True Freedom

On Sunday, 9/11/2011, the tenth anniversary of the terrorist acts against the US, all across our nation, church services held some type of memorial to remember the events of that tragic morning. No doubt many of the pastors in those churches spoke about the freedoms we enjoy in our country. For example the freedom to worship God in public without threat of violence or imprisonment. Congregating in a church building at a set time is a freedom many Christians around the world do not have. Owning a Bible is a crime in many other countries. In our country the average household has several. Telling others about Jesus Christ can be punishable by death in many countries, yet we can stand on a street corner and preach or walk up to total strangers, hand out a tract and tell them about Christ. We can invite our neighbors over for a Bible study without fear of them turning us into the authorities and then being arrested, tortured or even executed. Yes, in the United States of America, we enjoy the freedom of religion.


The week prior, my wife and I were in Texas with our son Kyle, who was there speaking to various churches trying to raise support for his church back in Maple Ridge, Canada. He was scheduled to speak at a couple of churches on Sunday, 9/11. My wife mentioned he should say something about the freedoms that we have in our country. My son's reply struck a chord in me. He said what he'd like to preach about, but would only do in a church he wasn't seeking support from, was that we have the freedom in our country to ignore God, to turn our back on God, to deny the existence of God. And he's absolutely right. In our country we don't have to worship a god, whether the true God of the universe or some false god. We don't have to pray five times a day facing a certain way, making sure our bowing is in synchrony with everyone else around us. In our country it's okay to use the name of God in vain. It's okay to violate religious rules. Oh, and it's okay to not do any of the things mentioned above, like owning a Bible, meeting in a church building at a certain time, talking to others about Christ, or inviting our neighbors over for a Bible study, even if we ARE Christians.

In many countries, a person must profess a certain religion or risk being ostracized, tortured, beaten, even killed. And if the person does profess that religion, if they don't carry out the rituals perfectly, or obey all the rules, they can also be punished, even imprisoned. But not in our country. We can live our lives totally oblivious to the Truth, even blaspheme the God of the universe and not suffer any consequences. At least not from our fellow countrymen.

And yet, there are many people in our country who would take away the Christian's right to worship our God the way we feel led to. There are organizations that think any public expression of faith is “unconstitutional,” and would deny our rights to assemble in public or express our faith in public. These same organizations tend to align themselves with political ideology that would take away many other freedoms, ideology that says our government should tell us what to do, how to do it, and regulate every aspect of our lives. What these anti-religion organizations don't seem to take into consideration is that if they are not careful, the pendulum may swing too far their way and they many find themselves forced to behave in certain ways. Like many other countries, one predominant worldview could prevail and even be mandated. Then, we'll become just like those other countries.

And if Christians are not careful, we many find ourselves in the above situation because we take too much advantage of our own “freedom” to live our lives as WE want to live them. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful.” We can legally live our lives as if Christ doesn't really make a difference. We can gather on Sundays, sing worship songs while thinking about what we'll have for lunch, listen to a message while texting our friends, shake some hands, act all “Christianny” and then live the rest of the week just like everyone else. This we can do in our country. This we have the freedom to do. At least so far, the government will not imprison, torture, or execute us for this. We have this freedom. But is this a freedom we really want to take advantage of? Is it a freedom that we should take advantage of? It may be lawful, but is it helpful when we Christians live life the way we want to live, rather than how God wants us to live?

What is Your Worldview?

Let's start with a short quiz. Of the situations listed below, which one or ones has to do with spiritual concerns?

a) An abortion doctor is imprisoned for murder because he delivered at least seven babies live and then killed them with scissors.
b) Certain organizations within our country are planning and plotting the destabilization of our country in order that they may insert their political and social agenda.
c) Hundreds of people see Jesus weeping in a rock under a highway overpass and a shrine is built where many come to see the phenomena.
d) The governor of Wisconsin is sent death threats because he supports legislation to reign in public union activity in the educational system of his state.
e) A mother systematically drowns her five children, one after another and the authorities call it postpartum depression.
f) At a conference on health, one speaker said that “schizophrenia is a healthy, valid, desirable condition-- not a disorder.”

