Burger King's motto is, "Have it your way!" Little do they know that their catchy slogan provides the best explanation for why people deserve to go to hell. The Jewish religious leaders, also known as Pharisees and Sadducees, were always trying to catch Jesus in a mistake. They confronted Him in Matthew 22 with the question, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" (22:36, NKJV) The Bible book of Leviticus contains over 400 laws! Furthermore, the religious leaders had added hundreds of extra rules to their faith practice that basically made obedience to God impossible. Their question was asked in order to trap Jesus. Whatever answer He gave, they thought, would be wrong because all the laws were important for their religion. Jesus turned the question into a teaching opportunity about eternity and replied, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (22:37-40, NKJV).
Jesus was trying to show the religious leaders that religion does not get a person anywhere with God. He pointed out that loving God and loving other people were the two focuses of a person's life. Once we understand this Truth, then we can understand why people deserve hell. We do not love God all the time without fail. Furthermore, we do not love everyone we meet all the time. God has to teach us how to love, and we have to practice and practice loving Him and loving people that we do not naturally like. Does our culture not teach us that we can reject people that are not like us? Look: You can avoid a person you do not like. That action does not prove anything except that you are just like everyone else. But God, the Creator of the Universe and the Savior of mankind calls us to so much more than simply selecting whom we want for friends. Jesus taught that most people will not find the way to heaven because most people prefer an independent life from God's rules. He taught His followers to, "enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 6:13-14, NKJV).
Originally, when the question is asked, "Why do people deserve to go to hell?" it is asked with the perspective that people are innocent and unworthy of such a harsh punishment. However, the Bible helps to shape our perspective of people so that we can see sin as it is: an all-encompassing, self-made prison that we cannot see, but in which we gladly stay so that we can do and say whatever we want in this life apart from accountability to God and the Christian community.
Let me conclude with this challenge: Take a good look at your prison and the person you are. Evaluate your priorities and values and see if what you spend your time thinking about is really that important. Do the words that come out of your mouth throughout the day reflect a good, decent heart or a corrupt heart that needs Jesus every day? What about your thoughts? If a reality TV show could hook you up to a lie detector and asked you specific questions about what you have allowed yourself to think and fantasize about, would you want the Truth about you on public television? God wants our hearts and our loyalty. He wants us to listen to Him and spend time with Him in His word and with His people. Stir up the gift of God, your salvation, that lives inside of you and let God shape you to become the best of yourself, the person He planned for you to be.
For questions, comments, or prayer requests, please send an e-mail to wfbcyouth@gmail.com.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Why Do People Deserve Hell?
As we discussed 2 Timothy 2:1-7 on Wednesday night, someone asked, "Why do people deserve hell?" We were talking about 2 Timothy 2:1 where Paul tells Timothy to, "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus," (NIV) and we examined the process of Reflecting on the gospel, Repenting of our sins, Reconciling with God and others, and Reaching Out to pass the Truth on. Confusion about God's justice inevitably comes up when we are confronted with the Truth from Scripture that we cannot earn God's favor but only receive His grace and mercy through acknowledging our sin and repenting of our rebellion.
Well, that is probably just about as clear as mud for those who do not know that much about the Doctrine of Total Depravity. The term total depravity is a big Bible word which means, most simply, that we are not Jesus. Let us look at Romans for a minute. Paul wrote Romans, a letter to the church at Rome, and if anyone knew why men cannot be good without Jesus' help, he did. Paul used to be named Saul, and he killed Christians for a living before Jesus saved him (Acts 9). Paul writes in his letter to the church in Rome, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23, NIV). Because we are sinners (rebels against God's authority in our lives), Paul writes again, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23, NIV). In the next chapter, Paul writes about his own issues with sin in his life, "I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do...I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it" (excerpts from Romans 7:14-20, NIV).
Basically, all those quotes from Paul are pointing us to the same Truth from Scripture about man: we are not morally neutral. We are born into a rebellious attitude, and even if we try to do good things, the good is stained like ink in water by our natural tendency to want independence from God. God, therefore, is just when He rejects us, because we first reject Him and His love by our rebellious lifestyles.
Tomorrow, I will write more about this question of why people deserve hell, and why God is absolutely right when He condemns people to an eternity of suffering if they do not repent of sin and trust in Jesus in this life.
A final story from the International Mission Board (IMB) magazine:
Article: "Through Christ, young women find way off the street"
When Maria was a young girl, she moved to Guayaquil - the largest city in Ecuador. There she was forced to grow up quickly.
