Thursday, November 29, 2007
You are going to want to PASS on the Golden Compass
Check out this article regarding the new The Golden Compass movie.http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp
'Good Works' Are No Replacement For Truth By Benjamin Warfield
Quoting Benjamin Warfield . . .
The grounds of religion must be taught and learned as truly as the grounds of anything else. Let us make no mistake here. Religion does not come of itself; it is always a matter of instruction. The emotions of the heart, in which many seem to think religion is too exclusively to consist, always follow the movements of thought. Passion for service cannot take the place of passion for truth, or safely outrun the acquisition of truth, for it is dreadfully possible to navigate sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, to find we have made him only a "son of hell".
This is why God establishes and extends his Church by the ordinance of preaching; it is why we have Sunday schools and Bible classes. This is why God has grounded his church in revelation. He does not content Himself with sending His Spirit into the world to turn men to Him. He sends His Word into the world as well. Because it is from knowledge of the truth, and only from the knowledge of the truth, that under the quickening influence of the Spirit true religion can be born.
From:
The Chief End of Man (book intro)
The grounds of religion must be taught and learned as truly as the grounds of anything else. Let us make no mistake here. Religion does not come of itself; it is always a matter of instruction. The emotions of the heart, in which many seem to think religion is too exclusively to consist, always follow the movements of thought. Passion for service cannot take the place of passion for truth, or safely outrun the acquisition of truth, for it is dreadfully possible to navigate sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, to find we have made him only a "son of hell".
This is why God establishes and extends his Church by the ordinance of preaching; it is why we have Sunday schools and Bible classes. This is why God has grounded his church in revelation. He does not content Himself with sending His Spirit into the world to turn men to Him. He sends His Word into the world as well. Because it is from knowledge of the truth, and only from the knowledge of the truth, that under the quickening influence of the Spirit true religion can be born.
From:
The Chief End of Man (book intro)
The 'Relevant Church' and it's Toll on Youth
Quoting a parent's letter . . .
My husband grew up a Catholic and I, a Lutheran. Before we married we each came to salvation in different evangelical churches in the early 1980's. After many years of bringing our children up in these types of churches, my husband and I began to question various practices. I wasn't comfortable with my children in the youth groups being "taught [exclusively] by others" and where there was a tendency to focus more on "fun", than on the Bible. I also didn't understand why the basic biblical truths I learned as a child were not being taught. So, eventually, I began to teach these things to my younger children at home during our homeschool time. But, all the while, my husband and I struggled with the fact that there was no real doctrine or theology being taught in these churches, only a lot of hype and emotion.
Thus began a long quest for truth. We have come (now) to recognize first hand - the danger in the contemporary church that a lack of good teaching creates. We see the evidence in the youth culture that is being brought up in these modern churches.
Our oldest child of six, a son, 23, knew the Bible stories well. He was very involved in church, youth group, and went to a Christian School. He went on retreats, mission trips and to church events like "Acquire the Fire". We thought he understood the Scriptures. Yet, it turns out that he has now bought into the youth culture, and is very confused about the things of God. To the point that . . . he has fallen away from Christianity! Unfortunately, we didn't teach and reinforce the basics with him at home as much as we should have, (which we are now doing with the rest of our children).
We see the damage done, first hand, by our "lukewarmness" and by a modern "church" that has no roots and continues to walk parallel with the world in the "name" of "winning souls"!
From:
Family Worship video series from CrossTV.com
My husband grew up a Catholic and I, a Lutheran. Before we married we each came to salvation in different evangelical churches in the early 1980's. After many years of bringing our children up in these types of churches, my husband and I began to question various practices. I wasn't comfortable with my children in the youth groups being "taught [exclusively] by others" and where there was a tendency to focus more on "fun", than on the Bible. I also didn't understand why the basic biblical truths I learned as a child were not being taught. So, eventually, I began to teach these things to my younger children at home during our homeschool time. But, all the while, my husband and I struggled with the fact that there was no real doctrine or theology being taught in these churches, only a lot of hype and emotion.
Thus began a long quest for truth. We have come (now) to recognize first hand - the danger in the contemporary church that a lack of good teaching creates. We see the evidence in the youth culture that is being brought up in these modern churches.
Our oldest child of six, a son, 23, knew the Bible stories well. He was very involved in church, youth group, and went to a Christian School. He went on retreats, mission trips and to church events like "Acquire the Fire". We thought he understood the Scriptures. Yet, it turns out that he has now bought into the youth culture, and is very confused about the things of God. To the point that . . . he has fallen away from Christianity! Unfortunately, we didn't teach and reinforce the basics with him at home as much as we should have, (which we are now doing with the rest of our children).
We see the damage done, first hand, by our "lukewarmness" and by a modern "church" that has no roots and continues to walk parallel with the world in the "name" of "winning souls"!
From:
Family Worship video series from CrossTV.com
Fads Fade, but the Word Stands Forever By Phil Johnson
As we have seen in the last two posts, the Word of God is both powerful and penetrating. Third—
3. The Word of God is precise.
Notice how this verse describes the ministry of the Word of God as precision surgery, not wanton destruction: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Now, obviously, surgery is ordinarily done with a scalpel, not a sword. Scalpels are small and precise, and razor sharp—just like the Word of God: “sharper than any twoedged sword.” The surgeon uses a scalpel with great care to cut precisely, sometimes dividing fine layers of tissue with remarkable precision.
That is exactly what is described here. The Word of God divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and it is capable of great discrimination. It discerns “the thoughts and intents of the heart”—something that is not even visible to the human eye.
We cannot look upon the heart—the innermost part of the human soul. First Samuel 16:7: “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but [only] the LORD looketh on the heart.”
We can’t even correctly discern the thoughts and intents of our own hearts. Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” We are all subject to self-deception and blindness when it comes to judging our own hearts. But the Word of God reveals what is really in our hearts, and it correctly assesses our thoughts and intentions. It shows our motives and our imaginations for what they really are. And that is why it is capable of such precision surgery—even in the deepest recesses of our souls.
Some people misread this phrase “the dividing asunder of soul and spirit” and imagine that this describes two completely separate parts of the immaterial makeup of our beings. I don’t believe that’s what it is teaching. I realize there are good Bible teachers who teach that man is a tripartite creature, consisting of body, soul, and spirit. But I don’t think that’s the point of this verse. Scripture often uses the expressions “soul” and “spirit” interchangeably. It is difficult to make any meaningful division between soul and spirit, and that is the whole point.
Just like the “joints and marrow” of your bones and the “thoughts and intentions” of your heart, these things are so inextricably linked that it’s impossible to separate them without destroying one or the other. They aren’t separate entities that exist apart from each other. They aren’t distinct human faculties. There is overlap and interdependence. But the Word of God is precise and exact, and it cuts with painstaking accuracy. It divides what cannot otherwise be divided. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, and yet more precise than any surgeon’s scalpel.
Here’s the point: We ought to make better use of the Word of God in our ministry, and ignore all the evangelical fads that come and go. After all, only the Word of God has the powerful, penetrating precision that is necessary to reach and revitalize hearts that are cold and dead because of sin. And this is also our clear biblical mandate: “Preach the word . . . in season, out of season”—no matter which way the winds of doctrine are blowing and no matter how many fads and fashions come and go.
Obey that mandate, and God will bless your ministry. Chase every bandwagon that comes down the road, and you will regret it on that day when you give account for your ministry.
3. The Word of God is precise.
Notice how this verse describes the ministry of the Word of God as precision surgery, not wanton destruction: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Now, obviously, surgery is ordinarily done with a scalpel, not a sword. Scalpels are small and precise, and razor sharp—just like the Word of God: “sharper than any twoedged sword.” The surgeon uses a scalpel with great care to cut precisely, sometimes dividing fine layers of tissue with remarkable precision.
That is exactly what is described here. The Word of God divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and it is capable of great discrimination. It discerns “the thoughts and intents of the heart”—something that is not even visible to the human eye.
We cannot look upon the heart—the innermost part of the human soul. First Samuel 16:7: “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but [only] the LORD looketh on the heart.”
We can’t even correctly discern the thoughts and intents of our own hearts. Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” We are all subject to self-deception and blindness when it comes to judging our own hearts. But the Word of God reveals what is really in our hearts, and it correctly assesses our thoughts and intentions. It shows our motives and our imaginations for what they really are. And that is why it is capable of such precision surgery—even in the deepest recesses of our souls.
Some people misread this phrase “the dividing asunder of soul and spirit” and imagine that this describes two completely separate parts of the immaterial makeup of our beings. I don’t believe that’s what it is teaching. I realize there are good Bible teachers who teach that man is a tripartite creature, consisting of body, soul, and spirit. But I don’t think that’s the point of this verse. Scripture often uses the expressions “soul” and “spirit” interchangeably. It is difficult to make any meaningful division between soul and spirit, and that is the whole point.
Just like the “joints and marrow” of your bones and the “thoughts and intentions” of your heart, these things are so inextricably linked that it’s impossible to separate them without destroying one or the other. They aren’t separate entities that exist apart from each other. They aren’t distinct human faculties. There is overlap and interdependence. But the Word of God is precise and exact, and it cuts with painstaking accuracy. It divides what cannot otherwise be divided. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, and yet more precise than any surgeon’s scalpel.
