Minister Moose Tracks

*Adopted from a sermon on 1 John 1:5-10 preached at Riverside Christian Fellowship in Hernando, FL* Forgiveness of sins is a work accomplished by Christ alone. God has been more than generous to us by sending His Son to shed His blood on the cross, where we find forgiveness and new life (Eph. 1:7). Because of that, Christians ought never to think, "I need to forgive myself." There is no power in that notion; there is no real forgiveness in "forgiving self." Self-forgiveness, as humble as it may look on the surface, is a form of self-idolatry. Let me explain. A Christian sees his forgiveness in Christ as all-saving and all-sufficient, but does he see it as all-satisfying? When you commit a sin, you feel bad about it, you confess it, and repent...but there is something that lingers in your mind. You've believed what God has declared in His Word, you ARE forgiven of your sins, but there remains an empty space in your heart that hasn't been satisfied; there i...

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:3 The economy of the world is wealth and material-driven. I grew up around the unbiblical teaching that "God helps those who help themselves." In one sense, the statement seeks to instill in the mind that idle hands are detrimental to overall well-being. In the other sense, however, it denies the gospel. One can possess all kinds of material wealth yet have nothing if Christ does not possess him (Phil. 3:7-9). Rather than being wealth and material-driven, God's economy is spiritually-driven and seeks to glorify His Son Jesus Christ; one must seek to worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Part of what requires of one to worship God in spirit and truth is to acknowledge in His presence that he does not deserve God's mercy and blessings; indeed, he who is "poor in spirit" knows that he does not deserve heaven. He is not spiritually arrogant. He are not boastf...

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." -1 Corinthians 6:9-11 In our day, such biblical passages such as the one above are condemned as being judgmental; indeed they are, but rightfully so (John 7:24). During a St. Patrick's Day local festival last month, I took God's Word to the street in an area where a saint of God is being celebrated with leprechauns, pots of gold, and drunken debauchery. While my wife and others with us were handing out gospel tracts, a man who walked past me became angry about what I was preaching and thought I was being judgmental ...

I am sure you are familiar with the popular song Amazing Grace  written by John Newton, an English poet and Christian in the 18th-19th century who was a former slave trader. The first stanza of the song reads, "Amazing Grace! how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch; like me!" You and I are the "wretch" in that song, worthy to only be condemned and tossed into the fiery pits of hell because of our sinfulness in the presence of the one true holy God; Newton was very keen on this notion because of his past as a slave trader. The Lord would be just to send any one of us to damnation; it is as if every one of us are walking on doors which are ready to swing open, dumping us into the pit where the worm doesn't die. If you are reading this, then obviously God hasn't done that to you. But why? It is because of His mercy that keeps the hinges on those doors from swinging open. Mercy is about not getting what we do deserve. But then there is also grace ... When...

"Live your life in such a way that people ask you why." "People don't care about what you believe until they believe you care." I've been guilty in believing such concepts. I've even heard these teachings from fellow ministers of the gospel. Yes, Christians are called upon in the Bible to be both friendly, relational, and live exemplary lives, but those things certainly do not replace the biblically-sound teaching of the clear verbal expression of the gospel message. Anything that adds to the Word of God is to be preceded with caution. Christians, don't ever believe into the lie that you need to establish a relationship with someone before being "allowed" to minister the gospel of Christ to them. That is a pitfall teaching of American Evangelicalism called "Friendship Evangelism" and it is NOT biblical. This kind of "evangelism" leads most to try to make others around them "see Jesus" in them, rarely...

"God doesn't call those who are equipped, He equips those whom He calls." It is not the intellect of a Christian that makes him ready to serve God, but rather the power of God working within that person. Although I generally encourage formal education if the opportunity presents itself, it merely supplements the gifts given from God. Sadly enough, there many churches in the world that will not accept a pastor to lead them unless he has a seminary degree. A seminary education doesn't make a minister of the gospel; the calling from God and the church body to confirm this calling is what makes a minister of the gospel. Of course, we read that God uses people from varying educational backgrounds, considering Paul who was a "Hebrew of Hebrews" and a "Pharisee" (Phil. 3:5), while Apollos was "an eloquent man, competent in the scriptures" (Acts 18:24). Yet, we read in Acts 4:13 that no matter the education of those whom God calls for His purpo...

About two weeks after the Lord saved me from my sins, my pastor confronted me one day and said,"You know, now that you're a Christian, you better clean up that mouth of yours." I was immediately convicted by this; by the grace of God, I was finished using foul language a few weeks afterward. This was one of my first tastes of the pure life that God desires for me to live. I see, however, many who profess to be Christians and still strongly sound the bell of worldliness. The Holy Spirit, of course, works at different speeds when it comes to sanctifying people, but there still is evidence...if indeed the Spirit does reside within a person. These people are not new to the faith, but rather proclaim to have a faith in Christ without any transformation. Such people have "cheapened" grace by simply wanting to escape the fires of hell and nothing more. Does God just save people to save them with also allowing them to live their lives as the world leads them?...

In this season of Thanksgiving, there are many facets of life we ought to be thankful for: our family, friends, food, shelter, jobs, entertainment, and the breath in our lungs. The problem, though, is that all of those things can be lost in the blink of an eye. Those who are bought by the blood of Christ, however, have an inheritance kept for them in heaven that is "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading" (1 Pet. 1:4). Didn't Jesus tell us that His followers would experience tribulation and be hated by the world for His name's sake (Matt. 24:9)? Despite this, here are five truths from God's Word upon which we can meditate and be thankful. Jesus lived a life we could never live. God's standard is that of perfection which is summarized in following His Law perfectly (cf. Ex. 20). The problem we have is that "nobody's perfect" and so we all fall short of this standard (Rom. 3:23). Jesus Christ lived in perfect obedience to God for us in our stea...

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea." -Mark 9:42 Shortly after I cried out to God to save me from my sins and became a Christian, a former in-law of mine heard of my new faith and she promptly made her thoughts known to me that I was brainwashed and that it was not as real as I perceived it to be. As an infant in Christ, however, my reckless and zealous response was less than gentle by replying, "What!? You don't know me!" Was that response arrogant? Probably, although the sinful tone contained truth, especially since Christ recently made me into a new creation and began to transform my very reason for living. I've witnessed men who professed faith in Christ get enticed and lured away by attractive and seductive women, causing them to sin and having the joy of salvation sapped right out from them. In my forme...