From The Desk of Pastor Ron Bridge
A few days ago I received an early Christmas gift. It was a request to do a funeral service (actually the graveside service) of a woman I knew only briefly some years ago. I am writing this on Friday, November 27; the service will take place tomorrow morning. I suppose most people would not classify such a request as a gift, so an explanation is due as to why I think it is.
I first met this lady when she was already in her mid-eighties. She and her husband attended RBC for a few short months and then moved out of state to a retirement community. During those few months I had opportunity to visit them in their home and on one occasion she asked me if she could be saved. I am always thrilled when I have an opportunity to share the gospel with anyone, but especially so when it is evident that the Lord has been moving in a person's heart to draw them close to the throne of grace. But this time it was different. As I asked a few preliminary questions it became obvious that she had been carrying a very heavy burden for a very long time - the burden of uncertainty.
As her story unfolded I went through a series of emotions - my first reaction was anger, then sadness and deep compassion. I had a hard time holding back the tears. She grew up the daughter of a fundamentalist pastor, who, at the end of each sermon gave an invitation, what is generally known as an alter call. However, she never felt called to go forward, even though in her heart she believed the gospel. After yet another such invitation and her failure to go forward, her father walked to where she was sitting and said if she did not go forward she could not be saved. She never did go forward in that or any other church. Seventy years later she was still carrying
the burden of uncertainty concerning her standing with the Lord.
I asked: Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God? Do you believe that He died for your sin? Have you asked His forgiveness? Is He Lord of your life? Without hesitation she affirmed these things and had believed them for decades. It was then my privilege to affirm her standing as a child of God. I will never forget the reaction from both her and her husband. You will forgive me for saying no more than it was one of the most tender moments I have known in my ministry.
It has been several years since the evening the Lord used me to lift so heavy a burden from one of His precious children. Time has passed, the events of that night forgotten. The soul of this dear lady passed into the presence of her Savior last week and her body will be laid in the earth tomorrow. Her husband called and asked me to conduct the graveside service, but to me it was God who called. He called to remind me of the privilege He has given me as an under-shepherd of His sheep.
This Christmas I will receive gifts from those who love me and I will appreciate each one, but none as much as the gift from the One who loves me best. God has given me the gift of eternal life through the gift of His own beloved Son. He has called me to serve Him by serving the church and He reminds me sometimes in very special ways, and sometimes in very ordinary ways of how great a blessing this is. Thank you Lord for an early Christmas gift, but most of all for the best gift of all (2 Cor. 9:15).
From: The Mustard Seed - December 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Make War! (John Piper)
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. -Romans 8:13
HT: Truth Matters
HT: Truth Matters
Friday, November 27, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The True Face of Evil
by David Robertson
Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you’d have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, it takes religion.” So writes the Nobel Prize-winning American physicist Steven Weinberg. His observation has become a standard mantra of the new atheism. So how should a Christian respond? We will leave the Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, and Jedi Knights to respond for themselves, although we note in passing that it is another fundamental belief of the atheist creed that all religions are essentially the same — hence the oft repeated statement or accusation that “atheists do not fly planes into skyscrapers.” It may have escaped the new atheists, but neither do Presbyterians, Catholics, or Southern Baptists!
In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins repeats Weinberg’s claim that religion is a virus that infects the human race and causes otherwise “good” people to behave in a way which is dangerous and evil. Given Dawkins faith in empiricism, what is his evidence for this sweeping condemnation? His major evidence appears to be 9/11 and Fred Phelps of Godhatesfags.com infamy. The new atheists also declare that we are all implicated in the “extremist” forms of Christianity (and Islam) because we keep silent and because they are just being consistent with the Scriptures! Apart from the danger of taking our theology from atheists, let me point out unequivocally that Fred Phelps has nothing whatsoever to do with any form of biblical Christianity. His “gospel” is a self-serving rant from the pit of hell and is utterly repudiated by all biblical Christians.
We could have endless fun ridiculing the inconsistencies and ad hominem attacks of Dawkins and his friends, but that would be like shooting ducks at a fairground, and some of our brethren do not think it is “nice.” (Although the methodology of Elijah in 1 Kings 18:27, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened,” does have a lot to commend it.) So, what other approach can we take?
We could point out that Dawkins’ view is a simplistic and fundamentalist Hollywood fantasy view of the world that divides humanity into the good guys and the bad guys.
We could admit mea culpa, and agree that religion has done a great deal of harm. Furthermore, although we would not accept that all religions are the same, we must also acknowledge that many bad things have been done in the name of Christianity and that the name of God has often been blasphemed amongst the Gentiles because of those who have inconsistently professed the precious name of Christ.