Here’s the point: We ought to make better use of the Word of God in our ministry, and ignore all the evangelical fads that come and go. After all, only the Word of God has the powerful, penetrating precision that is necessary to reach and revitalize hearts that are cold and dead because of sin. And this is also our clear biblical mandate: “Preach the word . . . in season, out of season”—no matter which way the winds of doctrine are blowing and no matter how many fads and fashions come and go.
Obey that mandate, and God will bless your ministry. Chase every bandwagon that comes down the road, and you will regret it on that day when you give account for your ministry.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Is the celebration of Christmas a pagan ritual? By Dr RC Sproul
That question comes up every year at Christmastime. In the first place, there’s no direct biblical commandment to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25. There’s nothing in the Bible that would even indicate that Jesus was born on December 25. In fact, there’s much in the New Testament narratives that would indicate that it didn’t occur during that time of year. It just so happens that on the twenty-fifth of December in the Roman Empire there was a pagan holiday that was linked to mystery religions; the pagans celebrated their festival on December 25. The Christians didn’t want to participate in that, and so they said, “While everybody else is celebrating this pagan thing, we’re going to have our own celebration. We’re going to celebrate the thing that’s most important in our lives, the incarnation of God, the birth of Jesus Christ. So this is going to be a time of joyous festivities, of celebration and worship of our God and King.” I can’t think of anything more pleasing to Christ than the church celebrating his birthday every year. Keep in mind that the whole principle of annual festival and celebration is deeply rooted in ancient Jewish tradition. In the Old Testament, for example, there were times when God emphatically commanded the people to remember certain events with annual celebrations. While the New Testament doesn’t require that we celebrate Christmas every year, I certainly see nothing wrong with the church’s entering into this joyous time of celebrating the Incarnation, which is the dividing point of all human history. Originally, it was intended to honor, not Mithras or any of the other mystery religion cults, but the birth of our King. Incidentally, Easter can be traced to Ishtar in the ancient world. But the Christian church coming together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus is hardly something I think would provoke the wrath of God. I wish we had more annual festivals. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, celebrates with great joy the Feast of the Ascension every year. Some Protestant bodies do, but most do not. I wish we would celebrate that great event in the life of Christ when he was raised up into heaven to be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. We celebrate his birth; we celebrate his death. I wish we would also celebrate his coronation.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
The Books That Taught The Puritans To Pray By Jim B.
It's been said that these books taught generations of Puritan-era Christians how to pray. They are simply outlines of prayer that are filled with scripture; they are literally scripture prayer. After you read these books, you will never again say "How can I pray an hour a day?", and instead you may very well ask "How can I get through all of the things to pray for in the allotted time?". It's time to put away those modern Jabez prayers, and the purpose journal, and take your prayer habits back a few centuries.
I had been seeing these two books around for a while, but was unaware of their place in history. That is, until I listened to this short MP3 audio clip of Pastor Ligon Duncan speaking on the topic of the Puritans.
I have recently purchased these books, and they are on my "read soon" list. However, just by looking through the pages, it's obvious that these are nothing at all like anything on this topic, in modern Christian book stores. They are not easy reading however, so you'll want to approach these books as though they are a mountain to climb; one that will pay-off in the form of greater depth in your personal prayer life.
Method For Prayer, Matthew HenryThough known for his commentaries on the Bible, few understand the passion and heart in this man. In this book, Henry's love for Jesus, passion for prayer, and love of Scripture can clearly be seen. The book is divided into different methods of prayer. In each chapter Henry offers some insights but mainly fills the pages with prayers (which the Puritans were noted for writing down their prayers; see also the Valley of Vision) and with Scriptures. Nearly every chapter contains over 50 passages of Scripture that Henry prayed.
Matthew Henry saw that Christians benefit from discipline, as well as from talking freely with God. There are examples of styles of prayer and Henry talks as well of the nature of our communion with God. Banner of Truth says "Ligon Duncan's editorial work has given this valuable book a new lease of life". Available here.
A Guide To Prayer, Isaac WattsThe author is no doubt well known to readers as the writer of hymns. This book is not another "how to pray" book. Watts defines prayer as: "The conversation God allows us to maintain with Himself above while we are here below . . . in which the soul of a saint often gets near to God, experiences great delight and, as it were, dwells with his Heavenly Father for a short time before he comes to heaven". The whole book is written in this reverent and devotional strain. "Prayer", he says, "is so great a part of religion that every degree of assistance in it will always be welcome to pious minds". The book comprises five short chapters and is worth reading for the first chapter alone - "The Nature of Prayer", "The Gift of Prayer", "The Grace of Prayer", "The Spirit of Prayer". In the final chapter he sets out "Persuasive Arguments" to learn to pray. Available here.
Related Reading and Resources:
Listen to the full length interview of the audio clip above
Learn about the book that started Puritanism
Read 'Why We Need The Puritans Today'
A Puritan's Mind has a list of some of the most important books
I had been seeing these two books around for a while, but was unaware of their place in history. That is, until I listened to this short MP3 audio clip of Pastor Ligon Duncan speaking on the topic of the Puritans.
I have recently purchased these books, and they are on my "read soon" list. However, just by looking through the pages, it's obvious that these are nothing at all like anything on this topic, in modern Christian book stores. They are not easy reading however, so you'll want to approach these books as though they are a mountain to climb; one that will pay-off in the form of greater depth in your personal prayer life.
Method For Prayer, Matthew HenryThough known for his commentaries on the Bible, few understand the passion and heart in this man. In this book, Henry's love for Jesus, passion for prayer, and love of Scripture can clearly be seen. The book is divided into different methods of prayer. In each chapter Henry offers some insights but mainly fills the pages with prayers (which the Puritans were noted for writing down their prayers; see also the Valley of Vision) and with Scriptures. Nearly every chapter contains over 50 passages of Scripture that Henry prayed.
Matthew Henry saw that Christians benefit from discipline, as well as from talking freely with God. There are examples of styles of prayer and Henry talks as well of the nature of our communion with God. Banner of Truth says "Ligon Duncan's editorial work has given this valuable book a new lease of life". Available here.
A Guide To Prayer, Isaac WattsThe author is no doubt well known to readers as the writer of hymns. This book is not another "how to pray" book. Watts defines prayer as: "The conversation God allows us to maintain with Himself above while we are here below . . . in which the soul of a saint often gets near to God, experiences great delight and, as it were, dwells with his Heavenly Father for a short time before he comes to heaven". The whole book is written in this reverent and devotional strain. "Prayer", he says, "is so great a part of religion that every degree of assistance in it will always be welcome to pious minds". The book comprises five short chapters and is worth reading for the first chapter alone - "The Nature of Prayer", "The Gift of Prayer", "The Grace of Prayer", "The Spirit of Prayer". In the final chapter he sets out "Persuasive Arguments" to learn to pray. Available here.
Related Reading and Resources:
Listen to the full length interview of the audio clip above
Learn about the book that started Puritanism
Read 'Why We Need The Puritans Today'
A Puritan's Mind has a list of some of the most important books
Lovers of Self!
It has become a sad day for the church. Why are people falling for this stuff? There has never been such a need for a Modern day Reformation then right now. Rev. C.J. Paul
2 Timothy 3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money
Speaking In Tounges For Today Or Not?
The subject of speaking in tongues is a difficult one for many believers today. Some are strongly in favor of the modern tongues movement. Some are not prepared to speak in tongues themselves, but are at the same time unwilling to admit that others who claim to have this gift are wrong. Some believe that many tongues today are faked but that there are real tongues "out there somewhere." And some believe that all who claim to have the gift of tongues are either deceived or liars, and that there is no such gift for believers today. The author of this article believes the latter, and this will be a very brief explanation of his position and why he believes it.
The main word for "speak" in Hebrew is dabar (daw-bar'), and literally means "to arrange." In the case of speaking it is used figuratively of arranging words in a logical order so as to express a thought. The main Greek word for "speak" is laleo (lal-eh'-o), and means to talk or to utter words. The word for "tongues" is glossa (gloce-sah'), and means literally the tongue, and by figure a language. Thus it would seem from the elemental parts of the phrase, "speaking in tongues," that it would mean "to say something in a language or languages." Moreover, the Bible confirms this definition, where, in Acts 2, we learn that what was called "to speak with other tongues" in verse 4 is defined by those who heard in verse 8 as "we hear, each in our own language in which we were born" and verse 11 as "we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." Thus we have established for us what "speaking in tongues" means…it means speaking in languages. The gift of tongues, therefore, was the gift of a language which beforehand I had not known how to speak. For example, if you suddenly knew Russian even though you'd never learned a word of it before that time, that would be the gift of speaking in tongues. Yet, the charismatics say that speaking unknown sounds that no one recognizes as a language can be speaking in tongues. I insist that this is not what the Bible says.
But many have made the argument I just made. Yet, the tongues speaker claims, "The Bible says we should speak in tongues. And, since there are no other tongues out there, this must be what it is talking about." And, indeed, they would have a point if that was indeed the case. For the Bible does say in Mark 16: 15-18, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover." Since this says these signs will follow those who believe, we have to arrive at one of four conclusions:
Anyone who does not have these signs follow them, including the author of this article, Billy Graham, Chuck Swindoll, and a multitude of others, is not truly a believer.
