The Pastors' Corner

The Beatitudes for Marriage

“Love and marriage, love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage. This I tell you brother. You can’t have one without the other.” These words for an old song are, sadly, not necessarily true. We can probably think of marriages where love doesn’t seem to be a part of the relationship. But I think we would agree that any marriage could use more love between a husband and a wife. Is your love for one another growing? Has your relationship become a mere business partnership, a brother sister relationship, or an I-will-go-my-way- you-go-your-way arrangement? This need not be, nor should it be. Marriage is to be a live drama of Christ’s love for His church and the church’s love for Christ. Children in Christian homes should not be deprived of daily visuals of the gospel story.

In order for love to exist and mature, the spiritual well-being of a husband and wife must be a life-encompassing experience. What is the kind of marriage that meets with God’s approval? The word that expresses His approval is “blessed.” The word “happy” is frequently used as a synonym for blessed, but it is too limited. Happy is most often thought of as an emotional moment of pleasure which, like a giant wave, eventually comes crashing down on the beach and disappears. The state of blessedness is much more than mere circumstantial exuberance. It is a condition of the soul that is secure and hopeful. It is a life that is enriched by God. It is soul prosperity in the best sense. But how does one get there? Resolve to have a marriage that meets with God’s approval.

The poor in spirit are those who recognize their helplessness and total dependence upon God. I cannot be the kind of husband or wife God wants me to be without Him. Have you come to that moment of truth in your marriage where you realize that loving someone else as God wants us to love requires supernatural help? Have you cried out to God for grace to change the way you think about and relate to your spouse?

Those who mourn are those who weep over their sin and the violence it does against God, oneself, and others. When I am broken over my sin and repent, God will give me comfort. He is a merciful God to those who seek mercy. I am able then to be merciful toward that one closest to me. When was the last time you asked God for forgiveness for having failed to love your spouse as you ought to? Unhappiness in a marriage is often directly attributed to stubbornness and a refusal to admit a wrong. God loves to comfort those who come to Him in contrition and repentance.

The meek are those who do not use what they have, what they know, or what they are to hurt others. They instead bring everything God has given them to help others. The husband or wife who uses his or her abilities, graces, and gifts for the sake of the other will rule with Christ in the kingdom. Do you tend to ride roughshod over the feelings and desires of your spouse? Meek people are not weak people. They are the truly strong. They place everything at God’s disposal for the spiritual well-being of others. Have you attempted to make your spouse feel stupid for not knowing something you know (or think you know)? That’s not meekness.

Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness have an appetite for God. The husband or wife must first and foremost pursue God. As you seek after God, fulfillment will be given by God. Your spouse cannot give meaning to your life. Only your experience with God can do that. An insatiable appetite for God takes a marriage to heights previously unknown. The spiritual heights of intimacy, friendship, mutual sacrifice, shared goals, and a life for the glory of God will never be scaled by those whose appetite is for self-fulfillment.

Merciful husbands and wives look upon their spouses with compassion. Tender regard for a fellow sinner will be reciprocated. When you see your spouse hurting seek to ease the hurt. Don’t exploit it. A husband is never more masculine than when he comes to the aid of his wife in pain. “Sometimes the manliest thing to do is doing the ‘unmanly’ thing” (a quote from my granddaughter, Meredith, when she was eight years old). Notice how often the compassion of Jesus is mentioned in the Gospels. A home becomes a soft place to land when merciful people live there.

The pure in heart do not allow their thoughts to stray beyond the sexual bonds of marriage. Protect and ensure intimacy with your spouse by watching over your heart with all diligence. Intimacy with God will drive me to purity of mind. It has been said that “the heart is never neutral toward Jesus Christ. It is either moving closer toward Him or away from Him.” The pure in heart are on a journey to becoming totally occupied with the person of Jesus Christ. A husband is pure in heart when he resolves day by day to live out the values of God’s kingdom. A wife is pure in heart when she values what is real, important, and eternal and is unsatisfied with sham, deceit, or any hint of hypocrisy. Nothing is more beautiful than a husband and wife walking hand in hand towards heaven’s gates with the clear vision of loving and living God’s truth.

The peacemakers are those who refuse to live in disharmony with those around them. The husband or wife who wants to be called a son of God does not provoke strife and will not allow it to rule their home. Is it not painful to hear a woman criticize her husband to other women? Is it not an ugly thing to see a marriage break up on the shoals of anger, strife, and bitterness? What’s going on behind the doors of your home, husbands and wives? Are you tolerating a lack of reconciliation with your spouse over that difference you had last week (month, year)? Sweet is that relationship that does not let the sun go down on anger.

The persecuted are those suffering hurt because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ. If the husband or wife endures pain in marriage, let it be because it is a blow against Christ not because it is a result of sin. This is kingdom living. There are married couples who live in different spiritual universes. This is not the way it is supposed to be, but it happens. And more often than not, it is the Christian who suffers because of his or her faith in Jesus Christ. A lack of compatibility in things that matter most, namely, the supremacy of Jesus Christ and the sufficiency of His Word can be a heavy weight on the heart. If you are there, resolve to be joyful in God’s service and devoted to your life’s partner.

