Who’s In Charge?

When the door opened to the salesman’s knock, he was startled to see a ten-year old boy standing just inside, puffing on a long, black cigar and holding a can of beer. Regaining his composure, the salesman frowned and asked, “Is your mother home, young man?” The boy flicked the ashes from the cigar onto the carpet, took a sip of brew and replied, “What do you think?”

This picture explains exactly why resident authority is so necessary in a home. Without authority, chaos reigns. It is also why children don’t want authority. With no one to tell them what to do, they can do whatever they want. Eventually, however, everything falls apart.

“Question authority,” the bumper sticker reads. And why not? Those in the ruling class supposedly only seek to perpetuate themselves. What right to they have to reign over the lives of others? Doesn’t power corrupt? Arguments like these sound logical to the natural mind, but they contain the seeds of anarchy and destruction. God is not the author of confusion. Lucifer’s rebellion, Eve’s disobedience and Saul’s phony excuses grew from these same thoughts. Whether rebellion comes dressed in robes or rags, its disguise never works. “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” I Samuel 15:22

If our generation continues to savage its authority structure, we will soon have a tower of Babel on our hands. God built spiritual leadership into the church, the home and family, and every building block of society. Divorce, absentee parents and the epidemic of illegitimacy have bombarded the family unit, but their blows have only proven the need for strong authority more than ever. In the church, even though abuses of power, flawed characters and failed leaders have deeply hurt us, we cannot function without rightly regarding authority. Consider the following:

Authority is the strength of every group. Man is the head of the woman, but only because he himself is under Christ. The mother represents and uses the father’s authority over the children. Every company, association, organization and group of people working together can only operate under a specified chain of command. To an enlisted man or woman, the salute is the most basic way to recognize the importance of authority and rank.

The local church will collapse without the authority of the pastor. He serves as the conscience, the spiritual barometer, the definer of rules, and overseer of every activity. His solid and wise leadership conveys a sense of security and order to the church. The need for this authority never grows obsolete.

The saint will flounder without the authority of the pastor. Individual church members need a God-ordained pastor as a ruling authority in their lives. Spiritual experiences, scriptural revelations, dreams, visions, angelic visitations, theories, ideas, superior intelligence, talent, education, relatives in the ministry, longevity in the church, books, tapes or radio ministries cannot replace a flesh-and-blood pastor. He who resents authority probably has a reason. He may harbor a secret desire for something he knows is out of bounds. He may pamper an overblown ego that envisions himself equal to or better than the pastor.

Ministers themselves need authority over them. From the time I became a pastor, I taught the church that they were not at the mercy of a pastor who was outside an authority structure. Safeguards were in existence that protected them against abuse or departure from true doctrine. They had the right to appeal to a presbyter, a district superintendent or an organizational official if it ever became necessary. I strongly believe that danger lurks close by whenever one casts off authority and accountability. Anytime one gets the feeling that he can do anything he wants without consequence, he invites disaster. Deacons, elders, bishops and apostles were instituted in the early church to ensure orderliness in the ministry as well as the members of the churches. One cannot teach obedience and submission unless he models the same.

The number one lament of education today is that bedlam in American classrooms has sabotaged the learning process. It all started with “progressive” educators who felt that discipline stifled creativity. Actually, discipline permits true creativity to flourish. When authority is rightly used, it blesses instead of oppresses. Orderliness sets the atmosphere for serious study. In the church, a stable environment permits growth, encourages discipleship, and keeps the church focused on right things. These are the things that God set in the church, and He had good reasons for doing so.

Is Your Holiness Internal or External?

As we witness the daily unraveling fabric of our society, the question of a holiness lifestyle grows more pertinent to the church each day. For me, the answer inescapably comes down to one bedrock truth. Holiness unto the Lord must exist on the inside before it manifests itself on the outside. External characteristics lose their value without a vibrant, fertile, spiritual inner man. In fact, if the inner man loses his holiness, there is no mandate for holiness of any kind.