These signs are following all true believers, but some are living in disobedience and ignorance and have somehow managed to avoid manifesting them.
God is unfaithful to His promise and has not provided these signs as He said He would.
This commission has been fulfilled, and therefore this promise of God is no longer in effect. I think there is no need for me to refute the first and the third, as anyone who believed these would not have bothered to read this far in this article. But some might believe the second. I believe that the fourth is true. Some might find this unthinkable. Yet I am reminded of something Arthur Conan Doyle often had Sherlock Holmes say in his famous novels, "Once you have eliminated the impossible, what remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." And, though some might find this highly unlikely, and some might find it disturbing, I nevertheless believe it to be true. For we do not even have to leave Mark to find out whether or not the believers to whom Christ spoke this obeyed His command, and whether or not God remained faithful in helping them as He said He would. For in verse 20 we read, "And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen." Can it be that the believers to whom Christ spoke accomplished the task He gave them to "preach the gospel to every creature" BEFORE Mark even wrote these words in his gospel?
But some may argue that "preached everywhere" is not the same thing as "every creature." Well, that is true, but this is not the only passage that speaks to this effect. "By the mouth of two or three witnesses" we will establish this truth. Let us now look to the writings of Paul in Colossians 1:5-6, where we read, "because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth." So the gospel had come into all the world! But the most plain of all is Colossians 1:23, which settles the matter (and gives us our third witness) by saying, "if you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister." If anything could be more clear than the PAST TENSE "was preached to every creature under heaven" I would like to hear it. If any wish to argue that we need to preach to those in heaven as well, then I would invite them to try to do so. But otherwise, I think there can be no doubt that the commission of Mark 16 was fulfilled to the letter as far as God was concerned.
I have had some people get carried away when they have heard me say this and conclude that I do not support missionaries or preaching the gospel or trying to save the lost. Such concepts are not based just on this one passage, and I will come behind no man in saying that I am fully in support of reaching the lost of every land. But I will not try to base my belief on a commission that has been fulfilled already. If we must have a commission, then why not II Timothy 4:2, which reads, "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." That is what I am attempting to do with this message!
But now, if the commission of Mark 16 has been fulfilled, then where is the necessity of tongues today? God's promise was fulfilled and completed when Paul wrote Colossians and Mark wrote his gospel, and there is no more need for Him to fulfill that promise now than it is necessary for Him to again fulfill His promise to send Christ to die for our sins. No, once God has fulfilled a promise, it is fulfilled, and the promise of Mark is such a promise. So we see the argument of the charismatics dissolve, and the idea that what they are doing "must be" the speaking in tongues of the Scripture is shown to only be so much smoke based on a promise that was already fulfilled long ago.
But what is it that the tongues speakers are doing then? Why do so many sincere Christians believe in tongues if there is nothing to it?
God exhorted Timothy in II Timothy 1:13 to "Hold fast the form of sound words which you heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." One of the most dangerous tactics of the deceiver is to change in our minds the meaning of a specific Biblical word. Once he has done this, then every time we read a verse in our Bibles we think of the deception rather than the truth. This is what Satan has done with the phrase "speaking in tongues." It should be clear to anyone with an unbiased mind that the Bible means "saying something in a language" when it uses the phrase "speaking in tongues." Nevertheless, many have become deceived into thinking that it means, "saying something in words or sounds that no one understands." Because of this mental switch that Satan has pulled off in the minds of many, there are thousands of believers who every time they read their Bibles and come upon the phrase "speaking in tongues" are fully convinced that what they are doing is correct and fully supported by the Scriptures! But they are deceived, because the form of these sound words has left them, and they have substituted an untrue definition of these words in its place.
But let us examine another sound word to see what it is exactly that these tongues speakers are doing. In II Timothy 2:15, we read, "Be diligent to present yourself to approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Perhaps God knew that many would not understand that the commission of Mark had been fulfilled and would look for the accompanying signs in their own lives. For in the very next verse He states, "But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness." Here are three "sound words." Profane (bebelos) means worldly or wicked. Vain and babbling are one word in Greek (kenophonia), and mean empty soundings. What are empty sounds? They are sounds which have no meaning. A baby babbles. Someone who is so worked up he cannot speak articulately babbles. And these charismatics babble. We would have to admit that that is what they are doing if we would hold fast the form of these sound words and apply them to their actions. But the Spirit warns us here that this will increase to more ungodliness (asebeia), which means impiety. What kind of ungodliness? Perhaps taking other things that are false and claiming that they are the miracles and mighty acts of God! But the charismatics are already doing this with great zeal. And yet, if they would hold fast to the form of these sound words, they would see that not only does the Bible not condone what they are doing, it actually condemns it! But, alas, they have lost the meaning of the phrase "speaking in tongues," and thus they are deceived.
It is not my intention to condemn anyone. Nevertheless, I believe that it is necessary to point these things out from the Scripture. If you wish to believe in tongues, you may do so, of course. But are you really believing the form of sound words? Or are you believing a lie? Are you really looking for something God has promised for us today? Or are you asking God to return again to a work He has already completed? I pray that this message will help you see which of these is truly the case.
The main word for "speak" in Hebrew is dabar (daw-bar'), and literally means "to arrange." In the case of speaking it is used figuratively of arranging words in a logical order so as to express a thought. The main Greek word for "speak" is laleo (lal-eh'-o), and means to talk or to utter words. The word for "tongues" is glossa (gloce-sah'), and means literally the tongue, and by figure a language. Thus it would seem from the elemental parts of the phrase, "speaking in tongues," that it would mean "to say something in a language or languages." Moreover, the Bible confirms this definition, where, in Acts 2, we learn that what was called "to speak with other tongues" in verse 4 is defined by those who heard in verse 8 as "we hear, each in our own language in which we were born" and verse 11 as "we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." Thus we have established for us what "speaking in tongues" means…it means speaking in languages. The gift of tongues, therefore, was the gift of a language which beforehand I had not known how to speak. For example, if you suddenly knew Russian even though you'd never learned a word of it before that time, that would be the gift of speaking in tongues. Yet, the charismatics say that speaking unknown sounds that no one recognizes as a language can be speaking in tongues. I insist that this is not what the Bible says.
But many have made the argument I just made. Yet, the tongues speaker claims, "The Bible says we should speak in tongues. And, since there are no other tongues out there, this must be what it is talking about." And, indeed, they would have a point if that was indeed the case. For the Bible does say in Mark 16: 15-18, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover." Since this says these signs will follow those who believe, we have to arrive at one of four conclusions:
Anyone who does not have these signs follow them, including the author of this article, Billy Graham, Chuck Swindoll, and a multitude of others, is not truly a believer.
These signs are following all true believers, but some are living in disobedience and ignorance and have somehow managed to avoid manifesting them.
God is unfaithful to His promise and has not provided these signs as He said He would.
This commission has been fulfilled, and therefore this promise of God is no longer in effect. I think there is no need for me to refute the first and the third, as anyone who believed these would not have bothered to read this far in this article. But some might believe the second. I believe that the fourth is true. Some might find this unthinkable. Yet I am reminded of something Arthur Conan Doyle often had Sherlock Holmes say in his famous novels, "Once you have eliminated the impossible, what remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." And, though some might find this highly unlikely, and some might find it disturbing, I nevertheless believe it to be true. For we do not even have to leave Mark to find out whether or not the believers to whom Christ spoke this obeyed His command, and whether or not God remained faithful in helping them as He said He would. For in verse 20 we read, "And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen." Can it be that the believers to whom Christ spoke accomplished the task He gave them to "preach the gospel to every creature" BEFORE Mark even wrote these words in his gospel?
But some may argue that "preached everywhere" is not the same thing as "every creature." Well, that is true, but this is not the only passage that speaks to this effect. "By the mouth of two or three witnesses" we will establish this truth. Let us now look to the writings of Paul in Colossians 1:5-6, where we read, "because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth." So the gospel had come into all the world! But the most plain of all is Colossians 1:23, which settles the matter (and gives us our third witness) by saying, "if you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister." If anything could be more clear than the PAST TENSE "was preached to every creature under heaven" I would like to hear it. If any wish to argue that we need to preach to those in heaven as well, then I would invite them to try to do so. But otherwise, I think there can be no doubt that the commission of Mark 16 was fulfilled to the letter as far as God was concerned.
I have had some people get carried away when they have heard me say this and conclude that I do not support missionaries or preaching the gospel or trying to save the lost. Such concepts are not based just on this one passage, and I will come behind no man in saying that I am fully in support of reaching the lost of every land. But I will not try to base my belief on a commission that has been fulfilled already. If we must have a commission, then why not II Timothy 4:2, which reads, "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." That is what I am attempting to do with this message!
But now, if the commission of Mark 16 has been fulfilled, then where is the necessity of tongues today? God's promise was fulfilled and completed when Paul wrote Colossians and Mark wrote his gospel, and there is no more need for Him to fulfill that promise now than it is necessary for Him to again fulfill His promise to send Christ to die for our sins. No, once God has fulfilled a promise, it is fulfilled, and the promise of Mark is such a promise. So we see the argument of the charismatics dissolve, and the idea that what they are doing "must be" the speaking in tongues of the Scripture is shown to only be so much smoke based on a promise that was already fulfilled long ago.
