persons, and making all state laws against murder applicable to unborn babies.

During the sixties and seventies the US took one step forward and two steps back.  The one stop forward was the civil rights movement.  The two steps back was the Supreme Court's decision to ban prayer and Bible reading in public schools.  This was a massive misinterpretation of the First Amendment, and it actually goes directly against the First Amendment's freedom of religion, but I'll talk about that somewhere else.  The fact of the matter is, there would be no civil rights movement if not for God's word.  It was pastors and preachers who led the movement, like Martin Luther King Jr.  It was the principle that all men are made in God's image upon which the movement was based.  If all men are created in the image of God, what right does anyone have to discriminate against another because of skin color?  That was the central argument; it came directly from the Bible.  For the most part, Americans are not racists today.  But what has happened by removing God's word from the schools, is that many other forms of immorality have pervaded and corrupted the nation.  If America is to be a Christian republic, prayer and Bibles must be in every single school.  It was that way throughout most of our history; it absolutely must be that way for America to be a Christian anything.

Think of this: pornography is protected by the First Amendment, but religion in schools is not protected, even though freedom of religion is actually stated in the First Amendment.  As I stated before, the courts have greatly misinterpreted the Constitution.  This is partly because the Constitution does not speak of God and the Bible in clear terms.  That is a great weakness and flaw, as I will explain here.  Americans fool themselves into thinking they have freedom.  The freedom to abort, for example.  The freedom to view porn.  The freedom to have gay sex and call it a marriage.  It seems that freedom in America today is defined by the number of evil things that are allowed.  And yet so many Americans are worried about their government, drones, internet spying, a police state, etc.  Evidently freedom is both very alive and very imperiled.  But I will show that freedom is truly dead in America, because our definition of freedom is greatly distorted.  Freedom to do evil is no freedom at all.  If American women are allowed to murder their own babies in the womb, what does that say to government officials, or corporate leaders - anyone in power?  It devalues life.  It devalues the human.  It says, "we as a nation do not care what we do to each other."  If mothers care nothing about their own babies, why would we expect politicians, who do not have even half the decency of mothers, to care about their citizens?  If we heap abuse on eachother and call that freedom, what kind of abuse can we expect from those in power?  Plenty of it.  That is precisely why freedom is so lacking in America, even while people deceive themselves into thinking they are free.  So what can we do to actually preserve freedom?  It must be based on morality, and morality can only come from God.  There must be specific language in the Constitution that speaks of God and the Bible.  And it must be required of every citizen to at least acknowledge God's existence.  That may seem extreme, and it would be extreme if not for a certain event.  Today that would be extreme.  But if God revealed Himself in some way, proving to all people beyond any doubt that He is here all around, then it would be very reasonable for a nation to require its citizens to acknowledge God.  In fact, anyone that would deny God's existence when it so obvious, could reasonably be put in a stray jacket.  It would be the same as a person proclaiming himself to be a chicken.  The only difference is, and the only reason some people will claim there is no God in spite of overwhelming evidence, is that sin nature compels people to deny God, while sin nature has no desire to proclaim itself a chicken.  I'll explain a little further in my next note.  Let it suffice for now, there must be additions to the Constitution, which clearly and unmistakably make God and the Bible the central basis for the entire nation.  That would be a major step in becoming a Christian republic.

There's one other thing I will mention.  A republic can turn into an oligarchy if a few become super wealthy.  Enough wealth translates into power in most forms of government.  And that is what has happened here in the US.  We have an oligarchy as much as we have a republic.  There are a relative few who own the media and the lobbyists, and they have such an incredible influence on the politicians in DC.  They then pass laws that benefit them at the expense of average Americans.  And everything gets mixed into a mountain of regulation, paper and legal wording, that the average American doesn't know where to begin unraveling it.  God gave Israel certain laws to prevent this kind of thing.  Its not that every Israeli had to be exactly equal to every other Israeli, but that the wealth of Israel would not become concentrated in the hands of a few.  Each family was given an inheritance, and their inheritance passed down from one generation to the next.  Every 49 years - the Year of Jubilee - the ownership of that inheritance reverted back to the family, regardless of anything.  They could "sell" the land, but only for the amount of years until the next Jubilee, so in effect they could only rent out the land.  This prevented Israel's land from being gathered up into the hands of a few.  Furthermore, when Israel neglected to follow these laws, the prophet Isaiah warned them, "Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field."  Hoarding up possessions, especially the productive land which average Israelis depended on for livelihood, was something that God condemned.  And when we look at our nation today, we can see how it would benefit average Americans, and the nation as a whole, if we followed something similar to the laws given to Israel.  In other words, if there was some way to maintain a relative equality of ownership of America's productive property - factories, land, real-estate, etc.  I believe there's a really simple way to do that, and still have a large degree of economic freedom.  Establish a $5 million wealth cap.  If a person has a net worth exceeding $5 million, simply tax every dollars worth above the 5 million mark at a 100% rate.  The super wealthy would find some way of reducing their net worth, likely giving to charities and relatives.  And the resulting reduction in price for every kind of investment would give average Americans a wonderful opportunity to invest.  Over time it would benefit all Americans in a number of ways.  I may write somewhere else exactly what those benefits would be.  But for here, let me just say that this would be a way of establishing some relative equality of wealth and income.  Equality is a fundamental principle of a Christian republic.

In my next note I plan to speak of what I believe actually will happen.  What I believe the future holds, especially for the United States.

A Christian Republic

First let me address the question of whether a Christian republic makes sense at all.  Then I will get into the details of what a Christian republic would look like, and whether the United States could be a Christian republic. 

Jesus taught humility.  He turned the world upside-down.  He taught that the least are the greatest, and the greatest are the least.  In His sermon on the mount, He taught not to resist an evil person, not to judge, not to do anything for a show, but to simply be righteous before God.  He told His disciples to forgive, and to repay good for evil.  That if someone steals your cloak, give him your tunic also.  This was revolutionary, to say the least.  And it is the greatest teaching of all.  In light of this teaching, and other things written in the New Testament, its reasonable for a Christian to wonder whether Christians should be involved in government at all.  There is some level of force and coercion in government, no matter how innocent a particular system may be.  Is it humble to assume power?  Can a Christian live the sermon on the mount and be in a position of authority?  There is this difference between being someone of worldly influence and being one of Christ's sojourners on earth.  The former is bold and ambitious; they take power and act with strength.  The latter is meek and humble; they shy away from authority and just try to be good to people.  If there's going to actually be a Christian republic, it will require some combination of the two.  Is that possible?

First, it should be recognized that there will always be some form of government.  The idea of anarchy is absurd.  I have respect for Tolstoy - he is my favorite Christian anarchist - but he only makes sense in his own context.  Monarchies were at war with other monarchies in Europe, and Christians were killing other Christians in war.  The only reason for the killing was the monarchs themselves.  This caused Tolstoy to have a certain hatred for government in general, because he could see that governments were the only reason Christians were going to war against other Christians.  And of course it is a heinous and preposterous thing for a Christian to war against another Christian.  The crusaders could be praised compared to the monarchs of Europe's eighteenth century, because they went to war against Muslims, whereas the monarchs of the eighteenth century caused Christians to go to war against other Christians.  In that context, its very understandable that Tolstoy was an anarchist.  But that's not how the world is today, or much throughout history, and anarchy is simply not a reasonable position.  If anarchy were reasonable, there would actually be a society of happy anarchists in the world somewhere; but there's not.  So we must acknowledge that there will be some kind of government.  And its obvious that this government will have some impact on our lives, and the lives of others around us.  How do we as Christians balance being in the world, but not of it, and being the light of the world?  To be not of the world means to be different than the default evil of the world.  Ever since the first sin, evil has been the default of the world.  Unless God brings righteousness into the world, the world will be evil.  So unless God intervenes, the world will be evil.  To be the light of the world means to be the righteousness of God; in other words, the intervention that comes from God.  As this relates to politics, the default of politics will always be evil.  But politics does not have to be evil, if there is some intervention of righteousness.  The principalities of this world are generally evil, but if God intervenes in a certain principality, it will not be evil.  So it is not necessarily true, and Christians should not think so, that every government is evil and will always be evil.  To think that means that you assume that God will never intervene in the world.  Or that Christians will never shine the light of Christ in the world.

