Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mother's birthday, just so you all know. I am very grateful for all that she has given me, and I pray that I may be a blessing to her in return. Although it is not as great as I wish, here is a small tribute to her. Love you Mom!



-Christopher

My Favorite Music

This post is not so much a lesson in theology, but is rather a list of some of my favorite music.

The first playlist is my favorite Christian music (Tali says that Joshua should try singing the Basso Profundo, which is found in the fourth and fifth videos):




Then my all-time favorite fun-to-sing song:



Thanks for listening!

God Bless,
Christopher

Dual Citizenship? A Critical Look at a Christian's Citizenship and Loyalty on Earth.

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Philippians 3:20)

Now, I am quite certain many of you are thinking, "Really, another political post?! Come on, he's even using Philippians 3:20 again?!" Well, if that is what you are thinking, yes this is and yes I am. Sorry, every now and then I may sound like a broken record, but I feel the need to write more upon this issue. Remember that I told you all that I would write whatever I felt like writing, so you can't say I didn't warn you!

This post will be about a very, very common belief in Christian circles, known as Dual Citizenship. At its core, this theological idea claims that Christians are citizens of two (or more) nations: these being Heaven and the human nation wherein they reside. There is much evidence for this notion (so they argue), but their defense (as far as I myself have found, and I have but little experience in this issue) comes from human experience and human logic instead of concrete Biblical evidence.

First of all, if dual citizenship is correct, you are both an American Citizen (or Russian/German/British, etc.) and a Heavenly citizen. Thus, your loyalties lie to both "God and Country", and both of them can declare themselves as your sovereigns. Thus, as a Christian in America (for example), you must say both, "I pledge allegiance to the... United States of America, and to the Republic...", as well as, "I pledge allegiance to the Lord of lords, the God of the Universe." To the dual citizen, these pledges do not contradict each other, but rather complement one another. However, let us check the Bible.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." (Matthew 6:24)

Since I refuse to take this verse out of context, I will let you know that our Lord is speaking very clearly about something: you cannot serve two masters. He used this as a lesson especially about the love of money. However, His teaching goes much further than just money, for He graciously told us, again, that "no one can serve two masters". Although He further expounded on this fact, He still gave it specifically as a fact that is not necessarily dependent upon a man's relationship with money. So, let us examine this further.

The Greek for "masters" is κυρίοις, which means, "master, lord, the Lord" (Strong's Concordance). Simply put, this word refers to, basically, a slave-owner, as in someone who owns you. The Greek for "serve" is δουλεύειν, which means, "to be a slave, to serve" (Strong's Concordance).  Thus, the Lord is telling us that no man can be a slave, or we could also say a subject, of two different lords. He is either the slave of one or the other, but not both. 

However, since citizenship, at its foundations, requires that you pledge your allegiance to a certain person or nation, and allegiance means, "Loyalty or the obligation of loyalty, as to a nation, sovereign, or cause.... The obligations of a vassal to a lord" (in other words, you make yourself the virtual slave, to one extent or another, of the nation or leaders), you must either be the citizen of Heaven or of the Kingdoms of Satan (for the kingdoms of men are in the Dominion of Satan: see Matthew 4:8-9 and especially Luke 4:5-6).

"Really" you say, "You have but taken one verse out of context in order to 'prove' your point, and now you are saying that your point is Biblical?!" If this is what you are thinking (or are currently screaming into the computer screen) I understand your frustrations, for the people are many that take the Bible out of context in order to prove their false beliefs. However, I pray that you believe me when I tell you that this is not what I am doing nor is it my intent to do so. Therefore, in order to calm your fears, I must turn to another teaching of our Lord.

"When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, 'Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?' He said, 'Yes.' And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, 'What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?' When Peter said, 'From strangers,' Jesus said to him, 'Then the sons are exempt. However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.'"(Matthew 17:24-27)

Christ's teaching here is very self-explanatory. The governments of Earth tax the citizens of their lands. Especially in old kingdoms, the governors/kings were exempt from paying taxes. It was the same with their children and members of their family. God is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Therefore, He is exempt from all the taxes of the Earth's government. This exemption extends to His sons and daughters as well. Since we are the "children of God", His own sons and daughters, we are completely exempt from the taxes of the Earthly governments. 

This flies in the face of dual citizenship. If we were actually citizens of America, we would owe our taxes to them. However, we are not citizens of America, we are children of the King. As such, we are superior to all the governments of the Earth, and we owe no one but our Lord our allegiance and obedience. We do not obey the laws of the land because it is something we must do as citizens of an earthly nation. Rather, we obey the laws (and pay taxes) for two main reasons:  they are ministers of God to do good for you (Romans 13:4,6), and in order to not offend them unnecessarily (Matthew 17:27). 

With these teachings, and many others, in mind, we must come to the conclusion that we are not truly citizens of any earthly nation. Rather, we are citizens of Heaven (Phillipians 3:20). The lords of this Earth are God's ministers to do good to you and since you are a child of the king (who is their master), they are also your ministers. This does not mean that you can refuse to obey them or order them around, but rather they are like police officers, in the service of your Father, who are there to protect you. Whether you like it or not, you are called by your Father to obey them. However, they are not your lords. The nation in which you reside (and even its government) is not your sovereign. You do not owe it your allegiance.

