"Behind the intellectual objections to the Bible and Christianity is the moral issue that keeps rebels of God from submitting to him. If God is God, then you are not free to live your life any longer as if you are unaccountable to Him." --Zachary Conover #faith #bible #christian

New article in the local paper by my pastor: Truth about Abraham, Sarah surprising. https://www.qcsunonline.com/story/2024/03/20/opinion/truth-about-abraham-sarah-surprising/25717.html "In my regular Bible reading, I was back in Genesis the other day and here’s the thought that struck me as I went through the life of Abraham: Abraham and Sarah did not have the kind of marriage that a lot of evangelicals promote as ideal. Specifically, a lot of modern conservatives, such as the Duggars on television and those informed by material from men like Bill Gothard, advocate for a “biblical patriarchy” in which the husband rules over everyone else. He gets the final say about everything, over everyone, and things are ordered according to his wishes. They’d want him to be nice about it, sure. But that’s somewhat lower on the list of considerations. These types of believers see the apostle Peter commending Sarah for calling her husband her “lord” or master and think that makes their case. Their marriage must’ve followed this model. I just don’t see it, not when you look at what they actually did. Sarah literally got whatever she asked for, even when her desires upset Abraham. He’s never shown putting his foot down and saying, “Submit, woman!” Even when Sarah’s choices were faithless or immoral, Abraham did what she wanted him to do. When Peter points out that she called him her master, that was meant to be considered in light of the actual record of events. When these modern husbands salivate at the idea of being kings in their own castles, in the words of Fezik from The Princess Bride, “I do not think it means what you think it means.” This is not to say that the Bible presents no gendered order at all. The husband is still supposed to be the leader of his home. But Biblical leadership is different than rulership. A biblical leader is not a commander or an order-giver. Rather, he has a proven track-record of integrity, service, and accountability. He leads by truth-telling and consistent example. When the wife is told to submit to her husband, and when they’re both told to submit to the government, that is not a term that means “obey without question.” Much less does it mean to obey bad orders. It means to acknowledge that I am supposed to be willing to serve you in whatever appropriate fashion I can. It’s not a word that turns free people with moral responsibility into slaves and order-followers. There are no biblical commands for what that must look like in a Christian home, other than the man is meant to lead. The Proverbs 31 woman, for instance, was in charge of household servants, ran a small business, and purchased land on her own initiative. What if the husband is a chef, though, and wants to be in charge of the family kitchen? They’re free to work these considerations out between them. She should see him as her leader and honestly seek to serve. But even if she doesn’t (which would be bad) he’s given no authority to force anything from her. He should be serving her as well, even as Christ loved the church and served her by providing everything she would ever need. He lowered and emptied himself in order to exalt her. We are all, regardless of gender, told to imitate that example in Philippians 2:5-11." Gordan Runyan is pastor of Tucumcari’s Immanuel Baptist Church and author of “Radical Moses: The Amazing Civil Freedom Built into Ancient Israel.” Contact him at: reformnm@yahoo.com #faith #bible #christian

New article in the local paper by my pastor: Human rights endowed by the Creator. https://www.qcsunonline.com/story/2024/03/06/opinion/human-rights-endowed-by-the-creator/25664.html "I made the mistake of watching some talking heads on a mainstream news channel the other day. When will I learn? My wife’s not holding her breath. Anyway, there was a panel discussion on the scary, new political faction on the scene. Religious zealots have arisen out of nowhere, apparently. The news has dubbed them Christian Nationalists. A pearl-clutching lady pointed out one of the horrifying doctrines of this group. These cultists think that our rights come from God, and not from any government. You may have to read that sentence again. Those crazy religionists! Now, it’s been a long time since I sat through a civics class, granted. I could be remembering wrong, but I’m pretty sure the Declaration of Independence had something to say about that: Something about a Creator endowing everybody with certain unalienable rights. Apparently, we’re at the point in America where that is seen as a dangerous, radical idea. It must’ve sounded treasonous back in merry ol’ London. Were all the signers of the Declaration Christian Nationalists? The only other working theory of rights is that they are granted, regulated, and abolished on the whim of a centralized government. So, then, for instance, your right to life or to private property is no stronger than the shifting sands of political opinion. And this is dependent on which lobbying group has purchased your senators. It’s the “land of the free, and home of the brave,” until the elected grifters tell you it’s not. Or, more accurately, until you realize the whole thing was sold down the river generations ago. Atheistic theories of authoritarian government (such as the one we live with) cannot provide any sure foundation for rights, or human flourishing, any more than they can justify their use of terms like good and evil, or right and wrong. As one, classic atheist has said, “If there is no god, then nothing matters.” The Bible, on the other hand, gives us solid ground for maximizing individual liberty. You have a right to life. How do we know? Because God tells everyone else not to murder you. We know you have property rights. How so? Because it says, “Thou shalt not steal.” (If it wasn’t really yours, it couldn’t be stolen from you.) Since God gives no government the right to coerce you into faith (as if that was possible) and no right to punish your thoughts, your right to religious freedom is secured. When the newspeople sitting around the table practically needed smelling salts to avoid fainting over these things, it told me something. The idea of religious faith is completely foreign to them, for one. I can only imagine the insulated bubble they live in. They’ve heard of people who think God is real through second or third-hand accounts over martinis. That’s when all the cool people throw back their heads and laugh. Two, they assume these beliefs are politically threatening, that everyone holding to them is trying to take over. In large part, this is an exercise in projection, as they themselves can’t imagine believing in something that doesn’t grant them power over people. That must be what these kooks are after since that’s the only thing worth striving for." Gordan Runyan is pastor of Tucumcari’s Immanuel Baptist Church and author of “Radical Moses: The Amazing Civil Freedom Built into Ancient Israel.” Contact him at: reformnm@yahoo.com #faith #bible #christian

