How Many Are There?

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Have you ever looked around and wondered why there are so many different religious organizations or churches in the world? It seems that there are new religions popping up everyday in most places around our country. What is even more confusing is that most of these religious groups are all teaching and preaching a different message. In many ways the message of one group is a directly opposed to the message of another. Can all of these be true to the directions of God? Is God’s message to man really full of oppositions and contradictions? Is truth relative?

Consider what we find written in God’s word in Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (NKJV).” Notice in this passage that there are many faiths (one) and as many bodies (one) as there are Lords and Gods (also just one). We can also see that the body is the church by reading further in the Ephesian letter (Ephesians 5:23) and in the book of Colossians (Colossians 1:18, 24).

Since we see in God’s word that there is just one body – just one church – then we should do all that we can to make sure that we are in that one church. This is the church that Jesus promised to establish (Matthew 16:16-19). This is the church that was established on that day of Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2). Back in the first century there was only one church that the believers were a part of. There were not different denominations on every corner or on every street. Let us strive to belong to that church that was built by God!

All Gave Some. . . Some Gave All

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Today we remember the brave sacrifice that this nation’s veterans have made over the course of our history. We honor those who stood in the breaches in the defense of freedom both here in the United States and in other foreign lands around the globe. Many young men and women made that journey for the cause of our freedom and security, and never returned home again. While we do not want to take anything away from their dedication to this nation and its freedom, there is an even greater sacrifice that has been made on our behalf, which we must not ever forget.

The pages of the Bible are rich in the telling of the story of Jesus. Many prophets in the Old Testament alluded to His coming to earth and the mission He was charged with completing. Isaiah 53 is especially compelling, as it gives us a glimpse of the suffering that our Savior was going to go through on our behalf. It was for the cause of our freedom from sin, that Jesus gave His all for mankind. Paul tells us that while we were sinners and enemies of God, the Father sent His one and only unique Son to die a cruel death on the cross in our place (Romans 5:6-11).

Even though He was innocent, He allowed Himself to be placed on that cross to die, so that our sins could be removed. We were the ones who had sinned. We were the ones who had fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We were the ones who deserved death due to our transgressions, which had taken us away from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 6:23). Instead, Jesus stood in the breach between us and our transgressions, and by His stripes, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

On this day we remember the sacrifices made by our brave men and women and express our gratitude for their service to our nation. Let us never forget that we have freedom due to their willingness to act, but also because of the selfless sacrifice of Christ. He came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). Let us strive to do our part and give Him back our all.

Vote Early, Vote Often!

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

I remember an old joke about Election Day and the Chicago way, which said to get out there and vote for the candidate of your choice from just one political party. The fake advertisement ended with an admonition to vote early and often. Today, many are turning out at the polls to vote for their choice candidates for sheriff, school boards, state and national congress, and judges. We as Americans have a long history of democracy and having our say in who our leaders are going to be.

In the Lord’s kingdom, however, that is not the case. We already have a head of the kingdom, and that is our King. He is our Lord as well as our Savior, and He does not have to run for office or have our vote of approval to continue His reign. We are told that Jesus will continue to reign over His kingdom until the end of time, when He delivers the kingdom up to His Father (1 Corinthians 15:24). We are told that Jesus is the head of the body, the church (Ephesians 5:23). It is that spiritual kingdom that He has reigned over ever since He ascended back into heaven and took His place at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 1:1-4; Psalm 110:1-4).

As such, it is not up to us to decide who the ruler will be. It is not up to us to decide who will sit in judgment over us. It is not up to us to decide which religious practices we are to perform and which we are not to partake in. God makes those decisions, and His kingdom is not a democracy. Thus, we do not have the right to pick and choose and make decisions about that which God has already legislated.

As we exercise our freedom to have a voice in our government in the political arena this day, let us not forget that in matters of religion we do not get to make those same decisions. Let us look to the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ, as our leader, shepherd, ruler, savior, friend, judge, and advocate!

Does Moral Law Demand a Moral Lawgiver?

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Christian Evidences

Have you ever wondered about how we know what is right or what is wrong? For instance, in most of the civilized societies around the world it is illegal and considered immoral to murder another person, or to steal from them. How is it that different groups of people, separated by geography, all came to the same realization that these activities are wrong?

Perhaps the sense of right and wrong is nothing more than the majority opinion within these civilized societies. Most people just think that these activities are the wrong thing to do. Is that it? If that is the basis for right and wrong, then what if a society decided by a vote that it was okay to kill off people from a certain race? Or that it was okay to enslave people who have a different skin color? Would the majority approval for such behavior make that behavior “right”?

It would seem clear that just because a majority of people say that something is right does not make it so. The civilized society of Nazi Germany made the determination that it was “right” to try to exterminate the Jews as a lesser race. While much can be said for how they arrived at that conclusion, at this time let us just notice that they felt they were right in what they were doing. At their war crimes trials after World War II many Nazis claimed that they were simply following orders and obeying the laws of their land. However, the prosecutors appealed to a higher law, a higher power, which made what these men did clearly wrong.

