Roots by the River

Many years ago in a suburb of Washington, DC, a woman came up to me after my talk. I asked her if she was a Christian. She replied, “I am a Methodist.” I said, “You did not answer the question.” “Aren’t Methodists Christians?” “You tell me. For words to be synonyms, they have to be interchangeable. For instance, all rocks are stones and all stones are rocks. Now, are all Christians Methodist?” “No, some are Presbyterian and some are Baptist.” “Here is a stickier question: Are all Methodists Christian?” She thought for a moment and then said, “No, I don’t think all Methodists are Christians.” “Well, then, you did not tell me much. You did not tell me whether you are one of the Methodists who is a Christian or one who is not.” “Well, what is a Christian?” It turned out that she realized that she was not a Christian and became one. It is my purpose to give a short definition of a Christian and then how you can tell if you are one. A Christian believes certain truths ...

This is an article written years ago by my wife Bessie. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Prov. 4:23) Whether we know it or not, all of us have had heart trouble. Whatever part of the spiritual anatomy the heart represents, the Scripture is clear that it is the seat of the emotions, one’s very being, from which thoughts, words, and actions proceed. Jesus said, “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean” (Mark 7:20-23). The prophet Jeremiah gave God’s diagnosis: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind” (Jer. 17:9-10a). Therefore, the heart must be changed. He who did the diagnosis provides the remedy. This is God’s ...

Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets. I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:17-20 RSV) Jesus taught that there are three eternal destinies: 1) Least in the kingdom 2) Great in the kingdom 3) Never in the kingdom In the rest of Matthew 5, Jesus taught how He fulfilled the law. He fulfilled it by going back to the motives of the hearthatred, lust, and love. This has to do with the spirit of the law, not just the letter of the law. The spirit of the law is never less...

This is an excerpt from Perspective magazine. Dear Friend, Sixty-five years, forty-five of them as a student of the Bible and thirty-eight years of marriage, have brought a deep, settled conviction. In the economy of God, 100% of the responsibility for sustaining a marriage belongs to the husband. No failure or sin on the part of the wife is his justification to forsake her. St. Paul is explicit: Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her…that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Eph. 5:25-28) This instruction admits of no condition whereby a husband may leave his wife. Christ will not forsake His church, no matter how she fails. God, speaking through His prophet Malachi, puts the blame for divorce strictly on the husband: And this again you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning...

Excerpt from the essay, “The Human-Not-Quite-Human” by Dorothy L. Sayers, pp. 47, Are Women Human? Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980 Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man—there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them either as “The women, God help us!” or “The ladies, God bless them!” who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unselfconscious. There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could possibly ...

To what or whom does the Christian look as his ultimate authority? First, authority never resides in a “what.” It always resides in some one , not some thing . The highest law of our land is the Constitution of the United States. We mistakenly speak of it as the final authority, but it is actually only an expression of the authority of the peopl e. Similarly, God, not the Bible, is the final authority for the Christian. The Bible is the primary expression of that authority, but is not the only expression. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Heb. 1:1-2). Jesus Christ’s time on earth was the other main expression of God’s authority. However, since Christ is a person, He is more than just an expression—He Himself possesses God’s authority. How do we know this? He made the worlds, and they are...

This was written by my wife Bessie for The Hammer magazine. I posted it here several years ago, but I am posting it again. The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” (Luke 16:14-15) God knows our hearts! This can be either a comforting or a terrifying thought. Jesus first analyzed the Pharisees’ attitude (“You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men”) before He told them that God knew their hearts. Then He clarified it even more by saying that this attitude before men was a very poor standard because what men put a high value on was detestable in God’s sight. What is highly valued among men? Perhaps by itemizing some of the things men value we will see that we have, in some cases, allowed the world to press us into its mold. However, we can, by His grace, stop this and i...

Today I wish to declare to you the goodness of God. "Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" (Romans 2:4). God is wealthy in kindness, tolerance, and patience. His kindness to you will help you turn to him. You may be fighting in your heart. You may think your fight is with your spouse or your parents or someone else. Your fight is against God. He is your true friend. He is the one who sent the Lord Jesus to this earth to die for sinners. Most religions, and most people, think you have to be good to go to Heaven. If that were true, none of us would make it, because no one is good. However, the Bible says in Romans 5:6, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6). We have to be ungodly to qualify for Heaven. He died in place of us to make us godly by forgiving our sins. Please pray to God...