My son's mom was in a fatal car accident yesterday. She survived, but her passenger did not. Life is short, folks. None of us are promised today or even tomorrow. Are you ready to meet Jesus? #faith #bible #christian

New article in the local paper by my pastor. Bible: you can have joy again. https://www.qcsunonline.com/story/2024/02/21/opinion/bible-you-can-have-joy-again/25613.html Psalm 51:8 - “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. "Whatever you think of the Harry Potter books, the author created a creepy monster called a Dementor. It was meant to be the personification of clinical depression. Dementors are invisible, heartless, and relentless in their desire to suck all the joy and happiness out of a person. One victim said the monster’s effect was to make her feel like she’d never be cheerful again. Live long enough and you’ll come to a place where you fear death less than you fear that your current state may go on forever. In fact, that latter fear can so twist you that you begin to welcome death. The Dementors could make this happen to you. If this doesn’t horrify you, stick around. The world has a way. You will learn. Our verse has David experiencing this sort of bleak existence. The guilt and weight of his sin has crushed him. Have you ever been wracked with such sustained sorrow that you would have preferred actual broken bones? That’s David. It’s a mark of the low state of Christianity that we rarely hear of any convert to Christ having to crawl through this ink-black valley on the way to the Light of the World. We’ve made “receiving Jesus” an easy transaction. Coming to him costs nothing and meets no real need as far as anyone can tell. So when they leave him, as multitudes do, it’s with no sense of loss. It’s like returning a gift to the store and walking out with cash. Give me the man who hears the Gospel and thinks, “That’s too good to be true. I wish it was real. But I am too far gone for that sort of pipedream. God knows what I’ve done, and we both know what’s coming to me. I deserve it.” That’s the sinner I want to preach to. I want the guy dying of thirst in the wilderness of his own sorrow and regret. He may not initially believe that the water I’m offering is free. He may at first consider it a foolish mirage. But when he gets the smallest hint that it’s real, he’ll reach for it in something close to panic. The modern “convert” takes the glass of water, sniffs it, and asks, “You sure you don’t have one of those canned seltzers around here? I can pay for it.” “No, sir. This is it. The water of life.” He sips it and hands back the glass. “OK, so we’re done now, right? I’m not going to hell?” Give me the man whose own sin is breaking his bones. Give me the woman whose shame has been with her so long, she’s given up on ever being cheerful again. Give me the unbeliever who would say with St. Augustine that his quest for sanity is driving him insane. I’ve got something for you. Cool water. A bright candle. Joy and gladness. Freedom, cleansing, healing, release. Of course, it’s not from me. I’ve tried it myself, though, and it’s real. The cross of Christ did its terrible, murderous work on him, but his grave lies empty." Gordan Runyan is pastor of Tucumcari’s Immanuel Baptist Church and author of “Radical Moses: The Amazing Civil Freedom Built into Ancient Israel.” Contact him at: reformnm@yahoo.com #faith #bible #christian

#faith #bible #christian

"The call of the Great Commission is to ensure that every nation has Jesus as its God. The Great Commission requires the transformation and Christianization of every nation on earth." -Rich Lusk Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” #faith #bible #christian

