"UnChristian"?

The authors of the book "UnChristian" tell us that Christianity has an "image problem." In some respects this guy is right; meaning, we do need to care for the poor, the needy, and spend less time fooling with politics, etc. But that's not what I'm concerned about because everybody who believes the word of God agrees with that (cf. John 18:36; Galatians 2:10; James 1:27).

The authors state on page 11 of "UnChristian", "Our research shows that many of those outside of Christianity, especially younger adults, have little trust in the Christian faith, and esteem for the lifestyle of Christ followers is quickly fading for outsiders. They admit their emotional and intellectual barriers go up when they are around Christians, and they reject Jesus because they feel rejected by Christians."

What comes out in the video interview below starting at 1:00 is that most non-Christian young people are ashamed of the behavior of Christians today because "9/10 see us an antihomosexual . . . 87% judgmental, 85 % hypocritical, and 75% of Christians are too involved in politics . . . essentially what they're saying to us is that Christianity is no longer like Jesus intended." At 2:20 Mr. Lyons says, "We need to realize that Christ followers are called to love, to be the most compassionate, service-oriented people, contributing to the common good of culture and to society, and we've gotten a little bit away from that over the last few decades and it's time to get back to that."

At 2:30 the reporter then takes a quote from the book written by one contributor Andy Stanley that said, "churches should not focus solely on converting people" to which Mr. Lyons responded, "In the research this was one of the problems, Christians are known for proselytizing, for trying to get people saved, to get another notch in their belt, and what they said to us was, 'Look, we feel like another product in some ways, that, that people are just motived to convert us over to their way of thinking, but they care very little for us, they don't listen to us, they're not concerned about our real needs, our real challenges, and if Christians would just be normal people, and be friends, and be accepting, and loving, and connect with people in that way, maybe there would be a better chance of us listening to them." To which the reporter says, "That's powerful, just numbers driven on that?"

You can watch the rest of the video to hear a little more of the same, but I have three observations I'd like to make regarding some of the statements above:

1. No Godlover denies that Christians are to be people of compassion and service, but our prime directive is to preach the gospel to Godhaters as the ultimate manifestation of that compassion. What could be more compassionate and loving than warning hell-bound people to flee from God's coming wrath by finding rest in Jesus Christ? Christ commanded the apostles, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

2. This book contains questionable contributors with questionable agendas. For example, take Brian McLaren. Consider what McLaren has said here in regards to homosexuality:

"Frankly, many of us don't know what we should think about homosexuality. . . . Perhaps we need a five-year moratorium on making pronouncements. In the meantime, we'll practice prayerful Christian dialogue, listening respectfully, disagreeing agreeably. When decisions need to be made, they'll be admittedly provisional. We'll keep our ears attuned to scholars in biblical studies, theology, ethics, psychology, genetics, sociology, and related fields. Then in five years, if we have clarity, we'll speak; if not, we'll set another five years for ongoing reflection. After all, many important issues in church history took centuries to figure out. Maybe this moratorium would help us resist the "winds of doctrine" blowing furiously from the left and right, so we can patiently wait for the wind of the Spirit to set our course."

The above statement is just plain dangerous. It says without reservation that the Bible cannot speak to our present situation authoritatively and finally (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Even one of his supposed friends, the neo-Reformed Pastor Mark Driscoll thankfully labeled him a heretic at the the Southeastern Baptist Convergence Conference here and documented that McLaren endorsed a book written by John Dominic Crossan that denies the historicity of the birth narratives of Jesus (see here, then scroll down to read McLaren's endorsement of a book written by a man who is essentially a deist). Why are we asking a heretic to inform us what we need to do to improve Christianity's image before the world? The fact is, true Christianity will always be hated by the world and thus will always have what these authors call "an image problem". John said it succinctly, "Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you" (1st John 3:13) and Jesus said in John 15:19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you." We have an image problem because the world hates us and the world hates us because the world hates our Christ.

3. Let's take on a few statements from the book and video. Page 11 says, ". . . they [young people] reject Jesus because they feel rejected by Christians." What in the world does this really mean? If it means that wacko professing pseudo-Christians that are hateful, rude, and downright obscene and vulgar in their denunciation of sinful activities, like the group from "Westboro Baptist Church" (which is actually a cult), then no wonder they feel rejected.

However, the problem is this: Bible-believing Christians are loving and compassionate people, and despite all their faults and foibles, they want more than anything else to see God glorified through the spiritual saving of people from His own impending wrath. This means that they refuse to participate in and associate with the things that sinners do because they love Jesus (1 Peter 1:16). Things like abortion on demand (baby murder), homosexuality, and gay marriage are just the tip of the iceberg. These societal manifestations of sin are just outward symptoms of a greater problem: spiritual death brought about by rejection of the gospel (Ephesians 2:1-5).

So, when you wonder why Bible-believing Christians don't want to be "accepting" and "tolerant" of your "lifestyle choices" (i.e., abortion on demand, sodomy, fornication, lying, thievery) even though they are more than happy to exert great energy to lovingly tell you that God hates your sin and is going to throw you into Hell if you don't repent and place your faith in Christ, yet you continue to mock us and mock our God, so don't be surprised if you feel "rejected". You feel rejected not because there isn't a loving Christian around to tell you the good news, but because when you do and have heard that good news it convicts you and you then can't own up to the fuzzy sense of right and wrong that God has placed in your heart (Romans 2:14-15 - the law of conscience). You feel rejected because you know deep down inside that you will be rejected by God because you don't even meet the standard He's placed in your own conscience, and instead of repenting, you lash out in anger and complaint against God and His people with your laundry list of excuses for not repenting and believing. Yet you still blame Bible-believing Christians for rejecting you when you are the problem. It's really that simple. Look sinner, if you continue to reject the gospel, kick us in the teeth, create websites to foment your anger against God, don't complain if you feel rejected. You are rejected . . . by God (Hebrews 12:17). Your sins have made a separation between you and God and your hatred for God bleeds over into your hatred for God's people (Isaiah 59:2). Be warned, God's people won't hang around you too much if you're constantly hacking away at their Jesus. We'll do the best we can as prudence dictates, but we won't continue to cast our pearls before swine, as Jesus Himself commanded, but we'll leave you and go find someone who might carefully consider what we are saying. We only have a short time because we actually believe we only get one life on this earth, contrary to what Deepak Chopra says (Matthew 7:6; Luke 6:27; Ephesians 5:15-16; Hebrews 9:27). Nevertheless, if you're around a true believer long enough, we will come after you with the gospel and eventually God is either going to save you or you're going to reject the gospel and eventually us and then blame us for your rejection of Jesus because we actually were caring and compassionate enough with you to offend you with the only message that can actually save you (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18). The video says @ 2:30,

"'Look, we feel like another product in some ways, that, that people are just motived to convert us over to their way of thinking, but they care very little for us, they don't listen to us, they're not concerned about our real needs, our real challenges, and if Christians would just be normal people, and be friends, and be accepting, and loving, and connect with people in that way, maybe there would be a better chance of us listening to them."

