I Have a Dream as well!

At the risk of alienating some folks, I felt compelled to put together this blog. I have been sitting on the sidelines watching the increasingly ugly mood envelope our political and social arena, and I am honestly, tired of it.

It seems that daily now we have race-baiting, name-calling, and other unsavory actions coming from the supposed leaders of this country. I am a child of the sixties (barely!), and I am appalled by where we are at.

And this is not a one-sided event – oh no, everyone has joined the fray – trying to solidify their position within the community by using underhanded and malicious argumentation.

And then I hear several of these self-righteous flacks make reference to Doctor King’s famous “I have a Dream” speech, all the while doing the very things that he was against! If we would but read a few lines of this most brilliant speech, we could see that Doctor King was light years ahead of the hacks on both sides of the debate. His speech was TRANSCENDENT – it was not a speech mired in a narcissist mindset, nor was it to ‘position’ Dr. King in the hierarchy of the Civil Rights movement – he spoke eloquently, passionately and directly; something we so badly need from SOMEONE today.

Read these lines from Doctor King’s speech anew today, and tell me who is speaking like this?

"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice."

And he continues on….

"But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom."

And still yet, he builds to the crescendo that so many know a PART of…

"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

We all owe Doctor King a huge apology for the mess we have made of his dream!

So, what do we do about this? For starters, turn off your TV, for far too long the politicos and activists have told you and I what to think about those different from us. Turn off Don Imus, and Rush Limbaugh; turn off Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton, and do something radical – REACH OUT to your neighbor, get to know them – and, as Christians, how about we begin to act like we expect everyone else to act…???

Let the people reclaim their land – let those who are in Christ light to way to something new – NOT tolerance, NOT even simple acceptance, but something transcendent to that – let us fulfill Doctor King’s dream! Let us become color-blind and compassionate. We can do this!

Apologies

Seems that I write more of these apologies than real posts anymore. I have been away nigh on a month, but what a month it has been!

Just in the last week, my lovebird, Lovey passed away. He lived WAAAYYY longer than anyone thought he would. These lovebirds usually live about 12 years, he lived well past 16. He went peacefully, and now we are down to one bird -- our white-cap Pionus, Josiah.



On another front, I had surgeries number 7 & 8 this week, both on my right eye. The first was a cataract surgery on Tuesday -- it went OK, but unfortunately a piece of the cataract slipped through the back of my torn lens capsule and drifted into the posterior chamber of the eye, hence the need for surgery number 8. I had a lensectomy, and vitrectomy on Thursday to remove the cataract piece and the doctor also cleaned out the PC. Good news is that the retina stayed in place, the IOL is still in place, and everything looks like it is holding together! Another three days and I will know more...



Thanks for the many prayers! I am hoping that once my eye settles down, I will get back to regular posting.

Evangelism

I recently said, during a teaching session, that I disliked, and disagreed with the ever-popular colloquialism that is on the lips of the Christian community today -- "God loves the sinner, but hates the sin"

I expected to get reaction from that, and sure enough, I did. I had several people come up and said "God does not 'hate' anyone". They were appalled that I would say such a thing. I tried to, probably unsuccessfully, talk with them about the fallacy of the statement.

When one tells a person who is lost that God loves them, but hates their sin, they hear, and agree with: God loves me. This does not speak of the damnation that is facing those who die without Christ. It is a false 'advertisement'.

I must confess that I find so much so-called 'evangelism' today to be nothing more than an activity that people do to apply balm to their OWN souls. It comforts one to say "I 'did' evangelism today". However, much of this evangelism really is nothing more than a handful of well-learned, witty statements that do not bring to bear the very real, and dire situation, a lost soul is in.

A statement such as "God loves the sinner, but hates the sin" is untrue, for God does not send the SIN, but, in fact, the SINNER to hell! One who hears these words and continues in their sins is comfy knowing that God 'loves' them! This is nothing more than universalism. The lost souls remains comfortably numb, to borrow a phrase from Roger Waters.

Another reason that I dislike this statement, and others like it is that it allows the redeemed to approach evangelism with a laissez-faire mentality -- taking away the urgency and seriousness of evangelism. There is no pleading for men's souls -- rather there is a warm, cotton candy feeling of 'accomplishment', when in fact, NOTHING has been accomplished.

