"For in six days the LORD created the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it," Exodus 20:11.
We live in a day where the Church is being swallowed up by the culture at large. We are losing our saltiness, as we are to be the salt of the earth and if we lose that saltiness, our only good use is to be thrown down and trampled on. We are losing our preserving influence in the world and this can be seen especially as the American Evangelical church seeks to prove its relevance through a reinterpretation of creation, especially the first couple chapters of Genesis. It was with this in mind that I read Pastor John MacArthur's book, The Battle for the Beginning.
In the introduction to the book, MacArthur states plainly the perilous state of the evangelical church in the world today, "So in an important sense, everything scripture says about our salvation in Jesus Christ hinges on the literal truth of what Jesus teaches in Genesis 1-3 about Adam's creation and fall. There is no more pivotal passage of scripture," pg. 19.
MacArthur explains well, with a pastors concern, the danger of the liberal hermeneutic(interpretive method), used by those who try to harmonize scripture and science. The Bible states, "Let God be true and all men liars." Pastor John seems to have this in mind as he skillfully exegetes Genesis 1-3, explaining the incontrovertible truth of a literal six day creation. Pastor Mac states, "The simple, rather obvious fact is that no one would ever think the time frame for creation was anything other than a normal week of seven days from reading the Bible and allowing it to interpret itself. The forth commandment makes no sense whatsoever apart from an understanding that the days of God's creative work parallel a normal human work week," pg. 21. Pastor John's well founded criticism is that too many "evangelical" Christians use a scientific hermeneutic to interpret scripture. He especially takes on scientist/evangelical Christian Hugh Ross and his approach to creation. Now, Dr. MacArthur is careful to note that many old earth creationists believe in a literal Adam and Eve and the innerrancy of scripture. He also points out that they carefully cage up their destructive interpretive method outside of the first few chapters of Genesis. They switch methods so to speak.
Dr. MacArthur does a wonderful job explaining the intricacies of God's creation and how evolution is an ineffective method of explaining these intricate systems and creatures. His book is a refreshing and important polemic affirming the authority of scripture against even science. It is interesting that only because of a true understanding of Christian doctrine was modern science able to arise and it is now turning its attack on the very belief system that birthed it.
I leave you with this quote from the book, as it so aptly explains how this discussion effects the gospel itself, "Paul's presentation of the doctrine of original sin in Romans 5:12-20 depends upon a historical Adam and a literal interpretation of the account of Genesis and how he fell. Furthermore, everything Paul has to say about the doctrine of justification by faith depends on that. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all are made alive," 1Cor. 15:22. Clearly, Paul regarded both the creation and the fall of Adam as history, not allegory. Jesus himself regarded the creation of Adam and Eve a historical event, Mark 10:6. To question the historicity of these events is to undermine the very essence of Christian doctrine," pg. 23.
Dr. MacArthur is not over stating things here. An incorrect view of creation has horrific ripple effects through out the rest of scripture and even can do great violence to the gospel itself. We must be careful not to let vain philosophies guide our understanding of God's word and we must not be worried if people think we are ignorant for upholding the absolute authority of God's word, even over science.
God bless you, learn, live and love the precious gospel of Jesus Christ!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Pain and Suffering: Only Answered by the Suffering Savior
"looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin," Hebrews 12:2-4.
There I was, in small town Nebraska, screaming at the top of my lungs, "the cross, the cross" as Dinesh D'souza was struggling to explain the meaning of suffering. Why he had been invited to present his new book on an evangelical radio show, I do not know, but he promised that this was the most difficult question for the Christian to answer and it was not a problem that other religions had to deal with. Eventually, he settled on a little Mother Teresa theology by pointing to God's eternality and the blessedness of our suffering. He stated, for example, that Job would be recompensed for his suffering by an eternity of blessedness in God's presence. Finally, the talk show host, threw him a life preserver and mentioned the cross. Dinesh jumped on it and mercifully that segment of the show was over.
When you read Hebrews 10 through 12, it is hard to imagine how a Christian would be confused about suffering. We worship a crucified Savior. In fact, the writer of Hebrews seems to be chastising his readers(including us) for thinking that they will escape suffering. In fact, God uses our suffering to grow our faith. Now, we do not go out and look to suffer, as Mother Teresa(and other false teachers) promoted. What we do is preach and live the gospel, no matter the circumstance. If that means that we will be persecuted, we will be persecuted. Just two pages over in my Bible, James writes this, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials." James seems to echo his half brothers(Jesus) sentiments by exhorting us to have joy in our suffering. A suffering that we fall into, not seek for ourselves. James agrees Hebrews about the benefit of our suffering and the perseverance it produces.
