September 2005
Greetings to all from the land of the real Big Red. We have been extremely busy this summer tearing all of the siding off of our house and hanging vinyl siding. I have found out as I rapidly approach my 59th birthday (now past), that what I used to not even think about doing before, takes a lot of effort today. We have had an exceptionally warm summer this year as well and by the time I finish working 10 hours in a hot shop, it is tough to urge this tired old body into doing something. I am really beginning to be pushed now however, as we are in the latter part of September. Old man winter will come calling here soon and whether I am finished or not I doubt if the weather will wait on me.
As I write this we are hosting the Global Independent Baptist Fellowship meetings in our church Sept 19th – 21st. We are privileged to have many preachers and missionaries from all over the US & Canada at our church. It is a time of planning and preachers preaching to preachers. We have a couple of nationally known Christian singers here as well. They have three preaching services during the day and much singing, and then we get to come back for another service in the evening. Well it is time to get at it and quit rambling.
I believe the Lord has lain on my heart to write about “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. This scripture was taken from the book of Hosea 4:6. It was written to the nation of Israel when they were in the midst of sinning against a righteous God. They have turned their back on their God, and the prophet has been sent to preach repentance. Look at the parallels when you take time to read the
scripture and compare Israel with the United States right now. The United States is referred to as a Christian nation. Many consider ourselves Christian, but we have become an amoral nation. One that winks at sin, and considers ourselves living in an enlightened age. This did not happen over night, it has slowly been sliding down that slippery slope for many decades and my friend this slide is picking up momentum daily. It has gotten to the point where nothing makes us blush anymore. Things are discussed on national radio and TV that should not be mentioned there. Before Monica’s servicing of our president in the oval office, how many young people even knew what oral sex was?
How did we get to where we are? Glad you asked. It would be more appropriate to ask where we began. Contrary to today’s thinking, this country was founded by ‘born again believers’ who had left England to escape the persecution brought on by the state religion. John Bunyan wrote PILGRAM’S PROGRESS from prison because he refused to quit preaching the word of God. While not all of the people who came over here on the Mayflower were Christians they were God fearing men. Their one desire was to found a nation where they could worship their God without that fear. Many were Anabaptists who had first left England and went to Holland, but this didn’t work the best either, so they came here. They were willing to face the possibility that many may not survive to begin a new life. Many of the state constitutions had written into them, that one could not hold public office unless you were ‘born again’.
I read in a history book, that in Rhode Island, I think, a Roman Catholic could not hold office. What we consider the Ivy League universities, were founded to train preachers, and look at them today, they are a disgrace to the very philosophies by which they were founded.
How does one begin to turn the course of a nation? You have to attack its core beliefs. I am living proof of how it occurs. My parents seldom took us to church, and when we went it was to a United Methodist church that did not preach the Word of God. I was 27 years old before I heard a clear presentation of the gospel. In America, I was 27 years old before hearing the plan of salvation. I had been exposed to brief glimpses of religion and had found it lacking.
My Step-father was one of the leading stock car drivers in this area and for 23 summers we went racing. As long as I could remember, this is what we did in the summer and then in the fall & early winter we hunted as he also loved to hunt and I learned this too. I thought this was the norm, but it wasn’t until confronted with the reality of life and death in Vietnam that I began to question if there wasn’t more to life. I sure didn’t find the truth from anyone there, secular or chaplains and I tried. So how does one cope? We find a crutch don’t we? Mine was alcohol and I really became proficient in its use.
What does this have to do with our subject? I have sought to show you how lack of knowledge of the Word of God, could have ended in catastrophe for me. Had I been killed in VN I would now be spending an eternity in hell. Here is a biblical example. In the gospel of John 3:3, the Christ tells Nicodemus, “You must be born again”. Christ was giving him the opportunity to be ‘saved’. Who was Nicodemus? He was a very religious man of the sect of the Pharisees. He would put us all to shame in
the upright manner in which he lived his life. He knew the law backwards and forwards, but yet the Christ told him he was lost and going to hell. As a Jew he was looking forward to the time when messiah would come, his messiah was talking with him and he was blinded to the reality of it by religion. Religion is a heinous thing and God hates it. Religion is man’s way of trying to worship God. It makes God sick to see us bound in the religions of our day.