You feel like a "product" because that is what you are to the market-driven "churches". You are an opportunity for them to expand their market base. These religious institutions are merely the result of a "man-centered" approach to religion, a corporation-like mentality that desires to expand the sheer numbers of people in the congregation by attracting "seekers" through offering certain "products" that can increase the market-share of the religious institution. You might also feel like a product of evangelism in many other churches because of the false gospel of "decisionism", a pragmatic approach to religion which teaches that people become Christians if they are emotionally manipulated into making a "decision" for Christ during an altar call, or through some other unbiblical means.

As to our caring for you and being concerned about your real needs and challenges, here is the problem: if you are not a Christian, then you have no clue as to what your greatest need is because you are spiritually dead. This is why you need to hear it from a Bible-believing Christian who does understand. Your greatest need is not education, it is not a new job, it is not to become a better person, and it is not to become a better father, husband, or employee. Your greatest need is salvation from God's eternal wrath through Jesus Christ. In a thousand years it is not going to matter how great a father, husband, employee, societal reformer, or boyfriend you were. What is going to matter for today and eternity is whether or not Jesus Christ knew you intimately. All other things grow strangely dim when you are faced with that fact. I close this article with a message from Him who has eyes like a flame of fire and feet like polished bronze:

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits. 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. 22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'" Matthew 7:13-23

Planned Parenthood and Presidential Candidates

The following video is quite ironic since Senator Obama stridently supports Planned Parenthood in the opening clip. This clip is similar to the one I posted a while back, but with more audio clips provided.



HT: 1517

Pop Relativism Exposed

In the following video, open-air evangelist Mark Spence from The Way of the Master shows the folly of relativism to a crowd of onlookers at an atheist's expense. Be sure to take note of how Mark carefully and respectfully reasons with this man in order to expose the self-refuting nature of relativism.

The Revelation of God's Thoughts - 1 Corinthians 2:6-13

INTRODUCTION

In 1^st Corinthians, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles has been very hard on the world’s wisdom because he knows from personal experience that that kind of wisdom leads to a direct conflict with God’s wisdom as it is revealed in the cross of Christ. This conflict is what has been known as the great “Antithesis”; a philosophical conflict that started with the fall of Satan (Ezekiel 28:12-17). Paul condemns the wisdom of men so strongly because the very people that originally received the gospel he preached in Corinth have now come to question it and him because of their fascination with Greek wisdom; a philosophy that was fully immersed in the pagan, Greek dualism of the day, what they called sophia.

But Paul uses their term for wisdom (sophia) and then injects the biblical, Jewish meaning of wisdom into it, the true wisdom that the world sees as folly – God’s wisdom. In 1 Corinthians 1:21 he uses their term and shows them that God’s wisdom was most excellently displayed in the crucified Jewish Messiah. By doing this, he took a philosophical term that they had grown fond of and injected a different meaning into it; a biblical, saving meaning (see 1:24, 30). And when looking at his use of language in 1 Cor. 2:4-5 (literally translated – “. . . not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in proof/demonstration of the Spirit's power.”), Paul now shifts his approach to show again that the gospel that he preaches is in fact the very wisdom of God; a wisdom that cannot be understood, perceived, and embraced by those who are pursuing human wisdom because those who embrace, pursue, love, cherish, and honor human wisdom do not have the Spirit, the very thing that is the necessary prerequisite to understanding the gospel of the cross of Christ.

Just as with 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, chapter 2 is full of bite, especially verses 6-16. The Corinthians thought they were pretty smart according to the philosophical standards of their pagan culture. These “smarts infected” people are less than happy with Paul's message, but he demolishes their false boasting by showing them that the crucified Jesus is indeed wisdom, but not of the kind they have been pursuing, a kind that is worldly and contrary to true wisdom. This true wisdom is only for those who are truly spiritual, and since the Corinthians have given evidence that they have the Spirit (cf. 1:6), Paul says that this means that they should have been able to see the cross of Jesus for what it really is, God's wisdom. Because human wisdom always creates disunity, hampers spiritual growth, and prevents men from knowing God’s wisdom, and given the continual assault on the church of Jesus Christ by the doctrines and philosophies of men, Paul’s message to the Corinthian church is just as timely and appropriate for our generation as it was in the first century. With that historical context in mind, turn your attention to verses 6-13.

I. The Great Contrast (verses 6-10a)

II. The Divine Revealer (verses 10b-13)

TEACHING & APPLICATION

I. The Great Contrast: Verses 6-10a explains the nature of God’s wisdom in terms of the basic contrast between those it was destined for versus those who cannot understand and perceive it. In other words, God’s wisdom, which was predestined by Him to bring us into His glory, was held from the leaders of Christ’s day as a foolish mystery and it is still perceived the same way today.

^NAU 1 Corinthians 2:6 “Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away” – Paul is telling them that he doesn’t preach man’s wisdom but he does preach God’s wisdom; a wisdom that comes to those who are “mature” – a term that indicates those who are redeemed by Christ and have his wisdom by virtue of their being filled with the Spirit (Hebrews 6:1; 10:14). Paul is not saying that God’s wisdom is only for advanced believers, but it is for those who are truly believers. Because the gospel is foolishness to anybody other than a true a believer, Paul said that the rulers of this age do not have the wisdom of God and like a wilting flower; they were and are passing away and it was people like this that killed the very Son of God (Acts 4:27-28). As it pertains to true believers, some Christians are indeed further along in the process of sanctification than others, but Paul says in Ephesians 1:8-9 that for the mature or redeemed person, God has, “In all wisdom and insight . . . made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him.” And so, while true believers receive the wisdom of God as found in the word of God, God haters can never understand, embrace, and love the message of the cross, it is foolishness to them, a savor of death unto death (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).

