Law and Grace

I was led to a good (are there any other kind) sermon by Charles Spurgeon to do with Law and Grace.

I think this quote from the sermon does a good job of explaining the law for the Christian:

" What is God's law now? It is not above a Christian-it is under a Christian. Some men hold God's law like a rod, in terrorem, over Christians, and say, "If you sin you will be punished with it." It is not so. The law is under a Christian; it is for him to walk on, to be his guide, his rule, his pattern. "We are not under the law, but under grace." Law is the road which guides us, not the rod which drives us, nor the spirit which actuates us. The law is good and excellent, if it keeps its place.”

This sermon helps me better articulate how the Law and Gospel work together. Not to mingle them but see their correct place, not by minimizing either but seeing God’s plan under the New Covenant for each.

When seen in light of the New Covenant (Jer 31:31ff) we see that the law is not abrogated (antinomianism) but is followed out of love and devotion for God not out of working for acceptance. His law is not burdensome (1 Jn 5:1-5) because we are not the ones that have to find the strength to follow it.

I was reading an article by Tom Ascol (A Neglected Topic for Needy Times )on this subject and came across this prayer from John Calvin:

Grant, Almighty God,

that as thou hast made known to us thy Law,

and hast also added thy Gospel,

in which thou callest us to thy service,

and also invitest us with all kindness to partake of thy grace,--

O grant, that we may not be deaf,

either to thy command or to the promises of thy mercy,

but render ourselves in both instances submissive to thee,

and so learn to devote all our faculties to thee,

that we may in truth avow that a rule of a holy and religious life

has been delivered to us in thy law,

and that we may also firmly adhere to thy promises,

lest through any of the allurements of the world,

or through the flatteries and crafts of Satan,

thou shouldest suffer our minds to be drawn away from that love

which thou hast once manifested to us in thine only-begotten Son,

and in which thou daily confirmest us

by the teaching of the Gospel,

until we at length shall come to the full enjoymentof

this love in that celestial inheritance,

which has been purchased for us by the blood of thy only Son.

Amen.

The fact we are under grace does not remove the law but lets us relate to it in a better and grace related manner.

Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort Interview on ABC Nightline

I just watched a tape of Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort (Way of the Master) that was recently done on ABC Nightline. It was a good interview and it was quite obvious that the interviewer just did not understand why Kirk does what he does. The interviewer saw much of what Kirk and Ray did as inciting rather than inviting but Kirk answered well that his job is not to avoid polarization; the Gospel does that, but to deliver the message of the Gospel truthfully.

You can read a transcript here and even see the video at this link: Kirk Cameron, From Sitcom Star to Evangelist.

Sin and Sacrifice (Hebrews 9:15-28)

I was reading Hebrews 9:15-28 and as I read about the sprinkling of blood in the OT sacrificial system and how it symbolizes the need for a perfect sacrifice, I was reminded of how this offends so many non-believers. Often this is hard for believers to defend or have an answer for as even for us it is a little grotesque.

The answer is we are not to defend it since it is meant to be grotesque. If we truly comprehended the amount of blood that would stream out of the temple and the ensuing stench during sacrifices, as the readers of Hebrews would recall, we are meant to see it, the sacrifices, as vile and uncomfortable. The reason is to remind us of our sin and the vileness of it. The death of Christ for that sin is to be remembered that way as well. All too often we see grace as the “Get Out of Jail Card” and in doing so neglect to see the darkness of our sin. The same sin Christ had to die for.

It is healthy to see our sin for what it is as this is what God uses to remind us of what we are not to be and to remind us of the changed hearts of the New Covenant that Christ ushered in at his death, burial, resurrection and ascension. We do need to glory in the grace of God but in doing so not neglect to see sin for what it is. Read Hebrews 9 and reflect on what the original sacrifices were to symbolize and how Christ fulfilling those symbols does not negate the vileness of the sin. Sin under the Old Covenant is no different than under the New as they are both to be cleansed by the death and shed blood of Christ, however, the cleansing of the Old Covenant sacrificial system was only a symbol of what was to come. That is why Hebrews lets us see that the sacrifices had to keep being offered until the perfect sacrifice, Christ Jesus, came. His sacrifice was a one time sacrifice and is not to be recreated over and over again or we miss the point of the perfect sacrifice.