Most people, I believe, would answer C. And those people would only be partially right. All of the above have to do with spiritual concerns. All are cases of spiritual warfare. All are cases of the enemy of God sowing confusion, chaos, and deceit. The way we view these events is called our “worldview”.

A worldview is how we view the world. Makes sense, right? When we see events unfolding around us, what do we believe to be the cause? Do we believe the world is a random happenstance, or was the world created by an all-powerful being? Do we believe that we all are here for a purpose or are we an evolutionary accident? Do we believe that people are innately good or are they born sinners and are innately self-centered? Do we believe that things happen for a reason or do they happen by chance? Do we believe that humans are the top of the food chain and all that happens is by our doing, or do we believe that there are forces much greater than us?

Think about your answer to all the above questions. Then, regardless of your worldview, try reexamining the scenarios above while considering these ways of looking at our world. Try to think of everything in this world as being involved in spiritual warfare. We have an enemy. His name is Satan. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10-12).

And Satan was the most powerful angel who decided he wanted to become like God and was cast out of heaven down to earth, where, for a season, he has been given the right to rule (see Revelation 12). Paul calls the devil “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). Who are the sons of disobedience? They are those on earth that have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. No, I'm not saying those without Christ are devil worshippers. But, unwittingly, those without Christ do the bidding of Satan by being susceptible to his manipulations. And Satan does everything in his power to confuse people, to breed chaos, and to deceive people. We see this in Genesis, where the serpent comes and deceives Eve, leading her and Adam to sin, thus introducing death into the world. John, in Revelation 12, calls the devil “the deceiver of the whole world.”

Try thinking of everyone as being innately evil, born with the propensity to do wrong. Psalm 51:5 says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Thinking this way removes the confusion over seeing people who do something totally evil and unexplainable, like the woman who drowned her kids. Because we are all born with a sin nature, if we don't have Christ, the devil can prey on that nature and cause us to do things we “rationally” would not do. There is no good in us apart from what God gives us - “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24). Therefore, without Christ, we can be manipulated to do evil, even if we are generally a “good” person.

Try thinking that we are here purposefully, that God created the universe and each and every one of us and that He loves us and wants none of us to die without Him thus spending eternity in hell. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Now throw the enemy into the mix and you can see why the devil tries to confuse and deceive, as he wants as many souls as possible not to go to heaven. Try thinking this way, then re-examine the above scenarios.

I don't know about you, but often when I watch the news, talk to people, or hear of things going on in our world, I can only shake my head and wonder how people can be that way, how they can think the way they do and do the things they do. For example, one certain political philosophy has begun to align itself with Islam. This is the same political philosophy that heavily supports homosexuality and radical feminism. And they are embracing Islam, which teaches that women have no rights and that homosexuality is a grave abomination against their god. Does this make sense? Not on the surface. But from a spiritual sense it does as our enemy continues to try and confuse us and to reign chaos upon this world.

What should be our response? Do we condemn people when they do stupid, contradictory things? That would not be the response that Christ would have. We have to remember that people without Christ are under deception. They are slaves to their sin. Paul addressed the Galatian believers and said, “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods” (Galatians 4:8). In Romans 6 and 7 Paul talks about those without Christ being slaves to sin apart from God. And in Titus chapter 3, Paul says those without Christ are “slaves to various passions and pleasures.” A slave is compelled to do the will of his or her master. Thus those without Christ do the bidding of the devil. For us that know Christ, the only appropriate response is to pray for those under the yoke of the enemy, and, if God gives us the opportunity, to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. For their only hope is the grace of God.

