temptation

“Beware of Light Thoughts of Sin”

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment
Spurgeon.jpg

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

“Beware of light thoughts of sin. At the time of conversion, the conscience is so tender, that we are afraid of the slightest sin. Young converts have a holy timidity, a godly fear lest they should offend against God. But alas! very soon the fine bloom upon these first ripe fruits is removed by the rough handling of the surrounding world: the sensitive plant of young piety turns into a willow in after life, too pliant, too easily yielding. It is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once startled him does not alarm him in the least. By degrees men get familiar with sin. The ear in which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds. At first a little sin startles us; but soon we say, “Is it not a little one?” Then there comes another, larger, and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard sin as but a little ill; and then follows an unholy presumption: “We have not fallen into open sin. True, we tripped a little, but we stood upright in the main. We may have uttered one unholy word, but as for the most of our conversation, it has been consistent.” So we palliate sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names. Christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. Take heed lest thou fall by little and little. Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer’s head with thorns, and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Saviour, and you will see it to be “exceeding sinful.”-Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Did you resolve to share Christ this year?

/ Richard Bargas / 4 Comments

At least he tried!I love fishing. I remember a time when a friend and I climbed a fence and hiked into an abandoned gravel pit to fish a pond we found inside of it. The pond wasn’t very large, (we were able to cast to the other side) but we figured that since it was inaccessible, it might have good fishing. We didn’t catch anything. There weren’t any fish in the little pond. No life at all. It was just a big whole where rainwater had collected.

Sometimes Christians are like that. They don’t venture out where the fish are, and they never catch fish. They reluctantly throw their hooks into a bucket. “Oh well,” they reason, “I guess I’m not an evangelist.” Or, we can be guilty of thinking that since we no longer have any unbelieving friends, we don’t need to share Christ.

Churches as a whole can be guilty of this as well. Instead of being about the business of saving souls, they focus on making everyone in the church comfortable, or inviting Christian friends from other churches to their church. Friends, that isn’t evangelism, that is, to change the analogy, sheep stealing. Moving sheep from one pen to another doesn’t increase the size of the flock.

Pastor E.V. Hill said that the church throughout the ages has struggled in this area, becoming “keepers of the aquarium instead of fishers of men.”

We are not to be keepers of our little (or big) aquarium. We are called by Jesus to be fishers of men.

In this blog post, I would like to call your attention to four facts about the call of every Christian to be fishers of men, or evangelists.

1. Jesus Uses Every Type of Person to Preach the Gospel. 

“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.” (Matt 4:18)

Jesus chose rough, unpromising men to be his Apostles. None of the original twelve disciples were formally trained, that we know of. The only exception was the Apostle Paul, who was a special exception all around. None of those Jesus chose were religious leaders. Many were fishermen. Matthew was a tax collector.

Many of them were so obscure in their background that we know very little about them. The other followers of Jesus included women, former prostitutes, slaves and slave-owners, businessmen and women, soldiers, and even politicians.

Although Jesus could have done the work of evangelism alone, his plan was to use his disciples to win other disciples for the kingdom. God uses means (us) to preach the gospel to the world (the end of which is to bring glory to God).

Have you ever considered how God has placed you where you are to effect change in your sphere of influence? We are called to take the gospel to our corner of the world, wherever that may be right not.

As a pastor, I have limited access to many different types of people in their “natural environment” even though I regularly evangelize and share Christ. As a matter of fact, whether at the barbershop or a party, nothing seems to kill a conversation quicker than the question, “So what do you do for a living?” I know that when I say, “I’m a pastor,” immediately most people tense up. I’ve seen beer cans disappear and language instantly cleaned up, followed by a change of subject or location!

Just talking.I have limited success and less opportunity to share the gospel with unsaved teachers as a Christian teacher can. I cannot reach out to unsaved businessmen in the same way that a Christian businessman can. I cannot gain the same access to unsaved students as a Christian student can. I can’t speak to your neighbors about Christ as well as you can. I don’t mean that you can explain the gospel in a different way, because the gospel message is the same to all of humanity. But we all have different relationships and are different people—and that gives us different opportunities and different personalities and different styles that God uses as his means for preaching the same gospel to different audiences. Everybody has access to a whole range of unbelievers that many others do not.

