God has never been silent on sex, so why have we?  Maybe it is because we hate that our old nature still desires sexual perversion.   Maybe it is because fundamentalism is wrongly proud in its outward standards.   It is time we lifted the veil of embarrassment and false morality, and started to speak openly and truthfully.   The following 10 point approach is a suggested framework for considering how to start this change.

1.  Genesis needs more emphasis.   We are God’s creation – male and female – with a body and a spirit.  The gender roles and our physical and emotional desires were all formed by God before the fall.  We need to lay the correct foundation before we can build using other precepts.

2.  Sexual topics must be preached from the front regularly (but after the kids go out).   Each of us face sexual temptation daily, so lets make our preaching application driven towards our issues.  When was the last time we preached through Song of Songs expositionally?

3.  Technology has put sex on steroids.   Every Christian should use internet and mobile devices filters, foxtel and iTunes restrictions, etc.   This has helped me as I battle my old nature.  It is not fool proof, but it does reduce the amount of instant temptation.  And porn is not just a guy issue.

4. Let’s be honest about our temptations and weaknesses.  We respect leaders who are open and honest about their struggles.   Too many church leaders have pretended they are not tempted only to suddenly leave their wife for a mistress.

5.  We should be more explicit in appropriate contexts.   Topics such as masturbation, oral sex, iPhone porn, vibrators, birth control, hormones, secrets etc should be discussed openly, but face to face, in gender specific groups.  We all read www.news.com.au or similar, so lets bring God’s thinking on these topics to the fore.

6. Homosexuality, gay marriage and orgies are the issues of the day.   Let’s boldly and humbly promote God’s view.  Our opinion is no more valid than the world’s opinion.  It is not us against them, but it is recognising that all sex outside male/female marriage is not authorised by God.

7. Self-control.  We must talk about techniques for battling temptation.  From Scripture memory, to Christian music, to prayer, to choosing relationships wisely, to a cold shower, to fleeing lust, to accountability and recovery.  We must arm ourselves with tools to prevent and repair.

8.  If we, or our children, do not have the gift of singleness, we should promote opportunities towards godly marriage early in life.   Delayed adulthood and delayed marriage has promoted promiscuity and devalued commitment.

9. We must promote sex as a good thing.   As it has been said, ’the best way to counter something that should not be done, it to explain how it should be done’.  Amorous sex in marriage should be encouraged.

10.  Sex can be used as a segue to the gospel.   God created the marriage union as a picture of redeeming his bride.  Once we accept that sex does not provide eternal satisfaction, then we will be open for embracing God’s everlasting saving grace.

In all of this, grace, humility and purity need to be maintained.   You may or may not agree with all these ideas, but I welcome your feedback on how we can tackle this elephant more effectively.

Blessings

When we’ve had tragedy hit us we are quick to respond out of emotion to those around us. As the saying goes “Hurting people hurt people”. This can and generally does make a bad situation worse. This is especially the case when we are experiencing hurt from a loved one. We may react more violently than we would to the average John Doe if they did the same thing.

Breaking Bad News

I do a lot of reading online. I come across a lot of atheist, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Christian cult websites. I also read sites that promote different theological viewpoints to what I hold. In my reading I come across a lot of testimonies of Christians changing views or former Christians who leave the faith because they’ve become atheists or their lifestyle conflicts with Christianity and they don’t want to give up the former.

Almost unanimously those people have had negative experiences relating this news to their loved ones, especially their family. Time and time again people are ostracized, given ultimatums, yelled at and threatened. I’ve read of people who have barely declared that they are no longer Christian who have family members screaming violently at them that they are going to burn in hell. Some even seem to say it with a grim satisfaction.

News Flash: Wrong Reaction

The way we react will leave a profound impact on these people. If people are leaving the faith, we’re confirming what they have believed to be true; Christians are hypocrites. If people are changing their views that are sacred within “Cultural Fundamentalism” and they are treated as anathema by those whom they use to have tender fellowship with, once again they’ve confirmed in their minds the falsehood by the obviously bad fruit resulted of such views.

