John MacArthur on Titus

One of the really cool things about my job is that I'm on the road a lot.  I'm an insurance adjuster so a couple days a week I'm in the car driving to different towns and farms, mostly rural locations. 

As I'm travelling I've taken to listening to Bible teaching CD's.  John MacArthur has preached and taught on the ENTIRE New Testament!  All those books are available for download from the Grace to You website for free.

Over the last few weeks I have been listening to the series on the letter to Titus.  This teaching series has been such a blessing to me.   I am so thankful for John's faithfulness to preach and teach the Word of God, regardless of how the Word conflicts with the culture today. 

Titus is a word to Pastors/Elders, and to those desiring that office.  It has also been a blessed and convicting word to me...and I praise and thank God for that.  I am SO looking forward to the remaining lessons  - I'm on #24 at the moment. 

Acts 13 - Some Thoughts

Acts 13: 36-52 “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. “Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:
‘BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND PERISH;
         FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS,
         A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.’”
      As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

      The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
“For so the Lord has commanded us,
         ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES,
         THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’”
      When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”


Currently, I am reading through Acts and I read chapter 13 last night. Firstly, I am amazed how I am “discovering” verses throughout the NT (I'm not much in the OT at this point) that highlight the sovereignty of God in Salvation. Verse 48 “...as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” - a clear statement if ever there was one! As I continue to think on these things, I am so encouraged, and greatly humbled, that I believe, and that inherent in my believing is the fact that I was appointed by God for eternal life in Christ Jesus. Knowing how great a sinner I am, I can only thank Him, and ask, “Why me?”.

This question leads into the other aspect I see here. Paul and Barnabas say to the Jews, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
“For so the Lord has commanded us,
         ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES,
         THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’” (emphasis mine).


The Jews rejected the word of God. Here, the NAS has it translated “since you repudiate it”. The ESV translates it “since you thrust is aside.” The NIV translates it as “Since you reject it”. The KJV translates it “but seeing ye put it from you”. Paul, in Romans 11, elaborates on the how's and why's of the Jews' rejection of the Gospel. Verse 1 says that God has not utterly rejected His people, as Paul himself is evidence of this. In verse 11, “Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.” And verse 25 and 26, “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved.” (BTW, there's another “sovereignty of God” passage. “Until the full number of Gentiles has come in.”). There is still hope for Israel. But since they have rejected the word of God, the Lord has commanded Paul and Barnabas that the gospel be given to the Gentiles. Acts 11:18, another one of those “sovereignty of God” passages, states “When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” And “the Gentiles” includes me.

Compare the response of the Gentiles with the response of the Jews in the Acts 13 passage: “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord.” “But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.” The more I read this the more the Gentiles' response becomes my own. The Jews rejection brought the Gospel to the Gentiles. As Romans 11:30-32 says, "Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.”

And all this has taken place as a result of the sovereign plan of God that was put in place before the times of the ages began (Titus 1:1-3, Eph 1:4). It only seems fitting to conclude with Paul's Doxology in Romans 11:

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

“Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?”

“Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay him?”

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

Al Mohler on "Athiests in the Pulpit - the Sad Charade of the Clergy Project"

A very sobering article Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary .  Not in the sense that there are those in leadership in the church who are professing atheism.  Don't get me wrong, that is terrible.  It was these paragraphs from the article that really opened my eyes:

"Dennett and LaScola made a very interesting and important observation in their research report. They acknowledged that defining an unbelieving pastor is actually quite difficult. Given the fact that so many liberal churches and denominations already believe so little, how is atheism really different? In the name of tolerance, the liberal denominations have embraced so much unbelief that atheism is a practical challenge.

In the words of Dennett and LaScola: “This counsel of tolerance creates a gentle fog that shrouds the question of belief in God in so much indeterminacy that if asked whether they believe in God, many people could sincerely say that they don’t know what they are being asked.”

 You can link to the rest of the article here.

  
"The greater danger to the church is a reduction in doctrine that leaves atheism hard to distinguish from belief. And the real forces to fear are those who would counsel such a reduction." ~ Al Mohler, from this article

The World Tilting Gospel by Dan Phillips - my brief thoughts.

