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THREE PEOPLE WHO CHANGED THE WORLD
#3: GOD Acts 10:38-44, 11:18 Dr. Charles Franklin DeVane, Jr., Pastor Lake Hamilton Baptist Church Hot Springs, Arkansas October 30, 2016 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. — Acts 10:38 The book of Acts tells how the first Christians carried out the Great Commission of our Lord. Thousands came to Christ in Jerusalem during the first Pentecost after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Persecution led by the pharisee Saul of Tarsus moved the messengers of the gospel into Samaria to spread the word. Then, after the Lord saved Saul of Tarsus and turned him into the Apostle Paul, the gospel was taken from “Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, to the end of the earth” (ref. Acts 1:8). In the middle part of Acts (ref. Acts 10:1-11:18) there is a key turning point that ultimately opens the door for Paul and others to broadcast the gospel world-wide. Three persons were instrumental in this monumental moment: one was a pagan, one was a preacher, and the other one is a person above all other persons on planet earth. Three sermons will tell their story, the story of three people who changed the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The first one mentioned in this turnkey text is Cornelius, the head of a Gentile family and officer over a Roman army, the first major Gentile to come to Christ. The second one is the eminent Apostle Simon Peter, who preached the gospel to Cornelius and his house. The third person is three persons in one, God. God created the world, though not as we know it. That is because shortly after creation, the world was marred by sin, strife, and death. But God takes the world He made and we messed up and changes it one person at a time, with the gospel. Working within His divine and mysterious tri-unity, or trinity, each person of the one Godhead plays a role in salvation. God the Son accomplished salvation with His life, death, and resurrection, which is the gospel. God the Spirit takes the gospel and applies it to the human heart, regenerating and indwelling. God the Father, who sent the Son and sends forth the Spirit, is sovereign over all. God the Son 39 And we are witnesses of all that [Jesus] did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." — Acts 10:39-43, ESV The gospel is a story told all throughout the Bible. From Genesis to the Gospels, from the Garden of Eden to the Upper Room, God gave signs that point to salvation for sinners. It is a sign seen in the animal sacrifice that clothed Adam and Eve with warmth and forgiveness. It is a sign seen in the Passover, in the blood placed cross-shaped over the doors of Jewish homes. It is a sign seen in Yom Kippur, in the high priest’s handling of the sacrificial and the scape goat. It is a sign seen in the Last Supper, shared by the great High Priest with His disciples, in the passing of the bread and the wine. It is a sign pointing to the theological truth that sin separates God from man and must be atoned for by flesh and blood. Through death, God gives life. God came to us in the flesh in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ (ref. John 1:1-14). He lived perfectly and loved completely as He fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Covenant. He inaugurated the New Covenant, and in the words of Peter’s sermon, “They put Him to death … and He rose from the dead.” This is the gospel, plain and simple, profound and spiritual. The gospel is the person and work of Jesus Christ who came into the world to change the world with the gospel, for “everyone who believes in Him.” Jesus does not care what color or race you are, as this section of the book of Acts illustrates with the salvation of Saul of Tarsus (a descendent of Shem, an Asian), the Ethiopian eunuch (a descendent of Ham, an African), and Cornelius (a descendent of Japheth, a European). Jesus does not care if you are rich or poor, although He admitted that the gospel is harder for rich people to accept. Jesus just cares whether or not you believe in Him, that He came to save you from your sin and give you forgiveness and eternal life. Upon that basis will He “judge the living and the dead.” Do you believe the gospel? If so, praise the Lord! Now, let me show you how and why you came to believe. God the Spirit 44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. — Acts 10:44, ESV The gospel is a historical fact, but it is also a spiritual truth. Therefore, it cannot be understood or applied apart from the work of God the Spirit, the Holy Spirit (ref. 1 Corinthians 2:12-14). Jesus explained that it is the Holy Spirit who comes to “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (ref. John 16:8). When “the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word” at Cornelius’ house, they were convicted of the sin, disobedience, and unfaithfulness in their lives. They realized in spite of any relative good in them or religious activity done by them, they needed to be right with God through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It dawned on them that a judgment day was surely