My Journey from Baptist to Anglican

Written sometime in the mid-1990’s

An e-mail response to a friend telling of my journey to the REC

by Robert Himes

In August, 1973, God converted me through the ministry of a fairly liberal SBC church and called me to His ministry at the same time. He began to open my eyes to His Word, for I was a young pagan when He called me. I was new and fresh to His Word with no denominational indoctrination. I began to devour the Word.

Over the next few years, God brought certain men into my life to lead me where He wanted me. I married a faithful SBC woman, and we began our journey together. God sent Ted into our lives, and he led us into a fundamental, independent, premillennial, missionary Baptist church in the World Baptist Fellowship. In this church, even with a lot of legalism, we learned to truly appreciate the Bible as the infallible, inerrant Word of God. They also persuaded me to continue my college studies at Arlington Baptist College completing a BA in Bible with a minor in Biblical Languages.

My study in the Greek New Testament, particularly an intensive study of 1 Timothy in preparation for my Ph.D. dissertation, was used by our Lord to lead me to the truth of a multiple-elder ruled church and a rejection of the legalistic dogma of the independent Baptist fellowship. I started listening to Stuart Briscoe on the radio and prayed to God that I would be able to expound Scripture as he was doing. I was exposed to historical, grammatical, isogogical exegesis at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary while I was attending there and began to approach Scripture in that way.

I can’t remember exactly when, but I was teaching an adult Sunday School class through the Book of Acts when I came to the passage that says that those who were ordained to eternal life believed. I was to teach on that passage the next week so I decided I had best find out something about predestination. My Bible College had “outlawed” any discussion about predestination or Calvinism because it was too controversial (can you believe it?) – I went to a local Christian book store, and God providentially led me to a Reformed clerk who recommended to me for study Loraine Boettner’s work, “The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination,” and a book called “The Five Points of Calvinism” by Edwin Palmer. That week I became a full, five point Calvinist and began my walk away from the Baptist church into the Bible Church movement.

I joined with a Bible College friend of mine who started listening to John McArther about the same time I started listening to Stuart Briscoe and began co-pastoring a Bible church in Saginaw, Texas. Gary  through this time completed a degree at Dallas Theological Seminary, and we preached and taught the Scriptures expositionally for several years. However, we were discontent with our worship and didn’t know why.

One thing you might not know about me is that I am a Police Officer for the City of Fort Worth. I have been since 1982. In 1986 I was involved in a gunfight where I had to kill a young man. I won’t go into it much, just let me say that as a result of that shooting and the years prior to it, witnessing much violence in many forms, I experienced what I would now call clinical depression. The Department psychologist, an ex-spook psyche (CIA), was a strict behavioral theorist and a non-believer. He was no help. The Departmental Chaplain wasn’t much help either. I struggled with this depression and PTSD for about a year until God led me one night to Deut. 32:39. When God opened my eyes to that passage, He lifted the responsibility for that man’s death off my shoulders and I, for the first time, understood Calvinism experimentally. What a profound difference that made in my life! Our Lord is full of grace!!

At that time, my wife and I felt God’s call to missionary work very strongly.  We thought that such work could only be done through foreign missions, so we applied to, and were accepted by, Global Outreach Missions in Buffalo, NY, to go to Spain. Since GOM is a faith ministry, we began the task of deputation, raising money to go to Spain. Everywhere we went, people were receptive, but God didn’t let the funds develop. While we were with Global, we were exposed to the larger Church. What a mind opening experience that was!

Global was great! I highly recommend them as a missionary agency. We met people there from many denominations who are truly doing God’s work. It was through such exposure that I began to want to know what Covenantal Theology was all about. In Bible College and Seminary I had been only taught Dispensational Theology, and had even written a book about it. I had also been taught that anyone who believed in Covenantal Theology was a liberal and did not interpret Scripture literally. How ignorant I was!!!

One thing I had learned over the years was that if you want to know what a particular group believes, go to those who believe it to get a proper understanding. In other words, if you want to know Roman Catholic doctrine, don’t depend on a Baptist author to present an accurate picture of it, but go to a Roman Catholic author. So, I decided I would find someone in my area who believed in Covenant Theology and ask them to recommend readings. The Lord led me to Dale Smith, pastor of Colleyville Presbyterian Church. We hit it off immediately personally. His first recommendation was to read Ray Sutton’s book, “That You May Prosper.” Beginning there, and reading theology with Dale for the next year, praying together with much study, I embraced covenantal and Reformed theology and transferred my ordination to the PCA where I became a teaching elder functioning at Colleyville Church as a ruling elder.