Love is to go together with marriage. Make it so in your own life. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:35). That is the kind of marriage that meets with God’s approval. Live by God’s principles, and enjoy the romance.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church 

Love Your Enemies: You Must be Kidding

No, I am not. Jesus was very serious when He told His followers to love their enemies not hate them (Matthew 5:43-47). It’s easy to love those who love us. Non-Christians can love one another without the grace of God. That despised social group in Jesus’ day, the tax collectors, loved their fellow tax collectors. Private clubs, friends, and sports teams can have a real affection for one another. That’s not bad. It just isn’t Christianity. Morality is not Christianity. Loving one’s friends may be just self-love (like those who like you).

The Pharisees had developed a moral code which said, “You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.” They were partly right, but totally wrong. The command to love one’s neighbor was found in Leviticus 19:18. However, through some creative Bible interpretation “hate your enemy” was made a rider in the law of love. It had been reasoned that since neighbor was someone near, a fellow Israelite for example, then hatred for one’s enemy was a possibility. A bureaucratically created loop-hole became a convenient way to have one’s theological cake and eat it to0. You could love those who were lovable and hate those who didn’t like you. How convenient. There was nothing supernatural about that. And to further support such an ethic God’s command to destroy the Canaanites in the Old Testament, as well as imprecatory prayers (calling down God’s curses on evil-doers) in the psalms, may have been invoked.

The superficiality and wrongness of this kind of thinking should be transparent. But we must never underestimate what the sinful heart of man can do to justify evil. Cults are notorious for their distortions of Scripture in order to by-pass the plain teaching of the Bible. Think of the thousands of professing Christians who twisted Scripture to support slavery and segregation.

Jesus was not one to dodge the theological bullies of His day. He commanded kingdom citizens to love their enemies. Seek their good, not their harm. His example said it all. He gave Himself for His enemies (Colossians 1:19-22). By doing what was best for them, He overcame evil with good. With ultimate moral authority Jesus said to pray for those who persecute the children of God. D. A. Carson tells us that “Praying for an enemy and loving him will prove mutually reinforcing. The more love, the more prayer; the more prayer, the more love.” When loving their enemies, disciples of Jesus will love like God, not men.

Many hatreds corrupt society. Labels can be useful ways of indexing worldviews (Left, Right, conservative, liberal, socialists, feminists, fundamentalists, pro-choice, pro-life, homophobia, etc.), but they can easily fuel suspicion and hatred. Impersonalizing people is a step in the wrong direction. Our treatment of others must not depend on who they are or what they have done to us. What should control our view of others? Think of God’s nature and the enormity of His grace, mercy, and love demonstrated to us. Do you have enemies? Are there people who have said terrible things about you, have slandered you, and show no remorse in having done so? There is love-work that must be done. Anger, hatred, and revenge are poison and everlastingly destructive. Follow Jesus and love your enemy.

The more excellent way of love provides the ways in which we are to love our enemies (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

• Love is patient. I will choose to persist creatively when I suffer at the hands of my enemy.
• Love is kind. I will choose to reach out to my enemy to make his life better.
• Love is not jealous. I will choose to refuse to be resentful when my enemy has something that I don’t.
• Love does not brag. I will choose to avoid self-promotion by trying to look better than my enemy.
• Love is not arrogant. I will choose not to indulge in any power grab in order to “win” over my enemy.
• Love does not act unbecomingly. I will choose to treat my enemy with respect.
• Love does not seek its own. I will choose to sacrifice my rights for the benefit of my enemy.
• Love is not provoked. I will choose to absorb the irritations and offenses of my enemy out of concern for him.
• Love does not take into account a wrong suffered. I will choose to let God keep the moral scorecard of life and not keep a list of grievances against my enemy. I will attend God’s school of forgiveness.
• Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness. I will choose not to delight in the sins and misery of my enemy.
• Love rejoices with the truth. I will choose to delight in the things that please God and not excuse the sins of my enemy.
• Love bears all things. I will choose to put up with all kinds of hardships for the sake of my enemy.
• Love believes all things. I will choose to act wisely in the effort to help my enemy. I will refuse to be naïve and gullible or cynical.
• Love hopes all things. I will choose to be confident about the future and not become pessimistic. I will trust in the fulfillment of God’s righteous purposes through my enemy.
• Love endures all things. I will choose to not stop loving. I won’t give up on my enemies. I will pray for him consistently.

Jesus was not kidding when He said to love our enemies. He has told us how to do it and gives the supernatural enablement to love as He has loved us. Open your mouth wide for tablespoons full of God’s grace.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church

Take Up Your Cross

The sky was a brilliant blue. A steady light wind came in from the west with low humidity. It was a perfect day for a track meet. I sat with Conner, my grandson, talking about his race strategy and waiting for his 1600 meter and 3200 meter races. Scores of young athletes in their school colors were busy warming up, stretching, and dealing with pent-up adrenalin as they anticipated their events. Then it came; “First call for the 1600meters.” The runners assembled in their holding area at the end of the track. Then they were called to move up the track to the starting line. Final instructions were given. Eager bodies leaned forward. The gun sounded. The race began.

The disciples of Jesus were in a comparable situation when they received instruction from their Master; “And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life?’” (Mark 8:34-37).

The twelve disciples were at a starting line. Jesus was entering a new phase of His ministry. Jerusalem, His death and His resurrection were only eight months away (Mark 8:31). The crowds crushing around Him would soon be melting away. The commitment of the disciples would face new challenges. Were they with Him? Did they understand what was at stake?

