by Steve McCranie | Jun 17, 2019
There comes a time in each of our spiritual lives when the Lord brings to us His divine interruption that always comes with a choice. And that choice, other than obedience, seems to focus on our willingness to let Him move us into an area that we are totally unfamiliar with. Or will we choose to remain where we feel safe and comfortable? The choice is either to follow Him into the deep or remain in the kiddie pool holding fast to our water wings. And as always, the choice becomes a matter of faith, of trust.
After all, we sing songs about Him being a “good, good Father.” Do we really mean it? Or is that just for church?
The question or choice is simply this:
Are you in? Or are you out?
If you look at the major faith personalities in the Bible, you will find every one of them had to ask themselves the same question. Every one of them was faced with a choice that comes with a set of troubling questions: “Do I continue in the course that seems right to me? Or do I trust I actually heard from the Lord and go in a direction totally unfamiliar to anything I’ve ever done or known? How much faith do I really have?”
We call these moments Divine Interruptions.
In this message, we’ll look at these interruptions from the vantage point of:
David
Paul
Mary
Matthew
James and John and Peter and Andrew
Moses
And finally, Hosea.
A Personal Note
And I will share with you the divine interruption I received this week while preparing for this message from Jude. In fact, in the weeks to follow I will share more about the changes the Lord has brought in my life regarding what His will is for me and this ministry. And I rejoice in that. Why? Because He has simply answered a prayer I have prayed for almost two years in a most profound way.
But we’ll talk more about that at a later time.
The following is a study on Jude 1:1-3.
To download the slides to this message, click – HERE
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by Steve McCranie | Jan 23, 2019
As the Christmas season is winding down, it would be appropriate for us to look at the greatest gift we have ever received from the greatest Person we have ever known— our Lord, and to give Him praise for that wondrous gift. And for me, I find that gift revealed to me in Colossians.
Let’s look at this gift together.
No Longer Alienated and Enemies of the Lord
The Scriptures say that I, and all who are called by His name, are no longer “alienated and enemies” of the Lord. Look at this marvelous gift found in Colossians 1:21-22:
And you (your name), who once were (past tense) alienated (apallotrióō – to estrange, alienate entirely) and enemies (echthrós – hatred, hostility, enmity) in your mind by (what) wicked works, yet now (present tense) He (Christ’s actions) has reconciled (apokatallássō – the restoration of a relationship of peace which has been disturbed) in the body of His flesh (how) through death, (why) to present (paristánō – to cause to stand near or before) you (your name) holy (hágios – set apart, sanctified, consecrated, a saint), and blameless (ámōmos – unblameable, without spot or blemish) and above reproach (anégklētos –unreproveable, not merely unaccusable but unaccused, free from any legal charge) in His sight (presence, before His face).
But there is more. He keeps us from stumbling and presents us faultless before His glory. Amazing. Read it yourself in Jude 1:24.
Now to Him (Christ) who is able to keep you (your name) from stumbling (áptaistos – falling), and to present you (your name) faultless (where) before the presence of His glory (how) with exceeding joy (agallíasis – extreme exultation, exuberant joy),
And how do we respond to this incredible gift? Read the next verse.
To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
I pray you will begin the next year with the same praise and passion for your Lord that you ended the last one. And you can do that by realizing what a great God we serve and what a great gift He has given us in His Son. Will you join with me in exalting His Name? Then keep listening.
The following is a study on realizing our great blessings found in Colossians 1:21-22 and Jude 1:24-25.
To download the slides to this message, click – HERE
Download this episode (right click and save)
by Steve McCranie | May 3, 2017
How Can Grace Become Sin?
For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation,
ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the
only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:4
In this verse, Jude tells us four things about these “certain men who have crept in unnoticed” in the church: (1) their condemnation or judgment was determined long ago, (2) they are ungodly, (3) they turn the grace offered by our God into a license to sin, and (4) they deny the Lord Jesus Christ.1
This is the inevitable outcome of someone who only sees one side of God’s character— grace. When we only believe the nature of God is grace alone, we tend to see Him as an all-forgiving Father who puts up with the sins of His children and is either too afraid, weak or insecure to confront their behavior. He becomes nothing more than a Get Out of Jail Free card whose only purpose is to clean up our mess, pay for any damages, and continue to give us access to His unlimited American Express to fund our carefree lifestyle.
He becomes, in effect, a bad parent by showing only grace to the willing sins of His children and not demanding repentance, accountability, responsibility, and retribution.
But God is anything but a bad parent.
When Jesus confronted the woman caught in the act of adultery, He first offered her grace, then repentance.
