What's the Answer?

 Paul hurried through the dimly lit parking lot as he made his way to his car. Before he could react, a young man stepped out in front of him with a hand gun pointed directly at him. The young man nervously told Paul, “Give me your wallet!” Paul didn’t have his wallet on him and had left it at home. He had his drivers license and maybe two dollars in his pocket. He had come into town to see a friend and knew it could be dangerous at this time of day. So, he told the young man, “I don’t have my wallet on me. I left it at home, but I have a few dollars in my pocket, and you can have that.” Now, the young man appeared to be more agitated and told Paul, “Give me the wallet or I’ll shoot you!” Paul calmly told the young man again, “I don’t have a wallet on me. Do you want to check?” “No!” The young man was now even more frustrated and Paul wasn’t sure if he was going to survive this. So, he began to pray and asked God to help him.

The young man was now extremely upset and was getting even more upset. His hand was shaking, and Paul continued to pray. Finally, the young man said, “It would have been so much easier if you had just given me your wallet.” And with that, he pulled the trigger on the gun. But while Paul was prepared to die, all he heard was a click. The gun had not fired, and the young man now had a look of fear on his face. Paul reacted quickly and told the young man, “I don’t know what problems you have in your life. I don’t know what kind of life you had growing up or anything else about you that would make you want to do this. And I don’t know what your problems are but I have an answer. Now, the young man, thoroughly frustrated, was staring at Paul with a very angry stare. He shouted at Paul, “You don’t know anything about my life!” Paul said, “Your right. That’s what I just said but I do have an answer to your situation.” The young man asked, “And what is that? I just tried to kill you so why would you want to help me?”

Finally, Paul told the young man, “I was once a troubled young man just like you. Well, I never tried to rob anyone at gun point but I had my nasty moments. I was troubled just like you are but one day I met a man who wanted to help me. He told me about Jesus and my whole life changed.” The young man shouted back, “I don’t want to hear nothing about no Jesus or God. Besides, they don’t even exist and if they did, I wouldn’t be like this with all these problems.” Paul responded, “Yes, God does exist and I’ll tell you how I know.” The young man asked, “How do you know he exists? You just almost got killed. What kind of God is that?”

Paul told him, “You’re right. I almost just got killed. But I’ll tell you how I know he is real and does exist. While you were aiming that gun at me, I was praying to Him and asking Him to help me. When you pulled that trigger, the gun didn’t fire. That’s how I know He exists and is real and is a living God who wants to help you.” The young man dropped his head and began to sob. Paul walked to him and told Him about Jesus. He shared the gospel with the young man and the Lord touched the heart of this young man and he was changed.

Maybe you have heard testimonies similar to this before. Whatever the problem, God has the solution. In this world and in this culture and society, the problems are many. This country (USA) has so many social and individual problems. The country is divided on many fronts. The political divide has separated friends and family, not to mention husbands and wives. I have read comments following a sports story and it never fails that eventually, someone throws in a political comment. Then, instead of continuing to comment on the story, it turns to a political debate. So, what’s the answer?

Social issues are extremely numerous. Transgender, Gay lifestyles, racism, school curriculums and so many more. People can’t have a simple discussion about these issues without it turning into a heated argument. These people also include Christians and local churches. During the pandemic, the issue over masks was another heated debate among people. And once again, this included the Christian community. Churches were split, people were leaving churches over this argument and society itself was spilt and divided.

When churches were ordered to close their doors, some rebelled and insisted on staying open. But it wasn’t always because the Lord told them to do that but instead, these churches took a political stance. I don’t know which of those might also have been led by God to keep their doors open, but it is apparent that most were simply taking a political stance. Many of the churches in this country were taking political stances. Pastors were involved in political debates and sounded more like secular politicians instead of pastors. No, Christians were not exempt from the divide. So what is the answer to all of this?

The world claims to have the answer to everything. Just ask them. But what they have are band aides. They only provide temporary treatment and can never provide the only cure. The world speaks of peace. Peace in Vietnam, peace in the Middle East and Southwest Asia and now in Ukraine. But what did Jesus tell us about peace?

