I would hope that by now, after seeing some very ungodly actions in our nation of the United States (riots, much lying, and deceit), many who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ are starting to finally see that there are many people in our nation wanting to change our foundational beliefs based in Christianity into something ungodly. My hope and prayer would be that many of us are beginning to take action as individuals, growing in God and His ways and realizing that the way forward in this nation is not to just trudge ahead on faulty new ways of thinking. These ways are really nothing more than old ungodly thoughts put into a new package. It seems that many either want to recreate and repackage history or just flat out ignore what really took place in our nation.
Now, I am not in the least saying or implying that the United States is at all perfect; it is far from it. But to ignore the Godly foundations and beliefs this nation was founded upon, at least in my humble opinion, is foolishness. Consider the following prayer that was sent to the governors of the thirteen colonies in 1783. It is a prayer that was written in by George Washington. It was sent in a “Circular Letter Addressed to the Governors of all the States on the Disbanding of the Army.”
“I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you and the State over which you preside, in His holy protection; that He would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for brethren who have served in the field; and finally that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity. Humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the divine Author of our blessed religion, and without humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation.”
Friends, regardless of where you stand on this topic, one must admit that this prayer is not only powerful but it must be taken into consideration when looking at the history of the United States of America. This very well could have been quite Godly and influenced by Almighty God.
The way forward is back!
Micah 6:8 says:
“He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you?
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God.”
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As I continue my “The Founding Matters” series, I’d like to take a look at some foundational beliefs in our Christian faith that are throughout our society even to this date. I am not implying that everyone believes these to be true, but many knowingly or unknowingly realize that these are important in order to have a stable society, even though some of these beliefs are now being questioned.
Some foundational beliefs we find in Genesis are:
* Humans are made in God’s Image and are not animals - Genesis 1:27
* The importance of marriage between one man and one woman - Genesis 2:21-25
* It’s okay for humans to eat meat - Genesis 9:3
* The reason for rainbows - Genesis 9:14-17
* The reason we have so many languages - Genesis 11:9
As you see these are all based in Genesis. There are many, many more. I hope you are at least beginning to see the connection of why returning to our Biblical beliefs and having these as our society’s foundational beliefs are so important. You may also be seeing how far from a Biblical foundation some in our society really have gone.
When Worldview Warriors started as a ministry, social media was still a very new thing, and the majority of society was still figuring out how social media all worked. People’s thoughts were now becoming public, not only to their friends but for all the world to see, including strangers that may have had a very different foundation for their beliefs in life. At the time, most of us were unaware of this though. In fact, I think it is very safe to say that many are still unaware of this fact, even though they may experience this on a daily basis.
It seems that many people want change for change’s sake these days. But it seems to me that a lot of people who think like that don’t seem to realize that if you get rid of something, something else is going to take its place, even if you don’t like it.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 warns us of this: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”
I believe it is time to admit that this “fundamental transformation of the United States” is really about getting rid of the Biblically-based foundation and principles set forth by the founding fathers of our country.
Here are a few quotes from the founding fathers of the United States to consider:
"Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of a Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." - First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Jay
“He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to human happiness obvious to all... Our Forefathers opened the Bible to all.“ - Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams
"The secret of my success? It is simple. It is found in the Bible. 'In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct they paths.'" - George Washington Carver
We also see this in official documents (in the following, the bold is mine):
Alabama, preamble of their state constitution:
We, the people of the State of Alabama, in order to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution and form of government for the State of Alabama
Georgia, preamble of their state constitution:
To perpetuate the principles of free government, insure justice to all, preserve peace, promote the interest and happiness of the citizen and of the family, and transmit to posterity the enjoyment of liberty, we the people of Georgia, relying upon the protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution.
Idaho, preamble of their state constitution:
We, the people of the State of Idaho, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and promote our common welfare do establish this Constitution.
Ohio, preamble of their state constitution:
We, the people of the State of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and promote our common welfare, do establish this Constitution.
Find more about these state constitutions at this link.
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A hard lesson of the tough narrow path that Jesus Christ speaks of in Matthew 7:13-14 is the lesson of allowing those in leadership positions the honor and freedom to do as they want. Romans 13:1-4 is very clear about who puts who in authority regarding government and that those under that authority are to honor the leadership of said person. How should we handle that when dealing with a leader at work or even when volunteering for something?
If you are interested, I have written on this Romans 13 passage regarding our government here in the USA and how it may apply. Check out this post or this post.
