Grace under Siege 70: Your right to vote this Sunday

     Welcome to all of you who truly worship Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God. As we approach the congregational meeting Sunday, some are confused about whether they have the right to vote.

     Like all churches, we exist as a church under the auspices of the State of California Department of Corporations, where our Articles of Incorporation have been accepted. As a legal requirement, and in order to remain qualified as a church, these Articles of Incorporation require us to abide by our current Bylaws.

ACCORDING TO THE BYLAWS, YOU CAN VOTE IF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN A MEMBER AND HAVE NOT

A) REQUESTED, IN WRITING, TO WITHDRAW YOUR MEMBERSHIP;

B) REQUESTED, IN WRITING, TO TRANSFER YOUR MEMBERSHIP; OR,

C) BEEN DISMISSED AFTER A MATTHEW 18 DISCIPLINE PROCESS. 

ACCORDING TO THE BYLAWS, YOU CANNOT VOTE IF YOU DO NOT FULLY BELIEVE IN AND PROPAGATE ALL THE TENETS OF THE EXISTING STATEMENT OF FAITH, even if you have been told otherwise.     

    If you don't or can't agree with this requirement, we welcome you to worship with us anyway, but please, as a Christian, be honest with God and yourself, and don't vote on any part of this ballot. Doing so could invalidate the election.

May God's will be done!

February 2, 1964

     February 2, 1964. That was the day I walked into a Chinese church in Tokyo, Japan as a seeker of truth and walked out a grateful recipient and follower of the One who is truth (John 14:6). It was the day I was born again, became a child of God, and passed from spiritual death to eternal life (John 1:12, 3:3, 3:16, 5:24). It's the day I gave the self-centered, mocking, confused, desperate, hurting, hungry self I was to Jesus Christ in exchange for the privilege of doing life within the perfect, whole Self He is and having Him live His life through me. (Galatians 2:20).
     In accepting His offer in 2 Corinthians 5:21 ("God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God"), I got by far the better of the bargain. When Dr. David Needham at Multnomah Bible College (now Multnomah University) took us through John 17 he pointed out that Jesus thanks the Father (multiple times) for giving believers to Him. Dr. Needham said giving us to Jesus Christ "is like giving weed seeds" to a farmer.
     But He welcomed me and I am and will be eternally grateful. I came into God's family through The Four Spiritual Laws. You can, too! Consider this an altar call. . .

Law One:

God LOVES you and offers a wonderful PLAN for your life.

God's Love
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

God's Plan
(Christ speaking) "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" (that it might be full and meaningful) (John 10:10).

Why is it that most people are not experiencing the abundant life?
Because...

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Law Two:

Man is SINFUL and SEPARATED from God. Thus he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life.

Man is Sinful
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way, and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is an evidence of what the Bible calls sin.

Man is Separated
"For the wages of sin is death" (spiritual separation from God) (Romans 6:23).

                          \      HOLY GOD      /
                           -------------------

                                 ^         ^
                            ^    |    ^    |
                            |    |    |    |
                           -------------------
                          /     SINFUL MAN    \
                         /                     \

This diagram illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. A great gulf separates the two. The arrows illustrate that man is continually trying to reach God and the abundant life through his own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion.

The Third Law explains the only way to bridge this gulf...

---

Law Three:

Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.

He Died in Our Place
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

He Rose From the Dead
"Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

He is the Only Way to God
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" (John 14:6).

                    
                          \ GOD       ---          /
                           ----------|   |--------
                              |   ___| J |___
                              |  |           |
                              |  |___  E  ___|
                              |      |   |
                             \|/     | S |
                              |      |   |
                              |      | U |
                              |      |   |
                              |      | S |
                             \|/     |   |
                           ----------|   |--------
                          / MAN       ---         \
                         /                         \

This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf which separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.

It is not enough just to know these three laws...

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Law Four:

We must individually RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.

We Must Receive Christ
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name" (John 1:12)
We Receive Christ Through Faith
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).
When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth
(Read John 3:1-8.)
We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation
(Christ speaking) "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).
Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us the kinds of people He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.
These two squares represent two kinds of lives:

           -------------------------          -------------------------
          |          @              |        | @                    @  |
          |       \             @   |        |  \   \   |          /   |
          |        |                |        |   \   | -|-        /    |
          |        |        @       |        |       |  |              |
          |   @    | self           |        |       |  |              |
       |  |        |_____           |        | @<--  |-----      -->@  |
      -|- |        |     |      @   |        |       |     |           |
       |  |        |     |          |        |       |     |           |
       |  |        |     |          |        |       |     | self      |
          |       /       \         |        |      /   |   \     \    |
          |              @          |        |          |          \   |
          |   @                     |        |          O           O  |
           -------------------------          -------------------------
              SELF-DIRECTED LIFE                 CHRIST-DIRECTED LIFE
            Self is on the throne               Christ is on the throne
           Christ is outside the life         Self is yielding to Christ
      @ Interests are directed by self,    @ Interests directed by Christ
        often resulting in discord and         resulting in harmony with
                frustration.                          God's plan.

