Halloween has become a major cultural celebration, with families spending money on costumes, decorations, and candy. For many people, it’s simply a fun night for children. But as followers of Jesus Christ, I believe we need to ask a more important question: Should Christians participate in Halloween, and if so, where should we draw the line?

To answer that question, we need to look beyond what our culture considers normal and examine the spiritual history behind the celebration.

Understanding Halloween’s Origins

Halloween has roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which was associated with the changing seasons, death, and beliefs about the boundary between the living and the dead. Bonfires, costumes, and other practices were part of these ancient observances.

Over time, Christian traditions surrounding All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day became associated with this period of the calendar. The result is a complicated history in which cultural and religious customs have become intertwined.

But giving a tradition a new name doesn’t automatically settle the question of whether it honors God.

Scripture calls us to exercise discernment concerning spiritual practices. In Deuteronomy 18:10–12, God specifically warns His people against witchcraft, divination, sorcery, and attempts to consult the dead. These aren’t matters we should dismiss simply because our culture treats them as entertainment.

As Christians, we must take God’s Word seriously and allow it to shape our decisions.

We Can Enjoy Autumn Without Embracing Everything

I believe it’s important to distinguish between celebrating the beauty of autumn and participating in Halloween traditions that conflict with our convictions.

There’s nothing wrong with decorating our homes with autumn leaves, celebrating the harvest, or gathering our families for a seasonal celebration. We can create meaningful traditions without incorporating practices that contradict our faith.

The question isn’t whether we should withdraw from our communities. It’s how we can remain faithful to Christ while living among people who may not share our convictions.

How Can We Shine the Light of Jesus?

Here’s something I want us to consider: we cannot shine the light of Jesus into the darkness while embracing the very things that contradict His truth.

But neither should our convictions make us indifferent to the people around us.

When children come to our doors, we have an opportunity to welcome them with kindness, show them the love of Christ, and build relationships with our neighbors. We can create Christ-centered harvest celebrations and find appropriate ways to make the gospel known.

We don’t have to compromise our beliefs to demonstrate love, mercy, and grace.

There’s also a significant connection between October 31 and the Protestant Reformation. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther presented his Ninety-Five Theses, an event remembered as a defining moment in church history. That date gives us another reason to reflect on the importance of the gospel and the truth of God’s Word.

My desire isn’t simply to tell Christians what to avoid. I want us to consider how we can use our lives, our homes, and our communities to point people toward Jesus Christ.

We can stand firm in our convictions and still reach people with the love of Christ. In fact, we must learn to do both.

There are people who question whether Jesus Christ really existed, while others acknowledge that He lived but reject the biblical accounts of who He was. As Christians, we need to be prepared to consider these questions and understand why they matter.

The question isn’t simply whether a man named Jesus walked the earth two thousand years ago. The bigger question is who He was, what He accomplished, and why His life, death, and resurrection remain central to the Christian faith.

What Does History Tell Us About Jesus?

In my latest episode of Foundational U, I examine historical references to Jesus outside the New Testament, including writings associated with Tacitus, Josephus, Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, and the Babylonian Talmud.

These ancient sources come from different backgrounds, and they don’t all tell the same story or address Jesus in the same way. However, their references to Jesus and the early Christian movement are important when we consider the historical context in which Christianity emerged.

I also discuss Bertrand Russell’s essay Why I’m Not a Christian, published in 1957, in which Russell questioned whether Jesus’ existence could be established historically.

Questions like these deserve more than a quick dismissal. We should be willing to examine the evidence, understand what historical sources actually say, and think carefully about the conclusions we draw from them.

Our faith doesn’t require us to be afraid of honest questions.

The Testimony of the Early Church

Historical references outside the Bible are only part of the discussion. We must also consider the writings of the early Christian church and the testimony preserved in the New Testament.

The apostle Paul, writing about the resurrection, refers to Jesus appearing to more than five hundred people at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6). Paul presents this testimony as part of the foundation of the Christian message: Christ died, was buried, and was raised from the dead.

The resurrection is not a minor detail added to an otherwise ordinary story. It stands at the center of the gospel.

If Jesus merely lived and died, He would be one more figure from the past. But the Christian proclamation is that He conquered death and lives today.

That claim changes the entire conversation.

More Than a Historical Figure

Ultimately, establishing that Jesus existed is not the same as answering the question of His identity.

Who do we believe Jesus is? Was He simply a teacher, a prophet, or a religious leader? Or is He who Scripture declares Him to be: the Son of God and the Savior of mankind?

That is the question every person must consider.

We should study the historical evidence, examine the testimony, and be prepared to explain what we believe. But we must never lose sight of the reason the evidence matters in the first place. We are not simply trying to establish a fact about someone who lived long ago. We are considering the identity of the One on whom our faith rests.

Jesus Christ is more than a historical figure. He is the Son of God, the one and only Savior of mankind.