What is clear is that we are to honor God in all we do. If it is true that God is the one who places people into authority positions, then we are to honor that leadership and even their style of leadership. Now, don’t read what I am not writing. I am not saying that at a job you should just do everything exactly how your boss may want you to do something, or to simply fall in line with some volunteer position. No; you have a choice, as does the leader and/or boss. You are not a slave at your job or at some volunteer position. You have a choice, as does the leader. If you don’t like how something is being run or you feel as if your gifts and talents aren’t being fully utilized someplace, you can honor the current leadership by keeping your mouth shut and moving on to some other place. In fact, God may be allowing this to happen in your life because he wants to not only teach you something but perhaps the leader and those under the current leadership as well.
Don’t take offense or undermine the person in leadership. Perhaps bite your lip, keep your mouth shut, and allow them to learn and grow without you being there, while you grow, learn, and mature throughout the process of life too. It can be very difficult, but the tough narrow path is not the easy wide path that Jesus Christ said most people take. The wide path leads to destruction and immaturity.
Keep in mind that you are only responsible for you. You are not responsible for someone learning what you are wanting or hoping they will learn. Only they are responsible for that. So, allow them to make their choices and even mess up! Lovingly be there for them if they need to discuss something. Keep in mind they may not want to learn as quickly as you want them to learn. Remember, this is their journey, not yours.
By leaving a place and honoring the leadership there, you are now allowing them to lead as they please and honoring God’s choice and plan in the process.
Can it be hard for you? It most certainly will be, but that will probably be for your own good in the long run too. If you desire vindication or justice, know that it may not happen in this world. Just stay on the narrow path and grow.
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I am going to take a quick break from my “The Foundation Matters” series to just touch on something that has become quite a problem throughout our society. It seems many of us have learned how not to be “present” right where we are at for the moment. I encourage you to please be open minded and be open with your spirit and prayerfully consider the information in this post. Oh sure, our physical bodies are where they are at for the moment, but our minds and even perhaps our spirits are seemingly somewhere else.
Let me give you an example of what I am referring to. I have been blessed to coach high school sports as an assistant and a head coach for many years. Things have seriously changed from the past. Change isn’t always a bad thing, but in my opinion, this is one that needs a serious remedy. It is just surprising to me how much a person’s phone or technological device can rule their life in so many ways. For instance, after a game is played on the field or court, after the traditional handshakes are made with the opposing team, I am amazed at how many new players almost immediately start looking for their phones. This is even before the coach gives their final words of encouragement or their talk after a game on the sidelines or the locker room.
Sometimes while a game is going on, other coaches and I wonder why a certain player of ours is playing so terrible or seems distracted on the field. Many times, after the handshakes this player is immediately on their phone, going somewhere else, or worried about what is about to happen in the future. (It seems many of our youth today are worried and anxious. We need to teach them that this is not godly. Read more about this in Philippians 4:6-7.) When this happens, it is very obvious to most of us coaches that the player likely had a bad game because they were possibly consumed in their own mind with something else even though they were on the field playing the game. Unfortunately, this seems to be a very serious and real problem in our society today. This is not just with sports but with marriages, families, friends, and even work environments.
Here are some images to consider before reading the rest of this post.
As a young man, I was taught by my father, grandfathers, and other male role models in my life about the importance of looking people in the eye when you are having a conversation. When you shake someone’s hand, you give a firm grip while looking them in the eye, so they know what kind of person they are dealing with and to show that you care about them and being with them. Today, many people “fist bump” in order to help stop the spread of germs and I respect that reasoning greatly. We can still look each other in the eye though, can’t we?
Some of you might be wondering, how does this fit with something in the Bible? Well, the Bible is a great resource in learning how to be in a right relationship with God and people. There is also great information in God’s Word about staying away from some people and understanding that some people have a different calling than you. This doesn’t make those people bad and you good, or vice versa, it just means God has different paths for each one of you.
We are able to find a lot of great advice in the book of Proverbs about being wise in our relationships with others as well as what kind of people to stay away from. So, I would encourage you to be wise with your personal media devices. Perhaps for some of you it would be advantageous to put your device away by 7pm every night in order to actually spend some time with the ones you love and allow them to spend some time with you too. I encourage you that when you’re in a room with another person, unless you are working on something within good healthy boundaries, to put your device away and give that person your undivided attention. Let them know that they are important. Show them love.
