While the pomp and circumstance struck me as odd initially, it also marked that evening as distinct. It signaled to everyone in that auditorium that we were gathered for something special, something out of the ordinary. It signaled significance.

It seems that our culture has lost its ability to signal significance. Whether we are going to the grocery store, a birthday party, a steak house, or the church house, we often dress and behave the same way for almost every occasion. We bristle at rules, like “no food or drink in the auditorium.” We feel put out if we can’t bring our water bottle into the church service, our snack into the sanctuary, or our pet inside the building. We feel inconvenienced if we have to wear a dress and heels or a suit and tie. We mock the observance of certain traditions and rituals as “old fashioned” or “stuck up and stuffy.”  We value casualness to the point of shunning significance.

Yet God places value on our making space for tradition and ritual. God gave the children of Israel very specific traditions and rituals to follow and holy days to observe in their culture. For example, in Leviticus 23:3, God said, “Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.” Why did God forbid work on the sabbath? Was it because work was evil? Of course not! The reason God instructed them not to work on the sabbath was to signal significance. It was to help them remember that God had created the world in six days, and on the seventh day, He had rested (Genesis 2:2). They were also to rest on the seventh day in remembrance of this significant event. It signaled to them that this day was distinct from all the others and that the LORD of the sabbath was worthy of their notice, worship, and service.

The book of Leviticus is filled with rules and rituals that may seem extremely peculiar to us. Yet these rules and rituals were never arbitrary. They were not just about tradition and rule-keeping. The rituals and rules were a means to a greater end. And that greater end was for Israel to signal significance to the world around them. God wanted to signal the significance of Israel as a nation chosen and separated out by God for a particular purpose—the coming Messiah. God wanted to signal the significance of His singularity and absolute holiness to His people and the world through the elaborate rituals that constituted tabernacle worship. The holy days, like the Passover, were meant to show the significance of God’s miraculous working in their lives. For each of these occasions, the children of Israel dressed differently and behaved differently than they did in their ordinary everyday lives.

While we may not be required to observe the sabbath anymore or to keep the Old Testament law, we are still required to signal significance. We are to make room for traditions and rituals—not for the sake of tradition alone—but for the sake of signaling significance. The principle of signaling significance is a Bible principle. For example, in Romans 13:7, we are told to “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” While this is speaking of showing the significance of people in certain positions, this can also be applied to certain occasions or events. The way we dress and or behave for a given event, like a graduation, evidences our esteem of that event. We should render to graduation services, to church services, to holidays (holy days) the honor that is due them. We should make Christmas and Easter feel distinct from every other day as well as distinct from other holidays. Why? Because they represent different aspects of God’s story and His involvement in our lives. We should make a graduation feel different from going out with friends on Friday night. Why? Because we are there to render honor to whom honor is due—namely the graduates, their teachers, administrators, and parents. We should make weddings feel special. Why? Because we are rendering honor to the bride and groom and the God before Whom they are making their vows. We should make Sunday feel sanctified from the rest of the week. Why? Because it is the day that our Lord was risen from the grave—an event upon which our entire faith hinges! It is something extraordinarily special and our distinct dress and behavior on that day should signal its significance.

From the spiritual (like Sundays) to the secular (like graduations), God intends for us to render to each event the honor that is appropriate. We should think through the purpose of the event we are attending and adjust our dress and behavior accordingly. God didn’t intend for us to live bland lives where everything is the same. If He did, why would He have given us Sundays or holidays? We should not treat a church service the same way that we would treat a ball game on Friday night. We should not treat a graduation ceremony the same way we would treat a birthday party on Saturday night. They are not the same thing. How boring our lives are when we treat everything as if it were the same thing! There is a place for casualness, and it is totally fine to enjoy our T-shirt and flip flops at a birthday party or fast food restaurant. But there is also a place for tradition, ritual, and honor. Our dress and behavior for any given event evidences our esteem of that event. It signals the significance of that event.

As a whole, our culture has lost the mindset of giving significance and of signaling significance. It has succumbed to an epidemic of casualness. As Christians, we should live a distinctly different way. Next time we are preparing to attend a graduation or a Sunday service, let’s consider what those respective events mean. Then let’s consider whether our dress and behavior signal that significance. If nothing else, it will make us more thoughtful people. And, perhaps, it can even make our lives feel more interesting, enjoyable, and significant.

The post The Epidemic of Casualness—Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

A Bible verse that is commonly invoked in this conversation on justice is Micah 6:8.

Some Christians clutch the phrase “do justly” and proceed to use it as the proof text for their idea of justice. However, God’s Word is not a book of quotable sayings or witty proverbs. The Bible is one coherent, grand, sweeping narrative—God’s narrative. That is why taking one verse, without considering the context or delving into a word study, is theologically and logically unsound. The Bible tells us how we are to treat the Bible in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Did you notice the words “study” and “workman”? This implies that much more is required of us than taking one phrase from one verse in order to justify an idea that we feel must be right. We need to know what the Bible says and what it means by what it says (“rightly dividing the word of truth”). That confidence will only come through hard work—through studying the context and meaning of the words.

So, what is the context of Micah 6:8? The context is a nation decaying from the sin of idolatry. Before God asks the question, “What doth the LORD require of thee?” (Micah 6:8), He asks, “What is the transgression of Jacob?” (Micah 1:5) God begins by condemning Israel for their “high places” and “graven images.” (vv. 5-7) Because they had failed to give Jehovah His rightful place as God in their lives, they had also failed to treat each other righteously. In chapter 2, God condemns them because “they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.” (Micah 2:2) Idolatry, which is displacing God as Authority in our lives, leads to violence, oppression, and evil. In Micah 5:12-15, God warns, “And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.” Failing to glorify God as God is the epitome of injustice. This is what leads the Lord to say by the prophet in Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of thee.”

Now that we know the context, what do the words actually mean? God answers His own rhetorical question, “and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” The word “do” is translated from the Hebrew word asah which means to “do, fashion, accomplish, make, work, or produce.” How are we to work, accomplish, make, or produce? We are to do so “justly.” This adverb comes from the Hebrew word mishpat which can be translated “judgement, justice, ordinance, decision, right,” and other times can be translated “proper, fitting, measure.” In other words, we are called to work in a way that produces righteousness and to do things in a way that is right, proper, and fitting.

With this understanding of the context combined with the meaning of the words “do justly,” we can know, not just feel, the absolute definition of justice. There is a difference between being obsessed with “justice,” or rather our idea of justice, and actually “doing justly,” as Micah 6:8 admonishes. As Christians, we should all be able to agree that justice is not just an idea; it’s not defined by a culture or a movement; justice has an absolute definition. That absolute definition has already been decided by the Righteous Judge of the Universe. Justice is the opposite of idolatry; it is glorifying God as Authority and living in a way that is right, proper, and fitting for a child of God. So, what does that look like practically? Well, we see three practical pillars of justice throughout Scripture.

The first practical pillar of “doing justly” is showing impartiality. The words that are translated “do justly” in Micah 6:8 are also found in Leviticus 19:15, “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.” The same word shows up within the same context of a legal court in Deuteronomy 1:17, “Ye shall not respect persons in judgement; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s.”  We see this again in Deuteronomy 16:19, “Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.” While our current culture is obsessed with an idea of justice that includes equity—tipping the scales in favor of one group and against another in order to achieve a particular outcome—this is not how God defines justice. In Malachi 2, God was exasperated with His people because they had been treating each other with partiality. Through the prophet, God says of their so-called leaders, “But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.” (Malachi 2:8-9) The reason that God took issue with them was that they were being partial in their application of the law. In retort, the prophet says, “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?”  It doesn’t matter which way we want to tip the scales—partiality is a wrested, perverted (Deuteronomy 32), corrupt and treacherous (Malachi 2:8-10) idea of justice; but partiality is never justice. Conversely, impartiality, treating everyone equally no matter their history, gender, skin color, or experience, is a pillar of “doing justly.”

A second practical pillar of “doing justly” is respecting the truth. The words justice and truth are found together in Deuteronomy 32:4, “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgement [justice]: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”  We find the word mishpat coupled with truth again in Isaiah 59:14-15, “And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.” The word translated justice in this verse is closely related to mishpat because it means “righteousness in government.” In this context, equity means something very different from our current culture’s meaning; it means “straight in front” and is also translated “uprightness,” “right things,” and “right.” In other words, the words judgement, justice, and equity in this passage mean essentially the same thing—doing things the right way, “doing justly.” So, why was the prophet lamenting that there was no equity or justice? Justice was illusive because truth had fallen. At this point in their history, the children of Israel had chosen to disregard and disrespect the truth in favor of their own ideas, experiences, and sins. The chapter begins, “None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.” (Isaiah 59:4) The prophet identifies their disrespect for truth as the reason for no justice in verses 9-10, “Therefore is judgement far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes.” The reason they were groping in darkness rather than walking in light, the reason they were drowning in anguish rather than living with answers was that they had chosen their own truth rather than respecting God’s truth. They had told themselves the same stories, the same lies over and over again until they had believed them.

The same is true in our culture today. The reason that we are groping in darkness and drowning in anguish—the reason justice seems so illusive—is that we have disrespected absolute truth for so long and we don’t know what it is. We have relied on relative “truth”—what is true to you—for so long that facts no longer matter to us. We can’t find the answers because we won’t accept the facts—we aren’t interested in the facts. Yet if we truly had compassion, if we truly wanted answers and solutions, wouldn’t we want to know the facts that strike at the root of society’s problems? Wouldn’t we want to treat the sickness of sin rather than frantically pointing at the symptoms of disfunction, disparities, and despair? Telling ourselves stories, swallowing lies, and wallowing in counter-narratives will help no one because that is not justice. There are honestly too many passages to mention here that include the words justice and truth together. One simply cannot exist without the other. If we are going to “do justly,” we must respect truth.

Yet a third pillar of “doing justly” is individual accountability. We must hold others accountable, as individuals, and we must hold ourselves accountable, as individuals. The word mishpat appears in Zechariah 7:9-10 which says, “Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgement, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.” In this passage, true justice, or “doing justly” looks like showing mercy and compassion to others. Notice that God is not just speaking to the nation in this verse, he is speaking to “every man”—individuals. Doing justly looks like keeping short accounts with our brothers and sisters in the human race. This idea of individual accountability is also seen in Ezekiel 18. This passage unfolds the scenario of three generations, each of whom made different choices and reaped the consequences of those choices. Of the man who “hath executed true judgment between man and man, Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly;” God says, “he is just, he shall surely live.” (v. 8-9) However, the Lord continues, “If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any of these things . . . Hath oppressed the poor and needy . . . he shall not live.” (vv. 10, 12, 13) Then the Lord takes the scenario a step further, saying, “Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like . . .  Neither hath oppressed any . . . hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of the father, he shall surely live . . . Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” (vv. 14, 16, 17, 19, 20) The people that God was addressing here did not find God’s definition of justice to match their idea of justice. They wanted to hold people accountable for the sins of others; they considered their neighbors to be guilty by association. To this God responds, “Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be you ruin.” (Ezekiel 18:29-30) When God and I disagree on the practical application of “doing justly,” God is not the One who is wrong! From this passage, we see that while God will punish wickedness, He is also a God of forgiveness and grace for those who take note of the wickedness of their ancestors and avoid it. As Christians, we are called to be like our Heavenly Father in the way we view and treat others. We should be careful not to hold others accountable for the sins of their fathers and judge their motives or moral capacity based solely on the group to which they belong. We are to treat others and judge others as God does—as individuals.

All three of these pillars of “doing justly” are seen clearly when God commands His people to glorify Him in Exodus 23. He tells them to seek truth over false narratives in verses 1 and 7: “Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. . . Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.” He commands them to treat all people with impartiality in verses 3, 6, and 8: “Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. . . Thou shalt not wrest the judgement of thy poor in his cause. . . And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.” In verse 9, God commands them to treat everyone as an individual equally worthy of love and respect: “Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” As is the case in Micah, the key to experiencing justice in the context of Exodus 23 is glorifying Jehovah as God. In verses 24-25, God admonishes them, “Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them . . . And ye shall serve the LORD your God.” Glorifying God as the Authority in our lives is always the precursor to knowing and experiencing justice in our lives.

When we dig into the context, connotation, and depth of meaning represented by the words we read in Micha 6:8, we learn so much more about justice than what we learn from the culture. Our culture may hand us talking points, hashtags, and grievances, but the Bible gives us so much more than that. The Bible calls us to not just obsess over an idea of justice but to truly do justice. We can know what is justice and what is not when we compare everything we hear, see, think, and feel to the words of God, the Righteous Judge of the Universe.

The post Obsessed with “Justice” or Doing Justly?— Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

One way that mothers can represent God is through bringing forth and nurturing life. Eve’s name literally means “life” or “living.” In the beginning, God breathed into man (and, by extension, woman) the breath of life. Then, God designed women with the unique ability of creating, carrying, and bringing forth new life. This ability is a picture of God as Creator, the original life-giver. It also pictures God’s desire to give new life to those who are “dead in their trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1) When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, God breathes the breath of spiritual life into us. Ephesians 2:5 says it this way, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.” When God brings forth this new spiritual life in us, He recreates us in the image of His Son. Ephesians 4:24 describes this recreation as “the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Bringing forth new life is an essential aspect of God’s nature and motherhood gives us an illustration of that.

