If Breivik is a Christian, Then What is a Christian?

(Article first published as If Breivik is a Christian, Then What is a Christian? on Technorati)

Reportedly, Norway bombing and mass murder suspect, Anders Behring Breivik, considers himself to be a Christian. “At the age of 15, I chose to be baptized [sic] and confirmed in the Norwegian State Church,” he wrote in his manifesto, which he posted on the Internet, according to a report by the Huffington Post. “I consider myself to be 100 percent Christian.” But I submit to you that based on Breivik’s actions, he is not a Christian. This is just another case of loosely using the term Christian.

So what is a Christian? First of all, just because someone identifies with certain teachings of the Christian faith does not make him or her a Christian. Just because someone goes through some Christian rites does not make him a Christian. Just because a person attends a Christian church each Sunday does not make him a Christian. So then what makes one a bonafide Christian? The only reliable source we have for answering this question is the Bible. And of course, there are numerous legitimate ways to respond to the question, what is a Christian.

But here is one thing that the Bible says is true about all Christians: “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9).

So why I am so sure that Breivik is not a Christian? Because of the senseless mass murders he is accused of having committed and that he has admitted to doing in Norway last week. Now I know that Christians aren’t perfect. In fact, they are far from being so. Yes, I believe there are genuine Christians who do evil things. But no one--absolutely no one-- who has the Spirit of Christ on the inside of himself goes about mass murdering innocent children. The Spirit of Christ is love, and what happened in Oslo and on Utoya Island on that dark day is as far from a spirit of love as one can get.

I suppose there will always be those who take certain teachings, ideals, or precepts from the Christian faith, interpret them through their perverted thinking, and allow the result to be the fuel that drives their extremist life. No one can prevent that from happening within Christendom or any other religion. But that does not place such oddballs on the same level with genuine members of the faith.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to Find a Christian Mate

This post is not intended to be a detailed recipe for how to find a Christian mate. That would be way beyond the scope of a blog post. But I do want to offer some advice and words of encouragement in this area. Why? Because I often hear Christian women express their lifelong agony of trying to find a godly mate. “All of the good men are already taken,” I hear some of the Christian women say.

As you can see from the title of this post, I am emphasizing a Christian mate. As a Christian, you have a much better chance of living a life that pleases the Lord while you are dating if your mate is also a Christian. That’s because each of you is more likely to value the other person’s commitment to trying to live a godly life. When you are single, it is a struggle in the flesh to spend time alone with someone whom you love and still try to behave yourself before the Lord, if you know what I mean.

Here is the main point I want to make in this post: In your efforts to find a godly mate, don’t preoccupy yourself with finding a godly mate; rather, make serving God your priority. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,” Jesus told His disciples (Matthew 6:33). He was explaining to them that they should not dwell on their temporal needs. Rather, they should focus on pleasing God, and He will supply their needs. That principle also works for a person interested in Christian dating. In light of this principle, let me share a couple of important subpoints:

• When you pray to God for a godly mate, and make the kingdom of God your priority, you don’t have to spend your every minute looking for that special someone. The truth is, God can hook you up with the person He has for you by bringing the two of you together to empty trash at the dumpster in the apartment complex! Perhaps you say I could have come up with something better than that, and it’s true. But my point is that God can answer your prayer for a Christian mate while you are going through your daily routine.

• God can fix any apparent shortage of godly mates. For instance, there are many more Christian single women than Christian single men. But God’s hand is not tied by that reality. He can save and totally change someone just for you. When my wife and I started dating, I was not a Christian and neither was she. One thing in her favor was that she did attend church weekly, which I did not. Anyway, she prayed for me and with time God saved me, and called me to preach the gospel, which I have been doing the past 30 years. That’s the awesome God we serve. 

If you are looking for a godly mate, I hope you find some encouragement in what I have said. If this post does not apply to you, perhaps you know someone you can e-mail this to and who would benefit from this content. In summary, pray to God for a Christian mate, make serving Him your priority, and trust Him to give you the desire of your heart.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

What is the Role of the Local Church?

(Article first published as What is the Role of the Local Church? on Technorati)

Most Americans still have a positive view of the local church. Still I say because, recently, some bodies of local churches and some high profile religious leaders have cast an unfavorable light on the local church. According to the results of a study released last week by the Barna Group, 53% view the presence of a local church in the community as very positive, and 25% view it as somewhat positive. But what is the role of the local church in the community?