Interestingly, believers in countries that are suffering greatly, rarely if ever question why they suffer. It is the coddled, fat and sassy western Christians who think that God owes them a comfy life that never so much as stubs a toe. This kind of "faith" is no faith at all and will be exposed for its hypocrisy when pain and suffering afflict the western world. Those who follow in seeker sensitive churches, health and wealth prosperity churches and many other professing Christians will quickly abandon the faith of the suffering Savior when the slightest inconvenience happens let alone a vicious persecution.
I will end this post where I started, on the same Christian radio show, a couple of days later. Another writer was on, this one had a different perspective. He stated, paraphrasing, "What a stupid question(why pain and suffering), the real question is, why does God bless us so much." Friends, we need to, as Hebrews 12 exhorts us, remember our loving and great crucified Savior and learn, love and live His gospel.
There I was, in small town Nebraska, screaming at the top of my lungs, "the cross, the cross" as Dinesh D'souza was struggling to explain the meaning of suffering. Why he had been invited to present his new book on an evangelical radio show, I do not know, but he promised that this was the most difficult question for the Christian to answer and it was not a problem that other religions had to deal with. Eventually, he settled on a little Mother Teresa theology by pointing to God's eternality and the blessedness of our suffering. He stated, for example, that Job would be recompensed for his suffering by an eternity of blessedness in God's presence. Finally, the talk show host, threw him a life preserver and mentioned the cross. Dinesh jumped on it and mercifully that segment of the show was over.
When you read Hebrews 10 through 12, it is hard to imagine how a Christian would be confused about suffering. We worship a crucified Savior. In fact, the writer of Hebrews seems to be chastising his readers(including us) for thinking that they will escape suffering. In fact, God uses our suffering to grow our faith. Now, we do not go out and look to suffer, as Mother Teresa(and other false teachers) promoted. What we do is preach and live the gospel, no matter the circumstance. If that means that we will be persecuted, we will be persecuted. Just two pages over in my Bible, James writes this, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials." James seems to echo his half brothers(Jesus) sentiments by exhorting us to have joy in our suffering. A suffering that we fall into, not seek for ourselves. James agrees Hebrews about the benefit of our suffering and the perseverance it produces.
Interestingly, believers in countries that are suffering greatly, rarely if ever question why they suffer. It is the coddled, fat and sassy western Christians who think that God owes them a comfy life that never so much as stubs a toe. This kind of "faith" is no faith at all and will be exposed for its hypocrisy when pain and suffering afflict the western world. Those who follow in seeker sensitive churches, health and wealth prosperity churches and many other professing Christians will quickly abandon the faith of the suffering Savior when the slightest inconvenience happens let alone a vicious persecution.
I will end this post where I started, on the same Christian radio show, a couple of days later. Another writer was on, this one had a different perspective. He stated, paraphrasing, "What a stupid question(why pain and suffering), the real question is, why does God bless us so much." Friends, we need to, as Hebrews 12 exhorts us, remember our loving and great crucified Savior and learn, love and live His gospel.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Lent: A Biblical Response
"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward," Matt. 6:16.
"So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ," Colossians 2:16-17.
"Hey Bob, let's go to McDonald's and get something to eat." "I can't," said Bob. "Why not?" His friend asks. "I gave up fast food for Lent," Bob replies.
As an evangelical, this situation, or something similar happens regularly this time of year. This often leads to confusion but brings up some excellent questions. Most importantly, we need to ask what is Lent and is it Biblical and more importantly is it Biblically mandated.
Lent is the forty day period, beginning with Ash Wednesday, before Resurrection Sunday. It is, according to Catholic resources, a time of penance. Penance is the Catholic term for our reparation for our sin. It is a system of works righteousness for our sins. This is antithetical to Biblical fasting. We can in no way impress God with our works, it is only by our submission to His Holy Spirit that we can please Him. Jesus did expect us to fast, as His words from Matthew 6 demonstrate, yet it is a private matter, between us and Him. Now, that does not mean that a pastor or church can not fast together to seek God's will on a matter, especially seeking to humble ourselves and seek revival in our lives and to submit our lives more completely to God as we give up our daily substinance, food, to be filled more fully with His Spirit. Fasting is a wonderful discipline that allows us to more fully understand how awesome God is as we pray and reflect on His amazing works, especially the work that saves us: His Son's death on the cross for ours sins and the hope of His resurrection.