Not only do mothers represent God when they bring forth new life, but also when they nurture that new life. A mother has a special, incomprehensible bond with the little life she has carried for nine months. That natural bond is strengthened through nurturing. Nurturing means bringing up, caring for, or cultivating. Just as a gardener nurtures a plant, a mother nurtures the life of her child through loving and gentle care.

God emphasizes this natural and incomprehensible bond between mothers and their children in Isaiah 49:15, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” Here, God uses the familiar bond between a mother and her child to illustrate His special bond with His children. In this case, His special bond is with His children, Israel. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have been grafted into the family of Abraham (Romans 11:23) and share a special bond with God as His children. Yet God’s bond with His children is even stronger than a mother’s natural bond with her child. God used that illustration of mother in Isaiah 49 to give us just an inkling of an idea about His bond with us. If it is difficult to comprehend a mother without that natural affection for her child, it is that much more difficult to comprehend God’s love for us. Even if that natural bond with our earthly mother were dissolved, God will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He holds us in the palm of His hand, where nothing and no one can take us away from Him (John 10:28).

Why would God design mothers with this ability to bring forth life and the nature to nurture it? In so doing, God is giving us a glimpse of Himself. Like a mother who has that special bond with her child, God cannot forget the children that He has given life to in the first place. He will not neglect the children that He has given spiritual life, whom He has recreated in the image of God the Son. A mother’s nurturing nature reminds us of the God who gave us life in the first place and nurtures us as we learn, develop and grow in the Christian life.

Another way mothers can represent God is through providing refuge. Mothers are a refuge for their children as well as their husbands. My mother has certainly been a refuge for me often. When I fell and hurt myself as a child, who did I run to for help and comfort? As I’ve grown older, when I have failed, when I have had a rough day, when I have endured a season of struggle, I have found refuge in the same place. Mom has always been there to offer comfort and advice. I’m sure many of you can say the same of your mothers.

Much like a mother who is there to provide comfort to her child, come what may, God is a refuge for His children. In Isaiah 66:13, God describes Himself thusly, “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you: and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” In the New Testament, God the Son  describes Himself as a mother in Matthew 23:37, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” In this mother-like plea, Jesus presents Himself as a refuge from sin and suffering. He is not the one who stands afar off; we are the ones who wander and refuse to trust Him. Israel had failed, and yet Jesus was waiting, ready to provide refuge for them just like a mother would. As the psalmist put it, “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.” (Psalm 62:8) In Psalm 71:3, this refuge in God is presented as an unconditional one “whereunto I may continually resort.” Perhaps like you, I can remember many times that I poured out my heart to my mother. On my worst days, my mother has still been there to offer comfort. While not all earthly mothers exemplify this, and surely none will do so perfectly, God uses mothers to illustrate His providing refuge for us.

Yet a third way that mothers can represent God is through teaching. Mothers begin teaching their children from the very moment their children are born. Just observe nature! This spring, three baby horses have been born on the Ranch. By the time I met these babies, they were already frolicking in the field, nibbling on grass, and whinnying at their mothers. How did they know to do all of this? They learned from their mamma horses. Human mothers are that way, too. They just can’t help but teach their children from the very beginning.

God admonishes children to take heed to the teaching that mothers offer. Proverbs 1:8 says, “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.” This command is found in Proverbs 6:20 also. Proverbs 31 is a mother’s advice to her son. The “virtuous woman,” a mother, in Proverbs 31:26, “openeth her mouth with wisdom: and in her tongue is the law of kindness.” A mother teaches her children about the most basic, the most complex, and the most sensitive aspects of life as only a mother could—with kindness, compassion, and consistency.

In the New Testament, God emphasized the importance and influence of a mother’s teaching in 2 Timothy 1:5, “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded in thee also.” Paul had confidence in Timothy’s character because of his mother and grandmother. From what we are told in Scripture, Timothy’s faith is owed primarily to the teaching of his mother. For most of a child’s formative years, the most consistent voice he will hear is his mother’s. The mother’s kind, compassionate, and consistent teaching has enormous influence over the worldview, beliefs, and values the child will apply to life.

The kind, compassionate, consistent teaching of a mother illustrates the way that God teaches us. In Psalm 25, the psalmist looks to God for guidance. Psalm 25:4-5 says, “Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.” Like a child naturally looks to his mother for guidance, so we should look to the God of our salvation for guidance. The psalmist continues in verse 8-9, “Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.” The Lord is our Master Teacher, the ultimate Guide for how life should work and how we should live it. Just as we would be wise to heed our mother’s teaching, we would be infinitely wiser to heed the teaching God provides through His Word and Holy Spirit. As the psalmist said in Psalm 143:8 and 10, “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning: for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. . . Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God; thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.” While we give the Lord more reason to be exhausted with us than a toddler gives his mother, God never fails to provide kind, compassionate, and consistent teaching to those Who trust Him.

While all of us may not be mothers, we can be mothers in the sense that we nurture life, provide refuge, and teach others. Those others may not be our biological children, but they may be our nieces and nephews, our students, our friends, or other young people that we can mentor. As women, God created us with a nature to nurture life, provide refuge, and teach others.

This Mother’s Day, if you are a mother, recognize the immense privilege that you have to represent God to your children! When you embrace the biblical role of motherhood, you are helping your children become acquainted with Who God is.  That part of you that nurtures your child, that provides refuge for your family, that seeks to teach—that is an aspect of Who God is to us as His children. How wonderful that, in His wisdom, God chose to give us mothers to reveal just a part of Himself to us!

The post How Mothers Represent God—Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

In Numbers 16, we meet someone who valued his work based on what title it earned him and how many people it placed under his power. Korah thought that Moses had too much authority and that he had too little. In Numbers 16:3, Korah and his clan, “gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?” In Korah’s estimation, everyone in Israel (or more specifically he) was just as worthy of Moses’ leadership position as Moses was. So, what gave Moses the right to hold this position?  Well, Moses decided to let God answer that question. He responded in verse 5, “Even to morrow the LORD will show who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.” Moses emphasized the fact that he hadn’t “taken too much upon himself,” but rather God had given his job to him, just as God had given Korah’s job to him. It was God who had chosen the work that each member of the congregation was given to do. In verses 9-10, Moses questioned Korah, “Seemeth is a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?” Korah had been given the privilege of serving in the tabernacle of the LORD. While God had chosen him out of the entire congregation for that specific task, that work was not enough for Korah. Korah considered his work in the tabernacle to be a “small thing” (v. 9) because the object of his work was selfish ambition. We know the end of Korah’s story. His selfish ambition ended up being the death of him, literally!

While our story may not be as dramatic as Korah’s, we certainly may have a Korah-like attitude toward the work we have been given to do. Whether we have a secular job or a ministry position, we may feel that our job is a “small thing” and wish to have more authority or prestige. Or perhaps we simply wish to see more of the “fruits of our labors” in terms of money made or people influenced. While the latter may not be a bad thing, it can lead to the wrong object of our work. When the object for our work is our own glory or feeling of importance, then no matter what title we have, how much money we make, or how many people we influence, it will never be enough to satiate our ambition. Selfish ambition diminishes the value of our work now and in eternity. Galatians 6:8 tells us, “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.” When the object of our service is ourselves, then the relevance of our work will only last as long as we do. For Korah, that wasn’t very long, was it? After Korah was killed for his disobedience, he was replaced with others who were willing to serve God in the tabernacle (Numbers 18). Korah’s selfish ambition rendered him and his work worthless.

In contrast with Korah’s worthless work, we can know our work is valuable when we have the correct object. The Bible teaches us to “do all to the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31).  When the object of our work is the glory of God, then it is highest calling to which we could aspire. When the object of our service is glorifying the Lord and helping others, then comparison simply melts into irrelevance. For instance, Moses’ work was not any more valuable than Korah’s work because Moses had a greater title or greater prestige. Both Moses’ work and Korah’s work were gifts from God. What made the difference in value was the object of their work. This story demonstrates that the value of our work is not based on the fact that we are the “best” for the job or that we have the “best” job. The value of our work is not measured by the title we hold, how much money we make, or how many people we influence. The value of our work is based solely on the object of our service. Just as sowing in the flesh reaps corruption, sowing in the spirit reaps incorruption (Galatians 6:8). Any work done for the glory of God can never be considered “a small thing.” This perspective changes the way that we value our work and the way that God Himself values our work.

Does your work seem “a small thing” to you? Perhaps it is because you have been working for yourself. You’ve allowed yourself, your ambitions, your perceptions of success to become the object of your work. When you realize that God created you to work for Him, that changes the way you view your work. The only thing that makes your work valuable is the object of your work. If that object is self, your work will be worthless in eternity. If that object is God’s glory, your work is immeasurably valuable today and in eternity.

The post What Makes Your Work Valuable?—Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

As troubled as our world may seem, we can know that we are not alone in our feelings. The disciples of Jesus also felt overwhelmed with the troubles of their world. In John 14-16, Jesus had just told his disciples that He would be leaving them and that they would face persecution from those who had hated Him. In John 16:6, Jesus acknowledged their fear, saying, “because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.” Yet Jesus did not just leave them with this troubling news. In John 16, Jesus gave His fearful disciples the formula for joy in a troubled world. The world may have been troubled, but they did not have to be. Like the disciples, we can have joy in a troubled world for four specific reasons that Jesus gives us in John 16.

First, we can have joy in a troubled world because the Holy Spirit’s ministry is working within us. After acknowledging the disciples fear about the troubled world He was leaving them to, Jesus told them about the “Comforter” that would come to “reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:7-8) They would not be left in this troubled world alone because they would have the ministry of the Holy Spirit working inside of them. John 16:13 says, “Howebeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” In Acts, we can see the mighty effect of the Holy Spirit’s ministry within the disciples and how it turned the world upside down for Jesus Christ! We have this same Holy Spirit power working within us! This Holy Spirit, this Comforter, can guide us to the truth and give us insight about the future. With the Holy Spirit’s filling, we can have a whole new world of wisdom and discernment opened to us that we wouldn’t have otherwise. As it was for the disciples, this is cause for us to have joy in a troubled world.

In addition to the Holy Spirit’s ministry, we have the promise of Christ’s imminent return. When Jesus told His disciples that He would soon be leaving them, they responded with fear and questions. In response, Jesus said, “Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned to joy.” (John 16:19-20) How could their sorrow over losing Jesus be turned into joy? Because that would not be the last that they would see of Him! Jesus continued in verse 22, “And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” For those of us who have never seen Jesus before, this is an even more astounding and blessed promise. While we may sorrow over the troubles plaguing this world, we can have joy in the promise that Jesus will return at any moment. Our job is simply to be busy about His work so that, when He comes, we will be ready to meet Him! The world may take many precious things from us, but this joy—this Jesus—they cannot take away. They tried before when they nailed Him to a cross, and the disciples were afraid that maybe evil had succeeded in taking Jesus from them. Yet they were all proven wrong when Jesus rose from the grave three days later! Just as surely as Jesus rose from the dead according to His promise, we can know that Jesus is coming back for us according to His promise.

Yet another reason for joy in a troubled world, found in John 16, is the power of prayer. The disciples were afraid of Jesus’ physical absence, but Jesus assured them that His absence in body did not mean His absence in spirit. The end of their relationship on earth was not the end of their relationship. In John 16:24, Jesus said, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” Unlike any time before in history, the disciples would soon have direct access to the throne of God through the name of Jesus Christ. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf, we can ask to have Jesus’ righteousness placed on our account. When we make that decision, God no longer sees a sinner but a child of His, a coequal heir with Christ the Son! How amazing is that! And this gift also comes with the privilege of prayer. As Jesus explained to His disciples, “At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.” (John 16:26) On our own merit, our prayers avail nothing. Yet when we go on Christ’s merit, He becomes our righteousness and our intercessor with God the Father. Christ gains us the grace of God the Father. When we pray, not in our own strength, but in the name of Jesus, we can know that we have access to the ear and power of God.

This leads us to a fourth reason for joy in a troubled world: we are overcomers in Christ. The disciples were understandably fearful of Christ’s leaving and of the coming persecution. Yet Jesus reminded them that He had told them these things to prepare them, not to scare them. In John 16:33, Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Jesus did not promise the disciples a trouble-free world, but He did promise them peace. Jesus did not promise us a challenge-free life, but He did promise us victory. Because we are in Christ, we are allowed to benefit from His victory over sin, death, and despair. Because Christ conquered sin, we do not have to be conquered by sin either. Because death did not have the last word on Christ, death will not have the last word on you or me either. In Christ, we are overcomers! Because Christ holds us in the palm of His hand (John 10:28), the troubles of this world have no hold on us. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess the truth that we already know—that Jesus Christ is Lord! We know the end of the story. We are overcomers, and that is a reason for joy every day.

