Ministry: For Our Convenience or God's Glory

Micah was unable to worship in Jerusalem so he built a shrine in the hill country of Ephraim.  His mother assisted him in purchasing a graven image made of silver by the local silver smith.  Micah installed one of his sons as priest of his shrine and in those days Israel had no ruler and the people did what was right in their own eyes. (1)

A young man from Bethlehem, from the tribe of Levi, was traveling through the area and he came upon Micah's house and Micah asked him, "Where are you from?"  The Levite said, "I am from Bethlehem and I'm looking for a place to stay." (2)  Micah then made him an offer he couldn't refuse:  "Live with me and be my priest and I'll give you ten shekels of silver a year and I'll clothe you and feed you."

  

Some time later the Danites would invade the land of Laish, home of Micah.  They stole the silver images and ravaged his temple and asked the Levite priest to leave Micah and come with them.  "Isn't it better that you serve a tribe rather than one man's household." (3)  These words brought gladness to the heart of the priest and he followed them with enthusiasm. 

Paris Reidhead addresses the issue of utilitarian religion and expedient Christianity in his sermon, Ten Shekels and a Shirt. (4)  Utilitarianism is defined as an ethical theory that holds to the idea that the proper course of action is always the one that maximizes one's overall 'happiness' .  The morality of any action is determined by the consequences of that action, the resulting outcome.  (5)  In expedient Christianity the end becomes more important than the means to achieving that end.

Were we to apply this pragmatic standard to the ministries of some of the Bible's greatest men they would be judged to be men who had failed miserably.    John the Baptist was able to conjure up a few disciples but it seems he was lacking in the skills of diplomacy.  Rather than stay on the side of political correctness, he spoke truth to the king and he lost his head as a result.  By today's standards he was a failure.

Noah was a great builder of boats.  He built a vessel that endured the greatest flood in world history but as an evangelist, as a soul winner, he might be considered an utter failure.  When the rains came and the earth filled with water he had only convinced seven people, his own family, to follow God.  A hundred years of labor, a magnificent boat and seven converts…he would be categorized as a colossal failure in the mega-church mentality of the modern world.

The definition of success has changed down through the ages.  The modern church has been infected by the philosophies of the culture.  God-centered doctrines like salvation and eternal destiny have been replaced by man-centered beliefs in political correctness, self-esteem and acquired prosperity.  Modern ministers have been distracted from the truth by the philosophies of humanism.  These cancerous beliefs have been inching their way through the church for over 150 years until we now no longer question them, but willfully embrace them.

Humanists believe that the chief end of all being is the happiness of man.  Achieving that goal is justified no matter what means are required to get there.  If power is what makes you happy then by all means, strive for power, even if it means stepping on some and wounding others to achieve your goal.  Hitler believed that happiness would only come to men through a pure race.  He justified his racism and his murder as an ugly necessity to reach a worthy means:  the happiness of man.

Humanism has so saturated our culture that we have become sex-crazed.  The idea that the primary reason for living is to satisfy ourselves has led to an over-indulgence in sexual experiences.  Salvation no longer has anything to do with the soul but everything to do with the fulfillment of our sensual desires. 

Humanism has education has become a shell game.  It is no longer subject-centered.  It is now child-centered.  The Three R's have been cast aside in favor of ensuring the happiness of the child.  Failing grades are no longer distributed to those who are slack in their preparation for fear of wounding their self-esteem.  Subject matter is being scrapped in favor of allowing the pupils to find themselves.  The question is no longer "Is the child learning?"  The question now is "Is the child happy?"

If the goal of the environmentalist is to create an environment that will contribute to the happiness of man they will go to any means to achieve that goal.  They will suppress the poor, they will destroy national economies and they will become violent if necessary.

Even murder is condoned if it will lead to the happiness of man.  The life of an unborn infant is expendable if it causes inconvenience or threatens the happiness of the mother.  It is a sad state of affairs when our minds are so warped as to believe that our own happiness has more value than the life of another.

So many modern day ministers propagate the humanist philosophy by declaring that God is primarily concerned with the happiness of man.  This teaching borders on blasphemy.  How dare we elevate ourselves to a level of such importance! This violates the spirit of John who said, "He (Jesus) must become greater and greater and I must become less and less."  (6)   Our earthly happiness is a by-product of a saving relationship with God.  The primary goal of a Christian is not his own self-serving goal of happiness.  Rather, it is to bring glory to God. 

The Levite was more interested in utilitarian Christianity.  How much will I get paid and what benefits are available to me?  When the Danites came along with a better deal, the Levite was only too eager to graze on greener grass.  His concern was, "What is in it for me?"  How rare is the man who will ask, "In what way might I best bring glory to God?"

