Missions, Evangelism, and Theology

MUST SEE Heartcry Video from Peru Back in the Day!

2012-01-11T09:55:00.000-08:00

This short documentary takes you on a journey with Paul Washer when he was a missionary in Peru. It shows you first hand the churches planted in those early years and takes you into various villages where brother Paul preached.

Martyn Lloyd Jones' Series on Ephesians Now Airing!

2012-01-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

Every week, the Martyn Lloyd-Jones Recording Trust will be releasing a new sermon in the famous Ephesians series that Lloyd-Jones preached during the last century. You can access the sermons online at OnePlace.

A Missionary Sermon

2011-11-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

I love this sermon. You will too if you watch it. It throbs with the heartbeat of God.

Unless You Eat My Flesh by Mike Gendron

2011-11-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

www.pro-gospel.org

Are these words of Jesus from John 6:52 to be taken literally or figuratively? The Roman Catholic Church teaches the context of John chapter six and the above headlined verse 53 are literal. Thus Jesus is giving absolute and unconditional requirements for eternal life. In fact, this literal interpretation forms the foundation for Rome's doctrine of transubstantiation -- the miraculous changing of bread and wine into the living Christ, His body and blood, soul and divinity. Each Catholic priest is said to have the power to call Jesus down from the right hand of the Father when he elevates the wafer and whispers the words "Hoc corpus meus est." Catholics believe as they consume the lifeless wafer they are actually eating and drinking the living body and blood of Jesus Christ. This is a vital and important step in their salvation and a doctrine they must believe and accept to become a Catholic. If priests indeed have the exclusive power to change finite bread and wine into the body and blood of the infinite Christ, and if indeed consuming His body and blood is necessary for salvation, then the whole world must become Catholic to escape the wrath of God. On the other hand, if Jesus was speaking in figurative language then this teaching becomes the most blasphemous and deceptive hoax any religion could impose on its people. There is no middle ground. Therefore the question of utmost importance is -- Was the message Jesus conveyed to the Jewish multitude to be understood as literal or figurative? Rome has never presented a good argument for defending its literal interpretation. Yet there are at least seven convincing reasons why this passage must be taken figuratively.

Counterfeit Miracle

There is no Biblical precedent where something supernatural occurred where the outward evidence indicated no miracle had taken place. (The wafer and wine look, taste and feel the same before and after the supposed miracle of transubstantion). When Jesus changed water into wine, all the elements of water changed into the actual elements of wine.

Drinking Blood Forbidden

The Law of Moses strictly forbade Jews from drinking blood. (Leviticus 17:10-14) A literal interpretation would have Jesus teaching the Jews to disobey the Mosaic Law. This would have been enough cause to persecute Jesus. (See John 5:16)

Biblical Disharmony

When John 6:53 is interpreted literally it is in disharmony with the rest of the Bible. "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you," gives no hope of eternal life to any Christian who has not consumed the literal body and blood of Christ. It opposes hundreds of Scriptures that declare justification and salvation are by faith alone in Christ.

Produces Dilemma

It appears that the "eating and drinking" in verse 6:54 and the "believing" in verse 6:40 produce the same result - eternal life. If both are literal we have a dilemma. What if a person "believes" but does not "eat or drink"? Or what if a person "eats and drinks" but does not "believe?" This could happen any time a non-believer walked into a Catholic Church and received the Eucharist. Does this person have eternal life because he met one of the requirements but not the other? The only possible way to harmonize these two verses is to accept one verse as figurative and one as literal.

Figurative In Old Testament

The Jews were familiar with "eating and drinking" being used figuratively in the Old Testament to describe the appropriation of divine blessings to one's innermost being. It was God's way of providing spiritual nourishment for the soul. (See Jeremiah 15:16; Isaiah 55:1-3; and Ezekiel 2:8, 3:1)

Jesus Confirmed

Jesus informed His disciples there were times when He spoke figuratively (John 16:25) and often used that type of language to describe Himself. The Gospel of John records seven figurative declarations Jesus made of Himself -- "the bread of life" (6:48), "the light of the world" (8:12), "the door" (10:9), "the good shepherd" (10:11), "the resurrection and the life" (11:25), "the way, the truth and the life" (14:6), and "the true vine" (15:1). He also referred to His body as the temple (2:19).

Words Were Spiritual

Jesus ended this teaching by revealing "the words I have spoken to you are spirit" (6:63). As with each of the seven miracles in John's Gospel, Jesus uses the miracle to convey a spiritual truth. Here Jesus has just multiplied the loaves and fish and uses a human analogy to teach the necessity of spiritual nourishment. This is consistent with His teaching on how we are to worship God. "God is Spirit and His worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). As we worship Christ He is present spiritually, not physically. In fact, Jesus can only be bodily present at one place at one time. His omnipresence refers only to His spirit. It is impossible for Christ to be bodily present in thousands of Catholic Churches around the world.

When Jesus is received spiritually, one time in the heart, there is no need to receive him physically, over and over again in the stomach.

Get in the Word of God Today -and EVERY DAY!

2011-10-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

A true word from brother Tim. This is an excerpt from a sermon he preached recently in his series on Hebrews. You can listen to the full sermons in the series on their website here.

Isn't it true that when we stop soaking in the Word, and we stop hearing His voice every day, that our hearts tend to harden, we tend to start to drift away from beholding Christ, and we fail to see and appreciate the true glory of Christ as more precious than anything this world has to offer? If you're not beholding glory continually as you meditate on the Word, there is something wrong with your spiritual state. True Christianity is the constant beholding of Christ through His Word and being transformed into His likeness in ever-increasing degrees (2 Cor. 3:18). The Word of God is living, and if it's not LIFE to your soul then you're either sick (loss of appetite is a sign of illness) or dead. Those who know their God cherish His Word which He has exalted, together with His name, above all things (Psa. 138:2). Is it more precious to you than gold? Or is it so worthless to you that your Bible collects enough dust in order for someone to write "damnation" across it with their finger?

John MacArthur speaks the truth about Infant Baptism

2011-10-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

The majority of those who identify themselves as Christians in the world practice paedobaptism. That's millions upon millions of people. Yet this practice has caused serious harm and damage to the cause of Christ.

The worst part about it is that it introduces the unregenerate to the membership of the church and blurs the line between true converts and the unconverted. It is a despicable practice and one that should be abolished immediately among all who believe in biblical regeneration and justification by faith. The Protestant Reformation fell far short of reforming all the errors of the Catholic Church, and tragically, many vain traditions carried over into Protestantism.

I recently listened to a sermon John MacArthur preached recently on this topic. He is right on. This is a must hear sermon for paedobaptists and credobaptists alike.

Here's the sermon:
Is Infant Baptism Biblical?
(This link will take you to the page where you can listen to it)

This doctrine is extremely important because it determines whether or not the New Covenant community of the people of God (the church) should consist of only the regenerate or whether we should call the unregenerate Christ's bride too.

Keys for Effective Evangelism #4: Memorize Scripture

2011-10-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” (Col. 3:16) That's a biblical command, and it is extremely helpful for evangelism. The previous key for effective evangelism in this series was “Load your preaching with the Word of God”. In order to do that, you must have your mind and heart saturated with God’s Word –and what better way to do that than to memorize Scripture? As a disclaimer, I do not claim to be an authority on this subject, and I openly confess my own failure in this regard in many ways. However, the little that the Lord has allowed me to memorize despite my inconsistency of discipline in this area has certainly been a huge blessing to me and has greatly helped me in evangelism.

I want to give you some tips to memorizing Scripture. These are things that I have either done in times past and they have helped me, or have been told me from friends who have memorized much more Scripture than I.

The Necessity of Discipline and Consistency

When mentioning the memorization of Scripture, most people balk immediately and say they can’t. The excuses are always similar, such as “my brain is not wired that way” or “the ability to memorize is a spiritual gift I don’t have”. While I think there is some truth in the thought that for some people it comes with greater ease than with others (I have some friends who are walking Thompson Chain-Reference Bibles who naturally gravitated toward memorizing Scripture and seem to be peculiarly blessed and facilitated in doing so), the truth is that everyone who is capable of coherently engaging in intelligible communication is able to. Just think about how much everybody memorizes as a routine part of life: Names, phone numbers, addresses, how to get to a certain person’s house, what you order at a certain restaurant, etc. It is not uncommon for a high school teacher to memorize the names of a couple hundred students every school year with a little effort. Even speaking the English language itself is the fruit of tremendous amounts of memorization that we did in our earliest years of childhood when our brains had nowhere near the mental capacity they currently do!

If you’re going to memorize, the first thing you must do is rebuke the lies of the enemy that tell you that you can’t! By God’s grace, and with the conscious resolution to launch forward, you certainly can! Let love for God’s Word be your motivation. What better way to invoke the blessing of the Lord than to meditate on His Word day and night in memorizing it?

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)

Get it settled in your heart: if you want to truly prosper in evangelism, you must meditate on the law of the Lord day and night. All it requires is: (1) the conscious decision and resolution to discipline yourself and work for it and (2) consistency and perseverance without giving up or neglecting the practice. This is where most of us have failed. Many have never succeeded at memorizing much Scripture because they lack discipline, not because they’re unintelligent.

Two Different Ways to Memorize

There are basically two different approaches you can take to Scripture memorization. You can practice either one or the other, or preferably, practice both. The first consists of memorizing key verses that are of particular benefit for evangelism. Specific passages that consist of only one to three verses at a time from all over the Bible are memorized according to this approach. If you're going to run with this method, you may consider starting with the evangelistic verses Living Waters has compiled. The Fighter Verses website is also particularly helpful (though not necessarily focused specifically on evangelistic texts). The second method consists of memorizing large passages and entire books of the Bible. If you're going with this method, Andrew Davis has a very helpful article on the subject.

Methods of Memorization

Reading and Repetition. Just by reading a verse over and over, silently and out loud, will work wonders at locking it into your memory. Read it ten times silently, then ten times out loud, saying the book and verse each time you read it. Most people will find that just by doing this for 5 to 10 minutes each day, they can memorize huge amounts of verses over a period of time. Hey, if this method works for John Piper, why not for us?

Index Cards. I have found that the good old fashioned method of using index cards is the most helpful method for me personally. Just simple write the text of the verse(s) you will memorize on one side of the card, and on the other, the book and reference number. For instance, on one side write: “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Then on the other side write: “Colossians 2:13-14”. Then carry the cards with you and flash through them regularly as you go about your daily routine. This turns standing in lines, waiting in traffic, and other such things that are typically squanderers of precious time into profitable activity that benefits your soul and equips you for more effective evangelism. You will want to memorize the cards both ways, making sure you memorize both the passage and the reference well. Obviously, this works well when memorizing sporadic verses from all over the Bible, but believe it or not, it also helps when memorizing larger passages because it helps you to lock the verse numbers into your memory and not just the words. Just write out the whole chapter or book on index cards one verse at a time, one verse per card, and memorize them systematically, reviewing every day what you’re memorized previously until you’re done with the chapter or book. Each day take on one new verse, memorize it, and review your previous memory verses. Try to recite the whole passage then without looking at the cards, and recite it both forwards and backwards. They also have an audio of Ray Comfort reading them. Living Waters has a zip file of their evangelistic Scripture list formatted for printing on card stock. Or, if you prefer a more well-rounded Scripture memory program, you can purchase a Fighter Verse pack or Memorization Journal in the ESV from Desiring God.

Record and Listen to Yourself. This might sound a little silly to some, but who cares? If it helps to hide God’s Word in our hearts, then let us be fools for Christ’s sake. If you have an IPod or personal Mp3 player, this works the best. Just record your voice on it, or use the audio recorder on your computer (if you’re using Windows, go to the Start Menu, then to Programs, then to Accessories, then to Sound Recorder). Record yourself reading your memory verses, being sure to say the verse references as well as the text of the passages for each verse, save the file, upload it to your audio device, and listen to it over and over. Recite your verses out loud as you hear yourself reading them.

Listen to the Audio Bible. This is primarily for those memorizing entire books or longer passages. Listen over and over again to your memory passages. If you have a CD player in your car, and you drive to work every day, listen to your memory books on the way to and back from work. Soak your ears with you memory passages and recite them out loud along with the audio.

Write it Down. (cf. Deut. 17:18) Some people learn well by writing since it causes them to slow down, think, and visualize what they’re saying. Write down your memory verses over and over on a piece of paper. Do it to memorize them and to review them from time to time. Some people may prefer to type them out on their computer.

Stick them all over your house or office. (cf. Deut. 6:9) The wall next to your desk is a great target for sticky notes of God's Word. So is the space around the bathroom mirror -brushing your teeth can become a spiritually profitable way to redeem the time. The refrigerator is typically a frequently visited location, so why not tape a heap of verses to it and pause to read one every time you open it up for refreshment? Or how about the dash of your car (be careful not to block your gauges in case you get pulled over)? Or how about hanging a cork-board in a prominent location in your house or office full of Bible verses you could pin to it as you memorize them?

Sing God’s Word. (cf. Col. 3:16) Even if you’re musically incompetent and sing like a stray dog that just got his leg ran over by a car, what’s important is not what you sound like but locking the Scriptures into your memory. By creating a tune in your mind and singing your memory passages, the distinct vocal sounds and repetition of tune actually helps to lodge God’s Word in your mind. This can especially help if you make up little songs for your verses or passages and then use this method in unison with the voice recorder. How often have we been driven into a state of emotional instability by an annoying little tune stuck in our heads that just won’t go away no matter how hard we try? It’s time to use such annoyance for our spiritual benefit. If the silly little tune has our memory verses in it, then it’s a good thing that it doesn't go away easily! If you're particularly interested in finding CD's of Scripture songs, again the Fighter verses pulls through to not only help you memorize Scripture, but to grow in sanctification as you learn patience amidst annoyance. (Sorry guys, but that's my opinion! Actually, to be fair, just some of the songs are bad, but most of them are quite tolerable!) They have an interesting story of how they got started. Whatever you do, even if you just try to sing out loud inventing the tune as you go, this method can help you memorize Scripture.

Discuss your memory verse(s). (cf. Deut. 6:6-7) For those who are heads of the household, while in conversation with your family at the dinner table, tell them your memory verse(s) and invoke a discussion about it. Share your insights on the passage, what you think it means in its Biblical context, how it applies to you and your family’s lives, and ask your family members questions that provoke discussion about the memory passage(s). Meaningful discussion helps to lodge the Scriptures deeper down into your heart. This is especially helpful if the whole family is memorizing Scripture together.

I’m sure there are other things you can do to help you memorize God’s Word. The important thing is not the method(s) we use, but that we have consistent discipline in actively seeking to know God’s Word by heart.

Here’s a few more tips:

Spend a little time every day memorizing. We are forgetful creatures by nature. If you don’t review the verses you’ve already memorized on a consistent basis, you will forget them.

Don’t give up! Sometimes we get busy and to our shame, neglect our spiritual disciplines. When it comes to Scripture memory, it can easily be laid aside for several days. After a good period of time of consistently committing a little time each day to Scripture memory, it gets pushed aside for a week or two. We get discouraged, and give up. Don’t let that happen! If you neglect your practice, don’t throw in the towel, just acknowledge that you lost some ground and jump right back in. Review where you left off, and start afresh.

Stick to one Bible translation. This is very important. You don’t want to be quoting some verses out of the NASB, some out of the ESV, and some out of the NKJV. That can be chaos. Choose your translation of choice, and stick to it. And just a word of advice: stay away from the looser translations –the more paraphrased they get, the further away from God’s actual written Word they wander. While they can be helpful for reference, avoid them for memorization.

Consider using the Bible translation of your church. If your church uses the NASB, and you plan on being there for an extended period of time, my advice is to avoid using other translations for memory. Memorize in the translation your church uses so you can talk the same language as the people you fellowship with most often. However, if your church uses the NIV or other even looser translation, I would advise you to consider either the NASB, the ESV, or the NKJV for memory, just because I think the NIV and other translations are too loose to be considered accurate and faithful to the original text. In Spanish, I use the Reina-Valera 1960, not only because it is the translation our church uses, but also because the vast majority of Christians in Mexico use it and it is a faithful translation. When I cite Scripture, I want those who know their Bibles to be able to follow along in their minds and I don’t want to throw them off with unfamiliar terminology from a translation they’re not used to.

Find a memory partner. It’s always helpful to have an accountability partner for stuff like this. If you have a definite plan of Scripture memory, try to find a partner to memorize it together with. Hold each other accountable. When you see each other, recite the week’s memory texts to each other. This also works for small group Bible studies that meet on a regular basis. The group leader can hold the people accountable and set the example.

If you are able to quote myriads of Scripture texts in your evangelism, it will add a tremendous impact to your witness. God’s Word is powerful and convinces souls of the truth like nothing other.

If you have other helpful tips or methods, or helpful resources, please share them in the comments section!

Keys for Effective Evangelism #3: Load your Preaching with the Word of God

2011-10-03T19:31:00.000-07:00

I’ve seen enough preaching and have witnessed enough evangelistic encounters to know that much of what passes today for evangelism is bankrupt from true spiritual substance because it is jam-packed with the arguments of human reasoning and is greatly lacking in direct citation of the Word of God. Nothing packs a punch right to the gut of sin like a direct quote from God’s Word. Reasoning with sinners on the streets is essential, but doing so without quoting the Word of God is fatal to the true work of evangelism. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12) Nothing else pierces and cuts hearts like God’s Word. Nothing else exposes secret motives and prophesies directly to the hearts of men like God’s Word, anointed with Holy Spirit power, quoted from the lips of a sanctified vessel meet for the Master’s use.

Brethren, it is a trap to get involved in endless debating, using logic to try to persuade sinners to abandon their sin and flee to the Savior for mercy. Intellectual persuasion can reach the intellect and at its best, persuade the mind, but God’s Word pierces to the heart, convinces the conscience, and floods God’s truth right into the very soul of man. While there is a place for debating, and we must not be intellectually incompetent, the truth is that true power to convince, convict and convert is found only in God’s Word.

It is the Word of God that is alive and carries with it supernatural power to impart divine life into the spiritually dead. “…since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” (1 Pet. 1:23) God has ordained to use His inspired Word as the instrument through which He sovereignly reveals Himself and brings forth sons unto glory: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (Jam. 1:18) It is the Scriptures that are able to make sinners “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15). In fact, it is by faith that we are justified, and “…faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17) People must hear Christ’s word in order to believe, have eternal life, and escape the condemnation that awaits the ungodly: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (Jn 5:24)

Not only does God save sinners through His Word, but if we’re to be useful as servants of the Lord in the task of evangelism, we must have our minds saturated with the truth of the Scriptures. Our competency must come from God, and He supplies it to us by means of His Word: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17) Just as the apostle Paul also said: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” (Col. 3:16) When Paul wrote the Thessalonians, he said: “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (1 Th. 2:13) Even Paul didn’t rely on his own intellect and ability to use persuasive logic, but on the power and efficacy of God’s Word to convert souls (cf. 1 Cor. 2:1).

One time I was in a barber shop and a man was cutting my hair. We started talking, and soon the conversation turned to spiritual things. I don’t remember everything that was said. All I remember is that a river of Scriptures flowed forth from my mouth, much to my surprise, as I shared the Gospel with this man who claimed to be a Christian. God’s Word convinced him quickly of his sinfulness, his lost condition, and his need for a Savior. By the end of the haircut, the man was floored under the power of divine truth, and in the midst of trying to restrain his inward anguish, appeared almost delirious under the burden of a guilty conscience. He wept and told me to leave without paying. I insisted on paying, but he would not accept. Then he fled to the back room to find refuge from the public eye, and I left. What convinced this man who just 10 minutes prior believed himself to be saved that he was utterly lost and desperately in need of Christ’s saving grace? I can assure you it wasn’t me, it wasn’t any fancy arguments or persuasive speech. It was God’s Word under the blessing of the Holy Spirit. God blesses His Word when it is quoted, explained and applied. Brethren, it is such a simple key to seeing God bless your evangelistic endeavors, and yet so powerful. It is absolutely vital that you pack your witnessing with the living Word of God.

When you’re sharing the Gospel with someone, be sure to have your hand firmly gripped around your sword, ready to draw it and pierce right into the heart of any objection to the Gospel that is raised. Be conscious of the fact that objections will come, and that when they come, you will respond to them not with logic or human reasoning but with “It is written!” It is important that you consciously be alert to recognizing objections and that you will strive to answer as biblically as possible at all times. This takes conscious effort and focus. As soon as an objection arises, with sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit (with prayers arising in your heart and mind to the Lord in the midst of it looking for His guidance), let your mind fly through the pages of your mental Bible until a verse jumps out that answers the objection. As soon as it jumps into your consciousness, let it fly off your tongue and strike its target.

Every sinner who has not yet surrendered to Jesus Christ hasn’t done so because there are certain strongholds, certain patterns of thinking, and certain lies that they have believed that keeps them in a spiritually blind state. You must search out and destroy every last false refuge the sinner has, chase him out of all his false assurances and cut through the webs of lies and deceptions he has believed, until he’s left naked and exposed before the truth of God with nothing to do but to humble himself and confess his shame before the Lord in repentance. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:4-5) Yet reason with the Word of God in meekness, not with an accusing tone of voice, but with boldness coupled with gentleness and respect (cf. 2 Tim. 2:24-26). “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Col. 4:6)

Here is the point of everything I’ve said: be sure to jam pack your evangelism with direct quotation from Holy Scripture. Heap buckets of salt on those who listen to you. Strive to answer every question and objection that is raised with either a direct quote from, or a clear reference to, a biblical text. Have a (preferably, hand-sized) Bible with you and as soon as you’re going to quote a text, flip open your Bible and point your finger to it. Sometimes it is even helpful to stand right next to the person you’re witnessing to, and as you read the text, follow along with your finger as the person’s eyes follow the words you’re reading out loud.

