How to fight pride

Dr. John Piper writes about 10 ways he fights the horrible sin of pride:

I call to mind that I am not self-existent; only the triune God is. Only God is absolute, but I am contingent. I remind myself that I am utterly dependent on God for my origin and for my present and future existence. I call this to mind and ponder its truth.

I remember that I am by nature a depraved sinner and that, in all my sinning, I have treated God with contempt, preferring other things to his glory. I take stock that I have never done a good deed for which I don’t need to repent. Each one is flawed because perfection is commanded. Therefore I realize that God owes me nothing but pain in this life and the next.

I ponder that this condition of mine is so desperate that it could only be remedied at the cost of the horrid death of the Son of God, to bear my punishment and provide my righteousness. And I revel in the forgiveness and righteousness that is mine in Christ.

I meditate on those Scriptures that say, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,” (1 Peter 5:5-6; see James 4:6-10). And, “He who is least among you all is the one who is great” (Luke 9:48; Mark 9:35; Matthew 20:26).

I pray that the eyes of my heart would see these biblical truths for what they really are.

I ask God to make me not just see them but also feel them with a sense of the meekness and lowliness and brokenness that corresponds to their true weight.

I renounce desires for praise and notoriety and esteem when I see them rising. I say, “No! In the name of Jesus get out of my head!” And I turn my mind afresh with prayer toward the beauty and truth and worth of Christ.

I try to receive all criticism—from friend or foe—with the assumption that there is almost certainly some truth in it that I can benefit from. “Be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19).

I strive to cultivate a joy in Christ and his wisdom and power and justice and love that is more satisfying than the pleasures of human praise, with the goal that, by the Spirit, I would be granted the miracle of self-forgetfulness in the admiration of Christ, and in love toward people.

Finally, I turn often to older writers who knew God at depths which most of us modern people seem incapable of.

Must see ministry video

This is an incredible ministry leadership video. Click on this LINK

Drug Problem?

Quote for the day

Everywhere there is apathy. Nobody cares whether that which is preached is true or false. A sermon is a sermon whatever the subject; only, the shorter it is the better. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

For those who fly...

This is posted in honor of my good friend and excellent pilot for U.S. Airways - Captain Kelly Bartlett. Hope you enjoy!

Sinful Habits or Sinful Nature?

From Puritan Lad's blog here is the following thought provoking article:

There is a new catch phrase that is becoming popular in evangelicalism. It is a phrase that I have little use for, “sinful habits”. This phrase usually refers to sins committed by churchgoers that have repeated the “sinner’s prayer”, and thus are considered among the redeemed. The underlying thought is that, now that you’ve been saved, you need to develop better habits as opposed to the sinful ones. This approach tends to lend credence to the modern “therapy” gospel, ie. “Now that you have said the prayer and gotten yourself saved, let’s deal with your sin”. A deadly approach to be sure.

Reducing sin to being merely a “habit” implicitly denies man’s sinful nature. If sin is caused by bad habits, then I have the power to overcome sin by developing good habits. The problem with this approach is that man is born wicked. Sin is not merely a habit, but it is rooted in human nature. Or to put the problem in more biblical terms, man is dead in sin, and cannot be saved through therapy. This is so expressly taught by David during his own repentance.

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalms 51:5)

“The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.” (Psalms 58:3-5)

The deceptive part about this approach to religion is that, in some cases, it may well seem to work in overcoming a particular sin. An alcoholic, for example, may enroll in the therapy of Alcoholics Anonymous and succeed in defeating alcohol. However, this kind of work does nothing to purge the sinfulness from man’s innermost being. Developing “good habits” does nothing to place a sinner among the citizenship of Zion, anymore than reciting the useless “sinner’s prayer”. Telling sinner’s to overcome “sinful habits” is tantamount to telling dry bones to put flesh on themselves and live.

The Kingdom of God

This is a wonderful topic for study. Over the years I have had a number of questions from good students of the word regarding the "kingdom of God." When we had the Shepherd's Church a dear brother whose name is Glen Newton asked time and time again about the importance of the kingdom of God. If you are interested in further study on this subject, I have just listened to and gone through the notes of Dr. Steven M. Baugh. He is a professor at Westminster Seminary California. I have included both the NOTES and his LECTURE (The Kingdom of God). All you need to do is click on the highlighted and underlined words.

Home away from Home

Accomplished at the Cross

From R.C. Sproul's book "The Truth of the Cross"
"When we incur a debt by failing to meet an obligation before God, that debt must be satisfied-that is, the requirements must be met in a satisfactory way. When sin creates enmity and estrangement, the requirements to end that estrangement and bring about reconciliation must be satisfied. When we commit a crime against God, His justice must be satisfied-a payment or penalty must be given or made that satisfies the demands of divine justice, or it will be compromised."

Speaking the truth in love

We live in a dangerous evangelical environment in America. Everyone you talk to is a Christian and the culture becomes more self absorbed each and every year.
Watch this video and discern where you are and where your church is in relationship to the truth of God's word.

WANTED!

People with a heart that is passionately devoted to God!
- No age limit
- No experience necessary
- Educational background immaterial
- Physical limitations no problem
- Open to anyone, regardless of race, color, sex or national origin
- No mandatory retirement age
- An equal opportunity employer
1 Chronicles 16:9 - “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His..."

Summertime and the living is easy

With the warm temperatures upon us it reminds me that summer is right around the corner. Thought I would post a photo of a favorite eating spot in the Low Country of South Carolina. Everyone I have ever taken has always wanted to go back.

The Gospel

Dr. John Piper writes:

The gospel is not just a sequence of steps (say, the "Four Laws" of Campus Crusade). Those are essential. But what makes the gospel "good news" is that it connects a person with the "unsearchable riches of Christ."

There is nothing in itself that makes "forgiveness of sins" good news. Whether being forgiven is good news depends on what it leads to. You could walk out of a courtroom innocent of a crime and get killed on the street. Forgiveness may or may not lead to joy. Even escaping hell is not in itself the good news we long for - not if we find heaven to be massively boring.

Nor is justification in itself good news. Where does it lead? That is the question. Whether justification will be good news, depends on the award we receive because of our imputed righteousness. What do we receive because we are counted righteous in Christ? The answer is fellowship with Jesus.

Forgiveness of sins and justification are good news because they remove obstacles to the only lasting, all-satisfying source of joy: Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is not merely the means of our rescue from damnation; he is the goal of our salvation. If he is not satisfying to be with, there is no salvation. He is not merely the rope that pulls us from the threatening waves; he is the solid beach under our feet, and the air in our lungs, and the beat of our heart, and the warm sun on our skin, and the song in our ears, and the arms of our beloved.

This is why the New Testament often defines the gospel as, simply, Christ. The gospel is the "gospel of Christ" (Romans 15:19; 1 Corinthians 9:12; 2 Corinthians 2:12; 9:13; 10:14; Galatians 1:7; Philippians 1:27; etc.). Or, more specifically, the gospel is "the gospel of the glory of Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:4). And even more wonderfully, perhaps, Paul says that the preaching of the gospel is the preaching of "the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8).

Therefore to believe the gospel is not only to accept the awesome truths that 1) God is holy, 2) we are hopeless sinners, 3) Christ died and rose again for sinners, and 4) this great salvation is enjoyed by faith in Christ-but believing the gospel is also to treasure Jesus Christ as your unsearchable riches. What makes the gospel Gospel is that it brings a person into the everlasting and ever-increasing joy of Jesus Christ.

