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Global Pandemic & Porn Pandemic

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COVID-19 & Social Distancing

COVID-19 has confined many of us to our homes as we practice social distancing. Our objective in social distancing is to limit the amount of contact we have with people in order to stop the transmission of this virus to others. This means that many junior high, high school, and college students are not busy with school and extracurriculars. Rather, they are at home with limited social interactions and limited things to do. This presents us with grave spiritual vulnerability.

Spiritual Vulnerability

One reason this places many of us in a vulnerable situation is because, ever since the fall of man in Genesis 3, many of our God given longings are inclined towards heinous sins due to the sin nature we inherited from Adam. For example, we have a God given longing for seeking praise, but we are often tempted to seek praise from men and women rather than praise from God.

And, for our purposes in this blog, three God given longings that we have are:

      1. social interactions with the opposite sex,
      2. sexual attraction to the opposite sex,
      3. and sexual interactions with the opposite sex.

These are all God given desires that are to lead us to pursue a member of the opposite sex in a God honoring way so that we can pursue them in marriage in order to have an unique and special companionship and intimacy that God specifically and exclusively reserved for the marital union. This is how God created us, and it is beautiful.

However, because of our sin natures, we use these God given desires in corrupt and immoral ways. One such way is through the use of pornography. We take to the web to find “intimacy” that doesn’t really involve true intimacy. We go to our browsers to have an orgasm without companionship. This is the way so many individuals use these God given desires in heinous and deplorable ways. And sadly, the ruling power over the porn industry, Satan, is aware of this.

Satan Capitalizes On Our Spiritual Vulnerability

Seeing an opportunity to capitalize on our sinful inclinations to use our God given desires in terribly immoral ways, porn outlets are giving away free subscriptions during our time of social distancing. Porn outlets are opening up the dark chambers of their nearly limitless illicit videos and letting folks in to find “relief.” They are aware that we, as people, desire intimacy and companionship, so they are going to deceptively offer it through hours upon hours of fake intimacy.

And just to show you how successful Satan has been in his endeavor to draw the sin nature in man to commit sexually heinous sins via the internet, take a look at this chart:

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The chart above shows the percent change in traffic day to day. Just think about this; Pornhub traffic was up .1% on February 25, 2020. You can see how this traffic began to significantly increase day after day as more and more people were forced inside. Traffic peaked, according to the chart, at 11.6% on March 17, 2020, after free subscriptions were offered. This is a significant increase in the use of pornography. The COVID-19 global pandemic that brings physical death is leading to a porn pandemic that brings spiritual death. This is a tragedy that we must be aware of.

A Warning to Christians

Christians, though our sin nature no longer reigns, it does remain. In union with Christ, our sin nature has been crucified. However, that crucified sin nature rears its head everyday seeking to wreak havoc in our lives. It seeks to keep us from doing what we know we ought to do as believers in Christ.

With this in mind, you must remain awake and alert during this time of social distancing (1 Peter 5:8). Do what needs to be done in order to crucify the flesh with its hideous sexual passions (Galatians 5:14). Take great measures that will keep you from gratifying the flesh with its immoral desires (Matthew 5:27-31; Galatians 5:16). And, by doing whatever it takes, flee this type of sexual sin (1 Corinthians 6:18).

Also, get educated on how pornography greatly affects the brain by reading helpful articles. Think through all the different ways you actually sin against God when you view pornography. In one helpful article, a Christian blogger named Challies mentioned these eight ways we sin against God when we view pornography:

    1. We commit the sin of idolatry
      1. Idolatry is seeking satisfaction and joy in something other than God. As you view pornography, you are seeking satisfaction and joy in it rather than the one true God.
    2. We commit the sin of adultery
      1. Jesus said that looking at a woman with lustful intent is adultery. The sheer purpose of pornography is to illicit lust in those who are consuming it. Thus, if you are consuming pornography, you are committing the sin of adultery.
    3. We commit the sin of deceit
      1. When we sin we feel shame. When we feel shame we hide sin. This has been happening since the garden of Eden. And, if you are viewing pornography, you will inevitably feel shame. And once you feel shame, you will hide your sin. You’ll erase your browsing history, and you’ll refuse to confess it to friends and family that can help. This is deceitful.
    4. We commit the sin of theft
      1. “60 percent of all illegal downloads are of pornographic content” (Challies). This means that, as you download more and more pornography, are likely downloading material that has been stolen.
    5. We commit the sin of greed
      1. Greedy people seek to take advantage of other people for their own gain. When we view pornography, we are taking advantage of a woman or man that is made in the image of God for our own sinful gain. We are using that individual in a very shameful way for the express purpose of reaching sexual climax.
    6. We commit the sin of sloth
      1. Paul tells us that we are to make the best use of our time (Ephesians 5:15-16). We are to use the limited time we have here for God honoring purposes. When we view pornography, we are using our limited time in a wasteful and God dishonoring way. This is the worst kind of sloth.
    7. We commit the sin of sexual assault
      1. “A person who drives a getaway car for a band of bank robbers will rightly be charged with murder for anyone who is killed in committing the crime. The person who voluntarily watches sexual assault for the purposes of titillation is rightly guilty of that sexual assault. And a nauseating quantity of pornography is violent in nature” (Challies).
    8. We commit the sin of ignoring the Spirit
      1. When Paul writes about the importance of fleeing sexual sin and impurity he says, “For God has not called you for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you” (1 Thessalonians 4:6). To ignore the warnings the Holy Spirit gives before you view pornography, and even while you are viewing pornography, is a sin against God.