So, when someone is offended by the whole issue of sacrifice for sin and the whole issue of blood help them see that this should remind us of what sin really is. I do not say they will buy the answer but if God is working on their heart they will come to see what their sin really is and repent.

Around the Blogosphere

News from around the Blogosphere:

Soulforce is to make a bus tour, I mean Equality Ride, of those colleges and universities that disagree with their views and have what they feel is anti-gay bias.. It would seem that we should be praying for those campuses that are going to as they stand for truth and that they will be firm yet loving in their conversations. Overall this tour is to gain publicity and to try and make out that those schools that stand for what scripture says are intolerant and harmful to society. The goal of the universities should be to do what is necessary to allow as little press as possible and still stand their ground and in the process show the visiting students that scripture denies what they are trying to promote.


Here is a report how things faired at Liberty University.


More and more the church tries to emulate the world in how it draws its consumers, and there is there is the rub, “consumers.” On Slice of Laodicea there is an article that deals with a church that has what would be considered a suggestive billboard that is supposed to draw people to a website and then to church. But in all of this is missed the Gospel and instead the focus in marketing. Is the Bible to be a source of info on our sex lives or to reveal the redemptive plan of God through His son Jesus Christ? There may be info in the scriptures that will help our relationships but all of this is secondary to the life changing effect of the Gospel. At the heart of this is, in my opinion, who one relies on to build the church: us or GOD.


Tom Ascol gives a heads up on what is to be taught at Centrifuge this year and shows that we need to be wary of the content that comes from the SBC as well as other places. I know after reading some different books about children and youth in the 1600’s ( A Token for Children ) and 1700’s ( To the Rising Generation ) it becomes apparent that we are much worse than shallow today we are not even in the water.

Women, Ministry and the Church

Having gone to the Shepherd’s conference Saturday and listened to Ligon Duncan speak on the issue of women in ministry and the importance of dealing with the subject, it reminded me of how the church today wants to do things the easy way. If you take a stand that women have roles to fill, just as men do, you will often be labeled as subjugating women. The issue is all too often laden with emotion and the simple fact that one might say that some ministry is not permissible is not acceptable in today’s culture. The church has bought into the world’s idea that if it is something you desire you should be able to “do it.”

What is amazing is that when it is said that there are limits to women’s ministry people forget that the same is to be said for men. Not all men can be elders no matter how good they teach or how successful they are in business. However, the church has missed the boat in that arena as well. At the heart of this all is that the heart of mankind desires to do whatever it pleases and if they are told no that just does not sit well. The whole issue of entitlement permeates the church and everyone feels they are entitled to do as they please.

We miss the point of observing the Trinity in that the 3 are one in essence, all God, but all have a role to fulfill. We do not see Jesus telling the Father, “no I would rather have your position because that is what I feel called to and who are you to say no since I am God.” Each member did as they were called to in the relationship: The Father sent the Son and the Son sent the Holy Spirit. So it is with us, we all have a part in the church and God has designed those parts not us. Once we start messing with the church to make it in our own image what a mess it becomes.

As a side note, this is not just an issue of women in ministry it is also about interpreting scripture. I think it is not a coincidence that those denominations that now ordain women now either condone homosexuality or are having to deal with the issue on a very serious basis. Once you start making everything in scripture culturally relevant there is really no end to what will happen as culture continually changes.

I do not say any of this is easy but if we truly see God’s word as it is, I can say it is not a burden. Nike’s saying does have merit in that when it comes to scripture we do need to “Just Do It.” Not without study and prayer but when the plain truth of scripture stares us in the face we need to comply and thankfully we are given that ability as believers due to the hearts we have being changed by God to allow us to comply and desire to do so.

Family Friendly II

More thoughts on what is actually being "Family Friendly:

As I further think about how the church is to rightly deal with families it does seem that the essential question to ask first is: What is the purpose of the church? If the purpose is to provide a slew of activities and allow parents a time of “spiritual renewal” then sending the children off in every direction would be a logical result. Now, I referenced “spiritual renewal” but I do not think that this has to be done apart from the family. We, the church, have in our day of the “individual” redefined things in such a way that if anything appears to get in the way of ones personal aim then it needs to be either eliminated or at least abated for some time frame. Thus having children in a service or at some specific age in a general Sunday morning study is seen as distracting and thus to be eliminated. Of course things are not worded this way and the common claim is that since differing ages learn differently then they need to be divided. While there is some truth to this it does not necessarily have to end in separation.