I have been frequenting the blog Pyromaniacs almost daily for a few years now and it was there is discovered one of the blogs writers, Dan Phillips.  Off and on Dan had/has been promoting The World Tilting Gospel (TWTG) and I became curious about it.  After awhile I decided to purchase it and, boy am I glad that I did!

A few years ago I realized that I didn't know what the Gospel was.  Specifically, how to articulate it.  I didn't understand the various rich aspects of it.  Mine was a relatively surface understanding and, as I found out the more I looked into it, "surface" may have been an understatement!

I've been a Christian for years and over time just took for granted that I really knew the Gospel.  How could I be a Christian and NOT know it?!  I knew I was a forgiven sinner, that Jesus Christ had died for me and rose again.  I rested there.  However I started to take notice when I would hear phrases in sermons like, "We can do such-and-such because of what Jesus has done for us."  Or, "Because of what Jesus has done for us we are no longer this-or-that."  I realized that I had never really looked any deeper into the "WHAT" that Jesus "HAS DONE".  Dan Phillips has done just that in TWTG.

He shows from the Scriptures what the Fall did to humanity, the far-reaching effects of it.  How "bad", how sinful we really are, and how utterly hopeless we are to do anything about it.  On page 69, ..."sin not only makes us behave badly, it makes us think badly."  Further, "We may see things, but we do not see them as they are, do not know what they mean, do not rank priorities rightly.  We look at the world through distorted lenses."  It was this portion of the book, these paragraphs, that opened my eyes to my sin.  I had repented as best I knew how.  I believed that Jesus paid the penalty for my sin.  It just didn't "feel" like it.  When I read those words describing just how much sin has affected me I realized I had been wanting some feeling, some kind of comfort to confirm my repentance and forgiveness - my thinking was twisted!  I turned from this and read Romans 10:9 which says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." I now trust His Word and what it says to confirm my salvation, rather than waiting on a feeling.  There is a "settledness" now that I am trusting His Word, the sure foundation, which is far deeper and sturdier than any feeling.

There is a chapter called "The Quagmire of Muzzy Mysticism" which addresses the "Letting Christ live through us", or "Let go and let God" teaching that I had been taught in a Bible School I attended years ago.  I've struggled with this teaching and how it applies to my life for years but not known why.  That's all I will say on this as Phillips blows the lid off the whole thing!  It's really good!!!

What I have taken from this book is immense!  How great a salvation we have in Jesus Christ, how far-reaching the effects sin has on me, how awesome God is.  There is SO MUCH here!

All I can say is: Thank you, Dan Phillips, for writing this book, a book that is easily readable and understandable and so pertinent, so needed!, for the Body of Christ today.  Everyone who names the name of Jesus Christ today should dig into this treasure!

Prep and Delivery - The Sermon

I never realized how hard it is to write sermon. You read the Bible and pick a topic. You find out where the Bible talks about that topic, you gather all the Scriptures together, taking into account the context. You begin to see God's mind on that particular subject. If you know the original languages (I don't) and are well versed in interpreting the original languages (I'm not) there is an even greater nuance given to the topic. Then you search other authors, pastors, commentaries, etc., and see what they have to say on the topic. You then begin your draft.

You flesh out those areas that kind of hit you but you NEVER stray from the original intent of the author. As the sermon begins to take shape you realize that YOU are the one being taught. You never understood this topic in that way before. Your understanding is being challenged and then, as you submit to the Word of God, your understanding is being changed. This is just AMAZING! And this is all taking place right there at your table, or your desk, in your home, in your office, etc.

Then reality hits you. You have a choice to make. Will you actually preach this? Will you stand up there and tell people this. You know that what you have just learned, even though it's so cool and amazing, flies in the face of where our culture is at today. It flies in the face of what is being advocated by other pastors, other teachers in the church. As you think more and more about this you realize that maybe it would be easier to just trim it down a bit. Take off the “hard edges”, not wanting to offend your listeners. After all, these are nice people. Sure, they make mistakes. But who doesn't? Why not tell them something that will bring them comfort after a hard week of being out there “in the world”? You know, build them up, encourage them. If you do this what will they say to you? What will they do to you? The more you think about it the more you realize that you don't need THAT kind of trouble! What will you do?

