An Offering

He offered what!? 

(Righteous Lot - Genesis 19)

God sent two angels to warn Lot and his family of the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was evening when the angels arrived at the city of Sodom and found Lot at the city gate. Upon their arrival Lot, not knowing that they were angels from God, invited the strangers to his home.

Before going to sleep that night men from all over the city of Sodom came and surrounded Lot’s house. They called to Lot instructing him to release his guests to them so they could commit terrible sexual sins with the strangers. Lot refused and advised them against their wickedness.

Then something happened that absolutely stings the mind to even think about. As a parent it is unbelievable and shocking.

Lot called back to the men of the city and...
Offered them his own daughters for their sexual desires...

Was he out of his mind!?!

He offered what!? 

(Jephthah, Judge of Israel - Judges 11)

Jephthah was an outcast among the Israelites; his mother, a prostitute. So he had been driven away.

However, when Israel found herself facing a war against the nation of Ammon, she needed a strong warrior to lead her. The elders of Israel called on Jephthah to lead them in battle.

Jephthah, still bitter over the way he had been treated, agreed to lead Israel in battle with one condition: He would become their head leader. The elders agreed and Jephthah became the general of their armies and the leader of Israel.

The Bible says that the Spirit of God came upon Jephthah as he led Israel. He then made a vow to God. Jephthah vowed that if he was victorious, he would offer as a burnt offering whatever came out of his house upon his return.

It is doubtful that Jephthah could have imagined what would happen upon his return. Most likely he imagined that an animal would exit his house and that he would joyfully sacrifice the animal to God as thanks.

God gave Jephthah success in battle, however, upon his return home it was not an animal that exited the doors of his house. Jephthah was devastated as he saw his daughter rush out of his house to greet him. He knew that he had made a vow to God that could not be taken back.

The scene is mind-numbing. How could a man be so foolish? How could he have overlooked this possibility? How could he possibly keep this vow? How could he not keep a vow to God!?

One’s mind races with thoughts of horror, but the broken hearted warrior kept his promise and… offered his own daughter as a sacrifice...

Was he out of his mind!?!

An Offering
Years after the days of Lot and Jephthah, yet many years in our past, the world was in turmoil. The power of sin reigned and there was no hope for mankind. But Deity looked down with compassion, hearing our cry, and….

Many agree that it is the most well-known verse in the Bible: “For God so loved the world….” You see it on homemade signs held up at football and basketball games. Our children recite it and we are proud of them, maybe even entertained. It rolls off our lips so easily: “For God so loved the world….”

Does it sting our minds more to think of Lot’s offering or Jephthah’s sacrifice than the offering and sacrifice of Jesus?

God offered as a sacrifice his only begotten Son…

Was He . . . !?!

Mark Stinnett

August 25, 2024

Always Saved? ("Yes" and "No")

The book of 1 John assures Christians of their salvation in Christ. However, some have taught that a Christian is always saved and can never lose their salvation. Turning to the book of 1 John, let’s answer an important question: Is a Christian always saved?

“Absolutely, Yes!”

John wrote his first letter to Christians who must have lacked confidence in their salvation. He offered convincing truths to build their confidence. Consider the following statements in John’s letter:

If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses from all sin.

--1 John 1:7

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

--1 John 2:1

This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

--1 John 2:25

Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.

--1 John 2:28

Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.

--1 John 3:18-21

By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.

--1 John 4:17

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

--1 John 5:13

Christians were being deceived about their salvation (2:26). John wanted to bolster their confidence by ensuring them that they would not lose their salvation. We are encouraged that God has not and will not abandon his children. The children of God have confidence that God will never change his mind or makes new requirements for salvation. He will honor all his promises regarding salvation.

So, in that respect we can confidently say, “Absolutely Yes!” Once a person has been saved, he/she has confidence in God’s promises. They will never lose their salvation.

“Absolutely Not!”

Some say that a Christian cannot fall from God’s grace. John also gives us insight into this claim in his brief letter. Remember that John was addressing those who were already saved (2:12-14). In the first chapter He reminded them of their fellowship with God through Christ. Then in the very next chapter he boldly stated:

I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father….(2:1)

John’s intent was for Christians to avoid sin. Yet in the same verse he acknowledged that a Christian might sin, but that there is a remedy for sin for the Christian: confession of one’s sins. However, if anyone refuses to confess his sins, or if he returns to a life of sin, then he walks in darkness and has no fellowship with God.

