"The Narrow Road": Blogs By Shane Kastler

Rejoicing In Wrath?

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us…” (Galatians 3:13)

We don’t typically think of wrath as a good thing.  The idea of wrath usually conjures up images of an out-of-control lunatic who doesn’t have the maturity to control his emotions.  But God’s wrath is different.  When the Bible speaks of the wrath of God it is referring to how God has determined he will respond to sin.  Those apart from Christ will suffer the wrath of God eternally in Hell.  Indeed we see the wrath of God displayed in this temporal earth even now, as “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…” (Romans 1:18)  But can you imagine joyfully singing about the wrath of God?

Recently, during a worship service, I found myself doing just that.  A line from a worship song called “In Christ Alone” goes like this:  “Till on that cross as Jesus died/ The wrath of God was satisfied / For every sin on Him was laid/ Here in the death of Christ I live.”

I couldn’t help but think of how odd this would seem to a non-Christian who doesn’t understand the idea of Christ’s atoning work on Calvary.  As a Christian I can sing joyfully of God’s wrath because I know it’s a wrath that I deserved.  But God is so gracious; he took that wrath upon himself in my place.  As Jesus Christ (God the Son) hung upon the cross, the wrath of God the Father was poured out upon him to pay the price for his elect people; those who would repent and submit to Christ as Lord.

It is a staggering concept to ponder, that God would graciously do such a thing.  That as a sinner; I deserve eternal wrath - - But as a Christian; I know that Christ absorbed that wrath in my place.  And now I not only get to spend the rest of my days on earth praising him for his love and grace.  But that I will also spend eternity praising him in Heaven as well.

Wrath is a scary thing.  But it is glorious to consider the grace of God that poured his wrath on a substitute who hung in my place, so that I could live.  The idea makes me want to sing.  Hopefully it does the same for you.

Audio To David Miller Sermons

Below is the sermon audio to the 4 sermons preached by David Miller at Heritage Baptist Church in Lake Charles, LA.  More info and sermons available at www.hbc-lakecharles.com.

Title: Ordinary Missionaries – Text: Col. 4:7-18 – By David Miller –
Date: 4.29.12

Title: The Glory of Jesus – Text: John 1:14-18 – By David Miller –
Date: 4.28.12

Title: Substitution & Satisfaction (Part 2) – Text: Isa. 53 – By David Miller – Date: 4.27.12

Title: Substitution & Satisfaction – Text: Isa. 53 – By David Miller – Date: 4.26.12

Restraining Grace (A Poem)

Restraining Grace

By Shane Kastler

 

Sinners, wretched to the core

By nature men and women are.

They long for sin still more and more.

The depths they plunge, so very far.

 

Daily living for themselves

Thoughts and actions vile and base.

But O how ugly it could be.

If not for God’s  restraining grace.

 

If you’re in Christ please understand.

It’s not your intellect supreme.

That gets you into Beulah- land,

Its God who chose to set you free.

 

Apart from Him you’re overcome.

Slave of flesh and slave of man.

So used to sin it makes you numb.

A dead man walking through the land.

 

Restraining grace has kept you thus,

From Being Judas yesterday.

From selling Christ to gain some coin,

And squandering your life away.

 

Go see the drunkard in the ditch,

And look intently at his face.

Eerily you’ll see yourself,

If not for God’s restraining grace.

 

The harlot with revolving door,

Of suitors willing to partake,

Would be your lot and destiny,

Had God not chose you to awake.

 

Or maybe still a star out west.

Rich and famous, yet depraved.

They’ve had their treasure here on earth.

Yet weep and wail in future days.

 

Restraining grace has kept you from,

A life so worthless as to be,

A pity to behold by those,

Who once were blind but now can see.

 

So though your life be fraught with pain,

For Christians it won’t last too long.

His grace will keep you till that day,

When in His sight you’ll sing the songs.

 

Of all that He has saved you from.

Eternal Hell should be your place.

But Glory to the Sovereign One.

Who showed you His restraining grace.

 

The Sin of Unbelief

Some people are of the belief that mankind at its core is basically good. The Bible teaches otherwise.  According to scripture, people are sinners by their very nature, and though they may be trained to do nice things, they are still enslaved to sin from birth.  A person’s specific sins are merely the fruit of a sinful heart.  The temper, or the lust, or the selfishness is simply the natural outflow of a depraved heart. 