^NAU 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; ⁸ the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; - In verses 7-8, Paul tells us that the nature of God’s wisdom, namely “the hidden wisdom” of God makes it impossible for those of this age to understand and embrace the message of the cross. As a matter of fact, the proof that the rulers of this age did not understand God’s wisdom in the cross was the fact that they perpetrated it! And so, because the non-Christian does not understand and cannot embrace the gospel, they consider it utter stupidity, and will often perpetrate evil against the church and the gospel as a means to fulfill God’s plan for His creation (Romans 9:6-23). Paul says that he and the rest of the apostles “speak God’s wisdom in a mystery”, which is a word that means that God intentionally hides His message from the lost man who loves worldly wisdom (cf. Matthew 11:25-27; 13:10-13). But thanks be to God, He has “predestined” before time began to give his elect the wisdom of the gospel, something that would lead to “our glory”. (cf. Romans 8:18).

In the world’s eyes, Christ is anything but the Lord of glory. However, God says to His elect in verse nine that “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”[1] In the context, Paul is not speaking here about the glories of heaven, but about all the things that the lost man, who depends upon the world’s wisdom, cannot see, hear, and perceive; namely, “all that God has prepared for those who love Him”. All that God has “prepared” speaks of the salvation and spiritual gifts that we receive after being changed by the power of the Spirit working through God’s wisdom as expressed in the message of the cross. Contrary to what many Christian apologists would have us believe today, Paul says that man cannot find God through philosophical speculation and debate, through scientific experimentation and observation, nor can man find God within his own heart, since it is desperately corrupt from birth (Job 5:7; Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-11). Instead, Paul says in verse 10a, “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit . . .”. We can study apologetics forever as unbelievers and read the Scriptures day in and day out, but unless God reveals the truth of the gospel to us, we will never believe it. As John MacArthur says,

Rationalism cannot reason out God’s truth. Man’s two greatest human resources, empiricism and rationalism, his observation and his reason, are equally useless in discovering divine truth. They will always, in fact, eventually turn men against divine truth. Ultimately they lead men to crucify Christ.[2]

Questions for application: (1) How should we understand verse 6’s statement about the fleeting and temporary nature of worldly religious and political leaders? Hint: I’m looking for how you understand God’s wisdom and power to be continually transforming lives through the preaching of the gospel in light of what often seems to be a culturally bleak situation. (2) Given what verses 6-9 says, what should be our thinking about those who cannot understand the gospel? (3) Why has God chosen to reveal specific and detailed things about Himself by the Spirit working through the preaching of the cross and not some other means? (v. 10) What does this mean for folks like Oprah Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle who say that there are just as many ways to get to God as there are people?

II. The Divine Revealer: Verses 10b-13 further explains how believers are let in on this secret mystery of God’s wisdom, and why others are left out. It is because we have received the Spirit of God, the Third Person of the Trinity, who intimately knows the mind of God and has revealed to us what the rest of the Godhead has planned for His creation.

^NAU 1 Corinthians 2:10-11 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. ¹¹ For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. – Paul tells us at the end of verse 10 that the Holy Spirit is omnipresent and omniscient because He “searches all things, even the depths of God” and is thus fully qualified for the job of revealing God’s truths to God’s people. In verse 11, Paul notes that just as no one can know someone better than they knows themselves, so also the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit knows God better than anyone else because the Holy Spirit is God. So, God intimately knows Himself through the Spirit and the Spirit knows all about the deep things of God. Just as our innermost thoughts can only be known to ourselves (and God), so God’s own Spirit knows God intimately. The wonderful thing is that God the Spirit is the supernatural, chosen instrument whereby God the Father reveals His divine wisdom in God the Son “to us” (cf. v. 11b).

^NAU 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, ¹³ which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. – In verse 12, Paul wants to remind us that since we did not receive the world’s philosophy we also should not think like the world. But we have received God’s Spirit, which enables us to “know” the things freely given to us by God, things that God has prepared for those who love him; things like salvation through the message of Christ crucified. Paul then says in verse 13 that the things freely given to us by God are spoken not in words mixed with and corrupted by human wisdom, but instead those words that were taught to the apostles by the Spirit and subsequently preached by them. The phrase “combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words” means that the language used to communicate the message was appropriate to the message because it wasn’t tainted by man’s wisdom but instead was full of God’s wisdom.[3]

Questions for application: (1) How does the contrast that Paul sets up between human wisdom and God’s wisdom in verses 11-13 apply to us now given the fact that our pluralistic culture that thinks that anyone who is spiritual automatically has access to God’s Spirit and God’s truth? (2) In this context, what are the “things freely given to us by God”? (3) Since apostolic teaching is preserved for us in Scripture, how do we most effectively communicate God’s wisdom without tainting it?

CONCLUSION

What Paul preached to the Corinthians was God’s wisdom in all its glory, magnificently displayed in the cross work of Christ (vv. 6-7). That message was given to him by revelation of the Spirit and those who receive it do so only by revelation of the Spirit and not through man’s methods, knowledge, and philosophies. When it comes to the revelation of God’s truth to man, the Holy Spirit is the essential key to everything – effective preaching and teaching (vv. 4-5, 13), regeneration and conversion (vv. 4-5, 12), and especially when it comes to a person’s understanding that the message preached is God’s wisdom (vv. 6-13). The Christian church would do well to listen to Paul’s words instead of mixing the ways of man with the wisdom of God, thereby nullifying God’s wisdom as revealed in the cross.

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[1] A loose paraphrase of Isaiah 64:4 (64:3 in the LXX).

[2] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on 1^st Corinthians, (Chicago, Ill: Moody Press, 1984), 61.

[3] Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians. The New International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 1987), 115.

To the Emergents: Does God Love Everyone Savingly?

INTRODUCTION: Many emergent church proponents are quick to emphasize their belief that God loves everybody savingly or salvifically. A big part of this is their assumption that the historic position of the Christian church may be wrong when it comes to the question of followers from other religions always being automatically damned to hell for their lack of faith in Christ. Of course, this isn't the technically correct reason why people are consigned to hell, but that's for another blog post (Proverbs 16:4; Romans chapters 1-3; 9:6-23; 1 Peter 2:8). The idea of the narrow way really rubs them raw; which is the idea that you cannot get to the True God apart from the Jesus Christ revealed in the pages of the New Testament (Matthew 7:13-15). Because some of the emergents outright reject the propositional truths of Scripture in part or altogether for the sake of preserving "epistemic humility" because they believe that they can't really know anything about God with certainty (except, they believe they can know that particular statement with "certainty"!), they cannot form a consistently biblical soteriology either.