Christians should influence the world, I believe that is clear from reading the Bible.  That's what the Great Commission is designed to do.  But how should Christians influence the world, and what role should Christians play in the world?  Is it bottom up, or top down?  For the most part, it is bottom up.  Christians take the meek position of preacher, not the bold position of ruler.  We simply preach the kingdom of God, and humbly live it.  So that the main way we influence the world is through making disciples of all nations.  It doesn't come through new laws or new legislators.  It comes through preaching and teaching and setting the example.

A ground up influence is what Jesus taught.  But to what end?  Is it just making disciples?  If so, how many disciples will be made until some of them have to be in positions of worldly power?  In other words, is it not a ground up method of taking over the world?  Or at least it could be.  If God purposed that only a few would be true Christians for the entirety of the world's existence, then I suppose Christians would never take over the world.  But that doesn't seem to be the case now, since most of the people in the most powerful nations on earth profess some form of Christianity.  And prophecy tells us that the Church of Christ will take over the world.  The yeast (kingdom of God) works it way through the whole dough (world).  The gospel is preached in every corner of the earth.  The rock (church) grows into a mountain (kingdom of God) that fills the whole earth.  There's a number of places in the Bible where you can find this said or indicated.  If indeed Christianity will take over the world, then at some point the governments will reflect Christian ideology. 

The United States is probably the closest thing to a Christian republic the world has ever seen.  And yet its still very far from it.  A Christian republic does bring freedom to its citizens, because freedom is a Christian principle.  And the United States has brought much freedom to its citizens (except for its period of slavery, and various other things).  But a Christian republic is more than just freedom.  A republic represents the will of the public, so for any Christian republic to work, a majority of the public will at least have to profess Christianity.  The morals of Christianity would have to be engrained in the public.  At the center of that morality is a deep respect for the image of God, and a love for humanity.  We treasure freedom, but not so much that we allow murder to go unpunished, because we treasure life even more.  A secular revolution may fight for freedom and end with the guillotine, like the French Revolution.  No one wants that.  So the idea of freedom does have to be balanced.  We can tolerate a number of things, but if we tolerate some things, it can become intolerance.  For instance, if a nation tolerates violent extremists bent on toppling the order and oppressing the public, that's not really tolerance at all.  Its foolishness.  So to preserve freedom, there would have to be some level of intolerance.  There's many other details to get into, regarding the exact nature of a Christian republic.  The point here is that there are a number of principles and morals involved; freedom is one of them, but it is not the most important.

There's a difference between legislating morality and moral legislation.  It has everything to do with what comes first.  Morality should come first.  If anyone thinks that morality can be legislated, he's fooling himself.  Morality is something in a person, and it cannot come from legislation.  But moral legislation can come from moral people.  In other words, it does work when morality comes first.  It does work when the legislators are moral, and they seek to make moral and just laws.  If they seek to make a moral and just society with laws, they will fail.  But they can succeed in governing with morality and justice, if they themselves are moral.  What do I mean?  If the society is immoral, it really doesn't matter what the laws are, the society is lost.  So in this whole discussion about what a Christian republic is, the first key is that the public is generally Christian, and genuinely Christian.  If half of the public is genuinely Christian and truly lives by the Bible, the other half can be restrained by the law.  But if more than half of the public does not live by the Bible, the law will have no effect.  That's besides the fact that the legislators will be elected by the public, and an immoral public will elect immoral legislators, who in turn make immoral laws.  The best that can happen is for half the public to be truly moral, and the other immoral half to be restrained by fear of law.  The law will not make them moral, since evil resides in the heart even when its not acted upon, but the law can restrain their wicked hearts, so that the wickedness is only in the heart.

Equality is another Christian principle.  Not that everyone should be on exactly the same level, either in honors or riches, but that the disparity between lowest and highest is not so great.  In other words, everyone should be reasonably fed and clothed, while no one spends ridiculous sums on cars and palace estates.  Each person should look out for his neighbor.  This mostly happens with individuals, communities, churches, etc.  Its not the duty of the government, even a Christian government, to feed and clothe every one of its citizens.  But it can make laws and provisions to foster that sort of thing.  It can set a wealth cap to prevent hoarding.  It can make laws to bring justice to the oppressed.  And a number of other details.

The United States is far from being a Christian republic.  Its barely a Christian nation currently.  Too much worship is given to freedom and not enough respect given to life.  Too much emphasis is put on wealth.  If things were to continue as they are today, the US would become utterly corrupt and ultimately ruined.  If the nation were to return to the good things present in its roots, that would be an improvement.  It would not be a Christian republic, but as I said previously, its probably the closest to a Christian republic the world has ever seen.  In my next note I hope to lay out some things that would transform the US from a secular republic into a Christian republic.

Why Was Jesus a Carpenter?

This is a question you probably haven't thought too much about.  If we give it some thought, however, I believe the reasons Jesus was a carpenter might teach us something.

There's a very good reason you didn't think about it.  Its barely talked about by Christians, and its barely written about by gospel writers.  The fact is only mentioned.  But for almost two decades Jesus was a carpenter as His profession.  He spent more time building houses than preaching, healing, prophesying and saving the whole world from sin.  That could be because He is Son of God, and He could do all of the latter with ease.  Being the world's Savior is no problem, considering who He is.  Let us think a little, while we're at it, why Jesus was a carpenter.

Joseph was a carpenter.  It certainly is no coincidence that Joseph, being the earthly adoptive father of Jesus, was a carpenter, and Jesus was a carpenter.  There is something to the fact that Jesus chose to do what his earthly father did.  I can come up with three general reasons a person does what their father does as a profession.  1) A person really loves the profession of their father.  2) A person does not have the ability to venture outside of the family business; either doesn't have the courage, or the know-how, or the means.  3) A person is indifferent to their profession, and chooses to do what their father does as a sort of default profession.  In other words, venturing outside of the family business is too much of a bother and not worth the trouble.  Which of the three do you think describes Jesus?  We can say pretty certainly that Jesus could have done anything He wanted to.  He did not choose to not venture outside the family business for lack of ability; He is the Son of God, afterall.  And I think its very unlikely that Jesus was passionate about carpentry.  No where in the gospels does He speak about it.  His apostles only mention it once.  There doesn't seem to be much passion about carpentry; and why would there be, when you have to compare it to changing water into wine?  That leaves indifference as the final option, and I believe this is the reason Jesus was a carpenter.  He was indifferent to His choice of profession.

You may wonder why I'm writing about this, but there really is something to learn from this.  I already said that Jesus was probably indifferent to His choice of profession.  In other words, He didn't care what He did, so He simply did what His father did.  Why does that matter?  Well, it is the opposite of almost everybody today.  Think about the average person in America.  How often do you hear people talk about what they "want to do with their life"?  The implication is always some kind of profession.  Do I want to be a painter, a plumber, or a pilot?  Do I want to push a pencil, wear a hardhat, or enlist in the Navy?  That sort of thing.  To so many people, it seems the most important thing in life is profession.  But was His profession the most important thing in Jesus' life?  Of course not.  Quite the opposite.  His profession was very far down the list; so hardly important, it got only one verse (Mark 6:3) in the New Testament.  As Christians, what does this teach us?  To not be like the world.  The world puts emphasis on "what you do".  It is the world that tries to demean your life to the level of profession, as if you have nothing more important to be ambitious for.  Really, think about it: how pathetic is it for a person's highest ambition to be a certain profession?  I don't mean to insult anyone, and I'm sorry if it comes across that way.  But we really must understand just how unimportant a job or profession is.  The apostles hardly ever talked about what they did to sustain themselves.  Paul built tents, and it certainly wasn't because Paul loved tents.  He only built tents to provide himself with income, and he provided himself with income because he really wanted to be spreading the gospel.  So Paul might have said, in response to the question, "what do you do?", "I build tents, but that's not what I really do.  What I really do is spread the good news of salvation in Christ Jesus, and build churches all over the Roman Empire."

