Well I will leave tomorrow morning for a conference I have been looking forward to for a while now, Together for the Gospel.  It will be a great break, because I will get to see many of my Friends from Southern and will also hear some great preaching.

There is a view that doctrine divides the church rather than unites the church, therefore it must go. This view is held to differing levels. Would those who embrace this position please consider the following question, “Are you willing to believe nothing about Christ, for the sake of Christ?” This is the logical conclusion of the theological position you are taking. In the name of embracing others and in the name of the love of Christ, apparently some are willing to think nothing of Christ.

I desire to embrace others, both Christians and the lost. However, I do not desire to think less of my savior. With each doctrine you are willing to compromise or part with, a biblical view of God and Christ is compromised or lost. In a desire to embrace, one might be willing to do away with a particular view of baptism. This seems to be something that is minor, but does this then lead one to embrace baptismal regeneration? If we are saved by water, what has Christ become to us? Do you see the dangerous slope? And what will you compromise or part with when the next person comes along?

The view sounds wonderful in the name of unity, but if in the name of unity we set aside this doctrine and that doctrine, do we not move farther away from Christ? The one in whose name we say we are acting? Reconsider your ways, hold to doctrine in humility, for it did not come from you, but do not let it go.

How can you be a vital Christian? How can you make your church a vibrant church?

• Join: Become a member. Some may ask, “Can’t I do everything just as well without joining?” The Christian life is all about covenant relationships. It begins with a covenant relationship with God, and follows with a covenant relationship with God’s people. If you refuse to covenant with God’s people your life will always lack, as will the life of the church you attend and the people around you. Admitted it may vary in degrees. The illustration of marriage may help one to understand. Would my relationship with my wife be as strong if we did not covenant in marriage? The commitment, the vows, the security all strengthen the strong love relationship. Let Christ and his bride know you are committed to him and to them
• Love the Lord your God with your all: This is for your sake and for the sake of others. Your holiness and obedience directly impacts your life and the lives of others. Sticking with the illustration of marriage, let us look at the breaking of that covenant, divorce. I am learning more and more that no matter the reason for the divorce, this impacts more than just the two people in the marriage. It has ramifications on the children, the parents, the friends, the coworkers, and the list goes on. So too when you break in your obedience to God it affects you, but also has an impact on Christ and his church, your family, your friends, and even your neighbors and enemies.
• Love one another: This command may need to be broken down to different levels for our culture. Begin by loving the people God has placed closest to you, those in your local church. This is often the real test of this command. In terms of church universal, yes we love all Christians. However, it is often easier to love someone that doesn’t care what you believe or how you act. Many nondenominational atmospheres create such an environment. It is fun loving and appears to be all accepting, but it is easy to be in simple surface relationships. When it comes to the local church we are called to care about what we believe and how we act, it is part of what we covenant to be committed to one another about. This is where the real rub often comes in. There is accountability and knowledge of one another. If you can love there, it is a real light of the gospel and demonstration of the bond of the Holy Spirit. Be committed first and foremost to those you have covenanted with, and let your love flow from there.
• Love your neighbor: You have to do all of the other things first, otherwise your love for your neighbor will only point them to yourself and not Christ. But if you are committed to God, and if you are committed to his people, let his love flow. Spread the good news that through Christ God can take a sinner and love them,and bring them into a people that loves them, and they can love back.

You can start all kinds of programs to build community and read all kinds of self help books on how to be a better Christian, but it really comes back to the basics. You must love God, you must love the people of God, and this all calls for covenant commitment in one another’s lives.

I was on my way home yesterday when I heard a DJ on the radio telling about a man in Florida that has scientific proof that Jesus walked on a thin layer of ice rather than water. We have all seen pictures like this on the left where people appear to be walking on water, but in reality it is just an optical allusion. But was Jesus miracle to confirm his deity just an optical allusion? And if he truly was God why would he need to play tricks? Or if he allowed a natural phenomenon to occur so that it appeared he walked on water, why wouldn’t he just take credit for the natural phenomenon like he did in other places, like causing the sun to stand still?
The better question to ask may be why do scientists want to rationalize away the miracles of Jesus? After all this theory lacks for proof and may be impossible to prove that this is what occurred on the exact nigh and location that Christ walked on water. I could go into my theories why this is absurd, like why a boat could go through the water no problem when there was thick enough ice to walk on, and Peter walked on the water right near the boat if you want to say the ice was only near the edge of the lake, but this is not my point in writing.
This newest attack at the miraculous is another in a long line and even the foundation of Liberal and Neo-Orthodox theology. They cannot believe miracles over science. Every belief and happening needs to conform to mind and understanding. At its heart much of this appears to be man trying to make God accountable before man, rather than man having to give an account before God.