So, I must ask, are you proud to be an American, or grateful to be both a citizen of God's Kingdom and His beloved child?

A Try at Poetry, by Christopher

Hello all. Yesterday I found the first stanza of a poem which I had started three or four years ago (hard to tell since I had forgotten to date it). For some odd reason, I could not put it down. After staring at it for a couple of minutes, I had a sudden rush of poetic inspiration. Now, since I am not a poetic person (just try talking to me for a few minutes about poetry and you will see what I mean), when I feel inspired, I cannot stop until I am finished. Therefore, when I woke up this morning, I sat down and wrote until the poem was completed.

As I said, I am not a very poetic person. Therefore, this poem is not what one would call "great", or even "average". However, it is one of the few poems (I can only remember two others) that I have finished, so I am quite happy with it.

I hope all of you enjoy, and that maybe God will somehow use it to bring glory to His Name.

The Crucifixion and Resurrection
by Christopher Stahlberg


A perfect Lamb, hangs on a tree
With nail-pierced hands and feet.
Unto Him I now do flee,
His love and grace to meet.

A sign is hung above His head
Proclaiming royalty.
Yet nearly every passerby
Spits out mockery.

The Lord of Life, the God of time
Dies as a petty thief.
His Father’s wrath is turned on Him
And crushes Him beneath.

“My Lord, my God, my dear Father!
Why have you forsaken me?”
Yet the Father did not answer
Nor spare His agony.

As His Father’s anger 
Brought Him nearer death.
Our dearest Lord bore all our sins,
E’en to final breath.

Listen, brother! Don’t you hear?
The veil is torn in two!
The earth now shakes, the stones are rent,
And saints are passing through! 

Now comes Rome’s centurion,
He falls upon his knees;
“Surely He is the Son of God!
 In this I must believe!”

The women which followed Jesus
Ministering to Him, (Mary Magdalene and Mary mother of Zebedee’s children)
Wept as they saw their Lord die,
Broken, scarred and beaten.

Then came Joseph of Arimathea,
A disciple of our prince,
Pleading Pilate for Christ’s body
To lay it down to rest. 

Pilate concurred and gave the body
To be laid in the tomb.
(This is the man who, from cowardice,
Ordered Light unto His doom.)

Outside the tomb a watch was placed
By the Pharisees and priests,
To go and make the tomb secure,
From Christ’s disciples at least.

Yet Christ Himself could not remain
In the grave for eternity,
For Lo! Earthquakes and great angels
Have rolled the stone away.

Then came the Marys,who watched our Lord 
Die upon the tree,
Unto His tomb with downcast face,
His body there to see. 

As they neared the tomb they saw angels 
With raiment white as snow,
Who told to them, "He is not here,
He rose not long ago."

The women ran with joyful steps
To proclaim the glorious news,
That Jesus was no longer dead
As they earlier mused.

Then the disciples hurried to Galilee
Up onto the mount.
There they met the risen Lord of life
Who is the blessed Fount.

Christ looked on them with purest love,
The ones His death had bought,
Then opened His mouth and told to them 
What every Christian ought:

“Go, my brethren, and preach the Gospel 
Unto every nation,
Baptizing in the Triune Name
Of God who reigns in Heaven,

Teaching them to obey 
All that I have commanded;
For I am with you always,
Even ‘till the end.”

Glory be to the Father,
And to the Son,
And to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning,
Is now and ever shall be.
World without end.
Amen.

Defending God's Word

Hello all. I am sorry that I have not kept up with all of you. Between work and college, it has been hard to find extra time. Today, I have found time for but a small post, hopefully you don't all stone me or something. ;)

Anyway, since I have little time to post for a while, I will not hold myself to typing whole series of posts on a single topic. Rather, I will write whatever comes to mind and pray for the best.

So, today I want to just throw out an idea for you: should Christians try to "prove" Scripture or God when they are witnessing to unbelievers? Here is an example of "proving" the existence of God:

"Because it is possible for the entire universe to cease to exist, its existence must be radically contingent. Even if the universe has always existed and was uncaused (i.e., the view of steady-state cosmology), its existence would still require a causal agent to keep it from ceasing to exist, to prevent its exnihilation. Since no natural cause exnihilates anything, the cause must be supernatural. A supernatural being (one that is itself uncaused) is required to prevent the universe from turning into nothingness.

It is, from my point of view, undeniable that I exist. Because my existence is actually necessary while not being logically necessary, it follows that I have to rely on the existence of another being to prevent my exnihilation, my actuating a state of nonexistence. Because the universe (whose own existence is also not logically necessary) is inadequate to the task, the cause must be supernatural. If I exist then God must exist.

