Allan Hall Nearer my God to thee

Something Is Not Better Than Nothing!

How many of you would drive a car with three wheels, fly in a plane with only one wing, or be happy to have your mail delivered just two doors down? When we examine life, and everything associated with it, we find that there are very few times we could say, something is better than nothing. Now perhaps to a starving man, a piece of bread is better than nothing at all, but in most cases, almost always, if you remove something that ought to be there, it just doesn’t work. The same is true in one’s relationship with the Lord. Most are under the impression that a little dab will do you, when it comes to Jesus. Many thinks that if I pray every now and then, go to church on occasion, or give when I think about it, all will be fine. So, the question becomes, is that true, or are most “believers” trying to drive a faith with only three wheels? The truth in Scripture is that there is never an occasion where anything but one’s total devotion and consecration to the Lord is acceptable. From the first commandment, to love Him with all our hearts, the stage is set for the rest of Scripture. You see the Scriptures dont say, God is a rewarder of those who put Him first on occasion, but rather it says God rewards, “those who diligently seek Him.” Scripture doesn’t say, blessed is the man that says he believes and ponders God on occasion, but rather, as the psalmist says, “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.” Likewise, Jesus did not say come follow me anyway that is convenient for you, but rather, “forsake all that you have, take up your cross daily, or you cannot follow me.” The world we live in is the biproduct of this, something is better than nothing, religion. As each generation drifts further and further from the truth, convinced that a little Jesus will do you, eventually, it will give way to a completely godless society, all because people believed, something was better than nothing. The real tragedy, however, is that this mentality produces nothing in the lives of those who accept it. You see except we abide in Him, we can do nothing, if we harbor sin in our hearts, He will not hear us, and if we do not bear fruit, we are cut down and cast into the fire. Scripture is clear when it comes to Jesus, something is not better than nothing, Jesus is all or nothing!

Rev. Joel M McDuffie Jr.

12/11/2018

White As SNow

White as Snow

“Come now, and let us reason together, says Jehovah; though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” … Isa 1:18 

There is something quite mesmerizing about snow, it is that “white,” a white that can make everything underneath it look beautiful. The color white and snow are both metaphors in Scripture for something quite beautiful as well. White is actually defined as that which is absent of any color, and so it represents the perfect Holy nature of God Himself. In Him, there is no shadow of turning, for He alone is perfect in Holiness. White is a picture for us of the sinless perfect essence of God Himself, in Him, there is no darkness at all. Snow is another interesting metaphor, for it is a picture of the blanket of purity that God lays over His children, much in the same way snow blankets the ground in the winter. Under that snow is all manner of darkness and decay, only now hidden by the beauty of the snow which now covers it. Snow is a picture of the righteousness that covers and blankets our sin, allowing us to appear beautiful as we are clothed in white raiment. However, there is another interesting aspect concerning snow on the ground, and that is, it makes everything not white stand out. Though there be a whole acre covered with snow, something as small as a little branch stands out like a sore thumb. The same is true of us and the sin in our lives. Like that little branch protruding through the snow, sin stands out, and breaks the tranquility of the blanket that surrounds it. Today, as we look outside, if we look with spiritual eyes, we can see the beauty of God’s Holiness, we can also see how we are made white, as He gently lays His righteousness, like a blanket of snow over us, but we can also see, how easy it is to take away from this beautiful image He has painted for us, by allowing sin into our lives. Living Holy as He is Holy, assures that others always see the beauty of the blanket of snow the Lord has laid over us!

Rev. Joel M McDuffie Jr.

12/9/2018

Belief

The place of “belief” in our salvation is one of the most misunderstood issues in the dialogue concerning the Christian faith. The first thing we must do is separate the issue of the finished work of Christ on the cross, and the trust we must solely place in it, from how we get to the point where it is available to us. Believing in the finished work of Christ on the cross, and the issue of saving faith, are two entirely different issues that unfortunately are easily convoluted. One, we have nothing to do with, and the other, we have everything to do with. “Belief” in the context of saving faith does not unlock salvation, but rather, as we see inside a real lock, works in conjunction with the other tumblers to eventually allow the lock to open. Belief is the first contact the key makes with the lock itself, and so in this sense it is indispensable, but by itself, it is still not capable of opening the lock. So, we see that without “belief” the lock cannot be opened, but also, that if belief is all there is, the lock remains closed. In saving faith “belief” allows the key to pass deeper within the lock and on to conviction, contrition, and repentance. Saving faith occurs when the key has securely passed all the tumblers, and can now be successfully turned, and the lock opened. There are no works involved in this at all, it is simply the message of the Gospel having its intended effect on the heart. One of the greatest errors in Christian thought is the idea that a true passion for Christ should be a “work” somehow, when in fact, it is simply the bi-product of saving faith. This brings up the issue of faith and works. The reason James says a faith without works cannot save you, is not because he is infringing on the finished work of Jesus, but because it is impossible for anyone who has experienced true saving faith to continue without a changed heart, which once again, is not a “work,” but the desired effect of the Gospel. Where there is no change of heart, there is no saving faith, period! Likewise, where there is saving faith there is a heart that has turned definitively towards the Lord. When the argument of faith and works turns to what we do or don’t do, we have missed the point entirely, for those things have nothing to do with the issue at hand, which is, did the key pass on past belief, to contrition, conviction, and genuine repentance, if so the course of ones life is predestined to be conformed into the image of Jesus. So, we see how it is possible for someone to “believe” in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, but still never experience saving faith! Therefore, it is so important that we never confuse our belief in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, with the effect it is intended to have upon us, when we experience saving faith. After saving faith has turned the key and unlocked our salvation, one can now, and must, “believe” in Jesus’ and His finished work on the cross.

