A DOCUMENT OF TRUTH

"No Place for Truth"
Both the conference and the eventual declaration came about as a result of David F. Wells' 1993 book No Place for Truth or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? (ISBN 0-8028-0747-X). This book was highly critical of the Evangelical church in America for abandoning its historical and theological roots, and instead embracing the philosophies and pragmatism of the world.
While not a best seller, the book was critically acclaimed by a number of important Evangelical leaders. In 1994 a number of these leaders formed the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. Since much of Wells' thesis stemmed from the modern church's abandonment of historical confessions of faith (such as The Westminster Confession and the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith), the Alliance was based upon Evangelicals who not only adhered to these Reformed confessions of faith, but were able to direct their ministries accordingly.
The two principal players involved in spearheading the conference from which the Cambridge Declaration emerged were James M. Boice of Evangelical Ministries (Philadelphia, PA), and Dr. Michael S. Horton of Christians United for Reformation (Anaheim, CA). Like Wells, Horton and Boice were both strong critics of the shallow nature of contemporary Evangelicalism, and had published a book to that effect [see: "Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church" (1993) edited by Horton, and featuring Boice as a contributing author]. Later in 1996, these men joined forces by merging their respective organizations into The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

Conference in Cambridge
Eventually a conference was held between April 17-20 1996 in the town of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The choice of location was deliberate, since Cambridge was the seat of Harvard and thus the center of ecclesiastical and intellectual life in 17th century America. Cambridge was also the location of The Cambridge Platform, a declaration of church polity made in 1648 by New England Puritans.
Approximately 100 delegates from around the world gathered for the four day conference, with the explicit intention of creating an official declaration that would be released once the conference concluded. The conference was also important because it included the presence of evangelical Lutherans, who had traditionally kept themselves apart from mainline Evangelical and Reformed movements.
Throughout the conference, a document was drafted and suggestions / changes were solicted from the various delegates. The two principal authors of the Cambridge Declaration, however, were Dr. David F. Wells, and Dr. Michael S. Horton. The various papers delivered at the conference were later edited and published in the book Here We Stand (Baker Books), edited by James Boice and Ben Sasse (republished in 2004).

Reasons for the Declaration
The conference, and the eventual declaration that was created, was broadly influenced by the following:
The culture of the modern world (as represented by Postmodernism) is changing the message that the church preaches. 1
The decision by many churches and denominations to directly enter politics and endorse political parties and candidates - and doing this instead of preaching the gospel. [2]
The erosion of Christian doctrine within the modern church, including the lack of Expository preaching. [3]
The increasing influence of Relativism within the church, which has led to an environment where "truth" is subjectively determined, and where church leaders aim to preach only "positive" messages. [4]
The increasing focus upon man, rather than God, within the church. [5]
An increasing focus on man's ability to respond to God's grace, rather than a focus upon God's ability to save man. [6]
A focus on the quantitative and measurable aspects of church growth (which thus links Christian ministry with outward success) rather than the qualitative and spiritual aspects of Biblical ministry. [7]

Content of the Declaration
The declaration is a call to repentance for the evangelical church in order to reaffirm the historical Christian truths that are articulated by The Five solas and deny modern teachings:
1. Sola Scriptura: The Erosion Of Authority
A reaffirmation that the Bible contains all things necessary to understand and obey God.
A denial that any other form of authority is needed to bind the conscience of the Christian.
2. Solus Christus: The Erosion Of Christ-Centered Faith
A reaffirmation that Christ alone and his penal substitutionary atonement on the cross are the means by which all Christians are saved.
A denial that the Gospel can be preached without the atonement being declared and without faith being solicited from the listeners.
3. Sola Gratia: The Erosion Of The Gospel
A reaffirmation that salvation is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.
A denial that salvation is in any sense a work of the human heart, either fully or partially.
4. Sola Fide: The Erosion Of The Chief Article
A reaffirmation that a person is justified (declared innocent) before God through faith alone and through Christ alone - that Christ's righteousness is imputed to the Christian.
A denial that justification relies upon any human merit, and that churches which teach this cannot be considered legitimate churches.
5. Soli Deo Gloria: The Erosion Of God-Centered Worship
A reaffirmation that salvation is ultimately for God's glory rather than man's, and that Christians everywhere should understand that they are under God's authority and act for his glory alone.
A denial that God can be glorified through "entertainment"-style worship; the removal of law and/or gospel in preaching; and preaching that focuses upon self-improvement, self-esteem and self fulfillment.

Attitudes towards the Roman Catholic Church
The declaration reflects traditional conservative protestantism in its rejection of the Roman Catholic Church as a legitimate church. This is mainly due to the differences expressed over the issue of Justification. These rejections of the Roman Catholic Church are found implicitly and explicitly in the text of the Declaration:
In Thesis one (Sola Scriptura), the text asserts We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience. While this has a universal application, it is specifically aimed at the Roman Catholic church and its insistence that Scripture is to be interpreted by the church's institutions and historical councils, and of the Pope's authority.
In Thesis four (Sola Fide), the text asserts We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ's righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.. It is this last phrase that indicates a rejection of the Roman Catholic church, since it is clearly an "institution" that "denies or condemns" the Reformation understanding of Sola Fide.
In the section Call To Repentance And Reformation, the following point is made: We also earnestly call back erring professing evangelicals who have deviated from God's Word in the matters discussed in this Declaration. This includes those... who claim that evangelicals and Roman Catholics are one in Jesus Christ even where the biblical doctrine of justification is not believed. This is an explicit reference to the issue discussed in Thesis four.

Criticisms of Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity
The declaration also contains many statements that were intended to criticize the influence and theology of the modern Charismatic movement, along with the continual influence of the historic Pentecostal movement[citation needed]:
In Thesis one (Sola Scriptura), the text asserts We deny that... the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.. In seeking to declare that Scripture is the sole source of the Spirit's revelatory work, the declaration is at odds with the entire Charismatic and Pentecostal movement with this statement. Private and personal revelation - outside the work of the Bible - is of critical importance to Christians in this movement. Essentially, the declaration calls upon these Christians to stop seeking private revelation and seek guidance from the Bible only.
In Thesis two (Solus Christus), the text asserts We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ's substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited. This is a criticism of the practice of calling for people to "make a decision" through various means without actually preaching the Gospel. In many cases, when people are asked to "come forward" in these churches, it has come at the end of a sermon which may be emotionally charged, but which has not explained the Gospel as represented by the Atonement.
In Thesis three (Sola Gratia), it states We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature. This section is a specific reference to the influence of revivalism in American Christianity - especially in the influence of historical preachers such as Charles Grandison Finney (especially in the last phrase). It asserts that emotionally manipulative techniques that exist within Charismatic and Pentecostal churches are not necessarily evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the existence of these emotionally charged atmospheres within a church is certainly not a guarantee that people who have "been saved" in this environment have, in fact, been truly regnerated by the Holy Spirit.
In Thesis five (Soli Deo Gloria), it states We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self- fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel. Considering the fact that many Charismatic and Pentecostal churches have entertaining worship services, and that the focus of preaching is not necessarily an exposition of the Bible but a positive message of self-fulfilment, this part of the Declaration is also evidence of a critical attitude towards this section of the Christian church.

