Friday, December 14, 2007
Not So Senseless Killings
Thursday, December 13, 2007
A Man Shaped Hole in God’s Heart?
A quick listen to most contemporary Christian preaching, writing or singing would lead you to believe that God is gaga about humans and just longs to spend time with us. The latest dreck from Oneness Pentecostals (i.e., they believe in a heretical Jesus) Phillips, Craig and Dean, is a typical example.
No Matter How Long
I watched you as you stumbled out of bed,
Rushed out the door, your coffee in your hand.
And you looked so lost and lonely,
I knew I had to find a way
To make you understand, I wanna be your friend.
So I painted a sunrise in the sky
And I caused the birds to sing you lullabies,
And I whispered sweet "I love you's".
No matter how long it takes, somehow I'll find a way
Somehow My love will find a way,
No matter how long it takes.
I watched you as you fell asleep last night,
And I trembled as I watched the tears you cried.
So I splashed your face with moonlight, and I longed for your embrace.
A Brief History Lesson
Before we dissect that song, it is crucial we remember that evangelicalism blossomed out of the dead, liberal Protestantism of the middle 20th century. From the early 1900’s, Biblical Christians watched as liberal Protestantism produced false converts who pretended to worship God on Sunday, but were completely detached from Him on Monday.
Evangelicalism roared to life with the correct mantra, “You need to have a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” To that I say, “Amen.” But as is the case with every movement that arises in response to a singular problem, it is not long before it falls into an opposite and equally damning ditch. In this case, evangelicalism appears to have fallen into the pit of Godly romanticism.
Evangelicals now present God as a love sick puppy who yearns to spend time with us. We have exchanged His loving-kindness for a gooey, romantic love.
What is wrong with this song?
While I suspect the author is alluding to Psalm 19 and II Peter 3, his repositioning of theology is staggering. My comments are in parenthesis.
I watched you as you stumbled out of bed
Rushed out the door, your coffee in your hand
And you looked so lost and lonely (God does not desire to save us from loneliness, but from our sins)
I knew I had to find a way (This makes God sound less than omniscient)
To make you understand, I wanna be your friend (While the Bible says we can be friends with God, it means reconciled, not bosom buddies)
So I painted a sunrise in the sky
And I caused the birds to sing you lullabies (God gives us creation to appreciate Him, not lull us to sleep)
And I whispered sweet "I love you's" (Is God our boyfriend or the Sovereign Creator of the universe?)
No matter how long it takes, somehow I'll find a way. (God is not thwarted by anything, let alone us)
Somehow My love will find a way, (Poor, pitiful God)
No matter how long it takes. (“It is appointed unto man once to die, then judgment”)
I watched you as you fell asleep last night
And I trembled as I watched the tears you cried. (God trembles?)
So I splashed your face with moonlight, and I longed for your embrace. (This sounds more like a Harlequin novel than Scripture)
Redefining the Atonement
Not a single Bible verse can be found to support the idea that we are so loveable that God yearns for us. Instead, God desires to restore children of wrath to a right relationship with Himself so that His loving-kindness can be displayed (Eph.2).
God does not pursue us because he finds us so adorable that His heart will just break if He can’t find a way for us to fall in love with Him. He desires to save the unlovable so that His mercy can be magnified. The salvation that God offers is for His namesake, for His glory.
Why have we so altered the doctrine of reconciliation? I am convinced it is because we have abandoned expository preaching and the preaching of God’s Law. The result? We have relegated God’s sense of anger, wrath and justice to the Old Testament as if He were a different God than that “nice New Testament God”.
While we do not want to end up in the “God is only angry” ditch, we have to find our way out of our present moat. My suggestion: we need to preach verse by verse to have a complete knowledge of the character and nature of God. We need to preach the Law to understand that we are not loveable, but loved despite what we are.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Maybe Jesus Just Wants to Give You a Hug?
Over thirty years ago, the great philosopher Paul McCartney asked, “What’s wrong with silly love songs?” Having given this over three decades of serious consideration (OK, at least several months), I have Sir McCartney’s answer.
It depends.
If you want to fill the world with silly love songs, there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you want to fill the church with them, I say, “Stop it!”
Tune into your “get you through your day” Christian music station and you will hear grown men, whining like love sick puppies, “Nothing else can take your place, or feel the warmth of your embrace.” Who are they singing to? The One who holds the universe together by the power of His word, or a chick?
Take the Quiz
Here are six phrases from six contemporary songs. Can you pick which phrases belong to secular songs and which to the sacred?