This is not an issue that only applies to children. I hear adults complain that group studies just slow down their spiritual walk. This individualistic approach neglects to see that the community grows together as well as individually. So while a group may slow one individual down that individual may actually increase the growth of the slower members of the community. Thus the church as whole grows much faster and more deeply and the individual grows in that they actually use the gifts they have for the benefit of others ( 1 Cor 12 ). This applies to children as well as adults so that if these differing groups learn together the growth will be so much more as a whole.

I do believe that there are times for groups to be built around specific needs, common life experiences and mutual goals not at the expense of the church as a whole. By constantly separating the church we in essence create many smaller churches that lack the discernment that others may provide but due to this separating is not possible.

I am sure that for many this sounds like an old fashioned, one school room, way of seeing church but let me assure you I do not think this is so. My goal in trying to see how this is too truly work is to see how God has designed the family and thus the church family and then make sure that we are doing all we can to help it grow. I do not think that on the sermon on the mount there was a separate children’s mini sermon on the mount or youth sermon on the mount with culturally correct lingo but those that were there sat and listened together. The parents were then tasked with explaining what was heard and this is how I think the main teaching in church should function. This way the teaching of children and youth is not abrogated and given to some other person but the parents are intimately involved in the discipleship of their children.

What is actually just as hard a problem is not in seeing how the church should function with regards to families but seeing how the church is to move to what is truly a “Family Friendly” church. This separation has gone on so long and become so ingrained moving people from this is a difficult task. This is true also for the teaching of younger people in the church. We so often dumb down the message to children that over time this is what is expected and all that can be handled but children can learn so much more.

I will have to think through this more as the more I ponder what God desires from His church all too often I see the church taking it’s cues from the world rather than scripture. Yes we have to deal with a fallen world but we as a church do not need to take on fallen principles but instead need to work at moving God’s people to God’s design.

Family Friendly?

The following are just some thoughts on what "Family Friendly Ministry" means. I do not know how this all works out in ministry and how one changes how church is done to be truly family friendly. So this is just thoughts that I am working on to see how God leads to incorporate a God driven design for “Family Friendly Ministry.”

Is it just me or does it seem a little contradictory to advertise that a church is “Family Friendly” and then have the family split apart in every direction with numerous “age appropriate” activities. I guess it depends on how you view the family.

I realize that the motives may be good in trying to cater to families by supplying numerous choices for activities but the result is that families are fragmented. The spiritual growth of the children and youth is basically taken over by the Children’s Ministry, Youth Ministry, AWANA or some other activity.

This said I do see that there can be a place for some of these ministries as support for the family as a whole. Such as, youth can have time together but at as an addition to not in place of the family and the same for children, My issue is that while there may or may not need to be different studies on Sunday mornings, for example, what has happened is that this has spawned even further fragmentation with families not even worshiping together. Again, there can be times of added studies that relate to differing life situations and ages but this is in addition to worshiping together.

We have sort of taken the world’s view of supplying so many choices to the consumer that the church is more like a market place than a center of worship and we know what Jesus did when this happened. I think back to Judges 2:10 which speaks of a generation rising that did not know the Lord or the work He had done. As we fragment the family so to will the passing down the truths of scripture be lost. This function will be taken over by others and the family will cease to be what God designed it to be.

I am sure this is not how everyone sees church, obviously as one looks at the church today, but I do think we need to take a hard look and see if it is consumerism that is driving how we do church or scripture. I have to think about how this all works and where it is appropriate for separating ages and such but my personal opinion, for what it is worth, is that these decisions need to be based on how it affects the whole and not necessarily the individual. The individual is important, but as God designed us to be part of a community of believers, just look at Acts, we need to see the individual as part of that community and not simply a lone consumer searching for the next good buy.

This is not a call to go back to some time in the past but a call to be faithful to scripture today. Not to read today’s culture into scripture but to live scripture into the culture and thus change it or at the least be a beacon of light in a lost world.

