Moore for Christ

Fast Fact about Missions (10/40 Window)

2009-04-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

I have been studying a course on missions in seminary this semester and the statistics on the lostness of certain parts of the world are absolutely staggering. Here are some good numbers for you to think about:

1. 25% of the World's Population has never heard the gospel and have absolutely no access to the Gospel. That is over 1.5 billion people.

2. The 10/40 Window as pictured in the image on this post contains 60% of the world's population or 3.6 billion people and include 37 of the 50 least evangelized countries on the planet.

3. The three dominant religions in this region of the world (Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism) account for the following population:
a. 1.1 Billion Muslims
b. 1.0 Billion Hindus
c. 600 Million Buddhists
d. Add that together and it totals over 75% of the total population in the 10/40 Window.

4. Although ovr 60% of the world's population live in this area of the world and a vast percentage are unreached by the Gospel, only 8% of evangelical missionaries work among them.

5. 82% of the poorest of the poor live in this area of the world.

6. Of the 2,161 people groups (or approx. 1.7 billion people in the 10/40 Window who have NO access to the gospel):
a. less than 10% have the New Testament translated into their language.
b. Less than 10% have the complete Bible translations in their language.
c. Less than 20% have the Jesus film in their language.

*these statistics were taken from lecture on the 10/40 Window

Bible Reading Plan

2009-04-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

Church Members: don't forget to access the email that I sent today about the new bible reading sheet for the months of May - August 2009!

God hates the sin, but loves the Sinner

2009-04-27T20:34:00.001-07:00

Below is a post recently submitted to my Old Testament class in a collaboration this past week. Here is the question as posed by the professor (in red) and then my response (in black):

The obvious theme of Psalm 2 is Yahweh’s use of “his anointed” (v. 2) to control rebellious nations. However, not all mentioned in this Psalm are pictured as rebellious and thus as objects of divine wrath. The Psalm closes on a positive note: “How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
Clearly, the Psalmist believes that the wicked will experience God’s wrath, not his grace. On the other hand, those who bow before him will experience blessing. In light of the Psalmist’s presentation, evaluate the statement: “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.”

I believe that we talked about this somewhat in an earlier collaboration for Old Testament II, but I am glad to see singular treatment using the 2nd Psalm as the context. I think the previous collaboration discussion was on the equality of God's love - the thought that God loves the entirety of humanity in the same way, equally. There is a sense that in an individualistic and largely democratic society that we live in today, that the thought of equality is certainly a major factor in our idea of freedom. The Declaration of Independence declares that all men are created equal. This has been the clarion call for all disenfranchised persons in the American tradition and it has also had somewhat of an impact on our view of God's approach to the sinner and sin. We run to John 3:16 and read, "For God so loved the world..." or I John 2:2, "He is the propitiation of our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world", and then say that God LOVES the world and LOVES the sinner. God LOVES you and me. When HE was on the cross YOU were on his mind (and in our minds, there is no qualification to that thought - no limitation). Therefore, God even LOVES the unregenerate sinner. But I cannot go that far. Ephesians 2:3 states that we are by nature children of wrath - all humanity. By nature, all humanity is subject to the wrath of God. This is a holy stance against the sinner! Yes, there is an effacacious condescendence by God through Christ to the world because of God's love for the world so that he might save the elect, but God still must stand in holiness against sin and thus the sinner. God hates sin - with wrath and judgment - and the nature of the sinner is SIN. Therefore, God hates the very nature of the sinner. But this is not an EMOTIONAL hatred that we usually attach to the word in human terms. WRATH is not an emotional response from God - it is a response of holiness and according to the sake and glory of HIS NAME. This HATRED is wrought out of the perfection of God's holiness. The only people that the phrase, "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner" would apply to is the regenerate believer - not the unbeliever.

An apology is in order

2009-04-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

I must say that an apology is in order, in regards to my complete neglect of the moore4christ blog. I have been in extreme business with school and other obligations, that I have not contributed, but I am making the commitment to make almost daily posts on this blog each week. Each week, I will have a posting in regards to the weekly scripture memory verse for the Dresden First Baptist Church and then the other days will be comments and observations of everyday life, my scholastic work (and questions posed and answered there), and the ministry.

Once again, please accept my apologies for the neglect and thank you for reading the blog.

