Editorial – August 26, 2026 Response to Carol Eisenbeis Editorial
Carol, thank you for responding to my meditation that dealt with God’s just judgment. Yet, I think your editorial was an act of obfuscation. Now I could focus on defending my positions or correcting your misinformation. However, it appears to me your editorial was written to distract from the judgment deserving sin of killing our children. Maybe it hit too close to home for those Christians who are pro-abortion.
In Matthew 25:31-46 the least of these that Jesus focused upon were the most vulnerable and those in need of help. I think every loving Christian can agree that preborn and newborn babies are included in the most vulnerable and in need of help. If anyone has ever held a crying newborn in their arms, they know that this is true.
In Matthew 25 Jesus did not need to speak against abortion or infanticide because those were not issues in Israel at that time. Those were sins of the pagan Roman and Greek world. They had no concept of children being image bearers of our Creator. As a pastor I see the return of abortion and infanticide as a return to pagan views about the nature of mankind.
We read in Psalm 139:13–14 (ESV), “For you (God) formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Here we see the care God gives as He lovingly creates or knits together each precious child. We also see that babies are distinct from the mothers who carry them in their wombs.
From my perspective, abortion is not a political issue but instead a moral issue. God said in Genesis 9:5–7, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.” Abortion both destroys God’s image in those children and refuses to be fruitful as He commanded. How can God not require a reckoning on an unloving nation that has killed 70 million vulnerable babies that bore His image?
Pastor’s Pen Article For Wednesday, September 2, 2026 – “Christ Alone”
There are many views about salvation today. Maybe you have seen the COEXIST bumper stickers. They claim that all religions lead to the same place and the same god. The way of salvation is oftentimes reduced to being tolerant and nice. But Scripturally we see that true salvation is found in Christ alone. That means salvation comes through the saving work of Christ alone. Only Christ’s saving work is sufficient to save someone from God’s just judgment against their sin.
The Catholic Church of the Middle Ages regularly spoke about Christ. However, the church had also added many human achievements to Christ’s work. So much so that it was no longer possible for them to claim that Christ was sufficient to save. John Calvin wrote, “They dare not altogether deny that we have salvation given us by Christ; but while they pretend so many helps, they leave him (Jesus) scarce the hundredth part of salvation.”
The church of our day also adds many things to Christ’s saving work. Yet, it is not by church traditions, various religious legalisms, our good deeds, or even being nice that we can obtain salvation. Instead, it is based solely on the merit of Christ’s atoning death on the cross.
Paul wrote in Galatians 1:8 (ESV), “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” The Gospel Paul taught was that salvation has been accomplished once for all God’s people by the saving work of Jesus Christ alone. The thrust of Galatians is that there is nothing that we can add. Christ’s sinless life and sacrificial death in our place alone are sufficient to make sinners right with God. Any gospel that fails to acknowledge that or denies it is a false gospel that will save no one. To say otherwise is to say that what Christ did on the cross was not enough or not sufficient to save us or anyone else.
Today, the threat to salvation in Christ alone comes from a different direction. Today liberalism within the church seeks to make the need for a Savior unnecessary. They undermine our need for Christ by denying the seriousness of our sin. Sins are excused or rationalized away. As they diminish sin, they also remove the need for Christ. H. R. Niebuhr wrote of this false gospel, “A God without wrath who brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” Yet, churches calling sin by another name does not change our need for a Savior.
We read in Hebrews 10:14 (ESV), “For by a single offering he (Jesus Christ) has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name (Jesus Christ) under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Scripture teaches the sufficiency of Christ, the insufficiency of all other works, and our great need as sinners. Christ alone can save us from sin.
Pastor’s Pen Article For Wednesday, August 26, 2026 – “Hold Tightly To Scripture”
Sadly, portions of the church no longer hold tightly to Scripture. Yet, if we are to be faithful Christians, we need to see Scripture as God’s Word. We read in 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV), “All Scripture is breathed out by God …” We read in 2 Peter 1:21 (ESV), “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” God is the true source of the Bible. It is His Word to us. It remains authoritative today because it is God’s Word.
