One hot evening in May 2016, I was putting away the lawnmower in our garage as I noticed two young ladies standing on our front porch. My wife and oldest son were pointing them over to me saying, “He’s the one you want to talk to.”
They came over and introduced themselves as sisters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As we stood in the driveway, we engaged in very agreeable conversation about the Trinity, whereby they explained they believed in three separate persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and I countered with a brief explanation that it’s one God in the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
When it became apparent we weren’t quite speaking the same language (though it sounded very similar,) I went to my car to bring them a Greg Koukl CD on the Trinity. I figured Greg could do a better job of explaining things than I was doing. The sisters immediately rejected it, saying while they were on their mission, they were not allowed to listen to any media, watch any media.. nothing. But they were allowed to have conversations with people.
By then my amused wife had come out to remind me it was bedtime for our kids. The missionaries and I set up another time to talk. I suggested exactly one week later, which I knew would give me more time to get clear on the Mormon position. The good sisters agreed and the date was set. As they left, they thanked me for “being so cool.” Apparently, they had been run off before by un-Christ-like Christians who hurled insults, calling them agents of the devil.
As I began to study Mormonism, one thing became clear. This was not Christianity. It sounded like Christianity and walked like Christianity, but it brought twists and contortions to God’s Word that plainly don’t exist when one spends time in textual analysis of the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic.
Through study, it also became apparent many missionaries run at first signs of conflict or Christian resolve. This was something I did not want. To quote a spiritual mentor of mine, “No contact, no impact.” Someone had cautioned me against letting them into my home, but as I discovered, this is caution for those Christians who are relatively new to their faith. While I was only about 7 months old from my born-again commitment, I was steeping myself in the works of Greg Bahnsen and Greg Koukl.
Over the next four weeks, the sisters and I met once a week. Their next visit, they brought another, older couple. The husband represented a member of the Mormon priesthood. As we sat in my home office, I sat on the hearth, deliberately and symbolically positioning myself between them and the inferno. By the end of that meeting, we had established introduced the concepts of Joseph’s failed prophecies and the notion that the apostasy meant Jesus and the Apostles failed to establish a meaningful church.
The third meeting messed me up. Just the three women this time, they took 20 minutes to show me a DVD on the origins of Mormonism, told “Little House on the Prairie” style. I wasn’t prepared for this and—though I agreed to watch the video to gain a deeper understanding into the marketing machine that is Mormonism—we parted ways that night with heaviness on both sides. One of the sisters was coming to the end of her mission and would be going back home to Arizona that next week. “Well, I suppose I’ll at least be able to see you in heaven after this life,” she said.
The stakes are different for we Christians, however. For me, I felt a sense of urgency to meet one last time; to speak into these girls and witness to them as best I could. In my own mind, I had not witnessed well this meeting. That night, I wept as I prayed for the four Mormons. Of the sisters, I knew their parents had to be wildly proud of them; I know I would be if they were my daughters.
For our last meeting, I had resolved to become more aggressive. This time, it was just the two sisters who appeared at the door. As the song goes, “by the blood of the Lamb and the words of our testimony,” I poured into them as best I could my own journey from Catholicism to agnostic to regenerate born-again. Through 15 pages of notes, I did my best to respectfully bring them back to the authority of the Bible, the nature of God and Jesus, and the differences between our notion of heaven and hell. Still, it wasn’t enough time.
As we parted, I let them know this would be the last meeting for a while. All the research and preparation was taking a toll on the rest of my work. They understood and we shook hands. We have kept in touch and I will continue to point them toward the truth of Jesus Christ and God’s Word. This blog post and the posts to follow are a part of that effort.