Being a preacher of God's Word means you must have courage. You must have the courage to stand there and deliver the Word of God to people, to His chosen people, regardless of how hard it is or how it may offend. If you don't faithfully proclaim the truth of the Word of God then you are useless. It takes a lot of courage to remain faithful and do this.

I recently read a blog post from a pastor, who also teaches at a Bible school I once attended. He discusses homosexuality and what he sees in the gay people he knows and how the way they are appears to be in conflict with the most common reading of Romans 1. He says, “I know the right answer here is “don’t let your experience determine your interpretation”, but after meetings dozens of gay people who read their Bibles regularly, pray, and desperately want to honor God with their lives, I’m beginning to wonder if the standard interpretation might be wrong...”

Rather than teach what the Word of God says about homosexuality he is prepared to alter “the most common reading of Romans 1” because the gay people he knows “ are big hearted, and many of them pray, read their bible regularly, and are seeking God’s best for their lives.” Rather than proclaim the hard truth of the Word of God which reveals sin, and risk offense, he wonders if this interpretation might be wrong. What is so clear is now being muddled, confused and reinterpreted in order to "be loving" and not offend. 

The Apostle in Romans 1 says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...” The Apostle was not ashamed of the Gospel...and he pulled no punches when proclaiming the Word. Read his encounters with angry crowds in the Book of Acts to see the outcome of this.

It takes courage to be faithful and preach the Word of God.

*** Important ***

 A blog that I follow regularly called Hip and Thigh, written by Fred Butler recently had a post I have to link to here (Hip and Thigh - Geopolitics and the Bible).

There is a 3 part series called Geopolitics and the Bible that I've been listening to.  It's very interesting.  Check it out!

The Immediacy of Death

Today, actually less than 30 minutes ago, an incident took place at the end of my driveway. 

My girls called me and said there was a car parked at the end of the driveway and it looked like someone was laying on the ground.  I saw the car so I put on my shoes and went out.  Sure enough, there was a woman in hysterics with another woman holding her.  An older man was lying on the ground unconscious as another man was doing chest compressions while on the phone with a 911 operator. 

I went to the man's head and put my sweater under it - he was lying on my gravel driveway.  I told the guy doing chest compressions that I had a cold and shouldn't give him mouth to mouth.  We were going to switch, me do the compressions and he do mouth to mouth but we never did - he kept talking to the 911 person.  As I think about this now, what a dumb thing to even think.  Here's a guy lying on the ground unconscious, most likely dead, and I'm worried about passing on my cold to him.

Not very long after other vehicles stopped.  There was an off duty fireman and a lady who took over doing CPR.  You could hear the guys ribs breaking with the compressions.  During this whole time the man's wife is sobbing uncontrollably, begging him to breathe.  I then noticed a little girl.  She was their grand daughter, and she was with them in the vehicle when this whole thing started.  She was bravely trying to console her grandmother.  I felt useless, and totally and utterly powerless. 

I started to pray - what else could I do? - but I didn't know how to, I didn't know what to say  Was this guy saved?  If so, then his passing would not be a bad thing.  He would immediately be with his Lord and would be more alive than I was.  What if he was not saved?

If he was not saved then...what can be done?  There is no longer any hope for him.  Just like that.  So sudden.  That quickly.  Having a nap in the car and then...judgement.  God is your judge.  God is your enemy.  You appear before Him, not in robes washed white because of the forgiveness of sin that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, but in the filth and corruption of all your sin.  I looked in his unseeing eyes and wondered how to pray, what to say.  As with all things, he is in the hands of God.  And God is merciful, and God is just. 

The ambulances arrived and they did their work on him, hooking him up to the defibrillator and shocking him.  When they took him away he was still unconscious.  Will he regain consciousness?  If not, will he be welcomed into heaven?  Or is it too late for him?  How do you pray in a situation like this?

More Paul Washer

Repentance - Paul Washer

A few years ago I discovered John MacArthur on Larry King Live. I attribute this discovery to the Providence of God.  I was so encouraged by him, that he could be on national television and present the Gospel, the truth of Scripture, no matter what.  Since that time Lord has used him to encourage me so much.