Try viewing everything around you in spiritual terms. Try viewing everything as either bringing glory to God or fighting against God. By adjusting your worldview, you will begin to better understand the chaos and confusion around you. Try seeing everything through the eyes of Christ.

Self-Centeredness

I've become convinced that the single greatest problem in our world is self-centeredness. Back in the day of Christ, a man asked Jesus what was the greatest command. And Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord God with all your heart, and will all your soul, and with all your mind.” Then Jesus followed up with “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39). Jesus put this second command in an interesting way. He didn't just say, “You shall love your neighbor.” He said to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, knowing that we are full of self-love, that we are self-centered by nature.

The other day, I experienced an incredible act of self-centeredness. I was leaving our parking garage at work. It happened that this was the time that many people were leaving that same garage. There were two booths with attendants taking tickets and payments. I selected one that only had one car in it. And I sat. And I sat. And I waited. And I waited some more. In the car ahead of me, the lady driving decided it was a good time to strike up a lengthy conversation with the woman in the ticket booth. She talked, and talked, never once looking back to see the line of cars stacking up behind her. She was totally self-absorbed with no concern of anyone else's time. Even the ticket booth attendant glanced several times at the line of cars. The lady in the car kept on talking.

For some reason, driving a vehicle brings out the worst self-centered behavior. Think about it. Texting while driving is a extremely self-centered act. Actually, doing anything distracting while driving is self-centered. It's dangerous, and doing anything that endangers others while driving, is self-centered. An accident generally involves more than one vehicle. Even if it only involves one vehicle, it still causes delays for everyone else on the road who comes upon that accident. And thus, if we purposely do something that puts us at a greater risk of an accident, we are being self-centered. I won't even go into speeding, cutting in front of others, and failure to use turn signals.

The Bible says, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). Even things like excessive drinking, excessive gambling, smoking, and over-eating are self-centered acts. Alcoholics, drug addicts, smokers who contract smoking related illnesses impact more than just themselves. They impact others around them such as their family. These things also affect insurance rates and medical costs, thus they impact all of us. The addict is the ultimate self-centered person. They have nothing in mind other than satisfying their craving. There is rarely any thought of how their behavior affects others.

Are people capable of self-sacrifice? Sure we are. Thousands of people respond to natural disasters, such as the tornado in Joplin, MO, either by going and helping or by contributing money and things. For example, a local restaurant this past weekend did a fund raiser for those people. People lined up outside the door before the restaurant even opened. People can be others-centered. But, is that the way we live our life? For Christians, Jesus is our model of how to live. And He lived everyday for others. Do we even live an hour a day for others? I know, some of you are saying, hey, I'm a parent, I live everyday for my kids. Yes, and I've witnessed some of the most incredible acts of self-centeredness by parents on behalf of their kids. There are examples in the Bible, such as in Matthew 20:20-23, where a mother asks Jesus that her sons be allowed to sit on either side of Christ in heaven. What do you think her true motivation was? Was is really for her sons or for herself? And even if her motivation was directed at her sons, it's still a self-centered act as this woman gives no thoughts to others outside her immediate family. Self-centeredness is not always directed only at self, but can be directed at our immediate circle.

Even when we perform acts of kindness or acts of self-sacrifice, we have to check our motives. Why are we doing it? Are we trying to assuage a guilty conscience? Have we reached a point where we've been so self-involved that we do something for someone else just so we can relieve that guilt? Are we doing what we're doing because it's trendy? Are we doing what we're doing in order to look good? In Matthew 6:1, Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” I've seen this in the form of bragging, telling all about how someone helped out someone else. Maybe the motivation started out pure, but ended up being all about the person who was doing the helping out.

Why should we do things for others? Again, we should be modeling our life after Jesus. For a Christian, it should be a way of life. We should be others-centered because Christ commands us to be, and we should be following His commands because we love Him (John 14:15).