And then we could swap accusations, gently reminding our new atheists that when atheism has become the state philosophy, it has rarely lead to an outbreak of love and peace. Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Hitler, and others who also shared the belief that religion is a virus that needs to be eradicated, are hardly shining examples of the good that atheism has brought to the world. At least they were consistent in following their prophet Nietzsche who declared, “I call Christianity the one great curse, the one great intrinsic depravity, the one great instinct for revenge for which no expedient is sufficiently poisonous, secret, subterranean, petty — I call it the one immortal blemish of mankind.”
We could point out that Western civilization, including the science and morality that Dawkins and the new atheists profess to love, is rooted in Christian teaching. We could indicate the numerous examples of Christians who have built hospitals, set up schools, and provided multiple social work programs. Dawkins, of course, would argue that people would have done this anyway and that atheists are just as moral and virtuous as Christians. Thus we end up in a kind of spitting contest where Christians could easily demonstrate that we build more schools, paint more pictures, and heal more people than members of American Atheists. But that would ultimately prove nothing. As Christopher Hitchens points out, one could just as easily argue that Hamas provides a great social welfare program in the West Bank.
We need more than this. The proof that Christianity is a force for good rather than evil is found in the outworking of the great biblical doctrines — the teachings about Christ and humanity that provide us with the explanation as to why our world is in such a mess; the motivation for us to do something about it; and the means whereby we can.
Total Depravity
In the words of George Thorogood, we are “bad to the bone.” We do not believe in “good empires” and “bad empires,” “good” people and “bad” people. We accept the biblical teaching that all humans and all areas of human life are infected by sin. Religion is not the virus. Sin is. As a result, religion becomes a tool for human sinfulness. Rather than the simplistic and foolish optimism of the new atheism, we know that human beings are inherently and deeply flawed. Christless religion only adds fuel to the fire, but take away all religion and we will still have the fire. As G.K. Chesterton so masterfully wrote in a letter to The Times: “Dear Sir, What’s wrong with the world? I am.” The loss of this basic doctrine thanks to an unjustified Enlightenment optimism was a major factor in the genocidal regimes of the twentieth century, the failed atheist century. The philosopher John Gray, no friend of Christianity, summarizes it neatly: “As we understand it today, utopianism began to develop along with the retreat of Christian belief” (Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia).
Idolatry
Human beings have a sense of God. The law of God is written in our hearts. Even Dawkins admits that there is an inherent God consciousness in children, but he attempts to explain it away by regarding it as an “evolutionary misfiring.” The biblical explanation is much simpler. We are created in the image of God. We are created with a capacity for relationship with our Creator. We do have a “God-shaped hole.” The trouble is that we attempt to fill that hole with anything or anyone except God. We invent our own religions, we create our own idols, and we even deify ourselves. It is little wonder that the hole is not filled and that the result is discord, frustration, anger, and brokenness. Idolatry is false religion. It is an argument for, rather than against, true religion.
The Cross
Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the divine surgery that fixes the problem. We do not need to be patched up. We do need forgiveness, grace, mercy, a new heart, and a new birth. The cross deals with every aspect of human sinfulness, individually and communally. It is through the cross that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. The Beatles were right to sing, “All you need is love.” They just did not know what they were singing about. This is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sin.
The Sovereignty of God
Jesus is Lord and Savior. Everything comes under His lordship. There is no area of life that is not His. Therefore those who belong to Him, go on to live for Him in every area of life — in education, family, work, sport, politics, healthcare, social work, and entertainment.
Rooted in these great biblical doctrines we then go on to produce fruit. Christians are not utopians or religious moralists. We do not think that we can legislate to make people moral, or that there is some kind of religious band-aid that will soothe over the deep wounds in humanity. Neither are we pietists who retreat into our religious communes. We are salt and light in a world that is tasteless and dark. Because we have come to know the love of Christ, we cannot but reflect and share that love. The love of Christ constrains us. According to his secretary, Traudl Junge, Hitler despised the church because “only mankind and above all the church have made it their aims to keep alive the weak, those unfit to live, and people of an inferior kind.” Exactly. The history of the Christian church is full of people who, having been ransomed, healed, restored, and forgiven, are then set free to serve the living God and do so by going on to keep alive the weak, heal the sick, fight injustice, feed the hungry, visit the prisoners and demonstrate in their life, words, and deeds the mercy and compassion of God.
It is ironic that in 2007 members of the British Parliament listed as their favorite summer reading two books: the first being Dawkins’ The God Delusion, the second, William Hague’s wonderful William Wilberforce. Whilst the Dawkins rant exemplifies the irrational and deeply rooted hatred of humans for God, the life of the great anti–slavery campaigner Wilberforce demonstrates what a powerful force for good is a forgiven sinner in the hands of a gracious God. Wilberforce exemplifies the great argument of Jesus against the new atheist creed that all religion is de facto evil: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
From: Ligonier Ministries and R.C. Sproul. © Tabletalk magazine.