I enjoyed the PCA and worshipped and ministered at Colleyville for several years, finally finding satisfaction in worship. Colleyville Church is liturgical in its worship. It was while there that I met such men as Gary North, James Jordan, and others from what is popularly called the Reconstructionist Movement. I devoured their literature, and finally, after several years, understood and believed in Post-millennialism and Theonomics.

I moved to Lynchburg, VA, for three years to attend Liberty University and complete a MA in Counseling. While there I looked for a Reformed Church where my family could worship. We tried the OPC church there and it was doctrinally sound, but was not suitable for us. We went to the local PCUSA church and it was a blessing. They were conservative, reformed, and Covenantal, but had women elders. Plus, as you know, they had been declared anathema by the PCA. The best fit we could find in that area was a REC Mission Parish. We were uncomfortable for a while with the Book of Common Prayer and the other “foreign” things in the worship, like robes and the common cup. But after about two months, we began to grow to love the liturgy. We found there everything we had been searching for: sound Reformed and covenantal doctrine, expositional preaching, liturgical worship, and a Biblical ecclesiology. We had finally come home.

Over about twenty-four years, God has led us step-by-step from legalistic Baptists to liturgical Episcopalians. We now are missionaries in Texas, where we grew up. Providence Church is a Mission Parish which we started on Easter Sunday, 1994. And God is blessing.

This might be more than you wanted to know, but I have been blessed just remembering it all. Thank you.

NOTE: I retired from the pastorate at Providence Reformed Episcopal Church, Weatherford, Texas, after 20 years of service, Easter Sunday, 2014.

Dating and Sexual Immorality

There are several Scriptural references which directly address sexual intimacy in dating. One of these would be Exodus 20:14, “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Deut. 5:18; Luke 18:20; James 2:11), and its corollary, Matthew 5:27-28:

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say to you
That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

A second Scriptural reference addressing sexual intimacy in dating is Ex. 22:16-17:

“And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surety endow her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.”

We can see from this Old Testament case law that sexual intimacy before marriage is illegal in God’s economy. Although the penalty for this violation is not death, as in the case of adultery, it is a crime that exacts a monetary penalty. The difference in the penalty is because the seduction of a virgin does not involve the breaking of a vow (North, 1990). Fornication by unmarried partners was a crime in the Old Testament. In the New Testament era, seduction remains an attack on the authority structure of the girl’s family (North, 1990).

A third Scriptural principle involving sexual intimacy in dating would be the general prohibition against any type of sexual impurity such as sodomy (homosexual activity – Lev. 18:22), prostitution (Lev. 19:29), bestiality (Ex. 22:19), incest (Lev. 20:11), and fornication (I Cor. 6:9-20; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3) (North, 1983).

Finally, in Heb. 13:4, God says that sexual intimacy is to be reserved for the marriage bed:

“Marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled; but whoremongers [fornicators] and adulterers God will judge.”

It is left now for us to define sexual intimacy. Acts 15:29 says that as Christians we must restrain from sexual immorality. The Greek word used is porneia, which has been variously interpreted to mean anything from strictly sexual intercourse (Vine’s Expository Dictionary) to uncleanness as it is used by Moses in Deut. 24:1 (Sutton, 1988). I believe it to mean any kind of moral impurity including sexual impurity. If this is so, then any activity that would result in sexual impurity is prohibited before marriage. This would include fornication, adultery, incest, sodomy, and bestiality.

Friendship	Dating	Going Steady	Engaged	Married
L & T	L,T, & h	L,T, h, & H	L,T, h, H & k	L,T, h, H, k, K, fk, B, SO, & SI
KEY L – look T – touch h – holding hands lightly H – constant holding hands k – light kiss K – strong kiss fk – french kiss B – fondling breasts SO – sexual organs SI – sexual intercourse

Sexual Intimacy Before Marriage

“That which has its natural end in sexual intercourse should be held to your wedding night….” (Wright, 1977:197)

This chart of sexual intimacy permitted before and after marriage reflects my understanding of the Greek word porneia. When comparing Matthew 5:31-32 with Deuteronomy 24:1, Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees were distorting what Moses had taught. They had twisted Deuteronomy 24:1 so that all a man had to do in order to be rid of his wife was to write out a certificate of divorce. They had left out the requirement of finding the “unclean thing” in her, a specific offense (Sutton, 1988). Jesus supported Moses when He said that divorce requires porneia, “fornication.” Moses’ use of “uncleanness” and Jesus’ use of “fornication” was the same. Both these words generally refer to the same thing.