But what is it that the tongues speakers are doing then? Why do so many sincere Christians believe in tongues if there is nothing to it?
God exhorted Timothy in II Timothy 1:13 to "Hold fast the form of sound words which you heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." One of the most dangerous tactics of the deceiver is to change in our minds the meaning of a specific Biblical word. Once he has done this, then every time we read a verse in our Bibles we think of the deception rather than the truth. This is what Satan has done with the phrase "speaking in tongues." It should be clear to anyone with an unbiased mind that the Bible means "saying something in a language" when it uses the phrase "speaking in tongues." Nevertheless, many have become deceived into thinking that it means, "saying something in words or sounds that no one understands." Because of this mental switch that Satan has pulled off in the minds of many, there are thousands of believers who every time they read their Bibles and come upon the phrase "speaking in tongues" are fully convinced that what they are doing is correct and fully supported by the Scriptures! But they are deceived, because the form of these sound words has left them, and they have substituted an untrue definition of these words in its place.
But let us examine another sound word to see what it is exactly that these tongues speakers are doing. In II Timothy 2:15, we read, "Be diligent to present yourself to approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Perhaps God knew that many would not understand that the commission of Mark had been fulfilled and would look for the accompanying signs in their own lives. For in the very next verse He states, "But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness." Here are three "sound words." Profane (bebelos) means worldly or wicked. Vain and babbling are one word in Greek (kenophonia), and mean empty soundings. What are empty sounds? They are sounds which have no meaning. A baby babbles. Someone who is so worked up he cannot speak articulately babbles. And these charismatics babble. We would have to admit that that is what they are doing if we would hold fast the form of these sound words and apply them to their actions. But the Spirit warns us here that this will increase to more ungodliness (asebeia), which means impiety. What kind of ungodliness? Perhaps taking other things that are false and claiming that they are the miracles and mighty acts of God! But the charismatics are already doing this with great zeal. And yet, if they would hold fast to the form of these sound words, they would see that not only does the Bible not condone what they are doing, it actually condemns it! But, alas, they have lost the meaning of the phrase "speaking in tongues," and thus they are deceived.
It is not my intention to condemn anyone. Nevertheless, I believe that it is necessary to point these things out from the Scripture. If you wish to believe in tongues, you may do so, of course. But are you really believing the form of sound words? Or are you believing a lie? Are you really looking for something God has promised for us today? Or are you asking God to return again to a work He has already completed? I pray that this message will help you see which of these is truly the case.
Piercing the Soul By Phil Johnson
As we saw in yesterday’s post, the first characteristic of the Word of God is that it is powerful. Here’s characteristic number 2:
2. The Word of God is penetrating.
Notice how vividly the writer of Hebrews portrays this idea: “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow.”
The Word is like a sword—”a two-edged sword.” It has no blunt side. It cuts no matter which way you swing it. Not only that, but it also has a penetrating point. It is “piercing.” You can swing it like a saber or thrust with it like a rapier. You don’t have to be highly skilled to use it with effect. In the hands of an amateur, it will still work. And there’s nothing so hard or so deeply concealed that it can’t penetrate.
In fact, look at the verse again: the Word of God is “sharper than any twoedged sword.” No human instrument or worldly technique or psychological therapy is more effective than the Word of God to penetrate the human heart. It lays bare the true thoughts and intents of every heart.
I had a friend in college who was describing his efforts to evangelize a fellow student. My friend was convinced—quite incorrectly—that stealth evangelism is the best way to win people to Christ. So he was trying to be a subtle as possible and as delicate and indirect as possible while waiting for an opening to tell this non-Christian student about Christ.
He kept telling me about conversations he had with this guy, and how he was looking for some kind of “opening” to work the gospel in. This went on for months. And it seemed to me that he had already wasted several good “openings,” but he just lacked the boldness to bring up the subject of Christ. It seemed to me that he was waiting for the guy to be like the Philippian jailer and ask, “Sir, what must I do to be saved?” And I could see it wasn’t going to happen. So I said, “Why don’t you just bring up the subject, and tell him in the plainest possible language what the Bible says about Christ?”
And he said, “I just don’t think he’s really open yet.”
But you know what? We don’t have to be “open” for the Word of God to penetrate. It is “sharper than any two-edged sword,” and quite capable of opening even the hardest heart.
We need to have more confidence in the ability of the Word of God to penetrate people’s hearts. This is one of the real deficiencies in this generation of evangelicals. We don’t have enough faith in the power of God’s Word to penetrate a hardened heart. And so some Christians—and even lots of churches—actually back away from proclaiming the simple Word of God to unbelievers in plain language. They think it’s necessary to have music and drama and other forms of entertainment to soften people up and prepare them to receive the Word. And in many cases they never do get around to declaring the Word of God with any kind of boldness.
You hear people today talking about “pre-evangelism.” I don’t know what that is supposed to mean, but usually it refers to some activity or technique that entertains people and tries to make them friendly to Christianity while carefully avoiding the risk of confronting them with the truth of Scripture—as if something besides the Word of God might be more effective than Scripture at penetrating their hearts. That is sheer folly, and it is a waste of time. Nothing is more penetrating and more effective in reaching sin-hardened hearts than the pure and unadulterated Word of God. All our human techniques and ingenuity are like dull plastic butter knives compared to the Word of God, which is “sharper than any two-edged sword.”
There’s a story in the biography of George Whitefield about a man named Thorpe, who was a bitter opponent of everything that is holy. He and a group of his friends—all of them young, rebellious thugs—conspired together to mock and oppose George Whitefield’s evangelistic ministry while Whitefield was preaching in Bristol, England.
George Whitefield had severely crossed eyes, if you have ever seen a realistic likeness of him. And these guys used to refer to him as “Dr. Squintum.” They called their little gang “The Hell-Fire Club,” and they disrupted meetings, mocked Whitefield on the streets and in public places, and generally tried to make his ministry a reproach in their community. Whitefield’s preaching had already made a deep and lasting impact in Bristol, and these young ruffians hated him for it. So this guy Thorpe got one of Whitefield’s published sermons and took it to the local pub, where the “Hell-Fire Club” was gathered to drink together while they make a burlesque of Whitefield.
Thorpe was apparently pretty good at doing impressions, and he had all Whitefield’s mannerisms and gestures down pat. So he stood in the center of this pub and crossed his eyes and began to deliver a derisive rendition of Whitefield’s sermon. But in the middle of the sermon, the Word of God pierced his heart, and he suddenly stopped and sat down, trembling and broken-hearted. Right then and there, he confessed the truth of the gospel and gave his heart to Christ. His aim was to taunt and ridicule, but he accidentally converted himself! Or rather, the power of the Word of God penetrated his soul and cut him to the heart. He became a preacher himself and quite an effective evangelist, because he knew so well the power of the Word of God to penetrate hardened hearts.
Notice that the Word of God pierces to the very depths, “even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” It probes to the deepest recesses of the heart, no matter how hardened or how closed the heart might be. In fact, only Scripture can do that.
Notice how militant this language is. It sounds like the language of armed conflict—swords and cutting, and dividing asunder of the joints and marrow. It’s vivid, destructive-sounding language—the language of warfare and devastation. And it is true that sometimes the Word of God pierces hearts as a judgment, without remedy and without any healing.
But I don’t think that’s primarily what the writer of Hebrews has in mind. In this context, he is urging his readers to examine themselves, lest they fall away from Christ before they have truly embraced Him with saving faith. He is warning them that it is possible to come close to Christ and yet fall away without entering into His rest—the rest that comes with redemption and the forgiveness of sins.
Verse 11: “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” And our verse comes immediately after that admonition: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” He wants them to allow the Word of God to cut through their pretensions and their false professions and reveal the true thoughts and intents of their hearts.
And this is a reminder that there’s a painful process involved in regeneration. In Ezekiel 11:19, the Lord describes what is involved in this process, “I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:” Spiritual open-heart surgery.
This is the very thing that was pictured in the act of circumcision. According to Deuteronomy 10:16, it pictured the cutting away of the foreskin of the heart. Jeremiah 4:4 speaks of it too: “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart.” That’s why the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 2:28–29, “he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit.”
That’s the very imagery our verse in Hebrews 4 calls to mind. It’s the cutting away of that which defiles. Circumcision of the heart. The Word of God is the instrument that makes this possible.
Painful cutting is often the necessary prerequisite for true and thorough healing. That’s what surgery is all about. And that is precisely the ministry the Word of God has in the lives of those who genuinely know Christ. If you have never experienced that painful piercing of the two-edged sword, then you ought to examine yourself to see whether you are really in the faith. Because you cannot possibly know Christ in a true and saving way unless the Word of God has rebuked your sin and cut into your fallen heart and convicted and convinced you of your own desperate need of cleansing and spiritual heart surgery to deal with your sin.
