Let us not tear down and destroy

I have a friend (well I have many, but I am talking about one in particular). This friend, who shall remain nameless is, to say the least, misguided.

Let me explain what I mean. This friend has been to Bible college, is way smarter than I am, has all the right mental capabilities to be an amazing Bible teacher and preacher (as a matter of fact I have heard him preach and came away convicted). However, in the handful of discussions we have had over the past two years he has done nothing but rip people and their ministries.

Granted some of his points were very valid and even had plenty of biblical merit. However, each of these very public, and not very public men alike he has disparaged has held to a Biblical view of the most important doctrines (the doctrines pertaining to man, sin, Jesus Christ, the Trinity, salvation, etc.) And yet, nothing I have heard my friend say about these men is encouraging.

I wonder how much my description of my friend actually describes you? Maybe you do not have all of the degrees my friend has, but is your attitude the same? Do you spend more time tearing down and destroying the bride of Christ than you do building it up and encouraging it? (Yes, I see the irony of that question since this installment of my blog seems to be doing that which I am being critical of). Yet, I am genuinely hurt when the bride of Christ is hurt. I am wounded when she is wounded. There are very few things that I cherish as much as the bride of Christ, the local and global genuine church.

Many in our culture are of the opinion that instead of standing for something greater than themselves it is easier to take a stand against something. I want to be a voice that says otherwise. To stand for Christ and His bride is the greatest honor you could ever have, and you do not have to be a paid pastor to stand for the bride of Christ.

Let me share just a couple of passages that if we did well, would go miles in growing unity rather than division among the family of God.

Romans 15:5, "Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus."

1st Thessalonians 5:11, "Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing."

Philippians 2:1, 2, "Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose."

Lest, anyone think I am saying that we do not take a stance on certain issues that seem to be bombarding the church these days I am not. As a shepherd who has been entrusted to oversee the lambs I have been entrusted with, I will be the first to use my staff as a club to beat off wolves (but that is another installment). Instead I want to end by asking a series of questions...

If we are called to encourage one another, what is encouraging in a spirit of criticism?

If we are called to be united in spirit, what is unifying in a spirit of criticism?

If we are called to build one another up, how can we expect to do that if we are hyper-critical at every turn?

If you are like my friend, you (like he) need to repent of your hyper-criticism. Let us hold things of first importance as first importance, but let us not elevate things of a secondary nature to first importance. I rather like the saying that should be given credit to the original author, but alas I do not know the original source (though I'd like to say I came up with it).

In essentials; unity

In non-essentials; diversity

In all things; charity

In our churches this should be our battle cry. Let us stop criticizing unnecessarily and strive for genuine unity which finds its foundation in the blood of Christ.

Praying for our Children

Parents, how do you pray for your children? As a father of five I have prayed countless prayers regarding the welfare of my children.

Like you, I have prayed for the health of my children. Like you, I have prayed for my children to excel in school. Like you, I have prayed that my children would do well in sports. Like you, I have petitioned the Lord for Christlike characteristics to be displayed in my children; attributes such as, patience with their siblings, obedience to myself and their mother, respect for their elders, teachers, and other authority figures in their lives. I have also, especially for my daughters, been praying for their spouses that they haven't even met yet. I have worn holes in my jeans asking that my children would be caring, that they would have servant hearts, and that they would display humility. All of these things I am certain you have spent time praying your own children to display.

I would contend, however, that as parents who genuinely want the best for their children we can at times ask for the wrong things, or perhaps a better way to say it is that we have elevated secondary things to first importance in our prayer lives.

Consider how Jesus prayed for Peter in Luke 22:31, 32, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

There are a couple of very important things that jump out at me from this passage. First of all, Jesus was well aware that Peter would fail miserably and sin against Him in a very devastating and personal way. As parents we should fully anticipate that our children will also, sometimes rather consistently, fail miserably and sin against us in devastating and personal ways as well. There is a real probability that not only will our children refuse to acknowledge us, but even more painful they will also likely at some point in their live choose to deny their Creator and Savior Jesus Christ.

We should not necessarily take this as some commentary on our ability to parent. If Jesus' most personal disciples can deny Him and it not be a commentary on Jesus' ability to raise up others, neither should we take it as a commentary when our children choose to deny everything that we have brought them up to believe either.

The second thing that so clearly speaks to me from this passage in Luke is how Jesus prays for Peter, the one who He knew would deny Him and reject the faith. Jesus didn't pray for Peter's physical well being, but rather Jesus' main concern was for Peter's spiritual well being. Jesus prayed that Peter's faith would be restored.

