How to know you are of the elect...

"How may I know I'm elect? 

First, by the Word of God having come in divine power to the soul so that my self-complacency is shattered and my self-righteousness is renounced. 

Second, by the Holy Spirit convicting me of my woeful, guilty, and lost condition. 

Third, by having had revealed to me the suitability and sufficiency of Christ to meet my desperate case and by a divinely given faith causing me to lay hold of and rest upon Him as my only hope. 

Fourth, by the marks of the new nature within me - a love for God; an appetite for spiritual things; a longing for holiness; a seeking after conformity to Christ. 

Fifth, by the resistance which the new nature makes to the old, causing me to hate sin and loathe myself for it. 

Sixth, by avoiding everything which is condemned by God's Word and by sincerely repenting of and humbly confessing every transgression. Failure at this point will surely bring a dark cloud over our assurance causing the Spirit to withhold His witness. 

Seventh, by giving all diligence to cultivate the Christian graces and using all diligence to this end. 

Thus the knowledge of election is cumulative."

- A .W. Pink, The Doctrines of Election and Justification [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1974], pp. 140-41.

Quote: Rutherford on Loss

A friend from church sent us a snippet of her devotional this morning.  It included this quote from Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) that speaks to my heart.  He wrote it to a mother who lost her child very early in life.

'Grace rooteth not out the affections of a mother, but putteth them on His wheel who maketh all things new, that they may be refined; therefore sorrow for a dead child is allowed to you, though by measure and ounceweights; the redeemed of the Lord have not a dominion or lordship over their sorrow and other affections, to lavish out Christ's goods at their pleasure.... He commandeth you to weep; and that princely One took up to heaven with Him a man's heart to be a compassionate High Priest. The cup ye drink was at the lip of sweet Jesus, and He drank of it.... Ye are not to think it a bad bargain for your beloved daughter that she died--she hath gold for copper and brass, eternity for time. All the knot must be that she died too soon, too young, in the morning of her life; but sovereignty must silence your thoughts. I was in your condition: I had but two children, and both are dead since I came hither. The supreme and absolute Former of all things giveth not an account of any of His matters. The good Husbandman may pluck His roses and gather His lilies at midsummer, and, for ought I dare say, in the beginning of the first summer month; and he may transplant young trees out of the lower ground to the higher, where they may have more of the sun and a more free air, at any season of the year. The goods are His own. The Creator of time and winds did a merciful injury (if I may borrow the word) to nature in landing the passenger so early.'

White House Easter Prayer Breakfast

President Obama said: 

I can’t shed light on centuries of scriptural interpretation or bring any new understandings to those of you who reflect on Easter’s meaning each and every year and each and every day.  But what I can do is tell you what draws me to this holy day and what lesson I take from Christ’s sacrifice and what inspires me about the story of the resurrection.

For even after the passage of 2,000 years, we can still picture the moment in our mind’s eye. The young man from Nazareth marched through Jerusalem; object of scorn and derision and abuse and torture by an empire.  The agony of crucifixion amid the cries of thieves. The discovery, just three days later, that would forever alter our world -- that the Son of Man was not to be found in His tomb and that Jesus Christ had risen. 

We are awed by the grace He showed even to those who would have killed Him.  We are thankful for the sacrifice He gave for the sins of humanity.  And we glory in the promise of redemption in the resurrection.

And such a promise is one of life’s great blessings, because, as I am continually learning, we are, each of us, imperfect. Each of us errs -- by accident or by design.  Each of us falls short of how we ought to live.  And selfishness and pride are vices that afflict us all.

It’s not easy to purge these afflictions, to achieve redemption.  But as Christians, we believe that redemption can be delivered -- by faith in Jesus Christ.  And the possibility of redemption can make straight the crookedness of a character; make whole the incompleteness of a soul.  Redemption makes life, however fleeting here on Earth, resound with eternal hope.

Of all the stories passed down through the gospels, this one in particular speaks to me during this season.  And I think of hanging -- watching Christ hang from the cross, enduring the final seconds of His passion.  He summoned what remained of His strength to utter a few last words before He breathed His last breath.

“Father,” He said, “into your hands I commit my spirit.” Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.  These words were spoken by our Lord and Savior, but they can just as truly be spoken by every one of us here today.  Their meaning can just as truly be lived out by all of God’s children. 

So, on this day, let us commit our spirit to the pursuit of a life that is true, to act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord.  And when we falter, as we will, let redemption -- through commitment and through perseverance and through faith -- be our abiding hope and fervent prayer.

Wow-thats a pretty decent expression of belief in the deity of Christ and the truth of the empty tomb.  Of course, the President's stance on many social issues seems to be outside the bounds of biblical morality - but I can't judge his heart.  I was sad to read  from a partial list of attendees:

Pastor Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church, IL
Bishop Vashti McKenzie, Bishop, A.M.E. Church
Elder Nancy Wilson, Metropolitan Community Church
Commissioner Israel Gaither, National Commander, Salvation Army
Pastor Joel Osteen, Pastor, Lakewood Church
Hyepin Im, Korean Christian Community Development
Dr. Arturo Chavez, President, Mexican American Catholic College
Rev. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Fr. Larry Snyder, President, Catholic Charities
Rev. Peg Chemberlin, President, National Council of Churches
Dr. Julius Scruggs, President, National Baptist Convention of America
Sister Carol Keehan, President, Catholic Health Association
Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, Senior Pastor, Windsor Village United Methodist Church

With so many denominations and sects in attendance, where was the Reformed representative?  Did any OPC or PCA person get invited?  Oh well, its a partial list I guess.

Even if his views on many issues seem out of step with Scripture and despite the fact that his guest list isn't the most solid grouping of Gospel-advocates, I find hope in the President's words and a renewal in my mind of the admonision that I so often forget:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
- 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Baby Glover

Although you had not yet a name,
our hearts loved you deeply all the same.
We were so ready to be your mom and dad,
then fell the day you came.

For you did not come as we presumed,
your place at home was being groomed,
yet other plans our Sovereign had,
you went to heaven from the womb.

