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The Blue Collar Christian

Monthly Archives: October 2017

Happy Reformation Day!

31 Tuesday Oct 2017

Posted by Bobby Sparks in Church History

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Church History, Martin Luther

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A bust of Martin Luther. I took this picture in Worms, Germany.

 

Martin Luther was just a humble monk who rediscovered the truth that justification before God was by faith alone. He spoke out against the abuses of the Church of his day. But, he himself was an flawed man. God still uses sinful broken people today.  Here a two quotes from Luther to think about today:

“From the beginning of my Reformation I have asked God to send me neither dreams, nor visions, nor angels, but to give me the right understanding of His Word, the Holy Scriptures; for as long as I have God’s Word, I know that I am walking in His way and that I shall not fall into any error or delusion.”

“Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason-I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other-my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.”

What are we standing for?

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Stand Up For Truth

30 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by Bobby Sparks in The Gospel, Theology

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Martin Luther, The Gospel, Theology

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This is a picture of a Reformation Church I visited in Germany.

 

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” – Romans 3:21-31

We should never, ever surrender the truth of the Gospel for the sake of political correctness. Nor, for the sake of some false sense of unity with those who reject the supremacy of Christ. Jesus Christ alone is the source of eternal life.

Before the death and resurrection of Jesus all humanity was alienated from God the Father. God sent his Son to reconcile those who would believe back to himself.  While the Jews had a sacrificial system, none of those sacrifices could permanently atone for their sins.  True reconciliation with God was accomplished by Jesus’ death on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead. Jesus paid the sin debt of a rebellious and broken humanity with his blood. All previous sacrifices pointed to the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. After Christ ascended back to the Father he sent the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts.

True believers are filled with the Holy Spirit to be witnesses of this truth, to a hostile and unbelieving world. We’re filled to live a life empowered by the Spirit, which produces holiness in our lives. The Father sets us apart for himself,  so that we can bear witness to the truth of his Son.

At the point of new birth we were justified by faith in Christ alone. Our justification is not progressive, it’s instantaneous. Sanctification is the progressive part that the Holy Spirit does along with our cooperation, that changes us into His image.

We must not lose the truth of our Justification by faith alone, or we will go back to the works-based religion of medieval times. If the devil can keep us doubting our right standing with God, we will live in fear of hell all of our lives. We cannot afford to lose what Martin Luther and the reformers rediscovered. Without the rediscovery of the truth of justification by faith alone, there would not have been a reformation in the church, and millions would still be in spiritual darkness. God justifies sinners like myself and I will never have to work for his approval,  Jesus took care of that on the cross. We must be willing to stand up for the truth of the Gospel at all cost.

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Contemplate And Reflect: 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

11 Wednesday Oct 2017

Posted by Bobby Sparks in Spiritual Theology

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Spiritual Theology, The Trinity

 

 

 

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“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” – (2 Corinthians 3:17-18 ESV)

We cannot contemplate on what or who we do not know. Truth is a Person(Jesus).  Not some vague cosmic impersonal  force or power. Jesus said; “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).”  He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother (Pr.18:24). This friendship is maintained by a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ words and life show us what the the Father is like, and the Holy Spirit reveals the Son to us. God was meant to be experienced, not just studied. Those that leave the path of discipleship to Jesus, have never lived a life of sustained contemplation and reflection on the Trinitarian God.

While mental assent may be a starting place – a fuller revelation of His eternal being is our goal. The abiding life with God is maintained through prayer and contemplation of the beauty of God. God’s beauty and his sufficiency is revealed, when the veil over our hearts has been removed. I’ve heard people say that I’ve tried Christianity and it didn’t work. But, in reality they never learned the art of contemplation and deep reflection of God. Until our one goal is to pursue and know the living God, and to experience his presence, our life with God won’t be fulfilling.

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Convergence: A Revival Of Word and Spirit

06 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by Bobby Sparks in Holy Spirit Power, The Word and Spirit

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I took this picture at a Church alter in Germany.

 

( I posted this back in 2010 on my old blog. I felt I needed to post it again – with a few minor changes.)