The words Jesus will speak when we come to heaven are: "Enter into the joy of your Master" (Matthew 25:21). The prayer he prayed for us ended on this note: "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory" (John 17:24). The glory he wants us to see is the "unsearchable riches of Christ." It is "the immeasurable riches of [God's] grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7).

The superlatives "unsearchable" and "immeasurable" mean that there will be no end to our discovery and enjoyment. There will be no boredom. Every day will bring forth new and stunning things about Christ which will cause yesterday's wonder to be seen in new light, so that not only will there be new sights of glory every day, but the accumulated glory will become more glorious with every new revelation.

The gospel is the good news that the everlasting and ever-increasing joy of the never-boring, ever-satisfying Christ is ours freely and eternally by faith in the sin-forgiving death and hope-giving resurrection of Jesus Christ.

May God give you "strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:18-19).

Biblical Geography online

From the Between Two Worlds blog site

David Instone Brewer pulls together an amazing collection of online tools for biblical geography:

There is now no excuse to teach or preach without pictures and maps.

1) Interactive maps & GoogleEarth
2) Traditional maps & powerpoint maps
3) Photos of places & archaeology

Endorsement for the ESV study Bible

Todd Bolen is an Associate Professor of Bible at The Master’s College and the photographer behind BiblePlaces.com and the excellent 10-volume Pictorial Library of Bible Lands CD collection.

Here is an endorsement he recently wrote for the ESV Study Bible:

The stunning illustrations and full-color maps immediately set apart the ESV Study Bible. Not only are the graphics highly attractive, they reflect detailed accuracy and the most recent archaeological discoveries. The three-dimensional reconstructions bring the biblical cities and buildings to life, and with 200 in-text maps, the reader doesn’t need to reach for an atlas to see the biblical sites. With its first-rate translation, top-notch scholarly notes, and superior illustrations, the ESV Study Bible is in a class of its own.

Do you have free will?

C. Michael Patton has written an interesting article on our free will.

There are many words and concepts in theology that suffer from misunderstanding, mis-characterization, and misinformation. “Predestination,” “Calvinism,” “Total Depravity,” “Inerrancy,” and “Complementarianism”, just to name a few that I personally have to deal with. Proponents are more often than not on the defensive, having to explain again and again why it is they don’t mean what people think they mean.

The concept of “free will” suffers no less with regard to this misunderstanding. Does a person have free will? Well, what do you mean by “free will”? This must always be asked.

Do you mean:
1. That a person is not forced from the outside to make a choice?
2. That a person is responsible for his or her choices?
3. That a person is the active agent in a choice made?
4. That a person is free to do whatever they desire?
5. That a person has the ability to choose contrary to their nature (who they are)?

To read his entire article click on this LINK

Let's be clear regarding "the gospel"

PLEASE LISTEN WITH EARS THAT CAN HEAR FOR YOUR ETERNAL FUTURE HANGS IN THE BALANCE!

Those uncomfortable moments in church

I thought this was a great article from "stuff Christians like" blog site. How many of us have not experienced that awkward moment when the pastor has everyone turn around and greet one another. Read on and hope you enjoy.

"This is a slight variation of the "Greeting the people around you" but after experiencing it at church today I couldn't pass up mentioning it. Every now and then, a Pastor will give you a little homework assignment. In addition to asking you to greet the people around you, he wants you to give them a message. One minister I listened to said, "touch somebody next to you and tell them, 'you're dangerous.'" The more common request is that you tell someone you're glad they are there. At church today, a guy I dig told us to "tell the person next to you something exciting you did this weekend." I've never felt an entire room get sweaty all at once before but that's about what it was like.

Suddenly everyone was trying to call forth something interesting or exciting they did yesterday. The lady next to me fumbled for a few seconds after shaking my hand and then blurted, "I went on a walk with someone ." That's not a direct quote because I was too busy realizing how ordinary my life was. I said something about writing a book and then we sat back down. I felt like I had "won" the exchange until after the worship songs she handed me an unrequested tissue for my allergies. (Living in Georgia is like eating a bowl of pollen for breakfast.) This is the nose equivalent of handing someone a mint as a subtle indication of your distaste for their breath. Well played stranger lady. Well played indeed."

It's time to WAKE UP!

Nancy and I have been privileged to invest the last 10 years in full time ministry. It has given me an opportunity to interview, talk to at length and train a large number of people within the church. I am very concerned with a lack of understanding of the gospel. Several months ago I received a call from someone who has been in the church 30 plus years and they told me they were close to recanting their faith. This person went on to express their deep disappointment and frustration with God. The dialog went something like this "all that I have done for God and this is now what I get from God." This particular person has been through some significant suffering both emotionally and physically. What have we been preaching for the last 30 years in America? And what are people in the pews hearing from the pulpit and in Sunday School class when others teach the Bible? Well I can tell you what I think from these last few years as a pastor. They are being taught and buying into a "Burger King" theology. You can have the Christian life and the Lord Jesus your way! All you need to do is pray this prayer, or sign this card, walk the aisle, join the church or get baptized. In essence just write the date down in your Bible and if you ever question as to whether or not you are saved go back to the date and claim it.

Brothers and sisters in Christ what are we doing and what are we thinking! How about some teaching about the sovereignty of God who declares from Old to New Testament "I am God and there is no one like Me." How about your sin as offended this holy and just God and His wrath on you and one day will be poured out in full measure against you. All this namby pamby, milk toast, get around the fire and sing kum-by-ya until someone has a spiritual thought makes me sick! How about the gospel which means in the Greek good news. But before a man can hear the good news he must recognize and take responsibility for the bad news. In our thoughts, words and actions we, yes we have sinned against a holy God who is also a just God. I mean what would we think if a judge in Charlotte, NC had a man in his courtroom who had raped an 8 year old girl and the judge let the man go free. We would yell at the loudest possible level and declare that judge was not fit to serve in that capacity and must be removed immediately. Well move the analogy to God who is just in all things. How can God possibly deal with our sinful, hateful and rebellious behavior that we have displayed toward Him? Surely if He is just, we deserve to be punished - right? The answer is yes and if you think deeply on this issue than your heart will confirm that the answer to that question is yes. But do you know that God in His great mercy and grace has made a provision for us through His son Jesus Christ to take away our sin past, present and future through His shedding of blood and death on the cross. And not only does He pay the full penalty for our sin (the just punishment that we deserved) but He also imputes His righteousness to our account! The gospel is good news in that it means we get God!

The person I was talking to several months ago did not understand this at all. They thought that when they became a Christian it meant in essence a blessing bank in which flowed out of that was health, wealth and prosperity. Wake up folks, this is a marketing of the gospel in a way where people want the blessings but not the Blessor, and all the gifts but not the Giver. And what they find out when the hard times come or some persecution arise that their spiritual house has been build on sand and not rock. What are we teaching people about God, about themselves, about Christ and about faith? Unfortunately and I say this we a great burden in my heart the church today for the most part is not preaching and teaching these great truths from Scripture. If you could hear these conversations, and see where people really are in relationship to information as opposed to transformation, I believe it would break your heart. Oh, that we would get back to the cry of the Reformation "we will only believe and do what the Bible says."

Quote for the day

"There is enough evil in my best prayer to damn the whole world" - John Bunyan

Modern evangelism

From John MacArthur's book "The Gospel according to Jesus."