Chuck Swindol once said about obeying Christ, that we should just do it, and eventually, the joy will come. That's great advice as far as serving others as well. Let's start with serving others because we know we don't do it enough. Eventually, we'll find the true joy that God gives us in putting Him and others first and it will become natural for us.

Oh, and don't think I have this thing licked myself. As Romans 2:1 says, “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” This is one of the areas in my life that God continually works on. I admit, I have a long ways to go.

Religion Versus Faith

The other day, I participated in an interview and the interviewee said something that struck me and got me thinking. That's usually the way these things start for me, I hear something, read something, see something that gets me thinking about Christianity and voila, a blog pops out. Fiction writing is kind of the same way for me, but I digress.

Anyway, this person said that for him his religion comes first, his family second, others third, and himself last. A very noble, Christian thing to say. And by no means am I doubting his sincerity or judging him. I'm sure he meant what he said. What struck me, though, was the thing he put first, his “religion”. I would have expected either God or faith. That's what set me thinking, why did I expect something different?

We'll leave this interviewee out of the rest of this and concentrate on Christians in general. What is religion and what is faith? Colossians 2:20-23 says, “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations – 'Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch' (referring to things that all perish as they are used) – according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”

There are some key things being stated in this passage from Paul. Ritual, made up of rules, regulations, and laws that are “self-made religion” is the issue Paul is addressing. Religion is man-made. Faith is a gift from God (1Corinthians 12:9). Religion is something we can hide in to satisfy our conscience. A ritual we can perform to say, “See God, I'm following your rules.” Religion is something we wear on Sundays and then discard Monday through Saturday. And like Paul says, these things, “have indeed an appearance of wisdom”, but in reality they are not what God desires. Attending church is a good thing. But, when we attend church out of obligation, out of ritual it becomes “religion” in the sense Paul is talking about. When we say a rote prayer in church or at the dinner table or before going to bed without any true feeling behind it, we're engaging in ritual and it's meaningless.

Religion is what we do. Faith is what we are. We practice religion. We are a person of faith. If we have faith and we're not just practicing a religion, God should permeate everything we do. Paul goes on to show in Colossians 3 what true faith should look like. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:2). “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5). “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” (Colossians 3:8-10).

Religion is something that is of the world. It is the set of rules and regulations that man has made in order to appear to follow God or a god. There are many religions in the world. All of them do the same thing. They try to achieve a holiness by following a set of precepts. God did not give us the law because he expected us to follow it. He gave us the law to show us that we could not follow it and that we need a savior, who is Jesus Christ. There is only one true faith (Ephesians 4:5).

James reinforces what Paul says about religion. In James 1:26-27, he writes, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

Don't take James' words wrong and make a religion out of them by thinking that the way to God is to visit orphans and widows. That was an example. It's that last part that brings home James' point. To “keep oneself unstained from the world”. And regarding visiting orphans and widows, and doing any good work, for that matter, if we do these things out of obligation, they are part of our religion. If we do them out of love for Christ and because we feel compelled to do them, they are part of our faith, they are who we are. Religion says, “I believe in God” and we go on to do things, like bow to the east five times a day, to prove how religious we are. Faith says, “I am God's” and we do things from the love that is inside us. We do things because we love Jesus and we want to please our Father who is in heaven.

Do you practice religion or do you have faith in Jesus Christ?

Tattoos and God

I am amazed at the number of people who have tattoos these days. People I would never have suspected have one on their ankle or foot or on their shoulder, or other places. And with youth, it’s a big thing now, even Christian youth. Getting a tattoo has never been high on my bucket list. And I wonder how those who get a tattoo when they’re young will feel about it when they’re in their fifties, sixties, or seventies.

Regardless of personal taste, is getting a tattoo a sin?

Some would say that the Bible is pretty clear on the subject. Leviticus 19:28 says, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.” This seems pretty straightforward. God says don’t do it. Therefore, if we do something God says not to do then we’ve committed a sin. But this raises several questions for me.

