Evangelism

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A Catholic Leap

There is little doubt that many Roman Catholic doctrines simply aren’t in the Bible. They’ve been introduced by the Roman Catholic Church over the centuries. Much as Muslims make weak attempts to find prophecies about Muhammad in the Bible, Catholics grasp at straws to find support for their doctrines in the Bible.

I recently had a conversation with a couple of knowledgeable Catholics. I started by discussing the fact that the Bible blatantly contradicts some of their beliefs. Specifically, they claimed that atheists “of good will” could end up in heaven. There are dozens of verses that prove that line of thinking wrong, and I quoted a few to them. Their response was that they don’t care what I say about the Bible, because according to Catholic teaching, no one is able to interpret the Bible outside the authority of Rome.

This was the first time I’d heard that from a Catholic, and it turns out that it really is the standard teaching of Rome, and it’s based on a misinterpretation of 2 Peter 1:20. Later, they mentioned that there really is no infallible interpretation of this verse, so I’m not sure what authority they have to give any interpretation of that verse.

I showed them Acts 17:11, which describes how the Bereans were commended for scrutinizing Paul’s teaching with the Scripture. I asked them why the Bereans were able to verify Paul’s teaching with the Scripture, but today I am unable to verify Rome’s teaching with Scripture. They never directly answered my question. I gave up asking the question when the only “answer” provided was:

Why did Paul have to “check in” with the Apostles and have them lay hands on him to continue his ministry?

That has absolutely nothing to do with my question. Honest, knowledgeable answers generally don’t start with a “why” and end with a question mark.

They do think that I should verify the doctrines of Rome, but not by searching Scripture. I should determine the truth of Rome’s claims by verifying that their doctrines haven’t changed over the last 2,000 years, and I should do this by reading church fathers. (They were kind enough to give me a list of church fathers to check out.)

But this only leads to more questions. If I’m not trustworthy enough to interpret Scripture, why am I trustworthy enough to interpret the writings of church fathers? Why should I read the second generation (or later) of Christian beliefs when the Bible provides the first generation? If two church fathers disagree (there are many early “Christians” who were outright heretics), which one is trustworthy?

There is no good way to test the Catholic Church. Bottom line: I’m supposed to become a Catholic, because the pope says so.

Trust me.

At the root of this disagreement is the epistemology of Catholics and Evangelicals. Evangelicals believe the Bible is the only source for absolute truth, and Catholics have the Bible plus their tradition. The problem is that the Bible is insufficient to arrive at modern Catholic doctrines (if not contradictory to those doctrines), and there is no other infallible, inerrant source to attest to Catholic doctrines. In order to buy into the teaching of Rome, you must take a blind leap of faith.

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Two Evangelists Murdered in Florida

This story is from the Palm Beach Post. There is little information on what the

Taken from Mapquest

beliefs of these men were.

BOYNTON BEACH — Jeriah Woody executed two men who made the mistake of preaching religion to the 18-year-old, a witness has told police.

Woody, who turned himself in to Boynton Beach police Wednesday, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the Saturday night deaths of Stephen Ocean, 23, and Tite Sufra, 24, near the Boynton Beach city library. Continue reading →

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The Reformation View of Roman Catholicism

From the works of Martin Luther (1483-1546)

What is the whole papacy but a beautiful false front and a deceptively glittering holiness under which the wretched devil lies in hiding? The devil always desires to imitate God in this way. He cannot bear to observe God speaking. If he cannot prevent it or hinder God’s Word by force, he opposes it with a semblance of piety, takes the very words God had spoken and so twist them as to peddle his lies and poison under their name. (What Luther Says, II: 10007)

Since the papal church not only neglects the command of Christ but even compels the people to ignore it and to act against it, it is certain that it is not Christ’s church but the synagogue of Satan which prescribes sin and prohibits righteousness. It clearly and indisputably follows that it must be the abomination of Antichrist and the furious harlot of the devil. (What Luther Says, II: 1019)

The negotiation about doctrinal agreement displeases me altogether, for this is utterly impossible unless the pope has his papacy abolished. Therefore avoid and flee those who seek the middle of the road. Think of me after I am dead and such middle-of-the-road men arise, for nothing good will come of it. There can be no compromise. (What Luther Says, II: 1019)

Read the rest of the article here.

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Haiti – A Nation in Darkness Needing Light

As we all know Haiti has suffered a catastrophic earthquake that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, where countless additional lives hang in the balance due to lack of water, food and medical care.  What many may not know though is that Haiti is a nation in darkness, spiritual darkness as it is largely given over to Voodoo and has been for years. 

