Renouncing my Baptism and Confirmation

I was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal Church. However, because of their rebellion against God reemphasized today I again publicly renounce my baptism and confirmation.

In doing so, I still love people who call this their spiritual home. I do not hate people in the Episcopal Church- which include members of my family- however, I HATE what the institution has become. 

It breaks my heart, because I love my heritage. I have so many friends I grew up with that are still a part of the abomination the Institutional Episcopal Church has become. God was gracious to me in that all the scripture I learned from a young age came from the Book of Common Prayer. My theology was largely shaped by the Catechism I learned in that book. 

Please members of the Episcopal Church go back to your book of Common Prayer and read all the scripture in it and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes- specifically, the Catechism- 

Q.	Where in the Old Testament is God's will for us shown most clearly?
A.	God's will for us is shown most clearly in the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments

See pages 317 and 350.

Q.	What are the Ten Commandments?
A.	The Ten Commandments are the laws give to Moses and the people of Israel.
Q.	What do we learn from these commandments?
A.	We learn two things: our duty to God, and our duty to our neighbors.
Q.	What is our duty to God?
A.	Our duty is to believe and trust in God;
	I	To love and obey God and to bring others to know him;
	II	To put nothing in the place of God;
	III	To show God respect in thought, word, and deed;
	IV	And to set aside regular times for worship, prayer, and the study of God's ways.

Catechism     847

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Q.	What is our duty to our neighbors?
A.	Our duty to our neighbors is to love them as ourselves, and to do to other people as we wish them to do to us;
	V	To love, honor, and help our parents and family; to honor those in authority, and to meet their just demands;
	VI	To show respect for the life God has given us; to work and pray for peace; to bear no malice, prejudice, or hatred in our hearts; and to be kind to all the creatures of God;
	VII	To use our bodily desires as God intended;
	VIII	To be honest and fair in our dealings; to seek justice, freedom, and the necessities of life for all people; and to use our talents and possessions as ones who must answer for them to God;
	IX	To speak the truth, and not to mislead others by our silence;
	X	To resist temptations to envy, greed, and jealousy; to rejoice in other people's gifts and graces; and to do our duty for the love of God, who has called us into fellowship with him.
Q.	What is the purpose of the Ten Commandments?
A.	The Ten Commandments were given to define our relationship with God and our neighbors.
Q.	Since we do not fully obey them, are they useful at all?
A.	Since we do not fully obey them, we see more clearly our sin and our need for redemption.

Sin and Redemption

Q.	What is sin?
A.	Sin is the seeking of our own will instead of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people, and with all creation.

The Episcopal church is itself in sin as defined in her Catechism, seeking its own will instead of the will of God. God revealed His will for us in the written word of God which has essentially been abandoned by the Episcopal Church. The Word is meaningless, though it is throughout the Book of Common Prayer and the Pastoral Offices. Look with me into the Episcopal marriage ceremony:

Dearly beloved: We have come together in the presence of 
God to witness and bless the joining together of this man and 
this woman in Holy Matrimony.  The bond and covenant of 
marriage was established by God in creation, and our Lord 
Jesus Christ adorned this manner of life by his presence and 
first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee.  It signifies to us 
the mystery of the union between Christ and his Church, and 
Holy Scripture commends it to be honored among all people.

The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is 
intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort 
given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is 
God's will, for the procreation of children and their nurture 
in the knowledge and love of the Lord.  Therefore marriage is 
not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, 
deliberately, and in accordance with the purposes for which it 
was instituted by God.

Note that in the current version, the Episcopal church has it right according to scripture- acknowledging that God instituted marriage, between man and a woman. It goes on to acknowledge the  union between man and woman (Ephesians 5:25-32) is a picture of the spiritual union between Christ and the Church, and that it should not be entered into lightly- but reverently- in accordance with the purposes for which it was instituted by God. 

These purposes are revealed in the scripture, both Old and New Testaments that is published in the section called the Ministry of the Word:

The Ministry of the Word
The Celebrant then says to the people

                The Lord be with you.People        And also with you.

Let us pray.