I have since discovered Paul Washer. I thank God that He is raising godly men, like Paul, who are not afraid to speak the Truth, and who hold to the Truth without compromise.

If God is so powerful and so good, why do bad things happen?

Voddie's answer...

I Can Hardly Wait!

I have this longing. Within the last few years I've really taken note of it, and it is continuing to grow stronger.

I long to be in Heaven with my Lord!

I long to be in that place, with my Lord, in my resurrected body...a body that is totally without sin. I will know Him perfectly. I will know Him without any burden of sin getting in the way. My thoughts will be pure, not tainted. My actions will be right, not selfish. Most importantly I will worship God as He is meant to be worshipped, as I should worship Him - fully and completely, with my whole being!

 In that place all things will be pure. The true Church, the Body of Christ, will be there. We will be there with our Lord. We will be His and He will be ours. I so long to be pure!

No more dealing with worldliness in the church.  No more dealing with apostasy in the church. The Truth will be known. 

This is my hope and the hope of all the Elect – “...to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” Philippians 1:23. 

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for Your salvation!

Phil Johnson is leaving the Blogosphere

Phil Johnson, Executive Director of Grace to You and creator of probably THE most amazing blog in this entire universe (Pyromaniacs), is retiring from blogging. Frank Turk, one of the writers at Pyro, posted this hilarious video in response to Phil's retirement. Phil, thank you so much for your faithfulness to the Word of God and to His Church. It was through discovering John MacArthur in 2008 that I first heard about you and it was through Pyro that I got to "know" you. You WILL be missed!

This video is part of a further blog article written by Chris Costaldo. The link can be found (here). Watch the video and then link to the article.

Warning Against the New Christianity - Todd Friel from Wretched TV

Spurgeon Gem

hen I was about fifteen or sixteen years of age, I wanted a Savior, and I heard the gospel preached by a poor man, who said in the name of Jesus—"Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." It was very plain English, and I understood it, and obeyed it and found rest.

I owe all my happiness since then to the same plain doctrine. Now, suppose that I were to say, "I have read a great many books, and there are a great many people willing to hear me. I really could not preach such a commonplace gospel as I did at the first. I must put it in a sophisticated way, so that none but the elite can understand me."

I should be—what should I be? I should be a fool, writ large.

I should be worse than that, I should be a traitor to my God; for if I was saved by a simple gospel, then I am bound to preach that same simple gospel till I die, so that others too may be saved by it.

When I cease to preach salvation by faith in Jesus put me into a lunatic asylum, for you may be sure that my mind is gone.

 - C. H. Spurgeon

I found this post on the Pyromaniac's blog and I just had to put it here.  This was SO encouraging to me when I read it.  The simple gospel saves.

Al Mohler at T4G 2012

I discovered the Together for the Gospel (T4G) conference after reading the awesome blog, Pyromaniacs, and found out the writers from Pyro attended. I thought I would check out some of the videos from the speakers and after listening to this I just had to post it. I'm looking forward to watching the other videos from this conference.

The Great Apostasy

I never realized how far along this road the church has come since I was first saved in 1993. Back then it was just weird and strange and amazing and awesome for me to even BE in a church building. At the time it was the most holiest place on earth to me. Nothing was wrong there, nor could there ever be anything wrong in the church.

It didn't take long for me to go crazy with drugs and alcohol. It really began in junior high and after high school I went downhill fast. When I came to the end of my rope I was seriously thinking that if partying was all there was to life then I would just kill myself. Suicide WAS an option. I came back to live with my parents and vowed I would do no more partying. I would not call any of my old buddies because I knew that once we got together that would be it. I just didn't know what to do. Stuck living with my parents in a town where there were no jobs and a vow that pretty much had me confined to staring out a window, I did not know how long I would last. I got a call one day from a guy I hung out with in school. In school he was the metal head. Music was this guy's life! To this day I have not seen the like in anyone else. He would bounce from being a satanist, buying and listening to all the satanic metal. Then something would happen and he would throw out all his tapes, become a Christian and buy Christian metal tapes. Something would happen that would have him hating God and he would throw out the Christian tapes and...you get the point. There was a sort of yo-yo thing going on.