1. All I need to do is just be me, being in love with you.
2. My world stops spinning round, without you.
3. I never want to leave; I want to stay in your warm embrace.
4. I’m lost in love.
5. Now and forever, together and all that I feel, here's my love for you.
6. You say you love me just as I am.
The first three are from a popular Christian band called Big Daddy Weave, the second half are from Air Supply.
More and more of our Christian music is sounding one note: Jesus loves you soooooo much. Do I doubt for a second that Jesus loves His children? Nope, but it depends on what your definition of “love” is.
God “agape” loves His children. Agape love is not an emotions based, warm and fuzzy kind of love. Agape love is a self sacrificing, “I will help you despite how I feel” love.
William Tyndale was the first translator to use the word “love” for agape. Prior to the 16th century, the word “charity” best described agape. Leaving that debate aside, since Tyndale’s time, the English definition for love has expanded. Our modern day use of love ranges from a love for an object to physical love/sex (eros love). I love that new car. I love that girl. I love that God. That God loves me.
Not only do we use “love” in romantic ways to sing about God, we have added other romantic phrases to our Christian music repertoire: hold me, embrace me, feel you, need you. This criticism is not new, in fact, it has existed since Godly men began endeavoring to sing anything but the Psalms.
John Wesley considered an “amatory phrase” to be language that was more feelings based love than self-sacrificing agape love. John deleted “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” from one of his brother Charles’ collections because it was too romantic sounding.
Amatory Phrasing
Not only are musicians guilty of writing amatory phrases, but they are singing with amatory phrasing. Christian men sing with such romantic longing and neediness it makes me want to scream, “Man up!”
Christian women are singing with such throaty breathiness you would think they had just run from their home to the studio. To whom exactly are they singing? Brad Pitt or the Savior?
There are two consequences to this “Jesus is my boyfriend/girlfriend” music. Needy, emotional women continue to need more counseling, self help books and conferences where they can spread their wings and soar. Men simply are not showing up for church. It is my belief they simply can’t stand the mood manipulating worship times designed to help them “feel the Lord’s embrace.”
Musical Mermaids
Without theology in music, we are offering fluff that will not comfort when bridges collapse and test reports are negative. Songwriters could provide true hope if they would write about the sovereignty of God rather than crying about “how safe I feel when Jesus is holding me.”
Charles Spurgeon had the same criticism of “Hymns for Heart and Voice” published in 1855. He condemned the hymns as being “little better than mermaids, nice to look at but dangerous because they cannot deliver what they promise.”
Is there anything wrong with being reminded that our God is our help from ages past? Of course not, the Psalms are loaded with promises of God’s comfort. But unlike the Psalms (and theology based hymns), contemporary music is void of the reason why we should not worry. We do not worry because someone purrs that we shouldn’t fret, but because God is our shelter in the stormy blast and our eternal home. Our comfort comes from knowledge, not caterwauling.
If you enjoy a silly love song now and then, knock yourself out. But leave them where they belong, in the world or in the bedroom, not in the church.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
21 Ways to Minister to Those Who Are Suffering
I have a friend and recently her mother died from cancer. The question comes up in our minds when you see this person you care about in pain and suffering. What do I say or do I say anything at all? How do I act? you cry with those who cry and you listen and pray for that person. I really found this article help full and I hope you do to….
1. Pray. Ask God for his help for you and for those you want to minister to. Ask him for wisdom and compassion and strength and a word fitly chosen. Ask that those who are suffering would look to God as their help and hope and healing and strength. Ask that he would make your mouth a fountain of life.
2. Feel and express empathy with those most hurt by this great evil and loss; weep with those who weep.
3. Feel and express compassion because of the tragic circumstances of so many loved ones and friends who have lost more than they could ever estimate.
4. Take time and touch, if you can, and give tender care to the wounded in body and soul.
5. Hold out the promise that God will sustain and help those who cast themselves on him for mercy and trust in his grace. He will strengthen you for the impossible days ahead in spite of all darkness.
6. Affirm that Jesus Christ tasted hostility from men and knew what it was to be unjustly tortured and abandoned, and to endure overwhelming loss, and then be killed, so that he is now a sympathetic mediator for us with God.
7. Declare that this murder was a great evil, and that God's wrath is greatly kindled by the wanton destruction of human life created in his image.
8. Acknowledge that God has permitted a great outbreak of sin against his revealed will, and that we do not know all the reasons why he would permit such a thing now, when it was in his power to stop it.
