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...

"If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the LOD, who will intercede for him?" - 1 Samuel 2:25 It is a kind of tragedy when those put in charge to lead God's people are but frauds and wolves. In this passage, the context reveals that Eli is both the high priest and judge in Israel while his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas were brought into the priesthood by birth. Because Eli was advanced in years (1 Sam. 2:22), he likely left it up to his sons to inspect the service of the tabernacle and they took advantage of the absence of their father to profane the offerings of the LORD ( vv. 13-17). Nonetheless, his absence did not prevent him from hearing that his sons were having sexual relationships with the women who served at the tabernacle (v. 22). To top it off, verse 12 says that his sons were "worthless" or "corrupt" and did not know God; the Hebrew phrase literally means "sons of Belial", connot...

Something I was thinking about recently: The LGBTQI+ community celebrates their pride with a rainbow flag. The Bible says that the rainbow is a symbol of God's promise that He will never destroy mankind again by flood (Gen. 9:12-17). Perhaps more significant, however, is that it indirectly points to a future promise that God will destroy mankind by fire (2 Pet. 3:7), just as Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for their sexual immorality (Gen. 19:23-25). The rainbow flag that the LGBTQI+ community waves above their heads is, in a way, them celebrating their own destruction. It reminds me of the passage in Revelation where the unrepentant cry out for the mountains and rocks to fall upon them, in an attempt to hide from the Holy One of God, Jesus Christ (Rev. 6:15-17); they would rather perish in their sins than repent. The truth of the matter is this: 1. The LGBTQI+ community are sinners and haters of the one true God, just like every other sinner (Rom. 1:30; 3:10-11,...

"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...

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...

When it comes to the powerful parables told by our Lord Jesus Christ, one that sticks to me is found in Luke 18:9-4, known as "The Pharisee and the Tax Collector." Back in Jesus' day, the Pharisees were the religious elite among the Jewish people and we read throughout the gospels how Jesus confronts them for being outwardly religious but spiritually dead on the inside (cf. Matt 15:8; Mark 7:6). In this particular parable from Luke 18, the Pharisee thinks he is doing just fine by God and even thanks God that he is not a wretched sinner like tax collectors. Although there may seem to be a kind of righteousness in the words of the Pharisee, the tone is undergirded with an unhealthy pride and failure to recognize one's own sin nature (cf. Rom. 3:23). The tax collector, on the other hand, is very aware of his sinfulness and spiritual poverty and cries out to God for His mercy to be upon him. In our day, there is a pride that stems from many who profess Christianity an...

"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...

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...

Every person will always do what they are bound to do according to their own nature. The Bible tells us that, by nature, we are children of wrath (Eph. 2:3) who do not seek God on our own accord (Rom . 3:11) and attempt to live out our lives independent of an all-powerful and all-knowing God in the comfort of our own material pleasures (Is. 47:8). Towards the end of his first letter to the Corinthian church,  the apostle Paul writes,  "If anyone has no love for the Lord,  let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!" Many of us, particularly of the religious variety, would like to think that such a statement from Scripture gives the green light to treat those who have no love for God in a way that is less than loving. Some might think, "If the Bible calls them accursed then why treat them any different than that?" While it is true that those who are destined to damnation through their own rejection of Christ will receive their due punishment,  Christians ought to rem...