Rev. Joel M McDuffie Jr.
11/21/18

Consumer Christianity

By Rev. Joel M McDuffie Jr.

Recently I saw a snippet of a sermon by Francis Chan, former mega-church pastor and founder of crazylove.org. The point that he made was so spot on, it deserves being repeated. The point was, that we have made the church a consumer driven commodity. We do everything solely to try and meet everybody’s need. Whether it’s the programs, the music, the style of preaching, it is all based to fulfill that consumer mentality. The net result is that people treat it like such. When it doesn’t meet their need, they try a new brand, a cheaper solution. The consumer is always looking for what is best for them and how they can get the most out of it for themselves. The problem is, the church was meant to be an institution that produces servants, who live sacrificial lives. When the church is designed around a model based on the consumer rather than producing a servant, all you have are people switching from one product to the next. The church is to be a training ground for making disciples, who will in turn, go out and make disciples also. The church has lost its focus, clouded its purpose, and filled itself with people who are there to serve themselves in one way or the other, instead of serving others. Until the church gets back into the business of making servants and producing living sacrifices, it will continue to see itself dwindle as the consumer and their habits change over time. Until the focus becomes producing people who live holy, committed, consecrated, selfless lives, that reflect the example that Jesus set before us by His own, there is little chance that the trends we see before us in the church will change.

The Mediocrity of Christian Men in America

Jesus Will Meet You There

Deep Before Wide: A Vision for Returning Discipleship to the Church - Ra...

Lost in Space

 Did you ever wonder how much would be different, if Jesus came in the twenty-first century, instead of the first century? What do you think Jesus would be driving from one sermon location to the next, a Jeep, Corvette, or maybe a Cadillac, whatever it would be, it certainly wouldn’t be a donkey! When He visited places of worship would He prefer, traditional, contemporary, or would He be a blended sort of guy? When He read from the Scriptures, what version would He use, the Septuagint of His day, or maybe King James, or the New American Standard? This may all sound foolish, but it is worth considering, for Jesus could have come just as easily in our generation, as he did the one He appeared in.

One of the problems we are facing in every culture and generation after the advent of Christ, is the struggle to preserve the past for some reason. Jesus came to earth and established the Church at a time, where none, and I mean none, of the things we think are sacred today existed. There were no hymnbooks, no styles of music, no translations into English to argue over, no denominations, or anything else we try to defend today. This is significant, because it suggests in the bigger picture they do not have the weight we are assigning to them. The very fact that if Jesus came of a virgin last week, everything would be radically different than we perceive it today, should tell us, we need to be careful what we consider sacred.

The only thing that would not be different, if Jesus were on the streets of our cities today, would be the message of the Gospel. Jesus would still be proclaiming the sinfulness of men, and the need for repentance. He still would be in the world to die for the sins of mankind, to satisfy the righteousness of the Father. The means of His execution may be different, but it would still come from the hate in men’s hearts towards Him, because of the message and the truth by which He would speak. The truth is, that if Jesus had come this year, instead of two thousand years ago, for Him, nothing would have changed at all.

The importance of this for us is simple, we are trying to preserve and hold on to many things, which do not matter at all! The things we are trying to preserve from the past, are not really the past, they are our present, but far removed from the moment in time when Jesus walked upon the earth. The only thing we must hold on to, the only thing that is truly sacred, is the message He brought us, and the life He gave to save us.

Next time you consider fighting over music, a version of the Bible, or a style of worship, just ask yourself, what would things be like if Jesus had still not yet come. In addition, before you let your church close its doors, because you feel the old way is better, consider that what you are defending, you created, and it’s not ancient at all, but rather a modern interpretation, you have made sacred. The fruit of the Gospel is transformed lives and that is all that matters. It is the message not the music, it the truth, not the translation, it is the heart set on the Lord, not the style of worship. As Jesus said, be careful, that you do not strain at gnats, and swallow camels, instead!

Rev. Joel M McDuffie Jr.

2/19/2018