And that, I believe, is the very thing the writer of Hebrews is speaking about here. It’s a wholly beneficial thing. Although the Word of God is like a sword that cuts deeply and penetrates to the very depths, it is a necessary and beneficial incision that ultimately is designed for our own good. And for those who submit to the Word of God rather than resisting it, the cutting and probing of the two-edged sword always results in salvation, rather than destruction.
2. The Word of God is penetrating.
Notice how vividly the writer of Hebrews portrays this idea: “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow.”
The Word is like a sword—”a two-edged sword.” It has no blunt side. It cuts no matter which way you swing it. Not only that, but it also has a penetrating point. It is “piercing.” You can swing it like a saber or thrust with it like a rapier. You don’t have to be highly skilled to use it with effect. In the hands of an amateur, it will still work. And there’s nothing so hard or so deeply concealed that it can’t penetrate.
In fact, look at the verse again: the Word of God is “sharper than any twoedged sword.” No human instrument or worldly technique or psychological therapy is more effective than the Word of God to penetrate the human heart. It lays bare the true thoughts and intents of every heart.
I had a friend in college who was describing his efforts to evangelize a fellow student. My friend was convinced—quite incorrectly—that stealth evangelism is the best way to win people to Christ. So he was trying to be a subtle as possible and as delicate and indirect as possible while waiting for an opening to tell this non-Christian student about Christ.
He kept telling me about conversations he had with this guy, and how he was looking for some kind of “opening” to work the gospel in. This went on for months. And it seemed to me that he had already wasted several good “openings,” but he just lacked the boldness to bring up the subject of Christ. It seemed to me that he was waiting for the guy to be like the Philippian jailer and ask, “Sir, what must I do to be saved?” And I could see it wasn’t going to happen. So I said, “Why don’t you just bring up the subject, and tell him in the plainest possible language what the Bible says about Christ?”
And he said, “I just don’t think he’s really open yet.”
But you know what? We don’t have to be “open” for the Word of God to penetrate. It is “sharper than any two-edged sword,” and quite capable of opening even the hardest heart.
We need to have more confidence in the ability of the Word of God to penetrate people’s hearts. This is one of the real deficiencies in this generation of evangelicals. We don’t have enough faith in the power of God’s Word to penetrate a hardened heart. And so some Christians—and even lots of churches—actually back away from proclaiming the simple Word of God to unbelievers in plain language. They think it’s necessary to have music and drama and other forms of entertainment to soften people up and prepare them to receive the Word. And in many cases they never do get around to declaring the Word of God with any kind of boldness.
You hear people today talking about “pre-evangelism.” I don’t know what that is supposed to mean, but usually it refers to some activity or technique that entertains people and tries to make them friendly to Christianity while carefully avoiding the risk of confronting them with the truth of Scripture—as if something besides the Word of God might be more effective than Scripture at penetrating their hearts. That is sheer folly, and it is a waste of time. Nothing is more penetrating and more effective in reaching sin-hardened hearts than the pure and unadulterated Word of God. All our human techniques and ingenuity are like dull plastic butter knives compared to the Word of God, which is “sharper than any two-edged sword.”
There’s a story in the biography of George Whitefield about a man named Thorpe, who was a bitter opponent of everything that is holy. He and a group of his friends—all of them young, rebellious thugs—conspired together to mock and oppose George Whitefield’s evangelistic ministry while Whitefield was preaching in Bristol, England.
George Whitefield had severely crossed eyes, if you have ever seen a realistic likeness of him. And these guys used to refer to him as “Dr. Squintum.” They called their little gang “The Hell-Fire Club,” and they disrupted meetings, mocked Whitefield on the streets and in public places, and generally tried to make his ministry a reproach in their community. Whitefield’s preaching had already made a deep and lasting impact in Bristol, and these young ruffians hated him for it. So this guy Thorpe got one of Whitefield’s published sermons and took it to the local pub, where the “Hell-Fire Club” was gathered to drink together while they make a burlesque of Whitefield.
Thorpe was apparently pretty good at doing impressions, and he had all Whitefield’s mannerisms and gestures down pat. So he stood in the center of this pub and crossed his eyes and began to deliver a derisive rendition of Whitefield’s sermon. But in the middle of the sermon, the Word of God pierced his heart, and he suddenly stopped and sat down, trembling and broken-hearted. Right then and there, he confessed the truth of the gospel and gave his heart to Christ. His aim was to taunt and ridicule, but he accidentally converted himself! Or rather, the power of the Word of God penetrated his soul and cut him to the heart. He became a preacher himself and quite an effective evangelist, because he knew so well the power of the Word of God to penetrate hardened hearts.
Notice that the Word of God pierces to the very depths, “even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” It probes to the deepest recesses of the heart, no matter how hardened or how closed the heart might be. In fact, only Scripture can do that.
Notice how militant this language is. It sounds like the language of armed conflict—swords and cutting, and dividing asunder of the joints and marrow. It’s vivid, destructive-sounding language—the language of warfare and devastation. And it is true that sometimes the Word of God pierces hearts as a judgment, without remedy and without any healing.
But I don’t think that’s primarily what the writer of Hebrews has in mind. In this context, he is urging his readers to examine themselves, lest they fall away from Christ before they have truly embraced Him with saving faith. He is warning them that it is possible to come close to Christ and yet fall away without entering into His rest—the rest that comes with redemption and the forgiveness of sins.
Verse 11: “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” And our verse comes immediately after that admonition: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” He wants them to allow the Word of God to cut through their pretensions and their false professions and reveal the true thoughts and intents of their hearts.
And this is a reminder that there’s a painful process involved in regeneration. In Ezekiel 11:19, the Lord describes what is involved in this process, “I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:” Spiritual open-heart surgery.
This is the very thing that was pictured in the act of circumcision. According to Deuteronomy 10:16, it pictured the cutting away of the foreskin of the heart. Jeremiah 4:4 speaks of it too: “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart.” That’s why the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 2:28–29, “he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit.”
That’s the very imagery our verse in Hebrews 4 calls to mind. It’s the cutting away of that which defiles. Circumcision of the heart. The Word of God is the instrument that makes this possible.
Painful cutting is often the necessary prerequisite for true and thorough healing. That’s what surgery is all about. And that is precisely the ministry the Word of God has in the lives of those who genuinely know Christ. If you have never experienced that painful piercing of the two-edged sword, then you ought to examine yourself to see whether you are really in the faith. Because you cannot possibly know Christ in a true and saving way unless the Word of God has rebuked your sin and cut into your fallen heart and convicted and convinced you of your own desperate need of cleansing and spiritual heart surgery to deal with your sin.
And that, I believe, is the very thing the writer of Hebrews is speaking about here. It’s a wholly beneficial thing. Although the Word of God is like a sword that cuts deeply and penetrates to the very depths, it is a necessary and beneficial incision that ultimately is designed for our own good. And for those who submit to the Word of God rather than resisting it, the cutting and probing of the two-edged sword always results in salvation, rather than destruction.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Better Than Any Fad By Phil Johnson
This is continued from last Tuesday’s series on the ”fad-driven” church.
We left off, in the last post with this thought:
Scripture is better than any fad. Preaching the Word of God is more effective than any new methodology contemporary church experts have ever invented. I don’t care who thinks preaching is “broken.” If we would get back to the clear proclamation and exposition of God’s Word, everything that’s broken about contemporary preaching would be fixed.
The nature of God’s Word guarantees that. And that’s exactly what I want to do in the time we have remaining in this session. I want to preach to you about the superiority and the excellence of Scripture.
Hebrews 4:12 says, “The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
That’s a rich text, full of meaning, but let me take a few minutes to try to isolate what seem to me the three main qualities of the Word of God that are highlighted in this text, and let’s carefully consider what they mean.
First of all, it teaches us that—
1. The Word of God is powerful.
The King James Version says, “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” Quick, of course, is the old English word for “living.” I was surprised in reading John Owen’s commentary on Hebrews that even though he wrote in the 1600s, he had to explain the word quick to his readers. He referred to the word quick as an improper translation, because, he said, “that word doth more ordinarily signify ‘speedy,’ than ‘living.’” So I don’t know when the word quick stopped meaning “alive,” but it was apparently before John Owen’s time.
I grew up in a church where we used to recite the traditional version of the Apostles’ Creed, which says, Christ “ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.” And that made perfect sense to me. I figured “the quick” were those who made it through the crosswalk, and “the dead” were those who didn’t.
But, of course, quick in this kind of context just means “alive” or “living,” and that is what this text is saying. “The Word of God is living.” That’s the correct sense. It speaks of vitality, life, activity, energy. The Word of God has a life-force that is unlike any merely human book. It is not only alive; it has the power to impart life to those who are spiritually dead. Jesus said in John 6:63: “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” First Peter 1:23: “[We are] born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” James 1:18: “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth.” Psalm 119:50: “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.” “Your word has given me life.”
You can take all the great books and all the great literature in the world combined, and they do not have this life-giving power. No book changes lives like the Word of God. You might occasionally hear a person say, “that self-help book transformed my life”; or “that diet book was revolutionary”; or “that book on philosophy changed the way I think.” Rick Warren makes a promise in the introduction to The Purpose Driven Life that his book will change your life.