The original words for “indecent thing” (uncleanness) and “fornication” are coextensive in their meanings in the Hebrew Old Testament, the LXX, and the Greek New Testament (Bahnsen, 1984).  According to Dr. Greg Bahnsen, they both speak of “generic, ethically abhorrent misbehavior with the focus on sexual immorality” (Bahnsen, 1984:106).  In Exodus 22:27 and Isaiah 20:2, the “unclean thing” refers to nakedness, and in Exodus 20:26, 1 Corinthians 12:23, and Revelation 16:15 to the genital organ. In a broad sense, sexual immorality includes incest (Lev. 18:6; Acts 15:29; 1 Cor. 5:1), whoredom (Ez. 23:18; Gen. 38:24; 1 Cor. 6:15-16; 7:2), and homosexuality (Gen. 9:22; Ez. 22:10; Rom. 1:27; Jude 7).

The Greek word for fornication, porneia, is also used in a general sense for morally shameful behavior. In the LXX it is used for Numbers 14:33, Jeremiah 2:20; 3:9, and Hosea 5:4; 9:1 describing murmuring, arrogance, no fear of God, and idolatry. It is also used to denote witchcraft in 2 Kings 9:22 (Bahnsen, 1984). The Biblical concepts of “uncleanness” and “fornication” are virtually identical in Biblical writings. So, any sexual activity, and not just sexual intercourse, that is morally shameful, arrogant, selfish, or idolatrous would fall into the same category as adultery, fornication, bestiality, and homosexuality as being contrary to the will of God.

The unsaved world views these things to be deeply sexual (even touching of the female breasts). Christians, with their Biblical ethics and laws, should set the standard of sexual behavior in the world. Christians, when they are dating, should witness to these standards even as they witness of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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REFERENCES

Bahnsen, Greg L.
1984 Theonomy and Christian Ethics. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed.
North, Gary
1983 Unconditional Surrender: God’s Program for Victory. Tyler, Texas: Geneva Divinity School Press.

1990 Tools of Dominion. Tyler, Texas: Institute for Christian Economics.
Sutton, Ray
1988 Second Chance. Fort Worth, Texas: Dominion Press.
Wright, H. Norman
1977 Premarital Counseling. Chicago: Moody.

A Brief Argument for Baptism by Pouring

The Greek word that must be dealt with in the New Testament and in the LXX is baptizw (baptize). Many have said in the past that this word, by its very nature, means to immerse. This is simply not so. The root to this word, bapto, means to dip. The context must determine whether this is dipped under or into (immerse or pour). So, we must see how Scripture uses this very important word.

The most telling Biblical argument for pouring is that the only actual description of a baptism found in the New Testament describes it as a pouring. This baptism is prophesied by John the Baptizer in Matthew 3.11,

• I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and [with] fire:

We also read of this coming baptism in Acts 1.4-5,

• And, being assembled together with [them], commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, [saith he], ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

When dealing with the new Gentile converts, Peter refers to this baptism in Acts 11.16,

• Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

This prophecy of Christ baptizing His Church with the Holy Spirit is fulfilled in Acts 2 and 10. In each case we are told that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the people.

• And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? . . . And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: . . . Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth [poured out – ed.] this, which ye now see and hear.
  Acts 2.7,17-18, & 33
• While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
  Acts 10.45

It is possible that Paul is alluding to this baptism in Titus 3.5-6 where he says,

• Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us [poured out upon us – ed.] abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Another argument for Biblical baptism as pouring or sprinkling rather than immersion is the use of the Greek words formed from the root baptw in the LXX to refer to the ceremonial pouring and sprinklings of the Old Testament. Even in the New Testament the English translators render the words formed from the root baptw as wash rather than immerse, and the Old Testament ceremonial washings done by sprinkling or pouring are referred to as baptisms.

