Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | June 6, 2016

Freedom in Christ, a Life Filled with Peace and Rejoicing!

Your Life, a Radiant Beacon of Joy and Peace to a Troubled World! 

Last week we examined God’s provision for His children in giving us His Holy Spirit to live in us forever. We saw that the world was waiting for God to reveal His glory though those who have been adopted into His family. Now we will look at the methods God is using to bring that about.

God does in fact have a perfect plan for your life, a plan that includes a life of joy and rejoicing in Him; a life that serves as a model of love and joy to a world that is suffering. I think you would agree with me that a life like that would be a life worth living; this is the kind of life the Lord wants for you and all of His children!

This kind of life is not an impossible dream, a life reserved for the very few who have been chosen by God for a perfect life; the fact of the matter is this life should be the normal Christian life and the good news is this life is possible for you. God has most assuredly gone above and beyond all that should be expected to make this possible; even to the point of coming into you and making your sin cursed body His home on earth!

We should focus our minds on that thought and let the enormous reality of what God has done for us permeate our thinking! When is the last time you praised and thanked God for making you a part of the body of Christ as well as a temple of God, the Holy Spirit?

You Have God as a Prayer Partner!

In a further demonstration of His loving concern for you as His child, the Holy Spirit has not only joined you by baptism into the body of Christ, the church, made your sin cursed body His home on earth, but also diligently prays for you to God, the Father. In verses 26-27 we read:

“26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

When is the last time you thanked the Father for His gift to you of the Holy Spirit as a prayer partner; have you ever thanked the Father for this gift? God, the Holy Spirit praying for you personally; don’t you think that’s a pretty big thing? Don’t be an ungrateful child!

What do you Know about Your Circumstances?

As an online missionary for Global Media Outreach I spend many hours every day working with people all over the world. The vast majority of the correspondence I get focuses on complaints about circumstances; people are unhappy, even miserable because of their circumstances. I do get a few letters from Christians who seem to be happy with their circumstances but far fewer from Christians who are thankful to the Lord for their circumstances.

Does the Bible have a message for Christians concerning circumstances? I think we can all agree it does; in many places. A few that immediately come to my mind are:

7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Philippians 4:11

17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17

1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

I’m sure each of you could add to that short list but let us turn our attention to the next section in Romans 8 where it is written in verses 28-30:

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

 Do you believe those verses; do you really believe that God is working all things in your life for good? If you believe God then what is there to complain about? Notice those verses do not say that everything will be good, only that those things are working together for good. No one would say Christ’s crucifixion was good, but it did produce salvation for all who believe; the cross was agonizing pain for the Lord but it resulted in the salvation of many.

Next time we will consider the consequences of all God has done.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 31, 2016

Freedom in Christ!

You are Completely Free of all Condemnation

And what is even more important, as a Christian, you are an object of God’s unconditional love now and forever! You have been given the righteousness of Christ as a free gift; when the Father looks at you He sees the holy righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In “Your Death has Freed You,” we considered the implications of the crucifixion of our sin nature on the quality of life we live after salvation. Even though the sin nature has been crucified there is a struggle for control of our lives between our flesh and our spirit.

We can all attest to the challenges this struggle can present to us as our spirits seek to honor the Lord while our bodies seek to fulfill the lust of the flesh. Paul addresses this in some detail in Galatians 5:16-26 and his description of his struggle with sin in Romans 7:14-25 has always moved me deeply.

By God’s grace Paul’s journey through darkness at the end of the seventh chapter is followed by the bursting forth of a bright new dawn at the beginning of the eighth chapter where we are told, “8 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”

God’s grace has triumphed over sin and you are completely free of all condemnation!

God’s Promise of Future Glory

As Christians God has chosen to greatly bless us with a divine down payment on the glory He has prepared for us. By His grace we have been given, at the point of salvation, the very presence of God to live in us forever; God the Holy Spirit has joined with us in an unbreakable bond and will never leave us. In Romans 8:9-11 it is written:

“9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”

This is a staggeringly wondrous concession on God’s part that should cause us to humble ourselves before Him in thankful praise; our bodies, a temple of God, the Holy Spirit!