"Our ideas of evangelism cannot indict Jesus; rather, He must judge contemporary methods of evangelism. Modern evangelism is preoccupied with decisions, statistics, aisle-walking, gimmicks, prefabricated presentations, pitches, emotional manipulation, and even intimidation. Its message is a cacophony of easy believism and simplistic appeals. Unbelievers are told that if they invite Jesus into their hearts, accept Him as personal Savior, or believe in the facts of the gospel, that is all there is to it. The aftermath is appalling failure, as seen in the lives of millions who have professed faith in Christ with no consequent impact on their behavior. Who know how many people are deluded into believing they are saved when theya are not?"

Examine your salvation

Believing means...what?

In the past few months this subject has come up in my teaching and dialog with others in the church. It seems that in America everyone you talk to is a Christian. But the Bible is very clear on what one must do to become a Christian and how one live in light of that reality. I recently had a teaching session in which I looked at John 7 and what Jesus said about believing. Hopefully this will encourage you and challenge you as to what it really means to believe in the Lord Jesus.

Read this doc on Scribd: How to study the Bible session12

Pastor B Wednesday night session at Carmel Baptist Church

A "Seeker-Friendly" litmus test

Conveniently borrowed from Reformation Nation blogsite

1. You think evangelism is handing out copies of Purpose Driven Life.
2. You think The Five Solas are a youth worship band.
3. You think Calvinists worship a little boy and stuffed tiger.
4. You think Bounce dryer sheets do great at stopping Hypostatic union.
5. Your pastor got saved (four times) at Billy Graham crusades.
6. You think Jesus would have had more success if He was just a bit nicer to the Pharisees.
7. You openly blast people who disagree with Oprah as being too narrow-minded and judgmental. Jesus would never be that way!
8. Your pastor did so preach on the book Romans! Romans 13:8-10, where it tells us how to get out and stay out of debt! (They gave away $10 gas cards that week too.)
9. Instead of “sin” your Pastor uses the word “oopsie.”
10. You think Paul Washer is what Jesus did to Paul’s feet when he was at the Last Supper.
11. You think ‘church discipline’ is the Technology Pastor yelling swear words at the iBook to get it to work.
12. Becoming Emergent is like coming out of the closet.

Book recommendations

As you know Nancy and I spent last weekend at the Cove listening to Dr. John MacArthur. Here are some recommendations that I want to share with you.
Amazon.com Widgets

Also for your listening enjoyment here is a recent interview with Dr. John MacArthur on Way of the Master radio. Please listen to his emphasis on "how we are to interpret the Bible." This is an excellent interview from one of the leading Bible scholars of our day.
Interview with Dr. John MacArthur

"Expelled" the movie

From the WorldNetDaily By Jill Stanek On April 18

“Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” will boast the largest U.S. opening of any documentary film ever.Scheduled for release in 1,000 theatres, “Expelled” will be hotter than “Farenheit 9/11,” which debuted on 868 screens, and much more convenient to see than “An Inconvenient Truth,” which I was surprised to find opened on only four screens nationwide despite all the hype, peaking at 587 before its appeal melted.What’s “Expelled” about? Synopsizes CNS News:

“Expelled” calls attention to the plight of highly credentialed scholars who have been forced out of prestigious academic positions because they proposed Intelligent Design as a possible alternative to Charles Darwin’s 150-year-old theories about the origins of life. Instead of entertaining a debate on the merits of competing theories, the scientific establishment has moved to suppress the ID movement in a “systematic and ruthless” way at odds with America’s founding principles, the film asserts.

Liberals have been going ape about “Expelled” for months as it has been screened around the country.

A blinding flash of the obvious

For those of you who have been following the WILLOW CREEK story within the last year, well here is one of the latest updates. Folks read this carefully and once again think about the implication of these findings for the church. You may read much of this and say "well no duh" but this is supposedly a major culture shift happening at Willow Creek. Here is the article I copied from Between Two Worlds blog site.

From the Our of Ur:

Today, Greg Hawkins, executive pastor at Willow, recapped the study and then shared some changes that the church is now making in response to the research. He said they’re making the biggest changes to the church in over 30 years. For three decades Willow has been focused on making the church appealing to seekers. But the research shows that it’s the mature believers that drive everything in the church—including evangelism.
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Hawkins says, “We used to think you can’t upset a seeker. But while focusing on that we’ve really upset the Christ-centered people.” He spoke about the high levels of dissatisfaction mature believer have with churches. Drawing from the 200 churches and the 57,000 people that have taken the survey, he said that most people are leaving the church because they’re not being challenged enough.

Because it’s the mature Christians who drive evangelism in the church Hawkins says, “Our strategy to reach seekers is now about focusing on the mature believers. This is a huge shift for Willow.”

One major implementation of this shift will occur in June when Willow ends their mid-week worship services that had been geared toward believers. Instead the church will morph these mid-week events into classes for people at different stages of growth. There will be theological and bible classes full of “hard-hitting stuff.” Hawkins said most people are very enthusiastic about the change.

On the seeker end of the spectrum, Willow is also changing how they produce their weekend services. For years the value people appreciated most about the seeker-oriented weekend services was anonymity. This is what all their research showed. People didn’t want to be identified, approached, confronted, or asked to do anything. But those days are over.

“Anonymity is not the driving value for seeker services anymore,” says Hawkins. “We’ve taken anonymity and shot it in the head. It’s dead. Gone.” In the past Willow believed that seekers didn’t want large doses of the bible or deep worship music. They didn’t want to be challenged. Now their seeker-sensitive services are loaded with worship music, prayer, scripture readings, and more challenging teaching from the bible.

Willow has been wrestling with the research from REVEAL since 2004. Hawkins said, “We’ve tried incremental changes for four years, but now we know we have to overhaul our whole strategy.” Small steps are no longer the method; Willow is revamping everything. “It would be malpractice for us to not do something with what we’re learning."

Read the whole article:

Different types of people who pray

From the "Stuff Christians Like" blog site

This, can be a surprisingly tense moment. At church or in a small group, someone will say, "I'll open us in prayer, Lisa you close us, and everyone else pray if you feel led."

Suddenly, there's an expectation. In less than a minute that opening prayer is going to be finished and you'll be faced with an incredibly difficult decision. Do I pray? Do I feel led? When do I pray? When is the "Closer" going to speak up and put an end to this prayer? How do I not start praying at the same time as someone else? So many questions, each fraught with danger and intrigue. That's why I have created the simple, "6 people you meet in a prayer circle." It's like that book, "5 people you meet in heaven," but slightly more sarcastic and bound to sell slightly fewer copies. Actually it will sell none, because here it is:

6 people you meet in a prayer circle:

1. The Almost-er
This is the person sitting near you that is constantly on the verge of praying. You can hear them doing that little breath thing, that little exhale before you are about to speak. And you can hear it because it's loud in the deafening silence of the prayer circle. Every time you are about to say a prayer you hear the Almost-er and you stop out of courtesy. And then they don't pray. So you start again and a long exhale from the Almost-er stops you again. It's quite a little dance.

2. The Gun Slinger
When there are only two people left that have not prayed and the Closer is mentally warming up to end the session, you may find yourself in a prayer showdown. It's just you and another girl that looks like a heathen right now for not praying. The entire circle senses that the prayers were good but they need one more before the Closer prays. They need one more tiny prayer to kind of wrap things up. But you don't want to pray and neither does the Gun Slinger. So you sit their in silence across from each other like cowboys in the street, waiting, letting the tension and the awkwardness build until finally someone draws their gun and blurts out, "Lord thank you for this day and everything you blessed us with!"