Life is never ill-conceived,
though in your death we are so grieved,
and even as our hearts now linger sad,
we know whom we’ve believed.

The God who numbers all our days,
no less deserves our endless praise,
he means this thing which hurts so bad,
to point towards heaven’s rays.

He’s teaching us to trust his grace,
while yet we cannot see his face.
In righteousness you now are clad,
held tight in our Father's embrace.

Baby Glover, your life does hence,
accomplish God's holy intents,
to make these saints in loss be glad,
for the Lord's mercy and providence.

-  I am not so creative on my own.  Thanks to John Piper for the basic format of this poem.  He wrote it after his daughter-in-law had a miscarriage several years ago.  I changed many words to fit our own personal situation.

Why no "Holy Week-Sunday?"

You may have noticed that I did not conclude the week with a "Holy Week-Sunday" post.  My apologies, I spent much of Resurrection Day at the hospital with my wife.

It was a bittersweet Easter weekend for us. We lost our baby yesterday at 12 weeks to miscarriage. It was very rough for my wife with 7 hrs of labor before the OB had to do surgery.

In the midst of such sadness we cling to the hope that comes from knowing that "He is Risen!"

As we head into this week we mourn for sure - but we are strengthened in knowing that we shall yet see our precious child in the presence of our heavenly Father.

Thank you all for your prayers in this difficult time and thanks to God that he loved us so much that he sent his Son to die for us and rise again that our sins would be washed away and that we might become his adopted heirs.

Holy Week - Friday

"It is finished..."

Learn the rest of what happened on Good Friday HERE

Holy Week - Thursday

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying,

“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying,
“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 

Read the rest HERE

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, sometimes abbreviated MTD^, is a term coined by authors Christian Smith at the Notre Dame and Lisa Pearce at UNC Chapel Hill, to describe the common religious beliefs among American youth^.  Their research project, titled the National Study of Youth and Religion, was funded by the Lily Endowment, a private organization known for its support of Christianity. The pair found that many young people believed in several moral statutes not exclusive to any of the major world religions:

1. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

These points of belief were compiled from interviews with approximately 3,000 young teenagers.

-  How many people do you know who believe this and call it Christianity?  Are you actively working to share the real Gospel with them?

Holy Week - Wednesday

Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.  He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.

See the rest HERE.

Holy Week- Tuesday

Did you know that this went down on Tuesday of Holy Week?

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

And he said to him,

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

 Learn about all of the other things we see in Scripture that occurred on Holy Week Tuesday, thanks to Justin Taylor and the ESV Study Bible HERE.

I will continue to post a snippet and a link for every day this week!

RSC on Redeemer and NT Wright

Robert Scott Clark on the upcoming invitation by Tim Keller's Redeemer network to have NT Wright speak.

http://heidelblog.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/n-t-wright-to-speak-at-redeemer-nyc/

Elders

I've attended both Baptists churches where everyone has an equal vote on important issues and church matters.  I have also attended a neo-Charismatic church where the "overseer" had supreme, almost dictatorial, authority.

When I came to attend my current PCA church I was introduced to what I believe is the appropriate and biblical model for church leadership.   

The PCA maintains the historic polity of Presbyterian governance set forth in The Book of Church Order, namely rule by presbyters (or elders) and the graded assemblies or courts.  These courts are the session , governing the local church; the presbytery, for regional matters; and the general assembly, at the national level.  It has taken seriously the position of the parity of elders, making a distinction between the two classes of elders, teaching and ruling.  It has self-consciously taken a more democratic position (rule from the grass roots up) on presbyterian governance in contrast to a more prelatical form (rule from the top assemblies down).

 John MacArthur,a reformed Baptist who believes in the elder model, says:

"Because of its heritage of democratic values and its long history of congregational church government, modern American evangelicalism often views the concept of elder rule with suspicion. The clear teaching of Scripture, however, demonstrates that the biblical norm for church leadership is a plurality of God-ordained elders, and only by following this biblical pattern will the church maximize its fruitfulness to the glory of God."

Read more of  thoughts on this in Chapter 8 of the PCA's Book of Church Order or at MacArthurs webpage...Both have useful and thought-provoking material for you to digest.

The Pelagianism of LOST

OK, so I really want to get this off my chest before I even start talking seriously about LOST...

"How does a wooden ship destroy 80% of a giant stone statue?"

Thanks
_____________________________

This weeks episode of LOST was really good.  We finally learned what some of the mystery surrounding Richard Alpert is all about - why he doesn't age, how come he speaks for Jacob, etc...

More importantly, we learned some very interesting things about the island and the motives of both Jacob and the Man-In-Black.

When Richard meets Jacob the two sit on the beach and share some wine and conversation.  From that talk we learned that Jacob did bring the Black Rock to the island, as he also seems to have brought Flight 815 to the island.

Then, Jacob told Richard to think of the wine in his bottle as hell, or malevolence, evil, or darkness. That is the MIB.  The wine swirls in the bottle and yet can't get out, "because if it did, it would spread." He said the cork is the island. He put the cork into the bottle and flipped it upside down, showing how the cork (the island) "is the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs."

Jacob said The Man in Black believes people are corruptible because it's in their nature to sin, and Jacob brings people to the island to prove him wrong, "and when they get here, their past doesn't matter." Richard asked what happened to the others he'd brought to the island before him. "They're all dead," Jacob told him. He said he didn't help them because he wanted them to help themselves, "to know the difference between right or wrong without me having to tell them." He said it was meaningless if he had to tell them, if he had to step in.

WOW!  Lots of info to digest.  Assuming that Jacob isn't talking a load of horse manure - we just got some great insight into where things are going and how the writers and producers of the show see the world, or at least the world of LOST.

I was immediately struck by the Pelagian tone of the comments that Jacob made.  Pelagianism was a Christian heresy in the early 400s that taught several odd things, primarily the idea that "Original Sin did not taint human nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil by the exercise of rational thought and without any special Divine aid."

