Looking Forward to Being a Contributor

by Joe Trofemuk

I have read and enjoyed many of the posts on Inverted Planet posted by my good friends and fellow elders Bruce and Robert (to be clear, I have enjoyed all that I have read…I simply have not read them all). Quite some time ago Bruce extended to me an invitation to turn an evening message I had preached into a post for the blog. For a variety of reasons (all mine) it did not occur.

However I now hope to begin to contribute to Inverted Planet on a semi-regular basis. I have nothing new or uniquely insightful in mind (after 2000 years of Christianity, I have no illusions that any of my thoughts are original). Yet through my current study and teaching of the book of Hebrews in the adult fellowship group I lead, I am struck over and over by how much our current American muddled state of evangelical Christianity is detached more and more from the exclusive truth claims of Scripture.

My hope by contributing to this blog is to continue to build on the work done by Bruce and Robert. If by God’s grace people are challenged or helped then God will receive the glory. If no one ever reads a single entry God will still be worthy of glory, and my own thinking will be stimulated and challenged as I seek to clearly articulate truths to add to this ongoing discussion.

Announcing a New Team Member

by Bruce Mills

I am happy to announce the addition of another member to the Inverted Planet blog team.  Joe Trofemuk is the Administrative Pastor at Lakeside Community Chapel in Clearwater, Florida.  As administrative pastor, Joe has oversight over the various ministries of the church.  He also teaches and shepherds the FaithBuilders adult Sunday School class.

Joe grew up in Perry, Florida and attended Florida State University, earning an Associate of Arts Degree.  Thereafter, he earned Bachelor of Science in Laws and Juris Doctor degrees from Western State University College of Law in San Diego, CA.  After graduation, Joe was a practicing attorney in California for over 14 years.  As he became involved in ministry in a lay capacity in the local churches with which he was affiliated during that time, he felt the call of God on his heart to prepare for full-time vocational ministry.  Joe began studies at The Master’s Seminary in Sun Valley, CA in 2000, graduating in 2004 with a Masters of Divinity degree.

During his seminary years and for a few years after graduation, he led Bible studies in the college ministry and an adult fellowship group at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California where Dr. John MacArthur is the senior pastor.  In 2007, Joe assumed his current position at Lakeside Community Chapel.  God has gifted Joe with the gifts of teaching and leadership, which he uses to serve the church.  He truly has a servant's heart.  I was greatly privileged to speak at his ordination service earlier this year.

Joe will be posting articles on the blog periodically.  Take time to read them.  They come from the heart of a man who loves the Lord and faithfully serves Him.

Liars and Lying

by Bruce Mills

I was reminded this week of how intrinsic lying is to the fallen human nature.  First, there was the story of the global warming scientists who manipulated and destroyed climate and temperature data in order to support their position that global warming is getting more and more severe and will eventually destroy the planet if drastic steps are not taken to curb human activities that allegedly cause the increased temperatures.  Their emails, which were leaked to the media, revealed that they systematically did all they could to prevent viewpoints which contradicted theirs from ever being presented or published, and deliberately manipulated the data to make it appear that their position was the correct one.  Of course, there were billions of dollars in research grants at stake from which they would benefit if they were successful in convincing the world's governments that they were right.

Then there was Tiger Woods, undoubtedly the finest golfer who has ever picked up a golf club.  He is a man who seemed to have it all--over a billion dollars in earnings and endorsements, a trophy wife, and the finest life that wealth can buy.  He is a man who outwardly seemed to be in complete control of his life and his golf game.  But he was living a lie.  He was cheating on his wife and when discovered, he lied to cover his sin until he was faced with incontrovertible evidence that revealed to the world that he was lying.  Only then did he admit the truth.

Lying has been a part of a corrupt nature since the Garden of Eden.  Satan lied to Eve, telling her that she and Adam would not die if she ate of the fruit (Gen. 3:4), even though God had clearly said that they would (Gen. 2:17).  Shortly thereafter Cain lied to God about murdering his brother (Gen. 4:9), and the same pattern of lying and deception continues to be seen throughout the book of Genesis.  Abraham encouraged Sarah to lie about being his wife in order to save his own skin (Gen. 12:10-20), Jacob and Rebekah lied in order that Jacob would receive Isaac's blessing rather than Esau (Gen. 27:19), and Joseph's brothers told their father that he had been killed by wild animal rather than admit that they had sold him into slavery (Gen. 37:31-34).  In fact, in addition to these examples, there are no less than five more incidents of lying recorded in the book of Genesis alone (Gen. 18:5, 20:2, 26:7, 29:18-24, 39:17).  You can easily find many more examples throughout the rest of the Scriptures.  Jesus bluntly said that lying originates from Satan and those who are characterized by it are his children (John 8:44).