We can stay safely within our realm of 'being liked' while 'sharing' with others. Sadly, those within the church oftentimes do not weep for the lost, or pray for them -- rather they send them these little 'Hallmark-moments', that quite frankly, are not meant to drive a person to their knees in repentance, but are meant to provide comfort and acceptance to the soul of the redeemed!

Let our evangelism be done in a way that is Biblical and urgent. Let me leave you with some thoughts from Paul as regards his heart towards his brothers, the Israelites:

Romans 9:1 - 3 -- I am speaking the truth in Christ — I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

Let our heart for the lost be so great that we are in anguish for their souls!

Further Observations

I just wanted to post and state that I received some interesting comments (via phone and email), about my last post. One person accused me of being the very type of pastor they are 'running away from'. They claim that they are living with another person (not a spouse), yet they LOVE the Lord with all their heart.

Can I just add another controversial statement to my last post? How can one love the Lord with all their heart and yet live in a lifestyle that they KNOW is inconsistent with the Bible? Jesus states in the Word, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments". What do we do with that?

Now, I understand that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God -- I sin everyday, no question about that. But here we are talking about a WILLFUL, REBELLIOUS lifestyle that is counter to the Biblical model for a man and a woman in marriage; one in which the person knows that their lifestyle is wrong (they told me they knew it)! How can you square that with the words, I love the Lord with all my heart?

This is why I posted the last time, and here these folks are simply solidifying my feeling that the U.S. Church (at least), has completely lost its moral compass -- it is no longer that the Bible is the infallible rule for the life of a Christian -- now it is the social mores of the society around us that set the tone for what is acceptable.

And it does not stop with this one thing -- witness the issues in many of the mainline denominations with the ordination of gays, or the performing of 'wedding' ceremonies for homosexuals. This is due to the fact that the word of God is no longer 'valid' in the eyes of the church, at least as a rule for life. No, it has some 'good ideas', and people today talk about tragectorial theology (where was Paul heading with his theology had his life not been ended, or had he been sufficiently enlightened), to validate the any and all of their variances from Biblical norm.

And these people lead with their emotions -- "I know a really nice XXX that loves the Lord" (fill in the blank). This is a dangerous and slippery slope -- witness Carlton Pearson's slide into universalism -- when they interview him, his statement is very much akin to this. Everyone builds their own personal Jesus and then makes the claim -- "MY Jesus would never judge anyone.", or "MY Jesus would never confront anyone about their sin". Yet that is what He consistently did within the pages of the Bible!

May I just say that if you know a really nice XXX, AND you believe the Bible to be true, then would you not tell them about the gospel, and explain that it is not enough to be a really nice person? I have many really nice XXX's that I know, and they know my feelings about their lifestyle -- do I hate them? No, but I make it clear that BECAUSE I care about them, and I understand the grace shown to me, a wretched sinner, I MUST share the gospel with them and tell them they are in danger of hell. That may seem narrow-minded to many, but if you truly care for someone, do you just let them go on their merry way? That is not being tolerant; rather it is cowardice -- you are more afraid of what they will think of you than you are of their eternal home. I can't call that loving and tolerant.

Paul went through persecution by the Jews for his proclamation of the gospel, yet in Romans he says that if he could give his salvation away to save his fellow Jews, he would do so. Does that seem unloving and narrow-minded? No, it is a clear understanding of the ramifications of the gospel, and a clear view of the grace shown to him.

We all must come under the rule of Biblical teaching -- we do not redefine it, it redefines us, and until (if ever), the U.S. Church understands that, we will have a weak, tepid, polarized and politicized faith; without unity or a clear bearing on truth. We will not be a City on a Hill, but rather another dim light shining amidst the lights of this world.

Observations on Church

I find it interesting that I will often find people who come to our church and tell me about the 'legalistic' church they just left. This has happened several times, and one person even had a rant on their web page about 'legalistic' churches, and how they were 'killing' the church!

So, I began, after I learned, to check a bit into these claims. I could not believe that there were that many legalistic churches out there; my experience has been quite the opposite, or they are the neo-nomianism folks, ala Osteen.

What I found as I did this was an interesting fact -- These so-called 'legalistic' churches did not approve of a lifestyle of sin, and therefore, these people had left. This is why it is important to get letters of transfer, if possible, from people.

They will look at you like you are crazy, especially at a little church like ours -- they think they can get away with hiding in a little place. To give but one example:

Them: "We left our last church because they were SOOOO legalistic"

Me: "What was their concern?"