I invite you to watch or listen to my latest episode of Foundational U, where I examine the historical evidence for Jesus and consider why His existence and identity matter.

And in the next episode, we’ll look more closely at what makes Jesus Christ unique.

The rebellion by the Jewish people against the domination of the Roman Empire reached a breaking point in 66 A.D.

Emperor Nero sent General Vespasian with two legions of soldiers to put down the rebellion. They quickly conquered the Galilee region and pushed toward Jerusalem.

Titus laid siege to Jerusalem in the spring of 70 A.D. and by August had breached the walls and destroyed the temple, with over one million Jewish men and women and children losing their lives.

Emperor Hadrian came to Jerusalem in 130 A.D. He renamed the land of Israel Palaestina, a Latin form of the ancient Old Testament Philistine.

The city of Jerusalem was still in ruins from the first Jewish revolt sixty years earlier.

He renamed the city Aelia Capitolina, Jupiter Capitolinus after himself and the superior Roman god, Jupiter. He also built a temple to Jupiter on top of the ruins of the second Jewish temple located on the Temple Mount.

These grievous actions by Hadrian initiated a second revolt by Jews living in Israel.

Led by Simon bar Kokhba, the Jews were initially very successful. However, Hadrian sent six full legions into the region, crushing the forces led by Bar Kokhba.

• 580,000 Jews lost their lives, and 1,000 towns and villages were destroyed.

• Jewish families were banished from their homeland. Reading the Torah was forbidden, and public burning of the Torah was carried out.

• Circumcision and Jewish religious practices were outlawed, and Jewish scholars were executed.

• The land of Israel was renamed.

• The City of Zion was renamed.

• The temple of the Living God was destroyed and replaced by a temple to an idol.

• Jewish families were banished from living in the land. Israel no longer existed.

The light went out in Israel

Over the next eighteen centuries, the land would be possessed by Gentile forces alternately between Rome, Eastern Rome, Muslims, Crusaders, and the Ottomans.

The Ottoman Empire controlled Palestine and the city of Jerusalem four hundred years, beginning in 1517.

God made a covenant with Abraham, establishing that this land would be his and his descendants’ “everlasting possession.”

God also gave a very solemn warning at the very establishment of the nation Israel, through Moses.

“Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known—wood and stone. And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. In the morning you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were morning!’ because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see” (Deuteronomy 28:64-67 NKJV).

God also gave them assurance He would not forget His covenant with Abraham.

“Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:1-6 NKJV).

The lighting of a candle

At the close of the nineteenth century and the opening of the twentieth century, God began a dramatic work that would restore light to Eretz Israel, the Land of Israel.

An Austrian writer, journalist, and playwright became a lightning rod for establishing a homeland for the Jewish people.

Theodor Herzl published Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) in 1896. He wrote the novel, Altneuland (Old New Land) in 1902.

Although the wealthy and political leaders of the Jewish community were not impressed, the general population of the Jewish community received his writings with enthusiasm.

The First Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland, in August 1897, giving birth to the Zionist movement.

August 28, 1898, the Second Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland. Chaim Weizmann was one of the four hundred delegates.

Dr. Chaim Weizmann was employed at the Chemistry Department of the University of Manchester, where he became friends with renowned British political leaders, Arthur Balfour and David Lloyd George.

These two British leaders were deeply committed Christians and students of the Word of God. They too became very committed to helping establish a homeland for the Jewish people.

David Lloyd George was elected Prime Minister of Great Britain in December 1916 and began to openly speak in favor of a homeland for the Jewish people.

Immediately following Britain’s declaration of war against the Ottoman Empire in 1914, the British War Cabinet started to consider a proper future for Palestine.

One of the cabinet members was a Zionist and presented the possibilities of creating a homeland for the Jewish people.

David Lloyd George was also a member of that Cabinet in 1916 and supported the Zionist proposal.

The first negotiations between the British War Cabinet and the Zionists took place in February 1917.

The negotiations continued until the fall of that year. An agreement was reached following a significant event that took place on October 31, 1917.

General Edmund Allenby was appointed to lead the British military forces in Egypt in the summer of 1917.

He began training his troops, gathering the necessary supplies, and preparing a strategy to drive the Ottoman forces out of Palestine.

He would not attack Gaza, as had been the strategy of his predecessor. A strategy that had failed miserably.

He would encounter the Ottoman forces at Beersheba, even though the odds seemed completely unfavorable. The British forces won a decisive victory and drove the Ottomans out of Beersheba, establishing British control of that area.

News reached the British War Cabinet that same day, October 31, 1917.

The Cabinet immediately approved the establishment of a “national homeland” for the Jewish people. Forty-one days later, British forces defeated the Ottomans in Jerusalem, freeing the capital city from their control.

General Allenby entered the city and declared Jerusalem under British control.