In the Belgic Confession we read, “Article 7: The Sufficiency of Scripture: We believe that this Holy Scripture contains the will of God completely and that everything one must believe to be saved is sufficiently taught in it. For since the entire manner of service which God requires of us is described in it at great length, no one—even an apostle or an angel from heaven, as Paul says—ought to teach other than what the Holy Scriptures have already taught us.”
Scripture contains all that we need to know about the way of salvation through Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 3:15b (ESV), “… the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” It also contains all we need to live out our faith before our Lord. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV), “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Faithful followers need not add to this or dare take away from it.
Yet, mankind in its pridefulness challenges the sufficiency of Scripture. As a pastor I have many times seen people use personal experience to override the clear teachings of Scripture. Anecdotal evidence drives their theology. Others let their feelings determine what God’s Word can or cannot say. We have blue haired priestesses in rainbow stoles telling us what God’s Word should say, not what it does say. They set themselves up as judges over God’s Word. Challenges to Scripture also come when churches allow their traditions to override Scripture’s teachings. This all implies that God’s Word is insufficient for today.
Dismissing biblical teachings while opening the door to extrabiblical teachings or feelings driven teachings is dangerous. It opens people up to being deceived by the lies of false teachers. Sadly, these have made way for many false teachings within the church today. This has led some churches to make sin acceptable in their sight. Today this has led parts of the church to wander far from the truth and far from God. Shockingly, these regularly set prideful man over God’s Word.
Instead in humility we need to see how we come to God’s Word. Instead of our standing over Scripture, we must humbly and obediently stand under Scripture. We must see that our failure to listen to Scripture is a failure to listen to God. To disobey God’s Word is to disobey God.
Pastor’s Pen Article For Wednesday, August 19, 2026 – “God’s Judgment”
We live in a day when people live in fear of all sorts of disasters. Recently, Paul Ehrlich, the writer of The Population Bomb, passed away. Though he was wrong about nearly everything he predicted, his book helped create a whole generation fearing certain doom. After the starvation fears, we had the fear of global cooling, the fear of global warming, and now the fear of climate change. This fearmongering continues with the fear of another Covid-19 type pandemic or wayward meteor killing off humanity.
Yet, the thing that people should really fear, nobody seems to pay any attention to. While holding to judgment for various eco sins, the world rejects God’s judgment. The thing we all should fear.
I have been working through Matthew 23, 24, and 25 in my sermon series. One of the themes throughout those chapters is God’s just judgment. Throughout Scripture we see God’s judgment in both large and small events. In Genesis 6, we see God destroyed the world with a flood. We read in Genesis 6:5 (ESV), “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Then, in Genesis 19 we see the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah for their grave sexual sins.
Yet, in our liberal age people do not see sin as a big deal. They do everything they can to minimize it. This is especially true for sexual sins and theft. Just look at some of the responses to the theft and corruption in Minnesota and California. Today, even serious crimes are written off with excuses and rationalizations. Oftentimes crime victims are ignored as the offenders are protected by corrupt judges or prosecutors. Sadly, sin against God is no longer taken seriously in our land. Yet, we read in Matthew 10:28 (ESV), “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him (God) who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
We as a nation and the church need to start seeing the seriousness of sin again. We read in Habakkuk 1:13a (ESV), “You (God) who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, …” The hymn Smitten, Stricken and Afflicted calls us to see the weight of our sin in Christ’s death on the cross, “You who think of sin but lightly, Nor suppose the evil great, Here (the cross) may view its nature rightly, Here its guilt may estimate.” If God takes our sin this seriously, shouldn’t we too?
As we see in Scripture when God’s judgment comes, it comes because it is well deserved. While there are many sins our world could be judged for, I will focus only on abortion. Today there are around 73,000,000 abortions worldwide every year. Since 1970 our world has killed more than 1,500,000,000 babies. In our nation we have killed nearly 70,000,000 babies by abortion. If life is an unalienable right from our Creator, what do you think we deserve under God’s just judgment for killing 70,000,000 babies before they could even taste life as we have?