In the evangelical world, we have more and more pastors seeking to incorporate elements of Catholic faith and tradition into our worship. The Forty Days of Purpose and many other resources are tying into Catholic tradition in many ways and this is not a helpful influence whatsoever and confuses many people and draws them into false teaching and error. Observing Lent as a form of penance is unbiblical and must be rejected. Paul stated clearly in Colossians 2 that we are not bound to festivals as a form of obedience to impress God. We have the reality of Christ to worship and adore. He is our Lenten festival, we feast on Him and His word and His perfect work on the cross. Yes, we can forgo food and fast for a time in fuller devotion to Him. We do need to take time to leave the noise of this world and fast and pray and concentrate completely on Christ, but it is a matter personal to us that we do not need to force upon others or parade in public to the adoration of man. Truly, that is its own reward and our only reward if we do that.
Brothers and sisters, do not be drawn in by the traditions of men, like Lent. We must "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness," as Jesus said. We need to keep His gospel central in our hearts and minds at all times, not for forty days in the spring. God bless you all and remember to learn, live and love the gospel.
"So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ," Colossians 2:16-17.
"Hey Bob, let's go to McDonald's and get something to eat." "I can't," said Bob. "Why not?" His friend asks. "I gave up fast food for Lent," Bob replies.
As an evangelical, this situation, or something similar happens regularly this time of year. This often leads to confusion but brings up some excellent questions. Most importantly, we need to ask what is Lent and is it Biblical and more importantly is it Biblically mandated.
Lent is the forty day period, beginning with Ash Wednesday, before Resurrection Sunday. It is, according to Catholic resources, a time of penance. Penance is the Catholic term for our reparation for our sin. It is a system of works righteousness for our sins. This is antithetical to Biblical fasting. We can in no way impress God with our works, it is only by our submission to His Holy Spirit that we can please Him. Jesus did expect us to fast, as His words from Matthew 6 demonstrate, yet it is a private matter, between us and Him. Now, that does not mean that a pastor or church can not fast together to seek God's will on a matter, especially seeking to humble ourselves and seek revival in our lives and to submit our lives more completely to God as we give up our daily substinance, food, to be filled more fully with His Spirit. Fasting is a wonderful discipline that allows us to more fully understand how awesome God is as we pray and reflect on His amazing works, especially the work that saves us: His Son's death on the cross for ours sins and the hope of His resurrection.
In the evangelical world, we have more and more pastors seeking to incorporate elements of Catholic faith and tradition into our worship. The Forty Days of Purpose and many other resources are tying into Catholic tradition in many ways and this is not a helpful influence whatsoever and confuses many people and draws them into false teaching and error. Observing Lent as a form of penance is unbiblical and must be rejected. Paul stated clearly in Colossians 2 that we are not bound to festivals as a form of obedience to impress God. We have the reality of Christ to worship and adore. He is our Lenten festival, we feast on Him and His word and His perfect work on the cross. Yes, we can forgo food and fast for a time in fuller devotion to Him. We do need to take time to leave the noise of this world and fast and pray and concentrate completely on Christ, but it is a matter personal to us that we do not need to force upon others or parade in public to the adoration of man. Truly, that is its own reward and our only reward if we do that.
Brothers and sisters, do not be drawn in by the traditions of men, like Lent. We must "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness," as Jesus said. We need to keep His gospel central in our hearts and minds at all times, not for forty days in the spring. God bless you all and remember to learn, live and love the gospel.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Heretics Not Welcome: Why We Need To Stay Away From False Teachers
"Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds," 2John 9-11.
Jesus taught us that a little leaven works through the whole loaf. By a little, He meant an amount that is barely visible, yet, left unchecked, would work its way quickly through all the dough and expand it out to an unrecognizable shape if left to its own and with proper conditions. The modern American evangelical church is a giant loaf of bread and it has expanded beyond recognition.
This needs to be said in light of the debacle involving many pachyderms at a conference this week. These over sized mammals invited a particularly obese elephant into their midst. This fatyderm, a purveyor of all sorts of unbelievable lies, was proclaimed a truth sayer by all the other elephants in the room. This was proclaimed after the fattest elephant made several blurry comments concerning truths which he had obfuscated before. His current obfuscation was considered clear enough to anoint him as an obscurer no more and he was roundly applauded by all the elephants and their trumpet blasts could be heard all around.
Now, all the elephants will go to their own preserves and the little elephants they teach will be introduced to the evil elephant, and they will believe his lies. Those who do not know King Jesus, will be drawn into Hell and eternal torment. Their sons and daughters will, more than likely, suffer the same fate. Evil triumphs when good men do nothing. Evil triumphs even more when self seeking elephants proclaim that it is good.