3. The Opener
You might think the "Closer" is the one with all the power, but don't be misled, the opener is in control. In addition to often choosing the Closer, they set the tone for the entire prayer circle. If they go long, people after them are going to go long. If they work in cute little jokes to the opening prayer, the people after them are more likely to be casual too. More than that, they don't need to worry about the Closer or fear someone cutting them off. They can pray and then relax. Their job is over and done in a matter of seconds.

4. The Rambler
Another name for this person is the "Jon Acuff." This is the guy or gal that sees the chance to pray in front of people as an open microphone. A chance to not so subtly reference everything they've recently learned during their quiet time in one long, rambling prayer. And there's no way to stop them, unless you are married to them. If you are, then like my wife, you can grab his hand and give him a squeeze that says, "I love you, you are good at praying but no one wants to hear about the spiritual mysteries you have uncovered recently in the book of Joel."

5. The Cave In
Deciding not to pray in a prayer circle is like not giving to a love offering. What you don't have any love in your heart? What you don't feel led? You're the only person in the room that didn't get led? Maybe we should pray for you instead of doing this prayer circle. Expect at least one person to be the Cave In.

6. The Closer
Closing a prayer circle is like being Spiderman. It's a gift and a responsibility. Although you get to determine when it ends, you also have to monitor the amount of quiet time that signifies everyone has gone. Because what you don't want to happen, what the Closer fears the most is the "Encore-ist." This is the person that goes after the Closer, boldly defying all rules of group prayer. It's an embarrassing situation for a Closer and for a few minutes afterward it's hard to make eye contact with them.

Bonus - 7. The Shot Blocker
This one is rare. Hearing this one in a group prayer is like seeing a unicorn. On the highway. With Gary Coleman riding it's back in the breakdown lane. In basketball, when someone on the opposing team swats your shot with their hand, preventing you from scoring, this is called "shot blocking." The same thing can happen in a prayer circle. It usually looks like this:

Person 1: "Lord, thank you for affirming my decision to take a new job."
Shot blocker: "Lord please give Danielle more patience and discernment as she looks for a new job. Help her not rush into anything."

This is the basketball equivalent of someone blocking your shot into another state. Just as you try to send up a prayer to God, they swoop in and contradict you. (Thanks LunarWorld for the idea.)

Those are the six people I find most common in prayer circles, but I bet you've run into some others in your day.

Quote for the day

"Soft preaching makes hard hearts; hard truth produces soft hearts." - Dr. John MacArthur

To drink or not to drink

This article from the Covenant Theology blogsite: I have linked to the articles for you on my blog site but I did not link to the Bible verses.

Few ethical issues have divided the church of Jesus Christ as much as that of alcohol consumption. There are many reasons that may be brought forward as to why alcohol should be avoided. Alcohol can be directly tied to health issues, domestic violence, and automobile accidents, etc.

However, while these issues should be taken seriously, the ethical questions concerning alcohol must come from the Bible alone. The Bible clearly supports the moderate use of alcohol, and therefore such activity cannot be considered immoral. Instead, the use of alcohol falls under the category of Liberty of Conscience.

Some have gone to great lengths to twist Scripture in order to support teetotalism, suggesting that much of the wine in the Bible was not fermented. Such as view, however, is without any exegetical support, and the standard is quite arbitrarily applied to certain instances of wine in Scripture. Kenneth Gentry, author of the book “God Gave Wine” examines the use of Alcoholic Beverage in Scripture:

Having demonstrated the fermented quality (and consequently the inebriating potential) of the wine of the Bible, I will now set forth several Biblical evidences of its righteous employment.

1. Righteous Example. In Genesis 14:18 Melchizedek gave yayin to Abraham in righteous circumstances. There is no evidence of any divine disapprobation in this episode. (See also Neh. 5:16-19.)

2. Sacred Employment. The Scripture teaches that both yayin (Ex. 29:38ff) and shekar (Num 28:7) were used for offerings to God. This is important for two reasons: (1) These (alcoholic) beverages had to be produced for worship and (2) they were acceptable as offerings to God. If alcoholic beverages were unsuitable for human consumption, why were they acceptable in divine worship?

3. Positive Blessing. God’s Law allowed yayin and shekar to be purchased with the Tithe of Rejoicing and to be drunk before the Lord. “You shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine (yayin) or strong drink (shekar), for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household” (Deut. 14:26). In fact, the psalmist attributes to God the production of yayin, which makes man’s heart glad (Ps. 104:14-15). Surely God’s provision has in view a righteous employment of alcoholic beverage. Furthermore, Scripture speaks of the satisfaction of life as illustrated in the eating of bread and drinking of yayin with gladness (Eccl. 9:7).

4. Spiritual Symbolism. The rich symbolism of God’s redemptive revelation makes bold use of fermented beverages. The blessings of salvation are likened to free provision of yayin: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come , buy and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Is.55:1). Kingdom blessings are symbolized by the abundant provision of yayin: “ ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows see...; I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; ...they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them’” (Amos 9:13-14). Elsewhere we read: “In this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees” (Is. 25:6). Clearly, wine—even carefully aged wine—is viewed as a symbol of God’s blessings.

5. Christ’s Witness. Interestingly, our Lord Jesus Christ miraculously “manufactured” an abundance (John 2:6) of wine [yayin] for a marriage feast. This wine was deemed “good” by the headmaster of the feast (John 2:10)—and men prefer “old [i.e. aged, fermented] wine” because it is good (Luke 5:39). Having “manufactured” wine in His first miracle, it is no surprise that the Lord publicly drank it. This put a clear distinction between Him and the ascetic John the Baptizer: “John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” (Luke 7:33-35).

6. Prohibitional Silence. Scripture nowhere gives a universal command on the order: “take no wine at all.” In fact, select groups that forgo wine are worthy of mention as acting differently from accepted Biblical practice, e.g. the Nazarites (Num. 6:2-6) anything and John the Baptizer (Luke 1:15). Others are forbidden to imbibe wine only during the formal exercise of their specific duties, e.g. priests (Lev. 10:8-11) and kings (Prov. 31: 4, 5). All prohibitions to partaking wine involve prohibitions either to immoderate consumption or to abusers: “Be not drunk with wine” (Eph. 5:18). “Do not be with heavy drinkers” (Prov. 23:20). “Do not be addicted to wine” (I Tim. 3:8; Tit.2:3). “Do not linger long over wine” (Prov. 23:30).

While the Bible strongly warns against the abuse of alcohol, it does not prohibit its use. Certainly wisdom and caution must be used in partaking of alcohol, but it is “a doctrine of devils” to prohibit its use totally (1 Timothy 4:1-5). In all things, Christ is the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23), and thus the church may not forbid what Christ has permitted (Proverbs 30:6).

Finally, as we look at a photo of early prohibitionists, I’ll let the viewer decide whether or not this is a deterrent or an encouragement to drink.

T4G 2008 Conference

Here are the audio downloads from the recent Together For the Gospel Conference: I got these descriptions from Steve Camp's blogsite

SESSION ONE: Here is the essential foundational message for any conference by Ligon Duncan; the absolute for fruitful and faithful ministry... sound doctrine. Ligon is one of my favorite pastor/teacher in the world today. His message entitled: "Sound Doctrine: Essential to Faithful Pastoral Ministry: A Joyful Defense and Declaration of the Necessity and Practicality of Systematic Theology for the Life of Church." This is the great need of the church today - the preaching of sound doctrine. We have a generation of Christians today who don't know the Lord they have committed themselves too. Feast on this exposition.