It’s understandable that we are hurt. If someone is moving away into what you perceive to be error it can be extremely painful to see them do such a thing. This of course tempts us to react in anger, frustration and as a result attack the people we love. Sometimes these wounds do not heal and we have to live with the consequences.

Breath in and Breath Out

Being slow to speak is a great advantage in such situations. Respond in love. Let them talk and reaffirm your love for them. This is something they have probably long feared to tell you because they wouldn’t know how you’d react. They’ll feel relieved to know despite your differences you still love and care for them. Of course this doesn’t dismiss your differences and you can let them know you don’t agree but leave the debate for another time when you both calm down emotionally.

If you’re not familiar with the issue, research it. Look at the issue from multiple angles (I can assure the other person probably has done the same, so study up) to get an in depth grasp of the issue. Depending on your background you may be completely oblivious to certain viewpoints. Rest assured though that there are a lot of books on the many topics that could possibly be brought up.

Whether the issue is theology, music, dress, translations, mental illnesses or even *gasp* homosexuality you will find resources on the issue coming from a wide spectrum. Spend time reading up on the issue and touching base with the person. Once you’ve got a grasp of it or if you are already familiar with it; open up the dialogue with them.

Conclusion

I don’t claim to be an expert in such issues but I’ve read time and time again the accounts of many people who experienced negative reactions and what they would have liked to have had happen. In my own personal experience I’ve had to struggle with my family and I’ve lost friends due to my beliefs.

This is nothing compared to what I’ve seen others go through so I am almost embarrassed mentioning it but I do so to say this: In the situations I’ve been in I would have liked it if the people I knew responded this way rather than emotionally. Ostracization is probably the most painful reaction and I suggest at the very least you don’t respond in such a manner.

Personally, I’ve got a habit of responding emotionally to personal hurt but I’m working on it and whilst doing so I encourage people now to begin reading up on various issues in order to be able to respond biblically when the time comes. We may very well not let loose but if we haven’t a biblical answer to their perceived problem than that isn’t much good either.

Until next week, God bless!

Much has been said about Rudd’s retreat from his proposed Emissions Trading Scheme and his dismantling of the national insulation roll out.

I remember the first 12 months of Rudd’s term of office. It seemed whatever he said or declared, the national press cried ‘Hosanna’.

Rudd possessed the youth that had eluded former PM John Howard for some time.

He claimed conservative economic credentials but also drive for the future, eg, ratify Kyoto and faster broadband (wouldn’t that be nice).

Rudd even promised to throw in an education revolution to boot.

Australians loved their new prime minister and wanted the affair to continue.

We just couldn’t get enough of our new man.

Rudd managed to outmanouvre two opposition leaders in Brendan Nelson and Malcolm Turnbull with unprecedented popularity polls that seemed to never end.

But then the ‘climate changed’ and for some reason or another more of the public didn’t want an ETS and so Rudd abandoned the policy.

It wasn’t the fact that Rudd made some compromises on policy that explains why he has dropped so low in the polls.

Every successful politician (no matter what party they represent) needs to compromise if they want more than 50% of the vote.

So this is not a particular weakness of any particular party or political philosophy. It is human nature.

No, it was the brazenness of Rudd’s u-turn that raised our collective ire.

Rudd had cast his ETS position in such absolute moral terms that his backflip seemed, well…… just plain immoral.

The voting public are happy to be wined, dined and even bribed (my 32 inch flat screen is getting too small so another stimulus payment would be welcome), but just don’t take us for complete fools!

Everyone saw the price Malcolm Turnbull paid for his commitment to an ETS, while Rudd wanted to divest himself of a potential vote loser without penalty.

For what it is worth, I think Rudd will probably survive the next election but it may be the last one he ever contests as Prime Minister.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the ALP, particularly by the way Rudd’s first term has been handled.

Like every elected official, Rudd and his team deserve and need our prayers.

While governing at the best of times must be notoriously difficult, returning prolonged public goodwill and support for flagrant policy back flips may well cost Rudd his legacy.

