The Myth of the "Jack-of-all Trades" Pastor

I am a retired officer (kinda pastor) of The Salvation Army. In all my years of serving our people, one of the things that bothered me most was this "myth" of the pastor having to do everything in the church. 

Oh sure, at first thought, I'm sure most would agree with me- pastors can't be expected to do everything in the church. HOWEVER. Big word there. HOWEVER, in reality, many people get all bent out of shape if their pastor doesn't do what they want. It doesn't matter that your needs are met by others in the church. If the pastor doesn't do it, for some strange reason, that makes all the difference.

Hypothetical: You're in the hospital and your pastor doesn't come to pray with you. Mind you, there are lots of others from the church who come to visit and pray with/for you, and help you but because the lead guy/gal doesn't, you grouse about it.

I'm now in a corps that has a lot of retired officers. When someone is sick or in the hospital, an email goes out and informs everyone of what's going on and what is needed. From what I can tell, that person is nearly overwhelmed with food, transportation, prayer, visits, and a whole lot of helpful things. The need is met.

HOWEVER, if the pastor isn't in that list, I will likely see a post on facebook mentioning just that. Remember, we just agreed that the pastor CAN'T do everything! And I add- frankly, SHOULDN'T.

In Genesis 18 we find the story of Moses who is literally killing himself trying to do it all for his people. Fortunately, his father-in-law sits him down and shakes his finger in his face: "DUDE! YOU CAN'T DO IT ALL!" (Burr translation).

Then he tells Moses how to spread out all the responsibility. So Moses job is to make sure everyone gets their needs met, by using others to cover where he cannot.

THEREFORE, if the needs are being met, the pastor is doing his job . . . and should be encouraged for doing good work.

HOWEVER, there are STILL people who think THEY are most important and somehow deserve ALL the attention of the pastor. UGH. (That may be putting it in a rough way, but this REALLY gets to me).

I seem to remember another scene in Genesis with Moses. His sister Miriam (and Aaron) grouse about Moses. To make a long story shorter, God hits her with leprosy to punish her for carping about their leader, which God gave them (why Aaron did not get the same thing is for another blog).

It is a very dangerous thing to carp about the leader God has placed over you. If you do so, you are putting yourself in a precarious situation, to say the least. 

One more thing as I wrap up my rant . . . We each have our own spiritual gifts. Not everyone has the gift of pastor. Frankly, even many pastors do not have that gift! Pastors do a LOT of different things, only one of which is pastor people. If they do not have that gift, they need to make SURE their people are getting pastor-ed. If they do that, they are doing well and can then focus on the areas God has assigned to them via their spiritual gifts.

When I think back over the different pastors I have had over my lifetime, I find that each was doing what God called them to do- even if it did not meet with MY expectations.

If you find yourself in the place of carping about your leadership, I suggest you repent and find a way to support them. Pray for their blessing and some of that might just fall down onto you as well. 

Confession

I believe confession is important (just to be clear, we are to confess to God and each other, not necessarily a priest or pastor). I also believe in holiness- which, to me, means we can live without sinning. This entails having such a close relationship with Jesus, Holy Spirit stops us before we do anything he would not like. Therefore, if we are living in holiness, there is no need to confess when we aren't sinning. Unfortunately, I don't always live up to that possibility. Case in point:

It has occurred to me that I have been rather judgemental in my thoughts of others recently (I actually believe Jesus is the one who has brought me to this realization). This is so recent, I am just now working through what this means for me. However, I do know it starts with confession. Let's see where this goes.

I have been having trouble sleeping lately. It's the kind where your mind just will not shut down and continually thinks. What I have mostly been thinking about is the awful state of the world and the terrible people who have brought us to this incredible place (fear has risen from that and I will likely delve into that here at a later point). I guess I have thought of this as a righteous anger, so it has been overlooked in my attempts to put into words all these thoughts and hopefully help others to see the truth.

But being a Christian is not about going to church or following a set of rules or doing the right thing. It's all about living in a relationship with Jesus. And let me set the record straight, if I need to- Jesus is love. He did not come into the world to condemn it or to judge humankind. He came to love us into a relationship with himself and his father. And we Christians have not been doing a very good job at living like that relationship is what it's all about. Being right seems to be of utmost importance to us (and judging those who are wrong). Or at least what we think is right. Unfortunately, what we think is right and what actually is right are often two very different things. 