9. Express the truth that Satan is a massive reality in the universe that conspires with our own sin and flesh and the world to hurt people and to move people to hurt others, but stress that Satan is within and under the control of God.
10. Express that these terrorists rebelled against the revealed will of God and did not love God or trust him or find in God their refuge and strength and treasure, but scorned his ways and his Person.
11. Since rebellion against God was at the root of this act of murder, let us all fear such rebellion in our own hearts, and turn from it, and embrace the grace of God in Christ, and renounce the very impulses that caused this tragedy.
12. Point the living to the momentous issues of sin and repentance in our own hearts and the urgent need to get right with God through his merciful provision of forgiveness in Christ, so that a worse fate than death will not overtake us.
13. Remember that even those who trust in Christ may be cut down like these thousands who were in New York and Washington, but that does not mean they have been abandoned by God or not loved by God even in those agonizing hours of suffering. God's love conquers even through calamity.
14. Mingle heart-wrenching weeping with unbreakable confidence in the goodness and sovereignty of God who rules over and through the sin and the plans of rebellious people.
15. Trust God for his ability to do the humanly impossible, and bring you through this nightmare and, in some inscrutable way, bring good out of it.
16. Explain, when the time is right, and they have the wherewithal to think clearly that one of the mysteries of God's greatness is that he ordains that some things come to pass which he forbids and disapproves of.
17. Express your personal cherishing of the sovereignty of God as the ground of all your hope as you face the human impossibilities of life. The very fulfillment of the New Covenant promises of our salvation and preservation hang on God's sovereignty over rebellious human wills.
18. Count God your only lasting treasure, because he is the only sure and stable thing in the universe.
19. Remind everyone that to live is Christ and to die is gain.
20. Pray that God would incline their hearts to his word, open their eyes to his wonders, unite their hearts to fear him, and satisfy them with his love.
21. At the right time sound the trumpet that all this good news is meant by God to free us for radical, sacrificial service for the salvation of men and the glory of Christ. Help them see that one message of all this misery is to show us that life is short and fragile and followed by eternity, and small, man-centered ambitions are tragic.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Overcoming Sin and Temptation (Chapter 2)
This week we continue reading the classics together by turning to the second chapter of John Owen’s Overcoming Sin and Temptation. Last week we read the first chapter which was an exposition of Romans 8:13: “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.” Owen came to three conclusions: The choicest believers, who are assuredly freed from the condemning power of sin, ought yet to make it their business all their days to mortify the indwelling power of sin; The mortification of indwelling sin remaining in our mortal bodies, that is may not have life and power to bring forth the works or deeds of the flesh, is the constant duty of believers; The vigor, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life depends on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh.
Summary
The thesis of the second chapter is this: “Believers ought to make the mortification of indwelling sin their daily work.” The question we must ask ourselves and the exhortation of the author is this:
Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it while you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.
The rest of the chapter is given or to reasons that we must be at the business of killing sin. It follows this outline:
- Indwelling sin always abides; therefore it must always be mortified
- Indwelling sin not only abides, but is still acting
- Indwelling sin is not only active, but will produce soul-destroying sins if not mortified
- Indwelling sin is to be opposed by the Spirit and the new nature
- The results of neglecting the mortification of indwelling sin
- It is our duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God and grow in grace every day
Discussion
This week I focused in on individual phrases rather than the chapter as a whole. Owen is an eminently quotable author who can distill a chapter or a section to a sentence or to a phrase. The most notable example must be this: “be killing sin or it will be killing you.” Who, having read that phrase, will ever forget it? The challenge is laid down in just those nine words. We are at war and there is going to be a victor. Will it be us or will it be sin? Owen says also, “When sin lets us alone we may let sin alone.” As much as I hate sin and long to be free from it, I know that I will be in constant conflict with it until the day I die. It is then, and only then, that sin will leave me alone. It is then, and only then, that I may leave it alone.
Here are a few of the other phrases that I highlighted not just to mark them, but so I could return to them and ponder them.
“He that is appointed to kill an enemy, if he leave striking before the other ceases living, does but half his work.”
“Sin does not only still abide in us, but is still acting, still laboring to bring forth the deeds of the flesh. When sin lets us alone we may let sin alone; but as sin is never less quiet than when it seems to be most quiet, and its waters are for the most part deep when they are still, so ought our contrivances against it to be vigorous at all times and in all conditions, even where there is least suspicion.”
