Monthly Archives: November 2012

There’s Good News and Bad News

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The bad news is far worse than you think, which is what makes the good news more amazing than you could ever have imagined.

The book of Romans is the most comprehensive statement of the Gospel in the pages of Scripture. It starts with these words, “Paul, a servant (lit. slave) of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.” (Rom. 1:1)

Each word is significant, but one that is normally overlooked is the little word “of” in the phrase “the gospel of God.” Here, the word does not mean “about” as in the gospel about God. The word “of” here speaks of possession. The gospel of God is the gospel belonging to God, or God’s gospel.

This little word “of” then has tremendous implications. It speaks of the fact that God is not only the author of the gospel, but that He owns exclusive rights to it. The gospel is His Gospel, and we as proclaimers of that gospel have no right to alter it, modify it, or shave off its rough edges in an effort to make it more palatable.

According to almost all commentators on the book of Romans, in chapter 1:16, 17, Paul outlines the theme of the book when he writes, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, ‘the righteous shall live by faith.'”

The book of Romans is the presentation of the gospel. The word “gospel” means good news. That always needs to be kept in mind. Yet the good news doesn’t make too much sense without an understanding of the bad news.

You might think that the Apostle Paul would jump straight into the good news about God’s love for man, and His saving purposes carried out through His Son Jesus Christ. But that is not where Paul goes. Not yet anyway. Starting with the very next verse, Romans 1:18, Paul announces the terrible bad news that all mankind needs to understand. Continue reading →

Narrow Minded?

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Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:6

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” – Acts 4:12

One of the main objections people have to the Christian Gospel is this issue of exclusivity: that the Christian proclaims that only in Jesus Christ is salvation to be found. Certainly it would be less objectionable if Jesus was merely presented as simply one of the many ways to God. Yet it needs to be pointed out that it is not the Christian who came up with this idea, but the claim comes directly from Jesus Himself. Because of this, either Jesus is the Way to God as He said, or else He is a liar and a deceiver, and not even one way to God… or perhaps even worse, just a stumbling, bumbling itinerant preacher of the first century who just had no idea what he was talking about.

Lets think about this idea of there only being one way to God by looking at it from a hypothetical perspective. Follow the logic of Dr. R.C. Sproul as he writes the following in his book “Reason to Believe”:

Let’s suppose that there is a God who is absolute in His holiness and righteousness. Suppose He freely creates mankind and gives each human being the gift of life. Suppose He sets His creatures in an ideal environment with the freedom to enjoy the wonders of the entire creation. Then let’s suppose that God imposes one small restriction upon them, and warns them that if they violate that restriction, they will die. Would such a God have the right to impose such a restriction with the penalty of forfeiture of the gift of life if His authority was violated?

Then let’s suppose that for no just cause, the ungrateful creatures disobeyed the restriction. Yet suppose that when He discovered their violation, instead of killing them instantly, He redeemed them.

Suppose the descendants of the first violators increase their hostility and disobedience to God to the point that the whole world become enemies of God.

Suppose God still determined to redeem these people, and set aside a distinct nation for Himself, giving them special gifts, so that through them, the entire world would be blessed.

Suppose He kept delivering them from all their enemies, yet as soon as they were liberated, they rose up in rebellion to Him.

Suppose, because of His mercy and grace, God sent specially endowed messengers or prophets to plead with His people to return to Him. Suppose the people killed these divine messengers and mocked their message.

Suppose they then began to worship idols of stone and things they had made. Suppose they then invented religions which were totally opposed to the truth He had made clear to them, and they worshiped creatures rather than the Creator.

Suppose in an ultimate act of redemption, God Himself became incarnate in the person of His Son. Suppose this Son came into the world not to condemn the world, but to redeem it.

Suppose this Son were rejected, slandered, mocked, tortured, and murdered. Yet, suppose that God accepted the murder of His own Son as punishment for the sins of the very persons who murdered Him.

Suppose this God offered forgiveness, and a cleansing from all guilt, victory over death and eternal peace with Himself. Suppose God gave these people as a free gift the promise of a future life that would be without pain, without sickness, without death, and without tears.