John takes it a step farther saying that anyone who hates (rejects) his brother walks in darkness. The one who hates his brother is “of the evil one” (3:7-10). So, the Christian who hates his brother has returned to a path of darkness. He no longer walks in the light and consequently forfeits his fellowship with God.

For that reason, we must answer, “Absolutely Not!” Salvation is conditional. A Christian must not adopt a casual attitude toward sin and return to his former way of life. In doing so, he will no longer have fellowship with God and will forfeit his salvation. It is important to see that, in this case, God has not abandoned his child. Rather, the child has abandoned his Father.

Conclusion

John’s letter was written to bolster the confidence of Christians. Our confidence is rooted in our salvation through Jesus. However, confidence in one’s salvation is not a license to sin.

Because of our changed nature sin is no longer our way of life. For that reason, the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us from sin. And yet, the blood of Jesus does not cleanse those who are opposed to God. It does not cleans those who return to their old life in spiritual darkness.

God will keep his promises. The question is whether YOU will faithfully hold to Christ and His promises.

Mark Stinnett

July 7, 2024

Three Beautiful Injustices

We (humans) sure are concerned about justice, and it is not just in the present day. Justice has been a concern since the first capital crime. When God banished Cain after murdering his brother Abel, Cain cried to God, “My punishment is too great to bear!” (i.e. It’s not fair.) In reality, he was still alive, and that was not fair.

However, my attention is not on Cain, but three extreme occasions in which it was not fair, yet God did not step in. He allowed the injustice.

Esau and Jacob:
We are more accustomed to thinking Jacob before Esau, yet Esau was the first of the twin brothers. We say Jacob and Esau because the prophecy was fulfilled that said, “The older shall serve the younger.” But it was not fair.

When Isaac, the father of Jacob and Esau, was old and near death, he asked Esau to prepare him his favorite meal. He then planned to bless him. In the blessing the promises that God had first given Abraham (land, descendants, and a great future blessing) would be passed forward.

However, at his mother’s bidding, Jacob disguised himself as Esau and tricked his aging father into giving him the blessing. When Esau returned with the meal for his father, they were both alarmed at what had happened. Yet, acknowledging Jacob’s deceit, Isaac told Esau, “He (Jacob) shall be blessed.”

Why didn’t Isaac say, “Hey, that was deceitful on Jacob’s part; it didn’t count”? Why didn’t God step in and bring justice!?

Isaac’s word stood, just as he had spoken. In that day, you just didn’t break your word. Ever!

Job:
Job was a man who was devoted to God. When you read the descriptions of Job that are peppered throughout the book, you come away with one thought: Job was a good man. Yet, he suffered greatly, and God allowed it.

You might remember that the accuser had accused God of going easy on Job. That was his explanation for Job’s faithfulness to God. So, the accuser proposed that if God had not blessed him so richly, Job would curse God.

God allowed the accuser to bring terrible hardship into Job’s life. And that was NOT fair!

Of course, Job did not curse God, though he really didn’t understand what was going on. So, why didn’t God step in and stop the suffering?

Sometimes God allows our faith to be tested. The testing of our faith produces endurance and maturity—and that’s a good thing. (James 1)

Jesus:
Considering how much I benefit from the sacrifice of Jesus, I don’t often think about the injustice of the cross. I know that all the things that happened to Jesus leading up to His death were a terrible injustice. Yet, I really don’t want to ask why God didn’t step in and stop the cruelty. I depend on this injustice because of my sin!

And yet, I must ask, “Why? Why did God allow the awful injustice of the crucifixion of Jesus?”

The answer: Love and Life!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

The injustice Esau suffered reminds me to always be a man of my word. The injustice Job suffered encourages me to endure hardship. The injustice Jesus suffered—is LIFE!

Maybe I should take a different view toward the light injustices that I suffer in this life.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

--2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (NLT)

Mark Stinnett

January 31, 2021

Is Faith Really Enough???

People in the world of Christianity throw around the words faith and believe quite a lot. “Believe in Jesus and you’ll be saved,” you’ll hear. Or, “All you need is faith in Christ, and everything will be alright.” Is faith really enough?

Emphatically, “Yes”...and…”Absolutely Not.”

To use the word faith without explaining how it is being used is sure to invite confusion. So, let’s first consider the ‘context’ of faith.

Have you ever heard someone ask, “Do you believe in dinosaurs”? More accurately, the question should be worded, “Do you believe that dinosaurs existed?” That is quite different from asking, “Do you believe in Jesus?” 

