God 4 comments

The Mystery of Unanswered Prayer – Part 1

By on February 27th, 2008

One of the mysteries of the Christian life is unanswered prayer. There are many promises in God’s Word regarding God answering prayers. One example is given by Jesus in John 14:12-14 (NIV) I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. On first glance, someone may take these verses to suggest that they should receive answers for anything they ask God for. However, this doesn’t happen for most people and they may become discouraged in prayer. In this post, I want to begin to explore some of the common reasons for the mystery of unanswered prayer.

I am going to assume that the person praying is a believer, that is, they have admitted their sin to God, believed that Jesus died to forgive that sin and have committed their lives to following Jesus as their Lord and Savior. To grow in your prayer life, you must understand what God teaches about answering prayer. Almost all of God’s promises in the Bible are conditional. A conditional promise is one that will only be answered by God if you meet the conditions. Some conditions for promises are found in the promise verses themselves and other conditions are found in other related verses in Scripture. If you meet the conditions of God’s Word for His promises, God always keeps His promises.

James 5:16b (NIV) The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Prayers that are powerful and effective are certainly prayers that are answered. The implied condition for powerful and effective prayer in this verse is the character of the person praying the prayer. James says that the prayer of a righteous man will be answered. A righteous person is first and foremost a believer, someone who has trusted in Jesus’ righteousness to forgive their sins.

However, the righteousness of a believer must also be a practical righteousness that is lived out. 1 John 3:7 (NIV) Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. A true believer is someone who does what is right, they live with a practical righteousness. What happens when a true believer sins? 1 John 1:9 (NIV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If a believer sins, they must immediately confess their sin and ask for God’s forgiveness to be purified from their unrighteous behavior. The problem is that many people continue to live in known sin without confessing and turning away from it.

Unconfessed sin therefore is a major cause of unanswered prayer. Psalms 66:18 (NIV) If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; To cherish sin in your heart is to hang on to it, to not confess it and turn from it. When someone has unconfessed sin in their hearts, God does not listen to their prayers and the prayers are not answered. Peter shows us a practical example of this by warning that if husbands do not treat their wives properly, it will hinder their prayers from being answered. 1 Peter 3:7 (NIV) Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. Problems in your marriage relationship, caused by not respecting your spouse, will lead to unanswered prayer.

In some churches, there is very little emphasis on righteous living. Many believers have areas of their lives that they have not submitted to Jesus Christ and are indulging in known, often habitual sin. This sin is often excused as being small and inconsequential. However, any unconfessed sin will decimate your prayer life. What makes this such a mystery for many is that you may be praying a prayer that truly is God’s will, but sin in another area of your life will prevent God’s answer from coming. In effect, sin short-circuits God’s answers to your prayers.

A viscous cycle then ensues in which people blame God for not answering their prayers. Their faith grows weak and they often give up on praying at all. The solution is to confess your sin, turn away from it and begin to live righteously through the power of God. This removes one of the most common hindrances to unanswered prayer, the hindrance of unconfessed sin. In The Mystery of Unanswered Prayer – Part 2, I will look at another cause of the mystery of unanswered prayer.

Life, World 3 comments

The Importance Of Character In Leadership

By on January 16th, 2008

Leadership is a very important matter, for leaders, by definition, lead people. Who we choose to follow as a leader has very real consequences. How should we decide who we follow? In this post, I would like to make the case that the most important characteristic of a leader is character. What a leader says he will do and his stand on various issues is of lesser importance. Without good character, what confidence do we have that what a leader says, he will do?

Simply speaking, character is a combination of a person’s beliefs, reputation and managing relationships. For the purposes of this discussion, I will look at the Bible’s qualifications for an overseer in the church. I believe that these character qualities are essential for a good leader in every field of human endeavor, whether church, business or government. A study of the Old Testament would show that most of these qualities were noted as being important for leaders of nations, such as kings.