Every Christian, like the disciples, becomes qualified for the “race” of following Jesus. All race entrants have seen themselves as sinners under God’s judgment and have received the offer of eternal life; “Whoever hears my word, and believes him who sent me has eternal life” (John 5:24). The entry fee has been paid. Jesus Christ did that on the cross with the price of His life offered up for sinners. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This offer is absolutely free. There is no cost. To become a “runner” after Jesus we trust Him and He gives us eternal life.

Runners after Jesus have a race in front of them. As Jesus called His disciples to come after Him, they were to have the same mind toward death and life as their Master. Eternal life is free. Discipleship is costly. There is a price to be paid in following after Jesus. No pain. No gain. Running the race of discipleship requires a racing strategy. The first requirement is denying oneself (“let him deny himself”). Self must not take precedence over submitting to the desire of God for us. Jesus has led the way, “yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). The authority of self was not the way of the Savior. It is not to be the way of His followers. Obedience to Jesus Christ is necessary for those who wish to run their race with endurance and finish well.

The second strategy for the disciple/runner is “to take up one’s cross.” A sober intoxication of delight in doing the will of God must rule the mind. Serious followers of Jesus are to be determined to obey God no matter what the cost. Running after Jesus is a daily death experience. This is more than dealing with aches and pains, difficult people, annoying relatives, or a boring job. The cross of which Jesus speaks is that suffering which comes as a result of obeying Him. The future of the disciple/runner is the one God has planned. Cross-bearing involves being rejected by others for your belief in Christ. It is being ridiculed because you believe there is only one way to God and that is through Jesus Christ. It is being mocked at school because you believe that Jesus created the universe, not chance through time.

The third phase of the disciple/runner’s strategy is “Follow me.” This is not an emotional, subjective WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) in decision making. Following Jesus is a call to gain through loss. The paradox of the cross is embraced. Self-centered living is loss (“losers are keepers”). “To save your life, lose it; to keep your life, throw it away” sounds like a riddle. It is the way to run effectively for Jesus Christ. Living for oneself demonstrates itself by pursuing personal peace and prosperity as one’s goal in life. The world pulls in that direction; “pamper yourself,” “you owe it to yourself,” “build your self-esteem.” The disciple/runner knows that to invest one’s life in self is to live a superficial life.

The disciple/runner who wants to please his Savior is driven by the truth that God-centered living is gain (“losers are keepers”). To invest one’s life for God is to gain the joy of glorifying God. Gaining the world is shallow, short-sighted living. The wasted life is to forfeit true life now and reward in eternity. The disciple/runner sets his pace by living for the things that matter, a generous giver to God’s work, investing one’s life in the spread of the gospel, serving others for Christ’s sake, doing those things that please God.

The gun sounded and Connor went out quickly with the front pack of runners. With a good racing strategy and a steady pace he got a PR (personal record) in the 1600 meters. The disciple/runner has been given the example of Jesus to motivate him to run with endurance the race that is set before him (Hebrews 12:1-2). Jesus set the record no one will ever break. He trusted in the Father all the way. He accomplished our redemption; “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

If you are a disciple/runner how is your race progressing? When you will have finished your course and all of life’s decisions have been made, what will it all add up to? Will there be more gain than loss? Will you hear the Savior say, “Well done, good and faithful servant?” There will be rewards for those who have competed well. It was Vance Havner who said, “Most of us would live by faith if we knew the rewards would be forthcoming within two weeks.” The disciple/runner is in a marathon, not a sprint. Are you settling for teaspoons of transformation of life when there could be oceans of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Jim Elliot, who gave his life for Christ in the jungles of South America decades ago, summed up what it means to take up one’s cross; “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

None of us knows when our finish line will come. It may be a long run or a short run. We do know, however, that our goal is not a perishable reward, but an imperishable one. Our Savior awaits us there.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church

The Reason in Our Hope

Living without hope is not a natural human instinct. We start out very early in life expecting certain things to come to pass. I guess one of the first of those is our next meal. In a land of grocery stores whose shelves are loaded with food we have learned to live with the confidence that there will be meals in our future. We also grow up thinking that no matter how miserable things may become, there is the hope that misery won’t last indefinitely. Things will get better. My sickness won’t last forever. Below zero weather will pass. We think this way.

What if there were no hope? Most people think that there is some kind of personal existence after death. Few would agree with Carl Sagan’s presumptuous conclusion that, “The cosmos is all there is, all there ever was, and all there ever will be.”

But how do we know that we will live in some form after we die? We must examine that assumption. What if, when we die there really is a place called hell, and it lasts forever? What if there is a heaven, the place where God is, and only certain people go there? Thinking that when we die we will go to a better place may prove to be absolutely wrong.

There is one event in human history that can help us with our concerns and questions about life after death. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is the key to the door of the hope of life with God after we die. There are very good reasons to believe that Jesus Christ actually arose from the grave after His crucifixion. In the first place, Christ really died. He did not fake it. Read the Gospel account of Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus’ was placed in a tomb. That is where they place dead people. Secondly, Christ’s tomb was found to be empty. An angel told the women who visited His tomb early on Sunday morning that “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said” (Matt. 28:6). Thirdly, hundreds of people saw Jesus after he had been raised (1 Cor. 15:6). Those who knew Jesus best were absolutely convinced that He was alive and that He ascended to heaven. It has been said countless times, but is worth repeating, the willingness of Jesus’ followers to suffer persecution and even give their lives for Him says volumes about the truthfulness of His resurrection. It was not a lie. Fourthly, consider the astounding results of the resurrection. Within months of Christ’s resurrection, thousands had put their trust in Him for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life. The whole world was turned upside down by the first century Christians. Why? They believed that what Jesus said about Himself had come to pass; He was killed and raised from the dead (Matthew 16:21).

