The church and the state (the civil government) are institutions created by God, along with the family, that are clearly distinct from one another. None of them has any authority over the other two in the particular activity sphere in which they are designed by God to function, i.e., the family—raising and training children; the church—equipping its members to proclaim the gospel and the kingdom; the civil government—to protect family and church as they do their jobs.  This means that there is a distinct…

Last week, in discussing the Ship of the Kingdom (our picture of the kingdom of God), at the conclusion of the post I explained Luther’s very critical idea —”what is above me” vs. “what is beneath me.” We saw that “above me” is my personal relationship with God, while “beneath me” is my relationship with the world around me, the domain over which Jesus Christ has given me to rule—my delegated responsibilities in His kingdom. Jesus is extending his rule over the earth through…

One of the most important events in Jesus’ life, on a par with the crucifixion and resurrection, is also one of the least celebrated—the ascension of Jesus Christ. Though the more liturgical churches include it in their liturgy and have it on their calendar each year as a special day, evangelicals rarely, if ever, mention it. When they do, it is something like “Jesus’ work on earth of saving us (from going to Hell) was done and He went back home to Heaven to…

“This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says the LORD, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh…then whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved’” (Acts 2:16, 17, 21). Peter spoke these words on the Day of Pentecost, just after the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the band of 120 disciples of Jesus who were waiting in Jerusalem to be “baptized with…

Drug or alcohol addiction is difficult enough to lick if we are aware we are addicted, but if we haven’t recognized or admitted we are hooked, it is impossible to do so. I would like to make today our great “day of intervention,” when we are all confronted and made to face, by our spiritual family that loves us, this incontrovertible fact—”You are addicted to the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and it is killing you!”  In the…

Even though I know God ordained my life from conception, looking back, I recognize my first conscious, personal experience with Him was while attending Falls Creek, a Southern Baptist Youth Camp in Oklahoma. I can see now that from that time, the summer before I entered the University of Oklahoma, God had me in HIs cross hairs. The next such experience was at OU, three years later, at a meeting to which a good friend took me. There were about ten other students. We…

The leader, or “the person in charge,” in any situation is not the strongest, loudest, smartest, holiest, wiliest, most experienced, or any other personal characteristic that person may have. The leader is always recognized by only one thing—the person in charge is the one who makes the final decision. In the three institutions of the kingdom of God—family, church and civil government—my contention is that, biblically, the governmental leadership in each institution, or, how final decisions are made in that institution, is unique. We…

The “everyone participates”’ type church meeting the Bible suggests, and to which last week’s blog alluded, brings up some obvious questions. The most immediate is “How can a church gathering larger than about a dozen people function like that? That sounds more like a ‘home group’ to me. Is there a regular church like you’re describing?” Before discussing that issue, let me emphasize, again, the necessary foundation that is always understood as we address all church issues—the gospel of the full-on, unlimited, it-is-finished grace…

If the church’s first essential function is providing an opportunity for all the members (even the church leadership) to “walk in the light” and “confess their sins one to another,” as we saw last week, what is the second one?  It is the goal of the church that every member, even the ones we deem “weaker,” has the opportunity to contribute to the ministry of the church. The members of the biblical church are not simply passive observers of the ministry of “the staff”…

The “body” metaphor for the church tells us that the Head (Jesus) is in Heaven, while the body (the church) is down here, on the earth. Though detached geographically, the body, based on the immediate, experiential wishes of the Head, is busily “doing the stuff” of the family business of ruling over this earth—loving, standing firm for truth, and proclaiming the good news of the gospel as opportunities arise. This is God’s plan for us. In other words, in the biblical vision of the…