O gracious and everliving God, you have created us male and
female in your image: Look mercifully upon this man and this
woman who come to you seeking your blessing, and assist
them with your grace, that with true fidelity and steadfast love
they may honor and keep the promises and vows they make;
through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with
you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Marriage     425

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Then one or more of the following passages from Holy Scripture is read.  If
there is to be a Communion, a passage from the Gospel always concludes
the Readings.Genesis 1:26-28 (Male and female he created them)

Genesis 2:4-9, 15-24 (A man cleaves to his wife and they become one flesh) 

                The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
                according to __________.People        Glory to you, Lord Christ.Matthew 5:1-10 (The Beatitudes)
Matthew 5:13-16 (You are the light...Let your light so shine)
Matthew 7:21,24-29 (Like a wise man who built his house upon the rock)
Mark 10:6-9,13-16 (They are no longer two but one)
John 15:9-12 (Love one another as I have loved you)

Let us take a look at these passages: 

Genesis 1:26-28Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27So God created man in his own image,in the image of God he created him;male and female he created them.

28And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 

Note, God did create man and woman, and part of the purpose of Marriage was to procreate. This is not successful in 100% of the marriages; there is infertility etc, however from when God created marriage his command was to be fruitful and multiply. You need a man and a woman to do this. 

To continue:

Genesis 2:23-25Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bonesand flesh of my flesh;she shall be called Woman,because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

When God created marriage, it was between the two beings he created. This may seem a pedantic question, but do you suppose that God in creating the first humans could have created two men, each with the ability to procreate? Instead, God created complementary human beings, each with unique parts and personalities that were beneficial to each other, allowing an intimacy (that is beyond sexual) that could allow them to be one flesh- illustrating the unity between the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- Three persons, One God- Unity in will, substance, and purpose- yet Three persons) and the Mystery of the union between Christ and His church.

Finally, Christ reiterates this purpose:

Mark 10:6-9But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’  7‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,  8and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.  9What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”10And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her,12and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”  

Many people in the debate over homosexual marriage claim that Christ never speaks about homosexual marriage. Here in this passage he affirmed that marriage is between one man and woman- and it is quoted right in the Pastoral Offices.  This is the frustration that I have with the Episcopal Church and other denominations that began so well: They have departed from the clear teaching of the Word of God that they had clung to for so long in favor of cultural relevance and approval from the world. This is why I believe my baptism and confirmation hold no water whatsoever for the scripture promises they are based upon are used falsely and to the Institutional church they Scripture has become no more than suggestion. The foundation of the Institutional Episcopal church is therefore sand.

I urge the members of the Episcopal Church go back to your book of Common Prayer and read all the scripture in it and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes- and do not stop there. Go to the source- the Bible- and allow God's Word to reveal the truth about God and about You. As it says in your Catechism, start with the Ten Commandments, and examine yourself in the light of God's moral law written on your heart. At that point you will become aware of your need for a Savior. He is Christ- and He wants to save you individually from your sin. When He saves you, there is always the Anglican Church (US) that holds to the Standard of God's Word. 

I encourage an exodus, as ICABOD (The glory of the LORD has departed) has been long written over the Episcopal Church USA. 

I Don't Hate You

Please go to my friend Adam's  page and check out this cartoon. It is amazing, and says what we Christians should be trying to say in the midst of our culture. You may want to check my earlier post also.

Are you under the Law or under Grace?

It Depends.

If you have repented and trusted Christ as your Savior you are under Grace. 

If you have not, you are under God's Law and you will be judged by Jesus Christ on Judgment Day

The recent supreme court ruling has awakened an age-old debate and a method by which non-believers can argue with Christians about sins that they want to justify. In the flowchart I have inserted below, an age old red-herring straw man has been pictured. Ostensibly, it destroys 'religion's' arguments against same sex marriage. To the typical layman, this is an effective tool that could convince them that perhaps same-sex marriage is a-ok because we do not observe certain Old Testament commands, and hold tightly on to other ones. 