It is basically super-free will.  We are blank slates, neither good nor evil in our core until we choose to be one or the other.  It makes man the supreme decider of his fate.  Mike Horton says "According to Pelagius, Adam was merely a bad example, not the father of our sinful condition-we are sinners because we sin-rather than vice versa. Consequently, of course, the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, was a good example. Salvation is a matter chiefly of following Christ instead of Adam, rather than being transferred from the condemnation and corruption of Adam's race and placed "in Christ," clothed in his righteousness and made alive by his gracious gift. What men and women need is moral direction, not a new birth; therefore, Pelagius saw salvation in purely naturalistic terms-the progress of human nature from sinful behavior to holy behavior, by following the example of Christ."

I think we can see strong biblical evidence that Pelagianism is not the theology of Christianity at even a cursory glance of the Scriptures...

We are by nature sinners (Eph. 2:3; Psalm 51:5).  We all have sinned because sin entered the world through Adam:  "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12).  Furthermore, Romans 3:10-12 says, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”  Therefore, we are unable to do God's will (Rom. 6:16; 7:14).

We were affected by the fall of Adam, contrary to what Pelagius taught and Jacob espouses.  Nevertheless, these developments should make for a great storyline as the last several episodes of my favorite TV show play out!

The Shack revisited...

I know that the Shack is "old news" these days - but not really.  I still hear reconmendations of it from people I know and it is currently #12 on the NYT Paperback Trade Fiction list.

To be fair I must admit that I have only read bits and pieces of the work itself - not the whole thing.  However after reading over some reviews in the past year or so from people whose opinions I trust, I decided that it wouldn't serve any purpose for me to read the novel.

I am still concerned though for those who have read it and been duped by it.  I just ran across Tim Challies awesome review of the book and I wanted to post a link to that document HERE.

If you have read The Shack or if you know people who have I would suggest reading this review.  It can help correct the theological mistakes that you will have encountered in a reading and/ or it will prepare you to discuss those issues with others who may be confused.

Don't Waste Your Cancer

As someone who has a very close relative dealing with much the same thing, this video made me tear up.  Praise God for his faithfulness to us and for the spirit of some with cancer to remain faithful to him no matter what.  The testimony of men like Zac Smith is of great benefit to us all.


The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

Top 10 Reasons Pope Benedict XVI’s Apology is Worthless

This is a repost from Ben over at Founder and Perfecter .

It is powerful and aggressive.  At first glance it seemed abit hard in tone, then I realized that it was the passion that Ben has for the true gospel that propelled him to write so forcefully aganist the Pope's apology and aganist what I have also come to see as a false gospel - the official teaching of the Roman Catholic church.


Please do not read into that statement that I think it is impossible to be a Roman Catholic and be saved by God.  I am sure that many Catholics are members of that church for confused reasons and still hold to the biblical principles of salvation by grace alone thru faith alone.  It is the doctrines of the church that I take issue with, not necessarily all of the people within.

I know that some will see Ben's stance on Rome, and my agreement with him, as arrogant or "know-it-all."  It is not intended to be as such.  I simply think that it is our duty to search out the truth of the 5 solas within various Christian movements and, if that truth isn't found, to expose the error that is there.


I don't do that to win arguements or be an a$$.  I seek to expose false gospels because I believe that we should carry out the Great Commission both to the "lost" of this world and to the nominal or confused "Christians."  Many want to evangelize the pagans and the atheists...few want to combat the falsehood that perpetrates under the banner of Christ.   To be convicted that something is spiritually untrue and to do absolutely nothing to shed light on it is a deep problem that too many brothers are eager to engage in for sake of ease.


I do understand the admonition to speak the truth in love and I believe that we can do that and still be passionate and straight-forward about what we have to say.  I admit that I am predisposed to be combative in tone and thats why I have not written on my developing views of Catholicism.  By sharing Ben's post I hope that you can see how I think thru another - maybe in a less volatile manner.

May God use the aftermath of such tragedies to open the eyes of those within the Roman church to the unbiblical claim of authority that it makes and to the heretical doctrine of salvation by works which it teaches in every practical way.

May God continue to use me to share the truth and may be ever be working in my heart so that I may do so with increasing discernment in a  more and more peaceful way.
________________________________

Evidence that the Pope Skips Confession

If you haven’t been hearing about the child and teenage sexual abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church, it is about time that you know about it. It has come to light that the Roman Catholic Church has been suppressing information, in some cases by vows of silence, about sexual abuse in their celibate priesthood. In one such case, the offending priest continued to abuse children for 18 years after being caught. Unbelievable. Although there have been cases that go back to 1975, probably with many before that, the Pope has been reluctant to even speak about the sex abuse problems for fear of them being perceived as a connected scandal rather than isolated incidents associated with individual priests.
Finally, the current Pope, Benedict XVI, has issued an apology about the Irish child sex-abuse scandal.
Read the Pope’s letter, and see if you agree with the top ten reasons Pope Benedict XVI’s apology is worthless.

10. It is not an apology
The Pope admits to shame and guilt but never actually says what his personal involvement was or why it was a scandal. A victim of the abuse, Paddy Doyle, rightly called it, “same old dribble that’s been coming out for years.” An apology is hardly an apology if the offending party won’t even state in clear terms the crime he is personally responsible for, which brings us to the next point.

9. He is sympathetic rather than repentant
The whole letter has an attitude that says, “I feel your pain,” rather than, “I am sorry for the pain that I am responsible for.”

8. He doesn’t disclose action he will take
He lists a bunch of problems that need to be addressed, but does not mention how they will be addressed. On top of that, he doesn’t even mention if the priests will be excommunicated, or even defrocked. Considering that some of the priests involved in the sexual abuse had already been subjected to their peers for some form of restoration, this is a very empty way to regain the trust of abuse victims.

7. He asks other people to fix his problem
Beyond the fact that he doesn’t propose concrete solutions that he will take besides merely visiting the dioceses in Ireland, he does give the worlds’ Roman Catholics some tasks like fasting and works of mercy during Lent in order to, essentially, buy the grace needed for the restoration of the [Roman] Church in Ireland. Wait, I thought this was an apology letter, not a letter to get the faithful to try to fix a church under your oversight. It reminds me of the words of Jesus.