Let me give you an acronym I learned when I went through youth ministry training with Tentmakers that I think could be a very good tool for you to use in your relationships. You need to LVV (Love) them:
Look at them
Give them Verbal approval
And Visual approval
LVV (Love) them
* Look at them. Don’t just look someone in the eye but actually look at them with your body language as well. What do I mean? Face them not just with your face but with your body turned to them in their direction. Give them your undivided attention.
* Verbal approval. Repeat back what someone is saying to you. You can say things like, “Yes, that is a good idea.” Or, “Yes, that makes sense.”
* Visual approval. While doing the things above, nod your head up and down in a positive manner to let this person know you are hearing them and that you care. Again, let your body language speak positivity to this person as well. Shift your body in a way that it is clear you are giving them your attention. Show them that they are important.
Most importantly, put your phone down! It’s okay; the world will go on without you. Like it or not, you don’t need to know everything going on in the world. That job is taken by Almighty God.
Some more Scriptures you could dig into: Proverbs 1:8-33 Proverbs 2 Proverbs 3
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As I continue on in my “The Foundation Matters” series, I’d like to take some time to look at why this topic matters so much in today’s world. I would like to show you a real-life example of how this way of thinking and getting back to the foundational beliefs of this nation and biblical thinking is not old fashioned or “stuffy.” It is very much needed in our world.
This clip is from the popular game show called Let’s Make a Deal. It has been making its rounds on social media with people posting things like, “This is so sad,” and “I feel bad for this guy.” This is good to hear. However, how many people these days keep deciding to take this wide path in their life? They take a chance on having a relationship with someone who seems to only have their own interests in mind. Many seem to be hoping to forego the natural consequences of hurt and heartache from their actions in this whole process.
It is pretty clear that they guy in the relationship thinks they are a serious couple and she is struggling with this idea even though they have admitted in public to sharing a bed together. Now, to be fair, all the awkwardness and hurt of this situation is not on the young lady, and it is not all on the young man either.
By getting back to our Biblical foundations and not only knowing what to do but actually following these words with our actions and lives, we can then start living with much less hurt and heartache.
Proverbs 5:1-10 says:
My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight,
that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;
but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.
Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.
Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,
lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel,
lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another.
What men need to understand is that we need to be the ones who take responsibility. We need to be the ones to stop wanting to just get pleasure for pleasure’s sake, and we need to lead by example. Live out self-control and patience. We need to start treating women with love and respect. As Scripture warns, we should keep a path far from those women who want to lead men down a path where men will lose their honor and dignity. As it states, “do not go near the door of her house.”
If you’d like to read up more on this please take time to read the rest of Proverbs 5 and all of Proverbs 7.
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As I get started on this series about foundational beliefs and their importance to our lives as individuals in the United States and in society, I would like you to consider a very important word from George Washington:
"Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."
In light of atheists telling me for years that you don’t need God to be good or that people can be good without God, it looks like even George Washington would disagree with those ideas. I would encourage you to ask yourself the following questions. If there is no Creator God who set natural law into order, who makes up the rules for living? If it is a person, how do they know what “good” really is without a set foundation already instituted?
Unfortunately, too many people today seem to be trying to come up with new, good, and right morals based on what they think is good and right. Many times, these people think they are “flying” with this new idea, when in reality they are doing nothing more than “standing on the shoulders” and ideals of God Almighty in order to come up with something that sounds good, right, and true. For instance, a person can say that stealing is wrong and in the same breath say there is no god and try to link those two ideas together, when in reality one was instituted by Almighty God and the other is just an idea of man.
I find it incredible that we see the evidence of design and intelligence all around us in nature, yet people deny the existence of a Creator, especially if it is in regard to Almighty God of the Bible as the Creator. We see this happening all over social media today where people who claim to be atheists will stand up for false teachings in other religions besides Christianity, but when it come to the God of the Bible or Christianity, in their minds this just cannot be accepted. It is just one of the reasons why, in some people’s minds, the foundational beliefs of our nation need to be replaced with something else, when all the while what really needs to happen is a return back to what we were founded upon.
As I conclude this week’s writing, please once again consider Ecclesiastes 1:9: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”
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Many years ago, we heard the phrase: “A fundamental transformation of the United States of America.” I think it is safe to say that many, if not most of us, really didn’t know what this phrase really meant at the time. Some people were willing to call it out for what they saw as a direct attack on our foundational beliefs laid near the beginning of our nation’s founding. They were ridiculed for being “close minded” or even accused as being “hateful” or “racist” to those wanting this fundamental, transformational change. Now we see the result of this attempted “fundamental transformation” of our nation and even of the Christian faith.