It is early evening and I am somewhere tropical.. beach resort.. blue skies dissolving into a setting sun, powdery sands, smell the salty sea air.. watching people splash around in a meat-market mentality, scoping each other out, picking each other up, laughing, eating, drinking, lounging in and around the pool. I was bored by it. Found myself walking past it all, alone, towards the pier. Suddenly, someone shouts and points to the sky. The firmament changes from blue to a beige and two halves of sky come together to become one. The two halves are rimmed, like the trim on a bed-sheet, and those edges are colored by three stripes; a bright crimson red on the outer edges, white in the center, and lastly midnight blue. As the sheets of sky collide, the stripes mixed with the fluidity of paint and become one set; red, white and blue. As they begin to mix slightly, a greater disturbance rippled across the stripe, like raindrops hitting a puddle, and for a brief second one can see the silhouettes of men on horseback galloping through the sky. (The stippling of the stripes had been caused by the hooves.)
The silhouettes disappeared again, though the air still rippled with their presence as they came closer. By now, the crowd was screaming in panic, fleeing here and there. I knew there was no escaping power like this, so I found a place to hole up and wait. I remembered the Book of Revelations, and though it wasn’t as I imagined; I recognized the horsemen and their intent. I felt a sense of déjà vu as I walked on the pier and found a square cut out of the wooden planks (about 4′ x 4′), right before a step up which led further down the pier. There was a ladder that led into the water below.
Whatever possessed me to lay myself across that weird doorway into the sea, I have no idea, but I suspended myself across it, t-boning myself with my arms and feet holding me up and with the water supporting my back. As the mayhem continued and people ran around me, I completed the illusion of being crucified by placing one bare foot on top of the other and then I closed my eyes, relaxed my body and prepared to stay there for a long, long time.
At one point, a presence stood over me, I know.. I saw it in my mind’s eye (third-person now, standing behind me on the shore).. the air curving around a tall, transparent warrior, easily 10-12 feet tall.. the massive sword with a blade shaped like a diamond or a long, thin kite, also transparent but visible. I did not look up, I did not open my eyes, I did not say a word. The presence finally left to assist in the slaughter, leaving me as I was.
As the horsemen worked their way inland, the screams began to become more distant and silence ebbed in with the tide. In my mind’s eye, I saw the landscape, the tropical paradise it once was, with its tiki torches, thatch-roofed bars, crystal-clear pools and swank hotels, now polluted with corpses and the gore of the slaughtered. Still, I did not open my eyes nor climb up from my place.
Instead I slept, and awoke in a house after what seemed to be 30 years of slumber. As I emerged from one of the bedrooms in that dimly lit home, a man of early fifties (possibly early fifties) walked past. He smiled and said something. It might have been ‘so you finally decided to join us’ or something of the like, I don’t recall exactly. He was dressed in olive drab, almost as if he was a soldier, but there were no identifying marks on his uniform, no medals, no patches, no embroidery of any kind. He wore black wing-tips instead of combat boots. He was white-haired (one to two inches long and standing straight out), well-built, barrel-chested, and stronger and more vital with life than most men half his age. (This was definitely not my grandfather, however.) I had a feeling people referred to him as “The General”. There was a glow about him that was nothing you saw, but something you felt.
He was on a mission to grab some extra silverware or some other dining effect and led me back into the living room, where a large table had been set up with candles and a (Christmas?) feast. The TV was on and some of the 20 to 30 people in that room looked at me as I entered, some watched the TV, but all were standing with their hands clasped and singing the popular New Years song, Auld Lang Syne:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne
I met some of their glances and then hurried out of the room, finally realizing that I had been spared. I ran into one of the side bedrooms, fell to one knee and began praying. A woman came in to check on me and tell me that they all came to be there in the same way. She said that there was a list of names on the Internet where I would go and look for the name of my wife, to see if she had survived, same as I. (Note: I was not married at the time of this dream.)
I awoke, astonished, with a deep sense of, “What just happened there?” As I relived the dream and tried to crystallize the details, I remembered that I had, just this week, given a speech on abortion. I was overwhelmed by the dream, and to my surprise, I cried. I cried because I had been spared in the dream (relief) and I cried because we are killing ourselves and when destruction comes, we will have no one to blame but ourselves (guilt, remorse). As the tears quickly subsided, I said, “We are our own cancer.” I thought about calling my mother (she has a gift for dream interpretation,) but instead, tried to get the details of this dream into print ASAP.