Website: www.ligonier.org/tabletalk
Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you’d have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, it takes religion.” So writes the Nobel Prize-winning American physicist Steven Weinberg. His observation has become a standard mantra of the new atheism. So how should a Christian respond? We will leave the Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, and Jedi Knights to respond for themselves, although we note in passing that it is another fundamental belief of the atheist creed that all religions are essentially the same — hence the oft repeated statement or accusation that “atheists do not fly planes into skyscrapers.” It may have escaped the new atheists, but neither do Presbyterians, Catholics, or Southern Baptists!
In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins repeats Weinberg’s claim that religion is a virus that infects the human race and causes otherwise “good” people to behave in a way which is dangerous and evil. Given Dawkins faith in empiricism, what is his evidence for this sweeping condemnation? His major evidence appears to be 9/11 and Fred Phelps of Godhatesfags.com infamy. The new atheists also declare that we are all implicated in the “extremist” forms of Christianity (and Islam) because we keep silent and because they are just being consistent with the Scriptures! Apart from the danger of taking our theology from atheists, let me point out unequivocally that Fred Phelps has nothing whatsoever to do with any form of biblical Christianity. His “gospel” is a self-serving rant from the pit of hell and is utterly repudiated by all biblical Christians.
We could have endless fun ridiculing the inconsistencies and ad hominem attacks of Dawkins and his friends, but that would be like shooting ducks at a fairground, and some of our brethren do not think it is “nice.” (Although the methodology of Elijah in 1 Kings 18:27, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened,” does have a lot to commend it.) So, what other approach can we take?
We could point out that Dawkins’ view is a simplistic and fundamentalist Hollywood fantasy view of the world that divides humanity into the good guys and the bad guys.
We could admit mea culpa, and agree that religion has done a great deal of harm. Furthermore, although we would not accept that all religions are the same, we must also acknowledge that many bad things have been done in the name of Christianity and that the name of God has often been blasphemed amongst the Gentiles because of those who have inconsistently professed the precious name of Christ.
And then we could swap accusations, gently reminding our new atheists that when atheism has become the state philosophy, it has rarely lead to an outbreak of love and peace. Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Hitler, and others who also shared the belief that religion is a virus that needs to be eradicated, are hardly shining examples of the good that atheism has brought to the world. At least they were consistent in following their prophet Nietzsche who declared, “I call Christianity the one great curse, the one great intrinsic depravity, the one great instinct for revenge for which no expedient is sufficiently poisonous, secret, subterranean, petty — I call it the one immortal blemish of mankind.”
We could point out that Western civilization, including the science and morality that Dawkins and the new atheists profess to love, is rooted in Christian teaching. We could indicate the numerous examples of Christians who have built hospitals, set up schools, and provided multiple social work programs. Dawkins, of course, would argue that people would have done this anyway and that atheists are just as moral and virtuous as Christians. Thus we end up in a kind of spitting contest where Christians could easily demonstrate that we build more schools, paint more pictures, and heal more people than members of American Atheists. But that would ultimately prove nothing. As Christopher Hitchens points out, one could just as easily argue that Hamas provides a great social welfare program in the West Bank.
We need more than this. The proof that Christianity is a force for good rather than evil is found in the outworking of the great biblical doctrines — the teachings about Christ and humanity that provide us with the explanation as to why our world is in such a mess; the motivation for us to do something about it; and the means whereby we can.
Total Depravity
In the words of George Thorogood, we are “bad to the bone.” We do not believe in “good empires” and “bad empires,” “good” people and “bad” people. We accept the biblical teaching that all humans and all areas of human life are infected by sin. Religion is not the virus. Sin is. As a result, religion becomes a tool for human sinfulness. Rather than the simplistic and foolish optimism of the new atheism, we know that human beings are inherently and deeply flawed. Christless religion only adds fuel to the fire, but take away all religion and we will still have the fire. As G.K. Chesterton so masterfully wrote in a letter to The Times: “Dear Sir, What’s wrong with the world? I am.” The loss of this basic doctrine thanks to an unjustified Enlightenment optimism was a major factor in the genocidal regimes of the twentieth century, the failed atheist century. The philosopher John Gray, no friend of Christianity, summarizes it neatly: “As we understand it today, utopianism began to develop along with the retreat of Christian belief” (Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia).