Which square best describes your life?
The following explains how you can receive Christ:

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YOU CAN RECIEVE CHRIST RIGHT NOW by FAITH THROUGH PRAYER

(Prayer is talking to God)

God knows your heart and is not concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer: "Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."
Did you pray this prayer?

• YES

I still have questions
If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.

---

How to Know That Christ Is in Your Life
Did you receive Christ into your life? According to His promise in Revelation 3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you? Christ said that He would come into your life. Would He mislead you? On what authority do you know that God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.)
The Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ
"And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:11-13).
Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5). You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life, from the very moment you invite Him in. He will not deceive you.
An important reminder...

---

DO NOT DEPEND ON FEELINGS

The promise of God's Word, the Bible-not our feelings-is our authority. The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word. This train diagram illustrates the relationship between fact (God and His Word), faith (our trust in God and His Word), and feeling (the result of our faith and obedience) (John 14:21).

                              o o o o o
                             --                 -----
                            |  |                 | |
                       ----------     -------    ---------
                      |          |   |       |  |         |
                     /|   FACT   |---| FAITH |--| FEELING |
                    / |          |   |       |  |         |
                   /-- ----------     -------    ---------
                        O      O      O     O    O       O

The train will run with or without a caboose. However, it would be useless to attempt to pull the train by the caboose. In the same way, we as Christians, do not depend on feelings or emotions, but we place our faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God and the promises of His Word.

---

NOW THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED CHRIST
The moment that you received Christ by faith, as an act of the will, many things happened, including the following:

1. Christ came into your life (Revelation 3:20 and Colossians 1:27).
2. Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14).
3. You became a child of God (John 1:12).
4. You received eternal life (John 5:24).
5. You began the great adventure for which God created you (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Can you think of anything more wonderful that could happen to you than receiving Christ? Would you like to thank God in prayer right now for what he has done for you? By thanking God, you demonstrate your faith.
To enjoy your new life to the fullest...

---

SUGGESTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN GROWTH
Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. "The righteous man shall live by faith" (Galatians 3:11). A life of faith will enable you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your life, and to practice the following:
G. Go to God in prayer daily (John 15:7).
R. Read God's Word daily (Acts 17:11)-begin with the Gospel of John.
O. Obey God moment by moment (John 14:21).
W. Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19; John 15:8).
T. Trust God for every detail of your life (1 Peter 5:7).
H. Holy Spirit-allow Him to control and empower your daily life and witness (Galatians 5:16,17; Acts 1:)

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FELLOWSHIP IN A GOOD CHURCH

God's Word admonishes us not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25). Several logs burn brightly together; but put one aside on the cold hearth and the fire goes out. So it is with your relationship with other Christians. If you do not belong to a church, do not wait to be invited. Take the initiative; call the pastor of a nearby church where Christ is honored and His Word is preached. Start this week, and make plans to attend regularly.

Grace under Siege 69: High noon at the Grace Corral

     This Sunday we will be voting on three things: 

    1. The revised Statement of Faith

    2. The affirmation of each of the current 29 elders, including Lou, Hachet Man/Saul, and Jesus Eyes.

    3. The ordination of one of these elders as a pastor.

     
     Personally I am going to vote "no" on everything,* as a vote of "no confidence" for the whole leadership. All but two of the elders have violated Scripture and the Bylaws and are following a man who does not preach or value the Bible. So I will vote "no" on all but those two. *Keith Benson and Chuck Horton have stayed true to the Lord and the Bylaws, indicating so by signing and returning the document sent to all of them by the Watchmen. (I have posted this document below.)

     I cannot in good conscience vote for any of the others as long as they see their purpose (as two of the elders told us--neither of them one of the ones named above) "to make Lou successful."

     If you vote "no" on a candidate, you may have to indicate on your ballot whether the man is not qualified Biblically to be an elder at all or is not qualified for a specific job as an elder (in which case he can remain an elder). If you mark "not qualified Biblically," you can use one of the following passages which list the qualifications for elders, I Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-16, or I Peter 5:1-4. I quoted them in my December 29, 2011 post, grace-under-siege-38-qualifications-for-elders:

    "If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach. . . temperate. . . respectable. . . not. . . pugnacious but gentle, peaceable. . ." (I Timothy 3:1-7).