Where did that higher law come from? It had to have come from God. Since mankind is not capable of determining what is right and what is wrong on their own (Jeremiah 10:23), then a simple majority vote is not sufficient. In the argument of morals many will say something like, “who are you to decide what is right and what is wrong?” They are correct in that statement. It is not up to you and me to decide what is right and what is wrong. That is up to God, and He has specified right and wrong within His moral law. Paul said that he would not have known sin (what was wrong) without the law of God (Romans 7:7).

Since we as humans lack the authority to mandate moral law, let us then turn to God and to His law to determine what is right and what is wrong. Let us then speak with regards to morals as God’s word directs us to (1 Peter 4:11).

Blisfull Ignorance

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Perhaps you’ve heard it said that ignorance is bliss, or that what is not known cannot hurt us. The idea is that if we do not know that something can hurt us, then we will have no need to worry about it. Therefore, we can be blissful and happy. But how does this play out in reality?

Do you know how fast you were going?

We can be ignorant of the speed limit and drive as fast as we wish. Will our ignorance of the law be a viable excuse when the police officer pulls us over? Ignorance of the law will not stand up as a defense. If we ignore the speed limit, we will pay the price (fine) for that ignorance. We can be ignorant of the fact that the stove top burners can hurt our hand. Here again, ignorance will not keep us from coming to harm if we place our hand on a lit stove burner.

Many in our world today act as if they can be ignorant of God and His requirements, and yet all is well. They go on in blissful ignorance with no care for their future state. And, indeed, we may see many people who live this way and nothing bad ever befalls them. Have they somehow found a path that circumvents God’s requirements? Is there bliss in their ignorance?

God paints a different picture of ignorance and a lack of knowledge concerning Him. The prophet Hosea spoke for God and lamented the fact that His people were being destroyed by a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Paul writes by inspiration to the Romans that God’s power and divine Godhead are evident in the creation, such that they (those who ignore God and walk in ignorance) are without an excuse (Romans 1:18-20). When Paul stood on Mars’ hill in Athens and addressed the Greeks, he stated that in times past God may have winked at man’s ignorance, but now calls on all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30).

We can ignore God. We can make that choice. We can claim ignorance is bliss. However, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Ignorance can bring us great harm. Jesus declared that His word would judge us in that last day (John 12:47-48). Therefore, we must know what His word says for us to do. God desires that all men seek Him out, repent of what is wrong in their lives, and live in obedience to Him. That is the true path to bliss. Are you truly blissful this day?

Great Discoveries

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Christian Evidences

In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue with three ships from Spain. It was his plan to prove that the earth was round, and to find a better trade route to the East Indies than traveling overland through Asia. We all know what happened. Columbus landed in the Americas, discovered the New World, and the rest, as they say, is history.

While this was an important discovery, and one that has had a profound effect on modern history, there was another discovery made almost 500 years later that is even more profound. In 1947 a young shepherd boy stumbled into a cave in Qumran on the NW shores of the Dead Sea and discovered jars full of ancient manuscripts. Among these manuscripts there were found to be copies of the Hebrew Old Testament.

What makes the discovery of such importance? Prior to this time, the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Old Testament were dated from the 10^th century A.D. These manuscripts found in the caves of Qumran were dated from the 2^nd century B.C. to the 1^st century A.D. That makes them about 1,000 years older than any known Old Testament manuscripts at the time. Many of those who do not believe in the inspiration of the scriptures had made the argument that the Bible was corrupted by man over time and could not be relied upon to be accurate in our modern age. However, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls showed just the opposite. The modern Hebrew text was shown to be extremely accurate in comparison with these much older manuscripts.

This discovery in Qumran is important because it shows that God’s word has been preserved and has not been contaminated by man. Therefore, we can trust that the Bible today is still the word of God that He intended for man to have and obey.

Hammer Away

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

My last remodeling project got me thinking. As we were going through the process of deconstruction and trying to be careful to limit the amount of scratches and bruises, I began to think about installing the new floor. You see, when we undertake any project where we are going to be using a hammer and nails it has our full attention. We don’t want to slip up and hit our fingers or worse yet, pierce our flesh with a nail by mistake.

Now think about Christ and what He did for us. He had the power to stop anyone from doing any harm to His body, but He did not exercise that power. At any time during His mockery of a trial, the scourging of His body, or the nailing of His body on that cross of Cavalry Jesus could have simply said the word ‘stop’ and could have brought His torture to an end. Concerning His life, Jesus said “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father” (John 10:18 NKJV).