SESSION TWO: Here is a necessary message by Thabiti Anyabwile on the elephant in the evangelical room that very few want to talk about... and talk about biblically. I am speaking of racism. He has entitled his message: Bearing the Image: Identity, the Work of Christ, and the Church. Thabiti gives a thoroughly biblical message on this important theme. His words will equip you from the Word of God to address this issue head on without compromise nor cultural sentimentality. I thank the Lord for this dear brother in Christ.

SESSION THREE: Here is a powerful message by John MacArthur on the depravity of man and the doctrine of sin. This highlights the "T" in TULIP - Total Depravity. John has rightly titled this: "The Sinner Neither Able Nor Willing: The Doctrine of Absolute Inability." Let this message penetrate your thinking beloved. Mac is in his wheelhouse with both cannons loaded with this sermon and it is essential doctrine that we all need to hear. If you get a hold of its truth, it will reshape your view of evangelism forever. In fact, it will so radically impact how you do evangelism, that maybe the Lord in His sovereign grace would use it to flood our land once again with another Great Awakening by the Holy Spirit.

SESSION FOUR: Here is a great message by Mark Dever on the need for true discernment on what the gospel genuinely is. He is aptly entitled it: "Improving the Gospel: Exercises in Unbiblical Theology." Mark gives a passionate plea to be aware of a nuanced gospel; one that has contextualized nips and tucks done to its truth as to make it culturally acceptable, but biblically unrecognizable.

SESSION FIVE: Here is the heart of the gospel preached with a holy awe and reverence like only R.C. Sproul can do. This sermon is one that leaves us prostrate before our holy Lord for the great work of atonement He thoroughly accomplished on the cross. This message focuses on the "curse of the cross" that He bore for His elect saints. R.C. has entitled this profound message: "The Curse Motif of the Atonement." This truth is a staggering reality to not only contemplate, but will lead you in worship and adoration to our Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to our dear brother tremble at His Word.

SESSION SIX: Here is Dr. Mohler at his finest; theologically and biblically addressing one of the great themes of the Christian faith from the crucible of human experience. In this case, vicarious penal substitutionary atonement. He has aptly entitled his message Why Do They Hate It So? The Doctrine of Substitution. Sinful man will always invent ways and doctrine to diminish the exalted solitary role of the One Triune God in the redemption of His elect; and then raise his own importance so that salvation is seen as a partnership of grace plus works rather than salvation is by grace alone. This message will lead you in treasuring our Lord Jesus Christ afresh in His propitiatory ministry on the cross as our divine Substitute.

SESSION SEVEN: Here is a very impassioned plea from John Piper on the Supremacy of Christ that displays itself in willing sacrifice for the cause of the gospel. Expositing out of the book of Hebrews, John exhorts us to leave behind all for the sake of the glory of Christ in ministry. He has rightly entitled his sermon How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice? He is not asking for listening ears for another lecture, but for our lives and ministries have a radical, risk-taking, counter-cultural, out of our comfort zone to something greater and wonderful and Christlike.


SESSION EIGHT: Here is the final sermon of this year's conference from C.J. Mahaney on the practical issue of caring for the pastor's soul. C.J. has entitled his message: "Sustaining a Pastor’s Soul." Pastoral ministry is not solely about exposition, but also about cultivating godly affections. He reminds us all that "conference life is not real life." This is a personal word - brother to brother - from one pastor to another on the issues of the heart. So wherever you are may I encourage you to find a place free from distraction, pull up a chair, get your Bible and your favorite cup of joe to receive some down-to-earth-wisdom that will surely put shoe leather to the great theology we've been fed with at T4G this year.

The emergent church Bible

The Emergent Church leaders in conjunction with Zondervan Publishing announced on Thursday the release of their latest "Bible version" called the "Whatever Bible." The Whatever Bible is unique in that it is not really a "Bible" at all in the strictest sense. Rather, it is a leather-bound collection of 500 blank pages upon which one can write whatever he or shee believes to be true. Zondervan will custom print a title on the front of the "Bible" for no extra charge.

"We believe this will open the Bible market out there to people who wouldn't traditionally be attracted to reading the Bible" said Kurt James, the editor for the project. "Instead of trying to bind people to one belief system, we believe it is important for people to come up with their own thoughts for their faith journey."

According to Zondervan, the Whatever Bible will allow each person who buys it to essentially "write their own" Bible, putting down on paper what they think is most important. This might include passages from the Christian Bible, the Koran or quotes from Buddha. One may also choose to write their own interpretive

Living a "counterfeit" gospel

This is courtesy of Jonathan Leeman who posts on a schema of seven counterfeit gospels, as cited in How People Change by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp.

1. Formalism. “I participate in the regular meetings and ministries of the church, so I feel like my life is under control. I’m always in church, but it really has little impact on my heart or on how I live. I may become judgmental and impatient with those who do not have the same commitment as I do.”

2. Legalism. “I live by the rules—rules I create for myself and rules I create for others. I feel good if I can keep my own rules, and I become arrogant and full of contempt when others don’t meet the standards I set for them. There is no joy in my life because there is no grace to be celebrated.”

3. Mysticism. “I am engaged in the incessant pursuit of an emotional experience with God. I live for the moments when I feel close to him, and I often struggle with discouragement when I don’t feel that way. I may change churches often, too, looking for one that will give me what I’m looking for.”

4. Activism. “I recognize the missional nature of Christianity and am passionately involved in fixing this broken world. But at the end of the day, my life is more of a defense of what’s right than a joyful pursuit of Christ.”

5. Biblicism. “I know my Bible inside and out, but I do not let it master me. I have reduced the gospel to a mastery of biblical content and theology, so I am intolerant and critical of those with lesser knowledge.”

6. Therapism. “I talk a lot about the hurting people in our congregation, and how Christ is the only answer for their hurt. Yet even without realizing it, I have made Christ more Therapist than Savior. I view hurt as a greater problem than sin—and I subtly shift my greatest need from my moral failure to my unmet needs."

7. “Social-ism.” “The deep fellowship and friendships I find at church have become their own idol. The body of Christ has replaced Christ himself, and the gospel is reduced to a network of fulfilling Christian relationships.”

A cereal for your theology

"Oh. Never mind"

Why is everyone so worried about the emerging Lurch? All I hear about is emerging Lurch, how young people are into emerging Lurch!

I always liked emerging Lurch.
"Emily, it's EMERGING CHURCH People are upset about THE EMERGING CHURCH"
"Oh. Never mind."

A look at "future" church in America

April 3, 2047 - New York, Ny - Many of the members of Southpoint Follower of Jesus Assembly are still in a state of shock and confusion over Sunday's sermon by pastor Richie Hermon. Many are wondering if Hermon, who has been the pastor of SJFA for almost 20 years now, has lost his touch with reality. According to worship participants the service was going fine until Hermon got up to "preach."

"Everything was going along just fine, like it usually does" said member Patrica Kline. "The multimedia worship was wonderful and uplifting. Michael the youth pastor flew in to the service and impressed us with a holographic display. Someone sang a wonderful solo of Your Best Life Now and one of our ladies offered an interpretive dance to the story of the rich man and Lazarus. That was all well and good, but then Richie stood up to 'preach' and everything just went nuts."

As it turns out Hermon decided to stand up when he preached rather than reclining on a couch. This immediately made many people feel imposed upon and uncomfortable. The next thing Hermon did that was so shocking was that he actually had a copy of a Bible with him, opening it and reading from it which people also found dogmatic, close-minded and judgmental. After than he then proceeded to read passages from the Bible, commenting on sections of scripture and making application.

