The Horror of Judgement or What Can Horror Movies Teach Us about Salvation?

Growing up I enjoyed watching horror movies. By horror movies I mean B flicks that are tame compared to the slice and dice slasher movies of today. I'm talking about Dracula, Frankenstein and other movies that shared a common theme. The theme was beating death by either creating a monster through man's arrogance that he can be like God or that one is immortal because of some misfortune as a bite on a neck or the commingling of human blood with wolf''s blood. After all, bats and dogs do remind us of our animal nature. Zombie movies do carry this theme though. A terrible virus has been released and humans have come into contact with them and they become walking dead. The regret of these catastrophes is followed by our heroes trying to kill these wayward monsters for they are dangerous.

Horror movies speak to an innate understanding of ourselves. It's just not that difficult to imagine the walking dead, soulless bodies that can do no good! After all, such is the human condition. We desire immortality because death is not desirable and yet death is already our condition as we carry the virus of sin. At least this is the biblical view of man! When Adam and Eve ate that forbidden fruit, they died spiritually. We became dead in our sins. We became the walking dead. So the only help for us is a Dr. Frankenstein like regeneration of our heart. But yet we are still monsters, only living out our desires of the flesh! The regeneration we need has to come from above as only God is perfect. Until then we go through life lying cheating and stealing all because we do not have a perfect life-giving spirit in us to move us to unselfish goodness.

Many of us can quote John 3:16 by heart. But can we quote the verses that follow? Read then carefully: 16"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

We come into this world 'condemned already'. And our judgement is that people rather live in darkness. This may seem cynical but why do people lie, bear false witness, hurt others with words as well as their fists. Bullying has seen an increase leading some to take their life. Choosing life does not seem an option for many! Rape and murder still continue to this day. Even in the church slander and gossip is not rebuked. People of all stripes seek their own glory rather than the glory of God. Power is sought and abused! WE ARE MONSTERS. Yet Jesus chooses some, the elect, for salvation. This was foreordained. Judgement is not in the future. It is now. The question is who fulfills our death sentence? And the answer is Jesus! For those who understand our sinful nature and put their faith in Jesus, their death sentence has been lifted and they are brought to new life, hence, born again. Our zombie nature is destroyed. We are no longer sucking the life out of others as we have new life dwelling within us!

The real B rated horror movie is our lives. We are condemned to death. We fear this reality but do not trust the Cross of Christ enough to see the end of the flick is one of salvation. Ask yourself this question, what were those witnesses of the crucifixion really thinking when they saw the righteous walking out of the tombs that first Good Friday? "And behold,the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many." (Mt. 27:51-53) For those dead in their sins, it had to be a horrorific sight!

An Open Letter to the Laity for Clergy Appreciation Month

To my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the Laity~

Grace and peace to you in the Name of our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

I write this as it is Clergy Appreciation Month and I am a presbyter in an historic faith, Anglicanism. I have served parishes for over twenty years. Prior to that I sat in the pew for thirty years just like you! So I know what it is like to be both a layperson and a priest. I also know what it is like to be a false convert and a true convert. So this epistle is to you who sit in the pew every Sunday.

As a pastor I ask that you remember a few things about your role in the church as well as the role of your clergyperson.

1. Your pastor is not the only minister. We are all ministers. Each and everyone of you has been given peculiar gifts to serve Christ. So do not expect your pastor to do all the work necessary for your parishes' mission. This is not a new concept. St. Paul addressed it in his First Letter to the Corinthians. By the way, nothing I say here is going to be new!

2. Your pastor is a human being. To put it in theological terms, He or she is a wretched sinner. It is the blood of Christ that washes our sins away, not the office we hold in church. And by the way, you are a wretched sinner as well. No matter how many coffee hours you have hosted, committees served, flowers bought, there is only on thing that can get you into heaven, and that is the cross of Christ.

3. The Cross of Christ is not made of gold, silver, brass or poly-resin. It is wood drenched in blood. Jesus bore the punishment we deserve. See #2 above.

