In attempts to "reach out" to the unchurched in their communities, many churches today have made the conscious and deliberate decision to downplay the seriousness of sin in an individual's life, or in some cases completely dismiss any mention of sin at all. Such folly actually is constructing "a different gospel" which contradicts the clear teachings of Scripture (see 2 Cor. 11:3-4, Gal. 1:8). Recently, I was reminded of R. C. Sproul's excellent book, The Holiness of God, which I read in the first two years I was a pastor. It is a sobering and humbling book that I highly recommend for every Christian, church leader and especially pastors. Consider the following excerpt from Sproul's book as he expounds upon the seriousness of sin in the life of a Christian:

"God voluntarily created us. He gave us the highest privilege of being His image bearers. . . . We are not turtles. We are not fireflies. We are not caterpillars or coyotes. We are people. We are the image bearers of the holy and majestic King of the cosmos. We have not used the gift of life for the purpose God intended. Life on this planet has become the arena in which we daily carry out the work of cosmic treason. . . . No traitor to any king or nation has even approached the wickedness of our treason before God. . . .

When we sin as the image bearers of God, we are saying to the whole creation, to all of nature under our dominion, to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field: “This is how God is. This is how your Creator behaves. Look in his mirror; look at us, and you will see the character of the Almighty.” We say to the world, “God is covetous; God is ruthless; God is bitter; God is a murderer, a thief, a slanderer, an adulterer. God is all of these things that we are doing.”1

Perhaps, it's not our techniques that need to change as much as our character. Perhaps, it's time to take sin more seriously in our lives and in our proclamation of Christ's Gospel, believing that it is only His Gospel that contains the "power of God unto salvation" (see Rom. 1:16).

1. R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2000), 115–16.

Over the years, single Christian men and women alike have often asked me, “What should I look for in a future spouse”? Just the mere fact that they are asking this question means they are taking this huge lifetime decision with the seriousness that God and the Scripture requires. In order to answer this all-important question, it is first necessary to understand the Biblical roles of husband and wife. When these God-given roles are properly understood, then a devoted Christian can prayerfully seek God’s guidance and direction in finding that future spouse that God has for them.

 

The God-given roles for husbands and wives that the Scripture outlines for us are called, complementarianism. In the book, Doctrine, Mark Driscoll does an excellent job succinctly summarizing this biblical teaching.

 

“Practically speaking, this biblical teaching does not mean that a husband is in ultimate authority. God is, and other authorities are over the man, such as the state and church governments. Nor does it mean that a wife does not have independent thoughts or seek to influence her husband, or must obey her husband’s command to sin, or is less intelligent or competent than her husband. This does mean that a husband and wife are equal with complementary roles (like a left and right hand that work together, though one is dominant). It does mean that wives are to submit to their husbands like Jesus does to God the Father, that husbands are to lovingly lead their wives as Jesus does the church, that a woman should only marry a man she respects and trusts enough to follow, and that marriage is supposed to reflect something of the Trinity and the gospel, where Jesus pursues us in love and takes responsibility for us as an example to husbands and fathers.”

 

Driscoll goes on to elaborate on how sin has impacted the biblical teaching of husband/wife complementarianism:

 

“Tragically, however, sin has caused much pain and misunderstanding surrounding this teaching, culminating in what some have even called the gender wars or the battle of the sexes. God declared to our first parents that there would be conflict between men and women. God told Eve that rather than trusting and submitting to her husband, she and her daughters since would want to rule over their husbands, like sin sought to rule over Cain (the same language is used to describe both situations).1 For Adam and his sons since, it was promised that everything under their dominion would be cursed and would fight against them; providing for their families would be a cursed experience designed by God to humble men and provide insight into how difficult it is for God to be his head when he is disobedient.2”

 

With the biblical view of complementarianism, a Christian single can now begin to answer several questions when prayerfully considering a future spouse:

Questions a man should ask:

1. Does this woman lovingly respond to my leadership in the relationship?

2. Am I willing to remain teachable and accept God’s design to humble me through the process of being the head in this relationship?

3. Am I willing to lay down my life on a daily basis for this woman just as Christ did for the church?

4. Will I put this woman’s spiritual, physical, emotional and financial health above my own for the rest of my life?

 

 Questions a woman should ask:

1. Will I lovingly submit to this man’s leadership in my life?

2. Are there observable actions in this man’s life of his submission to authority over him (i.e. state, church governments)?

3. Does this man solicit my input before making decisions that affect us as a couple?

4. Do I lovingly respect and trust this man enough to follow his leadership for the rest of my life?

5. Is this man a living example of Christ’s love demonstrated to me (and others) daily?

6. Will this man pursue me in love and take responsibility for me (spiritually, physically, emotionally and financially) in a Christ like way?

 

1Gen. 3:16; 4:7. 2Gen. 3:17–19.

But then some strange prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
Those prints are large and round and neat,
"But Lord, they are too big for feet."

"My child," He said in somber tones,
"For miles I carried you along.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."

"You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know,
So I got tired, I got fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt."

"Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."

-Author Unknown

I've been studying on the topic of honor over the last few weeks, and came across this interesting quote from Zig Ziglar:

“There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.”

I couldn't help but think about the fact that in my own life I have continually found myself drawn to positive and encouraging people. I think all of us enjoy being in the presence of someone who builds us up instead of tearing us down. So if that's the case, why does it seem like positive people are so few? We all like them, but few of us try to be one. I've often said, "It takes no talent to point out the problems in a fallen and imperfect world full of imperfect people". Strangely, many in the Kingdom of God would agree with that statement but their actions would not.

After enjoying a 10 days in Disney World recently, I am once again amazed at what a positive environment Disney has created down in south Florida. But more than amazed, I am deeply challenged as a pastor and church leader that the Kingdom of God deserves nothing less than one experiences in the "Magic Kingdom" of Disney.

So here's my challenge for today: What can you do to make someone's day better and brighter? Maybe it's as easy as telling someone, "I believe in you".

At VALLEY Christian Church, our "Gearing UP for Summer" approach can be summed up in three easy words, Invest, Ingest, and Divest.

INVEST - Whether it's a student "boot camp", Kid's Extreme Week or Summer Study group, we make a focused effort to "Gear UP" our investment in people over the summer months. That is not to say that we don't do that the rest of the year, but the summer seems to have a different feel to it than the rest of the year (especially here in NY where folks are out and about a lot more instead of hibernating in the Winter).

INGEST - This is where we give someone the chance to "own" what they've learned and experienced. This could be through discussion, repetition or sharing their experience with someone else. This is the step where they make it their own.

DIVEST - In this final step, we "give it away" to others. This step is all about delegation! Each year when the summer ends, we expect to have more leaders for students, kids, and small groups. We also expect to have new partners ready to join the VALLEY family and jump into one of the growth environments we've created for them to help cultivate their deepening walk with Christ. At the staff level, we expect to have clearer focus for each ministry in our church and big size goals for the coming year that can only be met through God's grace and our continued commitment to INVEST, INGEST & DIVEST!