Her father was an abusive alcoholic, so she left home, intending to live with her grandmother in another city. By the time she was in her early teens, she was lost to a world of drugs, alcohol, jail and prostitution.
Then, someone invited her to church. Not interested at first, she held on to her worldly lifestyle. Some believers continued to invite her to church and told her about God's love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. She eventually gave her life to Christ.
Maria says, "Jesus filled the emptiness of my heart and changed my life completely. My old life is in the past."
Now she is married and works in a vegetable market. She also helps local mission workers tell young women on the street about Jesus.
One of the local missionaries says, "For most, no one has ever told them they love them or told them God loves them."
-----
For questions about today's devotion or for prayer requests, please e-mail us @ wfbcyouth@gmail.com.
Well, that is probably just about as clear as mud for those who do not know that much about the Doctrine of Total Depravity. The term total depravity is a big Bible word which means, most simply, that we are not Jesus. Let us look at Romans for a minute. Paul wrote Romans, a letter to the church at Rome, and if anyone knew why men cannot be good without Jesus' help, he did. Paul used to be named Saul, and he killed Christians for a living before Jesus saved him (Acts 9). Paul writes in his letter to the church in Rome, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23, NIV). Because we are sinners (rebels against God's authority in our lives), Paul writes again, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23, NIV). In the next chapter, Paul writes about his own issues with sin in his life, "I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do...I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it" (excerpts from Romans 7:14-20, NIV).
Basically, all those quotes from Paul are pointing us to the same Truth from Scripture about man: we are not morally neutral. We are born into a rebellious attitude, and even if we try to do good things, the good is stained like ink in water by our natural tendency to want independence from God. God, therefore, is just when He rejects us, because we first reject Him and His love by our rebellious lifestyles.
Tomorrow, I will write more about this question of why people deserve hell, and why God is absolutely right when He condemns people to an eternity of suffering if they do not repent of sin and trust in Jesus in this life.
A final story from the International Mission Board (IMB) magazine:
Article: "Through Christ, young women find way off the street"
When Maria was a young girl, she moved to Guayaquil - the largest city in Ecuador. There she was forced to grow up quickly.
Her father was an abusive alcoholic, so she left home, intending to live with her grandmother in another city. By the time she was in her early teens, she was lost to a world of drugs, alcohol, jail and prostitution.
Then, someone invited her to church. Not interested at first, she held on to her worldly lifestyle. Some believers continued to invite her to church and told her about God's love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. She eventually gave her life to Christ.
Maria says, "Jesus filled the emptiness of my heart and changed my life completely. My old life is in the past."
Now she is married and works in a vegetable market. She also helps local mission workers tell young women on the street about Jesus.
One of the local missionaries says, "For most, no one has ever told them they love them or told them God loves them."
-----
For questions about today's devotion or for prayer requests, please e-mail us @ wfbcyouth@gmail.com.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
2 Timothy 1:6 - Stir up the gift
Our first devotional thought for the week is about our Bible verse focus for the next two months: 2 Timothy 1:6. The entire verse reads: "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands" (NKJV). One of the first things that we learn about Bible study is to investigate "therefores" in order to discover what a "therefore" is "there for." Get it?
The apostle Paul reminded his young Christian friend Timothy about the foundation for his faith. He was raised to know God by his Grandma Lois and mother Eunice, and Paul was now his spiritual mentor. God often reaches out to young people through the faith tradition of their families. I was personally attending church before I was born because my mom carried me to church every Sunday when she was pregnant. I went to church every week growing up because I was born into a Christian family. Maybe you come from a Christian family. Maybe you can relate to Timothy because your parents and grandparents taught you to pray before eating a meal or took you to church on Sundays and Wednesday nights. Maybe you have received God's gift of salvation, but you are not living a lifestyle that reveals God's gift actively at work in your heart.
King Solomon started his reign of Israel as a young man. He had his whole life ahead of him and the powerful testimony of his father's faith in God behind him. God came to Solomon in a dream and offered to grant any request he could ask. In 2 Chronicles 1:10, young Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge to lead God's people. God was so pleased with Solomon's request that He gave Solomon wisdom as well as power, prestige, and countless possessions. However, over the course of Solomon's life, he drifted from his loyalty to God because of his many wives who worshipped different gods. Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes as his last will and testament confessing, "I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be excercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind" (1:13-14 NKJV).