Tuesday Night at Paris First Baptist Church

2009-04-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had the privilege of spending time at the Paris FBC where the Tennessee Baptist Men's Chorale performed during their 2009 concert tour. As many of you may know that my dad, Tommy Moore, is a member of this choir. I must say that this was some of the finest Christian choral compositions I have ever heard and I must say that I indeed worshipped yesterday evening!

I especially like the songs "How Deep the Father's Love for Us" and "Midnight Cry". The song "Midnight Cry" almost made me a Pretribulational Premillennialist (Brother Don would like this). All joking aside, "Midnight Cry" was powerful and warming to my soul as was "How Deep the Father's Love for Us". My dad knows I have an affinity for the "celtic" style hymns.

It was also a pleasure to run into Trent Bullock again. Trent is now the pastor of First Baptist Church in Paris, TN, being elected by the church in January of 2009. I got to eat supper with him and Lori and also got to meet many of my father's compadres in the chorale. I must say that all of them are class acts. There are several other local personalities in the chorale including Barry Keithley of Second Baptist Church in Union City (and, of course, Five Seasons Men's Shop) and also Elwood Doss and Jackie Vaughan of Weakley County.

I was proud of our contingent that attended the event, and it seemed like a bus full. I am sure that they all were blessed.

Jeremiah 31 - The New Covenant

2009-04-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

The following is a posting I made a couple of weeks ago in my Old Testament II class, that I would like to share to the church for your edification. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks! jtm

Perhaps the finest expression of Jeremiah’s prophetic preaching is found in 31:31-40. Jeremiah describes the new covenant as “permanent” (see especially 31:35-40). If this new covenant is “permanent,” what is its relationship to the covenant made at Sinai? Does the new covenant supplant the covenant at Sinai? Can this new covenant be broken as was the one at Sinai? Can Jeremiah’s new covenant be equated with the covenant established by Christ’s blood? Why, or why not?

Clearly, the context of Jeremiah 31:31-40 illustrates and describes a permanent, new covenant between God and His people.
First I want to quickly answer these questions and then make some observational points in more detail.

What is the relationship to the covenant here described and the covenant made at Mount Sinai? I would say that new covenant does not SUPPLANT the Mosaic Covenant, but it fulfills the covenant. In other words, the covenant made at Sinai is fulfilled ultimately in this new covenant.

Can this new covenant be broken as was the one at Sinai? No, not in an ultimate sense.

Can Jeremiah’s new covenant be equated with the covenant established by Christ’s blood? Yes, I have always equated the two in my interpretation of Jeremiah 31:31-40. I see the covenant provided by the atonement of Christ for our sins and the justification that is found in grace and through faith and repentance to be equal with the new covenant described in Jeremiah 31.

With these brief responses, I would like to make the following points of observation:

Jesus definitely represents and enacts a new covenant, one that is synonymous with the covenant described in our focal discussion. The writer of the book of Hebrews makes this plain in Hebrews Chapter 8. Starting in verse 6, “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.” (Hebrews 8:6-7). The writer then quotes verbatim Jeremiah 31:31-34 in Hebrews 8:8-12. Thus, it is obvious that the writer of Hebrews through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit equates the Then the writer wraps up the discussion of the covenant by saying in verse 13 of Chapter 8, ‘In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” This verse raises the earlier questions in the issue – is the Sinai Covenant now abolished or overthrown and to be forgotten?
Since Jesus inaugurates this new covenant in his life and ministry, which is fulfilled ultimately in his death, burial, and resurrection, we need to see what Jesus said about the old covenant. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said in Matthew 5:17-20: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heave and earth pass away, not an iota, or a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus in this passage clearly is connecting his ministry with the old covenant in that he will be the fulfillment of that covenant. Reading the old covenant (the Law and the Prophets) is not abolished, it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
But what about Hebrews 8:13? The ESV translation says that the old covenant is obsolete. This at first glance seems to be synonymous with “abolished”. But I believe that this is not what the writer of Hebrews is saying. The writer is not saying that the old covenant is abolished, but that many aspects of the old covenant, heavily dependent on the sacrificial system, is now obsolete given the complete and victorious work of Christ on the cross.
Can this new covenant be broken like the old one could? The language of the new covenant in Jeremiah is totally opposite the language of the Sinaitic covenant. This new covenant illustrates a loving God actually doing the action of creating the new covenant “within” the believer. No longer is the covenant externally focused on the obedience of a nation or chosen race. This covenant is forged within the individual believer. We must be careful however to make the distinction that the Old Testament believers were not saved because of their works or in obeying the Law to the letter. Legalism has never saved. Paul in Romans 4 makes clear that even before the Law was instituted on Mt. Sinai, the righteous were saved through faith. Justification has always been through faith alone by grace alone. The difference in the Sinaitic Covenant (the best I can see it right now), is that it encompassed both the remnant of Israel (those who truly believed) and also “nation” of Israel, even including those who were unregenerate. In the new covenant, there is no distinction. In the universal church, there is no such thing as a visible church and invisible church. Yes, there are some denominations that want to place this moniker on the church, but the new covenant will NOT be broken. Once you are regenerate, once you are justified, and as you are sanctified, you will persevere to the end. Yes we are subject to sin, but we will not break the covenant.