coming, and only those who repented and believed the gospel could be saved. And saved many of them were, because of the coming of Jesus Christ combined with the falling of the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote to Titus, “[God] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” This is the “how” of salvation. How can a person be convicted of sin and need of the gospel? How can a person be cleansed from sin and filled with God? How can a person repent and believe and be saved? God the Son, Jesus Christ, gave His life for the gospel. God the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, rides on the wind of the word of God to deliver the gospel to the human heart. But it is God the Father who ultimately ordains and elects to change a person’s world with the gospel. God the Father 11:18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life." — Acts 11:18, ESV You became a Christian when you believed. God the Son gave you something to believe in. God the Spirit enabled you to believe. God the Father actually gave you belief, faith, the opening of the gift of salvation. Consider these verses: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (ref. Ephesians 2:8) and, “to those who have received a faith” (ref. 2 Peter 1:1). The flip side of faith is repentance. It, too, is less an act of man than it is an overt gift from God, just as the text tells us in Acts 11:18. Jesus gave us something to turn to. The Holy Spirit enables us to turn. But turning to God is a gift from God, that God gives to whosoever He wills. Salvation is something that seems to be in the control of man. Pelagian, Arminian, and free will theology all assert that in the gospel God has done His part, but you must do your part in order to be saved, and you are the arbiter, the decider. If the gospel was only about God the Son, that might be true. But God the Spirit is heavily and heavenly involved, and no man can control the Holy Spirit. Like Jesus said to Nicodemus in the third chapter of John, the Holy Spirit is like the wind that blows or ceases according to God’s power, not man’s. And God the Son and God the Spirit are under the authority and sovereignty of God the Father, who chose who would be saved before any saved person chose God, who gives faith before anyone believes, and grants repentance before anyone turns away from sin and selfishness to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Human experience sees only the Son in salvation. May I say, if you are not saved, that’s all you need to see right now. Look to Jesus, born of a virgin, living in perfection, dying as substitution, resurrected as Lord. Repent and believe in Him today, and you will be saved. Once you are saved, though, start studying your Bible. It will teach you that the gospel is not about one person, but three persons in one. You will see the Son often, and rejoice. You will begin to see the Spirit, and marvel. And when you see God the Father, in all of His sovereign fulness, you will be humbled, awed, and your desire will be to worship Him every single day. In ever increasing measures, the three persons who are the one true and living God will change your world. Copyright © 2016 Lake Hamilton Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Check out the weekly happenings at Lake Hamilton Baptist Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
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THREE PEOPLE WHO CHANGED THE WORLD
#2: SIMON PETER Acts 10:34-43 Dr. Charles Franklin DeVane, Jr., Pastor Lake Hamilton Baptist Church Hot Springs, Arkansas October 23, 2016 34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” — Acts 10:34-43, ESV The book of Acts tells how the first Christians carried out the Great Commission of our Lord. Thousands came to Christ in Jerusalem during the first Pentecost after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Persecution led by the pharisee Saul of Tarsus moved the messengers of the gospel into Samaria to spread the word. Then, after the Lord saved Saul of Tarsus and turned him into the Apostle Paul, the gospel was taken from “Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, to the end of the earth” (ref. Acts 1:8). In the middle part of Acts (ref. Acts 10:1-11:18) there is a key turning point that ultimately opens the door for Paul and others to broadcast the gospel world-wide. Three persons were instrumental in this monumental moment: one was a pagan, one was a preacher, and the other one is a person above all other persons on planet earth. Three sermons will tell their story, the story of three people who changed the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The first one mentioned in this turnkey text is Cornelius, who we looked at in the last sermon. The second and more familiar one is Simon Peter. Peter was an original in more ways that one. He was a first follower of Jesus Christ, the first one to put his foot in his mouth, the first one in the water, the first one to confess Jesus as Lord and Christ, and the first among equals as the Apostles began to spread the gospel. And it was Simon Peter, not Paul, who witnessed the first major