I believe most Christians would agree that prayer is a major key to seeing a genuine revival in this country. Some would say that a move of the Spirit through signs and wonders is needed – I would agree with that. We live in a “Christian culture” full of  Christian self-help books, Bibles of every shape, size, and various translations.  But, most Americans are suffering none-the-less from a famine of the hearing of the Word of God. We are dying spiritually in the mist of the information age.

The average American Christian does not know his or her Bible. We read the Scripture but know very little of the original context it was written in. We formulate doctrines based on our own personal experience, often taking verses out of their context. But, I have hope. God is raising up ministers in this Nation that are committed to the exposition of the Scriptures. I am encouraged by the clear teaching I’m hearing on the sovereignty of God, the substitutionary atonement, the feeding of the poor, missions, and the majestic splendor of King Jesus. My heart is to see Christ Church embrace the present day ministry and power of the Holy Spirit. A fresh empowerment or filling of the Holy Spirit is the need of the hour. To reject the spiritual gifts God has given to his Church – is to reject his grace.

God is building something of great theological depth in those that will “study to show themselves approved” and will pour His Spirit out on those who will seek him. I’m certainly not the first to see the connection between the Word and the Spirit. But, the need for this convergence, cannot be overemphasized. Come Holy Spirit!

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Avoiding The Spiritual Cliff and A Quote From Ravi Zacharias

05 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by Bobby Sparks in Worldview

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Ravi Zacharias, Worldview

 mountain-cliff-fall-tw2012
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 
(2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV) 

The U.S. and the whole western world is slowly moving to the edge of a spiritual cliff – the love of many seems to be growing cold (Matt.24:12.) We have become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. The sins (and yes I said sins) of pride, materialism, and self-indulgence  have made deep inroads in our nation as well as the Church.  Paganism has become the main philosophy by which much of the media and our entertainers live by. They have become the voice of our culture, replacing the Church. And, it seems that much of organized or politically motivated religion is presently losing the moral high-ground.

There seems to be no end to the loss of innocent lives through terrorist acts, abortion, and families are under relentless attack by dark spiritual forces. Many of us have felt like giving up on our society, but change is not impossible. So, how do we avoid the spiritual cliff? It’s really simple; those of us that consider ourselves to be followers of Jesus  need to seek intimacy with Him. One person, family, and Church at a time can radically transform the culture by living surrendered  lives – through the power of the Holy Spirit. And we must focus on making disciples, not just “church-goers.”

I have hope for a better future. God has raised up young (and some old) pastors in the land who are not afraid to proclaim the truth of the Gospel. While some in the apostate church are casting doubt about the reality of  hell and the value of Christ’ death on the cross and his resurrection,  others are faithfully proclaiming these truths. They are not condemning people for living ungodly lives, but are offering Christ as the answer to the spiritual bondage that so many struggle with. (You don’t have to be a ordained preacher to proclaim the Good News.) Pray that we in the west would turn back to God and avoid the spiritual cliff.

” We all remember the old story of the frog that is gradually boiled to death. When placed in a cauldron of cold water that is gradually heated to boiling, the frog continues to swim in comfort, oblivious to what is happening. If, on the other hand, the same frog is dropped into boiling water, it immediately leaps out for its safety. The gradual change went unnoticed, accommodated beyond reason, while the drastic change met with self-preserving common sense. Undeniably, being part of a culture brings about a level of comfort with the ways and means by which people live. But that familiarity does not guarantee sensitivity or objectivity. Proximity is not synonymous with understanding. Indeed, the very nearness we experience through modern technology may make us more vulnerable to distortion and victimization. The ideas and personalities the media thrust upon our imaginations subtly condition our consciousness in ways that even political totalitarianism cannot accomplish. We are unavoidably beguiled, in this so-called postmodern world, to an unprecedented degree. The constant bombardment of images shapes the perceptions of a whole generation and results in altered beliefs and lifestyles that make even the aberrant seem normal. The double-edged tragedy is not only that we are in such an environment but any warning that we are being molded possibly for the worse is contemptuously mocked as insane.”

Zacharias, Ravi. Deliver Us From Evil (pp. 19-20). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

 

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