Ye Must be Born Again

2009-02-17T14:41:00.000-08:00

John 3:3: “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” (ESV)

This verse opens up the famous discourse between Jesus and Nicodemus, the Pharisee. This statement by Christ in verse 3 is a truly startling revelation. We will talk about one of his other most startling statements (John 14:6) in the next blog, but I do want to highlight that in some regards, this verse is even more abrasive than 14:6. For not only are you to know who Jesus is and what he did to be saved, but one must be born again. Being born again is a requirement for true and genuine salvation. Without the new birth, there is no redemption from sins.

There is no way to fake the new birth, you are either born again or you’re not. You can’t mask your way into eternal security. You cannot pay your way into eternal life. You cannot join your way into eternal life. You cannot do enough good works to earn eternal life. You cannot deprive yourself of enough luxuries to attain eternal life. The only way you can inherit eternal life is through the new birth. As it is stated in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” In order to inherit eternal life, you must be born again.

This seems extremely basic to many of us. I mean, come on, what’s new here? I thought the same thing until election night on November 4^th, 2008. As I watched the election returns come in on CNN, something struck me. At various times throughout the evening, they would cut to Bill Schneider and Soledad O’Brien over on a “magic wall” highlighting the exit polling numbers and statistics that they were getting. At one point in the presentation, Bill Schneider was listing about 20 demographics that they were tracking in the voting. One of the demographics was “Evangelical / Born Again”. What was more startling is that they were treating this demographic (which I am proud to be a member of, by the way) as if the members of this demographic were somewhat less than erudite (i.e. polished, full of knowledge and wisdom and instruction). The effect of his words was that he and by implication the “mainstream media” and postmodern society was putting us, the evangelical / born-againers, into our little corner of the world and showing how we voted.

Friends, the world does NOT know what it means to be born again. There are literally millions of Americans walking the streets today that believe the word born again is synonymous with radical religious and Christian fundamentalism. But yet, it is the only way you can come into the Kingdom of God!

If you are reading this blog today, I want to ask you a question. Do you know that you have been born again? You MUST deal with that question. You have to take care of that before you do ANYTHING else. Are you born again? For if you are not, then you cannot enter the kingdom of God. And if you do not enter the kingdom of God, then Jesus will say to you at the last day, “Depart from me for I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23).

This is an extremely important passage in the road to conversion. We all must realize that there is but one way to eternal life, and that is through being born again, through being a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:23

2009-02-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

I again want to apologize to the readers of this blog for the two week gap between posts on this site. This gap will not happen again, I promise.

Today we turn to the fourth scripture memory verse that our church has meditated on in 2009. It is Romans 6:23. This is another of the great conversion verses in the Bible and should always be in your quiver when sharing your faith with others.

The verse says that the “wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (ESV). Today I want to focus on the context of this verse. This verse is actually quoted in the context of a passage talking about spiritual maturity and sanctification. Sanctification is the term used in Scripture that describes the process by which God sets the Christian apart for holy living. This is not a one time occurrence, but a lifelong process. This idea is different from justification, which is the immediate giving of righteousness upon the believer by God through faith because of the finished work of Christ on the cross. Justification is what was illustrated in my last blog covering Romans 3:23-25.

In Romans 6, Paul the apostle wants to answer two questions – both important to us.

#1: In light of our justification once for all from sin, are we to continue to sin so that grace may increase in us? (Romans 6:1)

#2: Because we are no longer tied to the law of sin but to the law of grace, do we now have the freedom to do whatever we want to do? (Romans 6:15)

The answer to these questions is a resounding NO!!!!!!!!!