Treating others the way you would have them treat you works at home, school, work- even in national politics.

Jesus was right after all.

Before we consider this question, do you consider yourself to be “KJV Only?”  By this, I mean:

• Do you believe that God preserved His Word to us in the King James Version only?
• Do you believe that any other Bible translation is unreliable and must not be used?
• Do you believe that using the KJV only is a mark of a genuine Christian?

If you answer “yes,” you are KJV-only.  Now, there are others who would answer “no” while still using the KJV.  These people prefer the KJV, but they are not KJV-only.  For example:

• Someone who prefers the KJV while acknowledging the validity of other translations as equally the Word of God
• Someone who reads the KJV because it has been their lifelong Bible for memorisation and learning
• Churches which officially use the KJV for the sake of uniformity in discipleship and worship, not by conviction

Like most evangelical Christians, I believe God inspired His Word infallibly in the original writings, and that His Word has been reliably preserved in the totality of its copies, not exclusively in the King James Version.  I still teach from the KJV, but I am not KJV-only.

Why bother?

You might not care about this issue.  However, you should be aware that “KJV-only” is important to many independent Baptist churches, as evidenced in their statements of faith and preaching.  This is a divisive issue, notorious for endless arguments and accusations.  This has also become a test of fellowship, where some churches and Christians separate from those who are not KJV-only.

When Christians argue about the King James Version, the topic concerns whether the KJV is the only acceptable Bible translation or not.  My intention is not to start another debate on this point here.

Instead, I want to discuss what kind of error is “KJV Only” and how to respond to our KJV-only brothers.

Kinds of error in the New Testament

There are two main words for describing sinful crises in the church: apostasy and heresy.  ”Apostasy” refers to the total renunciation of the faith, while “heresy” normally refers to a faction or divisive movement, like the Sadducees or Gnostics.  Heresy is a teaching that claims to be Christian but subverts the faith.  While I would not classify KJV Only as apostasy, there are elements of KJV Only that are clearly subversive to the doctrine of inspiration and to biblical Christianity in general.  Peter Ruckman’s teachings are one example.

In the New Testament, there were also unnecessary disagreements which threatened to divide the church.   Paul appealed to the Corinthian church “…that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions (Greek: schismata) among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment” (1:10)  Overall, the KJV Only position is schismatic, promoting an unjustified division within the Church.  The division is unnecessary because Christians should be able to agree on the Bible’s inerrancy and preservation, without upholding one English translation as the litmus test for Christianity.

If you disagree with the KJV Only teaching, how should you view those who follow it?  Rather than scorning them all as heretics, keep in mind that there are various kinds of people who were in error in the New Testament.   For example:

1. Apollos was an eloquent preacher of the Scriptures, yet he needed Priscilla and Aquila to explain the Word more accurately to him.  Although he was initially ignorant in some part, he was teachable.
2. Others had misinterpreted the Bible’s teaching, while wanting to avoid sin.  In I Corinthians 5:9-11, Paul corrected the church’s misunderstanding regarding associating with the sexually immoral etc.
3. Peter was guilty of being inconsistent toward the Gentiles, and Paul confronted him.  Peter’s error was temporary and his identity as a Christian was never in question.
4. The apostles also referred to those who are deceived and living in error.  For example, Paul called the Galatian church “foolish” and “bewitched” in their thinking.  (Gal. 3:1)
5. The churches were affected by deceivers — infiltrators who purposefully sought to dissuade believers from the truth.    (source: Robert Sheehan)

How to respond

Teach the truth. In all of the above examples, the right responses included admonition and / or instruction.  If you desire to avoid needless schism in the Church, you should understand the KJV Only issue and be able to apply the truth.  Don’t pass it off as a “waste of time.”  At least be able to refer others to a helpful resource on Bible preservation.  At the same time:

Keep the main thing the main thing. What is the Bible’s “main thing”?  The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the glory of God!  If you are going to commit yourself to Bible study and discussion, spend it on promoting the Gospel, both to Christians and non-Christians.  The attention you give to the KJV issue should be proportionate to God’s exaltation of His glorious Son.