One of the ways in which sin is most clearly manifested is in the rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord over one’s life.  Jesus said, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19 NASB)  The Light of Jesus Christ and the gospel came into the world, but man in his natural depravity rejects that light.  The Bible further states that “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NASB)

This natural rejection of Christ is also known as the sin of unbelief.  Sinners are called in Scripture to repent and turn from this heinous spiritual crime and submit to the Lordship of Christ over their life.  But sinners will never do that because it goes against their nature.  So how is anyone saved?  Answer: God graciously grants a new heart to some sinners by the miracle of regeneration.  Jesus told Nicodemus “you must be born again” (John 3:3), and when this happens, the sinner’s nature is changed from one who rejects Christ to one who embraces Christ.  And since that change came about by God’s power rather than man’s; God receives all the glory for the salvation.

            Have you experienced this change in your life?  Are you a genuine “born again” follower of Jesus Christ?  If so, then praise God for changing your heart.  He didn’t have to do that, he freely chose to do that.  And if it’s clear that Christ is not the Lord over your life, repent and turn to Him.  For its only by his grace, that you will be changed and one day enter in to glory because of His merciful provision.

How God Brings Deliverance

It might come as a surprise to you to discover that Christians are not immune from suffering.  In fact, when you look over the course of history, Christians have frequently suffered much more than non-Christians.  As those who have been born-again by the Spirit and are bound for Heaven, we are frequently reminded that this world is not our home.  Furthermore, Jesus said that we should not be surprised if the world hates us since it also hated him and we are his followers (see John 15:18-19). In this fallen, sin-cursed world, afflictions abound for the righteous.  The Bible says in the book of Psalms: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19 NASB)

So we experience afflictions, but we also experience deliverance provided by the Lord.  But there can be many different ways in which God grants deliverance.  Sometimes He delivers us from the affliction by changing our circumstances.  He removes whatever it is that has been causing the pain.  Other times, God delivers us by allowing the affliction to stay, even to the point of taking our earthly life.  You might be prone to ask, “What kind of deliverance is this?”  In all honesty, it’s the best kind you can receive.  For the Christian there is no greater thing that can happen then that they leave this world and enter the presence of God.  The Bible says to be “absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8) Once we’re with the Lord there is no longer any possibility of pain, sorrow, heartache, or affliction.  Heaven is a place of perfection and eternal joy which is only experienced by those who know Christ as Lord of their life.

Will you go to heaven when you die?  The Bible teaches that all people are sinners by nature and that they must be changed by God into new creatures who love and follow Christ.  When God’s Spirit touches a sinner’s heart bringing conviction and change, that sinner will turn from their life of sin and follow Christ as Lord for the rest of their days.  Has this happened to you?  Plead with the Lord to grant you mercy and begin the experience of following Christ.  You’ll still face many trials, but take heart, the Lord will deliver you from them all.  Sometimes He will do it by preserving your life.  Other times He’ll do something even greater.  He’ll take your life and bring you safely to His eternal kingdom.

 

After Darkness Comes The Light (A Poem on Suffering & Salvation)

A world in sin with mournful groans,

We need a Savior to redeem,

The blood of bulls cannot atone,

All hope is lost, or so it seems.

Yet God’s plan is to condescend,

Into the most unlikely place,

A child is born in Bethlehem,

And He will pay for Adam’s race.

For centuries we needed Him,

A substitute to win our fight,

The sting of death would do us in,

But after Darkness comes the Light.

 

Born depraved, no hope to see;

Blindly groping for a way;

Yet content with thoughts of me;

We want the Lord to stay away.

Darkness ever choking out,

Any spark of the Divine,

Dead within and dead without;

Pursuing sin, that shall be mine.

Then comes the Spirit, with the Word;

Born again, with such delight!

Sovereign grace, that’s from the Lord,

And after Darkness comes the Light.

 

And so begins the narrow road,

With joy and pain now intermixed.

Some days feel like a heavy load.

Yet through it all our hope is fixed.

Upon the One who conquered sin,

Because of Him we persevere,

And one day soon, we’ll enter in;

Till then, our laughter’s mixed with tears.

Testing for the godly one,

Yet only for a season might,

Make us crawl instead of run,

But after Darkness, comes the Light.

 

Then He ordains the ending trial,

That every Christian’s bound to face.

We all must walk the final mile.

We all must finish up the race.

Again it feels like darkness grim,

As flesh and bone give way to pain,

But now we have the strength from Him,

What seems like loss, in fact is gain.

And for the final time we leave,

The darkness of that closing night,

Into the splendor, we’re received,

And after Darkness, comes the Light!

