Tag: Religion

Separation of Church and State

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Pastoral, Quotes7 Comments

The Lord has appointed two kingdoms to govern the affairs of men.

What Are the Two Kingdoms? What Do They Do?

The church administers the sacraments and the Word of God to direct our Father’s children in godliness, while the state bears the sword against injustice and makes laws for the good of all people, regenerate and unregenerate alike (Rom. 13:1-7). Each authority must do its delegated tasks and not try to usurp the authority of the other. The church does not bear the sword, and the state does not administer church discipline.

How Should the Church Interact With and Think of the State?

Nevertheless, on account of the covenant of creation, it is right for the church to expect the state to honor life and bear the sword justly, and it is the responsibility of the church to be a prophetic witness against the state when it fails in these duties.

In this day and age, there is a great temptation for the church in the United States to think that its mission is coextensive with the platform of one or more of the political parties in this country. Yet while we must never be guilty of this error, it does not follow that the church is to be silent on current policies that violate God’s natural law. The state must ever be reminded that it is under the authority of God and the laws He has established in nature.

Question for Reflection

  1. How do you think of and apply the separation of church and state?

Resources

Table Talk Magazine, Creation Ordinances, February 28, 2011 (headings mine)

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Shadow Versus Substance

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, QuotesLeave a comment

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ (Col. 2:16-17).

Tempted to Envy

We might envy the old covenant saints because we do not usually see great seas parted, manna falling from heaven, and other “spectacular” displays of God’s power. But we are in a far better position than the old covenant saints, for we see Christ more clearly than they ever did.

Should Be Grateful

Let us be grateful for the era in which we live and never try to go back to life under the legal bondage that characterized those who lived before the coming of Jesus.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you realize many practices and acts in the Old Testament point to Jesus?

Resources

Table Talk Magazine, Shadow Versus Substance, February 14, 2011 (headings mine)

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Get More Out of Scripture Today

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, Quotes1 Comment

I am convinced that the greatest devotional need for most of those reading this article – even those committed to spending time in the Bible every day – is to meditate on Scripture.

It seems a common experience for people to read the Bible and then, as soon as they close it, to forget everything they’ve read.

People are seldom changed by what they immediately forget.

Why Can’t We Remember?

Do most people somehow lack the mental equipment necessary to remember something they just read? I think the forgetfulness occurs mostly because people spend two or three seconds reading one verse, then two or three seconds with the next verse, and so on until they are finished. How much does anyone remember of thoughts they considered for just two seconds?

Reading the Bible was never intended to be the primary means of absorbing the Bible. Reading is the starting place, but meditation is the absorption of Scripture.

And it is the absorption of Scripture that leads to the experiences with God and the changes in our lives that we seek when we come to the Bible.

Why is Our Time In Scripture Not More Profitable?

The main reason more Christians don’t find their daily time in the Scriptures more profitable has little do with the strength of their memory, the level of they education, or their IQ; rather, the problem is very simple: a lack of meditation on Scripture.

How Do We Meditate on Scripture?

There are many ways to meditate on the text of Scripture, such as:

  • Repeating the verse or phrase with emphasis on a different word each time.
  • Rewriting the verse or phrase in your own words.
  • Looking for applications of the text.
  • Formulating a principle from it.
  • Asking what question is answered or problem is solved by it.
  • Praying through the text.
  • Select something from your reading and ask: “How does this text relate to the gospel and the Jesus?” Maybe you will select a single word, a character in the narrative, or the main idea of the passage. From it you may see, for instance, (a) something that shows our need for the gospel, or (b) an example that points to something Jesus is or (c) something Jesus did in an even greater way, or (d) an illustration of one of the effects of the gospel upon those who believe.

Challenge

If you spend just sixty seconds meditating on a verse of Scripture, do you realize that may be ten to twenty times as long as you would normally consider that verse? Reserve at least a minute in your Bible reading time today, choose a verse, and [meditate on it using one of the means above. You may start by] ask[ing], “How does this text relate to the gospel and to Jesus?”