Called Mum. A few things to notice:
– There were no children in the dream. ‘Paradise’ was without children. Hedonistic.
– The water-filled square may symbolize the womb. The ladder only had one aluminum rail as opposed to the usual two = umbilical cord.
While surfing Facebook today, I ran across a revealing post on Hillary Clinton’s inconsistent position on the hot social topics of our time:
While I had no intention of voting for her, this video brought forward my dissatisfaction with the ALL the remaining presidential candidates into full Techni-color glory. Normally, I would vote Republican, but this year I was really considering abstaining. Neither business acumen nor political chameleon superpowers are enough to make up for the gross lack of character and integrity we’re presented with this year.
However, as I mentioned in my Facebook post on this topic, “the retort to that is, ‘Many have died to so we can have the freedom to vote as we want.’ Certainly abstaining is part of that freedom, but.. is it right? A quote against abstaining from the vote would be one commonly attributed to Einstein: ‘The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.'”
Well, one of the folks who responded to that thread had probably one of the best suggestions I’ve heard. Her words: “At this point I feel my best option is to vote a write-in (namely : Ted Cruz)…still exercising my right to vote – and yet standing by my convictions. Maybe it won’t matter at this election – but who knows the influence it could have at the next if enough of us take a stand?”
I had forgotten about the write-in option. I think that will be it for me. In the meantime, may God have mercy on our country. Like Israel before us, we are being judged and are being left to our iniquity. Hang onto your seats, recommit to sharing the Gospel, and pray for forgiveness.
Okay, so today I want to talk to you about something that blew up this week at children’s ministry. Every other week, I help my church out in the second grade classroom, so I’m dealing with seven and eight year olds. I’m just one of the adults there out of two or three volunteers. We end up with anywhere between twelve and twenty children. First we gather in large group, then there’s some relational time, and then there’s some teaching—that kind of stuff. Then, we come back to our own little classroom where we engage in an activity.
It’s been a good form of ministry. It’s nothing I sought out, really. I had made the prayer, “Lord, help me serve. Help me know how you would have me be of service.” Within sixteen hours, I had the church asking me to join the ministry. They sent out a note saying, “Hey. Your kids go to our Sunday school. How about the parents come and help out and join the children’s ministry?” So, that’s how I came to be a part of children’s ministry, and I do that every other week.
This last weekend, we had a little surprise. I was sitting down and playing chess with one of the children. One of the other boys runs up and says, “Hey, look what I made.” This is what they made.
When I saw that, I was kind of like, “What? Where did you see that?” He goes, “MLG.” I was like … I didn’t even catch it the first time. I looked up at the other closest adult, the gal (I had a couple serving with me as well…) I looked up at her, and she saw what I was seeing. She just kind of shook her head, as if to say she knows. I said, “Say that again?” He said, “MLG.” I didn’t know what MLG was. She didn’t know what MLG was. Her husband didn’t know what MLG was. Obviously, I had to go look it up later on. Well, what I did is I told the child, “You know what? That’s not a good symbol. You need to throw that away. That is not a good symbol.”
He did. He complied. He was like, “Oh. Okay. I didn’t know. It’s in the game.” Okay. I still don’t know what the game is. I may ask him about it. I wanted to talk with his parents, but the parents didn’t pick him up, his older sibling picked him up. In retrospect, I should have said, “You know, you’re not going to release him. We need the parents to come here.” There was so much commotion at the end of class, when the parents are checking their kids back out after service, I totally dropped it from my mind, totally blanked on it, forgot all about it. Boo to me. Still, I ended up, obviously, digging it out of the trash so that I could show you.
Yeah. Illuminati.
Can you say Illuminati?
Not good. I had a similar experience to that myself, growing up. I was about this age when we were watching some sort of TV show, it was on the weekend, so we weren’t at school. Hitler and the Nazis came on the screen. I don’t remember what the show was about, but I just remember seeing the impression of the Nazi regime, and they’re all doing their zig heils, and they’re in the backdrop, behind Hitler. There’s this massive Nazi flag with the bent cross. I remember thinking, “Wow. That’s so cool.” It made such an impact on me right then and there. (It’s funny, because I just shaved my head. No, it’s not connected at all.)