Now, someone might say, "what if God decided to have Joseph be a carpenter, and so He really did choose to be a carpenter afterall."  That very well could be the case.  Jesus might have been indifferent to His profession and simply did what Joseph did, but since God is in control of everything, including the profession of Joseph, God may have predestined the fact that Jesus was a carpenter.  What then could be the reason for Jesus being a carpenter and not something else?  Let your imagination run wild.  I can't give a definite answer as to why God might have specifically chosen carpentry.  I've done a little carpentry, and I don't see anything special about it.  However, I do see good reason in God choosing a profession that was common, dirty, and hard work.  Jesus is the man that we can all relate to.  What good would it be if Jesus was a lawyer?  How easy is it to relate to lawyers?  Or if Jesus was one of the religious elite, or even a member of the Sanhedrin, how would that jive with His teaching of an upside-down world - the first will be last, and the last will be first?  Jesus blessed the poor.  He blessed the meek.  And His being a carpenter, both poor and meek Himself, was a blessing to the poor, the meek, the common man.  His teaching is the kind of teaching that can only be given by a humble carpenter.  Imagine a wealthy and powerful Pharisee saying, "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your reward" (Luke 6:24).  Or, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24).  That just would not work; it would make Jesus a hypocrite.  And could you imagine Jesus calling out the Pharisees and teachers of the law, like He did in Matthew 23, if He were of a similar status as them?  Certainly not.  There is much to be said of the fact that Jesus came as a humble carpenter.  And you might draw some analogies there too.

Psalm 72

OF SOLOMON.
Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!  (verse 1 ESV)

The question here is, who is the king, who is the royal son?  It would be easy to assume that Solomon is speaking of himself.  Yet if he is speaking of himself, he sounds a little arrogant.  But if he is speaking of another, and perhaps one more noble than himself, then he has good reason to write it down in a psalm.  Look at what he says, and consider if he could be speaking of himself.

May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!  Psalm 72:8 (ESV)

Is Solomon asking that God give him dominion over all the earth?  That seems really presumptuous of him, and yet Solomon never tried to rule over all the earth.  He did not even know the extent of all the earth.  And never did his kingdom come close to ruling the entire earth.  Consider a couple more verses.

Long may he live; may gold of Sheba be given to him!  May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day!  Psalm 72:15 (ESV)

May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun!  May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!  Psalm 72:17 (ESV)

Was prayer made for Solomon continually?  I really doubt it.  Have all nations called him blessed?  Certainly not.  Its not hard to see, Solomon was not speaking of himself when he wrote these verses.  Then who?  That's not hard to see either; he was speaking of the great King, that is, Christ Jesus.  He was speaking of the "royal son", whose rule will last forever and ever.  Many times the Bible speaks of the eternal nature of Messiah's kingdom (eg. Isaiah 9:7, Psalm 45:6-7, Psalm 2:7-8).  It can be concluded then, that this psalm speaks of the rule of Jesus the Messiah.  It gives us great insight into how He shall rule.  The book of Revelation states that Jesus will rule in Jerusalem for a thousand years, and His rule will be absolute over all the nations of the earth.  There with Jesus, the saints who will be martyred in the tribulation period will rule as well.  So how does King Jesus rule?

May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!  Psalm 72:2 (ESV)

Solomon is speaking to God the Father, and the "he" is God the Son.  All people are God's possession, so no matter who Jesus rules over, it can be said that He rules over God's people.  When Solomon says "May he", this is not just a hope or a prayer.  It is much more of a prophecy.  It is an axiomatic prayer.  He is praying for something that will certainly come to pass, so that his prayer is actually a prophecy.  Jesus actually will rule over God's people with righteousness, and He actually will extend justice to God's poor.  You can see the same thing in Luke 6:20 when Jesus says, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."

Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!  Psalm 72:3 (ESV)

This implies that there will be righteousness in Jesus' kingdom, and there will be prosperity.  Prosperity is actually dependent on righteousness, if you consider it well.  No kingdom, nation or society can be prosperous when people lie, cheat, steal, harm, or act foolishly.  Vice leads to poverty.  But a kingdom of righteousness will naturally be prosperous.  Lets read on.

May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!  Psalm 72:4 (ESV)

Crushing the oppressor implies freedom.  Defending the cause of the poor implies equality.  In Jesus' kingdom no one will be left behind.  The children of the needy will be delivered.  The tears of those who mourn wiped away, and their reason for mourning taken away.  Those who would oppress other people by greed or deceit or cruelty, they are done away with, or maybe themselves oppressed by Jesus.  Whatever the case may be, the oppressor cannot oppress in Jesus' kingdom.  There is freedom and dignity for all people, big or small.

In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!  Psalm 72:7 (ESV)

His kingdom will be peaceful.  Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  And in His kingdom, the righteous do well.  No longer will the unscrupulous succeed by their schemes, which so often happens in this world.  In this world it seems that the most greedy, cruel and dishonest are the ones that rise to power and prominence.  Not so in Jesus' kingdom.  Those who rise to prominence will be the most righteous among the people.  And all the people will be glad, because they see that those in charge are wise and good, and in everything do good.

May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!  Psalm 72:11 (ESV)

He is the King of kings.  His rule over the world will be absolute.  As said earlier, those kings set before him will be the most righteous among the people, and they will gladly bow down and worship Jesus.  And the nations will gladly serve Him, because serving Jesus is a joy and not a burden.  As He so truthfully spoke, "my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  The people on earth at that time will not begrudge service to Jesus, because they will see the peace, the righteousness, the freedom, equality, prosperity, and all the good things in the kingdom of Jesus.

From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.  Psalm 72:14 (ESV)

Abortion?  Forget it!  The thought of it won't even exist in Jesus' kingdom.  The blood of all people will be precious in His sight.  This is why there is peace in His kingdom.  This is why the needy are taken care of.  He redeems the people from violence, and delivers them from oppression.

May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field!  Psalm 72:16 (ESV)

Not only will there be abundance, as this verse clearly states, but people will "blossom" in the cities.  Exactly what that means, you could probably interpret it different ways.  It certainly means that the population will grow, and there will be no lack of people.  Thankfully, all unborn babies will be protected and will come to see the light of day.  As to what else it might mean, it probably means that people will grow in skill, in art, in beauty and knowledge, so that not only will the cities be filled with people, but the cities will become glorious as well.  Imagine the most glorious city on earth today, then multiply that by 10; that is quite possibly the meaning of this verse.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.  Psalm 72:18 (ESV)

Indeed.  Only God can make this a reality.  I believe this psalm describes the wonderful kingdom of our Lord and Savior during that thousand year period.  And what is more amazing, its only a prefigure of the New Heaven, New Earth, New Jerusalem.  I doubt words can adequately describe the New Jerusalem.  I pray to see you there!  Amen and God bless.