While I could certainly be wrong, I believe that it is undeniable that (a) the universe exists, (b) the universe did not have to exist (that the non-existence of the universe is a logical possibility), and (c) the universe is radically contingent on the existence of an independent entity that prevents its exnihilation. As we noted earlier, any worldview that denies the undeniable is unaffirmable and is therefore false. That means that we can cut from consideration any and all worldviews that deny the existence of God." (http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2010/05/15/the-lazy-mans-guide-to-evaluating-worldviews/)

If you are at all confused, don't worry, most of us probably are. However, the point I want to make is that this type of "proving God" is not at all Biblical and is really a waste of time. So, what does the Bible say about the Gospel and preaching salvation to mankind?

"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.'

Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)

Brothers and sisters, we must understand that the Gospel is complete foolishness to those who are perishing. No matter how "complex and brilliant" our arguments may be, they are worthless in appealing to man. Salvation does not require cutting through a man's mind and changing his thought processes, rather salvation requires us to cut to the very soul of a man. The only weapon which can do this is the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12). Why in the world would we want to use a peashooter (human logical/archaeological/scientific arguments) when we could be using the most powerful and effective weapon in the Universe (God's Word)?

Please know that it is not our own arguments and brilliance that save souls, it is the "foolishness" of God's Word. Know that a P.H.D is not required to spread the Gospel (thanks be to God, for I am certainly not P.H.D. level!).

As a wise man once told me, "We are not called to a (human) apologetic mission, we are called to spread the Gospel!" Understand dear Christian, it is the "foolishness" of God, not the wisdom of man, which produces salvation. No matter how humble of a Christian you are, you too can spread the Gospel in God's Almighty power.

"For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,  and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord."   (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

The Reality of the Responsibility of Masculine Rulership in Relation to the Home

      In the beginning God created man first. Is that significant? Paul evidently thought that was. 1 Timothy 2:13. Adam therefore was a direct of image of God Himself. To Adam, also, was given the direct responsibility to care for, obey, and teach God's one and only instruction, not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. To Adam it was given the responsibility to obey the command and teach the command to Eve, therefore it would be Eve's responsibility to obey Adam's command that was given to Him by God.
   
           Eve was created to help Adam to do what He was instructed to do which was to rule and inhabit the earth. Adam was created as the ruler and the one who was to be the authority over the earth, he was in leadership. God created Adam to be His representative to rule, on the earth. That is a profound reality. To Adam was given the responsibility to rule and to manage the earth as God would. Funny, even in a perfect world there was levels of authority.
  
     Now what is something that we always hear from popular Christianity? God never changes. That is very true and what He expects from His creation is the same. A good way to find out what a man or women is to do, is to look at what God created them for. Because of the curse, of course, our responsibilities have different aspects and challenges. We now have to deal with sin, death, suffering, and a stubborn ground to reap from.
 
      Now change how you view men. Now view them as God's elected representative to adequately rule the dominion that has been given to them, which could be no bigger than his very own household to a whole nation, or, the most important, the church. We can see that in Genesis where God says that Adam should rule over the creation, as God's image. So, man, we represent God before the dominion that you rule. That is a weighty, yet blessed responsibility. We are God's "ambassadors".

    To wrap up, God's way, to put it simply, is the best way. It amazes me how people kick against what God desires them to be, they kick against what is good and right, and how we have to do this fleshly earthly thing for satisfaction and enjoyment. Far be it from God's will to be unsatisfying and unenjoyable. Remember that one of the fruits of the Spirit is joy. The greatest joy in your life, eternal and temporal,  will be to do that which the Bible says God wants you to do, it will be being filled with the Spirit. Sin always brings suffering and pain.

     So men be the gracious and good ruler and authority in your family (that is, of course, if you are a father, the sons should be submissive to the authority that is over them), ruling as God would rule.

Manly Leadership, the Duties and Responsibilities of Men and Women in the Church, an intro

"But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." (1 Corinthians 11:3)

Readers, I pray that you all will forgive me for not posting for such a long stretch of time. I have no excuse for it, and I pray that you all don't leave me for being slothful in this. 

I believe that it is my duty to proclaim the Truth of God's Word to you, instead of reading Hobbes' Leviathan or Locke's Second Treatise on Civil Government. I am, as the hymn writer put it, "prone to wander", and I am especially prone to man's philosophies. From now on, I must be rid of them, and focus my energies where God wills.

Thus far, I have focused mainly upon submission to the authorities. However, these were rather general statements about issues which I felt needed addressed, with the current state of affairs in the World. However, I need to further narrow my focus to how God's Children should act, ensuring that my teaching will equip the Saints for ministry. Since I think you now understand what God has commanded us to do with respect to government and governing authorities, I shall move on to the authorities in the Church. 

This post will be the intro to a little series which is entitled, "Manly Leadership, the Duties and Responsibilities of Men and Women in the Church". To be honest, I know that I cannot write this series in a way that will edify the Body and strengthen Christ's Bride, at least not on my own strength. Thankfully, "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us, by his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." So, I know that the Bible is sufficient in order to allow me to teach and be used by God to sanctify Christ's Bride. Well, as long as I teach what is found therein...