Therefore!

In verse 12 Paul follows up this statement with his familiar “therefore” and tells us:

“12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

I believe it important to recognize Paul’s use of the Greek word, Ἀββᾶ in this context; Abba was a term used by a child in reference to their father; it is explained as follows:

5 Abbá – “Father,” also used as the term of tender endearment by a beloved child – i.e. in an affectionate, dependent relationship with their father; “daddy,” “papa.”

God, the Father, was no longer to be a fearful, judgmental ruler who dispensed fiery justice on all who disobeyed but a loving Daddy who deeply cared for His children and would work all things together for their good! This is a dramatic departure from the image of God that had been portrayed to Israel; from a severe and fearful judge to a loving Papa under the New Covenant! We had been adopted, as beloved children, into the family of God and shared in the glorious future that would surely come!

A Time yet Future

The world has always been a troubled place and that is most particularly true today but it has pleased God to let us remain on this sin cursed world as His representatives. Paul was most assuredly living in a troubled world and yet he was able to say in the following verses:

“18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

In the next part we will consider what it takes to live a life of freedom and joy during our time of service as His representatives to the world.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 23, 2016

Your Death has Freed You!

What will you do with Your Life Now That You are Dead?

If that seems like a contradictory question then you are not thinking in spiritual terms; from a spiritual perspective that is an important question that demands an answer. The Apostle Paul just happens to address that question in Romans 7.

In Romans 7:4-6 Paul writes:

“4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. 5 When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.”

 In “But What About Your Crucifixion?” I mentioned Paul’s comparison between the Spirit led life and the fleshly life controlled by the sin nature. For Paul to devote so much space to this problem we could reasonably conclude that this is a big problem; I think our collective experience will confirm that reality, it is a big problem.

Paul has carefully pointed out that our old sin nature was crucified and we are under no obligation to serve it but sadly we still do serve it from time to time. The problem with sin is it is so pervasive, so universal in this fallen world; it is really hard to avoid. Later in Romans Paul points out just how pervasive sin really is when he writes in Romans 14:23b, “everything that is not of faith is sin.

Your Experience with Sin and the Law

I selected that title carefully because I believe it is vital to distinguish between your positional righteousness before God and your daily experience in living on this earth in your mortal body. Positionally you have the righteousness of Christ imputed to you as a free gift as referenced, for example, in Ephesians 2:6-7 where it is written:

“6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

It would certainly have been possible for God to take us to heaven as He did Enoch at the moment we received Christ as Savior but it pleased God to leave us on this earth for reasons desirable to Him. Having been left on earth in our mortal bodies we are faced with the challenges of living our lives in a world of sin and rebellion against God. During our time on earth we are charged with wearing many hats; this has been described in an essay I wrote called “God’s Second Greatest Gift” We must also deal with the problem of sin and our sin nature.

Paul’s Experience with Sin and the Law

When I think of the Apostle Paul I see him as a giant of the Christian faith and a paragon of Christian virtue and while that is true he too had to struggle with sin as he described in the following verses.

“14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”

Soldiers on a Spiritual Battlefield

I believe we can all relate to Paul’s concerns in this matter; there is not one of us who has not shared in those feelings of frustration concerning sin. We are soldiers of the cross and must live out our entire lives on a spiritual battlefield, should we not expect conflict? In Ephesians 6:10-17 where Paul writes:

“10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

The subject of our soldier-hood was covered in some detail in the series To the Soldiers in the Spiritual War. I encourage your understanding of this facet of your reality.

What God has promised us is revealed in the next part as we rejoice in God’s solution to the problem of sin.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 19, 2016

A Question about Babies, Young Children, and Mentally Challenged Adults

Will They go to Heaven if or When They Die?

I ask my wife to proof-read my essays before they are published; she has a good eye for detail and does a lot to help me stay out of trouble with both my spelling and grammar. What’s more she asks the hard questions and sees if I can provide answers that make sense.

This time around she asked if I was ready to deal with the question of the salvation of babies or children who die before they are old enough to receive Christ as Savior. The obvious extension of that question would then apply to adults who are so mentally challenged that they too may have a child’s mentality.