What does all this have to do with hope? Everything. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ death has been conquered. This opens up a treasure chest of realities. (1) Through faith in Jesus Christ our guilt before God can be pardoned and we can live with Him forever. (2) We can know Jesus and enjoy fellowship with Him. (3) Jesus can change our lives and make it possible to overcome evil with good. (4) The resurrection of Jesus Christ guarantees every believer’s own resurrection body on the last day (1 Cor. 15:35-38, 42-43, 49).

What then should you do?

• God exists. He is holy, just, and absolutely without any sin. He has left His fingerprints all over His creation. There is enough of Him to be seen and known of Him to hold everyone accountable (Rom. 1:18, 19). The Maker of the cosmos has told that He is there and He is not silent.
• We are sinners. We were born under God’s judgment. We don’t seek Him. We break His moral law. We fall woefully short of His absolute perfection. And for this we are doomed to an eternal separation from Him in the lake of fire (Rom. 3:21).
• Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. There is a way out of our predicament. Rescue is possible. But there is only one person who is qualified for this, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God who came to us and perfect man who lived among us. Jesus became our substitute. He took our punishment in His place, suffered the Father’s wrath, and offers to us a righteousness which we don’t have. The Bible calls this justification, the declaration by God that He has forgiven our sins and that we are righteous in His sight (Rom. 3:24; 8:1).
• Put your trust in Jesus Christ to receive the forgiveness of sin and eternal life (Rom. 3:25, 28). It is absolutely free. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

Yes, it is as simple as that. Good works and your best efforts cannot save. We are unable to save ourselves. What if my trust is not strong enough? The famous preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon, wrote, “The weakness of your faith will not destroy you. A trembling hand may receive a golden gift.” Our conviction rests upon the rock-solid facts of Christ’s death for us and the empty tomb which He left behind. There is reason in our hope because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church

Wearing a Dunce Cap

The wearing of a dunce cap would definitely be out of step with contemporary culture. At one time it was acceptable to have slow learning students to sit in a corner wearing a tall, cone-shaped cap. This was a frightening form of punishment for school children. I am extremely thankful it had fallen out of fashion by the time I took geometry in high school.

There is another kind of learning which has its own version of a dunce cap as punishment. It is called the school of life. The Bible calls the person a fool who rejects God’s wisdom. This is not a badge of honor. The fool is not someone who is mentally deficient but is morally deficient. It is stupid to disregard what God teaches about what is really important.

April Fools’ Day is observed on the first day of April. It has the tradition as a day on which harmless jokes are played on the unsuspecting. However, in God’s book being a fool is no joke. The dunce cap is reserved for those who think wisdom is unimportant (Prov. 1:7 “fools despise wisdom and instruction”). Associated with this arrogant attitude is the unwillingness to concentrate on the truth and thinking that wisdom can be bought. Limiting one’s mental diet to one’s own thoughts and feeding the mind on human opinion is not an exercise in wisdom. One outcome is trying to teach others but, actually, having nothing to offer and not know it (Prov. 17:24, 16; 15:14; 26:7; 17:10). Imagine someone who struts about making fun of the Bible, invests thousands of dollars in getting an education, feeds his mind on mountains of information with no thought of God whatsoever, and is proud of it. Prepare the dunce cap.

God says that the fool is a danger to people (Prov. 17:12 “the companion of fools will suffer harm”). Fools are like deep and dangerous potholes on the road of life. They quarrel and stir up strife (Prov. 20:3). They will waste your time, are unreliable, cannot control their anger, and cannot handle prosperity (Prov. 14:7; 26:6; 29:11; 19:10). How often is personal wealth wasted on those who have no biblical sense? People who ought to be taking care of themselves and being generous to others end up being unable to even meet their own needs (Prov. 10:21). Choices! We all make choices. Watch out for those who squander their abilities and opportunities then come looking for a handout. Prepare the dunce cap.

This is really going to hurt. The fool does not know how to control his tongue (Prov. 18:7 “A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.” Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase captures the thought, “Fools are undone by their big mouths; their souls are crushed by their words.”). Spreading slander is like spraying your azaleas with sewerage. The tragedy is that fools don’t even blush at doing so. Slander is gossip’s first cousin. But it is more sinister, open, and malevolent. It is a verbal assault on someone’s character. Have you ever been the victim of an untruth told about you? Fools work the craft of an uncontrolled tongue and it is not pretty. When a fool opens her mouth everyone will know it (Prov. 24:7 “Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.”). What is in the heart comes out of the mouth. Seeking the counsel of someone who does not take God’s Word seriously is like trying to get a drink from a waterless spring.

Those wearing God’s dunce caps are arrogant in their outlook on moral wrong (Prov. 28:26 “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool”). The population is filled with those who mock at sin, are self-deceived, and have no fear of God (Prov. 14:8, 9; 1:29). A Phi Beta Kappa can laugh at God’s moral law, but there will be a price. God does not look kindly upon those who think they know better than He. Sexual immorality is not a recreational sport without consequences. Among other things there is the underworld of STDs. More importantly, to give into one’s sexual lusts hardens the heart, putting myself above God’s desires for me and not caring for the other person. Prepare the dunce cap.