As a child of God, it should grieve us if we sin against our Heavenly Father in these ways! So resolve, by the power of the Spirit, to refuse to sin in these ways by staying as far away from pornography as possible.

Also, think through reasons you should exit out of your browser and never look at porn again. Challies helps us here as well:

    1. The cost to your soul
    2. The cost to your neighbor
    3. The cost to your church
    4. The cost to your family
    5. The cost to your mission
    6. The cost to your witness
    7. The cost to your savior

As you can see, pornography costs a great deal. Most people vastly underestimate this truth! Meditate on the costs of committing such a sin and be renewed in your zeal to fight it.

And lastly, think through the warnings of Scripture. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament have significant warnings against sexual sin. Proverbs tells us that sexual sin leads to death (Proverbs 5:5-6). The New Testament shouts that those who are sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Ephesians 5:3-5; Galatians 5:19-21). With these warnings in mind, wage war against the sin of viewing pornography like it is seeking to strip you of the salvation that is offered in Christ; for that is exactly what it is seeking to do!

A Warning to Parents

Parents are entrusted with the spiritual well-being of their children. In light of this, parents need to be diligent in protecting their children from the soul ravaging nature of pornography. So here are some things you need to know as a parent (these stats are from a Barna survey conducted from 2014-2016, and the use of pornography has only increased since then):

    • The following percentages of men say they view pornography at least once a month: 79% of 18-30 year olds; 67% of 31-49 year olds; 49% of 50-68 year olds.
    • The following percentages of men say they view pornography at least several times a week: 63% of 18-30 year olds; 38% of 31-49 year olds; 25% of 50-68 year olds.
    • ––The following percentages of women say they view pornography at least once a month: 76% of 18-30 year olds; 16% of 31-49 year olds; 4% of 50-68 year olds.
    • ––The following percentages of women say they view pornography at least several times a week: 21% of 18-30 year olds; 5% of 31-49 year olds; 0% of 50-68 year olds.
    • 55% of married men say they watch porn at least once a month, compared to 70% of unmarried men.
    • ––25% of married women say they watch porn at least once a month, compared to 16% of unmarried women.

These stats say a lot of things, but the one thing I want you to think through is the use of pornography amongst both men and women. Pornography is no longer a “male” thing to do. An increasing number of women are viewing pornography as well. In light of this, you need to be protecting ALL of your children from pornography. It would be wise to talk to your children about these things. Chances are, if they are over the age of 11-12, they have been exposed to pornography. In regard to this, Challies said:

At age 11, the average child has already been exposed to explicit pornographic content through the internet. 93% of boys and 62% of girls are exposed to internet-based pornography during their adolescent years and 22% of the vast quantities of porn consumed by people aged under 18 is consumed by those aged less than 10. Significance: Parents are nothing short of negligent if they take no steps to protect their children from being exposed to pornography.

Parents must be the front lines of defense when it comes to guarding their children’s souls against pornography. This is especially the case right now during this global pandemic.

A Final Word

Blogs like this are never pleasant to read. They turn the stomach and overwhelm us with sorrow. Yet, it is necessary to discuss these things because this is reality. So, just to offer some comfort, I want to give some words of encouragement.

First, though our sins are like scarlet, in Christ, they have been washed white as snow. Though we will have to give an account of our lives (every click on pornography) on judgment day, we ultimately will not be condemned if we are in Christ. This is the good news of the gospel. Christ bore our sin in his body on the cross. Praise God!

Second, a Spirit dwelt believer can put any sin to death. This is the beauty of the indwelling Spirit. He enables us to die to sin and to live to the glory of God. He gives us the power to say no to pornography and yes to righteousness.

Third, the throne of grace is called the throne of grace for a reason. We, as children of God, can approach our Heavenly Father to receive grace and mercy in a time of need. If you fall into the sin of viewing pornography, do not recoil away from the Lord. Flee to his throne to receive grace and mercy.

Fourth, if you are a parent, you will be held accountable for how you shepherd your children. Ultimately though, your children will be responsible for their own sins. Do what you can to protect them spiritually (there are a lot of helpful resources our there to protect your children by the way) and then entrust them to God.

This blog is entirely too long so this is where I am going to end. I do hope and pray that this will be helpful in many people putting the sin of viewing pornography to death!

 

A COVID-19 Spiritual Care Package

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God’s Ordained Means to Satisfaction in Christ

Within the Christian life, God has ordained that certain disciplines, when done in faith, will further our sanctification and give us ever increasing joy and satisfaction in Christ. Here are some of those disciplines:

    • Bible Intake (Reading, Meditating, Memorizing, & Listening to the Bible)
    • Preaching & Teaching
    • Prayer (Personal Prayer & Corporate Prayer)
    • Worship (Personal Worship & Corporate Worship)
    • Singing
    • Fellowship
    • Fasting (Personal Fasting & Corporate Fasting)
    • Evangelism & Missions
    • Giving (To the Ministries of the Church, the Needy, & Missions)
    • Service
    • Ordinances (Baptism & the Lord’s Supper)
    • Discipleship

As we discipline ourselves, in faith, to make use of these disciplines, we will progressively be conformed into the image of Jesus and find satisfaction in Jesus.