“Who can say that he had ever anything to do with God or for God, that indwelling sin had not a hand in the corrupting of what he did?”
“There is not a day but sin foils or is foiled, prevails or is prevailed on.”
“Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, might it have its own course, it would go out to the utmost sin in that kind. Every unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could; every covetous desire would be oppression, every thought of unbelief would be atheism, might it grow to its head.”
“[Sin] has no bounds but utter relinquishment of God and opposition to him.”
“It is our participation of the divine nature that gives us an escape from the pollutions that are in the world through lust.”
“Not to be daily mortifying sin is to sin against the goodness, kindness, wisdom, grace, and love of God, who has furnished us with a principle of doing it.”
“By the omission of this duty grace withers, lust flourishes, and the frame of the heart grows worse and worse.”
“Sin does so remain, so act and work in the best of believers, while they live in this world, that the constant daily mortification of it is all their days incumbent on them.”
I think the one that will stay with me the longest and that will continue to reverberate in my mind (and I hope this is especially true when I am lured and enticed by sin) is this: “Sin aims always at the utmost.” Though sin may compel me to do something that seems small and nearly harmless, sin’s ultimate aim is always greater. Its aim is always more dangerous. Sin aims at the greatest fulfillment of any sin and aims even further to cause me to utterly relinquish God and to be in opposition to Him. What seems small and harmless is really just the first rocks shifting in what aims to become a terrific landslide.
Next Time
Next Thursday we will continue with the third chapter of the book. We have only just begun so there is still plenty of time for you to get the book and to read along.
Your Turn
I would like to know what you gained from this chapter. Feel free to post comments below or to write about this on your own blog (and then post a comment linking us to your thoughts). Do not feel that you need to say anything shocking or profound. Just share what stirred your heart or what gave you pause or what confused you. Let’s make sure we’re reading this book together. Last week’s comments were great and really aided my enjoyment of the chapter. I trust this week will prove the same.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Romans13:13
Rom13:13-14:Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in quarreling and jealousy. but put on the lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Its all about you Jesus....calvinism and worship
I believe that the so-called "limited atonement" is applied to be in a very special way that guarentees it will work- in a real sense Christ died PERSONALLY for me. I am sure that grace must be irrisistable because that demonstrates that Christ and not I are in the driving seat in our relationship, because of that I can be confident that I will persevere in my faith not because of my own will power and determination but instead because I have trusted myself into the hands of Christ and he will never let me go.
These truths comfort us because we suddenly realise salvation is not about us, not about what we offer and contribute (except our sin!). We realise that not even our faith comes from us and could be seen as somehow making us more deserving. We come again to Christ and say "thank you for what you did for me". Thank you for choosing me, thank you for dying for me, thank you for taking my punishment, thank you for helping me to see the truth, thank you for granting me faith and wooing me to you, thank you for giving me new life, and thank you that I will spend eternity with you.
So it really is "all about you jesus"
It's all about you, Jesus
And all this is for you
For your glory and your fame
It's not about me,
As if you should do things my way
You alone are God
And I surrender, to your ways
Monday, November 5, 2007
John Piper is A Hyper-Calvinist!
Also, is it true Bethlehem Baptist has revised their hymnal to fit the mold of their hyper-Calvinist pastor? I hear they now sing, "Jesus loves some of the children, some of the children in the world..."Dr. John Piper is the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, a growing congregation located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is most definitely not a hyper-calvinist. His church excels in missions, fully sponsoring over a hundred missionaries currently on the field. But, just in case one still thinks Dr. Caner may have a point, let me lay out the distinctions of hyper-calvinism in order to see how ridiculous this charge is.
According to Phil Johnson in his "A Primer on Hyper-Calvinism", A hypercalvinist is a person who denies at least one of the following statements:
1. That the gospel call applies to all who hear.
2. That faith is the duty of every sinner.
3. That the gospel makes any "offer" of Christ, salvation, or mercy to the non-elect (or that the offer of divine mercy is free and universal).
4. That there is such a thing as "common grace."
5. That God has any sort of love for the non-elect.
I think you will find that even a cursory study of John Piper's writings and sermons will demonstrate that this term does not in any way describe Dr. Piper. But what this does reveal is the growing dislike for Calvinism among the SBC elites and the willingness they have to discredit those with whom they disagree. This is a sad situation. We should all be praying for the future of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
What's The Big Harry Deal
1) Perry Hotter and the Dirty Crack Pipe- A young boy is shipped off to live in an inner-city crack house. In this crack house, the boy is trained in the ways of illicit drug production, use, and distribution. Perry has wonderful adventures learning about creating more effective highs, outwitting the bad crack dealers, and teaching other young kids about the joys of drug use.