So, the next time this troubled world gets you down, realize that you can have joy mingled with the sorrow. It’s okay to be sad over sin and death in this world, but it’s not okay to despair. Our sorrow is extremely temporary. Evil will not win. Jesus gave us at least four good reasons to live a joyful life in a troubled world. Remember: the Holy Spirit is working in you, the return of Christ is imminent, prayer is powerful, and you are an overcomer in Christ!

The post Joy in a Troubled World — Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

Like Lucado, some Christians have struggled to find their voice on the matter of marriage in the public sphere. No one wants to be painted as a bigot that hates people and stands in the way of “progress.” Often in this debate, Christians appeal to what we call the “traditional” definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman committed to each other for the protection and provision of any children born to them. However, this argument has often been pushed back against with statistics on the divorce rate among heterosexual couples or new evidence that children do not in fact need a mother and a father to enjoy a safe and secure home environment. While each of the counterarguments may be valid, they still miss the point. The debate is not over whether “traditional marriage” is better for society than “same-sex marriage.” The debate is over what marriage is in the first place.

How and why has the Church lost “moral authority” and influence in our society when it comes to the definition of marriage? The reason is that we have too often appealed to the authority of tradition, rather than the authority of “In the beginning, God created.” We have become agnostic about “what the Bible says about marriage.” If the Church is going to regain moral authority and maintain spiritual flourishing within its sphere as well as influence in the public sphere, we must accept the truth about “traditional marriage.”

The truth is that there is no such thing as traditional marriage. “Traditional” means “adhering to past practices or established conventions,” according to Merriam Webster. In other words, tradition is based on what humans in the past have established as normal or right. As you can imagine, traditions evolve as society evolves. If we accept the term “traditional marriage” then we will be more susceptible to changing our definition of marriage by trading one tradition for a newer one. For example, in some cultures, polygamy, one man married to many women, is considered “traditional marriage.” What may be “traditional” marriage in one culture, like India, may look very different than what “traditional” marriage may be in the United States. If tradition is our only qualifier for what marriage is, then who are we to say that one tradition is better than another? It doesn’t matter what repulses us personally or what is attractive to us personally. That is as fluid and fickle as popular culture. What we need is not tradition, but absolute truth. Jesus offers the truth about marriage in Matthew 19.

In Matthew 19, Jesus is approached by a group of Pharisees who want to trip him up with what they considered to be a “difficult” question. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?” Their question touched on Moses’ law which allowed for divorce under very specific circumstances. Undaunted by the “for every cause” phrase, Jesus simply answered their question by reminding them what marriage was, by God’s definition. “Have ye not read,” Jesus replied, “that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:4-6).

With about two sentences, Jesus put to rest the questions about any “tradition” or alternatives to marriage that man has ever created. What about homosexual “marriage”? Jesus says, “He which made them from the beginning made them male and female.” Why did he make them male and female? “For this cause shall a man cleave to his wife.” What about polyamory or polygamy? Jesus said, “And they twain shall be one flesh, wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh.” In other words, God’s formula for marriage is 1 + 1 = one flesh. No other variables are needed. In fact, if any other variables are added, then you will not come out with marriage at the end of the equation. Any tradition in any culture that does not align with God’s definition of marriage is, by definition, not marriage at all.

What we call “traditional marriage” has become an undervalued institution in American culture. According to a 2020 Gallup poll, 40% of Americans polled thought that marriage was “not too important” or “not important at all” for couples with children.[2] The results of this poll shows a 50% decline in Americans’ esteem of marriage since a similar Gallup poll taken in 2006.

Divorce has become its own tradition in American culture. After 1970, the divorce rate increased greatly with about 50% of American marriages ending in divorce. In the early 2000s, the divorce rate declined as marriage rates also declined.[3] America has the sixth highest divorce rate in the world, according to World Population Review. Divorce, confusion, and every perversion have either displaced tradition or become the new tradition in different places and times in our country. The point is that we can fall into the ditch on either side of the marriage issue if we make marriage a matter of tradition rather than truth.

As Christians, we must uphold God’s institution of marriage not as a tradition, but as truth. How can we expect our culture to value marriage when the Church doesn’t regard marriage as a matter of truth? The church must affirm that there is no such thing as traditional marriage—there is only marriage. When the church values marriage as God has defined it, then the culture will have a clear example of the truth. When the church rejects tradition in favor of truth, then the culture will have something to contrast with its confusion and chaos.

The world’s accusation that “traditional beliefs” often stand in the way of true love and progress is not completely off base. Rigid adherence to tradition can lead to pride, stubbornness, and bigotry. However, belief in the truth leads to true love—doing what is right by the people in our lives. While preaching should not be used to harm people of any community, the Word of God is a two-edged sword for the purpose of dividing truth from lies (Hebrews 4:12). Perhaps Mr. Lucado was right to apologize for the tone of his sermon against homosexuality, because we are always to accurately represent the truth in love. But Mr. Lucado should not have apologized for his sermon, and he should not have characterized his belief in marriage as “traditional biblical understanding.” Truth is not an interpretation or an understanding; it is absolute. Nature itself testifies to the fact that God created the Universe to operate on absolute truth. Truth, not tradition, is what makes love, marriage, and a flourishing society possible.

[1] Anugrah Kumar. “Max Lucado apologizes for past sermon on homosexuality after critics slam National Cathedral invitation,” The Christian Post, February 15, 2021, https://www.christianpost.com/news/max-lucado-apologizes-for-past-sermon-on-homosexuality.html.

[2] Theodore Bunker. “Gallup Poll: Americans View Marriage as Less Important”, Newsmax, December 28, 2020, https://www.newsmax.com/us/americans-marriage-poll-gallup/2020/12/28/id/1003344/.

[3] The Associated Press. “U.S. divorce rate falls to lowest level since 1970,” May 10, 2007, https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna18600304.

The post The Truth about Traditional Marriage—Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

First, your ministry is not your own. Like many of us face today, John had comparison shoved in his face. In fact, John’s own disciples compared John’s ministry to another’s. Do you know whose ministry that was? It was Jesus’ ministry! In John 3:25, John’s disciples seem to be concerned that John’s ministry will soon be outshined by Jesus’ rising ministry when they say, “Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.” In case you have felt badly because of a comparison someone has made between your ministry and another’s, imagine having your ministry compared to that of Jesus Christ Himself! That’s exactly what John’s disciples were doing. Well, John was not flustered by the comparison. Instead, “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven” (John 3:27). John reminded his disciples that “his ministry” wasn’t really his ministry to begin with. It had been chosen for him and entrusted to him. John continued, “Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him” (John 3:28). Previous to this, the religious leaders of that day had given John opportunity to grab credit and grow his ministry’s popularity (John 1:19-23). Yet John never lost perspective of his stewardship. John was not in competition with Jesus’ ministry! John was paving the way for Jesus’ ministry.

Likewise, when we remember that our ministry is really God’s ministry entrusted to us, it makes comparison melt into irrelevance. When we realize that anything good that we are or that we have is from God in the first place, we will be humbled and empowered to do what He has called us to do. We won’t have to waste time grabbing credit for ourselves on the one hand or feeling sorry for ourselves on the other. Recognizing God’s ownership of “our” ministry gives us the liberty to be more effective in that ministry.

Second, your ministry is not about you. When comparison was shoved in John’s face, it would have been easy for him to make his ministry about himself. Comparison breeds self-focus. Was he baptizing as many people as Jesus was? Was he preaching to crowds as large as Jesus was? Was his style as interesting, engaging, or captivating as Jesus’ style? It would have been easy for him to make his ministry’s success a matter of personal identity and worth. However, John helped his disciples shift the focus from him and back onto Christ when he replied, “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.“ Just like the wedding day is all about the bridegroom, not the “best man,” so John’s ministry was all about Jesus. John was just the “best man” of Jesus’ ministry. He was there to promote Jesus, not himself. Just as the best man of a wedding finds joy and fulfillment in drawing attention to the bridegroom, so John found joy and fulfillment in drawing attention to Jesus. John recognized that “He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light” (John 1:8). As a result of this perspective, John didn’t measure his worth by the success of his ministry. Instead, John could truly say, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). John was satisfied as long as Jesus was being promoted.

In the same way, when we understand that our ministry is about making Jesus’ name greater, our own notoriety ceases to worry or weary us. The moment we make our ministry about us, our identity, worth, and success become inextricably tied to that ministry’s seeming success or failure. In contrast, when our ministry isn’t about us at all, we are free to simply promote the name of Jesus and allow Him to grow the ministry as He wills.

Third, your ministry has one purpose. While it is not wrong to have many programs or goals for your ministry, those programs and goals should never overshadow your ministry’s ultimate purpose. They should simply support and serve that purpose. What was John’s vision for his ministry? Did he have monthly or annual goals for his ministry? How many people did he preach to, regions did he cover, or converts did he baptize in total? We don’t know. We do know the end of John’s story. Humanly speaking, some may have considered his ministry a failure. After all, he was eventually imprisoned and killed! Yet Jesus called him the greatest man ever born! In the Lord’s eyes, John’s ministry was a success because it fulfilled the purpose for which it was established—to pave the way for the gospel. As John said to his disciples in John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” That was the one purpose of John’s ministry. John’s ministry prepared hearts and minds to see that “true Light” (John 1:9), and we are still reaping the benefits of that ministry today. In a sense, John paved the way for you and me to hear and accept the gospel because God used him to build the platform for Jesus’ ministry.

Like John, when we make the one purpose of our ministry—not numbers, programs, or popularity—but paving the way for Jesus in hearts and minds, we will see success. We may not see the results of every gospel seed we plant or water, but we can know that we are in the good company of John the Baptist. If we keep in focus our one purpose—proclaiming the gospel—then all the secondary things will fall into place.

The reason we can compare our ministry to John’s ministry is that, when we look at John’s ministry, we don’t see John at all. We see Jesus every time! So, what does your ministry look like? Does it look like someone else’s ministry that you admire? Does it look like a certain denomination or style of “Christian” that you think will gain popularity? Does it look like you? Or does it look like Jesus? That is how our ministry should look to other people. It shouldn’t look like thousands of numbers, bursting memberships, bustling programs, flashy fashions, or dynamic personalities. It should look like Jesus.

The post What Does Your Ministry Look Like?—Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

The only thing more miraculous than the virgin birth of Jesus Christ is His bodily resurrection from the dead. Christmas is like the prelude to an awesome concert; it’s the tantalizing appetizer to the main course. Christmas was always for the purpose of Easter. As Christians, we make a big deal about Christmas, and we should! But we should make Easter a big deal, too, because it is the foundation of our faith. Without the resurrection of Christ, there would be no Christian faith.

The problem with all the world religions is that the object of their faith is dead, buried, and inanimate. Mohammed is dead. Buddha is inanimate. Brahma isn’t living. Joseph Smith is perished. What sets Christianity apart as a true and living faith is the true and living Savior in which it is placed. In I Corinthians 15, Paul reminds us of the weight that the resurrection carries in our faith. I Corinthians 15:19 says, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” In other words, the resurrection either makes or breaks our faith. If the object of our faith is in a tomb, then we are a miserable bunch. Just ask the Corinthian Christians what a difference that would make! In their culture they were marginalized, maligned, and persecuted for their faith. If their faith was just a matter of wishful thinking, theirs would be a pointless and miserable existence. It would have been much more logical to live like an Epicurean. As Paul noted in verse 32, “If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephasus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.” Living for a dead Christ is absurd. I’d rather be an atheist!

Yet Paul doesn’t stop with an if statement. After the if of verse 19, Paul presents the is of verse 20, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” Because Jesus Christ is risen, our hope is real and our faith is reasonable. Because Christ is risen, we can know that we will rise also! This is statement makes all the difference in the world, now and in eternity. As C.S. Lewis put it in one of his essays, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”[1] Being ambivalent about Christianity is absurd. If living the Christian lifestyle is just a personal preference or just another religious culture, then I want no part of that. The Christian life can be hard! If we are celebrating a metaphorical idea on Easter, then it doesn’t really matter how we live on Monday. However, if we are celebrating a reality on Easter, then that should dictate the way we live on Monday.

In I Corinthians 15, Paul reminds us that if Christ be risen, then our faith is reasonable and that because He is risen our faith is imperative. In I Corinthians 15:33-34, Paul writes, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” Paul admonishes us to live every day like it’s Easter. This means that we live to know Christ and make Him known to others. It means that living a righteous lifestyle matters immensely because that will either hinder or further the life-changing, earth-shattering truth of the gospel!

So, this Easter holiday, ask yourself if you are living like it’s Easter. Are you living like your faith is placed in a living Savior? Are you living like He has an opinion on what you do with your time, gifts, and opportunities? Are you living like you will soon be face-to-face with your Savior? Are you living like everyone you meet will all be raised from the grave and face the One who hath “put all enemies under his feet” (v. 25)? Are you living like “death is swallowed up in victory . . . though our Lord Jesus Christ” (vv. 54, 57)? Are you still living in the if statement rather than living boldly in the is statement of Easter? Since Christ is risen, Paul says in verse 58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” There is a reason to live the hard, arduous, wonderful, and rewarding Christian life.