"It was the most bizarre spectacle I've ever seen" said Martin Roberts, a member of SFJA. "We all just sat in our seats shocked and dismayed at what was going on. Richie was up there reading from this book and telling people how to live. He was saying things like 'Only in Christ can we be saved' and 'Our words and deeds reflect what's in our hearts.' We just all felt so judged and looked down upon. I even spilled my beer!"

After the service many threatened to leave. Hermon was unavailable for comment.

Copied from TBBN blog site

The "Lone Ranger" mentality

The following is a good article by Tim Challies regarding accountability of men to one another. It is a very provoking article about the need but how rarely is it done with a great degree of effectiveness.

Lone Rangers Are Dead Rangers
I thought of this principle while sitting with the men of my church last Wednesday night. No, none of the men there had a huge blight on his face or anything unsightly like that. We’ve been reading through Josh Harris’ Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is) and came to the chapter dealing with accountability and the kind of friendship that asks the tough questions. We talked together for quite some time about the kind of relationship that allows for deep and probing questions—the kind of relationship that offers a real level of accountability. We soon came to see that almost all of us desire to be in this kind of relationship—one where we can speak with other Christian men and have them both challenge us to put sin aside and preach the gospel to us in those times where we’ve committed that sin yet again. This is not just accountability that focuses on sexual sins, but on all kinds of sin and transgression. But though it seems that all of us felt we could benefit from this kind of relationship, I believe that very few of us actually are.

And this has been my experience and my observation. It’s interesting to me that Christian men are hesitant to seek out this kind of relationship (and here I implicate myself as much as any man). Men want these relationships but very few are actually in them. I’m quite convinced that the main reason, or at least one of the main reasons, is that as men we are convinced that we would be the one who was imposing on others. I’d be glad to talk to a friend if he called me at midnight in the throes of a crisis. But I would never think of calling another if I was the one experiencing crisis. I would be glad to help a friend who truly desired a measure of accountability, but it would not occur to me to impose upon another if I needed accountability. Everyone is busy; why would I want to be a bother? And yet the other men are thinking the same. Maybe it’s time for us to lay aside pride and let other men into our lives.
Applying the Heat

According to Alan Medinger (quoted in Harris’ book) an accountability relationship is “one in which a Christian gives permission to another believer to look into his life for purposes of questioning, challenging, admonishing, advising, encouraging and otherwise providing input in ways that will help the individual live according to the Christian principles they both hold.” These relationships are one in which Christians apply heat to each others lives. They ask tough questions, probing questions, potentially humiliating questions, in order to find evidence of sin. Because we often have trouble seeing the sin in our own lives, we ask others to seek it out on our behalf.
Drawing Out the Infection

Too many accountability relationships end there. They are incomplete, ending with sin or with sympathy. Confession is necessary and we may well sympathize with one another as we discuss sins that are common to all men. But we cannot and must not end there. Instead we must take those sins to the cross. My pastor gave the wise advice Wednesday night that we must be prepared not only to look each other in the eyes to ask about sin, but also to look each other in the eyes and preach Jesus. We need more than confession and sympathy—we need the cross of Jesus Christ; we need the gospel so we can draw out that infection. We need to admonish, challenge, advise and always preach the gospel. As Harris says, “The most important thing we can do for each other when we talk about sin and temptation is to remind each other of God’s provision for our sin—the Cross of Jesus Christ.”

This is the kind of friends, the kind of brothers, we need to be. We need to be brothers who will ask the difficult questions—who will apply the heat—so that we can help one another draw out the infection.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).”

American Idol sings "My Jesus My Savior"

Of course you understand from the previous post that Jesus is not only Savior but He is also Lord!

Is Jesus Lord of your life?

This blog article has much from John MacArthur's books and study notes on this subject. Since Nancy and I spent this past weekend at a conference with him this is "hot" subject with me right now. A couple of years ago my seminary professor Dr. Don Howell lectured on the danger of Americans falling prey to the doctrine of a two-tiered model of salvation. It basically looks like this:
1. You believe Jesus as your Savior
2. You submit to Him as Lord
These two events may be years apart or they may never happen in the believer's life. In other words there are those in the "evangelical" church saying that a person can believe in Jesus as Lord but never submit to Him as Lord and be heaven bound with no problem. Are you kidding me or what?
It is sad to say but there are people within the church who have bought into this two-tiered model hook, line and sinker and maybe headed straight to hell. Is that too strong? Well take a look at Matthew 7:21 - “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Let me ask you a question, how can He be Lord if you don't submit to His will. The most stunning news in all the world will be those who stand in front of King Jesus only to hear Him say "DEPART FROM ME EVIL DOER FOR I NEVER KNEW YOU."

Here are the notes from our men's Bible study this morning.


Here are the notes on our discussion this morning regarding Jesus as Lord. I have not footnoted but have lumped everything together so just know that as you review the notes. We need to be careful in our language as we talk about and explain the gospel. Have you ever heard anyone say that you need to make Jesus Lord of your life? You don't make Jesus Lord of you life because if your are a genuine Christian, He is the Lord of your life!

As always I hope you will read carefully and examine everything that is written and that I said this morning against the word of God.

Listen to the typical gospel presentation nowadays. You'll hear sinners entreated with words like,
➢ accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior
➢ ask Jesus into your heart
➢ invite Christ into your life
➢ make a decision for Christ

You may be so accustomed to hearing those phrases that it will surprise you to learn that none of them is based on biblical terminology. They are the products of a diluted gospel. It is not the gospel according to Jesus.

The gospel Jesus proclaimed was a call to discipleship, a call to follow Him in submissive obedience, not just a plea to make a decision or pray a prayer. Jesus' message liberated people from the bondage of their sin while it confronted and condemned hypocrisy. It was an offer of eternal life and forgiveness for repentant sinners, but at the same time it was a rebuke to outwardly religious people whose lives were devoid of true righteousness. It put sinners on notice that they must turn from sin and embrace God's righteousness. It was in every sense "good news," yet it was anything but easybelievism.

Prior to the twentieth century, no serious theologian would have entertained the notion that it is possible to be saved yet see nothing of the outworking of regeneration in one's lifestyle or behavior. However, in 1918 Lewis Sperry Chafer published He That Is Spiritual, articulating the concept that 1 Corinthians 2:15-3:3 speaks of two classes of Christians: carnal and spiritual. Chafer wrote, "The 'carnal' Christian is . . . characterized by a 'walk' that is on the same plane as that of the 'natural' [unsaved] man."

That was a foreign concept to most Christians in Dr. Chafer's generation, but it has become a central premise for a large segment of the church today. Dr. Chafer's doctrine of spirituality, along with some of his other teachings, have become the basis of a whole new way of looking at the gospel. It is therefore essential to confront what he taught.

For example, Jesus is both Savior and Lord (Luke 2:11), and no true believer would ever dispute that. "Savior" and "Lord" are separate offices, but we must be careful not to partition them in such a way that we divide Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:13). Nevertheless, loud voices from some in the evangelical camp are putting forth the teaching that it is possible to reject Christ as Lord yet receive Him as Savior.

Lordship salvation, can be defined as "the view that for salvation a person must trust Jesus Christ as his Savior from sin and must also commit himself to Christ as Lord of his life, submitting to His sovereign authority.