Quotes about the declaration
In 1994 Dr. James M. Boice called a number of us together in Philadelphia to discuss the possibilities of forming an alliance. Although many of us were already engaged in this sort of work in some fashion, Gordon-Conwell Seminary professor David F. Wells' book, No Place for Truth, Or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? had just appeared and helped to organize us around a common concern. We came to seek God's wisdom together as to how we should proceed...
- Michael S. Horton
If we evaluate the pragmatism of the pragmatists on a pragmatic basis, we have to say that by their own standards they have failed. Why don't American medical statistics reflect the healings of the charismatics? Why don't our crime statistics reflect the holy living of evangelicals? Why, after a generation of church growth methodology and user-friendly worship, is church attendance down significantly?
- Robert Godfrey: One of the framers and a member of the United Reformed Church.[8]
This is a somber matter; we are repeating on the evangelical side the very attitudes which led to the birth of liberalism. The irony is that the very things which led to the liberalism which has been the great enemy of evangelicalism early on in this century have been taken into the evangelical churches. We are fools if we think that what happened in liberalism will not happen in evangelicalism too unless we repent and recover the gospel.
- David F. Wells: One of the framers and a member of the Congregational church. [9]
What lies ahead of evangelicalism if it does not correct its path is it is going to give birth to a new liberalism. If (the alliance of Confessing Evangelicals - the framers of the Cambridge Declaration) is effective, on the other hand, it is going to give birth to a new focussed resurgence of reformational Christianity. These two paths will become the alternatives between which people are going to have to choose.
- David F. Wells
Luther's theology of the cross totally destroys the modern gospel of success. It's in Calvin too, but a lot of people don't realize that.
- Dr. G. Edward Veith: One of the framers and a member of the Lutheran church.
Worship should not be confused with feelings. It is true that the worship of God will affect us, and one thing it will frequently affect is our emotions. At times tears will fill our eyes as we become aware of God's great love and grace toward us. Yet it is possible for our eyes to fill with tears and for there still to be no real worship simply because we have not come to a genuine awareness of God and a fuller praise of Himself in His nature and ways... True worship occurs only when that part of man, his spirit, which is akin to the divine nature (for God is spirit), actually meets with God and finds itself praising God for His love, wisdom, beauty, truth, holiness, compassion, mercy, grace, power, and all His other attributes.
- James M. Boice: One of the framers and member of the Presbyterian Church. [10]

1996 Signatories
Dr. John Armstrong (theologian)
Rev. Alistair Begg
Dr. James M. Boice
Dr. W. Robert Godfrey
Dr. John D. Hannah
Dr. Michael S. Horton
Mrs. Rosemary Jensen
Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Dr. Robert M. Norris
Dr. R. C. Sproul
Dr. Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
Dr. David F. Wells
Dr. Luder Whitlock
Dr. J. A. O. Preus, III

Removing the Offense of the Cross By Steve Camp

"If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord's will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do not suppose that the Gospel is magnified or God glorified by going to the worldlings and telling them that they may be saved at this moment by simply accepting Christ as their Savior, while they are wedded to their idols, and their hearts are still in love with sin. If I do so I tell them a lie, pervert the Gospel , insult Christ, and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness." -C.H. SPURGEON

Those kinds of words fall on deaf ears today.They are not cool, contemporary, relatable, winsome, attractive. They sound too harsh, too judgmental, too defining, too narrow, and... too biblical. Compare the above with the following attempts in addressing a lost world.Just tell an audiencethat God is crazy about you; that He doesn't want to punish you; that the dread Sovereign of the universe is a powerless lover down on one knee begging you to be His bride and has to wait to see if you choose to accept Him; that the whole universe is proposing to you; that He wants you to fall in love with Him; that His law is designed just to make this world a better place; and as you proclaim the gospel to insure the highest success from as many nonbelievers as possible, make sure you don't speak about repentance from sin; justification by faith; the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ; submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ; don't ever mention Scripture specifically, open up a Bible and actually read it, or use Bible sounding words; just carry a surfboard against the backdrop of beautiful scenery, walk along a beach and show that you're a regular guy who can relate by talking about how fast the planet earth revolves around the sun, get all giggly that God created laugher, and make it as comfortable as possible for people to hear some things about the gospel; but don't ever mention that you must come to the end of yourself--deny yourself; take up your cross and follow Him; don't ever tell them that God is angry with them and His wrath abides on them; don't mention Hell (to negative); don't ever tell them that they have to hate their own lives, their father, mother, brother, sister, son and daughter and love Him more than all other loves or they cannot be His disciple; just reassure them that God loves them just the way they are and wants to give them a better life if they would cry out and say "I love You too."Stop. Think.What kind of Jesus are you communicating to others? It's important we critique our methods and our message--it is incumbent we do so for lives are at stake and God will us hold us accountable for the stewardship of His divine mysteries. No wonder Paul said, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men..." (2 Cor. 5:10-11a).I want to encourage you to take some time today and read one of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John)and see how the Lord Jesus Christ called people to follow Him. And then compare it to today's pastors and what they think is the way to present His gospel. In our postmodern evangelical world, it's no longer necessary or required to have to accurately preach the Word, rightly divide the truth, or to proclaim the whole gospel. It's just enough to make "a good-faith attempt to preach the Gospel to the lost." PC translation, the effort is more important than the message.Listen, Jesus Christ isn't anybody's "spiritual Pez dispenser"that we can turn into whomever we choose by repackaging Him in order for Him and His message to relate to our lost world. He is not to be triffled with. He is God incarnate, beloved, and He must be reckoned with in His virgin birth, His sinless life, His gospel of sola fide, His once for all death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension, His reign as King and Mediator at the right hand of the throne of God. He is not asking you to accept Him, fall in love with Him, shower bouquets of flowers at His feet, bring Him candy, or date Him. He is not proposing to you or asking you to marry Him. He is commanding you to repent of your sins; submit to Him as Lord of your life; forsake all other loves and all other claims to eternal life; to come to the end of yourself; believe solely in Him; take up your cross and follow Him. You don't have the luxury or His permission to turn Him into a passive, effeminate Divine lover who can only beg, but cannot elect.Some represent God as a powerless lover, bending His sovereign knee proposing marriage to sinful man, begging him to accept Him as their Savior; rather than picturing sinful man bending the knee before a holy God crying out for mercy that his sins be forgiven in repentance to inherit eternal life and be given saving faith to confess Jesus Christ as Lord unto salvation. The video presents God begging sinful man to choose Him; the Bible presents sinful bowing the knee in godly fear before a holy God begging for forgiveness. Which picture of God and man do you present?Do you proclaim Jesus as your divine Pez dispenser or do you proclaim Him as the only hope of salvation... as Sovereign Lord? Is the cross just a trinket that you wear? Has your presentation of the gospel removed the offense of the cross or do you preach "Jesus Christ and Him crucified..." We must get this right--this is not a game.

WHAT DROVE MARTIN LUTHER SHOULD ALSO DRIVE US TODAY TO SEEK A MODERNDAY REFORMATION A CALL FOR TRUTH .........

Here are the 95 Theses Martin Luther nailed on the church door at Wittenburg.