Idolatry
Human beings have a sense of God. The law of God is written in our hearts. Even Dawkins admits that there is an inherent God consciousness in children, but he attempts to explain it away by regarding it as an “evolutionary misfiring.” The biblical explanation is much simpler. We are created in the image of God. We are created with a capacity for relationship with our Creator. We do have a “God-shaped hole.” The trouble is that we attempt to fill that hole with anything or anyone except God. We invent our own religions, we create our own idols, and we even deify ourselves. It is little wonder that the hole is not filled and that the result is discord, frustration, anger, and brokenness. Idolatry is false religion. It is an argument for, rather than against, true religion.
The Cross
Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the divine surgery that fixes the problem. We do not need to be patched up. We do need forgiveness, grace, mercy, a new heart, and a new birth. The cross deals with every aspect of human sinfulness, individually and communally. It is through the cross that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. The Beatles were right to sing, “All you need is love.” They just did not know what they were singing about. This is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sin.
The Sovereignty of God
Jesus is Lord and Savior. Everything comes under His lordship. There is no area of life that is not His. Therefore those who belong to Him, go on to live for Him in every area of life — in education, family, work, sport, politics, healthcare, social work, and entertainment.
Rooted in these great biblical doctrines we then go on to produce fruit. Christians are not utopians or religious moralists. We do not think that we can legislate to make people moral, or that there is some kind of religious band-aid that will soothe over the deep wounds in humanity. Neither are we pietists who retreat into our religious communes. We are salt and light in a world that is tasteless and dark. Because we have come to know the love of Christ, we cannot but reflect and share that love. The love of Christ constrains us. According to his secretary, Traudl Junge, Hitler despised the church because “only mankind and above all the church have made it their aims to keep alive the weak, those unfit to live, and people of an inferior kind.” Exactly. The history of the Christian church is full of people who, having been ransomed, healed, restored, and forgiven, are then set free to serve the living God and do so by going on to keep alive the weak, heal the sick, fight injustice, feed the hungry, visit the prisoners and demonstrate in their life, words, and deeds the mercy and compassion of God.
It is ironic that in 2007 members of the British Parliament listed as their favorite summer reading two books: the first being Dawkins’ The God Delusion, the second, William Hague’s wonderful William Wilberforce. Whilst the Dawkins rant exemplifies the irrational and deeply rooted hatred of humans for God, the life of the great anti–slavery campaigner Wilberforce demonstrates what a powerful force for good is a forgiven sinner in the hands of a gracious God. Wilberforce exemplifies the great argument of Jesus against the new atheist creed that all religion is de facto evil: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
From: Ligonier Ministries and R.C. Sproul. © Tabletalk magazine.
Website: www.ligonier.org/tabletalk
Monday, November 23, 2009
"If Calvinism is True, Why Evangelize?"
"God has called me to preach His word and if I knew that all the elect had a yellow stripe painted down their backs, then I would give up preaching the Gospel and go and lift up shirt tails!"
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon
HT: http://www.lanechaplin.com/
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon
HT: http://www.lanechaplin.com/
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Prayer Closet
Paul Washer talks about seeking God until he allows himself to be found.
HT: http://battle4truth.wordpress.com
HT: http://battle4truth.wordpress.com
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Assorted Attacks on the Bible (Romans 1:18-32)
by John MacArthur
Gods Word. Inspired. Inerrant. Infallible. Christians have always labored to defend it. The first step, recognize those attacks in every form. From the overt frontal assault to the covert inside job we must never be caught off guard. Attacks come from the critics, the cults, the charismatics, and the culture.
Watch the rest of the video here: http://www.gty.org/Resources/Videos/T8290-320
Gods Word. Inspired. Inerrant. Infallible. Christians have always labored to defend it. The first step, recognize those attacks in every form. From the overt frontal assault to the covert inside job we must never be caught off guard. Attacks come from the critics, the cults, the charismatics, and the culture.
Watch the rest of the video here: http://www.gty.org/Resources/Videos/T8290-320
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
No Thanksgiving!
What attitude is fostered by removing God from His rightful place as Creator and Lord? Without a doubt it is one of unthankfulness. In fact, ingratitude always accompanies departure from God. In (Romans 1:21) we read that turning away from God's testimony of Himself in creation, which renders the heathen without excuse, made them "unthankful" as well as vain, foolish and darkened.
One of the signs of the last days is that men will be "unthankful" (2 Timothy 3:2). Not many would question that this condition exists today. And the rapidity with which this attitude is permeating all levels of society, accompanied with selfish, hateful words and riotous deeds, only manifests how steadily unthankfulness is engulfing this Christless world.
Apostasy is the giving up of truth once nominally held. This is what Christendom is guilty of today. True, there is the "form of godliness," but "denying the power thereof" (2 Timothy 3:5) which reveals it is merely a degenerating profession of "Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24).