COVID-19 Presents Some Problems

With one cursory reading through the New Testament, you will realize that God’s Plan-A for spiritual growth and satisfaction in Christ is the local church. Most of the godly disciplines mentioned above take place in the local church:

    • Listening to the Word
    • Preaching & Teaching
    • Fellowship
    • Corporate Prayer
    • Corporate Fasting
    • Corporate Worship
    • Ordinances

This is why, when you see a Christian that is not faithfully involved in the life of a local church, they are spiritually immature and find very little satisfaction in Jesus. They are neglecting God’s Plan-A for spiritual growth and satisfaction in Jesus!

With that said, here is the problem that COVID-19 presents: Most churches, out of love for God and love for neighbor, are canceling services. These cancelations could last a couple weeks or they could possibly last for months. Nobody is really sure in light of the volatility of the situation. This means that most Christians are not going to be able to faithfully participate in the life of the local church. Thus, Christians are not going to be able to participate in God’s Plan-A for christian maturity and satisfaction in Christ.

A Spiritual Care Package

With this in mind, I thought it would be helpful to create a spiritual care package that God might use to nourish our souls. So, rather than languishing spiritually during this time, this care package is meant to sustain your joy, contentment, and satisfaction in Christ. This care package will contain advise as well as specific recommendations.

First, consistently intake the Bible. At a time like this, it is tempting to have your face glued to your phone to catch the latest news article, tweet, or Facebook post about COVID-19. Resist that temptation and seek the Lord. Read through whole books of the Bible. Meditate on comforting truths from the Bible. Memorize sections of the Bible that you can share with others. Bible intake is, without a doubt, the chief means that God uses to both mature and satisfy His people.

Second, pray regularly. Make a weekly prayer guide to strategically pray for the following things:

    • those at high-risk in your local church body,
    • those that may feel lonely,
    • those entrusted to lead the church through this trying time,
    • those in your community,
    • those working in medical facilities,
    • those entrusted to lead our country,
    • those missionaries all over the world,
    • and unbelievers.

As you do this, you will bear the burdens of others. You will be petitioning a great King that has limitless resources to act on behalf of others!

Third, listen to good preaching. I do have one caveat here. Though there are a variety of godly pastors out there that are gifted preachers and teachers, be sure to listen to the specific pastor that God has entrusted to the care of your soul. He knows, loves, and cares for you a great deal. He is thinking about how to specifically shepherd you during this time. So listen to him. With that caveat out the way, here are some good sermons that have made a profound impact on Kahlie (my wife) and I personally:

Fourth, read good books written by good teachers. God has gifted the universal church with many godly men and women throughout the centuries that are gifted with writing. God has given them the ability to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) to pump out helpful literature for the church. Here are some books, none of which are academic, that have been helpful or encouraging in Kahlie and I’s life:

Fifth, listen and sing some hymns that were penned in troubled times throughout history. Matt Merker actually published an article of 25 hymns to sing. Each hymn has a link that takes you to a website where you can read the lyrics as well as listen to the song. Click on this link and find some hymns to joyfully sing to the Lord.

Sixth, serve the local church and the surrounding community. A global pandemic does not just hinder us as individuals. It hinders those around us. It hinders fellow members in our local church as well as fellow individuals in our community. Health care workers get exhausted, small business owners get anxious, and the elderly get concerned. In light of this, we are presented with some opportunities to serve. Here are some opportunities that I have been thinking through:

    • Offer to go get groceries for the elderly in your church
    • Offer to go get prescription medicine for the elderly in your church
    • Adopt a widow in your church and check up on her every 2-3 days
    • Give generously toward the benevolence fund at your local church
    • Order carry-out food or gift cards from local businesses in your area
    • Send encouraging texts or emails to those in your Sunday school class
    • Thank those who work in health care, the police department, grocery stores, etc.

Joy in Christ in the Midst of COVID-19

I am confident that if you, in faith, make use of this spiritual care package, then you will find joy and satisfaction in Jesus. In the midst of all the turmoil and volatility, you will be a well of living water that benefits and nourishes other people in these dark days.

From North Carolina to Louisiana

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In January of 2015, Kahlie and I moved from Satsuma, Alabama, to Wake Forest, North Carolina. We had been married for about 13 months, and were desiring to go to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary so that I could get an Master of Divinity. The purpose of the M.Div. was so that I could become better equipped to serve Christ by serving the local church for the rest of my life. And when we moved, we only took what we could pack into our two vehicles. It was an exciting time for us and we were thrilled about how the Lord might use us in North Carolina!

SEBTS Chapel
Eating on a cardboard box in our SEBTS housing

Shortly after this, the Lord provided Kahlie with a job in Occupational Therapy (so she was paying the bills) and me with a job on the SEBTS grounds crew (and I was paying for Chick Fil A)! But, though we had jobs, we were still looking for a healthy church. We went to few a different churches, but we weren’t dead set on any of them.

Now, in the midst of searching for a healthy church that Kahlie and I could join and begin serving, a guy informed me of First Baptist Church of Durham in Durham, North Carolina. Upon attending, Kahlie and I were hooked. We loved everything about the church. The preaching ministry was phenomenal. The multigenerational aspect was appealing. The small group ministry was intentional. And the pastors took a genuine interest in the congregation. Soon after visiting, we decided to join in May of 2015.