1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent" (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
2. This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.
3. Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortification of the flesh.
4. The penalty of sin remains as long as the hatred of self (that is, true inner repentance), namely till our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
5. The pope neither desires nor is able to remit any penalties except those imposed by his own authority or that of the canons.
6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring and showing that it has been remitted by God; or, to be sure, by remitting guilt in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in these cases were disregarded, the guilt would certainly remain unforgiven.
7. God remits guilt to no one unless at the same time he humbles him in all things and makes him submissive to the vicar, the priest.
8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to the canons themselves, nothing should be imposed on the dying.
9. Therefore the Holy Spirit through the pope is kind to us insofar as the pope in his decrees always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.
10. Those priests act ignorantly and wickedly who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penalties for purgatory.
11. Those tares of changing the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory were evidently sown while the bishops slept (Matthew 13:25).
12. In former times canonical penalties were imposed, not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.
13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties, are already dead as far as the canon laws are concerned, and have a right to be released from them.
14. Imperfect piety or love on the part of the dying person necessarily brings with it great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater the fear.
15. This fear or horror is sufficient in itself, to say nothing of other things, to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.
16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ the same as despair, fear, and assurance of salvation.
17. It seems as though for the souls in purgatory fear should necessarily decrease and love increase.
18. Furthermore, it does not seem proved, either by reason or by Scripture, that souls in purgatory are outside the state of merit, that is, unable to grow in love.
19. Nor does it seem proved that souls in purgatory, at least not all of them, are certain and assured of their own salvation, even if we ourselves may be entirely certain of it.
20. Therefore the pope, when he uses the words "plenary remission of all penalties," does not actually mean "all penalties," but only those imposed by himself.
21. Thus those indulgence preachers are in error who say that a man is absolved from every penalty and saved by papal indulgences.
22. As a matter of fact, the pope remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to canon law, they should have paid in this life.
23. If remission of all penalties whatsoever could be granted to anyone at all, certainly it would be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to very few.
24. For this reason most people are necessarily deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of release from penalty.
25. That power which the pope has in general over purgatory corresponds to the power which any bishop or curate has in a particular way in his own diocese and parish.
26. The pope does very well when he grants remission to souls in purgatory, not by the power of the keys, which he does not have, but by way of intercession for them.
27. They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.
28. It is certain that when money clinks in the money chest, greed and avarice can be increased; but when the church intercedes, the result is in the hands of God alone.
29. Who knows whether all souls in purgatory wish to be redeemed, since we have exceptions in St. Severinus and St. Paschal, as related in a legend.
30. No one is sure of the integrity of his own contrition, much less of having received plenary remission.
31. The man who actually buys indulgences is as rare as he who is really penitent; indeed, he is exceedingly rare.
32. Those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.
33. Men must especially be on guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to him.
34. For the graces of indulgences are concerned only with the penalties of sacramental satisfaction established by man.
35. They who teach that contrition is not necessary on the part of those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessional privileges preach unchristian doctrine.
36. Any truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters.
37. Any true Christian, whether living or dead, participates in all the blessings of Christ and the church; and this is granted him by God, even without indulgence letters.
38. Nevertheless, papal remission and blessing are by no means to be disregarded, for they are, as I have said (Thesis 6), the proclamation of the divine remission.
39. It is very difficult, even for the most learned theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the bounty of indulgences and the need of true contrition.
40. A Christian who is truly contrite seeks and loves to pay penalties for his sins; the bounty of indulgences, however, relaxes penalties and causes men to hate them -- at least it furnishes occasion for hating them.
41. Papal indulgences must be preached with caution, lest people erroneously think that they are preferable to other good works of love.
42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend that the buying of indulgences should in any way be compared with works of mercy.
43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed than he who buys indulgences.
44. Because love grows by works of love, man thereby becomes better. Man does not, however, become better by means of indulgences but is merely freed from penalties.
45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a needy man and passes him by, yet gives his money for indulgences, does not buy papal indulgences but God's wrath.
46. Christians are to be taught that, unless they have more than they need, they must reserve enough for their family needs and by no means squander it on indulgences.
47. Christians are to be taught that they buying of indulgences is a matter of free choice, not commanded.
48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting indulgences, needs and thus desires their devout prayer more than their money.
49. Christians are to be taught that papal indulgences are useful only if they do not put their trust in them, but very harmful if they lose their fear of God because of them.
50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the indulgence preachers, he would rather that the basilica of St. Peter were burned to ashes than built up with the skin, flesh, and bones of his sheep.
51. Christians are to be taught that the pope would and should wish to give of his own money, even though he had to sell the basilica of St. Peter, to many of those from whom certain hawkers of indulgences cajole money.
52. It is vain to trust in salvation by indulgence letters, even though the indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer his soul as security.
53. They are the enemies of Christ and the pope who forbid altogether the preaching of the Word of God in some churches in order that indulgences may be preached in others.
54. Injury is done to the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences than to the Word.
55. It is certainly the pope's sentiment that if indulgences, which are a very insignificant thing, are celebrated with one bell, one procession, and one ceremony, then the gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.
56. The true treasures of the church, out of which the pope distributes indulgences, are not sufficiently discussed or known among the people of Christ.
57. That indulgences are not temporal treasures is certainly clear, for many indulgence sellers do not distribute them freely but only gather them.
58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the saints, for, even without the pope, the latter always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outer man.
59. St. Lawrence said that the poor of the church were the treasures of the church, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.
60. Without want of consideration we say that the keys of the church, given by the merits of Christ, are that treasure.
61. For it is clear that the pope's power is of itself sufficient for the remission of penalties and cases reserved by himself.
62. The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.
63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last (Matthew 20:16).
64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.
65. Therefore the treasures of the gospel are nets with which one formerly fished for men of wealth.
66. The treasures of indulgences are nets with which one now fishes for the wealth of men.
67. The indulgences which the demagogues acclaim as the greatest graces are actually understood to be such only insofar as they promote gain.
68. They are nevertheless in truth the most insignificant graces when compared with the grace of God and the piety of the cross.
69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of papal indulgences with all reverence.
70. But they are much more bound to strain their eyes and ears lest these men preach their own dreams instead of what the pope has commissioned.
71. Let him who speaks against the truth concerning papal indulgences be anathema and accursed.
72. But let him who guards against the lust and license of the indulgence preachers be blessed.
73. Just as the pope justly thunders against those who by any means whatever contrive harm to the sale of indulgences.
74. Much more does he intend to thunder against those who use indulgences as a pretext to contrive harm to holy love and truth.
75. To consider papal indulgences so great that they could absolve a man even if he had done the impossible and had violated the mother of God is madness.
76. We say on the contrary that papal indulgences cannot remove the very least of venial sins as far as guilt is concerned.
77. To say that even St. Peter if he were now pope, could not grant greater graces is blasphemy against St. Peter and the pope.
78. We say on the contrary that even the present pope, or any pope whatsoever, has greater graces at his disposal, that is, the gospel,spiritual powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written, 1 Corinthians 12:28).
79. To say that the cross emblazoned with the papal coat of arms, and set up by the indulgence preachers is equal in worth to the cross of Christ is blasphemy.
80. The bishops, curates, and theologians who permit such talk to be spread among the people will have to answer for this.
81. This unbridled preaching of indulgences makes it difficult even for learned men to rescue the reverence which is due the pope from slander or from the shrewd questions of the laity.
82. Such as: "Why does not the pope empty purgatory for the sake of holy love and the dire need of the souls that are there if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a church? The former reason would be most just; the latter is most trivial.
83. Again, "Why are funeral and anniversary masses for the dead continued and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded for them, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?"
84. Again, "What is this new piety of God and the pope that for a consideration of money they permit a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God and do not rather, because of the need of that pious and beloved soul, free it for pure love's sake?"
85. Again, "Why are the penitential canons, long since abrogated and dead in actual fact and through disuse, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences as though they were still alive and in force?"
86. Again, "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?"
87. Again, "What does the pope remit or grant to those who by perfect contrition already have a right to full remission and blessings?"
88. Again, "What greater blessing could come to the church than if the pope were to bestow these remissions and blessings on every believer a hundred times a day, as he now does but once?"
89. "Since the pope seeks the salvation of souls rather than money by his indulgences, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons previously granted when they have equal efficacy?"
90. To repress these very sharp arguments of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies and to make Christians unhappy.
91. If, therefore, indulgences were preached according to the spirit and intention of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved. Indeed, they would not exist.
92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Peace, peace," and there is no peace! (Jeremiah 6:14)
93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Cross, cross," and there is no cross!
94. Christians should be exhorted to be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, death and hell.
95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven through many tribulations rather than through the false security of peace (Acts 14:22).