OK, now that you all have suffered through my random thoughts, I return now to the original meaning of this post. 

At the very basis of the human authorities in the Church, lie the men. Sounds rather uncontroversial, right? It actually is not, especially in the Church. Men who believe like I do are typically called sexist, bigoted, unloving, heretics, etc. In fact, whole books are written by bitter men and women alike in order to trample underfoot this doctrine which God has given us. Believe me, this is very controversial. So, I will do my best to stay away from diving into controversy, but I believe that it is almost necessary if I am to speak the Truth. 

So, here is the verse that I have especially chosen for today:

"But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." (1 Corinthians 11:3)

I believe that this verse must be understood in order for us to continue. The truths contained in it are vast and deep, allowing us to understand the structure of the Body of Christ.

"But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ..." 

One of the most important words in this verse, which we first find in this section, is κεφαλὴ. This word can have several meanings, which are decided by context. It can mean the physical head of a person, or it can mean a chief, a ruler, or a chief ruler. In this context, it makes no sense that Christ is the physical head of men, for we would then be forced to worship our skulls (not even going to go there). It only makes sense that this word, in this context, means "ruler" or "chief ruler". So, with that in mind, we can translate this section to, "the ruler of every man is Christ". Christians, and so-called christians, everywhere agree with this.

So, let us move along.

"...and the head of the woman is the man..."

Using proper hermeneutics, we must again replace "head" with "ruler". So, "...and the ruler of the woman is the man...". A good paraphrase of this verse is, "Just as Christ is the ruler of men, and God is the Ruler of Christ (note: in order to understand that part, you need to study how Christ submits to the Father as a son does to his father), men are the rulers of women." 

Men are to be the leaders, in all cases (notice, Paul does not qualify this verse by saying, "the man is head of the woman, but only in the following cases..."). There is no other conclusion which we can come to from this verse. If there is, PLEASE SHOW ME!

This verse is a call for men to step up to the plate. Men, we are, by virtue of the commands of God, the leaders of all, especially of women. Did you not hear that? We are their leaders, we are the rulers of our families, and the Family of God. It is to us that God has given the responsibility of leading, not to the ladies. If your wife is the ruler of your household, you are sinning against God Almighty, and you deserve His Divine Wrath as a result! 

Here is a common situation: It is nine-o-clock at night. You just got home from work, and are completely wiped. So, you turn on the T.V. (or the computer) and sit back and enjoy yourself (maybe you are even playing a video game, I don't know). While you are "recharging your batteries", you hear your wife in the background. She is giving orders to the kids, and they refuse to obey. After many minutes of this, she cries out in frustration, "Honey! Please help!" "I am tired" you think, "and I just need to relax." So, you ignore your wife, and let her deal with the little rebels which you are raising.* You kick back, and enjoy your "me time".

If the above situation is common in your house, grow up and be a man! Your family needs you to lead them, for you are, as the father, the ruler of your household. If you do not do your job, your house will be a mess. It is not your wife's job to lead the house, for she is a woman. Rather, it is your job, for you are her ruler. 

It is the same in the Church and in other places. Men refuse to lead, so women pick up the ball and do their best to run things. However, God did not make women to be rulers, so it is impossible for them to rule as well as a man can. So, the churches, families, and other things, crumble. This is not the fault of the ladies, it is the fault of the men. I might go so far as to say this: if there is a major problem in a Church, or in a home, or in so many other places, it is 99.9999999% of the time the fault of the men, because they are not leading as God has called them to lead. 

Men, step up to the plate and lead. Women, step down off the platforms of leadership which you may have established for yourselves, and move the men to take up the mantle of leadership.

This will not be easy for any of us. Many times us men fall short. We goof off, act lazy, and often rebel against taking up leadership. However, we must lead. It will also be difficult for ladies, since  you often feel that you should be running things and ruling over men. The blame for our messed-up leadership roles do not lie solely upon either the men or the ladies. Rather, it rests upon us both, but mainly the men. Men have sinned by not leading, and women have sinned by taking up authority over men. We must all work to get our own lives straightened out, bending the knee before our LORD God.


*If you refuse to train up your children in the way they should go, you are actually raising up rebels.

Live for Eternity

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

(Matthew 6:19-21)

I feel that it is time for me to exhort all of you, my dear readers. I have seen a great evil in the Church, especially in America. I cannot allow it to continue without a fight, so I will write to you all about this. Please let all your family and friends know about this. If you need to, have them read this post; but please do not allow this evil to go unchallenged in your life and in the lives of others! 

Men of God, as I look around me, I see Christians who are striving after worldly things. They want a new car, a college education, a pay raise, to move up on the social ladder, you name it. These things are not bad in themselves. However, this is the main goal of many of these people. There are men who go out and spend forty hours or more a week to spread the word about their political candidate in an effort to get them elected to some political office. There are some who go out and waste themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually in order to pay for a high-end college degree or to buy the house on Beverly Hills. There are also men who spend most of their time sitting around staring at a television and pressing buttons on a controller in order to get the highest score on Call of Duty (or any other video game for that matter).