Many who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ and His teachings have taken to supporting things which are blatantly against a clear reading of Scripture in order for this fundamental transformation to take place, which is nothing more than a guise of “love.” Like it or not, this is not really love but instead a way to please fleshly desires. We are not only seeing this fundamental transformation in the public square now, but we see it in our churches across the nation too. I think it is finally time for all of us just to be honest with one another and let the chips fall where they may.
When Worldview Warriors started as a ministry, social media was still a very new thing, and the majority of society was still figuring out how it all worked. People’s thoughts were now becoming public not only to their friends but for all the world to see, including strangers that may have had a very different foundation for their beliefs in life. At the time, most of us were unaware of this though. In fact, I think it is very safe to say that many are still unaware of this fact, even though they experience this on a daily basis. This is why I am starting this year long series called The Foundation Matters.
It seems that many people want change for change’s sake these days. But something a lot of people who think like that don’t seem to realize is that if you get rid of something, something else is going to take its place, even if you don’t like it.
So, be careful what you wish for. Unfortunately, we see people wanting to come up with “new and fresh” ideas that really aren’t that new and fresh at all. Many times, they’re just recycled thought put into a different, more “palatable,” package in order make us think it is something new. But it is not, because there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9 warns us of this: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (For more on that, check out Katie Erickson’s blog post here.)
Isn’t it high time to admit that this “fundamental transformation of the United States” is really about getting rid of the Biblically-based foundation and principles set forth by the founding fathers of this nation? I hope you will join me this year as we take a look at things many of the founders shared or wrote about in both public documents and private writings, what they spoke regarding the founding of our nation, and many of their personal beliefs. You will see that our state and federal governments have written things in public documents, too, that are really eye opening. You may be quite shocked though as to how Biblically based much of our founding documents and principles are based on, as well as seeing how many of our founders’ own private communications are Biblical too.
Here is something to begin considering, from the First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court:
"Providence has been given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." - first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Jay
I have been challenged by some well-meaning Christians as to the purpose of this exercise. Many have told me personally that if the end of the world is coming anyway, why waste time sharing this with others? Well, I think the answer to that question is a very easy one. Jesus’ disciples were waiting for Him to return in their lifetime. And let’s not forget in the 1930s, many people believed that World War II and the time before it was the end times. They believed Jesus was coming back very, very shortly and we needed to prepare for Christ’s return. As we all know, Jesus has not had His second coming yet and only the Father knows when Jesus is returning. We see in Mark 13:32: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Did you see it? Only the Father knows. Not even the angels know, and even Christ doesn’t know. Not you nor I know.
With that said, perhaps it is the end times right now, or perhaps it is not. I believe that we are to live in this world as if Christ’s second coming is far off but to be prepared as if He is returning today, this very moment. I think Scripture is quite clear on this matter. In 1 John 5:1-5 we see how we are to live in this world. It states, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
One last thing to get us started in the series is a quote from Alexis de Tocqueville: "The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other."
I look forward to you joining me on this journey this year.
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“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” ~Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:2
The Apostle Paul was deemed perhaps the most intellectual man of his day. He wasn’t just a Pharisee, but a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He was to be the leader of them all. He protected his religion with fervent zeal until the day he met Jesus Christ. Upon meeting Christ and being born again, Paul became the most zealous evangelist ever. Yet in all that, Paul pushed all his knowledge and all his zeal aside for one thing: to know Christ and to proclaim Him.
Jesus is not merely the Second Person of the Trinity of the Godhead. He is not merely the Savior of the world. He is the Message to the world. John called Him “the Word.” In the Greek, the word for “word” is “logos,” which is the complete expression or message which is to be given. Jesus did not merely come to save and seek the lost. He came as the Message itself.
Everything, and I mean everything, in Scripture is written for one primary purpose: to reveal Christ. Genesis is given to lay the setting of this grand story God is writing. It contains the origins of the universe (Genesis 1-2), the problem when sin entered the world (Genesis 3), and the establishment of the peoples which this Message, this Savior, would come to rescue (Genesis 10-11). It zooms in on one man (Abraham) through whom God’s Message would come. It’s critical to remember that God intended His Message to go to the entire world, not merely one people group. The one people group was to be the vessel through whom that Message would be spread.