harvest of Gentiles into the church of God. As the gospel changed Cornelius and his family and fellow soldiers, the commitment to preach the gospel changed Simon Peter. In turn, these two men, along with one significant other to be discussed in the next message, changed the world. My prayer is that this message about Simon Peter will change your world, too, and make you a more fully devoted follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel changed Simon Peter into a praying man. There is not much evidence in the Gospels of Peter being a praying man. As a matter of fact, he impetuously spoke before he prayed. Even when Jesus took him to the most sacred prayer meeting ever held, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter slept instead of praying. But, in the book of Acts, Simon Peter can be frequently found on his knees, in prayer. What changed Peter into a praying man? The gospel changed him. Experiencing the full gospel of Jesus Christ, His life and death and burial and resurrection, changes us into praying people. Experiencing the filling of the Holy Spirit, like Peter did at Pentecost, changes us into praying people. The more Peter matured in his walk with the Lord, the more he prayed; and, the more he prayed, the more he matured as a Christian. In this critical chapter, we find Peter praying (ref. Acts 10:9). During prayer, God spoke to Peter in a three-fold vision concerning a mission God wanted Peter to accomplish (this episode is where we get the superstition that something dreamed three times is bound to come true). It instructed Simon Peter to take the gospel to some new people. Is God using you to share the gospel or to minister to people in the name of Christ? If not, then pray! Pray and listen to the Spirit of God, and He will speak and show you where to go, to whom to go, and Christians always go with the gospel. The more you hear and the deeper you believe the gospel, the more you will pray for other people to come to Christ. The more you pray for people to receive the gospel, the more you will find yourself sharing the gospel. This is evidenced in Simon Peter’s life and throughout the book of Acts. The gospel changed Simon Peter from being a prejudiced man. Simon Peter prayed, and his prayer was answered. God wanted him to share the gospel with the men who showed up at his door to take him to the house of Cornelius. Remember, Cornelius and his house were a bunch of Gentiles, and in those days Jews did not like to associate with Gentiles. Simon Peter was a powerful, praying, preacher. But, he was not perfect. He was prejudiced against non-Jews, or Gentiles. Though there is nothing in the Old Testament or the New Covenant to validate prejudice, Peter had apparently been raised to draw a line between Jews and Gentiles that he would not cross. But the gospel, and prayer, changes everything. I do not understand how a saved person can be prejudiced against people of different races or nationalities. But Christian people better than me certainly have shown prejudice through the years. Most of my Reformation and post-Reformation heroes were prejudiced, some extremely anti-Semitic. The founding fathers of the Southern Baptist Convention were great Calvinists but also racists. The man who discipled me as a young believer would often make derogatory statements about black people that contradicted his otherwise good character. Not being perfect is no excuse for racism or any other sin. Are you a racist? Do you excuse your racism because you are faithful to the gospel in other ways? That’s what Simon Peter did. It is wrong, dead wrong. The only remedy is repeating the gospel of Jesus Christ, over and over and over. The gospel breaks down barriers between God and people, and the gospel breaks down barriers between people and people. Those of us who already believe the gospel need to think more deeply on the gospel every day. Lost people are the most desperate race, and that’s what we were before we came to Christ. God is better than us, infinitely, yet He crossed the line with the cross to bring us the gospel and salvation. When you embrace the gospel, fully, you cannot look down on anyone, saved or lost, male or female, black or white, rich or poor. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Simon Peter came to understand the truth of equality. It changed him. It changed Cornelius and the Gentiles. It changed the world. The gospel changes the world, for the better, in every way. The gospel changed Simon Peter every time he heard it, especially when it came out of his own mouth. Who’s job is it to proclaim the gospel? Simon Peter was an Apostle and Elder in the early church. Surely it was his job to proclaim the gospel. Today the church has evangelists, missionaries, elders, and pastors. Surely it is our job to proclaim the gospel. Even the deacons in the book of Acts were soul winners. But are the officers of the church the only ones who are directed by God to share the gospel? Of course not. Every Christian is in full time ministry. Your family, neighborhood, community and vocation are your mission field. It is all of our job, our duty, our life, our joy to live