He called me up and wanted to hang out and since I didn't know if he was a Christian or Satanist, I asked him. I didn't want to get high or drink, just hang out. He said he was a Christian still. So, I decided that I would put up with the preaching, which was sure to come, if only I could get out of the house and hang out with someone and not get high or drunk. I did this daily, and everyday he would “fire and brimstone” me. He told me the Gospel. I was going to Hell if I did not repent and come to Jesus and ask His forgiveness. Jesus would save me, paying my sin-debt to God, being crucified on the cross in my place. He died and rose again and would come to live in me. The crazy thing about this is that I knew this. Or, more specifically, I knew that if there was a God that I WAS going to Hell. Only a fool would think they could have lived the life I had been living and NOT go to Hell. God had been preparing me for that, to hear the Gospel, to be convicted of my sin and shown that I was under His judgement. I understood it! I knew it! Everyday my friend would preach to me and when I left his house he would give me a Gospel tract.

One night I knew that I had to decide – God was at work in me and I didn't even know it – Jesus? or Hell? Because of His work in me I chose Jesus. It wasn't until many, many years later that I realized that I chose Him because He first chose me. I literally got down on my knees – I wanted to do this right and I knew that when people prayed they got down on their knees. I opened all the Bible tracts he had given me and read each one through from beginning to end – I wanted to make sure I got it right, not wanting someone to come along at a later time and tell me I did it wrong. I then prayed the prayer that was on the back of each one. I then prayed myself, asking Jesus to come into my heart and forgive my sin. I remember saying, “As bad as I am right now, I want to be that good for You. I know I can't do it. You're going to have to change me.” It was really a strange experience. It felt like someone was in the bedroom with me and I knew, somehow, that what I had asked for was acceptable – He would change me because I couldn't. The weight, the burden that I had felt was suddenly gone. Just like that, it was gone. That was the greatest night of my life! It was after that night that I started attending a Bible study and “going to church”.

I grew to love it! Learning about Jesus and wallowing in the salvation that had been given to me. I was forgiven because of what Jesus did for me. ALL of my sin had been forgiven. He paid my sin-debt to God. He was living in me and He was changing me. He is so awesome! I had my ups and downs. God did some cool things in my life and I had some “run-ins” with people in the church who didn't like what God was doing through me or how my new life in Christ may have been making theirs seem not so good. I didn't care – Jesus was awesome and He was transforming my life. What great and hard times those were.

Around this time I was also asked if I would be interested in meeting with a guy to be discipled. This guy had recently graduated from Bible School with a Bachelor of Theology degree. This guy was awesome! Everyday I would meet with him and talk with him about the Bible, about Jesus, what I had been reading and had trouble understanding, etc. He would explain these things to me, answer my questions and enquiries – he even cried one day when he saw how much Jesus was at work on my life and how I was growing. It made me kind of uncomfortable – I had never had another guy cry about me before! It wasn't long before he moved to another province and we just lost touch. It wasn't until Facebook that we reconnected – more about that later.

A few years after my salvation I attended a Bible school and it was here that I first learned that maybe some things in the church were not all I thought they had once been. The Patriarchs, Moses, David, the Prophets – these men of God had been super-human to me before Bible school. I always thought they never did anything wrong and that only the very special people, like them, had relationships with God like they did. While studying the lives of these great men of God I saw they were just like me, sinful and corrupt human beings whom God chose for His purposes and used as He saw fit.

There were other things as well. I had thought all Pastors were super human to. I came to realize they were not, that they were just like I was. They also didn't know everything like I had once thought. Shoot! I knew NOTHING about my salvation and a life in Christ when I was newly saved. My Pastor had all the answers to the questions I was asking. He was so good and understanding and he put up with a lot from me, both good and bad. I know he would be the first to confess his imperfection and would balk at the phrase “all Pastors are super-human.”