Brothers and sisters, nothing good can be gained when we openly cavort with false teachers and call them good. Living in the world means we must fraternize with them but it must never be intimated that their evil doctrine is true. When we glad hand a false teacher, we are sharing in his evil. We must not allow this to happen. False teachers are to be harshly rebuked and called to repentance for their evil words. It will not take long for the false doctrine of TD Jakes and his friends at the Elephant Room to work its way through the already emaciated American Evangelical church. We must call them out for their evil doctrine and not be seen among and with them.
We must, brothers and sisters, more now than ever, proclaim, live, love and learn the glorious gospel of our triune God!
Jesus taught us that a little leaven works through the whole loaf. By a little, He meant an amount that is barely visible, yet, left unchecked, would work its way quickly through all the dough and expand it out to an unrecognizable shape if left to its own and with proper conditions. The modern American evangelical church is a giant loaf of bread and it has expanded beyond recognition.
This needs to be said in light of the debacle involving many pachyderms at a conference this week. These over sized mammals invited a particularly obese elephant into their midst. This fatyderm, a purveyor of all sorts of unbelievable lies, was proclaimed a truth sayer by all the other elephants in the room. This was proclaimed after the fattest elephant made several blurry comments concerning truths which he had obfuscated before. His current obfuscation was considered clear enough to anoint him as an obscurer no more and he was roundly applauded by all the elephants and their trumpet blasts could be heard all around.
Now, all the elephants will go to their own preserves and the little elephants they teach will be introduced to the evil elephant, and they will believe his lies. Those who do not know King Jesus, will be drawn into Hell and eternal torment. Their sons and daughters will, more than likely, suffer the same fate. Evil triumphs when good men do nothing. Evil triumphs even more when self seeking elephants proclaim that it is good.
Brothers and sisters, nothing good can be gained when we openly cavort with false teachers and call them good. Living in the world means we must fraternize with them but it must never be intimated that their evil doctrine is true. When we glad hand a false teacher, we are sharing in his evil. We must not allow this to happen. False teachers are to be harshly rebuked and called to repentance for their evil words. It will not take long for the false doctrine of TD Jakes and his friends at the Elephant Room to work its way through the already emaciated American Evangelical church. We must call them out for their evil doctrine and not be seen among and with them.
We must, brothers and sisters, more now than ever, proclaim, live, love and learn the glorious gospel of our triune God!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Six Day Creation is Essential to the Gospel
"For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it," Exodus 20:11.
The creation account of the universe is the foundation of the Bible. God, in His infinite wisdom, began the account of His word with a non fantastical, straight forward and poetically beautiful account of His great power, knowledge, grace and love proven through His creation of the universe and all that is in it. Six thousand years later, many Christians sit in judgement of God's word and are embarrassed to cling to the biblical six day account of creation. This dispute has great bearing on the gospel itself and is critical to a proper understanding of God's word. I will lay out 3 views of creation briefly and answer them and their implications.
1) Theistic Evolution: this view claims that God created the universe and its basic primordial matter and then Darwinistic evolution has carried the ball since then. It is heretical and not compatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Since TE's believe in cavemen, they do not believe in God's direct creation of Adam and Eve which Jesus explicitly states happened in the gospels. Because of this, it is heretical and calls out Jesus Christ as a liar. Their are other implications also like Paul comparing Adam to Jesus and our inheritance of our sin nature through Adam. Many TE's deny a literal Adam and Eve at all and others do hermeneutical gymnastics, like Tim Keller, to explain evolution, a literal Adam and Eve and the relationship of Adam to Jesus and our sin. The main proponents of this heresy are C.S. Lewis and Tim Keller.
2) Old Earth Creationism: There are many variants to this belief but OEC'ers trust in the presupposition of uniformitarianism. They believe the universe is billions of years old and that things change gradually over time. This view is seriously misguided, can have fatal effects for the gospel but is generally within the realm of orthodoxy. OEC'ers put a lot of emphasis on the findings of modern science and often reinterpret much of the first 11 chapters of Genesis to be more secular friendly. One of their major contrivances is to argue that the Hebrew word yom which, is used in Genesis 1, depicts large epochs of time and not twenty four hour days. There is no justification for this, especially considering that Exodus 20:11, cited above, explicitly states that God created the world in 6 days as a pattern for us to follow. This hermeneutic(method of interpretation) has great potential for destruction if consistently applied. For instance, when Jesus was confronted about giving a sign, he did not say, "For as Jonah was in the belly of the beast for 3 billion days and 3 billion nights, so will the Son of Man be 3 billion days and 3 billion nights in the heart of the earth," Matthew 12:40. If we consistently use this hermeneutic, it means we are still waiting on our Lord's resurrection! Furthermore, if we interpret Genesis 1-11 guided primarily according to Ancient Near East customs and wisdom, as so many OEC'ers are apt to do, we can and often do, make a train wreck of the gospel itself. This may be the prevalent view of evangelicals, especially pastors, in this modern age. They often create a creation matrix so fantastical it would make a conspiracy theorist blush. Most often, this view can be laboriously reconciled with orthodoxy. Those associated with it are many. B.B. Warfield was its first modern practitioner and John Piper, John Sailhammer are a couple of its proponents today. It seems to be especially strong in reformed circles.