Since a little bit before retiring, I started realizing how very important love is in a Christian's life. If we are not loving, we are not following Jesus. If we are not loving, we are not living in that relationship with Jesus. Well frankly, if we are not loving, we are not Christians (Christian meaning "Christ-follower").

 I must confess my desire to bring others to the truth has not been coming from love. Rather it has been coming from my being "right" and them being wrong. How can they not see the truth? I want them to think right like I do.

How haughty of me. How non-Christian. Ouch.

To you, my readers, I confess and apologize. I ask forgiveness.

Where do I go from here? I'm not sure, but I will be listening to what Jesus has to say to me about this. I'll let you know how it goes.

And God Made Them Male and Female

Did my title make you cringe? I can hardly believe I am diving into this here, but truth IS my purpose . . .

I was scrolling through some posts on Facebook the other day and found one from a friend with a similar title. I read it with trepidation, but pretty much agreed with the gist. Then I read a couple of responses (again from friends) and was chagrined at the logic- or lack thereof. And yet, one of them said something I had been wrestling with for years- just never had the courage to spout it off in public. And that's usually my thing- I work through something before I put it out there (it's too bad so many people post things online without thinking).

But that got me thinking even more. This is now where I stand on the subject:

God made humankind in his image. Male and female, which I think is interesting, because both are present in God's being. As it is with most of us- we have aspects of masculinity and femininity blended together to make a unique being- like no one else. Yet we are born with one set of organs or the other. These define us from the moment of conception- way before we are born.

Obviously (well, not so obvious to so many these days), truth is involved and all truth is God's truth, wherever it is found. And I'm talking about absolute truth, not subjective truth. No matter what we WANT to believe, truth is absolute. We cannot change it to fit our wants. Something is either true or it is false. It's truth or a lie. You cannot have one truth while I have another. That is a lie. Oh, and who is the father of lies? Hmmm, he had a little something to do with all this, methinks!

I've heard that "God don't make no junk" and I believe it. He has a design and purpose for each of us.

Here's where some get tripped up. They think because there are those who are born with both organs, that somehow sets a rule for everyone. The problem is, we can't base truth on the sin that has corrupted just about everything around us (I'm not saying that person has sinned or they are evil).

You see, humankind fell and brought sin into the world (apparently sin existed before it came to this world, because there are heavenly beings who also fell before we did). That sin, brought with it a corruption that messed with all of God's perfect creation. Think of it- there were no weeds before sin's corruption! But now those weeds spread like crazy to the point where we hardly know what it could be like without that corruption. Corruption is "normal" to us! It's all we know. Ouch!

That corruption has brought weeds, cancer, and a whole lot of other problems into the world. I can't even begin to make a list here. And because of the corruption, we cannot make rules based on the fallen world around us. We need to look to God's Word for the only perfect foundation for human faith and practice.

And truth.

Back to how God made us- one or the other. 

I gotta tell you that the Enemy does everything he can to get us to believe we are anything and everything BUT what God designed us to be. The LAST thing he wants is for us to fulfill God's purpose for our lives! If we even listen for a moment to his lies, we begin to travel down a road that leads far away from God and what he intended for us. Allow me to illustrate with a (condensed) personal story:

I really disliked school as a kid. There are a lot of reasons for that, but in the end, I was convinced that school was not for me and I wanted nothing to do with it. Then I learned that one of my spiritual gifts was teaching. NO WAY! I said. Because to be a teacher, you have to be a student first. And I was NOT that. O please God- ANYTHING but that! When I let my guard down and actually listened to God, I found there was a whole lot about learning and teaching that I liked and enjoyed. I finally agreed with what God made me to be and all of a sudden, learning and teaching exploded for me. There's been no looking back since. I love it!

BUT, for years the Enemy tried desperately to convince me that I was NOT a student/teacher. It's sad to see how long I was deceived by his lies in my own life.

Today we see a LOT of people struggling with who they are; what they are. I have absolutely no problem telling you that struggle is from the father of lies. If you listen to him, your confusion will only get worse. You will never "discover" who you are. You will never find truth. The truth is "who God made you to be" and once discovering that (and his love) you will be set up to accomplish his purpose for your life. And the Enemy will have a lot less hold on your life.

As for those born with multiple sets of organs, I suggest we take each case individually. Do I have an answer for that situation? No. Sin has confused everything beyond what we can sort out on our own. Yet I believe God has a purpose for that person's life. They will struggle. Don't we all struggle with something? God will redeem their situation to his glory- if we let him. God does have their answer. We will find it nowhere else.

My Daily Devotional Today . . .

