Quote: Pray and Do

"To pray for one another as individuals or communities implies that we shall assist one another in every way for which we pray for one another; otherwise our prayers and thanksgivings for each other are mere hypocrisy." ~ Alexander Campbell, The Christian System

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God's System of Personal Liberty

As a follower of Jesus I believe that God has created a universe which is orderly and is based on discoverable and discernible rules and laws. As we discover these fundamental principles of the universe we begin to understand God's original intention for the world and humankind. When we ignore these laws/rules we do so at our peril.

Take gravity for instance. By understanding gravity we can create things which can fly, but we cannot defy the law of gravity. A person who thinks he can defy gravity and fly like Superman will pay the consequence of that belief.

Dependent on His Word and Blood

God is Self-Existent

Daily Thought: Having the Light of LIfe

The word of Christ is the Light of Christ; and therefore the Christian Scriptures are the light of the world and he that followeth them shall have the light of life.

Alexander Campbell, The Christian System, Gospel Advocate Restoration Reprints (2001), p. 35

True Repentance

Daily Thought: We are not Competent to Combat Sin

God 'gives his Holy Spirit to them who ask him," according to his revealed will; and without this gift no one could be saved or ultimately triumph over all opposition.  He know but little of the deceitfulness of sin, or the combating of temptation, who this himself competent to wrestle against the allied forces of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Alexander Campbell, The Christian System, Gospel Advocate Company (2001), p. 50

Daily Thought: It is all God's Grace

Truly, we are saved by grace.  Heaven, we say, does certain things for us, and also proposes to us what we should do to inherit eternal life.  It is all for God; for he has sent his Son; he has sent his Spirit; and all that they have done, or shall do, is free favor; and the proposition concerning our justification and sanctification is equally divine and gracious as the mission of his Son.  We are only asked to accept a sacrifice which God has provided for our sins, and then the pardon of them, and to open the doors of our hearts, that the Spirit of God may come in and make its abode in us.

Alexander Campbell, The Christian System, The Gospel Advocate Company (2001), p. 21

Repentance Requires Change

I think that many times when Christians talk about repentance what they mean is to confess to God that you feel sorry for your sins.  The result is that many of us remain stuck in sin, held back from living the full life God created us to live, because we are still trapped by sin's embrace.  Sure we feel sorrow for our sin, but real transformation in the way we live has escaped us.

Perhaps repentance means more than just telling God we are sorry for our sins.  Alexander Campbell wrote:

Repentance is an effect of faith: for who that believes not that God exists can have "repentance towards God"?  Repentance is sorrow for sins committed; but it is more.  It is a resolution to forsake them; but it is more.  It is actual 'ceasing to do evil, and learning to do well."  This is the "repentance unto life," or what is truly call reformation.  Such is the force of the command, "Repent, every one of you."  It is not merely, Be sorry for what you have done wrong; nor it it, Resolve to do better; nor even, Try to amend your ways: but it is actual amendment of life from the views and motives which the gospel of Christ exhibits (The Christian System, The Gospel Advocate Company, p. 38).

Our faith in Jesus Christ brings us to repentance.  Repentance consists of realizing that we have rebelled against God and have done unloving things to His Creation.  It consists of seeking forgiveness.  It requires the declaration that sin is evil and that it had no place in our lives.  It means that we begin to implement changes in our lives so that sin is no longer our lifestyle.  And it requires that we live our lives guided by the Spirit.

In Colossians 3 the apostle Paul teaches us to do four things we are to do in order to make repentance a reality in our lives.  First he tells us that we need to set our minds on the things above; Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (verse 2, ESV).  We do this by getting God's Word into our hearts and minds.  This means that we need read, study, meditate, discuss, and learn the Bible.  We can't change the way we live if we continue to put the same old lies of the World into our hearts.  It also means that we need to surrender to leading of the Spirit.  As Paul points out in Galatians 5 the true and abundant life Jesus promised is the fruit (singular) of the Spirit.  The life is characterized by love, gentleness, and self-control, but it is the result of the Spirit's transformation of our hearts.

Second, Paul says that we need to put to death the things of this world; Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry (verse 5; ESV).  I think this is where we get ourselves into trouble.  We justify the presence of evil in our lives, and thus it continues to have a place in our hearts.  Here is an example Super Bowl commercials. The Bible talks about the evil of greed, lust, and covetousness and yet we find nothing wrong with watching 30 second ads which cost 3.5 million to air, intended to cause us to covet things that we cannot afford, and often done "sex appeal."  It would seem like a radical suggestion to skip watching the Super Bowl because of this, but perhaps we cannot fully put to death things of this nature without doing something radical.  When Jesus told us that if our right hand causes us to sin we should cut it off, He was teaching us that to get rid of sin in our lives requires radical surgery on our part.