Here are a few suggestions for Christian married couples who have been married at least ten years. These are in order of my thinking of them, not in order of importance. I am not thinking specifically of my own marriage or any one other marriage. • Any occasion where the wife dresses up is an occasion (e.g. church, going out to dinner). The husband should also dress up for the same occasion. He may not want to; it is out of love and respect to dress accordingly. • By this time, you both have put on a few pounds around the middle. The husband may accept it as normal in himself, but he does not like it in his wife. Take action on your own pounds right away for your health (both of you) and because you do not want to go to bed with a fat wife or husband. • Husbands, pick up your socks, skivvies, pajamas, etc. Any dirty clothes—put them when they belong. Hang up what is not dirty. • Husbands, offer to help with dishes often and really do them some of the time. • If your wife is not w...

Over the years I have listened to a lot of people. I have heard different dialects of English. I have listened to grammar when it is normal for the person using it. I have also heard poor grammar when the person using it thought that it was good grammar. There are uses that change over the years. A few years ago many, many people began sentences with the conjunction, “but.” Eventually “but” disappeared, and new sentences began with the conjunction, “so.” I would like to say, “So what ?” Another word that has crept in is the word “like.” It will appear as many as five times in one sentence. Luke 6:45 tells us that the mouth overflows with what is good or bad in the heart. My last two years in high school I worked in the Union stock yards in Omaha, Nebraska. The language was foul. Then I enlisted in the Navy. It did not improve. I thought that when I got to the Naval Academy, the language would improve. It did not. Then I hoped the language would be better with commissioned officers. I...

Recently, my granddaughter, Rachel and her husband Luke visited the Billy Graham Museum in Wheaton, Illinois. The museum is about much more than just Billy Graham. They had much correspondence of my wife’s correspondence from her time as a missionary. This is one of her ministry newsletters. Everyone mentioned has long ago died. These were written when I had seriously entered her life. At this date, Bessie knew she was going to marry me. Newsletter #8 Ask of Me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 221 Bluff Yokohama, Japan July 16, 1951 Dear Friends: You have not been overburdened with prayer letters from me have you? I see my last one is dated January 22nd and it was only the seventh letter written in my two and a half years in Japan. When I last wrote I asked for prayer for the Bible Training School which was to open in April. Before the war we had a well-equipped school that was completely des...

Dear S, The best spiritual and physical security for your children is for them to know that you both are very close, that you love each other and respect each other. The children should never hear, firsthand or secondhand, any differences between you: no arguing in their presence. You may have differences, but they should be unaware of them. All teaching from the Scripture to the children should be backed up in the life of their parents. “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6). It appears to me that you have been very diligent in doing what you think is right. However, you are more of a “doer” than you are a “be-er”. Because of this, some of the “right” things you do come out of the wrong kind of “being,” and consequently some of the “right” things you do turn out to be wrong. Because your “being” is not holy, some of the things you do and say are not holy. “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Somewhere along the li...

Dear L, At the end of our meeting on Monday you made the suggestion that you might not be a Christian. It is important to find out because if you find out you are not a Christian then it is possible to become a Christian. If you think you are already a Christian, it is impossible to become one. Jesus said it this way at the end of John 9: “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains" (John 9:41). In the weeks that I have listened to you, you say more things that describe you as not a Christian. The evidence has piled up so that it seems to me you are not a Christian. I may be wrong, but if I am, you will have to show evidence by confessing and preaching the following: 1. Anger: Even if it is righteous anger, it may not last past sundown. You have been angry for years. 2. Lack of self-control: You admit that, but not in repentance. 3. Love yourself: You admit that, but not in repentance. 4. Brutal: You admit that, but not ...

When we received Christ, we died to sin. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Rom. 6:1-2) Since, then; you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Col. 3:1-4) Since these things are so, God also tells us to "rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips" (Col. 3:8). We are told to put anger away. That does not mean in a month or a week. It means now. It is not possible to put it away if it is likely that you are not a Christian. Other things should disappear besides anger. "Put to death, therefore, whatever belo...