I started to see how worldliness was in the church. It was very subtle. Instead of growing to know Jesus, who He is, although that would always be the stated goal, what seemed more important through the actual preaching from the pulpit, was going out and telling people ABOUT Jesus. I started to think, “How can we tell people about Someone we don't know?” However, it was implied that we DID know Him. After all we were all Christians, right? It appeared to me that sharing your faith was more important than making disciples. Making disciples is about teaching others who Jesus is, sound doctrine, right theology, and following Him. There were classes presented on how to share your faith. Use a certain technique, say it this way, tell at least one person each day about Jesus, etc. Numbers and doing more rather than growing in Christ and learning about Him. You see...subtle.

Success was presented as getting a good career and rising to a position of influence where one could make a “positive change for Christ.” This conflicted with a reading of Hebrews chapter 11. What was being presented to me as success was very different from what chapter 11 presented as success. “The world was not worthy of them.” I began to see more and more how the things of the world, the worldly ways of doing things (ex: marketing the church), were becoming more accepted in the church.

Years passed and I attended another Bible school. I was a second year student when I enrolled as they took the year at the first Bible school into account. I really didn't take any actual courses on any books of the Bible as there were no Bible courses for the second year. So, Psychology, Sociology, Cultural Anthropology and Witnessing were some of the course offerings. We did a course on preaching but it was more on “how” to preach, your technique. I remember questioning the school counsellor about it - “This is a Bible school, how come there are no Bible classes for me?” All I remember was his look, not what he said. It is hard to describe – shock, concern, and then a smirky smile. It's a weird memory. I remember reading the job posting board at the school and all the Senior Pastor positions required the senior to have a degree in Business Admin. Business Administration to be a Pastor!? Maybe to help market the church? Or, perhaps, run the office more efficiently?

Fast forward to this present time, 2012.

The person whom the Lord used to lead me to Him is currently living “in sin” with his girlfriend. His justification - “We're not like a bunch of horny toads. We're old so we're not having sex all the time.” He knows that what he is doing is wrong but continues in it. He thinks that as long as he has a longing to live rightly before God then this is enough because he can't stop. He has the longing without the life to back it up. I have talked to him about this a few times but the more I do the more it appears to drive him away because he thinks I'm judging him. This breaks my heart and makes me very afraid for him because if he continues in this broken, unrepentant sin then I fear for his salvation. Is a person whose life is characterized by unrepentant sin really saved? I hope and prayer is that he will repent of his sin and follow Christ. Jesus knows His sheep – I hope he is one of them.

The person who discipled me has completely rejected Jesus Christ and the Christian faith. The Gospel is now foolishness to him, the Bible written by ancient writers from ancient times using ancient languages and it is so filtered by other peoples interpretations and other cultures that it is no longer reliable or trustworthy. He attempts to find truth through rationality and because he can't understand rationally what the scriptures say he rejects them, and rejects Jesus Christ. The Bible is so clear that the Gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing and they cannot know it apart from the saving grace of Jesus Christ. It is foolishness to unbelievers, but the wisdom of God to those who have been saved by Him. His defection has been very hard for me to come to grips with. From what I remember of him he appeared to be what I thought he was – a Christian. So was Judas, I guess, until he defected. The Apostle John says, “They went out from us but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us.” Seeing this episode in my life with this person in light of this verse, I see the amazing sovereignty of God. He used someone who was “not of us” to teach me amazing things about Jesus.

The church today accepts cultural norms rather than standing on scripture. The church wants so desperately to not offend anyone they have lost sight that the Gospel itself is offensive because it calls people to repentance after exposing their sin. The Gospel message of the church today is “Believe in Jesus. If you do, welcome to the Kingdom!” There is no exposing of sin, being broken by the Law of God. A person is not forced to see what they are, their condition before God. There is nothing like this at all because that would offend people and drive them away. We want people to come to the church and feel welcome, then someday we might give them the Good News. I think it is this kind of watered down teaching that helps one along the road of apostasy. Better that a person be broken by the Law of God and see how great his sin and need of a Saviour really is and be brought to genuine repentance than to have a person make a lifestyle change and learn the church lingo, all the while believing they are saved because they've made some changes that appear good.

I am constantly reading a blog called Pyromaniacs and just recently Phil Johnson, one of the writers and the creator of the blog, posted this very interesting piece on Apostasy. http://teampyro.blogspot.ca/2012/04/apostasy.html. It's a very timely post. 