On Easter Sunday, let’s enjoy our ham and yams, our new Easter outfits, and our egg hunts. But let’s remember that it is a Holy Day of remembrance. Then on Monday, let’s live like it’s Easter. Because it is.

[1] C. S. Lewis. God in the Dock. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing, 2014),  102.

The post Are You Living Like It’s Easter?—Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

What about diversity in the church? To determine whether diversity is good, bad, or indifferent, we must first clarify what we mean by diversity. Do we mean diversity in colors, cultures, classes, or thinking? Diversity is something that existed in the early Church and it is something that the Bible addresses often. Romans 12 gives us a good overview of the biblical view of diversity. Romans 12:3-6 says, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;” In Romans, diversity is seen in words likes every, many, and all. Yet this diversity is not a diversity of thinking; they are one body in Christ. The diversity is the differing gifts that they have been given according the God’s grace.

From Romans 12 we can see that 1) diversity was created by God, 2) diversity is not a fundamental divider or identity and 3) diversity is not a virtue in itself but a means to a goal. This view of diversity within the church is seen throughout Scripture. Let’s delve more deeply into each of these aspects in turn.

First, the Bible teaches that diversity was created by God. As Christians, we know that God created the entire universe and the diversity of galaxies, plants, animals and humans that we enjoy today (Genesis 1-2). God created two different genders, male and female, for the purpose of marriage. Jesus reiterates this difference in Mark 10:6, “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.” We also know that from this first man and woman came the abundance of human diversity we see around the world today. Paul noted this in his sermon on Mars Hill when he said: “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth . . . For in him we live, and move, and have our being . . . for we are also his offspring.” (Acts 17:24-28) We can’t take credit for our different genders, colors, cultures, countries or ethnicities because we didn’t create us. In Psalm 100, the psalmist encourages people of every color, culture and country to “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands” because he recognizes, that “it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” The diversity we see among ourselves came from our common Creator God.

Second, while God created diversity, He did not intend diversity to be a fundamental divider or identity. When God revealed His intent to extend the gospel through the Jews to the other nations of the world, this was difficult for some of the Jews to accept. They viewed the rituals and traditions that made them different from the Gentiles as their primary identity. As a result, it sometimes caused division between Jewish and Gentile Christians in the early Church. Addressing this division, Peter said, “God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them [Gentiles] witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” (Acts 15:8-9) Addressing a similar issue to the Christians at Rome, Paul wrote, “What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin . . . therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith.” (Romans 3:9, 28-30) Later in Romans, Paul wrote, “For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.” (Romans 10:11-12) From a biblical perspective, our differences make no difference when it comes to our standing before God. We are all on equal footing because we have the same Creator and the same Savior.

Our identity has never been in our color, culture, country, ethnicity, social class, gender or anything else. Those have only ever been fractions of our identity. Our true identity is found in our essence as image-bearers of God. At salvation, we take on a new all-encompassing identity as a child of God. As Paul reminded the Galatians, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26-28) Paul gives a similar reminder to the Colossians, “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.” (Colossians 3:10-11) These passages remind us that our primary identity is creation of God and, as Christians, child of God. When it comes to our identity, the gospel obliterates the significance of superficial differences and distinguishing characteristics like gender, social class, or ethnicity. We must not let what makes us different, just a fraction of our identity, become our whole identity. Our identity is in our common Creator and common Savior.

Third, in Scripture, diversity is not viewed as a virtue in itself but a means to a goal. And that goal is unity in a common cause—the cause of Christ. Christianity is the epitome of unity through diversity. Together, with our differing genders, ethnicities, social classes, gifts, and positions, we make up the visible, tangible body of Christ on this earth—the Church. Paul defined the Church in I Corinthians 10:17, “For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” That body is the body of Christ. Similarly, Ephesians 5:30 says, “For we are members of his [Christ’s] body, of his flesh, and of his bones.”

As we already discussed, by virtue of having the same Creator and same Savior, we have the same position before God. However, we are not the same in nearly any other respect! We are born with different gifts and steward different positions within the church. As Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.” (I Corinthians 12:4-6) Then Paul lists a few of those different gifts, administrations, and operations before concluding, “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” (I Corinthians 12:11-14) So, God made us different for the purpose of unity, so that we could all fit together like pieces of a puzzle. When each of those pieces join together, fitting as only different-shaped pieces could, they create a picture of Jesus Christ; and that picture represents Christ to the world around us. I Corinthians 12 continues in verses 24-27, “For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together . . . That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another . . . . Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” Our diversity is the means by which we accomplish the same goal—to represent Christ to the world around us.

The point of diversity is never to focus on what makes us different, but on how our differences fit within the body of Christ for the purpose of representing Christ to the world. While focus on diversity as a virtue in itself leads to comparison, pride, and division, focus on diversity as a means to a common goal brings unity in the Church. In Ephesians 4:1-7, Paul emphasized this focus, writing, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forebearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Once again, our diversity is seen in the context of unity. Like Romans 12, it reminds us of our common “vocation wherewith ye are called.” Also, like Romans 12, this passage reminds us that our different gifts are a result of God’s grace, not our own doing. We are not to be proud on one hand or pitiful on the other because we share a common God and Father who is above us all, working through us all, and living in us all. When we view our diversity in the context of unity, then our interactions with each other will be characterized by humility, patience, peace and love.

So, the verdict is in; diversity is good. Diversity is good because it is God-created. Diversity is good as long as it does not become an identity that divides us from each other. Diversity is good, not as a virtue in itself, but as a means to a common goal. Diversity creates the mosaic that is the Church—the representation of Christ on earth. As Paul would say, what an incomprehensively wise God we serve!

The post Diversity: Good, Bad, or Indifferent?—Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

In I Peter 2, the apostle Peter was addressing a group of Christians who were certainly under pressure, not just from their unbelieving society, but also from a hostile government. Peter did not spend time defining persecution for them. He didn’t say that if you feel pressure from your neighbor, that’s not persecution, but if you’re imprisoned by the government, then that is persecution. He didn’t splice hairs over whether the government was specifically targeting the church or whether the church was being affected by policies that also affected nonreligious institutions. The only thing that Peter addressed in I Peter 2 was obedience to God. I Peter 2:19-20 says, “For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” This passage is not focusing on circumstances (external persecution or pressure) but on conscience. It is not so much focused on what is happening to you but on why you are doing what you do. If you are experiencing negative fallout for your actions (whether you consider it persecution or not), is that a direct result of your own fault or is it a direct result of your obedience to God? The answer to this question is a matter of conscience, not circumstances.

In the New Testament, Jesus never defines persecution as a specific set of circumstances. Jesus doesn’t describe persecution as having the door slammed in your face during visitation or having your congregation cut down to 15% capacity. Neither does Jesus ever define persecution as being imprisoned for preaching or being killed for your faith. Jesus talks more about our conscience (the why we do what we do) than our circumstances (the what happens to us because we do what we do). Throughout the New Testament, Jesus talks about taking up our cross and following Him, come what may. In Luke 6:22, Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.” The keywords here are similar to the keywords in I Peter 2, for the Son of man’s sake. If we do what we do for the Lord’s sake, not our own, we may experience negative fallout for that. However, if we are despised or disowned for simply being wrong, then that is the natural consequence of sin. When the negative fallout comes as a result of acting according to our conscience, then we can be confident that our reward will be greater than current circumstances.

While those circumstances may look different for different people at different times, we should look more at the why behind their actions rather than just the consequences of their actions. If a fellow Christian is experiencing negative fallout “for the Lord’s sake” because of their “conscience toward God,” then we should not extend judgement to them, but rather encouragement and grace. Earlier in I Peter 2, the apostle reminded Christians to “love the brotherhood.” Christians are called to love one another and bear one another’s burdens, not to “add affliction to their bonds.” When the Church is under enough pressure from without, there is no need for added pressure from within.

Some have suggested that Pastor James’ Coates is not suffering persecution because he could have and should have complied with the government’s COVID restrictions. However, if one reads the COVID mandates that he violated, it seems that Pastor Coates had exhausted all his options that would allow him to obey both the government and God simultaneously. The Alberta government has restricted “outdoor social gatherings” to 10 people maximum and prohibits “backyard gatherings that require movement in/out of homes.” As for “indoor social gatherings,” the Alberta government limits them to “household members only,” the only exception being that people who live alone can have up to 2 close contacts over at a time. When it comes to “places of worship,” they are limited to 15% capacity in their buildings, and “in-person faith group meetings and other religious gatherings are prohibited in private homes.” While the COVID restrictions would still allow for family devotions or a three-person Bible study at your house, they would not allow for church as God intended it. Family devotions is not church. Bible study with a couple friends is not church. While each of these things are good, important, and even necessary aspects of the productive Christian life, they are not replacements for church. (For more on what church is, see Part One of this series.) It’s easy for some outsiders to say that Pastor Coates could have and should have done X, Y, or Z in order to comply with the Alberta government’s COVID restrictions. However, Pastor Coates was very clear about why he was doing what he did. His actions were more about obedience to God rather than disobedience to government. Pastor Coates was also submissive to that same government because he turned himself in to the Alberta police. Since Pastor Coates acted according to his conscience toward God, he deserves grace from his fellow believers, not condemnation.

Rather than focusing on whether or not Pastor Coates is being persecuted, we should be focusing on the why behind what we do as well. Are we more concerned with having a “good testimony” in our community, in the sense that we are compliant, well-liked, and pleasing to everyone than we are with “holding to the profession of our faith” (Hebrews 10:23)? Are we more concerned with criticizing someone like Pastor Coates than we are concerned about criticizing false teachers or ideologies that are currently infiltrating our churches? Are our actions motivated by a fear of man or our conscience toward God? If we are not gracious to our fellow believers, whether we consider them persecuted or not, then how can we expect to receive grace when we are in a difficult position? If we are more concerned with obeying COVID restrictions than we are with obeying God, then what makes us think that we will “hold fast to the profession of our faith” when “real” persecution hits? Quibbling over what is or is not persecution distracts us from the real question about obedience to God.

Whether our obedience brings us state-sanctioned persecution, or a door slammed in the face, it is not about us at all. It’s about Who we belong to. The reason Saul persecuted the church in Acts 8 was not that he had a personal vendetta against individual Christians (that would be vengeance, not persecution). The reason Saul persecuted the church was that they made up the visible, tangible body of Christ on this earth. The reason Rome later persecuted the Christians was not their unruliness or rebellion (that would be punishment, not persecution). Rather, the reason Rome persecuted the Christians was that they were the worshippers of Christ, not the Emperor. Persecution is never about you or me; it is always about the One we are called to represent. Whatever is done to us is really being done to Christ (Matthew 25:40). This isn’t a battle between Christians and the world. This is a battle between Christ and the world.

While our current culture may not be as hostile as the culture in the I Peter 2 context, focusing on obedience and supporting our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is just as vital. The debate swirling around Pastor Coates shouldn’t be a contest of who is the “best Christian” or what constitutes “real persecution.” It should be an opportunity for us to examine whether or not we are obviously following Christ in the public sphere and whether we are prepared to hold fast to our faith come what may.

When pastors are jailed, we should be not surprised, and we don’t need to be worried. We do need to examine ourselves. What is our attitude toward church? What is our attitude toward human government? What is our attitude about the importance of our obedience to God? When pastors are jailed is the time for us as Christians to live out our faith for all to see. As C.S. Lewis put it, “Don’t shine so others can see you. Shine, so that through you, others can see Him.” Even better, as Jesus put it in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” If we don’t exercise our faith now, what makes us think that we will be strong when the pressure is turned up? Let’s seize this moment to use our liberty to shine for Christ in service to others.

The post When Pastors Are Jailed Part Three: What Is Persecution?—Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

Last week, we looked at the case of Pastor James Coates who was charged with violating the Public Health Act and turned himself in to the police in Alberta, Canada. Although this pastor could have been released, he did not agree to the conditions of his release, which included that he stop holding in-person services at Grace Life Church. The latest news update is that he is being held in quarantine according to COVID protocol and his trial date has been set in May.

Whether this case conjures embarrassment or apprehension in your heart, it certainly provides us an opportunity to examine our attitudes toward church, human government, and persecution. In part one of this series, we talked about what our attitude toward church should be, and in part two we will examine what our attitude toward human government should be.

As we did with Church, we must first define human government according to the Bible. As Thomas Paine noted, government is a reminder of our lost innocence as the human race. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and, as a result, became aware of their shame. In an attempt to cover their spiritual shame, they covered themselves physically with fig leaves. Their dress was a symbol of their lost innocence. In the same way, human government is a dress, a covering for mankind’s lack of natural goodness. However, government is also a symbol of God’s grace toward sinful humankind. You see, God instituted government to protect us from ourselves and our natural bent toward evil. After the world had become so violent that God had to destroy it with a flood and start from scratch, God instituted a safeguard in order to hold back humankind from destroying themselves again. After God told Noah to refill the earth with humans again, God also told him in Genesis 9:6, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” God gave this mandate to preserve morality and to protect the sanctity of human life made in His own image. From this origin of government, we see that government is a God-ordained institution with the purpose of protecting good and punishing evil.