New article in the local paper by my pastor: Redemption demands brutal honesty. https://www.qcsunonline.com/story/2024/02/07/opinion/redemption-demands-brutal-honesty/25571.html "Psalm 51:5 – “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. David is direct, even blunt, here. He’s not sugar-coating anything. Even so, these words are routinely misunderstood, especially by new readers of the Bible, or older ones who’ve never paid attention. The sense is the same as if he had said, “I was born into the tribe of Judah, and therefore Judah is my tribe.” Only, here, the tribe in question is that one we call “humanity.” As cats bring forth cats, and dogs have litters of puppies, so the descendants of Adam and Eve have babies well outside the Garden of Eden. The Fall has happened, and Paradise has been lost. As Paul would later explain, even the youngest humans, who haven’t sinned yet (like Adam did) are under the umbrella of his punishment, subjected to a lifetime of toil and death. Babies die, not because they sinned, but because that’s the end of all the members of their tribe. David’s mother didn’t sin by becoming pregnant. Adam and Eve were told to make babies before they messed everything up. They were told to populate the earth before sin was an issue. David was from a long line of sinners. You can see how he might have been tempted to use that as an excuse, wrestling with God over his gross violations of the commands. He might’ve said, “C’mon, what do you expect of me, Lord? You know who and what I am. In fact, you are in charge of all that. If you create me with a nature that is inclined to sin, how can you condemn me for sinning?” We hear things like this all the time. That’s not how David is using the concept. He’s honestly owning his personal corruption. He’s admitting that he is a sinner from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, and lower than that, at a foundational level: From root to fruit, so to speak, and including the soil. Even so, let’s answer the hypothetical question: If you made me a sinner, how can you be angry at my sin? Well, because, O king, God has loaded you down with benefits and graces. He’s revealed himself to you. You’ve heard his voice. You’ve experienced amazing tokens of his salvation. You’ve communed with his Spirit. You’ve had the word, and it has delighted you as it taught you. At some point, shouldn’t there be a payoff for all these acts of his love toward you? How much would he need to do before he’d have a right to expect you won’t go around murdering people? That’s what David is coming to grips with. It’s not just that he’s done things. But he did them in the face of the mighty acts of God on his behalf. He’s unworthy, ungodly, and undeserving … all the way down. And you, Christian, living in a better covenant than David could have fathomed, because of the Messiah, Jesus, the son of David, what will your own excuse be? From the one to whom much is given, much will be expected." Gordan Runyan is pastor of Tucumcari’s Immanuel Baptist Church and author of “Radical Moses: The Amazing Civil Freedom Built into Ancient Israel.” Contact him at: reformnm@yahoo.com #faith #bible #christian

Dynamite sermon from Pastor Jeff Durbin on the unique authority of Scripture over and against all other authorities. Sola Scriptura & Rome, Pt 1 | 2 Timothy 3:16-17 #faith #bible #christian #solascriptura

New article in the local paper by my pastor: Our self-identification is not enough. "The truth is that within Christian churches we have a history of allowing people to “identify” as something they merely feel or wish they were, but for which there is no objective evidence. Not only have we done this consistently, but we have a little sub-culture in which this is enthusiastically encouraged. We make quasi-celebrities out of the preachers who can convince the most people to make this (false) identification. We call this evangelism. Sometimes we hold special services called revivals, in which the goal is to get as many people as possible to identify as believers in Jesus. Just raise your hand during the final prayer or walk the aisle to the front. Say this repeat-after-me incantation, even with half a heart and zero understanding. From that point forward, we’ll urge you to identify as a Christian or be “saved” or “born again.” When you say you are those things, we’ll all get happy, and no one will dare question you about it. We won’t require any objective evidence. Your identification doesn’t have to conform to even the smallest spec of what anyone can see. You never show up at church again? That’s OK. We already counted you on our books as someone we saved. You lead a life that looks the same as all your friends, who never claimed to believe? Fine. If you’ll continue to say yes when someone asks if you’re a Christian, that’s all that matters — you identify that way. As one preacher has said, “If you were on trial for your faith in Jesus, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Jesus instructed us to tell what kind of tree we’re looking at by inspecting its fruit. It wouldn’t be enough to see a sign on its branches that says, “I’m an apple tree,” if the fruit it’s dropping is pecans. John the Baptist warned the crowds who were identifying as repentant people that they needed to bear those fruits — their lives had to show that they had changed. When people criticize the church for being “full of hypocrites” this is what they are complaining about. The identification points in one direction, but all the fruit lines up the other way. No, I’m not saying you must walk in sinless perfection before you call yourself a believer. But I am saying that the more people are around you, they will inevitably see the reality. You’re either aiming for righteousness and accidentally missing here and there, or you’re disguising a faithless lifestyle under the label, the identification, of Christian. Someone will almost certainly read these words, become nervous or annoyed, and comfort himself with the fact that he raised his hand at Vacation Bible School 60 years ago, so he must be saved. They asked the kids if any of them wanted to go to heaven and he, with all the rest, raised his hand. So, boom, there’s your evidence, preacher. The evangelism of Jesus was about counting the cost, renouncing worldly goods, and not loving your own life, even unto death. But we think the Jesus-fish on our car proves we’re in the in-crowd. The good news is there is still time to repent … and to do it in a manner that everyone can identify." Gordan Runyan is pastor of Tucumcari’s Immanuel Baptist Church and author of “Radical Moses: The Amazing Civil Freedom Built into Ancient Israel.” Contact him at: reformnm@yahoo.com https://www.qcsunonline.com/story/2024/01/24/opinion/our-self-identification-not-enough/25523.html #faith #bible #christian