In the Old Testament, particularly in the first five books, God sets out his law in written form. This law was for a specific chosen people that lived at a specific time. The Mosaic law, as written in Exodus, Deuteronomy, and in Leviticus were for God's chosen people, Israel. These are the people through which God's Savior- Jesus- would come. It was through Him that the blessing of Salvation would come.

1Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3

Israel was a chosen people for the purpose of displaying the grace of God to the world. Being part of Israel did not secure your salvation, however, if you believe, looking to God as your Savior, He would save you. God knew who these people were. He was national Israel's king and Sovereign, saving them out of Egypt and promising them a land and a national identity. When you lived in Israel, you lived according a set of laws that were to show you as a people that were set apart. These laws were civil, moral, ceremonial, and dietary. These include the infamous commands about eating shellfish, wearing mixed fabrics, eating pork, dealing with women's monthly period, and, of course, homosexuality (not to mention incest, bestiality, and other perversions). These are the laws of the Old Covenant, for the Jewish people, to separate them as a people from out of the other nations. These are not laws that are for us today, especially not for gentiles (those who are not Jewish). The penalties for breaking these laws are also not applicable today- that is fortunate for the penalty for blaspheming God which happens almost constantly in our world was a death penalty offense. 

God does not change, but the way that he deals with people does change. God dealt with Adam and Eve differently than Noah, Abraham, and Even Moses. God deals with Christians today through the eyes of the New Covenant. We are not under the law, but under grace. We keep his commands- not to be saved but because we are saved. The keeping of the law does not save us, but because Christ has kept the law we can receive the benefit of him keeping the law. We are seen as holy and righteous, not because we have kept the law, but because we have trusted in Christ's payment for sin- his death, burial, and resurrection. 

Now what that does not mean is that we can continue in sin. When Christ saves us, we are given a new identity, and a new character. It is called being born again (John 3:3) where our very nature is changed (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are now filled with the Holy Spirit who empowers us to keep the commandments (Matthew 22:37-39, Romans 13:8-10). As a Christian, it is not impossible to sin, but it is impossible to live in sin. Even the promise that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9) is based on confession, which means agreeing with God on what sin is (1 John 1:7-8). Indeed, if we say we have no sin, we are calling God a liar. This promise is not so we can continue to live in sin, rather, that we will not sin (1 John 2:1) but if we do sin, we have an Advocate- Jesus Christ. The process is called sanctification (Romans 6) where as we walk with Christ in obedience we become more like Him. 

Under Law or Under Grace? 

If you are a Christian, you have been set free from the law (Romans 7:4-6). In terms of the law, you have been justified or declared 'not guilty'. This is because Christ's righteousness in terms of the law has been imputed to you, so that it is just as though you have not sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21) Does that mean we are free to sin with abandon? (Romans 6:1-2) As Paul argues "May it never be!" It also means that we do not get to point to the law as the one that has saved us or that our obedience to the law makes us righteous (Romans 3:19-20, Galatians 2:16). We are warned continually in the New Testament not to put ourselves back under the law, for we have been set free from it. Instead, we ought to walk by the Spirit in response to His leading (Romans 6). This is a lifetime struggle; but the promise is that one day for the Christian we will become like Him (1 John 3:2) and we continue in that hope as we purify ourselves (1 John 3:3). The ability to do this all comes by the grace of God, for without conversion and regeneration, we would have neither the ability or desire to obey. 

For the non-Christian- the Atheist, the Muslim, the Jew- they are all still under the law, and will be judged by it. God is the only righteous judge. It is not the Christian's job to hold these folks to the law, or to judge them accordingly while we are here on this earth. The Holy Spirit is working in the unbelieving world about sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:7-11) It is our job to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in warning them, however, by proclaiming the law so that they might know that they are lawbreakers. Further, we need to warn them of the coming judgment, as well as proclaim that there is One Savior, Jesus Christ. There is great hope for lawbreakers like you and me- the cleansing grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ: 

9Or 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, 10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And 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

If you have not repented and trusted Christ alone as Savior, you are still under the law, and God will judge you. You will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.  However, no matter what you have done, if you by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) will confess (agree with God regarding your sin) repent (turn from your sin and self-righteousness to Christ) and trust/believe in Christ alone, you will be washed, sanctified, and justified. The judgment will be taken on by Christ, and His righteousness will be imputed to you. You will be set free from death- the penalty for sin.