3)Young Earth Creationism: This is the biblical view that interprets Genesis 1 most strictly to the historical/grammatical method espoused by evangelicals. This view believes that what God said in Genesis 1 was both beautifully poetic and absolutely accurate and true. YEC'ers understand that God's wisdom is foolishness to the world and are willing to look like morons in the eyes of the world. YEC'ers get their name because they believe the world to be between 6 or 10 thousand years old. YEC'ers do not have to do any interpretive gymnastics concerning the gospel and creation. One of the most difficult(perceived) questions that this theory faces is why did God create everything with the appearance of age. This question implies that God is deceptive for creating mountains and stars that are theoretically millions of years away. This question presupposes man's superior wisdom and morality and ignores that God created Adam as a full grown adult, with no belly button.
In a nutshell, and this is a very abbreviated description of these views, theistic evolution is heretical and impugns the gospel because it denies God's direct creation of Adam which causes all sorts of theological conundrums. Old earth creationism is not heretical but silly and if it is carried out to its logical implications, deforms the gospel. Young earth creationism upholds the innerancy of God's word and puts no impediments on the gospel whatsoever. It is foundational that we have a correct view of God's word from verse one through Revelation. Friends, lets learn, live and love the gospel of our glorious Savior.
The creation account of the universe is the foundation of the Bible. God, in His infinite wisdom, began the account of His word with a non fantastical, straight forward and poetically beautiful account of His great power, knowledge, grace and love proven through His creation of the universe and all that is in it. Six thousand years later, many Christians sit in judgement of God's word and are embarrassed to cling to the biblical six day account of creation. This dispute has great bearing on the gospel itself and is critical to a proper understanding of God's word. I will lay out 3 views of creation briefly and answer them and their implications.
1) Theistic Evolution: this view claims that God created the universe and its basic primordial matter and then Darwinistic evolution has carried the ball since then. It is heretical and not compatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Since TE's believe in cavemen, they do not believe in God's direct creation of Adam and Eve which Jesus explicitly states happened in the gospels. Because of this, it is heretical and calls out Jesus Christ as a liar. Their are other implications also like Paul comparing Adam to Jesus and our inheritance of our sin nature through Adam. Many TE's deny a literal Adam and Eve at all and others do hermeneutical gymnastics, like Tim Keller, to explain evolution, a literal Adam and Eve and the relationship of Adam to Jesus and our sin. The main proponents of this heresy are C.S. Lewis and Tim Keller.
2) Old Earth Creationism: There are many variants to this belief but OEC'ers trust in the presupposition of uniformitarianism. They believe the universe is billions of years old and that things change gradually over time. This view is seriously misguided, can have fatal effects for the gospel but is generally within the realm of orthodoxy. OEC'ers put a lot of emphasis on the findings of modern science and often reinterpret much of the first 11 chapters of Genesis to be more secular friendly. One of their major contrivances is to argue that the Hebrew word yom which, is used in Genesis 1, depicts large epochs of time and not twenty four hour days. There is no justification for this, especially considering that Exodus 20:11, cited above, explicitly states that God created the world in 6 days as a pattern for us to follow. This hermeneutic(method of interpretation) has great potential for destruction if consistently applied. For instance, when Jesus was confronted about giving a sign, he did not say, "For as Jonah was in the belly of the beast for 3 billion days and 3 billion nights, so will the Son of Man be 3 billion days and 3 billion nights in the heart of the earth," Matthew 12:40. If we consistently use this hermeneutic, it means we are still waiting on our Lord's resurrection! Furthermore, if we interpret Genesis 1-11 guided primarily according to Ancient Near East customs and wisdom, as so many OEC'ers are apt to do, we can and often do, make a train wreck of the gospel itself. This may be the prevalent view of evangelicals, especially pastors, in this modern age. They often create a creation matrix so fantastical it would make a conspiracy theorist blush. Most often, this view can be laboriously reconciled with orthodoxy. Those associated with it are many. B.B. Warfield was its first modern practitioner and John Piper, John Sailhammer are a couple of its proponents today. It seems to be especially strong in reformed circles.
