Christmas

By Paul Earnhart

This is the time of year that the world has set apart for celebration of the birth of Jesus.  All Christians should rejoice that Jesus did come into the world as recorded in the Bible.

At this time of year, there are two things which are always amazing to observe.  The first is that individuals who claim to be honoring Jesus, do so in ways that are so contrary to His teaching.  Why would a person wishing to honor Jesus do so by getting drunk and losing complete control of his own conduct?  How is Jesus honored by lewdness and immorality?  Would Jesus approve of individuals going deep into debt to purchase useless trinkets that only feed the pride of those receiving them?  The fact is that much of the celebration is no more than an excuse for doing what we want to do, rather than what Jesus would want us to do.

The other thing that is amazing is the amount of misinformation that circulates concerning Jesus at this time of year.  The Bible is the only dependable source of information about Jesus.  The story as we read there is a marvelous story (Mt. 1:18-2:11; Lk. 2:1-20).  But many people are not satisfied with that.  They embellish the Bible story with all kinds of imaginary details which are not in the scriptures and actually contradict facts clearly revealed in the scriptures.  Much of what you see on TV or the movies or hear on radio is without any basis whatever in truth.  Even the idea that Jesus was born on December 25th is without any foundation in scripture whatsoever.

If you really wish to honor Jesus, the best possible way to do it is to study carefully what the Bible says about Him and become obedient to His will.  In our media messages and in our worship, we always strive to concentrate on facts about Jesus and teaching from His lips as revealed in His word.  We welcome all to join with us as we lift up our Savior in glory and honor and praise, not just at this time but for all time.

How to Tempt a Good Man

By Paul Earnhart

When Satan undertook the temptation of Jesus, he faced the greatest challenge of his whole career as a tempter.  All other men and women since Adam and Eve had been relatively easy victims.  But Jesus was different.

Jesus knew God’s will even better than the theologians.  And He was firmly committed to doing God’s will.  For these reasons, He could not be tempted as many mortals are tempted.  Such temptations as adultery, lying, stealing, drunkenness would have been useless.  Jesus had doubtless been exposed to those sins in His earlier life, but He knew that scripture plainly condemned such things, and He would not even consider them.

Satan had to tempt Jesus to do something which was not immoral in itself, something which would even seem to offer some spiritual benefit.  Now most people would suppose that if a thing seemed to offer some spiritual benefit and was not immoral, then it could not be sin.  But Satan knew better and, thankfully, Jesus knew better.

An act is not a sin because men consider it to be immoral.  An act is not a sin simply because it hurts someone.  Neither is an act a sin just because it violates civil law.  An act that violates civil law is a crime, but sin is a violation of Divine law.  Any violation of God’s law is sin whether anyone is hurt or not; whether it appears immoral or not; whether the results appear harmful or beneficial.

Many people look at Matthew’s account of the temptations of Jesus (Mt. 4:1-11), such as the temptation to turn stones into bread and to jump from the pinnacle of the temple, and say, “I don’t see anything wrong with doing those things.”  But if Jesus had done either one of them, He would have sinned.  He did not do them because He knew scripture well enough to know that they were not God’s will for Him.  That’s what made them sin, and that’s why Jesus did not do them.

After Baptism – Temptation

By Paul Earnhart

The baptism of Jesus in the Jordan marks the beginning of what is commonly called His personal ministry.  This ministry began with a significant testimony of divine approval; the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and a voice from the Father in heaven acknowledged Him as His Son.  All of this was surely a strong encouragement to Jesus as He embarked on the work for which He had come.

But Satan was not willing to allow Him to begin that work unchallenged.  Just as Satan had tempted Adam and Eve soon after their creation, now he moved to tempt Jesus.  God was willing that this temptation should take place for the scriptures tell us that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”  (Mt 4:1).

Why did the Spirit lead Jesus to be tempted?  Two reasons seem clear:

First, Jesus had come to be our priest; that is, our representative before God.  Isaiah had prophesied 700 years earlier that He would make intercession for the transgressors (Isa 53:12).  In order to understand the problems we face in trying to do what is right and to be our priest (or advocate) before God, He had to be tempted.  Hebrews 2:18 mentions this: “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”  Hebrews 4:15 states this negatively: “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

One other thing may account for His temptation.  Overcoming temptation strengthens us.  James 1:2 says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” 

Jesus was human enough to need the strength that comes from successful encounters with temptation.  And so do we!  When we are tempted, we should view it as an opportunity for growth…IF WE RESIST!