Suppose that God said to these people, “There is one thing that I demand. I demand that you honor my one and only Son and that you worship and serve Him alone.”

Suppose God did all that, would you be willing to say to Him, “God, that’s not fair, you haven’t done enough?”

If man has in fact committed cosmic treason against God, what reason could we possibly have that God should provide any way of redemption? In light of the universal rebellion against God, the issue is not why is there only one way, but why is there any way at all?

Meet Demari

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Hello, My name is Demari Thompson. I am 16 and in the 11th grade. I enjoy playing guitar, writing songs and leading worship at my church. I currently attend an arts school where I study voice, musical theater, piano and other areas of performing arts.

I have an 18 year old sister who is currently a theater major at Grand Canyon University. My mother Cheryl is the greatest mother anyone could ever ask for. My life has most definitely not been perfect but I am 100% grateful for it. I never complain about the life I have because some people never get to experience life at all due to abortion. I believe anyway you slice it, abortion is wrong and always will be.

Now what about in the case of rape? Shouldn’t a person who never asked for a child have the right to have an abortion? Well that’s a good question and I have a good answer. No it is not an excuse. Let me tell you a story.

A women by the name of Arvetta, was raped by a friend of her family one day while she was sleeping. Later on because of that incident she found out the she had become pregnant. Now she had the choice to have an abortion, but she did not believe in murder so she kept the child. As it turned out that child grew up to be one of the nicest women you will ever meet. That women is now 57 years old, has 2 children and works as a nurse.

Now here’s the shocker, that woman is my mother. My Mom is an unplanned child. Now, if my grandmother had gotten an abortion, my mother would have never been born, and I nor my sister would have never existed. I tell you this not for you to feel sorry for me but to help you understand that good can come out of even the darkest situations. The Bible says in Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

No matter how horrible rape is, after it’s done then the bad part is done. Don’t make it worse by killing the one good thing that can come from it.

Thank you for your time.

Demari

God gave them over

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Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Romans chapter 1 describes the judgment of God in a way not normally understood. We usually comprehend the fact that as a just and holy God, He punishes sin, but this chapter teaches far more. It teaches that God, in His wrath can abandon a society (turn His back on them), allowing the people to pursue the sin they crave. He gives them up or gives them over to the sin they cherish most. When this happens, this will not merely BRING the wrath of God, it IS the wrath of God.

Romans 1 is a New Testament passage that mirrors many found in the Old Testament that speak of God’s dealings in this way. One such passage is Judges 10: 13, 14 where we read, “13 Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” Haunting words, aren’t they?

This is why, now that the votes have been counted, millions of Christians in America are waking up this morning with a great measure of sadness in their hearts. This is not because their faith in God has been shaken. That is not true at all. Their sadness arises from the fact that though a deeply divided nation, America as a whole (by means of the choices made) has clearly abandoned God, and this by itself is a sure sign of God’s judgment. God is saying, “alright then, if that is what you want, go for it.” As Justin Taylor commented, “It’s possible to hope in God, believe that King Jesus is still on the throne, and still be deeply disappointed.”

Yet for all who seek refuge in God, He shows His great mercy. The Name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and are safe.

May God bless America… with repentance.

Here is Dr. John Macarthur with a message from the year 2006 entitled “When God abandons a nation.”

The Big Picture

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I re-read the book of Revelation this week. We often get bogged down in all the intricate details but the book was written for Christians in all ages (often times) under heavy persecution and the big picture is clear – no scheme of man can thwart the triumph of the Lamb.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, tonight when the votes are counted, and forever.

All hail the Lamb upon the throne.