But the life-giving and life-changing power of the Bible is something far deeper than any other book can legitimately claim. The Word of God renews the heart by giving spiritual life to the spiritually dead. It changes our character at an essential, fundamental level. It transforms our desires and impacts us at a moral level no human literature can touch. It brings a kind of cleansing and renewal and sanctification that no other book could ever claim to offer. It resurrects the soul. It has the same creative power in the command of God when He said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.”
The Word of God is inherently powerful. It has a kind of life and vitality that is unlike merely human words. Proverbs 6:22–23 says this about the Word of God: “When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” And a familiar passage, 2 Timothy 3:16–17 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
No other book has that effect. It rebukes us. It chastens us. It comforts us. It guides us and gives light to our path. It preaches to us. It restrains our foot from evil. It frowns on us when we sin. It warms our hearts with assurance. It encourages us with its promises. It stimulates our faith. It builds us up. It ministers to our every need. It is alive and dynamic.
And the vitality of Scripture is eternal and abiding. In John 6:68, Simon Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” The eternality of divine life is perfectly embodied in the Word of God. Again, Jesus said (Mark 13:31), “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” Isaiah 40:8: “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Psalm 119:89: “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” First Peter 1:25: “But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
Every page of the Bible has a life-changing power that is just as fresh as the day it was written. We don’t have to make it come alive; it is both alive and active. It is always relevant, eternally applicable, speaking to the heart with a power that is unlike even the greatest of human works. The thoughts and opinions of men come and go. They fall from fashion and fade from memory. But the Word of God remains “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.”
And what is true of the whole is true of the parts. Every part of Scripture is alive and powerful. Proverbs 30:5: “Every word of God is pure.” Jesus said “Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” gives life and sustenance. That’s why Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”
I’m always amazed at the passages of Scripture that have been instrumental in bringing people to Christ. I’ve told you before how I came to saving faith in Christ by reading 1 Corinthians as a senior in high school. The passage that drew me to Christ is not one you would necessarily think of as an evangelistic text. First Corinthians 3:18: “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.” But it rebuked my sin and turned me to Christ.
I have heard people tell how they were awakened to eternal life by verses from the gospels, the epistles, the psalms, and even some of the obscure parts of the Old Testament. I doubt there’s a page anywhere in Scripture that has not at some time or some place been used by the Spirit of God to convert a soul. None of it is superfluous. Second Timothy 3:16 again: “All scripture is . . . profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
My friend Joe Aleppo, who is here this week, introduced me to a man in Sicily who came to Christ during a severe paper shortage after World War II because of a single page of Scripture from a Bible someone had thrown away. Paper was almost impossible to come by, so merchants used old newspapers and other scrap paper to wrap whatever they sold in the marketplace. This man went to the fish market and bought a fish. When he unwrapped it at home, one of the papers used to make the package was a page from a discarded New Testament. He read it, and this man who had been a lifelong Roman Catholic and had never before read a verse of the Bible for himself became a believer. That man’s conversion was the beginning of the first significant Protestant movement on the island of Sicily.
The Word of God is powerful. The Greek word translated “powerful” in Hebrews 4:12 is energes, which is the source of our English word “energetic.” It’s translated “active” in some versions, and that’s a good translation. It speaks of something that is dynamic, operative, and effectual. The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 2:13): “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”
The Word of God always works effectually. It always accomplishes its intended purpose. In Isaiah 55:11, God says, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
Sometimes God’s purpose is rebuke and correction; sometimes it is instruction and edification. Sometimes it is blessing; sometimes it is judgment. The gospel is “the savour of death unto death” for some; for others, it is “the savour of life unto life.” Either way, the Word of God is effectual, productive, powerful. It always produces the effect God intends.
That’s why preachers ought to preach the Word instead of telling stories and doing comedy. That’s where the power for ministry resides: in the Word. It’s not in our cleverness or our oratorical skills. The power is in the Word of God. And our task is simple: all we have to do is make the Bible’s meaning plain, proclaim it with accuracy and clarity. And the Spirit of God uses His Word to transform lives. The power is in the Word, not in any technique or program.
(To be continued tomorrow)
Scripture is better than any fad. Preaching the Word of God is more effective than any new methodology contemporary church experts have ever invented. I don’t care who thinks preaching is “broken.” If we would get back to the clear proclamation and exposition of God’s Word, everything that’s broken about contemporary preaching would be fixed.
The nature of God’s Word guarantees that. And that’s exactly what I want to do in the time we have remaining in this session. I want to preach to you about the superiority and the excellence of Scripture.
Hebrews 4:12 says, “The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
That’s a rich text, full of meaning, but let me take a few minutes to try to isolate what seem to me the three main qualities of the Word of God that are highlighted in this text, and let’s carefully consider what they mean.
First of all, it teaches us that—
1. The Word of God is powerful.
The King James Version says, “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” Quick, of course, is the old English word for “living.” I was surprised in reading John Owen’s commentary on Hebrews that even though he wrote in the 1600s, he had to explain the word quick to his readers. He referred to the word quick as an improper translation, because, he said, “that word doth more ordinarily signify ‘speedy,’ than ‘living.’” So I don’t know when the word quick stopped meaning “alive,” but it was apparently before John Owen’s time.
I grew up in a church where we used to recite the traditional version of the Apostles’ Creed, which says, Christ “ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.” And that made perfect sense to me. I figured “the quick” were those who made it through the crosswalk, and “the dead” were those who didn’t.
But, of course, quick in this kind of context just means “alive” or “living,” and that is what this text is saying. “The Word of God is living.” That’s the correct sense. It speaks of vitality, life, activity, energy. The Word of God has a life-force that is unlike any merely human book. It is not only alive; it has the power to impart life to those who are spiritually dead. Jesus said in John 6:63: “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” First Peter 1:23: “[We are] born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” James 1:18: “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth.” Psalm 119:50: “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.” “Your word has given me life.”
You can take all the great books and all the great literature in the world combined, and they do not have this life-giving power. No book changes lives like the Word of God. You might occasionally hear a person say, “that self-help book transformed my life”; or “that diet book was revolutionary”; or “that book on philosophy changed the way I think.” Rick Warren makes a promise in the introduction to The Purpose Driven Life that his book will change your life.
But the life-giving and life-changing power of the Bible is something far deeper than any other book can legitimately claim. The Word of God renews the heart by giving spiritual life to the spiritually dead. It changes our character at an essential, fundamental level. It transforms our desires and impacts us at a moral level no human literature can touch. It brings a kind of cleansing and renewal and sanctification that no other book could ever claim to offer. It resurrects the soul. It has the same creative power in the command of God when He said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.”
The Word of God is inherently powerful. It has a kind of life and vitality that is unlike merely human words. Proverbs 6:22–23 says this about the Word of God: “When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” And a familiar passage, 2 Timothy 3:16–17 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
No other book has that effect. It rebukes us. It chastens us. It comforts us. It guides us and gives light to our path. It preaches to us. It restrains our foot from evil. It frowns on us when we sin. It warms our hearts with assurance. It encourages us with its promises. It stimulates our faith. It builds us up. It ministers to our every need. It is alive and dynamic.
And the vitality of Scripture is eternal and abiding. In John 6:68, Simon Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” The eternality of divine life is perfectly embodied in the Word of God. Again, Jesus said (Mark 13:31), “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” Isaiah 40:8: “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Psalm 119:89: “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” First Peter 1:25: “But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
Every page of the Bible has a life-changing power that is just as fresh as the day it was written. We don’t have to make it come alive; it is both alive and active. It is always relevant, eternally applicable, speaking to the heart with a power that is unlike even the greatest of human works. The thoughts and opinions of men come and go. They fall from fashion and fade from memory. But the Word of God remains “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.”
And what is true of the whole is true of the parts. Every part of Scripture is alive and powerful. Proverbs 30:5: “Every word of God is pure.” Jesus said “Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” gives life and sustenance. That’s why Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”
I’m always amazed at the passages of Scripture that have been instrumental in bringing people to Christ. I’ve told you before how I came to saving faith in Christ by reading 1 Corinthians as a senior in high school. The passage that drew me to Christ is not one you would necessarily think of as an evangelistic text. First Corinthians 3:18: “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.” But it rebuked my sin and turned me to Christ.
I have heard people tell how they were awakened to eternal life by verses from the gospels, the epistles, the psalms, and even some of the obscure parts of the Old Testament. I doubt there’s a page anywhere in Scripture that has not at some time or some place been used by the Spirit of God to convert a soul. None of it is superfluous. Second Timothy 3:16 again: “All scripture is . . . profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
My friend Joe Aleppo, who is here this week, introduced me to a man in Sicily who came to Christ during a severe paper shortage after World War II because of a single page of Scripture from a Bible someone had thrown away. Paper was almost impossible to come by, so merchants used old newspapers and other scrap paper to wrap whatever they sold in the marketplace. This man went to the fish market and bought a fish. When he unwrapped it at home, one of the papers used to make the package was a page from a discarded New Testament. He read it, and this man who had been a lifelong Roman Catholic and had never before read a verse of the Bible for himself became a believer. That man’s conversion was the beginning of the first significant Protestant movement on the island of Sicily.