I went and I had this cork board—this bulletin board—in my room where I could put up little things. I don’t remember what any of that stuff was that was on it. Photos of family and that kind of stuff maybe? I drew on the cork of the cork board the bent cross. When she eventually found it, my mother obviously started having heart palpitations. She said, “Matthew, what is this?” I said, “Oh, it’s a cross. It’s a symbol that I saw on that show.” She goes, “Oh no, honey. No, no, no, no. That symbol reeks of evil.” She told me about the Nazis, and millions were killed as a result of people lining up behind that symbol.
That made a big impression on me. I was like, “Oh no. I don’t want that.” I carved the cork out of the cork board and threw it away, obviously. It was imprinted at that point. Nope. That symbol’s not so good, doesn’t have a good meaning. Might have had a different meaning back before the Nazis used it, but the Nazis turned that symbol. Yeah.
Finding the Illuminati Eye in a child’s hand this weekend was…
Parents, you need to have discernment. If you’re letting your children—even at the age of eight and ten and twelve—play first-person shooter games (because that’s primarily what I found at MLG; MajorLeagueGaming.com) this is not okay. Not okay. We’ve got mass murderers who can point to the violent first-person video games (say, Call of Duty,) to say this is what they use for practice. They practiced it over and over and over. This is how they trained for going out and having their shooting spree.
Not good. This is not good, gang. If you think, “Oh, it’s just a video game…”—it’s programming. It’s programming, just like your TV and your radio. It’s programming. Garbage in, garbage out. We try to keep first-person shooters out of our home, and still, they occasionally creep in and we have to get rid of them.
Not just first-person shooters. Violent shows—like Walking Dead for crying out loud (don’t get me started.)
Keep vigilant. You are called to discern what is proper media for your children.
That does not mean first-person shooters.
That does not mean violent TV shows.
Does not mean violent music.
Does not mean racy music. (Even though it has a good beat, it may not be what you want your kids growing up to, because it will have an effect on their behavior with you and with others. You may have some unsavory results come teen years.)
That’s it guys. Just use your discernment. Watch out for stuff that’s creeping into your media and your children’s media. Get it out. Get it out of your house. Get it gone. All right?
Comments deleted from YouTube???
Soon after this video was posted at YouTube, there was a thread that bubbled up there. It was quickly deleted. I’m not sure why, but I’ve opted to record what I have left of it as best I can. Conspiracy theories, anyone? Hmm….
Ovo borus (Wed 5/4, 10:52 AM)
I’m sorry no one trains on video games to go murder people in life. When actually it’s a proven fact the government has killed more people in the name of religion than any other thing period.
Levaire (Sat 5/7, time unknown)
+Ovo borus, wellll… it’s certainly leaning that way, right? Really, it’s pretty simple. Think “garbage in, garbage out.”
“Norway’s alleged mass killer testified on Thursday that he played video games as a way to train for a shooting spree that killed 77 people last summer. In particular, Anders Behring Breivik said at his trial that he played ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’ as a means of shooting practice, according to CNN’s report.”
Do violent video games play a role in shootings?
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/opinion/bushman-video-games/
Ovo borus (Sat 5/7, 01:22 PM)
+Levaire did Cain have video games to blame for his crimes?
[Lost rest of this response? This is the only thing that shows up in the email notification.]
Ovo borus (Sat 5/7 01:24 PM)
+Levaire so you found what, 6 things that back up a statement… that is enough to base a theory upon?
Could I not then apply the 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon method to anything and find the same correlations? In fact, give me any made up hypothesis and I’ll prove it with 7 sources in less than a week.
Just because you read it on the internet doesn’t make it real.
[To this, I had no real intention of responding. It became obvious this person was clinging to their gaming without being open to the fact that maybe the programming they’re plugging into isn’t in their best interest.]
Praise God! We have a date scheduled for my baptism!