IT Support and Pastoring

As I do IT work along with Engineering in my secular job I found this at Team Pyromaniac to be quite funny in a weird/sad sort of way, but IT may not be quite as depicted: 26 ways in which doing IT Support is better than being a pastor.

Don't Waste Your Cancer

This is an Article written by John Piper before his recent surgery: Don't Waste Your Cancer

There is much on the horizon for the SBC

After reading a number of blogs this week it seems that the SBC meeting this year could be an important one. From the issues with the IMB and it's proposed policies to the voting in of a new President and the promotion of many higher ups in the convention of Johnny Hunt.

The issues with IMB are complex as it is hard to separate the rights they have as an organization to set policy for who is to be sent to the mission field with the amount of say they should, in essence, have over the local church. Since the SBC really only exists once a year at the annual convention it is issues like this that set the tone for the coming years.

The issue of who will president is important as it to sets a tone. The man that is chosen will say much about the direction of the convention. Will the convention continue to go down the road of focusing on baptisms and confessions rather than going deeper and truly seeking to have a regenerate church membership? I for one would like to see a call for purging the roles of the Southern Baptist Churches of those that by there lack of attendance negate their membership. Let’s get the attendance in weekly gatherings to mirror our roles instead of having membership being so inflated. With this the case it would be good to see the new president be willing to show the way. So many of the men that seem to be mentioned as presidential material have memberships that far exceed their weekly attendance and no matter their baptism numbers the actual ratio of regular attendees to members seems to be spiraling downwards. Also of importance would be to have man that is theologically adept so that regardless of their position on the Doctrines of Grace they can fairly articulate the opposing sides views, this is not the case with many that may be named for this position, especially Johnny Hunt.

There is still hope for the convention but as Tom Nettles shows in his book Ready for Reformation there is work to be done and changes to be made. Reform has to start somewhere and I feel it will tend to come from those that may not have been so ingrained in Southern Baptist life or those that have been on the front lines for some time and now have more reinforcements to work towards the needed reforms.

Tom Ascol’s blog is a good source of information on this and Tom has a good manner in his dealing with the issues.

What Does Truth Matter?

As I was walking by a Barnes and Noble I noticed something in the window that speaks, at least to me, volumes. There, prominently presented, in a window display was large layout of the book A Million Little Pieces. This is the book that has recently shown to contain much fabricated material when it was supposed to be showing the actual happenings of a man in the midst alcoholism, drug addiction, and criminal behavior. Once it was revealed as not what it appeared to be Oprah Winfrey had the author on to speak about this. Winfrey was led to this as she was largely responsible for building up this book and making it a best seller.

The point is that even after it has been revealed to be based on falsehoods it is still being sold and promoted. The world cares little about truth or thinks so little of it that even if a story is fake but gives them some sort of feeling it is OK.

While I realize that it is the state of man’s heart that leads to denying the Gospel we can also from this see why when speaking of truth to people to day it is not all that important to them. This is also why we need to pray for God to work on peoples hearts so they do see truth. Also, churches need to not be enamored by the new emergent look at truth or lack being able to know truth for certain. We, the church, need to preach the truth because in the end the church may be the last refuge of truth as the world spirals further into relativism.

Don’t forget the next big blockbuster movie to hit the big screen will filled with half truths and blatant falsehoods and people will flock too it, The Da Vinci Code.

The new Pope of the Emerging church?

Well maybe he is just a cardinal since Brian Mclaren may be the Pope.

In my wanderings around the web it is interesting to see how often Bono, of U2 fame for those that do not know, is looked to as some sort of enlightened follower of Christ. People seem to clamor to see if he is a Christian or not, obviously his answers to this question are not enough or they would settled the issue long ago. In reality he answers questions with regards to his faith as clearly as most in the Emergent movement. His rhetoric is essentially focused on social issues and as a Christian I would agree that often we fall short in doing what we can. But when it comes to the spiritual bankruptcy of the world he appears to leave well enough alone or is quite vague.