My friends, God wants to do great things through us, but first He must break the pride of our hearts. We want to do what we think is right for our lives. God comes into the middle of that attitude and says, "Life is not about you; instead, life is about what I can do through your life." Let me challenge you this week to "stir up the gift of God that is in you" because anything you try to accomplish on your own apart from God and His love is simply "vanity and grasping for the wind."
If you have any prayer needs, please e-mail wfbcyouth@gmail.com.
James
The apostle Paul reminded his young Christian friend Timothy about the foundation for his faith. He was raised to know God by his Grandma Lois and mother Eunice, and Paul was now his spiritual mentor. God often reaches out to young people through the faith tradition of their families. I was personally attending church before I was born because my mom carried me to church every Sunday when she was pregnant. I went to church every week growing up because I was born into a Christian family. Maybe you come from a Christian family. Maybe you can relate to Timothy because your parents and grandparents taught you to pray before eating a meal or took you to church on Sundays and Wednesday nights. Maybe you have received God's gift of salvation, but you are not living a lifestyle that reveals God's gift actively at work in your heart.
King Solomon started his reign of Israel as a young man. He had his whole life ahead of him and the powerful testimony of his father's faith in God behind him. God came to Solomon in a dream and offered to grant any request he could ask. In 2 Chronicles 1:10, young Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge to lead God's people. God was so pleased with Solomon's request that He gave Solomon wisdom as well as power, prestige, and countless possessions. However, over the course of Solomon's life, he drifted from his loyalty to God because of his many wives who worshipped different gods. Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes as his last will and testament confessing, "I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be excercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind" (1:13-14 NKJV).
My friends, God wants to do great things through us, but first He must break the pride of our hearts. We want to do what we think is right for our lives. God comes into the middle of that attitude and says, "Life is not about you; instead, life is about what I can do through your life." Let me challenge you this week to "stir up the gift of God that is in you" because anything you try to accomplish on your own apart from God and His love is simply "vanity and grasping for the wind."
If you have any prayer needs, please e-mail wfbcyouth@gmail.com.
James
Welcome and Introduction
Welcome to the Student Ministry Blog of West Franklin Baptist Church!
As youth pastor, I have set five goals for our outreach to students:
First, we want to HELP the youth. We want to meet their practical needs by getting them resources for school and life.
Second, we want to TEACH the Bible. We are currently studying through 2 Timothy, and my desire is for the students to learn how to study the Bible and become Bible teachers themselves.
Third, we want to TRAIN the leaders. We want to formulate a student leadership team as quickly as possible so that the students are able to raise money for their ministry budget and plan mission trips each month in our city.
Fourth, we want to PRACTICE the spiritual disciplines. We have to keep our focus on Jesus Christ and learn how to prioritize prayer, Bible study, worship, and other spiritual activities that keep us connected to the King daily for the rest of our lives!
Fifth, we want to GO on mission. We want to be more than a group of people that meet twice a week in a church building. We want to reach out to people in our city and connect with people from other cultures and faith backgrounds in order to learn about them so that we can share Jesus with them.
A further goal of this blog is to allow students connected with our ministry to practice writing daily devotional thoughts based in Scripture as well as to update our ministry partners on events and mission trips with stories, pictures, and links to YouTube videos.
God bless you for caring about us, providing for us, and praying for us as we learn how to obey God's will, trust in God's plan, and follow God's call.
James H
As youth pastor, I have set five goals for our outreach to students:
First, we want to HELP the youth. We want to meet their practical needs by getting them resources for school and life.
Second, we want to TEACH the Bible. We are currently studying through 2 Timothy, and my desire is for the students to learn how to study the Bible and become Bible teachers themselves.
Third, we want to TRAIN the leaders. We want to formulate a student leadership team as quickly as possible so that the students are able to raise money for their ministry budget and plan mission trips each month in our city.
Fourth, we want to PRACTICE the spiritual disciplines. We have to keep our focus on Jesus Christ and learn how to prioritize prayer, Bible study, worship, and other spiritual activities that keep us connected to the King daily for the rest of our lives!
Fifth, we want to GO on mission. We want to be more than a group of people that meet twice a week in a church building. We want to reach out to people in our city and connect with people from other cultures and faith backgrounds in order to learn about them so that we can share Jesus with them.
A further goal of this blog is to allow students connected with our ministry to practice writing daily devotional thoughts based in Scripture as well as to update our ministry partners on events and mission trips with stories, pictures, and links to YouTube videos.
God bless you for caring about us, providing for us, and praying for us as we learn how to obey God's will, trust in God's plan, and follow God's call.
James H
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