“… there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!'” – Abraham Kuyper

Miscellaneous Quotes (54)

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“There is no pit so deep but Christ is deeper still.” – Corrie Ten Boom

“He that is down needs fear no fall, he that is low no pride; he that is humble ever shall have God to be his guide.” – John Bunyan

“He whose head is in heaven need not fear to put his feet into the grave.” – Matthew Henry

“Learn to know Christ and him crucified. Learn to sing to him, and say, ‘Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and given me what is yours. You have become what you were not so that I might become what I was not.’” – Martin Luther

“Faith is the accepting of what God gives. Faith is the believing what God says. Faith is the trusting to what Jesus has done. Only do this and you are saved, as surely as you are alive!” – C.H. Spurgeon

“God’s love is unconditional for those He intends to adopt as His children. He does not make us meet a condition (faith) before He will love us, as the Arminian affirms. Rather, He meets the condition for us in Christ by doing for us what we are unable to do for ourselves, that is, giving us everything we need for salvation, including a new heart to believe. (Ezek 36:26).” – John Hendryx

“This little expression, ‘It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere,’ is a monstrous lie.” – R.C. Sproul

“The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world.” – John Piper

“If you know Christ and him crucified, you know enough to make you happy, supposing you know nothing else. And without this, all your other knowledge cannot keep you from being everlastingly miserable.” -George Whitefield, in a sermon on 1 Cor. 2:2 in 1739, in The Sermons of George Whitefield (ed. Lee Gatiss; Crossway, 2012), 2:238

“The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still.” – A.W. Tozer

“You will find all true theology summed up in these two short sentences — salvation is all of the Grace of God — damnation is all of the will of man.” – C. H. Spurgeon

“If we once get above our Bibles and cease making the written word of God our sole rule both as to faith and practice, we shall soon lie open to all manner of delusion and be in great danger of making shipwreck of faith and a good conscience.” – George Whitefield

“Nothing serves to verify the intimacy and constancy of the Redeemer’s preoccupation with the security of his people, nothing assures us of his unchanging love more than the tenderness which his heavenly priesthood bespeaks and particularly as it comes to expression in intercession for us.” —John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1968), 330.

“Those who give much without sacrifice are reckoned as having given little.” – Erwin Lutzer

“… you resemble what you revere, either for ruin or restoration.” – Greg Beale

“Our responsibility is to get God’s word to their ears. Only God can get the word from their ears to their heart.” – Albert Mohler

“God does not forbid sexual sin because he’s a killjoy, but because he opposes what kills joy.” – John Piper

“Jesus was not just a prophet but the fulfillment of all prophecy.” – Kevin DeYoung

“How do we bring glory to God? The Bible’s short answer is: by growing more and more like Jesus Christ.” – Sinclair Ferguson

“I want people to fill their minds with passages of Scripture while they are well and strong, that they may have sure help in the day of need. I want them to be diligent in studying their Bibles, and becoming familiar with its contents, in order that the grand old Book may stand by them and talk with them when all earthly friends fail.” ~ J.C. Ryle

“The Lord’s mercy often rides to the door of our heart upon the black horse of affliction.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon

“Prayerless souls are Christless souls, Christless souls are Graceless souls and Graceless souls shall soon be damned souls. See your peril, you that neglect altogether the blessed privilege of prayer! You are in the bonds of iniquity, you are in the gall of bitterness. God deliver you, for Hisname’s sake!” – C. H. Spurgeon

“Salvation is not verified by a past act, but by present fruitfulness.” – John MacArthur

“All our afflictions, all our temptations are to make heaven more desirable, and earth more loathsome.” – George Whitefield

“When a rape results in a pregnancy, this means that we are now dealing with three people instead of two. Two of those three are innocent, and one of them is guilty. Take a case of violent rape. The pro-choice ghouls want to do two things — first, they want to go easy on the guilty one, refusing to execute him, while executing one of the innocent parties for something his father did, and secondly, they want to make out anyone who objects to this arrangement as the callused one.” – Douglas Wilson

“The only thing that we have earned at the hands of perfect justice is perfect punishment.” – R.C. Sproul

“When God writes our names in the ‘Lamb’s Book of Life’ He doesn’t do it with an eraser handy. He does it for eternity.” – R.C. Sproul

“Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”
“Prayer is a war-time walkie-talkie, not a domestic intercom.”
“The call of God does what the call of man cannot. It raises the dead.”
“Suffering is not just the price many must pay, it is God’s strategy for victory.” – John Piper

“To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves.” – Will Durant

Does my Church need to be under an Apostle?