Before the Lord saved me, I clearly remember that the preacher who shared the Gospel with me said: “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” A clear quote from 2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV). However, the preacher didn’t say he was quoting Scripture or give the verse reference. I had no idea that that was in the Bible at that time as I was lost and dead in my sins. However, those specific words seemed to pierce my heart with prophetic power and I knew the voice of God Himself was speaking directly to me. Though I didn’t even know it was in the Bible, I knew God spoke those words directly to my soul. The Word of God has power like no other word. The Spirit of God blesses it to convert sinners. It is a living Word that still speaks. When God owns it as it is quoted, it imparts divine life and raises the spiritually dead. If you saturate your soul and feast continually on the words of the Bible, then when you evangelize, it will flow out of your belly like rivers of living water that produce life where the thirsty land was only barren and dead before.

The History of an Idol, Its Rise, Reign and Progress

2011-10-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

By J.C. Philpot

Edited from a sermon dated: October 1855

"Dear children, keep yourselves from idols." 1 John 5:21

Idolatry is a sin very deeply rooted in the human heart. We need not go very far to find of this the most convincing proofs. Besides the experience of every age and every climate, we find it where we would least expect it—the prevailing sin of a people who had the greatest possible proofs of its wickedness and folly, and the strongest evidences of the being, greatness, and power of God.

It amazes us sometimes in reading the history of God's ancient people, as recorded in the inspired page, that, after such wondrous and repeated displays of his presence, glory, and majesty, they should again and again bow down before stocks and stones. That those who had witnessed all the plagues of Egypt had passed through the Red Sea by an explicit miracle, were daily living on manna that fell from heaven and water that gushed out of the rock, who had but to look upward by day to behold the pillar of the cloud, and by night the pillar of fire to manifest the presence of Jehovah in their midst—that this people, because Moses delayed coming down from the Mount, should fall down before a golden calf, and say, "These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt," does indeed strike our minds with astonishment.

And that this sin should break forth in them again and again through their whole history down to the period of the Babylonish captivity, in spite of all the warnings of their prophets, all the terrible judgments of God, all their repeated captivities, and, what would be far more likely to cure it, all their repeated deliverances, does indeed show, if other proof were lacking, that it is a disease deeply rooted in the very constitution of fallen man.

If this be the case, unless human nature has undergone a change, of which neither scripture nor experience affords any evidence, the disease must be in the heart of man now as much as ever; and if it exists it must manifest itself, for a constitutional malady can no more be in the soul and not show itself, than there can be a sickness in the body without evident symptoms of illness.

It is true that the disease does not break out exactly in the same form. It is true that golden calves are not now worshiped, at least the calf is not, if the gold be, nor do Protestants adore images of wood, brass, or stone. But that rank; property, fashion, honor, the opinion of the world, with everything which feeds the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, are as much idolized now as Baal and Moloch were once in Judea, and Juggernaut now is in the plains of Hindostan, is true beyond all contradiction.

But what is idolatry? To answer this question, let us ask another. What is an idol? Is not this the essence of the idea conveyed by the word, that an idol occupies that place in our esteem and affections, in our thoughts, words and ways, in our dependence and reliance, in our worship and devotedness, which is due to God only? Whatever is to us what the Lord alone should be, that is to us an idol. It is true that these idols differ almost as widely as the peculiar propensities of different individuals. But as both in ancient and modern times the grosser idols of wood and stone were and are beyond all calculation in number, variety, shape, and size, so is it in these inner idols of which the outer are mere symbols and representations.

...

Idolatry is the very breath of the carnal mind. All that "the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts," desires, thirsts after, is gratified by, or occupied with, is its idol—and so far as a Christian is under the influence of this carnal mind, this old man, this evil heart of unbelief, this fallen Adam-nature, this body of sin and death—all which are Scripture terms to express one and the same thing—he bows down to the idol set up in the chambers of imagery.

There is an old Latin proverb, that "love and a cough are two things impossible to be concealed;" and thus, though an idol may be hidden in the heart as carefully as Laban's teraphim in the camel's saddle, or the ephod and molten image in the House of Micah, (Judges 18:14), yet it will be discovered by the love shown to it, as surely as the suppressed cough of the consumptive patient cannot escape the ear of the physician.

Nor need we go far, if we would but be honest with ourselves, to find out each our own idol—what it is, and how deep it lies, what worship it obtains, what honor it receives, and what affection it engrosses. Let me ask myself, "What do I most love?" If I hardly know how to answer that question, let me put to myself another, "What do I most think upon? In what channel do I usually find my thoughts flow when unrestrained?" for thoughts flow to the idol as water to the lowest spot in a field.

If, then, the thoughts flow continually to the farm, the shop, the business, the investment, to the husband, wife, or child; to that which feeds lust or pride, worldliness or covetousness, self-conceit or self-admiration—that is the idol which, as a magnet, attracts the thoughts of the mind towards it.

Your idol may not be mine, nor mine yours; and yet we may both be idolaters. You may despise or even hate my idol, and wonder how I can be such a fool or such a sinner as to hug it to my bosom; and I may wonder how a partaker of grace can be so inconsistent as to love such a silly idol as yours. You may condemn me, and I condemn you; and the word of God's grace and the verdict of a living conscience condemn us both.

O how various and how innumerable those idols are! One man may possess a refined taste and educated mind. Books, learning, literature, languages, general information, shall be his idol. Music, vocal and instrumental, may be the idol of a second; so sweet to his ears, such inward feelings of delight are kindled by the melodious strains of voice or instrument, that music is in all his thoughts, and hours are spent in producing those harmonious sounds which perish in their utterance. Painting, statuary, architecture, the fine arts generally, may be the Baal, the dominating passion of a third. Poetry, with its glowing thoughts, burning words, passionate utterances, vivid pictures, melodious cadence, and sustained flow of all that is beautiful in language and expression, may be the delight of a fourth. Science, mathematical or mechanical, the eager pursuit of a fifth. These are the highest flights of the human mind; these are not the base idols of the drunken feast, the low jest, the mirthful supper, or even that less debasing but enervating idol—sleep and indolence, as if life's highest enjoyments were those of the swine in the sty.

An idol is not to be admired for its beauty or loathed for its ugliness, but to be hated because it is an idol. You middle-class people, who despise art and science, language and learning, as you despise the ale-house, and ballfield, may still have an idol. Your garden, your beautiful roses, your verbenas, fuchsias, needing all the care and attention of a babe in arms, may be your idol. Or your pretty children, so admired as they walk in the street; or your new house and all the new furniture; or your son who is getting on so well in business; or your daughter so comfortably settled in life; or your dear husband so generally respected, and just now doing so nicely in the farm. Or your own still dearer SELF that needs so much feeding, and dressing and attending to—who shall count the thousands of idols which draw to themselves those thoughts, and engross those affections which are due to the Lord alone?

You may not be found out. Your idol may be so hidden, or so peculiar, that all our attempts to touch it, have left you and it unscathed. Will you therefore conclude that you have none? Search deeper, look closer; it is not too deep for the eye of God, nor too hidden for the eyes of a tender conscience anointed with divine eye-salve. Hidden love is the deepest of all love; hidden diseases the most incurable of all diseases. Search every fold of your heart until you find it. It may not be so big nor so ugly as your neighbor's; but an idol is still an idol, and an image still an image, whether so small as to be carried in the coat pocket, or as large as a gigantic statue.

Every man has his idol; but it is not every man who sees it. Few groan under it.

"Dear children, keep yourselves from idols." 1 John 5:21

"The dearest idol I have known,

Whatever that idol be,

Help me to tear it from my heart,

And worship only Thee."

Where this Blog is Headed Right Now

2011-10-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

Brethren, I plan on continuing the series on keys for effective evangelism on this blog. Lord willing, it will be an ongoing project and I'll try to post one or two keys every week. Of course, in the midst of many other responsibilities, I may fall behind. Please give me some grace and check back often for new posts.

In the meantime, and in between posts about evangelism, I will post some other things that I think will be a blessing to the people of God. By posting other things, I'm not giving up on posting on evangelism, just taking breaks in between.

Just a heads up!

180 Movie is Out! Spread the Word!

2011-09-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

See what the whole internet world seems to be talking about. A shocking 33 minute documentary from Ray Comfort exposes the current Holocaust that is happening in the USA.

Brethren, you can order this DVD in quantities of 10 or more from Living Waters for just a dollar a piece. Why not give it out to all your unsaved friends, co-workers, university professors, local politicians, influential pastors in your area, etc.? If America can see this film, it could change the course of the nation and souls may get saved.

Keys for Effective Evangelism #2: Proclaim the Whole Counsel of God

2011-09-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

The previous key for effective evangelism that I gave in this series was to “make much of Jesus Christ”. That is absolutely foundational. However, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. By saying that, I am not saying that we should always start our presentation of the Gospel by talking about the cross. Sometimes that is certainly appropriate –to start with a confrontation with the truth of the cross and reason across a long line of other related biblical and salvific truths as they relate to the cross and to the sinner’s current state before God, exhorting the sinner to embrace this truth as we lay out the claims of the Gospel before their eyes in living color. This can be especially true when evangelizing people who already claim a “Christian” worldview since they already assume (at least intellectually) the truth of the cross. We must imitate Paul, who determined to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified. If Christ is not our message than our message is void of power to save. Yet, while to be faithful in evangelism we must exalt and proclaim Jesus Christ, at the same time, we must not shrink from declaring “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

This means it isn’t always appropriate to begin with Jesus Christ or with the cross in our presentation of the Gospel. In fact, more often than not, I will dare to say we shouldn’t begin by talking about Christ. We should begin with the basic foundational truths which constitute the hinges upon which the door of understanding the Gospel swings. Far too many modern evangelists begin immediately with the cross and preach forgiveness to sinners who don’t even recognize, feel, or even hunger and thirst for righteousness from God. The Gospel is not just forgiveness in Jesus. It is a revelation of God and His glory, His righteousness, His attributes, and His saving power. Our presentation of the Gospel must include enough truth about God so as to be likely to be used by God as an instrument through which He reveals Himself by the power of His Spirit in a personal and confrontational way to the sinner. If our presentation of the Gospel is just an offer of forgiveness and eternal happiness but fails to be a revelation of God, it is faulty, broken down, and will hardly be able to function in order to perform its intended purpose in being used by God to secure the salvation of souls.

The apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans serves as an excellent example of explaining the Gospel by declaring the whole counsel of God. It is the clearest systematic explanation of the theology of the Gospel in the whole Bible. Every Christian should be intimately familiar with this book. This should be even truer among those who are regularly and actively involved in evangelistic ministry. I recommend that every Christian who is active in sharing the Gospel spend at least one month straight in the book of Romans. Read it through every day. Meditate on its flow of thought. Pour over it on your knees begging God for light from above. Memorize key verses. Cry out to God continually to burn it into your soul. Listen to solid expository sermons through the book.[i] I can guarantee that when you are utterly saturated with the theology of the book of Romans, and its penetratingly glorious truth has penetrated your soul and floored you with the depths of the riches of the Gospel, it will be exceedingly difficult to preach a half a gospel as so many are doing in modern evangelistic ministries.

The thesis statement of the whole book is found in the first chapter: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." (Rom. 1:16-17) Notice how the apostle begins by stating that the power of God almighty that results in salvation is contained in the Gospel. That means if we modify it, water it down, or adulterate it in any way, we are stripping the Gospel of its power to save. We must preach it biblically. Anything less than a biblical Gospel will result in something less than a revelation of the biblical God, which will result in something less than biblical salvation.

After announcing what the Gospel does and how it does it (i.e. it saves by the power of God), Paul summarizes what the Gospel is all about. It is the revelation of the righteousness of God. The issue here is not merely life-fulfillment, worldly contentment, or a nice happy life. The issue is righteousness –and not just any righteousness, but the very righteousness of the most holy, perfect and glorious God.

The argument continues: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Rom. 1:18-20) In saying this, the apostle contrasts the righteousness of God with the ungodliness and unrighteousness of man. He mentions God’s attributes and how He has revealed His glory and power through creation, and yet man has rejected and suppressed the general revelation of God by his love for sin, thus provoking and deserving God’s holy, hot and burning wrath.

So the Gospel starts with God, His glory (as revealed in His attributes), and His righteousness. It then considers man in the sight of this perfect God, being sinful, rebellious, utterly depraved, and void of anything that is truly morally good. The argument of Romans proceeds throughout the rest of chapters one, two, and the better part of three, to present God’s case against the depravity and guilt of mankind as a master attorney would put forth his arguments against a guilty criminal being tried for capital offenses. The apostle opens up the law and shows how mankind has raped it and put God to open shame, concluding with the thunderous indictment that the whole world is guilty before God and accountable to His judgment (Rom. 3:19).

Yet he doesn’t leave us without hope. He explains that all the righteousness we are void of by nature, which we need to be reconciled to this holy God, is found in the Savior Jesus Christ. Christ’s death satisfied God’s wrath against sin because it satisfied the demands of His justice. We violated God’s Law, and Jesus Christ suffered the capital punishment in our place. His blood satisfied the just punitive vengeance of God so that God could freely forgive us by His grace. The condition of receiving this gift of salvation is faith in Jesus Christ. All this is summed up in Romans 3:23-26 and then expounded on in greater detail in the remainder of chapter 3 and in chapters 4-5. Then Paul goes on to explain that the very grace that forgives us by the blood of the Savior also transforms us by the power of the Holy Spirit by virtue of our union by faith into the death of Jesus Christ, thus those who are recipients of God’s grace have been transformed and set free from the reigning power of sin and the condemnation of the Law (chapters 6-8a).

We must follow suit and present our case when pleading with sinners according to the whole counsel of God. Mankind is on death row for having committed capital offenses against the divine Judge but is blind to his true plight. We must expound on the nature and character of God, magnify His glory, exalt His righteousness, and by the use of the Law (or the moral principles contained in the Law) show sinners that they are stripped, helpless, and unable to do anything to save themselves or contribute to their own salvation by their contaminated works (which they think are good but are in reality just as abominable to a holy God as the sinful heart from which they spring). We must reason with them of sin (their personal guilt), righteousness (God’s perfect standard) and judgment (how they deserve divine wrath). From there, we must move on to the cross and glory in it exceedingly, explaining how the cross is the vindication of God’s offended justice, how it satisfies the demands of God’s law, how it propitiates God’s wrath, how it demonstrates God’s love, and how through the cross and resurrection salvation was secured to be given as a gift of grace to those who trust in Christ alone. Therefore, the guilty sinner can receive the perfect righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ and can be justified (declared forgiven and accredited with the righteousness of Christ in order to be placed in a right-standing with God) and receive eternal life. True faith in Christ will result in a radical break with sin and a new style of life of continual and increasing obedience to the will of God.

This is an extremely condensed and brief overview of the flow of thought in Romans. It is by no means exhaustive and this is certainly not everything we should ever preach when we proclaim the Gospel. We haven’t even mentioned some extremely important truths such as how the active obedience of Christ relates the imputation of His righteousness to the sinner, or of regeneration, for instance, which are definitely alluded to in the book Romans in its declaration of the Gospel. However, if our customary presentation of the Gospel does not at least generally present these truths to the people who hear us, it is doubtful we can be said to be declaring the whole counsel of God as it relates to the salvation of sinners.

This does not mean that we must explain all of these things every time we share the Gospel. Sometimes we only have time to give out a tract and utter just a few words to a passerby in the hope that God will use our witness in spite of its unavoidable brevity. I’ve been in many conversations where as I’m expounding on God’s holiness and the sinfulness of sin, or on the Law of God and the eternal condemnation of sinners, where the conversation is abruptly broken or ended by the hearer or another annoying distraction. In that case, I try to get in at least a very brief explanation of the cross and tell them if they repent and believe they will be saved. I’ve even had several occasions where sinners, upon understanding their guilt before God and being terror stricken by the thunderous demands of Sinai’s justice, have literally taken off and fled, running away as fast as they can before I could explain to them the hope of the Gospel. We cannot prevent such things.

Yet the point is that this is not a formula. I am not saying that your presentation of the Gospel must always follow the precise flow of argument presented in Romans. You must be led by the Spirit of God and be constantly asking God for wisdom from above and for a prophetic edge to your Gospel witness. The way you present the Gospel should differ from time to time. If you are always parroting the same thing over and over, and there’s never any spontaneity or freshness in what you say, I’m not sure if you’re being led by the Spirit of God. A survey of the evangelistic sermons of the book of Acts will reveal that the apostles didn’t always say the same exact things when they preached. However, if you do take time to study the short blurbs of their sermons contained in Acts, you will find that all these elements of the Gospel message that Romans explains in detail are alluded to, even if briefly, in the sermons of the apostles in Acts.

We must not preach half of a Gospel. Don’t preach all love and no justice, holiness or wrath. Paul mentions wrath in His Gospel repeatedly (Rom. 1:18, 2:5, 8, 3:5, 3:25, 4:13, 5:9). But at the same time, don’t preach an unbalanced view of God, mentioning only wrath and punishment for sin without magnifying His grace, mercy and love. Paul glories in the love of God as revealed in the Gospel (Rom. 5:5-8). I have seen those who err in preaching all love and no wrath, all forgiveness with no justice, and there are those who react against them by overemphasizing the truths that those people fail to mention, and the result is the very ones who are trying to counter the error of a modern sentimental “gospel” fall into error on the opposite extremes themselves, and thereby fail to present the Gospel hardly at all because they’re too busy pronouncing God’s judgment on doomed impenitents. We must proclaim the full counsel of God, and we must keep Christ and Him crucified as our central focus at all times.

[i] For some solid sermons through Romans, for starters I recommend John Macarthur: http://www.gty.org/resources/Sermons/scripture/Romans;

Steve Lawson: http://www.cfbcmobile.org/site/cpage.asp?cpage_id=421&sec_id=377&sa_action=mode_bible&sa_filter=Romans;

D.A. Carson: http://thegospelcoalition.org/index.php?/resources/name-index/a/DA_Carson/scripture/romans;

and John Piper: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/scripture-index/romans.

Keys for Effective Evangelism #1: Make Much of Jesus Christ!

2011-09-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

“Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.” (Acts 8:5) Philip is an example of a biblical evangelist with a biblical message. In fact, Christ is the message of all of Scripture (Luk. 24:27, Jn. 5:39). Jesus Christ was Philip’s message and nothing less. That was also Paul’s message: “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2) A quick survey through the book of Acts reveals that Christ was the content, the apex, and the high point of all the major sermons. The apostles were eye-witnesses and spoke not out of the depths of knowledge obtained from reading books, but out of the depths of personal experience with Christ as their Lord and friend. Though we’re not eye-witnesses as they were, we are nevertheless witnesses, and our testimony of Christ must burst forth from the overflow of being in a living, abiding union and fellowship with Him.

I’ve heard evangelistic messages given that proclaim everything except Christ. They will expound on sin, righteousness and judgment, repentance and faith, the new birth, and many other evangelistic themes without ever arriving to Christ. That is not the type of preaching that is calculated to save souls. A Christ-less sermon is a sham and a sin against the souls of men. Eternal life is to know the one true God and His Son Jesus Christ (Jn. 17:3). How will they come to know Christ if we do not proclaim Him?

Brethren, when you’re evangelizing, make much of Jesus Christ! Proclaim Him, exalt Him, and glory in Him! Lift Him up so high with such affection and love for Him that all around you want to fall in love with Him! Expound on His Person and work from all angles! Proclaim His eternality, His glory, His exalted majesty, His holiness, His loveliness, His love, His mercy, and all His attributes. Expound on His cross, His sufferings, His agony, and His drinking of the Father’s cup. Everything you say, say it in light of Christ and His cross. Baptize your hearers in a message of blood. Your evangelistic presentation should be a journey, a pilgrimage through biblical truth that is intended to arrive at Christ and Him crucified, and once it arrives there, you must camp there and remain. Don’t tarry long in arriving, and once you arrive, don’t leave from there! Beware of distractions and rabbit trails.

The cross must be the focal point, and everything it entails, but you must not forget to preach the resurrection and triumph of Christ. Preach His resurrection, His eternal and effectual intercessory ministry and Priesthood, His exalted position as reigning King of kings, and His imminent return in power and great glory. I can’t stress this enough: you must not forget to expound on the resurrection! A dead Christ is a powerless Christ. Without the resurrection, the cross is left without vindication and emptied of its power. There are far too many resurrection-less sermons. If you tend to forget to share about it when you evangelize, then write it on your forehead. It’s better to look stupid than to forget the resurrection.

New Series: Keys for Effective Evangelism

2011-09-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

Dear brethren, I'm beginning a series of posts on this blog that will contain short snippets on the theme, "Keys for Effective Evangelism". I do not claim to be an expert on the subject, nor to have learned everything there is to learn about evangelism. However, I do have a burden to share with the Body of Christ what I perceive to be some foundational, biblical keys to evangelizing the lost effectively for the glory of God. It is my prayer that the Lord would be pleased to make these posts a blessing to the brethren who frequent this blog.

I intend to share with you things that I've learned by experience, to expose and correct errors I have seen in evangelizing with other brethren, and to give you helpful keys and tips about sharpening your evangelistic endeavors and honing your gifting (for those of you who are called to more concentrated efforts of evangelism) for the sake of reaching the lost with the saving truth of God.

Please suffer me to share a little about my experience in evangelism, not for the sake of tooting my own horn, but for the sake of illustration and practicality. These posts are not designed to be scholastic essays, but personal blurbs with much practical application.