Paul responds to the first question by issuing a rhetorical question: How can you, who died to sin – when you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, still live in sin? The obvious answer is you can’t. When you were baptized into the body of Christ, you died to sin and were raised into a newness of life in Christ Jesus. Your old self, your sinful nature, your carnal nature, was crucified and is being brought to nothing; and you have been brought to life to be free to live for God. We as Christians are therefore to present our bodies to God as members of righteousness, not sinfulness. This is sanctification.

Paul responds to the second question by saying that all of us are slaves to something. Each of us only has two options. We can be a slave to sin, or a slave to God, in obedience. This is a CRUCIAL thought. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TOTAL FREE WILL. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ABSOLUTE FREEDOM. True freedom is only found in obedience to God. True freedom is ONLY found in total submission. True freedom is found in being a living sacrifice – giving our entire selves over to the LORDSHIP of Christ. A genuine conversion to Christ is one that yields Lordship to Christ Jesus. We no longer get a say in how we are to live – we are now God’s.

And yet we live in a world that reviles against this conditioned freedom. Even Christians want to assert that when you are saved Christ frees you in a sense that you have libertarian or absolute free will. This is simply not the case. Think of God. Is He totally free? Not necessarily. You see, God is conditioned by His own nature and attributes. God is Love, He cannot do evil. God is HOLY, he cannot do anything PROFANE. God conditions himself according to his Divine nature and the purposes of His will. How can we, as created beings of God demand a right that God does not even afford to Himself? We can’t. And yet, it is rampant in today’s society. We are definitely living in the ME generation.

Therefore, Paul in Romans 6:20-22 states that if you refuse to submit yourself to Lordship of God in Christ Jesus, then you are free. But, you are free only from righteousness, for you are a slave to sin and to death. But verse 22 gloriously shows all Christians that we have been freed from the slavery of sin and are now slaves of God, which leads to sanctification and eternal life. What a freeing thought!

Verse 23 is the ultimate answer to the two questions: if you choose a life of unrepentant sin, the consequence, the payment, and the wage is death. If you choose to submit to the Lordship of God in Christ Jesus, the consequence is the free gift of eternal life.

This is simply an offer I cannot refuse.

Romans 3:23-25

2009-02-03T21:23:00.000-08:00

I apologize for not posting anything new for two weeks. I have been pretty busy lately, but am now at a point to write again. Today, I will be discussing our third week's scripture memory verse: Romans 2:23-25. Disclaimer: this is one of my most favorite verses in all the Bible, plus it is full of so much theological significance, that it is easy for me to get carried away, but I will do my best to hold back.

Everybody knows Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Most of our Bible Drill programs and Gospel tracks stop right there. I understand why they do, because this verse fits well in the first step in salvation - admitting you're a sinner. But in understanding the verse, you must add on verses 24 and 25.

The whole third chapter of Romans deals with the universality of sin. Another famous verse in this chapter (verse 10) quotes Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1 stating that there is none who are righteous, no not one. For we have all fallen short of God's glory. There is no one who is alive that can boast saying that they are self-righteous - righteous in their own regard. It does not matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, rich or poor, American or Un-American, if your parents were Christians or not, or if you attend church. Our default position before God is as sinners. Ephesians 2:1-3 states it very clearly: "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."

v. 24-25: Without the saving blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no remission of sin. We must all recognize our sinfulness before we can ever come to the Lord properly. But chapter 3 of Romans also introduces us to a glorious truth - that we are justified by the grace of God through faith. Without merit or deserving, I have been justified as a gift of grace. Because of God's gracious call and my decision to have faith in him and repent of my sins, God justifies me in the righteousness of his son Jesus Christ. God no longer looks upon me as a child of wrath but sees me through the righteousness of Christ. He places my sin upon the sinless Savior and places his righteousness upon me. That is the glorious truth of justification. Justification by grace alone through faith alone is THE GREATEST TRUTH in all of Scripture. It is the TRUTH that sets men free from the law of SIN. It is the foundation of the gospel of Christ, for it is wrought by his willingness to sacrifice his life for the sins of the world and his promise of resurrection. It is great because it displays the grandeur and glory of God in that he can justify our sins yet demonstrate his unyielding righteousness against sin. It is THE GREATEST TRUTH because it is the only path that mankind has to get right with God and to have eternal life. There is no other way. For you cannot resolve your sin problem without Christ in your life. I will talk more about this when we get to John 14:6.