The Word of God is powerful. The Greek word translated “powerful” in Hebrews 4:12 is energes, which is the source of our English word “energetic.” It’s translated “active” in some versions, and that’s a good translation. It speaks of something that is dynamic, operative, and effectual. The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 2:13): “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”
The Word of God always works effectually. It always accomplishes its intended purpose. In Isaiah 55:11, God says, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
Sometimes God’s purpose is rebuke and correction; sometimes it is instruction and edification. Sometimes it is blessing; sometimes it is judgment. The gospel is “the savour of death unto death” for some; for others, it is “the savour of life unto life.” Either way, the Word of God is effectual, productive, powerful. It always produces the effect God intends.
That’s why preachers ought to preach the Word instead of telling stories and doing comedy. That’s where the power for ministry resides: in the Word. It’s not in our cleverness or our oratorical skills. The power is in the Word of God. And our task is simple: all we have to do is make the Bible’s meaning plain, proclaim it with accuracy and clarity. And the Spirit of God uses His Word to transform lives. The power is in the Word, not in any technique or program.
(To be continued tomorrow)
Sunday, November 25, 2007
The Heidelberg Catechism, This Lord's Day week 47
Q122: What is the first petition?
A122: Hallowed be Thy name; that is, grant us, first, rightly to know Thee, and to hallow, magnify and praise Thee,[1] in all Thy works, in which Thy power, goodness, justice, mercy and truth shine forth;[2] and further, that we so order our whole life, our thoughts, words and deeds, that Thy name may not be blasphemed, but honored and praised on our account.[3]
1. John 17:3; Matt. 16:17; James 1:5; Psa. 119:1052. Psa. 119:137; Rom. 11:33-363. Psa. 71:8, 16; 92:1-2; 100:3-4; Eph. 1:16-17
A122: Hallowed be Thy name; that is, grant us, first, rightly to know Thee, and to hallow, magnify and praise Thee,[1] in all Thy works, in which Thy power, goodness, justice, mercy and truth shine forth;[2] and further, that we so order our whole life, our thoughts, words and deeds, that Thy name may not be blasphemed, but honored and praised on our account.[3]
1. John 17:3; Matt. 16:17; James 1:5; Psa. 119:1052. Psa. 119:137; Rom. 11:33-363. Psa. 71:8, 16; 92:1-2; 100:3-4; Eph. 1:16-17
Questions 11-12 from the Westminster Shorter Catechism. For your Family Devotion today.
Q11: What are God's works of providence?
A11: God's works of providence are, his most holy,[1] wise,[2] and powerful preserving [3] and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.[4]
1. Psa. 145:172. Isa. 28:293. Heb. 1:34. Psa. 103:19; Matt. 10:29
Q12: What special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein he was created?
A12: When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience;[1] forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death.[2]
1. Gal. 3:122. Gen. 2:17
A11: God's works of providence are, his most holy,[1] wise,[2] and powerful preserving [3] and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.[4]
1. Psa. 145:172. Isa. 28:293. Heb. 1:34. Psa. 103:19; Matt. 10:29
Q12: What special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein he was created?
A12: When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience;[1] forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death.[2]
1. Gal. 3:122. Gen. 2:17
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Lay Up Treasures in Heaven By Mike Ratliff
As the season for buying gifts, gifts, and yes more gifts is here. It would do every True Christian good to stop and read this post. In fact print it out and re- read it. Great job Mike thanks for your hard work. Rev. C.J. Paul
“Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” (Proverbs 23:3-5 KJV)
The god of the natural man is self. Worship of self revolves around self-gratification. This idolatry is enhanced in a consumer driven economy such as in the United States. Today is Thanksgiving Day and tomorrow is called Black Friday because it is supposed to be the heaviest shopping day of the year as people hit the stores to buy Christmas gifts at supposedly lower prices. The day is called Black Friday because it is traditional that most retailer’s ledgers and balance sheets get into the black for the first time in the year. As a result we are inundated with sale papers and ads on TV about sales that begin before the Sun comes up.
This consumerism is the fruit of an economic system that is designed to manipulate people into buying things that they would not ordinarily buy. Christmas has become a commercial holiday that is all about buying gifts and spending money. The holiday was supposed to celebrate the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, however, that meaning has been relegated to the back burner or lost in the shuffle. Now, it is all about buying gifts and receiving gifts. To the retailer, it is a time for making money. No matter from what angle we approach Christmas, it seems that it is all about greed. God’s people are called to be different. Their focus should not be on self at all, but on serving their Lord in obedience and love.
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-22 KJV)
When we look to what we possess as our “treasure” then that will be where our hearts are directed. Jesus tells us in this passage to not do this. As we saw in the passage from Proverbs at the top of this post, riches or possessions do not last. They are temporal and cannot be depended upon. However, the admonition from our Lord is to not place our hope in them or our trust. Instead, He tells us to lay up treasure in Heaven. This treasure is eternal, not temporal. Jesus tells us that if we place our hope in Him as our treasure then our hearts will be there instead of here. When that is the case, we will not be enslaved to self-gratification. Who does this? How can we do this? We must become Spirit-filled so that we will be guided and controlled by the Holy Spirit. When we do this, we will not be focused on how much wealth we have on earth, but we will be looking to follow our Lord as we carry our crosses in self-denial.
“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:22-24 KJV)
This statement by our Lord is an argument from the lesser to the greater. His analogy is very simple. If one’s eye is bad, no light can come in. This leaves him or her in darkness. This is speaking of external perception. However, it is much worse if there is internal corruption within one’s nature. From this corruption, darkness actually emanates from within. This affects that person’s whole being. If a person is in love with money and/or possessions then he or she is driven by self-gratification and is in darkness. Only the Spirit-filled believer is in the light. Only the Spirit-filled believer is genuinely humble. Only the Spirit-filled believer denies and dies to self as he or she follows their Lord in obedience. The self-oriented person is in darkness and serves mammon while the Spirit-filled believer serves God. Mammon refers to earthly, material treasures.
There is nothing wrong with having a job that pays a salary. There is nothing wrong with owning a business. Money is not evil. It is the love of money and things that is the root of all sorts of evil. Why? If our motive is to accumulate or get for self-gratification then we will also do things in an attempt to get more and not lose any in a way that is not ethical or what Christians should be doing. If God blesses us with earnings or gifts or things then we must hold them lightly and focus on Him and His will in how we manage those things.
Let us lay up our treasure in Heaven, not here on earth. If we do that, then our heart will be there. Our motives will be God’s glory, not mammon. This life is short and we have only one time through it to get it right. We must repent of our greed and self-focus and ask that God give us a heart that is filled with His Spirit as we obey Him as He leads and guides. All for His glory!
“Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” (Proverbs 23:3-5 KJV)
The god of the natural man is self. Worship of self revolves around self-gratification. This idolatry is enhanced in a consumer driven economy such as in the United States. Today is Thanksgiving Day and tomorrow is called Black Friday because it is supposed to be the heaviest shopping day of the year as people hit the stores to buy Christmas gifts at supposedly lower prices. The day is called Black Friday because it is traditional that most retailer’s ledgers and balance sheets get into the black for the first time in the year. As a result we are inundated with sale papers and ads on TV about sales that begin before the Sun comes up.
This consumerism is the fruit of an economic system that is designed to manipulate people into buying things that they would not ordinarily buy. Christmas has become a commercial holiday that is all about buying gifts and spending money. The holiday was supposed to celebrate the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, however, that meaning has been relegated to the back burner or lost in the shuffle. Now, it is all about buying gifts and receiving gifts. To the retailer, it is a time for making money. No matter from what angle we approach Christmas, it seems that it is all about greed. God’s people are called to be different. Their focus should not be on self at all, but on serving their Lord in obedience and love.
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-22 KJV)
When we look to what we possess as our “treasure” then that will be where our hearts are directed. Jesus tells us in this passage to not do this. As we saw in the passage from Proverbs at the top of this post, riches or possessions do not last. They are temporal and cannot be depended upon. However, the admonition from our Lord is to not place our hope in them or our trust. Instead, He tells us to lay up treasure in Heaven. This treasure is eternal, not temporal. Jesus tells us that if we place our hope in Him as our treasure then our hearts will be there instead of here. When that is the case, we will not be enslaved to self-gratification. Who does this? How can we do this? We must become Spirit-filled so that we will be guided and controlled by the Holy Spirit. When we do this, we will not be focused on how much wealth we have on earth, but we will be looking to follow our Lord as we carry our crosses in self-denial.
“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:22-24 KJV)
This statement by our Lord is an argument from the lesser to the greater. His analogy is very simple. If one’s eye is bad, no light can come in. This leaves him or her in darkness. This is speaking of external perception. However, it is much worse if there is internal corruption within one’s nature. From this corruption, darkness actually emanates from within. This affects that person’s whole being. If a person is in love with money and/or possessions then he or she is driven by self-gratification and is in darkness. Only the Spirit-filled believer is in the light. Only the Spirit-filled believer is genuinely humble. Only the Spirit-filled believer denies and dies to self as he or she follows their Lord in obedience. The self-oriented person is in darkness and serves mammon while the Spirit-filled believer serves God. Mammon refers to earthly, material treasures.