He IS

He is the man on the cross.
He is the uplifted bronze serpent of healing.
He is the ram crowned with thorns, who took our place.
He is the silent sheep before His shearers.
He is our payment for sin.
He is the Sun of Righteousness, whose wings stop the bleeding.
He is Healer.
He is Moses' staff that made a way through the sea.
He is Jacob's Ladder.
He is the way to God.
He is in the fire with three faithful Jews.
He is Protector.
He is the ark that saves us from the flood.
He is our Refuge.
He is the Rock that killed Goliath.
He is Hero.
He is the Captain that calms the sea.
He is the Bread of Life.
He is the Rock that poured forth life-giving water.
He is the source of life.
He is the invitation to heaven.
He is the Hope of all nations.
He is the Ebenezer Stone.
He is the Cornerstone.
He is the Branch of Joshua.
He is the Root of Jesse.
He is Good Teacher.
He is the source of holiness.
He is our righteousness.
He is Perfecter.
He is the pattern we must follow.
He is the truth we must learn.
He is the humble servant that invites children into His presence.
He is caring and loving.
He is the Comfort to those who mourn.
He is our Sympathizer.
He is the believer's hiding place.
He is Good Shepherd.
He is the resurrection.
He is the Firstborn of all the sons of God.
He is Rabbi.
He is Savior.
He is the solid foundation.
He is a just Judge.
He is the eternal Word of God.
He is Love.
He is Light.
He is Wisdom.
He is the Bright Morning Star.
He is Alpha and Omega.
He is First and Last.
He is Beginning and End.
He is God of gods.
He is King of kings.
He is Lord of lords.
He is 'God with us'.
He is High Priest. 
He is our Intercessor.
He is Friend.
He is Brother.
He is Son of Man.
He is Son of God.
He is faithful and true.
He is the Lion of Judah.
He is Lamb of God.
He is the plumb line.
He is the True Vine.
He is the Star of David.
He is the original Superman.
He is Prince of Peace.
He is the River of Peace.
He is Bridegroom to the awaiting.
He is Jesus.
Even before Abraham was born, He IS.

The Veil Was Torn

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  Matthew 27:51 (ESV)

In the temple, and in the original tabernacle, there was an inner room called the Holy of Holies.  This is where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.  This symbolized heaven itself.  And between the Holy of Holies - the Most Holy Place - and the Holy Place there was a curtain.  This was the divider between God and the people of Israel.  No one was allowed into the Holy of Holies, except for the high priest, and he could only go in there on the Day of Atonement.  This was once a year, a day set apart for the high priest to offer sacrifice and make atonement for Israel's sins.

When Jesus died on the cross the curtain, also called the veil, was torn completely top to bottom.  This meant the divider between the people and God had been destroyed.  This symbolized Christ opening the way to God.  But the events of Jesus' death and resurrection, His ascension and the day of Pentecost all have a certain order.  And that order has significance.  First He died on the cross.  Second He rose from the dead.  Third He ascended into heaven.  Fourth the Holy Spirit came down.  The high priest could only enter the Holy of Holies after he had made a sacrifice.  Jesus made the perfect sacrifice, and this allowed Him to enter the real Holy of Holies - heaven itself.  So after He rose from the dead and appeared to people for 40 days, He ascended into heaven.  And when He ascended into heaven, and sat at the right hand of the Father in heaven, He could intercede on behalf of His disciples.  It is no coincidence then, that Pentecost followed the ascension.  Christ sent the Holy Spirit to His believers.

Pentecost can be seen as a symbol for regeneration.  The Holy Spirit came, and those there were born again.  This is another reason Pentecost followed His death and resurrection.  It might have made just as much sense to send the Holy Spirit at the beginning of His ministry, in the mind of many people.  But that would have been out of order in God's plan.  You see, the temple has to be purified before the Holy Spirit would enter.  And the body of a believer is called the temple of the Holy Spirit.  So without Christ's death on the cross, the body is not cleansed of sin, and the Holy Spirit will not enter.  First a person believes in Christ, receives forgiveness for sins, then the Holy Spirit dwells in the believer.

Because of Christ's death on the cross, the veil was torn.  No longer does sin separate man and God, because Christ cleansed us of our sins.  Or at least we have the opportunity to be cleansed of those sins, if we believe in Him.  And we can receive the Holy Spirit, and be born again, all because of Jesus.  This is the Gospel.  This is the Good News.  And its incredibly good news.  Let me tell you what it means in practical terms.  First, it means you can live forever in heavenly bliss.  But more immediate than that, all things are possible with God.  Before the Gospel - before Christ's death on the cross - you could not be with God.  There was a veil between man and God, but that veil is gone.  So now you can be with God.  And there is no end to hope when God is present.  No one, no matter who they are, where they are, or how bad things are, is in a hopeless situation.  God can turn anything around.  Jesus came and He healed blind, deaf, mute, crippled, lepers, bleeders, demon-possessed, and even raised people from the dead.  If Jesus can raise people from the dead, He can improve you for sure.  Everything is elastic; everything can change.  Have faith, trust in God.  The mind is elastic; people can improve their intelligence, and people can worsen their intelligence, even without supernatural means.  The body is elastic; a person's health can improve or worsen, even without supernatural means.  The character is elastic; a person can become better or worse.  And while the supernatural is not always needed to improve in these areas, the supernatural is always there with God.  All things are possible with God.  So I plead with you, all you need to do is seek God.  Have faith in Christ.  Pray to Him.  Seek to know Him.  Read His word.  He will give you good things, because He is the Good Father.  And your life, no matter how desperate you are, can become infinitely better.  There is no such thing as a hopeless situation with God.  If you don't believe me, spend enough time to find out for yourself.  As the Scripture says, taste and see that the Lord is good.  He truly is!  The veil was torn, and you don't have to think your situation is hopeless, because Christ made a way to God, and God can restore all things. 

Sanhedrin Stones

There are two members of the ancient Jewish Sanhedrin mentioned in the biblical gospels.  Joseph of Arimethea is one.  Nicodemus is the other.  These two stand as a testimony to the truthfulness of the gospel accounts.  The unbelievers are always claiming that the gospels were made up stories, or contained made up stories.  They have to, because there are many miracles recorded in the gospels.  In their worldview, which denies anything supernatural, miracles cannot happen.  But I'll show you how Joseph and Nicodemus testify to the truthfulness of these gospel accounts.

There are three pillars (premises) that this argument is built on.  One is the early dating of the gospel accounts.  Even liberal scholars date the gospels within the first century.  At the very latest, the early part of the second century.  More reasonable scholars date them to about the middle of the first century.  I won't discuss the methods of dating ancient literature, but if you question whether the gospels were really written within a hundred years of the events they record, do your own research.  The second pillar is the fact that many people believed in Christianity, and the gospel accounts, in Judea and surrounding areas.  There were believers in Rome even by AD 63.  There were believers throughout the whole Roman Empire by the end of the first century, and they were willing to be persecuted and give their lives for what they believed.  The third pillar is what is actually written in the gospel accounts themselves.  The same argument I'm making here, using Joseph and Nicodemus as examples, can be made of a number of people and events in the gospels.  For simplicity sake, I'm going to focus exclusively on these two members of the Sanhedrin.

Joseph of Arimethea appears in all four of the gospels.  He is a rich Jew, and a member of the Sanhedrin.  He was also a secret follower of Christ.  The gospels record that Joseph asked Pilate for the body of Jesus so he could bury it.  And indeed Joseph did bury Jesus.  Nicodemus, also a member of the Sanhedrin - the ruling Jewish council - accompanied Joseph in burying Jesus.  Nicodemus was also a secret follower of Christ.  We read John 3 the kind of curiosity that Nicodemus had about Christ Jesus.  The reason both of these men were secret disciples of Christ, up until the crucifixion, was a fear of Jews and the Jewish leadership.  Had they come out and acknowledged Jesus as Christ, they would have been ostracized, and would have lost their positions on the Council.  They did come out and acknowledge Jesus as Christ, but only after the crucifixion.  You may wonder, why then?  Matthew records that the Sun was darkened for a period at the time of the crucifixion.  The Roman soldiers crucifying Jesus totally change their opinion of him.  They were mocking him earlier, offering Him wine mixed with gall.  But after the darkness they offer Him pure wine, and believe that He is calling Elijah to save Him.  He wasn't of course, but this shows how the soldiers totally change their demeanor towards Jesus.  The darkness over the land was a supernatural sign, and they knew it.  And as soon as Jesus died there was a great earthquake, and the soldiers said, "Surely He was the Son of God!"  So you can imagine, if the darkness and the earthquake had that affect on the Roman soldiers crucifying Jesus, it would have strengthened the faith of Jesus' closet disciples as well.  Emboldened by the supernatural signs surrounding the crucifixion, Joseph and Nicodemus come out of the closet as disciples of Christ Jesus.