The really sad thing about April Fools’ Day is that there really is one. It is every day for those who do not submit themselves to God’s wisdom and seek to live life His way. The greatest fool of all is the one who lives and dies without having experienced the salvation that is in the Lord Jesus Christ (Lk. 12:20). One day life will be over and the saddest of words will be, “April Fools is past and you’re the biggest fool at last.”

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church

Debtors

Debtors. That’s what Christians are. We are debtors to every lost person on this planet. The apostle Paul lived under this sense of indebtedness (“I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” Rom. 1:14). We owe it to every sin-blinded, unbelieving person in the world to tell them about Jesus Christ. How did we get into such a debt? How do we pay it off?

Grace creates debtorship. Those who have been forgiven much love much. We who have been forgiven of the guilt of our sins through faith in Christ have a debt of love to pay (Lk. 7:47; Rom. 13:8). Think of what God has done for us. We deserved eternal punishment for our sins, but in Christ we have been forgiven. Savor that thought. When we received grace from God, we became debtors to everyone who needs God’s grace. We can never pay God back for what He has done for us. Grace is a gift. It is not a mortgage. Thank God that the debt of our sin has been paid by the payment of Christ’s blood on the cross. Our debt is to the lost, not to God. He paid our debt. That is what those under the wrath of God need to hear.

Every Christian is to be some kind of evangelist. Loving God means being driven to keep His commandments (“If you love me you will keep my commandments.” Jn. 14:15). This is not some grim duty to be carried out to merely quiet our conscience. There is nothing the God-lover would rather do than to please Him (Matt. 22:34-40). To love God the Father is to love God the Son. This also means to love my neighbor. Who is my neighbor? According to Jesus my neighbor is anyone whose path I cross who has a need (Lk. 10:33, 36-37). Mercy. That’s what the evangelist does. He reaches out to show mercy to those who have been mugged by Satan. Those without a saving knowledge of Christ have been stripped and beaten by sin. What better thing can we do than tell the non-Christian that there is hope in Christ.

What keeps us from being more merciful and faithful in sharing the good news about Christ with the unsaved? We can get fogged in and think we are good news-spreaders simply because we invite people to church, serve our community, or are very active in our church. All this is good. But it is not evangelism. Evangelism is proclaiming the good news about the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection with the appeal to believe in Christ.
If your fervor for telling others about Christ has cooled, take action. Ask God to rekindle your love for Him and your zeal for His glory. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (Jas. 4:8). Humble yourself before Him. Acknowledge your need for a revival in your own heart. Start praying for at least one unsaved person every day. Pray for the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in the heart (They will need to hear the gospel for this to happen. Jn. 16:8-11). Pray for opportunities to give out the gospel. Do this when you start your day. God is in charge of all the circumstances of life. Pray that when you do have an open door to speak to someone about Christ that you will be clear (Paul needed prayer for this and so do we. Col. 4:3-5). Pray for those nations that have limited access to missionaries and Christian workers. Pray that hindrances to the gospel may be removed (e.g. government policies that limit freedoms, 1 Tim. 2:1-4).

Debtors look for ways to pay their bills. “Lord, give us a renewed experience of love for you. Forgive us of our failure to be merciful people. To whom do you want me to witness to this week? Use me for your glory.”

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church

The Republican Presidential Primary: What’s a Christian to do?

I am not a Democrat, a Republican, or a Libertarian. I am a Christian. Simplistic? No. Allow me to explain. Part of a Christian’s life of obedience to Christ is good citizenship (Rom. 13:1-7). Among other things this means vote. Thank God that we live in a country which gives us the freedom to participate in elections that mean something. There are political parties which compete for the loyalty of the voting public. Popular thinking sees Democrats as for the “little guy” and Republican as for the “wealthy.” This is political fiction, but that argument is not my pursuit at this time. When Christians go to the polls to enter into the electoral process what kind of guidance is needed? At this juncture there are candidates from only one political party (the Republican Presidential primary). While this cannot be a “you-should-vote-for” appeal, it is an opportunity to rehearse the kind of biblical truths that should shape our decisions.

In the first place, what is the role of human government? It has been instituted by God and is accountable to Him. Civil government exists to promote the good of society by restraining evil. Government is responsible for the protection of life and property (1 Tim. 1:9; Rom. 13:4) and for the preservation of peace and order (1 Tim. 2:2). Civil government is given the right to fine, imprison, banish, and execute the death penalty to repress evil. We can rightly look to government to guarantee a free church in a free state. But government is to be kept on a short leash. The inclination of sinful human beings is toward corruption and tyranny.

God warned Israel of the dangers bound up in the desire for a government “like all the nations” (2 Sam. 8:7-20). The potential for political disaster bound up in human government is identified by Alva J. McClain in his book, The Greatness of the Kingdom. * In this inductive study of the Kingdom of God in the Scripture, we are given a sobering reminder of the danger of those who see government as the solution to human problems. McClain says, “It is easy to forget that ‘we the people’ in the long run must always pay for whatever the government does for us. . . (it) not only makes the people pay for everything done for them, but always makes them pay more than it should cost” (McClain wrote these words in the 1950s). Further, we are reminded that no government has ever succeeded without addressing “the two problems of order and power” (order within the state and protection against external enemies). However, as McClain insightfully observes, “the real difference between the various kinds of government is found in the price people have had to pay for these benefits of internal order and external safety.” Israel’s desires for a new form of government predisposed her to “tendencies . . . which are inherent in all government under sinful men.”