There is nothing wrong with having a job that pays a salary. There is nothing wrong with owning a business. Money is not evil. It is the love of money and things that is the root of all sorts of evil. Why? If our motive is to accumulate or get for self-gratification then we will also do things in an attempt to get more and not lose any in a way that is not ethical or what Christians should be doing. If God blesses us with earnings or gifts or things then we must hold them lightly and focus on Him and His will in how we manage those things.
Let us lay up our treasure in Heaven, not here on earth. If we do that, then our heart will be there. Our motives will be God’s glory, not mammon. This life is short and we have only one time through it to get it right. We must repent of our greed and self-focus and ask that God give us a heart that is filled with His Spirit as we obey Him as He leads and guides. All for His glory!
Deeds NOT Creeds??
Rick Warren has been traveling the world for the past few years calling for a second reformation of deeds not creeds.
Please watch the video below regarding the proper place of creeds and then compare it to Saddleback Church's statement of belief. It will be very eye-opening for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3RKoY4h1zc&eurl=http://www.truthwarcentral.com/2007/11/deeds-not-creed.html
Please watch the video below regarding the proper place of creeds and then compare it to Saddleback Church's statement of belief. It will be very eye-opening for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3RKoY4h1zc&eurl=http://www.truthwarcentral.com/2007/11/deeds-not-creed.html
Christianity & Liberalism
The saying is true, "History never repeats itself but it rhymes". Today we are again locked in a critical battle and what is at stake is the very message of the gospel and by extension the souls of men. Eighty-four years ago J. Gresham Machen found himself locked in a battle that is very similar to the one we find ourselves in today. The forces arrayed against God's word and the gospel were the theological Liberals. Today we are contending for the faith against the same errors introduced by the Liberals. But these errors and heresies have morphed, like a deadly virus, into the Emergent Church movement as well as popular manifestations of the Mega-Church Movement. Therefore, it is important that we go back to the beginning of Liberalism and acquaint ourselves with the battles that were fought nearly a century ago. In so doing, we will be better prepared and equiped to fight that battles that lay ahead.
the people at extreme theology have created an electronic book version of Machen's seminal work entitled "Christianity & Liberalism". This book is free for the download. But, if you would like to support this work then you can do so by clicking here.
Please download, read and liberally share this important book.
Click Here to Download Christianity & Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
the people at extreme theology have created an electronic book version of Machen's seminal work entitled "Christianity & Liberalism". This book is free for the download. But, if you would like to support this work then you can do so by clicking here.
Please download, read and liberally share this important book.
Click Here to Download Christianity & Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
Friday, November 23, 2007
What is it going to take? By Rev. Charles J. Paul
What is it going to take?
With over one thousand postings to this blog site in the past year. It is not hard for us to see the condition of the evangelical church today. It is a sad thing to say and see that the pulpit has went the way of the world for the most part.
It has been my hearts desire to see a modern day reformation of God’s church and His people take place. I can see and I am sure you can also see that the light of the first reformation is not dimming, it has gone out. I do not say that, to say that there are no good solid Bible teaching reformed churches. With men behind the pulpit who labor in study to bring the Holy Word each week to God’s people. In fact it does my heart good to know there are many men who are standing with me each day to labor over the Word, and then bring it faithfully to His people.
There are however two very important steps that must be taken if we are to see a modern day reformation take place.
1- We must have a renewed knowledge.
2- We take that knowledge to the world and contend for it’s very life.
Let me expound first on having a renewed knowledge.
Put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. Colossians 3:10
We live in a fallen world and as a result, our renewed minds need ongoing cleansing and refreshment. God’s chief agent of purifying our thinking is His Word. [John 15:3 Eph 5:26] but you see when the pulpit goes south and the pastor fails to teach and feed God’s people a steady diet of God’s Word. Then our minds are renewed with the thoughts of men. And instead of growing strong in the light of His Word. We grow WEAK and are mislead into thinking that we are growing when in fact we are dying from hunger.
But you see this modern day reformation is not for the weak at heart. The New Testament calls us to the mental discipline of right thinking. Colossians 3:2 says Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth. First Peter 1:13 says Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul often instructed his listeners to think right and not be ignorant.
The Old Testament also calls us to right thinking. King Solomon said Incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding yes, if you cry for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding. Then you will fear the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. [Prov 2:2-5]
Dwelling on the right things takes initiative and effort. But if you are faithful to make the maximum effort. God will give you understanding. [Ps. 119:34]
This leads me to the second point. Taking the truth to the world and also contending for it.
It is my commitment here at Truth Matters to not only preach the whole truth of God’s Word each Lord’s Day. But preach and teach nothing but His Truth.
As the Pastor and teacher I take the calling placed upon me by the Lord very seriously. I must preach each message as though lives depend upon it and also like it may be my last.
I have met many men who share that same zeal and comment to the Truth. And also to see a modern day reformation. Some of those men are listed at the top of our web page http://www.truthmattersinc.org/
But I have also seen the decline of the Holy Desk. Men, who push entertainment, hype, pep talks. And so many other devises as being the Word of God. But what this shows on a deeper level is this type of modern day church does not have the faith in God’s Holy Word to back up the hype found in there services.
With over one thousand postings to this blog site in the past year. It is not hard for us to see the condition of the evangelical church today. It is a sad thing to say and see that the pulpit has went the way of the world for the most part.
It has been my hearts desire to see a modern day reformation of God’s church and His people take place. I can see and I am sure you can also see that the light of the first reformation is not dimming, it has gone out. I do not say that, to say that there are no good solid Bible teaching reformed churches. With men behind the pulpit who labor in study to bring the Holy Word each week to God’s people. In fact it does my heart good to know there are many men who are standing with me each day to labor over the Word, and then bring it faithfully to His people.
There are however two very important steps that must be taken if we are to see a modern day reformation take place.
1- We must have a renewed knowledge.
2- We take that knowledge to the world and contend for it’s very life.
Let me expound first on having a renewed knowledge.
Put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. Colossians 3:10
We live in a fallen world and as a result, our renewed minds need ongoing cleansing and refreshment. God’s chief agent of purifying our thinking is His Word. [John 15:3 Eph 5:26] but you see when the pulpit goes south and the pastor fails to teach and feed God’s people a steady diet of God’s Word. Then our minds are renewed with the thoughts of men. And instead of growing strong in the light of His Word. We grow WEAK and are mislead into thinking that we are growing when in fact we are dying from hunger.
But you see this modern day reformation is not for the weak at heart. The New Testament calls us to the mental discipline of right thinking. Colossians 3:2 says Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth. First Peter 1:13 says Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul often instructed his listeners to think right and not be ignorant.
The Old Testament also calls us to right thinking. King Solomon said Incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding yes, if you cry for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding. Then you will fear the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. [Prov 2:2-5]
Dwelling on the right things takes initiative and effort. But if you are faithful to make the maximum effort. God will give you understanding. [Ps. 119:34]
This leads me to the second point. Taking the truth to the world and also contending for it.
It is my commitment here at Truth Matters to not only preach the whole truth of God’s Word each Lord’s Day. But preach and teach nothing but His Truth.
As the Pastor and teacher I take the calling placed upon me by the Lord very seriously. I must preach each message as though lives depend upon it and also like it may be my last.
I have met many men who share that same zeal and comment to the Truth. And also to see a modern day reformation. Some of those men are listed at the top of our web page http://www.truthmattersinc.org/
But I have also seen the decline of the Holy Desk. Men, who push entertainment, hype, pep talks. And so many other devises as being the Word of God. But what this shows on a deeper level is this type of modern day church does not have the faith in God’s Holy Word to back up the hype found in there services.
True Faith does not need anything else but its own source. In this case all we need is the Word of God to be expounded on from the pulpit. And then for God’s people to feed on this and then to act upon it.
So what is it going to take?
First a Renewed mind filled with the Word of God. And a life that shows a healthy fear of the Lord.
Second a commitment by God’s people to want to be fed only God’s Word. We live in a culture that people read the labels of the foods they eat. They refuse to by junk and put it into there bodies. They say I don’t like how the junk food makes me feel.
And that is the same call to action God’s people must take. You must take your renewed mind into the world teach others the Truth and refuse to sit under or be fed the junk food of the seeker friendly modern day church movement.
Thank you all in advance for your commitment to God’s Word. Please visit our web site today to see how you can get involved. http://www.truthmattersinc.org/
I am looking forward to meeting each one of you. In the meant time keep your emails coming. And together we will see a reformation of not only the church but our nation also.
So what is it going to take?
First a Renewed mind filled with the Word of God. And a life that shows a healthy fear of the Lord.
Second a commitment by God’s people to want to be fed only God’s Word. We live in a culture that people read the labels of the foods they eat. They refuse to by junk and put it into there bodies. They say I don’t like how the junk food makes me feel.
And that is the same call to action God’s people must take. You must take your renewed mind into the world teach others the Truth and refuse to sit under or be fed the junk food of the seeker friendly modern day church movement.
Thank you all in advance for your commitment to God’s Word. Please visit our web site today to see how you can get involved. http://www.truthmattersinc.org/
I am looking forward to meeting each one of you. In the meant time keep your emails coming. And together we will see a reformation of not only the church but our nation also.
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