Matthew 23:2-5a
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others.”

Besides all of this, his solutions are entirely sacramental. More on that later.

6. He blames it on secular society
One of the more ridiculous and outright offensive parts of this letter is when he blames the fall of the dioceses on secular culture, when there is no organization in secular culture that comes close to the scope of the abuses of the Roman priests, especially considering how systematic they were. Besides this, it is utterly hypocritical that the Roman Church would portray themselves as holy and holding the keys to dispense grace, but yet when such rampant, sickening, widespread, and secretive sin comes to light they would blame the secular culture. If they truly held the keys to grace, you would think that they could at least get enough grace to not abuse children and teenagers.

5. He is hypocritical about who can receive the sacraments
Speaking of hypocrisy, the Pope scolds the offending priests briefly, but then proceeds to offer them sacraments by which they can (supposedly) atone for their sins, yet the excommunicated can not even receive the sacraments. A few generations ago, you could get excommunicated for divorce, but now when priests abuse children they are not even defrocked.

4. He treats the scandal as if it were an isolated event

The Pope doesn’t address why this is happening everywhere, not just in Ireland. There have been over 400 legal cases in the United States alone, and over 2000 cases of child abuse in the Dublin diocese alone, which have been intentionally covered up by the church, according to a reading of the Murphy Report.

3. He says nothing about celibacy
The elephant in the room that none of the clergy including the Pope want to talk about is celibacy. Celibacy in Roman Catholic priesthood, did not become a requirement until 1123 AD. That’s right, there are more years of history in which celibacy was not a requirement than when it was one. Furthermore, mandatory celibacy is repeatedly denied in the Bible. In their justification, the clergy quote Matthew 19, which is not talking about clergy, yet they must ignore 1 Timothy 3 that mentions the behavior of the wives in the qualifications for the clergy. Later in the letter, Paul says something even more startling. Excuse my [interruptions].

1 Timothy 4
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times [1123AD?] some [context: clergy] will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons [harsh, Paul], through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage [forbid what?] and require abstinence from foods [meat during Lent?] that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

Finally, the apostle Peter and other apostles had a wife.

1 Corinthians 9:5
Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?

It is truly ironic that the man who claims his authority based on Peter (known as Cephas in other places of the Bible), would insist on a doctrine that Peter himself would have broken.

2. He is not the head of the universal Church

The Pope may claim to be the pastor of the universal church but he is not. The word “catholic” means universal (hence it is recited in the Apostles’ Creed by non-Catholics), but there is a funny thing about names. Baptists aren’t the only ones who baptize, Presbyterians aren’t the only ones with elders, Episcopalians aren’t the only ones with bishops, Pentecostals aren’t the only ones with the Holy Spirit, the Church of England is not the only church in England or limited to England, and the Eastern Orthodox church is not the only orthodox church. So the Catholic church is not the universal Church merely because it thinks so. Secondly, Jesus is the pastor of the universal Church, not Peter, nor Benedict XVI, nor any other man who has ever walked the planet.

1. He promotes a different gospel

When viewed in light of sacramentalism, the best thing the Roman Church could do for you is excommunication. Sacramentalism is the false belief that your sins are only forgiven when the grace required is merited through works or sacraments. In other words, the Roman Church and the foolish Pope Benedict XVI add works to salvation in order that you may atone for yourself. The scriptural basis against this claim is overwhelming, so endure with me while I overwhelm you.

Romans 3:20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Galatians 2:15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Galatians 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

John 6:28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God

Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Genesis 15:6 And [Abraham] believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

The reason these priests are not bearing fruit in keeping with repentance is because they do not believe the true gospel and are insisting on works-righteousness. The Pope’s gospel is quite different.

“I ask you to offer up your fasting, your prayer, your reading of Scripture and your works of mercy in order to obtain the grace of healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland.”

Grace that is earned by fasting, prayer, reading scripture, and works is simply not grace. Webster’s dictionary has a better theology of grace than the Pope when it defines grace as, “unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification.”

Conclusion
The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 1,

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

Paul literally invokes the anathema on anyone who would preach a contrary gospel regardless of his or her status, placing it above not only his apostleship (apostleship being the basis to the authority the Pope claims to have), but beyond even the declarations of heavenly angels. If you get the gospel wrong, it doesn’t matter if you’re a Pope or Protestant, an Archbishop of an Atheist, a Catholic Monk or a Buddhist Monk, if anyone should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you let him be accursed.

The tragic fact about this apology letter is that it reinforces the false gospel of the Pope, and places people on a road to atone for their own sins and to sanctify themselves. It is no wonder that the Roman Catholic Church can’t rid itself of pedophilia when Jesus’ death on the cross for their sins hinges on works rather than God’s grace.

If you are in a church, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, or otherwise, and you are hearing a false gospel, leave that church immediately and find a different one. Let the leaders declare any powerless curses that they desire on you and know that Jesus’ death on the cross for your sins is free and for you and received by grace through faith alone.

Thinking Christianly about Health-Care

http://byfaithonline.com/page/ordinary-life/thinking-christianly-about-health-care

A interesting article from the web magazine of the PCA in the midst of so much turmoil and negativity over the recent legislative developments in our nation.

Reply to God is the Author of Evil

Original post HERE.

TW's comments in italics - my replies are numbered

When the philosophy that drives Calvinism is...
1) Calvinism or a Reformed understanding of the world isn't a philosophy - its a complete theological system that was developed after years and years of rigorious study of the Scriptures and the writings of the early church. To dismiss it as a "philosophy" undermines the rich heritage of this biblical view which was held by every major giant of the faith from 1600-1850.

God sovereignly controls Satan's every move. This makes God the author of everything evil, and the most wicked sinner of all.

2) There seems to be a fundamentally incorrect view of sovereignty throughout the essay. For God to have sovereign control does not mean that he is pulling the strings on a bunch of lifeless marionettes.