John 8:10-11 – “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, (grace) “Neither do I condemn you; (repentance) go and sin no more.”
Grace is only one side of the character of Christ. The other side has to do with the consequences of rejecting grace.
Wrath of the Lamb
There is a chilling verse in the Revelation that should strike fear in those who take the grace of God for granted and use it as an excuse to sin. This verse shows a different side of Jesus. There’s no more “Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild” as the children’s song goes. Jesus, referred to as the Lamb of God, now comes with something we’d never expect from a lamb— wrath.
Revelation 6:15-16 – And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!”
Did you catch that? Those under condemnation for the sin and rejection of the truth were trying to hide from the wrath of the Lamb, the wrath of Jesus. In fact, Jesus said, “the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22).
Jesus, with His judgment, also brings wrath.
And He brings His wrath explicitly on those who take His marvelous, undeserved grace and turn it into lewdness. The word for lewdness is asélgeia and means “debauchery, sexual excess, the absence of restraint, perversion, having an insatiable desire for pleasure.”2 It speaks of unrestrained vice, the very worst of sins.3
Jude was compelled to warn us to watch out for those who will embed themselves in the church, under the cloak of darkness, like a satanic sleeper cell, to turn the church away from the purity of holiness and run after lust, sexual sin, and deviance. And the bait is a perversion of the grace of God. It goes something like this:
“You can do anything you want because God loves you and must forgive you if you ask Him. You can go and sin to your heart’s desire just as long as you remember to say your prayers when you go to bed and ask God to forgive you for what you did today. As soon as you say ‘I’m sorry’ BAM!— your sins are forgiven and your slate wiped clean. Then go and sin all you want tomorrow and say ‘I’m sorry’ and you’re forgiven. You can do it again the next day. And the day after that. As long as you say, ‘I’m sorry’ you can do anything you want. It’s all grace, grace, grace from a pushover God.”
This perversion of grace now becomes our motivation to sin— which is the very thing that nailed Jesus to the cross.
Repentance
Grace offers us the blessings of forgiveness. And for forgiveness to take place, there must be repentance. True repentance always, without exception, involves a change of behavior. In other words, if there’s no definite change in action and attitude, there is no true repentance. The grace we’ve been given to have our sins forgiven, when we repent, must include righteous living. Otherwise, it’s just mere words. Verbal garbage. Smoke and mirrors.
But it gets worse.
Those who turn the grace of our Lord into an excuse to sin also “deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). They mock His sacrifice, pain and suffering He endured to bestow grace to us. Because of Christ, we have unearned, undeserved and unmerited favor with God who gave us His only Son to die in our place. And then to twist this grace into an excuse to partake of the vilest of sexual sins is the reason Jude calls them “ungodly men” (Jude 1:4). In fact, the term denotes a moral outrage against God and not just disbelief.4 We see more of them in vs. 15 where Jude uses the word “ungodly” four times to describe their shameless deeds and again in vs. 18 where he speaks of their “ungodly lusts.”5
Please understand, if Jude was warning the church in his day of this danger, he is also warning the church today. There are these same ungodly men who have slipped in under the radar of your church and, by their actions and words, are attempting to amplify the lust in each of us to draw us away from the holiness of God and tempt us to do what we deem right in our own eyes (Jud. 17:6).
Be aware. Guard your heart (Prov. 4:23).
And as “He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’ ” (1 Peter 1:15-16).
Notes
1. Schreiner, T. R. (2003). 1, 2 Peter, Jude (Vol. 37, p. 437). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
2. Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (p. 270). Chattanooga, TN: AMG.
3. MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2005). 2 Peter and Jude (p. 161). Chicago: Moody Publishers.
4. Davids, P. H. (2006). The letters of 2 Peter and Jude (p. 44). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.
5. Green, M. (1987). 2 Peter and Jude: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 18, p. 187). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
by Steve McCranie | Apr 26, 2017
We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us
For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation,
ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the
only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:4
Churchill once said, borrowing from an old African proverb, “When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” While there is much truth to that proverb, the opposite is also true. “When the enemy is within, the enemies outside can hurt you.” And they can hurt you bad. Often permanently.
This was the situation Jude was warning the church about in his letter, and the same situation we find ourselves today. The enemy has breached our walls and is now inside the camp. What are we to do?
Who Are These Certain Men?
Jude, after calling believers to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3), begins to tell us why it’s so imperative to defend our faith. He says, “For certain men have crept in unnoticed” (Jude 1:4).
There are several words that need further scrutiny.