Let’s first take the angle that getting a tattoo at all, for any reason, is a sin. I go to the tattoo parlor and allow the artist to burn into my skin a picture. I’ve committed a sin. If I come to my senses and confess and repent of that sin, is that it? The tattoo still exists. Do I sin every time I display the tattoo? Or is the sin done and over with since I did it, confessed and repented? Do I have to remove the tattoo in order to atone for the sin? Ah, but we can no longer atone for sin, since Jesus was the ultimate atonement. Or is the consequence just a constant reminder of my momentary rebellion toward God? Will the guilt I’ll feel at violating God’s command be my penalty? Sin has consequences so I guess if getting a tattoo is a sin, the consequence (besides the exorbitant price I paid for someone to mutilate my body) is that reminder of my sin.

Others would argue that the list of rules found in Leviticus 19 is part of the sacrificial law and that Christ came and fulfilled the sacrificial law. Since we now live under grace and not under law, those rules do not apply to us. Maybe. We certainly do not live under the sacrificial law. We don’t have to take a lamb to the priest and have its throat cut to atone for our sin. Is the list in Leviticus 19 part of the sacrificial law? I don’t know. As the title of my blog says, I’m not a theologian. That’s just too heavy of a subject to dive into.

I’d like to look at tattoos in a different light. The same light I look at a lot of things that I could or could not do.

First, how about a couple other scriptures from the New Testament. Oh, but before that, one more from Leviticus 19. In verses 1 and 2, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.”’”

I bring in this scripture because in Matthew 5:48, Jesus says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

No matter what you think about the list in Leviticus 19, one thing is clear, verse 2 is still a valid command. However, that’s actually not why I bring that verse in. Here are a couple more verses to get our mind in the right place before I give my take on the whole tattoo thing.

1Corinthians 10:23-24 says, “’Everything is permissible’—but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”

And, later in that same chapter, Paul says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.” (1Corinthians 10:31-33).

Take a look again at the three sets of scriptures above. Be holy or perfect. Everything is allowed, but not everything is beneficial. Whatever you do, do for the glory of God. And for kickers, don’t do something that could be a stumbling block for someone else to come to Christ.

Let’s put this all together and relate tattoos to it. Here’s my question to you if you’re contemplating a tattoo. Why do you want this tattoo? God said, everything is permissible. Therefore, according to the New Testament, you can get that tattoo if you want to. But why are you getting it? Is it to bring glory to God? Or is it to show off yourself? Is it to honor God? Or is it to be cool? If it’s to honor yourself or to be cool, then it’s not getting the tattoo that’s the possible sin. It’s your attitude, your pride, your arrogance. That is the sin. This violates a direct command from God – a New Testament command - whatever you do, do for the glory of God. Willfully doing something that you know is not for the glory of God is a sin.

Can you get a tattoo for the glory of God? Steven Curtis Chapman and his family - both sons and his wife - all got tattoos to memorialize his five year old daughter who was killed in an accident. Is this honoring God? I really can’t answer that. God knows the hearts of the Chapman family, I don’t. On the surface, it certainly appears to be an honorable reason. Another example. Could you get a tattoo of, say, a cross, as a way to open doors to witness?

How about another set of scriptures from 1Corinthians, this time verses 9:19-9:23: “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”

I could envision a situation where a Christian, who hangs out with a certain type of crowd where tattoos are the norm, getting a tattoo himself or herself in order to fit in enough to make an impact on that crowd for Christ.

But what if another person hangs out with a crowd who thinks tattoos are evil? If this person gets a tattoo, they are possibly causing their friends to stumble and may be preventing them from coming to Christ or may be preventing them from growing in their Christian walk.