To let you know a little of my background, the Lord first called me out to the streets to hand out tracts, engage people in conversation about the Gospel, and open air preach in 2005. By His mercy and grace, I've been doing it ever since and as long as His hand is with me, and He permits me to continue, I don't plan on stopping. Over these past 6 short years, I've met a lot of brethren who evangelize on the streets and have encountered a lot of things, both good and bad. Out of this limited experience, I want to share with you my convictions about biblical evangelism.

By God's evident hand and sovereign grace, He has been pleased to permit us to plant a local church in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, a region where Catholicism is extremely strong and influential and where it is said that the evangelical population is as little as 2%. The congregation on Sundays at this time averages at perhaps about 15 people (give or take). When we started to hold meetings, we did not start with a team of brethren. At first, it was just my wife and I, and another brother who set out to plant a church hoping in the blessing of God. We immediately faced a wall of opposition as we quickly discovered that it is extremely difficult to get Catholics to come to our meetings or consider the biblical Gospel. Our main method of outreach was open air preaching and evangelism on the streets. By God's grace, He saw fit to establish the core group of this church plant from the fruits of open air preaching and street evangelism. There is now a small body of believers who form a core group of members in this church plant, and it is owing to God's grace in evangelistic ministry on the streets.

So although my experience is very limited, by the undeserved favor of the Most High, it is not without the blessing of God. To deny this would be to engage in false humility and to deny God, and I think false humility is worse than outright stinking pride. I want to share with you what I perceive to be some of the keys which have resulted in some of the fruit the Lord has been pleased to grant for the sake of His glory.

If you're interested in hearing what this "babbler of strange doctrines" has to say, stay tuned.

Foundations for Effective Evangelism

2011-09-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

Evangelism is a biblical mandate, a blessed privilege, and a binding responsibility on the church of God (Mark 16:15). The fate of Christ-less souls headed for an eternity of the blackness of darkness in the fury of the flames of God’s fierce anger forever should motivate us to urgently occupy ourselves with the sobering task of doing all that we can to have compassion and snatch them from the fire with holy fear (Jud. 1:23). To be used of God in this sobering task, we must consecrate ourselves to the mission of the church in reaching the lost and study to train ourselves how to be effective in this war against Hell.

I fear that this is precisely because of a lack of consecration to the will of God, and a lack of diligently using the means and tools God has disclosed in His Word that much of the professing church is weak, lacking, or even almost useless in evangelism. Seeing our great need and lack of obedience in this area, without deep heart repentance and a total consecration to the will of God we cannot be useful in evangelism (cf. Rom. 12:1-2, 2 Tim. 2:21). Isaiah had to be purged before being used by God as an effective mouthpiece for Kingdom proclamation (Isa. 6:5-8). If you’re walking in known disobedience to God you must take the log out of your own eye before you preach repentance to others (Mat. 7:3-5). Otherwise, your evangelism will be hypocritical and void of the true blessing of God.

Upon securing a clean conscience before God, and consecrating yourself to the mission of reaching the lost with the Gospel, you must be diligent to show yourself approved to God as a worker who rightly handles His blessed Word (2 Tim. 2:15). As useful as they can be, and as much as God can use them, you don’t need to attend conference after conference to learn how to evangelize effectively. God’s Word is sufficient to train us for the task (2 Tim. 3:16-17). I am convinced that although God raises up good men to train the Body of Christ in evangelism, ultimately, the true equipping and enablement must come from above –and God’s primary means of sanctifying and equipping His people is through His written Word. Study to know God through His Word!

It is not enough to study the Word in order to present your arguments and lay forth your case, or to study merely to preach. You must soak yourself in the Word of God until it burns in you like a fire ready to explode (Jer. 20:9). Your goal in studying Scripture must be to draw close to God, to know the living God. Once your evangelism flows out of a deep, experiential knowledge of God your words will flow forth like an overflow of living truth that testifies not of information you learned from a book, but of a living relationship and deep personal experience with Jesus Christ (Acts 4:13).

Evangelism is nothing less than intense spiritual warfare, and our primary weapon is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). A soldier that is a novice in handling his sword will not be as effective in battle as the seasoned warrior who knows how to handle his sword due to countless hours of practice. If we have to fumble around in our Bibles all the time looking for answers to people’s objections, and are slow to draw the sword, we may lose the battle at times and fail to dash to pieces the strongholds of Satan in the minds of fallen men (2 Cor. 10:4-5). You must know your God, for the battle is the Lord’s (1 Sam. 17:47). And you must know your primary weapon, since the God who fights on our behalf uses means to accomplish His ends.

In addition to knowing God, walking with a clean conscience, abiding in the word of Christ, and knowing the Bible with as much diligence as your time permits you devote to study, it is absolutely vital that you live a life of prayer. Brethren, without prayer evangelism is useless. If you march out to the battle without consulting the Lord, thinking you can do something for God, you are marching out to a fool’s slaughter. Hell will laugh at you if you are not clothed with the power of Christ. You cannot accomplish in the flesh what can only be accomplished in the Spirit.

Scripture commands us to pray for the salvation of lost men (1 Tim. 2:1-4). If God commands us to pray for the lost to get saved, that means He promises to deliver. However, if we are to see the fruition of such prayers, we must pray with faith, expecting God to save. This is a necessary key to effective evangelism and so many completely ignore it. The Lord Jesus, in teaching us about prayer, stresses repeatedly the necessity of truly believing and expecting that God will answer. “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Mat 21:22) “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mar. 11:24) We must pray and expect that God will answer and save souls, and we must persevere in such prayer continually (Luk. 11:5-8, 18:1).

Not only should we pray for the salvation of souls, but we should also pray for power from on high to evangelize effectively (Luk. 11:13, Acts 1:8). Too many brethren who I consider to be true Christians know very little or nothing about this clothing of power from the Spirit of God to be witnesses to Jesus Christ. We are commanded to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). I am convinced that there is a difference between the indwelling Spirit that every child of God has and the clothing with power that comes from subsequent immersions and fillings of the Spirit. The book of Acts makes this clear [1]. Church history also testifies to the fact that men who were serving the Lord as evangelists and preachers who found their ministries largely ineffective and without much power, after deeply personal experiences with God in the secret place (many times it is so personal to them that they greatly hesitate to share many details), came out clothed with fresh power, revived in their relationship with God, and consequently saw waves of salvation follow their evangelism.

To know God, to know His Word, and to abide in the secret place of prayer are some essential keys to effective evangelism. If you are discouraged because of a lack of fruit in your present efforts to evangelize, perhaps it would be profitable for you to return to these foundations and examine yourself to see how you are lacking. Sometimes our lack of fruit is directly related to failure or unfaithfulness in the most basic things.

[1] If you are interested in studying this subject, I recommend the book “Joy Unspeakable” by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. While I don’t necessary agree with all the specifics of his teachings on the subject, I do believe he is correct about subsequent experiences of being filled with the Spirit of God that are distinct from regeneration. In the book, he surveys the book of Acts focusing on the outpouring of the Spirit. I also recommend a Bible study done by Tim Conway called “Filled with the Spirit: Baptism or Filling?” It can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfXpTbW5hQ0 or on www.illbehonest.com.

Spurgeon on Evangelism and Missions

2011-09-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

"If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for."

The Soul Winner (online book)

Open Air Preaching: A Sketch of it's History (excerpt from Lectures to my Students)

Open Air Preaching: Remarks Thereon (excerpt from Lectures to my Students)

Compassion for Souls (sermon)

How to Become Fishers of Men (sermon)

Advice for Seekers (online book)

Gospel Missions (sermon)

The Missionary's Charge and Charta (sermon)

The Divine Call for Missionaries (sermon)

Quotes from Spurgeon:

"I would sooner bring one sinner to Jesus Christ than unravel all the mysteries of the divine Word, for salvation is the one thing we are to live for."

"If there existed only one man or woman who did not love the Saviour, and if that person lived among the wilds of Siberia, and if it were necessary that all the millions of believers on the face of the earth should journey there, and every one of them plead with him to come to Jesus before he could be converted, it would be well worth all the zeal, labour, and expense. If we had to preach to thousands year after year, and never rescued but one soul, that one soul would be full reward for all our labour, for a soul is of countless price."

"If there be any one point in which the Christian church ought to keep its fervor at a white heat, it is concerning missions. If there be anything about which we cannot tolerate lukewarmness, it is the matter of sending the gospel to a dying world."

"Once more, if we are to be robed in the power of the Lord, we must feel an intense longing for the glory of God, and the salvation of the sons of men. Even when we are most successful, we must long for more success. If God has given us many souls, we must pine for a thousand times as many. Satisfaction with results will be the [death-] knell of progress. No man is good who thinks that he cannot be better. He has no holiness who thinks that he is useful enough."

"When preaching and private talk are not available, you need to have a tract ready....Get good striking tracts, or none at all. But a touching gospel tract may be the seed of eternal life. herefore, do not go out without your tracts."

"From all our congregations a bitter cry should go up unto God, unless conversions are continually seen. If our preaching never saves a soul, and is not likely to do so, should we not better glorify God as peasants, or as tradesmen? What honour can the Lord receive from useless ministers? The Holy Ghost is not with us, we are not used of God for his gracious purposes unless souls are quickened into heavenly life. Brethren, can we bear to be useless? Can we be barren, and yet content?"

"John Bunyan gives a portrait of a man whom God intended to be a guide to Heaven; have you ever noticed how beautiful that portrait is? He has a crown of life over his head, he has earth beneath his feet, he stands as if he pleaded with men, and he had the Best of Books in his hand. Oh! I would that I were, for one moment, like that pattern preacher; that I could plead with men as John Bunyan describes. We are all of us ambassadors for Christ, and we are told that, as ambassadors, we are to beseech men as though God besought them by us. How I do love to see a tearful preacher! How I love to see the man who can weep over sinners; whose soul yearns over the ungodly, as if he would, by any means and by all means, bring them to the Lord Jesus Christ! I cannot understand a man who stands up and delivers a discourse in a cold and indifferent manner, as if he cared not for the souls of his hearers. I think the true gospel minister will have a real yearning over souls something like Rachel when she cried, "Give me children, or else I die;" so will he cry to God, that he may have his elect born, and brought home to him. And, methinks, every true Christian should be exceedingly earnest in prayer concerning the souls of the ungodly; and when they are so, how abundantly God blesses them, and how the church prospers! But, beloved, souls may be damned, yet how few of you care about them! Sinners may sink into the gulf of perdition, yet how few tears are shed over them! The whole world may be swept away by a torrent down the precipice of woe, yet how few really cry to God on its behalf! How few men say, "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I may weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" We do not lament before God the loss of men's souls, as it well becomes Christians to do."

“Avoid a sugared gospel as you would shun sugar of lead. Seek the gospel which rips up and tears and cuts and wounds and hacks and even kills, for that is the gospel that makes alive again. And when you have found it, give good heed to it. Let it enter into your inmost being. As the rain soaks into the ground, so pray the Lord to let his gospel soak into your soul."

"Let this be to you the mark of true gospel preaching – where Christ is everything, and the creature is nothing; where it is salvation all of grace, through the work of the Holy Spirit applying to the soul the precious blood of Jesus.”

Excerpts from the Journal of Jim Elliot

2011-09-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

Jim Elliot is an example of how losing your life for Christ is glorifying to God (Mat. 16:25, Mk. 8:35, Jn. 12:25, Rev. 6:9-11). By the way, that's the opposite of the mindset of this world and of the majority of the professing American church. Here are some excerpts from his journal.

As can be seen in these excerpts, a man who is truly surrendered to the will of God is a man who is grieved over the state of professing Christianity around him. That is not a weakness, it is a blessed virtue (cf. Mat. 5:4, Psa. 119:136, Eze. 9:4). Yet, at the same time, he is not consumed with having his eyes focused on the sins and failures of others, but with having his eyes fixed on Christ (Heb. 12:2). He also doesn't fail to confess his own sin and unbelief many times (cf. Psa. 32:5, Dan. 9:4-5). Yet he is not consumed with the sins of others nor his own sins and weaknesses, but with a God-birthed vision of earnestly longing for the salvation of the lost and unreached (cf. Mat. 9:36, Rom. 10:1, 15:20, 2 Tim. 2:10).

March 22, 1947 "I lack the fervency, vitality, life, in prayer which I long for. I know that many consider it fanaticism when they hear anything which does not conform to the conventional, sleep-inducing eulogies so often rising from Laodicean lips; but I know too that these same people can acquiescently tolerate sin in their lives and in the church without so much as tilting one hair of their eyebrows."

January 1948 "No fruit yet. Why is it I'm so unproductive? I cannot recall leading more than one or two into the kingdom. Surely this is not the manifestation of the power of the Resurrection. I feel as Rachel, 'Give me children, or else I die'."

July 1948 "Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me."

November 1948 "Discouragement is a Satanic tool that seems to fit my disposition and the Enemy knows it. When I look at the work in the assembly, and realize that I've been there almost four years but have not seen a single soul led to Christ, my increasing tendency is to throw in the sponge and call it quits. Gospel meeting after gospel meeting, with no one strange coming out---and worse yet, none of the saints seem very deeply exercised about it. 'How long, Lord, when wilt Thou come unto me?' Why does He wait until the fourth watch to come to us instead of in the evening? Well, all of my doubts and fears (hinges on which swing the gates of Hell) can not prevail to take Him from His throne nor stop Him from the building of His Church."

November 18, 1948 "How few, how short these hours my heart must beat, then on---into the real world where the unseen becomes important. Oh my soul---what shall it be for thee in that Day when thou standest before the God Who breathed thee?"

December 5, 1948 "Deep sense of uselessness this morning...What a ragged, shoddy thing Christianity has come to be, honoring men and means, places and crowds---O Lord, deliver me from the faithless spirit of this generation. How I should long to see the simplicity and powerful beauty of the New Testament fellowship reproduced, but no one seems to be similarly exercised here, so I must wait. O Christ, let me know Thee---let me catch glimpses of Thyself, seated and expectant in glory, let me rest there despite all wrong surging about me. Lead me in the right path, I pray."

October 28, 1949 "One of the great blessings of heaven is the appreciation of heaven on earth. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

July 25, 1950 "Surely those who know the great passionate heart of Jehovah must deny their own loves to share in the statement of His. Consider the call from the Throne above, Go ye, and from round about, Come over and help us, and even the call from the damned souls below, Send Lazarus to my brothers, that they come not to this place. Impelled, then, by these voices, I dare not stay home while Quichuas perish. So what if the well-fed church in the homeland needs stirring? They have the Scriptures, Moses, and the Prophets, and a whole lot more. Their condemnation is written on their bank books and in the dust on their Bible covers. American believers have sold their lives to the service of Mammon, and God has His rightful way of dealing with those who succumb to the spirit of Laodicea."

February 23, 1951 "Today Ed and I had the assembly at the Sparta High School. It was a flop and we have been brooding all day. I cant figure it out. We prayed and trusted, but the message and music seemed to have little effect on the kids. It was a real privilege and I will be sorry if we find that we muffed it by some thoughtless neglect or lack of faith or some other thing. Frankly, things have been very difficult to go on with here. There has been no real interest on the part of unsaved radio-listeners, a thing we had hoped for, and our efforts to get public places were blocked in a couple of ways, and so we feel frustrated. It is an easy thing to wonder, as we have done dozens of times, just why God sent us here. Six weeks so far, and no natives converted except that salesman who was from out of town. We feel God must be testing us, for He has certainly given us no evidence, beyond His provision of our needs, of any special sort that this was His will. But what can one do? Doubt, after praying, waiting, and weighing as well as one can and still leaning on the Spirit to move? No. We cannot doubt, but search our hearts and pray more and believe more.It would be easy to slip into the business world and just be a good guy with a lot of religion rather than a producing son of God in enemy territory."

1951 "The argument of numbers does not hold entirely, since if my call were to go where a great number are needy, I would not have chosen South America at all, but India. The Scriptures indicate that God intends some from every tribe and tongue and people and nation to be there in the glory, sounding out the praises of the Redeemer. This is specific indication that the Gospel must be gotten to tribes who are not yet included in the singing hosts. Hence my burden for cultural groups as yet untouched."

March 5, 1951 "I am learning the vanity of words. If God does not speak through me, as it is plain He does not through most preachers today, I had better leave off trying to preach. Have been praying the prayer of Psalm 51:15, O Lord open Thou my lips and trusting that promise made first to Jeremiah, Behold I will make My words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood. Mere declaration, no matter how eloquent or impelling, will never kindle the fire Gods Word, spoken by Gods man, will kindle. Lord, give me Thy Word for this people."

May 15, 1952 "One doesn’t learn to speak a language in a couple of months. It will be plugging for a good while yet. Seems that Ill never get through preparing for the mission field. But I’ve been comforted this week thinking of our Lords thirty silent years of readying Himself at home with His family and bending over a carpenters bench. Were those days any less of a fragrance to God than His later work before the eyes of the people? I think not. A well-made piece of furniture and a healed blind man represented the same thing to the Father---a job well done; mission accomplished. So with us here. Nothing great, but what is that to Him with Whom there is no great or small?"

November 6, 1955 "You wonder why people choose fields away from the States when young people at home are drifting because no one wants to take time to listen to their problems. Ill tell you why I left. Because those Stateside young people have every opportunity to study, hear, and understand the Word of God in their own language, and these Indians have no opportunity whatsoever. I have had to make a cross of two logs, and lie down on it, to show the Indians what it means to crucify a man. When there is that much ignorance over here and so much knowledge and opportunity over there, I have no question in my mind why God sent me here. Those whimpering Stateside young people will wake up on the Day of Judgment condemned to worse fates than these demon-fearing Indians, because, having a Bible, they were bored with it---while these never heard of such a thing as writing."

Book Recommendation: The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God by D.A. Carson

2011-09-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

Read this book online in PDF (this is a link I found -I did not post it)

Go to this book's Amazon page (Kindle version also available)

The title of this book is catchy. As Carson explains, we could all understand if it were about "The difficult doctrine of the Trinity" or "predestination" or some other age old mystery of the faith that we believe in and heartily affirm yet fail to wrap our finite minds around.

But what makes the love of God so difficult? I will summarize the reasons Carson lists:

People's idea of the love of God is usually based on their own presuppositions as influenced by and shaped by an ungodly worldly culture.
Many complementary truths about the Person and attributes of God are disbelieved in our culture (i.e. the holiness of God, the sovereignty of God, the wrath of God, the providence of God, etc.).
The postmodern mentality which has saturated modern thinking. To quote: "In short, the most energetic cultural tide, postmodernism, powerfully reinforces the most sentimental, syncretistic, and often pluralistic views of the love of God, with no other authority base than the postmodern epistemology itself."
Even apart from modern worldly trends and pluralistic thinking, "within Christian confessionalism" itself the understanding that the professing church has of the love of God has been distorted into becoming some kind of sentimentalized version of warm, fuzzy emotions. Therefore it is difficult to maintain a biblical and balanced view of the love of God.
In many Christian circles, the love of God is pretty much taken for granted and presented as something as much more simple than it really is, and the result is a failure to understand, or even a denial of, the distinctions the Bible teaches about the love of God.

Carson then continues in chapter one to outline the different ways in which Scripture speaks about the love of God. As he says, it is absolutely vital to understand and maintain these distinctions because if not, we will end up with a phony, distorted, twisted and unbiblical notion of the love of God which is more akin to postmodern thinking than to the infallible Word of God. If you are not familiar with the distinctions God's Word makes within the love of God, you must at least read chapter one. The chapters are based on sermons he preached and are edited to be read. Here are their titles:

On Distorting the Love of God.
God is Love.
God's Love and God's Sovereignty.
God's Love and God's Wrath.

The book is short (just 77 pages of actual text), but it is not without substance. Carson is a profound thinker who is deeply rooted in exegetical theology, and as such, almost everything he writes is full of biblical truth. Of course he is a man and is fallible, so this is by no means an endorsement of everything he says. Yet in having read this book, and other material by him, in addition to listening to numerous of his sermons, I must say that his precision and insight into the Scriptures has very much blessed my soul to the glory of God.

A warning though: not everyone will like this book. It may be considered somewhat "dry" or "scholarly" by some. The vocabulary is above-average in terms of its difficulty. It may be too profound or even seem hard to understand for the average reader. So I'm not recommending this book for everyone. Yet if you're a preacher or teacher, or a missionary, or someone who likes to read and grapple with profound theology, this short little book will be a blessing to you, and you can easily fly through it in a couple of nights. Also, one final warning: if you are a staunch Arminian, it may challenge you, annoy you, or even make you angry.

Soli Deo Gloria.

All I Have is Christ!

2011-08-31T07:21:00.000-07:00

If all you have is Christ, you lack nothing. But if you have all except Christ, you are wretched and poor, stinking and rotten, putrid and decomposing in your living death. Exchange your living death for dying LIFE! Die that you may live! In the death of the cross is found life, and life more abundantly!

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. - Colossians 3:3

Hallelujah! ¡Alabado sea el Señor!

Characteristics of the Apostolic Church

2011-08-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

In my post, "Is the House Church Only Movement Biblical?", somebody commented by saying:

"So if you were stranded on a desert island with your bible and you were studying the books of acts what conclusions would you come to about the way the new testament church functioned then?"

I take it he meant to write "Book of Acts" instead of "books". Taking that for granted, personally, I think that's an excellent question, and one which could save us from a whole lot of religious baggage and dead ecclesiastical tradition. Many brethren simply come up in a tradition and never think to question the very practices they've always taken for granted. However, I think it is healthy to test all things by the Word of God.