Some Calvinists actually admit this, and seek to defend it from Scripture.

3) What mainstream Calvinist defends the idea that God is the most wicked sinner of all?

Are Satan's actions of his own free will? If so, then God has obviously limited His sovereignty regarding Satan's activities. He allows Satan free will.

4) Yes, Satan has the ability to make his own decisions. The fact that God allows Satan to exercise volition does not contradict His sovereignty. His sovereignty is manifest in that he has the right to do what he will with his creation and that he is always in control of his creation - again, not in the sense of a puppet-master - rather like a parent who allows his child to stick themselves in the arm with a safety pin even though the parent could have moved in and stopped the activity. Why would the parent allow that is another question that will be answered later.

5) To argue that God isn't in control of his creation is very close to a view of open theisn which is a recognized heresy.

We must keep in mind that Satan's ultimate ambition is to usurp God's position...

6) Yes, Satan does try to dethrone God and his greatest attempt at this is the Arminian argument that teaches men that they are the ultimate deciders of their salvation and not God. When one rejects the Reformed view they embrace a low view of God's glory and power - thus, they knock God off his throne abit in their own life.

God's offers of salvation to "whosoever will" are insincere. God is not completely honest in Scripture.

7) God gives a sincere statement when he says that "whosoever wills" can have eternal life. The problem is that, apart from divine intervention, none will choose to serve God because of their depraved nature.

God offers to save the non-elect IF they will do what is utterly impossible. God taunts the damned.

8) Again, God states that those who have faith will be saved. The fact that none can do this of their own accord isn't taunting - its a simple reflection of the truth that God cannot allow unholiness into his presence.

God created most people for the purpose of torturing them forever. God is cruel and sadistic.

9) God is just and righteous. He created people, they chose to fall from him, that he gives most of them the justice that is required isn't cruel. In fact it is incredibly merciful of God that he would save any from the judgement due to them.

God CAN save all, and DESIRES to save all, but chooses to damn many for no apparent reason. God is insane.

10) God desires to show both his justice and his mercy, his righteousness and his love - to do so he must sentence mankind to the punishment they incurred upon themselves, yet he also steps in to rescue some that he might reveal all aspects of his nature to attain the most glory for himself.

God controls Satan's every move, and every wicked act of the most vile sinner. God is the source of all evil.

11) Again, the puppet-master issue. God does not control every one of Satan's moves - he allows them. Thus he is not the author of evil, he is one who allows things to occur which may seem evil or cruel to us, yet which he sees as an ultimate good in the macro-timeline...like a parent who allows the child to stick themselves with the safety pin so they will recognize the danger associated with such things on a visceral level.

...God is a lying, taunting, sadistic, insane, wicked, tyrant who demands our worship!

12) Throw out all of those other unsubstantiated adjectives...ask this: shouldn't God demand our worship? Isn't he the creator and us the creation. Isn't he the potter and us the clay? Isn't he God and us NOT!

For the fortunate few on whom Calvinism's God has arbitrarily decided to bestow every good thing, God is a pretty cool dude! They have their ticket, and no matter what they do, they are destined for eternal bliss. To hell with the rest of mankind.

13) The view mentioned here is a hyper-calvinist stance...it is a completely inaccurate view of how Calvinists have seen election and the Great Commission throughout the ages. Reformed believers have been huge in the areas of evangelism and missions - we believe that God has deemed us to be the instruments of his hands in bringing others to the gospel.

I strongly believe that Atheism thrives largely because of the Reformed - Calvinist model.

14) Atheism and nominal Christianity are rampant because people don't want to recognize the sovereignty of God in all of creation. They want to usurp God from his throne and place themselves up there instead. The Reformed model fights atheism by working to bring light to the majesty and authority of the Father.

And let's be frank. If the logical outcome of a particular philosophy is impossible, then the system is illogical.

15) This is kinda beside the point but "not so." An arguement can be valid and not sound.

The real mistake of Calvinists is elevating God's sovereignty at the expense of His holiness.

16) The real problem is trying to divorce the two. The sovereignty of God lays the foundation for his holiness. Because he is sovereign-whatever he decrees is holy. His holiness is a direct result of his sovereignty.

They have failed to see that sovereignty does NOT demand God's micromanaging all His creatures.

17) No one in the Reformed camp argues that God micromanages his creatures. Again the flawed puppet-master view comes into effect. The author of the essay should do an exhaustive study of what the Reformed view of Gods sovereignty really is before tries to address it. His entire paper has been a big "straw man" fallacy. He has built up a Calvinist position that really isn't our position and then he has torn it down. If we believed what he says we believed then he would be correct in his conclusions, however he fundamentally misunderstands Reformed theology.

But, His purpose in creation would not be realized if He did so. Free will and allowing natural consequences to follow human choices is a major component of what God is accomplishing with His creation.

18) I guess we simply disagree on Gods purpose in creation. Reformed people would not say that free-will decision making ability for humans  was God's ultimate purpose in the redemptive narrative. We would say that God made all things, allowed the fall, redeemed the elect, and comes to make all things new again for one reason...the reason that Satan and the fallen angels and many men don't want to hear...FOR HIS OWN GLORY AND NOT FOR US.

God is the Author of Evil

Check out this interesting article by Tim Warner. He tries to use logic to equate Gods sovereignty with an authorship of evil. I think he is seriously flawed in this view because he fails to address so many specific theological nuiansces. Read and tell me what you think.
____________________

When the philosophy that drives Calvinism is projected to its logical conclusion, even Satan's activity is an extension of God's sovereignty. God sovereignly controls Satan's every move. This makes God the author of everything evil, and the most wicked sinner of all. Some Calvinists actually admit this, and seek to defend it from Scripture. If ultimately God sovereignly is in control of everything, and if free will of man, angels, or even Satan, is ultimately under the control of God, then the responsibility for all wickedness and evil must be placed at the feet of God Himself. Are Satan's actions of his own free will? If so, then God has obviously limited His sovereignty regarding Satan's activities. He allows Satan free will. If Satan's actions are ultimately under the control of God, then Satan is merely God's puppet, or "dark side."
The God of the Bible does not resemble this kind of god.