This all leads me to ask: Why is it that Christians are forever looking for that silver bullet to slay the dragon? The Christian community is looking for the next author (Anne Rice), movie star (Jane Fonda), or Rock Star (once it was Bob Dylan and now it is Bono) to cling on to so as to sort of say to the world look who we have. We do the same with other cultural trappings such as movies (The Passion). Well for one I do not see any thing greater about the salvation of a movie star than the salvation of a neighbor or co-worker. We are a culture of excess and it has invaded the Christian world. We have bought into the celebrity-itus, I am sure that is not a word, and constantly laud praise on those that are famous who proclaim to know Christ. We neglect to see that throughout scripture God did not use the famous as much as He used the unlikely; Abraham, Joseph, Moses and David (among others) all leading up to the most unlikely, in the eyes of the world, Christ.

Back to Bono, here are some articles:

Andy Stanley and Bono: Together at Last!
Bono Lauds, Prods Prayer Breakfast
St. Bono Help of Christians

Covenant Theology and Baptists

I have been listening to some very good talks on Covenant Theology from the 2005 Founders Conference Southwest. They do a very good job of explaining how Covenant Theology is not new for Baptists and especially is not new for Southern Baptists. How you interpret scripture will drive your interpretation of the Covenants and how they apply to the church today. Covent Theology also helps one to see that the Church is not simply a parenthesis but has been part of God’s plan from eternity. Covent Theology should not be mistakenly seen as Replacement Theology, as I think some do, but instead shows how all believers are the church, both Jew and Gentile.

Listen for yourselves as you can download the MP3s from the Spurgeon Baptist Association of Churches in Kansas. I encourage you to listen and see how God has worked from the beginning to bring His chosen people, both Jew and gentile, to Himself.

Ready for Reformation

I have just started reading Ready for Reformation: Bringing Authentic Reformation to the Southern Baptist Churches by Tom Nettles and am finding it a very good read. In actuality the call for reformation he makes could just as easily be made for many other denominations.

I have not gotten far but am reading on preaching and its shallowness in many SBC churches and for that matter much of the church as a whole. To relate the importance of solid preaching to the life of the church Nettles says:

“The believer’s only opportunity to hear an argument mounted against the torrent of temporality pressed daily and hourly into his consciousness comes when a Christian minister stands to preach the Word of God. Will he hear anything that challenges and strips bare the lies that have been presses on him from every quarter? Or will he hear a few assertions from a biblical text surrounded by warm stories garnished with the trappings of sentimentality and never enter substantially into truth? Will he be called on without doctrinal instruction to pull himself together and get with it for Christ, decide to do right, and make Christ the center of life?” (Page 32)

These are strong words but rightly needed in today’s day of “don’t worry be happy” preaching. With so many preachers afraid to even mention sin in case it may somehow harm the sensibilities of his listeners and even reduce the size of his congregation it is refreshing to see one, Tom Nettles, who is in a position to foster change make such calls for reformation in preaching. This is a wake up call for all, including myself, to make sure that what we preach is not molded so as to stoke the ego’s of our listeners but to encourage God driven change in their lives and thus the life of the church by preaching the Word of God as if it truly is the Word of God.

To this point the book is not simply a critique of what is wrong but has solid guidance for change and a feeling that change can come by the hand of God on His people. All is not lost to the worldliness of the current church and specifically to the text many SBC churches.

Also, check out Tom Ascol’s comments from late last year when the book came out:

Ready for Reformation?
Ready for Reformation? Pt2
Ready for Reformation? Pt 3
Ready for Reformation? Pt4
Ready for Reformation? Pt5
Ready for Reformation? Pt6

I plan on writing more as I go through this book.

Homosexual Activism and the SBC

Tom Ascol recenlty wrote on a conversation he had with a gay activist. This is a very good article to see how one can be biblical, stand ones ground on truth and also show love.

Examining Ones Faith

The following is an article written by Steve Camp that deals with a touchy area with most professing believers, that of examining their faith to see if it is true. I would encourage you to read this and contemplate the questions at the end. To know where you stand with God is of utmost importance. I can speak from personal testimony that if I had been asked these questions during the 8 years I thought I was a Christian I would have understood earlier my true position with God.



Could I Be Called a Christian?
...what is the evidence of your salvation

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!... " 2Corinthians. 13:5

We all have PhD’s in rationalizing our behavior; we have all graduated with high honors. Most people are "good Christians" in their own judgment and by their own assessment. But we can never render the final verdict upon ourselves for our own conscience is defiled and our discernment skewed. The Apostle Paul gives this insight on the flawed value of self-analysis, "For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord" (1 Corinthians 4:4 emphasis added).