In Mark 7.4 baptiswntai is translated wash,

• And [when they come] from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, [as] the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

These tables certainly were not immersed, but were just as certainly baptized – that is, washed.

One of the most telling uses of baptize (baptismois) rendered as washing is Hebrews 9.10 where the baptisms mentioned refer to the ceremonial washings found in Exodus and Leviticus, which were sprinklings or pourings. These washings in Exodus and Leviticus are translated from the Hebrew into the Greek LXX as baptisms.

• [Which stood] only in meats and drinks, and divers washings [baptisms], and carnal ordinances, imposed [on them] until the time of reformation. . . . For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
  Hebrews 9.10, 13-14
• And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash [baptize – ed.] them with water. . . . Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put [it] upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And thou shalt take of the blood that [is] upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle [it] upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.
  Exodus 29.4, 20-21
• And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. . . . And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:
  Leviticus 7, 51

For a more detailed and certainly more scholarly article on this subject,
see RL Dabney’s writings taken from his Systematic Theology.

The Sign of the Cross

You might have noticed some Christians praying in Church using the sign of the cross. Whether you choose to use this prayer help or not, it is good for you to understand the use of this sign as well as its history. After reading this brief article, you too might desire to use the sign of the cross as a prayer help. If not, at least you will have a better understanding why some of us do. It needs to be said that many devout Christians choose not to make the sign of the cross in prayer.

According to an article published on the web site of the Sacred Heart Church¹ in Seattle, WA, whenever we use the sign of the cross we are reminded of the sufferings and death of our Savior, and thereby we are filled with fervent love, profound gratitude, and earnest contrition.

“The sign of the cross is the symbol of our deliverance and the emblem of the mercy of God giving redemption to sinful man.”

“The form of words which we use in making this sign, together with the action performed, manifests our belief in the principal truths of our religion. We say: ‘In the name’ – not ‘names’ – and thereby express our faith in the unity of God. We mention the three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and thus show our belief in the Adorable Trinity. The cross itself, made with the hand, manifests our faith in the incarnation, death and resurrection of our Blessed Savior, and shows that we regard Him not only as God but as man – for that He might be able to die on the cross it was necessary that He should possess a human nature. Thus we have in this brief formula a summary of the most important articles of our faith.”

“The making of the sign of the cross is a very ancient practice. It probably goes back to Apostolic times, and was in common use in the second century. Among the early Christians it was usually made very small, by a slight movement of the finger or thumb, on the forehead or breast. … The triple sign of the cross was employed very commonly in the early centuries of the Church and in the Middle Ages. … It is made by marking the forehead, the lips and the breast with a small cross, using the thumb, and is intended to remind us that our intellect must be attentive to the Word of God, our lips ready to announce His truths, and our hearts filled with love toward Him.”

“The ordinary method of making the sign of the cross is … the putting of the right hand to the forehead, to the breast and to the left and the right shoulder, with the words: ‘In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.’ “

This holy symbol of our salvation, then, can in good conscience be frequently used by us and is used in several worship services, such as at Baptism, the Anointing of the Sick, and sometimes at the Benediction. In making the sign of the cross, we become partakers in the wonderful history of our faith, and companions of the glorious saints of the Church.

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^1.  http://landru.i-link-2.net/shnyves

Victory

A crown of thorns we placed upon His head.
They pricked Him, cut His skin. He bled.
We beat Him, tormented Him, spit on Him, reviled Him.
We rejected him, cursed Him, accused Him, whipped Him.
Yet He did not condemn us. And He said,
“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

He carried His cross, a burden, up the hill.
We hung Him. His feet and hands we nailed.
We laughed at Him, chanted at Him, stripped Him, pierced Him.
We rejected Him, tormented Him, hurt Him, murdered Him.
Yet He still loves us. And He said,
“It is finished.” He bowed His head.

We broke the legs of the thieves on each side,
But we didn’t break Jesus, we pierced His side.
His blood with water was spilled on the ground,
And He died the king, with a thorny crown.

Joseph took Jesus from the cross;
Nicodemus covered Him with spices and cloth.
We carried Him to His grave in the garden;
There we laid Him so dead and lost.

Three days later God raised Jesus.
And because He lives, through Christ, God saves us.
And with great joy I wish to proclaim
That Jesus Christ is risen and reigns!

Oh! How I love God! Glory be to God!
Blessed be the Lord God! All praise to God!