This is being written in response to those potential concerns; I will keep it brief and to the point.

Does Christ’s Sacrificial Death apply to Those in Question?

I’ll reference babies with the understanding these principles apply to all babies, children, and adults who are mentally challenged. Unfortunately I cannot refer you to any single verse or group of verses that tell us that babies who die automatically go to heaven.

I believe the overall testimony of Scripture tells us they will and I am convinced that I will see my grandson, who died when he was only 10 months old, when I get to heaven. Here are the reasons for my personal convictions in this matter as they have come to my mind.

In 2 Samuel 12:22-23 it is written:

“22 David said, “While the baby was still alive, I fasted, and I cried. I thought, ‘Who knows? Maybe the Lord will feel sorry for me and let the baby live.’ 23 But now that the baby is dead, why should I fast? I can’t bring him back to life. Someday I will go to him, but he cannot come back to me.”

We know that David was a man after God’s own heart and therefore I believe David expected to see his son in heaven when he died.

In 1 John 2:1-2 it is written:

“2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

I believe this verse and think it means what it says, Christ died for the sins of the whole world which most certainly includes babies.

In John 3:36 we read:

“36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”

Babies cannot comprehend the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ but they have certainly not rejected the Son.

Jesus speaks lovingly of children when he refers to them in Matthew 19:14-15 where we are told:

“14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.”

Again in Matthew 18:2-4 and 10 it is written:

“2 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. 3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

10 “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.”

I believe these verses illustrate our Lord’s loving concern for the young, don’t you? There obviously comes a time when the innocence of youth is lost and the growing young adult is faced with a decision concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m not sure anyone can say exactly when the shift from the innocence of childhood to personal responsibility may come but for a normal young adult it most surely does come at some point in their lives.

More information on these subjects is available on the internet; two possible sources are listed below from John MacArthur’s website.

Will Babies who Die go to Heaven?

The Age of Accountability

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 16, 2016

But What About Your Crucifixion?

Your Crucifixion was a Big Part of Your Transformation! 

 In “A Flood of Confusion”  it was determined that you were born spiritually dead but it was not mentioned that you did have something else living inside you that you really didn’t want, a sin nature that was alive and well. I wrote:

“Christianity is not primarily about what you do, it’s all about what was done to you; God’s relationship to mankind focuses on two men, Adam and Christ; in Adam you died, in Christ you can live.”

Well, like it or not, there is something else that was done to you; at birth your spirit was dead but you had a sin nature that was alive and well thanks to Adam. I can understand if you find such thoughts unpleasant but you can believe me when I say that ignorance of the facts can cause you more trouble in the long run than being fully informed of the truth of the situation you are facing.

Let me summarize your situation; you died spiritually in the Garden of Eden when Adam disobeyed God. When you were physically born your spirit was dead but you had a living sin nature which was yours because of Adam’s sin.

What you did with your life, either good or bad did not even begin to address your basic problem of a dead spirit and a living sin nature! A solution to that problem was going to take infinitely more than you could ever provide; this is where God had to step in and provide a divine solution otherwise there was really never going to be any hope for you, you were hell bound and helpless!

So What did God Do?

If I told you God sent His Son into the world to die for the sins of the world that all who believe on Him might be saved; as a Christian you might say there’s nothing new about that, I’ve heard that for years; true perhaps, but there is more to that story than meets the eye.

Just as the living spirits of all humanity died in Adam, the sin natures of all who receive Christ as Savior were crucified with Christ on the cross at Calvary. When you received Christ as your personal Savior, your sin nature was counted as crucified with Christ on the cross; it is now considered dead and you are no longer enslaved to it. Now do you understand? I didn’t think so, I don’t understand either; this is another one of those Proverbs 3:5-6 moments and falls into that huge category of truths we must accept by faith and not by understanding!

Let’s let the Apostle Paul tell us the story of the death of our sin natures. In Romans 6:5-11 it is written:

“5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”

There is good news and bad news, the good news first; the good news is your sin nature has been crucified and you are under no obligation to serve it; the bad news is the sin nature is still in you and can do damage if not controlled by the confession of sin and the power of God, the Holy Spirit.