Pastor’s Pen Article For Wednesday, August 12, 2026 – “Friends with God’s Enemies”
Earlier this year I was reading through the Old Testament. In 2 Chronicles I read about King Jehoshaphat. Overall, he is seen as one of Judah’s better kings. He had even regularly fought against the idolatry that Judah had immersed itself in.
Yet, like so many of the Old Testament figures Jehoshaphat had one great weakness. Over the years he had regularly befriended the wicked, including Israel’s wicked King Ahab. He had even joined Ahab’s armies in his battles against Syria. Sadly, he had allowed his family to intermarry with Ahab’s idolatrous family. This would open the door to future idolatry and wickedness in Judah.
While God would not overlook Jehoshaphat’s many good deeds, He brought a sharp condemnation to him. God would condemn his betrayal in partnering with wicked Ahab. We read in 2 Chronicles 19:2 (ESV), “But Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord.” Yet would God really punish someone for getting too close to the wicked?
Then, in the New Testament believers are also challenged in our relationships with the wicked. James 4:4 (ESV), “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” “Adulterous” in this context makes friendship with the world similar to the idolatry of Jehoshaphat’s day.
Today, we need to consider our own betrayal in following Jehoshaphat’s path. Over the past 75 years it seems portions of the church have cozied up to our sinful world. Today, many churches welcome more than just sinners into their churches. They also welcome their sins along with them, especially their sexual sins. Many have changed God’s Word to accommodate for the world’s sin. Based on an unbiblical view of love, they have embraced our sinful culture. In this they love the world over God. They do this even though God warns us in 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV84), “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Believers are challenged in God’s Word in how we should view our relationships with those who follow the ways of the world over following our Lord. 2 Corinthians 6:14 (ESV), “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” Yet like Jehoshaphat many desire to make friends with the world.
But some will ask, “Aren’t we supposed to love others?” Yes, but what does that love look like? Tolerating or even endorsing people’s sins against God is not love. Christian love does not leave people as enemies of God. Loving God’s enemies includes calling them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Loving God’s enemies includes calling them to surrender to Christ and to give Him loving obedience. Loving God’s enemies includes calling people out of this sinful world and into His kingdom.
Editorial for the Courier - January 14, 2026
On Sunday, January 18 we celebrate Sanctity of Life Sunday. It is a day for us to celebrate the wonderful God given gift of life. It is especially a day to celebrate God’s precious gift of children.
Sadly, even though Roe vs. Wade was overturned, we see in our land that abortions have increased. We are now approaching 70,000,000 babies having been killed in our land. Today along with medical procedures many women now take an abortion pill to rid themselves of their child. Still, early last year we learned the FDA had lied about the safety of the abortion drug mifepristone. Serious adverse effects for mifepristone were found to be 22 times more frequent than the FDA had previously stated.
Yet, even with the legal victories, the dangers of medical abortions, and now the danger of abortion pills, women had more abortions. We see that the issue of abortion is not primarily political, legal, or medical. This issue is primarily a heart issue for our nation. The battle Christians need to fight to overcome the blight of abortion in our land is to address the hearts of women. Women need to understand the gift that God has given them to be child bearers. What a tremendous honor God has given women to give life to the next generation.
Still, we also need to see abortion is an awful sin. We need to see how great of sin it is against the child and against God. John Calvin wrote, “For the fetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being, and it is a monstrous crime to rob it of the life which it has not yet begun to enjoy. If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, because a man's house is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come to light.”
To overcome abortion our nation needs to repent before God’s judgment comes. We call for the parents, husbands, and boyfriends who have pushed women to have an abortion to repent. We call for women who have had abortions to come in repentance. Take the guilt that darkens your soul to the only One who can forgive. Take your guilt to Jesus Christ and receive His forgiveness.