out this gospel of Jesus Christ in which we believe. The gospel makes us holy, motivates us to worship, causes us to give, and softens our hearts toward other people. Most of all, the gospel makes us want to give it away in the ever widening circles of our lives. Every time Peter shared the gospel the church grew. And even if the church did not grow in a particular gospel moment, Simon Peter grew. Trace his life in Scripture and see how remarkable is his gospel growth. Do the same with the Apostle Paul. Now, let us take a look at our own lives? Are we growing in Christ, becoming better disciples, accomplishing more in the kingdom, affecting more lives? Only if we meditate, pray, worship, and witness the gospel. To summarize Peter’s sermon, Jesus is Lord. He is God who came to us in human perfection and laid down His life on the cross, only to take it up again in divine resurrection. He will judge every person who has ever lived on this planet and consign them to either Heaven or Hell. All who hear this good news and turn to Him in faith, and only those who accept the gospel, receive peace with God, forgiveness from sin, and eternal life. The church must major in the gospel in her worship and witness. Public services on Sunday should be saturated with the gospel, in word and sacrament. Christians must major in the gospel daily, in Scripture reading and prayer, both of which point us to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We should think about the gospel all the time, rejoicing in our forgiveness and eternal life, thanking God or asking God about our loved ones’ salvation, and asking God for the boldness to share the gospel when an opportunity is given. Meditating on and sharing the gospel over and over changed Simon Peter into a godly, prayerful, non-prejudiced, gospel man. Receiving the gospel changed Cornelius and his entourage into Christian people. And the gospel changes Christian people into people who live, celebrate, and share the gospel. Every time you do it, you will grow. If all of us are digging in and shoveling out the gospel, the church will grow, too. Do you want to change the world? Pray. Don’t be prejudiced. Breathe in the gospel, deeply, then exhale, constantly. The gospel will change the world. Copyright © 2016 Lake Hamilton Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Check out the weekly happenings at Lake Hamilton Baptist Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas. THREE PEOPLE WHO CHANGED THE WORLD
#1: CORNELIUS Acts 10:1-8 Dr. Charles Franklin DeVane, Jr., Pastor Lake Hamilton Baptist Church Hot Springs, Arkansas October 16, 2016 1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, 8 and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.” — Acts 10:1-8, 33, ESV The book of Acts tells how the first Christians carried out the Great Commission of our Lord. Thousands came to Christ in Jerusalem during the first Pentecost after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Persecution led by the pharisee Saul of Tarsus moved the messengers of the gospel into Samaria to spread the word. Then, after the Lord saved Saul of Tarsus and turned him into the Apostle Paul, the gospel was taken from “Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, to the end of the earth” (ref. Acts 1:8). In the middle part of Acts (ref. Acts 10:1-11:18) there is a key turned that ultimately opens the door for Paul and others to broadcast the gospel world-wide. Three persons were instrumental in this monumental moment: one was a pagan, one was a great preacher, and the other one is a person above all other persons on planet earth. Three sermons will tell their story, the story of three people who changed the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The first one mentioned in this turnkey text is Cornelius. He was a Gentile, a Roman, a non-Christian who had adopted some Jewish religious practices. He lived in the beautiful seaside city of Caesarea, the northern outpost and year-round residence of the governor of Roman occupied Palestine. He was a centurion, a disciplined military man who had risen through the ranks from enlisted man to non-commissioned officer to commissioned captain. He led and influenced a hundred men in a cohort of six hundred in a legion of six thousand. Cornelius’ life and conversion to Christ exemplify some important truths about how the gospel of Jesus Christ changes everything. The gospel changes the world one person at a time. Representatively, Cornelius becomes the first Gentile convert to Christianity, with all due respect to the Samaritans (some of whom may have been fully Gentile) and the Ethiopian eunuch (whose conversion takes place just outside Jerusalem). Cornelius is the initial beneficiary of the what is often called the Gentile Pentecost, the great event described here that brought the whole gospel to the whole world. Great movements of evangelism and church growth often begin with just one person, and in this case that one person is Cornelius. Cornelius was a good man. His military life reflected achievement, character, and devotion. He provided his family with multiple servants to meet their needs. He