Only a ministry of Christ can produce an attitude of thankfulness in the heart and cause an expression of true thanksgiving with the lips. The rejection of such ministry only further opens man's sinful, selfish heart to display itself more fully, just as it is doing today.
How is it with you, dear reader? Are you marked out by "No thanksgiving" in your heart and life? Or are you truly grateful for the grace and the mercy God has shown to you in His blessed Son?
Have you been cleansed from your sins (1 John 1:7), and like the leper who was cleansed from his leprosy, returned to give the Lord Jesus thanks for His merciful kindness (Luke 17:11-19)? Have you received His marvelous gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23), and do you join in with those who exclaim, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15)?
Do you realize that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above? Are you therefore known as "giving thanks always for all things" (Ephesians 5:20)? If so, you are a product of divine grace, and for this you will be eternally thankful, never ceasing to be amazed that He should have ever loved you (Revelation 5:9-14).
If, however, "No thanksgiving" characterizes you, be warned that you are in danger of the "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Luke 13:22-28) in hell forever. Then there will be no opportunity nor cause to give thanks. "For in death there is no remembrance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" (Psalm 6:5). Turn now to God in repentance and by faith "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). By thus accepting Christ as your personal Saviour, you will be able to join in the following ascription of grateful, eternal Thanksgiving:
"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:12-14).
As you can see, dear friend, though the terms "no thanksgiving" and "unthankful" may not at first seem too bad, especially since the whole world is characterized by them, they are indeed a serious, solemn warning that we are living in the last days of God's grace, just preceding His righteous judgments. May you heed this warning, and be one of the thankful "few" who find life in Christ (Matthew 7:13,14).
--D.T.J.
Scripture verses quoted from the King James Version (KJV).
Source: Moments With The Book, www.mwtb.org
No Thanksgiving or Thankful
One of the signs of the last days is that men will be "unthankful" (2 Timothy 3:2). Not many would question that this condition exists today. And the rapidity with which this attitude is permeating all levels of society, accompanied with selfish, hateful words and riotous deeds, only manifests how steadily unthankfulness is engulfing this Christless world.
Apostasy is the giving up of truth once nominally held. This is what Christendom is guilty of today. True, there is the "form of godliness," but "denying the power thereof" (2 Timothy 3:5) which reveals it is merely a degenerating profession of "Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24).
Only a ministry of Christ can produce an attitude of thankfulness in the heart and cause an expression of true thanksgiving with the lips. The rejection of such ministry only further opens man's sinful, selfish heart to display itself more fully, just as it is doing today.
How is it with you, dear reader? Are you marked out by "No thanksgiving" in your heart and life? Or are you truly grateful for the grace and the mercy God has shown to you in His blessed Son?
Have you been cleansed from your sins (1 John 1:7), and like the leper who was cleansed from his leprosy, returned to give the Lord Jesus thanks for His merciful kindness (Luke 17:11-19)? Have you received His marvelous gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23), and do you join in with those who exclaim, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15)?
Do you realize that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above? Are you therefore known as "giving thanks always for all things" (Ephesians 5:20)? If so, you are a product of divine grace, and for this you will be eternally thankful, never ceasing to be amazed that He should have ever loved you (Revelation 5:9-14).
If, however, "No thanksgiving" characterizes you, be warned that you are in danger of the "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Luke 13:22-28) in hell forever. Then there will be no opportunity nor cause to give thanks. "For in death there is no remembrance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" (Psalm 6:5). Turn now to God in repentance and by faith "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). By thus accepting Christ as your personal Saviour, you will be able to join in the following ascription of grateful, eternal Thanksgiving:
"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:12-14).
As you can see, dear friend, though the terms "no thanksgiving" and "unthankful" may not at first seem too bad, especially since the whole world is characterized by them, they are indeed a serious, solemn warning that we are living in the last days of God's grace, just preceding His righteous judgments. May you heed this warning, and be one of the thankful "few" who find life in Christ (Matthew 7:13,14).
--D.T.J.
Scripture verses quoted from the King James Version (KJV).
Source: Moments With The Book, www.mwtb.org
No Thanksgiving or Thankful
Thoughts on celebrating God during Thanksgiving
What are your thoughts on celebrating God during the Thanksgiving holiday? -John MacArthur
Source: http://www.gty.org
CJ Mahaney The Cup of Christ
What was in the cup Christ talked about in the garden of Gethsemane?
HT: http://www.againsttheflowmedia.com
HT: http://www.againsttheflowmedia.com
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Presumptuous Synergism: Save A Soul For $48
By Jim Bublitz
It's that modern synergistic mindset again, but maybe a little more bold.