After we joined, Kahlie and I got involved in the youth ministry. She was teaching middle school girls and I was teaching high school guys. We also got involved in the children’s ministry (churches are always looking for more volunteers here)! And lastly, we just sought to be healthy church members. Kahlie and I knew that, if we wanted to serve the local church for the rest of our lives, we didn’t need to wait until after seminary to do it. We needed to do it all throughout seminary as well. So that is what we sought to do. And as we did this, I continued pursuing my M.Div, and Kahlie continued helping and aiding me in anyway she could (praise God for a godly wife)!

We did this for about fourteen months, and then something completely unexpected happened. In July of 2016, I received a phone call from Andy Davis (The Senior Pastor at FBC). And when I answered the phone call, Andy asked me if I would be interested in interviewing for the Director of College Ministry position. This was unexpected because I was only twenty-four, I didn’t have a ton of ministry experience, I wasn’t done with my M.Div., and I hadn’t even put in a resume. Needless to say, I was shocked.

Andy Davis had become one of my role models in the faith and he was asking me to serve along side of him in ministry. FBC Durham was the healthiest church I had ever been a part of and it was asking me to come on staff. So I told Andy that he had the wrong number and that he must have meant to call someone else! Just kidding! I told him I would talk to Kahlie about it and then get back to him. When I talked to Kahlie about it she was more shocked than I was (to which I was mildly offended by)!!!!! But we both decided that I should go through the interview process to better understand as to whether this was something God would have me do. Here is the journal I wrote after Andy called me:

Monday afternoon I received a phone call from Andy Davis. He told me that their desire has always been to hire a College Director from within FBC Durham. They have had numerous resumes turned in, and a couple of interviews with men outside of FBC. None of these had worked out. He then told me that they have had their eye on me for a while now. He said that many people have mentioned my name and have said that I may be a good fit for the position. He also told me that the christian growth he has seen in me over the past year has been encouraging. I would never have put a resume in for this position because I know how unqualified I am for such a service. But they have asked me to come in today to speak with them about this position to see if I could possibly fill it. I have no idea what to expect, but I am very thankful to God for such an opportunity. May the Lord’s will be done.

Shortly after the interview process, they offered me the position. Kahlie and I talked about it and we went on to accept the position. It was exciting and overwhelming. Thinking through this, I wrote:

This presents an incredible opportunity for serving the Lord Jesus Christ and also the local church. These are honestly my life long ambitions. However, I did not think that I would be thrust into ministry this quickly. This was not even a thought a couple weeks ago. Now, I officially start August 16th.

As you can tell, this was a big deal in my life. Now, some of you may be reading this and saying, “Good golly, Philip! It was just an opportunity to do college ministry.” But for me, it was so much more. It was the opportunity to labor full time in gospel ministry. It was an opportunity to teach, disciple, and evangelize within the context of the healthiest church I had ever been a part of. It was an opportunity to be under Andy Davis and to watch his way of life, to ask him questions, and to drink in his wisdom. It was my first paid ministry position ever, and I could not believe that God was giving it to me!

Well, after all the interviewing stuff, I started the College Director position on August 16, 2016. Kahlie immediately started serving with me. We moved to Durham, I started taking online classes at SEBTS, and we started learning what it was like to do ministry in a greater capacity than we had ever done ministry. I was leading guys Bible studies, discipling students, evangelizing, leading retreats, and heading up mission trips. Kahlie was discipling ladies, leading Bible studies, helping me lead retreats, and going on mission trips with me. Though some of this was overwhelming, we both loved it! And we have now been serving this way for over 3 years. Kahlie and I can honestly say that it has been one of the greatest joys of our lives.

Now, after doing this for three years, I have received another unexpected phone call. In mid June, I received a phone call from Corey Townsley (a good friend of mine…..he is actually the guy that invited Kahlie and I to attend FBC Durham when we first moved to North Carolina). Corey is now serving as the senior pastor of FBC Longville in Longville, Louisiana. He called me to see if I would be interested in coming down to Louisiana to serve alongside of him as an associate pastor of youth. He told me that my primary responsibility would shepherding middle schoolers and high schoolers, but that he also wanted me to help shepherd the church body as a whole

The more Kahlie and I looked at this opportunity, sought counsel from the pastors that we are under now, and spent time in prayer, the more convinced we became that this was a position that we ought to pursue. Now, after five months, three interviews, and two trips to Louisiana, on November 3, 2019, FBC Longville unanimously voted to have me come be the Associate Pastor of Youth. Upon hearing the vote, Kahlie and I joyfully accepted this opportunity, and are preparing to head down there in December.

This is bittersweet for us. It pains us to leave FBC Durham, all the college students in the ministry, the many friends that we have made, and the city of Durham. But we are excited about serving Christ Jesus by serving the local church in Longville, Louisiana.

Here are ways that you can pray for Kahlie and I as we transition to Longville, LA.

  1. Pray that we would seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness even in the midst of a busy transition.
  2. Pray that we would have good, fruitful good-byes here in Durham!
  3. Pray that we would find housing in Longville that we can leverage for ministry purposes.
  4. Pray that we would make it down there safely.
  5. And pray that the Lord would begin preparing us for the good works that he will have us do at FBC Longville.

