Category Archives: Missions

Separation of church and state?

06 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by in Ecclesiology, Missions

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Foundational to the United States is separation of church and state. The US Government is not to have a national religion. Today we treat the separation of church and state as two worlds sharing the same land. Many understand the concept to mean, “The church has no right to dictate morals to the government.” “The government is not to tell churches what to do, tax them, or favor them.” What has happened among the culture is both entities are considered two realms. Continue reading »

Did God change his mind about the nations?

18 Wednesday Jul 2012

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I remember early in my walk struggling with the concept of Israel being the “chosen” nation. I remember thinking, “Wow, God chose Israel but left all of the other nations out in the cold? Why?” . . . Probably to judge us. Or maybe the church is the new name for Israel? Both of those seemed like potential answers.

As I studied more, I began to realize Scripture has too many references to the restoration of Israel to deem one answer true. Yet God changed His mind and opened the Gospel up to ALL the nations! Diving into the depth of the Prophets brought out the reality of Israel’s sin and the fact that not all Israel is Israel — meaning not all Israel is saved and the Israelites were in the same predicament as the nations! So I just dealt with it. Israel is God’s chosen nation who needs a Savior. Chosen for what? Why them? The second question is easier to answer: because God chose them! So I left my inquiry open thinking God held off from the nations during the OT, but now in the NT the mandate is clear.
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