The first of these is certain. The Greek word is tis and means “a certain one, some person whom one cannot or does not wish to name.”2 In other words, “It’s one of those guys. You know who they are. I don’t even need to call them by name.”
These certain men have crept (pareisdúō) into the church unnoticed, or by stealth. The word means to “enter in craftily, under cover of darkness, like a thief.”3 They, like a terrorist sleeper cell, blend in with the others waiting for a time to attack from the inside, from the unprotected underbelly of the church. They are most sinister.
But who are these guys?
Jude describes them as those “who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). But we’ll look more into this at a later time.
They are, in effect, pastors void of holiness.
Businessmen, masquerading as pastors, who see the church as their next current startup.
They’re entrepreneurs, building their own product, brand, and empire within the church.
Jesus called them “false prophets”— ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15).
And we don’t seem to care they’re among us, spreading like kudzu.
Bread and Games
We’ve allowed them to take root in the hallowed halls of the church. We’ve let our guard down, chosen not to make waves, and go along with what feels good for a moment. We’ve sat idly by and watched our church become a business where we offer a Sunday product of cotton candy to satisfy the sweet cravings of the carnal and uncommitted. We’ve continually judged our success by how many tickets we sell to our Sunday matinee or how large is the crowd. And we have no problem changing our preaching to make people feel good in their sin and apathy. For us, bigger always means better. But that’s not necessarily true in the kingdom of God.
It’s just like it was in Rome. “Bread and games to satisfy the masses.”
How did they get in unnoticed? Where were the watchmen on the wall?4
Pastors, over the years, sought after success defined by the likes of Rick Warren or Bill Hybels, and now Andy Stanley. They became more concerned with their personal brand than with the gospel of Christ.
And the church bought into this “Bigger Means Better” mantra. “If it works on Wall Street,” we reasoned, “it should work in the church.” We hired, not Spirit-filled pastors and Bible teachers to reveal to us the deeper things of God, but Madison Avenue marketing gurus and visionaries, all promising to take our church to the next level.
But the pastor’s job is not to be a visionary. That’s Jesus’ job. The pastor is to simply implement the vision of the Lord, our Master, as a faithful slave, or doúlos to Him.5 Even if Andy Stanley says going to a small church is “stinking selfish.”6
Now, it seems, we need multiple campuses all watching our hip, relevant, popular pastor live-streamed on video. And we call that community or family? Far from it.
The Need for Watchmen
Remember, the men who’ve entered the church unnoticed, under the cloak of darkness, are defined by Jude as evil men, ungodly men, who long ago were marked out for commendation (Jude 1:4). These are lost, unregenerate men, traitors to the faith, hidden sleeper cells, that have found a home in the church— much like the birds of the air found a home in the branches of the mustard tree (Matt. 13:32).
What are we to do?
Now it gets personal.
We need watchmen on the walls of the church. We need those who will strive to keep the body of Christ as a “glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle” and contend earnestly to keep her “holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).
In practical terms, here are a few examples of what you can do.
If your pastor shows R-rated movie clips to illustrate a biblical principal or uses coarse language to seem relevant to the world, you must confront that carnality. But you must do so with respect for his position as pastor, even if the man is disqualified (Rom. 13:1). If nothing changes, remove yourself and your family from that gathering and let the Lord direct you to another church.
If the gospel and true biblical preaching is replaced with a sweet tasting, feel good message, have a frank discussion with your pastor and, if nothing changes, remove you and your family from that church. Don’t worry about where you will go. The Lord will direct you to a place where you can grow in your faith and understanding of the Scriptures.
And if you church approves of homosexuality, or any sin that is now culturally acceptable, it’s time to find a new church. Now. Immediately. Post haste.
Remember this important warning:
1 Corinthians 15:33 – Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
Or, to put it another way, “Bad company corrupts good character” (NIV).
Don’t let yourself be corrupted by certain men (and you know who they are) who have crept into your church unnoticed, or under the cloak of darkness. Even if these men may be pastors or elders. Point them out. Contend earnestly for the faith. Do all you can with respect and honor. And if nothing changes:
“Adios amigos.”
Notes
1. The title comes from a quote from the syndicated Pogo comic strip that was created by Walt Kelly (1913-
1973). The strip ran from October 4, 1948, until July 20, 1975.
2. Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (pp. 1385-1386). Chattanooga,
TN: AMG.
3. Ibid., 1117.
4. See Ezekiel 33.
5. Zodhiates, p. 483.
6. http://www.christianitytoday.com/karl-vaters/2016/march/dear-andy-stanley-please-be-small-churchs-ally-
not-our-enem.html.