 

Becoming an Evangelist

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I would define evangelism as teaching the gospel to unbelievers with the aim of persuading them to repent of their sins and to believe in Jesus Christ for the salvation of their souls. We are to do this type of evangelism with our family members, friends, enemies, acquaintances, and strangers. As Christians, we have an obligation to bear witness to the glorious work of Christ to a lost and dying world.

Even though most Christians have a sense of this obligation, evangelism is something that most Christians find notoriously difficult. With this in mind, I wanted to point out six things that we can do in order to become faithful evangelists.

1) Know the Bible

Evangelism is largely a teaching moment. Whether you are seeking to evangelize your kids, co-workers, acquaintances, or strangers, you are going to have to teach them about God, Christ, sin, judgment, righteousness, faith, repentance, forgiveness, etc. These are weighty theological topics that fall within core doctrines of the Christian faith: creation, anthropology, soteriology, eschatology, etc. And if you are going to evangelize, you are going to have to be able to teach these topics to non-Christians.

Before you get overwhelmed by what you just read, it is important to add that you don’t have to know all aspects of every one of these doctrines! You don’t have to have the best definition, explanation, or argumentation of all the terms that I mentioned above. In all honesty, you don’t even have to have the best presentation of these doctrines. Nevertheless, you should strive to be the best teacher that you can possibly be as you articulate these biblical truths to unbelievers.

Therefore, seek to know the Bible. Become well acquainted with the teachings of Scripture. Listen to good sermons when you have time. Ask knowledgeable people weighty questions and allow them to teach you. Memorize simple definitions of certain biblical terms like repentance, faith, justification, and reconciliation. This will equip you to teach biblical truths in winsome ways. Simply put, the more you know the Bible the better you will be at evangelism.

2) Be in Prayer

As a child of God, you have access to God’s throne. He is the King of the universe. Make petitions to Him. Make big petitions to Him. Request great things from Him. Ask Him to give you opportunities to speak about Christ. Ask Him to give you wisdom, boldness, and clarity as you teach people about Christ during evangelistic encounters. Ask Him to save those whom you have the opportunity to teach about Jesus. You must be in prayer for these things.

The importance of this is seen in the life of the apostle Paul. Paul asked the churches to whom he was writing to pray these types of prayers on his behalf. And trust me, if the apostle Paul needed the church to pray on his behalf in regard to some of these things, then we most certainly need to be praying for them!

We also need others praying for us. Get a couple of friends that you attend church with and begin praying for one another’s evangelistic efforts. After one of you has the opportunity to evangelize, be sure to encourage your friends by telling them that God was gracious in answering their prayers. If somebody you evangelize ends up confessing that Jesus is Lord, be sure to tell your friends. This will create a culture of evangelism that fosters encouragement and endurance.

3) Be Holy

Personal holiness is, by far, what is left out of most conversations when it comes to evangelism. This shouldn’t be the case! Our personal holiness is instrumental in our evangelistic efforts. As Christians, we are to be a distinct people. Our citizenship is in heaven, and we take orders from a King that reigns over all. In light of this, we are to be a people that are other-worldly.

We are to speak in a manner that reflects the goodness, graciousness, and compassion of our King. We are to live in accordance with our King’s ethic; being careful to walk in our King’s statutes. We are to look carefully at how we use our time, and we are to live such godly lives that those outside of Christ take notice. This is why, when it comes to personal witnessing, the Bible often assumes that we are going to be responding to unbelievers as they ask us questions.

You see, when we live in such a way that is consistent with biblical teaching, people are convicted. People begin to ask questions. When we answer their questions, our answers have credibility because it is backed up by a holy life. This means that, if we are going to be faithful evangelists, then we need to be holy evangelists.

4) Be a Conversationalist

Far too often we strive to get through our days seeking to have the least amount of meaningful conversations as possible. We go to work, do our job, participate in small talk, and then go home. We go to retail businesses, keep our conversations brief, and then head home. We go to family events, look at our watches, stay away from substantive conversations, and then get back in our cars. This is not good!

If we are going to be faithful evangelists, then we must change our conversation habits. We must become conversationalists. We need to be intentional in carrying conversations longer than 1-2 minutes. We need to ask questions that allow for further conversation. We also need to ask questions that intentionally guide the conversation to something substantive and helpful. If we want to do this, we’ll have to learn how to steer conversations beyond the shallow waters of everyday small talk and into the sea of meaningful discussions! If we can do this, then we will have many more opportunities to speak to people about Christ.

5) Take a Genuine Interest in People

If you have ever purchased a used car, then you know what it is like for an individual to ask you questions, seem friendly, talk with you, and laugh with you, all the while not caring a lick about you. This happened to me recently. Kahlie and I thought we had a new best friend. We were having a good time with this used car salesmen. Then, once I told him we weren’t interested in buying the car he was showing us (I had already told him in the beginning that I was not looking to buy a car that day), he completely shut down. His whole demeanor changed . . . . talk about awkward!

We, as Christians, cannot afford to be this way. We don’t merely want to have substantive conversations with people just so we can sneak the gospel in. Rather, we want to genuinely take an interest in people! With this in mind, spend time with people. Buy them lunch. Go out for coffee with them. Ask them how their family is doing. See if there is any way that you can serve them when they are going through a difficult season. Just be a friend to them. Simply and sincerely treat them as image bearers of God! And as we do this, we will have more and more opportunities to speak to them about Christ. Also, they will be much more inclined to listen to us.