Are tattoos forbidden by the Bible? I’m not sure I’ve answered that question. I’m not sure I can answer that question. I hope the scriptures I’ve provided, along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, will allow you to answer that question for yourself. As for me, I’ll keep my skin free of tattoos and try to live my life for the glory of God. And, really, that’s the bottom line. Whenever we set out to do something, we should ask ourselves why we’re doing it. Is it to honor God or ourselves? If the former, go for it. That’s between you and God. If it’s the latter, beware. God doesn’t take kindly to idolatry. I’ll leave as a homework assignment for the reader to review Acts chapter 5 and the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They did something good, at least what most of us would think is good. They gave money to the common cause, but with the wrong motive. And what happened to them? Read the chapter and find out.

Until next time, do all for the glory of God.

Biblical Baptism

This year our church did a push for baptism. We had at least forty-four people come forward and be baptized that day. Praise the Lord. Some of these had even been baptized before, as babies. But they had not been Biblically baptized. So what is Biblical Baptism? Isn’t all baptism the same?

There are many traditions surrounding baptism and there are many beliefs about baptism that are not based on the Bible. For example, some denominations baptize babies in the belief that this washes away their original sin. Other denominations sprinkle. Some will sprinkle babies, some will sprinkle anyone. Some denominations don’t baptize at all nor encourage baptism in any way.

To start, let’s lay out the principles of Biblical baptism and then I’ll give the scriptural basis for each of these principles.

Baptism does not give a person salvation. Baptism does not wash away our sins. Baptism is to be done by full immersion in water. Baptism is only to be done after a person has accepted Christ. Baptism is one of two ordinances that Christ has commanded us to do, the other being the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is an outward symbol of the inward transformation we go through when we have been born again.

Ephesians 4:4-6 says, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

There is only one baptism and that is the way the Bible describes it.

Why baptize? For starters, we are commanded to do so by Christ. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” All throughout the book of Acts, we see stories of people being baptized.

And, Jesus himself was baptized. Matthew 3:13-17 says:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

This passage shows us that baptism is important. So important that Jesus himself asked to be baptized in order to “fulfill all righteousness”. This passage also shows that the act of baptism certainly does not give one salvation. Jesus was the son of God and God Himself. He hardly needed to be given salvation. Next, this passage shows that baptism is by immersion not sprinkling. For, Jesus “went up out of the water”. He was in a river to be baptized, not having some water dribbled over Him. Finally, this passage shows us the purpose of baptism. When Christ came up out of the water, “the Spirit of God descending like a dove” was seen, showing all that were watching that baptism is a symbol of our receiving the Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:3-4 confirms the symbolism and public profession of baptism. “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Picture the act of baptism. We are buried with Christ – submerged under water, then raised from the dead – raised out of the water, so that we may live a new life with Christ. Baptism is the outward representation of the inward transformation we go through when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is our public confession that we have accepted Christ.

Let’s turn more detailed attention to the order of things. There are several denominations that baptize babies. What is the purpose of this? Unfortunately, many believe that this secures the soul of the child to go to heaven. Others believe that this washes away original sin. Neither of these beliefs is Biblical. Throughout scripture we see that the order of things is believe in Christ first, then be baptized. Mark 16:16 says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Don’t be confused. This is not saying that you must believe and be baptized to be saved. It’s saying, you believe and then you’re baptized. This is confirmed in that the verse does not include not being baptized as a condition for being condemned. Only not believing in Christ and not submitting to His lordship can condemn you to hell. Also, we see many other passages where baptism follows salvation. As homework, check out the following verses: Acts 2:37-38, Acts 8:12-13, 34-39 (this one also shows full immersion – again, they came up out of the water), Acts 9:17-18 (here, the apostle Paul, several days after his conversion, is baptized).

I can understand some people’s confusion. Acts 22:16 says, “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” But, if you examine this passage carefully you’ll see that these are words that Ananias said to Paul AFTER Paul had already been saved. Again, Paul’s sin was taken away by the blood of Jesus Christ. Baptism followed that.