A Day of Restoration

Why is the date October 31, 1917 so significant?

God had made a promise to Abraham that he and his descendants would possess the land “as an everlasting possession.”

Beersheba was the very first parcel of ground possessed by Abraham in the land promised to him by Almighty God

The British government was in favor of restoring a “national homeland” to the Jewish people and restoring to them the land that had been promised to their father, Abraham; land that had been lost 1,800 years before.

Great Britain could not restore to the Jewish people what they did not rightfully possess.

October 31, 1917, General Edmund Allenby and the British army took possession of the first portion of the Land of Promise.

What was the first parcel of land they possessed?

It was Beersheba and the surrounding territory. The very same land that was the first possession of Abraham.

December 8, 1917, at sundown, the Ottoman forces began fleeing Jerusalem and by the morning of December 9, 1917, British forces had full control.

This is a direct fulfillment of the prophecy by Haggai.

“Consider now, from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month… from this day I will bless you” (Haggai 2:10, 15, 18-19).

Hebrew day goes from sundown to sundown. Sundown on December 8, 1917, was the beginning of the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month.

Even more amazing, sundown on December 9, 1917, began the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month or the 25^th of Chislev, the beginning of Chanukah.

Coincidence? No way!

These were the major stepping stones for the restoration of the homeland of the Jewish people and the rebirth of the nation of Israel that would take place in 1948.

God made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants, promising that this land was their “everlasting possession.” He keeps His covenants and His promises.

Let’s celebrate October 31^st as the day of restoration, not the day of darkness!

October 31^st has been known as the day of witches, ghosts, and goblins for centuries.

• Children dress in costumes and go trick-or-treating.

• Communities make scare houses, and over the last twenty years, people decorating the outside of their homes and the front lawn with graveyards and scary creatures has become the rage.

Halloween has its origins in the Celtic Festival, Samhain, when people would dress in costume and light bonfires to ward off evil spirits and ghosts.

Pope Gregory designated November 1st as a day to remember and to honor the saints.

Over the years, the eve of that holy day, October 31st, became known as “All Hallows' Eve.” The name soon morphed into Halloween.

Today, October 31st is a day totally given over to the dark forces and the welcoming of those forces, not seeking to banish them.

Although the dark side of October 31st has received the greater publicity, God means for October 31st to be known as the day of restoration, not a day of darkness, ghosts, and goblins.

October 31 - a Day of Restoration, Not a Day of Darkness

October 31, 1517, is the day Western Europe, indeed, the world, stepped out of the Dark Ages into the marvelous light of the Reformation.

I know, political correctness and historical rewriting have identified the years from approximately 500 to 1500 AD as the “Middle Ages.” However, for centuries, those were identified as the “Dark Ages.”

Literacy and the Scriptures were hidden

A movement toward extreme piety began in the late third century AD. St. Anthony (251 – 356 AD) moved to the desert area of Egypt along the Nile River to live a life of solitude and holiness.

Others followed, and by the late fifth century and early sixth century, church leaders had cloistered behind the walls of monasteries, taking literacy and the Holy Scriptures with them.

This movement left the common people with little opportunity for education and unable to read and study the Word of God.

The Holy Bible was only to be written and read in Latin, the holy language.

All efforts to publish the Holy Bible in the language of the common people were met with violent opposition, and the Bibles published were taken by force and destroyed by the Roman Catholic Church.

The Waldensians in southern France were translating the New Testament into the language of the French.

They were martyred. John Wycliffe, of Oxford University in Great Britain, was translating the Holy Scriptures into English.

He was hated and censored several times by the Pope.

Forty-three years after his death by a stroke, his body was exhumed, burned by fire, and the ashes thrown into the River Swift.

John Hus in Prague translated the Scriptures into Bohemian. He was arrested and burned at the stake. These are but a few of those seeking to bring the Scriptures into the languages of the common people so they could understand the Word of God and see the light of the Gospel.

The true gospel was hidden under a bushel

Literacy and the Holy Scriptures were not the only things hidden behind the walls of the monasteries.

The true Gospel of Salvation by grace through faith was also hidden away. All church services were conducted in the holy language, Latin.

I remember as a child growing up in Spokane, Washington, my friends who were Roman Catholic complained because going to church was an endurance.

Everything was in Latin, and they could not understand what was being said.

The only people allowed to read and study the Bible were those educated in the monasteries. The only thing the common people knew about God, Jesus Christ, and the way of salvation was that which was taught to them from the pulpit.

They had no way of discovering if the things they heard were the true Gospel, a fractured version of the Gospel, or a complete fabrication.

They were taught salvation came through the ordinances of the church: baptism, communion, and the confessional.

They were taught that when a person died, they did not go straight to heaven.

They were sent to purgatory, where they suffered for the imperfections in their life. The Holy Mother of Jesus must pray them out of purgatory when they have suffered enough for their failures.