As an infant, I was baptized into the Catholic Church. Since coming back around to a deeper walk in my Christian faith, it has been on my heart to consciously accept baptism as a new man in Christ. Numerous attempts to be baptized through my non-denominational church have stalled, not through any lack of readiness on my part, but through a lack of administration on theirs. Since losing their baptismal pastor last year, they have been pushing the baptismal responsibility back and forth between departments. They even cancelled their Easter baptism this year with a commitment to conduct baptisms “sometime late spring, early summer.”
What?
When I asked my Baptist pastor about this and he said it was because they don’t view baptism as membership into their church. My brother in contemplative prayer understands this and confirms that baptism is not to be church-specific. He says the old man dies upon immersion and is born new in Jesus Christ into the Body of Christ upon emerging; not into a specific church family. Then he made a joke about taking me down to the river and taking care of it.
So, after more consideration, I’m taking him up on that offer. It seems fairly appropriate, actually, when I think about our biblical example. If Christ is our example to follow, I will follow Him in this too.
Pastor Doug of Fellowship of the Martyrs Church of Liberty, Missouri, points out the connection between water baptism and Passover. This inspired me to look into the dates for Passover to possibly align with that. Well, in the year 2016, Passover takes begins Friday evening, April 22, and runs until the evening of Saturday, April 30.
So, April 30th it will be!
More soon!
P.S. Enjoy the following article which more clearly states the connection between baptism and Passover.
Baptism & Passover: Two Pictures of Our Need for Christ
by Jerry Laws, December 2001
From time to time my thoughts keep coming back to the process of salvation. The more I think about it, the broader and deeper it gets. In this ever-expanding process I’m being made more keenly aware that there is “nothing but Christ!” What I mean by this is that in the Father’s purity, He only views His beloved Son.
And by the Father’s grace (ability) we believers have been placed or positioned “in Christ” (1Cor 1:30) whether we are actively aware of it or not.
Salvation is a process of delivering us from the world, Satan, and self. It’s a process of the old man’s death, and the new creature in Christ growing into a mature thinking and acting individual, just as our Messiah was and is (Eph 4:13). The apostle Paul’s determined goal for all those whom he ministered to, was given for our reference in Galatians 4:19, “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you.” This central theme of the reformation process is summarized in 2Cor 3:18, and is specifically emphasized in 2Cor 4:11; “For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”
Now the principle of life out of death is pictured both in our public baptism and the Christian Passover service.
Let us first briefly review the need for a Savior to deliver us from ourselves and the evil that exists in this world. Adam and Eve’s wrong choice resulted in mankind’s separation from God, pictured by removing them from the Garden and thereby barring them from the Tree of Life. In order for reconciliation to come about, God the Father had to first propose deliverance—salvation. Secondly, the beloved Son had to purchase it. And finally, God’s Holy Spirit has to apply it. The first two steps have been accomplished, and the third is in active process.
There is no amount of good works we can do to earn salvation. Our part is not production, but reception of our life “in Christ Jesus”, who is our salvation. However, our efforts are involved here as this entails Bible based fact-finding, and explicit faith in Him and His purpose for us “in Christ”. It also involves our patient trust as He takes us through the necessary purification process involved (Tit 2:11–14).
As God’s calling continues to go out, the people have a choice to make, not unlike Adam and Eve’s choice. Many factors can affect the response: love of the world and the things that are in it; strong self-will; rebellious natures; procrastination, etc. (I remember a friend telling me that it took him 18 years from his calling to make a firm commitment before being baptized. Praise God, he did make it.)
Even after we have made the correct choice of Life, I don’t think most have a very deep understanding of the life-out-of-death process that we have entered into with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This usually comes later on with our child-training.
Submitting to water baptism is to be a testimony, or giving evidence that we have accepted the facts of Scripture, and acknowledge our need for a Savior in order to be reconciled back to God. We therefore reckon, or count ourselves to have been placed in union with Jesus Christ, by the Spirit (Rom 6:1–11). Baptism need be done only one time in one’s life—at an age when one is old enough for a life-long adult commitment. It also testifies to our position; we have died to—out of the power of—the old life and are alive in the newness of life.