The Doctrines of Grace

by Robert Himes+ © 1990

(as published in America at the Millennium: the Best Poems and Poets of the 20th Century ISBN 1-58235-510-X)

Promiscuous immorality;
Vile, bestial depravity;
Continuous, malevolent, obscene wickedness –
Man is an animal. Man is immoral. Only evil emerges.
Man is full of sin.

Abounding mercy;
Compassionate, forgiving grace;
Unconditional, loving, divine election –
He is God. God is merciful. He loves and saves sinful men.
He is full of grace.

Total submission;
Painful, horrible crucifixion;
Substitutionary, impeccable, blood atonement –
He is the Lord. Jesus died for His sheep. Crucified on Calvery,
He died in our place.

Irresistible grace;
Powerful, drawing personality;
Revealing, comforting, nourishing breath –
He is the Spirit. Spirit draws men to God. He cannot be resisted.
He reveals the Son.

Priestly kingdom;
Chosen, trusting people;
Persevering, submissive, worshipping Israel –
We are the elect. We believe and trust. His love and grace overflows.
We will persevere.

The Mark of Maturity

Probably at some time in your life you have known someone who was a living example of Christian maturity.  God worked mightily in them and through them.  Perhaps you know someone like that right now.  What makes them different?  What makes them a mature Christian?

In Hebrews 5:14 God reveals to us one of the marks of a mature Christian, which is the ability to discern both good and evil.  In Genesis 2:9b, 3:5, and 3:22, the word “knowledge” comes from the same Hebrew root, yada.

“The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the  tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”  Gen. 2:9

“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  Gen. 3:5

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.”  Gen. 3:22

In these verses, the word “knowledge” would more accurately be understood as “determine.” Thus, the sin of man, from the time of the garden, and ever since, has been the act of determining for ourselves what is good and evil. Man desires to establish his own laws and not obey the laws of God.

When Adam took of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he was, as Calvin wrote, “trusting to his own understanding” and establishing himself as “an arbiter and judge of good and evil.”1

Sutton agreed with Calvin when he wrote,

“[Satan] offered Adam divine authority.  He told man that he would                become like God, ‘knowing (determining) good and evil’ (Gen. 3:3), if            he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. . . . But the way            to manifest God was not by ‘knowing’ (determining) good and evil;                rather, it was by ruling as a delegated authority.”2

Adam’s sin was not simply in coming to know the difference between good and evil, but in determining for himself what was good and evil. Adam’s sin, and even Satan’s rebellion, stemmed from a desire to decide for himself what is good and evil.

Christian maturity is just the opposite.  Mature Christians are spoken of in 1 Corinthians 3 where Paul reveals that Christians can experience different levels of spirituality and carnality.  In Hebrews 5:14, the instruction from God is that a mature Christian is one who can discern God’s Law and apply it to everyday situations.  The difference is between determining and discerning. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Heb. 5:14).

To “discern” both good and evil is to distinguish between what God considers good and evil. W.E. Vine defines “discern” as, “a distinguishing, a clear discrimination. . . . In Heb. 5:14 . . . of those who are capable of discriminating between good and evil.”3  Robertson adds, “To discern . . . ‘For deciding between’ . . . (between good and evil).”4

So, we must conclude that, if we aspire to maturity, we must study God’s Law and learn to apply it to our lives.  For me, this means I must not only know and understand the Ten Commandments, but also the case law of the Old Testament – Exodus 21-23 where the Ten Commandments are applied to specific cases5 – as well as the Sermon on the Mount and the instructions of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Maturity demands diligent study of the Word of God and discerning application of the Law of God.

Think about it!

NOTES

1. Calvin’s Commentaries – Vol. 1, John Calvin, translated by the Rev. John King, M.A., Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1979, p. 118.

2.  That You May Prosper, Ray Sutton, Institute for Christian Economics, Tyler, Texas, 1987, p. 44.

3.  Vine’s Expository Dictionary, W.E. Vine, ed. by F.F. Bruce, Fleming Revel Co,, Old Tappan, NJ, 1981, p. 315.

4.  Word Pictures in the Old Testament – Vol. 5, Archibald Thomas Robertson, Broadman Press, Nashville, 1932, p. 372.

5.  Tools of Dominion, Dr. Gary North, Institute for Christian Economics,    Tyler, Texas, 1987.

Is Christianity Intolerant?