1 Timothy 3:2-7 (NIV) Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

Let’s begin with the requirements regarding relationships. The Bible says that a leader should be “the husband of but one wife” and that “he must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.” The reason is that if someone cannot manage his own family, how can he possibly manage anything bigger, like a business, a church or a government body. Now of course, this wisdom is not politically correct, for the media tells us that one’s private life and family life have absolutely nothing to do with how someone leads. This is foolish. If one is unsuccessful in his family life, he has a definite character flaw. Multiple marriages is a big red flag which you ignore at your own risk. If you want to learn something about today’s aspiring political leaders’ family lives, look them up in Wikipedia.

Next, let’s look at a leader’s reputation, which must be good with people outside of his immediate group. I don’t have time to go over each individual quality which make up reputation, but the list is worthy of study. A leader must be temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome and not a lover of money. This list covers dealing with people, lack of addictions, ability to communicate and proper handling of finances. The passage also indicates that a leader should grow in his leadership ability over time, so that he will not become prideful. Whereas, there seems to be a tendency to gravitate towards leaders who exhibit quarrelsome and angry traits, this is not what the Bible recommends.

Finally, I want to look at the importance of a leader’s beliefs as the foundation of their character. Again, contrary to popular opinion, a leader’s beliefs are not irrelevant and a private matter, but they form the basic worldview from which a leader draws principles with which to govern. If a leader’s beliefs are correct, the principles he governs by will be correct and ultimately successful. If a leader’s beliefs are incorrect or he draws his principles simply by polling the public, the result will be leadership failure.

Proverbs 9:10 (NIV) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. True wisdom and understanding only comes from knowing God and the truth of God’s Word. Can a leader who does not personally fear the Lord, govern by godly principles? Yes, to some degree, but how much better a leader who can lead both by the general principles of God’s word and the specific guidance of the Holy Spirit. Now, the vast majority of leaders in America claim to be Christians, so this claim doesn’t do much to winnow the field. One must analyze their words and their actions to determine their beliefs. If they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, they will talk about it and not be ashamed of it. However, some leaders may be believers but have a very shallow understanding of God’s Word and how it’s principles apply to a Christian worldview. A leader with true Christian beliefs will exhibit a long track record of applying biblical principles to the issues of leadership.

In future posts, I will explore how biblical principles apply to various issues of importance to leaders and all of us. Moral character is of essential importance in leadership. Don’t fall for that line used so often, that all of us make mistakes. Yes, we all sin, but there are leaders who have godly character according to the biblical standard and have not fallen in the major areas highlighted by Scripture. Elect and follow leaders who follow God and you won’t go wrong.

Church 8 comments

Is Mormonism Christian? Part 3

By on January 10th, 2008

In “Is Mormonism Christian? Part 1“, I described the four fundamental marks of the Christian faith. In “Is Mormonism Christian? Part 2“, I compared Mormon doctrine with these four defining features of Christianity and found it did not meet the test on any of the marks. My analysis is not unique by any means. Most major denominations and theologians classify Mormonism as a theological cult, because although it calls itself Christian, it does not follow Christian teaching. In this final article of the series, I want to address the question of how Christians should respond to Mormons.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV) But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. The Bible teaches that every person has been created by God in the image of God and deserves to be treated with gentleness and respect. As Christians teach others about what the Bible says, we must not be judgemental or prideful. However, when others raise the question about Mormonism or Mormons claim to be Christian, Christians have an obligation to give a truthful answer.

I have come to the conclusion that the Mormon religion is not Christian. If you would like to do further research on the topic, I have found the following books helpful.

Fast Facts on Mormonism – John Ankerberg and John Weldon
Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Mormons – Ron Rhodes and Marian Bodine
Handbook of Today’s Religions – Josh McDowell and Don Stewart
The New Mormon Challenge – Editor Francis Beckwith et al.

However, what about individual Mormons? Does the fact that the doctrine of Mormonism is not Christian, mean that all Mormons are not Christians? The answer is that individual Mormons may indeed be misguided Christians and the reasons are two-fold. First of all, one of the Mormon Scriptures is the Bible. Anyone reading the Bible may come to the knowledge of the truth. Secondly, it is well known that a high percentage of Mormon converts come from Bible-believing churches. Pollster George Barna finds that the percentage of born-again adults, those who believe “they have made a personal commitment to Christ that is important in their life today and also say that when they die they know they will go to Heaven solely because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior,” range from a high of 81% in the Assemblies of God to a low of 25% in the Catholic church. The Mormon church suprisingly has 34% of born-again adults according to Barna.

How should you respond to a Mormon that you know personally? As with any other person, you should seek to determine whether they are truly a Christian, not assuming to know their personal relationship with God based on what church they go to. If they are truly Christians, endeavor to discuss with them the problems with Mormon doctrine compared to biblical teaching. If they are not Christians, seek to get them to read and discuss the Bible and contrast it to Mormonism. Reference books on Mormonism, such as those mentioned above will be important to address the issues. Above all, do not take a claim to be a Christian from anyone, including a Mormon, at face value.

In response to the question, “Are Mormons Christians?”, an article on the official Mormon site gave the following answer.

Why would anyone say such a thing? Isn’t the name of our church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Do we not worship Christ? Is not the Book of Mormon another testament of Jesus Christ? How could anyone seriously doubt that Latter-day Saints are Christians?

None of the reasons given in this response has anything to do with the basic marks of Christianity given in the Bible. 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV) The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. May we pray that God opens the eyes of Mormons to truly see the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Church 3 comments

Is Mormonism Christian? Part 2

By on December 31st, 2007

In “Is Mormonism Christian? Part 1,” I laid out the four marks that distinguish a Christian group or denomination. In Part 2 of this series, I will apply these tests to the doctrine of the Mormon church to answer the question, “Is Mormonism Christian?” The Mormon position will be verified with links to the official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As many people have no idea of the origin of the Mormon church, here is a brief history.

The founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith was born in Vermont in 1805. At the age of 14, Smith had his first vision, in which a supernatural personage informed him that all of Christianity current at his time was a false abomination. Three years later, Smith had a second vision, in which a spirit called Moroni told him of a book of gold plates on which was recorded the history of the former inhabitants of the American continent. Smith supposedly translated the gold plates to produce the Book of Mormon in 1829. The gold plates were never seen by anyone other than Smith. The historical records contained in the book of Mormon have been demonstrated to be false by noted Mesoamerican archaeologists and respected archaeological societies. Thomas Finley in the book “The New Mormon Challenge” summarizes the evidence for the origin of the Book of Mormon. “There is no solid evidence that the Book of Mormon was written by Semites in ancient times. Contrary evidence makes it more likely that the book is a product of Joseph Smith’s time with the KJV strongly influencing it.”

The first mark of a Christian group is that it upholds the unique authority of the Bible and does not add or take away from it. The Mormon Church has four authoritative books: the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price, all but the Bible penned by Joseph Smith. Mormonism teaches that the Bible is unreliable and has been corrupted. Therefore Smith “translated” a corrected version of the Bible which introduced thousands of changes into the King James Version. One of the changes was the addition of a prophecy in Genesis foretelling the coming of Joseph Smith. Of course, since the Bible is considered unreliable, the writings of Smith take precedence in the formulation of Mormon doctrine. This will be seen as I look at the next three marks. Mormonism fails the test of being based on the unique authority of the Bible.

The second mark of a Christian group is it’s understanding of God. The Mormon church teaches that God the Father is the supreme god, ruling over other gods. Mormonism teaches that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones. It teaches that God the Father was once a man like us and progressed to become God. Therefore, humans may also become gods by following the Mormon doctrine of eternal progression. Mormonism rejects the Christian Trinitarian concept of God and views the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as separate beings. Suffice it to say that the Mormon doctrine of God is radically different from the biblical view accepted by Christendom.