I John 1
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

James 1
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

We must keep in mind that Satan's ultimate ambition is to usurp God's position, (Isaiah 14:13-15, 2 Thes. 2:3,4). Satan cannot make himself holy, but, he can make God appear to be unholy, closing the gap between man's perception of God and Satan. Satan simply assumes the dark side of God. This philosophical merging of God and Satan in effect fulfills Satan's ultimate aspiration.

The danger for Christians, however, is that only one baby step separates the Calvinism, taught in mainstream Evangelical churches, from the logical philosophical conclusion, that God is both good and evil. Ultimately, God is Satan and Satan is God. In the last days this philosophy will facilitate Christians worshipping the Beast.

I am very troubled by the logical implications that the Calvinist philosophy forces Christians to embrace. And also the image of the Christian "God" presented to the world.

Calvinism, when consistently taken to its logical conclusions, implies all of the following:

1. God's offers of salvation to "whosoever will" are insincere. God is not completely honest in Scripture.
2. God offers to save the non-elect IF they will do what is utterly impossible. God taunts the damned.
3. God created most people for the purpose of torturing them forever. God is cruel and sadistic.
4. God CAN save all, and DESIRES to save all, but chooses to damn many for no apparent reason. God is insane.
5. God controls Satan's every move, and every wicked act of the most vile sinner. God is the source of all evil.

The bottom line is that Calvinism, when carried to its logical conclusions, implies that God is a lying, taunting, sadistic, insane, wicked, tyrant who demands our worship! One could substitute the word "Satan" instead of "God" in most of the above 5 statements, giving a more accurate portrayal of Bible doctrine. For the fortunate few on whom Calvinism's God has arbitrarily decided to bestow every good thing, God is a pretty cool dude! They have their ticket, and no matter what they do, they are destined for eternal bliss. To hell with the rest of mankind. Calvinism seems pretty attractive to those with an elitist mentality. But, what kind of God are Calvinists presenting to the rest of mankind? I strongly believe that Atheism thrives largely because of the Reformed - Calvinist model. That is, Calvinism's portrayal of God is one of the major reasons that many thinking people reject God. They are rejecting the Calvinist's God. While I do not agree with all of Dave Hunts' points in his book, "What Love is This?", I think his title is far too tame!

I have received a fair amount of "hate mail" from Calvinists because my expressing the concerns in this article. Usually they accuse me of equating Calvinism with the Occult. But, that is not what I have written. Unfortunately, in most cases, they have misunderstood my point. I am NOT saying that Calvinists actually teach God is wicked, or a sinner, or even directly responsible for sin. Most Calvinists stop short of drawing those conclusions. I am saying that this is the logical outcome when you project Calvinism's philosophy to its logical conclusions. And let's be frank. If the logical outcome of a particular philosophy is impossible, then the system is illogical.

The real mistake of Calvinists is elevating God's sovereignty at the expense of His holiness. They have failed to see that sovereignty does NOT demand God's micromanaging all His creatures. That God has the power to control everything is without question. But, His purpose in creation would not be realized if He did so. Free will and allowing natural consequences to follow human choices is a major component of what God is accomplishing with His creation.
__________________________

I am going to post a reply on here in short order with my answer to Mr. Warner's thoughts.

Don't waste your life - Retirement

Happy St Pattys Day

What I'm reading...March 2010

Just finished this (thanks Adam):

From the library today:

What We Should Learn From the Mainline Denominations - Michael Horton

Go and watch this very good and thought-provoking short video from The Resurgence...

http://theresurgence.com/learn_from_mainline_denominations

It was my sin that held Him there...

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
_________________________________


Those lyrics come from the 1995 Stuart Townsend song "How Depp the Father's Love for Us"


We sang it in church this morning.


As we were singing I thought of Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ."  We have all seen that movie and I imagine that most of us watched the flogging and crucifixion scene and thought "...oh, thats so horrible that he had to go through all of that...those horrible Pharisees and Romans..."


Heres an idea...


What was really going on that day was far worse than the physical beating that Jesus took.  All of our sin was being placed on Christ's shoulders and he DIDN'T deserve any of it.


He took all of our sin and payed our penalty so that we could enter into eternity with the Father.


Yes, I said "our"...thats what hit me this morning because of the Townsend song...it wasn't the Pharisees and the Romans that I should be so angry at - its myself.  He suffered for me, for everytime I envy and lust, for every malicious word that comes from my mouth, for every failure of mine to uphold God's righteous law.


I put Jesus on that cross...


But then again, in a way I didn't...he submitted himself to that cross for me.  Thats the beauty of the cross - when I look at the events of Good Friday I see a God who loved me so much he died for MY sins...not just sin in the abstract.


When we think of it that way we can achieve a far greater appreciation for our Saviour and hopefully a greater sense of worship and relationship with Christ.

Double Whammy

I was driving home and a preacher was on 90.1

I tuned in because listening to the pop and rap stations is irritaing and I was all countried out today.

This guy starts preaching on the Mark of the Beast and alludes to the fact that his current sermon series is on Revelation.

Strike one.

Whenever guys start preaching on Revelation, especially in a very dogmatic premillenial Left Behind way - I get nervous for that congregation.

Then he starts talking about the question that he is most asked by his flock...

"Can I lose my salvation?"

As a Reformed guy I would have any easy answer to that - "uh, no...check out Romans 8"

This pastor starts going on and on about how the believers throughout time have all been saved by faith, but the Old Testament guys (Sampson and Saul in particular) didn't have their sins credited to Christ's account. He says they got saved in a different way than New Testament folks. Furthermore he claims...the people who get saved in the Tribulation (giving him this for the sake of arguement) will also be saved by faith but in a different way - they will be saved by deeds he says.

Seemed like strike 2 to me. I arrived home before he could strikeout...

I am no eschatological expert but I think this guy is way off and I am always outraged and saddened when preachers spend time on Revelation. Its the hardest book of the Bible to understand. Lets get through the first 65 books first.