Third, Paul teaches that we need to clothe ourselves in love; And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony (verse 14; ESV).  Now the only way we can do this is to have a Spirit guided life, but there are certain intentional actions that we can do that help foster a life of love.  We need to give ourselves to praying for people, to being generous with what we have, to serving those who are in need, and forgive those who have wronged us.

The last truth Paul teaches here about repentance is that we need to let Christ rule our lives; And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful (verse 15; ESV). The only way the peace of Christ will rule in our hearts is when we surrender our lives to Jesus as Lord.  So this means the repentance requires a declaration that we no longer want sin to have a part in our lives, we denounce it as a lifestyle, and it requires a declaration that Jesus is our Savior and Lord, that we proclaim that we are His.  Unless we do this we have never really repented of our sins and our lives will remain unchanged.

Daily Thought: The Need for Religion

"Religion, as the term imports, began after the Fall; for it indicates a previous apostasy.  A remedial system is for a diseased subject.  The primitive man could love, wonder, and adore as angels now do, without religion; but man, fallen and apostate, needs religion in order to his restoration to the love, and worship, and enjoyment of God.  Religion, then, is a system of means of reconciliation—an institution for bringing man back to God—something to bind man anew to love and delight in God"

Alexander Campbell, The Christian System, Gospel Advocate Company (2001), p. 20

Daily Thought: A Test of Character

"Man's position or state in this creation was that of a lord tenant.  The earth is, indeed, the Lord's; but he gave it to man on a very easy and liberal lease, and so it became his property.  He was therefore, a free and responsible agent, capable of managing his estate and paying his rent; and consequently was susceptible of virtue and of vice, of happiness and misery. In order to freedom, virtue, and happiness, it was expedient and necessary to place him under a law; for where there is no law there can be no liberty, virtue, or happiness.  The law became a test of his character, a guarantee of his continued enjoyment of the life and property which God had leased to him on the condition of his obedience to that precept."

Alexander Campbell, The Christian System, Gospel Advocate Company (2001); p. 13

Daily Thought: Come Within Understanding Distance

"For the salutary and sanctifying intelligence of the Oracles of God, the following rule is indispensable:

We must come within the understanding distance.

"There is a distance, which is properly called the speaking distance, or the hearing distance; beyond which the voice reaches not, and the ears hear not.  To hear another, we must come with that circle which the voice audibly fills.

"Now we may with propriety say, that as it respects God, there is an understanding distance.  All beyond that distance can not understand God; all within it can easily understand him in all matters of piety and morality.  God himself is the center of that circle, and humility is its circumference."

Alexander Campbell, The Christian System, Gospel Advocate Company (2001); p. 5

Daily Thought: The One Best Book

"The Bible is to the intellectual and moral world of man what the sun is to be the planets in our system—the fountain and source of light and life, spiritual and eternal.  There is not a spiritual idea in the whole human race that is not drawn from the Bible.  As soon will the philosopher find an independent sunbeam in nature, as the theologian a spiritual conception in man, independent of The One Best Book."

Alexander Campbell, The Christian System, Gospel Advocate Company (2001), p. 3

Daily Thought: God's Perfect Revelation

"The Bible, or the Old and New Testaments, in Hebrew and Greek, contains a full and perfect revelation of God and his will, adapted to man as he now is.  It speaks of man as he was, and also as he will be hereafter be; but it dwells on man as he is, and as he ought to be, as its peculiar and appropriate theme.  It is not, then, a treatise on man as he was, nor on man as he will be; but on man as he is; and as he ought to be; not as he is physically, astronomically, geologically, politically, or metaphysically; but as he is and ought to be, morally and religiously." ~ Alexander Campbell, The Christian System, p. 3

The Way God Conquers

One of the founders of the faith movement that I am a part of (the Restoration Movement) is a man by the name of Alexander Campbell.  He was a man of deep convictions and one of those convictions was being anti-war.  It was reading his thoughts on the subject that changed my mind from being a support of US wars to opposing the wars.  I believe it is too easy for Christians to be pulled along by a sense of patriotism and a desire for justice and not fully consider the real consequences of war.  Not only have our current wars not brought about the justice we as a nation we seeking, but they have undermined many of the families of the soldiers who have been involved in them.  As a Christian I considered it my duty to oppose war.