4. Preachers are called to preach the cross of Christ. A good sermon is defined by the heart of the hearer being convicted of sin and receiving the gift of repentance from the Lord. A changed heart is a changed person. This is a lifelong process. So in the meantime, do not judge the sermon by the number of laughs the preacher gets. Nor judge the sermon by it's length. If you are looking at your watch because you have someplace to be, then ask yourself, "What priority do you give God in your life?" In the Church, and everywhere else in life, the most important person to bow down to is Jesus, Lord and Savior!

5. The words "pastor" and "pastoral" do not refer to being nice. Nor do they refer to social work or therapy. A pastor pastors a flock. The image is a shepherd leading his sheep to green pastures and still waters. In my tradition we have bishops. In a liturgical procession, they carry a crosier, a bishop's staff. This represents the staff shepherds carry to prod the sheep along or pull them in a direction necessary for their growth and safety. See Psalm 23. And if your asking what is the rod that is mentioned in the psalm, it is the club to keep wolves at bay. Pastoring involves pulling and prodding the flock towards the Word of God. This means that there will be times a very good sermon or bible study will make you feel uncomfortable. All because we are being coaxed to greener pastures for the sake of our salvation. And by the way, the true shepherd of the flock is Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

6. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Hence, He is shepherding us in our lives. He is not sitting on the couch oblivious to our needs. God has a will for each and everyone of us and He will move us in the direction we need to go in order that we may conform to His image he has for us. Very seldom do we complain when we are happy. But we tend to complain a lot when we are unhappy. Our unhappiness maybe related to our own willfulness, self-centeredness. If we are truly bound to Christ we will go where He takes us. If we lose a job, maybe that was part of God's plan. Not because He is mean, but it is a part of our growth process. In other words, "...in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30) We as pastors are called by the grace of God to help you see God working in your life, shepherding you to the Good Shepherd.

7. Being in church does not make you anymore a Christian than being in a garage makes you a car. When we die we will face the judgment of our life. The judge will not ask you what your pastor did. He will tell you what you did and His word will be final. So do not blame your pastor for things you should be taking responsibility for anyway. Blaming entered our world the moment Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. And look what happened to them. Take responsibility for your negative emotions. See #2 and #6 above. If someone leaves the congregation because of something they did not like, do not blame the pastor unless the pastor is a false teacher.

8. Read the Scriptures. Attend Bible Study. Listen faithfully to the Word preached. Take responsibility for your daily diet of the Word. In this way you will know the Word of Truth. And this makes it easier to understand when the leader of the congregation must exhort and rebuke the congregation in matters of the faith. (2 Tim. 3:16) The Word of God is our final authority. Also you will be able to recognize the wolf in sheep's' clothing. (Mt. 7:15)

9. Understand that when you read the Word of God, that God gives us commands not suggestions. He never said, "When you feel like it, love your neighbor." Nor did Jesus say from the cross, "Father forgive them but only after I get my way with them." Love is a command. Forgiveness means I have to accept the hurt I feel not seeking revenge. The biblical phrase from the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us, and lead us not into temptation" (Luke 11:4ESV) means that we recognize our own forgiveness through that bloody cross and that we will not make people owe us anything when we are offended. We still hurt, but we will not hurt others "to get even". The temptation that we pray to be protected from comes immediately after this petition as Satan will tempt us to get even. If you fantasize about revenge, that is Satan tempting you. Take responsibility for your thoughts and rebuke Satan in the Name of Jesus! Remember, Jesus is our Lord, not our feelings. Going back to Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, people who live out their feelings were called carnal. Those who live in obedience to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, were called spiritual. There are works of the flesh and there are fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25) You will notice the works of the flesh involve a lot of feelings. The Spirit produces fruits of attitude. Remember, the Holy Spirit produces these in us, we cannot manufacture them. So when I am convicted of my sin and sins, I must throw myself upon the mercy of Jesus Christ, my redeemer. And this goes for everyone in the church.

