Year: 2012

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The attack on fathers.

PX001126 Stupid. Lazy. Uninvolved. Ignorant. Timid. Detached. Neurotic. Weak. Powerless. Unreliable. Ineffectual. Irresponsible.

What do all these words have in common? They are all descriptions of how men and fathers are depicted in today’s Western culture.

Television is a great example of the problem. Whether it’s Archie Bunker from All in the Family, Al Bundy from Married With Children, George Castanza from Seinfeld, Peter Griffin from Family Guy, or Homer Simpson from The Simpsons men are often portrayed as fools and inferior to not only their wives, but to their own children as well. And this isn’t even considering the latest onslaught of one-parent homes (homes absent of any father), and those normalizing homosexuality. These trends have been increasing every year and it seems to show no sign of stopping.

The problem is especially pervasive in shows geared toward children as Hollywood and the current culture is hell-bent on turning the hearts of the children away from their parents–especially their fathers.

If you still need convincing, turn on Nickelodeon or The Disney Channel and watch how men are depicted. It won’t take long for you to see what I mean. Even the commercials feed into this distortion of manhood. In so many cases all authority figures are depicted as incompetent including teachers and police officers, but none are so marginalized as fathers.

Mothers are depicted as much more capable of navigating through life than their incompetent spouses, but even they take a back seat when it comes to the kids themselves. Watch these same channels and observe how the kids are depicted. They’re the ones in control, who are running the show, making all of the important decisions, saving the world, and doing it all with zero or minimal input from their parents–especially that detached lump on the couch they call dad.

William Leith recently wrote an eye-opening piece in England’s Daily Mail in which he asked Why Do All My Son’s Books Tell Him All Men Are Useless? I highly encourage you to read the article; here are some excerpts:

“A recent academic study confirmed that men – particularly fathers – are under-represented in almost all children’s books. And when they do appear, like the fathers in Gorilla and Zoo, they are often withdrawn, or obsessed with themselves, or just utterly ineffectual.”

Leith continues:

“Why had this never bothered me? Because it’s all around us, everywhere we look. For years, men in our stories – not just for children, but adults, too – have been losing their authority. Not just years – decades. It’s crept up on us and now it’s everywhere. Remember when movie stars were strong and decisive? That was a long time ago now: John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn. Then came a new, softer type – Cary Grant and James Stewart were strong, yes, but against a background of self-doubt. And then came Jack Lemmon, Dustin Hoffman, Woody Allen, Bill Murray, Kevin Spacey – neurotic, bumbling, deeply flawed anti-heroes.”

Now I’ll readily admit that there are many, many men today who refuse to grow up (they’re known as Rejuveniles), but the situation begs the question: Is our culture’s entertainment merely reflecting the problem of the modern American male, or are these men actually the product of their culture’s entertainment?

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For an absolutely wonderful story in which the father is refreshingly portrayed positively, I cannot recommend enough the book A Basket of Flowers; it’s one of my favorites.

See also:

How to make your husband a false convert and cause your kids to reject the Christian faith

Working moms

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False Teachers

Several years ago, my wife took up the job of organizing the library of the church we were members of. She found some material that looked questionable and asked me to help her figure out which authors should be put in the closet on the “heresy shelf”.

I spent several weeks reading books and researching popular authors and developed a “cheat sheet” of false teachers and a sample of the heresy they taught. Below is a screen shot, the file (6 pages) can be downloaded here.

While I hope this is useful, please note that it is not up to date – some of the newer false teachers this site has brought to light are not included. But the people on this list are behind most of the folks now popular that we should be aware of.

Be on your guard, for the deceiver prowls around like a lion looking for his next meal. A little leaven leavens the whole lump – so do not buy the lie that you should “chew up the meat and spit out the bones.” Test everything – hold to that which is good. When you determine a man (or a woman) to be a false teacher, from such, turn away.

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Thabiti Anyabwile on the altar call.