Editorial for the Courier – October 1, 2025
Earlier I wrote some editorials to the Courier on the lack of introspection by people on the left. Now there is another opportunity for those on the left to take a hard look at themselves. On September 10 we saw the face of evil as a leftist, Antifa supporting, member of the trans community assassinated conservative Charlie Kirk on a college campus in front of his family, friends, and supporters.
Why was Charlie Kirk murdered? He was murdered for his ideas. He was murdered because his opponents could not defeat him with words. They hated him because he challenged their skewed views with a conservative Christian worldview that takes the Bible seriously. They hated him because he undermined their distorted views with simple reasoning and reality checks. They hated him because he presented the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the godless corners of our academic world.
Following this heartless murder of a leading conservative figure we saw an amazing difference from the left. Conservatives around the country came together for peaceful vigils honoring Charlie’s life and work. Compare this to the left’s violence of 2020 after George Floyd’s death. Recall the more than 2 billion dollars of damage caused by the left in our major cities.
Even before Charlie was laid to rest the left filled social media with every form of vile hatred. Some even called for the deaths of Charlie’s wife and children. Shockingly, these slanderous rants came from regular leftists like government officials, college professors, teachers, doctors, and nurses. Then the left started the baseless lie that it was someone from the conservative movement who murdered Charlie. This was a clear attempt by the left to mislead people so that they would not have to face their own guilt and responsibility. It was all so shameful.
Instead of following the left by burning down buildings, looting of stores, and attacking the police, at Charlie Kirk’s memorial came hours of Christian worship. In the speeches the Gospel of Jesus Christ was repeatedly proclaimed. Instead of the left’s violence words of forgiveness came from Charlie’s grieving widow. Instead of calls for vengeance came calls for others to continue Charlie’s mission of engaging their opponents with sound reason and with God’s Word. The contrast could not be clearer.
We need to see that this is not a both sides issue. Since the Civil War the Democrat Party has used violence in order to intimidate its opponents and to get its way. A Rutgers poll earlier this year showed that around 50% of liberals could justify killing Elon Musk and President Trump. A more recent poll showed that 40% of liberal and very liberal people said it was okay to feel joy over the death of their opponents. What cold-hearted people.
This past week we saw how leftists were more upset about Jimmy Kimmel allegedly losing his free speech for a week than the assassin permanently taking Charlie’s free speech away. While Charlie used his free speech to engage others, Jimmy used his free speech to lie about the events and to denigrate half of our country. Ask yourself, “Which bothered me more?” If it was Jimmy’s suspension, you have a heart problem. It did not surprise me that the editor of the Courier could not remain silent about Jimmy Kimmel in last week’s editorial while he remains silent on leftist violence.
With the shooting of the Catholic children in Minneapolis by a trans man, the murder of the woman in Charlette because she was white by a career criminal let out by Democrat officials, the execution of Charlie Kirk by an antifa supporter, and now the attack on the Dallas ICE facility, we can see the face of evil and it is on the left.
If you are on the left or even left leaning, today is the day for you to become introspective. Is it okay to dehumanize those who disagree with you by calling them racist, Nazis, fascists, and Hitler? Is it okay to justify, rationalize, or explain away violence against your opponents, including against school children and ICE agents? Is it time for you to stop supporting violence or stop supporting those who support or use violence? Is it time to see that if you cannot defeat your opponents with words of reason you are probably wrong? Can you see that you no longer have any moral high ground to speak from? Is it time to challenge your own side before you condemn anyone else? What baffles me is how so many in our area who claim to be pacifists can stand silent before such violent forces on their own political side.
Pastor’s Pen for Thursday, August 15
The Church and the World
Historically there has been a struggle in defining the church’s interactions with the world. At times these interactions have been seen by some Christians in the terms of the church triumphant and the church militant.
The church triumphant is the church that is already in heaven with our Lord. It is seen as having fully overcome this fallen world. It awaits Jesus’ judgment of the world.