November 15: Could This Be Next?

Dear Mom:

Gosh, can you believe it's 2023 already?… It seems just yesterday I was sitting in first grade celebrating the century change. I know we haven't really chatted since Christmas. Sorry. Anyway, I have some difficult news and I really didn't want to call and talk face-to-face. Ted's had a promotion and I should be up for a hefty raise this year if I keep putting in those crazy hours. You know how I work at it. Yes, we're still struggling with the bills.

Timmy's been 'okay' at kindergarten although he complains about going. But then, he wasn't happy about day care either, so what can I do? He's been a real problem, Mom. He's a good kid, but quite honestly, he's an unfair burden at this time in our lives. Ted and I have talked this through and through and finally made a choice. Plenty of other families have made it and are much better off.

Our pastor is supportive and says hard decisions are necessary. The family is a 'system' and the demands of one member shouldn't be allowed to ruin the whole. He told us to be prayerful, consider all the factors, and do what is right to make the family work. He says that even though he probably wouldn't do it himself, the decision is really ours. He was kind enough to refer us to a children's clinic near here, so at least that part's easy.

I'm not an uncaring mother. I do feel sorry for the little guy. I think he overheard Ted and me talking about 'it' the other night. I turned around and saw him standing at the bottom of the step in his PJ's with the little bear you gave him under his arm and his eyes sort of welling up. Mom, the way he looked at me just about broke my heart. But honestly I believe this is better for Timmy, too.

It's not fair to force him to live in a family that can't give him the time and attention he deserves. And please don't give me the kind of grief Grandma gave you over your abortions. It is the same thing, you know. We've told him he's just going in for a vaccination. Anyway, they say it is painless. I guess it's just as well you haven't seen that much of him.

Love to Dad:
Jane

"You shall not murder." (Exodus 20:13)

-Facts of the Matter, (First Things First, Page 84, Number 85)

Mean People S . . . well, Stink!

In the last couple of weeks both Debbie and I have come across mean people. I'm not saying we met a couple of people that were ornery, I am talking about all-out, full-in-your-face, "I hate the whole world and YOU'RE the one I'm taking it out on" kind of people! Sounds a bit like George Bernard Shaw's quote:

"Do you know what a pessimist is?
A person who thinks everybody is as nasty as himself
and hates them for it."

Both of our instances took place when we were trying to be helpful to a particular person/group and the other person just so happened to be one of those "mean people." So they weren't interested in anything we had to say- in fact, they intentionally ignored any attempt to clear up the apparent misunderstanding and proceeded to jump down our throats- feet first. I guess they thought our motivations were just like theirs and rushed to a conclusion.

The truth of the matter is, being mean is a sin. God is never mean and he desires us to be anything but mean to his children. When we are mean, we offend God (the definition of sin) by hurting those he loves. Making matters worse are those Christians who are known as mean people! "A mean Christian-" talk about an oxymoron!

When confronting mean people it takes everything we've got to not respond in kind. Although there are situations that call for us to stand up to the mean person. Jesus once cleared out the temple because people were being mean to other people (by cheating). His response was not mean, but forceful.

I can recall times when my Dad, who is the most gentle man I know, stood his ground against a mean person and would not back down. I admired his forcefulness and tenacity in the face of glaring meanness.

Mean people are hard to deal with, but we've got to do it, because they're out there and you never know when you're going to find one blocking your path. Don't let them get away with it- call them for their sin and maybe you will help them see the error of their ways.

Can we be There for Them When it Matters most?

It is with great sadness I write today informing you of a group of people who are seriously misled. I thought I might add a link to their site, but as I perused it, I realized the last thing I want to do is point someone (who might not be able to handle it) in such a wrong direction. My blog is about finding light; truth.

Have you heard of "The Blasphemy Challenge?" It has been set up by a group of atheists who (mis)take the biblical passage of Mark 3:29 as meaning that if you say the actual words "I deny the Holy Spirit," you are forever damning your soul. So they have set up a place where you can post your video denial and join their ever growing ranks.

First my take, then our response.

MY TAKE
1) Mark 3:29 is not about saying the actual words. It is a condition of the human spirit. Humankind is mostly unaware of the spiritual realm- and God will only hold us responsible for what we know of it. This is opposed to those angels who chose to deny God, when they knew the whole truth. They were not looking through a glass darkly, as it were. So the result of their sin was permanent- there is no redemption available and they knew that when they chose to follow Lucifer.