Today I want to share with you something that Alexander Campbell said about how earthly kings conquer their enemies and the way God conquers His.

"He subdues by no other sword than that of the Spirit.  Other kings subdue men's persons and hold a sovereignty over their enemies, but he seizes the hearts of men.  To conquer enemies is his grand enterprise.  Philosophy as well as religion teaches us that to conquer enemies is not the work of swords, or lances, or bows of steel.  It is not to bind men's persons to a triumphal car, to incarcerate them in strong holds, or to make them surrender to superior bravery, prowess and strength.  To conquer an enemy is to convert him into a friend.  This is the noble, benevolent and heaven-conceived enterprise of God's only-begotten Son.  To do this all arms and modes of warfare are impotent, save the arms and munitions of everlasting love.  By vivid displays of God's philanthropy he approaches his enemies, and by the arguments with which this eloquence is fraught he addresses a rebel world.  Such is his mode of warfare; a system devised in heaven, and like all of God's means, perfectly adapted to the high ends proposed" (Disciple of Peace, Craig Watts, p. 55).

As Christians we should be quick to build bridges and slow to bomb bridges.  Even as a nation we would be much safer and more secure if we followed this advice in our foreign policy. That is one of the reasons I support Ron Paul for president.



I have turned off comments to this post, because I really want you to reflect on your own position. If you come to a different conclusion that is fine and I will still consider you a fellow follower of Christ, but I thought it was important to let you know what I believe.

Daily Thought: Expectant Hope

"There are, indeed, various degrees of hope; but in the least degree of it there is desire combined with expectation.  Things expected are not always desirable, nor are things desirable always to be expected: but hope embraces promises that are desirable and also expects the enjoyment of them.  Hence, hope, like faith and love, may grow exceedingly.  When based on the promises of God, and on the habitual patient conformity to his will, it will keep pace with our growing intelligence of the character of God; of the fulness and richness of the promises, and in the persuasion of our actual devotion to the manifestations of that will." ~ Alexander Campbell, The Christian System, pp. 51-52

Daily Thought: What the Bible Says

“It requires but little reflection to discover that the fiercest disputes about religion, are about what the Bible does not say, rather than about what it does say.” ~ Alexander Campbell

Misusing Christianity

Originally posted on Wednesday, 24 November 2004

“But, Sir, his religion has been greatly corrupted, and many of his professed friends have been his real enemies. The gospel has been made an engine of power in the hands of kings and priests, converted into a matter of state policy, made subservient to the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life.” ~ Alexander Campbell in a letter to Charles Cassedy (The Millennial Harbinger; May 1833)

Many times in an effort to discredit Christianity people will point out all the bad things “Christian” people have done all the while proclaiming they were doing what God wanted them to do. From the Crusades to the guy who bombs abortion clinics Christianity has been misused and misquoted to justify doing evil. While these people professed to be God’s friends they were, and are, actually His enemies.

The misuse of Christianity by people claiming to be Christians is not evidence against the truthfulness of Christianity. It is evidence that people are ultimately responsible for their own actions. God is no more responsible for the sinful actions of the "Christian" man who lives a double life of adultery than He is for the actions Charles Manson. We are all responsible for the choices we make.

It is also evidence for what the Bible says: Be careful how you live among your unbelieving neighbors. Even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior and they will believe and give honor to God when he comes to judge the world (1 Peter 2:12; NLT). A faithful life brings honor to God, but when Christians are not careful on how they live and they openly disobey God, then the opposite will happen. God will be ridiculed, the love He has for people will be questioned, and the Way He has established will be opposed.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ continues to be corrupted and the world continues to question its validity. Here is the great mistake that the Church in the United States has made: we have made our morality a matter of state policy. We have some how gotten it into our minds that in order to honor God we have to stand up and fight for the morality He has established. That would be true if Jesus died to make men moral, but Jesus died to make men alive.

God is not honored when there is an amendment to the constitution defining marriage to be between a man and a woman. God is honored when a Christian couple remains married in the face of the immorality which is all around. God is not honored when the Ten Commandments are posted in every court room in the country. God is honored when Christians love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength while loving their neighbors as themselves. God is not honored when people say a pray before a school event. God is honored when Christian people, when they are alone, spend time in prayer to their Creator.

God is honored when Christian people stand up and become a voice for the unborn. God is honored when Christian people sacrifice and adopt unwanted children. Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us (James 1:27; NLT). As Christians we need to fight for those who have no voice.

