Truth is Subjective

 Is this statement true? Well maybe for others it is. I don't think it is true, but in today's post-modern culture, my truth is mine and is not an objective truth, so me making an objective statement that truth is truth no matter mine or anyone else's opinion is viewed as error and heresy to the post-modern mind. But isn't this an absurdity? Doesn't our mind, when looking at a red stop sign, recognize it as such? Yet, somebody else who comes to look at the same sign and states, "That's a nice yellow sign!", would it not be an error in need of correction? "Sir, that is a red stop sign, it is not yellow". How absurd would it it be for the mistaken one to cry foul and swear it is yellow. (I understand this is a silly example, and that some people are actually color blind and can't help but see a different color, but this is just an example.) I once was in a discussion with a couple friends on the subject of truth related to religion, specifically the Christian religion, and one of my friends used this "sign" example, yet claimed that all three of us can look at that sign at a different angle and see the sign (truth) but in different ways. I was not able to bring my objection to this, but this is exactly the viewpoint I am speaking of. Each of us looking at that sign saw the same thing, a sign. No matter what angle the three of us viewed it, it remained the original sign. This example is much like this culture today, where the truth could be found, even seen, by all, yet most make their own view of truth to their liking or understanding while ignoring any objectivity. "Truth" is relative to the individual. The consequence: There is no real, absolute, objective, truth to be found. Of course, even this statement is not truth, since truth is not real. It is up to everyone's own subjective interpretation. But this is not what I am writing about right now.

I have been plagued with doubt and concern about this issue of relativism in the Church today. Oh yes, the culture has been embraced by much of what America calls Christianity. I have wondered why it is that one can point out false doctrine and be called a liar instead of examining the objective truth of the Bible first. I have wondered why it is that most of American evangelicalism has such a disregard for biblical theology contrary to the Scripture's clarity on the issue of worshipping in truth. I have often pondered why it is that Scripture can speak so clearly on many topics, including soteriology (doctrine of salvation), yet many don't want to hear of it. They don't want to hear that God is so Sovereign over all, including our salvation, that He alone brings salvation to a sinner. That He has predestined them for salvation in Christ. That there are those He has elected to damnation. That we are totally and completely spiritually dead in sin apart from Christ and can do nothing of ourselves to be saved.In short, the lack of belief in the objective truth of Scripture, theology doesn't matter, we can believe God is whoever we want Him to be. Then it hit me: famine. Famine of the Word of God. Judgement from God upon us. He still calls His own, but others think they know Him when they don't and when corrected on theological error, even heresy, "Oh well, that is just your interpretation". "My God would not do that!". There is a famine of the truth, and when unregenerate people already have minds clouded with sin, both end up bringing about in people a relativity, and the logical conclusion is that none of us have true understanding of clear teachings in Scripture. 

What a sad state the Visible Church is in. We wonder why there are so many denominations now, why there is so much confusion and schism and heresy. I believe it is judgement. It is our sin and unbelief.It is our idolatry and whoring with the culture. It's not anything to do with the truth of Scripture. It and it alone is the objective truth directly from God. I pray the Church repent, reform, and conform to the truth the Bible gives us. Else all we have is a professing majority who cling to Ba'al, Mammon, and a golden calf. Cling instead to Christ Jesus.

Overcoming the World

 This is part five of a series on the doctrine of assurance that I am doing in my family worship. I wanted to share this, and might share the rest if I so choose. I pray you are blessed in the reading of this.

Overcoming the World
*Overcoming transient desires
*Overcoming sin by power of the Holy Spirit

1 John 2:15-17; 1 John 5:4-5; Romans 8:5-6, 9


This is our fifth examination concerning true and false faith, and how to biblically know whether we are truly born again or not. This part deals with the regenerate person overcoming the world and the flesh, even the devil, who himself governs these things. Yet, even though Satan indeed has power over the human race and the world, his power is limited as Christ is Sovereign over all, including Satan. This does not mean that for the believer the race will be easy. As discussed in part 2 and 3, there is for the true believer a constant struggle against sin and striving for holiness. John elaborates more on what exactly the person of God faces.