Nine of these tendencies are summarized by McClain in pondering First Samuel 8:7-20.

1. Government service (the beginning of government bureaucracy).
2. Job-making (government jobs once launched become impossible to control).
3. Labor scarcity (the growth of government begins to create “serious economic maladjustment”).
4. Government for its own sake (the state is interested first and last in its own support and perpetuation).
5. Burdensome taxation (taxation erodes the incentives to produce and earn).
6. Property confiscation (“the decrees of confiscation today are various and often disguised by high-sounding terms – controlled currency, social legislation, income taxation, the public good – but underneath them all, the relentless search goes on to find more sources of income for the state.”).
7. Political corruption (“politicians will talk grandly about devoting the ‘public wealth’ to the ‘common good’ . . . often it is taken away from those who produced it and given to the undeserving,” i.e. redistribution of income in the name of “fairness and compassion.”).
8. Totalitarian control. (“Today . . . for every failure of highly centralized government, its supporters have no remedy except a larger dose of the same thing.”)
9. Intolerable oppression. (“Human government is necessary, but people who are wise never let it get too big or powerful. Unless strictly limited, the end is the loss of liberty, economic distress, and political despair.”)

Government on a leash? Is it too late? It may very well be. But the Christian mind is engaged with other important issues as well. We are to look for a presidential candidate who has demonstrated high moral and ethical standards, who refuses to endorse the shedding of innocent blood in abortion, who is committed to the defense of the God-given institution of marriage and the family, who will appoint federal judges who are not hostile to Christianity, who is committed to the upholding of the Constitution of the United States, who will not place international sovereignty over national sovereignty, who is committed to peace through strong national defense, and who is wary of a tyrannical government in the name of economic planning and environmentalism.

We are not voting for a messiah, someone who is going to deliver us from all our societal ills. A candidate’s character, worldview, and religious orientation all play vital roles in our qualification assessment. He does not need to be a Christian. There have been Presidents who professed to be Christian, yet demonstrated a seriously flawed view of the Bible and its teaching. What is the Christian to do before voting? Be informed, ask God for wisdom, and know that no presidential candidate or political party is able to create a utopia. Our hope is not in Democrats, Republicans, or Libertarians, but in the power of the gospel to save sinners and in the exhilarating anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church

*Alva J. McClain, The Greatness of the Kingdom, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959) pp. 108-113.

Romania – A Few Reflections

We met Eric in the airport in Bucharest. The weather had affected all flights. Having arrived in the early afternoon we had to wait on flight 707 from Bucharest to Iasi (pronounced Yash). Also waiting was a young man from Illinois on his way to visit some old high school friends and his girl friend. He worked for Motorola and spent most of his time texting on his Verizon phone to a host of people. He was internation-ally connected and knew computers inside and out. It’s always good to meet someone who knows his way around the digital communica-tion system. He told us about “Google talk,” helped us with our luggage, was very friendly, and an interesting companion during those long hours of waiting. I gave him a Gospel of John to read. Pray for Eric.

Liviu was there to meet us at the Iasi airport. We had corresponded with him by email. The plan had been to stay with Liviu and his family, but sickness had prevented his eight month pregnant wife, Oana, from hosting us. Having graduated from the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Liviu is now the director of the Bethlehem Bible Training Center in Iasi. This tall, soft spoken Romanian is committed to bringing his fellow countrymen to Christ and building them up in the faith. Karl Kosobucki, the previous director of the BBTC, has selected a capable man to continue the work he and his wife Jo Ann poured their lives into for over eighteen years. Pray for Liviu and Oana.

We and our luggage squeezed into Liviu’s automobile and drove between mounds of snow to the apartment of Marcela, our hostess and translator. Marcela has translated for me on my last three trips to Romania. Her English is impeccable and she amazes me with her unfaltering ability to think in English and Romania as fast as I can talk. Marcela is an indefatigable worker for the Lord. She teaches Bible, has a wide range of friends, translates for every teacher who comes to the Bible Institute, and is a joyful servant of Christ. Every morning and evening was a snow-filled challenge. Parking spots had to be dug out of snow drifts. Marcela, a relatively new driver, was our chauffeur. She carried snow shovels in the back of her car. We would get stuck, spin the wheels, get out, shovel some snow, and be on our way. She is probably still doing this as we enjoy the snowless traces of an early spring. Pray for Marcela. She lives simply, is always on the go and helps many to hear and know God’s Word.

I met Costel on my first trip to Romania over sixteen years ago. He is an energetic, joyful, gospel-loving Gypsy with a heart for his people. During a break in class one day, to my surprise, Costel made a special effort to come by and say hello. The Gypsies are among the poorest of the land. Costel is giving himself to plant churches among his people. Pray for him.

Valentin has started a thriving church in the Gypsy community. His son, Raoul, a gifted musician, had wandered from his Christian roots for a time. He now leads worship in the church, along with his sister, and all three were in the classes. Many musicians are coming to know Christ through his witness. One whole family was baptized just the Sunday before we came. Pray for Valentin and Raoul.

Eduard and Daniel were two students in the three-day class on Daniel and Revelation. Daniel asked questions on behalf of a friend and translated my answers back to his fellow student. Eduard spoke English well enough to approach me with questions regarding sinning Christians and eternal security. I was touched by the students who expressed their appreciation for the teaching. A number of university students were in the class. What an encouragement they were. Pray for them.