There is a word in verse 25 that confuses many people. This is the word propitiation. The word propitiation literally means satisfaction. In other words, Christ's death on the cross satisfied God's wrath against sin, so that his holiness was not compromised in forgiving sinners. Thus, we can see God's wrath being poured out on Christ on the cross. This shows the weight that Christ felt. But only through this act did God answer a very important question: How could God, who is pure Holiness and Righteousness tolerate human sin without inflicting full punishment on human beings immediately? The answer? Jesus. Thus in verse 25, God looked over former sins by looking forward to the cross of Christ where the full payment of the sin guilt would be made, where Christ would die in the place of sinners. Romans 5:8 - "But God shows his love for us in that while we wre still sinners, Christ died for us."

What a sustaining, satisfying, and glorious passage these three verses are!

The Beginning of Knowledge

2009-01-20T21:18:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, our church had a Scripture memory verse from Proverbs. I posited a second verse in addition to Proverbs 3:5-6. That verse was Proverbs 1:7, which reads:

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."

This is a very interesting verse and one that carries a TON of relevance to today's Christianity and every Christian's life. Also, since I have been studying the philosophy this week (still studying) up here at Louisville, KY at Southern Seminary, this verse is also extremely helpful for me.

One of the main questions in philosophy is this: Can you know anything? What is truth? Is it knowable?

This verse simply answers that question. Knowledge is only possible by belief. Saint Augustine famously said, 'You must believe something, before you can know something." True, lasting, purposeful, abundant, and sustaining knowledge begins at one place - with the fear of the Lord! Even though most of you do not have advanced degrees in any scholastic discipline, this does not mean that you lack the possession of knowledge. You actually have more knowledge than the pagan philosopher or the heathen mathematics or scientific genius. Why? Because, those disciplines operated outside of the fear of the God of the Bible, is useless and without purpose.

Remember these cross-references:

1 Corinthians 1:18-21: "For the word of the cross is folly 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 discernment of the discerning I will thwart.' where is the one who is wise? 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 did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe." ESV

1 Corinthians 13:2: "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." ESV

Fools - the wise of the world act as illustrated in the latter part of our focal verse. They despise:

1. Wisdom: this wisdom is a spiritual, heavenly wisdom - the wisdom that comes from above. To contrast earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom - read James 3:13-18.

2. Instruction: the wise of this world spurn instruction that comes from Scripture, which is the final authority for instruction on life. Wisdom from above is grounded in Scripture. Scripture is the depository for the source of all knowledge. All knowledge and all the disciplines can find a starting point and a grounding in God's Holy Word. It is my earnest prayer that all members of Dresden First Baptist Church will be GROUNDED - ROOTED in the Word of God.

Such is the beginning of knowledge.

A New Year, A New You

2009-01-15T05:04:00.000-08:00

Many of you no doubt have made many New Year’s resolutions for 2009. I have made some myself. I cannot believe that today is January 15th, 2009 and it is already half-way through the first month of the year. Many of us have already had setbacks on our resolutions that we have made. I encourage each of you to stick it out and make 2009 a breakthrough year for your life!

At Dresden First Baptist Church, we have begun a weekly memory verse program and I would like to expound a little bit on the first week’s verse – Jeremiah 29:11-13.

The verse gives us such hope and encouragement: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all of your heart.”

This speaks to each of us as you look ahead to 2009. Many of us have many plans, hopes, dreams, and thoughts about what this year is all going to be about. But guess what? God has a plan for you as well. As a matter of fact, God’s plan for your life is so perfect, that no one or nothing else in the entire universe could give you a better plan for your life than what God has in store for you!

One might say, “Well, this verse just really does not apply to me, because you see, I am hopeless. I have made too many mistakes. There is no way God could ever use me! Why would God have a plan for someone like me, who has failed him so many times? I am way too insignificant. I am only a such and such in little old Weakley County, TN.”

I understand that fear and frustration, for I feel it myself many times. But this verse lifts me above it. Because, the Word of God in this passage was initially directed to a people who had just been defeated and sent into exile. Look at verse 1; you see that it reads, “These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”

You see, the recipients of this letter were not rich; they were not famous; they were not comfortable, they were not even home! The recipients of this letter had just witnessed the invasion of their own country by an evil nation and the siege and destruction of their holy city, Jerusalem. The Temple of the LORD had been destroyed, and the people had been exiled to the land of Babylon. This was the most dire of situations. Where hopelessness should have reigned, hope sprang anew through Jeremiah’s words. This reminds me of the words of Jeremiah in Lamentations 3, after crying out in mourning to God over the desolation of Jerusalem, Jeremiah writes, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

No matter where you find yourself in 2009, always remember, God has a plan for you! Isn’t that reassuring!?

