Category: Personal Holiness

Saying The Right Things Doesn’t Necessarily Prove Genuine Christianity

DebbieLynne KespertLeave a comment

How should we determine the authenticity of another person’s Christianity? If he or she rattles off a statement of faith that measures up to basic Christian orthodoxy, should that confession of faith be enough to satisfy us? I recently saw such a confession, written by someone known for open rebellion against certain portions of Scripture as well as for repeatedly slandering a Christian pastor over teachings that are unpopular with progressive evangelicals.

I affirm Jesus as the God-man, born of a virgin, who made atonement for sin, performed supernatural miracles to authenticate His claims, was crucified, died, was buried and rose again.

Okay, each of these affirmations is entirely Biblical. Every true Christian would agree wholeheartedly with each point. I’d venture to add that a denial of even one of these points would indicate that a person either doesn’t know Christ or is a very new convert. One cannot be a true Christian without believing all of these truths about Jesus.

At the same time, merely affirming these basic tenets of the faith doesn’t necessarily indicate genuine fidelity to the Lord. James, the half-brother of Jesus, stated in no uncertain terms that the ability to positively recite a Biblical affiliation of basic principles doesn’t always guarantee true Christianity.

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It’s Apparently Disability Awareness Month, And I Really Don’t Care

DebbieLynne KespertLeave a comment

I’ve been aware of disability all my life. Not only do I live with my own disability and the disability of my husband, but I spent my entire childhood attending school, Saturday recreation programs and summer camps with children who had a variety of physical and intellectual disabilities. In my early 40s, I spent two years in a nursing home for disabled adults. So I’m quite aware of disability, thank you very much.

I guess I could devote this month’s worth of blog posts to writing disability themed articles. Such articles usually attract lots of readers, and my ego would certainly love that boost in numbers. Maybe able bodied people would actually learn a few things.

But I’ve always felt a little uncomfortable about disabled people who form their careers or ministries around disability. God uses them, I admit. Often. they open doors for other disabled people, greatly improving their lives. Yet it bothers me a little to see them focus so narrowly on their disabilities that few of them seem to have an identity that transcends disability. I don’t mean to be judgmental, but I’d rather raise myself above my disability in order to take my place in the able bodied world. Not that I want to pretend that my Cerebral Palsy doesn’t exist — I just don’t want it to define me.

My identity is in Christ.

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How Influential Are You?

DebbieLynne KespertLeave a comment

A reader on The Outspoken TULIP Facebook page suggested an article on how we might influence the church culture, especially when so many are compromising God’s Word. Her suggestions intrigued me. I also see declining fidelity to Scripture in most churches as well as among Christians on social media, and catch myself thinking that, if only this blog would go viral, evangelicals would straighten up and fly right.

It’s easy to imagine ourselves as modern day reformers, isn’t it? Initially, those imaginings come from right motives. Most of the work by Luther, Calvin and Zwingli (as well as lesser known 16th Century Reformers) to restore Scripture as the authority for everything in Christian life has long since been corrupted by worldly philosophies and practices. As we look at the way God worked through them, we find ourselves thinking that perhaps He’ll do similar things through us. We hate seeing people fall into deception, and we hate the deceptions that pull them away from pure devotion to Christ. Naturally we long for God to use us in restoring people to Himself.

But frequently our zeal for purity within His church lulls us into believing that we have the ability to influence our local churches and/or the evangelical world at large, If discernment bloggers would just give us the magic key, we could unlock the Spirit’s power and transform Christian culture. Or so we think.

So John and I once thought.

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Purity Isn’t Only About Sexual Attitudes

DebbieLynne KespertLeave a comment

The first thing we think about when we hear the word “purity” is sexual impurity. Maybe that results from our sex saturated culture. Or maybe it exposes the depth of our own preoccupation with sex. Either way, it is the first thing that comes to our minds, isn’t it?

Perhaps we do need to begin with that connection when the subject of purity comes up, precisely because sex permeates so much of our consciousness. Sexual purity has fallen out of favor even among evangelicals. For the first time in history, evangelicals openly live together outside of marriage and see nothing wrong with that practice. Obviously, fewer and fewer professing Christians believe that sexual behavior should be confined to marriage between one man and one woman until death. In this regard, I agree that purity in sexual conduct can’t be emphasized too often or too strongly.

Was the apostle Paul thinking about sexual purity when he told Titus how older women should mentor younger women?

3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. ~~Titus 2:3-5 (NASB95)

Certainly, teaching women the importance of modesty and chastity would have been a key reason for women to teach other women. It would have caused incredible temptation for a man to counsel a woman on such intimate matters. Women can (and sadly do) fall into sexual sin just as easily as men do, making it necessary and crucial to address this type of impurity. Therefore, we cannot and must not neglect this area of instruction.

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Before Teaching Younger Women HOW, Let’s Teach Them WHY

DebbieLynne KespertLeave a comment

We generally fall into one of two ditches in applying Titus 2:3-5 to how we conduct women’s ministry.

3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. ~~Titus 2:3-5 (NASB95)

The more common ditch (and the one I usually fall into) condenses the passage down to nothing more than women teaching other women. It’s certainly commendable that people recognize that Christian women can use their gifts of teaching without teaching men in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12, and I praise God that women want to obey the Lord. Yes, as godly women, we must be careful not to step outside the boundaries prescribed in God’s Word. In a time when far too many women have declared themselves to be pastors or have taken co-ed Bibles Studies and/or Sunday School classes, it’s refreshing to see women stewarding their teaching abilities appropriately.