6) Persevere

During my Christian walk, I have noticed that people are more likely to serve Christ when: 1) The task is relatively short and simple, 2) The fruit born from the task is quickly seen, and 3) The service opportunity will end with encouragement and affirmation.

Because of what I just mentioned about, most Christians do not evangelize. Evangelism is not short and simple. Evangelism takes time, and to engage somebody in a conversation about spiritual things is pretty difficult. And if that wasn’t bad enough, in evangelism, you rarely see fruit. You speak to people, you love them, you serve them, but you rarely see them come to faith in Christ. This can be debilitating. And here is the real kicker, the people you are talking to usually aren’t going to encourage or affirm you for what you’re doing! In all honesty, they’ll more than likely discourage you and disagree with what you are doing. They may even personally attack you.

Consequently, if we want to be faithful evangelists then we must persevere. We must persevere through the difficulty of evangelizing. We must persevere through the seasons of evangelism where we don’t see fruit. And lastly, we must persevere through the endless amount of times people will dislike us because of our evangelism. If we can persevere through all of these, then we will be faithful evangelists.

Conclusion

Though more could be said, I believe the six things mentioned above could help you become a faithful evangelist. Whether you are in high school, on a college campus, in the work place, parenting children, or in a retirement home, doing these six things in faith could help you live a faithful and fruitful evangelistic life that brings glory to God!

You Shall Not Commit Adultery

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The Seventh Commandment

Over the summer, I walked through the Ten Commandments with the college students at FBC Durham. This proved to be a helpful series that was filled with application. For the purposes of this blog, I just want to mention some applications that I gave in light of the seventh commandment which states: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). But before we get to the applications, let’s briefly look at the meaning of the seventh commandment.

The Narrow & Broad Meaning

The seventh commandment contains far more meaning than we think (this is the case with each commandment). Because of this, I am not going to spend a ton of time extracting all the meaning that’s within the seventh commandment. That would make this blog entirely too long. All I want to do is mention the narrow meaning and the broad meaning of the seventh commandment.

  • The narrow meaning of this commandment is that you should not have sex with another person’s spouse, and that you should not have sex with anybody other than your spouse.
  • The broad meaning of this commandment is best stated by Luther: “This commandment applies to every form of unchastity, however it is called. Not only is the external act forbidden, but also every kind of cause, motive, and means. Your heart, your lips, and your whole body are to be chaste and to afford no occasion, aid, or encouragement to unchastity.”

As you can see, the narrow meaning of this commandment focuses on the actual external act being mentioned (adultery), and the broad meaning of this commandment focuses more on the sinful inclinations of the human heart. Nobody comes out unscathed when examining themselves with both the narrow meaning and the broad meaning of this commandment. Some have broken this commandment as it is espoused in its narrow meaning. All have broken this commandment as it is espoused in its broad meaning. What I am saying is this; we have all broken the seventh commandment in some way.

Now, at this point, it is important to mention that much more could be said about this commandment. For example, we could talk more about all the sexual sins that this commandment forbids (homosexuality, bestiality, pedophilia, adultery, sexual immorality, sensuality, premarital sex, pornography, lusting after somebody with our heart, crude joking, etc.). We could talk about the purpose of this commandment (to protect the marital union). But I do not want to spend my time on all of this.

Rather, I want to give Christians some applications that will help them flee from sexual sin and to pursue purity. For, when there is a, “You shall not,” there is by implication a, “You shall.” What this means is that this commandment is not only forbidding sexual sins, it is also commanding us to pursue purity with utmost diligence. Here are some applications that might help us in this God glorifying endeavor.

Applications that Follow

First, we must have the Spirit of God if we want to obey this commandment.

You see, the Old Covenant gave you a law to obey without giving you a heart to obey. This means that the Old Covenant says, “You shall not commit adultery,” but it does not give you a heart that is able to put sexual sin to death and to pursue purity. This is the terrible plight of those who are apart from Christ and under the law.

However, the blessing of the New Covenant is that it comes with a heart to obey. If you believe in Christ, then the Lord has given you a new heart that enables you to obey the commands of God. This means that, when an individual is born again, the Spirit of God gives them a new heart that allows them to put sexual sin to death and to pursue sexual purity in every area of life. Thus, if you want to be obedient to this commandment in faith, the Spirit of God must do heart surgery on you; He must take out your rebellious heart and give you a new one. Attempts to obey this commandment apart from this are futile.

Second, we must remember our positional status before God.

Who can honestly say that they haven’t sinfully desired that which is contrary to God’s will for sex? Who can honestly say that they have done all that they can to pursue purity of heart, mind, words, and actions? Is it no evident that all of us have fallen short of the glory of God here? Of course it is.

This is why, if we are to actually make progress in putting sexual sin to death and in pursuing purity, we must remember our positional status before God. Before our coversion, we were sinners before God. We were people who had either committed the actual act of adultery or who had committed adultery of the heart. This is who we were positionally: lawless adulterers deserving of the full wrath of a holy God.