Our “position” is not a place, but is a person with a personality. Sometimes we have difficulty grasping this concept. Making a comparison with our human birth might help here. When we were born into this world, we automatically inherited the characteristics of our forefathers clear back to the beginning of time. We inherited a deep self-centered nature that is prone to sin. We didn’t have any choice in the matter. We were therefore “positioned” with Adam’s nature—our flesh—which is simply not compatible with God’s nature (Rom 3:23; 7:18; 8:7).
When we are immersed into the water, our old man is as a dead man, crucified and its power over us is broken. As we come out of the water, we have entered into the newness of life. This is our new position, “in Christ” and the old man has no power over the new man in Christ. Remember when Jesus was nailed up to the stake, and He was up there crucified for a period of time before He finally died. This is where our old man has been placed—up on the stake with Jesus, crucified, power broken, but not yet annihilated.
There is an allegory which has been given to me by another, and it might help clarify this situation: there is a ship on a voyage and the captain has been tried and found guilty of a capital offense, and as such has been put below deck in the ship’s jail. The new captain of our ship gives good guidance and steers a true course along safe harbors. Meanwhile the old captain continues to loudly claim he is the rightful leader of the ship, and the crew are so used to listening to him that they still sometimes do—which causes a lot of problems for the ship. Explanation: We are the ship on our voyage of life. Our old man is the old captain who has been put in chains, and his power over us is broken at our baptism. He will be permanently removed from our ship when the ship reaches the final port, but he still causes a lot of problems in the meantime. The new captain of our ship is, of course, Jesus Christ.
This brings us to the Christian Passover/Lord’s Supper connection and the reason why we need to partake of it as an annual memorial, rather than a one-time experience such as with our baptism.
When we come up out of the water we have entered into a brand new life, separate from the old. It is the life of Christ—He is our life (Col 3:4). We have been positioned in Him by the Father. However, we come into Jesus’ life as newborn spiritual babes, with God’s goal set before us to grow in grace and knowledge until we reach the full maturity, just as the beloved Son of God is mature (2 Pet 3:18; Eph 4:13). This ultimately leads to intimacy and oneness with our God.
The Passover service sets forth our experience in our voyage of life. It is our continual condition, of growing to full maturity. It is not the old man improving, or getting better—for he has been crucified—but our human condition is in the process of purification. We, individually, are being transformed (conformed) to His death in order that His life may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
Even though the ultimate goal of Jesus’ death was to bring us into Life (Rom 5:10), we can never bypass the importance of His beaten body and shed blood. We need to remember—proclaim—His death annually, on a continual basis to help us focus on our need for Him. We acknowledge that our condition in this journey of life is a needy one, because it is all too easy to take our eyes off the new Captain of our vessel and let the old man take control of the helm once again. Remember what the beloved Son of God experienced on our behalf. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1Cor 11:26).
Maybe this will help illuminate what Paul said in Galatians 2:20; “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.”
Permission is granted to reproduce any article in its entirety.
(Laws, J. Servants’ News. December 2001. Retrieved from http://www.servantsnews.com/sn0111/baptism.htm.)
Biblical Quotes Regarding Baptism (KJV)
Acts 2:38 – Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
John 3:5 – Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Acts 22:16 – And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Mark 16:16 – He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
1 Peter 3:21 – The like figure whereunto [even] baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
Matthew 28:19 – Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Colossians 2:12-13 – Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Ephesians 4:5 – One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Acts 2:41 – Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added [unto them] about three thousand souls.