Here's a ministry that's so confident in their crusades and evangelism campaigns that they are convinced of their ability to predict how many souls will be saved through their efforts. What's more, they've also done the math to determine how many donation-dollars will be required for each soul saved.
More on their website:
http://www.baileysmith.org/soulamonth.asp
Their flawed thinking is the logical out-flowing of a belief called "synergism" that's wide-spread in modern times. It means that God and man cooperate together to cause salvation to occur. And since synergists usually believe that God is trying his hardest to save everyone, then the only thing that's really needed is for man to decide to "choose Christ". The ministry (above) goes so far as to claim they've determined a ratio of "dollars to decisions".
If we go back a couple of hundred years in Christian history, we find a completely different mindset called "monergism". The Reformers and Puritans were monergists (as opposed to synergists), believing that God causes man to be born again, without any assistance from man. One of the passages in scripture where this is taught is John chapter 3 where Jesus tells Nicodemus that "the Spirit blows where it wishes". It means that God decides the who, what, when, and where of being Born Again. A great scripture-packed website dealing with this old truth is: www.monergism.com
Some noteworthy monergists include:
John MacArthur, RC Sproul, John Piper, D. James Kennedy, Charles Spurgeon, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and Martin Luther.
Noteworthy synergists include:
Billy Graham, Joel Osteen, Tim Lahaye, Charles Stanley, Jerry Falwell, John Wesley, Charles Finney, Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, and the Catholic church.
In fact, here's a demonstration of synergism in action. This is a quote from Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life:
"Wherever you are listening to this, I invite you to bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity. "Jesus, I believe in You and I receive You." Go ahead. Just say "Jesus, I believe in You and I receive You." If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God!"
Warren's emphasis is placed here on something that man does, and when man does it, he's the determining factor in the salvation of his own soul. Again, very different thinking than in centuries-past.
Originally posted at http://www.oldtruth.com on August 20, 2005
What is the Gospel?
The gospel of Christ in general is this: It is the good tidings that God has revealed concerning Christ. More largely it is this: As all mankind was lost in Adam and became the children of wrath, put under the sentence of death, God, though He left His fallen angels and has reserved them in the chains of eternal darkness, yet He has thought upon the children of men and has provided a way of atonement to reconcile them to Himself again...Namely, the second person of the Trinity takes man's nature upon Himself, and becomes the Head of a second covenant, standing charged with sin. He answers for it by suffering what the law and divine justice required, and by making satisfaction by keeping the law perfectly, which satisfaction and righteousness He tenders up to the Father as a sweet savor of rest for the souls that are given to Him...And now this mediation of Christ is, by the appointment of the Father, preached to the children of men, of whatever nation or rank, freely offering this atonement unto sinners for atonement, requiring them to believe in Him and, upon believing, promising not only a discharge of all their former sins, but that they shall not enter into condemnation, that none of their sins or unworthiness shall ever hinder the peace of God with them, but that they shall through Him be received into the number of those who shall have the image of God again to be renewed unto them, and they they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Jeremiah Burroughs
...and Heaven have mercy on us all - Presbyterians and Pagans alike - for we are all dreadfully cracked about the head and desperately in need of mending.
Herman Melville Moby Dick
We must not suppose that if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world.
C.S. Lewis
We must have the full message. . . 'deliver the whole counsel of God'. . . . It starts with the Law. The Law of God ... the demands of a righteous God, the wrath of God. That is the way to bring men and women to conviction; not by modifying the Truth.... We must confront them with the fact that they are men and that they are fallible men, that they are dying men, that they are sinful men, and that they will all have to stand before God at the Bar of Eternal Judgement....And then we must present to them the full-orbed doctrine of the Grace of God in Salvation in Jesus Christ. We must show that no man is saved 'by the deeds of the Law', by his own goodness or righteousness, or church membership or anything else, but solely, utterly, entirely by the free gift of God in Jesus Christ His Son. . . . We must preach the full-orbed doctrine leaving nothing out-conviction of sin, the reality of Judgement and Hell, free grace, justification, sanctification, glorification. We must also show that there is a world view in the Bible ... that here alone you can understand history-past history, present history, future history. Let us show this great world view, and God's Eternal purpose.... Let us at the same time be very careful that we are giving it to the whole man ... the gospel is not only for a man's heart, that you start with his head and present Truth to it ... Let us show that it is a great message given by God which we in turn pass on to the mind, to the heart, to the will. There is ever this danger of leaving out some part or other of man's personality... Let us be certain that we address the whole man-his mind, his emotions and his will.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones The Weapons of our Warfare pg. 21-22
HT: http://www.monergism.com
Jeremiah Burroughs
...and Heaven have mercy on us all - Presbyterians and Pagans alike - for we are all dreadfully cracked about the head and desperately in need of mending.