2) Perry Hotter and the Jihadist’s Bomb-belt- A young boy is shipped off to an Al Qaeda training camp. At this training camp, the boy is trained in the covert practices of subverting American laws, developing dirty bombs, and using a sword to cut off an infidel’s head. Perry’s amazing exploits include evading U.S. spy planes, purchasing nuclear materials from Chechen rebels, and developing jihadist literature to share with his friends at school.
3) Perry Hotter and the Prostitutes of Pleasure- A young boy is shipped off to a secretive brothel in Eastern Europe. While living in this brothel, the boy is taught all of the most effective pimping techniques. Perry’s feats include seducing poor Russian girls with offers of employment in the west, bribing dirty police officers to look the other way, and exposing other children to the pleasures of earning a living by selling their bodies.
What do you think? You’re shocked?! You’re outraged?! How could I even suggest a book series for children containing such vile and filthy material?
To be sure, I think that these are all commonsense and appropriate responses to the evil subject matter detailed in my imaginary book series. How could anyone, yet alone a Bible believing Christian, think that this is appropriate subject matter for a series of children’s books? You don’t have to look very far into scripture to find that illegal drug abuse, terrorism, and sexual exploitation are all topics that break the heart of God.
However, while my imaginary series of children’s books, featuring these demonic evils, would be condemned outright by any God-fearing person, there is currently a real children’s book series on the market, filled with equally dangerous and unbiblical evils, that is being bought by the millions, even by Christian families. This is the Harry Potter series, which has recently released a new book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. In its first day of sales alone, this newest addition to the Harry Potter series sold almost 7 million copies; and will probably sell upwards of 15 million+ by the time it’s all said and done. While this reality should shock and disturb our society, what we find instead is widespread praise for the “magic” of Harry Potter and how he has “enchanted” millions of kids into reading. What’s even more disturbing is the vast number of Christian children and parents flocking into bookstores to buy their family a copy, while our pastors remain silent about the dangers found within Harry Potter’s pages.
The Harry Potter series is wholly based on the dark arts of witchcraft, sorcery, and spiritism. These are all Satanic practices that are absolutely condemned by God throughout the Bible. In Deuteronomy 18:9-14, God tells us that these practices are an “abomination” in God’s sight. In Galatians 5:19-21, God says that sorcery is a “work of the flesh” and that those who practice sorcery “will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.” And Revelation 22:15 tells us that sorcerers will not be present in the glorious city of the New Jerusalem.
Christian brothers and sisters, if God condemns the activities glorified in the Harry Potter series, and if by God’s standards Harry Potter himself will spend eternity separated from God, how can we as believers ever justify the purchasing of any Harry Potter book? How can we justify allowing our children, the children God calls us to raise “in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4), to read books that revel in such clearly unbiblical practices? We would never allow our children to read stories that glorify illegal drug abuse, murder, or sexual exploitation, so why do we lower the standards when it comes to witchcraft and sorcery?
Being “salt and light” to the world (Matthew 5:13-16) sometimes requires that we as believers take a stand against things that the world defines as popular, cool, and even beneficial. No matter how many Harry Potter books are sold, no matter how much acclaim Harry Potter receives, and no matter how great people think it is that Harry Potter has caused kids to put down their video games to read a book, sorcery will always be an “abomination” in God’s eyes. And if God views the subject matter of Harry Potter as an abomination, then we as Christians have no choice but to do likewise.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Ligonier's Reformation Day Sale
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Trick or Retreat?
Halloween. It’s a time of year when the air gets crisper, the day gets shorter, and for many young Americans the excitement grows in anticipation of the darkest, spookiest holiday of the year. Retailers rejoice too as they warm up their cash registers to receive an average of $41.77 per household in decorations, costumes, candy, and greeting cards. Halloween will bring in approximately 3.3 billion dollars this year.It’s a good bet retailers won’t entertain high expectations of getting $41.77 per household from the Christian market. Many Christians refuse to participate in Halloween. Some are wary of its pagan origins; others of its dark, ghoulish imagery; still others are concerned for the safety of their children. But other Christians choose to partake of the festivities, whether participating in school activities, neighborhood trick-or-treating, or a Halloween alternative at their church.
