distractions

Picking Up Our Swords to Fight

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

IFCA, I Fight Christians Anywhere. At times in the history of fundamentalism fighting fundamentalist meant fighting with other Christians over tertiary issues and the traditions of men. I think we can all agree that many times this was unbiblical and regretful. Afterall, 1 Timothy 3:3 says that an elder or pastor is not to be “quarrelsome” (ESV), a “striker” (KJV) or “pugnacious” (NASB). This word refers to a violent bully who pushes people around with either his fists or his words. Fundamentalism has had its share of those who could be described as pugnacious. Fighting about length of hair and skirts, Bible versions and musical styles has divided the church and diverted attention away from the real enemy.

But, in some ways, the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. In trying to get away from the caricature of the fighting fundamentalist, all too many Christians have forgotten that a few chapters later, Paul also wrote “Fight the good fight of the faith…” (1Tim. 6:12). Jude appealed to his audience to “contend for the faith” that was being threatened by false teachers who had crept into the church. Too many in the Church have forgotten—either that we are in a spiritual war, or who our true enemy is. In Ephesians 6:10-12, Paul reminded the Church about both of these critical truths.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10–12, ESV)

Be Aware of Your Enemy—v. 12

Our enemy hates us. Look at the word “struggle” in verse 12. This word speaks of wrestling, of hand to hand combat. This is not a battle, but a war. A war made up of many, many bloody battles. We must know what we are facing. Satan wants to destroy us. Consider how he pushed the limits of Job, destroying everything in his life. But he didn’t stop there. Satan wanted to destroy Job’s faith in God himself. He is ruthlessly evil. The angel of the Lord left Jacob with a limp when he wrestled with him (Gen. 32:25-32). The Lord’s purpose in trials is to teach us. But the devil does not want to leave you with a limp, he wants to destroy you: (Jn 10:10), “The thief comes only to steal, and kill and destroy….” One saint of old said, “Consider that the devil does not sleep, but seeks our ruin in a thousand ways.”

Our Enemy is Spiritual

He cannot be seen, heard or experienced with our five senses. He disguises himself as one of God’s angels (2Cor. 11:14, “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14, NASB95). Being a spirit being, he has been alive since the creation and has had the opportunity to watch and learn human behavior. He is the greatest philosopher, sociologist and theologian. He knows what makes humans tick and even worse, how to man-fish. He too is a fisher of souls.

Our Enemy is Organized

Because Satan is neither omnipresent nor omniscient, he must use his demonic horde to do his bidding. But this is not a mob of crazed demonic creatures. Wickedness leads men to rebel, but as at Babel, it also leads them to organize. “Rulers, powers, world forces, spiritual forces” (v. 12) —all of these designations portray an organized hierarchy of demonic angels. We may not know exactly how they are ordered, but we know that the enemy is organized for maximum effect.

Be Prepared for Battle—v. 11

Be Armored

“Put on the full armor” not just selected pieces. Later in this chapter Paul describes each piece of armor, but for now, we need to know that we cannot pick and choose. To do so would be disastrous because would leave us exposed to attack. Think about a police officer heading into a riot. As he surveys his equipment, which would he choose? A bullet-proof vest or a riot helmet? What will happen if he chooses one over the other? What about if he chose a shield and not boots? We too need to be armored, not choosing some, but all of the armor that God provides.

Be Anchored

“Stand firm” is a reference to not being moved in our doctrinal stance. Ephesians 4:11-14 says:

 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;” (Eph 4:11–14, NASB95)

A lack of biblical discipleship leads to many things, including the immaturity of believers who will be like children who are rocked upon the shore by the waves of doubt and deception. Those who have drifted in their faith have brought disaster to their lives, and to the lives of many others. Paul warned Timothy of this happening in Ephesus: “keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme” (1Tim. 1:19–20, NASB95).

Be Alert—1Pet 5:8; 2Cor 2:11

First Peter 5:8 speaks about the need to be “sober minded.” This is not something that our age is known for, and this lack of sobriety is all too often a mark of much of the church. We are easily distracted, silly, and fascinated with the trivial. In 2 Corinthians 2:11, Paul likewise warned, “so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” (2 Cor. 2:11, NASB95) Those who are outwitted and ignorant are also perfect descriptions of many Christians and churches. In the Bible we have a manual for warfare. War against our great enemies, the World, the flesh and the Devil. Know these enemies and their schemes!