2. Jesus Calls Us to Evangelism as Part of Following Him.

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt 4:19)

Peter, Andrew, James and John had had other encounters with Jesus before this incident in Matthew 4. This was not the first time they had followed Jesus. But now Jesus was calling them to make a bigger commitment. Included in this command to follow Jesus was the need to evangelize. Why?

  • It is the way of the wise (Prov 11:30)
  • It results in rewards (Deut. 12:3). This is our capacity to reflect the glory of God.
  • It is commanded (Matt 28:19-20). We may not be evangelists, but that does not exempt us from God’s command. As Paul told Timothy in 2 Tim 4:5, “Do the work of an evangelist”

Some excuses you may be using to excuse yourself, along with my response:

  • I don’t have any friends. So, make friends.
  • I only have Christian friends. So, make non-Christian friends.
  • I don’t know how to share my faith. Go to your pastor and tell him you’d like to learn. And then sign up to go out with your church when they do, or call an unsaved friend and make a date to have some coffee together.
  • I don’t speak well. Neither did Moses (Ex. 4:10-14)
  • I’m too busy.
    • Too busy to obey the Lord?
    • Too busy to pluck a soul from hell?
    • Too busy to throw the life-giving seed of the Word?
    • If this is truly the case, you are too busy and your priorities are sinfully warped and out of place.
  • I’m shy, I’m scared. This is the fear of man, and it is sinful.

Sometimes we would prefer to die for Jesus than to live for him….We are more concerned about looking stupid (a fear of people) than we are about acting sinfully (fear of the Lord). (Ed Welch, When People are Big and God is Small, pp. 39, 40.)

The reality is that a call to be a disciple of Jesus requires that we die to ourselves and live for Christ. Jesus said it clearly, “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matt 16:24). Our comfort and ease matter little in this regard.

3. Jesus is the One who Makes Us Into Fishers of Men.

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt 4:19)

“I will make you fishers of men.”

Consider with me for a second the changes to John and James, two of Jesus’ disciples. Mark 3:17 says that Jesus gave these brothers the nickname, Boanerges, or “sons of thunder.” Why? It is quite possible because they were men who were rough around the edges—like bulls in a china shop, as we might say.  In Luke 9:51-56, the Sons of Thunder asked Jesus if they could call down fire from heaven to consume an inhospitable Samaritan village. This incident shows us that they did not have tender hearts of mercy for the lost (at least not all the lost). But they would learn, and they would be radically changed by the Lord.

James was the first of the Apostles killed for his faith (Acts 12:1-3). John was later known as the Apostle of Love because of his extensive writing about the love of God (see 1John 4:7-12). Both had learned to be servants and to love others as Christ loved them. They became excellent examples of fishers of men.

Peter preachingThink about the changes that happened to “first-to-stick-his-foot-in-his-mouth” Peter. Of course, he is most infamously known for being shackled by the fear of man when he had stated publicly that he would be willing to die for Christ before denying him (Matt 26:69-75). But the Peter we see after the resurrection is a completely different man. In Acts 2:14; 3:11-12; 4:7-8, he was set free from his fear of man to be bold for the Lord in his testimony. What was the difference? Acts 4:13 says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” They had been with Jesus and they had received his Spirit. This will be what makes a difference for us as well. As we spend time with the Lord, we will become more like him. We will grow in compassion for the lost and we will preach the gospel to them. When we deny ourselves, as Jesus did, all the excuses begin to melt away. When we remember that we are not alone in our evangelistic efforts, we find comfort and help. Consider Jesus’ words:

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:7, 13-14)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

You cannot evangelize in your own power. God empowers you to do what he commands you to do. He makes you a fisher of men.

4. Jesus Calls Some to Dedicate Their Lives in Full Time Gospel Ministry.

“Immediately they left their nets and followed him” (Matt 4:20). “Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him” (Matt 4:22).