Lastly, this hard message preached many years ago by Paul Washer.

"Passion"

I can't remember when it was that I started hearing the word "passion" in the church. I haven't grown up in the church so maybe this word has been in use since before my time.

My first remembrance of hearing this word was around the time I got saved and began to attend a local church body. I think passion was used in reference to Jesus' sufferings on the cross. The movie, “The Passion of the Christ”, came out a few years ago showing in quite graphic detail the Lord's sufferings as he paid the penalty for the sins of all those who would believe. It was strange to hear this word used to describe His sufferings.

“Finding your spiritual gift” was a big one at the time I began to attend church. In order to do this you needed to find out: What are you passionate about? What's your passion? Whatever your passion was, it somehow related to what your spiritual gift was. I remember being confused by this at the time because I thought a person had more than one spiritual gift. It also felt...weird using the word “passion” and relating it to spiritual gifts. Being a new Christian at the time, the word “passion” had a completely different meaning to me and was, more often than not, used to denote something sexual in nature.

“Finding your passion” was another one. It seemed like an attempt to get lazy people up and moving. You know, kind of like, “Stop moping and wandering around aimlessly! Get out there, find your passion, and get going.” It seemed like an appeal to find out what excites you, what motivates you, what really piques your interest more than anything else. I've heard successful people refer to something similar when they say, “Find out what you really love and do it.” That's how they made their fortune. What they did wasn't a chore, it was their “passion”. This also seemed weird – relating business practices to the Church.

It seems like nowadays when I read a mission statement from a church, from a pastor, from a missionary, etc., they use this word quite frequently. It's like a catch word that has to be a part of any formal description of what they do and who they are. I watched a show awhile back about speeches and advertising and such. When the President of the United States is going to give a speech they run several versions of it by panels of regular citizens and then pick out the words that really resonate with the people. They continually tweak the speech until they arrive at the final version which has those nice catch words throughout. As I see the continued use of “passion” in the church it's almost like that same thing has happened. It's a word that seems to resonate with everyone. Never having attended a “Church Growth” seminar I can't speak to what is taught there. The continued use of this word in the writings that I've mentioned makes me wonder if there is a connection there, a similarity, along the same lines as the presidential speech writers. 

If catch words must be used I wish a new word would take the place of “passion” and all it's variations. I read a pastor's blog awhile ago and this word was used repeatedly throughout to describe the congregation and himself. I began to wonder, “He's saying it so much that it sounds almost like he is trying to convince himself he is the way he says he is.” I wish pastor's would stop trying to get “their” people excited about spiritual things, realizing the futility of trying to keep people excited. I wish pastor's would have a passion to study the Word of God a lot more and teach the Word to “their” people so that the people would see and understand how awesome God is, how much He hates sin, how great our sin debt was but Jesus Christ paid it for us. I wish pastor's would see that God grows His Church through the simple preaching of the Gospel, not through some technique or program, and it is that Gospel that is an offense. I wish they would see that people leaving the church because of the preaching and teaching of God's Word is okay, instead of giving a 15 minute pep talk and then announcing the next potluck. Offend no one. Keep everyone happy. Be passionate.

A "Must Learn" song!

I recently discovered Jim Reeves, and along with that discovery, this awesome song!  GET THIS SONG and crank it up!  Then grab your geetar and start the magic. 

This World is Not My Home
recorded by Jim Reeves
written by Mary Reeves and Albert E. Brumley 

C                             F              C
This world is not my home I'm just a passing through
                         D7                   G7
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
    C                F                  C
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
                                 G7       C
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

                   F                   C
Oh Lord you know I have no friend like you
                             D7               G7
If heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do
    C                     F             C
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
                                 G7       C
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

                            F             C
I have a loving mother just over in Glory land
                           D7                G7
And I don't expect to stop until I shake her hand
      C                     F             C
She's waiting now for me in heaven's open door
                                 G7       C
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

                        F          C
Just over in Glory land we'll live eternally
                         D7           G7
The saints on every hand are shouting victory
      C                        F                        C
Their songs of sweetest praise drift back from heaven's shore
                                 G7       C
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore