Friday, January 28, 2011

Confessing Jesus as God’s Son should change your life
by Barrett Vanlandingham
February 1, 2011

2 Timothy 2:19 says, “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
When it comes to hope of heaven, this verse should be of interest to everyone. Confess is one of only a few words in the New Testament that gives us specific directions on how to get to heaven.
In this verse, acknowledging the Lord Jesus as God’s Son and proving your sincerity by turning away from wickedness are key to having a relationship with our Savior. The writer, Paul, goes on to say that by turning our backs on evil (or repenting), we become “…an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work (v. 21).” In other words, when we follow the Great Shepherd, He knows we are His sheep (John 10:27).
Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:9 that simply doing good works cannot save us. However, it only stands to reason that one who has truly confessed will do good works, and follow through with obeying God’s word consistently.
Until we read closely, it might be easy to draw a wrong conclusion on Romans 10:9, which says, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
This verse means exactly what it says. But when discussing matters of salvation, we should define what it means to confess. In 2 Tim. 2:19, Paul makes it clear that one who worships God cannot partner with wickedness (Eph. 5:7 and 2 Cor. 6:14-18). As I’ve noted before, the devil and his demons clearly believed in the identities of God and the Son. But it would be absurd to think that either the devil or even those who follow his ways will enter into the joys of heaven someday. Their happiness is temporary. It will not extend beyond this life just like those who only do good things to bring praise to themselves (Matt. 6).
It would also be wise to note that in Acts 16:16-34, the jailer’s belief in the Lord was followed immediately by baptism. If fact, every Biblical example of someone becoming a Christian involved baptism (for the forgiveness of sins, Acts 2:38).
Yes, all Christians stumble and fall (Rom. 3:23). The difference between those who live in the light versus those who live in darkness is a matter of the heart. Christians who model a life of confession do not like to operate in shady circumstances or deceptive business practices. And when they fall into temptation it bothers them. They ask forgiveness from God and from those they have sinned against. God knows our heart.
The one who truly confesses is the one whose life is changed because of it. You see, when we acknowledge Christ by putting him in his proper place, we are compelled to obey his commands (Matt. 10:32-33,42). In fact, scripture says our obedience to God is how he knows we love him. God bless your efforts to conform to his will and not your own (Rom. 12:1-2).

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Views of non-Christians should cause Christians to re-evaluate
by Barrett Vanlandingham
January 25, 2011

Have you ever heard a non-Christian or maybe a “fallen away” Christian say that church people are just a bunch of hypocrites? I know I have. Granted, there are some folks who just use this phrase as an excuse to not commit to being an active part of a church family. That being said, in some cases these people are simply stating the truth. Ouch! How do we know this?
Among young “outsiders” to Christianity, “84-percent say they personally know at least one committed Christian. Yet, just 15-percent thought the lifestyles of those Christ followers were significantly different from the norm.” This is a quote from the book “UnChristian” based on a 2007 Barna Group survey.
The survey showed that Christians are distinct on some religious variables such as how many Bibles they own, how often they go to church, and how much money they drop in the collection plate. But when it came to non-religious lifestyle factors, David Kinnaman, the author of the book, said there were “few meaningful gaps” between those who claim to be committed Christians versus non-Christians.
The survey asked people to identify their behaviors during the last thirty days. The result was that Christians were as likely as non-Christians to bet or gamble, visit a pornographic website, view sexually explicit magazines or movies, have an affair, steal, consult a medium or a psychic, physically fight or abuse someone, get drunk, use an illegal drug, lie, seek revenge, and say mean things behind someone’s back.
Kinnaman says, “It’s not just our lifestyles that have gotten us into trouble.” He says “It’s the very way in which we convey the priorities of being a Christian.”
The survey showed that the most common message Christians convey is that Christianity is a religion of rules and regulations. Kinnaman says that “outsiders” think of us as hypocrites because they are measuring us by our own standards.
However, he is quick to point out that the Bible says we should bear much fruit (John 15:8), and that without a way of measuring the reality of our faith, it is nothing more than empty beliefs (James 2:20-26). In other words, “Faith without deeds is dead.”
Scripture says we will continue to mess up as long as we live. But that doesn’t mean we can’t commit wholeheartedly everyday to a life of imitating our Savior and Lord, being known by our love and being compelled by His. God bless!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