Matthew Henry comments:
We have the dehortation or dissuasion thus prefaced and introduced, a caution fundamental to vital practical religion: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, 1 John 2:15. Be crucified to the world, be mortified to the things, to the affairs and enticements, of it." The several degrees of Christians should unite in this, in being dead to the world. Were they thus united, they would soon unite upon other accounts: their love should be reserved for God; throw it not away upon the world. Now here we see the reasons of this dissuasion and caution. They are several, and had need to be so; it is hard to dispute or dissuade disciples themselves from the love of the world. These reasons are taken,

1. From the inconsistency of this love with the love of God: If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him, 1 John 2:15. The heart of man is narrow, and cannot contain both loves. The world draws down the heart from God; and so the more the love of the world prevails the more the love of God dwindles and decays.

2. From the prohibition of worldly love or lust; it is not ordained of God: It is not of the Father, but is of the world, 1 John 2:16. This love or lust is not appointed of God (he calls us from it), but it intrudes itself from the world; the world is a usurper of our affection. Now here we have the due consideration and notion of the world, according to which it is to be crucified and renounced. The world, physically considered, is good, and is to be admired as the work of God and a glass in which his perfections shine; but it is to be considered in its relation to us now in our corrupted state, and as it works upon our weakness and instigates and inflames our vile affections. There is great affinity and alliance between this world and the flesh, and this world intrudes and encroaches upon the flesh, and thereby makes a party against God. The things of the world therefore are distinguished into three classes, according to the three predominant inclinations of depraved nature; as,

(1.) There is the lust of the flesh. The flesh here, being distinguished from the eyes and the life, imports the body. The lust of the flesh is, subjectively, the humour and appetite of indulging fleshly pleasures; and, objectively, all those things that excite and inflame the pleasures of the flesh. This lust is usually called luxury.

(2.) There is the lust of the eyes. The eyes are delighted with treasures; riches and rich possessions are craved by an extravagant eye; this is the lust of covetousness.

(3.) There is the pride of life. A vain mind craves all the grandeur, equipage, and pomp of a vain-glorious life; this is ambition, and thirst after honour and applause. This is, in part, the disease of the ear; it must be flattered with admiration and praise. The objects of these appetites must be abandoned and renounced; as they engage and engross the affection and desire, they are not of the Father, but of the world, 1 John 2:16. The Father disallows them, and the world should keep them to itself. The lust or appetite to these things must be mortified and subdued; and so the indulging of it is not appointed by the Father, but is insinuated by the ensnaring world.

And Calvin comments:
He had said before that the only rule for living religiously, is to love God; but as, when we are occupied with the vain love of the world, we turn away all our thoughts and affections another way, this vanity must first be torn away from us, in order that the love of God may reign within us. Until our minds are cleansed, the former doctrine (to love God) may be iterated a hundred times, but with no effect: it would be like pouring water on a ball; you can gather, no, not a drop, because there is no empty place to retain water.

By the world understand (John means) everything connected with the present life, apart from the kingdom of God and the hope of eternal life. So he includes in it corruptions of every kind, and the abyss of all evils. In the world are pleasures, delights, and all those allurements by which man is captivated, so as to withdraw himself from God.

Moreover, the love of the world is thus severely condemned, because we must necessarily forget God and ourselves when we regard nothing so much as the earth; and when a corrupt lust of this kind rules in man, and so holds him entangled that he thinks not of the heavenly life, he is possessed by a beastly stupidity.

If any man love the world He proves by an argument from what is contrary, how necessary it is to cast away the love of the world, if we wish to please God; and this he afterwards confirms by an argument drawn from what is inconsistent; for what belongs to the world is wholly at variance with God. We must bear in mind what I have already said, that a corrupt mode of life is here mentioned, which has nothing in common with the kingdom of God, that is, when men become so degenerated, that they are satisfied with the present life, and think no more of immortal life than mute animals. Whosoever, then, makes himself thus a slave to earthly lusts, cannot be of God.