At the same time, the Bible is clear about God's requirement that men and women be honest and truthful under all circumstances.  In the list of the seven deadly sins found in Prov. 6:16-19, lying is specifically mentioned in two of them.  Prov. 12:19 says, "Truthful lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is only for a moment."  Prov. 19:5 proclaims that "A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who tells lies will not escape."  A few verses later in Prov. 19:9, Solomon reiterates the same idea with these words: "A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who tells lies will perish."

For the believer, lying is never sanctioned.  Eph. 4:25 tells us, "Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another."  Col. 3:9 says, "Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices."  In other words, since we are a part of the same family and are new creatures with a new nature which does not practice sin, we are to stop lying and tell the truth. 

I think a lot of Christians today have adopted the world's perspective that lying isn't really a big deal.  But God doesn't see it that way.  In His infinite mind, it is a very big deal.  It is so important because He Himself never lies and is incapable of doing so (Titus 1:2, Heb. 6:18).  Since we are called to be imitators of God (Eph. 5:1), lying is not to be found in a believer's character.  Jesus said that we are to "let [our] statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil" (Matt. 5:37).  In other words, we shouldn't have to take an oath in order to confirm the validity of what we are saying.  We should be so characterized by truth-telling that those around us will know that they can implicitly trust what we are saying.

Think about this issue in your life.  Do others know that everything you say can be trusted to be the truth?  Or are you characterized by fudging the truth; stretching it to fit the circumstances you are in so that you look good, avoid getting into trouble, or profit from the outcome?  Psalm 15 describes the righteous man who will dwell with God, and one of the things which characterizes him is that "He swears to his own hurt and does not change" (Ps. 15:4).  In other words, he tells the truth, even if telling the truth will mean difficulty for himself.

I recognize that this is a high standard.  But I'm not the one who set the bar this high; God did.  Everyone of us has failed in this area; sometimes very badly.  But those of us who claim the name of Jesus Christ must turn from this sin and live godly lives which are characterized by truthfulness.  Not so that we will be considered to better than others, but so that when others are amazed at our honesty (and believe me, they will be), we will be able "to give an account for the hope that is in [us]" (1 Peter 3:15).

The Manhattan Declaration

by Robert Fraire

The following is a link to a document called the Manhattan Declaration. It is a document written and signed by Protestants, Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Catholics. The document is found at this link:
http://demossnews.com/manhattandeclaration/press_kit/manhattan_declaration_signers

In the document the writers and signers pledge to stand united on three areas under attack in the United States today. Those areas under attack are: the sanctity of life, the definition of marriage, and freedom of religious expression.

The document says many things that I agree completely with and I do think that the Christian church in America will face governmental persecutions in each of these areas in the near future.

Some godly men like Al Mohler have signed this document. Dr. Mohler gives his reasons at this site: web site

One small quote from his article says this: "I signed The Manhattan Declaration because it is a limited statement of Christian conviction on these three crucial issues, and not a wide-ranging theological document that subverts confessional integrity. I cannot and do not sign documents such as Evangelicals and Catholics Together that attempt to establish common ground on vast theological terrain."

I respect Dr. Mohler making that statement clear, and his actions and teaching clearly back that statement up.


That being said, I don't believe Protestants should sign this agreement. My reasoning can be summarized in 2 Corinthians 6:14
Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

You see while we share many common moral stands with Catholics of all types, the fact is unmistakable that the teaching of the Catholic Church is a false gospel. We can not stand in spiritual unity with them on these issues because those that rely on the false gospel taught by the Catholic church for their salvation are unbelievers.


In a practical sense how could this play out? Well take for instance the area of same-sex marriage. The only way we can be successful in defending God's definition of marriage is to proclaim the truth of scripture and call on the people of this nation to repent. And it is at the point of repentance that the gulf between us and Catholics becomes apparent. If people want to repent; to which gospel do we lead them? In order to stand united must we say that it isn't important whether you choose salvation by grace through faith alone (Protestant gospel), or salvation by grace and maintained by godly works and the sacrements (the Roman Catholic gospel)? It is clear to me that we must call me to repentance and the true gospel message of grace by faith alone.

Because of that we must stay independent of all false religion even if they support our moral stance important issues such as life, marriage and religious freedom.

The Birth of God Incarnate

^{Luke 2:1-20 (NASB)}

¹Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. ²This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. ⁴Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, ⁵in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. ⁶While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. ⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²“This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

¹⁵When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

by Bruce Mills

In my last post, I said that I would explain how a person avoids God’s wrath and eternal condemnation. What follows comes from a recent funeral service I conducted for the mother of a close friend. He specifically requested that I present the gospel to those who attended, and this is the gospel message I gave. I have only edited it to remove specific, personal references to the deceased.