 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.   JN 14:27

The world can never provide the peace which Jesus gives to us. But to know that peace, a person must know Jesus. The young man in the fictional account above couldn’t know any peace until he surrendered to Jesus. It’s the same way for anyone who is not saved. But peace is not the bottom-line answer to these problems. It is only a post solution gift. All the fighting, rioting in the streets when people don’t get what they want, school shootings and mass public shootings as well as basic violence. The climate change experts tell us they have all the answers but they don’t. For every solution they come up with, it creates another problem. But they don’t tell us that. The Bible tells us what happens to this earth in the end and all the climate change solutions can never stop that work of God.

So, what’s the bottom-line cause and what’s the answer? I worked in Quality Assurance for a number of years. I learned early on in that specialty that when a problem existed, there had to be a root cause. Repairing anything but the root cause was simply not correcting the problem. All too often in life, the symptoms are mistaken for the root cause and the problem would continue. It would continue until the root cause was determined and corrected. Our lives are the same way. Every person is born with the root cause, and it’s known as sin. Sin is the root cause of every problem in every life. Before I was saved, I was, I repeat, I was an alcoholic. That was the biggest problem in my life, but Jesus had the correction to the root cause of sin which had driven me to that lifestyle. He was the correction. His sacrifice on the cross for my sin was the only correction that would work. He attacked the root cause and saved me and gave me a new life. By the way, for those who can’t buy into this, I never had another drop of alcohol from that moment. I never had a desire for a drink. Jesus took down that wall and set me free from that sin.

Many have told me I was not really an alcoholic, but I tell them that two different counselors diagnosed me as an alcoholic. Think about this. The AA program is based on one drunk helping another to not drink. Even more, it’s one sinner trying to keep another sinner from taking a drink. Sorry, but I’ll take my chances with Jesus who has a spotless track record. It’s been almost forty years since my last can of beer.

How many people in this world are being deceived and mistreated for their problem? I don’t know the number, but it has to be enormous. Sin is the root cause for all of the world’s problems. Why does one major country invade a smaller country? Oh yes, there are all kinds of political answers, but the basic root cause is sin and Jesus is the only answer to correct sin. He came into this world to save people from the wrath of the Father which is coming and to free them from their slavery to sin. He was the sacrifice that defeated death and freed us from our sin. Yes, we still sin but that sin was already paid for on the cross and when God the Father sees us, He doesn’t see the sinners we were and are but He sees Jesus because we have been covered by the righteousness of Jesus. Without that, we could never stand in the presence of God.

So, remember, don’t treat the symptoms, correct the root cause and tell the unsaved struggling person about Jesus. We are all doomed to eternal suffering without Jesus. Every person is born with a sinful nature which is in rebellion to God. We were/are spiritually dead until Jesus saves us from that sin. The only life we would know is a life driven by the sinful nature. The answer to the world’s problems is Jesus. That is always the correction for the root cause which is sin.

-Bill Petite 

The Attack on Christianity

When we speak of the attack on Christianity, we are also speaking of the attack on God. This goes all the way back to Genesis chapter three when the serpent, or the devil, deceived and lied to Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Lord warned Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Here’s what the Lord told Adam.

 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”  Gen 2:16-17

But when the serpent appeared to Eve, he asked her this.

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?  Gen 3:1

Eve responded this way and pay attention to how she adds to God’s command.

“It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”   Gen 3:3

God has said nothing to Adam about touching the forbidden fruit. I guess Eve added a little extra punch to God’s command. But the most important part of the command is if they ate it, they would surely die. So, were they going to drop dead if they ate it? We know that wasn’t going to happen because they didn’t drop dead when they ate it. Adam and Eve were created without sin and would not know physical death unless they committed a sin. They would have lived forever without knowing or experiencing sin in their lives. But they did sin by disobeying God’s command not to eat the forbidden fruit. So, the serpent seizes on the ‘you will die’ portion of God’s command and lies to Eve and tempts her and Adam into eating from the forbidden tree. Here’s the lie Satan told Eve.

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” Gen 3:4-5

Convincing Eve that she wasn’t going to die, she took a bite and offered a bite to Adam. Satan lied concerning death. Adam and Eve did not drop dead when they took a bite but they did eventually die because at the moment they disobeyed God’s command, sin entered the world and them and death came with sin. The serpent, or Satan, played on the threat of instant death and in that way convinced Eve she wasn’t going to die, instantly. This was the first attack on God and His people following the creation.