These two present a major problem for those who wish to believe that the gospel accounts were fabricated fiction.  Its not like Joseph and Nicodemus were a couple of no-names.  These were important men.  They were members of the Sanhedrin.  It would be like members of the US Congress.  Jews knew who they were.  Records would have them listed.  They were prominent men; about as prominent as a Jew could get in that day.  And the gospel writers tell us they were members of the Sanhedrin.  So what?  So if the story of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethea were a fabrication, how did the fabricators pull it over on the people?  To illustrate the argument, lets go over a number of hypothetical scenarios:Lets suppose Joseph of Arimethea and Nicodemus never actually existed.  Lets suppose that they were made up figures, and everything about them in the gospel accounts was just made up fiction.  But then, whoever is reading the book of John in the first century, or even in the second century, and comes across these made up characters, that John says were members of the Sanhedrin, could look at the records.  "Were there ever members of the Sanhedrin by those names?"  that person might ask.  And the answer would be no.  At that point the gospels are discredited, the information is passed along, the opponents of Christianity have all the ammo they need, and Christianity has no leg to stand on.  In other words, no one would believe it, and that would be the end of Christianity.  Certainly no one would risk their life to believe it.

Now lets suppose that Joseph of Arimethea and Nicodemus did exist as members of the Sanhedrin, but the gospel writers fictitiously claimed they were disciples of Jesus, and made up the story of burying Jesus after the crucifixion.  So a person reading the gospel accounts could do the research, find out that there were members of the Sanhedrin by those names.  But at the same time, if anyone is making that claim in the mid part of the first century, Joseph and Nicodemus would come forward themselves and say, "No, none of that is true".  Then the story of them burying Jesus would be discredited, Christianity would be discredited, and that would be the end of it.  If not Joseph and Nicodemus themselves, it could be someone that was close to them, a relative, or other members of the Sanhedrin.  Considering how prominent they would have been, their lives being on a stage, whether they actually did follow Christ or not, it would be pretty evident.  Even a number of years later, it would not be hard to find out whether two members of the Sanhedrin truly were Jesus' disciples or not.  Furthermore, it can be assumed, based on what John records, that Nicodemus and Joseph lost their positions on the Sanhedrin shortly after their coming out as followers of Jesus.  Jesus was just condemned and crucified.  The new sect of His followers was condemned by the ruling parties in Jerusalem.  Jesus had made enemies of both Pharisees and Sadducees, and they were the ones who made up the Sanhedrin.  Its inconceivable that Joseph and Nicodemus could have held their positions long after acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah.  So a review of the records, and a person would expect to find that their positions on the Sanhedrin ended soon after the date of the crucifixion.  If you found a Joseph and a Nicodemus on the Sanhedrin, but they remained on the Sanhedrin several years after the crucifixion was said to have happened, then you would know that something was fishy.  That's just another way to check the story.

Now lets suppose that Joseph and Nicodemus did exist as members of the Sanhedrin, and they did bury the body of Jesus, but that everything else was a fabrication.  The miracles, the darkening of the Sun, the earthquake, those were a fabrication.  Then you have to wonder why Joseph and Nicodemus were disciples.  Why would they risk their position on the Sanhedrin, as well as their riches and their own lives, to claim Jesus as Christ?  Without the miracles that Jesus performed, there is no fuel for their conversion.  There is no reason they would be followers of Jesus.  It is inconceivable how these two contemporaries of Jesus would be followers of Jesus without any miracles to convince them, giving up their positions to do so.

So John, and the other gospel writers, do not shy away from mentioning the most prominent members of Jewish society, involving them in the Passion of Jesus.  That if it were a fabrication, they would easily be discovered and discredited.  They were not discovered, and they were not discredited.  And if there were not some kind of supernatural signs accompanying the life and death of Jesus, there's zero chance two members of the Sanhedrin would risk everything they have to be followers of Jesus.

Determining Doctrine

Where to begin?  I've written a number of blogs where I argue the trustworthiness of the Bible.  I am a Christian.  I am mostly speaking to Christians.  So I start with the assumption that you and I both want to be truly Christian.  But if someone is not convinced about Christianity, there's plenty to read which would convince him.  This note will deal with the question of determining doctrine as a Christian, not the fundamental question of Christianity as the one true religion.  That question I have answered elsewhere, and will continue to answer elsewhere, the Lord willing.

There has to be something which determines our beliefs.  We don't just make up our doctrines as we go.  If we believe that God is real in the first place, and that Christ is the incarnation of God, then we must believe that God has revealed the truth to us.  He has not ignored us and left us on our own, to figure out what is true and what is not.  But rather God has shown us what is true.  The problem is in the reality of Satan, and the fact that Satan is always introducing lies into the world (a fact that is plainly stated in the Bible).  It is because of Satan and his lies that determining doctrine can be such a task.  We must separate fact from fiction, and that's not always easy.  Let us start with the Bible, and the claims surrounding the Bible.

Not every Christian believes that the Bible is the sole rule of Christian doctrine.  Catholics say that the church (RCC) itself determines doctrine.  That it is improper for anyone to interpret the Bible for him or herself.  That the church leadership must interpret the Bible.  This brings me to a fundamental question: What should the rule or standard of Christian doctrine be?  What, or who, should we refer to to know what is true and what is false.  Whatever or whoever that is, it must be from God Himself.  We will have to use our reasoning - that is, God's gift of wisdom - to answer this question.

Catholics today are not the only Catholics that have thought that only the church itself can properly interpret Scripture.  The early Catholics, many of them, thought the same way.  Unity in the church was crucial to them.  There were many heretical sects at that time.  Gnostics, Montanists, Docetists, Ebionites, Arians, etc.  There were many false doctrines trying to get into the church, cause confusion and division.  And this should not surprise us; as I already mentioned, Satan is always spreading his lies.  To protect against these lies, early Christian leaders made sure there was a very clear boundary between the Catholic (universal) Church and all the heretical sects.  The way they thought, if you were not following the teaching of the Catholic bishop, you were not Christian.  And if it was not the Catholic Church, it was not Christianity.  There were strict lines in place.  There was a strict rule of faith.  All of this was founded upon the church leadership.  The glue that held the church together, and the strict boundaries that separated it from the heretics, was because of the church leadership.  That church leadership, in many cases, was taught by the apostles themselves.  Or leaders in the church were taught by men who were taught by the apostles.  Regardless, point is, there was little space between the leadership of the early Catholic Church and the apostles themselves.  Who can blame them for thinking the church leadership had such authority?  If Polycarp was the bishop of your local church, and Polycarp was taught by John the apostle, would you question the teaching of Polycarp?  Of course not.  Whatever Polycarp taught, you would take it to be true Christian doctrine.  So its no wonder that early Christians had such a method of determining doctrine.  The leaders of the church determined the doctrine; and those leaders were not too far removed from the apostles themselves.

The other reasons early Catholics looked to their bishops and elders for guidance is the fact that a canon of the New Testament did not exist at that point.  The books of the New Testament surely did.  And these books played a major role in church life and belief.  There are some early canons that go back to the third century.  But it was not until the end of the fourth century that an official canon was decided on.  And that canon - the 27 books of the New Testament - has since been agreed on by all professing Christians.  There is no debate amongst Christians (except maybe some of the most liberal scholars) what books make up the New Testament.  But for the early Christians this was not the case.  The only thing, to them, that was surely Christian was the church itself, started by the apostles, and the leaders of the church, taught by the apostles.

