August has arrived, thankfully temperatures are beginning to cool down a bit, and, before we know it, college football will kick off with Saturday, August 23 as the first day of games. Football is, without a doubt, my favorite sport to watch and college football is my favorite category of the game. The traditions, rivalries, and fanfare that make up the game are all amazing and fun to experience. I always have to be extremely cautious, though, during college football season as my team loyalty can tend easily toward idolatry. In seasons past, if Clemson lost on Saturday my entire weekend was ruined and, all too often, I wouldn’t even want to go to church on Sunday. I prayed earnestly for the Lord to take that idolatry from me and, thankfully, though my process of sanctification in this area is slow, it is progressing and I have a much easier time with college football than in years past. But college football isn’t the only area where idolatry can creep into our lives. Scripture tells us in 1 Pet 5:8 that Satan “is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” Scripture also shows the example of Paul wrestling with his sin in Romans 7 explaining his personal struggle: “I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate.” Combining our potential for sin and Satan’s constant quest to tempt whomever he can into sin, we must be vigilant and constantly on guard for sin that creeps in from every area of life, both internally and externally. Ephesians 6:10-20 is always a great passage to reference as we struggle with sin on a daily basis. The text serves as a wonderful reminder of how to fight spiritual battles through the grace of Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit (2 Cor 13:13). As we have been doing since May, 2023, we turn our attention each month to the next passage in 1 John and this month brings us to 1 John 5:1-4, likely a familiar passage to each of you. John begins this section of his letter by addressing the idea that every person who believes Jesus is the Christ “has been born of God.” This brings up a very encouraging, and hotly debated, thought. First, the encouragement. John’s point here is simple: if you believe Jesus is indeed the promised Old Testament Messiah and is the Christ, God the Father has regenerated you and you are a child of the King. There really is no greater encouragement than to hear of the Father’s saving love for us and that we are indeed a member of the Kingdom. Nothing in creation can compare to this amazing news. The hotly debated aspect of this verse, though, deals with those who claim to believe Jesus is the Christ but are unbiblical in their beliefs. Take Mormons for example. They claim to believe Jesus is the Christ but they do not believe in the Jesus of the New Testament. Latter-day Saints believe in a totally different person than the biblical Jesus even though they call him Jesus. So, does this mean Mormons are Christians because they claim “Jesus is the Christ”? It does not. Quite the opposite is the case. There is more to Christianity than saying the right words or mental assent. This, in fact, is the point of John’s letter from beginning to end. Christianity is about right belief and right action. Theologians call this orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Verses 2 and 3 note this specifically as John writes we know we love God when we love him (beliefs) AND obey his commands (action). Often times we may think obeying the Lord is wearisome or a burden but verses 3-4 answer this concern. God’s commands are not a burden because, through the power of the Spirit, we are able to conquer the world and it is our faith in Christ that conquers all things. Brothers and sisters, may each of us strive daily to obey the Lord’s commands, not because we have to for salvation but we get to because of salvation.
As we have been doing, please continue praying for each other (1 Thess 5:17) and for the other churches in our Association. I want to encourage you strongly to pray for each other, other pastors, and sister congregations in our area as we work together to encourage pastors and equip churches to engage lostness for the sake of fulfilling our part of the Great Commission. Lift each of these pastors and congregations to the Father, asking for His providential care for them and for His mercy and grace to work mightily through them.
Travelers Rest Community, Travelers Rest, Blake Hollander
Travelers Rest Community, Travelers Rest, Eric Sinclair
Travelers Rest Community, Travelers Rest, Jeremy Tanner
Travelers Rest First, Travelers Rest, Rhett Burns
Trinity Way, Greenville, Chip Jackson
Tyger, Taylors, Glen Gifford
Victor, Greer, Ken Vickery
Walnut Grove, Marietta, Dean Patton
Washington, Greer, Trent Henson My prayer for you for August is the same as always. May the Lord grant each of us opportunities to share the message of Christ with unbelievers and disciple believers in the message of Christ. As an association of churches, we partner together for the sake of encouraging and equipping each other in order to engage lostness for the sake of fulfilling our part of the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20).
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