The Demise Of Gospel Preaching In Modern Evangelicalism - Part 3

In the first two parts of this series we examined the person and work of Christ and how the sinner needs to see himself as a law breaker who needs to repent. In this final part of this series we will examine several popular ideas in modern evangelicalism that have served to obscure the gospel and cause preachers to fail to proclaim the true terms of salvation.

Decision TheologyThere are problems even when some are actually converted through the popular “decision for Jesus” approach. If they eventually do find out the true nature of the gospel, those truly converted then realize that they have been sold a bill of goods. The gospel does not promise better living in this world through a simple decision. The gospel calls us to take up our cross and live in this world as ones already condemned to die. Furthermore, the truly converted who are in the evangelical culture soon find themselves dying of spiritual starvation because the Word of God is not being preached. How much better to tell our hearers up front what the gospel is, and then when they come on that basis they can, like the early Christians in Acts, “rejoice to be counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”There are a number of problems with the “decision theology” of modern evangelicalism. The most prominent one is that the Bible knows nothing of, “inviting someone to make a decision for Jesus.” The main proof text used by the teachers of decision theology is Joel 3:14: “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” The valley of decision in Joel is eschatological and has to with Israel and the surrounding nations who would destroy her. The context of Joel 3:14 shows that God as the Judge makes the decision! Charles Feinberg comments, “The prophet sees the nations assembled in innumerable hosts in the valley where God (not they) will make His decision.” This is a description of the judgment of nations. God is about to arise and come forth from His chamber and issue His decision.The idea of imminent wrath is clear in Joel, and that is surely something that ought to be preached. God’s coming judgment is reason to repent and flee from this perverse, sin cursed world system. But the only escape is through the gospel. So far from teaching “decision theology” the key passage used by its proponents teaches the coming wrath of God. Only the gospel offers a way of escape from this horrific valley of decision.The misuse of the Joel passage illustrates what is wrong with much modern preaching. What is portrayed is the idea that God is awaiting our decision. We go into our chambers to issue our verdict based on whether we find God to our suiting or not. We make our decision about God and tell Him the verdict. This is dishonoring to God. The Biblical teaching is that we should fear God’s verdict and find a way of escape from the wrath of the Judge. James wrote, “[T]he Judge is standing at the door” (James 5:9). We make ourselves the judges and put God on trial. This is not Biblical.Another problem with decision theology is that it discounts the sin nature and appeals to non-existent human ability. No sinner in his or her natural state finds the cross appealing. Here is Paul’s description of the fleshly mind: “[T]he mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7,8). God’s Law makes sinfulness and inability evident, but only the gospel can change them. Decision theology has the fleshly man deciding if he will “accept Jesus” while totally in his unregenerate, fallen condition. True gospel preaching shows sinners their lost condition and the reality of God’s wrath against sin. Convicted before God’s Law and found guilty, their only recourse is to repent and believe the Gospel. God uses gospel preaching to bring His gracious gift of faith to those who will be saved: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).Decision theology comes in various packages. What they all have in common is that God has to await man’s determinative decision. Many times sinners are told, “Jesus stands at the door of your hearts; you must decide to let Him in.” This is based on a passage in Revelation and the famous painting of Jesus at a door. Decision theology proponents even use details of the painting to build their theology. They say, “When you look at the painting of Jesus at the door, you notice there is no door knob on the outside; you have to let Him in.” I wonder if those who preach like this realize what they are doing. They have a strong, decisive sinner and a weak, needy Jesus. The sinner has the final say. Jesus is portrayed as standing “out in the cold,” wanting in but unable to enter. What a sad and pathetic contrast to the preaching of Peter on the Day of Pentecost: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ- this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36). Peter had just told them that Jesus was raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father, in all authority and majesty. They were accountable to Him for their sin. What a far cry from Jesus out in the cold hoping that the sinners would be nice and let Him in.The passage in Revelation about Jesus knocking at the door is given as an ironic rebuke to a church. The Laodicean church had become complacent and self-satisfied. Jesus would “reprove and discipline” those He loves (Revelation 3:19). Jesus tells them to repent and open the door and so restore fellowship with their Lord (Revelation 3:20). This was written to a church, not the lost. Its misuse in evangelism obscures the true nature of the gospel and the power of God. When Jesus saved Paul in Acts 9, He did not knock on Paul’s door to see if Paul would decide whether or not to let Him in.The Problem with “Wooing”Another belief system that hinders gospel preaching in evangelical churches concerns “wooing.” This means that God is doing all He can to attract people to Him; and He needs our help. God is portrayed as a suitor who desires the affections of a potential spouse, but is being rejected. The reason for the rejection is that “seekers” have not seen the right portrait of who God is. Christianity must be made more appealing, they say, if we want people to “accept Christ.”On the surface of things, there is something very wrong with the wooing approach. Why should the only perfectly beautiful being in the universe have to be “dressed up” to look good to sinners? The problems are many: 1) Sinners by nature are attracted to sin, and God is perfectly sinless. 2) Wooing requires that the needs and concerns of the unregenerate determine the message of the church: thus the movement to preach to “felt needs.” 3) The Bible says that the message of the cross is foolishness to the Greeks and offensive to the Jews (1Corinthians 1:23). Furthermore, it is considered foolishness to the perishing (1Corinthians 1:18). The perishing are supposedly the target of God’s wooing. 4) God chose to bring salvation to the Jews first through a Jewish Messiah. The world has hated the Jews since the beginning of their existence. A Jewish Messiah would hardly “woo” the world.As with the other perversions of the gospel, those who promote the wooing idea have a proof text: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John 12:32). They interpret this as follows: “all” means universally all people, and draw means “attract.” Thus the lifting up of Jesus attracts all people to Him, in the sense of wooing. Let us study this verse in its context to see if it supports this idea.First, it is clear that the phrase “lifted up,” means crucified. We know this because the next verse tells us: “But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die” (John 12:33). So the claim this interpretation makes is that the crucifixion of Christ would attract all the inhabitants of the earth to Jesus, universally. However, this is in direct contradiction to what Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 1:23: “but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness.” The message of a crucified Jewish Messiah is not attractive to either Jew or Gentile. Plus, it is clear from the facts of history that the cross does not attract all people universally to Christ.Second, the word “draw” does not mean “attract” or “woo.” It means “drag.” The idea is that the cross is the means God would use to bring (by God’s gracious means) people to Christ who by nature would be repulsed by the cross. Since this “dragging” is effective, the “all” cannot be universal. Not all come to Jesus. The context of John 12 shows that the appearance of Greeks asking about Jesus on the occasion of the triumphal entry causes Jesus to give these teachings about this death bringing “all” to Him, i.e. Jews and Gentiles.Therefore John 12:32 does not teach wooing. It teaches God’s grace through the cross to take dead rebellious sinners and bring them to Christ. The irony is that many who believe the wooing doctrine have fallen into the “seeker” movement and removed the preaching of the cross from their churches. If they really believed that the cross “woos” people to Jesus they would preach the cross with great boldness and clarity. If they did so, God would indeed save people through the gospel in spite of their misinterpretation of the passage. The preaching of the cross is effectual in saving those who will be saved. This is so not because it “woos” them, but because it is God’s ordained means whereby He calls forth His elect out of the mass of perdition.What Must We Do?We must be confident in the effectiveness of God’s ordained means. The pressure to lay aside gospel preaching is all around us. We are bombarded with everything but gospel preaching. However, God has sovereignly ordained the means by which He will save all who will be saved. In Romans 10:14-17 we see the call to send preachers of the gospel so that people will call upon the Lord and be saved by faith. The insidious forces inside and outside the church to lay aside gospel preaching must be resisted at all costs.We must not allow the fear of man to become a snare for us. We naturally want to be accepted, so it is a difficult thing to preach what people naturally do not want to hear. Yet in the face of this rejection, Paul said, “ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). The gospel is the power of God for salvation, and thus must be preached with all fervency. People must hear that they have offended the Holy Judge, broken God’s Law, and desperately need a savior. They need to know who Jesus is, what He did, and how His death on the cross can avert God’s wrath for those who believe. They must know that God raised Christ from the dead. These are strong words, but they are the gospel.By believing in God’s sovereignty, we have full assurance that if we preach the gospel faithfully and accurately, God will always use it to save all who will be saved. It is not our business how many that turns out to be. It is our business to be faithful; God will save all those He has chosen from all eternity. We must preach to all because we do not know who they will be. They will be saved through the gospel, not apart from the gospel. May God give us boldness and grace in proclaiming the only way whereby we must be saved.