Them: "Well, they thought it was wrong that me and my girlfriend live together."

Me: "Well, so do we!"

Them: "bye".

It is amazing to me how people think one is being 'legalistic' by simply upholding church discipline! And this is common! People are shocked and appalled when I 'get in their business' as the pastor of the church! As if, what they do in their own time is of no consequence to the church. A completely unbiblical attitude!

We truly have reached a point where Biblical literacy is at its nadir!

Miscellany

A few news notes, with a bit of commentary:

This week a Prestonwood Baptist pastor in Texas was arrested for attempting to consummate an illegal rendezvous with a 13-year-old girl. This was a shock to Pastor Jack Graham, the senior pastor of the church, and I would ask that you pray for that church and their staff.

Sadly, I have seen many comments that speak of Prestonwood as being full of ‘hypocrites’ and ‘unsaved’, and this from the Christian community. Many of the comments touch upon the fact that Prestonwood is a Mega-Church, with 26,000 congregants. While I am not a fan of the Mega-Church movement, I feel that these comments are not only unnecessary, but untrue.

While I agree that large churches enable people to be less accountable, painting the entire church with the brush of hypocrisy is wrong. Be in prayer for the staff, the family of the arrested pastor, and the pastor himself.

In another area – Christian Music has been touched with several deaths recently. The first was Dottie Rambo, who was killed in a bus accident in Missouri on May 11th. She was to be inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame. She was a prolific writer, and has many songs to her credit. And just this morning, Steven Curtis Chapman’s 5-year-old daughter, Maria, was tragically struck and killed by one of her older brothers as he pulled into their driveway. Pray for these families.

Many have ‘celebrated’ the transition of Dottie Rambo from here to eternity, but I think that this is an unfortunate aspect of modern Christianity. We should grieve and allow the families to do so as well. Yes, when a believer ends their life here, they enter into eternity with the Savior, but to trivialize death, by ‘celebrating’ it is missing the point IMHO. We should rail against death – we should grieve; we should not ‘celebrate’. Death is the direct result of sin, and therefore we should not be comfortable with it. I am not saying that we should fear death, but we should understand that it is our enemy, and Christ has defeated death, sin and the grave. If anything should be celebrated, it should be that fact.

And finally, Ted Kennedy has just been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. While I disagree with virtually everything he stands for politically, I have been in prayer for him. I pray that Christ would move his heart, and that the reality of his mortality would draw him to Christ. I do not know the state of his soul, but whatever it is, I am in prayer for him.

The Source of our Faith

I have posted on the necessity of faith, and the object of our faith, but now let me dwell for a moment on the source of our faith.

In the Heidelberg Catechism we read: "This faith, [saving faith], the Holy Spirit works in my heart by the gospel."

Sadly there are many who have been taught, directly, or indirectly, that they can grit their teeth and 'develop' faith. My friends, you cannot 'develop' your own faith; the source of our faith is God and God alone. Yes, we exhibit it, but it is given to us by the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, through the preaching of the Word of the Gospel.

One cannot work up saving faith – it is a gift from God, by grace. God, monergistically – that 25 dollar word meaning working alone - works in us to give us saving faith. It is not synergistically developed, with me adding a little something and God adding a little something.

Let me give you but two examples:

Ephesians 2:8, 9 -- But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Acts 16:14 -- One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

My friends, we were as dead as Jairus’ daughter when Christ arrived at the door of our heart – it was the blessed Holy Spirit that made us alive, like Lydia, to hear the word of the Lord, and believe! And by this belief we are saved.

Why would God do this? I don’t know, but what an awesome God we serve, one who sent His only begotten Son to die a horrific death on the cross for sins that I committed, providing a way for me to be made right before the Father. Not only did Christ die for our sin, but God puts in our hearts the very ability to believe this! Words fail me when I think of the greatness of salvation, and the amazing Grace of God!

Let me close out this post by saying this; the means that God has chosen for stirring the hearts of those being regenerated by the Holy Spirit is the Word of God – as Paul says in Romans 1, For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

My friends, the proclamation of the word is so vital! We must never forget that God uses the means of His Word to stir the hearts of one who is lost, and by the power of the Holy Spirit He brings them to Himself – let us never neglect the reading, studying and applying of God’s Word to our lives!