That being said, quite a while ago I did a study on what the New Testament teaches about the apostolic church of the 1st Century. My main source, as can be seen by the Scripture references, was the Book of Acts. The list below reflects the notes I took based on that study. It is just a brief outline, not meant to be exhaustive by any means. If you think hard enough, you may even come up with more characteristics. However, the goal wasn't to be exhaustive, but to note some of the most obvious characteristics of the church under the apostles.

To answer the question, I'm not sure what I would do if stranded on an island, or how much time I would devote to studying the Bible in such a situation (it's very probable much of my time would be devoted to catching food, starting fires, and praying for deliverance). The time I would spend reading Scripture, I doubt my main focus of study would be what the corporate Body of Christ does when it meets, seeing I would be all alone. However, I don't think we have to be cut off from all influence and all society to read Scripture with a sincere heart for truth and without the traditions of men blinding our judgment. I actually did the following study before that comment was made, so I guess my readers can judge for themselves, including the person who commented, whether the following list represents a true picture of the apostolic church.

My list is not full of my opinions or comments. I just state something and give Scriptures. Let the reader interpret the statements however he may, but the goal is to list simply what the Bible says. And just to clarify again, these are just notes, and as such, they are not in any particular order.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH:

They devoted themselves to the teaching of God’s Word, to fellowship, to prayer, to the breaking of bread. Acts 2:42

Baptism was the initiation of a member into the fellowship of the congregation. Acts 2:41, 18:8 (Corinthian church)

There was a way to distinguish “members” from “non-members”, that is, they recognized who was a functioning part of the church and who was just visiting or not committed to Christ and His people. Acts 5:11-14, 6:3, 20:29, 1 Cor. 5:11-12, 14:23

The church met in the homes of believers. Acts 2:46, 5:42, 8:3, 12:12, 17:5-6, 20:20, Rom. 16:5, 1 Cor. 16:19, Col. 4:15

Preaching of the Word of God was a central activity in the meetings. Acts 2:42, 5:42, 11:26, 15:32 & 35, 19:8-10, 20:7, 20:20 & 25, 1 Cor. 3:6, 1 Tim. 4:13-16

The congregation had a regular (weekly) love feast together. Acts 2:42, 20:7 & 11, 1 Cor. 11:20-21, 2 Pet. 2:13, Jud. 12

The church constantly fellowshipped together and knew each other personally. Acts 2:42, Rom 16 (Paul knows their names and they know each other’s names)

There were regular corporate prayer meetings. Acts 1:14, 2:42, 4:31, 12:12

The Lord’s Supper was observed regularly. Acts 2:42, 20:7, 1 Cor. 11:20-34

Each member could participate for the mutual edification of the fellowship. Rom. 15:14, 1 Cor. 12:7, 14:26, Eph. 4:16, Col. 3:16, 1 Th. 4:18, 5:11, Heb. 3:13, 10:25, 1 Pet. 4:10

Spiritual gifts were encouraged and practiced but regulated by discernment, wisdom and the Word of God. 1 Cor. 12:7, 12:31, 14:1, 14:12, 1 Th. 5:20-21

Hymns and Praises were sung to worship God. Acts 16:15, 1 Cor. 14:26, Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16

Offerings were taken up for church leaders, for poor saints, for missionary efforts, and for widows and orphans. Acts 4:34-35, 6:1-3, Rom. 15:26, 1 Cor. 9:14, 16:1-2, 2 Cor. 11:8, Gal. 2:10, Titus 3:13-14, Phi. 4:14-16, Jam. 1:27

The children were present during the meetings of the church. Eph. 6:1

Discipline was exercised upon those professing faith yet sinning. Acts 5:1-11, Mat. 18:15-17, 1 Cor. 5:1-13

The leadership of the local church consisted of a plurality of elders. Acts 13:1, 14:23, 20:7, 21:8, Php. 1:1, Titus 1:5

- (In the case where no plurality of qualified men was available, one man would lead with the intention of training and raising up other men to lead also. 2 Tim. 2:2, Titus 1:5)

The congregation (non-elders) was also involved in decision making on important issues. Acts 6:3-5, 15:22-23, 15:40, 1 Pet. 2:9

The chief tasks of these elders include teaching and preaching the Word of God. Acts 6:2, 1 Th. 5:12-13, 1 Tim. 4:13, 5:17, 2 Tim. 2:4

Deacons were appointed to oversee the physical necessities of the church. Acts 6:1-6, 1 Tim. 3:8-13

Local churches participated together for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Acts 11:22-26, 15:25-27, 3 John 5-8

Zealous evangelistic thrust was often a reality. Acts 8:5, 8:35, 9:20, 11:19-20, 13:49

There was persecution against the saints frequently. Acts 4:1-3, 5:17-18, 7:58, 8:1, 9:23, 12:1-3

The Lord was saving souls on a consistent basis. Acts 2:46-47, 4:4, 5:14, 6:7, 9:33-35, 9:42, 11:19-21 & 24, 16:5

Church planting was a major vision and focus. Acts 13:3, 14:21-22, 15:41, Mat. 28:19-20

Paul Washer's Advice to Missionaries

2011-08-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

"Theology is absolutely necessary."

Brief Thoughts on Justification by Faith

2011-08-23T04:00:00.000-07:00

The Word of God is very clear that salvation is entirely of grace, and that the grace of justification cannot be merited by the sincerity, deeds, or effort of any individual, but is given freely by a merciful God to the one who exercises faith in the Person and work of Christ: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). So strong is the Bible’s emphasis on the fact that salvation is by grace through faith alone, that it dogmatically pronounces forth a thundering, “Anathema!” on anyone who would nullify the grace of God by adding works as a requirement for earning or maintaining salvation (Gal. 1:8-9).

We dare not attempt to modify the Word of God and thereby make it of no effect, and we dare not take away from it or add to it in any way, especially when it comes to such a foundational issue as the way in which is a sinner is justified before God. Justification is an act of God and not an attainment of man. It is a forensic decree whereby God pronounces the guilty sinner completely pardoned once and for all time, and by which He also accredits to his account, by means of imputation, the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. In the act of justification, God does not impart or infuse righteousness into the nature of the sinner (which would cause him to become actually righteous in experience). That is the work of regeneration and definitive sanctification, which no doubt happen simultaneously with justification and are inseparable from it, but which nonetheless are distinct works of God in the objects of His redeeming grace. Moreover, the righteousness imparted through the regenerative and sanctifying work of the Spirit of God is not perfect in this life and varies in degrees. Rather than imparting righteousness to make a sinner actually righteous in experience, in justification, God “justifies the ungodly” who “does not work” (Rom. 4:5), thereby declaring the sinner to be legally righteous before Him.

God is able to justify because of the merits of the active and passive obedience of Jesus Christ –that is, by virtue of His perfect life of absolute obedience to and conformity to the whole Law of God in thought, word and deed, and by virtue of His submission to suffering vicariously on behalf of a sinful humanity. Christ rendered an immaculate obedience to His Father in all things and perfectly obeyed the Law on behalf of the guilty sinner, thereby satisfying the demands of God’s holy Law on behalf of all those He would redeem (Rom. 5:18, Gal. 4:4-5). Then after a life of perfect obedience, having gained such merit as is sufficient to clothe all the elect with the robe of His perfect righteousness, Christ suffered in the place of the sinner and bore the sin of the world, the curse of the Law, and the wrath of God in order to satisfy the punitive justice of the righteous Judge of all men on behalf of His people (Jn. 1:29, Gal. 3:13, Is. 53:10).

On this point, we have only to stand back and marvel at the finished work of Christ and fix our eyes on the Holy One who was treated as if He were sin on our behalf so that we may be imputed with the very righteousness of God by virtue of our union with Him by faith (2 Cor. 5:21). It was Him alone who secured the eternal salvation of all who would believe when He hung upon that tree and bled and died, and later burst forth from the grave in mighty triumph in order to ascend on high and declare to the gates of glory, “ Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in!” –from that time forth to sit down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having terminated His mission of accomplishing for sinners like us what we were unable to attain to ourselves –a perfect and eternal righteousness securing an “eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12). We have nothing to add to His perfect finished work of redemption (John 19:30). We must only receive freely of that grace which comes from Him and rejoice with joy unspeakable that the Eternal God in Heaven has made us poor creatures the objects of His boundless, redeeming love.

After all, grace, which is unmerited favor, cannot be earned or merited, but must only be received, and it is best received by those who realize that they deserve it the least. This is why the Apostle glories in proclaiming that, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Tim. 1:15). This is also why he also writes in another place, “…but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more (Romans 5:20). And this is also why the Lord Jesus Himself declared that those who are forgiven much will certainly love much (Luke 7:47). The saying is certainly false which says, “God helps those who help themselves” –the truth is that God helps those who come to the utter end of themselves and realize that they are absolutely helpless, hopeless, and hell-deserving, with no where else to look but to the cross of Christ alone as their only hope of mercy from God. The grace of Christ is unleashed most powerfully upon those who realize themselves most weak and helpless and undeserving. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6).

The glorious gift of justification, that is, of having ones’ sins blotted out and receiving the very righteousness of Christ by imputation, is given to sinners who simply believe in Christ and cease from trusting in their own works (Rom. 4:5). Reconciliation with God, who by the nature of His holiness is at enmity with sinners, is based on the merits of Christ alone, and is granted to the one believing, thus allowing a holy God who had declared war against sin to have peace with sinners (Eph. 2:17) and allowing sinners who were previously at war against God in their sin to have the enmity in their hearts removed and to have peace with God resulting in a restored relationship with their Creator (Rom. 5:1). Therefore, through the grace of justification, we are given free access to God and to all the rich blessings which flow from knowing Him, and it is the simple, childlike faith of a believing sinner that provides such access to the Heavenly treasury of God’s grace, resulting in eternal salvation (Rom. 5:2).

Justification by faith alone is the hope of the weary sinner who despairs of finding salvation through his own feigned merits, and it is also the source of assurance for the seasoned saint who despite his life of devotion to Christ and walk of habitual holiness frequently finds himself buffeted by numerous moral imperfections and inconsistencies of character which would pierce his own soul with overwhelming sorrow were it not for his faith in the moral perfection of Another and the blood of atonement which covers his innumerable imperfections. Justification by faith is indeed the heart of the Gospel, and to deny it is to deny Christ, since to deny it is to deny that He alone is the source of salvation. The doctrine of justification by faith alone sets biblical Christianity apart from every false religious system of the world, and it gloriously exalts the cross of Christ and lifts up high the Son of Man as the only Author and source of salvation, proclaiming that He and He alone is the only One who has authority to forgive sins (Mat. 9:6).

The only instrument of justification is faith –faith alone. Sola fide. It is not by faith plus works, nor faith plus baptism, nor faith plus church attendance. It is faith alone in Christ alone as defined by Scripture alone that justifies, and since God is the one who justifies (Rom. 8:33), all the glory goes to Him alone. This faith that justifies has no meritorious value in and of itself, but rather is an instrument which taps into the righteousness and grace of Jesus Christ and receives of His righteousness as a free gift. God ordained that faith would be the instrument by which a sinner is justified because this faith itself is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8, Jn. 6:44, 65), and because faith is the unique grace which, once operative in the soul of a man, causes him to be laid down low with the humble disposition of looking outside himself into Christ alone. Thus we could define the faith that justifies as a self-despairing look to Christ which lays hold on Him alone as the only hope of salvation and which rests in Him with deep-rooted trust in the heart that He is able and willing to save and that His work of redemption is perfect and powerful to save.

Yet, we must also be careful to say that although the sinner is justified by faith alone, at the same time, the faith which justifies is never found alone in the one exercising it, but is always accompanied by all other saving graces; and when we say “all other saving graces” we are particularly and specifically talking about regeneration and sanctification. That is, when a sinner is justified, it is because God has regenerated him and produced in him a living faith which apprehends Christ, and the very nature of regeneration itself is the impartation of a new nature, a new disposition, and a new principle of life within the soul of a man, causing a new manner of living to be experienced (2 Cor. 5:17). With regeneration, of course, also comes a sudden and radical break with sin, which is known as definitive sanctification –and this definitive sanctification works itself out progressively through the process of continual sanctification throughout the whole life of the justified believer, causing a real and practical holiness to be practiced in his actual experience in ever-increasing degrees (Rom. 6:1-4, 1 Jn. 3:3-9, 2 Cor. 7:1). Thus, in this sense, we can say with James that works are the inseparable and necessary result of possessing a genuine faith that justifies (James 2:14-26). Therefore, a changed life evidencing a continual breaking from sinful habits and practices and a continual growth in the likeness of Christ, being renewed continually and progressively into the image of God, is the necessary evidence of having been justified (Eph. 2:10, 4:24, Col. 3:10).

Amen.

Jesus Christ Saved me from 60 Years of Catholicism!

2011-08-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

Heriberto, now a member of our church in Guadalajara, shares his testimony before his recent baptism. Glory to God!

Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." -Luke 15:10

The Distinction between Justification and Sanctification -J.C. Ryle

2011-08-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

In my previous post, I recommended the book Holiness by J.C. Ryle. I also recommended that if you don't have time to read the whole book, to read the first 2 chapters. Yet, in case you won't even go back to read those two chapters, I don't want you to miss out on this part from chapter 2 on the similarities and differences between Justification and Sanctification.

The distinction between justification and sanctification by J.C. Ryle
I now propose to consider, in the last place, the distinction between justification and sanctification. Wherein do they agree, and wherein do they differ?
This branch of our subject is one of great importance, though I fear it will not seem so to all my readers. I shall handle it briefly, but I dare not pass it over altogether. Too many are apt to look at nothing but the surface of things in religion and regard nice distinctions in theology as questions of "words and names," which are of little real value. But I warn all who are in earnest about their souls that the discomfort which arises from not "distinguishing things that differ" in Christian doctrine is very great indeed; and I especially advise them, if they love peace, to seek clear views about the matter before us. Justification and sanctification are two distinct things, we must always remember. Yet there are points in which they agree and points in which they differ. Let us try to find out what they are.
In what, then, are justification and sanctification ALIKE?
a. Both proceed originally from the free grace of God. It is of His gift alone that believers are justified or sanctified at all.
b. Both are part of that great work of salvation which Christ, in the eternal covenant, has undertaken on behalf of His people. Christ is the fountain of life, from which pardon and holiness both flow. The root of each is Christ.
c. Both are to be found in the same persons. Those who are justified are always sanctified, and those who are sanctified are always justified. God has joined them together, and they cannot be put asunder.
d. Both begin at the same time. The moment a person begins to be a justified person, he also begins to be a sanctified person. He may not feel it, but it is a fact.
e. Both are alike necessary to salvation. No one ever reached heaven without a renewed heart as well as forgiveness, without the Spirit’s grace as well as the blood of Christ, without a fitness for eternal glory as well as a title. The one is just as necessary as the other.
Such are the points on which justification and sanctification agree. Let us now reverse the picture and see wherein they DIFFER.
a. Justification is the reckoning and counting a man to be righteous for the sake of another, even Jesus Christ the Lord. Sanctification is the actual making a man inwardly righteous, though it may be in a very feeble degree.
b. The righteousness we have by our justification is not our own, but the everlasting perfect righteousness of our great Mediator Christ, imputed to us, and made our own by faith. The righteousness we have by sanctification is our own righteousness, imparted, inherent and wrought in us by the Holy Spirit but mingled with much infirmity and imperfection.
c. In justification our own works have no place at all, and simple faith in Christ is the one thing needful. In sanctification our own works are of vast importance, and God bids us fight and watch and pray and strive and take pains and labor.
d. Justification is a finished and complete work, and a man is perfectly justified the moment he believes. Sanctification is an imperfect work, comparatively, and will never be perfected until we reach heaven.
e. Justification admits of no growth or increase: a man is as much justified the hour he first comes to Christ by faith as he will be to all eternity. Sanctification is eminently a progressive work and admits of continual growth and enlargement so long as a man lives.
f. Justification has special reference to our persons, our standing in God’s sight, and our deliverance from guilt. Sanctification has special reference to our natures and the moral renewal of our hearts.
g. Justification gives us our title to heaven and boldness to enter in. Sanctification gives us our fitness for heaven and prepares us to enjoy it when we dwell there.
h. Justification is the act of God about us and is not easily discerned by others. Sanctification is the work of God within us and cannot be hid in its outward manifestation from the eyes of men.
I commend these distinctions to the attention of all my readers, and I ask them to ponder them well. I am persuaded that one great cause of the darkness and uncomfortable feelings of many well–meaning people in the matter of religion is their habit of confounding, and not distinguishing, justification and sanctification. It can never be too strongly impressed on our minds that they are two separate things. No doubt they cannot be divided, and everyone that is a partaker of either is a partaker of both. But never, never ought they to be confounded, and never ought the distinction between them to be forgotten.

Book Recommendation: Holiness by J.C. Ryle

2011-08-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have been reading this book lately and heartily recommend it to every Christian. J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) is an exceptional author who wrote with a striking simplicity and yet with penetrating profoundness. His writings are thoroughly saturated with biblical truth and he was deeply rooted and grounded in sound doctrine. This book is not full of complex and confusing scholarly arguments about obscure particularities of fine points of doctrine, but is an introduction and extremely well rounded teaching about the biblical truths of holiness and sanctification that will give any believer a solid foundation upon which to build their Scriptural understanding of what it means to "pursue holiness without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).

You can read the whole unabridged book online at Grace Gems or at CCEL (pdf available).

Also check out the reviews on Amazon. You can also purchase it for Kindle for 99 cents.

A word of advice to fellow brethren: Don't waste your time soaking yourself in all the new stuff. Return to the old paths. This stuff is meaty and solid. The new stuff is often just too fluffy, too light and too lacking in depth. Modern scholarship is valuable in many respects, but it just doesn't compare to the experiential depth of the knowledge of God from which these men of old uttered their words. And J.C. Ryle himself didn't surround himself with the speculations and opinions of his contemporaries, but as can be seen in his frequent quotations, was thoroughly acquainted with the writings of the great men of old, the Reformers, the Puritans, and even the post-apostolic "fathers".

If you don't have time to read the whole book, can I exhort you and urge you to at least read the first 2 chapters? Those chapters on "Sin" and "Sanctification" are more than worth their weight in fine gold. Here's several choice excerpts from those chapters. May these whet your appetite to go back and read the book:

Chapter 1: Sin

"He who wishes to attain right views about Christian holiness must begin by examining the vast and solemn subject of sin. He must dig down very low if he would build high. A mistake here is most mischievous. Wrong views about holiness are generally traceable to wrong views about human corruption. I make no apology for beginning this volume of messages about holiness by making some plain statements about sin... The plain truth is that a right understanding of sin lies at the root of all saving Christianity. Without it such doctrines as justification, conversion, sanctification, are "words and names" which convey no meaning to the mind. The first thing, therefore, that God does when He makes anyone a new creature in Christ is to send light into his heart and show him that he is a guilty sinner. The material creation in Genesis began with "light," and so also does the spiritual creation. God "shines into our hearts" by the work of the Holy Spirit and then spiritual life begins (2 Cor. 4:6). Dim or indistinct views of sin are the origin of most of the errors, heresies and false doctrines of the present day. If a man does not realize the dangerous nature of his soul’s disease, you cannot wonder if he is content with false or imperfect remedies. I believe that one of the chief wants of the contemporary church has been, and is, clearer, fuller teaching about sin."

"After all, I am convinced that the greatest proof of the extent and power of sin is the pertinacity with which it cleaves to man, even after he is converted and has become the subject of the Holy Spirit’s operations. To use the language of the ninth Article: "This infection of nature does remain—yes, even in them that are regenerate." So deeply planted are the roots of human corruption, that even after we are born again, renewed, washed, sanctified, justified and made living members of Christ, these roots remain alive in the bottom of our hearts and, like the leprosy in the walls of the house, we never get rid of them until the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved. Sin, no doubt, in the believer’s heart, has no longer dominion. It is checked, controlled, mortified and crucified by the expulsive power of the new principle of grace. The life of a believer is a life of victory and not of failure. But the very struggles which go on within his bosom, the fight that he finds it needful to fight daily, the watchful jealousy which he is obliged to exercise over his inner man, the contest between the flesh and the spirit, the inward "groanings" which no one knows but he who has experienced them—all, all testify to the same great truth, all show the enormous power and vitality of sin. Mighty indeed must that foe be who even when crucified is still alive! Happy is that believer who understands it and, while he rejoices in Christ Jesus, has no confidence in the flesh and, while he says, "Thanks be unto God who gives us the victory," never forgets to watch and pray lest he fall into temptation!"

"I say, then, in the first place, that a scriptural view of sin is one of the best antidotes to that vague, dim, misty, hazy kind of theology which is so painfully current in the present age. It is vain to shut our eyes to the fact that there is a vast quantity of so–called Christianity nowadays which you cannot declare positively unsound, but which, nevertheless, is not full measure, good weight and sixteen ounces to the pound. It is a Christianity in which there is undeniably "something about Christ and something about grace and something about faith and something about repentance and something about holiness," but it is not the real "thing as it is" in the Bible. Things are out of place and out of proportion. As old Latimer would have said, it is a kind of "mingle–mangle," and does no good. It neither exercises influence on daily conduct, nor comforts in life, nor gives peace in death; and those who hold it often awake too late to find that they have got nothing solid under their feet. Now I believe the likeliest way to cure and mend this defective kind of religion is to bring forward more prominently the old scriptural truth about the sinfulness of sin. People will never set their faces decidedly towards heaven and live like pilgrims until they really feel that they are in danger of hell. Let us all try to revive the old teaching about sin in nurseries, in schools, in training colleges, in universities. Let us not forget that "the law is good if we use it lawfully" and that "by the law is the knowledge of sin" (1 Tim. 1:8; Rom. 3:20; 7:7). Let us bring the law to the front and press it on men’s attention. Let us expound and beat out the Ten Commandments and show the length and breadth and depth and height of their requirements. This is the way of our Lord in the sermon on the mount. We cannot do better than follow His plan. We may depend upon it, men will never come to Jesus and stay with Jesus and live for Jesus unless they really know why they are to come and what is their need. Those whom the Spirit draws to Jesus are those whom the Spirit has convinced of sin. Without thorough conviction of sin, men may seem to come to Jesus and follow Him for a season; but they will soon fall away and return to the world."