Be Strong in the Lord—v. 10

Human Strength Fails

Second Corinthians 12:7-10 is a glorious text. It reads:

“Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:7–10, NASB95)

How we need to be reminded of this! When we fail to pray, we have forgotten this. When we become puffed up in our spirituality, we have forgotten our weakness. When our experiences and victories are worn like a medal on our chest, we have forgotten where our vvictory comes from.

Human Philosophies Fail

We can easily be taken off track by forgetting which war we are supposed to be fighting. We can begin fighting with each other, fighting against the Church, fighting against unbelievers that need Jesus, and fighting with political weapons of war. Our strategies and dependence upon human strength show where we have chosen to use another way to fight than the way that Jesus calls us to fight.

Human Courage Fails

            Joshua 1:6-9describes the time after forty years of wandering in the wilderness for the generation that failed to trust God and enter the Promised Land to conquer it. As Joshua lead the next generation to enter the land, the Lord spoke these words of encouragement:

“Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”” (Josh. 1:6–9, NASB95)

When men go to battle, it is not glorified as it is in the movies and the recruitment posters. War is ugly. It is fierce and cold. But it is sometimes necessary in this fallen world. When you go into spiritual battle, it will be incredibly tempting to retreat back into your comfort zone, into your cozy world where you could forget about the reality of the devil and his demonic attacks. He would love that. He would love for you to put down your weapons and stop fighting, mocking you as a fighting fundamentalist. Or even better, to turn your weapons on others who are not the enemy because confusion is better than apathy to him. But that is not an option. We must gird up our loins for battle and march forward with the Lord into war. He will go before us. Never forget that. He fights for us. This will give you courage.

Fundamentalism is a dirty word to those in the world, but also one which is despised by many within the Church. Fundamentalism is rejected because some who have used this descriptor have swapped out biblical fidelity for cultural baggage and the traditions of men. Others have rejected it because they have given sway to the fear of man. Some have decided that it is too late to salvage the label for any good.

Whatever your opinion may be regarding the term fundamentalist, we should note this: those who are unswerving in their commitment to Christ and His Word must not fear men, but instead must be willing to pick up the Sword of the Word of God and engage the enemy of our souls and his wicked system. Some may call you a fighting fundamentalist, but this is preferable to one day hearing the Lord call you unfaithful.

This post is adapted from the article of the same title in The Voice, Jan-Feb 2020. Used with permission.

Thus Sayeth the Lord: Why We Preach the Bible (weekend repost)

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

When stripped down to our historical foundation, IFCA International is a Bible movement. Our churches and ministries exist to preach Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23), a prospect that has never been acceptable to the world and is rejected by the apostate church. Like the Apostle Paul, we do not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). We believe that God has spoken without error and that His Word has never failed. We believe that the Word of God rules over the Church and God’s people, and that this authority extends to all humanity whether it accepts it or not. We believe the Bible, and this should have a direct impact upon how we minister in the preaching of the Word.

Read the rest here: Thus Sayeth the Lord: Why We Preach the Bible

Examining the Fallacy that Being Like the World Will Attract the Worldly to Christ (weekend repost)

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“Our Lord attracted sinners because He was different. They drew near to Him because they felt that there was something different about Him. And the world should see us to be different. This idea that you are going to win people to the Christian faith by showing them that after-all you are remarkably like them, is theologically and psychologically a profound blunder.”—D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Read the rest here: Examining the Fallacy that Being Like the World Will Attract The Worldly to Christ

So Easily Distracted from Jesus

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

The issue of distracted driving has become a big issue in our day. Most often we see this when people are engaged in text messaging or talking on their phone while they are driving. A person can get so distracted with their phones that they forget that they are in a car going down the freeway at 70 mph or more. The consequences are often disastrous.

This can happen in our everyday life in a less spectacular but more damaging way. It happens when Christians get so wrapped up in worldly cares that they don’t pay attention to the spiritual needs that are around them

In Matthew 16:5-12 Jesus, sitting in a boat with his disciples, sought to warn them about the “leaven” of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. These religious leaders were legalists (Pharisees) and liberals (Sadducees)–two extreme errors that his disciples needed to avoid.

But instead of understanding that Jesus was speaking about spiritual things, the mention of leaven made them think about bread, and the fact that none of them had thought to bring bread on their trip. Frustrated, Jesus pointed them to the fact that he was not speaking about bread, for the clear and simple fact was that if they were in want of bread, he had proven over and over that he could miraculously provide for them the needed food.

There are some important lessons to learn from Jesus and his disciples about the reality of daily spiritual distractions that we encounter:

Three Consequences of Christians who get so wrapped up in worldly things that we don’t become properly engaged in heavenly things.