A Lifetime Struggle for Control

Let us review your situation, as a Christian, one more time before we move on. Your sin nature has been crucified and you are no longer enslaved to it. Your spirit has been born again to new life by the power of God and now you have a living spirit within you. The Holy Spirit has come into you as a down payment on the inheritance God will give you in the future but your body, however, has not been redeemed and must still pay the penalty of sin which is death. Your body and the crucified sin nature it holds can have no part with you in heaven; you and your body absolutely must part company either by physical death or the rapture, whichever comes first. Christ’s death on the cross redeemed your soul and spirit but not your mortal body.

The Apostle Paul describes this struggle in Galatians 5:16-26 where it is written:

“16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”

Just remember, as a Christian you will live out your entire mortal life as a soldier on the spiritual battlefield. Your success as a soldier of the Lord depends on how well you put on the whole armor of God and utilize the Holy Spirit; confession of sin to God restores the power of the Holy Spirit in your life! 1 John 1:9

Next time we will consider Paul’s struggle with sin as an example of the struggle we must all wage against sin.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 13, 2016

A Happy Birthday Message to the Church!

The Church is Now 1,983 Years Old

On Sunday, May 15, 2016 the church will observe its 1,983rd birthday; an event generally overlooked by most. It was “born” on May 25, 33 AD on the date that year of the Jewish celebration of the Feast of Pentecost. This was truly an amazing event as the face of humanity was changed forever. At that point a completely new type of human being came into existence, human beings who had been permanently indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit. The former type of human being was still around in great abundance but now a completely new creation, human beings indwelt by God, began living on the earth.

Before the creation of the church, the Holy Spirit had been with individuals chosen by God for special ministries but the Holy Spirit had not permanently indwelt them as He would indwell all who were born again during the church age.

Before that momentous occasion, the Spirit of God, had dwelt successively in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple in Jerusalem before the Babylonian Captivity, but had not been present in the restored Temple in Jerusalem which later came to be known as Herod’s Temple. During those earlier periods, the indwelling of God produced visible results in that the radiance of God was manifested when the Spirit of God dwelled in the Tabernacle and the Temple.

Just as the visible glory of God was hidden in the Lord Jesus Christ, the visible glory of God would also be hidden as the Holy Spirit indwelt each and every human being who received Christ as Savior regardless of denominational affiliation or lack thereof. The situation was complicated by the fact that the outward appearance was not changed at all and by simply looking at people one could not tell whether they were indwelt by God or not.

A Hidden Change with Great Eternal Significance

Although the visible manifestations of the new creation are hidden, the spiritual realities are profound and eternal. Long after this physical realm in which we find ourselves has been destroyed, these spiritual realities will still be in full force and effect. The eternal destiny of those who are spiritually dead is the Lake of Fire, for those spiritually alive and indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit, a future in the new heaven and the new earth as a member of the family of God.

Those who are alive are cautioned to avoid being unequally yoked with those who are dead; there is a great gulf fixed between the living and the dead which can only be bridged by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. We who are alive are commanded to offer directions on passage over that bridge to those who are dead. Those who choose to cross the bridge can join the ranks of the living and become a part of the new creation while those who reject the offer to cross that bridge continue to live under the wrath of God.

Happy Birthday to All Who Have Crossed from Death to Life!

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 11, 2016

How is God Handling Your Sin Problem?

A Parenthetic Insertion

As a missionary for Global Media Outreach I receive too many letters each day that reflect a lack of understanding about the sin problems we all face and the solutions that God has provided to deal successfully with those problems. As a Christian I too have had to deal with those problems and have found relief in the Book of Romans, especially chapters five, six, seven, and eight.

I have started a series of four essays, based on those chapters, in which I am attempting to focus our attention on the nature of our sin problem and the solution to that problem that has been provided by God’s grace. I am personally convinced that a clear understanding of the provisions God has given to us in those four chapters and the faithful application of those provisions to life is the secret to a fulfilled, happy, Christian life.