When a human being says those fateful words, it will not in and of itself condemn you forever, but it might lead you down the path which will someday get you there. However, until you do get there (and there's a lot of speculation on when and how you "get there"), God is willing to forgive. These people are not accomplishing what they think they are and we should ask God to reveal the truth to them.

2) They (and many of the links they give) speak of the hatred Christians have for non-Christians and even have recordings of "famous" Christians saying hateful things. Bottom line: they are right in many cases! Who of us have not heard "Christians" saying such hateful things about other human beings?

Yes, there will always be those people who call themselves "Christian" (Christ-follower), but are really NOTHING like Jesus. True Christianity is about love- NOT hate. God loves all humankind. Therefore we should love all humankind. We must own up to the fact that we often aren't the best examples of what Jesus has to offer.

3) They speak of rational thinking. A rational person sees no reason to believe in God (so they say). Yet it is here they take the same step of faith they denounce Christians for, but in another direction. It takes faith to NOT believe in God. There is just way too much evidence around us to NOT see God's obvious existence. To deny something that so permeates the world around us takes anything BUT rational thinking.

OUR RESPONSE
Many "Christians" are denouncing these people as the worst kind of humans. They are fighting against them and, yes, hating them as if that will somehow win them over to the "truth." But THAT truth is not REAL truth. Out response should be sadness, humiliation and prayer.

Sadness because The Enemy has really pulled one over on these people. They think they are so right and yet they are so wrong. Many of them will one day see the truth, but it will be too late (others will be won over by a REAL Christian loving them). Remember- God didn't create hell as a punishment for humankind, he created it for Lucifer and his followers. If you follow him, you'll certainly get to the same place he goes to. God does NOT want that. He is not willing that ANY should perish and even sent Jesus to make SURE it wouldn't happen to any who just believe in him.

We should feel humiliation for our part in pushing these people to this place in their lives. We have obviously not been there for them when they needed us. We have obviously let them down. Many of us have hated them and looked down on them and shown them disdain instead of the love Jesus has for them. We need to humble ourselves- maybe in front of them- and ask forgiveness for our failure to "be" Jesus to them.

We need to PRAY for these people. I challenge you to do so. And I don't mean just namby pamby "bless them all, Lord" prayers. We need to weep and fast and bring these people to Jesus BY NAME.

I know, I'm asking you to pray for them by name and then not giving you any names, because I've not given the link (I also will not post these people's names without their permission). If you know the site and are serious, I encourage you to watch a few videos, catch their names and begin praying (you can also contact me privately to get more info).

They HAVE NOT condemned themselves forever. We CAN stand in the gap for them and make a difference.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, make us good examples of your love to others- especially those who have needed us in the past and we have failed them. Give us a burden to pray for those who need you most, yet believe in you least. May we be faithful to you and to them.

Holiness- Round 3 {ding}

In an attempt to pull things from my last 2 blog entries into one place, I offer the following to all who are involved in the discussion:

In some ways those of us in the thick of this holiness discussion are saying similar things. In other ways we're not at all. Without going point by point through everything I want you all to know that I totally understand what the dissenting views are saying. I also totally understand what TSA teaches on holiness. In fact I have been teaching it for years.

The problem is, even after many years I don't see it in my experience (or others' for that matter). I'm beginning to think we've somehow mixed something up in our understanding of what scripture teaches about holiness. Or are we so entrenched in what our TSA holiness teachers have said that we aren't looking for anything else that fits the pattern of truth? If holiness as we teach it is "right" then why are these beliefs such a small part of the Christian church? Why aren't more Christians living holy without a sin nature? Are we really the "only ones" to get it? The "rest of the church" teaches we need to be filled with the Spirit- sorta what I'm saying, but that's not all of it.

I've experienced the witness of the Spirit telling me I was holy (much like Andrew mentions). But after a time, I find the sin nature (that was supposed to be crucified) alive again and fighting much more insidiously. If the sin nature is supposed to be dead, how does it come back to life again? I've defeated it again and again (what a wretched man!). I know that temptation will always be there until heaven, but it's more than that- it's me. Temptation comes from without; my self comes from within. And that junk I fight against regularly, is from within.

I am totally bummed that people don't understand what holiness is! I have been trying for years to make it simple, but it doesn't seem to change anything. TSA's people are further away from actually living out holiness than ever before. People don't get it so they forget it. You might notice that of all the people who read my blog, very few have responded in my comments because they just don't understand what we're talking about. There are always a few who dig deep and try to understand it all, but if holiness is for everyone (and I believe it is), it should be for everyone and not just those studious ones. It shouldn't be rocket science.