The Demise Of Gospel Preaching In Modern Evangelicalism - Part 2

People do not come with a built in knowledge of who Jesus is, what He did, why they need Him, and what He expects from them. In the previous article we examined the person and work of Christ.

Now we shall look at what the sinner needs to know about God’s law and the need for repentance.Preaching RepentanceThe term “repent” means more than merely changing one’s mind. Some assert that to repent is no more than to change one’s mind, based on the word’s etymology. But context, not etymology, shows the author’s meaning. The Biblical idea of repentance is to turn from serving self to serving God. Repentance in the New Testament has to do with conversion. Paul’s concept of what true repentance looks like is shown in his description of the effects of the Gospel in the Thessalonian Christians:For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1Thessalonians 1:8-10)Conversion is turning to God from idols. The self is the universal idol of fallen man. To repent is to be converted.Some accuse those of us who teach the necessity of repentance of teaching salvation by works. Nothing could be further from the truth. By preaching the gospel and including a call for repentance, we are appealing to the need for grace, not to human ability. The New Testament sees repentance as something God grants:And the Lord’s bond_servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. (2Timothy 2:24-26)Preaching human guilt before God’s holy law shows people their need for the gospel. By including the preaching of repentance, we show the sinner his utter need for God’s grace. One must be fully converted, turned around completely - made to serve God rather than self and the world. Preaching anything less than this gives the sinner hope for self-improvement through works. Preaching the whole demand of God’s righteousness shows that outside of God’s gracious provision through the gospel we are all hopeless sinners. Preaching repentance is central to the message of the Kingdom of God.Jesus preached repentance: “And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14, 15). When the gospel spread to the Gentiles, here is how the apostles responded: “And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, ‘Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life’” (Acts 11:18). It is obvious that the gospel is not “self-help.” God “grants” repentance, but through His ordained means - the preaching of the gospel. Preachers who do not make the gospel clear and do not preach repentance are not preaching for conversions. They may be preaching to get people interested in joining a church, or being religious, but the idea of a radical conversion that turns a hell-bound sinner totally around to being a heaven-bound saint is absent in many supposedly evangelical churches.What is amazing about the resistance to preaching repentance in order to convert sinners through the gospel is the fact that preaching repentance is included in the Great Commission: “He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:46, 47). C.F.W. Walther comments on this section of Luke:Why is repentance required as well as faith? Our Lord gives the reason in these words: “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick . . . I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Matt. 9:12, 13. With these words the Lord testifies that the reason why contrition is absolutely necessary is that without it no one is fit to be made a believer. He is surfeited and spurns the invitation to the heavenly marriage feast.If the need for repentance is never placed before the perishing, we do a disservice to the gospel and the Great Commission. Walther also asserts that repentance is not the cause of forgiveness, but is what happens when the Law shows the sinner the need for forgiveness. God graciously opens one’s eyes to this need. Walther writes, “As long as a person has not been reduced to the state of a poor, lost, and condemned sinner, he has no serious interest in the Savior of sinners.” Forgiveness is received by faith.I see repentance and faith as two aspects of the same conversion experience. Repentance is turning from self to God. It emphasizes the turning away from our previous sin of trusting self. Faith is trusting God through the gospel for our salvation. The whole of conversion is granted by God’s grace and is not a meritorious human work. John MacArthur explains:Conversion occurs when a sinner turns to God in repentant faith. It is a complete turnaround, an absolute change of moral and volitional direction. Such a radical reversal is the response the gospel calls for, whether the plea to sinners is phrased as “believe,” “repent,” or “be converted.” Each entails the others.Repentance cannot be taken out of gospel preaching without changing the idea of what it means to come to Christ. Without repentance we are just adding Christ to the self we intend to continue serving.The Failure to Preach God’s LawPaul wrote three chapters of Romans about man’s failure before God’s law before he explained the doctrine of justification. He obviously thought that sinners needed to know the true nature of their lost and fallen condition. Sinners need to know what it means to be lost, and that one day they shall face the holy and righteous Judge. They need to know clearly that they have disobeyed God’s law and desperately need a savior. Those who preach the law and the gospel are preaching for conversions, not just religious followers.Evangelist Ray Comfort interviews people he is preaching to and finds that the vast majority do not believe they are sinners heading for hell. Comfort points out that when we tell sinners, “come to Jesus and have a better life” we are likely to create disillusionment. He calls this “life enhancement” preaching. I call it “better living through Jesus.” Whatever it is, it is not the gospel. The gospel is “good news,” not “nice news.” The “nice news” approach offers the possibility of things going better in this life if one becomes religious. The good news is that hopelessly lost, hell-bound, sinners can be saved from the wrath of God through the finished work of Christ on the cross. All this is a gift of grace, received by faith.The sad fact is that few who hear Christian preachers on radio and TV ever hear the gospel. We evidently have millions of dollars to spend putting out Christian material, but very little time to use these resources for gospel preaching. This statement sometimes shocks people. You can see for yourself is this is true. Turn on a Christian TV network like TBN, and listen. Check out the Angel Network on satellite TV. Take my challenge. Listen to the preachers. Count how many times you hear the gospel preached, if ever at all. I have done this myself and rarely have heard the gospel even after dozens of hours of listening. The demise of gospel preaching is not just a melodramatic statement: it is the sad, harsh reality.The Christian media most people see and hear is not the gospel. The preachers mention Jesus, but they do not tell us who He is or what He did. They preach about better living, but never tell us how to escape God’s wrath against sin. They rarely explain the cross and its implications. They preach a morality of sorts, a Christian morality of works righteousness that is not derived from God’s grace. The implication is that we can be better people than those around us by being Christian. But this is more the preaching of a Christian culture than a gathering of redeemed sinners whose only hope is in Christ and His cross.The Humanistic GospelAt the heart of the demise of gospel preaching is what may have begun as a subtle shift. In Jonathan Edward’s day, evangelical preachers preached for conversions. They believed the lost were truly lost and powerless to do anything about their wretched condition. The only hope was the grace of God through the gospel to convert sinners. The nineteenth century marked a major turning point in American evangelicalism. The turning point is epitomized by Finney’s “new measures.” Because Finney believed in human ability (as Edwards did not), Finney preached to “arouse dormant powers.” From Finney’s day on evangelism changed and has continued to change. We have gone from belief in conversions through gospel preaching to “decisions for Jesus.” This seemingly subtle shift is actually a major chasm that is as deep and wide as the chasm between heaven and hell.If this shocks some people that may be what is needed. I have recently attended several evangelistic functions. In each case I did not hear the gospel. I heard stories about people who had made decisions for Jesus and now had better lives. Who Jesus is, was never explained. Why do we need Jesus? - To find meaning in life that we are now missing. We did not hear about the resurrection. We did not hear about the blood atonement. We did not hear the demands of the Law or the promise of the gospel. But every one there was given an opportunity to make a decision for Jesus.I do not say this to criticize the motives of those who organize such events or many others who approach evangelism the same way. I know many of these people and believe that they truly love God and want to reach the lost. However, well-motivated or not, there is a huge difference between the gospel as preached by Jesus and His apostles and the idea of “making a decision for Jesus.” Some are converted through the efforts of such evangelicals. If somewhere, somehow, buried under the many layers of activities and evangelical culture, those who get involved eventually do find out who Jesus is, what His claims are, and their need for the blood atonement, they may indeed be converted. But why should the conversion of sinners be pushed to the background so that a slick, user-friendly Christianity is all that is apparent to most observers?