On the surface belief in Jesus addresses whether a person believes that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the Son of God, a divine being who was born in the flesh and lived a brief time on this earth. But it goes much deeper than the mere belief of the presence of deity in the flesh; it has everything to do with His purpose and whether He accomplished it.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotton Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 
—John 3:16

The purpose of Jesus was not to start an organization or propose a new philosophy of living. Rather, Jesus said that He had “come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:8)

The references to perishing and being lost describe mankind's severed relationship with God. Since God is pure and holy he cannot embrace sinful man; there is no fellowship with man. The Apostle Paul was very blunt:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. 
—Romans 1:18

Faith is a response to the claims of Jesus about salvation, or more specifically, salvation from the wrath of God. Faith is a genuine conviction that Jesus accomplished His purpose; that sinful man does not have to perish; that there is a remedy for sin so that man does not have to experience God’s wrath.

So, faith is first a belief that man exists in a broken relationship with God and is destined to experience God’s wrath, but that Jesus Christ came to mend that broken relationship, and that he succeeded. Faith is about accepting the reality of one’s sin and the need to be saved from the wrath of God. Faith is about the sinner making a faith response to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

A sinner’s initial faith response mends the broken relationship between the him and God. The Apostle Paul reduces all this to one statement:

Having now been justified by His (Jesus) blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. —Romans 5:9

The text following that statement explains that once a sinner’s relationship with God has been mended, he must adopt a lifestyle in harmony with the character of God. After all, the sinner died to sin when baptized into Christ. At the same time the sinner was raised to “walk in newness of life.” (6:3-4)

So, in reality a sinner is cleansed of sin by grace through faith. Then, having been cleansed of sin he must maintain a relationship with God by faith, that is, by ’walking in newness of life.’ A person begins his walk with Christ in faith, and he continues to walk with Christ in faith through holy living and humble obedience to the word of God. Without continued faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). From beginning to end, it is all about faith.

So, 'Yes,' faith is enough. Faith is all there is.

Yet, faith without humble obedience to God's word is really no faith at all.

Mark Stinnett

"Delightful!"

It is one of my daughters’ favorite places to eat. So, I’ve been there a few times. I recognized one of the waitresses (Carley) who is about the age of my oldest daughter. As a general rule I tip generously when eating out, thinking, “She is someone’s daughter. I should treat her like I would want folks to treat my daughter.” I often write a short note at the bottom of my receipt to acknowledge the good service I’ve received. (And I never lie; cranky waitresses get no note.)

On one occasion a while back I was at that favorite place for lunch and Carley waited on me. I enjoyed an especially good meal and good service. At the bottom of my receipt, I wrote one word, “Delightful.”

The other day I returned and sat in the same general area and Carley was working. To my surprise she greeted me from across the restaurant and as soon as she could she rushed over to my table and said, “I’ve got to show you something.”

(We all enjoy a little special attention when we go out to eat, but I’ll be honest, it was a little more attention than I expected and I was glancing around to make sure I had a clear path to an exit if necessary.)

Carley pushed through dozens of photos on her phone to show me a picture of my receipt from my previous visit: “Delightful.” Tearing up, she explained that she had been having a bad day and my little one-word note was a real encouragement. She took the picture and kept it hoping that she could share it with me.

Needless to say, THAT made my day!

We sometimes talk about our Christian example and the fact that we never know the lives that we may touch. A good example; a good deed; a kind word...literally…‘a’ kind word.

I’ve always known that my personal ‘tipping policy’ was good because it is ultimately rooted in the words of Jesus: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (I simply extended its application.)

My experience reminded me of how important it is to treat every person with sincere kindness. People are important. People are valuable. Even when I go out to eat and expect a good meal and expect good service for the money I spend, I encounter real people who are important and valuable in God’s eyes. How do I know this?
Answer: John 3:16.

I was also mindful of the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount about His disciples being salt and light. Go back and read what Jesus said about being salt (Matthew 5:13). Look it up and see if He was referring to the flavor-enhancing quality of salt. We who are in Christ are supposed to be salt in this world. That means that we are supposed to make life taste good to those around us.

I don’t know what may come of this seemingly chance encounter. But a door of opportunity has opened for me to say something to Carley about Jesus; all because of a simple kindness based on the Golden Rule.

So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. —Galatians 6:10 (NASB95)

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. —Colossians 4:5 (NASB95)

We ARE salt. 
So, think about being delightfully salty and watch for opportunities that God may bring into your life.