APPLYING A FOUR-YEAR BANDAGE

There was once a candidate for sheriff in Alabama (where else?) who, when a reporter asked him why he was running for the office, replied, "There's a lot of graft associated with the position and I want to get me some." At least he was honest.

I hope you vote whenever the occasion arises; I always do but I always refuse to wear the "I Voted" sticker with a Georgia peach on it, because, compared to those at the Alamo, at Bunker Hill, at Valley Forge, and at Gettysburg, I've done nothing commendable, so for me to say, by means of a sticker on my shirt, "LOOK AT ME. I VOTED!" That would be a travesty. But that's just me. You do what your conscience dictates.

WE NEED FEWER PEOPLE VOTING

That aside, my opinion is that we need less and fewer people voting, but you're different, I hope you always vote. That's because most people have a pitiful knowledge of the Constitution, and in fact, don't care about it like you do. That said, let's look at voting from a biblical perspective and ask, "In the long run, will voting solve the problem(s)?"

I want to suggest to you that the answer the Bible would give is, "No." Let's examine my suggestion for a moment. To do so, let's set up a scenario: let's say that you vote for just the right people and your people get into the corridors of power. Now they're in control. You like that, and rightly so. Things are looking good. Your candidates do their job and they vote to put an end to what you've wanted stopped for decades--they make abortion illegal. All abortions cease and desist.

Part of this scenario is that once they vote to declare abortion illegal, mobs take to the streets. The mobs march with placards demanding their right to choose. There are uproars across the land. 49% of the people are furious. The mobs harass the candidates you and 51% of the other folks elected. They vandalize and destroy their property, they surround their homes and chant their slogans at them all night long, and hordes of them follow their every public movement, making it impossible for them to even eat in peace. They are bitter to the max. They don't stop.

Then, four years later, it happens: the 49% has become 51% and they take control. They now have entered the corridors of power. They hold the gavel. They begin to reverse everything your political party and your elected candidates have done the last four years.

The Bible explains what's happened, or better yet, what's not happened: voting can't change the human heart. Voting, at best, is a temporary solution. It's a band-aid. One party gets "in," the party that's out works hard and a few years later gets in and changes everything. The newly party that's out starts working immediately to get back in so they can reverse things once they get in. The cycle continues ad infinitum.

But there's one thing and only one thing that's not a temporary solution and that's Christian evangelism and discipleship, that is through Spirit-worked changes in the heart and through the teaching and understanding of the Word of God, God changes the human heart.

SO . . .

By all means, vote every time you can, but when you cast that ballot, remember, you're administering a bandage to buy time to evangelize and make disciples.

A VERY UNHAPPY THANKSGIVING

There has been a text that troubled me for a while until I started to see people live it out, like live it out right now, today. But before we get to that, let's go back to one of the greatest men that ever lived--George Washington.

One of the things President Washington did was to issue a proclamation declaring a national day of Thanksgiving, a proclamation which he began with these words on October 3, 1789:

"By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.

"Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Our country had just come through the Revolutionary War during which they had sacrificed their lives and treasure to defeat the most powerful nation on earth. It was a time of deprivation and hardship for them, the likes of which none of us living today have experienced or even understand. No one living, military or civilian in America, has fought a seven-year war on their homefront, battling day in and day out in rags, in the snow and ice, and with meager supplies, fighting an invasion from a nation far more powerful than they.

And, yet we read of that proclamation from a nation grateful to God.

Now we come to our day and find that we've turned into an ungrateful nation, a nation which, of all things, contains a growing population of ingrates who are ashamed of America, its present and its past. Our universities and public schools are mass-producing a generation of unthankful people.

The arrogant ingrates tear down statues of great men, change the names of streets, and remove the great history of our country from textbooks. In addition, they are in a perpetual and sometimes violent pique over something and anything, engaging in high-tech lynchings should anyone dare to violate the canons of their groupthink, demanding an open and public apology and humiliation from the violator.  (e. g. the forced apology of astronaut Scott Kelly)

And this brings us to a Scripture in the early portion of the greatest letter ever written, the book of Romans: "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." (1:21) That "nor give thanks" is in the portion of Romans which lists the symptoms of a society that turns away from God and His Word and one of those symptoms is a heart the refuses to give thanks. In addition, they become "insolent" and "arrogant" as evidenced by their sitting on their imagined Mt. Olympus, hurling thunderbolts down on such great men as Washington, Jefferson, and a host of others.

Romans 1:21 troubles me no more; we're living in it.

6+4+3=2

It may appear at first glance that mathematics is not a part of my skill set. Although that statement about my math skills is true, nonetheless the above formula is absolutely, totally, 100% correct. But before we get to that, let's look at the parable of The Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

By telling this parable, Jesus will correct the confidence the Pharisees were putting in their own righteousness. False doctrine must be corrected, especially if it’s a false gospel because a false gospel has never saved anyone. The story revolves around two men, one of whom is a Pharisee. 