All our prayers for our children that I mentioned in the first couple of paragraphs are all well and good, we should want health for our children. We should want them to excel in all that they endeavor. But, if our first prayer for our children is not that when the inevitable difficult times of their faith journey come about, that their faith would be restored we are missing the mark; we are praying for more tangible things and neglecting the most important things.

Parents let us not be neglectful in how we pray for our kids. Spend time praying for their faith to be strengthened. Even better yet, spend some time with your spouse praying for the faith of your children. And like Jesus, pray before hand for your children that when the difficult times in life come, that their faith would be restored and that because of the strength of their faith they would be an encouragement to others.

God bless you, and may God bless your children.

Can you really live the gospel?

"Preach the gospel and if necessary use words." We've all heard this famous quote by Saint Francis of Assisi. The question we need to ask ourselves, however, is this...is this even possible?

Don't misunderstand what I am saying. I completely comprehend the sentiment. Live well, live as if you have been transformed by Christ. But for many people I know they live by this principle. Living to the best of their ability but never sharing the vital truths of the gospel with those whom they care about.

But living well, living a moral life, living with exceptional ethics is not the gospel. The gospel rather is the truth that we are all willing sinners who break the statutes of a holy and just God. This holy and just God loves the epitome of His creation, you and I, to the degree that He sent His one and only son, who never sinned Himself, to pay the penalty of our sins, which is something we could never do on our own. By His substitutionary death on the cross Jesus has made it possible for us to be called sons and daughters of our Creator God.

That is the gospel. Not right living!

How do you say all of this by "living right"? The answer is that you can't. Preaching involves words not actions. And no matter how many times you try and show someone the gospel through actions alone you will fail. To share the gospel you must open your mouth. To share the gospel means you must speak the gospel.

That does not mean that we do not try and live right, but if we are to make disciples our conduct alone will not cut it. To preach the gospel by its definition means we must use words. The question that remains is are you willing to do so, or are you going to continue to walk the path of least resistance and hope your actions are enough to get someone else into God's good graces.

The Importance of Genuineness

Being a young Pastor with the ambition of next year transporting my family back to my home town to begin a church plant I am often times peppered with questions as to the what, where, when and why's. Most of the time those questions just seem like the polite things to ask and that people are really disinterested or at most trying to figure out why I feel a need to start one more church when the "world already has so many."

However, every once in awhile some will ask a question along the lines of, what do you feel this current generation is searching for? In my albeit somewhat nontraditional experience I would say that whereas the previous generation seemed to be drawn by professionalism, things need to be very polished and pristine, most in my generation are concerned first and foremost with genuineness. People what to know that we believe (to use sales vernacular) in the product we are selling.

They want to know that we are not "fake", that we have faults and will admit to them, that we won't say one thing to their face all the while practicing something completely different. People are not searching for the correct answer on the test (though we sometimes seem to think they are with the amount of "truth" we push on them, please do not misunderstand I am as willing to die on many a theological hill as the next), they are however, concerned with seeing our faith in action. I am not talking strictly in the working at the local soup kitchen sense (though presenting the Gospel with our hands and feet is a good indicator of our genuineness).

However, we need to ask ourselves are we living a life trying in vain to keep people at arms length so that they do not see our personal sins, because after all we should know better. Or are we inviting people into our lives in order that they can see that we are an imperfect people in desperate need of a perfect Savior. Are we allowing people to see our weaknesses and vulnerability in order that they may also see and experience they strength and power of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ as He gives us victory over our trials and temptations.

I recently spent a weekend at a men's retreat at was encouraged by the amount of time we spent in hammering home the point that we need to be authentic and accountable to other men (not a new concept, but a very good reminder). It is not very difficult to become too busy in life to feel that we can pour ourselves into others and make disciples. Have you ever stopped to think how that looks to "outsiders"?

If our neighbors, who do not go to church, have a basic understanding of our beliefs (and they do), that apart from saving faith they are going to spend eternity in hell and we are not doing all we can to cultivate a relationship with them, how does that look? Disingenuous to say the least.

I am convinced that one of the things that keeps people from coming in the doors of the church is our vain attempt to keep everything squeaky clean, pristine and white within the walls of the church. Life is not pristine. Life is ugly. Life is painful. Can we admit that? Can we allow others to see how painful our personal lives are? Can we be genuine?