Is Christianity intolerant?

A friend of mine some time back told me that he could never be a Christian because Christianity was intolerant. I think that what many people call intolerance in Christianity is actually exclusivity. Christianity is exclusive, not inclusive. Our Lord said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but through me.” That is totally exclusive. Only those men, women, and children whose faith is in Jesus Christ are true Christians and are recipients of what Jesus Christ accomplished by His death on the cross and resurrection (i.e.; justification, adoption into God’s family, sins forgiven, Christ’s righteousness imputed, atonement, eternal life with Christ, etc.) All others, whose faith is not in Jesus, are damned to an eternity of torment and darkness. This is the exclusivity of Christianity.

What God teaches in His Holy Word is an exclusive faith: justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, the Bible alone is our primary source for all of faith and practice, and all of our lives should be lived for God’ s glory alone. If anyone does not believe this, then they are not a Christian.

This being said, throughout all of the Bible – all 66 books written over 4000-5000 years of human history – reveals to us God’s marvelous tolerance towards all men. He is long suffering, through millennia, not willing that any of His children should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Christians are taught that we should love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. And we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We are to peacefully and lovingly coexist, as much as lies within us, with all others. Does this sound like intolerance? We are at peace with God and strive for peace in this world.

Is there intolerance in the Church of Jesus Christ?

Obviously there has been, and still is, intolerance in the Church. There are three reasons for that: there are congregations of people calling themselves Christian but are not; there are people in the Church who are not, and never have been true Christians; and there are true Christians who, out of pride, think, say, and do intolerant things.

Without getting into too much theology and ecclesiology, there are some congregations who call themselves Christians but are far from believing in justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, the Bible alone is our primary source for all of life and practice, and all of our lives should be lived for God’s glory alone. We recognize these non-Christian churches as Christian Cults. They violate God’s moral law (the Ten Commandments) and His commandments to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This is a systemic violation of God’s law found in the official teachings of the congregation.

Within true Christian Churches, those who believe, teach, and preach God’s Word, and administer the Holy Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, there are a mixture of wheat and weeds. The weeds are those who have said all the right things and jumped through all the right hoops to be members of the Church, but whose faith is not in Jesus Christ. Non-believers in the Church, by nature, are filled with pride and hate towards others who do not agree with them or are somehow noticeably different from them. As a result, they do not speak or act lovingly towards them.

The wheat in the Church are those who are true believers, but who struggle daily with pride and arrogance (which in all honesty is most of us), and thus occasionally speak and act intolerant. We are called to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves all the time, but we occasionally fall into the sin of intolerance. This is one of the reasons we meet together every week in Christian worship where we are disciplined by God through the preaching of His Word and receiving Holy Communion. We repent of our sins, hear God’s words of absolution, receive encouragement and correction through the preached word, and receive spiritual strength at His Table. We are then sent out into the world to sin no more.

Sometimes it is hard to see the difference between the weeds and the wheat.

Beginning Aikido Students

Some things to understand and internalize in your beginning Aikido career are: maintaining your balance, proper distance and timing, the most economical way of walking, the need to get off the line of force, do not confront force with force, and utilizing your opponents off-balance points.

Maintaining your balance requires good posture. Your feet should be about a shoulder width apart, most of your weight on the balls of your feet, knees slightly bent, and your shoulders over hips. Even with good posture and a balanced stance, if you are stationary, there are eight major points of off-balance. The off-balance points are North, South, East, West, North-East, South-West, North-West, and South-East. So, we learn the importance of movement in maintaining balance.

Proper distance and timing in Aikido, maai in Japanese, refers to the minimum distance and time you should allow your opponent before you respond. Maai is more than this, but is at least this. For most times, maai will be about six feet away, just out of reach where your opponent cannot hit or kick you without moving one step closer. Learning to judge where and when you must move in response to an attack is a necessary part of Aikido.

In Aikido, we walk differently than most people have learned to walk. Most of us learned to walk pushing off with our back foot, stretching out our front foot, and striking the ground with the heel of the front foot. This produces an up-down body motion and wastes a fraction of a second as we shift our weight to the back foot in preparation for the step. In Aikido, we use less energy and time when we step. If we make a left step, we begin by lifting our left knee until our weight drops to the left side, step with the left foot striking the ground first with the ball of the foot, then move the right foot up to balance. This produces a down-up body motion.