The disciples left everything (Matt 9:27). Worldly security. Family. Home. They did this to follow Jesus in full time ministry. But being dedicated to the ministry of the gospel is also a high honor (1Tim 3:1). Never again would Peter, Andrew, James and John be known as fishermen. These four and the rest would forever be known as Jesus’ Apostles.

God has not called everyone to be an evangelist or a full time minister of the gospel, but God has called every Christian to share his or her faith. This is not an option, nor is it a suggestion. It is a command. As we have seen, there is no excuse that we can come up with that is acceptable to the Lord. When we don’t share Christ with others, we are disobedient. There may be some who have felt that God might be calling them to give up their job for full time service in the gospel. Maybe it is to be a missionary or maybe to be a pastor one day. If that is the case, how are you preparing to obey the Lord’s calling on your life? Do something! If you don’t plan to do something, you are planning to do nothing.

Tempted to Doubt God

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

I couldn't help it!When I was a small boy, my brother and I knew that my mom had a stash of chocolate and we made it our mission to get it. We took a chair and used it to get up on the counter, and then we stood up on the counter and climbed the shelves to the very top shelf where it was hidden. We took it down and unleashed the chocolate from its wax paper wrapper and broke off a wedge from the circular shaped chocolate bar, and then we took a big bite. It was awful. It was unsweetened baking chocolate that is never meant to be consumed in that form.

Our other attempt to score chocolate was also a horrible failure. It was at an early age that I learned what Ex-Lax is. You remember Ex-Lax, the chocolate looking laxative that was wrapped in foil? I know I’ll never forget it! Temptation strikes all of us, no matter our age!

In Matthew 4, Satan took Jesus to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, possibly the high southeastern corner called Solomon’s Porch. This corner dropped over 400 feet into the Kidron valley below. It was from this precipice that Satan pitched his next temptation to Jesus. Matthew 4:6 says,

“and [Satan] said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Along with the temptation, Satan quoted Scriptures to back up what might seem to be an otherwise crazy suggestion. The two quotations that Satan used were from the Old Testament, from Psalm 91:11-12, a psalm that speaks of God as the protector and salvation of those who trust in him when they are in danger. So, what Satan is saying is basically true.  But what was his motive? His attack here was two-fold:

1.            The Temptation to Doubt God’s Word

Whereas in the first temptation the doubt was directed as God’s provision, here the doubt is pointed at God’s Word. It is as if Satan were saying, “Oh, so you are quoting Scriptures are you? Do you truly believe them? I have read them too. Psalm 91 says that if you are the Son of God, he will protect you so that you won’t even stub your toe if you were to jump from here. Do you believe it? Then, throw yourself down from here and prove it.”

Jesus replied to Satan’s temptation without negating the Scriptures. Instead he clarified what they mean. You see, just because someone uses the Bible doesn’t mean they are telling the truth. There are a lot of thieves on TV who use the Bible as a means to fulfill their own greed by taking advantage of unwary followers. There are also a lot of false teachers who draw attention to themselves by using the Bible as a tool for their wicked doctrines, even teaching things that the Bible clearly says are wrong as if God has sanctioned them.

You don’t believe me? Satan used the Bible. Why wouldn’t his children? That doesn’t mean that we should distrust all Bible teachers. But we need to realize that we are responsible to dig into the truth to understand it ourselves. The Bible has only one interpretation, not many. We can apply it in a lot of different ways, but it has only one meaning—what the Author intended it to mean.

Mom, is that you?Consider this example sentence given by someone, “MY MOTHER LIKES CLIMBING VINES.” Now we can’t say that this means, “MY FATHER IS AN AUTO MECHANIC.” We can’t just arbitrarily replace “father” with “mother” or “likes” with “is” or “climbing vines” with “auto mechanic.” If words have any meaning (and they do, or this blog post and everything on the internet mean nothing), we would be foolish to say, “OH, THAT’S JUST YOUR INTERPRETATION.” But there is still a problem here. Does this sentence, MY MOTHER LIKES CLIMBING VINES mean that my mother enjoys climbing up vines like Tarzan, or my mother finds pleasure in the types of vines that climb a trellis? The only way to find out, is to know the context—Is she in the garden department at Home Depot, or is she wearing a leopard skin suit and hanging from a rope?