7. Spanish for “Goodbye, friends.”
by Steve McCranie | Apr 22, 2017
The Non-Negotiables of Salvation
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation,
I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith
which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Jude 1:3
Jude’s intention was to write about their common salvation— the salvation believers share together. One of the definitions of the word common (koinós) means “belonging to several, of which several are partakers.”1 Jude’s letter was originally designed to talk about the salvation they shared and what it all means.
But something changed. Now the Holy Spirit has moved Jude on to a related, yet new topic. He finds it now necessary to encourage those who share this common salvation to learn how to contend or strive or fight earnestly for the faith on which their salvation was built. It’s as if the object of their faith was under attack, which it was. To “contend earnestly for the faith” implies it’s a single, finite faith. It’s a faith that isn’t fluid or breathing, or doesn’t change with the whims of each generation. This is the faith “which was once for all (final) delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).
And the faith that undergirds their common salvation is what we call the gospel.
Look What We Done With the Gospel
If the faith, the gospel, is unchanging and finite, why do we see so many interpretations of the gospel within the Christian church? At last count, it has been reported there were over 33,000 Christian denominations worldwide, which reeks of chaos. No single entity now speaks authoritatively for the church at large. If the world, for example, wants to know the Christian view on homosexuality, they can ask ten different pastors and get seven different answers. But our faith, like prophecy, is not open to private interpretation (2 Peter 1:2). It’s a faith that was delivered from Jesus Christ based on His rules and standards, and accountable only to Him. We didn’t secure the way to salvation through consensus. He paid for it with His own blood.
What we’ve done to His church is splinter it into a million different fragments all separated by personal nuances that seem to work with our personalities. If someone preaches holiness too much for our taste, they’re legalistic. If someone is more licentious than we feel comfortable with, then they’re liberal. We judge everything by ourselves, creating God in our image and according to our personal likes and dislikes. Assuming, of course, that God feels like we feel and thinks like we think. Which He doesn’t (Isa. 55:8-9).
Otherwise, how can you have one Bible and so many interpretations? How can some churches teach homosexuality is not a sin and hold to the same Scriptures that clearly teach it is? You have some churches teaching you can lose your salvation because your salvation is based on your obedience to Him. And other churches teach one’s salvation is secure because it’s a sovereign act of God He determined “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). How can they both be right?
They’re not.
Jude was writing about their common salvation, something they shared together. It’s not how they got saved, the when and where, but the basis of their salvation. One person may have been saved in a one-on-one encounter with a Christian at a local Wal-Mart. And another person may have received salvation by reading the Bible, alone, late one evening in their hotel room. The way salvation takes place, or the means by which it takes place are as infinite and as varied as there are individual Christians.
But the basis, the faith of that salvation must be the same. Are you saved by grace, through faith, plus works and obedience and faithfulness in tithing to your local church or by receiving the approved religious sacraments? Or are you saved by grace, through faith, plus nothing?
Stuff On Which We Must Agree
For centuries, the church has tried to come up with an agreed upon set of non-negotiable, basic standards that must be believed before one can declare themselves a Christian. We may disagree on modes of baptism, gifts of the Spirit, or Bible translations. But the one thing the church can never disagree on is salvation. How does someone come to faith in Jesus Christ? What must they believe to be saved?
Let me close by listing for you a few of the agreed-upon, non-negotiables of salvation. These are the common truths of our common salvation. These truths must be understood, embraced, and fully believed for someone to have true salvation.
- You must believe that Jesus is God. Now, it may take some time to understand the doctrine of the Trinity, but this core belief undergirds all the rest. It’s a non-negotiable.
- You must believe you are saved by grace and not on your own merits (Eph. 2:8-9). Salvation is a gift paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus. There is nothing more you can do except receive the gift of salvation on His terms, which is by faith.
- You must believe salvation comes through Jesus alone. He is the only way to God, not one of many ways (John 14:6).
- You must believe Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins. That’s you. Your sins. It’s a personal, one-on-one sacrifice He made for you.
- You must believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:14). If not, everything else is pointless.
- You must receive Him into your life as Lord (Rom. 10:9-10). Not just savior, or friend, or something less than the sovereign God and Lord of all creation. Because that’s who He is.
This is our common salvation. This is what we have in common with all those who we disagree with on subjects that divide rather than bring us together in unity as one.
So remember, when you come upon a believer who views baptism different than you do, focus on what you can agree on, your common salvation, and don’t sweat the small stuff.
After all, the final prayer of our Lord was for unity in His church (John 17:23). So let that unity begin with you and me.