Brothers, this should not be reality!  

To those who are wasting themselves in order to get a college degree, can you not do even more work in order to gain wisdom and knowledge of God? Why should you fill your head with pagan philosophy, science, and history, yet refuse to do more than just take a glance at God's Word once a day?

To those who are wasting their lives trying to buy a better house, can you not spend yourself working for the mansion in Glory? Why should you live and die in order to buy a house which will be gone in a hundred years or less, yet do nothing in return for Christ's preparing a place for you in Heaven?

To those who sit around playing video games, why in the world should you sit around wasting your time and attention killing the next fake figure on the screen when you could be standing and fighting against the powers of darkness? Why should you sit around pressing buttons all day, sometimes even doing in a video game what Satan would joyfully do in real life, while there is a spiritual battle to fight?!

To those who waste their lives on politics, can you not spend your life working for the Eternal Kingdom? These empires of the Earth will soon fade away, burned by the fires of Hell. Why should you waste your time working to strengthen something that will be consumed, when you can be working for the King of Kings whose Kingdom shall know no end?!

Men, all the things of this wicked earth shall be consumed in fire and brimstone. The grand empires of man will be destroyed, the buildings will collapse, our college degrees will be of no worth, and our time playing video games will be completely wasted. When we get to heaven, our wealth will not matter, our pagan education will be worthless, our political standing will be of naught. Nothing will matter but our faith in God and the fruit which we bore as a result of this faith. 

When you stand before the judgement seat of God Almighty and He asks you, "What is the greatest thing you ever did?" or, "What did you spend the greater part of your life doing?", what will you tell Him? Will you say, "I made the American government follow the Constitution!" or, "I bought an awesome new car!", or, "I gained a Master's degree in Psychology!"? If that is what you tell him, should you expect Him to say, "Well done, good and faithful slave!"? 

Stop wasting your life on the things of this world! They will never satisfy you! Not only that, they will all perish in eternal fire! Men, why should you waste your life on things which are completely worthless, when there is eternity to work for?! 

Please, listen to me! We must stop wasting our lives! (I include my own, for I am far from perfect on this issue) We must turn from our ways, and work for the glory of God Almighty! Everything else is of no value! If it is not for God's glory, it is not worth wasting our time on! 

Live not for this world, live for eternity!

2012 Elections

This week, I was speaking with a couple of people about the election in 2012. During this conversation, we started talking about whether or not we can trust men to turn this country around, or even to do the good which we want them to do. One of these people is voting for Romney and believes that we can trust his character and his past patterns enough to do the good which we want him to do. I believe that this is a very good topic for a post, so I have decided to write about it.

Here is my issue with the above argument, can we truly trust un-saved Man to do what is good? Can we trust them to make laws that line up with our beliefs? Overall, are they worthy of any trust?
Let us look at the Bible.

"Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil." (Psalm 36:1-4)

Also, here is Psalm 5:9,

"For there is no truth in their mouth;
their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongue."

cf. Micah 7, Eccles. 9:3, Jeremiah 10:7-8,14, Jeremiah 13:23.

Unsaved rulers/candidates, although they may be considered "good" men by some cultural standard, are really ungodly, ignorant and foolish men. They have no true character (nor can we trust in their character), for every inclination of their hearts are toward evil (Gen. 6:5).I say none of this because I hate these men or am angry with them or want to smear their names, rather I say this because this is who they are.

This is why the Psalmist wrote,

"Do not put your trust in princes,
Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;
In that very day his plans perish." (Psalm 146:3-4)

Notice, it says that in man, there is no help. There is no help apart from God. Furthermore, we must not trust men to turn this country around. Even trusting them to make laws that will turn this country around is wrong.

If there is still any doubts about this, this is what Paul wrote to Titus about un-saved rulers (which far outnumber saved rulers),

"Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us..." (Titus 3:1-5a)

Paul is here saying that we must be submissive to the rulers and authorities, being obedient to them, not slandering them or quarreling with them. Why should Paul be telling Titus this? Because the rulers were being foolish, disobedient to God, slaves to their fleshly desires, hateful, envious and malicious. Overall, the rulers were just plain bad. However, Paul says (paraphrase), "Why are you amazed at this? They are slaves to sin, just like we once were. You cannot expect slaves of sin to be wise and godly, nor can you expect them to rule wisely and in a godly manner."

It is the same with our nation's leaders. The vast majority of them, unlike what some may say, are not followers of God. They are wicked and foolish, running whole-heartedly on the paths of darkness. Please remember this when you look at the way our leaders are acting and what they do. Do not be amazed when they sin, nor be hateful towards them or slander them. Rather, pray for their salvation daily.

So, I must say again that putting your trust in men to turn this country around or even to make laws that are in accord with godliness, is a very much misplaced trust.