The Narrow Road
If Paul, being the greatest Christian to ever live, would not trust - dare not trust his own self-evaluation, how much more we?. It is a narrow road that leads to heaven (Matt. 7:12ff) and few are they that find it. As Matthew Mead so appropriately states, "...self-love deceiveth truth for its own interest." The heart of man is the greatest imposter and cheat in the world; God himself states it, "The heart is deceitful above all things [and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)]. Despite that astounding appraisal of the human condition, we are still commanded to take self-inventory. We must judge ourselves not by the standard of ourselves, but by the Word of God; by the Lord's standard and rule (2 Timothy 3:16-16); by the Lord's wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:24-25); by the Lord's divine verdicts (Psalm 19:9)..

The Almost Christian
Therefore, we must examine ourselves--eliminating ourselves as the standard, the rule, the judge and jury. Sunday morning worship services in America are littered with thousands of people pretend­ing to be Christians. They enjoy the music, support church programs, find benefit and solace in a stirring sermon, relish in the fellowship, and may even serve as an elder, deacon or sunday school teacher - "yet be no better than almost a Christian" as Mead decisively proclaims. They have come to church but have never come to Christ! They haven't taken stock of their spiritual condition - they have not examined themselves. And if by chance they do, it is not with the probing double edged sword of God's Word (Hebrews 4:12), but with the crooked plumbline of moral standards, good works, philanthropic gestures, acts of kindness or good will, and worse -religion. They are moral people headed for a "moral" hell. Jeremiah Burroughs, a Puritan divine, cuts through that illegitimate prideful system of useless righteousness when he says, "repent not that you are civil, but repent that you are no more than civil." One of the marks of a true Christian is that he embraces a life of repentance - he loves God and hates sin (2 Timothy 2:19).

To still be in love with your sin and "wedded to your idols", as Spurgeon says, is to "insult the gospel, pervert the truth and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness." The Christian life is not marked by a life of disobedience, unbridled passion, unbroken pride and unguarded pleasure. The true Christian is one that is evidenced by a life of obedience, a life of holiness, a life of righteousness, a life of virtue, a life of godliness, a life of Christ-likeness!

How May I Know I Am Elect?
A.W. Pink gives seven points of reflection that I would urge you to use as a thermometer to take the temperature of your spiritual health.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Seventh, by giving all diligence to cultivate the Christian graces, and using all diligence to this end. Scripture encourages healthy self-scrutiny.

"Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you" (2 Peter 1:10a). No where more important should this examination occur than when approaching the table of grace - holy communion (1 Corinthians 11:28). John MacArthur reminds us, "Self-examination is as important today as ever. When statistics tells that more than a billion people in the world are Christians, one must wonder who established the criteria. Such figures certainly do not square with what Jesus said about many on the broad road and few on the narrow." (Matthew 7:13-14).

Even those who belong to the right church can be deceived and utterly devoid of the righteousness of God through Christ... The Bible teaches clearly that the evidence of God's work in a life is the inevitable fruit of transformed behavior (1 John 3:10). Faith that does not result in righteous living is dead and cannot save (James 2:14-17). Professing Christians utterly lacking the fruit of true righteousness will find no biblical basis for assurance they are saved (1 John 2:4). These words are not meant to spark feelings of doubt about your salvation if you are genuinely saved. However, they are meant to prick the hearts of those who have a false security in themselves, based on good works absent of true faith. I would implore you to turn the penetrating laser of the Word of God upon your life. Is it "wood, hay and stubble", that will ultimately burn, or will your life stand the test and be proved to be "gold, silver and precious stones"? (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). Is there enough evidence to convict you of being a Christian?

DIGGING DEEPER
*"The Almost Christian Discovered" by Matthew Mead
*"The True Christian Love For the Unseen Christ" by Thomas Vincent

LIFE APPLICATION
1. Think of one example from the past week in which you rationalized or made excuses for some sinful action or attitude on your part.

2. Why is the Word of God the only sure and absolute standard by which we are to examine ourselves, as opposed to our own moral preference or presupposed religious/social expecta­tions?