We get the picture from these men much better than I could explain. This world is full of things to draw us away from God and lead us into sins of idolatry, laziness, envy, simply put, worldliness. We have to fight against this evil and overcome. But how exactly? By the Holy Spirit of God within us! If we are truly saved, we do have the Spirit and the Spirit convicts us of sin and leads us to repentance and change. This is sanctification. God working in us to mold us into His image, to make us holy and righteous. Yes, Christ has already made us holy and righteous , He has given us His perfection in holiness and obedience in exchange for our sins and total disobedience. But because of this we should be changed, different, not like our old selves and not like the world. We still have a remnant of sin in us until Christ comes back or our bodies die, and we must battle that sin. There must be a new desire to fight sin, and to use your life to glorify God in the ways His Word has revealed. And in this fight, the Holy Spirit leads us as our General in command, He gives us true strength to overcome and walk as Christ walked. Our weapons are simply repentance, prayer, and the Word of God.
 Repentance when you feel temptation creeping or when you have sinned;
prayer for daily strength and protection against sin, and desire to glorify God;
the Word of God read daily for more strength and food for our souls, so that we know what is the will of God for us and how we are to live for Gods glory in light of how deeply He has loved us.

The true believer can overcome the world and sin, not perfectly, but they can, and must have in their very being a strong desire to do so our of love for God. Without this, without a care or desire to overcome the world and the flesh, as Calvin said, they cannot truly be of God. Are you of God?

Learning, Always Learning

I have been away for quite some time. Many things going on in my life right now, many of which are experiential lessons.
 
     I am trying to grow as a husband to my dear wife. In this, so far it has proven to be a very difficult thing. Not because I do not love her or cherish her. That is always the best part of a marriage. It is those things of which are contained in the old vow, "for better, for worse". The hard times, the times we get on each others nerves, the times that one of us does not live up to what we expect of each other. In this, speaking from my side in particular, I have been deeply humbled by Scripture in that "loving your wife as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her", ultimatley starts with being a servant to her. I am praying that I become better at this, as the flesh does not like it. Same thing in my role as a father. I am constantly (not perfectly), looking to Christ and His servanthood authority (what a paradox to the worldy mind!) to guide me in the ways I should act in the home. Taking up the other roles a redeemed head of the house should do has become a part of my practice as well.

   Another issue that I have been humbled in is my stand for Gospel truth. Not that is bad to do so, it is actually biblical to stand for what is clearly taught in Scripture and defend it against those who seek to deviate and lead others to falsity. Yet, I am young and have much to learn, and must learn when to speak and when to not, what is rightful for me to teach and what may not be. In Scripture, one who teaches, whether from a pulpit or in the home or even on the internet, is held to a higher responsibility in the sight of God. If any of you have spent time in the Old Testament, specifically the Prophets; or have meditated upon Jesus' own blunt condemnation of teachers not teaching rightly, or the Pastoral Epistles of Paul, then you can see where my concern is coming from. I do have desire to teach and instruct, to rebuke false doctrine and make sure the children of God can know Biblical orthodoxy... but there are just some things I need to understand more before doing so, and also things of which I am not in a position to teach at this time of my life. One of my last blog posts, from a good while ago, was to be the beginning of a lesson on what a true Pastor is supposed to be like according to the Scripture and why the Church is in so much disarray due to false teachers. I soon lost the desire to post more, not because I am scared to do so because of man, but because I am fearful of God and felt in my consience that I was not in the position to teach these things at this point of time. So forgive me, for anyone who does read my thoughts here, for not going on with it.

   I am praying as to what to do with this blog right now. Please pray with me.
Grace and Peace,
tony bradley

Un/Holy

I stand guilty in a court that rules over all humanity in justice. I am an adulterer; I am a lier; I am a thief; I am prideful; I am a glutton; I am a coveter... I am also guilty of enjoying the wrongs I partake in, so much so that I hate what is right and call it evil. I am wretched and filthy in the eyes of the Judge of all the Earth, and I know He shall do what is right and just. I, just like all of humanity lost and in slavery to sin, deserve to slide off this world into the lake of fire and never know what it is like to look upon my Creator with love and joy on His face. Instead I will fall into the hands of a wrathful God who takes no pleasure in destroying the wicked but must do so as He is also perfectly just and perfectly holy; everything I am not.