Notes
1. Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (p. 872). Chattanooga, TN: AMG.
by Steve McCranie | Apr 21, 2017
Why is Diligence Such a Neglected Discipline Today?
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation,
I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith
which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Jude 1:3
There seems to be a difference between those whom God uses in a mighty way, and the rest of Christianity. It’s not their skill or education that makes them most likely to succeed in the kingdom of God. It’s certainly not their pedigree or upbringing that matters. For 1 Corinthians teaches that “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise” (1 Cor. 1:27). God can take anyone, of any background and experience, and turn them into a D.L. Moody or a Billy Graham.
It seems the single attribute that separates those who serve Him with reckless abandon and those who just go through the motions, is commitment. Or, to use the words of Jude, being very diligent.
Some Background
It appears Jude had a different intention for this letter. He begins by saying he wanted to “write to you concerning our common salvation (Jude 1:3). But in the span of the same sentence, Jude pivots by saying something has changed. “I find it necessary (as the Holy Spirit changes his focus) to write to you exhorting (helping, encouraging) you to contend (strive, struggle) earnestly (not casually or haphazardly) for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). In other words, what began as a letter exploring the nature of our “common salvation” has now changed. The Holy Spirit is moving in a different direction.
It’s this new direction, the warning and rebuking of the apostates within the walls of the church, that gives Jude a special place in the New Testament. But we’ll talk more about that later.
Very Diligent
The phrase Jude uses, very diligent, means “speed, haste, earnest in accomplishing something, zeal.”1 It implies someone who is totally committed or single-focused with tunnel vision aimed at completing the task set before them.
It’s a trait we honor in every area of life except the spiritual. Michael Phelps, for example, won more Olympic Gold Medals than anyone in history. Do you think he was able to accomplish that feat with a haphazard attitude towards his sport? Of course not. We applaud his commitment, his diligence, and the obvious sacrifices he made to achieve success in his field. But do we applaud the same in other Christians?
For some reason, we see diligence and commitment as a necessary element of success in every form of life except in our relationship with Christ. We admire those who make sacrifices to attain certain levels of success, like Michael Phelps, yet we assume the same is not required of us. When we study the lives of great men of God, we see that’s not true. Those who accomplished great things for God also sacrificed great things for God. They were very diligent about serving Him. As Jim Elliott said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”2
Plus, there are promises made, not to the casual believers, but to the one who seeks the Lord with his whole heart. Or, as Jude would say, is very diligent about the things of God. And each of these promises is conditional. They only belong to the diligent and committed, and not the casual or carnal. Consider the following:
Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the LORD with (condition) all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In (condition) all your ways acknowledge Him, and (promise) He shall direct your paths.
Note the conditions and the promise. If you want the promise, you must first meet the condition. You must be very diligent about the things of God. It’s Contract Law, 101.
Jeremiah 29:13 – And (promise) you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me (condition) with all your heart.
Again, note the condition and the promise. If you want to find God, you must meet the condition He sets for that revelation. And, as always, it’s “with all your heart.” Jude would call that being very diligent about the things of God.
No Pain, No Gain
We’re all familiar with the No Pain, No Gain mantra when it comes to working out or getting a graduate degree. It shows how much we’re willing to sacrifice to achieve our goals. The same is true with the things of God. For some reason, God seems to honor the fervent, the committed, and the diligent— and not the casual. And we do the same. What employee gets the raise and promotion? The one who works hard and is trustworthy? Or the one who shows up when it’s only convenient for him?
One final thought. Paul understood this principle in his life. Look at what he said about sacrifice and commitment:
1 Corinthians 9:24 – Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
That’s run with sacrifice, commitment, diligence. It’s getting up early and training harder than the rest. It’s doing your best and giving your all to the race that’s set before you. In fact, Paul goes one step further:
1 Corinthians 9:27 – But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
By disciplining his body, Paul is saying “no” to the distractions, to the things that don’t bring him closer to his goal. In the spiritual life, we call this living with fervency, with total commitment. Or, as Jude says, being very diligent.
Examine your life today and ask the Lord what you’re wasting it on? And then burn those bridges and center your life on Him and Him alone. Run the race the Lord has set before you— and don’t get distracted and don’t look back.
Be very diligent in all you do for Him.
Notes
1. Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (p. 1307). Chattanooga, TN: AMG.
2. Jim Elliot (1927-1956) was a missionary who gave his life, along with four others, while trying to evangelize the Huaorani people, also known as the Auca, in Ecuador. He was 29 when he was martyred. This quote is from one of his journals, written on October 28, 1949.