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Will I Have An Occasional Glass Of Wine?

DebbieLynne KespertLeave a comment

If you want a lively debate with other Christians, just mention alcohol! You’ll get impassioned responses from people on all sides of the issue, and you may even damage one or two of your friendships in the process (I say that mostly in jest).

Alcohol consumption among Christians has always required a careful reading of Scripture and an understanding of Christian liberty in the light of exhortations towards temperance. It’s a sensitive topic, requiring extensive study coupled with prayer for wisdom to apply God’s Word accurately and lovingly. Therefore, this small blog post can’t thoroughly examine the matter.

Truth be told, I really don’t want to blog about alcohol. But we can’t work through Titus 2:3-5 unless we deal with Paul’s command to older women women regarding this topic.

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Queen Elizabeth II: An Example Of Self-Denial

DebbieLynne KespertLeave a comment
Please watch this short video before reading further.

In 2022, we can’t imagine any 21-year-old seriously vowing to dedicate her life to the service of others. But then Princess Elizabeth knew that she would one day become the queen of England and all its realms.

She also knew that she would inherit this responsibility because her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne a few years earlier so that he could marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee. His sacrifice for “the woman I love” sounds romantic, but it forced King George VI to assume the monarchy. Young Elizabeth blamed her uncle for her father’s ill health, and perhaps for failing to marry a woman who could produce a suitable heir. I believe witnessing the detrimental effects of her uncle’s selfishness instilled a heightened sense of duty in her.

We can debate whether or not Queen Elizabeth took her sense of duty too far at the expense of her family, but today wouldn’t be the day for that discussion. Rather, we should admire her own self-denial as she served her kingdom. Many articles I’ve read since her passing indicate that Queen Elizabeth II had a genuine Christian faith, suggesting that she understood the value of putting others before herself.

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. ~~Philippians 2:1-4

I’m challenged by Queen Elizabeth II’s example. She lived her life honoring the astounding promise she made as a 21-year-old girl.

Why I’d Rather Not Blog About Matt Chandler And His Online Conversations

DebbieLynne KespertLeave a comment

Firstly, Matt Chandler has never been more than an occasional blip on my discernment radar. I’ve vaguely been aware that he has some questionable theology, so I’ve kept him at arm’s length. But, as I’ve said before, I no longer have time nor energy to research all the celebrity pastors and teachers who populate the evangelical landscape. So in that respect, I really don’t care about the online conversations with a woman that led to him stepping down from his ministry position. So much about that situation remains unclear at this point that I just don’t feel knowledge enough to formulate an opinion. Actually, I see no valid reason for me to formulate an opinion.

My invalid reason for formulating an opinion would be to reinstate my discernment blogger status. My article on God’s wrath didn’t attract many readers, even though such articles on Christian doctrine develop discernment much more effectively than articles exposing false teachers and evangelical celebrities. If I’d dig up some juicy dirt on Matt Chandler and add in some speculation, I’d draw attention.

This matter ties in with my ongoing examination of Titus 2:3-5:

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Leopard Print Mini Skirts On 75-Year-Old Women Don’t Exactly Depict Reverence

DebbieLynne Kespert1 Comment

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, ~~Titus 2:3 (NASB95)

My mom dated a few men after Daddy died, which was definitely understandable. She was only 49 when she began dating — much too young to forget about romance. My sister and I correctly sensed that the first one didn’t like children, which was undoubtedly why we didn’t like him.

But we absolutely adored his mother! At age 75, she had flaming red hair, which she styled in one of the trendy short cuts so popular in 1965. I still remember her leopard print mini skirt and her thigh high brown leather boots. Why couldn’t our own grandmother dress like that? Best of all, she shared our enthusiasm for the Beatles! Mom taught us the word “flamboyant,” using it to describe her. And I so hoped that I would be as flamboyant when I got that old.

That lady amused us. We’d laugh at her obvious attempts to appear young and with it, aware of the incongruity between her age and her demeanor. As much as we delighted in her mini skirts and embrace of our music, something deep down told us that she wasn’t behaving with the dignity befitting an elderly woman.

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Eat Some Of The Ice Cream, But Don’t Give Up

DebbieLynne Kespert2 Comments

“That’s it — I’m done!”

John has lost count of the times I’ve declared those words out of frustration and hopelessness. Maybe you’ve also thrown up your hands and made similar pronouncements. Indeed, life can feel overwhelming, especially with all the horrible things happening lately. Sometimes we feel like crawling into a cave with a quart of chocolate double fudge ice cream while we pray for the Rapture. We get tired of trying to maintain godly attitudes when everything around us is falling apart. Believe me, ladies: I understand the desire to just give up!

As Christians, however, we know that the Lord calls us to persevere when life gets tough. Titus 2:2, as a matter of fact, instructs older men to set the example of being sound in doctrine, love and perseverance for the rest of the Church. As women, we have the responsibility to follow this example. We must keep most of that ice cream in the freezer and trust the Lord to take us through the difficulties and sufferings that surround us.

But what exactly is perseverance, and why should Christians persevere through trials? That cave with the ice cream seems a whole lot more comforting, and we really get sick of pushing through one trial after another. Why did the Holy Spirit inspire Paul to urge Christians to persevere?

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