3)Young Earth Creationism: This is the biblical view that interprets Genesis 1 most strictly to the historical/grammatical method espoused by evangelicals. This view believes that what God said in Genesis 1 was both beautifully poetic and absolutely accurate and true. YEC'ers understand that God's wisdom is foolishness to the world and are willing to look like morons in the eyes of the world. YEC'ers get their name because they believe the world to be between 6 or 10 thousand years old. YEC'ers do not have to do any interpretive gymnastics concerning the gospel and creation. One of the most difficult(perceived) questions that this theory faces is why did God create everything with the appearance of age. This question implies that God is deceptive for creating mountains and stars that are theoretically millions of years away. This question presupposes man's superior wisdom and morality and ignores that God created Adam as a full grown adult, with no belly button.
In a nutshell, and this is a very abbreviated description of these views, theistic evolution is heretical and impugns the gospel because it denies God's direct creation of Adam which causes all sorts of theological conundrums. Old earth creationism is not heretical but silly and if it is carried out to its logical implications, deforms the gospel. Young earth creationism upholds the innerancy of God's word and puts no impediments on the gospel whatsoever. It is foundational that we have a correct view of God's word from verse one through Revelation. Friends, lets learn, live and love the gospel of our glorious Savior.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
God's Injustice and The Scandal of His Grace
"For it is by grace that we are saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast," Ephesians 2:8-9.
Ted Bundy may well be in heaven and Mother Theresa and Gandhi are probably in Hell. That, my friends, is a difficult truth to fathom. Ted Bundy was a serial killer who murdered more than twenty women after falling deeper and deeper into the depths of pornography. He was an evil man who got true justice at the hands of the state of Florida. They put him to death for his evil. Yet, it is claimed that he repented of his sins and trusted in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. If this is true, and he truly repented, he is in heaven. Mother Teresa and Gandhi are two of the best known modern day heroes for peace and justice. They helped lepers, fought against injustice and have had legions of books written about them. They did not ever embrace, as far as we know, the Biblical gospel however and that path leads directly to Hell. This, my friends, is a scandal! How can this be?
All of us, scripture assures us, have sinned against a holy God. We are dead, dead, dead, in our sin. None of us can go before God and say, "Hey God, look at what I did! Aren't I wonderful Lord. I did this, that and the other thing. You must be impressed with how wonderful I am and what I did." This is the religion of every man on earth who has not embraced the gospel. It is the faith of Muhammad, Maharishi Yogi, witches, pagans and even atheists. It is the religion of the Roman Catholic Church and of Gandhi. It is not the gospel and it defames our Savior.
The other day I was listening to a show that proclaimed that Ted Bundy may have trusted in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and it struck me as the most scandalous thing ever as I thought more and more about it. How ridiculous it sounds to say that Ted Bundy is in heaven while scores of "good" people every day die in their sins without Christ and are condemned. How can God save a man like Ted Bundy! This is unjust and wicked. No one knows for sure whether Mr. Bundy did repent and is in heaven but just the thought is repulsive to the fleshly mind. How can I serve a God like this who petulantly sends "good" people to Hell and lets scum like Bundy into His paradise? This is unjust, uncalled for and unprecedented!
Well, no it is not. "As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house and haling men and women committed them to prison," Acts 8:3. Saul was a zealous, evil man who scattered the church and then hunted people down. He was a major instrument in the martyr of Stephen and we have no reason to believe that he was not responsible for other peoples martyrdom. He did not deserve to be saved and was evil on a par with Muhammad and Ted Bundy. He was a despicable man. But he was knocked off his donkey en route to Damascus and Jesus Christ, the crucified one, appeared to Saul and chose him to bring the gospel to the gentiles. Paul was then born out of the remnants of Saul and he was used of God to bring the gospel farther than any other apostle. Even more, he lamented his sinfulness and considered himself to be "the chief of sinners." He did not consider himself worthy of Christ's riches and he partook deeply of Christ's amazing grace as well as enduring torture and persecution and bearing the marks of Christ in his body. Paul did not deserve God's love. He was an evil man.
Friends, God is unjust and for that, we must say Hallelujah! God is unjust and His grace is ridiculous, unmerited, shocking and just plain...scandalous. We all deserve Hell, we have all sinned against God and spit in the face of Jesus Christ and on His sacrificial crucifiction for our sins and debt. We deserve His wrath every bit as much as Ted Bundy. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us," Romans 5:8. Romans 3 paints a truthful, painful and bleak picture of our hearts and confronts us with the reality of our depravity. We are Ted Bundy, we are evil. Mother Teresa and Gandhi were Ted Bundy too, unless they surrendered their hearts to Christ and repented of their evil. Friends, we must always remember how evil we are apart from the love of Christ. We must never assume anyone is righteous, let alone ourselves. But we know One who is righteous and who unloads all His love on us if we respond to His generous, undeserved offer of salvation. This should comfort our lives to no end and lead us to learn, live and love the glorious gospel of our awesome Savior.