DISCUSSION: Inclusivistic emergents believe that God will show saving mercy to everyone at the Great Day of Judgment, thus promoting a belief that will always be avant garde to the postmodern mind, a form of the false teaching known as universalism. This is seen in the writings of many a popular emergent church leader, but since Spencer Burke immediately comes to mind because of my familiarity with some of the things that he's said in this area, read his brief quote here, "I don’t believe you have to convert to any particular religion to find God.” (Heretics Guide to Eternity, 197). Before we move on, consider a similar statement made by the well known emergent leader Brian McLaren,

"Although I don't hope all Buddhists will become (cultural) Christians, I do hope all who feel so called will become Buddhist followers of Jesus; I believe they should be given that opportunity and invitation. I don't hope all Jews or Hindus will become members of the Christian religion. But I do hope all who feel so called will become Jewish or Hindu followers of Jesus. Ultimately, I hope that Jesus will save Buddhism, Islam and every other religion, including the Christian religion, which often seems to need saving about as much as any other religion does. (In this context, I do wish all Christians would become followers of Jesus but perhaps this is too much to ask. After all, I'm not doing such a hot job of it myself.)". [Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 264.]

Aside from the fact that McLaren wrongly assumes that everyone who has some type of nominal association with a church can be legitimately considered a Christian, what about his implied universalism above? Where is there room for the Biblical understanding of God's wrath and anger against vain idolaters? (Psalm 31:6; Romans 1:18-32) Nowhere to be found for sure.

The logical conclusion of what was promoted by Billy Graham's slogan popularized 50 years ago, "God loves the sinner but hates the sin" has now been taken to the next step by many an emergent thinker. You see brethren, ideas have consequences. That's why if you combine a popular yet unbiblical slogan like Graham's steeped in an Arminian approach to God's love that has no degrees but instead can be likened unto peanut butter since you "spread it on far and wide" and then you become familiar and accepting of the inclusivistic ideas of many within the emergent church movement, then you set yourself up to conveniently reject the biblical concept of God's wrath and hatred for sinners. In sum, if you have mixed the wisdom of God with the wisdom of the world then you have nullified the cross (1 Corinthians 1-2; Galatians 2:21). This is because where no wrath exists, no sin has occurred and if there is no sin, then everybody is saved by whatever means they think is acceptable for them and the cross was a useless historical event. Worse yet, God would be a liar, contra Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18.

Let me say that I wholeheartedly agree with Jesus that there is a general non-saving love or beneficence that God shows to all His creatures, including God-haters (Psalm 145:9-10; Matthew 5:44-45). However, I do not confuse God's general goodness and creaturely love for all of His creation with His saving love as it pertains to His own eternal salvific purposes for His elect. There is a large and wide chasm between these two precipices that can never be bridged by idolatrous religions as it pertains to the universalistic/inclusivistic declarations made by some of the major voices for the emergent "conversation". For all Godlovers, we must respectfully but strongly disagree with these modern ideas of God's love for biblical reasons (Psalm 5:5; 7:11; 11:5; Romans 9:13). May the truth of the Holy Scriptures be the torch that we use to light the way through the dark maze of heretical and unorthodox teachings that seek to undermine the exclusivity of the claims of Christ!

UPDATE 4-23-08: After speaking with several friends about a lack of clarity in some of the wording of this article as it was originally published on 4-22, I have taken the liberty to revise and update it to better reflect a what I believe to be a more biblical understanding of the love of God. I apologize that your comments have been deleted, but I wanted to get rid of the video I posted on the original article, and to do so, I had to delete the original post. Thanks for your understanding. DS

The 95 Theses Against Market-Driven Religion

As far as I know, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) is the last Bible-believing, conservative Lutheran denomination in America. Other Lutheran denominations have long since departed from the faith because their foundation of Scriptural authority was eroded with the onslaught of German higher-criticism in the late 19th century as well as with the advent of theological liberalism sticking its nasty claws into formerly biblical denominations at the turn of the 20th century during what was historically known as the "Fundamentalist/Modernist Controversy".

Today, the LCMS is starting to see a new battle brewing between many faithful confessional Lutherans and a new breed of seeker sensitive, purpose-driven church growth proponents. This past week, faithful confessional Lutherans in the LCMS posted a modern version of the 95 Theses that clearly condemns the false teaching of the market-driven, seeker-sensitive church madness in no uncertain terms. I post some of this excellent document below because there is much that us non-Lutherans can learn from it. I encourage you to read the entire document linked at the bottom of this post and share it with others who love Jesus and cherish faithfulness to His written word.

1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” He willed that the whole life of believers should be one of repentance.

2. To “repent” means to be contrite for one’s sins and to trust Jesus Christ and solely in His completed work for one’s forgiveness, life, and salvation.

3. Those who describe the Christian life as purpose-driven deny true repentance, confuse the Law and the Gospel, and obscure the merits of Christ.

4. Impious and wicked are the methods of those who substitute self-help and pop-psychology for the Gospel in the name of relevance.

5. This impious disregard for the Gospel wickedly transforms sacred Scripture into a guidebook for living, a pharisaic sourcebook of principles, and sows tares among the wheat.

6. Relevance, self-help and pop-psychology have no power to work true contrition over sins and faith in Jesus Christ.

7. Like clouds without rain, purpose-driven preachers withhold the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins won by Christ on the cross and enslave men’s consciences to the law which they cleverly disguise as so-called ‘Biblical Principles’.

8. By teaching tips for attaining perfect health, debt-free wealth, and better sex in marriage, the purveyors of relevance undermine true fear, love and trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

9. They are enemies of Christ, who distort the Word of God by tearing verses from their original context in order to use them as proof texts for their self-help, pop-psychology agendas.

10. Injury is done the Word of God when it is used as a source book for practical, relevant “life applications.”

22. The church is holy sheep who hear the voice of their Shepherd.

23. How can sheep hear the voice of their Shepherd when false shepherds preach self-help and pop-psychology?

24. Purveyors of purpose-driven relevance are not shepherds of men’s souls but wolves in sheep’s clothing.

25. Purveyors of relevance claim that self-help, life-applications and biblical principles are the means to reach the unchurched because they meet people’s felt needs.