In part 3 of this series we will examine several false conceptions that many evangelicals have believed that have seriously damaged the integrity of gospel preaching. These include decision theology and the perceived need to make God and His message look attractive to the world.

Bob DeWaay-The Demise Of Gospel Preaching In Modern Evangelicalism Part 1

For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1Corinthians 1:22-24)

Many cultural trends in contemporary evangelicalism are pushing gospel preaching out of churches. People are being asked to make a “decision for Jesus” without being told who Jesus is, what He has done, or why they need Him. In many cases, those who are failing to preach the gospel vehemently deny that they are doing so. This series of articles will suggest a simple remedy to the problem: gospel preaching. In part one of this series of articles I will discuss the person and work of Christ. In part two I will discuss what the sinner needs to know about God’s law and the need for repentance. In part three I will discuss the problems with decision theology.The Gospel in the New TestamentThe word “gospel” is a translation of the Greek work euaggelion from which we get our English word “evangel.” By definition “evangelical” means those who are committed to the gospel. Therefore, to claim that “evangelicals” are not preaching the gospel is a strong indictment. However, the sad fact is that many are not. To show this we shall examine New Testament gospel preaching and compare it to today’s popular messages in many evangelical churches.Mark begins his Gospel using the word “gospel”: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). Right here we learn something about its content - Jesus is the promised Jewish Messiah and the Son of God. “Christ” means Messiah. This calls to mind the Old Testament promises such as the one given to Abraham in Genesis 12:3. The Jews were looking for one from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10) and from the lineage of David (2Samuel 7:14; Jeremiah 23:5) who would bring salvation. So the gospel of Jesus Christ includes the idea of the fulfillment of ancient Messianic promises.Mark also claimed that He is the “Son of God.” Jesus existed as God and with God from all eternity. The gospel writers used Old Testament scripture to prove this. For example, Psalm 110:1 was quoted several times to prove this: “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.’” Jesus quoted this Psalm in Matthew 22:42-45 to refute the Pharisees. Jesus asked that since David called Messiah “Lord,” how could he then be David’s son? The answer is that in His deity Christ is pre-existent, thus was David’s Lord; yet in His humanity he was born of a virgin, and was the legal descendant of David. This argument is expanded fully in Matthew, but is contained in Mark’s brief statement about the gospel. Do modern hearers of the gospel need to know who Jesus is? Of course they do! Man’s need has not changed. Peter quoted Psalm 110:1 when he preached on Pentecost (Acts 2:34-36) making it clear to his hearers that Jesus was “both Lord and Christ.”Modern Gospel hearers must learn these truths about Jesus: He existed with and as God from all eternity (John 1:1), had a supernatural, virgin birth, and lived a sinless life. Thus Jesus is God and man. Just citing the name “Jesus” does not fill in all this information in the minds of contemporary listeners. Perhaps there was a time in America when most people grew up in churches that taught all their members the facts about Jesus. Even then it was not safe to assume that in a large crowd there would not be people who had false ideas about Jesus or no idea at all. Today, given the paganization of America, it is safe to assume that most people hearing the name Jesus do not know the facts that are necessary for believing the gospel. Mark says that He is the Christ, the Son of God. These terms need to be explained. It is commonly believed that there are many “Christs” (anointed ones) and that all humans are sons of God. We need to show that only Jesus is the Christ and that He uniquely is the Son of God. Sinners do not come pre-equipped with this knowledge.The ResurrectionThe resurrection of Christ was mentioned 19 times in the book of Acts. It was the main theme of Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. The fact of the bodily resurrection of Christ was the reason why Peter’s hearers were told to repent (Acts 2:32-38). When Paul described the content of the gospel, he referred to the resurrection. This passage is fundamental to the Christian gospel:Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (1Corinthians 15:1-4)Without the resurrection of Christ there is no gospel! Paul was so emphatic about this, that he also explained the consequences if there were no resurrection: “[If] Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1Corinthians 15:17). Faith that is not based on the truth of the gospel is worthless.Paul ties belief in the resurrection of Christ with salvation: “[I]f you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9). Christ in His resurrection conquered sin and death. Therefore we cannot believe that His death avails for our sin problem if we do not believe in the resurrection. When Paul preached the resurrection to the Athenian philosophers they responded negatively: “Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, we shall hear you again concerning this’” (Acts 17:32). This negative reaction did not cause Paul to change his message. As shown in the 1Corinthians 15 passage cited above, Paul preached the resurrection of Christ in Corinth, his next destination after Athens. Whether sinners like it or not, they cannot be saved unless they trust Christ whom God raised from the dead.Christ’s Substitutionary DeathI mentioned the resurrection first because of the primacy the New Testament gives it in explaining the gospel. Christ’s resurrection proves all His claims and demonstrates the efficacy of His death for sins. That Jesus died is not unique. All other founders of religious movements died. Only Christ proved His claims by predicting His own resurrection and then emerging from the tomb and appearing before many credible witnesses. The others died because all sinners die. Jesus was not a sinner and proved it by His resurrection. He died for sins, but not for His own sins - He had none (Hebrews 4:15). He died for our sins: “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit” (1Peter 3:18).The idea that Christ’s death was for our sins is a necessary part of the gospel. In Paul’s summary of the gospel in 1Corinthians 15, he said, “Christ died for our sins.” (Verse 3). The Bible teaches throughout that the penalty for sin is death. This includes eternal death, away from the presence of God (2Thessalonians 1:9). When the gospel is preached, it must be made clear that all are sinners, have broken God’s Law, and are liable for eternal punishment. If people do not believe they are truly lost and headed for hell, then they will see no need for Christ’s death on their behalf. This is particularly true in our day. People think they have many needs, but they do not think that they are actually headed for hell. Therefore they do not see their true need for the gospel. It is the preacher’s duty to make this need clear. Paul preached coming judgment and repentance to philosophers in Athens: “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30,31).The need for a payment for sins is revealed in the blood atonement. Christ’s shed blood averts God’s wrath. Christ paid the penalty that we owed to God for our sins. This is foundational to the gospel and God’s means of justification. Paul makes clear the role of Christ’s blood: “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Romans 5:9).Being saved from God’s wrath is every human being’s most urgent need. How ironic that many fail to preach this for fear of being “irrelevant” to “felt needs.” Suppose a man was living in an upper floor of an apartment building and did not know that the building was on fire. Someone who was aware of the fire knocked on the man’s door and said, “Sir, I am a Christian and would like to meet your needs, so please tell me what they are.” The man says, “Well, actually, I am out of milk and have no transportation. Could you run to the store and get me a gallon of milk?” Would the Christian leave him in danger of perishing while the Christian went off to meet this more “practical” need? Clearly not. How much greater is the danger of facing God’s wrath at some unknown but imminent time? We want to be kind to our fellow humans in meeting their needs, but we are cruel if we fail to tell them of their real danger.When Paul preached, “Christ crucified” (1Corinthians 1:23), he included the key facts about who Christ was and what He did, but also included the reason why it was urgent that the facts be believed: we have offended the most holy and awesome God; His wrath is revealed from heaven against our great sin (Romans 1:18); Jesus took that wrath upon Himself so that all who believe in Him would be saved from it. Even the most famous verse in the Bible about God’s love mentions averting judgment: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). “Not perishing” is about averting God’s wrath as is clear from this verse in the same chapter of John: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). Notice that according this verse, failure to believe is to be disobedient. The gospel commands people to believe under threat of wrath; it is not some paltry invitation to a happier life.Many preachers who would cheerfully cite John 3:16 simultaneously deny that people are in danger of perishing. While visiting another city, I was invited to attend a church service. The pastor confidently assured us that, “God does not punish sin.” Evidently, there are people in churches singing hymns and citing creeds, who are there to be religious, but have no idea of their need for the gospel. If we never were in danger of perishing for all eternity, then what was the point of God sending Jesus to die for us? Although the church mentioned above was obviously a liberal one, far too many “evangelical” churches today simply neglect altogether the truth that God does punish sin. To fail to deny something is not the same as to preach it. “God does punish sin and you need a savior,” is the message that ought to be preached.In part 2 of this series of articles we will examine the importance of preaching God’s law and repentance as part of gospel proclamation.