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you spend time meditating on God’s Word?
  2. How could meditating on God’s Word change the way you do your daily devotional reading?

Resources

Table Talk Magazine, Seeing the Gospel in the Word of God, by Donald Whitney, February 26-27, 2011 (headings and bullets mine)

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Are You Ready For Your Wedding?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

Wedding

If you know anything about weddings, you know they are all about the bride and groom. Think about it. They are the ones who select the theme, the location, and the date and time. They don’t phone you to ask what theme you would like or what date works for you. No, what happens? You walk out to the mailbox one day and there is an invitation waiting on you telling you what the wedding be like and the date and time it will be on. You are then expected to clear your calendar and show up on that date and time.

On the day of the wedding, it doesn’t matter what is happening in your life. It doesn’t matter that you woke up late, misplaced your keys, or that your children have been running around crazy. You are still expected to be at the church on time ready for the wedding to start.

In the same way, Jesus expects us to be ready for His wedding, but instead of sending us an invitation with the date and time, He tells us that we are to always be ready.

How Can We Be Ready?

In order of us to be ready, our heart has to be changed. We have to have turned to Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Without a heart change, there is no hope for us because only a changed heart will allow us to be fully committed to Jesus.

There is no room for quasi-Christians

There is no room for those who are straddling the fence. Those who are half committed.

It is sad, but I believe that is where most of the church is at today. They are half committed fence straddlers. They turn to God only when it is convenient, when it works for them, when He’s helping them with life.

Jesus, however, is not looking for fence straddlers, those who want God on their own terms. Instead, He wants us to deal with  Him on His terms. His terms is full and continued obedience and commitment to Him. If that’s not us. If we are only half committed, then we are no better than the church at Laodicea. We are lukewarm. Jesus will say and do to us exactly what He says to them.

“…because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:16).

So if you have been playing church, quit. If you aren’t fully committed, quit straddling the fence and jump all in. A half commitment is no commitment at all. We must be all in or nothing. If we aren’t, then we aren’t prepared. We aren’t ready for Jesus to come. We aren’t ready for our wedding day.

Question for Reflection

  1. Are you fully committed to Jesus?

Resource

Post adapted from my sermon: The Wise are Always Prepared for Jesus’ Return

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How Do You Know If You are Ready for Jesus to Return?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical2 Comments

Jesus' Return

How do you know if you are ready for Jesus to return? Different people give different answers. Some say I am an American; while others believe they are ready because they walked an aisle, raised a hand, and said a prayer; still others believe they are ready because they have lived a good life, helping lots of people.

What, however, does the Bible? To be sure, it does not answer in the way most would.

What does the Bible Say?

The Bible tells us that we can know we are ready for Jesus’ return by continually living according to Jesus’ will. The parable of the faithful and unfaithful servant exemplify this idea (Matthew 24:45-51).

In the parable, the faithful servant remained true to his master’s wishes the entire time he was gone, while the unfaithful servant didn’t. Instead of following his master’s will, he followed his own.

So we can know that we are ready for Jesus’ return if we are continually living according to His will.

Why is that so?

Because that is what Jesus’ judgment is based on. You see, Jesus’ judgment isn’t based on some decision we made in the past. Rather it is based on how we are currently living. It is based on our faithfulness.

If we prove ourselves to be faithful to Him at His return by continually living according to His will, then we will experience a joyous reward. If, however, we prove ourselves to be unfaithful to Him at His return by living according to our own will, we will experience eternal torment.

So we show that we are ready for Jesus’ return by continually living according to His will, by continually living as a faithful servant.

Clarification – Not a Works Based Salvation

Now, when I say we are judged according to our faithfulness, I am not advocating a works based salvation. Instead what I am saying is that our works reveal our true nature. The way we live reveals our heart as it really is, which means we can’t just rest in a decision we have made in the past. Instead, we must rest in how we are living for Jesus now.

And so, if you are not living as a faithful servant, if you are not living according to God’s will, if you are not continually growing in your Christian walk and becoming more like Christ, if these things are not taking place in your life, then you are not a faithful servant no matter what decision you made in the past.