God is holy. We must possess a deep respect for the holiness of God. Moses immediately showed respect for God’s holy nature when he saw the burning bush. “And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5 Anyone with an intimate knowledge of God grasps the pervasiveness of divine purity. God’s holiness simply cannot be set aside. It stands in such stark contrast to man’s sinfulness that the difference constrains us to respond. To mitigate God’s holy nature would be to misunderstand the essence of deity. The main engine driving the holiness impulse is not petty adherence to rules and regulations, but a profound reverence for God’s holiness.

The new birth makes us different. We must have a genuine conversion experience. Before new converts knew the theology of sin, their hearts told them that it was repulsive. Therefore, they leaped from a life of disgusting, empty practices into a brand new life with Christ. Salvation is a nature change, one that is expected, affirmed and embraced. That’s why it is aptly described as a new birth. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” I Peter 2:9. We look, act, walk, talk and think differently, because we are different!

My life must be lived purposefully. We must recognize holiness principles. Rules are the whats, but principles are the whys. That’s why people eventually ignore rules that are not based upon corresponding principles. Principles, on the other hand, abound with meaning and purpose. They give rise to rules. For example, if I respect my body as a temple of God , I must not defile it by destructive behavior or improper dress. That is a general principle that leads to specific rules. If I respect the form and function of God’s creation, I must not pervert it by acting in ways that confound God’s purpose. If I value the holy nature of God, I must not permit anything in my life that will compromise or corrupt it. Principles give strength and legitimacy to rules.

The Bible governs the believer’s life. We must be willing to obey scripture. What do we do when we cannot totally understand the reasons behind Biblical commands? Obey them anyway! Our finite minds prevent us from an ultimate understanding of all God’s ways. Thus, the guiding principle we must rely upon remains obedience. A lack of understanding never justifies disobedience. Our implicit trust in the Scripture bridges us over gaps in human knowledge and comprehension.

I deny worldly influences. We must reject popular challenges to holiness living. It is no surprise that we grow more and more at odds with our increasingly degenerate culture. Will the devil and the world ever approve of us and legitimize our lifestyle? I think not. To the contrary, these forces constantly apply pressure against us. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” Titus 2:11-12. As long as this present world is not sober, righteous or godly, it has no right to influence our faith or our lives.

Meet the challenge. Stay on your knees, reflect on God’s purposes, separate yourself—-not just from the world—-but unto God, and cherish your relationship with your most holy God. When you approach your relationship to God this way, you will find a sustainable and effective basis for the way you live.

The Patience of Jesus

“I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos …” Revelation 1:9

Is it just me, or are red lights getting longer and green lights getting shorter these days? Have you noticed that it takes longer to get anything done, and we get billed for it quicker than ever? “Just In Time” logos that we see emblazoned across the side of tractor-trailers mean that loads will be delivered to the manufacturer at the opportune moment to go directly into production. ” Express Lane - 8 Items Or Less” above a checkout counter means no waiting in that lane. E-mail, FAX transmissions, One-Hour Photo labs, ATM’s, pay at the pump gasoline stations, and microwave ovens have all become firmly entrenched in our culture today.

The message is clear: We don’t want to wait! Waiting takes time. Time means money. Money buys stuff. And, the more stuff we accumulate, the less time we have to take care of it. The vicious cycle may seem endless, but it is certainly happening at a faster pace these days. Does anyone talk about patience anymore?

In view of all this, consider the patience of Jesus. As a child, he must have had constant thoughts of who he really was. When he looked into the disbelieving faces of the lawyers and scribes at twelve years old, he registered no exasperation. He knew who he was, even though they did not. At the marriage of Cana , the mother of the Omnipotent One had to instruct the servants to listen to him. He constantly encountered in his disciples a lack of faith, a lack of understanding, doubt, backsliding, their desire to force his hand, and their confusion about his true identity. The greatest insult of all was his rejection by his own people. Still, he remained serene.

What must it have been like for Jesus to have all knowledge, and yet subject himself to those who had little or no knowledge? What must it have been like for him to have all power, and yet submit himself to those who had little power? What it must have been like to see the end from the beginning, yet to patiently wait for things to slowly unfold? Christ’s patient restraint testified as much to his greatness as did the unleashing of his power.