The question is, How should Christians respond to Halloween? Is it irresponsible for parents to let their children trick-or-treat? What about Christians who refuse any kind of celebration during the season — are they overreacting?
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Early Halloween treat, a little frightening...Interview With Doug Pagitt of the Emergent Church PT1
Doug Pagitt Denies the Doctrine of Hell on WOTMR
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
listen to Todd Friel on Yoga!!
Todd Friel played portions of that podcast, interspersed with his own comments, on Wednesday's first hour of Way of the Master Radio. (Click on the poster below to hear the six-minute segment from WoTM Radio where Todd replied to Pagitt's remarks.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Bush- Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God.
President Bush did with a reporter from an Islamic news service. During that interview, President Bush said:
Well, first of all, I believe in an Almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That's what I believe. I believe that Islam is a great religion that preaches peace.
President Bush states that all people of faith pray to the same God. Well let’s see if that is true. The Bible says:
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" (1 Timothy 2:5)
"Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also." (1 John 2:23)
"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John 5:11,12)
"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18)
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:36)
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
Well if I have this correct, there is only one way to get to the Father and that is through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. No other way. So in order for all of us to be praying to the same God, all of the people of different religions would have to believe the same way. So when, not if because you are supposed to be sharing your faith as a Christian, you talk to Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Catholics, Sikhs, New Agers, etc. do they tell you that Jesus is the only way to get to the Father? Let me tell you from experience, no they do not. Why? Because they do not believe Jesus is the only way. It is mainly because they
pray to a different god and do not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ. Can a true born again believer really believe that we all pray to the same God and that there are multiple ways to be right with that God? Since we know that is not true when you read the Bible, I wonder if there is another reason. Let’s look to the Bible and see:
"How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?" (John 5:44)
"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10)
"Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:
For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." (John 12:42,43)
So which is it folks? Do you love the praise of men or do you love the praise of God? Are you seeking pats on the back from men or are you seeking to glorify the Lord no matter what the cost? Are you worried what friends might say about you, bosses might say about you, newspapers and TV might say about you, or are you much more focused and concerned what the God of the Bible will say about you on Judgment Day?
Later on in the article President Bush stated that he was hosting an Iftar dinner. It is the seventh one he has hosted in the seven years he has been in the White House. An Iftar dinner is the evening meal that breaks the daily fast that Muslims perform during the month of Ramadan.
You can go ahead and put me in the category of people who will not be hosting an Iftar dinner this year or any other year. I would be more than happy to go to one if I am invited, but you can be rest assured that I will be telling people the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ that will lead them to the only God that is out there when they die.
The praise of men or the praise of God, which one is it for you? A false convert or a true convert, which one are you?
Please pray for President Bush. He needs to get his spiritual house in order. All of us need to examine ourselves to make sure we are of the faith. As I tell people, Judgment Day sorts everything out. Make sure you have it all sorted out before you get to the throne of God because it will be too late to do anything about it then.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
John Piper on worship
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
"Proof that ungodliness is rampant in evangelical circles is evident in megachurches that purposely cater to the preferences of the ungodly---furnishing entertainment and amusements in place of authentic worship and Bible teaching. More proof is found in a popular doctrinal system that deliberately removes the lordship of Christ from the Gospel proclamation to give a theological justification for 'carnal Christians'--- people who profess to believe in Christ but live ungodly lives."
-John MacArthur, The Truth War
Quote of the day
-R.W. Dale
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Christian Yoga...What !
“Yoga purists are bent out of shape”. This was the headline of a recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper. The article explained that traditional Yoga “experts contend that Hindu religious elements are being profaned by fad versions of the ancient practice.”
So, what are these “fad versions” of yoga that are upsetting the Hindu yogis? The article cites as an example the “millions of Americans… practicing yoga to improve flexibility, strengthen muscles and relieve stress.” These 16.5 million American yoga enthusiasts “spend nearly $3 billion annually on classes and products”.
The problem with this, according to the Hindu yogis quoted in the article, is that yoga was never designed to be an exercise, yet alone an exercise “fad”. Rather, yoga is an ancient Hindu religious practice, intended to unite a person’s soul with the impersonal, universal force Hindus call “god”. The Hindu Sanskrit word “yoga” literally means to be yoked or joined in union. And the goal of every Hindu yogi is to use the religious practice of yoga to lose their personality and individuality and to become one with the monistic-pantheistic spiritual force of Hinduism. This is done through Hatha Yoga (the physical disciplines), where one seeks to call up what Hindus say is the Kundalini or spiritual force described as a “coiled white serpent of light” to aid them in their transcendence to impersonal spiritual monism. There should be no doubt about it; yoga is a 2,000 year old Hindu religious practice designed for very specific spiritual and occult purposes.