If They Call Worship Fun, Then It's Time To Run

Do any of these promotional slogans make any sense to you? Come to our restaurant and be touched deeply to the point of tears. The comedy at our health club is sure to tickle your funny bone. Your trip to our dentist office will be intellectually stimulating. Church ought to be fun.

I don't know about you, but all of those descriptions seem more than a little out of place for their environments. Maybe they would be an attempt at marketing something with the aim of getting people to overcome their stereotypes of those places. In the case of many churches, the come for the fun concept has become an essential for growth.

The pressure is on, churches are doing their best to make worship entertaining. Take for example this page on the Saddleback church website entitled "Just For Fun", which says that in one particular worship service God was honored and "it was so much fun". The commenters on that page seem to agree.
Another pastor said that his goal as a leader is "To impact my community with the message that God loves them. I want people to know that God rocks and church can and should be fun. It literally is that simple to me."
Are we communicating to a new generation that God is all fun and games? One of the sermon 'highlights' from a preacher was said to be his line: "Jesus must have been a fun guy because he gave people nicknames".

A friend did a web search on the keywords fun and church, and here's a sampling of what he came up with. Thanks to Al for this list of links and the quotes that we found on them:

If it ain't fun it ain't church

We believe church is for everyone; it should be fun, exciting, powerful and relevant

Church should be creative, fun and relevant to our daily lives! Church should be a safe, casual place to explore your relationship with God!

We do church a little differently. ... Come discover a fun, meaningful place designed for you and your family!

We believe church should be fun, exciting and adventurous! Having a real and growing relationship with God and others shouldn't be boring, monotonous, or ritualistic.

We believe that life (and church) should be fun. ...High-energy music, practical messages, and real relationships - now, that's fun!

Fun & Games. Who says church should always be serious? Below are links to some of our favorite amusements. Enjoy! [see their 'fun page']
we think church should be fun, exciting and relevant while still maintaining the life-changing truths of the Gospel. Pastor Diane will make you laugh, cry and ponder with her entertaining style. Every Sunday Pastor Diane delivers a practical message aimed at helping you walk in God's favor and blessing.

The only question is will your kids have more fun than you will?
We believe church should be fun

The music-and other arts-should rock. And, if God is the source of joy (which He claims to be), church should be fun! We believe that church should be at least 63.3% more fun than anything else you could do on Sunday morning.

Fun - In all things. Nehemiah 8:10b; John 15:11 (they cite verses that talk about joy)
If these churches want to follow a biblical precedent, and that's a big if, their best shot is in tweaking the meaning of the word 'joy' as the last church did when they cited those two verses.

The Greek word for Joy in John 15:11 is Xara. But look at this list of places where the word is used in the New Testament, and try swapping out the word "Joy" and replace it with the word "Fun" instead. Do the verses still make sense when you do that?

It's really bending scripture to try and make joy and fun interchangeable terms; they mean two different things.
I look forward to going to my church gatherings every week; I can't wait to go. I enjoy them immensely, but I would never call them 'fun'. I also agree with RC Sproul in his book The Holiness of God, when he reminds his readers that of all of the times in scripture where somebody had an encounter with God, none of them ever depict the presence of God as "boring". True worship is never boring. But when I hear of churches today that describe themselves as 'fun', I think of this quote from one of my favorite Puritan books, entitled Gospel Worship:

"The reason men worship God in a casual way is because they do not see God in His Glory. If a man has ever had Isaiah's vision of the Holiness of God, he would be changed in an instant. But until men have seen God as He truly is they will be forever guilty of the very same rebuke that God gave to the wicked in Psalms 50:21 'You thought I was just like you'." --Jeremiah Burroughs

Paula White Schills for 'Atonement Offerings'?!

This is so blatantly false and blasphemous that we immediately paused to pray for Paula White when we first uncovered it.

The soon to be divorced, 'pastrix' Paula White's latest money scheme demonstrates her clear lack of Biblical understanding and it also is an affront to the core doctrine of the Christian faith, Christ's atoning sacrifice for sins on the cross.

1. Christians do not observe the Jewish Day of Atonement. Our Atonement day is Good Friday.

2. Asking for an 'Atonement Offering' flies directly in the face of Jesus' atonement for our sins on the cross of Calvary. Offering God Money for Atonement is a form of denying Christ's sacrifice.

3. We cannot approach the Mercy Seat. Christ our high priest had to do that for us. This money raising scheme of 'patrix' Paula's is so blasphemous that words fail us.
Hebrews 9:11-14 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation 12he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

4. The Atonement offering in the Old Testament was an ANIMAL it was NOT money. Since, 'pastrix' Paula is going backwards to the old covenant as a means of tricking you into sending HER and an 'atonement offering', please keep it Biblical. Rather than sending money please send her a ram, sheep, bull or goat. (Leviticus 16)