Why So Angry?

Why do you suppose these mockers made this graphic? The number one reason is due to their own God- given knowledge that they have sinned against God, and by pointing out others' sin, they believe that they are somehow justified. However, they do have a point. The way that the institutional church inconsistently proclaims a weakened, man-centered gospel as well as the fact that church discipline has fallen by the wayside as the Institutional Church only wants to grow larger while looking more and more like the culture rather than being a beacon of light and holiness in the midst of the culture. This because many churches have nothing to do with the Church- the spotless bride of Christ. 

As a former Pastor, and a regular church attender and observer of the US church, I have seen a consistent pattern emerging in many of the larger churches. This pattern is that somehow we believe that the church grows only through compromise labelled as 'love'. However, if we observe several mainline denominations like the ELCA and Episcopal Church, their acceptance of culture over scripture has resulted in a steep decline in attendance, giving, and membership. This gives me hope if it were not for the churches like Willow Creek and Purpose Driven Churches which use man-centered gimmicks to grow their churches a mile wide and an inch deep. They use the culture to grow their church ostensibly to give them the opportunity to proclaim the gospel. The gospel is watered down to a point where it is often simply a change of identification rather than a heart change. The promise- pray a prayer 'accepting' Christ, attend a small group, and you will change morally and God will give you a purpose in this world as you travel around the bases or go from the crowd to the core.

The watered down, man centered Gospel has produced a generation of weak in the knee christians that do not know the scripture or the power of God. They do not understand that the Church is the Bride of Christ, whom Christ died to make Holy. Part of this process necessarily happens within the church in discipleship and preaching of the Word. It also happens in the process of Church discipline where the believer as a member of the church falls short and those who are spiritual seek to restore that person in a spirit of gentleness. It is this accountability and addressing of sin in a manner that honors God which the world sees as lacking in our fellowships. They do not see us as sanctified or separate from the world.

A glaring example is the inconsistent manner that we deal with things such as divorce. In my part of the world, churches are filled with divorced people- I am one of them. Many churches and Pastors do not blink an eye at divorce and they willingly remarry people who, through their own sin, brought about divorce. We scream VERY loud about homosexuality, and find it a perversion of the intent of God  (indeed it is) but we hardly blink an eye when an adulterous cheating divorced person is in our membership or approaches the Pastor to be remarried. People who are married seek the counsel in some of these churches and are encouraged to divorce for unbiblical reasons (I have heard self-actualization as an excuse for divorce from a 'christian' counselor!)  Indeed, if the divorced person is the offended party in the divorce, or a repentant offender that caused the dissolution of marriage, Christians should seek to build up and love through Biblical Church Discipline and restoration (Galatians 6:1-2). All to often, however, it is not even addressed through fear that one or both of the parties will become offended and leave the church. 

Biblical Church Discipline is for the purpose of the building up and edification of both the one being disciplined as well as the rest of the Church. It allows the power of the Gospel to change lives for the better, bringing glory to God through these changed lives. This also separates the church from the world as an agent of real and permanent life change, and this brings the Church to a new place of honor and respect in the community. Avoiding the problem or not confronting sin in the church has the opposite effect; it brings shame to God and lives are stuck and shackled to sin. The churches then are rightly seen in the community as just another social club.

What does this mean to us? 
As believers in Christ Jesus, we are called to live lives as holiness and separation from the world and the world system. What that looks like is we personally follow Jesus through reading His Word and obeying it, as well as a life of prayer consistently communicating and communing with God. We ought to be in Churches that faithfully preach the Word and practice church discipline. And we ought to be participating in the Great Commission through verbally sharing our faith with the people we come into contact with daily. This does not mean senseless judgment that casts a broad stroke of condemnation, rather, a reasoned Biblical approach that shares the bad news that man is unrighteous and stands guilty before God (Romans 3:9-19, 23) but that God is rich in mercy sending His Son (Ephesians 2:4) and through repentance and faith in Christ, we can be saved (Ephesians 2:8-10, John 3:16-17). 