When asked, “What does your community need, if anything, that you feel churches could provide?” the largest percentage of respondents said “addressing poverty.” This includes helping the needy, feeding the hungry, helping the homeless, providing homeless shelter, etc. The breakdown of the results is as follows: all adults, 29%; the churched, 31%; the unchurched, 25%. The latter group comprises those who had not attended a church in at least six months.

Note that the person’s answer was to be based on what he perceived as a need in his community. I believe that our current economic condition has bearing on the large percentage of those who gave the above answer as their response. Communities tend to look to the local church to do more in the area of helping the impoverished during tough economic times.

Ironically, in the survey, considerably fewer people chose “doing ministry” as a need in the community the church could satisfy. This includes teaching the Bible, teaching about Jesus and salvation, and providing spiritual guidance. The breakdown is as follows: all adults, 12%; the churched, 18%; the unchurched, 6%. Was I surprised by this result? Yes, because church ministries give the local church its distinction. There are other agencies in place that can serve the community by providing the other services needed.

So how do we reconcile this apparent disconnect? That is, the church’s priority should be that of doing ministry, but the need the largest percentage of people would prefer that the church provide is that of addressing poverty. Really, these two roles are compatible. Jesus taught that we should care for the needy and the disenfranchised. Moreover, with our federal and state governments forced to tighten their budget belts, I believe that increasingly more people will look to the church for help. And I might add that some local churches do a great job in this area already. But the primary role of the local church must always be that of doing ministry as mentioned above.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to Have Childlike Faith

Earlier today, I was preaching at one of our local churches. At the end of the service and as everyone was leaving, a lady walked up front to me and asked, “How do you get childlike faith?” I was somewhat taken aback by her question because that’s not what I had been preaching on today. On the other hand, Jesus said, “Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). So the lady’s question was certainly relevant.

I am sure that she is not the only one who has asked that question so I decided to address it in this post. Mainly, I told her that it’s rather ironic, but we must first grow up to become as little children. Let me explain. You see, when a person first becomes a Christian, he knows very little about how to exercise faith in God. Not knowing what to do, he does what he knows.

When I first became a Christian, for instance, I studied the Bible, scrutinizing every Word. Not because I was trying to find something wrong with the Bible, but it was because I was an engineer, and engineers are known to be sticklers for detail. As I studied the Bible, I subjected what I read to human logic, and I always adding one plus one to see if I got two. With time, I learned that what God says does not always jibe with logic, and sometimes when you add one plus one you will not get two for the answer. This realization was a sign that I was growing as a Christian, and in the process, I was developing childlike faith.

Childlike faith requires that I understand what the Bible is saying to me, but it does not require that I understand how God will fulfill His promises. To illustrate this point, let’s say you have a three-year-old son, and also that you have been laid off from work the past six months. Now your son’s birthday is coming up next month. So you ask him what he wants for his birthday, and he tells you. You don’t know how you will, but you promise him that you will get it for him. Your son is ecstatic because you have promised him that you will get him that prized gift.

He does not consider that you don’t go to work like you used to. He understands what you promised, but he does not understand how you will fulfill the promise. He doesn’t try to. He has a simple faith in you that you will do whatever it is that you have promised. It’s the same kind of childlike faith that we must have in God. We are not born with that kind of simple faith in Him. It is not incidental to our relationship with Him. Rather, we must first grow up to become like little children before we can have strong but simple faith in God.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Let's Not Forget the Great Commission

During the past several weeks at the local church I attend, we have been focusing on the business of sharing our faith with others. In particular, we have been studying the basic beliefs of many of the non-Christian groups out there, with soul-winning being the objective.

The real driver here is what we refer to as the Great Commission, found in Matthew 28:18-20: “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””

As we have been undergoing these studies, I thought about the last church I pastored. We used to go into the neighborhoods, knocking on doors and sharing the gospel about ten times a year. This was very new for most of the members of the congregation. So after each outing, we reconvened to discuss what problems they had run into, and how to deal with them the next time. The most recurrent problem was that when church members came in contact with members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses they had no idea of what to do.

After several times of going out, it became clear to me we had to suspend our outreach efforts and do some homework, which we did by studying what the Jehovah’s Witnesses believed and doing some role-playing. Our success in dealing with members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses greatly improved after this. Our members knew who they were dealing with and were more confident at effectively share their faith with this group.