Chapter 2: Sanctification

"The subject of sanctification is one which many, I fear, dislike exceedingly. Some even turn from it with scorn and disdain. The very last thing they would like is to be a "saint" or a "sanctified" man. Yet the subject does not deserve to be treated in this way. It is not an enemy, but a friend. It is a subject of the utmost importance to our souls. If the Bible is true, it is certain that unless we are "sanctified," we shall not be saved. There are three things which, according to the Bible, are absolutely necessary to the salvation of every man and woman in Christendom. These three are justification, regeneration and sanctification. All three meet in every child of God: he is both born again and justified and sanctified. He who lacks any one of these three things is not a true Christian in the sight of God and, dying in that condition, will not be found in heaven and glorified in the last day."

"He who supposes that Jesus Christ only lived and died and rose again in order to provide justification and forgiveness of sins for His people has yet much to learn. Whether he knows it or not, he is dishonoring our blessed Lord and making Him only a half Savior. The Lord Jesus has undertaken everything that His people’s souls require: not only to deliver them from the guilt of their sins by His atoning death, but from the dominion of their sins, by placing in their hearts the Holy Spirit; not only to justify them, but also to sanctify them. He is, thus, not only their "righteousness," but their "sanctification" (1 Cor. 1:30). Let us hear what the Bible says: "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified." "Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it." "Christ . . . gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." "Christ . . . bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness." Christ "has . . . reconciled [you] in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight" (John 17:19; Eph. 5:25, 26; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 2:24; Col. 1:22)."

"The nature and visible marks of sanctification have been brought before us. What practical reflections ought the whole matter to raise in our minds? 1. For one thing, let us all awake to a sense of the perilous state of many professing Christians. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord; without sanctification there is no salvation (Heb. 12:14). Then what an enormous amount of so–called religion there is which is perfectly useless! What an immense proportion of church–goers and chapel–goers are in the broad road that leads to destruction! The thought is awful, crushing and overwhelming. Oh, that preachers and teachers would open their eyes and realize the condition of souls around them! Oh, that men could be persuaded to "flee from the wrath to come"! If unsanctified souls can be saved and go to heaven, the Bible is not true. Yet the Bible is true and cannot lie! What must the end be!"

Do you have God's presence? -Martyn Lloyd Jones

2011-08-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

He being dead still speaks. We desperately need more preaching like this, especially in today's reformed camps. May it move our souls to seek hard after God.

Is Modern Youth Ministry Biblical?

2011-07-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting documentary that came out recently. It examines modern "youth ministry" in the church and asks if it's biblical.

The video description says it's available to watch online for free until September.

Pray for us and the work in Guadalajara

2011-06-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

Brethren, please pray for us!

We are on the verge of finally taking in the first 4 orphans to live with us. These 4 are all boys. We need God's grace, wisdom, and blessed help to be with us. Please pray that God would save them early on, that they would become disciples of our Lord.

The church plant is progressing, but visitors have dwindled for a season. We need a fresh wave of visitors coming through every Sunday to hear the Word of God. We plan on launching back out in evangelism soon in order to build up a wave of visitors again. In the meantime, the small congregation that already is meeting together remains faithful, with the exception of Edmundo who just fell out. Please pray that the sovereign Lord would bring more people through to hear the Word of God, and save them!

We earnestly desire to see the Lord add to His church here. Please pray that the church would grow numerically, by God saving sinners, and that genuine brethren who are in false churches or can't find a biblical church would be led across our path. We don't want to see more numbers just for the sake of more numbers, but because more people means more helpers, more laborers, more resources, and more ability to glorify God and reach this nation with the Gospel.

Many people are hearing our sermons in Spanish through the internet and writing us from all over Latin America. Please pray that God would open up doors for the Gospel through this online ministry and that sound doctrine would spread like fire over Latin America.

There are many things to do, and many things to pray for. Please pray for us, the orphanage ministry, the church plant in Guadalajara, and that all of Mexico would hear the Gospel.

To Play or to Pray? -THAT is the Question!

2011-05-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

Today, we had a hectic and crazy day. I will not bog you down, dear readers, with all the drudging details. Needless to say, by the time Lina and I got back home in the early afternoon from running all over the city by bus and by foot, we were discouraged, our patience had been tried, and were really tired of it all. It was one of those trying moments when I wondered, "Why am I pouring myself out and going through all this to be a missionary here to reach these people?" -You can only imagine what must have happened to cause me to think that! To tell the truth, I was sort of angry (not at any person in particular, but circumstances had angered me; and in one sense, rightfully so). And I was tremendously discouraged.

But soon after we returned home, the door bell rang. I opened the door. It was Chava! This brother is a young brother in the Lord who congregates with us. According to his testimony, someone had witnessed to him, he believed the Gospel, and then shortly afterwards found out about our church and started congregating with us. He's been coming around for several months now, off and on. Chava had studied theater, and prior to his conversion, wanted to make it big. But now, he has not been so sure about acting in theatrical type plays, questioning whether such could be vanity.

So here he was, at the door! But it was 2 hours before our prayer meeting. He was REALLY early, especially for a Mexican (Mexican time is delayed greatly). What could be wrong?! Maybe he could be struggling with something and needed emergency spiritual attention. Maybe he was in trouble somehow and sought refuge at our house. "Maybe..." the thoughts rushed through my head.

He came in, and began to release what was weighing so heavy on his heart. Oh no! Maybe he fell into some horrible sin! What could it be?! He rushed straight to our house as soon as he got off work. He showed up unexpected. He was obviously burdened about something. Whatever he had to say, it was important!

So he spills it all out. He begins to share that on Wednesday evenings, after work, he typically goes to study theater and acting in a special class. His big struggle was that Wednesday is our prayer meeting day. So he was struggling with whether he should go to this theater class, or whether he should stop going altogether and come to the prayer meetings instead. He asked our counsel.

I explained to him that prayer is certainly more important than anything, but that I didn't want to force any of my convictions on him as to what he should do in this situation. Aaron told him he needs to decide what would most glorify Christ (intending to *hint* at a certain answer). Lina decided we should pray. After we prayed, he looked up, and appearing to be deeply moved, said: "I'm going home right now to take a shower, and I'll be back in 2 hours for the prayer meeting!" He jetted out (he lives somewhat of a distance away) and a couple hours later, he was back, calling upon the Lord with us in prayer.

He decided to pray instead of being in a play. He decided to sit at the feet of THE Teacher instead of sitting at the seat of A teacher. He chose to rather get shunned from being able to participate in that special class rather than being shunned from the prayer meeting. He showed where his priorities are.

Dear reader, I want to ask you where your priorities are. Would you rather play than pray? Would you rather talk to men about God than talk to God about men? Would you rather fellowship with the Dallas Cowboys or the Lakers than with the living Christ? Would you rather squander away your time on trivial pursuits than to affect eternity with your petitions before God?

Rather than being the next Shakespear, Chava would rather follow in the steps of Epaphras (Col. 4:12). What about you?

I gave a really lenient answer to Chava, knowing that he claims to be a Christian just a short time (several months). Yet I know of many brethren who squander away their lives chasing much nonsense when they could be praying and changing world history.

Once, I heard a brother share about a church he was in. This particular church had a prayer meeting every week. A certain man in the leadership team at that church decided to become a coach on a sports team in his spare time, and the team played on prayer meeting day. This church leader would rather play than pray. So the elders of the church removed him from leadership in that church! I give a hearty "amen" to that decision. A leader in Christ's body needs to lead the church to pray. If a man puts a higher priority on sports than on seeking God's face, and neglects the assembly of the church in order to play, and chooses leisure over prayer when having to choose between one and the other, then that man does not understand the importance of communion with God. By his example, he is telling the rest of the flock by his actions, "Coaching a sports team is more important than prayer". That man had some really confused priorities.

This same brother also shared how one time a man came up to him and told him that he feels like he's called into ministry to preach in the church. So the brother asked him, "How's your prayer life". The man responded and said, through some sense of struggle, that he prays as he's shaving in the morning! The wise brother told him he wasn't called into ministry.

Prayer is no option for the believer in Christ. Without prayer, there's no communion with God, and without communion with God, there can be no victorious living or fruitfulness in ministry.

I was exceedingly blessed to see the Lord's dealings with Chava today. To see a young man like him, a new convert, have such a struggle, and then finally to choose praying over playing, and to come and pray his heart out, that is a blessing. To see him growing in the Lord is the fruit of my labor (and I should say, OUR labor -for I'm not the only one laboring here). To see him come to pray with joy, eagerness, and willingness, shows me that the Lord is doing something in him. And what better to rejoice over, then God working grace into people?

My weighed down spirit was revived. The Lord refreshed me and showed me that He has not forsaken us. He has been working all along, despite me. But what happened with Chava today is a reminder to me that I shouldn't ever let the cares of this life keep me from prayer. I can't say that I always pray like I should, or with the frequency or fervency that I should, but I can say that the Lord is faithful and is very merciful in the midst of my weakness. What a great way to use a "babe" in Christ to show us all that prayer should be a priority above career, recreation, and pursuing earthly causes.

What about you? Do you pray? I didn't ask you if your prayer life is perfect, or if you have much in yet to grow. I just asked you if you pray, and if your prayer life properly reflects eternity's values.

To play or to pray -that is the question!

May 2011 Newsletter - Starting an Orphanage!

2011-05-02T21:38:00.001-07:00

Our new newsletter is now out! Click here to read it.

May Jesus Christ be glorified in Mexico.

Is the House Church Only Movement Biblical? by Bob Jennings

2011-05-01T17:42:00.001-07:00

This is a blog about missions, evangelism and theology. Under the topic of theology, a subject of great importance is ecclesiology (the study of the church).

It is important that we understand how the church functions and what the church does when it is together as defined by Scripture. I myself have fallen into extremes in the past and it hindered me spiritually, and it saddens me to know that there are brethren who are involved in such extremes and are harming themselves spiritually and in some cases, even harming their families (wives, children) because of their extreme views of the church.

With that being said, I know some brethren that seem to be of the "House Church Only" persuasion, at least when it comes to practical ecclesiology. At least, though they say it's not essential to meet in a house, they argue that the New Testament church meeting was a meeting of dialog with everybody participating and speaking in turn, that it's not biblical to have men who devote themselves to constantly teaching the Word in a local assembly when the church meets, and that pastors only oversee to make sure wolves don't enter and error doesn't prevail, but that such pastors, they say, should not always be preaching and teaching.

Though I love and respect these brethren, I do not find their positions to be convincingly biblical. Neither do I see what they argue for in the history of the church, not even in the earliest times of the church. Furthermore, I don't see much good fruit come out of such so called churches where there is very little solid teaching of the Word of God by devoted, qualified men who serve as pastors and examples to the flock. Most of such churches are either very shallow when it comes to sound doctrine and theology, or many times they don't last very long because everyone has different ideas about everything. And then when it comes to fruit, many times I only see people who have a real hard time recognizing and submitting to any authority (symptom of serious pride), people who have a critical spirit (always criticizing churches and brethren, finding faults over non-essential issues, a Pharisaical disposition of judging everyone else to be wrong), and though they always emphasize the need to love the church and love the brethren, oftentimes have the least amount of grace when it comes to dealing with brethren. They strain out a gnat and swallow a camel, in other words. On top of all this, to make it even worse, such brethren are most often OUT OF FELLOWSHIP when it comes to the local church and refuse to be a part of any local church (all the churches just happen to all be all wrong in their area), and thereby violate the clear apostolic example (the NT knows of no such thing as a Christian who refused to congregate -just read the book of Acts) and biblical command to assemble ourselves together (e.g. Heb. 10:25).

Such often describe themselves as "in the wilderness" and are "waiting on God" to make things better. Yet they are isolated and are not under the authority of any local church, which is spiritually unhealthy and even dangerous. Contrary to John the Baptist's, Jesus', and possibly Paul's time in the wilderness (if "Arabia" is to be understood in such a way) which was by a direct high calling from God and resulted in great blessing and spiritual power, the "wilderness" of these "out of church Christians" only results in spiritual frustration, hindrance and lack of growth in grace and sanctification, and even depression.

Though anyone can easily cite their proof texts and ignore the rest of Scripture, I find the following article by Bob Jennings to absolutely blow the argument out of the water. It is LOADED with Scripture and interprets such in context. It is WELL WORTH a careful, thoughtful read.

Bob used to believe in and promote the whole House Church style, open-type, participatory meetings. Yet, through studying the Scriptures, came to a different persuasion. I think he lays down a rock solid case, especially considering the brevity of this article. It is a MUST-READ for anybody who has been caught up with the House Church only movement and its' arguments.

Book Review of Ekklesia by Bob Jennings
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE.

The book Bob is commenting on is Ekklesia by Steve Atkerson.

China's Great Need for More Missionaries

2011-04-29T09:22:00.001-07:00

I just watched this interesting short documentary done by PBS on the church in China. Persecution has not stopped, and many brethren are bold to preach the Gospel despite constant threats.

Having recently read Hudson Taylor's condensed biography, and realizing what a vast place China is, there is no doubt a great need for missionaries to go to China to teach and preach the Gospel. One of the greatest needs is for mature, Godly men who have experience in the ministry and in pastoring to go to China long-term, embrace the language and culture, and dedicate themselves to travelling across that broad land teaching and training the pastors and leaders of the churches in theology, sound doctrine, and to "instruct them more fully in the way". As is the state of much of the church in the third world, there are many sincere men who are in leadership over churches but are greatly in need of instruction and discipleship themselves.

Another great need is for missionaries to go forth to reach the unreached in China. According to Joshua Project, there are still 427 unreached people groups in China. There is a desperate need for disciplined men and women to forsake their American dream and go forth to embrace another culture, learn their language, develop a written language, translate the Bible, and plant churches. Pursuing linguistic training through someone like Wycliff and then translating the Scriptures in unreached tongues is a worthy cause to devote one's life to. There is a need for linguistic specialists and also for church planters to follow up on the work of the translators. Have you ever considered pursuing linguistic studies in order to pioneer the Gospel into completely unreached territory?

If you're interested in China, I recommend reading Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, or if you have the time, his official unabridged biography which consists of two volumes (I have not read this one but am told it is worth the time). There is a whole world out there that needs the Gospel and many good men who aren't doing everything in their power to reach out. The church must mobilize her best men and send them forth to train, equip, mature and perfect the body of Christ in China, and to reach those who have no access to the Gospel.

Also check out Pastor Hsi's biography, who was a Chinese disciple of Hudson Taylor.

Then there is also Mountain Rain, the biography of James O. Fraser, who the Lord used to bring 10's of thousands of unreached Lisu people in China to Christ.

There's also C.T. Studd and the Cambridge Seven, if China is your interest and burden.

Brethren, read missionary biographies! Pray for the unreached around the world. Mobilize yourself to either go or to hold the rope for those who have gone!

And for those who have never seen it, there is an excellent full length documentary called "The Cross: Jesus in China". You can watch most of it online if you scroll down the page here.

David Wilkerson Passed Away

2011-04-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, April 27, 2011, David Wilkerson went to be with his Lord.

(Read New York Times Report Here)

Although death is always a tragedy, especially an unexpected, untimely death, at the same time, it is not all that tragic that a saint went home to be with the Lord. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

The Lord used brother David in my life mightily when I was a new convert in a church that did not preach the whole counsel of God and was in the TBN-brand wind of doctrine. Right when I was confused about things, I ran across his sermons online and began to listen, and the Lord used him to confirm many things and to confirm me in an understanding of the biblical Gospel. The first thing I ever heard from him was the 10 minute clip, "Another Gospel" (click link to listen), where he passionately rails against the "prosperity gospel". As soon as I heard that, it struck a deep chord in my heart and set me on a course of standing strong on the Word of God in the face of all opposition.

For a season in my walk, I listened to a different sermon of his nearly every single day. As a new convert in a bad church, in addition to pouring over God's Word continually, I was fed and sustained by the sermons of Wilkerson.

I may not now condone all of his theology, or agree with everything he's ever said. But I believe that he was a man of God who spoke with prophetic urgency to a fallen nation, a fallen church, and a fallen world, calling all to repentance, and leading many precious souls to Jesus Christ to the glory of God.

For an example of his powerful preaching with a prophetic weightiness, listen to his sermon: A Call to Anguish. You typically won't hear any sort of preaching like this in most "reformed" circles. Yet the apostle Paul himself said he preached "day and night with tears" (Acts 20:31). A key to revival is certainly a broken and contrite spirit. The thing about Wilkerson is that he was a man with a large heart. Too many are afraid of emotion, afraid of showing and manifesting love openly, or weeping with a broken heart before God and men. I thank God for the ministry of David Wilkerson. He no doubt left on impact on eternity.

The Orphan in the Heart of God

2011-03-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

Below is a compilation of random verses that mention orphans (the fatherless). Read through the list and try to catch a glimpse of the heart of God behind what is said. Just by reading through this list, the following three things become very evident:

1. It is particularly in the heart of God to love and care for orphans.

In some of the verses below, the fatherless are mentioned seemingly out of the blue in the midst of inspired writers saying other things. It is as if the plight of the fatherless is continually before the eyes of the Lord, upon His mind and in His heart. In sections of Scripture praising God, or pronouncing woes upon the wicked, or describing the righteous, the orphan frequently comes up as a topic of mention in the context of addressing other things. In Deuteronomy 10:17-18 for instance, in a declaration of the attributes of God, out of all the things the Lord could have said about Himself, He glories in the fact that “He executes justice for the fatherless…”. The Lord also promises to hear the afflicted cry of the orphan. He pronounces a curse on those who oppress the orphan. God, in His holy habitation, is the Father of the fatherless. He takes special care to express His love for orphans in His holy Word, and He has given commands to His people both in the Old and New Testaments to care for the orphan.

2. Helping the fatherless is listed in many Scriptures as a characteristic the righteous.

Job, who the Lord Himself said was the most holy man alive at that time, tells us that he helped the fatherless in Job 29. It is no accident that the most righteous man alive at that time was a defender of the orphan, just as his God was. Esther was an orphan, and Mordecai, the righteous hero of the book (after God, that is), took her in. James tells us that true religion consists of helping the orphan. Think of that! Out of all the things he could have said, he says that pure religion is visiting the orphans in their affliction! James could have said that pure and undefiled religion is praying at least 4 hours per day. He could have said that it is memorizing entire books of the Bible. He could have said that it is congregating faithfully with the saints. But he didn’t say those things! –Instead, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, expressing the very heart of God, he mentions orphans. Real saints, he says, in addition to other things, care for orphans.

3. Oppressing or refusing to help the fatherless is listed in many Scriptures as a certain characteristic of the wicked.

Refusing to help the orphan, and even oppressing the orphan, is a frequent characteristic set forth in Scripture of the ungodly and wicked. To oppress the orphan is to provoke the Lord to wrath. In the midst of the Old Testament prophets pronouncing woes and judgments on the wicked who were in rebellion against God, giving lists of the Almighty’s accusations against them, and detailing their sins, they frequently called out the fact that the wicked had no concern whatsoever for the orphan. In Malachi 3:5, those who oppress the fatherless are listed along with the adulterer and the sorcerer, and God lays forth His holy condemnation upon them. What is significant to note is that in the midst of detailing many accusations, one of the specific things that would cause God’s anger to flare was the refusing to help the orphan, oppressed and helpless. What would God say to the typical Westerner who has no concern whatsoever for the fatherless?

The following verses are ones that specifically mentions the fatherless (orphans). There are others also, and there are certainly many more passages of Scripture that can be directly applied to our attitude and actions toward the fatherless. What are you doing to care for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the one who is unjustly oppressed?

Exodus 22:22-23 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry,

Deuteronomy 10:17-18 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.

Deuteronomy 14:28-29 "At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

Deuteronomy 27:19 "'Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'

Job 29:11-12 When the ear heard, it called me blessed, and when the eye saw, it approved, 12 because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him.

Esther 2:5-7 Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. 7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

Psalms 10:14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.

Psalms 10:17-18 O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear 18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Psalms 68:5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.

Psalms 94:3-7 O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult? 4 They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast. 5 They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage. 6 They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless; 7 and they say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive."

Proverbs 23:10-11 Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, 11 for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you.

Isaiah 1:16-17 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.

Isaiah 10:1-2 Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, 2 to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!

Jeremiah 5:27-28 Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; 28 they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy.

Ezekiel 22:7 Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.

Hosea 14:3 Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, 'Our God,' to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy."

Zechariah 7:9-10 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart."

Malachi 3:5 "Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

Matthew 19:13-15 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Martyn Lloyd Jones Documentary on George Whitefield

2011-03-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

Martyn Lloyd Jones talks about George Whitefield. This is a rare video of the late Lloyd Jones and because of rights issues, its says that the Recording Trust will take it down after a month.

You can listen to the sermons of Martyn Lloyd Jones online here.

Brother John

2011-02-21T19:52:00.000-08:00

I want to tell you a little bit about brother John. This brother is such an encouragement to me and I hope he can be an encouragement to you. Here is a picture of him and I:

Brother John is 74 years old. His health is extremely frail. He is mostly deaf and hears only through hearing aids when the device is turned on and the volume is all the way up. He is also beginning to go blind in both eyes and his vision is only getting worse. When he talks, he seemingly trembles -but not from fear; rather, from old age and frailness. He is a gentle man and walks in humility towards the Word of God, always open to learning more and hearing others teach. This is especially striking seeing that at his age, most men do not generally tend to express such open humility to learning and being corrected at times.