However, through faith in Christ, this is no longer our position. We now have a different positional status before God. In Christ, we are now righteous, holy, and pure. Our sins, yes, even sexual sins, have been cleansed. They have been forgiven. We are seen as positionally righteous before the God of all creation. And if you want to fight sexual sin, you must always remember your positional status before God because of the finished work of Christ.

Third, we must study sexual sin.

In Hebrews 3:13, we read that sin is very deceitful. This is the case with sexual sin as well. So think about sexual sin like this: it is your enemy, it is seeking to rob you of your joy in Christ, it is seeking to strip you of your assurance of salvation, it is seeking to keep you from using your spiritual gifts to serve Christ, it is seeking to keep you inactive and unproductive in the faith, and ultimately, it is seeking to kill you.

Therefore, study up on this enemy. Learn about it and how to fight it! You can do this by memorizing Scriptures that are directly related to the topics of sexual sin and purity. You can do this by reading good books about how to kill sin. You can do this by talking to other people who have, by the power of the Spirit, put this particular sin to death.

Fourth, we must be mindful of our eyes.

Job 31:1 says, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?” As you can see, Job had made a covenant with God that he would not gaze or lust after a woman. Job intentionally sought to be mindful of where he would and would not place his eyes. We would do well to do the same.

Also, as Solomon gives counsel to his son about the adulterous woman, he says, “Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes” (Proverbs 6:25). As you can see, the beginning stage of adultery is desiring the beauty of another woman in your heart. Therefore, we must be mindful of our eyes. We must make sure that we are not desiring sexual things that are contrary to God’s moral law in our heart. This will help us in the pursuit of purity.

Fifth, we must be mindful of God’s eyes.

When the Scripture teaches about the dangers of sexual sin it says, “For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths” (Proverbs 5:21). Here, Solomon is teaching his son that the all seeing eye of God is upon him. God is pondering all his ways. He is enthroned in the heavens and sees every inclination of our heart and every action that we take.

This kind of teaching is important because sin usually comes with a deceptive voice saying, “Nobody will see. Nobody will notice. This will be easy to cover up!” And we must remember that this is sin’s deception. It is not reality. The reality is that God, who sits enthroned in the heavens and is incomprehensibly pure, sees all the ways of man. He sees our hearts desires. He sees us at the computer. He sees us on our phone. He sees us as we watch T.V. And he sees us when we are with our boyfriend, girlfriend, fiancé, boss, co-worker, etc. A robust understanding of the all seeing eye of our heavenly Father will help us to be children without the stain of sexual sin.

Sixth, we must be aware of who we are dating or considering dating.

If the person you are dating wants to enjoy sex with you without the covenantal promise that goes with it, then you have a huge problem. I mean, you must understand that God is protecting you when he commands you to only have sex within the marital union.

It really is a beautiful thing for God to reveal to you that your body is so incredibly valuable that the only person that has the right to it must look you in the eyes and vow to be your spouse for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, in health, till death separates you. Is that not beautiful? The only guy or girl that has the right to your body is the one that promises to be with you as long as you both are still breathing!

With this in mind, find somebody that is willing to marry you; to vow before God to never leave you. Then, after they make that vow to you, gladly and joyfully give your body to them. But, and this is a serious matter, be wary of an individual that wants the right to your body without making vows before God. They are not looking out for your good. They are only seeking to experience the fleeting pleasures of sexual gratification, and they are willing to use your valuable body in order to experience them.

Seventh, you must take delight in heavenly things.

God has given you innumerable blessings that will satisfy your soul. He has given you a buffet of soul satisfying blessings. He has given you Christ whom you can feast on by faith. He has given you His word which is like honey from the honeycomb. He has given you prayer which is direct access to the King of the cosmos! So why in the world seek to be satisfied with sexual sin? Why go to the broken cistern of sexual sin seeking refreshment? We have an infinite stream of eternal blessings flowing from our heavenly Father that will satisfy us greatly!

Eighth, you must be aware of entertainment.

Make sure that the books you are reading, the shows you are watching, the social media you are consuming, and the company you are keeping aren’t polluting your mind and tempting you to lust in your heart. If you can’t thank God for the book, show, movie, social media account, or the conversations that you are having with your friends, then you need to rid yourself of them. Seek to only do that which makes you love Christ more zealously! Do what keeps your love for Christ hot and vibrant. Refrain from doing what makes your love for Christ grow cold. It is when your love for Christ is cold that you turn to sexual sin.

Conclusion

There is much more than could be said. There is more that could be said about the seventh commandment in general, and there is more that could be said regarding applications. This is simply written to remind Christians of the importance of putting sexual sin to death, and to help people think about how they can practically put sexual sin to death. I do hope and pray that God will enable you to put sexual sin to death and to pursue purity by the power of the Spirit, for the sake of Christ, and to the glory of God.

 

How Good is the Steadfast Love of God?

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Psalm 63:3

Within Psalm 63, David says, “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you” (Psalm 63:3). As you can see, David places two good things before him, the steadfast love of God and life, and compares them. In order to understand the beauty of what is being said here, we need to first understand what David means by steadfast love of God as well as life. Let’s begin by looking at what David means by the steadfast love of God.