Romans 6:3-4 – Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Galatians 3:27 – For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Matthew 3:16 – And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Matthew 3:11 – I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and [with] fire:
Acts 8:36-38 – And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
Colossians 2:12 – Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
It’s been on my heart to write this post ever since I wrote “Cain killed Abel with a rock. It’s a heart problem; not a gun problem.” For me, the issue surrounding our response to violence first bubbled up around the topic of gun control. Initially, I felt the huge disconnect between pastor Jeff Durbin’s great Christian apologetic teaching and his announcement of free concealed weapons classes through his Apologia Church. Incredulous curiosity brought me to their Apologia Radio iTunes episode #144, “A Biblical And Christian Response To Gun Control” (10/16/2015) where Durbin points to the Bahnsen/Atwood gun debate for his pro-gun/anti-legislation stance. Unfortunately, in that debate, Dr. Greg Bahnsen was much more interested in trying to best fellow pastor Dr. Atwood than he was in furthering the gun legislation discussion. At one point, Bahnsen even earned chuckles from the audience when he declared Christ would carry a gun if he walked the earth today. Atwood had the good sense to disagree.
So if the use of weapons for violence is un-Christ-like, what about other forms of violence? What about competitive martial arts? What about self-defense? Should Christians do karate? What does God say about fighting?
On a personal level, this came up for me recently. I had a pediatrician recommend martial arts for my oldest son (10 years old.) The doctor intended this as a means to help my son burn off energy and bring focus; great goals, of course. My concern was bringing such training to a child who—at this point in his evolution—occasionally suffers bouts of impulse control beyond that of the typical 10 year old boy. A spiritual brother at work laughed when I told him this. He knows of my growing pacifist slant, which we debate since he teaches martial arts in his off-hours. I also have a history of studying and appreciating martial arts, so I can understand the attraction to the sport.
Obviously, I had to get clear on this issue. Well, as it happens, the Apologia Radio gang has a talk on martial arts and its place in Christianity. Here is the description:
UFC to the Glory of God (?), Hobby Lobby & God’s Sovereignty, 7/5/2014 (1:30:07) Should Christians get behind and celebrate systems and arts developed for the purposes of destroying an enemy? Further, should Christians view, participate in, or celebrate professional fighting?
(Before we continue, I mentioned this in the gun control post, but it bears repeating here. A reader may get the impression I’m targeting Jeff Durbin and Apologia Church. I assure you, I think highly of the apologetic training and witnessing they have been producing. They have been doing some wonderful work in the world. Still, it is our job as Christians to bear true witness to the Word of God so when we find errant teaching, we are to be salt and point it out.)
In this episode, the show’s producer, Elliot, voices a concern about whether he—as a Christian—should enjoy watching Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts bouts. It’s funny that Elliot’s own conscience tells him there’s something wrong about this, but sadly, Durbin steps in and lets him off the hook.
In response, Durbin relates his own experience as a nationally-ranked martial artist. Durbin would have us not focus on the obvious violence of the sport, but upon the “art” in martial arts. He gives the beginning of Psalm 144 as proof of God’s stamp of approval:
Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
Of course, though he knows this verse well, Durbin does not mention 2 Corinthians 10:3-6:
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
But then, Durbin says it’s about how we apply the “Biblical world-view”. Well, there’s no doubt about that. I wonder though; would Christ agree with how Durbin applies it here?
Durbin would teach us that the self-control of the men in the ring, as they bludgeon one another, is something to be admired. After all, they stop short of killing each other. Their brotherly camaraderie after a bout is heart-warming. It should be the beauty of the art we focus on—the mastery—not the base violence of the activity.
Do not focus on the obvious fact that fighting your neighbor is not loving your neighbor.
Do not focus on the king-of-the-hill spirit of pride in competitive martial arts.
Do not focus on the spirit of besting one another as opposed to raising each other up.
Where do you place your faith?
At one point, Durbin gives accounts of how he was able to use his martial arts training to head off potential assaults on the street. I think most of us would look at this as a very valid point, right? But here again, are we to place our confidence in our power to change a situation? Or—if we are truly taking every thought captive to obey Christ—are we to place our faith in our Father? Where do you place your faith?
Romans 1:17
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
The same friend who teaches martial arts told me an account of a martial arts master in his order, high in the ranks, whose day job takes him to some seedier parts of town. I found it interesting to learn this master—as he has become advanced in years—has lost faith in his own ability to defend himself. He now carries a gun for protection. This master also claims to be a Christian.