26. Yet a person’s greatest need is one he does not by nature feel, namely the need for the righteousness that comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ.

89. The church belongs to no man but to Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, and Lord of the church.

90. Woe to the false prophets who cry, “Unity, unity” when there is no unity.

91. Again, woe to those who say, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.

92. Again, woe to those who say, “Gospel, gospel,” when there is no Gospel.

Click Here to Read All 95

HT: Christian Research Net

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R. C. Sproul on the distinction between Justification and Salvation

Expelled: A Brief Movie Review

My family and I just went to our local theater and viewed Ben Stein's documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. This documentary has already created no small stir on the internet as the pre-release controversy generated by it held the number one spot in the blogosphere all day on March 24 per Nielson's BlogPulse, and also received over 800 Technorati results. With it's release in 1,000 theaters today (4-18-08), it will no doubt upset many people.

So why all the fuss over such a small-scale documentary that will probably be out of theaters in 2-3 weeks anyway?

The answer: Ben Stein and his crew have shown how several highly credentialed scientists and academicians have been forced out of prestigious academic positions because they have called into question certain aspects of traditional Darwinian evolutionary theory or have given some type of credence to Intelligent Design (ID) as a viable alternative to Darwinism.

Stein demonstrates through a series of interviews with those both sympathetic and hostile to ID theory that the current American scientific establishment has no room for entertaining a debate that will question the prevailing and assumed paradigm of Darwinism. Stein also convincingly shows that the reigning scientific establishment has actively suppressed the ID movement in an effort to prevent the undermining of Neodarwinian theory, something that runs contrary to the basic principles of American and academic freedom.

Many Darwinists, skeptics, and naysayers have been upset about the release of "Expelled" for months while it was being screened across the U.S., but one particular Darwinist sums up the complaints quite well. Dr. Michael Shermer, who was one of the first people interviewed in this documentary, complained after a pre-release screening that his comments about his agnosticism regarding professors being fired from their academic posts because they hold to ID theory were conveniently misused in order to support the documentary's "conspiracy theory". It's no secret that Darwinists often love to hate the idea that any type of intelligent agency was involved in the origin of life. Richard Dawkins has no problem admitting this outright, with the exception of the panspermia theory, which just causes him to push his ignorance back one step further. "PZ" Myers, an adherent to Darwinism and a biology professor at the University of Minnesota and owner of the popular atheist blog Pharyngula, was also interviewed in "Expelled". His written comments below taken from The Panda's Thumb blog are also reflective of his attitude about ID theory in his live interview:

The only appropriate responses [to Intelligent Design proponents] should involve some form of righteous fury, much butt-kicking, and the public firing and humiliation of some teachers, many school board members, and vast numbers of sleazy far-right politicians." ~ Comment #35130, PZ Myers, June 14, 2005

With comments like Dr. Myer's, "Expelled" shows through live interviews that the scientific establishment absolutely has no room for ID theory and they will muzzle whomever they can to prevent academic freedom, research, and publishing in this area. However, there is more to this documentary than the mere suppression of academic freedom.

"Expelled" shows that Darwinism is the foundation for philosophical naturalism/atheism, the eugenics movement of the first half of the 20th century, and the modern abortion problem. The documentary demonstrates a direct correlation between Darwinism and Adolf Hitler's plan to eradicate the Jews and while eradicating them, use them as experimental tools for the purpose of developing the perfect Utopian human through biological experimentation. "Expelled" goes on to note that Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood developed her ideas about eugenics and sterilization through the influence of Darwinism.

But of course, since modern Darwinism is a theory that excludes any divine involvement in the world, then by default, only material processes are responsible for the design and propagation of all life forms. In other words, no Intelligent Designer is allowed. Of course, when the Creator is cast out, so are objective, transcendent morals, and what normally follows is cultural relativism; a type of relativism that can eventually lead to things like eugenics, euthanasia, abortion, and holocausts. The history of the 20th century demonstrates this to be the case.

In conclusion, I expect "Expelled" to be another useful tool in expelling the last leg that upholds the Darwinian establishment's power in suppressing the evidence that contradicts and undermines their theory. It would be pretty hard for the Darwinists to legally prevent scientific information that contradicts evolutionary theory from entering the movie theaters, especially when our nation allows for the sale and distribution of pornographic material. And, with Stein screening the documentary for Florida legislators last month and his doing the same for Missouri lawmakers last week, both states are making swift moves toward passing academic freedom laws; laws that may at least allow for students and teachers to discuss the scientific and philosophical viability of lack thereof of these two competing theories about how man got here and what his purpose is in this world.

Does Human Life Begin at Conception?: The Democratic Presidential Candidates Speak Out

Dear Shepherd's Fellowship,

I usually do not post politically based speeches or talks on this blog because it can be a distraction to the ministry of the word and the mission of our local church. However, our church is strongly pro-life and anti-abortion because we believe that the Bible demonstrates and upholds the sanctity of human life/personhood from the moment of conception (Psalm 51:5; 139:13-16).

Therefore, since the following video clearly presents the perspective(s) of both of our 2008 democratic presidential candidates on this particular issue, I post the following YouTube clip for your benefit. Of course, what you hear will not be surprising, but it may be helpful to be reminded of what they believe in regards to the unborn.

A Preview and Preparation for "The Revelation of God's Thoughts" - 1 Corinthians 2:6-13

Introduction: In preparation for this coming Sunday's teaching, I will provide a short study guide for 1 Corinthians 2:6-13 and then provide some questions to stimulate your thoughts about this passage.

Reviewing the Historical Context: Up to Verse 5 of chapter 2, Paul has been very hard on the world's wisdom because this wisdom leads to a direct conflict with God's wisdom. This is what is known as the great "Antithesis" and it started with the fall of Satan. Paul condemns the wisdom of men so strongly because the very people that originally received the gospel he was preaching, have now come to question it and him because of their fascination with Greek wisdom that is fully immersed in the pagan, Greek understanding of wisdom, what they called sophia.

But Paul uses their term for wisdom (sophia) and then injects the biblical, Jewish meaning of wisdom into it, the true wisdom that the world sees as folly - God's wisdom. In 1 Corinthians 1:21 he uses their term and shows them that God's wisdom was most excellently displayed in the crucified Jewish Messiah. By doing this, he took a philosophical term that they had grown fond of and injected a different meaning into it; a biblical, saving meaning (see 1:24, 30). And when looking at his use of language in 1 Cor. 2:4-5 (literally translated - " . . . not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in proof/demonstration of the Spirit's power."), Paul now makes a change in his argument to show again that the gospel that he preaches is in fact the very wisdom of God; a wisdom that cannot be understood, perceived, and embraced by those who are pursuing human wisdom because those who embrace, pursue, love, cherish, and honor human wisdom do not have the Spirit, the very thing that is the necessary prerequisite to understanding the gospel of the cross of Christ.