3. Ponder the following Scriptures: 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 2 Corinthians 6:11; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Timothy 2:19; Ephesians 4:15. Do you think sanctification (growth in holiness and conformity to Christ) is in any way optional for the believer?

4. What is the evidence of a true believer? Is this evidence characteristic of your won life in light of 2 Corinthians 13:5?

5. What areas in your life would cast doubt in the minds of those around you that you are indeed a Christian? Will you commit these areas to the Lord?

New Blog Site: Together for the Gospel (T4G)

This should be a good site to keep up on: Together for the Gospel

The following is the description fo the site:

The T4G Blog is an ongoing public conversation between Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, C.J. Mahaney, and Albert Mohler. The authors welcome your comments and may read and respond to them in their posts. However, the only comments that will be available for public viewing are those submitted by the four authors themselves.

One last (I think) link on End of the Spear

Al Mohloer writes a good article on The Controversy Over "The End of the Spear".

More on the End of the Spear

Here is a link to an interview with Chad Allen on the movie End of the Spear. As has been shown over the last week or so he does see this movie as something other than it should be. Here is a section of the interview where he is asked what the movie is about:

WCT: Ultimately, what is this movie about?

CA: Love. It’s a shame that this word is almost overused, but here it involves transformation, forgiveness, passion and God.

He does not see it as a movie about God changing lives.

Also, of concern is the following:

CA: Here’s the thing: There will continue to be [ different ways of thinking ] . If our goal is for all of us to think the same, we’ve got the wrong goal. I was watching a play the other night and someone mentioned how the world is like a stained-glass window and we each have our own colors in that glass with God being the light that shines through it. That’s the way I choose to see it. I don’t need to be right; I just need to be respected.
I’ve really been heartened by the number of Christians who have said that [ homosexuality ] is not a sin and that we should just love and respect each other. Even, Pat Robertson has a link to my Web site—and it’s done in a nice way.

WCT: Is this the same Pat Robertson who said that [ Israeli Prime Minister ] Ariel Sharon’s recent stroke was a sign from God?

CA: Well, it’s his group. I’m not exactly sure who’s behind it. I couldn’t believe it, either.
So now homosexuality is moved out of the realm of sin. Yes we can and should love the person trapped in the gay lifestyle but true love will reveal it is a sin.

Also, if anyone can find the link from Pat Robertson mentioned above let me know as I did not find one. All that I found was a link on the 700 Club page to the movie and it did not deal with this subject. I was curious as to what "..done in a nice way." meant.

Again read the interview and see for yourself if this movie will further the glory of God or man.

Also, I would say that we should not forget to pray for Chad, as we should pray for all of those that are lost, that God would change his heart to see the sin he is and call on God for forgiveness. We should also take the time to relfect on our own lives as we deal with sin on a daily basis and make sure we are repenting of our own sin.

A revealing Larry King

Last Night on Larry King Live the topic was on Brokeback Mountain and gay marriage. The conversation included Al Mohler and Chad Allen. Read the transcripts, here, and you will see that Chad Allen's view that he espouses is to say that homosexuality and Christianity are compatible. Again, as I have said before you have to make the decision with regards to The End of the Spear, which Chad Allen portrays Nate and Steve Saint, for yourselves but it seems clear that the message Allen sends and promotes is that there is not an issue between Christianity and homosexuality. Actually it is just as disturbing that his form of Christianity seems to be very moldable to how each individual understands it instead of grounded in God's word alone.

Here is a section of the transcript that shows how Allen's Christianity is very syncretistic:

CALLER: Chad, by whose standard do you think that it's right to live the way you have chosen to live?

ALLEN: By the standard that I judge all of my actions. These days I judge all of my actions by my relationship with God of my understanding. It is a deep-founded, faith-based belief in God based upon the work that I've done growing up as a Catholic boy and then reaching out to Buddhism philosophy, to Hindu philosophy, to Native American beliefs and finally as I got through my course with addiction and alcoholism and finding a higher power that worked for me.

So again decide for yourslef.


I have seen numerous posts on other sites asking why homosexuality is being singled out over other sins with regards to this case. Well it is in this case the sin that is being promoted. I can tell you if the actor was a Adultery Activist, if there is such a thing, or an Activist for any other sin I would be equally vocal.