But, the Judge has done something tremendous. He sent His Son, conceived by His Spirit and born of a virgin, to take my sin and bear the wrath of the Judge that was due me. This Son, Jesus, then resurrected by the power of God, gave me His perfect righteousness and obedience in exchange, and became my perfect lawyer, presenting me before the Judge as acquitted.

Why me? You are righteous, I am not. You are holy, I am filthy. You are loving, I am arrogant. You are mighty, I am weak. You are perfection in totality, I am imperfection in total depravity.

I will never understand, apart from His unconditional love in election, but I stand acquitted and holy before the Judge of all the Earth. I am a sinner, who is covered in innocent blood.

Iron Sharpening Iron

I have been made to realize something by a good friend and brother in the faith, and I must repent.

When Jesus told told the Apostles to go out "and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you... " (Matt 28:19-20), this involved preaching the Gospel and handing down the sound doctrines Jesus Himself taught the Apostles to the believers. The two go hand in hand, one without the other making both void, or at the least lacking in growth if the person has truly been regenerated. False doctrines and false gospels can lead people to Hell thinking they are going to Heaven, unless God shows grace and opens their eyes to the truth. I spent a long while in that situation after I was regenerated, and was ignorant. Though, I remember many times that I had this feeling some of the things I was being fed was not right, I went along with it because the preacher said it was true. It was not until I seriously dug into the Scriptures and read certain passages in their respective context I started realizing that something was wrong. During this time, I stopped going to church altogether and was really fighting doubt and fear, doubt concerning what I was taught so far, and fear of seperating myself from it. Both left me in a state where i just "hid" for a while, and continued learning the Scriptures. Eventually by Gods grace I pulled out and found a sound church and have been edified since, but what I went through left me with a fire to warn others of the false gospels and doctrines out there. But, in my fire for this very important part of Biblical discipleship and teaching, I have left out the most important thing: the Gospel.

  Now, it is not like I don't ever tell anyone about Jesus, but on social media I have seemed to primarily focus on calling out, rebuking, and warning others of heresies and false gospels, with little Gospel talk. I have forgotton that I have many lost friends and followers on these websites, and in doing so I fear I may be causing more trouble than helping. As a Christian it hurts to see all the confusion in Christ's Body, I can only imagine just how much of a mess it looks to one who is still in their sin and what a complete turn off it would be to them. This is what I am repenting of, for I am truly sorry that in my passion for sound teaching I have neglected the Gospel. I am going to be switching things up alittle here soon, so if you follow me on twitter or are my friend on Facebook, know that if you don't see me constantly talking about heresy, this is why.

Blessings

Someone is Rapping, Rapping at the Door

Falling asleep now. In this prison, all that is for me is brood and sleep.
Eyes are shutting, the dark grows darker.
Falling... falling... the light in the window coming and fading...
Falling...
A sound stirs me in my somnolence.
A knocking. Gentle.

The Awakening- Amnesia

Dark is all I see. Staring at the light coming in through the window on the wall, I am reminded of the life outside this cell. It has been. . . years. As far back as my weary mind will let me remember.
Things were different, yes, things were much different out there.
But how?
These walls surround me, no way out. The only door in the cell is covered in mold, the handle on the outside, as far as I can tell.
The concrete walls are old and grimy, with blood splattered in areas.
I don't remember how I got here, and I can't get out.
When I think about it, I wonder if I am safer here. No one can hurt me here. I won't be hurt anymore...

Why am I worried about it? Why am I here anyway? Who... am I?

I try to move, but feel heavy.

Chains. . . Yes, I am chained to this wall.

I fall to the ground, and lay in fetal. Cold. Hungry. Bitter. Confused.