It has happened over and over down through time. We move into the New Testament and the covenant of grace and see Christianity under attack. Actually, we see the attack even before the cross. Jesus was seen as a trouble maker who was attempting to steal the thunder of the religious leaders of that time.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees were the religious leaders and made up the Grand Sanhedrin, or the religious council. They worried more about Jesus winning the people over with His message than their own personal walk with God. Many Jews believed because they were children of Abraham, they were good to go as far as their position with God was concerned.  Jesus and His twelve disciples were under attack by the religious council throughout His ministry on earth. He told His disciples not to be discouraged about this.

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.  JN 15:18-19

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.   JN 14:27

When the world, the unbelieving world, comes at us with their attacks, insults, mockery and calls us the various names they like to use, relax because they are attacking God by attacking us. The world hates us and some are frightened simply by our presence. Jesus gives us a peace which the world cannot and will not understand. Don’t respond with an attack since it just feeds fuel to their attack and their misunderstanding of Jesus. What else do you expect from them? They don’t know God. They don’t understand God or His people and the gospel message.

Here's the truth. They attack, comment on and slander something they are totally ignorant of. They find verses in the Bible which they might have heard a Christian use in defense at some time and they look for others which they use to ridicule with but they are so far out of context. But we can’t expect them to know since they don’t know. We don’t return with an attack. We should use the situation as an opportunity to begin a discussion in order to explain the truth to them. If they are willing, good. If not, don’t waste your time. Jesus told His followers this.

“Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.  MT 7:6

While Stephen was being stoned for his message concerning Jesus as he stood before the High Priest and the religious council, a young Pharisee named Saul stood and watched in total approval of the stoning. After all, his God and his religion were being attacked by this new movement referred as the Way. Following the stoning of Stephen, Saul would round up Christians and jail or kill them. He continued this persecution until he, himself was saved on the road to Damascus. He was on his way to round up more followers of this Jesus. He changed his name to Paul and was led by the Lord to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. He started many churches across the then known world and was heavily persecuted himself as a result. Paul was executed by the Romans for his ministry work for God. But during his time being led by the Holy Spirit, he never wavered or gave up as a result of the persecution he endured. Paul knew and understood that the unbelieving people who constantly opposed him, did so out of their ignorance of God.

This is what we Christians must always understand and be aware of. Those who bring the attack on Christianity do so out of their ignorance of God and who He really is.

And always remember the attack is on God Himself. Think about it. The Atheist is angry at a God they don’t even believe exists. Why should you be angry at something that doesn’t exist? Their anger is at God’s followers but their complaint is aimed at something they don’t believe is real or exists. At that point, it should be compassion we feel instead of anger.

If you experience harassment at work for your Christianity, keep in mind, the person attacking doesn’t understand or realize who God really is. Pray and ask God for an opportunity to speak to the person about their ignorance concerning God. Always be ready and prepared to help those ignorant of who God really is. Help them while you explain the gospel to them. Help them by praying for them. They might never listen to you but you don’t know that until God moves one of you on.

There are plenty of people on social media who post rants about Christianity. Most of them have taken scripture out of context or twisted it to meet their agenda. Most of those rants prove what Jesus told the Sadducees in MT 22:29.

Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.  

This so true of so many critics of God in today’s society. What more can we expect from them? They are not saved, they don’t have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them and they can’t understand and comprehend as we Christians do. We need to be calm and hear them out and then, if they are willing, attempt to share with them who God really is. Tell them what God has done in your life. Tell them what He delivered you from when you were saved. But don’t return their rant with a rant of your own. Of course, most of these rants are on social media because they would never tell you this to your face. Most of them.

Consider the faith of the Apostle Paul. Think about how he was beaten, ship wrecked and heavily persecuted by those who didn’t believe in God or Paul’s message. He never gave up. He never retaliated. He simply prayed and trusted in God. He trusted in the leading of the Holy Spirit. Finally, the Church, Christianity and the Lord Himself has been under attack since the lie of Satan in the garden and it will continue until this world is destroyed by fire. It’s nothing new and it will continue. I could tell of the persecution in other countries such as China, India, Sudan and others but then this would be a book instead of a long blog post.