The following article, What About Altar Calls?, is from Thabiti Anyabwile:

I’m sometimes asked by people why we don’t do “altar calls” at our services. Like the people who ask the question, the churches in my personal background pretty much all practiced “altar calls” at the conclusion of a sermon or service. I’ve seen them done in very poor fashion, and I’ve seen some pastors be really clear about the gospel, repentance, faith, and the fact that “coming forward” does not save. I date my own conversion to the preaching of Exodus 32, which concluded with an altar call.

So, why don’t we practice “altar calls”? I don’t think the pastor who practices an “invitation” at the end of a sermon is in sin, but he may not be acting wisely either. This list of reasons, compiled by Pastor Ryan Kelly of Desert Springs Church, is a pretty good summation of some of my thinking (HT: Z).

1. The altar call is simply and completely absent from the pages of the N.T.

2. The altar call is historically absent until the 19th century, and its use at that time (via Charles Finney) was directly based upon bad theology and a man-centered, manipulative methodology.

3. The altar call very easily confuses the physical act of “coming forward” with the spiritual act of “coming to Christ.” These two can happen simultaneously, but too often people believe that coming to Christ is going forward (and vice-versa).

4. The altar call can easily deceive people about the reality of their spiritual state and the biblical basis for assurance. The Bible never offers us assurance on the ground that we “went forward.”

5. The altar call partially replaces baptism as the means of public profession of faith.

6. The altar call can mislead us to think that salvation (or any official response to God’s Word) happens primarily on Sundays, only at the end of the service, and only “up front.”

7. The altar call can confuse people regarding “sacred” things and “sacred” places, as the name “altar call” suggests.

8. The altar call is not sensitive to our cautious and relational age where most people come to faith over a period of time and often with the interaction of a good friend.

9. The altar call is often seen as “the most important part of the service”, and this de-emphasizes the truly more important parts of corporate worship which God has prescribed (preaching, prayer, fellowship, singing).

10. God is glorified to powerfully bless the things He has prescribed (preaching, prayer, fellowship, singing), not the things we have invented. We should always be leery of adding to God’s prescriptions for His corporate worship.

Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 of Ryan’s list are the most compelling reasons in my opinion. These would seem very serious objections for anyone who takes seriously the idea that our Christian lives and gatherings should conform to what the NT commands, models, and prohibits. Perhaps I would add an 11th: The “altar call” teaches the congregation to evaluate the “success” or “effectiveness” of the ministry on outward, visible actions and results.

Further, the need to be pastorally careful and sensitive with the souls of men needing to repent and believe couldn’t be more urgent. So, anything that obscures the reality of God the Holy Spirit’s work in conversion and the necessity of repentance and faith must be regarded–at best–a practice with potential to undermine the very work we’re giving our lives to.

Do people “respond” to the word of God at our services? They do. And we give them a number of ways they may follow up on what they’ve heard, from talking to an elder or Christian friend after the service, to scheduling an appointment during the week, to letting us know they would like us to visit with them, and so on. One thing I appreciate about our approach is that it allows us to meet, listen, question, encourage, teach and pray in a much more thorough way. By God’s grace we’re seeing people converted and profess their faith in baptism as the Spirit opens their hearts. We’re not perfect by any means. But I do hope we’re being faithful to the scripture’s commands, examples, and restrictions.

What do you think about Kelly’s list? Are you “for” or “against” and why? Would you add anything to or challenge anything on the list?

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A video on the LDS by the BBC.

This was a well done piece on Mormonism by the BBC.

Although the impetus for the documentary was presidential candidate Mitt Romney, this video uses his potential presidency as a springboard to delve into Mormonism’s seedy underbelly (unfortunately they never mention such morsels as Mormonism’s racism and blasphemous doctrines like Blood Atonement, paying for your own sins in Hell, and their god having physical relations with Mary to conceive Jesus . . . just to name a few).

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Sermon of the Week: “Marriage” by Voddie Baucham.