Jesus taught us the strength of patience. He said, “In patience, possess ye your souls.” Your salvation may consist more in standing firm than in climbing mountains. Patience gets you up every day and keeps you going on. Patience keeps you going despite unanswered questions. It keeps you going in the face of unopened doors. It keeps you going regardless of unsolved problems. Patience becomes your greatest statement of faith in God!

The message of patience suffers from waning popularity in the church today. No one wants to be told to wait, even if it is God who is doing the telling. We want the answer to our prayers, the solution to our problems and the end results of our labor—-and we want them all now. The last thing we want is a lecture on patience, yet we find this characteristic of patience which is so often attributed to the patriarchs and prophets also graces the life of Jesus Christ.

Before you run out of patience with patience, you would be wise to find out its blessings. By patience you inherit the promises of God. (Hebrews 6:12) By patience you find completion and fulfillment. (James 1:3-4) By patience you endure the harshest of trials. (Revelation 13:10) By patience you keep the commandments of God. (Revelation 14:12). Instantaneous miracles, signs, wonders and the marvelous works of God must never overshadow the simultaneous message of stedfastness, hope and enduring faith in God.

Patience does not deny God’s power, but it trusts God’s timing. Patience does not question God’s intent, but it believes in God’s divine prerogative. Patience is not the expression of doubt, but the confession of a higher faith. Patience says, “He hasn’t yet, but he will.” Patience says, “I may hurt but I still hope.”

Cultivate patience. Without it, you will be driven by panic, fear and imagination. You will leap before looking, speak before listening and act before thinking. Impatience costs you the best things because you will grab the immature, the unfinished and the undeveloped things. This is why the writer to the Hebrews said, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”

A Vision of Jesus

“But, we see Jesus…” Hebrews 2:9

As trends and tastes continually evolve, innovative dabblers can’t keep their hands off of Christ. Artists want to give Him a new face, marketing pros want to create a new cosmopolitan profile for Him, historians want to revise the themes of His life and theologians want to rewrite His doctrine. Maybe we do need an updated vision of Jesus, but the changes must focus on us, not on Him. Here is my vision of Jesus.

Jesus Christ stands out as the unrivaled champion of the scriptures. Without Him, we have only unexplained ceremonies, unachieved purposes, unappeased longings and unfulfilled prophecies. Without Christ the Old Testament is a river which has lost its way to the sea, a swift-flying arrow with no target and magnificent eagle with no roosting branch. Jesus Christ forms the centripetal point of the law—-everything converges upon Him, and the centrifugal point of grace—-everything emerges from Him. On Him rides the theme of both Old and New Testaments, the raison d’être to every dispensation of time, the reflection of every great personage and the substance of every great type.

Jesus used the scripture to testify of himself. “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. John 5:39. He dwells at the center of the church. He constitutes the totality of our message: “But we preach Christ crucified…” I Corinthians 1:23. He stands as the object of our deepest consecration: “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. Philippians 3:8-10. He embodies the adoration of the songwriter, and the hope of the saint.

Jesus represents the reason for my repentance, the remission of sins in my baptism and the substance of the Spirit that indwells me. All things revolve around him. Jesus is God himself! “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” Ephesians 1:20-23.

Jesus exists at the center of eternity. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.“ Revelation 1:8 In New Jerusalem, Jesus, the Lamb, is the king of the city. The light of the city is the face of Jesus. The joy of the city is the presence of Jesus. The music of the city is the name of Jesus. The harmony of the city is the praise of Jesus. The employment of the city is the service of Jesus. The theme of the city is the love of Jesus. The duration of the city is the eternity of Jesus.

Take care to preach Jesus, teach Jesus, sing of Jesus, read Jesus, talk Jesus and walk Jesus. He gives our sermons meaning, our songs power, our witness effectiveness, our doctrines truth, our devotion wealth, our holiness beauty and our piety purpose.

On Christ the solid rock I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

A Deeper Look at the Cross

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Galatians 6:14

The cross of Christ brought the two greatest opposing forces known to man—-life and death—together into a single event. It made both God and man do what neither of them did previously, combined both defeat and victory and offered for free the most precious and expensive commodity ever known. The cross defined Christ, birthed the church and set believers free even as they became its slaves. The cross of Jesus Christ slammed the gates on an entire religion—-not by destroying it—-but by fulfilling that religion’s tenets of faith. It made those responsible for it guilty of murder, but simultaneously made them vehicles for the miracle of salvation.