How to Kill Sin in Your Life (Part 2) By John MacArthur

we considered the first of five steps necessary to killing sin in your life — namely, that you must recognize the presence of sin in your flesh. Today we will consider steps two through four.
2. A Heart Fixed on God.
Second, in order to gain victory over sin, you must have a heart fixed on God. You must love Him more than you love your sin.
The Psalmist said in Psalm 57:7, “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed.” What did he mean by that? He was speaking of undivided devotion to God! He was referring to a wholeness in spiritual life where he was given wholly to God. This attitude must be true in your heart if you are to conquer sin. You must be wholly devoted to God in every area of life. You cannot tolerate sin in any one area, even if it seems like a relatively small area. You must eradicate sin everywhere.
You can’t starve it out and kill it in one spot, but then allow it to remain somewhere else. If sin lives anywhere it will crawl all over everywhere. It is the most noxious, fastest growing weed in existence. It will not confine itself to one flower bed. Left unchecked, even for a short time, it will soon take over everywhere.
The Psalmist said in Psalm 119:6, “Then shall I not be ashamed.” When? When will you not be ashamed? “When I have respect unto all thy commandments.” In other words, our lives are not going to be right or without shame until we give proper respect to every command of God. And that is to deal with every issue of sin in our lives. The only unashamed life is the life of one who is totally fixed on God; everything has been dealt with.
3. Meditate on the Word.
Third, the victorious Christian life is a life that dwells on the Word of God (cf. Psalm 1:2).
The way to kill sin in your life is to feed it Scripture. Scripture is a spiritual weed-killer. It will poison sin.
Whatever really controls your mind, controls your behavior; so keep out the garbage (of worldly thinking) and saturate the soil of your mind with a steady diet of God’s glorious truth. Sin can’t grow in a Spirit-controlled life. And the Spirit controls our thinking through the Word of Christ (Col. 3:16-17; cf. Eph. 5:18; Rom. 12:2). If you want to kill sin, you must give yourself to the Word. That means you have to read it, listen to it, learn it, study it, and think about it.
4. Commune with God in Prayer.
These are so very basic, but fourth, you must commune with God in prayer.
This circles back around to the first point that I gave you. True prayer gives the heart a sense of its own vile character and renews the hatred of sin. It agrees with God about what sin is, recognizing that any violation of God’s law is a direct affront to Him. John Owen said, “He who pleads with God for the remission of sin also pleads with his own heart to detest it.”
Somewhere along the line in your own prayer life you need to get honest. You need to begin to say to God, “I want You to reveal my sin, I want You to stir it up in me. I want You to show it to me. I want You to blow away the dust that is covering it. I want You to peel off the things that have been hiding it away in my life, so that it becomes manifest and visible to me. I want to see the reality of my sin. I want You to show it to me just the way it is.” That is a vital part of your communion with God.
When you pray to God it must be an honest confession. The true prayers of repentance go something like this, “God show me all the sins of my life, reveal all of them, uncover every little corner of my life. Bring it up and may it become as detestable to me as it is to You. May I never do that again, and may You give me the strength to see it go away.”
Prayer exposes secret sins. Prayer weakens prevailing sins. Prayer finds strength in fellowship with the Holy God to kill sin in our lives.
(To be concluded on Monday)

How to Kill Sin in Your Life (Part 1) By John MacArthur

The question is, “How do I kill sin in my life? How do I do it?” Let me give you some little principles — very basic and straightforward.
If you live by the Spirit and are headed towards eternal life because of your salvation, the Spirit in you gives the power to be killing the deeds of the flesh.
The question is, “All right, how do I do that? I agree that the power is there, that’s the bent of my life, that’s the way I am going. I want to see the Spirit do more and more of it. How do I get to that point? How do I gain that victory? How do I establish that habitual pattern? What do I do?”
1. Recognize the Presence of Sin in Your Flesh.
Do you know why most Christians are most commonly defeated by sin? I believe it is because their sin has so totally deceived them, that they never really get to the point where they honestly evaluate its reality. They are not dealing with the issue.
They spend so much of their lives justifying their sin as a personality quirk or a product of their environment. They sugar-coat their habitual sins as simply idiosyncrasies of individuality, or some prenatal predilection that their mother had, or whatever. People can become so good at denying the reality of sin that they don’t see it. As a result, they don’t deal with it because they don’t even recognize it for what it is.
Any kind of spiritual victory begins by identifying the enemy. It is the same old story, ”If you don’t know what you are shooting at, how are you going to hit it?” How am I going to eliminate from my life what I don’t even identify as needing to be eliminated?
Sin is not only wicked, it is deceitful. And it’s there inside each of us. Believe me it is there. John Owen was right, he says of sin:
It has no doors to open. It needs no engine by which to work. It lies in the mind and in the understanding. It is found in the will. It is in the inclinations of the affections. It has such intimacy in the soul.
It’s there! But inevitably it’s covered up. As the Psalmist prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me” (Psalm 139:22). We must ask God to help us see our sinfulness, if we want to recognize it for what it is.
Don’t be deceived about how good you are. Believe me, your sin is there, and it is wretched and it spurts forth between the cracks of your supposed righteousness. It comes out in anger and bitter words, unkind thoughts, criticisms, self-conceit, lack of understanding, impatience, weak prayers, immoral thoughts, and even overt sins. You need to know your weaknesses.
Haggai the prophet, in chapter one of his prophecy, repeats the command, “Consider your ways! Consider your ways!” (vv. 5, 7). In other words, take a good deep look at yourself. First Kings 8:38 says, “Know the plague in your own heart.” And Paul in Ephesians 4:22 talks about deceitful lusts. From these and many other passages, the Bible makes the point: If you want to kill sin in your life, you must begin by examining your own heart to see the reality of what is there.

Why does God let random shootings, fatal accidents, and other horrible things occur? By RC Sproul

Since we believe that God is the author of this planet and is sovereign over it, it’s inevitable that we ask where he is when these terrible things take place. I think the Bible answers that over and over again from different angles and in different ways. We find our first answer, of course, in the book of Genesis, in which we’re told of the fall of humanity. God’s immediate response to the transgression of the human race against his rule and authority was to curse the earth and human life. Death and suffering entered the world as a direct result of sin. We see the concrete manifestation of this in the realm of nature, where thorns become part of the garden and human life is now characterized by the sweat of the brow and the pain that attends even the birth of a baby. This illustrates the fact that the world in which we live is a place that is full of sorrows and tragedy. But we must never conclude that there’s a one-to-one correlation in this life between suffering and the guilt of the people on whom tragedies fall. If there were no sin in the world, there would be no suffering. There would be no fatal accidents, no random shootings. Because sin is present in the world, suffering is present in the world, but it doesn’t always work out that if you have five pounds of guilt, you’re going to get five pounds of suffering. That’s the perception that the book of Job labors to dispel, as does Jesus’ answer to the question about the man born blind ( John 9:1-11). On the other hand, the Bible makes it clear that God lets these things happen and in a certain sense ordains that they come to pass as part of the present situation that is under judgment. He has not removed death from this world. Whether it’s what we would consider an untimely death or a violent death, death is part of the nature of things. The only promise is that there will come a day when suffering will cease altogether. The disciples asked Jesus about similar instances—for example, the Galileans’ blood that was mingled with the sacrifices by Pilate or the eighteen people who were killed when a temple collapsed. The disciples asked how this could be. Jesus’ response was almost severe. He said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish,” again bringing the question back to the fact that moral wickedness makes it feasible for God to allow these kinds of dreadful things to take place in a fallen world.

John Piper-Ten Effects of Believing in the Five Points of Calvinism

“These ten points are my personal testimony to the effects of believing in the five points of Calvinism. …….. but I will write them here in the hope that they might stir others to search, Berean-like, to see if the Bible teaches what I call “Calvinism.” John Piper

1. These truths make me stand in awe of God and lead me into the depth of true God-centered worship.
2. These truths help protect me from trifling with divine things.
3. These truths make me marvel at my own salvation.
4. These truths make me alert to man-centered substitutes that pose as good news.
5. These truths make me groan over the indescribable disease of our secular, God-belittling culture.
6. These truths make me confident that the work which God planned and began, he will finish – both globally and personally.
7. These truths make me see everything in the light of God’s sovereign purposes – that from him and through him and to him are all things, to him be glory forever and ever.
8. These truths make me hopeful that God has the will, the right, and the power to answer prayer that people be changed.
9. These truths reminds me that evangelism is absolutely essential for people to come to Christ and be saved, and that there is great hope for success in leading people to faith, but that conversion is not finally dependent on me or limited by the hardness of the unbeliever.
10. These truths make me sure that God will triumph in the end.