How do we catch that plan? Easy:

1. Call upon God
2. Pray to Him – pray to Him that His will shall be evident to you. Allow God to work in your life. God promises to Hear you.
3. Seek Him out – with all of your heart – and you will find Him.

In 2009, let Your Plans be God’s Plans. Have a prosperous 2009!

The Inauguration and Romans 13

2009-01-14T11:48:00.000-08:00

With the Inauguration of Barack H. Obama to the presidency on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009, the nation and, indeed, the world waits with eager anticipation on the type of leader our new president will be. Mr. Obama enters office with a myriad of domestic and national security challenges facing the government. The problems are so systemic that it is a possibility that the new president will demand a recount of the November election! I certainly do not envy the position that our new president will be in come next week.
I hope that most of our church members voted during the last election. You might have voted for or against Barack Obama, but he is our new president come January 20th. And because he has been elected to the office, it is our duty as Christians to pray for him. I feel this a good time to remember Romans 13:1-7. There are many truths found in this passage that helps us understand the truth behind this national event.

1. As citizens of the United States of America and as citizens of the Kingdom and Rule of God, it is our Christian responsibility to be “subject to the governing authorities” (v. 1).

2. The reason behind this command to be subject to governing authorities is not found in the ruler / leader himself, but in the fact that God is in control. Verse 1 of this passage clearly indicates that it is God instituted this authority and no one else. God has providential control over the events of human history. Yes, this election was history in the making, but it did not occur without the direct, willing, active permission of the God of heaven. In this, we Christians should have peace.

3. Whoever resists the authority of the government will incur judgment. Verses 2-5 indicate that this is the case not because of the power, the justice, or the might of the government in control, but because of the power, the justice, and the might of God Himself. We are not to resist and rebel against any earthly authority placed over us that has been instituted by God.

4. One qualification: this does not mean that we are to remain subject when a governmental authority commands us to perform an action that is contrary to the revealed Word of God. This happened in Paul’s own day, when the Roman government at various times in the history of the church would send out edicts throughout the land that all citizens and provisionals of the Roman Empire were to yearly make a offering of incense and allegiance to the Roman Emperor, claiming him to be LORD. Christians were forced to either say, Kaiser Kurios or Christos Kurios (Caesar is Lord or Christ is Lord). Thousands of Christians were killed in the early centuries of the church because they refused to be subject to the authorities in regards to who was LORD over their lives. This brings up an important point: no human relationship or authority will ever usurp the authority claim that Christ has over you as a Christian. Remember, 2 Corinthians 6:19b-20 says: “You not your own, for you were bought with a price” (ESV) Therefore, we must always serve the cause of Christ over and beyond our allegiances to any human government or organization. This should bring Christians comfort and confidence.

5. Verse 6 also illustrates that we, as citizens of the U.S. and citizens of the Kingdom of God, are to pay our taxes. Why? because, those in authority over us are, according to Scripture, servants or ministers of the will of God. This reminds me of Isaiah 10:5-19, where Isaiah prophesizes judgment on the arrogance of Assyria. Although Assyria regarded their victories against Israel as testimony to their national supremacy and military excellence, the Word of God shows the Assyrians as simply pawns in the eternal plans of God. God used an evil and pagan empire to His purposes to punish His own people and to carry out His plan for the world. The United States and its leaders are the same type of servants and ministers. They are simply vessels used by God to carry out His divine decree. This should give all Christians hope, because we know that God has a plan for this country, this state, this county, this city, this church, and our families.

Therefore, on January 20th, as President Obama takes the oath of office, some of us will be worried that his agenda will be detrimental to the future of our country, while others may be heralding this as a dawning of a new progressive era. Nonetheless, all Christians must all realize who truly is in control and pray to our loving Heavenly Father, that he will watch and care over Mr. Obama for the next four years and that God’s will be done. Amen.

Introductory Post

2009-01-14T08:51:00.000-08:00

It is my prayer that this is the first of many, many posts / articles for the Moore for Christ Blog. I hope that everyone who visits and follows this blog will be enriched by its content and also blessed by the God and Saviour that this blog serves. I hope that all who follow this blog will begin to live More for Christ!

God's Richest Blessings upon you!

Joshua Moore