Consider the following facts about the cross: a) It was both legal and illegal. b) It was a dark conspiracy, and yet a glorious, prophetic plan. c) It was the work of sinners, yet it was the work of God. d) It was Christ’s own choice, yet it was preordained that he should die. Spiritual death and spiritual life both proceed from this one, watershed event.

The death of Jesus was legal because a prisoner was arrested, forced to appear before a judge, charged with a crime, cross-examined, faced by witnesses, handed a verdict, and executed. Yet, the cross was an illegal act. Jesus was arrested by betrayal, not guilty of the charges, perjured by false witnesses, victimized by a politicized verdict, and executed through a gross miscarriage of justice.

The crucifixion was a dark conspiracy. A council appointed by the chief priests and Pharisees rationalized that he should be sacrificed for the good of the nation. To this end, they put a plan in motion involving false charges, lying witnesses and harassment to have Jesus put to death. (John 11:47-53. See also Matthew 26:59-61, 64-67.) At the same time, the death of Jesus was a glorious prophetic plan. Though his conspirators were unaware, the trail of his blood began with prophetic utterances hundreds of years before Bethlehem . His betrayal, the thirty pieces of silver, the false witnesses, his pierced body and many other aspects of his death were all plainly spoken of in prophecy. He knew this was his destiny. (Matthew 18:11).

The death of Jesus was the work of both sinners and self-righteous enemies. We read of the false witnesses, the Roman soldiers, the sycophant Pontius Pilate who believed Jesus was innocent but lacked the political courage to resist the chief priests. Jesus angered the self-righteous Jewish leaders by his scorching exposé of their hypocrisy and pride. (Matthew 23:27-39) Through envy and pride, the Jews essentially saw themselves locked in a power struggle for the leadership of the nation. But the death of Jesus was not the triumph of sinners and enemies. It was the supreme work of God. Peter preached in Acts 2:22-23, “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” Moreover, Isaiah proclaims that the Messiah was smitten of God and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4).

The death of Jesus was his own choice. Jesus “fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Matthew 26:39. Yet, the death of Jesus was foreordained by the condition of sin. Isaiah 53:8 says “…he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.”

The cross transforms tragedy into triumph. I Corinthians 1:18 sharpens our focus on the cross. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” I know of no one who ever achieved true spiritual victory without a deep experience of the cross in his or her life. Our resurrection exultation must and will be deepened by the preaching of the cross. May we not obsess on a bloodless display of life at the Garden Tomb and bypass the very event which the Apostle Paul says must be the source of our glory and power.

A Holiness Practicum

Regardless of how holiness gets defined, no Bible believer can dismiss the whole notion as unimportant or passe.  The scriptures plainly declare that without it, no man can see the Lord.  The Bible also admonishes us, “Be ye holy for I am holy.”  Maintaining a holiness emphasis, although it is a tough job, falls to the “watchman on the wall”, or, pastors and elders.  It is time for a strong reminder to the church that watchman sees danger on the horizon.  Like a slow, degenerative disease, worldliness creeps in incrementally, changing the face of the church from being Christ-like to becoming a reflection of the present age.  Holiness is not a “holdover”; holiness is integral to our relationship with God.  How then should holiness be defined?  Holiness has measurable values displayed in a tangible,visible lifestyle, not just in rhetoric.  To deny this is to deny much of the New Testament.

Every serious disciple, therefore, soon pursues the path of holiness after salvation. Since this pathway directly impacts the issues of life, we who follow Jesus find ourselves dealing with do’s and don’ts in the way we live. For example, think of a surgeon who understands the importance of hygiene, but does nothing to implement hygienic practices in his surgical procedures; or, an educator who has mastered educational theory, yet her classroom is in disarray. Likewise, true believers must take what they know about serving God and put it into practice. Here is a practicum to follow that will get you started, or provide a check-up along the way.

Place the impulses of the flesh under strict control. “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” Romans 13:14. Coveting, wrong affection and uncontrolled desires will destroy you.