However, the Catholic Church has changed.  It was a gradual change.  At first it was the apostles and the churches started by apostles.  There was little structure to it.  The apostles themselves were sent by Christ Himself, so there's no question that they had authority to teach and determine Christian doctrine.  The first churches were founded by the apostles.  They met in each others' homes.  There were no designated meeting places, other than the temple for those in Jerusalem.  They observed Communion.  They sang some songs, prayed.  We don't know if there were any sort of sermons at that point.  We do know that they read letters from the apostles, like Paul's letters, if they had them.  I'm sure they kept these letters, and may have reread them from time to time.  They probably also read from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament.  In short, there was little order or conformity in the first Christian churches.  The meetings were very simple.  The practices simple.  The baptisms simple.  Everything was pretty much simple, down to earth and practical.  But as time went on, the structure of the church became more of a hierarchy.  The practices of the church became more ornate and complicated.  Things were added, like sermons (homilies).  Practices were made into more of an ordeal, like Baptism and Communion (the Eucharist).  The church gradually moved away from the style of the apostles.  And as time went on, especially after Christianity was legalized and made the official religion in the Roman Empire, the doctrines of the Catholic Church became subtly different than what the apostles taught.  Today the Roman Catholic Church is something that would be unrecognizable to Peter or Paul.  Certainly, neither Peter or Paul had a throne.  None of the apostles did, and none of them would approve of it, since it goes against the teaching of Christ that "all of you are brothers".  Yet the pope has a throne.  The more you study the issue, and the more you question it, you will see that the Roman Catholic Church is not anything like the early Catholic Church, nor was it handed down from the apostles.

So should we determine our doctrine the same way the early Catholics did?  My last paragraph may have already answered that.  But I'll extend the argument.  If the Roman Catholic Church truly were the church that Christ meant when He said, "upon this rock I will build my church", then why are there other Christian churches?  Anything outside of the Catholic Church was called heresy by the early Catholics.  Today there are many churches professing Christianity, and the Roman Catholics will not go so far as to call them heresy.  There are Eastern Orthodox Christians.  There are Protestant Christians.  There are Messianic Jewish Christians.  There are non-denom Christians.  And none of them belong to the Roman Catholic Church, nor do they look to Catholic leadership to determine doctrine.  Yet the Catholic leadership is wishy washy in calling them heretical, especially Eastern Orthodox.  Can we say that all of these other Christian churches are heretical sects?  I do not see any evidence of it.  Sure, there are false doctrines in every one of these groups; none are perfect in everything they believe and practice.  But there is not enough falsehood to call any of them heretical.  If the Roman Catholic Church were truly the church Christ founded, why the split?  If the Roman Catholic Church is God's church, why are there other churches that seem legitimately Christian?  Shouldn't there only be one?  Christ never said anything about founding two or three or three dozen different churches.  Paul spoke specifically of one body of Christ (one church).  This should lead us to question the Catholic claim that they are the church Christ founded.  Furthermore, Christ taught that we would know the false prophets by their fruit.  What is the fruit of the Catholic leadership and doctrine?  Idolatry.  I do not have the space to go into detail here.  But if you look into it, you won't have to go far to find examples of Catholic idolatry.  Its all over the place.  That fact too should force us to question the claim that they are the church Christ founded.

What church did Christ found?  I'll answer this question briefly, since it relates, then move on with the central question of this note.  The church Christ founded was a spiritual church.  There is no official organization on earth that is the Church of Christ.  Rather, the Church of Christ is invisible (its boundaries are not seen), it is in every regenerated believer on earth; it is a spiritual thing, not a physical thing.  That is what Christ meant when He said "I will build my church".

My rule and standard for determining doctrine is the Bible.  Now the Catholics will say that I don't have any right to read or interpret "their" book.  How can I put faith in a collection of books that the Catholic Church canonized, and not put faith in the Catholic Church itself?  As I already said, the Catholic Church today is something different than the Catholic Church of the Council of Carthage (where the NT canon was made official).  But the real basis of my faith in the Bible is Providence.  I do not have to think that those at the Council of Carthage had any special authority to decide the books of the New Testament.  I do not have to accept any concept of Catholic authority to have confidence in the 27 books of the New Testament.  The Bible was given to us by God.  God acted through the members of that council.  The establishment of the New Testament, along with the establishment of the Old Testament, happened by divine Providence.  God is in control of everything.  And did two different Bibles result?  Certainly not.  Even if you want to get into a debate about the Apocrypha, that doesn't even affect the New Testament.  The Apocrypha was not even canonized until much later.  If it deserved to be in the canon, and it were God's will that would be, you would think it would have been canonized with the rest of Scripture.  The early Catholics themselves, including Augustine, Origen and Jerome, did not consider the Apocrypha to be scriptural.  They only considered it to be helpful literature; not divinely inspired Scripture.  All of that aside, there was only one Bible given to us.  Could it have been given to us by anyone other than God?  Do you think God would allow Satan to deceitfully include books that shouldn't be there, or exclude books that should be there?  Do you think God would allow the Bible to be so inadequate for revealing Himself, though His own words are recorded in it, that we must refer to the Roman Catholic Church?  I take it that God gave us the Bible.  The authority of the Bible comes by Providence; the fact that it came to us by God's working throughout history.  There is no need whatsoever to acknowledge any kind of Catholic authority to believe the Bible as the inspired and authoritative word of God.

Through what are we the closest to the apostles?  Through the Roman Catholic Church, or through the Bible?  The Roman Catholic Church may be the product, after many many years, of the early Catholic Church.  But the early Catholic Church became the Catholic Church of the dark ages, then the Catholic Church of the middle ages, and now the Catholic Church of today.  It was passed down, and passed down, and passed down.  What may have started with the apostles, certainly has little to do with the apostles now.  What is closer to the apostles?  A collection of books that were written by them, or a church that was handed down from a church handed down from a church handed down from a church handed down, eventually and so on, a church started by the apostles?  Succession of apostleship, by the way, is found no where in the Bible.  If the apostles believed that their authority as apostles would be handed down through centuries of bishops, they certainly forgot to mention it in all their writings.  Whereas the early Christians were sufficiently close to the apostles by their own Catholic Church leadership, we today are only close to the apostles by the books of the New Testament.  That is the trade-off.  We have something they didn't (a finished Bible).  They had something we don't (church leadership closely associated with the apostles themselves).

So the Bible is the best way of determining doctrine, but how should we interpret the Bible?  By wisdom and understanding.  We must ask God to give us the insight - the Holy Spirit - to know what is meant in Scripture.  As a practical matter, I suggest going to the gospels and reading Christ's words.  You may start in the Old Testament to get the background.  Yet the Old Testament is not so much concerned with Christian doctrine.  To be sure, Christian doctrine does not contradict the teaching of the Old Testament.  Yet the Old Testament can only teach you a few fundamental themes; the rest will have to come from the New Testament.  It is unavoidable, as you try to understand the Bible, that voices are going to be in your ear.  There are many competing doctrines, whose adherents claim to be biblical.  Most are not biblical.  And so, when you read the Bible, you may want to jump right to the heart of the matter.  Paul wrote that the church - that is, the true Christian Church of all ages, founded by Christ Himself, which is spiritual and doesn't consist in any official organization - is built upon the prophets and the apostles, with Christ Jesus as the chief cornerstone.  The prophets wrote the Old Testament; the apostles wrote the New Testament.  But if you're going to understand either the Old Testament or the New Testament, you better understand the teaching of Christ.  Jesus brings it all together.  Read the Bible through the lens of Jesus' teaching, it makes perfect sense.  But if you read the Bible with all those other voices constantly in your ear, you are almost guaranteed to be confused.  The teaching of Jesus will set many fundamental truths in place.  And these fundamental truths will prevent you from believing at least 90% of the false doctrines out there.  That, right there, is most of the battle already won.