They could purchase indulgences from the Roman Catholic Church that would shorten the length of time in purgatory.

The culture of society was filled with great darkness

The common person did not have a Bible and was not permitted to read the Bible.

The church services were held in a language they could not speak or understand.

There was a famine of the Word of God across the land.

This provided a gateway for every kind of syncretic belief, sorcery, witchcraft, and spiritual darkness to find its way into the fabric of the culture.

The hiddenness of the Word of God, combined with the distortion of the true Gospel, left the culture in a shadowy existence, providing opportunity for the forces of Lucifer to flourish.

The leadership of the Roman Catholic Church became corrupt through bribery, intrigue, and moral impurity.

The demand for wealth opened the door for selling prayers; conducting a special mass for those who had passed away, promising a shorter stay in purgatory at an exorbitant price; and the ultimate distorted doctrine, the selling of indulgences.

Government leaders were bought and sold by church leadership.

People lived in great fear, with no hope, without true salvation or assurance of eternal life.

A day of restoration

October 31, 1517, the light was turned on for Western Europe and the rest of the World.

Martin Luther was a prominent theologian, holding a doctoral degree. He was a Roman Catholic priest who questioned many of the tenets of the Church.

Frustrated and angered by the new round of indulgences being sold by Pope Leo X, Martin wrote a challenge to the Roman Catholic doctrine and nailed it to the door of the Wittenberg University Chapel.

It was a document containing 95 theses challenging the church leaders to debate.

This simple step on October 31st was like the lighting of a torch, bringing the light of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, restoring the assurance of true salvation by grace through faith and freeing mankind from the Dark Ages.

The Reformation was born!

We must never allow the light of the Gospel to be hidden away from the general population.

We must never allow access to the truth of God’s Word to be taken from the common person.

The Word of God, the Holy Bible, must be in a language every person can read, and the preaching and teaching of the Word of God must be in a language they can easily understand.

It is equally important that every child receives a quality education.

It is important for disciples of Jesus Christ to learn how they can turn this day of darkness into a significant celebration of restoration to the glory of the Kingdom of God.

I’m deeply concerned that we’re raising a generation that knows very little about God, His Word, or the principles upon which we should build our lives.

And it reminds me of something that happened in Israel after the death of Joshua.

Joshua had faithfully led the children of Israel into the Promised Land. Near the end of his life, he challenged the people to make a decision about whom they would serve.

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

The people promised that they would serve the Lord and obey His voice.

But then we read something heartbreaking in Judges 2:10:

“Another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.”

How could a generation that had experienced God’s faithfulness fail to pass that knowledge to their children?

And are we seeing something similar happen in America today?

Your Worldview Determines How You Live

Every person has a worldview, whether they realize it or not.

Your worldview determines how you answer life’s most important questions.

Who am I? Why am I here? What is right and wrong? Where am I going? What is my eternal destiny?

These aren’t small questions. The answers shape your decisions, relationships, values, and understanding of life itself.

There are two fundamentally different foundations from which we can answer them: a worldview centered on human reasoning or one grounded in the truth of God’s Word.

A humanistic worldview places human reasoning and experience at the center. Philosophies such as materialism, rationalism, and relativism approach life without recognizing God’s Word as the ultimate authority.

A biblical worldview begins somewhere entirely different.

It begins with the reality that Almighty God exists.

What Does a Biblical Worldview Believe?

A biblical worldview recognizes that God is eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present.

He created everything that exists, including mankind, whom He created in His own image.

It also recognizes that there is a spiritual world, that human beings need spiritual rebirth through Jesus Christ, and that absolute truth exists because God Himself is the source of truth.

But there’s something else that’s critically important.

A biblical worldview teaches us to seek wisdom from above rather than relying entirely upon human wisdom.

James 3 describes the difference between earthly wisdom and the wisdom that comes from God.

And Proverbs 4 tells us to get wisdom and understanding.

Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom

I believe there are three things every Christian needs to develop.

Knowledge means learning God’s Word, His principles, and His commandments.

Understanding means learning God’s ways. How did He deal with Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, and others throughout Scripture?

Wisdom means learning to view life’s circumstances from God’s perspective and responding according to His truth.

That’s how we develop a biblical worldview.

It isn’t enough to know what the Bible says. We must learn God’s ways and apply His truth to the decisions we make every day.

What Is Shaping Your Life?

I want to challenge you to examine your own worldview.

Are your beliefs being shaped primarily by the culture around you, or are they being shaped by Scripture?

When you face a difficult decision, do you begin with human opinion, or do you seek God’s wisdom?

Joshua understood that every generation must decide whom it will serve.

That decision is before us today.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

And I pray that we will raise another generation that knows Him, knows His Word, and understands His ways.

Why would anyone actually choose to accept deception over truth?

It makes no sense, or does it?