I am also no super-theologian when it comes to soteriology but I was under the impression that we were all saved in the same way thru faith AND that faith was always in Gods Promise, which was Christ, regardless of whether people knew that or not.

Am I off or is that radio preacher confused?

Highway 20 Ride

This song by the Zac Brown Band has moved me deeply.  As a product of divorce myself, one in which my father was largely absent from my life, I often get choked up at songs like this.  That emotion is compounded by the fact that my wife and I had a rough time ourselves awhile back and (except for God's grace) the singer of this song could have been me.

These things highlight my growing concern that churches across America are not spending enough time on marital retreats and workshops.  It also brings to my mind the current situation in conservative faith-based politics...everyone wants to throw down the gauntlet on homosexuality and hardly anyone wants to address the massive divorce rate we have in the nation (and in the church).

I really hope that the importance of a biblical view of marriage will soon become a major topic within our churches and our activist organizations...not as a fad, not for profit, and not so that we can point out how others are undermining that institution. 

I want to see marriage take center-stage so that families can stay together and kids can grow up with both parents in a loving home, just as God has intended.  Its best for our society and it gives the Lord the most glory when we follow his blueprint for our lives.

It would also mean less sappy country songs about divorce and less Kleenex in my budget.

Reprobate

So my Muslim friend at work and I start having a conversation today.  It starts because he has a question regarding the term "reprobate."  He wants to know what that means in Christian theology.

I tell him that it means "foreordained to damnation."  Of course, I follow up by clarifying that the real question is WHO foreordains a reprobate person to hell.  Since I am not a hyper-calvinist I want to be clear with him that I don't think its God.

I tell him that we foreordain ourselves in light of the natural state of sin in which we come into this world.  I explained that we are all actively at odds with God, giving him the bird so to speak, in one way or another...from paganism to athieism.  Thus, I said, we are destined by who were are in our hearts for the pit of fire.

He jumped in to ask how that can be since we have free will.  I tried to use my ice cream illustration (actually Greg Koukl's illustration) about the interaction of our nature and our free-will.  In summary, our will can only act in accordance with our nature.  I told my friend that we will never freely choose God as long as our nature is set against him, in the same way a person who loves vanilla and hates chocolate will never choose chocolate if the choice is laid before them.

My friend didn't like the idea that we don't have libertarian free will.  I tried then to steer the conversation towards the idea that God is incredibly merciful to rescue any of us from ourselves given that all rebel aganist him and deserve eternal death.  My friend agreed with me and said that he could see how that was merciful indeed.

Then, he changed the subject and pondered why God wouldn't just create a world in which everyone was saved...why does anyone have to go to hell.  I told him that I didn't know the answer to that one.  God certainly COULD have done that - yet, he chose not to.  I don't know why, but I trust him in the way that a child must trust a parent even if they don't understand.

I did formulate one guess to that question.  I said that it could be argued from Scripture that God is both love and wrath.,,he is both merciful and righteous.  In that case he may have chosen to create this world because it is the best way to display both aspects of his character.

In any case, I suggested that we needed to throw away our modern and conventional ideas about "free-will" and "God is love" because the Bible doesn't explain those things the same way that our culture does.

At this point my friend had to head back to his task and we didn't get to talk anymore.  Bummer.  I used to get to interact with folks at work more often about these important topics.  My newest projects have largely kept me from those conversations.  Maybe opportunities will reopen soon.

Strengthening Our Brothers

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (ESV)

As I came across this passage in reading the Scriptures today, I had 4 quick points cross my mind.  I'm sharing them in case they prove valuable to you as well.

1)  Satan seeks to destroy all of us, not just Peter. (1 Peter 5:8)
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

2)  As believers we are kept safe from eternal death by the work of Christ on the cross and safe from a lifestyle of sin by the intercession of our great Saviour.  (Romans 8:33-34)
Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

3)  Jesus knew that Peter would endure a season of doubt and questioned loyalty...we all do.  But those seasons are only temporary, nothing can seperate us from Christ if we are God's children - even ourselves.  (Romans 8:35 and 38)
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

4)  In times of greatest distress and turmoil, when the whole world seems bent aganist us, we must remember that our destiny is secured.  Christ paid the ransom that we might be able to enter into the presence of God.  The seasons might be difficult at times, there may be dark days in the path, but the final destination is a place of unspeakable joy and beauty.  Until we reach that end we must persevere, with the help of the Spirit, in the same way that Jesus instructed Peter...
...strengthening our brothers.

I think that strengthening our brothers means many things.  It means encouragement and support when the friend in Christ is doing great and wonderful things...it also means accepting criticism with humility when you have to be told, by a brother that you love, that you are too academic in your approach to life and your faith.  That isn't easy to take but it is biblical and refreshing.

I am thankful to God that I have men around me who both encourage me and "shoot straight with me" when they see something off.  I am also glad that they can take it as well as they can give it. 

The Human Heart

FromJosh Gelatt - go HERE

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9)
Over the years we've tried our hand at raising a few backyard animals---(chickens, geese, etc). One of my customs is to save food scraps in a few 5-gallon buckets. I use these to feed the scraps to the animals, or to store them to eventually throw on the compost pile.
Yet for the past several months I've also been busy finishing off our basement. I've accumulated a lot more buckets---paint, drywall mud, primer. Somehow, in the confusion of all these projects, one of the food buckets ended up in the contstruction supplies. All was well and good--at least until I opened it in the house. The smell of that bucket--now containing several months worth of rotted food--immediately filled the house.
That food bucket is something like the human heart. All might look well and good on the outside, but on the inside it is horribly rotten. C.H. Spurgeon captured the true condition of our hearts when he wrote the following:

"There is nothing one half so worthy of abhorrence as the human heart. God spares all eyes but His own that awful sight, a human heart; and could you and I but see our heart, we should be driven mad, so horrible would be the sight."