1. We run to others and not to Jesus (verses 7-8)

First,  the disciples turned to each other for bread. This is a natural response for an unbeliever who feels he has no one else to turn to because he is separated from God. But we are children of God and are no longer enemies of God. As God’s children the first person that we should run to in our need is to our heavenly Father. For a Christian who is living life not by sight and not by faith, the distance they feel between themselves and God may lead them to find their needs fulfilled in others first. We can be like a child who is estranged from her father. She may have very real needs, but because the relationship is distant and not as it should be, whether by sin or mere neglect, this child would rather seek out help from friends and even strangers before a loving parent who would readily help.

Friends,Jesus is right there in the boat! But they turn to one another. Jesus is as close as a prayer! His Spirit is within you! But when we become so overwhelmed in the things of this world, we can turn to worldly solutions and those around us before we turn to God.

2. We forget how dependent we are on God (verses 9-10)

Jesus reminded the disciples how he had provided for the crowds of 5,000 and then 4,000. The point that they should have grasped was one that we often forget. Everything we have comes from the good hand of God, and when we are in need He is the One who provides. This means that we receive not only food, but clothing, jobs, children and grandchildren, friends and homes, even the rain and the sun. The very oxygen that fills this room and fills your lungs came from God.

I am saying this because sometimes we can think in such worldly terms that we see the “extras” in life, the pleasures and blessings in life, as a gift from God, but the mundane and everyday things we regard as somehow our own doing. But we are fully dependent upon God for everything, even life itself. We can forget this when we are wrapped up in the humdrum day to day matters of life. We fail to look into the face of Jesus and thank him for things like dirty laundry, which fills our laundry hamper, remembering that those children who make all that laundry are a gift from God that so many long to have and cannot. Or we fail to thank Jesus for that unfair supervisor who makes you work overtime. We fail to see that so many people would love to have that job so they could feed their family and pay their bills.

Isn’t it easy to get distracted from Christ? We run to others when the Lord is there for us if we would just ask. And how often do we forget how dependent we are upon him and how good he has already been to us?

3. Finally, we get so wrapped up in worldly things when We forsake the lessons of Jesus for everyday troubles (verses 11-12).

Jesus was warning his beloved disciples about a very real danger—false teachers! But all they were thinking about was who forgot to bring lunch!Does this remind you of Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus? Martha also was too weighed down with worldly things. She was so wrapped up in preparing a meal that she failed to engage in heavenly conversations, choosing kitchen duty over a Bible study with Jesus!

This isn’t to say that we need to take care of meal preparations and oil changes. But the urgent things of the here and now, and worse, the frivolous and wasteful things of this world, can crowd out and take away from the time and importance of those spiritual lessons that God wants to teach us.

But that is being penny wise and pound foolish because we eventually reap what we sow! We might enjoy that TV show of football game on Wednesday night instead of coming to Bible study but our souls will be poorer for it. We might get a little bit more sleep on Sunday morning by skipping church or coming late, but our souls are drying up and leaving us open as prey for the enemy. We may choose “family time” over serving the Lord and others, but in the end, can we blame our children for growing up without a love for the Lord and his people? What shall we do then?

The disciples were so earthly minded that they were no heavenly good. Their interests were stuck in this world and not in God’s kingdom.Our world offers so many resources outside of God. But for a Christian, God is the only resource we ever need. Run to him. The conversation that the disciples had in that boat was a conversation that is totally natural for any person on earth to have. BUT Jesus was sitting next to them. Jesus had fed them. Jesus was seeking to teach them. We need to make sure that we don’t carry on like everything is normal. God is with us. Nothing will ever be “normal” again, praise God!

Don’t Forget Who Our Real Enemy Is!

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“It may help to be reminded of some of the important doctrines to which dispensationalists subscribe wholeheartedly. After all, dispensationalists are conservatives and affirm complete allegiance to the doctrines of verbal, plenary inspiration, the virgin birth and deity of Christ, the substitutionary atonement, eternal salvation by grace through faith, the importance of godly living and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the future coming of Christ, and the eternal damnation of the lost. Those who are divided from us in the matter of dispensationalism or premillennialism may remember the areas in which they are united with us. As already noted, some doctrines are more important than others, so it particularly behooves us not to cut off our fellowship from those who share similar views about these important doctrines. There are few enough these days who believe in the fundamentals of the faith, and to ignore those who have declared themselves on the side of the truth of God is unwise. Something is wrong with our circles of fellowship, sense of priority, or doctrine of unity when conservatives view fellow conservatives as the opposition party and then find their theological friends among those who are teaching and promoting error.”—Charles Ryrie, Dispensationalism, Kindle loc. 4236.