This definition of government as the protector of good and punisher of evil is found again in the New Testament. Romans 13:1-4 says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same; For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” According to Romans 13, the purpose of government is to protect good and praise those that do good, while preventing evil and punishing those that do evil. Government leaders are to be servants of God on earth, executing judgment on those that violate His moral laws. Since man before the flood failed miserably at self-government, God gave us human government to hold us accountable to each other.

For this reason, Christians are commanded to “be subject” or to put ourselves under the authority of our human rulers within the context of whatever government system we may find ourselves. For example, Paul found himself within a government system that looked very different than that of modern Americans. While Paul was very aware of his civil liberties as a Roman citizen and used them to his advantage at appropriate times (Acts 16:37, Acts 22, Acts 25), Paul did not enjoy the many civil liberties that we have as Americans. As Americans, we have many more avenues through which we can legally petition the government when we believe that it has failed to protect good and punish evil properly. However, the Bible ethic for Christians’ relationship to government is one of respect, not rebellion; and the Bible ethic for Christians’ relationship to government rulers is one of submission not subversion.

Now that we’ve defined government and our relationship to it, let’s define what submission to government means practically. Respect for the institution of government and submission to government rulers does not mean that Christians can obey every single mandate handed down to them. While the two should not be in conflict, human government, like human nature, has a tendency to stray from God’s original purpose and, therefore, government laws may sometimes conflict with God’s laws. In these moments, Christians must appeal to a Law higher than human law.

Throughout the Bible, we find examples of Christians who disobeyed a government mandate in favor of obeying a Bible mandate. In Daniel 3, the three Hebrew children disobeyed King Nebuchadnezzar’s law to worship his golden image in favor of obeying God’s law to have “no other God’s before me” (Exodus 20:3). When the King gave them an ultimatum, the three Hebrew children replied, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). In Daniel 6, King Darius made a decree that no one could pray to anyone except him. In favor of God’s law, to pay what is due Him alone, Daniel prayed only to God as he usually did. In Acts 5, Peter and some other apostles were thrown in prison for preaching Christ. Then, the angel of the Lord freed them and gave the command to “stand and speak in the temple” (Acts 5:20). However, the religious powers that be gave them a conflicting command that they “should not teach in this [Jesus’] name” (Acts 5:28). When they did not stop preaching in Jesus’ name and the religious leaders confronted them about it, Peter respectfully replied, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). The religious leaders didn’t take that response very well, but the apostles rejoiced that they were “counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:40-41).

While these are examples of what we might call “civil disobedience,” they are also examples of submission to human government. The Hebrew children, Daniel and the apostles explained that they must obey God’s law over conflicting human laws, but they also submitted themselves to the government-imposed consequences of that choice. From these examples, we see that submission is a humble posture before man while also a confident appeal to God’s Higher Law. Submission is a positive attitude that says, “I will do what’s right,” rather than a negative attitude that says, “I will flout the rules.” Submission is not a negative focus on disobeying man; it is a positive focus on obeying God. It’s an attitude as much as an action.

We see the importance of this humble posture and attitude in Peter’s letter to a group of believers living under an oppressive government. I Peter 2:13-17 says, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or to governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.”

As in Romans 13, I Peter 2 describes government to be tasked with the purpose of punishing evil and praising good. The purpose of these Christians’ submission to government was “for the Lord’s sake”—to exalt God’s name and preserve a godly testimony in their community. In submitting to authority, they would obliterate any misconceptions of Christianity in the minds of unbelievers. Their submission was demonstrated in an attitude of deference to all people, love for the brotherhood, and reverence for God and the human authorities He had allowed to be in power.

This does not mean, however, that they never disobeyed certain human laws. If the government told these Christians to stop assembling themselves together, stop preaching in Jesus’ name, or stop witnessing to their neighbors, did they obey such laws? We know from history that they did not. We also know from history that they submitted to the government-imposed consequences of that choice. Many of them died for that choice! Yet in disobeying human laws in favor of God’s laws, they were submitting to human government and they were upholding their Christian testimony.

Submission and a good Christian testimony are not synonymous with going along with the flow or being culturally acceptable or well-liked in the community. Peter said that Christians should have a good testimony that “ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” But Jesus also said that “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). So, as Christians the purpose of our godly testimony is not to be accommodating to any cultural norms or government mandates. It is not to be culturally “cool” or acceptable. It is not even to be likeable to our worldly neighbors. While all of those things are desirable, they are not the goal. The goal of our Christian testimony is to be an accurate representation of Christ, His character, and His values to the world around us. This may gain us some fans and followers, and this may also gain us some foes. Either way, our focus should be on representing Christ in truth, grace and love.

The post When Pastors Are Jailed Part Two: Christians and Government — Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

Some Christians have looked at this situation and shaken their heads, saying that Pastor Coates’ actions are an embarrassment to Christianity. After all, isn’t upholding a “good Christian testimony” more important than holding in-person services amid a pandemic? To them, Pastor Coates could have simply continued online services. “After all,” they may say, “church is not a building. You can worship God anywhere!” On the other hand, some Christians view Pastor Coates’ situation as an example of Christian persecution. To them, Pastor Coates was simply choosing to “obey God rather than men.”

A pastor being jailed for practicing his faith according to his conscience is not a new phenomenon. It has happened since the dawn of Christianity. However, the reason it has captured our attention is that it is a fairly new phenomenon for the Western Hemisphere. As Americans, we are sobered, realizing that if it could happen to our neighbor in Canada, it could happen to us. We have not had to grapple with what we believe about our relationship to God and government in the way that Christians in other parts of the world have had to for centuries.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused some friction in this area, and we have been provided with a prime opportunity to examine ourselves, I think, in three main areas. This pandemic and the oddness surrounding it prods us to examine our attitudes about church, submission to government, and persecution. So, whichever end of the spectrum you find yourself on regarding this issue, we should examine our current attitudes in these three areas. What is church? What is the proper relationship between living according to our conscience and submitting to human authority? What is the difference between legitimate persecution and simply suffering for rebellion? In this three-part series, we will look at each of these questions in turn.

First, we should examine our attitude toward church. In order to value church as we should, we must first understand what church is. The Bible describes the Church as the visible, tangible, body of Christ on earth today. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular” (I Corinthians 12:27). In the Bible, the word church, derived from the Greek word ekklesia, means “a calling out” or “an assembly.” So, the Church is essentially a called-out assembly of believers in order to form a visible representation of Christ to the world around them.

The idea that the church is not a building does not negate the fact that church is still an assembly of believers. Often, the Early Church assembled in a building, usually in the homes of fellow believers (Romans 16:5, I Corinthians 16:19, Colossians 4:15, Philemon 1:2). The point wasn’t so much the meeting place, but the meeting together. In Acts 11:26, the apostles “assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people.” In Acts 14:27, the apostles “gathered the church together.” In I Corinthians 11:18, Paul was addressing sin in the church, saying, “First of all, when ye come together in the church. . .” Discussing the use of tongues in the church, Paul said in I Corinthians 14:23 and 26, “If therefore the whole church be come together in one place . . . when ye come together . . . Let all things be done unto edifying.” In Acts 8:3, Saul is described before his conversion as having “made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and hailing men and women, committed them to prison . . .” These houses were likely the meeting houses (or the church houses) of these Christians. The point is that Saul knew where to find them because they met together as a body of believers. Each of these passages emphasizes the physical meeting of believers together. The fact that these early Christians put an emphasis on physically meeting together was no small matter, considering that they lived under a hostile government that despised them and their faith.

Now that we understand that the Church is an assembly of believers, we should consider the purpose of the Church, which flows from its definition as an assembly. We often hear that we can worship God anywhere; we don’t have to be in church to do that. While it is true that we can worship God anywhere, we cannot “do church” just anywhere. The essence of church is the assembling of ourselves together for the purpose of encouraging each other in Christ. Hebrews 10:23-25 paints a beautiful picture of what the New Testament Church is: “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” The context of Hebrews 10 is Jewish Christians who were discouraged due to persecution and were returning to the Levitical form of worship. Their lack of zeal for the Christian faith had also led to a lack of Christian community. They had ceased gathering together in Christian fellowship and, as a result, they were losing their hope in Christ.

For this reason, the writer of Hebrews reminded them of the faithfulness of Christ. He encouraged them to hold fast to their faith because Christ was faithfully holding onto them. In order to boost their hope in Christ, the writer of Hebrews challenged them to continue meeting together in Christian fellowship. The purpose was to provoke, meaning incite, each other to love and good works, and to exhort, meaning encourage, one another in their common faith.

The fact that these early Christians were admonished to physically meet together amid enormous social pressure and persecution should make us consider how we value church as modern believers. Are we so concerned about a disease with about 0.09% mortality rate for people under 65 that we are willing to suspend meeting in person indefinitely? If a higher mortality rate due to government persecution or hostile neighbors was not enough to keep these Christians away from church, perhaps we should examine how much we value church as an assembly of believers.

While we should certainly be cautious about COVID-19, the indefinite suspension of assembling together as a Christian community can also diminish hope in Christ, as it did for the Christians in Hebrew 10. The reason that “forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” diminishes our hope in Christ is that the very point of church is not a place or an order of service but a fellowship of Christians. It’s not about meeting a perceived need or getting a blessing out of the music or the sermon. Going to church isn’t really about us. It’s not even primarily about our personal worship, although we certainly worship God at church. Church is really about giving out to others and blessing others. That is the way we are to worship God at church. From Hebrews 10, we see that the church is gathering together as the body of Christ for the purpose of inciting each other to love and good works and encouraging each other in our common faith.

With this purpose in mind, it would seem that we can only “do church” effectively in person. While it is true that we can watch a sermon on TV, that is just . . . well, watching a sermon on TV; that is not church. While texting, calling, and direct messaging is a method for conveniently reaching out to and communicating with fellow church members, it is an extremely limited method. We cannot stir each other up to love and good works by our example over text. We cannot demonstrate our love to others through caring eye contact and a gentle hug or handshake over the phone. We cannot direct message an act of service to a fellow church member. After months of isolation due to COVID restrictions, we human beings are starved for the physical presence and touch of others. People, young and old, adults and children, have literally died of despair, loneliness, and depression during the COVID-19 restrictions. Just as we would for any other contagious illness, we should take necessary precautions. For instance, people who fear getting sick or fear passing something on to others can choose to stay home. However, we cannot indefinitely isolate ourselves at the expense of the mental, physical, and spiritual health of others. The objectives of church, which can only be met with our physical assembling, cannot be replaced with virtual church meetings and direct messages. While we should use these technological tools to assist our efforts as a church, we should never consider them a replacement for the regular assembling of ourselves together. We should value church as the irreplaceable assembling of ourselves together for the purpose of inciting each other to love and good works and encouraging each other in our faith.

If we do not value church as the assembling of ourselves together for this purpose, then we will assume that virtual church is an acceptable replacement. If we think that virtual church is an acceptable replacement, then we will not mind the indefinite timeframe that COVID restrictions have put on the suspension of in-person services. And if everyone becomes comfortable with virtual church indefinitely because “church isn’t a building” and you can “worship God anywhere,” then why would we ever go back to physically meeting together on a regular basis? The point is that we will not value church as we ought if we forget what the very essence of church is. Hebrews 10 admonishes us to value the assembling of ourselves together for the purpose of encouraging each other, especially as we “see the day approaching.” The day of Christ’s return could come at any moment. The point is that the day we find ourselves in, this age, this time, this day is a good time to examine whether or not we value church the way we should.

The post When Pastors Are Jailed Part One: What is Church?—Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

The culture has redefined intolerance to mean making a judgment call on the culturally acceptable sins of our age. Some Christians have shied away from calling out the sins of our age, while at the same time judging other Christians who do. If some Christians condemn one of the culturally acceptable sins of our age, such as same-sex “marriage”, then other Christians may judge them to be . . . well, judgmental and hateful.

So, the question remains. As Christians, are we to judge or not to judge? Well, our example is always Jesus Christ—the author and finisher of our faith. In John 7, Jesus addressed the Pharisees’ outrage over His healing of the paralytic man in John 5 on the Sabbath. As religious zealots, the Pharisees judged Jesus for doing something that did not adhere to their rule book. Jesus responded by asking a question, “If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?” In other words, Jesus was saying that the Pharisees had taken an aspect of God’s law and extrapolated it to an extent that it violated the spirit of God’s law. They had created new laws—their own laws—based upon what they perceived as good. Jesus continued by saying, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement.” To this, someone may say, “See! Jesus tells us to judge not. So, you do you, Christian.” Well, not exactly. Jesus said, “judge not . . . but judge.” The command is not about whether or not we are to judge but about how we are to judge.

Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees for judging His actions based on what they perceived according to their own senses and sensibilities. This is where both cultural cultists and Christians get into trouble. We too often judge others based on our own senses (how we feel about things) and our own sensibilities (what we think about things). This is a faulty and fluid metric. The culture changes, and so can our feelings and thoughts about any given topic. It’s easy to judge sins that our culture also recognizes as wrong. As Screwtape put it to his nephew, “The use of Fashion in thought is to distract the attention of men from their real dangers. We direct the fashionable outcry of each generation against those vices of which it is least in danger and fix its approval on the virtue nearest to that vice which we are trying to make endemic.”[2] If the Devil wants to destroy our homes, what better way than to make pre-marital sex, marital infidelity, and gender confusion look like a fashionable sin and make “judging” those things to be wrong look like the unfashionable sin of “intolerance.” It takes much more courage to stand up to the fashionable sins of our day than it does to stand up to the ones that our culture also condemns. If we judge others based on what’s fashionable, in vogue, or what matches our own senses and sensibilities, then such judgement is intolerant, unkind, and wrong.

However, Jesus does call us to judge. By what standard? We are to judge righteous judgment. In other words, we are to make judgment calls based on what God says, not based on what we see or sense. We are to discern between what seems true and what is true, according to God’s Word. If the Pharisees had truly read Scripture seeking the heart of God, they would find that many of their rules violated the spirit of God’s law. What seemed right to them was actually oppressive and counterproductive. In contrast with the Pharisees, judging righteous judgment is not a “let down the hammer”, arrogant, or self-righteous judgement. The righteousness by which we are to judge is not our own; it’s God’s. The righteous judgment Jesus speaks of here is a humble, Bible-informed discernment that speaks the truth in love for God and to His image-bearers.

We can know what is right and wrong based on God’s Word. We can make a judgement about whether or not a Christian should live a homosexual lifestyle. We can make a judgment about whether or not a Christian should go certain places or participate in certain activities. But we are to make all of these judgements according to what God has already judged to be right and wrong in His word. Only when we judge according to God’s settled Word, not our senses and sensibilities, not our own sense of righteousness, will we judge truly righteous judgment.

The truth is that no one can go through life without making judgments. The most culturally tolerant people are often the most judgmental people because they make self-righteous judgments about others for discerning between right and wrong! It’s impossible to not judge. We discern, differentiate, and make decisions every day. What makes our judgment righteous or self-righteous depends on our metric. Is the metric my senses or sensibilities? If so, then I am no better than the intolerant cultural cultists or the oppressive Pharisees. Is the metric God’s Word? Then I am serving Christ and others when I stand up for the truth. May we be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

[1] Thaddeus Williams. Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), 178-179.

[2] C. S. Lewis. The Screwtape Letters, (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2001), 137-138.

The post To Judge or Not to Judge?—Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

Like its intellectual forefather Marxism, Critical Theory views everything through the lens of power. According to Dr. Neil Shenvi, who did his PhD in Theoretical Chemistry at UC Berkley and later became a Christian apologist, “Contemporary critical theory views reality through the lens of power, dividing people into oppressed groups and oppressor groups along various axes like race, class, gender, sexuality orientation, physical ability, and age.”[3] Critical Theory seeks to find a society’s pressure point, whether that be racism, classism, sexism, ableism, or ageism, and use it to usher in a new order of society. While Marx used the pressure point of classism (economics) to usher in Communism, the members of the Frankfurt School saw a different opportunity in America. They chose the pressure point of racism. As Mike Gonzalez, senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for Foreign Policy explains, “Culture has replaced economics as the driving force of change. The working class has been replaced by a coalition of minority groups, whatever the social and economic status of its members; and armed revolution will no longer be the vehicle; the peaceful takeover of institutions from within will now be the strategy.”[4] Indeed, Critical Theory has infiltrated America’s institutions, from academia to entertainment to bureaucracy, seeking to awaken the “oppressed” to their oppression and rouse them to throw off the “systems of oppression” that are holding them back from success.

Critical Race Theory, then, seizes racism as the opportunity to put pressure on the culture and usher in a new social order. Critical Race Theory (CRT) asserts that racism is systemic in America and divides people into the oppressed group or the oppressor group based on their skin color and ethnic identity. According to CRT, all non-white people are oppressed, regardless of any individual’s accomplishments or success. And all white people are oppressors, regardless of any individual’s thoughts or actions. As Dr. Neil Shenvi points out, “CRT defines racism not merely in terms of overt acts of racial hostility by individuals but also in terms of the subtle and covert means by which racial disparities are perpetuated.”[5] In other words, anywhere that a racial disparity (difference in outcome) exists, CRT sees racism, regardless of the various other factors that may explain that disparity. For this reason, the entire American system of government must be changed in order to eradicate racial disparities and usher in social equity.

Now, equity is not the same as equality. While equality means treating everyone the same regardless of any immutable characteristics (like race or gender), equity means treating everyone differently based upon immutable characteristics in order to ensure that everyone has the same exact outcomes. While equity sounds desirable, it is impossible to achieve without totalitarian government. Because different people groups have different inclinations, and because different individuals within those groups hold different priorities and make different choices, all people will not naturally end up in the same places. As the black economist Thomas Sowell put it in his book Discrimination and Disparities, “neither in nature nor among human beings are either equal or randomly distributed outcomes automatic. On the contrary, grossly unequal distributions of outcomes are common, both in nature and among people, including in circumstances where neither genes nor discrimination are involved.”[6] While equality of opportunity (freedom from discriminatory laws) is certainly desirable and attainable, equity (forced equality of outcomes) is not desirable because it will inevitably come at the cost of freedom to everyone. In his book, The Quest for Cosmic Justice, Thomas Sowell also quotes the economist Milton Friedman, saying, “A society that puts equality—in the sense of equality of outcome—ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom. The use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom, and the force, introduced for good purposes, will end up in the hands of people who use it to promote their own interests.”[7] The only way to ensure that everyone ends up in the same place is for the government to forcefully hold back some and push forward others. This social order—a socialistic, totalitarian government system—is the goal of Critical Race Theory.

From this alone, we can see why many Americans—Christian or not—might oppose CRT. It is not that they seek to embrace racism or avoid dealing with racism. Rather, it is that they view CRT as a trojan horse for the cultural revolution that it is. And this is not a positive cultural revolution. It is a cultural revolution that will diminish freedom and increase government control in the name of equity.

However, many argue that CRT offers some nuggets of truth that can be helpful to the Church in dealing with racism. For instance, at the beginning of the summer of 2020, the largest Protestant denomination in America, the Southern Baptist Convention, endorsed CRT as a tool for understanding racism. Then in the fall of 2020, The Council of Seminary Presidents of the SBC declared CRT to be “incompatible with the Baptist Faith & Message.”[8] According to two professors of religion at the Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry, such a denouncement of CRT is aiding and abetting the perpetuation of racism in America. These professors wrote in an opinion piece at the start of 2021 that “Biblical theology alone cannot save Christians from their prejudice . . .”[9] In other words, some, like these professors, suggest that Christians must acknowledge CRT’s division of people into groups based on skin color/ethnic identity in order to combat racism in society in general or in the Church specifically. These professors go on to say, “As an analytical tool Critical Race Theory is not perfect. Some adherents take the theory to absurd positions, but it is the best tool available for analyzing and understanding racism, and every religious leader needs familiarity with it.”[10] They are essentially saying that Biblical theology is great and all, but it is not enough to “save Christians from their prejudice.” Only CRT can do that.

As a Christian, my question for them would be, “So, Biblical theology alone is not enough to combat racism, but CRT (created by atheistic Marxist academics) is the ‘best tool’ to combat racism? If Biblical theology is not enough to save Christians from their prejudice, then what in the world is Biblical theology supposed to save people from? If not from sin, then from what??” While the professors who wrote this article accuse the SBC for overlooking the merits of CRT and, thus, emboldening racism, these professors certainly seem to be overlooking the merits of Biblical theology. The fact that they cannot see why a Christian leader would reject CRT in favor of Biblical theology indicates that they, perhaps, do not have as good a grasp on the gospel of Christ as they do on the theories of godless academics.

They claim that CRT is the “best tool” for fighting racism, and yet it offers no solution to the problem of racism. First, CRT claims that racism is a systemic and inherent problem in America, and then it proceeds to offer no solution to the supposed system of oppression and no redemption for those that are supposedly inherently racist. The pseudo-solution it does offer—a complete dismantling of America’s republican democracy in favor of a socialistic government—only breeds more division and suffering.

Even if a totalitarian government could make everyone conform to an outward venire of anti-racism, the government could never change people’s minds. For all the progress that America has made legally and even socially in the area of racism, no amount of government programs can touch the heart of the issue—the human heart. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” The reason we see racism in America today is not that it is systemic within America; the reason is that it is endemic to the human heart. Because of our heart condition, every person of every color has the inclination toward pride, prejudice, and hatred. As Romans 3:10-11 say, “There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” The only solution to a corrupt heart is a transformed heart. In Ezekiel 36:26, God promised, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” How can this heart transplant take place? This is the purpose for which God sent His Son Jesus Christ to take our sins upon Himself on the cross (I Peter 2:24). When he died, the payment for our sin was paid in full. When He rose again the third day, our victory over sin was won forever. All we have to do in order to claim that victory is believe that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection was enough to win that victory for us.

The very essence of the gospel is the sufficiency of Christ’s work to save us from sin. Matthew 1:21 states clearly that this was the purpose of His work, “for he [Jesus] shall save his people from their sins.” Not only does Jesus save us from the consequences of our sins in eternity, but He also saves us from the power of sin in the present. According to Romans 6:20-22, “For when ye were servants to sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants of God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” The victory Christ won for us means that we have a new ability to say no to sin and to say yes to righteousness. This new ability comes from the Holy Spirit’s power. Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” In other words, the same power that resurrected Jesus can help us defeat sin (including racism) in our lives. If we believe that Jesus died and resurrected, but do not accept that what He did was enough to save us from sin, then we have not accepted the gospel. The very essence of the gospel is that Jesus is enough. It is as simple as that!

So, should Christians embrace any aspects of CRT in order to eradicate racism? Not if we believe in the sufficiency of the gospel. While CRT puts the emphasis on superficial differences (like skin color) and offers superficial solutions (like more government), the gospel emphasizes our common Creator (God) and our common Savior (Jesus Christ). The gospel gets to the heart of the issue—a transformed heart indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. Only when we clear away all the stodgy academic theories and cut to the heart of the issue will we resolve our differences and find genuine, lasting peace as a Church and as a nation.

[1] Jonathan Butcher and Mike Gonzalez. “Critical Race Theory, the New Intolerance, and Its Grip on America.” The Heritage Foundation, December 7, 2020, https://www.heritage.org/civil-rights/report/critical-race-theory-the-new-intolerance-and-its-grip-america.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Dr. Neil Shenvi. “Intro to Critical Theory.” Shenvi Apologetics, 2021, https://shenviapologetics.com/intro-to-critical-theory/.

[4] This is a direct quote from Mr. Mike Gonzalez’s lecture on Identity Politics for the Heritage Academy.

[5] Dr. Neil Shenvi. “Critical Race Theory and Christianity.” Shenvi Apologetics, 2021, https://shenviapologetics.com/critical-race-theory-and-christianity/.

[6] Thomas Sowell. Discrimination and Disparities. (New York, NY: Hachette Book Group, 2019), 59.

[7] Thomas Sowell. The Quest for Cosmic Justice. (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2002), 6. See https://www.hoover.org/research/quest-cosmic-justice.

[8] Georg Schroeder. “Seminary presidents reaffirm BFM, declare CRT incompatible.” Baptist Press, November 30, 2020,  https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/seminary-presidents-reaffirm-bfm-declare-crt-incompatible/.

[9] Mark Markuly and Edward Donalson III. “Southern Baptist Convention makes poor decision on racism.” Tennessean, January 21, 2021,  https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2021/01/21/southern-baptist-convention-makes-poor-decision racism/4201688001/?itm_medium=recirc&itm_source=taboola&itm_campaign=internal&itm_content=SectionFrontFeed-FeedRedesign

[10] Ibid.

The post Should Christians Embrace Critical Race Theory? —Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

Our culture likes to define love with the phrase, “Love is love.” In other words, love is . . . well, whatever you feel like it should be. To some, love is a relationship between one man and one woman for life. To others, love means a relationship between two men or between two women. Still others view love as an open relationship among several partners at once. Recently, relationships between adults and minors have been accepted by some on the fringe as another expression of love. The phrase, “Love is love”, seems to mean that love is defined by an individual’s feelings, desires, perceived needs, and emotional interests. While this relative, warm-and-fuzzy definition sounds nice in theory, it really doesn’t work in real life.

For example, let’s say I have a five-year-old child whom I claim to love very much. Suppose that I feel so affectionately toward the child that I want to do something to express my love to him. So, when my child asks for candy before dinner, I answer, “Because I love you, darling, you can have all the candy you want. Anytime! All the time! Eat up!” Would that really be a loving thing to do for my child? Well, it may seem like a generous thing to do. My child wants it, I want it, and we both feel good about it, so it must be right. Right? But if I give my child anything he wants, my child will most likely end up with a massive tummy ache and a host of other problems. Allowing my child to eat himself to death doesn’t sound very loving after all, does it? Would you accept my behavior if I excused it, saying, “Well, love is love. And this is how I express my love!”