The church militant is the church that is even now advancing Christ’s kingdom against the world. It seeks to bring the world into submission to Christ. We see this view coming from Jesus in Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV), “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The Great Commission includes the church calling the world to become obedient disciples of Jesus.
The church is being called to battle the world in 2 Corinthians 10:4–5, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, …” We are to try to overcome everything that challenges the knowledge of the true God.
We read in Jude 3b, “… I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” We are to put forth an intense effort in defending and advancing the Christian faith against all challengers.
The church of Christ is distinct from our fallen world and every false religion. Instead of compromising with the world, we are to strive to change it. We read in John 17:14, “I (Jesus) have given them your word, and the world has hated them (the church) because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” Or John 17:16, “They (the church) are not of the world, just as I (Jesus) am not of the world.” As the kingdom of light, we are completely distinct from the kingdom of darkness. The church has loses its witness when we come too close to our fallen world. The American church faces becoming increasingly ineffective because instead of standing against the world and calling them to Christ, we have sought to embrace them and to look like them.
Instead, the church militant is called to chastise the wicked world for their rebellion against our Lord. We are to call sinners out of their sin and to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. We are to publicly defend the faith against false religions. We are to boldly defend the faith against worldly philosophies. This is part of the Biblically mandated soul saving work of the church. Let us call the world to repentance and faith as Jesus did.
Pastor’s Pen for Thursday, August 8
Differing Perspectives
As I look at the current landscape of our country, I observe four general ways in which churches and individual Christians interact with the world and each other. Of course, each of these has nuances.
The first way is the progressive church. Many progressives seek to embrace our world and their deeds of mercy have become their Gospel. Many welcome both sinners and their sin into the church. Oftentimes they publicly stand with the world and against conservative Christians in our culture wars. While they oftentimes ignore the world breaking God’s commands, they eagerly pounce on the conservatives for breaking the 11th Command, “Thou shalt be nice.” This group seeks to be loved by the world.
The second way is the moderate church. Many moderates claim a conservative view of the Bible and yet they oftentimes side with the world. They do what is called “leaning left while punching right”. Rarely will they criticize the progressives, yet they regularly heap condemnation on vocal conservative Christians. While they are not on the first cars of the progressive cultural train, they are on the train, and they are moving to the left. This group, especially the elites, seeks to be accepted by the world.
The other two types make up the conservative church. The first would hold to a separation between the Gospel and the political world. Many of these would place our cultural ills in the realm of politics. While holding firmly to the Bible, they are normally unwilling to publicly challenge our culture with it. They say they avoid addressing today’s hot button political or social issues because they want the Gospel to go out to all. Or because they do not want to offend church members who have opposing political views. These might complain about Christian activism on both sides. This group wants the world to leave them alone.
The second type of conservatives is the church militant. These see the Gospel as forcefully confronting the world’s social ills, politics, immorality, violence, corruption, and unbelief. They are okay with the fallen world hating them. Some wear the world’s ridicule and rejection as a badge of honor. These would see themselves as Elijahs and our world as being led by Ahabs and Jezebels. These are also willing to return fire against the world and the progressive and moderate churches. This group wants to overcome the world.
Whichever group we are in we should see if we and our church are calling sinners into God’s kingdom. The Gospel places the hope of sinners not in our fixing the sinful kingdom of this world but instead in our entering the eternal kingdom of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:13–14, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” True care for the lost in this fallen world is in our calling them out of their sin, out of this world, and to our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Pastor's Pen for Thursday, August 1
Winsomeness or Compromise:
We need to see winsome does not mean to “win some”. Instead, it is to be pleasing, charming, or attractive. For Christians being winsome is oftentimes our being personally engaging when we present the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. We can see this in 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV), “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, …”
Still, as Christians we must recognize that God’s Word and the gospel hold their own offense to unbelievers as they make exclusivistic claims. We see Jesus Himself is an offense in Romans 9:33, “As it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense (Jesus); and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” Or in John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Here Jesus rejected every other world religion and form of salvation. This is not a message many people want to hear.