Herman Melville Moby Dick
We must not suppose that if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world.
C.S. Lewis
We must have the full message. . . 'deliver the whole counsel of God'. . . . It starts with the Law. The Law of God ... the demands of a righteous God, the wrath of God. That is the way to bring men and women to conviction; not by modifying the Truth.... We must confront them with the fact that they are men and that they are fallible men, that they are dying men, that they are sinful men, and that they will all have to stand before God at the Bar of Eternal Judgement....And then we must present to them the full-orbed doctrine of the Grace of God in Salvation in Jesus Christ. We must show that no man is saved 'by the deeds of the Law', by his own goodness or righteousness, or church membership or anything else, but solely, utterly, entirely by the free gift of God in Jesus Christ His Son. . . . We must preach the full-orbed doctrine leaving nothing out-conviction of sin, the reality of Judgement and Hell, free grace, justification, sanctification, glorification. We must also show that there is a world view in the Bible ... that here alone you can understand history-past history, present history, future history. Let us show this great world view, and God's Eternal purpose.... Let us at the same time be very careful that we are giving it to the whole man ... the gospel is not only for a man's heart, that you start with his head and present Truth to it ... Let us show that it is a great message given by God which we in turn pass on to the mind, to the heart, to the will. There is ever this danger of leaving out some part or other of man's personality... Let us be certain that we address the whole man-his mind, his emotions and his will.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones The Weapons of our Warfare pg. 21-22
HT: http://www.monergism.com
The Scandal of Grace - John MacArthur
So it is today, this church, the church of Jesus Christ is not made up of good people, it's made up of bad people. It's not made up of people who think they're righteous, it's made up of people who know they're not. It's not made up of the people who have attained to a certain acceptable degree with God, it's made up of people who know they could never attain to an acceptable place before God.
It's not made up of people who think they're good, it's made up of people who know they're wicked. It's not made up of people who have achieved righteousness on their own, it's made up of people who have received righteousness from God as a gift. This is the gospel.
Excerpted from: The Scandal of Grace video part 2.
It's not made up of people who think they're good, it's made up of people who know they're wicked. It's not made up of people who have achieved righteousness on their own, it's made up of people who have received righteousness from God as a gift. This is the gospel.
Excerpted from: The Scandal of Grace video part 2.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
True Faith Perseveres - John MacArthur
It is crucial to understand what the biblical doctrine of perseverance does not mean. It does not mean that people who “accept Christ” can then live any way they please without fear of hell. The expression “eternal security” is sometimes used in this sense, as is “once saved, always saved.” R. T. Kendall, arguing for the latter phrase, defines its meaning thus:
Whoever once truly believes that Jesus was raised from the dead, and confesses that Jesus is Lord, will go to heaven when he dies. But I will not stop there. Such a person will go to heaven when he dies no matter what work (or lack of work) may accompany such faith. (Once Saved, Always Saved, p. 19)
Kendall also writes, “I hope no one will take this as an attack on the Westminster Confession. It is not that” (p. 22).
But it is precisely that! Kendall expressly argues against Westminster’s assertion that faith cannot fail. He believes faith is best characterized as a single look: “one need only see the Sin Bearer once to be saved” (p. 23).This is a full-scale assault against the doctrine of perseverance affirmed in the Westminster Confession. Worse, it subverts Scripture itself. Unfortunately, it is a view that has come to be widely believed by Christians today.
John Murray, noting this trend a half-century ago, defended the expression “perseverance of the saints”:
It is not in the best interests of the doctrine involved to substitute the designation, “The Security of the Believer,” not because the latter is wrong in itself but because the other formula is much more carefully and inclusively framed. . . . It is not true that the believer is secure however much he may fall into sin and unfaithfulness. Why is this not true? It is not true because it sets up an impossible combination. It is true that a believer sins; he may fall into grievous sin and backslide for lengthy periods. But it is also true that a believer cannot abandon himself to sin; he cannot come under the dominion of sin; he cannot be guilty of certain kinds of unfaithfulness. The truth is that the faith of Jesus Christ is always respective of the life of holiness and fidelity. And so it is never proper to think of a believer irrespective of the fruits in faith and holiness. To say that a believer is secure whatever may be the extent of his addiction to sin in his subsequent life is to abstract faith in Christ from its very definition and it ministers to that abuse which turns the grace of God into lasciviousness. The doctrine of perseverance is the doctrine that believers persevere. . . . It is not at all that they will be saved irrespective of the their perseverance or their continuance, but that they will assuredly persevere. Consequently the security that is theirs is inseparable from their perseverance. Is this not what Jesus said? “He than endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.”