Exodus through Deuteronomy covers God’s standards and establishes why Jesus would have to come and die to pay for sin. The history books establish not just the historical data but give us examples, pictures, and types of what Jesus would come and do. The imagery only works if it is history showing it. The writings showcase God’s wisdom. The prophets show God’s sovereignty over history and the nations while also revealing how seriously God takes sin. The four Gospels reveal the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Acts gives us the history of how and why God wanted his Message spread to the ends of the earth. The epistles (letters) reveal the teachings and doctrines we are to follow in Christ, giving us the proper interpretation of both the Old Testament and the rest of the New Testament. Revelation brings the entire epic together in the greatest climax ever where Christ will come for and claim that which is His.
The entire Bible showcases and reveals Jesus Christ. The reason we can trust Jesus is because the Bible is reliable. But also, we can find out what the Bible actually meant to say by looking at Jesus. We can do that because both are the Word of God. The Bible is the Message in textual form. Jesus is the Message in living flesh. When Paul met Christ, he realized that everything he learned had to point to Him or it was false. He went to Scripture to show the Jews who their Savior would be. He occasionally went to the Greek poets to appeal to their history in how God dealt with them to showcase the True God. But his starting point and ending point was Jesus Christ. He was hyper-focused on his Savior.
When Paul went to Mars Hill and preached to the intellectual elite of the world, he not only told them they were all wrong in how they worshiped the “unknown god,” but he took them back to who God was and how He established the universe. Paul went to Creation. He declared that all people are of one flesh. That can only make sense if Genesis and Noah’s Flood and the Tower of Babel are true history. But his end goal wasn’t to get people to believe Genesis; his goal was to get people to believe Christ.
Here at Worldview Warriors, several of us have heavily talked about origins, but the primary reason for doing so is two-fold: 1) because that is where the front line of the battle over the integrity and authority of Scripture is being fought, and 2) because if Genesis is true, the need for a Savior is obvious. When you read the atheists, who are being honest in their reason for believing Evolution, it is nearly universally for moral reasons. They KNOW that the science doesn’t support their position, but because if the universe was created by the God of the Bible as described, then the same God holds man accountable for his actions and man will face Him on Judgment Day. They refuse to consider that, so they will believe what they know is foolish just to keep blinders on from seeing that day coming. All their arguments about “science” is just a façade to cover the true motivation, which is unbelief.
What I appreciate the most about the Young Earth Creation organizations is their focus on Christ. Origins is just their angle of approach, but their target is Christ. You cannot hear a presentation from Answers in Genesis without hearing some form of a Gospel message. Ken Ham is so clear that the Gospel is his focus. And while some of his apologetics can miss the mark, his aim is always heading the same direction. He purposed to share the Gospel three times with Bill Nye in his formal debate with him back in 2014. When I went to the Ark Encounter, while much of it was focused on defending the plausibility of the Genesis account, the central focus is clearly on Christ and the cross. I have not yet been to ICR’s new Discovery Center, but when they came to El Paso for a conference last year, again, the Gospel was the end goal.
As Christians, we must present one message: Jesus Christ. While we may speak about origins, the reason must be to get to Christ. While we may speak about politics, the reason must be that Christ be glorified and that His rule is supreme. While we may speak about sports, the reason should be to enjoy each other and Christ. While we may speak about science, the reason should be to pick the mind of Christ, the active Creating agent of creation and of Whom and for Whom it is all made. While we speak about history, the reason should be to see what Jesus Christ was doing through that time period. Everything should ultimately be about Christ.
People are so confused about Christianity today because the organized churches are focused on just about anything except that which unifies the Church: Christ. Let us get back to Christ. In 2020, let Christ be our focus and our sole desire. If we get Christ, we get everything that comes with Him. While all His blessings come, so do all the sufferings. The sufferings are temporary, but the blessings are eternal. And the greatest blessing of all is to simply be with Him. Christ is the Message. Let us speak only that Message, and let Christ be who He said He was in our lives and in our world. Let 2020 be a glorious new year where Christ is more central than ever before.
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“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” ~1 Corinthians 3:11
Paul declares that no one can lay down a foundation for how they will live their lives, nor can there be any hope or salvation other than Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter echoed this sentiment in Acts 4:12 when he proclaimed to the Sanhedrin that, “There is no other name by which men might be saved other than Jesus Christ.”