The Idol of Traditionalism

"This is the way we've always done it." The last words of countless dying churches and other para-church ministries. Dying in two ways, one the are dying because their numbers are growing smaller and the cannot afford to keep the doors open any longer and dying because the have become cold and callous towards those whom the proclaim the are trying to reach with the gospel.

I have for several years now had a concern over traditions found in many churches. Do not misunderstand if push came to shove I would certainly affirm many traditions within the bride of Christ, the ordinances aside (which are not actually traditions but commandments by Christ), many churches hold to traditions which are beautiful, beneficial, and biblical. For instance, even though I Pastor a non-denominational community church, I am fan and believer of the various creeds, which when they are put into their historical context help us to be understand and more important better verbalize our faith.

However, I am fearful and disgusted by many man made traditions that many churches hold to. I find that often times churches have forgotten the words and encouragement of Paul to "become all things in order to save a few" (1st Corinthians 9:22); and instead often times they expect all people to conform to our practices.

I am not going to use this forum to decry any particular practices of any particular church, because each church needs to look at itself and ask the question why do we do what we do. I will, however, take the opportunity to prescribe the antidote for the sinful practice of traditionalism. I believe that the reason that most churches hold fast to tradition rather than contextualize their practices is because they have forgotten who the audience is on Sunday mornings (or any other worship service for that matter).

Let me explain. When we gather in God's house, whether it be Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday evening, or any other time for that matter; we are gathering to adore, praise, worship, and thank God the Father for the many blessings that He has bestowed upon us. We are not there for ourselves, we are there for God. He is the audience, we are not! I fear, in fact I have seen many feel that church is mainly for them, that they are there to receive something. And it is for that reason that they are quick to hold on to traditions, because it is what comforts them, it is what pleases them. Indeed, tradition, is what gives some their worth.

As I have already said, I am not against all tradition. Many traditions are very much beneficial to the individual as well as the Bride of Christ as a whole. While there may not be anything sinful in our practices in and of themselves, I worry that we have forgotten that we are to esteem others above ourselves and that could very well mean that we need to set aside practicing our favorite things (as long as they are not actual commandments) in order that we might include those to whom our traditions mean next to nothing and have wonderful fellowship with one another, particularly the unchurched.

I want to end this entry with a quote from a man who was a greater pastor/preacher than I will ever be. This man's lecture series which became published under the title Preaching and Preachers has been invaluable to me and it is from this book that this quote comes. In it Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones also addresses the idol of traditionalism, and he says this, "How different the state of our churches would be if we were all as concerned to be orthodox in our beliefs as we are to be orthodox in our conformity to 'the thing to do' and 'the done thing' in the churches."

God's Blessings Through His Commands

It has been a little over two years since I have blogged. With the boom of everything viral and on the internet in general, I am quickly coming to the understanding that to be relevant to the next generation of unbeliever's I need to be more intentional and diligent in attempting to blog.

If you know me personally, you most likely know that my wife just gave birth to our fifth child. We are now the proud parents of three boys and two girls, ages 11-new born. Some may read that previous line and be expecting some parenting advice. That will not be the case. I am a father who fumbles over his duties more often than he would like to admit. (Though my wife I am sure would be able to share some wonderful insights if she ever chooses to blog.)

However, one thing about our son being born did strike me as a wonderful reminder of the blessings that God gives us through of all things the Law and His commands. When our first two boys were born they ended up being circumcised in the hosptial a day or two after they were born. However, two weeks ago when Alexander was born we were notified that there was no one on duty to perform the circumcision and so we took him home and called our family doctor (who is a believer) to perform the circumcision on what happened to be the eighth day since our baby boy's birth.

Which got me to thinking about the commandment God gave the Israelites about circumcising infants on the eighth day (Genesis 17:12). I have heard the comments in my limited experience as a full time Pastor that God has imposed harsh and unrealistic commands and expectations on us. Now I am in no way comparing Israel to the church in this little blog, it is a discussion for a different medium (and by one more trained then I), but I do want to discuss God's "imposition" on us.

While my wife and I were in the hospital this last time, we were told by the nurses that one of the shots they administered to the new borns was a shot of vitamin K. Vitamin K we were told was instrumental for our bodies to help clot our blood. We were also told that the human body does not produce vitamin K on its own until...can you guess it? Day 8!