Just as with 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, chapter 2 is full of bite, especially verses 6-16. The Corinthians thought they were pretty smart according to the philosophical standards of their pagan culture. These "smarts infected" people are less than happy with Paul's message, but he demolishes their false boasting by showing them that the crucified Jesus is wisdom all right, but not of the kind they have been pursuing, a kind that is contrary to true wisdom. This true wisdom is only for those who are truly spiritual, and since the Corinthians have given evidence that they have the Spirit (cf. 1:6), Paul says that this means that they should have been able to see the cross of Jesus for what it really is, God's wisdom. Now, take a good look at the text with the historical context in mind.

Reading the Text: "Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." 10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words."

A Basic Outline:

(1) The Great Contrast: Verses 6-10a explains the nature of God's wisdom in terms of the basic contrast between those it was destined for versus those who cannot understand and perceive it. In other words, God's wisdom, which was predestined by Him to bring us into His glory, was held from the leaders of Christ's day as a foolish mystery and it is still perceived the same way today.

(2) The Divine Revealer: Verses 10b-13 explains how believers are let in on this secret, and why others are left out. It is because we have received the Spirit of God, the Third Person of the Trinity, who intimately knows the mind of God and has revealed to us what the rest of the Godhead has planned for His creation.

Questions for Application:

1. How should we understand verse 6's statement about the fleeting and temporary nature of the wicked and hypocritical religious and political leaders in Christ's day in light of our present political condition? Hint: I'm not looking for you to get on your soapbox about the bleakness of the upcoming 2008 election, I'm looking for how you understand God's wisdom and power to be continually transforming lives through the preaching of the gospel in light of what often seems to be bleak, hopeless, and insecure because our culture and society is built upon upon a foundation made of man's finite, contradictory, and foolish wisdom.

2. Given what verses 6-9 says, what should be our thinking about those who cannot understand the gospel? (vv. 6-9)

3. Why has God chosen to reveal specific and detailed things about Himself by the Spirit working through the preaching of the cross and not some other means? (v. 10) What does this mean for folks like Oprah Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle who say that there are as many ways to get to God as there are people?

4. Why does Paul set up the contrast between human wisdom (which we have not received) and God's wisdom, which we must receive? (vv. 11-13). How does this apply to us now given our pluralistic culture?

Paul Washer on Humanism in the Church

The Danger of a Golden Tongue

INTRODUCTION

The 5^th century before Jesus saw the rise of a group of teachers in Greece which came to be called the Sophists.[1] The Greek term sophistes was used to denote one who was “wise” or “a skilled one” and came to be originally applied to such men because they were skilled in rhetoric and debate and they made their living teaching grammar, language, and sought to apply Greek philosophy, wisdom, and political theory to all areas of life. By the 2^nd century before Christ, the term “sophist” had generally come to mean a teacher of rhetoric, someone who was paid to teach a young man learn to master and manipulate argumentation so as to persuade his political order or those within his sphere of influence in a particular direction.[2] So, given the history, the Sophist in Plato’s day pretty much had the reputation of what a politician has in ours; a man who is known for giving eloquent speeches for the purpose of getting himself ahead in the world and to get his own way.

In the first century, the Greek sophists had developed into masters of oratory and rhetoric. These professional orators had adopted Aristotle’s three-point method[3] of delivering speeches, and by the time Jesus appeared on the scene, Greco-Roman society was so addicted to hearing smooth speech and flowery rhetoric, that a speech from a professional philosopher after dinner was considered to be a regular form of entertainment. Because the Greco-Roman culture viewed rhetoric and oratory as a fine art, many of the best orators were lauded and glamorized by the Romans, much in the same way that our culture glamorizes movie stars and professional athletes.

Professional Greek orators were known for being able to work a crowd into a passionate frenzy simply by their powerful speaking skills. Because the Greco-Roman culture was addicted to spending “their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new” through these professional orators (Acts 17:21), teachers of Greco-Roman rhetoric and oratory were in high demand at the time of Christ. As the gospel was spreading throughout the Roman Empire, many former pagans were converted to Christ and in coming to Christ they often brought much of their pagan culture with them. As a result, pagan philosophical ideas and expectations made their way into the Corinthian church. This brings us to Paul’s continued discussion of the sharp contrast between man’s wisdom versus God’s wisdom.

TEACHING/APPLICATION

Verse 1 - And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. - Sadly, following the lead of Greco-Roman influence, some Christians in Corinth wanted Paul to change the simple teaching and proclamation of the cross with rhetoric-filled orations. Paul declared that doing so runs contrary to Christ’s way and Christ’s principles. He had to remind them that when he came to them the first time around, the form (“superiority of speech”) and the content (“wisdom”) of his message and preaching did not rest upon Greek rhetoric and philosophy, but solely upon Christ crucified. And so, following upon the heels of what he said in verse 31, he declares that his message is not rooted in profound and boastful displays of Greek oratory, which amounted to “sound and fury, signifying nothing.”[4]

Verse 2 - For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. – The “for” that starts the sentence explains the reasons for his behavior in verse one. He did not want to set himself apart as an eloquent orator with a message full of Greek wisdom and learning. Instead, he “determined to know nothing among [them] except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” To “know nothing” did not mean that he rejected all other knowledge, but rather that his singular passion and focus when he was among them was to proclaim the gospel of the crucified and risen Messiah Jesus. When he says that “he determined” to know nothing else when proclaiming the crucified Jesus, he was contrasting himself with the Greek sophists and orators that he was being compared to. Their message was designed to elicit a response; his was designed to elicit a response. However, the content and form of their respective messages was totally opposed to each other. The sophists were powerful, ear tickling and man-flattering preachers of man’s wisdom and man’s doctrine, but Paul, as God’s man, was weak and powerless to do anything apart from God.