Jeremiah 17:9 isn't just talking about our evil deeds. It is highlighting the general condition of our heart apart from Christ. Of course, this does mean that we are prone towards evil thoughts and deeds. But it also means that even the "good" things we do are considered evil in the eyes of the Lord. Isaiah 64:6 tells us "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags". Everything is rotten, down to our very core.
The Christian does not stand before God because he or she has achieved some degree of righteousness by having lived a good life. The true Christian, instead, is one who recognizes he or she is a rebel and villian--but one who has been redeemed and changed by Christ. With David, we cry out "create in me a pure heart, O God" (Psalm 51:10).

What happens to infants who die?

A tough question and a thoughtful answer by Piper.

12 Points to Ponder...

"I know that 12 points might seem like alot, but this is what has been on my mind the past few days and I need to jot it all down.  Thanks for reading, I hope that something in here proves to be helpful or at least thought-provoking."
-Jason

CATHOLICS ON JUSTIFICATION
I am still trying to figure out what I believe about the Roman Catholic view of justification and whether or not it can be considered Christian in view of the Scriptures.  If I understand the view correctly, Christ infuses his righteousness to us that we might have the ability to partake in it, however we only become righteous ourselves when we cooperate with that infusion through the sacraments and good works.  Am I confused on the stance of Rome?  If that is what they believe then they are in conflict with many biblical passages (including Romans 3:23-28) it seems.

WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THESE 5 STATEMENTS?
- Humans are born in sin, totally unable to please God on their own.
- Humans can do nothing (at all) to merit or earn their own salvation.
- Jesus died on the cross so that Christians (not everyone) can go to heaven.
- If God decides that he wants something, he gets it.
- Once God has what he wants, he never loses it.
(If you agreed with all those statements you may be Reformed.  Contact your local Presbytery for more info)

SPURGEON QUOTE
"I do not come into this pulpit hoping that perhaps somebody will of his own free will return to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, "You are mine, and you shall be mine. I claim you for myself." My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will."

PRAY FOR CAMERON FORD
My wife's friend from college is looking to land a job with a local church as an associate pastor and urban ministry director.  Please pray that the Lord will work all things in this job hunt for both Cameron's benefit and His glory.  Check out Cam's blog HERE.

SPEAKING OF THAT...
It appears that certain folks (not affiliated with the SBC) in Tennessee are circulating a group of documents to try and "flush out" those pesky Calvinist preacher candidates in Baptist churches.  Go to Josh Gelatt's blog to read more - HERE.

BRUTHA RALPH
My mom of my wife's aunt by marriage posted something that her pastor (Brother Ralph) said this past Sunday.  He said "If we spent as much time praying as we do keeping up with everyone on facebook, texting, and e-mails we would sure have more power in our life and church."  Great quote, now back to blogging...lol.

POWERED BY 4
I joined a e-mail distribution group last night called Powered by 4.  It is a product of Woodrow Kroll's "Back to the Bible' ministry.  They are gonna send me an e-mail every day with some scripture and some insights.  I think that Kroll is pretty solid and I need to get back in the word.  I read through the whole Bible last year for the first time and it was great (and tedious).  I am hoping that this will get me back into some daily Scripture.  Go HERE for more info.

HOW LITERAL IS LITERAL?
Is is necessary to take the creation account literally to be a Christian?  Can we be theistic evolutionists who see the first chapters of Genesis as a metaphor describing a real event?  Was there really a talking snake and a tree with fruit that made us like God in our knowledge?  Since Genesis was written long after that point in history, could Moses be explaining the creation of man, his union with God, his rebellion, and his fall in a way that was easily received as a narrative by those Israelites he penned it to?  Whadda you think?

THE "FULL" GOSPEL
When neo-charismatics use the term "full-gospel" they mean that Jesus death was about more than eternal salvation - it was also a means for our earthly financial prosperity and health.  The term implies that the traditional and orthodox view of the gospel, as the penal substitutionary atonement that provided for the Great Exchange of our sin for Christ's righteousness, is an imcomplete gospel.  I have a suggestion for renaming the "full-gospel"...how about this, "the false-gospel."   Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

WHAT DO POEPLE NEED?
HERE is a good article about disaster relief in the wake of things like the Haitian earthquake.  Novel idea to actually ask people in affected areas what they need rather than assume that we civilized westerners will know best.

A CATEGORY ERROR
Sometimes homosexuals will say that their current fight for same-sex marriage is akin to the civil rights movement of the 60s for African-American equality.  This is a fatal logical fallacy called a category error.  Skin color is a 100% genetically inhereited trait.  There is no choice or behavior involved.  Thats why we were wrong to hold back rights from blacks, they didn't do anything (based on skin color alone) to warrant a refusal of any civil liberty.  Homosexuality however is a lifestyle choice.  It might have genetic predispositionalism as a component, but it is ultimately a choice - in the same way that hereditary alcoholics have to decide to pick up the bottle.  Unlike unchangeable physical characteristics, we do make distinctions regarding volitional behaviors when we deny certain civil rights.  Felons can't vote or carry guns because of choices they made for example.  Whatever your view on the issue it is improper to try and use the 'same as black civil rights' arguement for same-sex marriage.

HOWS YOUR GREAT COMMISSION COMING?
Most of us aren't vocational clergy.  Yet, we are all a priesthood of believers and we are all called at the end of Matthew 28 and in Acts 1:8 to spread the gospel to the whole world for the purpose of making disciples.  It obviously isn't practical for everyone to be an overseas missionary, but most of us neglect the mission field that we engage with every day.  Do you actively seek to engage people at work, at school, at the gym...for the sake of the gospel.  Do you feel the urgency which comes with a sincere care for those lost souls.  Do you show and tell those in your group of friends and accquiantces about God's great mercy, his grace, and the death of his only Son on a regular basis?  This applies to those who say they are Chrisitan also.  Many in the South wear the nominal title and actually practice moralistic deism.  We must all seek to be more proactive, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in reaching out to those immediately around us (whom we already have relationship with) for the purposes of their salvation and God's glory. 

"If you made it this far, thanks.  I feel better now."
-Jason