Here is my point. What God is interested in is not that Christians stand up and get laws passed based on the morality He has given to us. God is interested in people accepting the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This country is going to come to an end, and it is going to happen if homosexuals are allowed to marry or not. Yet every single person living in this country will exist forever. That means the most important thing we can do is help people find life, not force them to live to our morality.

Anti-Evangelical

I have a couple of questions I would like you to consider.

1. What makes a nation a “Christian Nation”?
2. What benefit would it be for the United States to be a “Christian Nation” if the majority of her citizens perished in hell?

I am convinced that the Devil has many Christians in the United States deceived, or at least confused. He has made us think that fighting a “culture war” is what we have been called to do in order to proclaim God’s Truth to the world. So we have been ramming God’s Truth down people’s throats, ignoring the fact that more and more people are leaving the church. The result is that now more people than ever before think the church has little influence in society. Here are a couple of statistics that support that reality. In 2001 24% of Americans said religion is losing its influence on American life, and in 2009 that number is 67% (Christianity Today, March 2009, p. 16). The vast majority of Americans notice that the Church no longer has the influence she once did in society. In 1998 the average congregation size was 75 people, that number is now 70 people (Christianity Today, March 2009, p. 16). It appears to me that the more engaged we became in a “culture war” the more influence and people we have lost.

C. S. Lewis used the character of Screwtape to say:

"But I would not end on that note. I would not--Hell forbid--encourage in your own minds that of your human victims. I mean the delusion that the fate of nations is in itself more important than that of individual souls. The overthrow of free peoples and the multiplication of slave-states are for us a means (besides, of course, being fun); but the real end is destruction of individuals. For only individuals can be saved or damned, can become sons of the Enemy or food for us." (Screwtape Proposes a Toast from the book The World’s Last Night)

Nations and cultures come and go, but people are created to live forever. Yes, it would be more comfortable for us to be able to live in a country where our values were upheld and the majority of the population lived by the same morals that we lived by, but morality and values do not equate salvation. We are called to evangelize the world, and often our foray into politics actually cripples our ability to carry out the Great Commission Jesus gave to us.

Alexander Campbell, one of the founders of the Restoration Movement (the heritage of faith that I am a part of) wrote:

“To compel men destitute of faith to observe any Christian institution...is commanding duty to be performed without faith in God' and therefore 'anti-evangelical' or contrary to the Gospel” (The Political Ethics of Alexander Campbell; p. 46)

Campbell uses strong language, anti-evangelical and contrary to the Gospel, when he talks about using political power to impose on people a Christian lifestyle, but I think he is correct. The reason the Church has lost influence in this country isn’t because we haven’t proclaimed the truth, but because we haven’t loved and served people. We have not truly sought to evangelize, but we have sought to mandate morality, and that has turned people away from the Church and away from the Creator.

Alexander Campbell

Introduction to the Restoration Ideal #14

The third restoration movement founder profile Marshall Leggett shares is the profile on Alexander Campbell. Leggett makes the correct point in writing: “Alexander Campbell would emerge as the leader of the restoration movement” (p. 53). You can read a summary of the life of Alexander Campbell here.

The emphasis that Leggett gives to Alexander Campbell’s life is the call to return to the “ancient order of things.” This was a plea to restore the original practices of the church: weekly observance of communion, simple order of public worship, and independence of local church families under the guidance of a group of elders and deacons (p. 56).

I thought this story from Alexander Campbell’s life was interesting:

“However, his most famous debate came against an atheist, Robert Owen, who had called Christianity ‘an opiate of the masses.’ He had attempted to found utopian, communal societies, the most famous one being at New Harmony, Indiana. Owen sought to show Christianity as a scandal based on ignorance, and he expected Campbell to defend the established churches. However, Campbell rested his case upon the simple revelation of the New Testament. He asked and answered three questions, ‘What is man? Whence came he? Whither does he go?’ Another rout ensued. Owen turned over to Campbell the last part of the time allotted to say what he wished, and Campbell addressed the audience for twelve hours. At the end of it, he asked all those who believed in Christianity to stand. Almost everyone present arose. Then he asked all those who did not believe in the truth of the Christian religion to rise, and only three persons stood. The debate gave Campbell great exposure to and confidence from the religious world.” (p. 58)

He spoke for twelve hours! It is amazing that people stand around for all that. What is even more amazing is that he had in his head twelve hours worth of material. While it is true that people 200-150 years ago were ignorant of many of the things we know today, that by no means they were unintelligent or uneducated. I think you could make the case that in some aspects our ancestors were better educated than we are today. It boggles my mind that he went on to speak for twelve hours. Wow!