So, if you were baptized as a baby and have never been Biblically baptized, does that mean you are not going to heaven? Actually, if you’ve been paying attention, it has nothing to do with heaven or hell. The determining factor between heaven and hell is your acknowledgement that you are a sinner and that you, on your own, cannot get into heaven because if God were to judge you, He would find you guilty of breaking His commandments. But, if you’ve accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, and repented of your sins, then you are bound for heaven. Baptism, though, is something you should do in order to publicly confess that you are a child of God. Another verse that shows baptism is not necessary for salvation is in Luke 23:39-43:

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This man died on a cross as Jesus did. He had no opportunity to get baptized and yet Jesus told him that the man would be in paradise with Jesus. Only belief in Christ and submission to Him as Lord is necessary for salvation.

What you do with this is up to you. If you consider yourself a follower of Christ and have never been Biblically baptized what does that mean? It means only that you are disobeying your Lord and Savior. Baptism is often the first act of obedience. My advice, find a church that baptizes Biblically and follow our Lord’s command.

Just an aside and strictly my opinion, but if a church is not following the Bible in an ordinance as important as baptism, I wonder if they are preaching the Bible and only the Bible and I suspect they are not following the Bible in other ways. Personally, I would not attend a church that did not baptize Biblically.

The Theology of The Little Drummer Boy

When I was little, one of my favorite Christmas shows was “The Little Drummer Boy”. This was long before I became a Christian, but even then, watching this show always brought a tear to my eye. While tiling my bathroom wall, this song came on my iPod and I really listened to the lyrics and thought, you know, those words are pretty good theology.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is no little drummer boy in the Bible. All we know are that some kings from the East came and visited Jesus (we don’t even really know how many) and brought him some gifts. By the way, Jesus was around 2 years old when these kings came. It was not when he was in the manger.

Anyway, let’s start at the beginning of “The Little Drummer Boy”.

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum

In the Bible, Andrew is one of the first to meet Jesus. Immediately after meeting Jesus, he finds his brother Peter. John 1:40-42a says, “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.”

This should be our reaction as well. When we meet Jesus, we should be going out and bringing others to Him.

Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

This should be our attitude, to lay our finest gifts before Christ. Malachi 3:10 says, “’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty,‘ and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

If we bring God our best, He’ll bless us for that. But, here’s the big question, what is our best?

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

Like the little drummer boy, we may often feel that we have nothing of any real value to bring to Christ. We may feel that we’re not that talented, so there’s no place in ministry for us. We’re not rich, so we can’t lay gold, Frankincense or Mir at His feet. We have nothing to bring Him, nothing to give Him, nothing to do for Him, so we do nothing and go our own way.

I’d like to explore two answers to the question of what we can bring Christ. The first is given by the prophet Samuel in 1Samuel 15:22. “But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

The one gift that we can all give to Christ is our obedience. Christ said in John 14:21, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” God wants us to love Him and we do that by following His commands. That is one gift that is worthy of The King that any Christian can bring.

I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,
…
Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum.

The little drummer boy, though, provides us with the second answer. One gift we can bring to Christ is to do our best for Him in no matter what it is. Think about it. Does God really need anything from us? No, He has everything. He created everything. Nothing we could give him, in the material sense, means anything to Him. But, God is our heavenly father, and He delights in His children when they do their best for Him. If you have children of your own, just think back to the delight you had when they drew a picture for you. Even if it was a bunch of scribbles, it was the best your child could do at the time and you were delighted. God is the same way. We’re not all called to be “great” as the world defines great. But, we are all called to do our best for the Lord.

Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,”

1Corinthians 9:24 says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

It’s not what we can do that concerns God. It’s not how well we can do it. Rather, it’s the state of our heart when we do something. Are we working for God and are we doing our best? Psalms 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Like the little drummer boy, we may not feel that what we do is worthy of the God who created the universe, but if we humble ourselves and do our best and do what we do for God and not ourselves, then we too one day will stand before Christ and he will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:21).