paid his taxes and gave donations to the poor. Cornelius was a good man, a very good man, in the eyes of the public. But was he a good man in the eyes of God? Are people basically good or intrinsically bad? The answer is yes. We are good because we are made in the image of God, with God’s moral laws written on our hearts. That’s why most people obey most laws most of the time, provide for their families, and make money by working instead of armed robbery. We are bad because we are all sinners, sin separates us from God and is null and void of faith, without which no one can be acceptable to God. Paul’s words to the Romans applied even to this Roman centurion, Cornelius, about whom it can be said, “There is none good, no not one … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Ref. Romans 3:10, 23). Cornelius had human goodness, but he needed divine grace to be saved. Cornelius was a religious man. He devoutly engaged in religious activity like prayer and almsgiving. He even entertained an angel of the Lord, and they don’t appear to just anybody. His house must have been a regular place of worship for likeminded religious people, probably in accordance with Judaism. Cornelius was a religious man, a very religious man, even in the public square. But did his religion earn him favor with God? It is quite possible, even probable in most cases, to practice religion without having any real relationship with God. The Jews of the Old Testament did it all the time, and still do it today. Most Christian church members who show up for worship at Easter and Christmas wouldn’t know what salvation is if it bit them on the nose. In the eyes of God, our religious observances are “as filthy rags” (ref. Isaiah 64:6) without total trust in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In spite of his position, generosity, and religious activity, Cornelius was empty, lost, and undone without Jesus Christ. No wonder, in spite of all he had attained and done for God and others, we find Cornelius still searching, still praying, still hoping for something and someone more. God prompted and heard his prayer, sent him an angel and then another angel (messenger), and brought him the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was the gospel, not his innate goodness or religious activity, that changed Cornelius into a man acceptable to God. And a man or woman of faith is someone God can use to gain access to others to spread the world changing gospel of Jesus Christ. One person with the gospel can change their world. Cornelius’ quest for God captured many other people as well. That’s because Cornelius’ burden for his own soul became a burden for the souls of the people he loved, the family he lived with, and the soldiers he worked around. When one finds the one thing that changes their world for the better, they want to share it with everyone they know. Cornelius’ influence was immediate. He had a family. He had friends. He had co-workers. And when his prayer provided a place and time to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, I believe he invited them all over to his house. The number of Gentile converts to Christianity was large enough to send shock waves through the Jewish Christian ranks, so the number of new Christians who were saved along with Cornelius must have been substantial, in the hundreds, maybe even thousands. One person can make a difference, now and forever. God is sovereign in salvation, He saves one soul at a time, but He often dispenses salvation in streaks. In other words, when God saves one member of a family, salvation often spreads to other members of the family. When a person with friends comes to Christ, they often bring their best friends to Christ. The gospel not only changes you, it changes the people around you, and the best work you can do on earth is to labor to bring a full circle with you to Heaven. Cornelius’ influence rippled throughout the whole world. The New Testament is quite kind to Roman centurions and soldiers. Remember that the Gospels and Acts were penned a generation after the events actually happened. By the time they were written, the gospel of Jesus Christ had spread throughout the known world. It was spread by Peter, by Paul, and by a strategic number of Roman soldiers who had converted to Christianity. This latter part of the Great Commission awakening, the taking of the whole gospel to the whole world, began right here with one man named Cornelius. I went on a study tour of Israel with a group of American evangelical pastors. We were all Gentiles. The first place on our stop after arriving at the airport in Tel Aviv was the southern suburb of Joffa. Joffa used to be called Joppa. It is the city where Simon Peter was staying when God summoned him to go and tell the gospel to Cornelius. The conversion of Cornelius, his family, and fellow Roman soldiers opened up the Gentiles to the gospel. It paved the way for the missionary work of the Apostle Paul. It spread the good news westward, eventually covering Europe, including England, and the new England, which became the United States of America. Unless you are a Christian Jew from Jerusalem, or