I know of no one who would truly prefer to be unhappy rather than happy and I suspect that you share my experience in that regard. Finding God’s peace and joy is not something that comes naturally in this sin cursed world but is something that must be discovered and applied.

The first essay in this series, “A Flood of Confusion” focused on the nature of the sin barrier between God and man. The second will focus on God’s remedy to this problem while the third will address the practical problems of living out God’s solution. The last in the series will rejoice in God’s overriding grace that brings all things to a glorious conclusion.

My prayer is that the Holy Spirit may guide me as I write so the written word may adequately convey the good news of God’s answer to the sin problem we all share.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 6, 2016

A Flood of Confusion!

Human Reason Just Doesn’t Get It!

 There is one fundamental truth presented in the Bible that seems to defy human reason and logic and that is the true nature of the sin barrier that separates mankind from God. It seems that everywhere I turn I’m repeatedly faced with complete confusion on this subject, not only in the world but in the church as well; in way too many cases confusion is taught as doctrine from the church pulpit and that is truly unfortunate!

A Contributing Factor

Our perspective on life is made up of the life lessons we acquire as we grow up in a particular social context. The totality of our life lessons, growing up in a specific culture, creates the mortar which binds that culture together; this then becomes the foundation for the common knowledge, the “everyone knows” which we hear in one form or another. While this is vital for a national culture to survive, it can also be a limiting factor when viewing something from outside that culture.

If we try to apply our cultural reference points to something outside our culture we are in danger of getting a distorted image of what is being presented. An important breakthrough in observing extra-cultural phenomena is to be aware of the existence of our cultural bias. An analogy might be looking at everything through rose colored glasses; which, in this case, would be culturally colored glasses.

The Bible as a Case in Point

There is probably no occasion when removing your culturally colored glasses is more important than when opening the Bible to study it. To try to apply “the everyone knows” of the culture of your society to the Bible is an invitation to misunderstanding God’s message to mankind; this is most particularly true when it comes to understanding the nature of the sin barrier separating man from God.

What the Bible tells us is completely contrary to the cultural bias that is the norm in most societies. If we are to fully understand the message of Scripture we must take off our culturally colored glasses and examine Scripture with a much more objective view.

How Does the Bible Describe the Sin Barrier Between God and Man?

The most concise description of this barrier is given in Romans 5:12-15 where it is written:

“12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.”

These verses describe what is referred to as “The Federal Headship of Adam.” They tell us when Adam sinned the entire human race present and future all died in Adam. That means that you and I along with everyone else were charged with Adam’s sin; we died in Adam when he disobeyed a direct command of God; we were born spiritually dead.

Due to our cultural conditioning we would immediately complain, “THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Fair or not that’s what happened; it’s very liberating to make peace with that thought.

Christianity is not primarily about what you do, it’s all about what was done to you; God’s relationship to mankind focuses on two men, Adam and Christ; in Adam you died, in Christ you can live.

But What About Everyone’s Sins?

Personal sin is a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself; before the Mosaic Law was even given men were found guilty and charged with the penalty of sin, physical death. Mankind’s history before the Mosaic Law is filled with death; the early chapters of Genesis mention the deaths of multitudes climaxed with the deaths of billions at the Flood. This was all the work of Adam and Satan, not the personal sins of the individuals as there was no law against which they could sin.

What then was the purpose of the Mosaic Law? Paul concludes Romans 5 with the answer to that question.

“20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

What about Us, Today? We’re Just Like Adam!

Today we live in an age of God’s grace, the door to reconciliation with God is open to all who will receive Christ as Savior and experience the new birth by the power of God, the Holy Spirit. All our personal sins have already been paid for by Christ’s death on the cross. As I stated in Is There One Unforgivable Sin? the only sin anyone can commit against God is failure to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior; all other sins were paid for at the cross.

How then are we just like Adam; there was only one sin Adam could commit against God, eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Today there is only one sin we can commit against God, rejecting Christ as Savior. What about all the other sins? In the Garden the Mosaic Law had not been given, there were no other sins; today the penalty for failure to observe the Mosaic Law has been paid in full by the death of Christ on the cross, there are no other sins that have not already been forgiven!

