30 Years of Faithful Ministry

by Bruce Mills

Tomorrow, May 1st, Lakeside Community Chapel in Clearwater, Florida will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its Pastor-Teacher, Steve Kreloff.  Steve has actually been on staff at the church since 1976, but became the pastor in May 1981.  In a day when the average tenure of a pastor in the United States is six years, that is simply astounding.  The emphasis of his ministry has always been, and continues to be, the verse-by-verse teaching of the Word of God.

Steve is a Jewish Christian who, while a student at the University of South Florida, received Jesus as his Messiah, Lord and Savior. He is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and Tampa Bay Theological Seminary (now known as Dallas Theological Seminary’s Tampa Bay Extension).  He is the Bible teacher on the Verse-by-Verse Ministries radio broadcast, heard daily in the Tampa Bay area on Salem Communications radio station WTBN.

Lakeside will celebrate by having Steve’s best friend since the days they attended Moody Bible Institute together—Phil Johnson—speak in both morning services and briefly in the evening service.  Phil is the executive director of Grace to You (the media arm of Dr. John MacArthur’s ministry) and the founder of Pyromaniacs, one of the most widely read blogs in the Christian blogosphere.  There will also be other speakers and special presentations in the evening service, followed by a reception.

I have had the privilege of being Steve’s friend since my wife and I began attending Lakeside shortly after we were married in 1976.  He was our Sunday School teacher at the time, and the Minister of Evangelism at the church.  We are the same age; our birthdays are less than a month apart, but he is older!  He took me under his wing and we began a year long one-on-one discipleship relationship.  We worked our way through theological, family, and ministry issues.  We were both learning and growing spiritually.  We developed a friendship which has stood the test of time. 

When I became an elder at Lakeside, it was Steve who recommended me to the other elders as being qualified for the position.  It was Steve who stood by me when I went through a particular difficulty in ministry that shook me to the core.  We suffered together through difficult church budgets and church discipline issues, saw other church leaders come and go, but Steve has continued to serve faithfully and diligently.  His character is impeccable and his heart to teach God’s Word so that people grow and change to be more like Christ has never wavered.  Our children grew up together, our wives served in various church ministries together, and we grew old together.

As I said earlier, Steve has always made the verse-by-verse exposition of the Scriptures a priority of his ministry.  To do that effectively, his sermons are typically 50-55 minutes in length.  Each sermon is a model of how to open up a passage so that the listener goes away with a thorough understanding of what the Bible writer intended when he originally wrote the passage.  It’s hard to be bored or concerned with the length of time he is speaking when you are truly listening, because he opens up the Word in a way that holds your attention and deepens your understanding of the Scriptures.  Because of his skill in teaching God’s Word, he has taught courses on expository preaching to other pastors all over the world.  Only eternity will reveal how many people have benefited from Steve selflessly teaching other men how to do what he does with the text of God’s Word.

Steve is a model of what a pastor should be for his congregation.  His greatest desire is to please His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to minister to his flock in the same way that Jesus would.  It has been my privilege to serve with him since 1983 as one of the elders at Lakeside.  I pray that the Lord will give us many more years together.

The Glory of the Incarnate Word

by Bruce Mills

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  Jesus Christ displayed His glory to the fullest degree in His death, burial, and resurrection. By that act, He reconciled lost sinners to Himself, turning them from slaves of sin into His children.  Praise His glorious name this Easter!

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

by Joe Trofemuk

This past Saturday, as I was preparing my lesson for the adult Sunday School class I lead, I took a break to check the mail. As I pulled out the new issue of Time magazine I immediately noticed the cover story dealt with religion. This gripping headline graced the cover "What If There's No Hell?".

The article which spawned the headline dealt with a very popular pastor, Rob Bell, and his new bestselling book "Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived." The underlying premise of the book is predictable. Bell casts doubt on the very notion that there is an eternal punishment for those who reject Jesus Christ.

People far more capable than I am have dissected Rob Bell and the book Love Wins. I refer you to John MacArthur's insightful views on Rob Bell, http://www.gty.org/Blog/B110418 (note the related links on the topic), and Frank Turk's open letter to Bell at Pyromaniacs which contains excellent insight on Love Wins http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2011/03/open-letter-to-rob-bell.html. I have followed this controversy for the last month or so and there are many other similar excellent critiques. Yet staring at the magazine in my hand, I knew the time had come for me to address the issue.

What struck me as I looked at the cover was how this evangelical controversy (Bell has self-identified himself in the past as an evangelical) had attracted the attention of the mainstream media. Here was a purely secular magazine devoting its cover and significant article space to a religious issue. Controversy sells, and such a provocative attack on traditional evangelical belief was apparently too much to pass up, even for Time.