I believe we can live without sinning. I believe that is what holiness is. I experience it, because I stay close to Jesus and listen to his Spirit- not because my sin nature is gone. I wish it was, but I cannot discount my experience based on what I want my theology to be. No matter how much I read that some think it is supposed to be that way.

I suppose some might be seeing this as defeatist, but I can live quite victoriously over sin (and do, often- with the ever-present possibility of never sinning again). God is always there to keep me from sinning even though my nature tends otherwise. I can and do live without sinning, but I see it as because of Jesus' blood and not that my sin nature is gone. In the center of sIn is "I." Same for prIde.

Do you experience a dead sin nature? Is it really gone for good? It's never come back at you again? Any sin is only from outside temptation (which is another can of worms, isn't it)? If the sin nature is gone, then we have been made just like Adam/Eve- that sounds too much like Sinless Perfection and TSA has fought against that as long as we have taught about holiness. We won't be made like Adam/Eve until heaven.

I wish we were all able to just sit down and chat. This blog stuff is very hard to do a long deep conversation effectively. Much like we're "looking though a glass darkly!"

I really want to understand AND experience holiness (I believe I do). But more than that, I want to see my people (and all Christians) experiencing it.

An Answer to Sin, if Not Our Depravity

After talking about what terrible sinners we are, I think it only right to give some equal time to what God has provided to help us with it. Besides his grace (which really is the keystone of our salvation), God has provided a way for us to live above sin. In The Salvation Army we call it holiness (sanctification, perfect love, Christian perfection [not Sinless Perfection], a subsequent blessing, fully saved, a clean heart, et al).

Before I go any further, I must reiterate that nothing good we do buys us anything toward our salvation. Our good works are basically filthy rags (I got that one from a guy named Paul). But once we see our depravity, we can come to God in repentance and he will freely offer his grace (Paul wrestles with our need to see our depravity in Romans 7). But when we're lifted up out of our sin, it doesn't change what we are- just how God sees us. We become justified (made right) by believing that Jesus' death paid the penalty of our infractions.

But what a terrible God Yahweh would be if he told us to be holy (live without sinning) and didn't provide a way for us to actually reach that lofty goal. And he does command us to be holy repeatedly throughout scripture (Leviticus 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7, 26; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:4; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 1:15, 16- not an exhaustive list).

However, in our discussion of holiness we are often confused with the untenable doctrine of "Sinless Perfection." Sinless Perfection is "Such a state as that of Adam before his fall, wherein, he being a perfect creature, was enabled to render a perfect obedience to the perfect law of God" (William Booth). We cannot reach that state because "An imperfect creature cannot perfectly obey a perfect law, and man, being imperfect both in body and in mind, is plainly unable to keep the perfect law of God" (Booth). We will always have a natural tendency to focus on ourselves, which is the core of the sin nature. In other words, we will never get back to that perfection and purity of nature until we reach heaven ("Finally Saved," again Booth).

Holiness also does not make it impossible to fall from grace: "Satan fell from heaven, and Adam from Paradise, and they both were perfect, in a sense in which we never can be in this life; and we do not see any state of grace revealed in the Bible as attainable in this life from which it is not possible to fall" (Booth).

What holiness does (as mentioned in my response to my previous blog) is attune us so closely with Holy Spirit, it becomes unlikely that we will sin- as long as we are in that constant communion with the him. In other words, if we are about to do something we shouldn't (or not do something we should- the sin of omission), Holy Spirit nudges us "back to our senses" (as it were) and we avoid that particular sin. Sin is an offense against God; something that hurts him. Therefore our close connection with Holy Spirit keeps us attuned so we know beforehand, what God wants or doesn't want from us. In that way, we can live without sinning on a regular basis- ie: be holy.

Again, I remind you, we MAY still sin, but we don't HAVE to. Holiness does not cause us to attain some kind of "higher" or better state of grace.

I remember a story told by Samuel Logan Brengle about a time in his life where he went 14 years without sinning. Then one day, he was heading to (I think it was) Old Orchard Beach to preach at a meeting and was running a bit late. His cab driver was being a bit poky and Brengle yelled at him for this. As he left the cab, he was smitten by the Spirit (in order to bring repentance), immediately repented and after the service, tried to find the driver to apologize (I'm not sure if he ever found him).