The expression most often translated "Lord" in the New Testament is the Greek word kurios. It speaks of someone who has power, ownership and an unquestionable right to command. It overwhelmingly refers to the idea of rulership. The word was used in ancient times to refer to those who were not God, because they were rulers. Therefore the inherent meaning of the word is rulership.
The word began by meaning master or owner and was a title of respect and it became the official title of the Roman emperors. It became the title of the heathen deities.

Another Greek word for "Lord" is despotes, which is nearly synonymous with the word kurios. They nearly overlap in meaning but Murray J. Harris distinguishes that kurios signifies "sovereign Lord" whereas despotes signifies "absolute Lord."

Both words are extremely powerful. They were part of the vocabulary of slavery in the New Testament times. They describe a master with absolute domination over someone else – a slave owner. His subjects are duty-bound to obey their lord's directives, not merly because they choose to do so but because they have no rightful liberty to do otherwise. Therefore wherever there was a despotes and kurios, there was also a doulos. The one idea axiomatically implies the other.

A doulos was used to describe the lowest abject bond slave-a person who was literally owned by a master who could legally force him to work without wages. It was a person without standing or rights. The impact of this word has normally been translated in our English Bibles as servant has done much to cause misunderstanding of this word.

Doulos speaks of slavery, pure and simple. It is not at all a hazy or uncertain term. It describes someone lacking personal freedom and personal rights whose very existence is defined by his service to another. It is the sort of slavery in which "human autonomy is set aside and an alien will takes precedence of one's own. This is total, unqualified submission to the control and the directives of a higher authority.

Harris points out an important difference between a servant and a slave. A servant gives service to someone, but a slave belongs to someone.
1Cor. 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
1Cor. 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

We have a Master who purchased us:
2 Peter 2:1 - But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

To be specific, we were purchased for God with the precious blood of Christ.
Revelation 5:9 - And they *sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

As we study this particular aspect of "the gospel" turn to Philippians 2:9

In verse 9 – what is the name that is above every name?
This name will not only distinguish but it will also tell of His person and reveal something of His inner being. It will be a title that will rank Him above all other human beings and it will tell of His essence and identify Him as superior.
This name is not a comparative but a superlative!

Remember the man in the OT named Abram and he met with God.
What did God do with his name?
He changed it to Abraham?

Do you remember Jacob?
God changed his name to Israel after He entered into a unique relationship with him.

Do you remember in the NT a man named Simon?
When Jesus entered into a unique relationship with him then He changed his name to Peter.

Do you remember Saul?
Well after he entered into a relationship with God his name was changed to Paul.

A new name is given to indicate a new stage in the person's life. And God has done this uniquely through redemptive history.

God does that here by given Jesus a unique name. But here He receives a new name. It was not the new name Jesus because this was the name He received at His incarnation. But at His exaltation He receives a new name and what is it?
The new name is Lord.

This name Lord is equivalent to the OT name Yaweh which indicates sovereign ruler.
The name means rulership based on power and authority.

In verse 10 it DOES NOT say the name Jesus but rather it says "the name of Jesus!" This is the name that God has given to Him in His exaltation. And that is the name to which every knee will bow and every tongue confess.

Cross-reference; Isaiah 45:21-23 – and you have verses here that indicate the sovereignty of God.

Is. 45:21 "Declare and set forth your case;
Indeed, let them consult together.
Who has announced this from of old?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, the LORD?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A righteous God and a Savior;
There is none except Me.

Is. 45:22 "Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.

Is. 45:23 "I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

The name Lord implies Deity but also carries with it the power of sovereignty

The first basic Christian creed that was ever articulated said that Jesus Christ is Lord. And you need to realize that you don't make Him Lord, He is Lord!

Those who refuse Him as Lord cannot use Him as Savior.

The name Lord was coming to Him all through the NT – go to Luke 2:11
"for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
Even at His birth it was affirmed that Christ is Lord.

John 13:13 - "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.

Acts 2:36 - "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified."

Christ is referred to as Lord 92 times in Acts
Acts 10:36 - "The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)—
When we preach Christ we are to preach Him as Lord!

Rom. 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Rom. 10:10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Rom. 10:11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
Rom. 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;

Lots of people that like to talk about Jesus do not like to talk about Him as Lord. And because they don't talk about Him as Lord they don't follow Him as Lord.

Rom. 14:9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Rom. 14:10 ¶ But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
Rom. 14:11 For it is written,
"AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME,
AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD."

1Cor. 8:6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

1Cor. 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

1Cor. 15:57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Cor. 15:58 ¶ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

2Cor. 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake.

Rev. 17:14 "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."

Rev. 19:16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

The Scripture never speaks of anyone making Jesus Lord because only God made Him Lord. (Acts 2:36)
A current Christian periodical reads:
It is imperative to trust Christ as personal Savior and be born again but this is only the first decision. The decision to trust Christ as Savior: and then to make Him Lord are two separate and distinct decisions. The two decisions may be close or distant as it relates to time. But salvation must always precede Lordship and one can be saved without ever making Christ to be Lord of your life.
What in the world are we saying if we believe this type of teaching?
Christ is not Lord unless we give Him permission!
That can't be true and be consistent with the Bible which says in order to be saved one must confess Him as Lord.

By the way Christ is called Lord no less than 740 times in the NT – isn't that significant?

Look at Acts 2:21 -'AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.'
Checkout the cross reference in Joel 2:28-32

Acts 16:31 – Paul says to the Philippian jailer - "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."

The Lordship of Christ is central to the NT gospel. One cannot separate Lord from Savior.

It is at the center of the Christian confession that Jesus is Lord.
➢ It is at the very center of the gospel message that Jesus is Lord.
➢ The source of the exaltation is God
➢ The title of the exaltation is Lord

How many people in the church today have never studied this, heard this preached or taught and yet this is so plain from Scripture. Fellows we are living in the most dangerous time for the gospel. Please don't think this kind of teaching (a two-tiered model of salvation) isn't prevalent in the church, maybe it is prevalent in our own families.

A genuine Christian according to the word of God not only believes in Jesus as Savior but he or she also submits to Him as Lord of their life!

Ben Stein's new movie-Expelled

I saw Ben Stein being interviewed by R.C. Sproul regarding this new movie called Expelled. Check out the trailer.

Are you ready for this?

Dr. Bruce Ware told me at our retreat in February about the ESV study Bible that is coming out later this year. He talked very highly of the research and quality theologians that are collectively working on this study Bible. Well after to talking to Bruce I have been anticipating some release information. And for those of you who like to track this kind of stuff, well here we go. This is a post by Mark Driscoll who is the senior pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle regarding the new ESV study Bible. By the way the release date is set to be October 2008!

The ESV study Bible is the result of extensive work from 93 evangelical Bible scholars from 9 countries representing nearly 20 denominations and over 50 seminaries and Bible colleges. To the best of my knowledge, none of the theological contributors owns a prayer labyrinth or has ever finger painted their doctrinal statement, which is very comforting. Heading up the team are Lane Dennis (Executive Editor), Wayne Grudem (General Editor), J. I. Packer (Theological Editor), C. John Collins (Old Testament Editor), Thomas R. Schreiner (New Testament Editor), and my buddy Justin Taylor (Managing Editor).

The ESV study Bible includes the 757,000 words of the Bible along with an additional 1.1 million words of theological resources, which is the equivalent of a 20-volume resource library. Those resources include 25,000 notes, over 50 articles, 200 full-color maps, 200 charts, 80,000 cross-references, and some 40 color illustrations that are far cooler than the typical Bible pictures that look like a kindergartner tried to draw the Temple with their left hand.