Since I do not trust in men and especially not in the character of the unsaved, I cannot say that I at all trust our rulers. However, that is not an issue for me, because God has complete authority over all rulers and no one can do anything outside of His plan. Thus, I trust not man, but God.



Now that I have said that, here is what I have to say about voting in the next election:

1) Do not put your trust in your candidate. Both of the top candidates are unsaved men. Furthermore, they are only men, prone to evil and foolishness. They are not the deciding factors in what happens in the world, rather, God is in complete control.

2) Vote for the candidate whom you believe is closest to your own views. 

3) Do not slander any of the current rulers, nor any of the candidates, nor anyone in general. Much of Politics rides on mud-slinging, where you slander your opponents and treat them as garbage. Do not take part in this, for it is truly evil and sickening in God's sight.

4) Trust God with the outcome. Please remember that all authorities are appointed by God, even in a democratic/republican system. God will appoint whomever He wishes, no matter what men may wish.

5) Do not act as if the world rests upon this election, nor upon politics in general. Again, this election is not the deciding factor in what happens in this world. God is the "deciding factor" and Supreme Ruler, not America's elections or leaders. Also remember that this world is not our home, nor is America our ultimate Country. We are not citizens of this world, we are citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom.

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Philippians 3:20)

As I read what I write and look at my knowledge of God and the Scriptures, I continually see how so many men whom God has called are far greater than I. This is not of their own doing, but of God's, so that His Name may be praised. So, I leave the expounding of this last point which I have given, to Charles Spurgeon. Please read this sermon or listen to the audio which is on it.

Citizens of Heaven

Note: I do not completely agree with Spurgeon, especially about Politically-Involved Christians. However, as Christians, the politics of this world are not of the worth of the Heavenly Kingdom. God is our King and He alone, not the worldly country in which we reside, deserves all our allegiance.

Still, something continually comes to my mind, can a truly godly Christian become the highest official in the land? Will not the hatred of the whole world be upon him because his God is the Lord and he speaks out against the sin of Mankind and reminds them of the Hell which is justly theirs? Can hell-bound Man love a Christian enough to put him into a seat of high honor and power?

Clarifications

Hello all.
I just talked with one of my readers a couple days ago, and he asked a very good question about one of my earlier posts. "So, does submitting to the government mean that I must also agree with what it is doing?"
Quick answer: No. Not at all.
If we look at the lives of the Apostles, we find them continually at odds with the ideas of the Roman Government. They refused to worship the Emperor, and they oftentimes preached the Gospel even when the authorities told them not to.
The idea of submitting to government means:
1) You obey all their laws which are not against what God commands you,
2) You give those in authority the honor and respect they deserve as agents of God,
3) You never, ever take up arms to overthrow them.

As Peter and the Apostles said, when the government tells us to do something against what God commands, "We must obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29)


I will post more this week, and I believe I shall move on to a different topic.

God Bless.

Psalm 2

Psalm 2

1 Why are the nations in an uproar

And the peoples devising a vain thing?

2 The kings of the earth take their stand 

And the rulers take counsel together 

Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying

3 "Let us tear their fetters apart 

And cast away their cords from us!"

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs

The Lord scoffs at them 

5 Then He will will speak to them in His anger

And terrify them in His fury, saying 

6 "But as for Me, I have installed My King 

Upon Zion,My holy mountain."

7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You. 

8 'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, 

And the very ends of the earth as Your possession

9 'You shall break them with a rod of iron, 

You shall shatter them like earthenware.' "

10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;

Take warning, O judges of the earth.

11 Worship the Lord with reverence 

And rejoice with trembling.

12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,

For His wrath may soon be kindled.

How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!    

More on Biblical Submission to Authority

 "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." 

(Declaration of Independence)

Our nation, our very identity as citizens of America, is founded in revolution against oppressive governments. Ever since our founding, we have encouraged revolution against oppression throughout the world. As was once said, "rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God."

What does God say about this? Well, let us turn to His Word.

"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. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour." (Romans 13:1-7)

This is extremely blunt and easy to understand. All authority is given by God. He chooses all the leaders of all governments. That means He has chosen everyone from Reagan to Stalin, Washington to Hitler, Bush to Mao. Furthermore, because He has appointed the powers that be, we must obey the authorities and not resist them. If we revolt against human authority, we revolt against God Almighty Himself, and as a result earn damnation.

Many people in America, including many pastors, do not like this idea of submission to authority. Therefore, they come up with highly complex arguments that "disprove" submission. Chuck Baldwin is one of these men, and I strongly encourage you to read his reply to Romans 13.

Let me be blunt with you for a moment. This is a perversion of the Biblical doctrine of submission to authority. Let me explain:

First off, he claims that people who believe that we must submit to the government and not rebel are ignorant sheeple, or "just plain lazy". Not only is this insulting to me, it is a direct insult against God Almighty, the One who made this passage. Now, let me move on to specific Theological issues with this man's arguments.

He brings up a good point that our obedience to Man and human institutions is limited. However, he does not define this limit according to the Bible, and here is where he goes wrong.