     "(A)ppoint elders. . .above reproach . . . not quick-tempered. . . not pugnacious. .  but. . . self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. For there are many . . . deceivers. . . They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him. . ." (Titus 1:5-16)                                            

     "Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you. . . [not] as lording it over those alloted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." (I Peter 5:1-4)

                                                                ---

    As I wrote on that post, "If, at the next annual business meeting, we members of Grace Brethren Church are asked to affirm that these men are qualified to continue as elders, before God, how can we?

Grace under Siege 68: Questionnaire from the Supporters of the Statement of Faith

NOTE: Of the 30 elders, only Chuck Horton and Keith Benson signed and returned this document.

From Concerned Members of

Grace Brethren Church

Of Long Beach

December 16, 2011

Dear Elder or Prospective Elder:

            This letter comes to you from some current elders, four prior chairmen of the elder board, eight missionaries and former pastors of this church, at least sixteen former elders, long time members and concerned individuals that are supporters of the Statement of Faith (the “Supporters”).  There are now well over 100 Supporters.  This letter is sent to you on their behalf. 

            We believe that the pastoral staff and members of the EBOE have not been following the church’s bylaws, which they are required to do by the California Corporations Code.  We believe that one example is their failure to properly qualify candidates for the office of elder.  As a result, some of you do not qualify to be an elder because you do not accept as true all of the tenets of our Statement of Faith.

Article II, Section C, Statement of Faith, has the following introductory statement:

The Statement of Faith under which this church exists, by which its Members associate themselves as a distinct body, and which every Member must accept, is composed of belief in the following:  (emphasis ours)  

Our by-laws furnish the reason that this is so critical: “in order to preserve the doctrinal unity of this local church.” It is this failure, this lack of a thorough examination of potential members and elders that has led to the disunity that our church currently faces.  Acceptance of the Statement of Faith is a covenant of each member to every other member that they personally believe that each and every proposition in the statement of Faith is true.  The necessary corollary is that a person must believe that any proposition that is contrary to or in conflict with any proposition in the Statement of Faith is not true. 

During the nominating process, some of you objected to paragraph 9 of the Statement of Faith dealing with end times.  Paragraph 9 provides as follows:

Future Plans of God.  Jesus Christ is coming back before the Tribulation to remove His Church to heaven.  Following the Tribulation period of seven years, He will return to this earth with His saints and angels to rule and reign for 1,000 years after which “eternity future” follows.  (Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24:15-31; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:1-9; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:4-6, 21-22).

If a person does not believe that this is true, then such a person cannot be an elder.  Nevertheless, some of you were allowed to become or remain an elder contrary to the bylaws and Statement of Faith.  You were told that you merely had to acknowledge that this is the position of the church and that you personally need not hold this position.  That is not true.  If that is your belief, you cannot sign the enclosed declaration.

Next month you are set for affirmation.  You must get 2/3 affirmative vote to be affirmed.  Enclosed is a declaration for you to sign and return in the envelope provided.  If you cannot sign this declaration in good conscience towards God, you should withdraw your name from consideration.  In the event that you do not sign and return it by December 30th, we will submit your name to the EBOE as being unqualified to be an elder because you do not possess the requisite belief(s) in our Statement of Faith as required by our bylaws.

To be clear, if you do not accept as true all of the propositions in the Statement of Faith and believe that any propositions contrary to or conflicting with the statement of Faith are false, then you cannot be an elder of this church.   Please print and sign your name at the bottom of the declaration and return it in the envelope provided.  You may fax your declaration to [--] or you can scan and e-mail it back to indicate that the original is in the mail.  However, in all events, we will need to have the original with a “wet” signature. 

We will report to the Supporters the names of those who have returned the declaration with a “wet” signature.  We will ask each of them to go before the Lord and ask for His direction in how to vote in the meeting of the congregation.   

John T. Anderson, Richard Byrd, Terry L. Polley*

on behalf of The Supporters of the Statement of Faith  

*[Bear], [Faithful], and [Straight Shooter]

Grace under Siege 67: Peace

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you: because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3

Grace under Siege 66: Gathering inward

     Fasting is a kind of dying--a weakening, a shrinking inside, a submitting, a letting go. It is grieving.
     At least this fast is. It is the dog whose master has died turning from his food and flopping across the doorway with a sigh, his head across his foreleg.
     In my case, it is gathering myself inward, silently praying, grieving and listening to the voice of God. It is waiting for God to work, standing when all that is left to do, all that can be done, is stand. It is bearing in my body the rage and contempt of the enemy, letting it batter me until it gives up and Christ wins.