Paul wrote to the Romans, "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator…"  (7)  The truth is that the chief end of man is to bring glory to the God who created him.  The lie that has replaced this truth is that the chief end of man is his own happiness.  Truth happiness can never be found when in pursuit of a lie. 

1.       Judges 17:5

2.      Judges 17:9

3.      Judges 18:19

4.      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76BUB9IchNU

5.      http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/utilitarianism?s=t

6.      John 3:30

7.      Romans 1:25 

Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.

Pulling The “Don’t Judge Me” Card.

Love Not The World



A recent poll indicated that 80% of Americans claimed to be Christians. Can you possibly imagine the impact on our culture of 80% if us were true, genuine followers of Jesus Christ. There must certainly be a lot of people deceived into believing that they are truly Christian. It would seem it is the proper or cool thing to claim a type of nominal Christianity but in fact, genuine Christianity is not cool in our culture. What is cool is to muddy the name of Christ and people do that in two ways:

1.) Many out and out deny that Christ exists. They claim to be atheist. They feel a certain sense of relief if God doesn’t exist. If there is no God they can be their own gods.

The humanist hates the Christian who claims that Jesus is God because if Jesus is God, he isn’t. He doesn’t want to answer to a more powerful and moral being. And besides, he will get a lot of attention by stirring up his religious friends and relatives if he claims atheism.

The atheist reminds me of the athlete who hits a homerun or scores a touchdown and then stands in the end-zone beating his chest and pumping his fist and pointing his finger at himself desiring the admiration and worship of millions because of his athletic feat. In reality he is a little parasite who does not seem to realize that he could not even walk or breath accept for the grace of a God that does exist.

2.) They claim Christianity but they live in sin. Many have a crazy idea that they can be Christians and still have a strong love for sin and the world. A true Christian is sensitive to sin. A true Christian keeps the commandments of God and he is grieved in his heart if he fails. He repents with great sorrow when he hurts the heart of God.

There is one, I’ll refrain from naming her, who has become a cultural icon in America and she makes a claim to be a Christian. I’ve seen her recent video. I’ve seen the way she dresses. I’ve always been told “If it looks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, then it is a duck.” I will say with full assurance and on the authority of God’s word that a woman who spouts those words and promotes a sinful, sex-saturated lifestyle has a master and he is not the holy God of scripture. I see a woman who loves the pleasures the world can offer her and she wants others to share in her lust for depravity.

By now you may be asking, “How can you be so judgmental?” If God chooses you to point out the sins of the artificial Christian or of the blatant sinner you will feel their seething hatred. You may be surprised how many people can’t quote John 3:16 but they can quote Matthew 7:1. It’s the flagship verse used to checkmate and handcuff the Christian who would dare challenge the politically correct thought of the present age.

Matthew 7:1 “Judge not…that you be not judged.”

This verse is often taken out of context. Satan uses this verse just as he did the verses he shared while tempting Jesus in the wilderness. You can separate a verse in the Bible and make it say anything you like. But read all of Chapter 7. Verses 15 and 16 say “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.”

There is a final judgment that is holy and untouchable and belongs to God alone and we are not to interfere or meddle with that judgment.

Divine judgment is not our realm. But we all make judgments here on earth and God expects us to. The policeman who sees a man enter a bank carrying a gun is going to make a judgment. If I tell my son to stay out of the cookie jar yet I see cookie crumbs on his mouth I’m going to make a judgment. We can and must make biblically-based judgments regarding the cultural icons of our day. We will fail our children and the next generation if we refuse to judge the music they listen to, the videos they watch and the cultural heroes they idolize. What we must not do is make a judgment without love. Many who say “Don’t judge me” are actually pleading, “Still love me.”

Genuine Christians have no love for the sinful things of the world. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15) Why not love the world? Because God’s word says that “the world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” – (1 John 2:17)
The great deception of Satan is that those things in the world will bring you satisfaction. We binge on food and we only want more. We binge on drugs and alcohol and them we want more. We binge on sex and we binge on materialism and possessions and wealth and we only want more. Jesus counteracts this ‘great deception’ by telling us “there is an everlasting stream of living water that flows from Calvary.” It is never ending. You may drink from this fountain and you will be entirely satisfied. This precious flow will take away your lust for sin and for the world and once you taste its sweetness you will want only to share in the holiness of God and experience the joy and fullness of his salvation forever and ever.