To the Jews, the location of the prayer is important—the Temple. God’s special presence was in the Holy of Holies; God had commanded the people to assemble at the Temple from time to time, at certain times of the year. Therefore, the people thought that if you prayed in the Temple, God was more likely to hear you. Israel was to worship God in the Temple and prayer is a part of worship.

The other man is a tax collector, but to understand the difference in these two men, we have to go back to the culture in which they lived.  

The Pharisee was renowned for his dedication to the Law, for fasting two days of the week, for loud and public prayers, and for trying to keep the smallest details of the Jewish traditions. The Pharisee was a person of supreme religious confidence in himself. In fact, he admired himself very much. (Know any Christians like that—their speech betrays an admiration of themselves.) Some people are like the famous author who was talking to a friend, telling him that he had speaking engagements in D. C., NYC, and Philadelphia. Then he said to his friend, “Well, that’s enough about me, what do you think about my latest book?”

To get the feel of the people for the tax collectors, one word will suffice: “traitor.” The Jews looked upon them as traitors, those who worked for Rome and against the people. In WWII, then Hitler took over France, there were Frenchmen who cooperated with the Nazis in running the country. They were called, “collaborators.”

But to really get the pulse of the Jews for their countrymen who were tax collectors, let’s use another word: “Gestapo.” The Jewish tax collectors abused their own people for profit. They would charge the people above and beyond the tax rate Rome required and pocketed the excess for themselves. This is what Zacchaeus was doing until he met Christ.

The Pharisee in the story has a particular way he stands that indicates how much he admires himself. Self-righteousness and arrogance go hand in hand. He had come to believe that his righteousness set him head and shoulders above others. We see this in the way he stands and by what he prays as he thanks God that he’s not a “robber, and evildoer, and adulterer, or a tax collector.
 

He cites the two reasons why he’s righteous—he fasts two times a week and he tithes. Yet early in Jesus’ public ministry. In the Sermon on the Mount, He had stressed to the people that external practices do not count for a right standing with God. The right standing comes from the inner man, not an outward show of piety.

We would also note that the Pharisee wants the people in the Temple to know just how good he is, so he prays in such a way so that everyone can hear him.. By this we see that in his prayer, he’s not really worshipping God, but he’s praising himself. Jesus noted that the Pharisees love to pray so others can hear them. The Pharisee is obsessed with honoring, not God, but himself.

THE CONTRAST

Jesus contrasts the attitude of the tax collector with that of the Pharisee. Even his stance is different: he “stands afar off.” This indicates that he recognizes that he is unfit to stand before God, so he doesn’t even go inside the Temple. Not only that, but also, he would not look upward; he drops his head and lowers his eyes. In addition, he beats his chest as a sign of his contrition.
His prayer isn’t ornate; it’s to the point: “Oh, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This is something the Pharisee would not admit. By this one sentence, we see that he’s not asking God to overlook his sin; he wasn’t asking God to change His attitude toward sin or toward him.
 
THE ONE WORD

The word he uses for “merciful” is the same word we read in I Jn. 2:2: “propitiated.” The word means “satisfied.”

Because of this, Christ pronounces the man to be righteous. But this is not a prayer for those living after the Cross. As I John 2:2 says, God is now satisfied. He’s not satisfied with our righteousness, but with the death of His Son, and therefore, God is satisfied. The context of the prayer is pre-cross. After the death of Christ, God is satisfied because His righteous and holy demands have been all completely met in the death of His Son.

It's the historical context of the prayer that makes it an improper one today. There's no need to plead with God to be saved. He's been satisfied. The only requirement for salvation is "believe," not "plead."

Now to mathematics. If you had trouble understanding why the formula is correct, it's because you're placing it in the wrong context. The context isn't math. The proper context is baseball. On the baseball diamond, the positions of the players are assigned numbers as a means of keeping score as the game goes along. 6 represents the shortstop. 4 represents the second baseman and 3 represents the first baseman. So the formula is saying that a double play occurred when the shortstop (6) fielded the ball and threw it to the second baseman (4) who threw it to the first baseman (3) and that resulted in 2 outs.

Context is king!

THE COPTICS

Twenty-one Egyptians who were being held by Islamic extremists were executed on February 15, 2012. Decapitated. All right-thinking people the world over should have been outraged by what the Muslims did. Murdering people for their faith is sinful, regardless of their religion. No one should be executed for their faith.

Those executed were members of the Coptic faith, a group with ancient roots that go back, they contend, to Mark, the author of the second Gospel in the New Testament. They hold that Mark founded their church in 42 AD.  The executions were just one of many endured by the group throughout their long history, but they are in the news today because of such things happening as the barbaric aforementioned.