Ted Bundy may well be in heaven and Mother Theresa and Gandhi are probably in Hell. That, my friends, is a difficult truth to fathom. Ted Bundy was a serial killer who murdered more than twenty women after falling deeper and deeper into the depths of pornography. He was an evil man who got true justice at the hands of the state of Florida. They put him to death for his evil. Yet, it is claimed that he repented of his sins and trusted in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. If this is true, and he truly repented, he is in heaven. Mother Teresa and Gandhi are two of the best known modern day heroes for peace and justice. They helped lepers, fought against injustice and have had legions of books written about them. They did not ever embrace, as far as we know, the Biblical gospel however and that path leads directly to Hell. This, my friends, is a scandal! How can this be?
All of us, scripture assures us, have sinned against a holy God. We are dead, dead, dead, in our sin. None of us can go before God and say, "Hey God, look at what I did! Aren't I wonderful Lord. I did this, that and the other thing. You must be impressed with how wonderful I am and what I did." This is the religion of every man on earth who has not embraced the gospel. It is the faith of Muhammad, Maharishi Yogi, witches, pagans and even atheists. It is the religion of the Roman Catholic Church and of Gandhi. It is not the gospel and it defames our Savior.
The other day I was listening to a show that proclaimed that Ted Bundy may have trusted in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and it struck me as the most scandalous thing ever as I thought more and more about it. How ridiculous it sounds to say that Ted Bundy is in heaven while scores of "good" people every day die in their sins without Christ and are condemned. How can God save a man like Ted Bundy! This is unjust and wicked. No one knows for sure whether Mr. Bundy did repent and is in heaven but just the thought is repulsive to the fleshly mind. How can I serve a God like this who petulantly sends "good" people to Hell and lets scum like Bundy into His paradise? This is unjust, uncalled for and unprecedented!
Well, no it is not. "As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house and haling men and women committed them to prison," Acts 8:3. Saul was a zealous, evil man who scattered the church and then hunted people down. He was a major instrument in the martyr of Stephen and we have no reason to believe that he was not responsible for other peoples martyrdom. He did not deserve to be saved and was evil on a par with Muhammad and Ted Bundy. He was a despicable man. But he was knocked off his donkey en route to Damascus and Jesus Christ, the crucified one, appeared to Saul and chose him to bring the gospel to the gentiles. Paul was then born out of the remnants of Saul and he was used of God to bring the gospel farther than any other apostle. Even more, he lamented his sinfulness and considered himself to be "the chief of sinners." He did not consider himself worthy of Christ's riches and he partook deeply of Christ's amazing grace as well as enduring torture and persecution and bearing the marks of Christ in his body. Paul did not deserve God's love. He was an evil man.
Friends, God is unjust and for that, we must say Hallelujah! God is unjust and His grace is ridiculous, unmerited, shocking and just plain...scandalous. We all deserve Hell, we have all sinned against God and spit in the face of Jesus Christ and on His sacrificial crucifiction for our sins and debt. We deserve His wrath every bit as much as Ted Bundy. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us," Romans 5:8. Romans 3 paints a truthful, painful and bleak picture of our hearts and confronts us with the reality of our depravity. We are Ted Bundy, we are evil. Mother Teresa and Gandhi were Ted Bundy too, unless they surrendered their hearts to Christ and repented of their evil. Friends, we must always remember how evil we are apart from the love of Christ. We must never assume anyone is righteous, let alone ourselves. But we know One who is righteous and who unloads all His love on us if we respond to His generous, undeserved offer of salvation. This should comfort our lives to no end and lead us to learn, live and love the glorious gospel of our awesome Savior.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Book Review: Muhammad: A Prophet For Our Time by Karen Armstrong
"You shall have no other gods before Me," Exodus 20:3.
Karen Armstrong is an ex nun who has become an apologist for Muhammad, the most evil man who has ever lived. In a previous book review, I wrote that I generally give positive reviews of books because I do not have much time to read books that are not edifying. I have not broken that promise as I have not read this book but skimmed it briefly and read both fawning reviews and some harsh criticisms of it. What I will do in lieu of an extensive review of this book is give three reasons why Muhammad is the most evil man ever and not a prophet for any time.