A person’s morality will always determine their theology.

When people make the choice to follow Christ casually and to loosen their moral standards, they must adjust their theology accordingly.

We are living in such a time.

Many professors, pastors, and church leaders are teaching and publishing that the infallible Holy Bible “contains God’s Words.”

What Happens When the Church Rejects the Truth?

According to them, many of the facts are inaccurate, and many of the principles are cultural ethics of ancient times and cultures.

The creation story is replaced with theistic evolution, opening the way for the devaluing of human life.

Mankind is not a special creation made in the image of a loving Heavenly Creator but the product of spontaneous generation.

The principles of Divine design, purpose, and destiny are removed, and every person has the right of self-determination.

This opens the gateway for women to discard unexpected fetal tissue to protect their future and career from unwanted encumbrance.

• A woman has the right to determine what happens within her own body.

• Couples may enjoy “hooking up” and living together without the demands of outmoded marriage ceremonies.

• A man might be born with the desires and passions of a woman and seek relations with another man.

• A woman may have desires for another woman. Sexual orientation is no longer a Divine prescribe moral standard.

Should any of this be questioned, sociology, psychology, and junk science will ensure enough disinformation is reported to verify these new truths.

Pastors and teachers who do not accept the infallibility of the Holy Bible are subject to such distortion and will give way to the “new truth” and avoid the labels of intolerant, homophobic, and bigoted.

These “new truths” will not bring about a “Great Society” but create a “Brave New World” filled with greater hatred, bigotry, and a moral landslide.

These “new truths”, and their accompanying freedoms, become addictions and bring new forms of sickness, creating a broken society that mankind cannot cure.

The social epidemic quickly becomes a pandemic and will become a moral tsunami of proportions not seen since the Roman Empire.

All of this is made possible by a Church that has turned its ear from hearing the true Word of God and built upon sand.

• The Church is becoming a social club embracing political correctness and historical rewriting.

• Authentic worship is being replaced with performance and very professional music.

• Entertainment is being delivered instead of powerful spiritual awakening.

As the Church adopts this “new truth,” they also adopt the medical model for dealing with moral issues.

“Disease” replaces the old teaching of sin; this is to prevent further emotional damage from being inflicted upon the broken.

Twelve-step programs replace “a broken and contrite spirit.”

Years of counseling and psychotherapy take the place of repentance and cleansing of the heart through the blood of Jesus.

Universal grace replaces redemption and salvation through new birth.

The great danger of deception is that one does not know when they are deceived unless someone loves them enough to show them the truth.

That is the great responsibility placed upon the Church. Jude challenged the Apostolic Church.

“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhort you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 3-4 NKJV).

May God move the heart of spiritual leaders to seek Him earnestly; commit their hearts to love and honor the infallible, inerrant Word of God; then boldly teach, preach, and publish the uncompromised Holy Word with anointing that will convict and purify the hearts of men and women.

Reformation sounds like a big word. We might think about Martin Luther, the 95 Theses, church history, theological debates, or major movements that changed Christianity. We might even look at the condition of the church today and wonder whether we need another reformation.

But what if reformation doesn’t begin with everyone else?

What if it begins with us?

The story of Hezekiah gives us a powerful picture of what happens when God’s people recognize that something has gone wrong and begin restoring what has been neglected. Before Judah could experience renewal, Hezekiah had to deal with the condition of the temple, the priesthood, worship, and the people’s relationship with God.

That same principle applies to us.

Reformation Begins in the House of God

Hezekiah became king at a time when Judah had drifted far from God. The temple had been neglected, worship had suffered, and the spiritual life of the nation had deteriorated.

His response wasn’t simply to complain about the culture.

He opened the doors of the temple and began restoring it.

The priests and Levites had to consecrate themselves, remove what had defiled the temple, and put things back in order. Then worship could be restored, sacrifices could be offered, and the people could once again turn their hearts toward God.

There is something important here for Christians today.

Paul tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. If that is true, then reformation isn’t merely something we need to see happen in churches, denominations, governments, or society.

It needs to happen in us.

We can spend a great deal of time talking about everything that is wrong with the church while ignoring what God wants to change in our own hearts. We can criticize compromise, worldliness, weak preaching, and cultural confusion while allowing areas of compromise to remain untouched in our own lives.

Reformation starts when we open the doors of our own hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to show us what needs to change.

We Need to Restore Our Relationship With God

One of the simplest ways to begin is by returning to the basic practices that keep us close to God.

Time in God’s Word matters. Prayer matters. Worship matters. Spending time in God’s presence matters.

Life gets busy. Work demands our attention. Family responsibilities consume our schedules. There are always emails to answer, errands to run, people who need us, and problems that demand our attention.

But if we’re always too busy to spend time with God, something is out of order.

There was a time when spending time with God felt natural. We wanted to read the Bible. We wanted to pray. We wanted to worship. We wanted to hear His voice.