Steadfast Love

Within Scripture, the steadfast love of God, in this particular context, is the loyal, faithful, and unfailing love that God had shown Israel because of the relationship He had with them. And in the Bible, we see that the steadfast love of God leads God to redeem his people from their enemies, to preserve them from death, to give them spiritual life, to forgive them of their sins, and to keep his covenant with them (Ex. 15:13; Ps. 86:13; Ps. 119:159; Ps. 25:7; Neh. 1:5). This is the steadfast love of God. It is that loyal, faithful, and unfailing love that God shows his people by being a hundred percent for them rather than against them. Now let’s look at what David means by life.

Life

By life, David means the good, valuable gift of living in this world and, inevitably, all the good things that comes with living in this world. By all the good things, I simply mean things like kids, a loving spouse, business success, honor and glory, sex, entertainment, food, drink, etc. Though that was probably obvious, it was helpful for us to ponder nonetheless.

Comparing Them

The reason it was helpful for us to ponder is because David places the steadfast love of God and the good valuable gift of living in this world together for the purposes of comparing them. And when he does compare them, he ends up saying that the steadfast love of God is better than life. Or to put it another way, “The steadfast love of God is better than life. O! it would be better not to have lived than to have lived without knowing the steadfast love of God!”

These are amazing words. David is rightly esteeming the steadfast love of God. And, when it comes to us personally, as New Covenant Christians, we ought to be able to say this with the same level of earnestness as David. For, when you think about it, we have seen more redemptive history than David. Therefore, we have more evidence that enables us to better see the infinite value of God’s steadfast love.

Steadfast Love in Christ

Just think about it. We have seen God show his steadfast love for us by sending His own Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to be a wrath appeasing substitute on our behalf. We have seen him raise Jesus from the dead and exalt him to His right hand showing us that Jesus Christ is a faithful High Priest who always lives to make intercession for us. And we have seen Him give us the Holy Spirit to enable us to put sin to death and to live to the glory of God. Then, as if all that were not enough, we have seen him elaborate on how unfailing his steadfast, never-failing, and unceasing love for us is when he says that nothing will be able to separate us from his love for us in Christ (Rom. 8:39).

Just think about all of that. Isn’t it apparent that the steadfast love of God is better than life? This is the testimony of the Scriptures and, in all honesty, it ought to be engraved on the tombstone of every martyr that has died for the sake of Christ! For, is this not what they were testifying to when they poured out their blood unto death for Christ?

Martyrs Testified to this Truth

Wasn’t Stephen, not with his mouth but with his life, saying that the steadfast love of God is better than life when he was being stoned to death for his faithful preaching of the gospel in Acts 7? Or think about Lady Jane Grey, a strong Christian woman who lived during the reign of Bloody Mary. Was she not saying with her actions that the steadfast love of God is better than life when she placed her head on the execution block and prayed to Jesus, saying, “Lord, into thy hands I commit my spirit”? And then they severed her head because of her faith in Jesus.

And think about John Bradford. In the year of 1555, during the reign of Bloody Mary, he and John Leaf where tied to a stake to be burned alive for their faith in Jesus. As the fire was about to begin, John Bradford turned to John Leaf and said, “Be of good comfort brother, for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night.” Every martyr throughout church history testified to the truth that the steadfast love of God is better than life.

We Should Testify to this Truth

And, as Christians, this ought to be our testimony as well. We ought to look to the heavens and tell God the Father that his steadfast love is better than life. We ought to look to friends and remind them of this precious truth. And we ought to look at the enemies of Christ and inform that they can take away our possessions, families, reputations, and even your own lives because the steadfast love of God in Christ is infinitely more valuable than all of it.

What God the Father has done for us in Christ Jesus our Lord is better than life. Spurgeon put this so beautifully when he said, “Life is dear, but God’s love is dearer. To dwell with God is better than life at its best; life at ease, in a palace, in health, in honor, in wealth, in pleasure; yea, a thousand lives are not equal to the eternal life which abides in Jehovah’s smile.” Ponder on this truth today. Be enraptured by it. And, just as David mentioned in this verse, let this truth lead your lips to praise the God that has been pleased to make you a recipient of His steadfast love.

Spurgeon on Godly Mothers

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What did the Prince of Preachers have to say about mothers? With some of the quotes below, you will see that C.H. Spurgeon had a deep respect for mothers and the incredible influence they have within the home.

Quotes

“Most men are what their mothers made them.”

“As is the gardener such is the garden, as is the wife such is the family.”

“Grace does not run in the blood, but we generally find that the Timothies have mothers of a godly sort.”

“Good mothers are very dear to their children. There’s no mother in the world like our own mother.”

“A mother who trains her children aright had need to be wiser than Solomon, for his son turned out a fool.”

“Home is the best place for boys and men, and a good mother is the soul of the home.”

“The smile of a mother’s face has enticed many into the right path, and the fear of bringing a tear into her eye has called off many a man from evil ways.”

“The devil never reckons a man to be lost so long as he has a good mother alive.”

“Fathers and mothers are the most natural agents for God to use in the salvation of their children. I am sure that, in my early youth, no teaching ever made such an impression upon my mind as the instruction of my mother. Neither can I conceive that, to any child, there can be one who will have such influence over the young heart as the mother who has so tenderly cared for her offspring. A man with a soul so dead as not to be moved by the sacred name of ‘mother’ is creation’s blot.”

“Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a godly mother.”

Last One

After all that, it is fitting to end with this one:

“O woman, great is thy power! See to it that it be used for him who thought of his mother even in the agonies of death.”