It was Finished at the Cross, Embrace God’s Truth and Enjoy God’s Peace!

Next time we’ll examine the impact of your crucifixion on the balance of your life.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 2, 2016

Change is Coming to a Life Near You, Maybe Yours!

Change is Inevitable, Your Adventure Awaits You!

Years of experience have shown me that things are always changing; nothing on this earth stays the same. In 1970, Alvin Toffler published a book called “Future Shock” in which he described the increasing speed of change and its impact on the average person. Since then the speed of change has only increased and change is coming faster and faster.

One of the driving forces behind this increasing speed is the rapid development of technology. One only need watch movies of 15-20 years ago to see how much life in general has been impacted by technological change. This is especially true in the field of communication and computers. It is almost laughable to see what cutting edge technology was just a few years ago and if you turn the clock back a little farther it becomes even more amazing.

The Desk Set Computer

My wife loves the movie, “The Desk Set” with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy; released in 1957, it portrays an office staff feeling threatened by the introduction of a massive, room filling, computer that was seen as a serious threat to the job security of the ladies working there. I hasten to add it all works out in the end and everyone leaves happy.

The secret to living with such rapid change is to simply accept its reality and do your best to make peace with it; some of it may apply to your life, some of it may not. I’ve learned to completely ignore those areas that have no useful appeal and enthusiastically embrace those areas that do but sometimes I have to learn which is which.

My Adventure Begins, I meet my First Computer

In 1998 my wife suggested we get a computer; my response was why would we need one of those? On the spur of the moment I could not think of a single good reason to buy a computer. She had been exposed to computers when she was taking a class in computer art and design at the Houston Art Institute. After a little bit of persuasion on her part we got our first computer, a Compac computer, which was a first step in what was to become a long and eventful journey which continues to this day.

An early decision was whether to go with Windows or Mac; Mac was described as a 300 hp sports car with 100 miles of road while the Windows platform was a 100 hp family sedan with 10,000 miles of road. I decided to go with Windows; a decision which is still working well with two exceptions, our Apple iPhone’s.

A Sharp Learning Curve

Being one of those guys who actually likes to read instruction manuals I started reading all I could about how this computer and computers in general were supposed to work (I actually bought a book on digital electronics) and began experimenting on our new Compac computer. At first I was almost afraid of it, fearing that if I pushed the wrong button the whole thing would go up in flames. I quickly got past that initial phase and began to see it first as a fun toy and later as a valuable tool.

In order to speed up the learning process (I’m completely self-taught) I ordered an exact duplicate for my desk at the office; thinking that what I learned at the office could be applied to the computer at home and vice versa. This worked out well enough and soon the computer became an indispensable tool for both home and office.

At first we had one computer with an AOL dial-up connection; I can say with complete and total sincerity I’m very happy that phase is far behind us.

Moving On

T 5810

Jumping ahead around 18 years, we now find ourselves using our computers daily as an important part of what we do. We have both an Ethernet wired network and a WiFi network to connect us to the internet and enable the computers and the other electronic paraphernalia to communicate with each other and the web as needed; today it seems everything wants to talk to the web, even our new washing machine and gas dryer have a WiFi capability and offers a smartphone app to do the job.

As many of you know I spend several hours each day working as an online missionary for Global Media Outreach. This is all done with my computer so I spend many hours each day working with my computer as a completely necessary tool. In addition, I write the blog you are reading on that same computer and also do most of our family business on it as well.

After eight years of faithful service my old T3400 has been moved to a secondary position and replaced by the Precision T5810 pictured above. The Dell Precision Workstation series has proven so reliable for me that I decided to stick with the series when I got my new computer; I’ll say one thing, the new one is incredibly faster than the old one. Although the T3400 is still working, its hardware and software has simply become obsolete, technology has moved on.

T3400

Precision T3400

The Computer as an Artist’s Tool

As an artist, my wife uses her computer, a Dell Optiplex 9010, in her art and it has become equally important as a tool for her. She has several websites that she manages from her computer which include the following:

Art by Adele Bower

Adele’s Art Prints

I encourage you to visit her sites and see how she is using her computer.