Marius and Mihaela were both students in the classes. They are expecting their first child, Justin, any day. They are both afraid.
Their physician does not use the public clinic where she will deliver, so they will be assigned a doctor when she arrives. Some require bribes. Some are kind, some are not. She does not know what kind of anesthesia she will receive, if any. She does not know if Marius can be with her. She did not want the baby to come the last night of classes because she wanted to take the exam. Hungry-for-truth young people who asked us to pray for Justin’s safe delivery and their fears.

A distraught Mom called our translator having heard of her reputation as a strong believer. Could she recommend a Christian counselor for her university aged daughter who has been diagnosed with Multiple Personality Disorder? They rode the train in on a Sunday afternoon to meet with Beth, and the story unfolded. She is herself, but at four ages during her life. The oldest one threatens, directs, demands. They come to her at night when she’s asleep, but people around her hear their voices. She loses memory of her past, introduces herself to her boyfriend, draws pictures in her sleep, and writes her name backward. She has been in therapy, took medication, and sees that it does not help. She was given the beauty of truth that afternoon in a condensed version, but agrees to email. Please pray for her.

Two of our dear friends in Iasi are the Alexandrescus. Constantin attended Dallas Theological Seminary, returned to Romania, and with his wife, Elena, has reached many for Christ. Once a week Constantin drives to Moldova (about a thirty drive from Iasi) to minister to a group of converted Jewish people. At the age of 72 Constantin has vivid memories of his experiences in Romania during World War II and the days of communist rule. He told us that when he was a youth he laughed in class when the teacher began to sing the praises of Joseph Stalin. His teacher cursed Constantin for his contrary view of Stalin. Pray for Constanin and Elena. They are faithful servants of Christ with an abiding desire to spread the gospel in their remaining days.

Before we left one headline read, “Romania’s Government Collapses”. We experienced no implications of that. Another read, “Romania in Record-Breaking Snow, 74 Dead”. We saw plenty of that. But we were invigorated, amazed, concerned, and for the most part, warm. Those circumstances were part of the big picture in which God worked in hungry, confused, growing hearts. Thank you, Berachah, for allowing us the privilege of being there.

Our hearts overflow with gratitude for the faith of the saints at Berachah. It has been the desire of this congregation to study the book of Daniel with its emphasis upon the sovereignty of God over all the nations. For two years we studied the book of Revelation with its call to live as Jesus’ Second Coming people. By God’s grace I was able to take those messages to your brothers and sisters in Christ in Romania.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church

Bonhoeffer’s Germany – Is It Happening Here?

Citizenship responsibilities have been made comparatively easy by having grown up in America. We have not had a government that has attempted to control every aspect of our lives. The church has not been told what it can and cannot preach and teach. Our military has not marched off to conquer other nations. Liberty, security, justice, and prosperity have been our national treasure. Not that the United States of America is without its flaws, but we have been given, by the grace of God, an exceptional experience in the history of nations.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born on February 4, 1906 in Breslau, Germany, one of eight children. His youth was filled with family Bible reading and hymn singing led by his mother. Dietrich’s father was a self-proclaimed agnostic, but was not hostile to Christian training in the home. German culture in the early twentieth century was significantly influenced by Christianity as part of the legacy of Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer.

On August 1, 1914 Germany declared war on Russia. World War I commenced with a toll in casualties the world had never seen. Germany lost the war and the world would never be the same. The treaty with Germany, called the Treaty of Versailles, created a humiliating experience for the proud German people. Post-war Germany suffered severely economically. A dictator emerged from the National Socialist (Nazi) party. He was Adolph Hitler. He was committed to addressing Germany’s grievances with the Versailles treaty. Germany changed. Freedoms were surrendered for the sake of economic security. Patriotism rose to the level of worship of the state. Unquestioned allegiance was demanded by De Fuhrer. The church became a tool of the state. Jews were singled out for persecution and death. Nazi theology replaced Christian theology.

This was Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Germany. Eric Metaxas has told the Bonhoeffer story in an extraordinary way. Bonhoeffer’s struggle with the developing godless tyranny of the Third Reich reads like a spellbinding novel. I offer the following observations having read this thoroughly researched and well written account of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This theologian and pastor stood against the Nazis and was hung on April 9, 1945 by Hitler’s henchmen three weeks before De Fuhrer committed suicide.

Throughout my theological training Dietrich Bonhoeffer appeared to have been aligned with German theological liberalism, a dark and antisupernatural system. Based on Metaxas’ research it would seem that Bonhoeffer was misrepresented and used by post World War II liberal theologians to claim him as their own.

The historical records reveal how Dietrich Bonhoeffer navigated his way through the German rationalistic theology of the early twentieth century. He merges in Metaxas’ book as a committed servant of Christ with a biblically developed iron will in the face of evil.

Questions remain regarding Bonhoeffer’s close relationships with Adolph von Harnack and Karl Barth. Harnack denied the miracles of the Bible, though Metaxas says Bonhoeffer “rarely agreed with his (Harnack’s) theological conclusions.” Did Dietrich Bonhoeffer accept any of the Bible denying doctrines of liberalism and neo-orthodoxy?

One thing is evident and that is Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s willingness to stand up for Christ, commune with Christ, preach Christ, and die for Christ.

In these days of evil’s march and a weak Christianity, where are those who see the world as it really is, have biblical convictions, and are willing to pay the price of whole hearted allegiance to the King of kings and Lord of lords?