Could you please explain to me how God through the command to circumcise on day 8 and not sooner can be considered harsh. God created us, He knows how our body works, He afterall formed it. When God told us to circumcise on day 8 he knew that the human body would finally be able to clot the blood that inevitably comes when a young boy is circumcised.

It is a blessing that God told us to wait! I hate to imagine how many tragadies would have happened before the Israelites figured out not to circumcise as soon as the babies were born, or on day two, or on day three...

If it is true that God actually blessed us when considering the command to circumcise on day 8, could it not be true for other commands as well? I am convinced that yes, God does makes commands of His creation (and He has every right to do so) because it brings Him glory. But, He also makes commands of us, because it blesses His creation, which in turn brings Him glory. It is a cyclical argument. And we cannot afford to miss it.

If you and I simply recognize God's commands as bringing Him glory, we can easily and quickly perceive Him, as many do, as a harsh dictator. However, if we recognize only that His commands are for our benefit, we end up promoting the "social gospel", benefitting others, without calling sinners to repentance.

To sum up. God has the right to make demands of His creation; and His demands are indeed instilled to bring Him glory. However, God's commands also bring upon us, His creation, blessings.

Will you not choose today to obey His commands to bring Him glory AND to be blessed?

Who are you a slave to?

Who will you follow?
Slave or free?

In the time we have had together this weekend we have been challenged considerably. We started out Friday evening comparing and contrasting the leadership qualities of Jesus Christ versus the religious leaders of His day. We followed that up with a close look at the Holy Trinity and the unique relationship they had with each other. We discovered or were reminded, that while each member of the Trinity is equal in worth, both God the Son and God the Spirit have subjugated themselves to another authority namely that of God the Father.

With that foundation laid down we were able to better appreciate Nick’s topic yesterday afternoon, the topic of the Biblical Structure of the home. While each member of the family is equal in worth, some are called to lead with love, while others are commanded to submit with humility.

Nick did a wonderful job yesterday afternoon confronting us parents in a loving way to model the characteristics of servant leadership in our homes, and just in case you took issue with anything he had to say, for a couple of bucks I could give you his phone number.

But, seriously this is a tough subject to work through. It is difficult to ponder the truths of leadership by biblical standards versus what the world portrays to true leadership. We have all seen countless movies or other dramatizations of the “My way or the highway,” screaming and cursing football coach who leads his team to victory through nothing but spite, or some other character who shows what some call “true grit.”
Might makes right we are told.

Where as we are told that is “real” leadership, we are taught something completely different in the pages of scripture. I hope that we have made that abundantly clear this weekend, I hope that we have challenged you to model, that which Christ has modeled, namely servant leadership.

But, Chris, some of you might be saying. I don’t really believe the Bible. I am not constrained the same way that you are to its teaching. Sure it is a book calling us to morality and for that I am grateful, but I am free to make my own choices, and to be honest I feel I am a pretty good person. I am not a murderer; I don’t make a habit out of lying. I obey the laws, and pay my taxes. I’m a good o’ boy or girl.

If you haven’t listened to what anyone else had to say this weekend, I pray you listen to the message this morning. The message I have prepared took on a life of its own. It isn’t the message I planned on preparing, but as I began working on it I really felt the Lord drawing me in this direction. I have probably prayed and pondered over this message more than any other I have prepared before.

We are surrounded by a culture that tells us that we can be our own person. Even within the circles of so called evangelism we hear cries of be the best person, you can be. We can have what we want, when we want it, and there are really no consequences for a selfish lifestyle of me, me, me. The common cry of the salesman is “Don’t you think you deserve this, or finally get what you have always deserved.” Unfortunately, that cry is becoming more and more the cry from behind the pulpit. But, is that what scripture teaches? Does the Bible really say that you can have your cake and eat it too?

No, here is the dichotomy that scripture teaches; what we truly do deserve, no one really wants, and what we really want we don’t really deserve. What we want is for everyone to follow our rules. We want to be the moral compass; we want all the power with none of the responsibility. And what we do indeed deserve, is eternal pain and suffering. Not a very popular stance. God has a very high standard for us to live, a perfect standard actually and no one sitting in here this morning has met that standard. And if we miss this standard, which we all have, God says there are eternal consequences for disobedience.

Now play along with me if you would. Some of you may be asking yourself what are God’s standards? (Wait for response) Well, thank you for asking; let’s take a look at them:

(Read from Bible) Exodus chapter twenty verses 1-17, “Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2’I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3You shall have no other gods before Me.