Brother John got converted when he was 70 years old -just 4 years ago! But now, he has dedicated himself to Christ as a preacher of the Gospel. Yet, he has no church to preach in, nor is he very learned when it comes to doctrine and theology. He openly confesses that he doesn't know much. In fact, he shared with me that his one regret is that he didn't come to Christ sooner so as to have an entire life to offer to the Lord in service. But even though he may not be able to systematically put forth and expound upon the depths of Bible doctrine, one thing he knows -he was blind and now he sees! He may not be able to go toe to toe with America's modern theologian-pastor in a debate about the rapture. He may not be able to tell you whether he's a Sublapsarian or a Supralapsarian. He probably could not even tell you what are the original languages the Old and New Testaments were written in. But he knows what is most important: that he was a sinner, that Jesus Christ the Son of God died for him and rose again, and that he is granted the privilege of telling the world the Good News that what Jesus did for him, He can do for anyone who believes.

John dedicates himself now to going out to the streets of Guadalajara and the towns around the city every week to preach the Gospel in the open air to anyone who will listen. His methods are simple. He just stands up with a bull horn, preaches, and hands out tracts to all passers-by. It's all quite foolish according to worldly standards. But there's something about it that's just so glorious!

The picture above of him and I was taken in a small town about 2 hours outside of Guadalajara. Brother John frequently hops on buses and travels to small towns outside the city in order to open air preach in the town squares where people are gathered. He has been to many towns around the city. Normally, he goes alone. But a week ago from this Monday, Aaron and I decided to accompany him on his journey. The brother was encouraged that we went with him, but I think I was encouraged even more. When we got to the town square, after taking the above picture, John preached first, and then I preached as he handed out Gospel tracts to all who were seated around. Nothing extraordinary happened though. Some people listened to the Gospel being proclaimed. We had some conversations. And then, after several hours, we got back on the bus to go back to Guadalajara. However, though no great miracle occurred, it was a day of great blessing to my soul.

I just think that sometimes I get discouraged, weary, or even just lazy and don't feel like preaching the Gospel. Yet, when I consider brother John who, being 74 years old, mostly deaf and partially blind, and in such a frail condition, going out alone to towns and villages hours away just to preach the Gospel, and sometimes even carrying with him heavy boxes full of clothes to give out to the poor as he goes, I think that sometimes my own lack of zeal for Jesus Christ is sometimes shameful. Examples like his should cause many of us to bow down our heads before God and cry out for forgiveness on behalf of our lack of fervent, heartfelt devotion and zeal for making His Gospel known.

Brother John will never become the next great John Macarthur or Paul Washer. His name will never become famous. But that's OK with him, because he performs before the Audience of One, and his goal is to lay a crown at the feet of Christ that he managed to win during the feeble years of his last days of his pilgrimage on earth. Some of the Lord's choicest instruments are often hidden like precious pearls shelled in on all sides and laying deep beyond the eyes of recognition underneath the depths of the ocean of this world. Known only to a few, and to God, and the multitudes of holy angels who eagerly long to look into such things as accompany salvation, these unappreciated men will one day be appreciated among the ranks of the courts of the heavenly hosts as the King of kings Himself endows them with eternal honors -honors bestowed not because of their great worth, but because of His great glory and grace.

John was very happy that someone had finally accompanied him on one of his short missionary journeys. Yet Aaron and I were happy to have met such an elderly man whose zeal puts many to shame, and that after having only a few years of knowing Christ. Do we really have any good excuses not to preach the Gospel? After spending time with brother John, I think not!

When we returned to Guadalajara and brother John stood up to get off the bus, he fell hard and thumped his shoulder and head on the floor. Three of us managed to lift him back up and ascertain if he was OK. He seemed to be out of it. The day following, Aaron called his house and his daughter said that he was in pain and not doing well. But to our surprise, the very next day he showed up early to the location of our prayer meeting and was waiting for us, eager to pray and call upon the Lord for the salvation of sinners in Guadalajara.

I thank God for brother John. He may not have anything to teach me about Historic or Systematic theology, advanced hermeneutical methods of interpreting prophetic symbolism and biblical apocalyptic writings, or even know the name of John Newton or lyrics to "Amazing Grace". But I think that brother John has taught me some things that sitting for decades under the most brilliant theologians in America never could. There is something wonderful about pure and simple devotion to Christ. Such love cannot be taught. It can only be experienced. To see the work of God in the soul of a man who has never had contact or been influenced by such things, but only by God and the blessed influences of His Holy Spirit, giving a man such a burden to go out and seek to glorify Christ by preaching the Gospel in the frailty of old age and in the midst of receiving absolutely no recognition whatsoever for doing it, makes me think that many times I have missed the most important things.

2 Cor 4:7 - But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Matthew Henry's commentary: Why they should not preach themselves: because they were but earthen vessels, things of little or no worth or value. Here seems to be an allusion to the lamps which Gideon's soldiers carried in earthen pitchers, Jdg. 7:16. The treasure of gospel light and grace is put into earthen vessels. The ministers of the gospel are weak and frail creatures, and subject to like passions and infirmities as other men; they are mortal, and soon broken in pieces. And God has so ordered it that the weaker the vessels are the stronger his power may appear to be, that the treasure itself should be valued the more. Note, There is an excellency of power in the gospel of Christ, to enlighten the mind, to convince the conscience, to convert the soul, and to rejoice the heart; but all this power is from God the author, and not from men, who are but instruments, so that God in all things must be glorified.

Amen!

Jesus loves ... me!!!

2011-02-17T18:33:00.000-08:00

Oh, that He loves me when I can't even find enough in myself to even like me. My mind is blown away, my affections are enlarged, my heart inflates with sensations of holy love for Him who thus loves me, my eyes are consumed with the vision of His rich and tender mercies, my ears longing to hear His wonderful voice, my feet are planted firmly on the unshaking ground of His divine love because of the richness of His glorious grace toward such an unworthy recipient as I, and joy unspeakable has many times filled my soul with the thought of my Savior's love toward me. God commended His love toward me when I was yet a sinner. What wondrous love is this!

It's like the old preachers used to say: This love is better felt than told.

Oh the deep, deep, love of Jesus. Do you know the Savior's love?

Kimyal New Testament Translation Finished!

2011-02-02T13:45:00.001-08:00

Interesting video. The New Testament was recently translated into their language and they receive it with joy. Their reaction may seem a bit overly dramatic to many of us, but I wonder, if to them our reaction to having God's Word in our language isn't lukewarm, ungrateful and pitiful?

The Western world (at large) has no such joy over having God's Word. I wonder if in the Judgment many of these unlearned, back village jungle people may rise up and condemn many who have God's Word but don't treasure it; If those who are despised, neglected, and forsaken in the world aren't going to be God's men in the Kingdom to come; if those who thus treasured God's Word won't be truly treasured by God Himself, even as many of the "sons of the Kingdom" are cast out.

Do you truly love, honor, and treasure God's Word? Or is it just a religious ornament to you to tuck under your arm and make you look classy as you wear your Sunday best?

I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. Psalm 119:162

Missionary Murdered in Mexico

2011-01-30T19:03:00.000-08:00

This is a sad story of a missionary who was murdered by the cartel recently. Ignore the ads promoting the prosperity books of Pat Robertson (I don't endorse CBN or Pat Robertson, but this is a story they covered recently).

Brethren, we cannot draw back and coward out from taking the Gospel into Mexico at this time. If our fears are what drive us, then we're not walking by faith. If the Lord wants to lead us to flee, then we will. But we must not back down and coward out in a time of need like this in the nation of Mexico. Let us step up, pray more, trust in God, and go forth bearing the precious seed of God's holy Word. It will bear fruit, even in the face of such wickedness, violence, opposition, and trials of faith. If we must die to obey Jesus Christ and march forth with His Great Commission, then may God give us the grace to do so willingly. The Lamb laid down His life for us. Is it too much to ask that we take risks for Him?

Acts 20:24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Children in the Meetings of the Church part 2 (Clarification)

2011-01-26T13:14:00.000-08:00

In my previous post, titled Children in the Meetings of the Church, it may seem like a solid hard line is drawn that states it is wrong to ever have a separate meeting for children at all within the church. That is not the intention of the article. The intention, rather, is to defend the idea that it is biblical to have children present together with their parents in the meetings of the church and that, granted that such is the obvious pattern set forth in Scripture, we have no right whatsoever to remove children from their parents to a separate meeting and to pretend that doing such is biblical or even to set it forth as mandatory. The intention of the article is to correct the error that is ingrained in the minds of so many Christians who visit our church in Guadalajara who expect that we will provide a ministry where we remove their children from their hands in order to entertain them in a separate place. We want to correct that error and encourage the parents in every way possible to take responsibility for their children and teach them to behave, sit still, and listen.

Of course, it must be said that this is the ideal we are aiming at. However, sometimes this is not possible.

For example, in large cities it is not uncommon to have broken families visiting the church. The mother comes to the meeting of the church with her children while the unconverted father (who is continually a bad influence on the children) stays at home. The children are a wreck, and despite her constant best efforts, they can not be made to sit still and listen. What is one to do in such a situation?

Here is where mercy triumphs over judgement. Instead of making a hard, solid judgment and condemning the woman for her children, as a church ,we need to help her bear the burden. One, or some, of the sisters from the church should be encouraged to get involved in such a situation in the midst of the meeting. She can pull the children aside and engage them on their level, while at the same time attempting to instill biblical truth in their minds. We can bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Or another scenario that is not uncommon: A woman visits the church who is unconverted. She has three children between ages 4 and 10. The little guys are wild and unchecked, running all over in the meeting and making noise. What do we do? On the one hand, we don't want to call it out and embarrass the poor woman (a lost person offended is a lost person who now has a stumbling block before them when it comes to hearing and receiving the Gospel and may never come back). On the other hand, we don't want to let it go on because they are distracting everybody and the reception of the Word of God in the hearts of those present is being hindered. What do we do? Again, let's us help, show mercy, and do what we can to prevent causing offense and at the same time relieve the situation.

In this case, it may be profitable to have a member of the church discreetly take the children out, let the mother listen to the proclamation of God's Word without such stress and distraction, and relieve the rest of the church from such distraction. Let the children be engaged and taught by a member, preferably a sister in the church, on their level. Get the Gospel into them and evangelize them on a personal level while allowing that mother to be relieved from dealing with them.

The last thing we want to do with this unconverted lady is thrust a yoke upon her and demand that she raise her children in the care and admonition of the Lord and get them under control before the next meeting. We want her to hear the Gospel, get converted, and then out of her overflowing love for Jesus Christ, feel and see the need of doing this herself, that it may be a Spirit-birthed obligation she feels rather than a legalistic yoke that just makes her feel condemned and offends her and thus puts a stumbling block in her way from receiving the testimony of the Gospel through us.

Of course, there are innumerable other scenarios that can play out. The key is to be sensitive to people's need, to the Spirit's leading, and to act in wisdom, compassion, and love.

So while it is our goal when it comes to members of the church to have them raise their children in the ways of the Lord and have their children under obedience so that they can sit in the meetings of the church without being rebellious, at the same time, we are not making strong, hard rules that are forced upon everybody alike without regard to their current difficulties and situations. We want to show mercy and do what we can to prevent stumbling blocks being thrown in front of those we're attempting to minister to. We must attempt to be merciful in all things, peacemakers, and to bear one another's burdens, while at the same time stand unwavering in our commitments and resolve to obey our convictions when it comes to Scripture.

Children in the Meetings of the Church

2011-01-17T16:22:00.000-08:00

(NOTE: I wrote this article recently for our church plant in order to have a clear written statement on our position of children in the meeting of the church. We had a couple people asking us if we were going to have a children's ministry and so I was constrained to write a clear position. We printed this out in a tri-fold brochure paper and now give them to those who visit the church plant who have children with them. If you would like this paper in Spanish, just contact me and let me know.)

It seems like in almost every modern Christian church, a separate ministry is provided to the children where they are removed from the main meeting of the church and taught in a different room, apart from their parents. Usually, this special children’s ministry consists of many fun games, toys, and activities for the children along with teaching them bible stories. While we may at first think that such is beneficial and good, we have to ask ourselves: Are we going to follow modern traditions and our own wisdom or are we going to follow the teachings and practices revealed in the Word of God? What example does God’s Word give to us concerning what we should do with our children when the church congregates to worship and hear the proclamation of God’s Word?

Children were present during the meetings of the early Church.

In Ephesians 6:1-3 (see also Col. 3:20), the apostle Paul speaks directly to children. In the early church where printing presses did not exist and where many people couldn’t read, it was a common practice to read the letter aloud publicly to the whole assembly during the meeting (Col. 4:16, 1 Th. 5:27). The fact that Paul directly addresses children in these verses in his letter to the Ephesian church shows that the children he was addressing were in the meeting with the rest of the adults who were hearing the letter read aloud. This means that when the church congregated, the children were not in a separate place hearing a separate message or doing other activities. They were sitting alongside the adults listening to exactly what the adults were listening to (the reading and proclamation of God’s Word).

In Acts 20:9, we read of a youth named Eutychus who fell asleep during Paul’s discourse and fell from the window. This youth was obviously present as the church was gathered to hear Paul preach and not off in a separate place. The Greek word used in Acts 20:12 to refer to this “youth” (ESV) is the same word is used in Luke 2:43 to refer to Jesus when He was 12 years old. The same word in Greek is also used to refer to “children” in Matthew 2:16. Scholars agree that Eutychus was probably no more than 14 years old. This event took place in a city called Troas (Acts 20:6), showing us that it was not only in the church at Ephesus where the children were present during the meetings, but in Troas also. This example gives more evidence that having the children in the meetings with the adults was a uniform practice in all the churches of the New Testament. Even the fact that the early church met in the homes of believer’s suggests that children must have been present during the meetings.

No doubt, the apostles would have remembered the strong rebuke of Jesus when they forbid the children from coming to Him (Mat. 19:13-14). In the early church they submitted to the Lord’s command by allowing the children to come to Him by being present with their parents and the rest of their families in the churches to worship the Lord and hear the Word of God in the corporate assembly where Christ’s presence dwelt in a special way (Mat. 18:20, 1 Cor. 5:4, Rev. 1:11-13, 2:1). Peter and Paul both even preached to and baptized entire households (Acts 10:24-48, 16:31-33), which also suggests that they may have even witnessed children getting converted and being baptized.

It is important to understand that nursing babies, young boys and girls, and teenagers were all present with their parents in the meetings of the early church. Certainly this is not always comfortable, it is not always peaceful, and it requires extra work on the part of the parents, but it’s the pattern taught in the Word of God. What authority do we have to say we know better than God’s Word, than Peter and Paul and Jesus Christ Himself?

While there is plenty of Scriptural evidence to prove that children were present in the church’s meetings, there is absolutely no evidence in the New Testament that suggests that the children were removed from the church’s meeting to a separate place. If we truly believe the Scriptures are God’s Word and are sufficient for all things we need to be Godly (2 Tim. 3:16-17), then we must follow the teachings and examples given to us through the ministry of Christ and His apostles (2 Th. 2:15, Pro. 4:13).

Children were present during meetings of corporate worship throughout Biblical history.

What the apostles practiced and taught in the early church regarding children in the meetings was actually not a new doctrine or practice. All throughout the history of redemption, God required the children to gather corporately with their parents to hear His Word and observe His ordinances in worship.

This practice is seen as early as the time of Moses when the Law of God was given to the people of Israel. The Lord told them: “Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess" (Deu. 31:12-13). It was God’s will that all the children hear the reading and proclamation of His Word alongside the adults so that they would fear Him and serve Him.

Following Moses’ example, Joshua also gathered all of Israel along with their children together to hear the Word of the Lord (Josh. 8:35). Hundreds of years later in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra, the children were also gathered to hear God’s Word with the adults (Neh. 8:1-3, Ez. 10:1). The prophet Joel also called for the children to gather together with the rest of the Lord’s people to seek the Lord (Joel 2:15-16). As centuries more passed, Jesus Christ also permitted the children to come to Him in the same manner as the adults (Mat. 18:1-5, 19:13-15). And as we’ve already noted, the apostles followed the same program in the early church. Evidently, more than a thousand years and several centuries of time hadn’t changed the way God dealt with His people in this way. To say that times are different now and that this no longer works is to betray God’s entire inspired record of redemptive history and to presume that we know better than God, Jesus Christ, Moses, Joshua, Ezra, Joel, Peter and Paul. In fact, throughout the whole history of the Christian church on earth, having a special children’s ministry where the children are removed from the corporate meetings was unheard of until the 1900’s! Again, what authority do we have to reject the pattern taught in the Word of God and to improvise new means that are unbiblical in the name of convenience or modern tradition?

Why have children present in the meetings of the church?

The most obvious and strongest reason is because it is what is taught in God’s Word. If we are truly believers who abide in His Word then this alone is reason enough to convince us. If God has spoken, what else do we need?

Yet, there is another reason this is important. In our day, many parents are not taking the responsibility of training up their children in the care and admonition of the Lord like God’s Word commands them to (Deu. 4:9, 6:7, Pro. 22:6, Eph. 6:4, 2 Tim. 3:15). Instead, they expect the church to teach their children the Word of God. And although such practice is unbiblical, the church is playing right into the hands of the negligence of the parents by offering children’s ministries that promise to do what the parents themselves are commanded to do in God’s Word. Yet it is clear that such responsibility belongs to the father and mother, and not to the pastors or leaders of the churches. The fruit of the tremendous failure of the modern church in this regard has become evident because the vast majority of those who grow up in church depart from church and return to the world as soon as they reach adulthood. The tremendous amount of children’s ministries aren’t seeing the children being saved. Instead, they’re producing bitter, hardened Christ rejecters whose rebellion manifests as soon as they’re old enough to leave their parents household and live on their own, never to attend church again.

By having the children attend the main meetings of the church alongside their parents, we are saying that it is an expected duty of parents to take the responsibility to teach them the Word of God and be that Godly example to them. There is something beautiful about seeing parents and children singing hymns together, worshiping the Lord together, praying together, and hearing God’s Word together. By doing such, the children are participating in the corporate meeting of Christ’s church and are being influenced by the hymns, exhortations, teaching of the Word of God, and presence of the Holy Spirit around them as they learn from the Godly example of their parents.

Children are never too young to be influenced by the Holy Spirit in the midst of the gathering of the Lord’s people. Young children learn how to speak a language, how to walk, how to listen to instruction, and more at a very young age, all by the influence of the environment around them. Can they not be impacted by God’s Spirit and His Word in the assembly of God’s people by the power of the Holy Spirit?

The Scriptures even record several cases of children being apparently converted, consecrated, and/or highly impacted by God’s Word at a young age. We read of Samuel (1 Sam. 1:20-28), Solomon (Pro. 4:3-9), and John the Baptist (Luke 1:15) being servants of the Lord from childhood. Timothy knew the Scriptures from childhood which made him wise and Godly (2 Tim. 3:15). Even Jeremiah was very young when God called him as a prophet (Jer. 1:6). We need to pray for the conversion and salvation of our children! God can save them!

The church itself is one big family of brothers and sisters in Christ under the Heavenly Father (Eph. 3:15). Let’s unite ourselves together along with our families and worship our risen Lord!

Church Planting and Discipleship in the Great Commission

2011-01-09T22:17:00.000-08:00

The local church is God's ordained instrument to reach the world for Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Th. 1:8). It is the church that is the "pillar and buttress of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). It is the church that, against which, the gates of Hell will never prevail (Mat. 16:18). Yet many today are seeking to fulfill the Great Commission apart from the church, especially when it comes to missionaries.

While there is certainly a need for and a place for the itinerant evangelist and the itinerant teacher in God's plan (such as Philip and Apollos to name a couple biblical examples), the church has a special place and certainly the most prominent role in God's plan for evangelizing the world (after all, Philip and Apollos both worked closely with the local churches to add to their number and strengthen them in the faith). The greatest task that the people of God can focus their giftings, labors, prayers, money, and resources into is the establishment of biblical churches around the world.

The fact that church planting is central to the Great Commission jumped out to me recently as I was meditating on the Great Commission passage found in Matthew 28. Let's take a look at this passage and try to break it down and draw out some important truths, especially the fact that church planting is strongly implied and expected in these verses:

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

Literally, the implication of the Greek verbal construction of "Go" in this text carries the connotation of "having gone". The force of the command is not on the word, "go" but rather on the word "make disciples". That is, as we are going, the imperative is that we are to "make disciples" of all peoples. Young's Literal Translation brings this out:

...having gone, then, disciple all the nations, (baptizing them--to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all, whatever I did command you,) and lo, I am with you all the days--till the full end of the age.'

It is implied in the text that it is an expected duty of Christ for His disciples that they are already in the process of going, that they actually have already went and are still in the continual process of actively going. This implication of an expected duty of "going" as seen by the verbal construction of the Greek carries with it a force and a weight in the sense that it seems to suggest that "going" is so obvious a duty that it doesn't here require a specific imperative to be demanded of them but is rather, in a sense, taken for granted that they already are "having gone".

The implication in "having gone" seems to be similar to the expectation in the mind of Christ as to secret duties of prayer, fasting, and giving that He expects of His disciples as can be seen in the linguistic construction of the applicable verses in the Sermon on the Mount. Instead of giving imperative orders telling them to pray, fast and give, it is as if it is such an obvious expected duty that no such imperative is required. "When you give..." "When you pray..." "When you fast..." (Mat. 6) In the same way, it is as if Christ is expecting them to already be going.