Seven Things to Remember When Dealing with Doubts – Part 2

By Mark McCrary

Text: Matthew 11:1-14

In our last article, we discussed three things we learned from the event of Mathew 11 where John expressed doubt about the identity of Jesus as the Messiah:

1. Everyone doubts.  John was strong and faithful, but even he was weak at this moment.  We should not be surprised when we go through moments of doubt as well.
2. Express your doubts. When John began to question, he took his questions right to the source: Jesus.  Sometimes when we doubt, we are tempted to bottle them up inside. That doesn’t help. We should go to God in prayer and find others whom we trust to talk with.
3. Circumstances of life cause us to doubt. John’s doubt likely came from his difficult imprisonment.  Our struggles often come in challenging seasons—sicknesses, loss, etc.

There are four other helpful things to remember from this lesson, however.  Let’s dive into them.

Number four: Jesus is Understanding When We Doubt

This is comforting.  Jesus didn’t say, “What in the world is wrong with John?  He saw the Spirit and heard the voice of God!”

We feel that way when we doubt, right? Surely God is disappointed in me. He must be thinking, “What in the world is wrong with them? They go to church! They’ve read the Bible! They’ve prayed and taught others about Me!”  But, how did Jesus respond?  Jesus turns to the crowd and lifts him up.  Jesus understood the stresses John was in and sought to reassure him. And, if anyone was prone to judge John for this “momentary” lapse in faith, He defends John (Mt. 11:7-10).

Isn’t that wonderful? I need to hear that! Doubts from the circumstances of life don’t undo a life of faith expressed in service.  And though faith may be suppressed because of circumstances, that suppression doesn’t mean it is dead. God sees it still!

Number Five: Jesus Doesn’t Want Us to Remain in Doubt

As understanding as He was, though, He did not want John to continue to question.  He wanted to assure him to hold on to what he knew, not let go because of what he felt.

Jesus wants the same from us.  While understanding of our doubts, He wants us to move past those and regain confidence in Him.

Number Six: Listen to Witnesses

There’s great power in a personal testimony; when a person says, “I saw this. It happened to me.” Jesus didn’t just tell John to trust Him.  He performed miracles in front of John’s disciples and said, “Go tell him what you have seen Me do.”

Who are our witnesses? Who tells us when we doubt of what they have seen and experienced personally? Certainly, the apostles would be the first we should turn to.  They witnessed the teachings, the death and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:1-11; 1 Jn. 1:1-4). History tells us that except for John, all died for their faith. None renounced Jesus or claimed what they taught was a clever lie designed to bring them power and fame. No, they all died confessing Jesus is indeed Lord—even in the face of death. Listen to those witnesses!

But perhaps there are other witnesses we can turn to. People whom we know whose faith remained even through challenges in life.  Brothers and sisters who persevered through cancers, pain, disappointments, and even death.  Though they may not be witnesses exactly the way the apostles were, they are still witnesses to us that faith can be held on to even when difficult.

This brings us to our last lesson…

Number Seven: Hold on to What You Know

The message to John from the witnesses was enough to strengthen him.  John could know these things.  They were to be certain to him.  Jesus’ message: imprisonment isn’t going to end for John well.  Jesus knew he felt uncertain.  But he could face what lay before him with confidence that Jesus was indeed the promised One—Jesus was doing what Isaiah said the Messiah would do.  He would indeed accomplish the work of God’s Messiah and usher in God’s eternal kingdom.  John, hold on to what you know—not what you feel.”

That is our call today.  When you begin to feel doubt, go back to what you know. What are the proofs of God, His word, and His Son that are undeniable for you?

Here is an example to contemplate: The tomb of Jesus was empty, and none have been able to give a credible explanation other than the Bible.  If the leaders took the body to keep it from the disciples, they could have produced it easily when the church started in the book of Acts and ended Christianity very quickly. They could not. If the disciples took the body to begin a movement intended to bring them fame and wealth, they would have admitted so when faced with certain death. They did not.  The apostles knew whether they were telling the truth or lying, yet to a man they gave their lives as a testimony to what they saw and knew to be truth.

Whether it is the above or some other truth you cannot shake, hold on to it.  Don’t define your faith by your doubts, but your doubts by your faith.  That’s what Jesus was calling John to do. That’s what He is calling us to do as well.