However, winsomeness in our age oftentimes takes on a different nature. Many Christians go so far as to try take away the offense that the gospel itself holds. Some Christians have become accommodationists to our sinful world as they try to smooth off the rough edges of God’s Word. Sadly, what drives this for some Christians is the desire to be acceptable to our unbelieving world and culture.
For others though winsomeness has become a cover for fearfulness. To stand for Christ, the gospel, and God’s Word today can lead to Christians facing various criticisms, slander, and even anti-Christian bigotry. Let’s admit it, no one likes to be called haters, bigots, racists, Nazis, sexists, or whatever-phobes. So, instead of winsomeness making a way for the gospel to be presented to lost sinners, it has become an excuse to avoid the gospel of salvation in Christ alone.
For some of us, we have become more worried about our reputations and someone’s feelings than we are about the eternal destiny of their souls. Some run the risk of being ashamed of Jesus before our sinful world. These must heed Jesus’ warning in Mark 8:38, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Instead, for the sake of the lost we are to uncompromisingly take the Biblical gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ to the whole world. Luke 24:46–47, “and (Jesus) said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.''
Pastor's Pen for Thursday, July 11
John Adams wrote, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Adams was speaking of Christianity. So, can our nation survive without a Christian foundation for our laws and culture?
On June 19 Governor Landry of Louisiana signed a bill to put the 10 Commandments into their schools. The law requires that their schools display the 10 Commandments in all classrooms. They require this based upon our Christian heritage and the influence it has had on our country.
The leftist ACLU immediately began suing to have this new law thrown out. There have even been liberal and moderate Christians who have objected to displaying the 10 Commandments in schools. Some hold that schools must somehow be morally neutral.
Yet, reality shows there is no morally neutral place, especially schools. When Covid came and parents saw what their children were being taught, many were stunned. They found that forms of pornography were being pushed upon children by many pro-LBGTQ school teachers and administrators. TikTok had many teachers admitting it was their mission to corrupt the children.
We need to see the damage that violations of the 10 Commandments cause us today. Let us just look at one commandment; “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” This is really an umbrella command that forbids all sex outside of God’s boundaries.
Sexual sins create a host of social ills:
The worst one is abortion where a woman’s sexual freedom is valued over the life of a baby.
Adultery oftentimes leads to broken marriages, broken families, and broken children.
Fatherless homes oftentimes lead to poverty, emotionally damaged children, and even prison.
In our culture today we see an explosion of sexual abuse and human trafficking.
In our own area, how many arrests have we seen for child molestation and child pornography? At the prison we regularly saw the devastation sexual sins cause.
Along with these we have seen the destruction of the family as a cornerstone of our culture.
Add to this a host of sexually transmitted diseases.
The devastating consequences of sin are all around us! While we cannot stop immorality, we can slow it down and limit the damage it does, especially to children. Romans 13 declares that government is to promote the good and restrain the bad. We can either strive for Biblical morals or surrender to destructive worldly morals.
Pastor's Pen for Thursday, June 6
An important phrase in political debates comes from Thomas Jefferson. In 1802, Jefferson wrote about the ‘separation of church and state’ to the Danbury Baptist Association. He was not trying to stop our religious views from influencing our opinions on government issues. Instead, he was affirming free religious practice for the citizens. Regardless, there is no separation of the state from God’s rule.
This original idea has been turned around to try keep religion from the public square. Even many Christians are leery of pressing Christian ideals or morality upon the public in general. There is a common idea that somehow the public square can be neutral and void of religious influences.
The reality is all laws are moral or have a moral backdrop. We are all under someone’s view of morality. If we lived in a Muslim land, we would expect to be under some form of Sharia law. In Muslim lands Christians are expected to submit to them. Muslims would not accept the idea of a neutral view of morality or the law.