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Pastor John, “is the Church in which you are a member under an Apostle?” He said that if it was not, it was not a legitimate Church and he would strongly urge me to leave my present Church and instead find one that looks to a present day Apostle as its head. What should I do with all this?

Thanks for your question. It sounds very much as if you are dealing with a teaching that was promoted some decades ago (the 70’s and early 80’s) in the USA by what was called the Shepherding Movement. There were five main men at the helm, Charles Simpson, Bob Mumford, Don Basham, Derek Prince and Ern Baxter. Judging by the question posed to you, this false teaching seems to be re-emerging here. It is also worth noting that this line of thought concerning present day Apostles is also propagated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) and is central to their faith.

The passage usually quoted to support the concept of each local Church being under an apostle is Ephesians 2:19-21. Here we read, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” (ESV)

Here we see that the household of God (the Church) is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. That much is clear. But what exactly does this mean?

To answer that question we need to engage in sound exegesis, drawing out of the text what is actually taught by the text. Failure to do this results in just the kind of false teaching that your questioner is espousing. It is a doctrine that puts people (and Churches) in religious bondage.

So what does the text actually teach? The first thing we should do is look at the context. We should note that the key phrase “built on the foundation of apostles and prophets” is immediately followed by words that shed light on its meaning. Here’s what I mean.

The church is built on a foundation. The word “built” is a translation of the Greek participle epoikodomethentes, which, properly syntaxed should be translated “having been built.” In koine Greek (the language of the New Testament), this is what is known as an aorist passive participle. It refers to an action in the past; something that has already taken place, or completed. Understanding this is vital if we are to interpret the text correctly. To teach the doctrine that we must continue to build the foundation of apostles and prophets in our day is to misunderstand and misinterpret the text.

I once heard a Bible teacher suggest that God’s primary means of communicating His message were the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New. He made the application that the text in Ephesians 2 was a reference to this – that the apostles in the New as well as the prophets in the Old, laid the foundation for the people of God (the household of God) pointing to Jesus Christ as the ultimate foundation of all. This interpretation certainly does make a great deal of sense.

Looking further, when we check the greater context (the rest of the New Testament), we see that it is Jesus Christ Himself who is identified as the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:10-11). The Church is built upon this foundation (Jesus Himself) and is continually growing into an “holy temple in the Lord” (v. 21).

This is what is clear. The foundation has already been laid. Think about that and then ask the question, “how many times does a foundation need to be laid?” I think the answer is quite obvious. Just once! In this passage Paul is referring to something other than a continuing office of apostles and prophets.

One more look at the original text. When we examine the phrase “of the apostles and prophets” we find that it is a genitive construction that can easily give the sense that the foundation of the apostles and prophets is Jesus Christ Himself. This idea would certainly be consistent with Paul’s use of the word foundation (the Greek word themelios) in his other writings.

The Ephesians 2:19-21 in no way teaches that each local assembly of Christians needs to have a living Apostle over it in order to be a legitimate Church. That is not something taught by the text in any way at all.

You ask me what I should do with all this? My answer would be, have nothing to do with it. Continue on your Christian life as if this question was never asked of you. Forget it… and continue to be a faithful member of your local gospel preaching Bible Church, pray for your local elders, and get behind the vision with your time, talents and treasure (finances).

Happy Birthday 2 Today

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This blog got started exactly two years ago today. Back on November 2, I wrote, “A blog (or weblog) is a kind of online journal… this is a place where I share what’s currently on my heart and mind. Its where I share things that are fun; things that make smile; make me laugh, and where I pass on things I am learning and things that really make me think and ponder. In other words, its a place where I do my thinking out loud. Many times I will share my own thoughts entirely. At other times I will point to other people who have said something that has impacted me that I think is worthwhile for us all to consider. So this is a place where I share what I am currently learning about life and things that interest me about our world, as well as the God I love and the amazing treasures I am discovering in His word, and their practical application to our everyday lives.”

1,412 posts covering 227 different categories later, I’d love to hear how this site has been a blessing.

Each of you are busy people I know, but if you can take a few moments to write something about your experience with the blog, I would love to hear from you. Remember, if you do decide to write, please try to be nice to the birthday boy. He’s only two you know. 🙂