Doubts sometimes occupy the minds of those who are not omniscient, thus are a part of our human journey.  Don’t feel ashamed of those moments.  Let’s learn from this story of our Savior and a faithful servant and press on.

Seven Things to Remember When Dealing with Doubts - Part 1

By Mark McCrary

Text: Matthew 11:1-14

He was a voice "crying out in the wilderness" (Isa. 40:3; Mt. 3:3).  He boldly confronted community and civic leaders—and paid a price for doing so (Mt. 3:1-12; 14:1-12).

He sat in prison in Herod’s Fortress, Macherus, near the Dead Sea.  At some point, he received word about his cousin, Jesus. While John was in prison, certainly He must have taken up and added to John’s work; after all, John’s work was merely a precursor to the Messiah’s work.  John must have been anxious to hear who Jesus had rebuked and confronted; the trouble Jesus had gotten into up to this point.

What he heard must have shocked him.  Jesus not only wasn’t in trouble with legal authorities (at this point) but was rather popular with the people and ignored by authorities (at this point). What was going on? Was he wrong about Jesus? Had he imagined what he heard and saw when he baptized Him (Mt. 3:13-17)?

John sent several of his disciples to meet with Jesus, asking if Jesus was indeed who John thought Him to be, or should they instead be looking for another.  Jesus responded by highlighting particular miracles John’s disciples saw Jesus perform.  These were not random; rather they were spoken of as works of the coming Messiah in Isaiah’s message (Isa. 29:18; 31:1; 61:1). Jesus, it seems, did those works precisely to assure John.  Jesus concludes with this admonition to his cousin, “Blessed is the one who isn’t offended (or, “tripped up”) by Me” (Mt. 11:6). In other words, the one who continues to trust and lets go of doubt.

John, the stalwart proclaimer, was doubting.  From this account, we can draw several helpful lessons:

Number one: Everyone doubts

John wasn’t a weakling.  He was tough and brave. Guess what? Everyone doubts.  Elders doubt (Are we leading properly? What do we do about…?). Preachers doubt (“Am I teaching truth? Am I too loose? Am I too stern?” [these are actual doubts, btw-mm]). Parents doubt (“How do I raise my child? Should I homeschool? Put them in private school? Public school? What do I do?”). The strong and the weak at times wavier in their commitment.  Maybe we wonder if God really exists? Or, is the Bible really reliable? Is a particular doctrine I hold actually true? We may sometimes have the idea that if we are doubting, we just aren’t strong enough and we are weak.  That kind of thinking not only isn’t helpful, it isn’t biblical! Abraham doubted! Thomas doubted! No one, no matter how spiritually strong, is above doubting.

Number two: Express Your Doubts

If we aren’t careful, we can get so caught up in our church culture that we perpetuate the myth that “everyone is perfect.” The last thing we want to do is honestly pull back the curtain and reveal our struggle (because we must be the only ones with questions, right? Nope, see the previous point).  Often, either we will keep our doubts to ourselves and move farther away from God, or we will express them to the wrong people who may reinforce those doubts. What we should do is exactly what John did—take them to God (or Jesus, in this case).  Express your questions to God—He’s big enough to take them! Let him know your frustrations.  Also, seek out godly, spiritual people you trust and know want the best for you.  Be honest with them— you will likely find they’ve had similar wonderings. 

Number three: The Circumstances of Life Cause Us to Doubt

Where was John at the moment? In a plush hotel? His private home? He was in prison. And, what type of prison? One with cable, high-speed internet, a gym, and a library? No, he was likely in a stone room, either hot or cold without any ventilation. No toilet (and everything that goes along with that). He may have been beaten and in need of medical attention.  He was physically and mentally weak. That, in turn, leads to spiritual weakness.

Often, life doesn’t go the way we plan.  Sometimes that’s good; other times, it's bad.  We know there’s no assurance in scripture that our lives will go smoothly, and we read of the faithful whose lives certainly did not.  But still, when the bills can’t be paid, when the doctor gives a bad diagnosis, when our loved one’s lives aren’t going well, when we are praying and serving but still struggling, we naturally ask, “Why?”

Life causes doubts.

That’s all for this week. Next week, we will consider four other things to remember. They are:

            Number four: Jesus is understanding when we doubt…

            Number five: Jesus doesn’t want us to remain in doubt…

            Number six: Listen to witnesses, and…

            Number seven: Hold on to what you know.

See you next week.