This Star Tribune article should be a wake-up call to the thousands, if not millions, of Christians who are regularly practicing yoga. And it should be a wake-up call to the hundreds, if not thousands, of Christian churches that have embraced yoga as a regular part of their weekly worship. Too many Christians have erroneously strayed into participating in various forms of this Hindu religious practice. The common claim is that they’re only doing yoga “for its exercise benefits”; or for those aware of its Hindu religious origins, that their yoga meditation is “directed towards Jesus Christ and not the gods of Hinduism”. The fact of the matter is this, God strictly forbids his people from dabbling in the false religious activities of the world.
As you read through Scripture, you will not find one example of God tolerating His people’s participation in pagan religious activities. Rather, over and over again God explicitly condemns this. So, why should we think that just because yoga has some exercise benefits, that God’s standards have now changed? Why should we think that a pagan religious practice, even one that may work, is suddenly acceptable in God’s eyes? Think about it, there are a lot of pagan religious practices that work (witchcraft, sorcery, spiritism, ouija boards, etc.), but we don’t recommend that our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ participate in them. So, why should yoga be any different?
Christians who have mistakenly gotten involved in the practice of yoga need to stop now; there is no excuse for staying involved in a pagan religious activity. And Christian churches that have embraced yoga as a regular part of their worship need to put an end to this and repent; God will not tolerate His people’s participation in pagan religious practices. God calls His people to be set-apart, to be salt and light to the world. How are we being faithful to this calling if we are participating in the rituals of pagan religions?
Friday, September 28, 2007
Unconditional Election
Unconditional Election
If all of us are so depraved that we cannot come to God without being born again by the irresistible grace of God, and if this particular grace is purchased by Christ on the cross, then it is clear that the salvation of any of us is owing to God's election.
Election refers to God's choosing whom to save. It is unconditional in that there is no condition man must meet before God chooses to save him. Man is dead in trespasses and sins. So there is no condition he can meet before God chooses to save him from his deadness.
I I’m not saying that final salvation is unconditional. It is not. I must meet the condition of faith in Christ in order to inherit eternal life. But faith is not a condition for election. Just the reverse. Election is a condition for faith. It is because God chose us before the foundation of the world that he purchases our redemption at the cross and quickens us with irresistible grace and brings us to faith.
Acts 13:48 reports how the Gentiles responded to the preaching of the gospel in Antioch of Pisidia. "And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God; and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." Notice, it does not say that as many believed were chosen to be ordained to eternal life. The prior election of God is the reason some believed while others did not.
Similarly Jesus says to the Jews in John 10:26, "You do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep." He does not say, "You are not my sheep because you do not believe." Being a sheep is something God decides for us before we believe. It is the basis and enablement of our belief. We believe because we are God's chosen sheep, not vice versa. (See John 8:47; 18:37.)
In Romans 9 Paul stresses the unconditionality of election. For example, in verses 11-12 he describes the principle God used in the choice of Jacob over Esau: "Though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call, [Rebecca] was told, 'The elder will serve the younger.'" God's election is preserved in its unconditionality because it is transacted before we are born or have done any good or evil.
NOTE: Some interpreters say that Romans 9 has nothing to do with the election of individuals to their eternal destinies. They say that the chapter only relates to the historical roles that are played by the peoples descended from Jacob and Esau.
I do recommend The Justification of God by John Piper which was written to investigate this very issue. It concludes that Romans 9 not only relates to the historical roles of whole peoples, but also to the eternal destinies of individuals, because among other reasons (Justification, pp. 38-54), verses 1-5 pose a problem about the lostness of individual Israelites which would be totally unaddressed if the chapter had nothing to say about individuals.
The unconditionality of God's electing grace is stressed again in Romans 9:15-16, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So it depends not upon man's will or exertion, but upon God's mercy."
We really do not understand mercy if we think that we can initiate it by our own will or effort. We are hopelessly bound in the darkness of sin. If we are going to be saved, God will have to unconditionally take the initiative in our heart and irresistibly make us willing to submit to him. (See Romans 11:7.)
Ephesians 1:3-6 is another powerful statement of the unconditionality of our election and predestination to sonship.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He predestined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace.