As a geek who always reads the footnotes, I am particularly excited about Clinton Arnold’s work in Colossians and Philemon, Andreas J. Kostenberger’s work in John, Raymond Ortlund’s work in Isaiah, Grant Osborne’s work in James, Simon Gathercole’s work in Galatians, Thomas Schreiner’s work in Romans, 1 and 2 Peter, and Jude, and Frank Thielman’s work in 1 Corinthians.

The theological article lineup is nastier than the heart of the Red Sox order. Here are just some of the titles:

• “The Authority and Truthfulness of the Bible” by Wayne Grudem
• “How to Interpret the Bible” by Daniel Doriani
• “Overview of the Bible” by Vern Poythress
• “Reading the Bible Theologically” by J. I. Packer
• “Reading the Bible as Literature” by Leland Ryken
• “Reading the Bible for Application” by David Powlison
• “Reading the Bible, Prayer, and Communion with God” by John Piper
• “Reading the Bible with the Church” by John Hannah
• “The Bible’s Use in Preaching and Public Worship” by Kent Hughes
• “God’s Plan for Salvation” by Mark Dever
• “The Theology of the New Testament” by Thomas Schreiner
• “Reading the Gospels and Acts” by Darrell Bock
• “Reading the Epistles” by Thomas Schreiner
• “The Canon of the Old Testament” by Roger Beckwith
• “The Old Testament and Critical Scholarship” by Walter Kaiser
• “The New Testament and Critical Scholarship” by Darrell Bock

Lastly, I want to sincerely thank my friends at Crossway for pulling together all of the amazing scholarship and creative support that has culminated in the publishing of the ESV Study Bible. It sets a new standard in study Bibles and is an invaluable gift to the church. When it drops, I plan on carrying mine around with me like Linus’ blankie for a while and buying a copy for each of our elders at Mars Hill Church.

Quote for the day

“I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

-C.S. Lewis

Rob Bell makes me angry

Here is an article by Pat Abendroth, the senior pastor at Omaha Bible Church. If you don't know who Rob Bell is, or what he writes I think this will give you a good overall perspective. Pastor Abendroth gives a review of Rob Bell's book "Velvet Elvis."

Time magazine recently called Rob Bell “The Hipper-Than-Thou-Pastor” (Thursday, Dec. 06, 2007). This, along with the fact that his influence seems to only be growing, led me to read his book Velvet Elvis. Since it has been done, there seems to be little need for a comprehensive book review. But as I read Velvet Elvis I became personally motivated to do my part and duty as a pastor and expose some of the dangerous content lurking behind Bell’s hip veneer.

Pleasantries
Based upon what I read in Bell’s book, he is both funny and hip. I say this because he made me laugh and because he does cool things like play in a punk band and surf (even the infamous Trestles!).

Continuing on with the positives, Bell seems sincere and appropriately calls for Christians to love those in need (not just fellow Christians) as is called for in the second greatest commandment. This is a great point and something that needs to be said and re-said before being said once more.

Anger Management
So with a hip rock dude writing a book addressing the need for Christians to act more like Jesus, why the anger on my part? Here are some of the reasons:

Rob Bell makes me mad because he preaches an anti-gospel. He craftily does this by portraying the essence of Christianity as following Jesus and treating people the way Jesus did. While this is important, living the “Jesus life” is not the essence of Christianity and neither is obeying the commands of Jesus (as important as that is). The essence of Christianity centers upon the work of Christ on behalf of sinners (i.e. substitutionary atonement). This is the matter of first importance (1 Corinthians 15:3) that was the prioritized message of Jesus’ apostles (e.g. 1 Corinthians 2:2). Missing this is no small oversight by Bell. It is missing that which is of first importance! Over and over again he talks about living the way of Jesus and being like Jesus, but without the essence of the gospel, which is Jesus’ work! This is scandalous.

Rob Bell makes me mad because he writes off the virgin birth of Jesus as non-essential (pp. 26-27). You heard right, he writes off the virgin birth of Jesus as not essential! To state the obvious, this is entirely out of step with the Bible. Sure, one can redress and then mimic once-trendy quasi arguments by unbelievers about the word used for virgin in Isaiah 7:14 possibly meaning young woman. But the New Testament leaves no wiggle-room on the intent and therefore meaning of the word. We know this because the Isaiah text is quoted and essentially interpreted in the New Testament. In Matthew 1:23-25 the word virgin is used twice and shown by the context to mean virgin in the classic sense of the term. To ignore this is to show gross negligence which seems to depend upon an assumed biblical illiteracy by his readers. Far from being not essential, the biblical reality of Christ’s virgin birth is vital to His unique status as the sinless God-Man. As troubling as this unorthodox teaching by Bell is, he commits a more dangerous foul. Bell continues with arguments against the virgin birth of Jesus followed by an attempt to defuse would-be critics by slipping in a token affirmation. Bell professes to be a Christian. But given his disregard for Christian doctrine, the name “poser” comes to mind (borrowing an old title from the punk rock scene).

Rob Bell makes me mad because he downplays the vital role of conversion. In a horrible overreaction against professing Christians wrongly not being compassionate, Bell says “the most powerful things happen when the church surrenders its desire to convert people…” (p. 167). He then proceeds to establish a supporting argument that would surely set well with most anyone who is either ignorant of or ignoring what Jesus says in John 3—unless someone is converted, they will not see the light of day in the kingdom! Bell’s tactic is entirely unacceptable and irresponsible, but dare I say, fits with his mimicking the likes of the quintessential theological liberal Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969). Certainly Christians must love those in need if they are going to truly follow Christ. But such love is to augment the need to proclaim a gospel of repentance which calls for conversion according to Jesus.

Rob Bell makes me mad because he does violence to the clear words of Jesus. On page 21 for example, when he talks about Jesus’ claims of exclusivity in John 14:6, he spins them to mean something other than what they clearly say and have been recognized as saying by Christians throughout the ages. At first I was surprised at how much Bell sounded like a radical theological liberal like Marcus Borg, but then I saw that the very first endnote in the book was an unqualified recommendation of a book by Borg! Bell’s recommended reading on his church’s web site promotes reading by John Dominic Crossan, the former co-director of the Jesus Seminar, so endorsing Borg is not a matter of isolation. Such men have a reputation for shamelessly doing violence to Jesus and His gospel.

Rob Bell makes me mad because he is the pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church. I am not suggesting that churches with “Bible Church” in the name are anything special per se, but historically they have not been places where things like the virgin birth is considered non-essential. In my estimation this is downright deceptive.

A New Dress
Simply put, Rob Bell is a theological liberal resembling the mainline denominations of the early 1900s. The difference is that Bell is sporting a fashionable new dress or in his case, a new pair of geek-chic glasses.

If J. Gresham Machen were alive today, I suspect he would do what he did with Bell’s theological predecessors. Machen would remind him that while he has the freedom to start a new religion, he really should call it something other than Christian given that his religion does not resemble what Christ actually established as recorded in the Christian book, the Bible.

Causes
In my opinion, the reason this book is resonating with so many is because we have seen the evangelical church abandon the Evangel Himself. Yes, much of evangelicalism is empty because the Evangel of our evangelicalism is gone or as David Wells so aptly put it: He has been dislodged from its center. Couple this with a general ignorance of the Bible and church history and you have a book like Velvet Elvis actually seen as publishable by a “Christian” publisher and selling as if it were something novel and good.

Because I love the Evangel of the Bible and therefore historic Christianity, I guess it is off to anger management class for me.