Bethlehem & Calvary: A Christmas Poem

Bethlehem & Calvary

By Shane Kastler

 

This day we celebrate a King.

Born to die, Salvation brings.

A perfect plan to save the ones.

He chose to make His daughters, sons.

 

Sold under sin’s repressive curse.

Hellish torment soon disbursed.

To all who rightly do deserve.

Eternal sentence to be served.

 

But in steps He who knew no sin;

A vict-or-y  for us to win;

The baby born in Bethlehem;

God with us, Behold the lamb!

 

Who would be slain when it was time,

He lived perfection; so sublime.

Then died to make a payment for,

The ones who now walk through the door.

 

To life eternal, thanks to Christ; 

Our Great Redeemer’s sacrifice.

All glory, praise, and laud shall go. 

Unto the One who came below.

 

Was born to us a child today;

Emmanu-el to light the way.

We celebrate Him constantly;

How can we not for we are free?

 

And daily we shall ever sing;

Our praises to the One True King.

And let not Christmas simply be;

A time for gifts and thoughts of me.

 

But rather let us comprehend;

What God hath done for sinful men.

And vow to live and glorify;

Our perfect King who lived and died.

 

So when you think of manger scenes,

This Christmas, that are so serene.

Forget not death and bloody pain,

The babe would take to give you gain.

 

Bethlehem and Calvary;

They both do serve to let us see.

The glory of the Holy One,

We celebrate as God’s own Son.

 

Church & State Audio for November 17, 2011

Below is the audio links for Church and State from Nov. 17, 2011.  The guest for hour 1 was Jerry Macelle, retired Professor of History at McNeese State University. He currently teaches Church History at Cornerstone University.  Hour 2 we were joined by Barry McCall, owner of KELB radio.

Church & State, 11-17-2011, KELB Radio, 100.5, Hour 1, with Nathan Curtis, Shane Kastler, & Jerry Macelle

Church & State, 11-17-2011, KELB Radio, 100.5, Hour 2 with Nathan Curtis, Shane Kastler, Jerry Macelle, and Barry McCall

 

 

Righteous Men, Worthy Women, & Bad News

Nobody likes bad news.  Sometimes bad news is minor.  Other times, it’s catastrophic and life changing.  Everyone tries various ways to deal with it, but only the righteous really have the capacity to endure the initial blow and then victoriously persevere through the aftermath.

The Psalmist wrote of a righteous man saying:  “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.” (Psalm 112:7 ESV)  The righteous have a firm, or “established” heart because their trust is in the Lord.  In other words, the righteous know that whatever may befall them cannot befall them unless God allows, and even ordains it.  The righteous know that God is sovereign over all things and is in control of their life.  Whatever happens is in accordance with God’s purposes and they trust that God knows best.

Incidentally, the Bible says a similar thing about a “worthy woman.”  In Proverbs 31 it says of a worthy woman that “strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.” (Proverbs 31:25 NASB)  You might wonder how she can smile at a future so full of uncertainty.  It’s because she knows that God is in control of it.  Just like the “righteous man” the “worthy woman” has a heart that is steadfastly trusting in the Lord whom she loves and follows.

So regardless of your gender, you can be righteous and endure suffering and uncertainties with the calm assurance that God is in control.  But this can only be done by having a relationship with Christ as Lord.  In fact this is the only way one can become “righteous.”  The Bible teaches that all are sinners by nature and deserving of God’s wrath.  But Christ came and lived a perfect life, dying a sacrificial death for all those who would repent and place their faith in Him as Lord.  Have you done that?  If so, you can “smile at the future” because eternal Heaven is in it for you.  And you can have a firm heart that trusts in the Lord and not be afraid of bad news.

Righteous men and worthy women are few and far between these days.  Make a commitment to be different than the world.  Be righteous.  Be worthy.  Be an imitator of Jesus Christ.  And smile at your future, with a heart that firmly trusts in the Lord.

Audio from 'Church & State' on KELB Radio, Lake Charles, LA

Below is the audio link to both hours of Church & State on KELB radio from 10/24/11:

Church & State - KELB Radio - 10.24.11 - Hour 1 with Nathan Curtis, Barry McCall, Rick McClain, and Shane Kastler.

 

Church & State - KELB Radio - 1o.24.11 - Hour 2 with Nathan Curtis, Shane Kastler, Don Sessions, and Dale Nazworth.

Downloaded from kelbradio.com.