My point is, even after 14 years of living so close to God that you avoid sin (I believe it is possible), there is still that "something" in us that pulls at us. If we are ever less watchful; if we ever let our guard down, we will most likely sin. That's why we must stay ever so close to God's Holy Spirit.

In that closeness, we don't have to sin. We don't have to let sin get over on us like it used to, controlling us and causing us to "not do what we want to do, but what we don't want to do" (Romans 7).

I am grateful to God for providing his grace not only for our salvation, but also for our holiness. Salvation is all about his grace. Good thing, because there's nothing good in me without him.

Are You a Good Person?

Before reading on, answer my title's question . . .

Yes or no? Are you a good person? I bet you think you are, right? Now that you've decided, read on:

Most people today (especially Christians) believe they are good people. What a relief, huh? If you look around you at any time, you'll find you're surrounded by people who think they're good. Doesn't that make you feel . . . well, good?

But what does the Bible have to say about that?

There is no one righteous, not even one; Romans 3:10
All have sinned and fall (present tense) short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

What does Jesus say?

No one is good- except God alone. Matthew 10:18

What does Paul say?

I am the worst of sinners. 1 Timothy 1:15

So why do we think we're good? 1) Because we don't want our conscience to bother us. 2) It comes from a poor understanding of our salvation. 3) We think doing good things makes us good people. {bzzz! Wrong answer! Thanks for playing!}

You see, it's all about Good People versus Good Things. This is important today because hell will be FULL of people who think they are good. Heaven will be FULL of sinners saved ONLY by grace. Where will YOU be?

1) We think we’re good because we don’t want our conscience to bother us. But that’s why we HAVE a conscience! It’s SUPPOSED to bother us when we sin!

Romans 7:7-13 tells us that the Law shows us what sin is. When we sin, our conscience goes off like an alarm! Then we feel bad. "Like an alarm" nothing, our conscience IS an alarm! When it goes off, we’re supposed to repent, so God can release his grace to save us from that sin.

BUT we’ve convinced ourselves we're good people and ignore our conscience. We never think we sin, so we never have to feel bad! Great trick, huh? But then we never repent and never received God’s grace. We head straight to hell all the while thinking were good people!

When was the last time you went to the Army altar? We salvationists believe the altar is one of our most precious symbols of grace- but some are too proud to "lower" themselves. That’s eternally sad.

Listen! If you think you’re a good person, you're fooling yourself and your conscience will never do what it’s supposed to do- show you what a wretch you are.

Oh, have I offended you? Those aren't my words, but the words of a familiar hymn: "Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me."

2) We think we’re good because of a poor understanding of our salvation. Fact: All humankind is Totally Depraved.

In the beginning God created two perfect human beings: Adam and Eve. They were pure and sinless, but they chose to sin. Ever since then, every single human is born a sinner (Except Jesus- and he’s the only exception). That means me. That means YOU! Disagree?

Answer truthfully: Do you gossip? That’s sin. Do you worry? That’s sin. Lie? Sin. Speed? Sin. Say mean things? Sin. Grumble and complain? Yep- sin. Get angry? Sin again. You think you’re better than others? Hate people? Sin. Are you jealous of anyone? Sin. Are you Selfish? Sin. I can go on here . . .

Salvation Army Doctrine #5 agrees that we are totally depraved. Sin is not just murder or BIG crimes. All sin is sin. Even "little" sins. God hates it; we do it. We ALL do it. We are NOT good. You know it. If you think different, you’re ignoring your conscience.

But Doug, I do all kinds of good things every day!

3) Doing good things does NOT make us good. Scripture says we were created to do good things (works), but it also says that we are not saved by our works.

Think Lucifer ever did any good things? You bet he did! You think he’s a good person? What about Judas? Hitler? Fidel Castro? Idi Amin? Doug Burr? If I collect all the good things I've ever done and stack them all in a big pile, I end up with a big pile of good stuff. I’m still a sinner and no closer to heaven. Same for you.

Paul saw the truth: he realized he was not a good person, rather the worst. Without this realization, we don’t think we need God and we never repent. You know what? ONLY God’s grace can save us.

What's my point? You are not a good person. Neither am I. No one is. When you think you are, you lift yourself above the need for repentance. That will send you to hell.

I’m writing to people who sin regularly; religiously even, yet how often do you go to your Army altar to deal with that? You have any idea how that breaks God's heart? We hold the altar as a special place where we can repent and receive God’s grace. We’re all going to need it. It’s the only way we reach heaven. In fact, it's ONLY by Grace we can enter.

Still think you're a good person? So what are you going to do about it?