4You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the firth and the forth generations of those who hate me, 6but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

8Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

13You shall not murder.

14You shall not commit adultery.

15You shall not steal.

16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

So let’s review quickly the Ten Commandments are what?

1) You shall have no other Gods before me.
2) You shall not make yourself an idol.
3) You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.
4) Remember the Sabbath.
5) Honor your father and mother.
6) You shall not murder.
7) You shall not commit adultery.
8) You shall not steal.
9) You shall not bear false witness (lie).
10) You shall not covet.

Look over them real quick. How do you fair? Well most of us would pass #6 I think. But, I know I have often in times coveted especially the latest and greatest of gadgets, like Tyler’s Blackberry. And much to my wife’s delight I am ok on #7. But, I know I have lied countless times, like if I were to say Tyler let me see that Blackberry, I promise I’ll give it back. This really would be breaking three of the commandments, coveting, lying and stealing.

I attend church every week as I am sure some of you do too. But, I have not always been honoring to my mom and dad, and neither have our ranch guys or they wouldn’t be here in the program.
But, I want you all to take a moment and look at these and really try to measure up. Still think you are a “good” person? (Pause for a moment)

I want you now to look at something Jesus said in Matthew 5:27, 28, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’”

So just by looking at a guy or girl lustfully, I have already committed adultery? Yup! A radical statement, and let’s be honest guys, we all have done that. So according to Jesus, all of us men have committed adultery. How do you look according to the Ten Commandments now?

Let’s just say for argument’s sake that you have never made an idol, never took the Lord’s name in vain, always honored your parents, never coveted Tyler’s Blackberry or anything else, not murdered, or looked after someone lustfully. You have always honored God as God, always honored the Sabbath; never stole a thing. But, there was a time (and since it is a fictional story it was a very long time ago, you were still in diapers) where you told a little white lie, nothing major, but it was dishonest none the less. I don’t think there is anyone like that on the entire planet, let alone in this small room. But, what if?

Listen to what Jesus’ own brother said. James 2:10 tells us, “For who ever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point he has become guilty of all.” If you have ever miss stepped, now matter how small the offense, no matter how short the time, no matter how long ago, you have become guilty of all the law!

Listen to Romans. A lot of us know these passages, but they are an important reminder. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We see something similar in Romans 3:12, “All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.” This is a quote from both Psalm 14 and Psalm 51.

So, what if God doesn’t think that I am a good person, I think I am a good person. It is easy to feel that way in our culture. We are told from our earliest age that we are a by product of either our nature (how we are made), or our nurture (how we were raised). Either way our faults are to be blamed on our parents, after all their DNA produced who we are, or the way they brought us up did, or some combination of the two.
It’s all their fault.

Which kind of makes me laugh; we don’t give our parents credit for our accomplishments. Shouldn’t the same rules apply? Either their DNA or how they raised us really made us achieve what we did. That is the same argument, and yet no one wants to give someone else credit for the accomplishments, why then do they try to blame someone else for their short comings? You can’t have it both ways it is one or the other.

Make no mistake, our choices have a much bigger impact on who we are than we will hear from the society that surrounds us. And we know that to be true. We understand right and wrong, we understand good and evil. We were created by a God who leaves His imprints around and within us.

If you have been around me enough you will have heard these verses before. Romans 1:19, “Because that which is known about God is evident with them; for God has made it evident to them.” How does God make Himself evident to us? The very next verse says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

We can see God in creation, but is that the only place He makes Himself evident to us? Well I am glad you asked, Romans 2:15, “They show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”

Ladies and Gentlemen: within each of us is enough of an understanding of God and His law for us to understand at any given time if what we are doing is right or wrong, honoring to God or honoring to ourselves, glorify God or serving our own selfish desires. Whether we have a relationship with Jesus Christ or not.

What does that mean? To surmise, we all understand that we are a sinful people. We all understand our need for a Savior. We all understand without it, we will suffer eternal consequences. Exodus 34:7b, “Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” Romans 6:23a, “For the wages of sin is death.”
This is great Chris, as if I didn’t have enough complexes in my life thank you for showing me how ugly person I really am. That is not really my intent, but we need to all start from the same place. Before we can build and grow in any sort of faith we need to start from the same foundation. Believe me, I do feel like the last person who should be teaching on a subject like this, and that statement is not some attempt at false humility. I truly feel the closer I get to and the better I understand God, the more dirty and ugly I am.