Let’s take our example one step further…Do we treat everyone we love in the same manner? Would I express my love to a child the same way that I would an adult? Do you treat your mother the same way you treat your spouse? If not, why don’t you? If you love them both, why don’t you express that love in the same way to both your mother and your spouse? What’s the difference? Love is love! Obviously, we do not express our love in the same exact way to each of our loved ones because there is such a thing as right and wrong!

So, if love is love, then what exactly is love anyway?

Well, as Christians, we know that God is love (I John 4:8). His Son, Jesus Christ, is the embodiment of love. We need look no further than God’s Word and Jesus’ example to find the true definition of love. In John 13, Jesus shared a last supper with his disciples in the upper room. He washed their feet in an act of humility and service. He broke the bread and served the cup as a representation of His body soon to be broken and blood soon to be shed. Then in verse 34, He left them with this, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another: as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” So, we know that we are commanded to love. Specifically, we are to love the way Jesus loved us.

How did Jesus love us?

Right after this scene in John 13, Jesus gave His life on the cross for His disciples and for the entire world, that we might be saved from sin. Jesus’ love wasn’t based on what felt good to Him or what He wanted. Ephesians 5:2 says, “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor.” As these passages demonstrate, Christ’s love was selfless, self-denying, and sacrificial. From Christ’s example, we see that love is not a feeling or desire. Love is doing what is right by others in order to bring glory to God. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” And we can know what those commandments are from God’s word.

In relation to loving one another, God’s commandments are clearly given in Romans 13:8-10: “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” This passage defines love as the fulfilling of the law. Biblical love—the only true love—is simply doing right by God and by others. We can know what is right when we know God’s commandments. Just a few are mentioned here. If we love someone, we will not steal from them, covet their things, lie to them, or commit adultery with them. All of these seem to make sense. After all, no one wants to be lied to, robbed, or hurt.

But what about participating in a same-sex relationship? What about participating in an “open relationship” with several partners? If that is what the other person wants and if it seems right, then is that love? Shouldn’t people be free to love anyone they want?

As we have seen, Jesus commands that we love and that we love everyone. But we’ve also seen that there is such a thing as right and wrong. If love is defined as “the fulfilling of the law”, then certain “expressions of love” are right with certain people and wrong with others. So, the real question is, “Does this relationship fulfill the law of God?”

In Matthew 19, Jesus answered this question by defining a romantic relationship to be between one man and one woman for life. Jesus said in Matthew 19:4-6, “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Jesus clearly defines romantic love as between a male and female. He defines romantic love as two (not many) becoming one flesh. Clearly, Jesus does not view homosexual relationships or polyamorous relationships as fulfilling the law. They may feel good or seem right, but they cannot be love because they are not aligned with God’s law.

From Jesus’ commands and example, we see that love is simply defined as doing right. I John 5:3 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” II John 1:6 says, “And this is love, that we walk after the commandments.” Love is not a feeling; it is a decision to keep God’s commandments. Love is not based on desires or perceived needs; it is based on Christ’s example of self-denial and self-sacrifice. Sometimes that means saying no to ourselves and what we want for the good of others and the glory of God. Love is doing right. And God gave us His Word so that we can know what is right, so that we can know what is love.

How can we, as fallen humans, show God’s love to the world around us? 

We love the same way that we do anything good and righteous—we do it in the power of the Holy Spirit! As Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure”. We know that it is God’s will—His good pleasure—that we love God and others. Therefore, God is the one who will give us the “want to” and the “will do” when it comes to loving others. Another promise of Jesus is found in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” If you are a child of God, then you are in Christ! When you make the daily choice to abide in (or depend on and dwell in fellowship with) Christ, then you can bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, love being one of them.

Yes, it is true that we cannot truly love without Jesus animating our lives, but it is equally true that we can love if we ask Jesus to do it through us.  So, this St. Valentine’s Day, celebrate the Love that bled, died, and rose for you. Love others the way that Jesus loved you—in righteousness, self-denial, and sacrifice.

The post If Love is Love, Then What Is Love —Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

In order to understand how this story relates to “racial reconciliation”, we must first understand what we mean by “reconciliation.” According to Oxford Dictionary, reconciliation is “the restoration of friendly relations.”[1] In the Bible, the word is often used to demonstrate man’s great need to be restored to a relationship with God. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel had to offer specific sacrifices for specific sins in order to restore their friendship with God (Leviticus 6:30). The New Testament uses the word reconciled to demonstrate that Christ’s death on the cross finished the work of restoring any believer’s relationship with God. No more sacrifices needed! Romans 5:10 says, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” In Colossians 1:21, the apostle Paul writes, “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.” Clearly, the Bible teaches that, although sin has made God and man enemies, the gospel restores friendly relations between God and man.

The Bible also teaches that the gospel is the means by which man can be reconciled to man. When the disciples asked Jesus how often they ought to forgive a brother who wronged them, Jesus answered, “Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22). In other words, every time! Why should we forgive a brother every time he wrongs us, no strings attached? Because Jesus has already forgiven the ultimate in us (remember how Romans and Colossians calls us “enemies” who have been “reconciled” to God?). Jesus then gave a parable to illustrate this doctrine of unconditional forgiveness, finishing with this statement, “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (Matthew 18:35). The power to forgive unconditionally and be reconciled with our fellow man comes from Christ’s example in the gospel.

So, now that we understand reconciliation to involve unconditional forgiveness and restoration, how can the gospel bring this about in our churches today? By looking at how the gospel worked in Acts 10, we can learn why the gospel is still enough for racial reconciliation in our churches today. The gospel was and is enough because it emphasizes three commonalities among all Christians of all colors, cultures, classes and countries.

First, the gospel emphasizes our common Creator.

In Acts 10, God sent Peter a strange vision of a sheet coming down from heaven filled with animals that were traditionally unclean to the Jews. To Peter’s surprise, God commanded him to eat of those unclean animals. Peter, being . . . well . . . Peter, dared to tell the Lord, “Not so, Lord: for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean” (Acts 10:14). And the Lord, being the patient Shepherd that He is, replied, “What God hath cleansed, that call thou not unclean” (Acts 10:15). In case Peter didn’t understand that God was talking primarily about people, not animals, this vision was repeated three times. Just as Peter was wondering why God had sent him this vision, a centurion of the Italian band, named Cornelius, came knocking at Peter’s front gate. According to one Bible commentator, this Italian band was “made up of Italian volunteers and were considered the most loyal Roman troops. Because he [Cornelius] was such a loyal servant to the oppressors of Israel, most every patriotic person of that day would naturally be prejudiced against Cornelius.”[2] Fraternizing with loyal Roman citizens was not something that a good Jew would do. Yet Cornelius was not just a Roman soldier, he was also a God-seeker. He wanted to know the Jews’ God. For this reason, God had sent Cornelius a vision also, instructing him to meet a man named Simon Peter. It was a divine appointment!

Peter didn’t let prejudice hinder him from relating to and extending hospitality to this Gentile seeker. Peter invited Cornelius along with his two servants (also Gentiles) into his home, just as he would have a Jewish brother. When Cornelius prostrated himself before Peter, Peter put into practice what he had learned from the vision, saying, “Stand up; I myself am a man” (Acts 10:26).  Peter did not say, “Since I am an oppressed and morally virtuous Jew and you are an unclean oppressor, you should kneel before me and humbly seek forgiveness for what your people have done to my people.” To the contrary, Peter related himself to this Gentile. He said, “I’m just human too.” Peter recognized that though they came from different nations, they shared the same Creator. Cornelius may not have come from Abraham’s seed, but he had come from Adam’s seed just as certainly as Peter had come from Adam’s seed. As Peter says in verse 28, “God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”

The gospel does not view some people as oppressed and others as oppressors, some as clean and others as defiled, some as worthy and others as irredeemable. The gospel simply sees all as precious image-bearers of God who are also marred by sin. We are all sons of Adam who bear the same mark of sin from Adam. As Paul noted in I Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” The gospel doesn’t see skin color, culture, class, or country. The gospel simply sees sinners and invites every sinner to be saved by grace. Likewise, when we view others, not as oppressed or oppressors, but as fellow image-bearers and sinners, we can more easily relate to and show hospitality to others.

Second, the gospel emphasizes our common Savior.

Just as we should view other Christians are fellow image-bearers of God, we should view them as fellow followers of Christ. The grace that we wish to be extended to us should likewise be extended to them on their Christian journey. Remember what God told Peter during the vision? “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:15). The word common there carries the connotation of unclean or defiled. We have no right to consider a brother unclean or defiled simply because of his ethnicity. The blood of Jesus cleanses just the same for everyone.

The gospel is the single greatest unifier of men among nations. As Peter observed in Acts 10:34-37, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all): That word, I say, ye know, which was preached throughout all Judaea . . .” The idea that God is not partial to certain people was a radical one for traditional Jews at this time. Many construed the Old Testament laws forbidding Jews to intermarry and intermingle with Gentiles to mean that God loved the Jews and hated the Gentiles. However, Peter recognized here that God had given the gospel to Israel in order to share it with the rest of the world! In verse 43, Peter finished his gospel presentation with these words, “that through his [Christ’s] name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” The purpose of the Old Testament laws was not to keep the Jews and Gentiles separate forever. The purpose of the Old Testament laws was to make Israel God’s representative to the entire world. The point was actually to eventually bring the Gentiles into the fold through the Savior that would come out of the Jewish nation. Isaiah 60:1-3 prophesied this moment in history, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” The purpose of Israel’s separation was always for integration—the welcoming of the entire world to the light of Jesus Christ!

As Peter did in Acts 10, we should recognize that the acceptance our Savior has shown to us should also be extended to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Regardless of our various colors, cultures, classes, or countries, those who have accepted Jesus Christ are accepted with Christ by God the Father. And those who are accepted by God should also be accepted by other Christians. If you don’t think this is a radical idea, look at the world today. It seeks to pit us against each other based on our color, culture, class, or country of origin. The Christian church stands in stark contrast to this when it disregards these differences and accepts others based on our common Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Judging others based on skin color, culture, class, or country is what the world does. Such behavior ought not be emulated in the Church. In contrast, love should motivate members of the Church to extend acceptance to their fellow Christians.

Third, the gospel emphasizes our common Power.

One more astonishing thing happened during Cornelius’ visit to Peter in Acts 10. When Peter shared the gospel with Cornelius and Cornelius accepted, the Holy Ghost came to indwell Cornelius, just as He had Peter and the other apostles. After Peter’s gospel presentation, “the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word . . . on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 10:44-45). Surprised that the filling of the Holy Ghost had “worked” just as well for the Gentiles as it had for the apostles, Peter exclaimed in verse 47, “Can any man forbid water that those should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” Peter recognized that, as fellow image-bearers and fellow Christ-followers, these Gentiles were also filled with the same power to do right—the Holy Spirit’s power.

Peter recognized that the prerequisite for receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit is not nationality—it’s spirituality. When relaying this experience to other Jewish Christians in Acts 11, Peter said, “Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?” In other words, who was Peter—who are any of us—to reject or ostracize someone who shares the same Creator, same Savior, and same Holy Spirit as we do! The Jewish Christians responded in Acts 11:18, “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” As Peter and the early Church did, we should understand that the gift of the Holy Spirit—the power to do right—is not given in different measures to different Christians based on color, culture, class, or country. The gift of the Holy Spirit’s power to do right is given in equal measure to every believer.

As Peter’s experience in Acts 10 demonstrates, if the gospel was enough to bring the Jews and the Gentiles together, then the gospel is enough for racial reconciliation in the Church today. Since we have been reconciled to God, we can also be reconciled to each other. Ephesians 2:13-16 says, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby . . . For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” Because of the gospel, every Christian—Jew or Gentile, black or white—has the ability to do right through the Holy Spirit’s power. Our color, culture, class, or country is irrelevant when it comes to our place in the body of Christ.  The gospel eradicates those differences; it has no use for them. Colossians 3:10-11 says that as Christians, we have “put on a new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him [that’s Jesus!] Where there is neither Greek, nor Jew; circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.” As Christians, we should not emphasize what the gospel does not emphasize. We should exalt what the gospel does—our common Creator, our common Savior, and our common Power.

[1] “Reconciliation, n1.”Oxford English Dictionary Online, 2021, https://www.lexico.com/definition/reconciliation. Accessed January 27, 2021.

[2] Guzik, David. “Study Guide for Acts 10.” Blue Letter Bible. 21 Feb, 2017. Web. 28 Jan, 2021. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Act/Act-10.cfm>.

The post Why the Gospel is Enough for Racial Reconciliation in the Church—Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

You don’t need another person to tell you that you should be concerned about this administration. In fact, you’re probably tired of hearing it! I do not believe that this administration is all doom and gloom or the beginning of the end. It’s not like we haven’t been in a spot like this politically before. However, I’m not sure that we’ve been in a spot like this culturally before—a spot where Christianity is viewed as “problematic” and speaking truth is called “violence.”

While this is nothing like the persecution that the Early Church faced, the cultural temperature is rising and putting pressure on the 2021 Church.  No, we are not being imprisoned or physically harmed, but we are being doxed, cancelled, or sued for speaking up for the truth and Christian values. Certainly, we know nothing of the persecution that Christians in other parts of the world face today! Yet the pressure we are feeling today is similar to the early stages of persecution that faced the Early Church at its inception.