Grace under Siege 65: Why we stood up

    This past Sunday Jerry and I stood up in the middle of Lou's sermon. Some of you noticed and wondered why.
     We have sensed for some time that standing for truth might require us to physically stand against lies coming from the pulpit. Much of what is said sounds wonderful, although it may be extra-Biblical or unBiblical. But we knew if Lou said something ANTI-Biblical we could not let it go.
     For the last four Sundays Lou has preached on unity. This Sunday someone read Ephesians 4:1-16 aloud and then Lou preached on part of that passage. As usual much of what He said was beautiful, eloquent, even true. Also as usual, about 3/4ths of the way through his message he slipped in a one-sentence zinger that contradicted a foundational, non-negotiable teaching of the Bible in a major way. This time he contradicted the commands throughout the Bible to value, seek and know truth.
     His subject was Living into Your Calling. He asked, "What does it look like to faithfully perform our part as God's called people?" Answering the question, he said, "Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:1-3: 'As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. . . . walk worthy of your calling with all humility and gentleness.'"
     Then he said, "None of that involves knowing the right doctrine. None of that involves understanding the correct meanings of theological terms and Greek words." It isn't the first time he has dismissed Bible study as irrelevant and even mocked it.
     So Jerry and I stood up.
     Doctrine means teaching. Lou said in effect that right teaching is not important. He implied that knowing and understanding truth is one of the "non-essentials" of the faith. His repeated negation of the necessity for knowing and anchoring our attitudes and behavior in the truths of  Scripture is appalling.
      Let me assure you, Jesus Christ takes strong exception to that view! He speaks truth, His word is truth, He is truth. He is all about truth.
     The apostle Paul, too, would take exception to Lou's emphasis on the importance of unity while blowing off truth. I can't imagine Paul talking about unity without sooner or later pointing out the need to balance unity with truth--and sure enough, if you keep reading the rest of Ephesians 4:1-16 after Lou stopped expositing, Paul says that church leaders are to equip believers for service not only to bring about unity but to bring about knowledge. Knowledge of the Son of God.
    "As a result," Paul writes in verses 15-16, "we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
     If we have no solid Biblical teaching about who Jesus Christ is, Paul is saying, we will not mature and we will be vulnerable to false doctrines. That is where our church is. Our leaders do not ground us in true teaching so we are tossed about by all kinds of theories and philosphies and can not even recognize false teaching. Teaching truth, accurately dividing the word of God right down to the definitions of individual words keeps us anchored, keeps us from being vulnerable to lies.
     "The plenary [absolute] inspiration of the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit guided men into truth and away from error. In this process the Spirit of God used language, and the units of language are words and thoughts. The thought is the thread that strings the words together. Therefore, our very exegesis [critical interpretation of a text] must commence with a study of words and grammar, the two fundamentals of all meaningful speech." Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation, pp. 54ff.
     Quoting this passage from Ramm, J. Dwight Pentecost writes, "Inasmuch as God gave the Word of God as a revelation to men, it would be expected that His revelation would be given in such exact and specific terms that His thoughts would be accurately conveyed and understood when interpreted according to the laws of grammar and speech." Things to Come, p. 10
     What is the alternative? What happens if church leaders neglect "right doctrine" and "correct meanings of theological terms and Greek words" regarding the knowledge of the Son of God? Paul says that the alternative is to 1) remain spiritual infants, 2) be tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching, 3) to be defenseless against the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Vulnerable to lies.
     The alternative is where our church is right now. We are not taught sound doctrine. In Life Groups we discuss the Bible, everyone sharing their own opinions and interpretations, which are all given equal value. (Very tolerant, very post-modern. As Jesus Eyes, one of our pastors/edlers, explained to a church member who has since left, "Well, you know, we are in the post-Christian era.") There is no right or wrong, no "Thus saith the Lord!" in our church.  There is no "studying to show ourselves approved to God," no "rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
     We have no plumb line. A plumb line is "a line (as of cord) that has at one end a weight and is used to determine verticality." To know error we have to have a plumb line, a standard of truth against which to measure ideas. How can we recognize and reject the counterfeit unless we are rooted and grounded in a knowledge of the true? Scripture is the plumb line to which we must compare every teaching that seeks to take root in our minds. If we don't study the Bible and are never taught facts about Jesus Christ, Paul says, we don't grow and we don't fit into our place in the body of Christ so it can grow.
     But Lou gives us no plumb line and indicates that we don't need one, that truth doesn't matter. Once more, Lou is devaluing God's Word by discouraging us from taking it seriously and from devoting ourselves to reading, studying, and understanding it.