God is in control at all times
In an amazing display of irony, this same Apologia Radio show concludes with a completely different segment in which Durbin explains how God withholds evil. Durbin highlights the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50), pointing out that if not for the sovereign hand of God, Joseph’s brothers would have appeased their sinful natures with murder. When the tables are reversed years later and Joseph’s brothers are regretting their actions, Joseph assures them, “God did send me before you to preserve life.” (Genesis 45:5)
Durbin assures us of God’s determination to preserve, redeem and use all things for his glory. While it is our broken nature to desire evil paths that lead us away from God, we (or those who would do evil unto us) will only get as far as our Father allows it. Durbin gives the example of Christ being threatened with stoning multiple times, yet no harm befalls him until it is his time (John 8:20.) God predestined Christ’s exact time of death and was ultimately responsible for giving his Son over to the sinful nature of the people.
Evil is not from God
Here, Durbin asserts there are no accidents in God’s universe, so therefore God must allow or disallow evil. I agree. He rightly clarifies that God is not the author of sin and goes on to give the following list of passages as proof:
Psalm 143:2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
Romans 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
2 Chronicles 6:36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Romans 3:9-12 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Mark 10:18/Luke 18:19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Finally, Durbin states God does not do any violence to the free will of the creature. (Though God definitely tampers with it, as was the case with Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus.) In the case of Joseph, his brothers had murder in their hearts already. It was their will to kill him! Fortunately, oldest brother Reuben was there to head them off and they sold Joseph into slavery. It is God’s determination and will that protects, redirects or redeems.
This brings me full circle to the very place I landed in my earlier post. If you find yourself confronted with an attacker in the middle of the night, God allowed it. We’re conditioned to believe there are only two things to do if this happens: fight or flight. I would remind you there is a third option Christ offers us; the way of reasoning. Remember Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6:
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Fight and flight are physical responses to physical danger. If we are operating from greater spiritual awareness (as Christ calls us to,) we fear physical death or harm considerably less. But is reasoning and non-violence really God’s wish for us? Was peace and non-violence Jesus’ example to us? What does the Bible say about fighting? Here are some words on the non-violent path found in God’s Word:
Isaiah 2:4/Micah 4:3
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Matthew 5:3-12 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
(Notice these traits align with peaceful, faith-driven qualities; not grounded in this worldly existence.)
Matthew 5:38-42
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Matthew 5:43-46
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Matthew 16:24-26
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 26:50-53
And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus and took him.
And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.
Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Luke 3:14
And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.
Luke 6:27-37
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.
Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
John 18:36
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
Romans 12:17-21
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 14:17-19
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Ephesians 2:14-18
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Hebrews 12:14
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
James 3:17-4:2
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
I Peter 2:21-24
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
I Peter 3:8-17
Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
The Call to Follow
Those are some pretty serious examples! Did you notice there are no exceptions? No escape clauses? No loopholes? Not even a hint of ambiguity? Jesus didn’t teach us to raise our sword in defense when the thief comes in the night. In fact, Jesus seems to teach an astonishing, amazing love that transcends our physical attachments—including even our attachment to our own physical life.
Psalm 34:7-8
The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Ephesians 5:1-2
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.
1 Peter 2:21
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
Christ is the Way…
Jesus’ example to us was to avoid conflict or to use wisdom in words (Matthew 4:1-11, John 8:1-11, John 8:57-59, John 18:36.) We are to arm ourselves—not by achieving a higher belt or by purchasing a gun—but by strengthening our ability to defend the faith and to reason as Christ would have us reason. Ultimately, we understand even this is faulty and limited in power—it is only God’s will that separates us from misfortune.
Simply put, we are called to follow Christ’s example. We are told not to take justice into our own hands (though it’s a favorite Hollywood theme these days.) We are called to love our Lord and love our neighbor to such a dizzying height it may seem impossible to obtain. Fortunately, we’re not called to climb that mountain on our own. Sanctification takes time and effort and supplication to allow the Holy Spirit to move in our lives.
Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Eric Wilson lecture: Secret Dangers of Martial Arts- Question & Answers (Full Length) HD
The Dragon Revealed (Eric Wilson Testimony) Part I