Before continuing, what exactly is Voodoo?  According to Dictionary.com, it is said to be:

A religion practiced chiefly in Caribbean countries, especially Haiti, syncretized from Roman Catholic ritual elements and the animism and magic of slaves from West Africa, in which a supreme God rules a large pantheon of local and tutelary deities, deified ancestors, and saints, who communicate with believers in dreams, trances, and ritual possessions. Also called vodoun.1

From the same source, animism is said to be:

1. The belief in the existence of individual spirits that inhabit natural objects and phenomena.  2. The belief in the existence of spiritual beings that are separable or separate from bodies.2

So we can see that “Voodoo grew out of the animist religions [which were] brought to the country by [African] slaves.” This religion “…was then overlaid by the Catholicism of the plantation owners … [which] led in many places to syncretism, or fusing, of the two belief systems.” 3  A fusing that has given Haiti its dominant syncretistic  religion that mixes Catholicism and Voodoo; a religion it has practiced  for hundreds of years. 

But Voodoo was never a recognized religion in Haiti even though most practiced it in one form or another.  All of this changed in 2003 when Voodoo was “…recognised as a religion on a par with others worshipped in the country.” 4 This formal recognition was done by Haiti’s President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

A godly nation would have wept at such a decision, but not so in Haiti since it is said that “…over 90% of Haitians are voodooisant.”5  Voodoo being a religion that is practiced in the open and in the home “…where each family has their own collection of household gods, many of them Catholic saints. In many households, it sits comfortably alongside a family’s Catholic observance.”6  Catholic observance that is not merely winked at but supported as the “…Catholic church officially backs the right of families to practise voodoo.”7  How accommodating of the Vatican!

Yet there is hope for the people of Haiti even in the midst of such unimaginable suffering.  Hope that will not be found in Voodoo any more than it will be in Catholicism.  Rather, the hope is in Jesus Christ, the light of the world that came to destroy the works of the devil and darkness; the very works that Voodoo glorifies and embodies.  Jesus can set the people of Haiti free but it must be the Jesus as revealed in the Scriptures and not the idols of Catholicism or the “Eucharist Jesus” which lead not to freedom but more bondage. 

Thankfully, the gospel message is being preached in Haiti as there are believers and missionaries there.  Individuals who obviously need our prayers and support not only due to their physical sufferings, but also the spiritual darkness that covers their land.  We can only hope that the earthquake will engender godly fear in the people whereby they repent lest a worse thing happen unto them.

Below I have included a few videos for the readers of DefCon to get better educated on Haiti so you can properly pray for the people of this land.  Note that the first two videos show demonic posession.  If you only watch one video, please make sure it is the last one.

Footnotes
1 – “voodoo.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 29 Jan. 2010. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/voodoo>.
2 – “animism.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 29 Jan. 2010. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/animism>.
3 – Gledhill, Ruth. “Voodoo faith ‘could hinder Haiti’s recovery from quake’.” TIMESONLINE January 15, 2010. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6990002.ece
4 – BBC News.  “Haiti makes voodoo official.” BBC News April 30, 2003.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2985627.stm
5 – Ibid.
6 – Gledhill, Ruth.  “Voodoo faith ‘could hinder Haiti’s recovery from quake’.”
7 – Ibid.

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Islamic Paradise and Jesus

Video about the work of God in Islamic nations and a searcher for truth who places his faith in Jesus. Please pray for this very dangerous work and that Islam might fall not by the bloody sword of the Crusaders, or the bombs of the American military machine, but rather by the Living Word of God. And that men might be raised up to translate sound doctrinal materials into Arabic and send to our brothers and sisters and those on the front line.

فيديو حول عمل الله في الدول الاسلامية والباحث عن الحقيقة الذي يضع ثقته في يسوع. على المسلم الصادق ، ونحن نصلي عليك أ

تنظر في هذه الأمور والبحث كما فعل هذا الطالب من أجل الحقيقة ، الحقيقة سوف تجد في يسوع.

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EE-Taow – It is Truth!

Words cannot express how one will be touched by this video that depicts the power of the gospel in ways that few of us have ever witnessed.  Prepare to shed copious tears in rejoicing in the power of the Great God whom we serve.  

Because the video is from Veoh, I am unable to get it to link here and successfully play.  Please select this link to watch.

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Quotes (681)

Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the privilege He gave us in being the wives of men who were chosen to be slain for His sake. None of us is worthy. It is all of His grace, but we know that the Lamb is worthy, a thousand times, the lives of our husbands and of us.  He chose to glorify Himself in their death—may He now glorify Himself in our lives.

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Not only do we ask that Christ be glorified in the Aucas and in us, but also in our children. Most of them will have no recollection of their fine fathers. But our Lord gave His word, ‘All they children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of they children.’ We ask for His wisdom in training them, for His Spirit in us, that they may be as obedient as their fathers. How wonderful it would be if He should prepare one or more of them to go to the Aucas! We would give them to Him for his use, asking that they come to know Him as Savior and Lord at an early age. Far be it from us to withhold from the Lord the lives of these little ones, children of the men who did not withhold their own lives. May they sing from true hearts,

Faith of our Fathers, Holy faith
We would be true to Thee till death.