Mr. Baldwin says that this passage says that all true rulers are not a terror to good, but only to evil. Therefore, any government that punishes good behavior is no longer legitimate and must be defied and/or overthrown by Christians. Is this true according to the Bible? 

First of all, the Apostle is here teaching that the government which was then in power over Rome should be obeyed. Since this Epistle was written somewhere in around early to late 50 A.D., we know that the Apostle must be talking about the government in that time. This was the same government that murdered the Apostle James in A.D. 44 (Acts 12), allowed the murder of Stephen, and instigated the killings, jailing, beating, and otherwise harassing of the followers of Christ. The worst travesty that this government had done was to murder the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, the Lord and God of all. 

I must say, this government was definitely not a terror to good works, which is why the Apostle said that Christians should obey it. 

Let us further expound upon this argument.

 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;

Or unto 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 cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. (1 Peter 2:13-17)

Also:

 "And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.      Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”

 And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”
 Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’"(Acts 23:2-5)


Could it be any more clear for us? Here Paul was slapped, and followed Baldwin's advice: he reviled and slandered the Authority which God had placed above him. Guess what, when Paul was rebuked, he repented, saying that he had disobeyed God's command just by slandering the Sanhedrin. 

If Paul's mere slander was sin, how much more terrible is the idea of revolting! 


Now, what is our obedience limited to?

 ^"Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:25-29)

There we are. If the Government tells us to disobey God, then we do not disobey God.

Another thing needs addressed. Baldwin's argument here rests upon the idea that any government which harms people for doing good is not recognized nor chosen by God. It is thus not God's Agent. 

Not only is this impossible to prove using the Bible (notice how Baldwin does not use the Bible to defend this), this teaching is a slap in the face of God, for it defies His Absolute Sovereignty over everything including governments. All things, ultimately, are agents of God. He has put every single government and authority in place, and nothing can have any power without His Sovereign decision to give that power. THAT is what this passage is saying, and what Baldwin is denying.

How does Mr. Baldwin get to these conclusions? He takes the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence as if they were decrees of God Almighty. They are his substitution for the Bible, Natural Law Philosophy is his Theology, and America is his Heaven on Earth. 

That, sadly, is the state of many people today. Make no mistake, I love this country. I am patriotic, and supportive of the government. However, this nation is not my Home, this government is not my Lord. Heaven is my ultimate destination, and God is my King. 
As leaders in the Church, let us remember to look forward to what lies ahead, obeying the human authorities for Christ's sake.

Obeying Wicked Leaders for the Glory of God

    I think that it is important to note that God recognizes a leader as a leader to be obeyed and respected despite the leader's wickedness.

Matthew 23:2-3

(Jesus) "Saying ' The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them." 

    Is it just me or is that pretty clear? Here is Jesus' opinion on how to respond to wicked and hypocritical leaders. God said that those who have seated THEMSELVES in authority, we MUST recognize their authority. Notice that these scribes and Pharisees seated themselves to a position of authority, they did not gain the position through inheritance nor any good merits of their own but interjected themselves into the seat of Moses, but despite how they got to sit in the position of leaders, they were there and were to be obeyed. We, slaves of Christ, must not rebel against our authority because we think that the individuals or group of individuals do not belong in the seat of a leader. Ultimately God Himself placed those people to be authority. So if we think that we can rebel against Obama because he isn't an American citizen or that he president due to fraud and he asserted himself, we must still obey him because, despite how he rose to presidency, God placed him there.

    We, slaves of Christ, must obey those in authority despite their wicked actions and hypocrisy. The scribes and Pharisees that Jesus is referring to is the same group that Jesus called white washed tombs and serpents. Despite that the authority is corrupt and is hypocritical we must obey their words, we cannot disobey. Their wickedness does not give us an excuse or license to rebel. Where in the Bible is that commended? I know how wicked the current governments are, they all hate God, all kingdoms of the world lie in the lap of the evil one and that has been true since the beginning of time! The governments have always been wicked, and America is no exception, America is not the new promise land or God's new people. The whole world is wicked, but what has God said? 

Mark 12:14-17

"They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” ¹⁶ They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “ Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him. 

Amen! 

    Though the main reason for asking this question to our Lord was to trick Him, the question was one that the Jews struggled with. The Jews hated their Roman rulers and they disliked paying the Romans taxes because they said, and rightly so, that paying taxes to Rome encouraged and financed many wicked practices that was prolific in Roman culture, including idolatry. Despite all that, though, Christ still commanded the people to pay their taxes.  

     Though we are to obey the word of our leaders do not do what they do, for most earthly rulers do not adhere to their very own laws, not to mention the very moral laws that God has placed within their consciences. Do not become twice the son of hell as they are.

    So why do we obey those who are in authority, even the wicked ones? It is not about obeying the government because the government is something special but because we obey and are slave of God and citizens of His Kingdom, which is eternal. God has placed those men in authority Himself and He Himself directs the king's heart to do whatever He wishes. Is He not sovereign? We obey the government because we obey God, and that is why when man's laws contradict God's laws, we observe God's laws. If a government official came and said "deny Christ or die" I will choose physical death, for I cannot blaspheme and disregard His name. "Fear God and give Him glory", and that is a command (yes God can and does command men).