That lady was just like every other person on the face of the earth—she was a sinner. She wasn’t perfect—she struggled and suffered the natural outcome of sin’s impact in her life. Every one of us does. Death itself is the ultimate and most obvious consequence of sin, as we are told in the Bible in Romans 5:12 where it says that “just as through one man—Adam—sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”

So, every one of us is a sinner and some day, if Christ doesn’t return first, we are all going to die. And that means that we have a problem. In fact, it is the most serious problem that anyone will ever face. Our problem is that God is absolutely holy and righteous. He cannot allow sin into His presence. In fact, His required standard for anyone to enter heaven is absolute perfection. In Matt. 5:48, Jesus put it very bluntly when He said, “You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” And since none of us is perfect, that means we are all unrighteous, and that means we all justly deserve God’s eternal condemnation in hell.

In fact, the Bible tells us that over and over again. In 1 Cor. 6:9 it says, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” And in Eph. 5:5 it says, “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” So then, none of us is perfect. So the question is, how can we be certain that we will go to heaven. Well, the answer has nothing to do with Jeanne. It has everything to do with Jesus Christ.

You see, Jesus Christ was not merely a man—He was God in human flesh. That’s who He claimed to be. He said, “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30). He said, “He who has seen Me, has seen the Father” (John 14:9). As C. S. Lewis put it, you cannot call Him a good teacher or a great prophet or a good man, but deny that He is God. You must decide whether or not He was telling the truth when He claimed to be God. If you conclude that He was not God, then you are saying that He was either a liar or a lunatic. If He was a liar, then He wasn’t a good man. If He was a lunatic, then He cannot be considered to be a great teacher. But if He is who He claimed to be; that is, God in flesh, then we owe Him our every allegiance and all obedience.

And so God sent His Son, Jesus, to the earth and He took upon Himself the sins of every person who would ever believe and He died to pay the penalty for those sins. Those sins deserved eternal judgment, and so only someone who was absolutely perfect could pay that penalty. And Jesus was the perfectly righteous God-man who paid the price for sin. And then He rose again, defeating death and sin. And now He offers forgiveness from sin and eternal life to everyone who repents of their sin and trusts in Him as the only mediator between God and man.

Once again, Jesus left us with no other options. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). That is a very exclusive claim. But again, if we believe He was who He claimed to be, then He has every right to make such a statement.

And in Acts 4:12, we are told that “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Jesus Christ is the only way to God. That’s not something I came up with; that’s what God Himself says.

And those who come to Jesus through faith alone in Him find that God forgives all their sin, and credits the righteousness of His perfect Son to their account, so that when He looks at them, He sees the perfection of Jesus and no longer sees their sin. And that makes them eternally acceptable to enter and live in heaven forever and ever.

It was that gospel which my friend’s mother came to understand and believe. And because she placed her faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for her eternal salvation, she is at this very moment, in the presence of her Lord and Savior.

And I am convinced that if she could be here with us today, she would tell you, “Believe in Christ. Turn your back on your sin, and turn to Jesus Christ and trust Him and Him alone for your eternal salvation. That is the most important decision you will ever make.”

She would want everyone to recognize their sin for what it is—an offense against a holy and righteous God. It is the corruption that separates man from God, and which destroys everything that is good. And as long as a man or woman remains in their sin, they are dead spiritually.

And she would tell you that the only way to receive forgiveness for your sin is to come to Jesus Christ, repenting of that sin, and place your complete trust and faith in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. And she would tell you that when you do that, Jesus will cleanse you and forgive you, remove the penalty of eternal death, and give you the free gift of eternal life in heaven with Him.

And then, when that day comes—as it does for all of us—that you pass through death’s door, you will find Jesus there, along with every person who has placed his or her faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation from sin and death.

Now, someone might say, “But I’m too old for that stuff. I’ve wasted my life. It’s too late for me.” Let me just urge you to consider the claims of Jesus Christ, regardless of how old you are or how you have lived your life. Age or the trials and struggles and sinfulness of your life should never be an excuse. In fact, those who come to faith late in their lives are simply demonstrations of the greatness of God’s grace and His willingness to forgive sin and bring peace and hope into one’s life.

I hope anyone who reads this who does not know Jesus Christ will repent of their sin and turn to Him in saving faith. That is the only way that anyone will avoid God’s wrath and eternal condemnation, and enjoy eternal life in heaven.