In our land we have shifted from a Biblical morality or foundation for our laws to a humanist or atheistic view. With this shift we see there is no real neutrality. Neutrality was but a mirage before this because nearly everyone in our country stood upon a Christian foundation. Without that foundation we now see the left or humanists demand that Christians now submit to their views of morality. With this foundational shift Christians are more and more being forced to declare evil to be good and good to be evil. We see there is no neutral public square between these two religions.
Recently, a liberal elitist on MSNBC decried the idea that we have God given rights. From her humanist view rights are only given by the government. She claimed all those who say there are God given rights were dreaded Christian nationalists. However, the Declaration of Independence declared, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Only Biblical ideals can maintain these rights.
The message Jesus proclaimed was to repent and believe the Gospel for the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. With our collapsing society, let us pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.”
Pastor's Pen for Thursday, April 10 - Response to an editorial in on April 11 in the Courier.
Dennis Lehmann, thank you for responding to my April 4 editorial about being introspective and for encouraging me to practice what I preach. It is good to be reminded to live up to the standards we set for others.
Thank you for giving the readers another example of not being introspective. Like my liberal acquaintance from years ago, you blew off the claims that I made about the NBC and MSNBC talking heads. So, are you really saying that Ronna questioning aspects of the 2020 election is more serious than what they did in promoting the Russia collusion hoax to undermine the democratically elected president of 2016? In fact, Ronna’s response to the many allegations of election interference was quite tepid.
By ignoring the dismal track record of the talking heads at NBC and MSNBC you show you use a completely different standard for Ronna than what you do for them. Might this show a lack of introspection on your part?
Far worse than what Ronna did is what NBC, an alleged major news agency, did in promoting the Hillary Clinton campaign sponsored Russia hoax to undermine our 2016 democratically elected president, Donald Trump.
Before you claim that being an “election denier” is so much worse, let’s walk down memory lane. Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Joe Biden, and even Barrak Obama have all denied the results of the presidential election of 2000. With them various Democrat Representatives objected to the count of the Electoral College.
Now jump to 2004 and the presidential election. Hillary Clinton, Jerry Nadler, Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid, Bernie Sanders, and many other elected Democrats denied those results. With them various Democrat Representatives objected to the count of the Electoral College.
Now jump to 2016 and the presidential election. Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, John Lewis, and many other elected Democrats denied those results. With them various Democrat Representatives objected to the count of the Electoral College. Can I add Dennis Lehmann’s name?
It seems leading Democrats are election deniers every time a Republican wins the presidency. Do you judge these Democrat election deniers by the same standard you use for Ronna or other Republicans? Have you called for them to be held accountable for their attempts to undermine U.S. democracy? I thought not!
Use the same standards on those we support as we do on our opponents.
Pastor's Pen for Thursday, April 3
This past week we witnessed an amazing example of introspection or in this case a lack of introspection. This past week we witnessed a debacle at NBC news. NBC had fired Ronna McDaniel after only one appearance. Ronna had been the head of the Republican National Committee for the past several years. I would classify her as a moderate Republican.
Yet, NBC and MSNBC talking heads like Chuck Todd, Joe Scarborough, and Rachel Maddow had their heads explode over Ronna’s hiring. It was crazy seeing people who promoted the fake Russia hoax against President Trump, the bogus impeachments of President Trump, who denied the very real laptop of Hunter Biden, who were wrong about nearly everything covid, and who have promoted several other falsehoods scream about how Ronna did not meet their standard of integrity and trustworthiness. Despite all their errors and downright untruths, these people had to worry about Ronna giving a false narrative. These same people had not made a peep against NBC hiring Jen Paski from the Biden White House. She had even negotiated with NBC for her position while still working for the White House. These people lack all ability for introspection of themselves or their views.