a saved Samaritan from Samaria, you owe your salvation to this man, Cornelius. He was one man who opened his heart to the gospel, then the Lord used him to open the gospel to the whole world. God fills an open heart and God flows through a filled heart. If you are trusting in your own goodness and good deeds to save you, then your heart is empty of salvation. If you are trusting in your religion or church membership to save you, your heart is empty of the Lord Jesus Christ. Open your mind, heart, and will to the gospel and God will come in. He will stay, too, and use your mind, heart, and will to reach others for Christ. The gospel will change your world, their world, and all the world, forever. Copyright © 2016 Lake Hamilton Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Check out the weekly happenings at Lake Hamilton Baptist Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas. DON’T LET THE CHURCH DESTROY YOUR FAITH
by Chuck DeVane, Pastor Lake Hamilton Baptist Church Hot Springs, Arkansas ____________ CHAPTER NINE WHO’S FOLLOWING WHOM? Now I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction. For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by members of Chloe’s household, that there is rivalry among you. What I am saying is this: Each of you says, “I’m with Paul,” or “I’m with Apollos,” or “I’m with Cephas,” or “I’m with Christ.” Is Christ divided? — 1 Corinthians 1:10-13a The church does not seem to know what to do with divorced people, let alone divorced pastors. Well into our second generation of no-fault divorce laws, even pastors can get divorced through no fault of their own. When it happened to me, the church I had served with honor and distinction hastily showed me the door. My father’s warnings were duly noted. A few dear friends and my four precious daughters were there, however, to commiserate with me while I waited upon the Lord for a better and brighter future. God led us to a new home, where the girls and I would grow even closer. A church starting over gave me a chance to start over with them, small in number but large in heart. New opportunities were given to me to teach young Christians and pastors. The Lord even threw in new golf clubs and a used white Cadillac. Life was good again. But the best part of my new life was prophesied to me by my oldest daughter not long after the lights went out. With no animosity towards her mother, she assured me that God had a better life and a better wife waiting for me out there somewhere. One evening, at the most marvelous wedding dinner I have ever attended, She looked at me and said in front of everyone there, “I told you so.” Andrea had lived through the same sorrow I had experienced. A faithful wife in her third decade of marriage, she was shocked and socked on the day her husband told her he was filing for divorce. Her children and friends gave her comfort and encouragement, and the day came when she was open to a new relationship. An online service had been recommended to her by a pastor, the same service I have recommended over the years to singles and those who had become single again in our churches. We both entered at about the same time, became each other’s first match and meeting, and wound up getting married the following year. My best friend who himself was cast out of the Baptist church, the fellow pastor I caught going through my library during our rookie year, officiated the ceremony. Our six children stood by our sides. We celebrated with more wine than the wedding at Cana. Thus we began our life together in a small, faithful church, facing a larger church world that wouldn’t touch people like us with a ten-foot pole. Mistreatment and disfunction in the church is nothing new. Just read 1 Corinthians. That early church had quickly devolved into licentiousness, while the problem in Jesus’ day and ours more resembles legalism. Either way, when the twisted rules of men carry more weight that the trustworthy word of God, the church is hurt and the church hurts people. Let me recount the ways in which the church has almost destroyed my faith at virtually every count because prejudiced traditions were prized more than Bible-based doctrines: Because a church followed the dictates of revivalists and dimwitted clergy rather than the gospel of Jesus Christ, I was suckered into getting baptized and given false assurance of salvation. Because I believed the Bible is the inspired word of God, liberal members of my church tried to ruin my reputation and run me off. Because I preached salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, conservative members of the next church did ruin my reputation and run me off. Because I became a victim of the divorce culture in our country, the next church put me and my daughters out with no home, no job, and no place to go, in spite of their previous promises to the contrary. Because I don’t condemn drinking as an outright sin and abide by other fundamentalist quirks and quandaries, my home church and pastor have literally written me off after refusing to help me in my hour of need. Because I am divorced and remarried, I am still shunned by many other pastors and churches