But how do you understand the teaching of Jesus?  As I have already said, you must first ask God for understanding.  As a practical matter, I'll again give a suggestion.  Everything Jesus said has some kind of meaning.  Of course some things, like "show me a denarius", have nothing to do with doctrine, but was just Jesus' interaction with people.  It should not be hard to tell the difference between Jesus teaching and Jesus giving a simple command - "show me a denarius".  Its common sense, really.  As for everything that Jesus taught, every parable he told, there is a meaning to it.  If you do not know the meaning of something Jesus taught, you better not give up until you have discovered its meaning.  You cannot simply pass it by.  Do not ignore it.  Everything Jesus said means something, and it means something important.  So take the time, meditate upon it, read more of Scripture, read some commentary.  Carefully consider what Jesus is saying.  And when you understand what Jesus means, accept it and let it determine your foundational doctrine.  If it contradicts something you already believe, you better throw that old belief away.  So much of what Jesus taught really is fundamental doctrine.  It is essential universal truths.  It lays the foundation for all other beliefs; anything that does not fit on it doesn't belong.  It is the lens through which to read all the rest of Scripture.  By understanding Jesus, you will understand the whole of the Bible.

I think that last statement (I'll proudly stand by it) is a good place to leave you.

Resurrection

Jesus is the Firstborn of all the saints.  As Psalm 68 says, He leads a host of captives in His train.  He is the Pattern; the Example for all His followers.  All of the blessed saints take part in His suffering and His glory.  This is why Simon of Cyrene was charged to carry the cross of Jesus.  And its why Jesus told Mary that John is her son, and John that Mary is his mother.  Its because the saints were crucified with Christ.  And if we are crucified with Christ, so too will we be resurrected with Christ.  The Church of Christ is the Bride of Christ; and if the Church is married to Christ, then Christ and the Church become one flesh, as the Scripture says of marriage, the two shall become one flesh.  Its why Christians are said to be "in Christ".  And why the Spirit of Christ is said to be in the Church.

Jesus is the pattern.  What He has done, Christians continue to do.  What He has done, the Church repeatedly does.  On Resurrection Sunday it seems proper to reflect on resurrection.  Not only did Jesus Himself resurrect, but some of His saints have already resurrected, and there is a day of resurrection in which all the remaining will resurrect in the literal sense.  But in the figurative sense the Church of Christ has resurrected many times.  Repeatedly the world has crucified the Church.  The world has called Christianity dead many times.  And after each of these times there was a resurrection of the Church.  The Roman Empire crucified the Church figuratively, and literally as well.  They did their best to snuff out Christianity.  A number of times they almost succeeded.  There were ten major persecutions brought on by the Romans.  But these did not remove the Church entirely.  They did, however, affect the Church in a way they did not expect.

You see, resurrection is more than just a coming back from the dead.  When Jesus came back from the dead He did not come back in the same flesh as before.  He did have a physical body, yes.  But His resurrected body was different than the one before.  It was glorified.  Again, it is the pattern that we must follow; for we too shall receive a glorified body after resurrection, if we remain faithful to Christ.  In other words, Jesus came back -better- than before (if you can imagine that!).  And that's exactly what has happened to the Church.  Each time the Romans persecuted the Christian Church, and they almost succeeded in wiping it out, the Church resurrected bigger and stronger than before.  It was a supernatural thing, which I'm sure confounded the Romans.  It was the Spirit of Christ in the Church; a Spirit, evidenced by the physical resurrection of Christ, that cannot remain dead.

There are other times in history that Christianity seemed dead.  In the middle ages it seemed as though Islam would never stop spreading across the whole world.  The older people of Europe were resigned to the idea that Islam would take over Europe, and many were ready to capitulate to Islam.  They didn't expect what happened next; there was a great revival of Christian fervor in Europe.  You may disagree with the crusades, and I may as well, but the young Christian men who hated the idea of an Islamic Europe did what they knew to do.  They picked up swords and fought.  It was not the best thing, but it did achieve something.  It did put an abrupt stop to the spread of Islam, and convinced all those old people, who were ready to surrender to Islam, that Christianity was going no where anytime soon.

You might have said that Christianity was dead in the Catholic Church.  False doctrine, Mary worship, and to top it off, indulgences.  But there came out of nowhere a rebellion.  Somewhat of an uprising, which gave an alternative to the Catholic doctrine and practice.  The Protestant Reformation.

And today, the atheists and secularists are all too eager to eulogize Christianity.  Outdated, obsolete, they'll say.  Good for people who didn't know science, but we're smarter today, they say.  As if the world has outgrown Christianity.  I find it a little funny.  Well, the Christian Church is far too big for me to say that it is actually crucified.  I may have to stretch a parallel.  But we can certainly say that the Church is weak, that it has not the power that it used to, that the secularists have succeeded in much of their aim.  But that's no reason to despair.  Its quite normal, really.  The Christian Church is crucified, or in this case goes through a drought, and comes back bigger and stronger than it was before.  And in each case there is a testimony.  A story is made.  Heros are made.  And there is a purging power in the drought.  Like Jesus said, He is the vine, and every branch that produces good fruit is pruned so that it may be more fruitful.  The trying times in church history have been periods of pruning.  And when a vine is pruned, it becomes more fruitful than before.  So too, there will be a harvest of souls in the future greater than any harvest that has ever been.  I say to my brothers and sisters: prepare for it.  The harvest will overtake the workers.  There won't be enough churches, or enough seats, Bibles or hymnals to accommodate the vast number of people rushing to be part of Christ's Church.  They'll knock down doors to enter.

A Storm is Coming

Tonight is the official beginning of Passover.  I feel like the story of Passover has much relevance for today.  I'll summarize the events of the Passover, then explain how we are in a similar situation.

The descendents of Israel were living in Egypt, and after a long time there, they became enslaved by the Egyptians.  The story of the exodus is found in the book Exodus, the second book of the Bible.  After Moses was sent to Pharaoh by God; sent to set the Israelites free; after many wondrous plagues brought on Egypt by God, there was one final plague.  It was a time of judgement.  It was a time of wrath.  God was punishing the Egyptians for enslaving His people Israel.  But God was also displaying His own power in the plagues.  God was making Himself known to Egypt, and known to the nations in the middle east at that time.  They might not have known much about God, but they knew that Israel's God was the real God.  So they feared the Israelites.  As I was saying, there was one final plague.  The angel of death was sent, and the firstborn of every household was killed.  Only Israel was spared.  The angel visited every Egyptian household, but passed over the Israelite households.  So it is called the -Passover-.  More importantly is what the Israelites had to do.  They killed a male lamb, a one-year old without defect, and spread the blood across their doorways.  This lamb prefigured Christ.  If the blood of the lamb did not cover their house, the angel of death would enter and kill.  Similarly, if the blood of Christ does not cover us, the angel of death will enter in and kill.  But because we are called Christians, that is, by the name of Christ, and truly put our faith in Him, God's judgement passes us over.

So often all we think about is the final judgement.  Yes, the final judgement is of immeasurable importance.  Yet the final judgement is not the only time of God's judging.  Many times throughout history there have been times of divine judgement.  The great flood was a time of judgement.  The Passover, the Exodus, and Israel entering the promised land was all a time a judgement.  When Israel was exiled, that was a time of judgement.  Not only was Israel judged, but the nations around Israel as well.  Judgements are pronounced against all the middle east nations from Isaiah 13 through 24.  The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 was a time of judgement.  And even since then, though its not recorded in our Scriptures, there have been times of judgement.  There have been major wars, major plagues, major famines, etc.

The reason Passover relates to our own time is the fact that Passover represents God's judgement, and we are about to enter a time of judgement.  The storm is coming, my friends.  I don't want anyone to be unaware of this.  When you hear of a financial collapse in Europe, bank runs, defaults and other such things, that is just the beginning.  I don't know exactly what the details will be.  But I do know that the European Union, minus the UK and maybe a few others, will be handed over to the rule of Germany.  There will be a Fourth Reich.  Its rule of Europe will be no less than the Nazi Third Reich.  The financial collapse that is beginning to happen is the catalyst that leads to it.  What the details will be, I don't know.  But I would imagine that there will be war and protests and chaos and other such things.

Europe will be the first to feel the wrath of God.  But that is just the beginning.  God's judgement will be all over the world.  It will happen this decade.  It will culminate in the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38 and 39.