Take great care what you allow your eyes to see. “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” Psalm 101:3. Guard your eye-gate from viewing evil through any medium.

Stop cursing, profanity, gossip and abusive language. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 . Vulgar language, dirty jokes and idle gossip offends the Spirit of God.

Do not defile or misuse your body. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19. Alcohol, tobacco, drugs or anything that harms the body displeases God. We should glorify God in our bodies.

Avoid evil communication. “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.” Colossians 3:8. Sever ties with people who will negatively affect your walk with God.

Long hair on women pleases God. “But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.” 1 Corinthians 11:15. This scriptural standard depicts the image God chooses for his handmaidens.

It is a shame for a man to have long hair. “Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?” 1 Corinthians 11:14. Men’s hair should not be left uncut as a woman’s.

Do not indulge in sinful and perverse practices. “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5. The Bible clearly condemns a perverted, unnatural  lifestyle, as well as all related practices. We do not excuse or accommodate them. We forsake them as works of the flesh.

Practice modesty. “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.” 1 Timothy 2:9. The Bible emphasizes a modest appearance for men and women. It sends a strong message that the outer person takes a back seat to the inner person. Jewelry, make-up and revealing or suggestive clothing have no place in the life of the disciple.

Flee fornication. “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” 1 Corinthians 6:18. The special relationship between husband and wife retains its honor only within the covenant of marriage. True disciples hold themselves above sexual sin.

Maintain a difference between men and women. “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.” Deuteronomy 22:5. The world became confused years ago, but Bible-believers continue to honor the God-created gender differences in human beings. When women wear skirts and men wear trousers, that difference is evident to all.

Be an example to all believers. “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12. We must model in our bodies the beliefs we maintain in our hearts. When people around us look in our direction, they need to see holiness and godliness.

This list covers only a few items. Much more could be said about each one. It is enough, however, to remember that living a holy life continues to be extremely important to discipleship.

What’s the Word on the Word?

“Thy word is truth.” John 17:17

When our Bible quiz coach asked me to say a few words to the quizzers at a tournament the other day, I immediately wondered what to say to kids who could out-quote and out-quiz me any day of the week. Their study habits have honed their knowledge and skills with the Bible to the degree that they often embarrass their pastor, the guy who is supposedly scripturally omniscient. I quickly consoled myself with the fact that my pastoral responsibilities squeeze out any extra time I might scrape together to memorize whole chapters of the Word. But, even if time permitted, that I would be equal to the daunting task at my age may stir some doubt.

Not being one who easily turns down a challenge, however, I started to reflect on the value of the Word of God. That, in itself, struck me as an understatement of epic proportions. The Word…valuable? Is a detailed set of prints valuable to the construction of a skyscraper? Is an understanding of aerodynamics valuable to piloting a plane? Does a brain surgeon place any value on his medical training? Is a constitution valuable to running a country? These concepts go without question. Yet, we stumble in assigning real value to God’s Word, both in assimilating it into our brains and applying it to our lives. In recent years, I am alarmed by a non-specific, lax and dismissive view of the Bible that has crept into our attitudes. This problem is becoming acute and this generation must address it. Apostolics, the people who base their beliefs upon a literal rendering and practicing of scripture, must not permit this to happen.

The Bible remains a timeless statement of God’s truth. But this position directly contradicts today’s increased sensitivity to human wants and desires. What if the Bible gets in the way of modern life? Not only do many people do what they want to do (as they always have), more of them are willing to cast off scriptural restraints in order to do it. The church also feels tremendous pressure to accept variant viewpoints in the interest of fairness and humility.

Quizzers, along with all the rest of us must never forget that the Word is unique. First, it lives. “For the word of God is living…” (Hebrews 4:12 NIV). The life of God’s Word brings a singular dynamic to the world unmatched by any other literature. No Plato classic, no Clancy or Grisham thriller, no Catton history or even any Shakespearean drama, despite their considerable wit and brilliance, dispenses life to its readers. The Word does exactly that. It breathes, moves and inspires. It interacts with our thinking, both consciously and sub-consciously, and creates a new person within us. Its energy puts it on par with the very presence of Jesus, as we see in 1 John 1:1. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life.”