Let us not then take refuge in our sloth or encouragement in our lust from the abused doctrine of the security of the believer. But let us appreciate the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints and recognize that we may entertain the faith of our security in Christ only as we persevere in faith and holiness to the end. (Redemption Accomplished and Applied, 154-55)
Any doctrine of eternal security that leaves out perseverance distorts the doctrine of salvation itself. Heaven without holiness ignores the whole purpose for which God chose and redeemed His people:
God elected us for this very purpose. “He chose us in him [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Eph. 1:4). We were predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ in all His spotless purity (Rom. 8:29). This divine choice makes it certain that we shall be like Him when He appears (1 John 3:2). From this fact, John deduces that everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as Christ is pure (1 John 3:3). His use of the word “everyone” makes it quite certain that those who do not purify themselves will not see Christ, nor be like Him. By their lack of holiness they prove that they were not so predestinated. The apostle thus deals a crushing blow to Antinomianism. (Richard Alderson, No Holiness, No Heaven!, p. 88)
God’s own holiness thus requires perseverance. “God’s grace insures our persevering`but this does not make it any less our persevering.” Believers cannot acquire “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” unless they “press on toward the goal” (Phil 3:14). But as they “work out [their] salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12), they find that “it is God who is at work in [them], both to will and work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
Source: http://www.gty.org
Whoever once truly believes that Jesus was raised from the dead, and confesses that Jesus is Lord, will go to heaven when he dies. But I will not stop there. Such a person will go to heaven when he dies no matter what work (or lack of work) may accompany such faith. (Once Saved, Always Saved, p. 19)
Kendall also writes, “I hope no one will take this as an attack on the Westminster Confession. It is not that” (p. 22).
But it is precisely that! Kendall expressly argues against Westminster’s assertion that faith cannot fail. He believes faith is best characterized as a single look: “one need only see the Sin Bearer once to be saved” (p. 23).This is a full-scale assault against the doctrine of perseverance affirmed in the Westminster Confession. Worse, it subverts Scripture itself. Unfortunately, it is a view that has come to be widely believed by Christians today.
John Murray, noting this trend a half-century ago, defended the expression “perseverance of the saints”:
It is not in the best interests of the doctrine involved to substitute the designation, “The Security of the Believer,” not because the latter is wrong in itself but because the other formula is much more carefully and inclusively framed. . . . It is not true that the believer is secure however much he may fall into sin and unfaithfulness. Why is this not true? It is not true because it sets up an impossible combination. It is true that a believer sins; he may fall into grievous sin and backslide for lengthy periods. But it is also true that a believer cannot abandon himself to sin; he cannot come under the dominion of sin; he cannot be guilty of certain kinds of unfaithfulness. The truth is that the faith of Jesus Christ is always respective of the life of holiness and fidelity. And so it is never proper to think of a believer irrespective of the fruits in faith and holiness. To say that a believer is secure whatever may be the extent of his addiction to sin in his subsequent life is to abstract faith in Christ from its very definition and it ministers to that abuse which turns the grace of God into lasciviousness. The doctrine of perseverance is the doctrine that believers persevere. . . . It is not at all that they will be saved irrespective of the their perseverance or their continuance, but that they will assuredly persevere. Consequently the security that is theirs is inseparable from their perseverance. Is this not what Jesus said? “He than endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.”
Let us not then take refuge in our sloth or encouragement in our lust from the abused doctrine of the security of the believer. But let us appreciate the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints and recognize that we may entertain the faith of our security in Christ only as we persevere in faith and holiness to the end. (Redemption Accomplished and Applied, 154-55)
Any doctrine of eternal security that leaves out perseverance distorts the doctrine of salvation itself. Heaven without holiness ignores the whole purpose for which God chose and redeemed His people:
God elected us for this very purpose. “He chose us in him [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Eph. 1:4). We were predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ in all His spotless purity (Rom. 8:29). This divine choice makes it certain that we shall be like Him when He appears (1 John 3:2). From this fact, John deduces that everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as Christ is pure (1 John 3:3). His use of the word “everyone” makes it quite certain that those who do not purify themselves will not see Christ, nor be like Him. By their lack of holiness they prove that they were not so predestinated. The apostle thus deals a crushing blow to Antinomianism. (Richard Alderson, No Holiness, No Heaven!, p. 88)
God’s own holiness thus requires perseverance. “God’s grace insures our persevering`but this does not make it any less our persevering.” Believers cannot acquire “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” unless they “press on toward the goal” (Phil 3:14). But as they “work out [their] salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12), they find that “it is God who is at work in [them], both to will and work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
Source: http://www.gty.org
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