Stolen from X: If Christianity is just about control and secularism is about freedom, why are there 613 laws in the Bible and literally millions of laws in this secular theocracy we call the United States? #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 30th) Loved to Perfection Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end — John 13:1 This fact is essentially a promise; for what our Lord was He is, and what He was to those with whom He lived on earth, He will be to all His beloved so long as the moon endureth. "Having loved": here was the wonder! That He should ever have loved men at all is the marvel. What was there in His poor disciples that He should love them? What is there in me? But when He has once begun to love, it is His nature to continue to do so. Love made the saints "his own" - what a choice title! He purchased them with blood and they became His treasure. Being His own, He will not lose them. Being His beloved, He will not cease to love them. My soul, He will not cease to love thee! The text is well as it stands: "to the end," even till His death the ruling passion of love to His own reigned in His sacred bosom. It means also to the uttermost. He could not love them more: He gave Himself for them. Some read it, to perfection. Truly He lavished upon them a perfect love, in which there was no flaw nor failure, no unwisdom, no unfaithfulness, and no reserve. Such is the love of Jesus to each one of His people. Let us sing to our Well-beloved a song. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 28th) Absolute Assurance He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee — Hebrews 13:5 Several times in the Scriptures the Lord hath said this. He has often repeated it, to make our assurance doubly sure. Let us never harbor a doubt of it. In itself the promise is specially emphatic. In the Greek it has five negatives, each one definitely shutting out the possibility of the Lord's ever leaving one of His people so that he can justly feel forsaken of his God. This priceless Scripture does not promise us exemption from trouble, but it does secure us against desertion. We may be called to traverse strange ways, but we shall always have our Lord's company, assistance, and provision. We need not covet money, for we shall always have our God, and God is better than gold, His favor is better than fortune. We ought surely to be content with such things as we have, for he who has God has more than all the world besides. What can we have beyond the Infinite? What more can we desire than Almighty Goodness. Come, my heart; if God says He will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, be thou much in prayer for grace, that thou mayest never leave thy Lord, nor even for a moment forsake His ways. #faith #bible #christian