On the practical side, we have seen the moral decay of our society as the Word of God has been watered down by all of the modern perversions; men who once preached the Word with the fire of heaven are gone. Replaced by hirelings, who read a sermonette to the christianette and when they do preach, it is to correct God. We have replaced the great old hymns with worship and praise teams. Modern music that whips the congregation into an emotional frenzy. We must worship the true God in spirit and truth. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith commeth by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The Word of God (King James Bible) is the only book, when you sit down to read it, it reads you. Many will say, well I just don’t understand that archaic old thing. WELL, GET SAVED AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How can one expect to be a preacher when he isn’t even saved, just like Nicodemus? To many it is just an easy job. It is easy on this side, but their judgment waits.
We are currently in the last days of the church age. Anyone who does not see the signs, is either willfully blind, or just don’t care. We are in the ‘age of the Laodicean church, Revelation 3:15. This is the rule of the people. Many congregations today are telling the preacher what to preach and if he doesn’t knuckle under, they run him off. To put this into a military comparison, it would be like a bunch of privates telling their commanding officer what to say.
Let’s look at an analogy to try to clarify this. If we were going to correctly teach trainees how to fire the M-16 rifle, we would teach from the FM on the M-16 rifle. There are certain characteristics that every round fired from this weapon will consistently perform. The bullet will drop the same amount every time. This is a learned. If a person decides well, this just is too difficult to understand and rewrites the FM what has happened? Confusion will arise. How many have heard the story that when the M-16 round is fired, it tumbles? Is this doctrinally correct? Emphatically no! There is no way a round could be made to tumble and retain any ballistic coefficient, therefore be accurate at any range. Yet today, many still believe this. Only when one is confronted with the reality of the doctrine of the FM and then believes it, can you over come this.
The same is relevant in the spiritual realm. Religion has taught many that you need to be baptized as an infant, or study your catechism, or join a church and you will be going to heaven if you are good. This is false doctrine and by not having the knowledge of salvation, you will be destroyed. My bible says that you may know you have eternal life. I have a know so salvation, not a hope so salvation. This great nation is seeing the hand of God moving here. He is attempting to wake us up to the great danger of ignorance. My friend, if you haven’t accepted the truth of the bible, be honest with yourself today. I remember as if it were yesterday when I first heard about Jesus. I was embarrassed by the questions Sammy Hays asked me because I was totally ignorant. I knew one thing though, I was a sinner. I come to that realization when he asked me, “Norm, if you died today would you go to heaven?” I said yes, and he asked me what I based that on? I knew in that instant I could not defend my position as the Holy Spirit was working on my heart in a powerful way. I was a hell bound sinner and I had a decision to make. I did not know the Jesus of the bible because I lacked the knowledge and therefore destined for destruction. But thankfully the story doesn’t end there. Sammy’s Jesus became my Jesus and now I am glory bound.
In closing, I implore you to ask yourself the question that Sammy asked me 32 years ago. If you died today, would you go to heaven? Maybe you are trusting in your church to get you there or your baptism, but if it isn’t trusting in the saviour, Jesus Christ you have missed the mark. You have believed the round can actually tumble and retain its flight pattern. Many say in these last days, Jesus is just the way of many. The bible says, “that no man cometh unto the father but by me”. This is just as relevant today as it was when Jesus said it almost 2,000 years ago. Ranger brother today is the day of your salvation. We haven’t much time left before the Lord’s return, so don’t waffle on this decision. If you have any questions, please call or write.
In Christ’s Bonds,
Norm