I frequently speak and write about the importance of having a Biblical worldview, to see things as God sees them, using the Bible as our “lens” to view reality. But one thing that is easy to miss when talking about the Bible is to see what the Bible points to. As I write this, I was recently reminding myself of the importance of putting Jesus Christ as the center of your vision and the foundation of everything you say, do, think, and live. I often talk about Creation as a critical part to understanding Christianity, however the point of believing in Creation is not to believe in Creation but to believe in Christ. Christ must always be our end game, but He also must be our starting point and our foundation. He must be both.
Colossians 1:15-17 defines Christ as the Creator and for whom and by whom all things consist. Everything that exists was made by Christ and for Christ’s glory. Every single person, every single animal, every single plant, and every single atom exist because Christ made them, and they exist to tell His story. That means no matter what any of us think, say, or do otherwise, what we think, say, or do is going to bring glory to Christ. We can be obedient to Him and we can share in His glory, or we can be defiant in our sin, and our judgment from the fires of Hell will give Him glory. We don’t get to choose whether we will glorify Christ or not. We only get the choice of how we glorify Him. The world may shake its fist against Christ, but it too shall bend its knee to Christ one day because He is the King of Kings and He is returning to crush His enemies and will rule with a rod of iron. This rod will crush any who are His foes but will protect any who are His.
We must build our lives upon Christ as the only true foundation, or everything we do and build will be destroyed. Paul warns against building with wood, hay, and stubble: the temporary things of this world which come relatively cheap and in large quantity and are convenient. He instead recommends building with gold, silver, and precious stones. Here is the difference between these two sets of items. Wood, hay, and stubble can be readily used and easily replaced, however, when fire comes, they are completely consumed and reduced to useless ashes. Gold, silver, and precious stones have already been through the fire and refined. They will last. Gold and silver can melt, but fire never changes its composition. You never lose gold or silver to a fire, whereas wood, hay, and stubble are forever lost. Paul is making the claim that on Judgment Day, everything we’ve used to build our lives is going to be tested against the fire of God and only that which remains is going to last. This is also when there will be much weeping as all the works of men will be wasted. Only those which God did through us will remain.
Jesus gave a parable of a wise and foolish builder. One built upon a rock by listening to and heeding the words of Christ, making his house according to the shape, size, and strength of the rock it stood upon. The other built with sand, molding and shaping the foundation to fit what he desired. Yet that which is moldable by man is easily washed away. When we build upon Christ, everything He supports will last because He is the Solid Rock, and as the Solid Rock He will not give way. But if we build upon sand, all it takes is one bad disaster or a series of small ones to undermine the house and everything we built collapses. This is why some investors commit suicide after they lose their entire portfolio, because they poured everything they had into something that could not last. It’s also why so many people face depression and despair (that is not a blanket statement), because they poured so much into something that never satisfied nor lasted. They built their life upon sand and when a storm came, it didn’t make it.
We must build upon Christ. Paul put aside everything he knew to know Christ and Christ crucified only. He was the scholar among all scholars and yet he treated all his education as worthless dung when compared to the knowledge of Christ. That doesn’t mean he forgot everything, but that he understood the purpose of everything. Knowledge that glorifies God is valuable, yet knowledge that glorifies man is pride and is not worthy of retaining.
There are a lot of false teachings out there, yet with practice it is easy to tell a true teaching from a false one. Here is a big clue: look at the foundation. Is it built upon Christ, or is it built upon men? False teachings may include Christ, but if you listen carefully, He is used as little more than cosmetic covering for their own ideas. True teachings will start with Christ, build with Christ, point to Christ, and yield His fruit as a result.
Yet there are also many people who say we just need Christ and who needs truth about anything else like Creation, baptism, obedience, authority, etc. They just want Christ’s name for salvation and to leave the rest for themselves. According to Hebrews 6:1-2, there are seven foundational doctrines to the Christian life. I will liken these teachings to seven pillars which support our structure we call “Christianity.” The first is Christ which I have been explaining in this post. Christ is not only the foundation; He is also the central pillar of which everything else flows in and out of. Over the next few weeks, I will look at the other six. But in each topic, Christ is still going to be the center. He will be the foundation for the doctrine, the structure for the doctrine, and the end goal of the doctrine. But a caution: the author of Hebrews also says these are the elementary teachings, stating that we as Christians need to be moving onto deeper and better things. You can’t do that without a proper foundation laid down, and moving on to deeper and better things does not negate these core teachings by any means. I grow tired of drinking milk. I want meat, but our system cannot handle meat until we have drunk enough milk to build our system to handle it. So over the next few weeks, I’m going to go over the “milk” of Christianity so that we can move forward and eat some meat.
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