We are in the same boat here. The only difference might be in our response to the texts we have read this morning. We need to ask ourselves who we are going to follow.

We now all have a choice; we can be a slave to sin. We can choose to not follow Christ; we can try to fool ourselves into being our own person. But, the fact of the matter is, that there is no such thing as being your own person. This was actually a major contributor to original sin.

Let us look back at the scene in the Garden of Eden. God finished His greatest creation, that of man, He gave Adam a companion, recognizing that it is not good for man to be alone. And then who enters the scene next? (Wait for response) The serpent right? And what does he say to Eve? (Wait for response) Yeah, he says God didn’t really say what He actually said. He plants a seed of doubt in Eve. He prompts Adam and Eve to disregard God’s authority and instead make a claim at their own authority, which they had no right to make.

Play by your own rules he says. Do what you want, get that thing that you have always deserved. (Remember the salesman’s greatest pitch that is sounded more and more often from behind the pulpit?) What did Adam and Eve do? They by the pitch hook, line and sinker. That sounds great, they said. I am always wanted to be in control, I have always to make my own rules.

The original sin wasn’t just a direct disobedience of God, though it was that, the underlining and greater offense was Adam and Eve’s attempt to over throw the throne. And instantly they and in turn all of us became slaves to sins powerful and unrelenting grasp.

I am not a slave to any one or anything. You are being a little hyper-critical of people. Slavery is not an image I am comfortable with, after all aren’t you aware of our history in this country, it still has repercussions today.

Yes, of course I am aware of the history of this country and yes, I am too a bit uneasy with the language, but it is not a word I choose to use. The Bible uses it; the Bible teaches that you are either a slave to sin or a slave to Christ. I am just doing my best to teach what scripture teaches.

Listen to Romans 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.” Now this might not be true of everyone in this room, but, if you know Christ as Lord and Savior of your life then he has freed you from the slavery of sin. If you don’t know Christ as Lord in your life then you are still a slave to sin. That what this verse is saying, they are not my words, but indeed the Word of God.

I wish I had time this morning to go through Romans chapter six in its entirety and all of its implications this morning but I do not. I would challenge all of you, however, to read it for yourself. It is a poetic song of joy for those of us who have Christ. It is a victorious march of His conquering of sin on our behalf. And it is a challenge to search your conscience for those who don’t know Christ as Lord and Savior. It is one of the most fantastic and one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible.

I do, however, want to go to one more verse that I feel is the flip side of the coin to verse 6. Romans 6:22, says, “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”

Verse 22 says; that if Christ is Lord in our life, we are still slaves, but no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to Christ, God Himself. Verse six says that without Him we are slaves to sin. Verse 22 says that if we know Him, we are still slaves, but now we as slaves answer to a Master who cares for us.

We have seen clearly that the Word of God tells us that without following Christ, we are indeed being fooled by Satan and are slaves to sin. No matter what society would tell you, you are not your own person. If you choose to not follow Christ, you are choosing to be a slave to sin. You are not, nor can you be your own person.

How can a slave be his or her own person? A slave has a master he or she is to answer to. If you are sitting here this morning thinking you are your own man or woman, let me say you are a fool; you are actually a servant to a harsh master a master that goes by the name of sin.

There is a choice though; you can choose to follow a kind and gentle master, you can choose to follow a master who cares for you; Jesus Christ.

Let me ask you, what does a slave have to do? (Wait for an answer) Well, in short a slave does whatever the master asks of Him, especially if he wants to earn his masters favor. What does Christ our Master ask of us? Quite a lot actually, in John 14:15 Jesus says, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

Not just some of His commands, but all of them. Jesus asks a lot, He gave us a lot of commands. If any of you want a good read on this topic, I would encourage you to pick up a copy of John Piper’s book, What Jesus Demands from the World, it is a wonderful read.

But, in the context of this weekend, I would remind you that Christ, God the Son, led with love and He also submitted with humility. Even though He needn’t have submitted to anyone, He lived it out and He asks us to do the same.

If you are already following Christ, if He is already your Lord and Savior, how well are you emulating Him? Are you leading through servant-hood or are you brash and harsh with those He has entrusted to you?

If you do not know Him, let me ask, how does your master sin treat you? Does your master treat you with love and humility?

Today is the day to make a change. Change is never easy. No one likes change. We still though, are all called to be conformed into the image of Christ, and it is worth the struggle. The question now remains, to whom or what are you willing to follow? Or perhaps a better question is to whom or what are you a slave to?