We need to return to that place.

Sometimes that means using the ordinary moments of life. Time in the car can become time with God. A quiet morning can become an opportunity to open Scripture. A few minutes before bed can become a time of prayer.

God doesn’t need us to create a complicated spiritual routine. He wants our hearts.

And when we spend time with Him, the Holy Spirit also begins dealing with the things we’ve allowed to remain hidden.

What Have We Allowed Into the Temple?

Reformation requires honesty.

There are things we may never say out loud, but we know they’re there. Attitudes, secret sins, bitterness, resentment, pride, lust, unforgiveness, wrong thoughts, uncontrolled speech, or habits we have learned to justify.

We can fool other people, but we can’t fool God.

The Holy Spirit knows what is happening inside the temple.

That’s why personal reformation requires more than changing our public behavior. God wants to transform what happens inside us. He wants to cleanse the temple, not simply make the outside look respectable.

This is where genuine repentance becomes so important.

Repentance isn’t simply feeling bad about something. It means turning from it and allowing God to change us.

Worship Is About an Audience of One

Hezekiah also restored worship.

That matters because worship can easily become something we watch instead of something we participate in. We can become concerned with music, production, style, talent, atmosphere, and whether we enjoyed the service.

But worship isn’t ultimately about entertaining us.

It’s about God.

Martin Luther understood the importance of music in the life of the church, and worship should still be something that brings life to God’s people and directs their hearts toward Him.

When we worship, we have an audience of One.

That changes everything.

We don’t worship because the music sounds good. We don’t worship because the atmosphere feels right. We don’t worship because someone else is worshiping.

We worship because God is worthy.

And that worship needs to continue beyond Sunday morning. Our lives should become an act of worship.

We Need More Than an Inoculation

Hezekiah called the people back to Passover, reminding them of God’s deliverance and redemption. Passover pointed to deliverance through the blood of the Lamb, and for Christians, that points us to Jesus Christ and His blood that redeems us.

The church isn’t simply a social club for people who share similar beliefs.

We are a people who have been redeemed.

That means we can’t reduce Christianity to attending church, knowing Christian language, or agreeing with Christian ideas. We need a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ.

We need to be born again.

There is a difference between being familiar with Christianity and experiencing genuine transformation. We can grow up around church, know the songs, understand the terminology, and still need God to transform our hearts.

True conversion changes us.

And then the Holy Spirit continues changing us.

That transformation doesn’t end the day we come to Christ. God continues to deal with our attitudes, our words, our temper, our habits, and the areas where we still need to grow.

Reformation Starts Here

We don’t have to wait for someone else to start a movement.

We can begin by opening the doors of our own hearts.

Ask God to search you. Return to His Word. Restore prayer. Restore worship. Repent where you need to repent. Let the Holy Spirit clean out what doesn’t belong. Make your relationship with Jesus more than a label or a weekly habit.

The church needs reformation, but reformation begins in the temple.

And if you are a believer, that temple is you.

Don’t wait for the church to change before you ask God to change you. Reformation starts here.

In a world where many people identify as Christians, an important question remains: Are we truly disciples of Jesus Christ, or have we settled for religion?

The difference is significant.

Religion often focuses on external practices, traditions, and appearances. A disciple, however, is someone whose life has been transformed by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and who is committed to following Him wholeheartedly.

Jesus never called people merely to attend services, adopt religious habits, or identify with a belief system. He called them to follow Him.

Religion Focuses on Appearance

One of the greatest dangers facing the modern church is confusing religious activity with spiritual transformation.

It is possible to know Christian terminology, attend church regularly, participate in ministry, and still never fully surrender your life to Christ.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly challenged those who appeared religious on the outside but whose hearts were far from God. Their faith was based on outward conformity rather than inward transformation.

Religion asks:

• What rules should I follow?

• How can I appear spiritual?

• What do others think about me?

Discipleship asks a different question: How can I become more like Jesus?

What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?

Biblical discipleship is not a one-time decision. It is a lifelong journey of surrender, obedience, and growth.

A disciple studies God’s Word, not simply to gain information, but to be transformed by it.

A disciple develops a prayer life because they desire fellowship with God, not merely because it is a religious obligation.

A disciple seeks to obey Christ even when obedience is difficult.

Following Jesus requires intentionality. It requires denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and choosing God’s ways above our own desires.

True discipleship is costly, but it is also deeply rewarding because it leads us into the abundant life Christ promised.

Discipleship Changes How We Live

Our culture increasingly encourages people to create their own truth and define morality according to personal preference.

Jesus calls His followers to something very different.

A disciple recognizes that God’s Word is the ultimate authority for life, faith, and practice. Rather than allowing culture to shape their beliefs, they allow Scripture to shape their thinking.