1) He was a child rapist. The Hadiths, which are authoritative for the vast majority of Muslims, tells us that Muhammad married his last wife when she was age six and consummated their marriage when she was nine. This custom, along with the more well know custom of polygamy, is practiced in many if not most Islamic cultures. The Koran also promotes the rape of children in Sura 4:3.
2) Muhammad promoted and practiced ethnic cleansing throughout the Koran. Many apologists of Islam cite Koranic passages which seem to promote peace. Most of these verses occur early in the Koran and are therefore repudiated by later verses in the Koran which advocate the destruction of all unbelievers. This is called the doctrine of abrogation. Early on in Muhammad's life he said things such as, "there is no compulsion in religion." Later on he slaughtered Christians and Jews and advocated their slaughter wherever they were found. Early on he was in the minority, struggling to get acceptance and control. Once he got that, he revealed his true evil intentions and allowed no tolerance of other faiths.
3) Muhammad was an inveterate liar. This is revealed in the above doctrine of abrogation and is officially a doctrine all its own. Muhammad promoted and practiced the doctrine of taqiyya. It can be found in Sura 3:28 and 16:106. It simply allows Muslims to lie with impunity to advance the cause of Islam. This can be seen from Muhammad's many peaceful promises he makes in the Koran which he quickly turns on later in the Koran. You see this practiced often today. Yassar Arafat was a master of it and most recently the Ground Zero Imam also put this doctrine to the test.
Muhammad was an evil, despicable prophet who must be repudiated at every turn. Do not be deceived by those like Armstrong who whitewash the horrific crimes and doctrines inflicted upon our world by this false prophet. Hold on tenaciously to the gospel of Jesus Christ, who, unlike Muhammad, was Truth Himself and who lived a perfect, holy life. Jesus harmed no children, murdered no one and never uttered so much as a white lie. For this we crucified Him. He is everything Muhammad was not and we need to remember His amazing sacrificial death for our sins at all times. We need to drink in His grace and pour it out wherever we go. His life and death truly reveal Jesus as not just a prophet for our time but as THE PROPHET FOR OUT TIME! God bless you brothers and sisters and always remember to learn, live and love the gospel.
Karen Armstrong is an ex nun who has become an apologist for Muhammad, the most evil man who has ever lived. In a previous book review, I wrote that I generally give positive reviews of books because I do not have much time to read books that are not edifying. I have not broken that promise as I have not read this book but skimmed it briefly and read both fawning reviews and some harsh criticisms of it. What I will do in lieu of an extensive review of this book is give three reasons why Muhammad is the most evil man ever and not a prophet for any time.
1) He was a child rapist. The Hadiths, which are authoritative for the vast majority of Muslims, tells us that Muhammad married his last wife when she was age six and consummated their marriage when she was nine. This custom, along with the more well know custom of polygamy, is practiced in many if not most Islamic cultures. The Koran also promotes the rape of children in Sura 4:3.
2) Muhammad promoted and practiced ethnic cleansing throughout the Koran. Many apologists of Islam cite Koranic passages which seem to promote peace. Most of these verses occur early in the Koran and are therefore repudiated by later verses in the Koran which advocate the destruction of all unbelievers. This is called the doctrine of abrogation. Early on in Muhammad's life he said things such as, "there is no compulsion in religion." Later on he slaughtered Christians and Jews and advocated their slaughter wherever they were found. Early on he was in the minority, struggling to get acceptance and control. Once he got that, he revealed his true evil intentions and allowed no tolerance of other faiths.
3) Muhammad was an inveterate liar. This is revealed in the above doctrine of abrogation and is officially a doctrine all its own. Muhammad promoted and practiced the doctrine of taqiyya. It can be found in Sura 3:28 and 16:106. It simply allows Muslims to lie with impunity to advance the cause of Islam. This can be seen from Muhammad's many peaceful promises he makes in the Koran which he quickly turns on later in the Koran. You see this practiced often today. Yassar Arafat was a master of it and most recently the Ground Zero Imam also put this doctrine to the test.
Muhammad was an evil, despicable prophet who must be repudiated at every turn. Do not be deceived by those like Armstrong who whitewash the horrific crimes and doctrines inflicted upon our world by this false prophet. Hold on tenaciously to the gospel of Jesus Christ, who, unlike Muhammad, was Truth Himself and who lived a perfect, holy life. Jesus harmed no children, murdered no one and never uttered so much as a white lie. For this we crucified Him. He is everything Muhammad was not and we need to remember His amazing sacrificial death for our sins at all times. We need to drink in His grace and pour it out wherever we go. His life and death truly reveal Jesus as not just a prophet for our time but as THE PROPHET FOR OUT TIME! God bless you brothers and sisters and always remember to learn, live and love the gospel.
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