No one had the power to take Jesus’ life unless He allowed it. The amazing thing about His love for us in that Jesus allowed those Roman soldiers to take His life. At a time when we were without hope, at a time when we were still sinners, Christ died for our sins (Romans 5:8). We work hard to make sure that we don’t slip and allow a nail to poke us in the hand by mistake, but Jesus allowed them to drive large nails through His flesh on purpose. It is hard to comprehend just what Jesus suffered on our behalf. So then, are we allowing that sacrifice to have an impact on how we live our lives?

Kingdom Come?

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Many of us are looking forward to Jesus’ return with great anticipation. Regarding that return, there are many who expect Christ to set up an earthly kingdom and reign from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. Indeed, later this week a new movie based on the popular “Left Behind” series opens in theaters, which espouses this idea of Jesus’ coming kingdom. Is this really what the Bible teaches, or is it just good fiction? Let us look at just a few scriptures to ascertain the answer to that question.

Long ago Joel prophesied that in the last days God would pour His Spirit upon mankind (Joel 2:28ff). In Acts 2, Peter makes mention of Joel’s prophecy and says that they were living in those last days that Joel was referring to (Acts 2:16-21). So we know from this that the last days began some 2,000 years ago on that day of Pentecost. Additionally, we see that Jesus told those who were listening to Him that some of them would not experience death until they had seen the kingdom come with power (Mark 9:1). Just prior to Jesus’ ascension He told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they received power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). About a week later, they received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Therefore, they received the power when the Spirit fell upon them. When the power came the kingdom came.

Furthermore, in reviewing Daniel 2, and the explanation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel describes four earthly kingdoms. The first of these is Babylon, followed by the Medes and the Persians. Later would be the Greeks and then the Roman Empire. Then Daniel states that in the days of those kings God would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed (Dan. 2:44). This is further confirmation that the kingdom would be established during the days of the Roman Empire and was also fulfilled on the day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2. Just as Jesus told Pilot, His kingdom was not of this earth but that it was a spiritual kingdom (John 18:36).

So then, what do we learn by putting some of these scriptures together? We see that there were some who lived 2,000 years ago that were not going to die before the kingdom came with power. We see that power came when the kingdom was established on the day of Pentecost, and we see that the kingdom is a spiritual kingdom which is the church. Christ came to seek and save the lost and to add them to His kingdom, the church, and He was successful in that mission. Therefore, the kingdom that we are to seek entry into has been established for the past 2,000 years, and it is the church which Jesus built (Mat.16:18).

Peace and Safety

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Last week my family and I traveled to our nation’s capital on vacation. While we were in D.C., a man jumped the fence and attempted to gain entry to the White House. It was not me. However, it made us think about the security measures we did see while in Washington. At most of the museums and monuments, there were security screenings and metal detectors in an effort to make us all feel safe.

That feeling of safety is something we all crave, especially in our modern world. News of attacks and planned attacks seem to dominate the news. And while the extra security measures are necessary to try to prevent further attacks, do they really make us feel safe? When the security guard is talking to his buddy about last night’s game instead of watching the x-ray monitor, do you really feel safer?

While we may never be at peace or feel that we are completely safe in a physical sense in this world, there is a peace and safety that comes from the Lord. This peace allows us to pillow our heads at night and sleep, without having to worry about what will come in the night. As David wrote, “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8 NKJV).

If we are in a right relationship with God, if we are in obedience to His will and His word, if we have put our trust in Him, then we can have peace. We have a peace of mind, even if we don’t live in a world that provides us with much hope of physical safety (John 14:27). We can have that peace, because we know that if anything happens to this earthly body, our eternal soul will be in the hands of a God who loves us. If you want that peace too, you can have it by seeking God and obeying what He has told us to do.

Judge Not?

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Let us take a moment to consider one of the most misquoted scriptures in the entire Bible, which is in the book of Matthew. Here we read,

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you (Matthew 7:1-6 ESV).

Many will read this passage and immediately say that we are not allowed to make any judgments, based solely on the first verse of Matthew 7 (Judge not). Is this what Jesus is really saying? Are we to make no judgments at all based on this? If, however, we read the rest of the context of this passage, we will find that Jesus is instructing us to not make any rash or unrighteous judgments. Notice that Jesus tells us to first take care of our own affairs (take the log out of your own eye first), before we take the speck out of someone else’s eye. It is important for us to realize that He does not say that we should not remove the speck from our brother’s eye. We need to be able to see clearly in order to do that so that we will judge with righteous judgment. Elsewhere Jesus tells us, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24).

We should also take special notice of verse 6 of Matthew 7. How can we be sure to not give to the dogs that which is holy, or to cast our pearls before swine, if we do not make some sort of judgment about our audience? Perhaps we could think of it this way. Suppose that we came upon a woman with a flat tire along side of the road, and we stop to help. Why did we stop? Did we make a judgment that she is not capable of fixing the problem herself? What if we come to a dark alley and decide not to venture that way? Did we judge ourselves as ‘better’ than that alley? You see, we make dozens of judgments everyday, and there is nothing wrong with that as long as we are judging correctly.

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