WHO ARE THE COPTS?

"Coptic" is a word meaning "Egyptian," and the word, as we read it in the news, is coupled with "Christian," that is, they are referred to as "Coptic Christians." We need to examine that term, especially the second word, "Christian." Are they? Are the Coptics Christians? To determine that issue, we have to look at their doctrine, not the newspapers.

The problem is that the secular world puts "Christian" on any group that says they are. But, if we're true to the Bible, we can't let the world give us the definition of "Christian." When we let the news reporting services define the word, the world thinks that Roman Catholism is the "Christian church" or at least part of it, and since Mormons call themselves "Christian," they must be Christians too. But the Bible detrmines who is and who isn't Christian.

So, what are some of the basic teachings of the Copts?

THE COPTIC DOCTRINE OF BAPTISM

The Copts believe that baptism is necessary for salvation and that a man, a woman, and a baby should be baptized. The Copts perform baptism by immersing the baby three times in sanctified water. The sacrament also involves a liturgy of prayer and anointing with oil. Under Levitical Law, the mother waits 40 days after the birth of a male and 80 days after the birth of a female to have the baby baptized.

In the case of adult baptism, the person undresses, enters the baptismal font up to their neck, and their head is dipped three times by the priest. (The priest stands behind a curtain while immersing the head of a woman.)

THE COPTIC DOCTRINE OF THE SAINTS

Copts venerate (not worship) saints and icons, which are images of saints and Christ painted on wood. The Coptics teach that saints act as intercessors for the prayers of the faithful.

THE COPTIC DOCTRINE OF SALVATION (SOTERIOLOGY)

Coptics hold that both God and man have roles in human salvation: God, through Christ's atoning death and resurrection, man, through good works, which are the fruits of faith. The summary of their soteriology is, as they say: 1. Faith. 2. Saving Sacraments: a. Baptism. b. Confirmation. c. Repentance & Confession. d. Eucharist. 3. Good Works.

They observe the sacraments: seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation, confession (penance), the Eucharist (Communion), matrimony, unction of the sick, and ordination. Sacraments are considered a way to receive God's grace, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and remission of sins.

THE COPTIC CHURCH (ECCLESIOLOGY)

The Copts have their own patriarch, Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, took office in 2012 after having his name picked from a glass chalice by a blindfolded boy because a boy represents purity.

The Coptics, not Roman Catholocism, developed the institution of monasticism. They state: "It began in the mountains, 450 feet above the sands. The monks believe it was in it was in a tiny cave that St. Anthony, the first monk, followed God’s instructions to seclude himself in the desert. Every night around midnight, monks and novices climb through the darkness to pray here and honor his memory. It was very crowded and very cold."

EVALUATION OF THE COPTIC THEOLOGY

All of the above are a far cry from John 3:16 and the hundred-plus other New Testament texts that state salvation is through faith in Christ alone and that faith, by its very definition, is apart from works (Romans 4:4-5)

Conclusion: The Copts are an unevangelized people group. 

SATAN'S RALLY CRY

There have been many famous rally cries throughout history. The Texans raised one, birthed in March 1836, when, as they fought against Mexico, shouted, "Remember the Alamo!" "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" was the famous 1844 presidential campaign slogan of James Knox Polk that contributed to his unexpected victory. The slogan was named after a line of latitude that served as the northern border of Oregon at 54 degrees 40 minutes.

The American Revolution gave rise to dozens of rallying cries—“No Taxation Without Representation;” “Join or Die;” “Don’t Tread on Me”—but few had as significant an impact as “Liberty or Death.” The phrase first appeared in a March 1775 address by Patrick Henry, in which he said, "I know not what course others may take, but give me liberty or give me death!"

Satan has his rally cry and those who are Bible-tuned heard it loud and clear last week. Satan's rally cry is 4,000 years old, beginning with God's sovereign choice of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he's relentless in repeating it, whether in print or shouted verbally. In such repetition, he's indefatigable. The Egyptian pharaoh shouted it as did Haman.

Today, the cry still rings throughout the world: In July 2017, "a California imam delivered a ferociously anti-Semitic sermon from his podium at the Islamic Center of Davis, calling for Allah to 'annihilate' the Jews 'down to the very last one."” "All Jews must die" was rally cry the murderer of 11 Jews attending a synagogue service in Pittsburgh shouted, not once, but over and over again just this month.

The shout will be on other during the Great Tribulation when the Anti-Christ reveals himself to be Satan's fool and tool to annihilate God's chosen people, as he tries, but will fail, to eliminate the people to whom God must fulfill the promises of the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic, and New Covenants.

It's a rally cry doomed for failure. Ps. 87:35-37 says so: "Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David^. His descendants shall endure forever and his throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever like the moon, and the witness in the sky is faithful."