As I pondered things my mind immediately began rethinking my Sunday School message. I had been planning on giving an exhortation on being a doer of the Word from James 1:22. However as I read the cover headline and underlying article, my mind was drawn to the protective shepherding duty set forth by the Apostle Paul to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:28-31. Even though this is the controversy of the day, it is part of a larger epic battle that has been waged by Satan from the beginning. The ultimate issue is not really about Rob Bell or his book. Rather the ultimate issue is the authority of the Bible and the truthfulness of God.

Attacks on God's Word are at their source Satanic. Satan's initial attack against mankind recorded in Genesis 3 was an attack on the accuracy and authority of God's Word. Satan questioned God's Word in Genesis 3:1 and called God a liar in Genesis 3:4. What is being done by Rob Bell and others is nothing new, but it is equally as wicked. All such lies share a common source. Jesus Himself made it clear: Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). The arguments of Bell and others are merely perverted offspring of a truly wicked progenitor.

Furthermore, the attacks we see today on Scripture are not happenstance. They are part of a planned and orchestrated program of deception that God's Word warned about thousands of years ago. The Apostle Peter warned believers to prepare themselves so that they would not be carried away by the errors of unprincipled men who distort Scripture (2 Peter 3:14-18). Paul likewise, in the aforementioned exhortation to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:28-31, warned that from within the church savage wolves would arise seeking to destroy the flock of God by speaking perverse things. These perverse things would lead people to become disciples of the wolves rather than the Great Shepherd.

These planned Satanic attacks, in their myriad forms over the centuries always attack eternal truths. Satan from the beginning lied about the effects of sin on humanity. Rob Bell's claim that perhaps there really is no eternal punishment for sin is remarkably similar to Satan's attack in Genesis 3:4. Paraphrased to line up, one can almost hear the sweet sounding lie, "if you reject Jesus Christ you surely will not be punished." Again, God's Word showed this relationship early on. Jesus in Matthew 7:15 warned of false prophets He called ravenous wolves who would come in sheep's clothing. Interestingly this warning following Jesus' teaching that there was a wide and broad way leading to destruction, and a narrow way that leads to life. I don't believe it is an accidental context for such a warning. Satan wants everyone on the broad way leading to destruction. It is only natural that the ravenous wolves he sends out disguised as sheep would attack the foundational reality of eternal punishment in hell for those who reject Jesus Christ. Masking the true nature of the wide and broad road to hell is perhaps the best way to insure that the road remains crowded and well traveled.

What makes the current controversy involving Rob Bell so dangerous is that he is a very capable and persuasive source. He is a gifted communicator and skilled writer which makes his deceptions sound all the more enticing. Someone like a David Koresh is immediately recognized by most as a lunatic who will never draw more than a few dozen followers. But a gifted and talented person like Rob Bell can reach millions. His church according to multiple sources draws 7,000 plus each week. His books have sold hundreds of thousands, if not millions of copies and are best sellers. Furthermore, even the mainstream media, like Time magazine, pays attention when he speaks. Sadly and more tragically, thousands upon thousands of true believers will give Bell a voice, and may perhaps be lead astray by his persuasive lies. Yet what so many regard as highly intellectual and thoughtful opinions uttered by a great thinker (in this case on the issue of hell) are shown by Scripture to be the thoughts of one who does not even understand the most basic truths of God's Word.

I recently preached a sermon on Hebrews 6:1-3. The writer of Hebrews was rebuking his hearers for their spiritual immaturity in Hebrews 5:11-14. Then he exhorted these immature believers to, in essence, grow up and move on to maturity. As part of this exhortation he described what he considered to be the basic abc's of Christianity. Part of what he described as elementary principles, or milk fit for infants, was "the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment" (Hebrews 6:2). These "new" and "profound" musings of Bell that will attract so many are really devoid of any depth at all. Rather, they reflect on a spiritual level a lack of knowledge that even a spiritual kindergartner is expected to possess.

Yet Bell consistently makes his foolish statements sound appealing and self evident, which makes them all the more dangerous. One illustrative example stands out from the Time article. The writer notes that Bell has embraced a theology that says the most important thing for you is the here and now, not eternity. He then quotes Bell ‘When we get to what happens when we die, we don’t have any video footage,’ says Bell. ‘So let’s be honest that we are speculating, because we are.’

What an appealing statement to our modern minds. And of course there is truth in the statement. We do not possess video footage of hell. But the statement upon reflection is neither true or appealing; it is a lie and damning. The very premise of the statement is unbiblical and false, namely that if we don't have video footage of something, i.e., if we cannot see it, then we cannot know if it is real. As a pastor I worry that many will accept this reasonable sounding (but false) proposition without thinking it through in light of Scripture.

