Have You Heard The Word Is Jesus?

(John 1:1-3) "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." (ESV)


In this passage Jesus is shown to be eternal, preexistent, and God.  The Trinity is also alluded to in this verse.  It shows that Jesus is God, but distinct from the Father. We can also see that their is a relationship between the members of the Trinity.  The Word expresses communication and revelation from God.  God speaks things into being and they are (see Genesis 1).  We also see that God relates personally to his people.   

Creation is by the Father through the Son.  We see that all things were created except for God.  We also find that creation itself is not eternal, only God is eternal. 

John also may allude to the concept of the word in Greek philosophy as an impersonal principle guiding the universe.  He shows Jesus to be far superior and the true Word that guides and sustains the universe.  It is also interesting to note that the Jehovah's Witnesses mistranslate this passage in their New World Translation.  They translate it as "was a god", instead of "and the Word was God.  False religions always get Jesus wrong.  He is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). 

(John 1:14) "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." (ESV)

Jesus is the fullest revelation of God to us.  This verse speaks of the Incarnation, God becoming man.  Jesus was fully God and fully man.  Only Son is a better translation than the King James Version's only begotten Son.  Jesus was not created or born, he is eternal and he is the unique only Son of God.  Grace speaks of God's unmerited favor towards us.  Jesus gives us the truth and is himself the truth.  Jesus came to save his people from their sins. 

(John 3:36) "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." (ESV)

A Look At Limited Government

We must reject big government because of the sinfulness of humanity.  Politicians or any people can't be trusted with too much power.  We need to have limited government, so what does it look like?

Government should be as localized as possible.  It should be concentrated more at the state and local level, closer to the people.  The federal government should defend the country, maintain order, provide justice, and restrain evil.  There should be punishment for evildoers and freedom for those not doing evil.  There needs to be limits on the power of government, separation of powers, and a system of checks and balances. 

People often mistakenly think that if there is a problem in society then the government must take care of it.  But there are many things government cannot do because it was not meant to do those things.  It is helpful for people to distinguish between government and society.  Many things should be handled by society but not the government.  Things such as helping the poor and needy can best be handled by churches, charities, and other private organizations.  Government should not be involved in welfare, health care, and retirement programs.  Government schools are also a problem because they tend to give in to the temptation to indoctrinate children with ideas it favors. 

We need what has been called ordered liberty.  We need to have the smallest government possible.  Freedom needs to be maximized but a certain level of government is still required.  Freedom requires virtue from the people, because vice destroys freedom.  People cannot be allowed to harm other people or society.  There should be equality before the law for all people.  But we should not try to guarantee equal results for people. 

With freedom people can use their God given gifts and abilities.  People and society can prosper and flourish.  Religion also can flourish when it is free from government interference and control. 

I believe that for ordered liberty to succeed as our governing philosophy we need to have a Biblical foundation.  Without the proper foundation government will not be limited and people will not be free. 

A Case Against Big Government

So what is the problem with big government?  The real problem is the sinfulness of humanity.  People cannot be trusted with too much power.  Power tends to lead to corruption because people are prone to do what is wrong. 

The more people depend on government the more power and control politicians have.  This is exactly what many in the political arena want.  People often complain about the money in politics, but the reason there is so much money in politics is that government is involved in too many things.  If you want to get the money out of politics then you need to get the government out of many of the things it currently does. 

Big government eventually tries to take the place of God.  The government tries to be all things to all people.  Freedom of religion cannot be allowed because it will be seen as a threat to government control.  The freedom of religion and freedom of speech will soon disappear.   The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany should serve as warnings to us.  Dictatorships, fascism, socialism, communism, and totalitarianism must all be resisted and avoided. 

People tend to trade freedom for a supposed security and they end up with neither.  The loss of freedom leads to a loss of creativity and the loss of our ability to use our God given gifts.  The government cannot end poverty, cannot run health care, and cannot run retirement programs.  The truth is that the government cannot solve our problems no matter what it claims. 

Here In Post Christian America

The United States is now a post Christian nation.  It is made up of a mix of secularism and paganism.  America was never a Christian nation as some think of it, because there is actually no such thing as a Christian nation.  I simply refer to the Christian heritage and roots of the United States.  But today there is great indifference and even hostility to Christianity.  The church is basically seen as irrelevant.  So is something strange going on?  Actually it is not strange at all because Jesus told his followers to expect persecution. 

Our modern culture is characterized by immorality, selfishness, greed, love of money, drunkenness, drug use, profanity, hatred, blasphemy, and idolatry.  These are all characteristics of people who are spiritually dead.  So what is the answer to our problems here in America?  Many people seem to think it is the government.  But government and politicians will not save us.  Christians should be involved in politics and take stands on issues, but the government cannot change people's hearts. 

Much of the blame for the state of our nation belongs on the modern church.  The church in America is weak and wants to soft pedal the Biblical message.  Did you ever notice that Jesus and the apostles never soft pedaled the message?  But the modern church lacks confidence in the Bible and is not willing to take stands that go against the culture.  It proclaims a weak gospel that seldom mentions things such as sin, repentance, judgment, wrath, hell, and the fear of God.  The gospel it preaches is man centered and not God centered.  This gospel produces many false converts and leaves many people deceived.  Salvation is the work of God and is found only in Jesus. 

Christians must become Biblical in their life and thought.  They must proclaim and live the whole message of the Bible.  The church is in bad need of reform and this must happen before people and the culture change.  Christians should view America as a mission field because that is what it is.  Jesus is the only hope for Americans and all people. 

The Case Against Same Sex Marriage

So here we are in post Christian America debating whether or not to legalize homosexual marriage.  Most of the arguments we are hearing in favor of traditional marriage seem somewhat weak.  This is because they adopt the assumptions of secularism.  They adopt the secularist doctrine that God must be absent from the public square.  If marriage has no standard definition, then basically anything goes.  If homosexuals can get married then why can't polygamy also be legalized?  Or how about two men and three woman?  If it is just a matter of opinion and personal feelings all of these things must be accepted. 

Without an authoritative definition of marriage, it becomes meaningless.  When marriage is rendered meaningless then society suffers.  The family is the basic unit of society, and it is founded on marriage between one man and one woman.  Also if same sex marriage is legalized what will become of religious liberty?  If someone says it is a sin will they be charged with a hate crime? 

But when we look to the God who is there we find that his original intent in creating marriage was one man and one woman for life (Genesis 2:24).  We also see that he considers homosexuality an abomination (Leviticus 18:22), and unnatural (Romans 1:26-27). 

In fact Romans 1:18-32 indicates that the practice and acceptance of homosexuality is a sign of moral disintegration and the breakdown of society.  It also indicates that this is a sign that a society is under the judgment of God.  The real problem is that we have exchanged the truth about God for a lie (Romans 1:25).  All this results from our rejection of the one true God, and our practice of idolatry. 

Same sex marriage will probably become legalized in our entire country eventually as the tide of secularism and paganism sweeps across the land.  All of this will result in the eventual destruction of our country.  Christians and conservatives must stand against it.  We must stand strong and proclaim the truth even if it is not popular.