This means a disciple evaluates every area of life through a biblical lens:

• Relationships

• Family

• Finances

• Career

• Personal conduct

• Values and priorities

The goal is not simply to know about Jesus but to become more like Him.

The Evidence of Authentic Faith

How do we know whether we are living as disciples?

The evidence is found in the fruit our lives produce.

A disciple increasingly demonstrates love, humility, obedience, forgiveness, integrity, and a growing desire to please God.

No believer is perfect, but genuine disciples are continually being transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Their faith affects how they think, speak, and live.

They are not merely religious people trying harder. They are followers of Christ being changed from the inside out.

A Question Worth Asking

Every believer should honestly examine their walk with God.

Are you relying on religious habits, or are you actively following Jesus?

Are you satisfied with Christian appearances, or are you pursuing genuine spiritual transformation?

Jesus is not looking for admirers. He is looking for disciples.

The invitation remains the same today as it was when He first called His followers: Come, follow Me.

The most important decision we can make is not whether we appear religious, but whether we are truly living as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. It was certainly meant as a derision, as mockery, as Jesus’ disciples sought to model their lives after Christ.

This is also what Jesus called his disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Disciple in Greek is mathetes - an imitator, someone who mimics someone else.

We don’t want to just hear the Word of God, but we want to pattern our lives after Jesus and diligently walk in His ways.

Jesus once told a story that I believe every Christian needs to take seriously because it speaks directly to the question of what we are building our lives upon and what will happen when the storms of life come against us.

He described two men who built houses, and both men heard His teaching, and both men eventually faced the same storm, with the rain descending, the floods rising, and the winds beating against their houses, but the outcome was very different because the two men had chosen very different foundations.

One house stood when the storm was over, while the other house fell, and Jesus made it clear that the difference wasn’t the strength of the storm but the foundation upon which each man had built.

Jesus said:

“Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Then He described the foolish man who heard His words but didn’t do them, saying that he built his house on the sand, and when the rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew against that house, “great was its fall.”

That leaves us with a very important question that every one of us needs to answer:

What are you building your life on?

Jesus Said to Abide in His Word

Earlier, Jesus had spoken to a crowd at the temple, particularly addressing those who believed in Him, and He said something that gives us the foundation for understanding what it means to be His disciple.

He said in John 8:31:

“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

I want you to notice those words, “If you abide in My word.”

The word “abide” carries the idea of making your habitation or dwelling place somewhere, so Jesus wasn’t talking about occasionally listening to His teaching or picking up the Bible when we need an encouraging verse, but about taking our lives and building them upon His Word so that God’s truth becomes the place where we live.

That’s what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

We don’t simply hear what Jesus says and then go back to living according to whatever philosophy happens to be popular around us, because Jesus calls us to make His Word the foundation upon which we build our thinking, our decisions, our values, and the way we live our lives.

What Happens When the Storm Comes?

Jesus knew something that every one of us eventually discovers, which is that storms are going to come regardless of how carefully we have tried to live our lives.

The rain will come, the floods will rise, and the winds will beat against the house, because following Jesus doesn’t mean that we will never experience difficulty, sickness, disappointment, financial pressure, grief, persecution, or uncertainty.

The difference comes when the storm arrives.

Jesus said the wise man built his house on the rock, and when the storm came against that house, it did not fall because it was founded on the rock.

The foolish man heard the same teaching, but he didn’t put it into practice, and when the storm came, his house fell.

I have lived long enough to understand that the storm itself isn’t what determines whether we stand or fall, because the same storm can come against two people and produce completely different results depending upon the foundation underneath them.

That is why I keep coming back to the question: “What are you building your life on?“

Are You Building Your Life on God’s Word?

We need to examine this honestly because it is possible to own a Bible, read the Bible, and even believe the Bible while still building our lives on something other than the Word of God.

Are you using the principles and building blocks of God’s Word to establish your life, and do you trust the truths and precepts of Scripture enough to allow them to determine how you live when those truths disagree with the culture around you?

We live in a time when human reasoning, education, political philosophy, popular opinion, and cultural ideas compete constantly for our attention, and if we aren’t careful, we can begin to build our lives on those things without even realizing that we have moved away from the foundation God has given us.

Human knowledge has its place, but it cannot become our ultimate authority.

Human philosophy has its place, but it cannot become our ultimate authority.

Popular opinion changes from one generation to another, but God’s Word remains true in every culture, every generation, and among every people group.

That’s why I believe we must return again and again to the Word of God.

What Are You Building Your Life On?

So I want to leave you with the question Jesus asked through His teaching about the wise man and the foolish man: What are you building your life on?

It is easy to say that we believe the Bible, but Jesus called us to do more than simply believe His Word intellectually; He called us to abide in His Word, to hear what He says, to trust what He says, and then to build our lives upon what He has said, even when the culture around us tells us that we should build somewhere else.