During WWII, Adolph Hitler had a plan for the destruction of England’s economy. It was a great deception. He never did employ it so we will never know if it would have been successful. He wanted to make millions of dollars (pounds) in counterfeit money and drop them from the air all over London and other British cities. The Brits would run out into the streets and hoard the money. The infiltration of these counterfeit monies would destroy the British economy.

Satan’s plan is to infiltrate the church with so much false doctrine so as to destroy the church. He wants to dress it up so it appears to be genuine. He wants to fill our pulpits with false prophets who will declare these lies to be truths and who will bring great confusion to the church.
There is a great lie that has invaded the church today. The lie is that God no longer has a standard for righteousness. He no longer has any requirement for entering into the kingdom. You can have your cake and eat it too. You get to choose your own standard of morality. You can do what you want to and still claim Christianity as long as you said that little prayer of repentance somewhere along the way you’re in.

Genuine Christianity demands a genuine repentance accompanied by genuine faith which qualifies us for a genuine salvation bought by the precious blood of a genuine Savior. Believing and doing are twin sisters. When we strive to live up to God’s standard (doing) of holiness we demonstrate to the world what we believe and whom we love.

Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.

Satan: Master Deceiver and Father of Lies

Many years ago the Coca-Cola Company devised a marketing scheme that they thought would bring in millions of dollars. They thought their customers wanted something new. So, they marketed New Coke. Bill Cosby was the celebrity spokesman pushing the new product. But the company discovered their customers didn’t want New Coke. They liked Coke just the way it was. There was something too artificial about the new product. So, Coca-Cola discarded the new product and returned to the “Original Formula.”
Do you ever feel like you live in an artificial world? I find myself squeezing the leaves of plants to see if they are real or artificial. Athletes play on artificial grass. Some trees are artificial. They have formulated artificial pine straw. Scientists seem well on their way to developing artificial intelligence. Many argue over the morality of cloning or making artificial human beings.
Can Satan clone a Christian? Our culture is full of artificial, synthetic Christians. The world is confused by bogus Christianity. True Christians are burdened and disgusted by the fabricated sham. The voices of millions of genuine Christians are added to the voices of a million angels and they cry out for the original formula, they want the real deal because it is the only Christianity that can bring honor and glory to God.
Rev. 12:9 refers to Satan as the great “deceiver of the whole world.”
Jesus said of Satan, “He is a liar and the father of lies.” He has been a liar from the beginning.
Adam and Eve were pure. They had not been corrupted by sin. They weren’t born with a sinful nature like you and I. Yet they fell from grace. Satan, the master deceiver slipped up on Eve in the garden and said to her, “It’s OK to eat from the tree of knowledge. If you eat your eyes will be opened, you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So she ate and she shared the deception with her husband Adam.
(Gen. 3:13) “Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
But God held Adam and Eve responsible for believing the lie. They couldn’t shuck it off on Satan. They failed to cling to the truth and they gave themselves to a lie.
Over the millenniums, Satan has employed two methods in his attempt to destroy man.
1.) He persecuted the church. This method backfired on him. It was Tertullian who observed that “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” It was like cutting a star fish in half. The star fish has an amazing ability to regenerate. It doesn’t die, it becomes two star fish. Killing a Christian didn’t mean you have one less Christian. A Christian’s death only served as a testimony that influenced ten more to give their hearts to Christ. The church grew exponentially.
Distressed by his failure to destroy the church through persecution, Satan devised a more effective method.
2.) He infiltrated the church. This method seems to be working quite well for him. Just sow weeds among the wheat. Throw in a few hypocrites and counterfeit the real thing. Post an artificial Christian here and one there. Infiltrate the ranks with a lot of shallow, weak, empty hearted nominal Christians. Christians who think they can live like the world lives. When they share their testimony the non-Christian will look at them and say, “There is no difference between you and I. You do the same things I do. You use the same language I use. You go to the same places I go. Why would I want your Christianity? It obviously has done nothing to change you!”
Satan is the master deceiver. He is an expert at persuading people to believe in something that is not true
Think of the devil as a good fisherman. You can’t just put a hook on a line and throw it in the water. No fish is going to swallow an empty hook. You have to deceive the fish. There are many different fish so you have to consider what the fish wants. Some fish are attracted to bright colors so you put on a flashy lure. Some fish want the real thing so you put on a thick, juicy worm. Some fish are not as smart as others and they will fall for a plastic worm. Satan isn’t doing this because he wants to feed the fish. He is doing it because he wants to eat the fish.
Beware of counterfeit Christians, beware of false prophets and false doctrines that Satan has weaseled into the true church of God. Be a Berean Christian and test the words and doctrines that are being taught from the pulpit and in small groups. “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
"Your enemy the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Pet. 4:8)
Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.