The love of Christ is important to Fort Gibson
by Barrett Vanlandingham
January 18, 2011

2011 begins my fifth year of writing my “Fort Faith” column for the Fort Gibson Times. So far, I’ve written on topics such as salvation, reliability of the Bible, mission work, evolution, and Christian attitudes.
These are all important things to talk about. But there is no more important topic to discuss than that of spreading the love of Christ throughout our community. The reason I say that is because if we will continue “being Jesus” to those around us, can you imagine what Fort Gibson would be like? Not that God hasn’t blessed our town already. After all, Fort Gibson is ranked second in the state for the best place to raise children. Let’s never take that for granted.
In a lot of towns, there can be a big difference between being a nice place to live versus being a Godly place to live. In Fort Gibson’s case, I tend to think the two are very much intertwined. Though we are a small town, people who call themselves Christians here still have plenty of opportunities to be Jesus to those who are hurting. I’m glad I live in a town where it’s not hard to find people doing just that.
But not to stick our heads in the sand, we must stay alert to those who have not heard or experienced the story of Jesus and his love for all. In my position as youth minister at Fort Gibson Church of Christ, students occasionally request prayer for a friend who doesn’t believe in God. They also ask me questions about how to respond to classmates who have trouble believing Bible stories such as the flood, creation, and various other miracles.
One of the things I truly believe is that the most effective way of reaching others with the Bible is to simply live it. Remember, most people will come closer to listening to those who model the love of Christ as opposed to only telling them about it. This is true with friends, family members and anyone else you’re around. Godly actions on the part of Christians can and do lead to open doors where people are anxious to hear the rest of the story.
Bottom line? The love of Jesus changes people’s lives. That’s why the Bible is the best seller of all times, and that’s why so many people have written about Jesus for so many centuries dating back to shortly after the Bible was completed in the first century.
Please take time today to pray for the people of our town to continue doing what it takes to be blessed with such a great place to live. God bless!

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Article on creation sparks heated comments
by Barrett Vanlandingham
January 11, 2011

By far, the Fort Faith article of 2010 that received the most feedback was printed in the October 27 Fort Gibson Times. It was titled: The Bible is easy to believe when you examine the evidence.
I really don’t consider myself to be a controversial writer. I guess that’s why I was shocked at the level of insults espoused by some of those who responded. As far as I can tell, the venom came from other parts of the U.S. and even overseas by online readers who do not share the Bible’s account of how the world came into being, and how mankind was created.
Those who responded negatively referred to me as liar, ignorant, poor soul, pathetic, and brainwashed fool. At one point, one guy even tried to prove me wrong by referring to words he read in a fictional book titled: The Da Vinci Code. Another person compared the Bible to mythical writings of long ago.
Rebellion to God’s word is nothing new. In 2 Timothy 4:2-5 Paul tells his young friend Timothy that the time will come when men will find teachers to teach them what their itching ears want to hear, turning away from the truth in exchange for myths.
Paul encourages Timothy to “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction.”
Another of my favorite scriptures comes from 1 Peter 3:15. “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.”
In both passages, the writers remind Christians to keep their attitude in check while teaching those who would attack.
It’s been my personal experience that when someone doesn’t share the views of the Bible, but yet has no proof otherwise, they resort to character attacks.
But Paul says to endure hardship as we do the work of an evangelist. The lashes he underwent certainly qualify him to talk about persecution.
May you find strength, courage, and wisdom this year as you stand up for God’s truths, letting our community and even the entire world see Christ’s love working in you. This year I plan to continue teaching God’s truths in my words, deeds, and in my writings. Thank you for reading Fort Faith, and BIG thanks to the Muskogee Phoenix for continuing to publish my article in the Fort Gibson Times.