Jesus answered Satan by using the biblical principle that is called the Analogy of Faith. This principle teaches that Scripture interprets Scripture. And because Scripture never contradicts itself, it will always agree with itself. The Bible is not self-contradictory, since it is from God and God is not a God of confusion, nor can he err.

Notice Jesus’ words in his reply to Satan in Matthew 4:7, “Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”When Jesus starts by saying, “Again” or “On the other hand” He is clarifying Satan’s twisted interpretation of Scripture with a clear principle taught elsewhere in Scripture. The fact that you shall not put the Lord to the test surely means that Satan’s interpretation was in error.

2.            The Temptation to Test God (v. 7)

Here we can see the second phase of the attack. (Matthew 4:7, “Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”) This verse that Jesus quotes is from Deut 6:16. In this verse it refers to Israel’s testing in Massah. So what happened in Massah? We need to go to Ex. 17:1-7 to find out.

The Problem at Massah

The problem wasn’t thirst. It was a lack of faith in God that required God to prove that he cared for the people. “IF GOD REALLY CARES FOR US, THEN HE WOULD GIVE US WATER.” In the first temptation, Satan wanted Jesus to act on his own to satisfy his own needs since, he implied, God didn’t care for him. Since Jesus showed faith and testified to the faithfulness of God, Satan tempted Jesus to prove that God cared for him by putting God to the test. How many of you have been tempted in this way? IF GOD REALLY CARES FOR ME, THEN HE WOULD [fill in the blank here].

  • Heal my friend’s sickness
  • Give me back my child who died
  • Repair my broken marriage
  • Bring home my wayward teen
  • Provide me with the relationships I long for
  • Pay my overdue bills

But let’s think of the two situations before us again:

1.            Massah

Was God able to provide water? Yes, and he did. Was the Lord with them? Yes, with or without water

2.            The Wilderness

Was God able to catch the Lord if he threw himself down? Yes. Jesus knew that twelve legions of angels would save him from the cross if he wanted them to. But since Jesus did not do it, can we know that God was with him? Yes!

  • He was with him before he went into the wilderness-Matt 3:17
  • He was with him after he faced the temptations-Matt 4:11
  • Surely, God did not abandon his Son in the midst of the temptation, did he?

Let’s go back to our temptations to put God to the test:

  • Can he heal any sickness?
  • Can he raise the dead?
  • Can he repair the worst marriage?
  • Can he bring home wayward children?
  • Can he provide someone for the lonely?
  • Can he pay our overdue bills?

YES!

But, does he have to in order to prove to you that he is with you? Does he have to in order to prove that he cares for you?

The Disciples struggled with this too. In Mark 4:35-41 it says this:

35“On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Look at verse 38 again. “Do you not care that we are perishing?” Can I reword that for you?

  • Do you not care that I am hurting?
  • Do you not care that our marriage is crumbling?
  • Do you not care that we are in desperate need?

Whatever the situation, the answer is the same. God does care for his children. If he is able to speak so that the wind and sea obey him, he is fully capable of removing your trial.

How do we overcome this temptation to test God when we doubt his care for us? Dwell on the almighty power of God. This will take your eyes off of the problem and place them on God. Notice, the fishermen were so afraid that they went into panic mode (vv. 38, 40) But when Jesus spoke and rebuked the wind and the waves, you would think they would become calm. Verse 41 says that despite the calm in the sea, they were filled with a GREAT FEAR. Their fear had moved from a fear of drowning in a storm to the fear that comes from knowing that you are in the presence of a holy God. And that is terrifying. “Sometimes the Lord calms the storm. Sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms the child.” Remember what the Bible says about God’s care for you.

  • Matt 6:25-34: Don’t be anxious.
  • 1Pet 5:7: Cast your cares upon him.
  • Phil 4:6: Pray depending upon God.

Now the skeptic would say, that’s simplistic. But it’s anything but. When we are tempted to doubt God and his Word, we need to go to him and ask his help. We need to trust him to meet our needs in his way and in his time. The Israelites in Massah were unwilling to do that. They wanted water and they wanted it now! What about you? Will you learn from their mistake and follow the way of the Master in times of temptation?