Better to Do Nothing Rather than This “Porkulus” Package

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Bill Haynes

I realize that we have crossed the line long ago where case law began to rule the day instead of the U.S. Constitution. But the way our Congress and Executive branch of our government are behaving now it is basically the end of the constitution. Limited government is gone. The nanny-state has arrived. And we are sitting around and just taking it. We have elected officials who are only concerned with one thing–remaining in office and raiding the public funds for their area. No longer does there seem to be those in office who think of the good of the country first. We are going down a road that is heading to the end of the United States as we have known it to be.

porkulusTonight President Obama said that he had inherited this economic mess. I agree that he is right, but he inherited it from a Congress that wants to control your life and make you dependent on it, and a President (Bush) who acted more like a Democrat, economically, the last two years of his presidency than a free market Republican. Bush’s “stimulus package” and TARP plan for the banks were supposed to be the events to save the economy. They didn’t!!! In fact it just got worse. So now Congress and the new president want to do more of the same!! God help us! That is the classic definition of a fool–keep doing the same thing and expect different results.

We need to STOP and take a deep breath and stop expecting the government to be our savior. They are not and cannot be. There are a couple of things you need to read. Walter Williams, Economics professor at George Mason University, wrote an insightful article today in Investor’s Business Daily, entitled “Stimulus Can Sink Recession into Depression“. Please read it. If you prefer more Ivy League economists, then read the article by Robert Barro, Economics professor at Harvard, “Government Spending is No Free Lunch“, in the Wall Street Journal. There is also a great interview with Barro on The Atlantic website worth reading.

If you are really wanting to see why these policies will not help, but most likely harm, our economy read the book The Forgotten Man, by Amity Shlaes. Shlaes looks at the same policies that were used, and failed, in the “great depression.” I repeat, and I will shout, THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT OUR SAVIOR!! Wake up America, before it is too late and our constitutional republic is no more.

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Blaspheming God!!

Posted on February 3, 2009 by Bill Haynes

The very words should strike fear in our hearts. But do we ever stop and consider if that might be a problem? I remember in 1998 hearing John Piper preach the annual preaching lectures at Beeson Divinity School at Samford University in Birmingham, AL. One of his sermons that week was, “How Not to Blaspheme God in the Pulpit.” (Click the link to listen)  It was one of the most penetrating sermons I have ever heard and I listen to it at least once a year.

Being a preacher myself, this is a question I ask myself regularly. My greatest fear is to not declare the glory of God in all its beauty and majesty when I preach.

I fear that a trend in our country today is to “dumb-down” God, to bring Him down to our level and to make Him dependent on us rather than us on Him. Mega-churches with their desire to reach great numbers and offend the least amount of people’s sensitivities (read that sins) dare not speak of God ‘s sovereignty and Christ’s Lordship, but paint Him as a buddy who only exists to make us happy. That is blasphemy!!

I remember reading something that Richard John Neuhaus wrote in First Things back in December of 1991 that dealt with this very issue. He was relating something he had read in The New York Review of Books about Albert Einstein’s view of organized religion. Here is what Neuhaus wrote:

• Discussing a number of books on cosmology in The New York Review of Books, Daniel Kevles quotes Charles Misner, a specialist in general relativity theory: “I do see the design of the universe as essentially a religious question. That is, one should have some kind of respect and awe for the whole business. . . . It’s very magnificent and shouldn’t be taken for granted. In fact, I believe that is why Einstein had so little use for organized religion, although he strikes me as a basically very religious man. He must have looked at what the preachers said about God and felt that they were blaspheming. He had seen much more majesty than they had ever imagined, and they were just not talking about the real thing. My guess is that he simply felt the religions he’d run across did not have proper respect . . . for the Author of the universe.” You might want to pass that on to your preacher. If you’re the preacher, you might want to give some thought to repenting. As might we all.” (Emphasis mine)

May we forever exalt the true nature of our Sovereign, Holy, Magnificent God. Sola Deo Gloria!! To God alone be the glory!!

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Preaching the Unchanging Word in a time of increasing flux

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Bill Haynes

Here we go again considering the “10 Challenges Facing the Church in the 21st Century.”

1) Addressing Post-modern Americans with the authentic Gospel.

2) Cultivating a people of truth in a culture of relativism.

And now — 3) Preaching the unchanging word in a time ofbible-glasses increasing flux.

We live in a day that almost worships the idea of “change.” If you followed the presidential race, that is just about all that you have heard from both sides: “We must have change.” Sometimes change is good. Many times people just cry for it instead of thinking through the issues. One thing is for sure, change is coming and only time will tell if it is for the better or worse. Sadly we no longer consider what our fundamental, foundational issues really are. To change, just for the sake of change, is quite foolish indeed.

But a part of the relativistic/post-modern age in which we live is the idea that there are no eternal truths; no fixed realities; no established issues worth dying for. Everything changes and to our generation that is just OK. In many areas of life that may not really matter. But when it comes to all that is revealed in God’s word it matters much.

Our churches across the nation are suffering because of the crisis of “changeitis” — holding nothing close as eternal truth. It has crept into the pulpits where there is only a type of pop psychology being taught and preached. One of the most critical missing elements from many pulpits is the cry of ‘thus says the Lord!” Some turn God’s commands into so many suggestions; His instruction in righteousness as something from the dark ages and certainly not for today. It is a sad thing but we live in a generation of spiritual and Biblical illiteracy in so many ways.

In spite of all this, God has given us His unchangeable word . . . The Bible . . . The word of truth . . . That which Paul says is “inspired (literally ‘God breathed’) by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness.” We must be a people who look to God’s word for counsel and direction, not the latest fad or CNN, MSNBC, or FOX. The stock market may crash, but the word of God stands. The form of government in our nation may change, but the word of God is unshakeable. We must be a people who believe, live, and proclaim God’s holy, inerrant, infallible, trustworthy, and authoritative word.

We have to realize that this makes us look really strange to the world around us. As Al Mohler said in 2000, and it is still true today, “These days, this means confronting, not only a secular world, but a market driven, hyper-consumer sensitive church with the reality that it is the task of preaching the unchanging Word that is the central criterion of ministry, even, and especially in a time of flux.” Change means that there are no “hooks” on which to hang on when things get rough. We must show the church and the world that the word of God is all we need for security in times like these.

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