This is the only logical reaction of a person who has submitted themselves to the yoke of Christ as their Master, who has heard the marvelous wisdom which proceeds forth from His mouth, who has seen His glory and His goodness, and who has tasted of His grace in saving faith. This is the only appropriate reaction of knowing that He bore your sin on the cross and died under the fierce stroke of God's mighty wrath as your Substitute in order to satisfy divine justice and rose again from the grave in victory and power over the second death and that through Him and Him alone salvation is offered freely to all who repent and believe His Gospel. The implication of "having went" is that Christ knows that once someone has truly understood and received the Gospel, it is such a glorious thing, such a life transforming thing, that they "cannot but speak of what (they) have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). The Samaritan woman didn't need a command to tell the whole town about Christ, she was overflowing from a living, personal encounter with the Son of God (see John 4:29).

We are commanded to "make disciples" -not disciples of ourselves, not disciples of some denomination, but disciples of Jesus Christ. A disciple is a disciplined follower, a pupil, a student, a learner, and an imitator. The goal of the Great Commission is to make followers of Jesus Christ who believe on Him as their Savior, submit to Him as their Lord and live their lives under the authority of Christ. A disciple is a disciplined one who is to discipline himself rigorously, willingly, and joyfully to obey the teachings of his Rabbi.

The apostle Paul summed up his method of fulfilling the Great Commission:

Him (Christ) we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (Colossians 1:28-29)

Paul proclaimed, announced, and preached Jesus Christ continually with passion and urgency, warning everyone of the fatal consequences of rejecting Christ and teaching everyone patiently and perseveringly to obey the commands of Christ. Paul's goal was to present all the converts that resulted from his preaching "mature", complete, and entire in Christ, lacking nothing when it came to serving and glorifying their risen Lord. He wanted to raise them up as fully committed, obedient, and fruitful disciples of Christ and did not cease to pour himself out tirelessly until such a goal was accomplished.

Paul said that to this end he would "toil", that is, spend himself continually even to the point of exhaustion. Then he adds a word which modifies his use of "toil", saying that he toils in such a way as to be "struggling" according to the power of God. This word "struggling" is 'agōnizomai' from where there is somewhat of a relation to our English word, 'agonize'. It is translated as "fight" twice in the KJV (John 18:36, 1 Tim. 6:12). This is no weak, pathetic or lazy word. This word means to strive with intense zeal, and was often used to describe Olympic athletes training vigorously to compete. When it came to making disciples and presenting them to Christ as mature, the apostle Paul was a man on a mission who utterly spent himself in the task of seeing those who were converted raised up into trained and equipped soldiers of Jesus Christ.

This is far from the shallow methodologies of modern evangelism which permeate professing Christianity today. Such methods are soundly refuted by Matthew 28's account of the Great Commission. We are not called merely to preach and make converts, nor are we called to get decisions or have people repeat a prayer. Doing such is not difficult by any means since such "converts" can be almost effortlessly mass produced by the mechanisms of modern inventions and smooth speeches which play on the emotions without any need whatsoever of genuine Holy Spirit power and conviction. If all we're doing is preaching abroad but we're not discipling anybody, we are not truly fulfilling the Great Commission. Mark 16:15 cannot and must not be divorced from Matthew 28:18-20. We can even boast about supposed "converts" and numbers and decisions supposedly won to Christ, but it is entirely a different thing to plant a beachhead for the Gospel in a location and labor exhaustively in order to see a work raised up and real disciples of Christ made who will continually bear fruit even in the absence of the initial preacher.

It's so easy to just preach and move on, never to see the same people again. Yet try to stay in the same place and confront the strongholds of Hades face to face in the name of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit until either they collapse or you collapse. It's so painless to blast through an area preaching the Gospel. But try to stay there, try to raise up a biblical church, try dealing with real sinners, pouring over them and weeping over them and praying and preaching over them until God saves them. And then when they're saved, the battle has just begun. Then it's time to deal with not just faces in a crowd during a sermon, but it's time to deal with real people who have real problems, real struggles, real pain, real needs, real character flaws, real growing pains as spiritual babes, and real sins. Live your life in front of them and minister to their hurts, heal their wounds, pour into them the great truths and doctrines of Scripture, and impart to them the divine life of the Spirit of God. Spend yourself and be spent in their service. Let your life be an open book to them. Then, see if you still have enough sanctification left in your soul that you can truly say as they know you and your whole life is open and transparent to them, "follow me as I follow Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1).

The Great Commission is not about numbers and converts. It's about making disciples -disciples of real people. We are dealing with people in the real world. Making disciples is not giving them a little Bible study once or twice a week. It's pouring yourself out into them, training them, mentoring them, and being there for them when they need you with a word in season from the Word of God. It's not about establishing an institution, calling that silly little institution a church, and running as many people through the program as your charismatic personality can manage to draw and cause to wonder after your preaching abilities. It's about the little lambs of Jesus Christ who need men and woman of God to tend to them and nurture them into maturity. It's not hit and run with striking sermon illustrations. It's ministry (diakonia); service. It's being the servant of all.

Jesus said to make disciples, "baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". This means that He expected real converts to be made from the ministry of His preachers. To preach and preach and yet to see absolutely no fruit is not the New Testament norm. Such may have well been the case with the order of the Old Testament prophets who gave their lives as oracles of God to an apostate people. Yet now, we have the Holy Spirit in His fullness working with us to convict and convert the lost to Christ. If Jesus expected baptisms to be performed then He certainly expected converts to be made and souls to get saved. While there can certainly be some exceptions in God's great sovereign will and divine providence, if we are not seeing any converts from our ministry then we may very well want to re-examine our methods, our prayer life, our preaching, and our goals. Part of the Great Commission is seeing souls saved and baptized.

Then the Lord tells us, "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." Now, this is what I want to draw attention to. This is the process of discipleship. This includes all that was said above about spending ourselves in order to raise up disciples of Christ. Yet notice the commands here. We are to baptize and then to teach them all the Word of Christ. Yet how was this to play out in the practical outworking of the establishment of the church of Jesus Christ on earth starting at the Day of Pentecost? This is an important question and finding the correct answer is vital to our understanding of what the Great Commission truly calls for.

No doubt, the apostles of Christ who were then present understood the Great Commission better than anybody else. So the question is: how did the apostles obey and put the Great Commission into practice according to Scripture? As they obeyed Matthew 28:18-20, what did they do? How did they do it?

In Acts 2, after Peter preached and 3,000 were converted, the command contained in Matthew 28 was immediately put into practice. We read:

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. -Acts 2:41

They were baptized just as Christ commanded (after they received the Word it says, that is, after having believed. There's no such thing as baptizing unbelievers and infants in the New Testament.). Then it says that 3,000 souls were "added" that day. Added to what? Obviously, to the number of the apostles and the other disciples who formed the first church that was born right in the heart of Jerusalem. There had to be a certain number that they could count and "add" to. These new converts were immediately added to and assimilated into the ministry of the local church. This is especially evident by the next verse:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. -Acts 2:42

After being baptized, they were expected to submit themselves to the Word of God, to being taught all that Jesus had commanded. This is exactly what happened. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, which wasn't their own but was Christ's. That's the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. There were leaders in the church who devoted themselves to preaching and teaching and the rest absorbed the doctrine that was taught and put it into practice. It also says they devoted themselves to the fellowship. That is the local church.

Jesus Christ expected His Great Commission which included the command to make disciples to be fulfilled in the context of the local church. These disciples would be matured and taught in the context of the local church. Matthew 28 is a command to plant churches!

All throughout the book of Acts, we read about how it was the priority of the apostles to establish local churches. This is especially evident in the missionary journeys of Paul who planted churches by the grace and power of God wherever he went. Paul didn't just preach abroad and move on from place to place without seeing any fruit. Instead, he entered a place and stayed there until either a church (or numerous churches) was raised up or he was forced to flee because of persecution. Just like Peter's and the other apostles present at Pentecost, Paul's understanding of fulfilling the Great Commission included planting local churches. It was from those local churches that the Word of God was then to sound out to the whole areas around them (1 Th. 1:8, 2 Th. 3:1). Those churches were a constant witness, a light, and a testimony to the communities around them. The regions were reached with the Gospel, the land was evangelized, and the Gospel of Christ made inroads into society by saturating regions with local churches of disciples who obeyed Jesus Christ.

Can we really say we're fulfilling the Great Commission if we're not working to plant churches? At the very least, we should be working with already established churches in order to add to their number and to strengthen them in the faith. But in the case that no such biblical churches are within the reach of the community that is in need of evangelizing, then the only thing we have left to do is to plant one. How can we say, as ministers of Christ, that we're really fulfilling the Great Commission if we're not laboring to this end?

Again, I realize the Lord may have His exceptions. He's the Lord. He can burst out of the mold any time He pleases. However, the Lord also works in harmony with His Word, which is His revealed will. The normal, Scriptural, New Testament pattern of fulfilling the Great Commission in the true work of evangelism and missions is the planting of biblical local churches.

*******

They'll do everything except Pray!

2011-01-04T20:03:00.000-08:00

I'm convinced that the modern professing church would like to do anything except pray. And when I say this I'm not just talking about the false, watered-down false gospel preaching social clubs that call themselves churches but in reality are nothing more than institutions built by the cunning craftiness of charismatic men with a gift (not of teaching but) of speaking. I'm talking about many of those who really preach a lot of good doctrine and cross all their theological T's. They will do almost anything except pray! They'll learn Greek and teach Grudem's Systematic Theology. They'll spend hours and hours delving deep into words like "Hypostatic Union" and "Supralapsarianism". The leaders will study for doctorates and spend their time writing theological essays for seminary journals. Yet the very same ones don't seem to have enough time to pray!

How do I know they don't pray? It's obvious. Jesus said that what you do secretly God will reward you for openly (Mat. 6:6). When these preachers and when these men stand up publicly to teach and preach God's Word, if they were praying men there would be a power that would attend the spoken Word. Deep conviction from the Holy Spirit would go forth and seize the hearts of the hearers in holy dread in the cases where sin is present. The winds of regeneration would blow as they proclaimed the Word and some would be truly converted sometimes. The saints of God would be moved and convinced by the Word and it would work in them to produce in them a greater level of sanctification and dedicated to Christ in their lives. They wouldn't have the same powerless preaching continually that is all head and no heart, all intellect and no true fire of real Spirit-birthed passion.

Men can fake and counterfeit a lot of things. But one thing that no one can counterfeit is the anointing of the power of the Holy Spirit. Many try to do so with their hyped up emotional music and tear-jerking appeals to come forward at the altar call. They raise their voice in their sermons at the right times and even force a few tears to drop from their eyes to cause people to be moved in the realm of the sensual and soulish. But the genuine God-given smearing of the power of His Holy Spirit is one thing that all the learning of Alexandria and all the horse power of Egypt can't produce. It's truly a sad thing when theology (even good theology) becomes a substitute for earnestly seeking the face of God is desperate prayer.

We need a lot more men like Epaphras in the midst of the church today.

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. (Col. 4:12)

The word struggling is "agōnizomai" in Greek. It was used of Olympic competitors who trained vigorously with all their might to press through and gain the prize (cf. 1 Cor. 9:25). This man was a prayer soldier of Jesus Christ. He was intense, passionate, and full of zeal in prayer (v. 13). Yet Paul told the Colossians that he "is one of you". This man was no superhuman. He was one of us. He was buffeted by a fallen flesh that tempted him to think prayer was a drudgery. He might have been tempted to doze off once in a while when rising too early and laying his head on his bedside in prayer. Yet he still pressed on, so much so that he won the commendation of an apostle and was thought worthy by the Holy Spirit to be etched on the pages of Holy Scripture for all eternity. This man agonized in prayer. He pressed on with focus and stamina in faith to pray the burden through and win the prize. And not only did he pray intensely for a few moments before Sunday's sermon. Paul said he "always" struggled and labored in prayer for the saints.

Brethren, if we pray more we will see God move more. We can manage to study less, socialize less, play less, relax less, if we will only pray more. The preacher who breaths the air of the secret place of the most High as a way of life is a man through whom the most High breaths His anointed, piercing Word of truth with power.

As a final remark, I'm not saying that theology is bad. We must have good, solid and profound theological teaching in our churches. The saints must understand the Hypostatic Union of the divine and the human in Christ if they're to have a solid understanding of God's Word (they don't have to know the term but they must believe the truth of it even in a very limited way). Knowing Greek can be very important for one who has dedicated his life to the exposition of the fine points of Scripture. The Ordus Salutus is important in that our understanding of it reveals our understanding of the nature of salvation itself. But brethren, hear me! What good does all your learning do if it's not set on fire by the Holy Spirit? Is there even such a thing as fire that produces light but doesn't produce heat? Then how can we claim that the fire of the Holy Spirit is with us producing the light of sound doctrine if there's no heat of zeal and power to warm that truth and make it effective to set men ablaze with love for Christ?

God uses humble, broken men. And men are only humbled and broken when they live close to God in prayer.

Don't take this as a condemnation of sincere men in the ministry. Rather, take it to heart as a serious exhortation to obey the first things of the doctrine of Christ and to seek His face in fervent expectation for Him to move in our midst in power.

You must become like a little child to enter the Kingdom (Mat. 18:3). So then, fall down and beg the Father to have mercy on your prayerless soul! The first mark of a child is dependence. Children are humble. They are not self-sufficient. They are totally dependent on the provision of their parents and they know they can't do everything in their own strength. So then, you are totally dependent on your heavenly Father for everything, that is, if you really are a child. Live like it! Return to the prayer closet! Your every blessing, your every step, your every plan, everything is all dependent on the Father. Without Him, you can do nothing.

Intercession - Tim Conway

2010-12-24T19:27:00.000-08:00

Here is another teaching by Tim Conway on prayer and intercession. This message as I sat through it stirred me up to seek God for greater things, especially in regards to intercession. It is an hour long but is well worth it if you can take the time to watch it. I don't mean to keep posting such long videos on here but this is such a sorely needed subject to be taught on in today's church. It seems like we all have time to do everything in the midst of our busy schedules except pray! Yet without prayer, the modern church is like a great big steam engine that just has no power!

Revelation 8:3-4 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, (4) and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.

"What, do you say you have nothing to pray for? What! no children unconverted, no friends unsaved, no neighbours who are still in darkness? What! Live in London and not pray for sinners! Where do you live! Is it in some vast wilderness, amidst “some boundless contiguity of shade,” where rumour of sin and of ignorance has never reached your ear?" -Charles Spurgeon

Historic Accounts of Revival with a Call to Urgent Prayer

2010-12-22T19:42:00.000-08:00

I had the privilege of sitting in on this study during our time in San Antonio. Brother Tim Conway is relating various historic accounts of revivals and exhorting us to pray and seek God's face.

There are a few other messages he taught in this series on the page: www.youtube.com/illbehonest. They are called "Filled with the Spirit" under the Uploads on the side.

Itinerate Apostolic Preachers -Spurgeon

2010-11-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting excerpt from a sermon by Spurgeon. Oh, if God would only raise up this sort of apostolic men to ravage the nation of Mexico with the Gospel in this sort of way! We need to expand our vision brethren. If the church of Jesus Christ would unite and support the missionary cause with all her best -her best men, her best resources, and all, we could see it done. The best men don't need to get tied down in their home land in the USA, they need to get sent out to shake the world for Christ! They are tied down and bogged down all too often. Take risks for God! Invest those "talents" in faith, don't bury them!

"I have one more remark to make here with regard to the style in which we go to work. I fear that we have not enough of the divine method of itinerancy. Paul was a great itinerant: he preached in one place, and there were twelve converted there; he made a church at once; he did not stop till he had five hundred; but when he had twelve, he went off to another place. A holy woman takes him in; she has a son and daughter; they are saved and baptized — there is another church. Then he goes on; wherever he goes the people believe and are baptized, wherever he meets a family who believe, he or his companion baptizes all the house, and goes about his way still forming churches and appointing elders over them. We, now-a-days, go and settle in a place, make a station of it, and work around it by little and little, and think that is the way to succeed. No, no! ravage a continent; attempt great things and great things shall be done. But they say if you just pass over a place it will be forgotten like the summer shower, which moistens all, but satisfies none. Yes, but you do not know how many of God's elect may be there; you have no business to stop in one place; go straight on; God's elect are everywhere. I protest if I could not itinerate this country of England, I could not bear to preach. If I preached here always, many of you would become gospel hardened. I love to go ranging here, there, and everywhere. My highest ambition is this, that I may be found going through the entire land, as well as holding my head quarters in one position. I do hold that itinerancy is God's great plan. There should be fixed ministers and pastors, but those who are like apostles should itinerate far more than they do." (Charles Spurgeon)

Read entire sermon here.

Is "Healing Evangelism" Biblical?

2010-11-26T08:29:00.000-08:00

This is my reply to a question posted online as to whether "healing evangelism" is Biblical.

Jesus sent the disciples out 2 by 2 to heal the sick and cast out demons (Mat. 10. Luke 10, etc.). It's also a part of the Great Commission:

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. -Mark 16:15-20

Peter followed that model through the book of Acts, so did Paul. Of course, being apostles, they had a much more tremendous authority in the Spirit than others in the Body of Christ, so such was to be expected from them, as well as the other apostles, as hand picked ambassadors of Christ to establish the church on earth. Yet, we also read that such was not limited to the apostles, since both Stephen (Acts 6-7) and Philip (Acts 8) preached the Gospel and God backed it up with a demonstration of power. When we get into the epistles, we read that miraculous gifts were manifested in the early church in 1 Corinthians in such a way as that Paul expected the gift of prophecy to be used (decently and in order) in order to not only edify the saints (1 Cor. 14:3) but also to expose the hearts of unbelievers and bring them to repentance (14:24-25), thus showing an evangelistic benefit of the miraculous endowment of the Spirit.

No one can argue that it is Biblical to heal the sick and cast out demons in the context of evaneglism. It is all through the Gospels and Acts. What is disputed is the following:

1. Are such miraculous gifts for today?

2. Should we pursue the same model as Jesus and the apostles?

I personally find nothing in the Scriptures to suggest that such miraculous gifts have ceased (other than the extraordinary operation of the prophetic writing of Scripture under divine inspiration -the Canon is complete). The apostle told us to burn with desire for the miraculous gifts which most glorify Christ (1 Cor. 14:1, see Greek). We should expect them in faith.

Therefore, to me, the issue is not on whether or not the evangelist is seeing healings and deliverances in his ministry. It may or may not occur, but is a side issue on whether or not they're from God. Miracles are not the test of whether it's truly of the Lord (see Mat. 7:21-23). Satan can do miracles also (2 Thes. 2:9). Even the Corinthians operated in miraculous gifts while lacking spiritual discernment and harboring sin in their midst. And even the High Priest prophesied with genuine prophecy while in a state of rebellion against God (John 11:49-52). The same can go for Balaam (Num. 24:17) and King Saul (1 Sam. 19:23) who prophesied miraculously while in a state of sin.

We shouldn't chase miracles. Neither should we view them as proof that someone is of God. Furthermore, when they are occuring "in the name of Jesus" we need to discern and test the spirits and we must reject manifestations that are not found in Scripture (such as knocking people over backwards). After all, there is more than one "Jesus" in the world (2 Cor. 11:4).

It is biblical to pray that God would manifest Himself in power in our midst while we evangelize (Acts 4:29-30). We should pray for that and give God glory when God thus manifests Himself. It is sinful not to glorify God for genuine miracles He does (Luke 17:17-18). We should not discourage the genuine thing (1 Thes. 5:19). Yet always, the most important thing is salvation of the soul (Luke 10:20). We must never diminish or slight or neglect the confrontational biblical preaching of the Gospel. The proclamation of the Gospel must be kept primary at all times during evangelism. Healing without Gospel preaching is a sham and a tragedy. In Mark 16, the first command is "Preach the Gospel to every creature", and then it is followed by an explanation of things that may happen as the Gospel is preached in obedience to the Biblical message. The Gospel is God's power unto salvation and nothing else.

The ultimate test of whether someone is of God or not is their fruit (Mat 7:16-20). This applies primarily to two things:

1. Their doctrine.

2. Their practice.

Do they preach a biblical Gospel? Do they preach the truth of God? Are their teachings and beliefs biblical? If they deny any essential biblical doctrine (the Trinity, the need for repentance, etc.) then they are not of God. A false Gospel does not save.

Also, do they live a holy life of practicing obedience, abiding in Christ and submitting to His commands?

You will know them by their fruits. Examine the miracles to make sure they are in the Bible. Examine the doctrine to make sure it is Biblical. Examine their lives to make sure they love Jesus (they will obey Him if they love Him). Pray for discernment. But don't reject the glorious operations of the Spirit of God if they are truly manifesting.

The Transcendent Glory of God in Ezekiel

2010-11-24T17:43:00.000-08:00

I am currently reading through the book of Ezekiel and it is just putting me in awe of the majesty and glory of God. The whole inaugural vision of chapters 1-3 where Ezekiel is called and commissioned as a prophet just makes me think of how little we as believers know of the greatness and awesomeness of God.

In the prophet's vision, after seeing and describing the terrifying living creatures, Ezekiel sees the Lord upon His throne (understood to be the pre-incarnate Word). He records:

"And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking." -Ezekiel 1:26-28 (ESV)

I don't think we quite grasp the solemnity, gravity, and divine weightiness of this manifestation of the glory of God. Actually, I don't think we honestly are able to fully grasp it. Can the finite grasp the infinite? To comprehend this with the human mind would be comparable to trying to contain the energy of the sun in the palm of your hand. The only conceivable response in such a situation would be to do exactly as the man of God did: fall on your face! This is the shining glory of God that bursts forth in rays of omnipotent light and paralyzes in a holy fear the whole frame of anyone who even catches a mere glimpse of it, striking the very heart with the fearful majesty of the Holy One of Israel, turning pious men into helpless beggars of mercy.