Regarding the highly visible tragic failure and death of Joe Paterno, having been disqualified by his actions and those of his subordinates, Baucham asks if Paterno would have been disqualified if he had been an adulterer or abusive husband or derelict father.  No profession in our culture disqualifies a man for his failure as a husband or father – except that of the church elder.

The man of God, called to serve His church as an undershepherd, is held to a higher standard than any other man. Further – the elders of a church must also be exemplary in these roles to be qualified! Not perfect – such a false human standard cannot relate with compassion with sinful people.

We learn from Ephesians 5 that family is important because of its portrayal of Christ and His people. To live a life worthy of the gospel, we must be faithful husbands and fathers before we can be faithful preachers and pastors.

You must listen to whole thing – it’s only 40 minutes. The message really takes off around 16 minutes in. Some humor with a hammer wrapped in love.  Voddie gives a glorious word picture of the covenant of marriage, and the provision for how we do this. MP3 download here.

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What Are We Known For?

Some time ago, I wrote about Christians’ involvement in politics. My conclusion was that Christians can and should be involved in politics, but we should be far more involved in the proclamation of the gospel. Yet, as I continue to watch our culture unfold, I see a trend that just won’t stop. Christians continually involve themselves in politics, culture wars, boycott efforts, just about anything that is not true gospel proclamation.

Turn on the evening news and whenever there is a cultural battle being fought, you will find a news commentator talking to a Christian pastor, or protestor with a sign, and they are talking about rescuing or reclaiming America. As if the mandate from our Savior was about returning constitutional authority to the nation rather than the saving of souls. And if it isn’t the conservative pundits calling on our evangelical leaders, then it is the liberal media that has found preachers in the pulpits condemning homosexuals to fenced off areas to eventually die off. Everywhere we go, evangelicalism has wound its way into every facet of the political wars, but nary a sign of the gospel is seen. Conservative Christians are seen only as an extension of right-wing extremism and, honestly, we only have ourselves to blame.

When the early church was formed, it was said of the believers that they had “turned the world upside down,” by the preaching of the gospel (Acts 17:6). Jews, Romans, and virtually every nation persecuted and chased Christians everywhere. And in each place they settled, the church spread and grew. Was it because they infiltrated government or had laws passed that were favorable to them? Absolutely not. It was because they were proclaiming the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ! Hearts were changed and churches grew because Christians obeyed the command of our Lord to preach the gospel, and only the gospel. As Paul said, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” (1 Cor. 2:2). It wasn’t politics that they spread, is was Jesus Christ. Christians were not known for their political affiliations, they were known for the love for Jesus!

Today, modern American Christianity is not known for its gospel proclamations, so much as its political affiliations. Yet, there are many groups whose efforts at evangelism are widely known. There are the cults of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons who are almost exclusively known for their door knocking ministries. Most churches today might mail out a flier letting the “unchurched seekers” know a new country club….I mean “church” has opened in their neighborhood, but it is the cults who are out making personal evangelism efforts and sharing their doctrines door to door.

Out on the streets, there are the legalistic, sign waving, hate mongering, turn or burn “christians” making their efforts at evangelism. They scream into the megaphones and tell people how wicked they are. They perceive themselves as the arm of God’s wrath and yet act as though they are innocent of any rebellion against the Lord. Truth be known, many of us have likely cringed when we see a team of Christians preaching in the open air, worrying at the thought of what they might be saying. This is such a prevalent view that, even though there are many folks out there preaching the true gospel (see the spotlight video on Tony Miano as an example), most people associate open air preaching and sign wavers with folks like the Westboro Baptists, James Lyman and others.

So as I said before, the American church is known far more for our political affiliations instead of our gospel proclamations. And where we should be known for our evangelism, cults and hate mongers have asserted themselves far more than we ever do. So what we shouldn’t be known for, we are. And what we should be known for, others have stolen away.

What a sad and pathetic blight on the modern American church. It should not be, and it needs to change, now! I am blessed to be affiliated with solid gospel ministries like Living Waters. Thanks to the efforts of many such ministries, a small, but vocal army of evangelists are spreading all around the country and the gospel is being proclaimed. Everyday, they commit themselves to the preaching of the precious elixir of the gospel to heal the lost and condemned souls surrounding them. So what I am asking is this: are you content to only be known for who you vote for? Are you content to sit back and watch false preachers pound out a false gospel? Are you content in rejecting the command of your Savior to preach the gospel unto every nation? Are you willing to let the country be won only to see souls be lost?

If not, then let us change the direction of the American church now! If we are to reclaim something, let us reclaim the preaching of the gospel! Let it be us, under the guidance and authority of our local churches, knocking on doors and preaching on the streets! Let it be us who biblically and compassionately proclaim what is sin and that a judgment that is coming. Let it be us who acknowledge that we too were once under the same condemnation, yet Christ saved us, not under any merit of our own, but because He was gracious to show us mercy. Let it be us who preach that Christ alone is the only way of salvation and there is no other!

Christians, if we are to be known for something, let it be for the love we have for our fellow neighbors who are en route to Hell. A love that drives us to share the truth of the gospel with them, even if they hate us for it. A love that drives us to care far less about the political landscape, but to care about the souls of those who are making our country into a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. Let that love cause us not to be angry with, or even hate those who are promoting the sins that are causing the moral decay we see, but let it cause us to desperately preach the gospel to them, making every effort to save them from the judgment that is coming upon them.

Brethren, let us not be known by who we vote for. Let us be known as those who desperately love the lost souls of our nation and who would risk all so that they might be saved. Let us be the ones known for the loudest and most compassionate gospel pleas and let the cults and false teachers be driven from the public place they once occupied. And may this all be done for the glory of God alone.

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Veggie Tales creator: “[I convinced] kids to behave Christianly without teaching them Christianity.”

When was the last time you heard a prominent name in Christian circles say something like this:

I looked back at the previous 10 years and realized I had spent 10 years trying to convince kids to behave Christianly without actually teaching them Christianity. And that was a pretty serious conviction. You can say, ‘Hey kids, be more forgiving because the Bible says so,’ or, ‘Hey kids, be more kind because the Bible says so!’ But that isn’t Christianity, it’s morality.

[“It’s Not About the Dream,” WORLD magazine, Sep 24, 2011, 57-58]

(hat tip: A Twisted Crown of Thorns)

Well, those words belong to none other than Phil Vischer, one of the co-creators of the wildly popular Veggie Tales™ enterprise. And as hard as those words must have been for Mr. Vischer to say, they are rather refreshing to hear. For so long now, we (and many others) have been lamenting the fact that modern-day (what passes for) Christianity has become nothing more than fodder for itching ears and a dumbed-down, candy-coated morality–with a touch of Jesus on the side.

But Christianity–true, genuine, Christianity (or, more appropriately, the submission of one to the Lordship of Jesus Christ)–is not just “good behavior.” That is what is known as “salvation by works.” And Jesus taught that simply “good behavior” is not the same as salvation. Matthew 5:46-47—“46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?”

The apostle Paul encouraged the church at Ephesus that they no longer had to go about trying to earn enough gold stars and smiley faces before God would accept them–rather, they were saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone–not by piling up brownie points with God. Ephesians 2:8-9—8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. And Mr. Vischer nailed this point, and sent a stinging rebuke to the watered-down, man-centered, crossless “Christianity” that is flooding the American landscape:

American Christian[s]… are drinking a cocktail that’s a mix of the Protestant work ethic, the American dream, and the gospel. And we’ve intertwined them so completely that we can’t tell them apart anymore. Our gospel has become a gospel of following your dreams and being good so God will make all your dreams come true. It’s the Oprah god… We’ve completely taken this Disney notion of ‘when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true’ and melded that with faith and come up with something completely different. There’s something wrong in a culture that preaches nothing is more sacred than your dream. I mean, we walk away from marriages to follow our dreams. We abandon children to follow our dreams. We hurt people in the name of our dreams, which as a Christian is just preposterous.

We can only pray that the many purpose-driven churches that dot the American countryside would examine themselves as closely as Mr. Vischer, and rather than worrying about putting Christ back in Christmas, they would put more emphasis on putting Christ back in their messages.

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Holy Spirit Held Hostage?

Well, so says a new petition “made at the Our Lady of All Nations Prayerday in Amsteredam [sic]” this past Sunday. It was a “world wide open petition to Pope Benedict for a new coming of the Holy Spirit.”

Apprising Ministries points you to this rather peculiar situation where, in the superstition of apostate Roman Catholicism, apparently Pope Benedict and the Virgin Mary are a bit at odds and holding up the Holy Spirit.

In the video below Dr. Mark Miravalle fills us in further concerning a petition about Mary, “the Mother of all Nations.” He reminds us that she allegedly appeared via apparitions in Amsterdam “from 1945 to 1959.”

He speculates that she chose to so grace Amsterdam because “it is the most universal city in the world” represented by “over 120 different nationalities.” He explains that the apparitions had a “universal message.”

Miravalle then tells us these apparitions, which he does believe to be the Virgin Mary, gave:

a prayer for all people to pray and ultimately seeking the proclamation of a dogma; a solid proclamation that she is, indeed, the spiritual mother of all peoples–under it’s three essential aspects of co-redemptrix, mediatrix of all graces, and advocate.

Below you’ll see that Miraville goes on to tell us about a very special announcement also made a week ago today concerning “the launch of a world wide open petition to Pope Benedict for a new coming of the Holy Spirit.”

Miraville tells us how important he thinks this petition is because, as he sees it, the future of the world may depend upon our receiving “the Holy Spirit anew, and it’s through Mary.” In fact, says Miraville:

Our Lady has told us, it’s only with the proclamation of this dogma, will peace enter the world. So these are her words.

Hmm, I would think that Jesus—the Prince of Peace—might take a different view. It almost sounds like a type of spiritual extortion: “Make me the fourth member of the Godhead or I’ll withhold the Holy Spirit and world peace.”

Miravalle hopes that through”intercession of Mary” Roman Catholics will continue to petition Pope Benedict, their “beloved Holy Father,” to officially proclaim this Marian dogma. He continues:

And let’s remember, it’s our Lady herself who asks for petitions; where she say on May 31, 1954, “Work and ask for this dogma; you should petition the Holy Father for this dogma”…

This is important for the good of the Church. So join in this online, world-wide, petition for a new Pentecost, through the intercession of our Lady, to the proclamation of Mary as the spiritual mother of all peoples.

“Mary” seems a bit perturbed and a tad bossy to me. One wonders why she herself just doesn’t ask God to make that proclamation. O wait; it’s not that Holy Father. She means we have to petition the pope, the other holy father.

Let’s see if we have this straight; we ask the under god to officially proclaim Mary Co-Redemptrix and Co-Mediatrix for God the Holy Father and then she’ll intercede for a second Pentecost to send God the Holy Spirit?

Well, following is the petition itself:

Aside from addressing this to “his holiness,” I don’t fault the first two paragraphs. As a former Roman Catholic, and now Christian pastor, I’m concerned about those things as well. I agree, we definately need God’s help.

However, we don’t need a second coming of the Holy Spirit; He is already here. Acts 2 describes when God the Holy Spirit came to fulfill Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer of John 17 to bring the Body of Christ into union with God.

We read in this petition that, “Mary prayed for the Holy Spirit to come at Pentecost, and the Holy Spirit came.” No, she was among the other believers in Jesus Christ who were praying. Jesus had earlier told them:

“And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)

Jesus said He was sending the Holy Spirit, Mary had nothing to do with it (cf. John 15:26; John 16:7). This next part is absolutely not even close to Christian theology:

Mary has said that she will intercede for a New Pentecost if you, Holy Father, would publicly proclaim her role as the Spiritual Mother of humanity. This proclamation will lead to a new descent of the Holy Spirit and an era of world peace (see Fatima, Amsterdam, Akita Apparitions, etc).

Seriously; Mary will only intercede if she gets her demand to be named “Spiritual Mother of humanity?” Does this mean Almighty God is held hostage to his creation Mary’s demands and hamstrung if His “Vicar” doesn’t comply?

In closing this, for now, notice the petition then says:

we believe in the powerful intercession of Mary as Advocate to bring the light of Holy Spirit into the world today.

Really; Mary as advocate. Have you noticed Who’s been missing in all of this nonsense? Jesus. It is written:

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self,…having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (2 Timothy 3:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:5)

Posted here.

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Happy 100!

The following parody (or sad commentary) comes from Tom In The Box:

This past Sunday Jake Krenshaw celebrated the number “100.” No, that is not his age, neither has he been a Christian for one-hundred years. The number also does not represent how many people he has “won to salvation.” For Krenshaw, rather, the number “100” is significant because that is how many times he has “walked the aisle” at his home church, Chapel Hill Baptist Church, and gotten “saved.”

“I think I’ve finally got it right this time,” said a smiling Krenshaw. “This is the 100th time that I’ve responded to the invitation, and this time it’s for real. I really got saved this time.”

The journey of faith began for Krenshaw back in 1995 when he first “walked the aisle” at Chapel Hill Baptist. He was baptized for the first time the following Sunday. But it was within a couple of weeks that Krenshaw began to have serious doubts that he had been sincere, so he again “walked the aisle” and again was baptized the following week. From that point on any time Krenshaw has had the slightest doubt he has “walked the aisle” and received the invitation. As a result, he has been now been “saved” 100 times and has been baptized 93 times.

For Krenshaw the struggle with assurance of “genuine salvation” is rooted in his inability to see evidence of true faith.

“The reason I felt that I wasn’t saved this time goes back to last week actually,” he said. “I was flipping through the channels on Thursday evening when I came across an old rerun of Seinfeld. Well, they made dirty comment on the show, and I actually laughed at it. I knew that a saved person wouldn’t laugh at such a thing. So I determined right then and there that I was going to get my soul right, that when the preacher offered the invitation on Sunday that I was going to truly accept it this time.”

Since getting “saved” this past Sunday Krenshaw states that this week his life has been a virtual “bed of roses,” free from all temptation and “big sins.”

“Now that I’ve finally gotten saved,” he said, “I don’t have those old temptations to big sins anymore. I’ve been completely free from any desires to do what is wrong.”

Many, though, in Krenshaw’s congregation are skeptical as to whether this will be his last time to “walk the aisle.”

“Every time Jake so much as blinks the wrong way he thinks he’s not really saved,” said a church member who wished to remain anonymous. “Several of us even have a pool going to see when he’s going to walk the next time.”

If all goes according to plan, Krenshaw will be baptized for the 94th time this weekend.

“I know the drill by now,” said Krenshaw. “I know just when to hold my breath and how to lean back when I’m dunked. I’d say I’m pretty experienced at it.”

When asked if he thought he would ever have to “walk the aisle” again he replied, “as long as they can play fourteen verses of Just As I Am I’ll always have that option open to me.”

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Senseless tragedy: Another victim of charismatic Pentecostalism.

Pastor Randy Wolford of West Virginia dies after being bitten by a rattlesnake that he was handling during a Pentecostal service.

“Vicie Haywood, mother of Pastor Randy ‘Mack’ Wolford, strokes her son’s feet as the pastor lies on the couch at his mother-in-law’s home near Bluefield, W.Va. Wolford was bitten by a rattlesnake during a Sunday worship service. He was pronounced dead early the next morning at the Bluefield Regional Medical Center.”