Ben Kwok

Enough introspection and online self-discovery has been shared by me these last few entries.

I want to just tie a few things together on this final post and then start blogging about other things.

When I began my journey my expectations were very low.

I didn’t expect to lose 5 kgs let alone all the kilos that have come off (so far).

So what happened? God was good, I had the right people around to help and I got hold of the right information.

The thought of quitting, for some reason that I still can’t explain, was worse than going through the agony of the first 6 weeks of exercise and new eating habits.

Quite simply staying the same was no longer an option. If it killed me, change was going to happen.

There is one myth I want to debunk.

This insidious myth is that fat people are weak-willed and don’t have the character or tenacity to lose weight. FALSE.

From personal experience I can assure you it takes a lot of determination to keep eating ‘in season and out of season’.

You need to push through a lot of discomfort and immobility to live life as a hard core over-eater.

The issue is more education, motivation and above all persistence to lose weight rather than a lack of character.

In other words I found a few things that worked and just kept doing them.

The other thing I want to give you are my 10 hot weight loss tips just to get you off to a good start this week:-

1. Drink a large glass of water at every meal (water in soft drinks, tea or coffee is not included);
2. Be accountable to someone about your eating (and no it can’t be the crew member at Macca’s drive thru);
3. Exercise 30 minutes every day;
4. Take the stairs instead of the lift; park the car a little further away and walk more- you get my drift;
5. Replace high fat or sugar snacks with fruit or nuts;
6. Limit junk foods to once per week (but remember to thoroughly enjoy the experience);
7. Avoid places of temptation and past failure (as much as possible);
8. Don’t go grocery shopping on an empty stomach;
9. Take up a sport or physical activity that you actually want to do;
10. Invest some money into exercise equipment, flash new runners or gym membership. It will be worth every penny.

So have an active Monday- I am off to pump some iron.

Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I? Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

By Robert Apps

But essentially, after about 8 years of resisting advice from family, friends, church leaders (and those who had no business giving their opinion) I enlisted the help of a personal trainer by the name of Matt, back in October 2009. The catalyst for me was going into a large shopping centre and not being able to find shorts that would fit. Something had to be done. And now.

After taking a blow torch to my diet (I was eating about three of them) and giving me some exercises to do, Matt and I made solemn declarations of war against fat- my fat in particular. Thankfully Matt is a believer and he doesn’t make me work out to music that might have led me to violent outbursts while training.

The results have come somewhat faster than I had anticipated, thought it seemed all uphill at first. I might go into specifics next post. Just maybe. I plan to do one fat war diary per month for the next few months, or until Jason tells me to can it.

While I despise the world’s obsession with the body, the truth is, if we are in such bad shape that we can’t do what God has called us to do, then we need to do something about it. The issue is health and fitness, not weight per se.  It is also about who or what is controlling you. The Apostle Paul talks about not coming ‘under the power’ of anything that undermines our submission to Christ (1 Cor 6:12).

Let me finish with a sledgehammer from Proverbs:-

Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, Lest you be filled with it and vomit. Proverbs 25:16

A messiah is a deliverer, a saviour. Literally it means the anointed one. For Christians we believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah of God and came not only to fulfill the Jewish law but also to rescue Jew and Gentile alike from sin.

For a number of reasons however, we sometimes entertain substitute messiahs that we think will bring us blessing, security, happiness or even special knowledge.

Let me give you some things that can become false messiah’s to God’s people:-

-a certain method of interpretation (‘without looking at the Bible this way you will never really understand it);

-for their children, either home school or Christian school (‘as long as we use this curriculum or my kids are in this kind of environment they will never turn out right’);

-a particular Bible translation (‘don’t use anything else otherwise you won’t have the pure words of God’)

-over emphasised denominational distinctives (‘you would have to be pretty stupid not to believe what I believe about this’)

-music standards (‘I only sing hymns.’ )

Now these personal convictions do have their place, but none of them alone or even in combination were ever designed to be our messiah.