Dear Friend, I wrote much of the following several weeks ago, but I was not sure it was kind enough, so I decided not to send it until I looked at it again. It is abrupt, so it might sound unkind. You get this preamble to prepare you for what is an expression of love for you (the right kind of love). I ache for you! You are hurting and the freedom from fear and hurt is freely available to you now. Much of your problem with God is caused by your teachers; in this case, a teacher with Reformed convictions. The distinctives of different systematic theologies do not give saving truth. Systematic theology is the wrong way to find truth about God. You get some truth and some falsehood in each of them. Which one of these is right? On the distinctives, none of them! There is common, saving truth in all of them. What do I believe? The common, saving truth! I certainly am not Reformed, Arminian, Dispensational, Lutheran, Charismatic, etc. The rest of your problem is you. None of the prob...

Dear Friend, A few days ago, our computer ate some of our incoming messages. We can't find them, so I am writing this because if yours was one of them, you might wonder why I did not answer it. Since I am writing anyway, I will add a few thoughts in a different vein. • You want to be a Christian. • Somehow you think the Gospel is true, even while you are rebelling against God for sending Jesus to the Cross. • You may be seeing a quality of life that you do not see in others and which you want to have. • You may desire Heaven. • You may be concerned about judgment. • You may have read biographies of Isobel Kuhn, Amy Carmichael, Corrie ten Boom, Patricia St. John, or Lilias Trotter. These were women of faith whom I respect very much. If you haven’t read them, I would encourage it. The best way of learning is by imitation. There may not be many people alive that you would like to imitate. So imitate people who are no longer alive but who are in Heaven. In your search,...

Dear Friend, Thank you for your long letter. The more I know you, the more likely I will say what applies to you. There is a reason that I am sure that you will be a Christian shortly. It is from Jeremiah 29. It is speaking of Judah at the end of 70 years of captivity, but I think it applies to all seekers. Verse 13: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” You described your search for God as starting around age 12, and then later you said, “I still wanted to be a Christian; it simply began to occur to me that prescribed methods were not working.” The methods you say you used were not prescribed in the Bible. They are standard prescriptions in all the world’s religions. They were duties you were doing, religious duties. You were reading to read, a duty. You were also reading critically. You were not reading to receive. Romans 9:30-10:4: “What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness tha...

Dear Friend, Your letter was very encouraging to me. I did not expect that my teaching and answering your problems would help. Your not praying or reading the Gospels explains a lot. You have said several times that you want to be a Christian, but did not do two of the things that are causes of faith. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the preaching of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Of course you have not had faith. You have not gone to the source. Becoming a Christian is not an exercise of reason or intellectual answers. It is about a moral problem; it is a sin issue. You could have all of your questions answered to your satisfaction, and still you would not be a Christian. Part of this belief, this trust in the completed work of Christ, is repentance from dead works to serve the living and true God. This turning from sin was the basic command in the prophets, of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-2), Jesus (Matthew 4:17), Peter (Acts 2:38), and Paul (Acts 26:20). Here are a few ...

Dear Friend, I hope the books I sent to you were of some help. In my letter, I said that you did not need the peripherals in order to become a Christian. They do not change your need for redemption or the truth of 1 Corinthians 15:1-5: "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve." First, I wish to comment on your struggle with depression and guilt. The feelings of guilt can be absolute or relative or false. Leviticus 5:17 describes guilt absolutely, unrelated to the conscience, and Romans 14:23 describes relative gu...

In the Great Commission, there are two phrases which are often missed. 1. “As you go, make disciples”. The word is not go ; it is as you go . 2. “teaching them to obey everything” “As you go.” Christians are “going” all the time. It is “as they go” that making disciples takes place. It is not a special event; it is a continual event meant to happen throughout the course of your normal, daily life. You are meant to be making disciples as you go. "Teaching them to obey everything." In the Great Commission, the Apostles were commanded to do three things: Make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey everything that Jesus commanded His apostles. These new Christians were taught to obey everything . That includes making disciples, baptizing, and teaching everyone to obey. Therefore, all Christians are commanded to make disciples, baptize, and teach obedience. Every Christian is an evangelist, just by being Christian. Here are the ingredients of evangelism: • ...