Source: The Washington Post

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Quotes (939)

Gary Gilley The new-paradigm church is offering a purely commercialized, yuppie brand of Christianity found nowhere in the New Testament. . . . Is a person coming to Christ in order to bolster her self-esteem or experience a great thrill, truly born again? If [average church goer] Mary does not clearly understand that the real issue on the table is her personal sinfulness that has offended a holy and righteous God, does she understand the gospel at all? If she believes that Christ died on the cross to save her from a poor self-image in order to give her a fulfilling life brimming with excitement, has she not been presented with a gospel so hopelessly muddled that the true gospel is still a mystery to her? Can such a person, who so totally misunderstands the purpose and nature of Calvary, be saved, even though she has prayed the “sinner’s prayer?” From my understanding of the true gospel I would have to say probably not. And if a multitude of these kinds of Marys are now flooding into the local church, what kind of church is being created?

– Gary Gilley

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Sermon of the Week: “The Calling of a Preacher” by Albert Mohler.

Albert Mohler was one the key-note speakers at the 2012 Shepherd’s Conference. While there were several excellent speakers throughout the event, this message from Mohler was timely and relevant to me personally – and seemed to resonate with the two or three thousand others gathered there as well. Here is an excerpt from his introduction, full message in video below, mp3 download here (right click and save or click to listen).

Let’s admit it. There’s a lot of mysteries in the christian life, but one of the greatest mysteries is why God would in His sovereign, omnipotent and omniscient, and wisdom and righteousness, and mercy choose the likes of folks as we… to do this. You might think that if we were orchestrating this, we might have angels doing the preaching. Everybody would listen to an angel, wouldn’t they? Of course,  not American angels. We domesticate little angels, we paint little pictures of cherubs and hang them in the bathroom. It’s a completely different reality. Just remember in the Gospel of Luke, the angelic hosts showed up to the shepherds and the first think they had to say is, “First of all, don’t die” – “Fear not, we bring you tidings of great joy”. Meanwhile, most Americans, in our weirdo, fake, postmodern spirituality think they’re channeling with little cherubs in the bathroom.

But God doesn’t assign angels to do the preaching. He assigned human preachers, men whom He has called because when an angel shows up to preach you don’t ask, “How did God do that?”. But, when we show up to preach you’re looking at me going (saying), “He’s just flesh and blood. He’s nearsighted. He only speaks one language. He’s gonna be hungry soon. He fell asleep during a Greek lecture, thirty something years ago and you’re letting him preach?” Well, it’s as the apostle Paul says, “It’s so that the glory would be all of God’s and not ours. So that the excellence would be His excellence that’s demonstrated and not ours.”

Admit it: you’d love to be doing this, and then admit it: That’s a good thing. And then let’s just admit it together, it’s just a priceless thing that we get to be together for these days and these hours, to preach and to hear preaching and to be encouraged, not only by each other, but by the Holy Spirit of God in this calling that has come to us.

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Yet another example of what the gospel is NOT.

Meet Charles L. Worley. He pastors Providence Road Baptist Church in North Carolina and he apparently has no idea what the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ is.

Mr. Worley, have you forgotten the pit of depravity from which God saved you, or is your lack of mercy a sign that you have yet to receive God’s grace yourself?

There is a striking irony about Mr. Worley’s suggestion during his “sermon” that homosexuals be imprisoned behind fences till they die out (an irony similar to the obnoxious street preacher we featured a few days ago). The irony is that one day in the near future it is very likely that Christians will be imprisoned in America for their faith, and it will be men like these that will have proven to be instrumental in–and the justification for–the passing of legislation needed to criminalize Christianity.

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Quotes (938)

“If signs and wonders did still exist, do you think they would be given to people with bad theology? You think God would give Benny Hinn the power to do miracles to authenticate really bad theology? If those gifts existed, they would belong to the purest, most faithful, sound teachers of the word of God to authenticate their teaching–not to hair-brained people who spew out whatever comes into their head.”

—John MacArthur