Windows 10 has made a significant improvement in the speed with which we can do our work on both of our computers; I would have to say I’m a fan of Windows 10 and Dell although I’m still adjusting to Windows Edge.

In conclusion, we now each have our own computers and with our high speed cable connection (200 Mbps) can both work independently and even make phone calls when someone else is online which was impossible with AOL which had a download speed of 56 Kbps (200 Mbps = 200,000 Kbps) and tied up our phone line. The computer has moved to a central position in our normal daily activities and quite frankly we simply couldn’t do what we’re doing now without them. For us they have joined the ranks of essential home appliances along with the refrigerator, washing machine and gas dryer.

As the family IT guy it falls my lot to try and keep everything working and playing together harmoniously; my wife expressed concern when I devoted so much time to setting up the T5810 but I told her, with complete honesty, this was all fun and games to me; our five computers and two networks speak eloquently to my technophilia.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | April 25, 2016

The Church of the Expectoration and the End of the Church Age

A Line in the Sand

During the age of Laodicea, the seventh and last church age, the Lord Jesus Christ is standing outside the church, waiting to see if He is invited in. Have you noticed how the name of Jesus polarizes, how it can elicit a strong response either pro or con? The Bible promises us that someday every knee will bow at the name of Jesus but this is not yet that day. In Philippians 2:9-11 a wonderful and exciting time is described:

“9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father”

My heart thrills at the very thought of such a future. I love to speculate on that time and imagine what it might be like; the verse does say every knee and every tongue. It pleases me to imagine all of God’s creatures joining in that outpouring of praise; after all God gave Balaam’s donkey the ability to speak in Numbers 22:28 it is written:

“28 Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.”

I’m sure each of us can vividly recall the sound a donkey normally makes, and since the Lord can make a donkey speak why not all of the other animals too, is anything too hard for the Lord? Nevertheless it will be a glorious time and I suspect we’re all looking forward to it (and I hope that all creatures great and small will be able to join in our outpouring of praise, what fun!). That glorious celebration is yet future and this present world will have no part in it.

The Name of Jesus

Today the name of Jesus is an offense to many, a name that can cause fear and resentment; a name that is much too exclusive, a line in the sand. How dare you say there is only one name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

We are even seeing the Bible accused of being a hate book because of what is written in its pages; it is much too intolerant and is becoming ever more “politically incorrect.” Some are suggesting the Bible is out of date and needs to be updated to reflect the preferences of today’s social standards. The Bible itself assures us it’s going to get worse before it gets better. The Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible are increasingly unwelcome in many churches today and even more so in society at large.

The Close of the Laodicean Age will End the Church Age

The Rapture will conclude the Laodicean Church age and bring the seven church ages to an end; the remarkable window of opportunity offered by this age of grace will once and for all be closed. I believe it likely that many Laodicean churches will be minimally impacted by the rapture of the true church and will easily transition into the one-world religion under the false prophet; after all, membership in the true church is through the ministry of God the Holy Spirit bringing the new birth to those who receive Christ as personal Savior, those who have been born again.

This will also end the era of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit uniting with the souls and spirits of those born again in an everlasting union that began at Pentecost. When the church age ends the ministry of God, the Holy Spirit will also change and return to the type of ministry found in the age of Israel, being with, but not in those chosen by God. The restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit will also be removed opening the world up to much greater levels of sin and rebellion against God.

The Coming Tribulation

The Tribulation is most emphatically not a part of the Church Age; the Bible makes it very clear the Tribulation is the last seven years promised to Israel by God! The church will be out of the picture long before the Tribulation even starts.

I have written extensively on this subject so I will not repeat it here. I will only say I believe there could be as many as 8 to 12 years between the Rapture of the Church and the signing of the covenant agreement which will start Israel’s last seven year clock.

This last seven years will, in turn, be brought to a close by the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ followed by His Millennial Reign; two events in which the true church will participate.

A parting thought, you, as a born again believer in Jesus Christ, will have your full share in all of this; there are exciting times ahead for sure (I wonder if we’ll be able to talk to our horse; I would really like that)!  14 The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. Revelation 19:14

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