10. And finally, do not ask your pastor to be something he or she is not. This is idolatry. They are not your parent, therapist, buddy. We cannot be like the last pastor who proceeded us. We are all unique. Remember all the people called by God in ages past who were used to fulfill God's plan of salvation. Noah was a drunk. Moses was a murderer and inarticulate. King David was a murderer and adulterer. Jonah was obstinate. Peter was a liar and a poor fisherman. In spite of his education, Paul was complicit in the murder of many a new Christian, and by his own admission wasn't his own choice to be an apostle. But the majority of the New Testament was written by his own pen. By no means do I believe we can excuse murder and adultery as the Ten Commandments are quite clear about that. And we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and lead us to repentance. But we are not perfect and God does not call perfect people to the ministry. He calls whom He wills! And you are not perfect. But just the same, you are called to join with your pastor to fulfill the Great Commission, making disciple of all peoples. This can best be done by being a disciple, sitting at the feet of Jesus, and setting an example to be followed by others!

So this month, pray for your clergy that they be the person God needs them to be, not the person you want them to be. And remember, they have a holy charge to watch over your souls! (Hebrews 13:7-10, 17)

God bless you,

Your Brother in Christ, a sinner in need of a Redeemer!

Allen. T. Peyton, III+

Who is at the Center of our Baptism?

Since I believe there are no accidents in the Kingdom of God, I do not take for granted the various coincidences that I often see in the world about me. So when two reflections come across my Twitter timeline on the same subject, I cannot help but to think that this was meant to be. So here are the links to the different reflections. One is by a teacher who is doing a good work that is necessary and the other by the respected Anglican theologian, J. I. Packer. I do not expect every lay person to know theology but I do expect every lay person to know why we baptize and Who is behind this sacrament. After all, it is in the catechism. Our journey in Jesus Christ is one that moves from head to heart, from the self as center to Jesus as our ultimate center. The sacraments of the Church are more about God and His mercy towards us than they are about us and what we do. After all, without faith we cannot please God and faith is a gift from God to us. (Hebrews 11:6, I Cor. 12:9, 11)

For J. I. Packer's reflection go here http://www.standfirminfaith.com/?/sf/page/26691

For Michael Drawbough's reflection go here http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_125046_ENG_HTM.htm

DEARLY beloved, forasmuch as all men are conceived and born in sin: and that our Saviour Christ saith, None can enter into the kingdom of God, except he be regenerate and born anew of Water and of the Holy Ghost: I beseech you to call upon God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that of his bounteous mercy HE will grant to this Child that thing which by nature he cannot have; that he may be baptized with Water and the Holy Ghost, and received into Christ's holy Church, and be made a lively member of the same. BCP 1662

Dear Pastors, Quit Feeding the Goats!

The parable of the sheep and goats (MT. 25:31-48) is not only a warning on serving Christ in the most humble, it is a lesson on where our focus should be in our parish ministry!

We know how the parable begins. "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "

Most of us know how this parable ends. The sheep served the least of Jesus' brothers and sisters and did not know it but were rewarded with the promised Kingdom. The goats did not serve the least and claimed ignorance. They were were cast into the fires of hell. Too often I have heard sermons on the social aspects of this parable. But this is a parable of separation and judgement. The goats are mixed in with the sheep and there is no help for them. This is a parable of judgement. It follows two other parables on judgement.

Goats and sheep are not the same. Goats eat anything. Sheep graze on grass and clover. Goats are independent whereas sheep depend on shepherds. To put this in terms of the parable, sheep are very dependant on the Good Shepherd, goats go their own way. To bring it to the present, goats and sheep are co-mingled. The sheep in our congregations need and want a daily diet of the Word whereas the goats will eat anything including false doctrines. And Jesus knows His sheep. He also knows the goats destined for eternal damnation. But how often do we pastors try to feed both sheep and goats?

Jesus said to Peter, "Feed my sheep!" He did not say "Feed my goats." Our apostolic authority rests in feeding the elect the Word of God. Goats, the reprobate, could care less! Yet, our parishes are filled with goats desiring to have their way, not God's way! Jesus often prefaced a parable with, "The Kingdom of God is..." Not once did He say, "The Democracy of God is..." Christ the King has decided who His sheep are. They will respond to godly preaching. Goats cannot become sheep. True conversion comes about when the lost sheep are found by the Good Shepherd and brought to green pastures and still waters. I have found that true joy in ministry comes when I focus on the responses of the sheep when they hear to voice of the shepherd and not on trying to meet every demand of the goats. Jesus does not waste His time on them, why should we?