It is not about what we “have done” rather it is about what we “are doing.”

I bring this up because a lot of people think they are going to heaven based of some decision they made years ago. While there is a time when our heart is given to Christ, we can’t base our eternal destiny on a decision alone, especially if that decision hasn’t affected the way we live.

Those whose hearts are given to Christ, those who “decide for Christ”, change. They change to become a faithful servant – someone continually living according to Jesus’ will. If that has not happened in your life, then you haven’t given your heart to Jesus. You are not going to experience eternal life because you aren’t a follower of Jesus.

Jesus is looking for followers not just deciders

Sure, you might have changed for a short time, but if you are not living as a Christian now, if you aren’t living as a faithful servant now, then when Jesus returns, you are not going to be rewarded, rather you are going to be punished.

Faithful servants of God are prepared for Jesus’ return, and they show they are prepared by continually living according to Jesus’ will.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you see a continual change in your life, or are you just resting in a decision you made in the past?

Resources

Adapted from my sermon: What does it look like to be a faithful servant of God?

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How Do We Redeem Our Work?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals1 Comment

Work

What do you think of when you think of heaven? Popular perception is something like floating around on a cloud somewhere singing and playing harp. Those who are musically inclined might be thrilled, but that is not what is going to happen. We aren’t going to just float around for all eternity. No, we are going to be apart of a renewed city.

A Renewed City

In Revelation 21, we are told that a New Heavens and a New Earth will be formed. A New Jerusalem will be made ready for us to live in. Which means we are going to be citizens of a city in the future. A city where we will have responsibilities. A city in which we will live and work. If that doesn’t sound like heaven to you, keep in mind work is one reason we were created.

Work is one reason we were created.

Created to Work

In Genesis 2:5 God says,

“When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,…” (Ge 2:5)

He continues in verse 7 by saying,

“…then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.” (Ge 2:7–8)

We are told in verse 15 the reason God placed Adam in the garden was to

“work it and keep it.” (Ge 2:15c)

So we were created to work. If that is true, you may ask yourself then: Why do I hate working so much?

Why We Don’t Like Work

Well, the reason we don’t like work is because of The Fall. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God, part of the punishment was increased labor in their work. In other words, work was made more difficult.

Work is for Our Joy

From the beginning, work wasn’t supposed to be something we hated. It wasn’t supposed to be difficult and dreadful. That wasn’t how God designed it. He designed work to be something we enjoy.

We see glimpses of the joy of work even today. Think about your hobbies. I am sure none of you just sit in a dark room as a hobby. No, what do you do? You do some form of work. Think about it. Remodeling a car, making a quilt, hunting, training dogs and whatever else you do. All of that is work — It takes effort, skill, and time; it’s work.

The difference though between our hobbies and our job is that we enjoy our hobbies. Since we enjoy them, they don’t feel like work, even though it is work.

How Do We Redeem Work?

We redeem work by seeing it as something good God created. Work is good for us and others. It is good for God’s creation. God told Adam to work it and keep it, to cultivate the land he was given stewardship over. When we work to cultivate God’s creation and put our creative abilities in play, we create things that are good for everyone. Of course, I know some of you will say we create things that are not good. While that is true, the process of creation and cultivation in and of itself is a good thing.

Another way to redeem work is to see it as a way to glorify and honor God. When we view work as a way to honor and glorify God, our work becomes worship. While it may be hard, difficult, taxing, something at times we don’t enjoy, it is a way for us to worship God. Knowing work is worship should help us get through the day a little easier.

Along with seeing work as worship, we can also redeem work by viewing it as an opportunity to witness to others. Before I was a minister, I slaved away in the corporate world chained to a desk and phone all day. While I didn’t enjoy what I did, I had the opportunity to build deep relationships with my co-workers. Relationships that ultimately allowed me to speak the truth of the gospel into their lives. In that way, I redeemed the work I hated doing.

Question for Reflection

  1. How do you redeem work?

Resources

Post adapted from my sermon What Does It Look Like To Be A Faithful Servant of God?

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