Verse 3 – I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling – Now Paul doesn’t focus on the form or content of the message but on the form of the messenger. The “weakness” here is a probably a reference to some type of physical weakness; which was either an illness or some type of suffering and hardship. He told them later in this letter (cf. 4:9-13) that he faced many hardships such as hunger, persecution, brutal treatment, and working with his own hands.[5] Whether this weakness was a physical illness or physical hardship, Paul intended to show that his weakness corresponds to the weakness of God, which was designed to shame the worldly strong (cf. 1:27). Paul’s weakness shows that this message was of divine and not human origin. Nobody who is captivated by the glory of Greek rhetoric and oratory is going to listen to a weak man. It runs contrary to all that seems right and respectable. But what the world sees as glorious and strong, Paul saw as true stupidity, and as a result, God used Him as an example of how the weak things of God confound the strong things of man. And so Paul gloried in his weaknesses, not because he enjoyed bad health and being roughly treated, but because they were sure evidence that the power of his message was solely of God and not of himself.

“. . . and in fear and in much trembling” – Paul preached and lived boldly and so this is not a reference to a physical trembling (Acts 13:46; 19:8; Eph. 3:12; 6:19). But the phrase “fear and trembling” was used by him in other NT passages to describe his concern over important and pressing issues (2 Cor. 7:15; Eph. 6:5; Phil. 2:12). Dr. John MacArthur describes Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:3 well with this statement,

He was fearful and trembling only in the sense of being deeply anxious that the gospel somehow find root even in this most unpromising of places. He was not fearful for his own life or safety or of the gospel’s having lost its power. He was fearful only of its being rejected, and of the terrible consequences of that rejection. Surely he also feared his own inadequacy and sin which could weaken his ministry (cf. 1 Cor. 9:16, 27).[6]

Paul simply wants to remind them how much his preaching and appearance were completely different in both form and content from the pagan Greek orators that the Corinthians had become accustomed to hearing. This is why he goes on to say what he does in verse four.

Verse 4 - and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power – Paul wants to reemphasize that real power does not lie in the person or the presentation of the preacher but only by the work of the Holy Spirit. His “message” (Gk. logos) did not consist of Greek wisdom and his “preaching” (Gk. kerugma) was not eloquent. The content and form of his message deliberately avoided the very thing that some of the Corinthians were fascinated with: namely, the persuasion of Greek wisdom through skilled speeches. Paul’s message didn’t lack persuasion (2 Cor. 5:11). “What it lacked was the kind of persuasion found among the sophists and rhetoricians, where the power lay in the person and his delivery.”[7] On the other hand, in spite of his physical weakness and trembling concern for pressing issues, Paul’s preaching was persuasive because it was Spirit-empowered. Whatever his personal appearance was and whatever the outward form of his preaching may have been, his preaching produced the desired results, namely it brought about the faith of the Corinthians.

“. . . but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” – The word “demonstration” in verse four is a technical word that was used in Greek rhetoric and philosophy during the first century to show that a particular conclusion must be drawn from the premises of a logical argument. This word was used by the Greek orators of the day to make their speeches seem powerful and convincing. Paul turns the normal use of this word on its head, arguing that the “proof” that his apostleship and message are from God doesn’t come from sophisticated Greek rhetoric and fancy speeches that rest upon man’s wisdom, but that it rests upon the Spirit’s power; with the ultimate proof being that the Corinthians themselves had believed the gospel and had evidenced true faith by their display of spiritual gifts. For Paul, the emphasis lay on the Spirit’s power to transform lives (as with the Corinthians), the Spirit’s power to reveal God’s wisdom (2:6-16), the Spirit’s power to enable one to minister in weakness (4:9-13), and to produce holiness in believers (5:3-5). Contrary to what the Corinthians thought the ultimate spiritual goal was; Paul says that the purpose of the Spirit’s coming was not to immediately transport believers above and beyond their present earthly existence, but to empower them to live within it without becoming ruined by it.

Verse 5 - so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. – The preaching of the cross, which is foolishness to the worldly wise, is God’s saving power to all who believe. The goal of the preaching of the cross is to disarm the wise and powerful so that those who believe must trust God alone and completely so that their faith will rest in God’s wisdom and not man’s wisdom.

CONCLUSION

The message of 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 needs a fresh hearing in today’s churches. Given the polished oratory of many a golden-mouthed so-called preacher, one often is left wondering whether many professing Christians are truly glorying in God or glorying in a gifted speaker that satisfies their wandering desires by telling them what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear (2 Tim. 4:1-5). What Paul is rejecting here is not persuasive preaching and teaching per se, but self-reliance on the wisdom and power of men. The church of Jesus Christ has always faced the danger of putting smooth form and slick content above what should be our single concern: the gospel proclaimed and lived out in human weakness yet accompanied by the powerful work of the Spirit so that lives are changed through an encounter with God and a relationship with Jesus.

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[1] This group included men such as Protagoras, Anhippius, Thrasimacus, and Gorgeus.

[2] In his dialogue titled Sophist, Plato doesn’t consider such teachers as genuine seekers of truth, but instead shows a great disdain for the Sophists because they were men who were concerned only with making money and securing success in argumentation by any means necessary.

[3] Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) said, “A whole must have a beginning, a middle, and an end”. On Poetics, Chapter 7. Although Aristotle was referring to the writing of plot and fable, Greek philosophers and orators eventually adopted his three-part principle in memorizing and delivering their speeches.

[4] Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians. The New International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 1987), 91.

[5] Paul’s “tentmaking” would have been considered weakness in the eyes of the Corinthians because he refused their support.

[6] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on 1^st Corinthians, (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1984), 56.

[7] Fee, 94. It is important to note that Paul’s letters are powerful examples of well-written rhetoric and persuasion. What Paul is condemning is not clear speech or well-reasoned argumentation per se, but a particular kind of rhetoric and persuasion that was absolutely unacceptable because it runs contrary to the gospel. This kind of ungodly rhetoric and persuasion rests upon the faulty foundation of man’s wisdom rather than God’s wisdom and brings glory to man rather than rightfully ascribing it to God alone.

Let Them Know or Let It Go?

Amen Dr. MacArthur!

How do we know when to confront and when to quietly forgive and forget?

That’s a good question because most people seem to err on one side or the other. Some people think it is best to overlook every offense and take pride in their tolerance. However, Paul confronted the Corinthians for tolerating sin in the church and rebuked them for failing to deal with a man living in sin (1 Cor. 5).

On the other side of the issue are people who confront over any slight infraction and make themselves intolerable.

Are there any biblical principles to help us make the right choice? Yes! Here are six guidelines to help you know whether to quietly forgive or to lovingly confront.