Another problem we encountered while sharing our faith in the community was that of trying to convince residents that we were Christians and not members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. This was a sad reality for me. The truth is that for seven years while my congregation was involved in going out and witnessing to others, we never bumped into another Christian body doing the same thing. I am not saying there were no others. I am simply saying that in seven years we didn’t see any others.

We saw the Jehovah’s Witnesses out there. We saw the Mormons out there. But other Christian bodies we did not see. And because we had no presence in the community, even with our wearing church identification, we had to convince many of the residents that we were not members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses!

So what is my point here? It is not that every Christian body needs to go out into its neighborhood and knock on doors, sharing the gospel. No, the truth is that in many communities this is not even allowed. But my point is that we must realize that when we are not spreading our message of the good news, others are out there spreading their message. Most of us can’t go in other parts of the world, spreading the gospel, but all of us can become a part of obeying the Great Commission right where we are.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

What We Believe About the Bible

(Article first published as What We Believe About the Bible on Technorati)

According to a recent Gallup poll, the dominant view of Americans is that the Bible is the Word of God. But what does that mean? Well, it’s according to whom you ask. According to the poll results released last week, there are three general beliefs about the Bible among Americans. One is that the Bible should be taken literally because it is the actual Word of God. Another is that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and should not be taken literally. Others believe the Bible is an ancient book of stories written by men and have no divine inspiration.

The poll results show that three in ten Americans take the Bible literally. Forty-nine percent say the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Seventeen percent regard the Bible as no more than an ordinary, ancient book. These percentages have remained rather stable over the past 20 years. Since 1992, for instance, the percentages of those who take the Bible literally have ranged from 27 to 32 percent. During the same period, the percentages of those who regard the Bible as the inspired Word of God ranged from 47 to 51 percent.

Though most Americans believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, certain subgroups are more likely to take the Bible literally, such as the majority of those who attend church at least weekly, and those with a high school education or less. Also, conservatives are much more likely than moderates and liberals to believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, according to the Gallup poll.

What we believe about the Bible influences our behavior and our views about life. For instance, those who believe the Bible is literally the Word of God are more likely to oppose abortion rights and same sex marriage, etc. This is based on what they understand that the Bible teaches on these socials issues. We see this dynamic currently being played out between liberals and conservatives in the political arena. Moreover, when a person believes that the Bible is literally the Word of God, he places the teachings of the Scriptures above the laws of men.

On the other hand, those who regard the Bible as the inspired Word of God take a more subjective position on the Bible. They may buy the biblical concepts but not the actual language found in the Scriptures. The person you meet with more liberal, moderate, or flexible social views is more likely to belong to this group.

At least one thing is clear from the latest Gallup poll. It is that through the Bible God still speaks in America, but we are not all walking away with the same message.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Why Our Salvation is Sure

“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,” the Bible says (Romans 10:9, NIV). This is a very familiar verse within Christendom. Every week, people throughout the breadth of this land accept Christ as their Savior by obeying what this verse says.

So here is an interesting question: How do I know that in the end I won’t be ashamed? In other words, how do I know that the naysayers are wrong who try and tell me that my faith in Christ is in vain because all men simply live for awhile, die, and then go back to the dust, end of story? Or how can I be sure that the day I accepted Christ as my Savior that God actually granted me salvation, since He didn’t give me any sign of confirmation?

Well, for me, that’s an easy one. You see, the Bible says that “Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed” (v.11, KJV).

In other words, we have a sure salvation. Let me give you several reasons why that is the case. First and foremost, we are not saved by our works. If our deeds were the means by which we are saved, it would be hopeless for us all. None of us can do enough good to merit the Lord’s salvation. But we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). That means when we place our faith in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, as opposed to our own works, God grants us salvation.

Secondly, God is not trying to make it hard for men to be saved. Rather, He is the one who took extreme measures to provide a means for us to be saved when we were hopelessly lost, remember? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Hence, God is an advocate for our salvation.

Thirdly, we have a sure salvation because God cannot lie (see Titus 1:2). Note, I did not say God will not lie. The referenced verse says He cannot lie. Hear what I am saying. If God has provided a means for our salvation-- which He has; and if He has provided a prescription for salvation--which He has; and if we have truly obeyed His instructions, it’s not possible for Him to renege on His promise.