New article in the local paper by my pastor: Have courage for coming victory. "The new year stares us right in our faces like a gunslinger in a classic Western. Its gaze narrows. Its trigger finger twitches, waiting for a signal. The last several years have come after us like low-down, mangy desperados. After what we’ve seen, it’s normal to wonder what fresh misery has been brewed up for us in days to come. You may think you’re prepared, but you’ve thought that before, and still wound up having to ask, “Where in the world did all that come from?” This is a completely understandable way to think. We’re gun shy. We’ve been through some things and have the scars to show for it. It’s understandable, natural, and even to be expected. But (and I say this as your friend, not your accuser) it’s faithless. You claim some faith in Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, crucified and raised from the dead: you are not allowed to go timidly into coming days. I’ll grant that you have your reasons. I’d even concede that they make perfect sense. Still, your undefined fear of what the year will bring is a red flag signaling, to yourself at least, that you do not believe as you should. Your homework assignment (because, of course, I’m in a position to assign work to you) is Numbers 13 and 14. It’s a 10-minute read. Moses sends spies into the Promised Land. All 12 come back in agreement that it’s an amazing land, abundantly fruitful, populated with fortified cities and even some of the Nephilim, the giants. The division among the spies is over the question of who will eat whom. Ten spies are convinced the land will devour the people of Israel. Joshua and Caleb, however, see it working out the other way. In a delightful example of biblical “trash talk,” their argument is that even if there are giants, that’s just more meat on the bone to go around. “They are bread for us,” they say in 14:9. Christian, this all happens in the fourth book of the Bible. Sixty-two more come after it, and each of them gives you more, not less, reason to tread confidently into the world laid out ahead of you. Give old Caleb a tenth of the good promises you have in Christ, and he’d win the planet, not just a strip of real estate in the Middle East. In this world you will have tribulation, but Christ has overcome the world. He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world. The one with all authority is with you until the end of the age. You’ve been seated with him in heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. Nothing 2024 can throw at you can separate you from the love of your king: not death, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword. You are in his hand, and no one is great enough to snatch you out. Your enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus Christ has come that you may have life, more abundantly. Who is the food in this equation and who will do the feasting? The year is bread for us." Gordan Runyan is pastor of Tucumcari’s Immanuel Baptist Church and author of “Radical Moses: The Amazing Civil Freedom Built into Ancient Israel.” Contact him at: reformnm@yahoo.com #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 27th) His Kindness and Covenant For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee — Isaiah 54:10 One of the most delightful qualities of divine love is its abiding character. The pillars of the earth may be moved out of their places, but the kindness and the covenant of our merciful Jehovah never depart from His people. How happy my soul feels in a firm belief of this inspired declaration! The year is almost over, and the years of my life are growing few, but time does not change my Lord. New lamps are taking the place of the old, perpetual change is on all things; but our Lord is the same. Force overturns the hills, but no conceivable power can affect the eternal God. Nothing in the past, the present, or the future can cause Jehovah to be unkind to me. My soul, rest in the eternal kindness of the Lord, who treats thee as one near of kin. Remember also the everlasting covenant. God is ever mindful of it - see that thou art mindful of it too. In Christ Jesus the glorious God has pledged Himself to thee to be thy God, and to hold thee as one of His people. Kindness and covenant - dwell on these words as sure and lasting things which eternity itself shall not take from thee. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 26th) God Only, You Can Trust Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended — Matthew 26:33 "Why," cries one, "this is no promise of God." Just so, but it was a promise of man, and therefore it came to nothing. Peter thought that he was saying what he should assuredly carry out; but a promise which has no better foundation than a human resolve will fall to the ground. No sooner did temptations arise than Peter denied his Master, and used oaths to confirm his denial. What is man's word? An earthen pot broken with a stroke. What is your own resolve? A blossom, which, with God's care, may come to fruit, but which, left to itself, will fall to the ground with the first wind that moves the bough. On man's word hang only what it will bear. On thine own resolve depend not at all. On the promise of thy God hang time and eternity, this world and the next, thine all and the all of all thy beloved ones. This volume is a checkbook for believers, and this page is meant as a warning as to what bank they draw upon, and whose signature they accept. Rely upon Jesus without limit. Trust not thyself nor any born of woman, beyond due bounds; but trust thou only and wholly in the Lord. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 22nd) Immediately Present God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble — Psalm 46:1 A help that is not present when we need it is of small value. The anchor which is left at home is of no use to the seaman in the hour of storm; the money which he used to have is of no worth to the debtor when a writ is out against him. Very few earthly helps could be called "very present": they are usually far in the seeking, far in the using, and farther still when once used. But as for the Lord our God, He is present when we seek Him, present when we need Him, and present when we have already enjoyed His aid. He is more than "present," He is very present. More present than the nearest friend can be, for He is in us in our trouble; more present than we are to ourselves, for sometimes we lack presence of mind. He is always present, effectually present, sympathetically present, altogether present. He is present now if this is a gloomy season. Let us rest ourselves upon Him. He is our refuge, let us hide in Him; He is our strength, let us array ourselves with Him; He is our help, let us lean upon Him; He is our very present help, let us repose in Him now. We need not have a moment's care, or an instant's fear. "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." #faith #bible #christian

I miss Heiser! Recently started the Naked Bible podcast at episode 1.

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 20th) Men as Men; God as God I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? — Isaiah 51:12-13 Let the text itself be taken as the portion for today. There is no need to enlarge upon it. Trembling one, read it, believe it, feed on it, and plead it before the Lord. He whom you fear is only a man after all; while He who promises to comfort you is God, your Maker, and the Creator of Heaven and earth. Infinite comfort more than covers a very limited danger. "Where is the fury of the oppressor?" It is in the Lord's hand. It is only the fury of a dying creature; fury which will end as soon as the breath is gone from the nostril. Why, then, should we stand in awe of one who is as frail as ourselves? Let us not dishonor our God by making a god of puny man. We can make an idol of a man by rendering to him excessive fear as well as by paying him inordinate love. Let us treat men as men, and God as God; and then we shall go calmly on in the path of duty, fearing the Lord, and fearing nobody else. #faith #bible #christian

The American Right has little to offer the people except a slower paced leftism. “The Land of the Free” has become the home of would-be tyrants with ever-expanding dreams of control. ~ R. J. Rushdoony #faith #bible #christian