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!