Next, the Word is powerful, or active. (Hebrews 4:12 NIV). Many speak, but none speaks words with innate creative power. When God speaks, his Word becomes a viable force, fully capable of performing its purpose. He does more than suggest, hint or muse. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11). The next time you read the Word of God or hear it preached or taught, be careful. The Word makes things happen.

Beyond being alive and powerful, the Word discriminates. Hebrews says it is “sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The Word of God operates with a razor’s edge on the reader’s soul, cutting away fat and fraud and exposing the hidden things of the heart. This makes lots of people nervous, even angry. But remember, while one edge cuts clean going away, the other cuts just as clean coming back, judging both the audience and the speaker alike. Long before psychology, psychiatry or any of the mind arts ever existed, the incisive Word penetrated the heart of man.

Finally, the Word of God is truth. “Thy Word is truth.” (John 17:17). Vast, organized bodies of opinion float around out in academia, each one claiming or implying that it represents truth. It would totally exhaust our time, money and labor to fully investigate the plank and platform of their every claim. Forget it. Only one concept is worthy of our invested efforts: “Thy Word is truth.” All else is futile.

Those who excuse the more pungent or pithy scriptural commands as quaint, but out of touch aspects of the Word, tread on shaky ground. Simply put, we must read, believe and obey the Bible! Any departure from the verbal inspiration and the literal reading of the Bible undermines our insistence upon Apostolic doctrine. The Bible is living, powerful, discriminating and completely true. All of it. That’s the word on the Word.

Three Things I Know About Love

Have you ever wondered why the common symbols of love—a dozen roses, an engagement gift, the simple expression of “I love you”—wield such intoxicating power? These expressions can release the totality of a person’s emotions.

But beware! Masters of manipulation know how to give the gifts and say the words without sincerity. That’s why we must scrutinize love. We have to test its reality. Love is too important, too conceptually dangerous, and too powerful to be embraced without convincing proof of its authenticity. It cannot simply be taken at one’s word.

To demand proof of love may sound callused, but it is Biblical. Paul wrote, “I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.” II Corinthians 8:8. Also, he said, “Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.” II Corinthians 8:24. Here are three things that I know about genuine love:

Love is compelling. Love will make you do what you had not planned to do. It makes debtors out of people who previously didn’t owe a dime. It makes virtual slaves out of those who boasted of their freedom. It leads self-possessed people into immense sacrifice. It turns miscreants into martyrs, stubborn hearts into silly putty, and brutes into puppy dogs.

Look what love did to Jesus. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. Genuine love always compels us to cross the grain of fleshly impulses.

Love is transcending. Love will lift you into a higher realm. There is no higher virtue, no greater attribute of God than love. “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him… There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.” I John 4:16-19

Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves. In John 13, however, he said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. John 13:34. In other words, Jesus changes the frame of reference from the human realm to the divine. Our feelings, emotions and sentiments cannot determine our love. They keep love on a human level. Divine love, however, not only propels us above hatred, bitterness, jealousy and strife, it sends us soaring beyond common human motivations like competition, self-will and emulation.

The Christ-life grows out of love, not law. We pay our tithes because we love Jesus. We come to church because we love Jesus. We live holy because we love Jesus. We reject worldly influences because we love Jesus.

Love is transforming. Love will make you become what you have never been before. This is the best thing I know about love. A. D. Urshan used to say to someone who said, “I love chocolate cake,” ‘No, no. You like chocolate cake. You love Jesus.’” We reserve our love for things that are most deserving. In fact, I believe that one will become what one loves. Love does not happen in a vacuum. What or who you love will change you.

This transformational power of love is precisely why the Bible strongly warns us about the influence of the world in our lives. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. I John 2:15. Also, II Timothy 6:10. “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Those who love the world will become like the world.

Likewise, our loving God transforms us into His image. The more we love God, the more like God we will become. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God … but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” I John 3:1. Love is the catalyst that transforms mortals into Christ-likeness.

Love compels, transcends, and transforms. It drives you on, lifts you up and changes you from the inside out. Make no mistake about it—-you can digitize, computerize, and thoroughly modernize the Church and the Word all you want—-but love is only one thing that lies at the core of our Christianity. Love is still the greatest!