1. Whenever possible, especially if the offense is petty or unintentional, it is best to forgive unilaterally. This is the very essence of a gracious spirit. It is the Christlike attitude called for in Ephesians 4:1-3. We are called to maintain a gracious tolerance (”forbearance”) of others’ faults. Believers should have a sort of mutual immunity to petty offenses. Love “is not easily angered” (1 Cor. 13:5). If every fault required formal confrontation, the whole of our church life would be spent confronting and resolving conflicts over petty annoyances. So for the sake of peace, to preserve the unity of the Spirit, we are to show tolerance whenever possible (see 1 Pet. 2:21-25; Mat. 5:39-40).

2. If you are the only injured party, even if the offense was public and flagrant, you may choose to forgive unilaterally. Examples of this abound in Scripture. Joseph (Genesis 37-50), David (2 Sam. 16:5-8), and Stephen (Acts 7:60) each demonstrated the unilateral forgiveness of Christ (Luke 23:34).

3. If you observe a serious offense that is a sin against someone other than you, confront the offender. Justice never permits a Christian to cover a sin against someone else. While we are entitled, and even encouraged, to overlook wrongs committed against us, Scripture everywhere forbids us to overlook wrongs committed against another (see Ex. 23:6; Deut. 16:20; Isa. 1:17; Isa. 59:15-16; Jer. 22:3; Lam. 3:35-36).

4. When ignoring an offense might hurt the offender, confront the guilty party. Sometimes choosing to overlook an offense might actually injure the offender (by allowing him to continue unwarned down a wrong path). In such cases it is our duty to confront in love (Gal. 6:1-2).

5. When a sin is scandalous or otherwise potentially damaging to the body of Christ, the guilty party should be confronted. Some sins have the potential to defile many people, and Scripture gives ample warning of such dangers (see Heb. 12:15; 3:13; 1 Cor. 5:1-5). In fact, Scripture calls for the church to discipline individuals who refuse to repent of open sin in the body, so that the purity of the body might be preserved (Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5).

6. Lastly, any time an offense results in a broken relationship, confrontation of the sinner should occur. Any offense that causes a breach in relationships simply cannot be overlooked. Both the offense and the breach must be confronted, and reconciliation must be sought. And both the offended party and the offender have a responsibility to seek reconciliation (Luke 17:3; Matt. 5:23-24). There is never any excuse for a Christian on either side of a broken relationship to refuse to pursue reconciliation.

The only instance where such a conflict should remain unresolved is if all the steps of discipline in Matthew 18 have been exhausted and the guilty party still refuses to repent.

When Your Preacher is NOT John Piper

by Steve Burchett

Many who have had the privilege of hearing John Piper¹ preach in person would testify that it felt like a monumental event. His preaching is a powerful combination of truth and passion, leading to convicted and exhilarated listeners. After the sermon, certain hearers might leave wondering if they were just in the presence of a figure who will be talked about in future centuries.

Then they go back to their home church, where several things are different, including the preaching! Thankfully, the gospel is still proclaimed. In fact, the sermons are thoroughly biblical, but the ability of their regular preacher simply does not measure up to the phenomenal preaching they recently heard.

Unless you regularly attend the church of one of the celebrated preachers of our day, you most likely have faced a similar situation. Either at a conference or on the internet, you have heard exceptional preaching, but each Sunday you're back in your simple little home church that hardly anybody beyond your town knows about, with its "nobody" of a pastor who will probably never preach to thousands.

What if your gospel-preaching pastor is not as good as one of the great orators of our day? Is it time to sell the house, pack up the family, and change churches? No, I don't think so. But what should you do?

First, rejoice that your preacher is a man who proclaims the gospel. In some towns, finding a man who preaches the true gospel is as difficult as locating that precious new golf ball you sliced 100 yards into the thick woods! I once endured a 40 minute sermon that consisted mainly of the preacher telling about his family's vacation. Though that might be an extreme example of non-gospel preaching, too many preachers fail to speak of the holy God, sinful humanity, and the redeeming work of Christ. But not your preacher. He speaks honestly about sin, boldly proclaims "Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2), and then lovingly invites listeners to repent and believe. That is a reason to rejoice.

Second, recognize that certain men are uniquely gifted by the Lord to have an international ministry and appeal, but this is not the norm. The typical local church should be satisfied to appoint as pastors men who are "above reproach" in their lives, who believe the gospel and are able to teach God's Word, and who have an aspiration to serve as shepherds (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). Most preachers will not be strikingly smooth and polished. They may never be the keynote speaker at a big conference, but this is not a tragic shortcoming in your corner of God's kingdom. It is precisely His design.

Third, if your pastor is (honestly) dull, but he preaches the truth faithfully, a little statement I once heard might be helpful for you to remember: "The mature worshipper is easily edified." When hearing lackluster (even if biblical) preaching, immature worshippers will typically not listen to the message because they wish the messenger was more exciting. Conversely, mature worshippers eagerly receive the truth as it is proclaimed, even if it sounds like the preacher is reading a phone book.

Fourth, listen "outwardly" to the preaching. Here's what I mean: Sit with your Bible open and routinely make eye contact with the one preaching. An occasional nod of your head when he makes a point will encourage him and stir up his confidence. In my experiences of both preaching and listening to sermons, I can confirm that yawning listeners with glazed over eyes make mediocre preaching worse, while eager listeners inspire better preaching.

Fifth, verbally encourage the preacher(s) in your church. Every preacher who is not extraordinarily gifted has heard remarkable preaching and moaned, "After listening to that, why do I even try?!" This is a strange phenomenon, but great preaching from the renowned teachers of our day makes many "ordinary" pastors discouraged. Here's a simple way you can buoy your pastor: After a sermon, instead of just saying "Nice sermon!" as you head out the door, take a few moments to tell him what was especially helpful and/or convicting from the sermon. In the first church I served as a pastor, a particular young couple would stay after the service, about once a month, conversing with me about what they learned. These helpful conversations sometimes lasted for over an hour. Even today, I am heartened when I recall their zeal for what was taught.

We should praise the Lord for giving us outstanding, well-known preachers, but let us not forget Paul's command to Timothy, who was entrenched in a local church with pastors whose names none of us know: "The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching" (1 Tim. 5:17).

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¹ John Piper is the main teaching pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and a regular preacher at conferences all around the world.

Copyright © 2008 Steve Burchett