Several years ago, I knew a liberal who hated President Trump. At times it seemed he could not wait to tell me how awful Trump was. Yet, when he did, I would simply try to point out that the people he was supporting were no better and were sometimes far worse, and I even gave him many examples. His response was usually just to make the charge that I was defending Trump. He never tried to answer my examples and missed the point that it was not my intent to defend Trump. Instead, it was my attempt to get him to be introspective. For him to simply take the time to look at himself and those he supported with the same standards that he used to condemn Trump. But like the NBC folks, he had no ability to look honestly at his side.
It would be great for everyone to be introspective when it comes to politics and even to life. As Jesus warns us, let us not worry about the speck in someone else’s eye when we have a log in our own. Let us all use the same standards on ourselves as we do on others.
Pastor's Pen for Thursday, March 7
While our founding fathers were faulty, they did establish a path for advancing justice in our land. We overcame slavery, Jim Crow laws, and the KKK. In the 20th century we made headway in providing even-handed justice. Though not perfect, it was better than in many other countries.
However, we are seeing a rise of injustice in our land. We see the political left bringing in something called lawfare. We have seen this used against pro-life activists, Christian photographers and bakers, conservative activists, and President Trump. The purpose of lawfare by the left is not about justice. Instead, the purpose, whether a conviction is reached or not, is to punish their opponents through the legal system. The punishment comes in the financial and emotional costs that come with being prosecuted. The purpose is to shut down those who will not submit to today’s Soviet styled totalitarian left.
We see this injustice in the Biden administration’s attacks on pro-life protestors by twisting laws to go far beyond what they were intended. In contrast after many attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers, only one person was arrested. The FBI said it was hard to identify the attackers because the crimes were at night!! What silliness!! As they prosecute harmless pro-lifers, our borders are open, and criminals roam free in our cities.
We see injustice in the treatment Biden received in contrast to Trump over classified documents. While Trump faces Stalinist show trials, the Biden DOJ cleared Biden because he is too old and forgetful. Yet, the only way Biden got those classified documents as a senator was for him to intentionally steal them from a secure area.
I think it is important for Christians to search the Scriptures to discern what justice should mean in our country. Justice from a Biblical perspective is to give one his due, whether good or bad. A person’s due is based upon God’s Law and our being imagebearers of God. We are warned in Leviticus 19:15, “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.”
When we allow injustice against one person or group, we open the door to justice being perverted against everyone. When justice is denied or delayed by our leaders our whole society suffers as the wicked become even more entrenched and chaos reigns.
Pastor's Pen for Thursday, February 1
On Sunday, January 21 we recognized Sanctity of Life Sunday. I hope that a statement against killing babies was heard from every pulpit in our area. I highlighted a shocking article that stated abortion was the leading cause of death in the world for the past five years.
While Sanctity of Life Sunday does shine a light on abortion, it also shines a light on the value of life. We read in Genesis 2:7 (ESV), “… 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.” What a wonderful moment this was as God shared the life He has in Himself with creatures such as us. Life is one of God’s greatest gifts to us.
In Genesis 9:5–6 we see how God values life, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” Because we bear God’s image human life was to be protected by society. Those taking God’s gift from others unjustly forfeited their gift of life.
Jesus valued the lives of children and infants. Mark 10:14b–16 (ESV), “… Jesus … said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.” As little image bearers of God those children were welcomed by our Lord.
Life is so special that it stands at the heart of Christianity. Revelation 21:3b, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” This is our Christian hope. Not simply that we can have eternal life but that we can have the gift of life with our Lord forever.
Christians and especially Christian leaders must publicly stand for life and against our culture of death. We must value human life as our Lord does.
Pastor’s Pen for Thursday, January 4
I appreciated the two letters about Israel and Gaza last month. While sympathetic, people should stop focusing only on the suffering in Israel and Gaza. There are many places today where brutality is common. While awful, what they face doesn’t compare to what Christians suffer regularly in Muslim, Hindu, and communist countries throughout the world. Today there are far more Christians being killed throughout the world than any other religious group. The map of countries that persecute Christians stretches from Muslim Northwest Africa all the way to communist China with no gaps in between. When not being persecuted or imprisoned, my Christian brothers and sisters are being treated as