Ezekiel fell on his face. This is worship. Of course, I don't think he thought about it. I don't think he rationed out his response saying, "Hmmm.... the glory of God is in front of me. What shall I do?" I think he was struck like a tree when felled suddenly by the violent crash of a bolt of lightning. And he fell forward in an immediate act of self-emptying, God glorifying worship.

Can it be any less with us, dear brethren? If we truly understand who this great God is that we serve, how can we not fear Him in a holy awe of His divine majesty? How can we not fall down and worship him? How can we spare our faces from biting dust in His honor? When you catch even just a veiled vision of the glory of this great God, you will have no other choice. Everything in your life, all the idols in your heart, all the respectable "self" sins will all fall down and do Him reverence and be blasted out of the way by the breath of His nostrils and the might of His holy Word.

It was not in the strength, might, power or ability of Ezekiel to stand in the presence of the glorified pre-incarnate Son of God. When the Lord told him to stand up, the Lord Himself had to send his Spirit to pick him up.

"And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you. And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me." -Ezekiel 2:1-2 (ESV)

Who can stand in the presence of this great God? Ezekiel needed a supernatural dose of grace from the Holy Spirit in order to even stand in His presence!

Isn't this how it usually is, brethren? When the Lord Jesus Christ makes himself known to a man, the first thing He does is knock him off the feet of his pride and put his face in the dust. He humbles the man, breaks him, and empties him of all self-will and self-ambition. The result is such that the man, now emptied, humbled, stripped and broken, prostrates himself before the Lord with no other hope but Him. But then the Lord doesn't stop there. He takes the man, fills the man with His Spirit, raises him up as a testimony, and speaks to that man of His deep counsel. God shares the anguish of His heart with that man, and sets him apart for a special service. A man thus sent from the presence of the glory of God is a man with a forehead like flint who is not easily moved (Eze. 3:8-9). He is a man on a mission who will face the stings of opposition and persecution to his ministry but will persevere through them because he will never forget the great glory that he has seen (Eze. 2:6). Such a man will be Christ-exalting, God-glorifying in all aspects of His ministry, for he will bless continually the glory of God:

Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake: "Blessed be the glory of the LORD from its place!" -Ezekiel 3:12 (ESV)

Do you know anything about this glory of God? It's time to humble ourselves, to pray and fast and beg God for a glimpse of His glory.

The only word I can think of to describe the glory of this great and terrible God is the word, "transcendence". The dictionary defines this word like this:

Transcendence — adj
1. exceeding or surpassing in degree or excellence
2. a. (in the philosophy of Kant) beyond or before experience; apriori
b. (of a concept) falling outside a given set of categories
c. beyond consciousness or direct apprehension
3. theol (of God) having continuous existence outside the created world
4. free from the limitations inherent in matter
(src. dictionary.com)

That is about the only way to describe this glory of God that appeared to Ezekiel. Or in other words, the only way to describe the glory of God is by using the word, "indescribable". I think that's about the most accurate definition. Do we truly know this awe-striking God?

Evangelism Testimonies: Just PREACH THE GOSPEL!

2010-11-23T17:36:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple testimonies from our recent outreaches in downtown Guadalajara. Just preach the Gospel!

(This post is taken from our most recent update.)

Hallelujah! We have not ceased from going to the city to stand up and proclaim that Jesus Christ is the only Way! Every week, at least several times per week, the Lord has enabled us to be there preaching and pleading with souls to repent and believe the Gospel, to flee the wrath to come, to run to Jesus Christ for refuge and salvation. Thousands have heard the Gospel in the past year to the glory of the great name of our God.

We have had so many conversations, so many seeds have been sown, that it is impossible to write about it all. But a couple of testimonies I would like to share:

- As we were open air preaching day after day, week after week, there was a man that would always walk by. He always just passed by refusing to listen, figuring we were just crazy or wanted money or something. But one day, as he was passing by again, the Lord got a hold of him and he sat down to listen. He was gripped by conviction and began to sigh and cry over his abominations wondering if God could ever forgive someone so wicked as him. A brother in the Lord on our team was then able to talk with him for a while and minister grace to him and pray with him. We don't know what happened, but the finger of the Lord touched him. This is a testimony to the need of open air proclamation of the Gospel. That would have never happened if we weren't there continually preaching the foolishness of the cross. Brethren, be faithful to God! Stand up and be men! Proclaim the cross! The power of God is in the proclamation of the cross! Don't worry about the results, don't worry about the appearances of things, if we are faithful to proclaim Christ then God will be faithful to move in the hearts of men.

- Another young man, 17 years old, is a testimony to the power of the Gospel. He was a children's minister in his church (a Christian church). One night as we were preaching, he stopped to listen. Lina and I then talked to him. He confessed to us that he was living a secret homosexual lifestyle and that he had not ever told anyone, that we were the first he told. He said he wanted to repent and truly serve the Lord. After a long conversation, after pleading with him to forsake his sin and turn to the Savior and stop being a hypocrite, to fear God, to surrender all to Christ, we prayed with him for deliverance, and he too called upon Christ to forgive him. Well, after a couple of months since this encounter, we ran into him again. This time he was changed! He testified to us that since that night, he never went back to that lifestyle, that he's been delivered. He now said that he's serving the Lord and wants to follow Christ alone. He has a close relationship with his pastor now and is courting a girl in the presence of his pastor. He also wants to evangelize now and has a desire to learn how. Praise God for the power of the Gospel!

Does God still Feed the Sparrows?

2010-11-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

By David Sitton

www.toeverytribe.com

Taken from his blog here.

(Note from Josef: David Sitton was a missionary in Papau, New Guinea for many years and worked to plant many churches there. I had the privilege of getting to know him a couple years ago on a mission trip to a far away village in some back mountains of Mexico. He now oversees a missionary training school in Texas and an organization that sends missionaries to unreached tribes. It is one of the few organizations I know of that believes in the doctrines of grace.)

Thirty-three years ago today (October 3, 1977) I left for the first time as a missionary to Papua New Guinea.

Twenty years old; lean and green and ready to tackle the world for Christ. I boarded an airplane (by myself) in Corpus Christi, TX around 11:00 AM headed for New Guinea via Honolulu, Hong Kong and Bangkok.

I was inexperienced, under-trained, under-financed and totally determined; a dangerous combination. But I did have a bible and a surfboard…and not a worry in the world. The Lord must have chuckled at my reckless audacity; I think he liked it, though.

Family and friends gathered at the airport terminal. There was much hugging and weeping as they figured I would be eaten by cannibals before my first two year mission was completed (and it nearly happened)!

Several elders from my sending church huddled together whispering among themselves about how they didn’t think that young kid would actually leave without enough money. One of them told me years later that they thought I was completely crazy, but they couldn’t be left responsible for my starving to death in the jungle! Right there on the spot, they gathered the remaining monthly support I needed. Ah… Jehovah Jireh!

My old mentor used to say – “Look at the sparrows, missionary! When God quits feeding the sparrows, missionaries will become extinct.” Well, the birds are still eating.

Three decades plus two years ago today I started a missionary journey for Christ.

I find myself especially tender on this anniversary. 4:00 AM tears puddle my keyboard as I reflect on the astounding privileges of my life. To be used by God, even just once in a lifetime; to unhinge a stronghold of the enemy by the power of the gospel and Jesus’ name would have been enough. But he’s given me so much more. I will die singing praises.

Amazing grace. Amazing God!

The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ - Steve Lawson

2010-11-17T12:27:00.001-08:00

Check out this 10 minute video clip I made from a sermon by Steve Lawson on the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Graffito Blasfemo - The Foolishness of the Cross

2010-11-09T11:18:00.001-08:00

Can you guess what the picture below represents?

This is an engraving known as the "Graffito Blasfemo" that was discovered on a wall in Rome in 1857. Scholars date the inscription as having been engraved on the wall between the 1st and 3rd Centuries A.D. (see Wikipedia article)

The inscription depicts a man with a donkey's head hanging on a Roman cross. There is another man on the ground standing beside the cross with a hand raised up toward the man on the cross, depicting worship. The caption reads in Greek: "ALEXAMENOS WORSHIPS (HIS) GOD".

What is amazing is that this is the earliest known depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This blasphemous representation of Christ shows us clearly what the early world thought of those who worshiped a crucified God. This shows us the scandal of the cross and the utter foolishness of the cross in the eyes of the world. It reminds me of 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5, especially where the apostle Paul said:

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18).

The world hates the Gospel. It is an offense to them, an abomination, a horrible thought. To those who are perishing, it is a savor of death unto death (2 Cor. 2:16). To suggest that the King of the universe, the Lord of all glory, the Sovereign over all creation, the Savior of the world, came down and was nailed to a piece of wood in order to suffer a cruel, slow and torturous death for sinners is a scandalous offense to their intellect. The idea that Christ was crucified goes directly in contrast to the "wisdom" of this world and lays the ax to the root of the prideful intellect of fallen man in such a way as to ensure that the only ones who will truly believe and come to Him are those who have been stripped, crushed, broken and emptied of all confidence in the flesh.

To make the cross even less appealing to them, the message of the Gospel tells them that they are lost sinners, rebels against a holy God, enemies of God and under the sentence of eternal condemnation as long as they remain in their current state, and that God requires them to repent and renounce their sins and turn to the crucified King in order to find the only hope for salvation. It tells that that they are at enmity with God and are in desperate need of reconciliation with Him -at that the only way to be reconciled with Him is to fall down before the crucified Christ and worship Him as Lord and Savior.

In fact, lost men, unmoved and un-illuminated by the Holy Spirit, cannot even understand or comprehend the truth of the Gospel.

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14).

Yet this is our message, brethren. We preach a Man that the world views as a murdered donkey. Him who they despise the most is Him whom we love and treasure the most. If you don't think this is true, just stand out there on a street corner and start preaching Jesus Christ. See what happens. They'll look at you with about the same sort of look that the world of old looked at Noah when he was building a big boat before such a thing as rain was known to the world, preaching righteousness to those who were in love with their sin.

If you truly stand up and proclaim the cross to the world, you will be painted in the same light that the Lord Himself was painted in, being scoffed at by the world as ridiculous.

"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household" (Mat. 10:24-25).

But although the world views it as foolishness, we know that our message is the power of Almighty God that brings a glorious salvation to everyone who believes:

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:16).

In fact, far from being ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul gloried in, exulted in, rejoiced in, and boasted in the cross! He said to the Galatians who were glorifying in their flesh and glorying in their religious achievements that their accomplishments by human effort in the vain rituals of empty religion were good for nothing and an offense to God. He told them:

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14).

Paul was a crucified man. To him it wasn't good enough to profess a crucified King in theory, and to honor Christ with his lips only. Paul sought to identify himself with Christ, to share in the same sufferings, the same burdens, the same longings, even the same goals and plans as His Lord, no matter if the whole world ridiculed him and persecuted him for it. To advance the cause of the cross and to proclaim openly to the whole world the foolishness of the cross was the grand and supreme mission of Paul. He dared not remove the offense of the cross in his preaching. He sought to crucify and to kill every countering idea, every false religious system, every vain human philosophy, and every opposing argument. To Paul, everything had to be put to the cross and pierced through to the death, including his very own life, so that Jesus Christ by the power of His resurrection would manifest Himself and show forth His glory and power.

What about us? Are we prepared to GLORY ONLY in the cross? Do you rejoice in your crucified King, knowing that He died once to take away sin forever, but is now alive forevermore, and shall return a second time in glory to bring in an everlasting salvation for all those who eagerly wait for His appearing?

So much of modern evangelism has sought to take away the offense of the cross. We don't need to polish up that old rugged piece of wood, we don't need to paint it pretty colors, we don't need to plate it in gold, we don't need to try to make it attractive to the world. The message of that old rugged, bloody cross is the power of the Omnipotent God to save all who believe. And even though it is an utter impossibility that anyone believes it while they yet remain dead in their sin apart from the sovereign and supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, we know that God has guaranteed that He will bring in a harvest of souls by His mighty power if we are faithful to proclaim the pure, unadulterated message of Christ and Him crucified. When Christ crucified is preached faithfully, God will back up His truth with His power, and souls will be saved, not by the persuasive arguments of human wisdom, but by demonstration of the Spirit and power (1 Cor. 2:3-5).

When Christianity becomes the popular thing, watch out. It just may not be that foolish, offensive thing that is truly the wisdom and power of God unto salvation. It just may be a counterfeit "gospel" that robs the cross of its power to save.

A Public Rebuke to Joel Osteen

2010-11-08T12:47:00.000-08:00

This is great.

Stop Suffering and Enjoy your Best Life Now!

2010-11-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

We were out preaching and evangelizing the other day in downtown Guadalajara and as we were finishing up the night and waiting for the others on the team to finish what they were doing so we could leave, my back was hurting, so I sat down on a bench to try to relieve the pressure. While I waited, I decided to read my Bible. So as I was reading intently and feeling the power of the Word humbling my own soul before God, I had a strong feeling in my spirit that a man was going to sit next to me and ask me about the Bible I was reading. Sure enough, within 5 minutes, it happened!

“Is that a Bible?” he inquired curiously. “Yes”, I said. “What religion are you?” was his next question (this is usually the first question everybody asks us here in Mexico). “Christian”, I responded. Now, I don’t consider myself a follower of a religious system called “Christianity” by any means, but a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. (As I tell people often, “We don’t follow a dead religion, we follow a living Savior!”) Yet we tell people we’re Christians when they ask and explain to them that this means we believe in, serve, worship, and live for Jesus Christ, because everybody asks that question.

He told me that he recently became a “Christian” and that he recently started attending a church called “Pare de Sufrir” (Stop Suffering). –Red flag! He immediately became the target of a focused evangelistic attempt to barrage his mind with the true Gospel.

“Pare de Sufrir” is another name for the “Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios”. It is a sect that promotes a hyper-prosperity “gospel” and chases after signs and wonders (see my brief refutation of the prosperity gospel here). There are several of their congregations in Guadalajara, and they are actually a movement that spans across many Latin American countries. We frequently run into members of their congregation as we evangelize in downtown Guadalajara.

It’s not my intention here in this blog post to expose and refute all the false doctrine and lies promoted within the “Pare de Sufrir” movement. However, in order to thoroughly refute their idealology with the Word of God, I don’t think we have to look much deeper than their name: “Stop Suffering”. The Word of God refutes not only them, but all those who believe in and teach a false gospel of financial prosperity, worldly success, and “your best life now” philosophies.

As that man and I were talking, I immediately began to explain the biblical Gospel. I also told him that the very message of “stop suffering” here and now in this life isn’t biblical, and that they are false teachers and wolves in sheep’s clothing. Far from teaching a theology of worldly pleasure and ease and the absence of pain and suffering, the biblical Gospel teaches a theology of cross bearing, self-denial, forsaking your own life and of dying to self.

Jesus said: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it” (Mark 8:34-35). The call to follow Jesus Christ is a call to embrace the cross by dying to one ’s self daily in order to do the will of God. It’s not about us and our selfish desires, it’s about Him: His glory, His purposes, and His fame in the earth. The cross is not a desirable commodity that brings worldly happiness, success, and fleshly pleasure, it is an instrument of brutal suffering and death. A man carrying a cross in the days of Jesus was a man that was marching outside the camp to suffer reproach, humiliation, shame, torture, and ultimately, death. It didn’t look pretty, sound pretty, or smell pretty. It wasn’t for the faint of heart or the cowardly that fear suffering pain. The cross was one of the most brutal, bloody, grotesque, and monstrous forms of execution ever invented. And here Jesus calls those who want to follow Him to embrace that cross as a way of life.

Now, the call to follow Christ is a call to go outside the camp and suffer reproach with the people of God (Heb. 13:13). It is a call to renounce our own lives and to live to do His will alone (Luke 14:33). It is a call to lose our lives in Christ, to be crucified together with Him, that He may live and manifest Himself through us (Gal. 2:20). It is a call to die daily (1 Cor. 15:31).

Jesus didn’t promise His followers a fat wallet, a bursting bank account, and a life of such pleasure that it’s like heaven on earth. He told them instead that many of them would be murdered and tortured for their testimony to the Gospel (Mat. 23:34, 24:9). He pronounced woes upon those who were spoken well of by the world (Luke 6:26) and special blessings upon those who suffered persecution for the sake of their righteousness (Mat. 5:10-12). He told them that any earthly benefit they received would be accompanied by persecutions (Mark 10:30).

The apostle Peter taught the early Christians that suffering trials and persecutions were to be expected and that it was a special privilege to be reviled for the sake of Christ and suffer for His name (1 Pet. 4:12-14).

In fact, when the Lord called the apostle Paul immediately after his conversion, He told Ananias: “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:15-16). The apostle Paul, a man used so mightily by the Lord, was well acquainted with the personal application of the cross to his flesh. A quick survey of the books of Acts and 2 Corinthians shows abundantly that Paul suffered more for the cause of Christ than perhaps any other man who ever lived. Did Paul not understand the Gospel, that he could have appropriated the benefits of it to live an abundant life of worldly riches and success and pleasure? –To suggest such (as some prosperity preachers have done) is absolutely absurd.

It wasn’t only the apostle Paul who was appointed to suffering for the sake of righteousness. He himself said: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). Paul told the Thessalonians not to be worried about their afflictions for the sake of the Gospel, and the reason he gave was this: “For you yourselves know that we are destined for this” (1 Thes. 3:3). We are destined to suffer for Christ! What a wonderful privilege we have to glory in the cross and show the world that we don’t live for this world, but that we’re pilgrims and strangers who have an eternal inheritance in the heavens and who live for the glory of God! May we stand up in the midst of bearing the cross, in the midst of suffering for the Name, in the midst of adversity, trials, tribulations, persecutions, and indeed, all the fire that the gates of Hell can hit us with, and show the world that our treasure isn’t anything found in this world, but that our great treasure is Christ Himself!

This is why the author of Hebrews said: “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward” (Heb. 11:24-26). To suffer for and with Christ was a greater treasure to Moses than all the treasures that the world’s most wealthy nation at that time had to offer! If Christ is your greatest treasure, then everything else will be nothing but dung in comparison (Phil. 3:8) and you won’t even want filthy mammon any more (1 Tim. 6:9) other than what’s necessary to live modestly and contently (1 Tim. 6:8).

Well, by time our conversation was over, the man on the bench next to me seemed to be deeply impacted by the Word of God and was processing what he had heard. I had managed to explain to him the call of the cross, the cost of discipleship, the nature of true conversion, and the fallacies of decisionism and sign-seeking. Finally, he said, “Everything you have said is true” and asked me if I was a pastor. I told him that I’m a follower of Jesus Christ and all I want to do is glorify my Lord, ever since the day He saved me from the vile filth of my sin. I urged him to seek the Lord and to surrender his life to the Lordship of Christ, and to study diligently the Word of God in order to have discernment and recognize the error which abounds in these last days. He was very thankful, and we parted ways. Another God-ordained conversation was over and the truth of Jesus Christ once again managed to destroy the lies of the devil in the mind of a man.

Brethren, how many are sitting under the auspices of Satan in your community, in your city, believing false gospels and lies from the pits of hell, precious souls that are within your reach? If you don’t go out there and tell them, then who will?

“Stop Suffering” is not biblical. It would be more biblical to call their church, “Start Suffering” and to preach the opposite of what they now preach.

What about you? Have you taken up YOUR cross to follow Christ regardless of the cost? “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18).

Steve Lawson on Job 1 - The Invisible War

2010-10-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

This is a wonderful exposition of Job 1 by Steve Lawson. This is how preaching should be done. Do yourself a favor and watch this video. It's worth the hour.

Every time I meditate on Job it just puts me in awe of the sovereingty and majesty of God.

Are there any Presbyterians in Heaven?

2010-09-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

Once when George Whitefield was preaching in Philadelphia he raised his eyes toward heaven and cried out:

“Father Abraham, whom do you have in heaven? Any Episcopalians?”
“No!”
“Any Presbyterians?”
“No!”
“Have you any Independents or Baptists?”
“No!”
“Have you any Methodists there?”
“No! No! No!”
“Then whom have you there?”
“We don’t know those names here. All who are here are Christians—believers in Christ—those who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.”
“O, if this is the case,” said Whitefield,
“then God help me, God help us all, to forget party names and to be Christians
in deed and truth!”

Many times, complex systems of ''theology on paper'' have gotten in the way of serving Christ in DEED and TRUTH. Oh may the Lord grant to us the humility and simplicity and the faith of a child! If you have all knowledge to know all mysteries but have not love then all your seminary degrees, Greek, Hebrew, systematic theology, epistomology, historic theology, eschatology and any other 'ology' are nothing more than a rotten pile of abominable dung and a stench in the nostrils of the very One you think you've figured out. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.

3 new open air preaching videos in Spanish

2010-09-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

Tu Puedes tener la Vida Eterna -Aaron

La Serpiente en el Desierto -Un pastor

Apariencia de Piedad sin el Poder de Ella -Josef

You can visit our Spanish youtube page here.


Transcendence — *adj*
1.	exceeding or surpassing in degree or excellence
2.	a. (in the philosophy of Kant) beyond or before experience; apriori
	b. (of a concept) falling outside a given set of categories
	c. beyond consciousness or direct apprehension
3.	theol (of God) having continuous existence outside the created world
4.	free from the limitations inherent in matter (src. dictionary.com)