In Acts 4, the Church is a brand new institution. It’s a body of diverse believers, composed of both Jews and Gentiles alike. Yet this diverse group living in a very politically and socially divided culture shares unity in the crucified and then risen Jesus Christ. When Peter and John are arrested for healing a lame man in the name of Jesus, the Church understands that they can expect the same hostility that the world gave to their Savior Jesus. What did the Early Church do when the temperature started to rise? They prayed. “And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God” (Acts 4:24). By looking at four characteristics of the Early Church’s prayer, we can learn how the 2021 Church ought to respond under pressure.

First, the Early Church prayed in unity.

“And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord . . .” The Early Church had just as many excuses to be divided as the 2021 Church does today. The Jews could have blamed the Gentiles for killing their Savior and oppressing their people. Likewise, the Gentiles could have belittled the Jews as second-class citizens and social outcasts. Plenty of cultural, political, and even ethnic differences existed in the Early Church, just as they do in the 2021 Church. However, the Early Church did not focus on or drudge up those differences. Rather, the individuals of the Early Church focused on their main identity in Christ: “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). Antioch was probably the most diverse group of Christians that made up the Early Church. They were Jews, Greeks, and other Mediterranean and African ethnic groups, and yet they were all called Christians or “little Christs.” This identity is what allowed them to set aside their cultural, political, and ethnic differences and pray in unity for a common cause—the cause of Christ’s gospel.

Second, the Early Church prayed to the Lord God.

“And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ . . . both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.” (Acts 4:24). The word translated Lord here comes from the Greek word despotes, meaning master or absolute ruler. The Early Church recognized Who they were praying to—the Master, the Absolute Ruler of the Universe. Even though the Romans and the Jews thought they had killed Jesus, they were only helping to bring about what God had already ordained. The Early Church knew that it was the Lord—not the human rulers putting pressure on them—Who was ultimately in control. The Lord, the Master, the Absolute Ruler would have the last word.

Third, the Early Church prayed not for less confrontation, but for more confidence.

“And now, Lord, behold, their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus” (Acts 4:29-30). The Early Church didn’t pretend that the “threatenings” did not exist. They said, behold! They talked to God about the confrontation they were facing and asked for Him to increase their confidence in His work. They asked for Him to do His work through them. The Early Church knew that they could expect confrontation because Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). But they also knew that the solution to this confrontation was not to wish it away. They knew that the solution was confidence in Christ because Jesus also said, “but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Fourth, the Early Church prayed not for a lighter burden, but for greater boldness.

“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). Not only did they ask for boldness to speak the word (v. 29), but they also did speak the word with boldness (v. 31). The kept on doing the very thing that got Peter and John arrested in the first place! The secret weapon that enabled their bold actions was the filling of the Holy Spirit. As a result of Holy Spirit fullness, they were able to show Holy Spirit boldness. Just as the Early Church expected the confrontation from the world, they accepted the burden of living for Christ in the world.

So, what can the 2021 Church learn from the Early Church?

For one thing, Christians have always lived in a culture hostile to their faith. While it may be new for Americans, it’s not new for Christians. Second, the 2021 Church can respond to pressure the same way the Early Church did. We must pray in unity. We must pray to the Lord, knowing He will have the last word. We can pray for confidence in the Christ Who has overcome the world. And we can pray for Holy Spirit fullness to bolster Holy Spirit boldness. The Early Church offers an example for those of us who make up the body of Christ today, the 2021 Church.

The post The 2021 Church—Lauren Rice first appeared on Bill Rice Ranch.

We may look to our political leaders for guidance and change, but we know that our salvation will not come from politics. Politics are influenced by the culture, and the culture is influenced by the way citizens think and believe. From this chain of influence, we see that in order to influence politics, we must influence culture. In order to influence culture, we must influence the way our neighbors think and believe. As dual citizens of both an earthly and a heavenly kingdom, we have an Ultimate Leader Who has given us instructions for how to do just that.

In Luke 19, Jesus’ disciples were looking to Jesus as a political leader. Just as we may look to political leaders for change today, the disciples wanted him to overthrow the Roman government and set up His earthly kingdom right then and there! However, Jesus had a different plan—one to redeem mankind and then return to set up His earthly reign. To illustrate this truth, Jesus told the parable of a nobleman who journeyed to a far country “to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return” (v. 12). This nobleman entrusted ten of his servants with one pound each, and left them with these instructions, “Occupy till I come.” When the nobleman returned, he found that some of his servants had invested the one pound he’d given them and received large returns on their investment. To the first servant who had invested his pound, the nobleman said, “Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in very little, have thou authority over ten cities” (v. 17). Each faithful servant received a measure of authority in relation to their faithfulness to the nobleman while he had been away.

However, the nobleman also had a servant who did not invest his master’s money. This servant held on to his master’s pound and never used it for his master’s service. The servant offered an excuse for his laziness, claiming that the nobleman didn’t really need his work anyway. After all, he argued, the nobleman had already reaped where he didn’t sow. Did the nobleman really need his work too?

It wasn’t that the nobleman needed this servants work. His purposes would be accomplished anyway. But this servant missed out on all the blessings he could have experienced because he had disregarded the nobleman’s one instruction: “Occupy till I come.”

Jesus wanted His disciples (and us) to understand that He has an ultimate plan that will be accomplished. But He also wants us to experience the blessings that come with the instruction to “Occupy till I come.” According to Strong’s Concordance, to occupy means “to carry on a business” or “to busy oneself with.” So, what are we to “occupy” or busy ourselves with until King Jesus returns? Just as the nobleman’s servants, we are to carry on our Master’s business. From Luke 19:19, we can know exactly what our Master’s business is: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Our Master’s business is to win the lost with the gospel!

Just as the nobleman’s servants in the story were given an equal measure of his treasure, we have been given an equal measure of our Master’s treasure (the gospel!). In I Corinthians 15:3-4, Paul wrote, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures.” In Romans 16:25-26, Paul wrote, “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.” These passages use words like “delivered” and “received”, and phrases like “my gospel” and “made manifest.” In other words, the gospel has been entrusted to us in order that we may invest it in others. What we do with the gospel will not only determine our position in the Kingdom to come, but also determine what amount of change we will see in our nation’s destiny.

We often hear that we are fighting for the soul of our nation. In reality, we are fighting for the thousands of individual souls that make up this nation. If we are fighting for the soul(s) of our nation, then this fight is not primarily a political one, but a spiritual one. As Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” We are fighting for the hearts and minds of our children, our family, our friends, and our neighbors. The soul of our nation will not be saved until the souls around us are saved through the power of the gospel.

The greatest deterrent we have against our nation’s downward spiral is the gospel. “Oh yes,” someone may say. “The gospel is the pat answer we use when we don’t know what else to do. It’s what we say to make ourselves feel better when we don’t have any power over the current events of our day.” The truth is that the gospel is not a cop out, a flag of truce, or a pat answer. The gospel has been our most neglected resource for radical change and hope in America. How can we expect to change people’s minds about social and political issues like abortion or socialism if we are not passionate about investing the gospel in them? What are we, as individual servants, doing with the gospel our Master has entrusted to us? Perhaps this moment in history is our wakeup call to be more passionate about our Master’s business. Just as persecution caused the early church to grow and increase in passion, the pressure we feel in our nation today (though far from persecution) is meant to increase our passion for our Master’s business.

If our neighbors’ hearts are transformed by the gospel this will influence our culture. If our neighbors’ minds are renewed with the gospel, that will also influence the way they vote. Like the disciples, we are to “busy ourselves” with our Master’s business—the gospel business. If we do, the return will be countless souls reaped for Christ! The blessings will be a change in the way people think, believe, and yes, even vote in our nation. We can build a barrier between our nation and the precipice if we will be about the gospel business. Let’s get busy!

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Well, this election cycle has been a test of that theory for many. Maybe the 2020 election turned out the way you wanted. Maybe it didn’t. If you find yourself in the latter category, you may also find yourself feeling disappointed . . . even to the point of feeling apathetic. After all, you’ve done your duty, and it didn’t work out. What’s the point of being involved in America’s public affairs, you may think, when your voice will likely only be squelched again?

While these feelings are understandable, they are not truthful. Just because it seems like your voice was squelched in the 2020 election does not mean that you should just go silent. Now is not the time for giving up on America or our civic duties. So, how can we be invested in our nation’s affairs but not overwhelmed by the unpredictable turn of events?

1. Perspective. Whether things are going our way or not, we must keep a heavenly perspective. As Christians, we know the end of the story. We know who has the trump card (no pun intended, really). Revelation 19 paints the picture of Jesus Christ returning to Earth for the second time, this time as a conquering King, with the words, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OR LORDS” written on his vesture (v. 18). We know that when everything is said and done, “every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:11) and that He will create “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1). Most comforting of all, we know that if we are with Him, we are also on the winning side. Romans 8 explains that God will work all things together for good to them that love him. Verse 31 says, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” and verse 37 declares that “we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” This assures us that no matter what happens here and now, we will be on the winning side in the end. Now, this is not just a pat answer to give out when things don’t go your way. Neither is it a flag of truce to wave when we feel that our country is drifting further from our Constitutional and biblical principles. This truth is meant to give us the perspective that while politics is important in the here and now, it is still just another temporal and fleeting institution of this world. We have a higher calling, a greater loyalty, and an ultimate victory in Christ. Through the wins and losses, the highs and lows, this truth is meant to ground us through it all.

2. Persistence. As we mentioned before, just because politics is temporal doesn’t mean that it is unimportant. God intends for us to live in the time and place He has given us, and He expects us to be an influence in that time and place. Matthew 5 calls us “the salt of the earth” (v. 13) and “the light of the world” (v. 14). This means that we preserve and influence our time and place. We must be persistent with this God-given responsibility. Romans 12 gives us many ways in which we can be influencing our sphere. According to Romans 12:11-12 we are to be “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.” Ephesians 6 tells us to suit up for the battles of the Christian life and admonishes us to be “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (v. 18). These passages use words like continue, always, and perseverance. In other words, we are to be persistent in the tasks that God has given to us, even through disappointment or discouragement. This means that we do not stop doing everything in our power as American citizens and as citizens of heaven to seek the earthly outcomes we desire. We continue to vote. We continue to witness. We continue to educate our family, friends, and children on the issues that touch our lives and our nation. We continue to pray for our nation’s leaders and our neighbors. We continue to support candidates that we believe will best serve our country. We continue to follow the prompts that the Lord gives us, whether they be prompts to serve in ministry or in the public sphere.

3. Passion. Above all, we cannot let our disappointments squelch our passion. Fear doesn’t have to steal our saltiness or dim our light. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” With God’s help, we can still have influence, we can still love others, and we can still think clearly no matter who is President of the United States. No matter what is taken from us, our passion is something that only we control. Our passion for the gospel and the liberty it brings for souls should propel us to share it with others. As Americans, our passion for the Constitution and the liberty it brings to citizens should propel us to keep speaking out and taking action. Keeping our passion alive means we educate ourselves on where we came from as a nation and on what is going on currently within our borders and worldwide. Keeping our passion alive means that we are immersing ourselves in God’s Word and prayer. Now is not the time for apathy or lethargy. As Ephesians 6 says, now is the time to suit up for battle.

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Pastor Richard Coyle  

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Evangelist Bill Rice III

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Evangelist Chris Miller  Youth Week IV – 2014

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Pastor Richard Coyle 

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Dr. Dave Hardy  Family Week II – 2013

“Qualifications for Discipleship”

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Dr. Dave Hardy  Family Week II – 2013

“God’s Gifts to Joseph”

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Evangelist Bill Rice III  Youth Week V – 2013

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Evangelist Tim Thompson  Youth Week V – 2013

“Buy the Truth”

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Selected sermons from the summer camp ministry of the Bill Rice Ranch. This message is ideal for teenagers, youth workers, parents, and pastors.

Evangelist Matt Downs  Youth Week V – 2013

“Turn the World Upside Down”

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Pastor John Goetsch, Jr.  Youth Week IV – 2013

“Foolish Things”

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Evangelist Ron Reilly  Youth Week IV – 2013

“Persecution”

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Pastor John Goetsch, Jr.  Youth Week IV – 2013

“Life of Joseph: The Preservation”

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Evangelist Bill Rice III  Youth Week IV – 2013

“Prayer, Part 3”

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Evangelist Ron Reilly  Youth Week IV – 2013

“Following the Shepherd”

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Evangelist Troy Carlson  Youth Week IV – 2013

“God’s Record of Eternal Life”

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Evangelist Alton Beal  Youth Week III – 2013

“Victory Over Temptation”

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Evangelist Alton Beal  Youth Week III – 2013

“The Bondage of Bitterness”

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Evangelist Bill Rice III  Youth Week III – 2013

“Giving”

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Evangelist Alton Beal  Youth Week III – 2013

“Does Your Music Matter to You?”

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Evangelist Alton Beal  Youth Week III – 2013

“How to Hurt God”

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Evangelist Alton Beal  Youth Week III – 2013

“Paul’s Story”

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