Bible Study April 24, 2025
Romans 15:13 (ESV)
13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
I picked a book up yesterday from my bookshelf and went to the patio to read. It is by Erwin Lutzer titled “When A Nation Forgets God.” Dr. Lutzer was the Senior Pastor at Moody Bible Church in Chicago for many years. I first heard of him facilitating GriefShare groups at Cornerstone in West Chester, Ohio. He is brilliant man and worth reading.
Here is a quote from his book. “We shall discover that we always find ourselves caught between our responsibility as citizens of this earth and citizens of heaven. The church has always been poised between two gods and two crosses. On the one side is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who died on a Roman Cross, executed for the sins of the world. On the other side are any number of lesser gods and crosses that promise a false salvation. These other gods are almost always embodied in the state; the most often come to us in the garb dressed as Ceasar. And in the end they are committed to crushing religious freedom.” That is one true perspective concerning church and state. Government often goes where it needs to stay out.
But often an equal amount of damage is done by the church itself. I had a conversation yesterday over lunch with man of God whom I both love and respect. In our conversation we mentioned a message by John MacArthur concerning a well-known speaker in Houston who leads a large church. I am putting the link at the end of this study in case you might be interested in listening to MacArthur, I believe the clip is around six minutes long and worth listening to. You can form your own opinion of what he says.
My point here is subtle things and subtle words can completely mislead us into making poor choices as to what we believe. There are two true sources of light and inspiration: the scriptures and the leading of the Holy Spirt (who still guides and directs us).
God Bless.
Asbury Chapel 