    So if you call yourself a Christian then obey the government, not for the government's sake but because you love God. You are not of this world.      

An Introduction to an Author

    Hello, I have been asked by the blog's totalitarian dictator to write an introduction to myself, so here is a little about me... (I was kidding about the dictator part BTW, he really isn't)
 I am a fellow contributer of The Leaders of Tomorrow. My name is Charles A. Frederico Jr, am, at the moment, sixteen years old and the first of a family of eleven. Do  not ask me where I am from because that is kinda a difficult question to answer. I reside in Kalispell, Montana. I have lived in the following states Missouri, Montana, California, Idaho, Illinois, Tennessee, and now Montana in that order. My father is the pastor of Berean Bible Church of Kalispell. I cannot say that my views is 100% consistent with my fellow blogger, (I don't know 100% what his views are) though I would rather have my views 100% consistent with the Bible (despite the fact that I do not know the Bible 100%). My interests include art, anatomy and osteology, basketball, canoeing and kayaking, hunting, and my list could continue but those are the ones that come immediately to mind. So Christopher what more do you want me to say?  As far as doctrine and theology I am a Calvinist, and hold to Lordship salvation and Dispansationalism (did I spell that correctly (-: ) or in other words, the truth...
Thank you.

Servant Leaders

 "But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

(Matthew 20:25-28)


If we are to be Godly leaders, we must understand and apply Servant Leadership. 
The concept is quite easy to understand. We are called to be a servant of God and the Brethren whilst leading the Church. This is quite a difficult thing for many of us who are leaders (myself included). We tend to puff up with pride and lord over others. We put our interests ahead of the interests of others, doing all that we can to further our influence and perceived dominion. This is extremely evil, and we cannot lead according to God's commands if we do this. 
Therefore, we must not, "look out for (our) own interests, but also the interests of others". Our leadership should bring help to those in need, bring chastisement to those who need chastised, and equip the Brethren for the battle which rages on. 
However, we must remember that our purpose as leaders is not just to serve and strengthen the Church. Rather, our Supreme Goal is to, "do all for the Glory of God." 
Brothers, let us move forward as future leaders of the Church and eternal Servants of God. All glory to His Name.

Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son, 

and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning,

is now and ever shall be,

Kingdom without end.

Amen.

The Next Generation

"And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed."

(Deuteronomy 31:7-8)

Greetings and blessings to all of you. 

I find it difficult to decide what I should say as I embark upon what I pray shall be a long-term part of my service to God. Please bear with me.

The name of this blog is The Leaders of Tomorrow. When I first made this blog, I was thinking about making this a political blog (hence the site itself is next generation leaders of America). However, as God has been working in my heart and mind, I feel that it would be a waste of my time to devote a blog to the next generation of leaders of the Kingdom of Man. Whether I like it or not, America is a godless nation made up of a lost people and you cannot expect that it will become a model of Godly government on Earth. Therefore, spending all my time solely exhorting the next generation of political leaders to change this country into a Godly government would be in vain. Besides, there are other things of which I must speak. 

With this in mind, I have broadened my horizon to speak to the next generation of Christian leaders in these four basic areas: the Family, the Church, the Commonwealth, and the Business realm. I aim to use this blog to encourage, exhort, and influence these leaders to follow the Way of Righteousness.

_____________________________________________________________________

My generation of men and women have been taken by the lure of laziness. They are taught to spurn authority and responsibility, and spend all their time partying. They treat their elders as fools, thinking that they are the smartest generation that has ever walked the face of Earth. They believe that laws are obstacles to freedom, and they flaunt their lawlessness as a prince would flaunt his great riches. Nothing has been required of them, and so they give nothing in return. Overall, my generation is but a bunch of "sheeple", ripe for tyranny. If it is up to them to save this world, we all are doomed to complete destruction.

Thank God that it is not up to them.

The fate of the world is in the hands of God alone, not man. However, God has chosen to work through leaders to bring much of His plan to pass. 

As Christian leaders, we bear a great responsibility to God. We are called to follow and obey Him, leading those whom He places under us to do the same. If we lead people astray, the Bible says it would be better if a millstone were placed around our necks and then drowned in the ocean.

Godly leaders are as much a rarity in my generation as pink elephants. There is a desperate need for Elders in the Church, Fathers and Mothers in the Family, Rulers in the Commonwealth, and even businessmen. Seeing this, we must prepare ourselves for our roles as leaders. Our fathers and grandfathers will soon pass into the next life, and we must be ready to carry on their leadership. If we do not prepare now, it will be too late.

This is a difficult task for us, but God has promised to strengthen us. He will always be with us, and will never fail. Let us move forward in our preparation, so that when the time comes, we may be able to take up the yoke of Godly leadership and move God's People forward.

Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the Beginning,

is now and ever shall be,

Kingdom without end.

Amen.