who refuse to acknowledge my ability and credibility to serve the Lord as a leader in His church. In spite of all of this, Dad, I’m still in the church! Thank God my present little congregation and the Bible college I work with are biblical exceptions to man-made rules. They acknowledge that I am a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. They know that my conscience is held captive by the word of God. They understand that I want to chain the church to the grace of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. What can these other people and churches say? Where do they get their doctrines of the gospel, the Bible, salvation, and the Christian life? Who’s following whom? Who said the church must offer some kind of invitation hymn at the end of public worship and tell a person to walk an aisle and pray a prayer to be saved? Did Paul, Apollos, Simon Peter, or Jesus? This was used to manipulate me as a child and used against me as a pastor because I wouldn’t use it. But if we are following the Lord Jesus Christ, then the church must preach the gospel and offer salvation the way He did. He gave Himself, then demanded repentance and faith. No false promises, just the guarantee of the cross. No gimmicks or tricks, just the gospel and truth. People prove their faith by following. Who said the Bible is full of myths and man-made rules? Did Paul, Apollos, Simon Peter, or Jesus? That’s what many of my first church members told me, then tried to fire me for rebuking them and defending the Bible as the word of God. If we are following the Lord Jesus Christ, we must preach the word, submit to Scripture, and govern our lives and our churches by it. Who said salvation is an election run by man, where God votes for you, Satan votes against you, and you cast the deciding vote? Did Paul, Apollos, Simon Peter, or Jesus? Yet that’s what church members told me in response to the preaching and teaching of the doctrines of grace, as they tarred and feathered me and my family in the process. If we are following the Lord Jesus Christ, then our doctrine of salvation must be taken from His word, not some mutated form of democracy that turns it on its head. Who said it is a sin to drink a little wine or other spirited beverage? Did Paul, Apollos, Simon Peter, or Jesus? They said just the opposite! Drunkenness is certainly a sin but enjoying a responsible drink with family and friends can be done to the glory of God. Prohibition is silly legalism, abstinence is an honorable personal choice, and imbibing is biblically acceptable. If we are following the Lord Jesus Christ, we will follow His lead, let the Spirit and the word be our guide, and refrain from judging others. Who said divorced people cannot serve in leadership positions in the church? Did Paul, Apollos, Simon Peter, or Jesus? Divorce certainly is a sin on somebody’s part, but sins that are forgiven by God should be forgotten by the church. Divorce is forced on some who do not deserve or want one, through adultery and abandonment, and the Scripture says such people should be given love and freedom instead of judgment, yet the church judges onward. If we are following the Lord Jesus Christ, we will take people on a case by case basis and not throw a blanket over everyone who has suffered the scourge of divorce. I could address other issues as well, like deacon boards and business meetings and beating drums in the church. These have been used to beat me over the head as well. Many are the extra-biblical traditions that have been used to try to destroy my faith, just like my father said. But I am still standing. I want you to stand, too, stand for Christ, stand for the gospel and the word of God, and stand in a church that acknowledges Gods’ authority, not that of some uneducated pastor, power hungry deacon, or numbers crunching denomination. I have the most awesome wife in the world and I thank God for our lives in the church. Both of us were divorced before we were married. We went out this past weekend, with one of our plurality of elders and his wife, and shared drinks before dinner. Sunday we worshiped the Lord with the manners and means He has prescribed. This week we will pray and read our Bibles every day, witness whenever we can, and pray that our children, children’s children, and all people everywhere will be saved. We are not following Paul, Apollos, Simon Peter, Calvin, Arminius, Spurgeon, or Billy Graham. We are following Jesus. What about you? Who’s following whom? Copyright © 2016 Lake Hamilton Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Check out the weekly happenings at Lake Hamilton Baptist Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas. |
AuthorDr. Charles F. "Chuck" DeVane, Jr., is the Pastor of Lake Hamilton Baptist Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas. His weekly sermon article, "The Gospel Truth," has been published in newspapers in Arkansas and Georgia. Dr. DeVane is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and has served in the pastorate for over 20 years. Contact Pastor Chuck at PastorChuck@lakehamiltonbaptistchurch.org
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