But the thing about Passover is the fact that not all were judged.  The angel of death did not enter every house, but passed over some houses.  It passed over the people of God.  And that's what my message is.  If you trust in God, you will be taken care of in these perilous times.  I don't know exactly how bad it will be.  I do not know how many millions will be killed this decade.  I don't know how many families will be visited by the angel of death.  But if you are covered by the blood of the Lamb, there is no reason for you to worry.  Simply go on being a Christian.  Be prepared mentally, for what is about to come.  But other than that, keep advancing the kingdom of God, like you always would.

Its Time for a Solution

For decades now, the typical dinner table discussion of Christians has been the downward spiral of American society.  Television is becoming less moral.  Youth are less moral.  Government is less moral.  Sex outside of marriage.  Etc, etc...  You know exactly what I mean, there's no need for me to go into detail.  As Christians we have abundantly acknowledged the problem.  We have talked about the problem and complained about the problem long enough.  Its time for us to move on.

If all we ever do is talk about the problem, nothing good will come of it.  We know there's a problem; its not like its some new revelation.  I have heard it many many times from numerous Christians, how much America is becoming more and more immoral.  But if that's all a Christian has to talk about, that person is much of the problem itself.  The problem is focusing on the problem.  The problem is talking about the problem without suggesting ideas to fix it, or moving along with strategies to confront it.  The problem is talking about how dark its becoming in America without reaching for a light switch.  I'm here to say this: its time to reach for a light switch.  Its time to confront the problems with solutions.  Its time to focus on the solutions.  Its time to get real about changing our world for the better.  Be salt and light.

Only losers talk about losing.  You ever think about that?  Only a Christian who has no faith in Christ would talk about all the world's problems as if there is no solution.  Did Christ say anything about dwelling on the sinfulness of the world?  Did He ever suggest we could not overcome the world and its sin, as if we must accept the moral decay of society?  He did not.  And I'm telling you, we do not have to accept it, nor should we.  Everywhere Christ talks about the kingdom of God, the kingdom is growing or advancing.  Did you notice that?  The yeast is worked throughout all the dough.  The net catches many fish.  The mustard seed becomes a large tree.   Try to find one place in the Bible that the kingdom of God is trying to maintain its borders.  In every place the kingdom advances its borders growing larger and stronger.  The message of the fact is this: Don't be conservative.  We are not trying to conserve what is; we are trying to gain what is not yet.  We are not maintenance men; we are soldiers for Christ.  Soldiers fight and conquer new lands.

So what can we do?  I pray to offer a number of ideas and areas in which Christians can affect their world, bring more to Christ, and conquer the powers of this world (ie. Satan/demons).

Be vocal
One way we are salt and light is to simply talk about the truth.  Its amazing how powerful the truth is when someone speaks the truth.  Often people know something is true just when its said and need no proof.  But if they want an argument, we should be ready to give an argument where appropriate.  We may waste our energy and time sometimes.  But other times an argument may prove effective, if not for the person we're arguing with, maybe for someone listening in.  For that reason, we should be ready.  We should sharpen our knowledge of relevant facts.  Have arguments prepared ahead of time.  As Peter said, always be prepared to give an answer (1Peter 3:15).

Be on the offensive
Do not just respond to the attacks of secularists, atheists or heretics.  Put them on the defensive.  Look for opportunities to add to the kingdom of God.  Look for any way we can advance Christianity.  There are many forceful arguments for including the Bible in public education.  It is, afterall, fundamental in the formation of this nation, relevant to the learning of history, greatly beneficial for discipline and wisdom.  This is just one example; I'm sure you can think of more.  And if you want more information, or to get involved, there is actually an organization called "Bible in the Schools".

Look to adopt
Suppose you're married.  Suppose you're looking to have children.  Roughly half of the children born in this nation are born out of wedlock.  I would imagine that a number of them may be put up for adoption, if the mother would find a couple she likes.  Why not be that couple?  Y'know, if you're in that position.  Each person in the Church of Christ has a unique position.  We cannot each do all of these things of course.  But there may be some married couples out there that would make great adoptive parents.  And for the kingdom of God, why not?  Why not add another one into the kingdom by way of adoption?  We are, afterall, all of us adopted by the Father in heaven.  If not for adoption, none of us would be saved.

Give your elected representatives an earful
Politicians do what they think the public wants them to do.  Sometimes they pay attention to polling.  Oftentimes they simply go by what they hear the most.  So it pays to be vocal regarding the politicians.  Tell them you expect a religious dialogue in public affairs.  Of all the things we could talk about regarding the management of a nation, what is more important than God?  Benjamin Franklin exhorted the Constitutional Convention to pray every morning before their proceedings.  Should we not do the same?

Call sin sin
I think one of the biggest problems -inside- the church is the weakness of its members in dealing with sinfulness.  Its a biblical fact, God hates evil -and- evildoers.  There's good reason the Bible repeatedly says "fear God".  Its not merely about reverence for the Creator.  Its because sinners are the enemies of God.  Unless we make peace with God, we're doomed.  And we need to make that message clear.  Enough of this wishy-washy nonsense.  Speak what is true; speak what is biblical.  Yes, God welcomes all people and offers forgiveness for sins by the blood of His Son.  Yes, there is grace.  But only at the cross.  Any rejection of Christ is met with wrath.  Are we going to do nothing while people go down the road to hell in masses?  Are the softly worded platitudes enough?

Surprise people with goodness
In an immoral world, nobody is going to expect the Good Samaritan.  What exactly is the Good Samaritan?  Its someone who helps, even when its sacrificial.  When we proclaim the name of Christ, so much more force is added to our words if we do the things Christ commanded.  If we give to eachother generously.  If we care for eachother.  Cry when another Christian cries.  Rejoice when another Christian rejoices.  This sort of thing is unheard of in a world where everyone is "looking out for number one".  It gets people's attention.

Get involved in the media
This is a good one for our artistic brothers and sisters.  If any Christian has a knack for art, consider getting into television, movies, music, etc.  By "getting into" I do not mean conforming to the culture of Hollywood.  I mean transforming the culture of Hollywood.  We complain about how immoral Hollywood is.  If we want Hollywood, or any of the other media, to be moral, we're going to have to send some of our moral people to it.  Not to be affected by Hollywood, but to affect Hollywood.  To make good movies that are also clean fun.  To make television that brings glory to God.  To make music with the sweet sound of holiness.  You get what I mean.  

Take legal action
Of course this isn't for all Christians.  But whatever Christians are already lawyers, or may plan to study law, I think we should form Christian legal organizations that fight for Christian causes in the courts.  For so long secularists and atheists have used the courts to remove Christianity from the public life of our nation.  In some cases they infringe upon freedom of religion and human rights.  In every case they de-stablize our nation.  Can you imagine a society in which marriage is not clearly defined, where a man can marry a man, marry ten men, or marry a dog?  That shows you how the religious belief of a nation cannot be separated from the social orders of a nation.  The whole concept of "separation of church and state" actually has no place in the Constitution.  And beyond that, secularists see no limit to it; and they try to apply it to anything public.  The Church of Christ needs to go out into the public, make the public aware of Scripture, make every advance possible, for the one reason that no immoral society can function, and for the other reason of advancing God's kingdom.  Wherever there are Christian lawyers, I pray they use their position to bring Christianity into public places.  

These are just some ideas.  There's way more than this.  Point is, just look for ways to affect the world around you for the sake of Christ.  Not just private affairs, but public affairs too.  How can God be present in the private homes of Christians and absent from the public arena of a nation built on Christian principles?  It makes no sense; and the idea that homosexuals should bring their "gay pride" out of the closet while Christians should keep their Christianity in a closet...  well, that's beyond absurd.  If any Christian would keep quiet about Christ, or think that Christ doesn't belong in a certain part of our lives, shame on that person.  For every Christian big and small, look for the opportunities to do something to be salt and light of the world.