Some interpreters argue that this election before the foundation of the world was only an election of Christ, but not an election of which individuals would actually be in Christ. This simply amounts to saying that there is no unconditional election of individuals to salvation. Christ is put forward as the chosen one of God and the salvation of individuals is dependent on their own initiative to overcome their depravity and be united to Christ by faith. God does not choose them and therefore God cannot effectually convert them. He can only wait to see who will quicken themselves from the dead and choose him.
This interpretation does not square well with verse 11 where it says that "we were predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will."
Nor does the literal wording of verse 4 fit this interpretation. The ordinary meaning of the word for "choose" in verse 4 is to select or pick out of a group (cf. Luke 6:13; 14:7; John 13:18; 15:16,19). So the natural meaning of the verse is that God chooses his people from all humanity, before the foundation of the world by viewing them in relationship to Christ their redeemer.
All election is in relation to Christ. There would be no election of sinners unto salvation if Christ were not appointed to die for their sins. So in that sense they are elect in Christ. But it is they, and not just Christ who are chosen out of the world.
Also the wording of verse 5 suggests the election of people to be in Christ, and not just the election of Christ. Literally it says, "Having predestined us unto sonship through Jesus Christ." We are the ones predestined, not Christ. He is the one that makes the election of sinners possible, and so our election is "through him," but there is no talk here about God having a view only to Christ in election.
Perhaps the most important text of all in relation to the teaching of unconditional election is Romans 8:28-33.
We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose, For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
Often this text is used to argue against unconditional election on the basis of verse 29 which says, "Those whom he foreknew he also predestined..." So some say that people are not chosen unconditionally. They are chosen on the basis of their faith which they produce without the help of irresistible grace and which God sees beforehand.
But this will not square with the context. Notice that Romans 8:30 says, "And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified." Focus for a moment on the fact that all whom God calls he also justifies.
This calling in verse 30 is not given to all people. The reason we know it's not is that all those who are called are also justified—but all men are not justified. So this calling in verse 30 is not the general call to repentance that preachers give or that God gives through the glory of nature. Everybody receives that call. The call of verse 30 is given only to those whom God predestined to be conformed to the image of his son (v.29). And it is a call that leads necessarily to justification: "Those whom he called he also justified."
But we know that justification is by faith (Romans 5:1). What then is this call that is given to all those who are predestined and which leads to justification? It must be the call of irresistible grace. It is the call of 1 Corinthians 1:24
Between the act of predestination and justification there is the act of calling. Since justification is only by faith the calling in view must be the act of God whereby he calls faith into being. And since it necessarily results in justification it must be irresistible. There are none called (in this sense! not the sense of Matthew 22:14) who are not justified. All the called are justified. So the calling of verse 30 is the sovereign work of God which brings a person to faith by which he is justified.
Now notice the implication this has for the meaning of foreknowledge in verse 29. When Paul says in verse 29, "Those whom he foreknew he also predestined," he can't mean (as so many try to make him mean) that God knows in advance who will use their free will to come to faith, so that he can predestine them to sonship because they made that free choice on their own. It can't mean that because we have seen from verse 30 that people do not come to faith on their own. They are called irresistibly.
God does not foreknow the free decisions of people to believe in him because there aren't any such free decisions to know. If anyone comes to faith in Jesus, it is because they were quickened from the dead (Ephesians 2:5) by the creative Spirit of God. That is, they are effectually called from darkness into light.
So the foreknowledge of Romans 8:29 is not the mere awareness of something that will happen in the future apart from God's predetermination. Rather it is the kind of knowledge referred to in Old Testament texts like Genesis 18:19 ("I have chosen [literally:known] Abraham so that he may charge his children...to keep the way of the Lord"), and Jeremiah 1:5 ("Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations") and Amos 3:2 ("You only [Israel] have I known from all the families of the earth").
. Cranfield says, the foreknowledge of Romans 8:29 is "that special taking knowledge of a person which is God's electing grace." Such foreknowledge is virtually the same as election: "Those whom he foreknew (i.e. chose) he predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son."
Therefore what this magnificent text (Romans 8:28-33) teaches is that God really accomplishes the complete redemption of his people from start to finish. He foreknows, i.e. elects a people for himself before the foundation of the world, he predestines this people to be conformed to the image of his Son, he calls them to himself in faith, he justifies them through that faith, and he finally glorifies them—and nothing can separate them from the love of God in Christ for ever and ever (Romans 8:39). To him be all praise and glory! Amen.