The storms are going to come, and none of us can prevent every storm from entering our lives, but we can decide what kind of foundation we will have before the storm arrives.

If my foundation rests upon human philosophy, political ideas, cultural opinions, personal feelings, or the approval of other people, then I have built upon something that can change, and when it changes, my foundation changes with it.

But when I build my life upon the Word of God, I am building upon something that has already endured generations of opposition, changing governments, cultural revolutions, and countless attempts to silence it.

God wrote it. God said it. That settles it.

So read His Word, study His Word, meditate upon His Word, obey His Word, and let His Word become the foundation upon which you build your life, because when the storm comes, the question will not be whether you heard the truth, but whether you built your life upon it.

There is no shortage of Christian content today.

We can listen to sermons, read books, subscribe to newsletters, follow teachers, watch videos, and scroll through an endless stream of Christian encouragement.

But more information isn’t necessarily what we need.

We need a foundation.

Jesus told a story about two people who built houses. From the outside, the houses may have looked much the same. The difference wasn’t what could be seen on the surface. The difference was underneath.

One built on rock.

The other built on sand.

When the storm came, the foundation made all the difference.

That is the heart behind Foundational Christian Living.

Why Foundational Christian Living?

We live in a confused and upside-down world.

Ideas about truth, identity, morality, relationships, the Church, and even faith itself are constantly changing. What was considered obvious yesterday can be questioned today.

And Christians can easily find themselves overwhelmed by all the competing voices.

So how do we know what is true?

How do we know what to believe?

How do we live faithfully when the culture around us is pulling in another direction?

We go back to the foundation.

God’s Word.

Not the latest trend.

Not the loudest voice.

Not whatever happens to be popular.

The Word of God.

The purpose of this publication is to help us think clearly, live faithfully, and continually return to the truths that form the foundation of the Christian life.

What You’ll Find Here

There are several themes you’ll see throughout Foundational Christian Living.

Faith

What does it mean to genuinely believe God and live by faith?

Faith isn’t simply agreeing with a set of doctrines. It changes the way we see God, ourselves, our circumstances, and the world around us.

Grace

Grace is at the heart of the Gospel.

But grace is often misunderstood—either reduced to a vague idea of God’s kindness or separated from the transformed life it produces.

We’ll explore what biblical grace actually means and how it changes the way we live.

Discipleship

Jesus didn’t merely call people to believe in Him.

He called them to follow Him.

That means Christianity is more than a decision we made at some point in the past. It is a life of learning, growing, obeying, and becoming more like Christ.

The Church

The Church belongs to Jesus.

We’ll consider what Scripture says about the Church, its purpose, its mission, its health, and what happens when we lose sight of the things that should be foundational.

Restoration

Sometimes the way forward begins by going back.

Throughout Scripture, God’s people repeatedly needed to return to what they had forgotten, neglected, or abandoned.

Restoration isn’t about returning to a particular tradition or trying to recreate the past.

It is about returning to truth.

This Isn’t About Having All the Answers

I don’t write because I have everything figured out.

After more than 50 decades of ministry, teaching, preaching, church planting, leadership, and walking alongside people through the realities of life and faith, I’ve learned that following Jesus is a lifelong journey.

There is always more to learn.

More to understand.

More to surrender.

More room for God to change us.

So I want Foundational Christian Living to be a place where we can think deeply, ask honest questions, open the Scriptures, and allow God’s truth to challenge and shape us.

Sometimes that means being encouraged.

Sometimes it means being corrected.

Sometimes it means discovering that something we assumed was biblical was actually nothing more than a tradition, habit, or cultural idea.

That’s okay.

Truth doesn’t need to be afraid of honest questions.

Where Should You Begin?

If you’re new here, I recommend starting with these articles:

Reformation Starts Here: Restoring the Church From the Inside Out

A look at why genuine restoration begins within us and within the Church—and why we can’t restore what we’ve never established on a solid foundation.

Read the article →

What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?

Being a Christian is more than carrying a label. Scripture calls us to something deeper: a life transformed by Christ and lived in relationship with Him.

Read the article →

What Are You Building Your Life On?

Jesus’ teaching about the wise and foolish builders raises a question every Christian needs to answer: What is actually holding up my life?

Read the article →

A Word About This Publication

My hope is that Foundational Christian Living becomes more than another publication in your inbox.

I hope it becomes a place you return to when you need to think.

When you need to be reminded of what is true.

When you need to step away from the noise and come back to Scripture.

When you need to examine what you’ve built your life upon.

And most of all, when you need to be reminded that Jesus is still worthy of being followed wholeheartedly.

If that sounds like something you need, subscribe and join me here.

New articles will explore faith, grace, discipleship, the Church, restoration, and what it means to live faithfully in an increasingly confused world.

Thank you for being here.

Let’s go back to the foundations—and build from there.

— Dean Hackett