The third mark of a Christian group is it’s teaching about Jesus Christ. The Mormon Church teaches that Jesus did not always exist, but was begotten from the union of the Father and an unnamed wife. Jesus and Lucifer therefore are considered spirit brothers. Although a recent statement of the Mormon church appeared to reject this, it was deceptive, as an in-depth discussion of Mormon theology on this point indicates. Mormon doctrine actually teaches that Jesus, in His mortal state, was born as a result of sexual relations between God the Father and Mary. According to Mormon theology, Jesus is not to be worshipped in the same way as God the Father, nor to be prayed to. Mormonism fails the test of the third mark of Christianity.

The fourth mark of Christianity is a biblical doctrine of salvation. It must be noted that Mormonism uses Christian terminology but deceptively defines the terms completely differently from Christianity. Mormon doctrine teaches that there is no salvation outside of the Mormon Church. Mormonism speaks of salvation by grace, but examination of Mormon doctrine clearly shows that individual salvation comes by what you do (Mormon baptism, church attendance, good works, worthiness and temple works). The atonement of Jesus’ death according to Mormonism provides the opportunity to earn salvation through personal merit, rather than paying the full penalty for our sins. Thus Mormonism fails the test of the fourth mark of Christianity.

My conclusion is that Mormonism is not Christian. Based on the beliefs of Mormonism, biblical scholars identify the Mormon Church as a theological cult. A theological cult is a group that consistently refers to itself as Christian, yet differs from the fundamental beliefs of Christian orthodoxy. In “Is Mormonism Christian? Part 3” of this mini-series, I will explore how believers should respond to Mormons.

Church 9 comments

Is Mormonism Christian? Part 1

By on December 29th, 2007

The Mormon religion has been in the news a lot lately, as part of the coverage of the Presidential election. Many opinions have been presented by candidates and the news media, some of which do not agree with one another. The most fundamental question that has been raised is whether Mormonism is Christian or not. Is Mormonism just another Christian denomination? A recent poll by the Pew Research center found that 52% of American adults believe that Mormonism is a Christian religion, while 31% disagree. The Mormon church claims to be Christian, yet rejects all non-Mormon churches from the close of the apostolic age until now as being apostate.

If a group claims to be Christian, is that proof that it is? What does it mean to be Christian? This broader question is vital to answer, as many groups claim to be Christian. The first mark of a Christian group is that it upholds the unique authority of the Bible as the Word of God. Jesus said in NIV Matthew 5:18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished validating the Old Testament scripture of his time. At the end of the New Testament, the book of Revelation concludes with the statement, NIV Revelation 22:18-19 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. These verses apply specifically to the book of Revelation and more generally to the New Testament and the whole canon of the Bible. The authority of the Bible has been a mark of the Christian church from it’s foundation.

The second mark of a Christian group is it’s understanding or doctrine of God. God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed as a Trinity, that is, one being existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. NIV Isaiah 44:6 “This is what the LORD says– Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Man is a created being and can never become God.

The third mark of a Christian group is it’s teaching about Jesus Christ. Jesus was fully human and fully God. As part of the Trinity, He has eternally existed, He was never created. He is co-equal with God. Jesus lived a perfect life on earth, died for the sins of mankind, rose from the dead on the third day and ascended into heaven. NIV Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

The fourth mark of a Christian group is the doctrine of salvation. Salvation is obtained by admitting you have sinned, believing that Jesus’ death forgives that sin and committing one’s life to Jesus as Lord. Salvation is having one’s sins forgiven and entering into a relationship with God called eternal life. Salvation is a free gift received by faith alone and cannot be earned by doing good works. NIV Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast.

While there are many other important beliefs taught in the Bible, these four marks have historically defined a true Christian church. Deviations from these marks indicate that the group is not Christian or has deviated from a true Christian belief. These four marks can be used to test whether a group is Christian in it’s teaching or not. An individual must grasp these truths in some form and believe them in order to be a Christian. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans claim to be Christian, while many of them are ignorant of what the term means or what the Bible teaches. In Part 2 of this mini-series, I will apply these tests to the doctrine of the Mormon church to answer the question, “Is Mormonism Christian?”