Having read Bonhoeffer’s life, during which he experienced the replacement of a Christian culture with an anti-God culture, one gets an eerie feeling. Are we not in the midst of something similar in these early years of the twenty-first century? The Third Reich killed millions of Jews consigning them to firing squads and gas chambers. Where were the German people? Did they not realize what was happening? Hitler and his fellow Nazis went about their take-over of the government with relatively little opposition. The general population and the church for the most part were mute as a culture of death crept through Germany. Among the many tools of tyranny employed by the Nazis was abortion. Karl Brandt, Hitler’s personal physician, “performed innumerable forced abortions on women deemed ‘genetically inferior,’ ‘racially deficient (Jewish), or mentally or physically disabled. Abortions were legal except in the cases of ‘healthy Aryan’ fetuses” (Metaxas, p, 250). I invite you to watch the “180” movie on YouTube. It reveals some of the cultural connections between what happened in Nazi Germany and the mind-set of many in our society today.

Since 1973 over 53 million preborn have been slaughtered in the name of women’s “reproductive health.” Planned Parenthood, a $1 billion-a-year organization, performed 329, 495 abortions in 2010. $487 million, 46 percent of its revenue, came from government health service grants and reimbursements (“Christianity Today,” February 2012). Even with the withdrawal of funding by one notable charity, hundreds of thousands of dollars poured in to Planned Parenthood to make up the difference. Have such donors no conscience? Once again the issue of abortion will be a major issue in this election year. Will there be a resounding refusal to support candidates for public office who do not take a stand against abortion on demand? The citizenship responsibilities of the church of Jesus Christ are not as easy as they once seemed.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church 

Don’t Panic
Psalm 11 – A Psalm for a Time of Desperation

“When sorrows come, they come not as single spies, but in battalions.” This famous line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet reminds us of those seasons of life when the multiplication of problems can push us toward desperation. God in His infinite wisdom ordains afflictions and they are often dressed as people. The psalmist found himself in one of those unusually difficult periods of time. It may have been one of Saul’s attempts to kill David. To makes matters worse he had to contend with fear’s counsel. When threats, dangers, and evil schemes multiply, the desire for security knocks loudly at the door of one’s heart. The situation looked hopeless. A host of troubles were lined up against the psalmist. Run. Get away. Hide. Quit. That is the temptation for us when we are under great pressure. But, is this God’s way? What was David to do? What action are we to take when surrounded by people who have no regard for God’s thoughts and ways, and who are devoted to making our lives miserable?

Follow the flow of David’s prayer in Palm 11. It gives us guidance in how to think and pray our way through the toughest of times. The first thing we note is the danger of advice that encourages us to run from our problems (vv. 1-3). There are a variety of escape routes that can present themselves. We can simply do nothing and go on living our lives in a very surface and artificial way. Just play like everything is all right even when it obviously is not. Get lost in entertainment. Movies and television with their well-crafted fantasy world invite us to live there, at least long enough to numb the pain. Drugs and alcohol can pose as friends offering a chemical fix to everything. Instead they leave self-destruction in their wake. Serial relationships with the opposite sex promise the pleasures of intimacy, but how quickly they fade away. Get angry and take it out on anyone who gets in the way. Move. Change churches. Find a new spouse. Commit suicide. Schemes for avoidance and escape are never what they appear to be. They are dead-end streets.

David refuses to take the path of least resistance. The counsel of fear with its pretended solution is countered by the only refuge there is. “In the Lord I take refuge” (v. 1). It is necessary to talk truth to oneself in the dark holes of overwhelming problems. The second thing we must do is engage in some serious faith-thinking in order to put problems into perspective (11:4-7). The grimness of the outlook must give way to a resolute “up-look” to the Lord. The psalmist steadies himself by setting his mind on divine realities. The Lord has not run away. He is “in his holy temple.” He is on His throne in heaven. He knows everything that is happening. He is omniscient. Flee to the Lord. This is not a make-believe flight into an imaginary castle in the sky. No. Problems are God’s school for lessons in grace. He sees all things. He is wise. He cares. He is worthy of our trust.

Biblically informed self-counsel sets our thought processes on the perfections of God and draws strength from what He has told us about Himself and His purposes. David does this. He reminds himself of God’s holiness. God is not flawed in any sense of the term. His moral standards do not change. He hates evil. He can be trusted. The righteous (those who obey God) and the wicked (those who despise God’s moral law) are both accountable to God. God assesses the hearts of mankind. Nothing escapes His notice. Those who take their stand against the Lord and seek to do harm to His people will face His judgment.

What does it mean then to take refuge in God? I take refuge in God when I refuse to run away from problems and determine to handle them God’s way. I take refuge in God when I leave vengeance to God (Rom. 12:19). He will judge those who violate His moral law and work hardships on the righteous. I take refuge in God when I am obedient to His Word. I take refuge in God when the fear of man is replaced by the fear of God.

The safest place in the world is the gaze of God upon those who are living life God’s way. Are some problems facing you right now? What kind of advice have you been given? Are you being tempted to find the nearest exit rather than deal with them according to God’s wisdom? The best thing you can do is to immediately talk to God about everything. That is exactly what David did. Psalm 11 is a prayer. That is where to begin. Go to the Lord with a truth-drenched prayer of trust in the only one who can really help you. There is no need to panic. Take the faith-way, and draw near to God.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church