-Bill Petite

Narrow is the Gate

 

This is an edited version of the introduction to my book, Narrow is the Gate, which was published in 2020.

As I write this, Christianity has come to a point where the culture outside the Church has been allowed to have an influence on how we think and act and react inside the Church. Now, this certainly does not apply to all Christians, but it does to far too many. We live in a country which is divided by our views on politics, abortion, the Gay lifestyle, gender transitions and a lot of other views we always seem to disagree on. Disagreement is alright if we are able to acknowledge the other person’s view and not attempt to beat them down and kick them into a corner. Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement over whether to take John Mark with them on their second missionary journey (Acts 15:37-40). Each man stood his ground and finally they agreed to go their separate ways. Each man felt very strong about his own ideas concerning John Mark and it was obvious neither was going to give in to the other. So, the decision was made to go their own separate ways. Years later, Paul would ask for John Mark’s company, and it would appear all was well between them. But in our society and culture today, people will separate and not speak or associate with the other party for years or maybe ever again. Family members will have disputes and never speak to one another again. And these situations do not exclude Christians; I have heard Christians, who were harmed in some way by another, say they would never forgive the other party. Is that what Jesus said in His word? Didn’t He tell Peter to forgive seventy times seven (MT 18:21-22)? In other words, we should always forgive the other person but in this culture, that doesn’t fly. (MT 6:14) When I discuss anything with another Christian, I always keep in mind the person is saved and knows Jesus as their savior. The person has a relationship with Jesus and it’s not up to me to straighten his/her path or force them to see doctrine my way or convince them they are following Jesus in the wrong way. Now, allow me to make clear that I am referring to another Christian who has Jesus in their heart. I am not referring to someone who has not been saved and might be practicing in some kind of cult or non-Christian group. The person who is saved is saved forever or for eternity; that is primary in our discussions or debates with other Christians. We can learn from each other under God’s inspiration as He guides the discussion. But when we encounter someone who is not saved or is involved with a group who believes their salvation is by any other means than Jesus, then we have a different approach with them. But again, Jesus is the main point, and we are not attempting to win an argument but instead allowing Jesus to win the soul. In life, we will encounter all kinds of different people with different lifestyles and if we engage in conversation with them, we must remember that Jesus is always the main focal point. It’s not what we think is right or wrong, it’s what the truth of Jesus is. There are topics which are disagreed on every day of our lives. As Christians, it’s up to us to read and study our Bible in order to know what the truth of God’s word says about these topics. The world has many ideas on each of these topics and will stand firm on each of their views. But that doesn’t mean we have to agree with them. It also doesn’t mean we should behave in the way they do but simply know and understand what God’s word tells us concerning these things. There are so many Christians, true born-again Christians, who fall into the patterns in which the world and its culture conduct its ways of standing firm on their beliefs. They will argue in the same way, putting other Christians down in the very way the world does to each other. Christians calling each other names or harshly criticizing each other as the world does. Where is the Christian, Christ like love for one another which Jesus instructs us in His word to exercise? There are parts of the Church which have views that mirror that of the world and our culture.

These groups, denominations and local churches have appeared to allow the culture of our day, in this world, to come right into the Church and have its way and influence on them. God’s word tells us in MT 7:13-14 that there are two paths which lead us to God’s Kingdom; there is a narrow gate which is the only right way and there is a wide gate which leads to destruction or hell. How many people will win the arguments but end up on the wide path? How many will refute the truth of God’s word because they firmly believe they are smarter than God or know better than Him for these cultural causes? Don’t be fooled by them; get on that narrow path which leads to the narrow gate which is too hard for so many to find and enter into God’s Kingdom.

Consider topics such as, abortion, the Gay lifestyle and gay marriage, the social gospel, politics inside the church, transgender indoctrination and lifestyles and many other controversial topics. The progressive liberal church today doesn’t have an issue with these topics and lifestyles. Their approach to the Bible is to pick and choose what suits their agenda and pleases a liberal minded crowd. Knowing and understanding that every word in the Bible is true, allows us to know these topics are not supported by the Almighty God. But we are simply considered as narrow minded and bigoted people who don’t understand the times. But we do and we know what God’s word says in opposition to these topics and lifestyles. For those of us who do, we are on the narrow path to the narrow gate.

Bill Petite