Jesus gives us a much more reliable picture of eternal punishment than any video when He describes the reality of the afterlife for the rich man and Lazarus, including the very real agony and torment of the rich man (Luke 16:19-31). But even without such a real and compelling image from Christ, we are never told to only believe what we see. In fact, after Jesus' resurrection, the Apostle Thomas for a brief time adopted the "I will believe only what I can see" approach proffered by Bell when he was told by the other disciples that Jesus was raised from the dead (John 20:25). After seeing Jesus however, he immediately realized the folly of his doubt (John 20:28). But what is most telling and enlightening for believers tempted to adopt Bell's approach is what Jesus said next at verse 29: Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."

Rather than needing video proof to know truth, we have God's Word. The absence of a video or other such "evidence" hardly makes the clear teaching of Scripture on life after physical death mere "speculation" as Bell so arrogantly claims. Rather believing God's Word on faith receives Jesus' commendation and blessing. Bell's paradigm of "seeing is believing" is all the more troubling given that he claims to be a believer. God's Word affirms without hesistation that true believers walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Bell's approach to understanding hell finds no warrant or support in God's revealed Word.

The warning of Paul to the church at Colassae seems a fitting conclusion and exhortation. Paul was concerned that those peddling "persuasive arguments" would delude the saints, which of course is the same danger posed by the likes of Rob Bell. Paul in such a context gave the church this warning:

6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Paul, through the Holy Spirit, has given every believer the tools needed to avoid being ensnared by the Satanic inspired deceptions of false teachers like Rob Bell. May God give us the wisdom and discernment to stand firm against the devil's schemes.

The True Light

by Bruce Mills

As we come to the Easter season, when we recall the single greatest event in the history of mankind—the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—we need to remember why Jesus came to this world.  He didn’t come primarily to be a great example (though He was the perfect example), He didn’t come primarily to be a good Teacher (though He was the greatest teacher), and He didn’t come primarily to perform wonderful acts of kindness (though He was the most compassionate person who ever lived).  His primary purpose in coming was to bring Light and life to a sin-darkened world and save His elect children from their sins.

In John 8:12, Jesus is recorded as stating, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”  And earlier in the Gospel of John we are told that John the Baptist came as the forerunner of Christ, so that he could testify about that Light (John 1:7-8).  Now, there is something very important to consider here. Since when does someone have to testify about light? Why would anyone have to tell you “this is light”?

Several years ago, our family was on vacation and we stopped at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. The tour guide took our tour group through the cave, pointing out various points of interest, and when we were far back in the cave, he turned out the lights and let us stand there in the darkness. And no matter how long we stood there, our eyes never got accustomed to the dark so that we could see anything. It was pitch black and no matter how long one might stand there, it will stay just like that. After we had stood there a while, the tour guide turned on a flashlight. And not one person in that cave said, “Where’s the light? Where’s the light?” When that flashlight went on, everybody knew the light was on. Nobody said, “Hey, look over there; there’s the light.” If you lit a match in that place, everyone would have seen that match. Nobody had to point out the light. But do you know what John came to do? He came to point out light to people living in blackness. So that begs the question, “Who needs light pointed out to them?”

There’s only one kind of person who needs to be pointed to the light. What kind? Blind people. And do you know what? Everyone in this world is blind. 2 Cor. 4:3 says, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.” Now here comes verse 4; watch this truth: “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

That’s why Satan blinded them; so that they can’t see the light, and so God’s pastors and evangelists and proclaimers of His truth have to come along and say, “Look! Take my hand and let me show you the Light.” It’s pathetic that the sin darkened world hasn’t even got the sight to see the light. This is one reason why the apostle John includes the story of the blind man who Jesus healed in John 9. He was a blind man who could see the Light, and the unbelieving Pharisees were men who could physically see but were spiritually blind and missed the Light.

All unbelievers are like those fish in Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico that have been underground so long that their eyes are gone and all they have are empty sockets. Someone can turn the light on, but they can’t see it anyway. And so the Light came, blazing the brilliant, glorious Light of God into this world, and people couldn’t see it because they were blind and John the Baptist had to be the first one to take them by the hand and say, “There’s the Light.” And even then, it is only those who God heals their spiritual eyes and gives them the ability to see the true Light who will be saved.

This is what every preacher of God’s truth who has ever lived does. This is what you do when you witness to others about Christ. Our task as Christians, as witnesses, is to take people by the hand in their blindness, as they stumble around in darkness and show them the Light, because they can’t see it. And then it is God’s responsibility to open the spiritual eyes of those whom He has chosen from before the foundations of the world so that they see that Light. 

During this Easter season, when men and women are more aware of the origin of Easter, take opportunities—as God provides them—to lead people to the true Light that enlightens every man.