I wrote this post particularly for those of you who have repented of your sins and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, but you still wrestle with uncertainty about your salvation. May the Lord grant you perfect peace in this area. Remember, “Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.”

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Sexual Misconduct a Serious Problem for Elected Officials

(Article first published as Sexual Misconduct a Serious Problem for Elected Officials on Technorati.)

When elected officials make the news in a bad way, sexual or financial misconduct usually turns out to be the problem. Following former Congressman Anthony Weiner’s resignation announcement, revolving around tweeted explicit photos, Americans were polled regarding their views on sexual and financial misconduct among elected officials. The survey, conducted by Public Religion Research Institute, was released nearly two weeks ago, coincidentally, amidst a new Congressional Ethics Panel investigation of sexual harassment by Congressman Alcee Hastings of Florida.

According to the survey, the percentages of Americans who regard the following offenses as very or extremely serious are as follows:

• Sending sexually explicit messages to someone other than one’s spouse (67%)

• Having sex with a prostitute (66%)

• Cheating on a spouse by a male elected official (72%)

• Cheating on a spouse by a female elected official (69%)

An interesting note about the first two bullets is that the percentages are almost identical. This suggests that the majority of Americans do not make a distinction between virtual sexual misconduct and physical sexual misconduct. Actually, I find it hard to believe that so many Americans see it that way. On the other hand, I welcome that suggestion because when a man or woman sends sexually explicit messages and photos to someone other than his or her spouse, it is certainly an act of infidelity, and unless better judgment prevails to stop it, worse behavior will follow.

We don’t require a vow of sainthood from our elected officials. They are fallible just as everyone else is. But according to the survey, sixty-one percent of Americans say that elected officials should be held to higher moral standards than people in other professions. Those who desire public office do well to take heed. It does not matter how capable elected officials may be in performing their duties, and even though their moral standards are not exactly trumpeted during their political campaign, moral conduct does go with the territory.

When Weiner’s alleged tweets became national news, he first denied the allegations and vowed to not resign. He really thought he could swim against the tide. In the end, it was no contest—he had to resign. As for the survey, 60 percent of women and 52 percent of men say that an elected official should resign if he or she sends sexually explicit messages to someone who is not his or her spouse. So, public office, anyone?

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to Pray for Your Family

Even in these turbulent times, you can have a strong family. One of the vital ingredients to your achieving this end is that of faithfully praying for your family. That’s because you will need God’s help daily. In this post, I want to share with you some pointers on how to pray for your family. Specifically, I will address three vital areas:

Pray for God to help you and your children make sound decisions. There is something about the way we are wired that makes this area a serious challenge. “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death,” the Bible says (Proverbs 14:12). Sometimes, we may wonder why people make obviously dumb decisions. This verse tells us that things can look right to us at first but end up being a disaster.

One bad decision can cost you for a lifetime. As parents we need to pray to God to guide the minds of our children so they can make sound decisions. Of course, the best decision they can make is to accept Christ as their Savior, if they have not already done so. We also need to pray that God will help us in our decision-making. For the verse above applies to all of us. In a nutshell, it says that we have this amazing ability to be deceived by the appearance of things.

Pray to God for success in the area of marriage. A strong marriage is vital to a strong family. But for every marriage, there is at least a one in two chance that it will end in divorce. I think it’s safe to say that most couples who get married don’t want to become a part of this terrible statistic. The truth is that people are so hard to figure out. A relationship that appears to be a dream come true can turn out to be your worst nightmare.

So how do you pray for your family in this area? You should pray often for God to bring the right godly person into the lives of your sons and daughters. For those who are already married, pray that God will bless the marriage to be strong and to last a lifetime. And for those family members whose marriages are already troubled, pray that God will miraculously heal those relationships.

Pray for God’s daily protection. Being the father of six children, believe me when I say you need to pray for your children daily. Let us not be naïve about what we are up against. We have an enemy out there, namely, the devil. He hates you and your children: “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He wants to destroy your marriage, your children, your relationship with God, and everything else you value.

That’s why, friend, we must keep our family covered with prayer. Bless your children in the name of the Lord. Call the names of your family members before the Lord, and ask Him to give His angels charge to keep them in all their ways.

Hopefully, from what I have written you get the gist of how to pray for your family. Of course, the premise of this post is that you believe God hears and answers prayer when His people pray in faith. I pray for my household daily, and I can tell you that regularly praying for your family really works.

 Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.