When someone asks you about Divorce, Shellfish, or mixed fabrics, use it as a launching pad to share the good news that you have fallen short under the entire law, specifically the law to love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself. You can then ask your friend how he or she has done in terms of keeping God's moral law or the two greatest commandments. You can then go on graciously to explain how you no longer are under the law, because the only One who has ever kept the law in thought, word, and deed died on the cross, taking the penalty for your sin, and rose again on the third day defeating death. You can share that you are now seen as righteous by God, not because you are good, or better than anyone else, but because you serve a gracious and merciful God.

Red-Herring Straw-Man Argument

The Supreme Court is not The Ultimate Lawgiver- or Judge

Why were Christians waiting around, waiting for a Supreme Court Verdict? Two millennia ago, Jesus Christ AFFIRMED God's view of what marriage is. 

Mark 10: 6-10

6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

It does not matter what the government says, what Obama or Oprah, or Rob Bell says. The Supreme Lawgiver has already declared what marriage is. He created it to be between one man and one woman for life.  We are all under the law of God, and will be judged ultimately by God's law, even if we foolishly deny it. The bad news is that gay or straight, black or white, male or female, we stand guilty before God. (Romans 2:15 3:10, 3:23, ) and are under condemnation (John 3:18-20, 36). 

God's Moral law is expressed in the 10 Commandments. These have not changed; for they are written on your heart (Romans 2:15) Everyone also knows God (Romans 1:18-20) but many suppress the truth in their unrighteousness- because they love sin. 

Why are Christians shocked and wringing their hands? 

When people are ungodly, they are unrighteous. Ultimately, their unrighteousness manifests itself in a variety of sin (Romans 1:28-32, 3:9-18) that just goes to prove that man is unrighteous, and a child of wrath rather than a child of God (Ephesians 2:1-3) as so many claim. 

And the most shocking thing is that our government and the Supreme Court of our land is filled with ungodly and unrighteous people.  Therefore the laws, and the interpretation of laws will be affected by sin.

Additionally, the Bible tells us that in the last days it is not going to get better morally in our culture. It is only going to get worse:

1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2 Timothy 3:1-5

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.  Romans 1:28-32

And, despite what the government says, and the standards of the world we live in, the judgment is already set for those who are in sin: 

9 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, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8

It is a terrifying thought: If you are honest, and look at the verses above, you are guilty before God as well. We all deserve the wrath of God, because we all have sinned against Him. But that is not the end of the story, fortunately. God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4) and in His mercy, He sent us a way of escape from being chained to the power and penalty for sin- Jesus Christ.

The only way that we can be forgiven and righteous before God is through trust in the finished work- the death, burial, and resurrection- of Christ. If we repent and believe the Gospel, God will give us a new heart with new desires. We will not be shackled to whatever sin holds us captive. It is called grace; getting what we do not deserve. 

If we have received the grace of God in repentance and faith, the story is not over. We must deal daily with those family members, friends, and loved ones who are caught in sin. The answer for many churches and 'christians' is capitulation to the culture and accepting what the Bible calls sin. They call that love- making people feel welcome and comfortable in their sin. That is not love, for if we believe the Bible, the doom of the sinner is sure, an eternity in a place called hell. I would not want my family or friends or loved ones to experience that for even one second. As a Christian, that compassion also stretches to people I have only just met.

What does true love look like? Love warns, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, and with language seasoned with salt, you can share the truth about sin as well as the good news that there is a Savior. 

When you do it, remember all the time that but for the grace of God, you would still be in your sin. Remember that but for the grace of God, you could not be saved from the penalty and power of your sin. Remember that your sin, no matter how culturally acceptable, is a stench in the nostrils of God. This way, you can identify with the one who is struggling with the shackles and slavery of sin with compassion and love. They will see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice. 

So do not allow fear of man's opinion or the culture steer you from the most sacred assignment of loving your neighbor. Share the Good News today.