Jesus is the only one who can occupy this place.

They are only tools that are to be used carefully and prayerfully to help us along the way. The churches we belong to might have positions on them and may even be the basis of membership. You need to determine in your own heart what you believe and be faithful to where God has put you, or is leading you.

But my point is that Jesus Christ is the one who is made to us the true ‘wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption’ (1 Cor 1:30) . Glory in the One who deserves it rather than in personal convictions that can, God forbid, become false messiahs.

While the mid-week meeting is not mandated in Scripture, the Bible is clear that one of the essential activities of the church is to gather together to pray.

Notice this foundational description of the early church: ‘And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.’ Acts 2:47.

So the issue is not the day of the week but whether Christians are meeting to pray.

In fact, when you look at the activities of the early church, they seemed to spend much time together praying and studying God’s Word. Perhaps these early saints would wonder why we only meet one night during the week to pray.

Sometimes Sunday may not be the best time for a designated prayer service having regard to the teaching and preaching ministry of a church. In any event, whatever day it takes place, corporate prayer is important.

Given the reality of shift work, ever increasing family pressures and activities, the cares of this world, it is the rare believer who drops everything, and brings the family regularly to church to pray.

While we need to be careful not to judge others unfairly, the time has come for the church to re-dedicate itself to one of its essential ministries: corporate prayer.

Our children will most likely follow the spiritual tempo we set. If they have never learned to place a premium on praying by seeing their parents lead in this area at home and at church, then the future looks grim indeed.

There are many blessings to be had for praying with God’s people. It reinforces the value of prayer and almost always brings immediate encouragement to the heart. Just this week it was a joy to encourage a brother going through a deep family burden before we prayed.

So why not re-prioritise your regular routine and conclude, as Martin Luther did, that you are too busy not to pray (with God’s people).

What nonsense!

While it could be argued that there is no more sobering call than to preach God’s Word and live of the Gospel, every calling of the believer is sacred.

In fact, if it were not for the vast majority of believers who worked all week in secular employment then ‘full-time’ pastors or missionaries would almost be wiped from the earth. They would be forced to do tent-making work themselves at great cost to the effectiveness of their ministries.

When one considers the premium God’s Word places on faithfulness, the truth is that if a believer is faithful to God, loves and provides for his or her family, and is a good testimony at work: they have done practically all that God requires of them in this life.

Besides this, only a small percentage of believers will ever enter full-time service, and that is often determined by the size of the churches they serve. While there is a recognised need for more labourers to enter the harvest, only more believers will be able to finance those labourers going forth.

So those in full-time ministry should regularly thank God for their working flocks. It is because they get up and go to work on Monday morning (often after a busy Lord’s day) that he is free to labour in the Word and doctrine.

Those in regular employment should thank God and pray for their leaders who have withdrawn from what is usually a career path with much better financial rewards to feed and tend for the sheep.

Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. 1 Cor 7:20

As we got ready to set up for the assembly there was classical music playing over the school’s loud speakers as children finished lunch and moved to classes. When I was a ‘boy’ it was always loud and piercing ‘bells’ that went off as we were herded around like cattle.

How interesting that the powers that be in the state education system chose classical music to settle and prepare students for the last couple of hours of school. There were many other styles that could have been chosen, such as jazz, rap, hard rock and heavy metal.

For some reason they chose classical instead.

Now obviously there were other music styles that could have fulfilled their objectives. And yes there are some classical pieces that are far from settling.

And no I am not advocating a ‘classical music only position’.

My point from this little anecdote is simply: If the world understands that music is not neutral, then why do some Christians persist promoting this fallacy?

As early as the days of Moses, particular music styles have been known for their violent and disturbing message. Note this passage:

And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he said: “It is not the noise of the shout of victory, Nor the noise of the cry of defeat, But the sound of singing I hear.” So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. Exodus 32:15-19

So let’s engage in discussions on this subject from the right starting point: music is not neutral, but like other mediums of communication made by God, music can be used for good or evil.