Common to a lot of martial arts and self-defense courses, Aikido requires movement off the line of force. The line of force is the direction your opponent is moving toward you. For instance, if a punch is coming directly at your face, the movement of force is from North to South. A simple step on your part to the North-West, West, South-West, North-East, East, or South-East, will take you off the line of force. One of the first things you will learn is the Walking Kata. The Walking Kata teaches all the basic movements of Aikido. Practically every movement in the Walking Kata takes you off the line of force.

Unlike most other martial arts, such as Karate, Tai Kwon Do, Kick Boxing, and Boxing, in Aikido, we do not meet force with force. If someone tries to hit or kick, we will not meet that force with a block or strike. Instead, we blend our movement with the attacker’s movement and vector the energy in a direction we want it to go. Whether we enter quickly or float with our opponent, our objective is to blend with their energy and create off-balance. Some Aikidoka use strikes in their techniques, but these strikes are not to knock down the opponent, but simply to distract and off-balance.

Understanding and paying attention to your opponent’s off-balance points is critical to Aikido. When your opponent gives you his energy to use, vector that energy to one of his off-balance points and he falls down. If he does not fall down, then his recovery takes him to another, more dangerous, off-balance point. Keep sending his energy, and your own, to these off-balance points, and he eventually will fall.

Do You Want to Survive?

I’ve been thinking a bit this last week about something Sensie Russell Wadell said at the Aikido clinic in Grapevine, TX. He asked something like this, “How far are you willing to go to stop someone from hurting you or a loved one?” My friends, this is a critical question that must be thought through if you are to survive a real threat. Please let me turn this question in a slightly different direction and ask you, “Do you want to survive?” The all-out commitment to survive is the most important element to that survival. This commitment includes a positive mental attitude, planning and preparation, regular and consistent training, and, when the shit hits the fan, a will to live.

Positive Mental Attitude
By positive mental attitude, I am referring to a high confidence level in your ability to do what needs to be done to survive an assault. Are you in good physical condition? Are you psychologically and spiritually prepared for confrontation? Do you have the skills and tools you need to survive?

You should exercise regularly and eat healthily. Think through the psychological and spiritual ramifications of injuring or killing another person. And make a self-conscious decision to make the effort and spend the money to acquire the needed skills and tools for self-defense.

A few years ago I met and amazing warrior, Lt Col Dave Grossman. I was fortunate enough to sit in on two presentations he made at my place of employment. I highly recommend two of his books, On Combat, The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace and On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society .

Planning and Preparation
Planning and preparation requires you to spend a bit of time meditating on “what ifs”. Play some scenarios by your mind’s eye. You are home alone and someone breaks into your house. Can you get to your handgun (or knife, sword, stick, etc.) easily and quickly? What will you use to protect yourself? How far will you go? Are you willing to use deadly force to stop the intruder? What would be a good plan? At what strategic locations should you place your weapons?

Creating and thinking through scenarios in this way, planning and preparing an appropriate response, greatly increases your ability to survive an attack. Make a plan, and work the plan. If you have no plan, you run the chance of freezing up, wasting valuable seconds deciding what to do. If your plan is in place and the moral questions about using deadly force are already contemplated, then your response can be swift and effective.

Regular and Consistent Training
Regular and consistent training, no matter what martial art you choose, including the use of firearms, is vitally important. Under the extreme stress of an attack, you will react according to the way you have trained. If you do not train at all, or rarely train, your conscious mind will switch off, and for a few vital seconds your response will be to do nothing. Obviously, it’s better to do something in those seconds than to do nothing. And even better is to do something effective to your defense, placing you in a safer and more defensible position. Some martial arts are better than others. Any martial art is better than none.

Will to Live
Finally, the will to live (the most difficult of these four points to articulate) — if attacked and injured, do you have the will to live? This can also be thought of in terms of the will to complete the mission at any cost. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to protect you or another from serious bodily injury or death. Do you have the will to carry this mission through? I believe that some people who have been shot and died did so because they gave up the fight. You are conditioned by television shows and movies, showing unrealistic responses to pepper spray, tasers, knives, and guns, that you expect, if tased to be knocked out, if cut or shot to die, so that you give up if injured. Self-consciously and deliberately determine right now, that if injured, you will continue the mission to the end.