—Elisabeth Elliott, Marjorie Saint, Marilou McCully, Olive Fleming, Barbara Youderian (respectively)

(Hat Tip: The Gospel Coalition)

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Shocking Honesty

For once I don’t want to over-analyze this. I just want to enjoy it for what Brit Hume said. It is shockingly frank and shockingly great for someone on TV to say something like this. Tiger Woods needs to turn to the Christian faith. He needs his sins forgiven more than he needs his next breath. I thank Brit Hume for his political incorrectness and truthfulness.

Mark Cahill has witnessed to Tiger Woods, so we know that the biblical seed of the gospel has been planted, and we can pray for it to grow.

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Why evangelism is so difficult in the United States.

Anyone who has spent any time doing street evangelism knows how discouraging it can be at times. A book I’m reading by Ken Ham and Brit Beemer entitled Already Gone: Why Your Kids Will Quit Church And What You Can Do To Stop It helps us to better understand just why evangelism in America is like pushing water up a hill.

For this book 1,000 people in their twenties who used to regularly attend church–as kids and teens (including Sunday school and youth groups) but who no longer darken the door of a church–were polled on the various reasons they no longer attend. Those polled were asked 78 questions in all but one of the more revealing responses came from this question:

Do you believe you are saved and will go to heaven upon death?

Of the group who never attends church: 58.7% said yes.

Of the group who attends church on Christmas and Easter only: 72.2% said yes.

Perhaps this sheds a little light on why it is so difficult to reach the “churched” and “unchurched” with the true gospel of Jesus Christ. You can’t convince a sick man to have an operation if he fails to recognize his illness.


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A Muslim Finds Jesus the Messiah

Barring the Catholic images of Jesus in this video and a comment about God loving everyone equally, following is a wonderful testimony of a previous follower of Allah and Islam who came to embrace Jesus Christ and the gospel.   Truly a wonderful story of how one can be changed from darkness to light.  May this give hope to all to continue to witness with wisdom and grace to even those who seem to be the most opposed to the gospel and Jesus.   For you never know what is going on in their heart and the internal struggle they may be fighting.

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Deserving to Die – Terrorists or Victims?

On 9/11/2001, terrorists flew the passengers on their flights into eternity. During the approximately one hour between the fall of the twin towers that claimed almost 3,000 lives, around the world another 7,800 lives went out to meet their Maker. Over the next 24 hours while America and the West struggled to understand the loss of almost 3,000 lives, approximately 256,200 more individuals crossed the line from life unto death. Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”

On November 5, 2009, Major Nidal Hasan, an officer in the US Army walked into a military service center, jumped on a table, yelled “Allah is great!” (in Arabic), pulled out semi-automatic pistols and pumped out more than 100 rounds and sent 13 more Americans into eternity. Each week since that event approximately 1.3 million have taken their last breath. This is a number 100,000 times more than the 13 who died in the service of their country.

Did any of those almost 3,000 people deserve to die on 9/11? Did the 13 people who were shot at Fort Hood, Texas deserve to die? Ask the majority of Americans and the general consensus will be, “Those terrorists deserved to die and face God!” They would continue, “Men like Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Nidal Hasan, and Osama bin Laden deserve to die. Let’s kill them all!”

However, there is a greater question we need to ask ourselves. Do men like Hitler, Hussein, Hasan, and bin Laden deserve to die more than those who perished at their hands? What made the people who died on 9/11/2001 or on 11/05/2009 in the terrorist attacks any less deserving than the 7,800 or the 256,200 or even the 1.3 million to go and face the eternal Son of God and be judged for their sins?

This is by no means to demean the sacrifice demanded of those who did not ask to be killed! Nor, is this a support of any terrorist group. Nor, is this intended in any way to demean the loss of life and the sorrow of those families who were left to pick up the pieces.

The purpose of my writing is because I have been doing some serious searching of my heart, and sadly I find I have not been meeting the criteria required of me as a true believer. Let me explain further.

As Americans, we are very patriotic, almost at times to an extreme. It is a trait that many nations of the world fail to understand about us. It is a large part of what binds us together in the face of a common enemy. In very short order, for example, after 9/11, the vast majority of Americans were ready to take on the enemies of our country by whatever means possible. Hatred and anger ran cold and deep in the veins of millions who were upset that our country had been assaulted. We were ready to hunt down the infidels and murder them all and make them pay for what they did to us! Even many who claim the name of Christ were standing side-by-side in the call to arms and had no issues with our government spending billions of dollars to bomb and attack two foreign countries.

However, I wonder how many of those same Christians were praying that God would bring sorrow and godly repentance to those who would inflict evil upon America. How many spent time agonizing over the true loss of life – 7,800 or the 256,200 or the 1.3 million? How many mourned the fact that the vast, overwhelming majority of those individuals perished with no hope of ever knowing or even hearing the name of Jesus Christ?

Do we stop to think that every year since 9/11, an unbelievable sum of approximately 95 million (the equivalent of almost 1/3rd of the US population) go into eternity? Who mourns their loss? Why are they any more deserving to face a God of wrath than those we know and love, or than those who live on our streets? In the 6,303 days since 9/11, almost 1 billion (956 million) have exited this world, a number equivalent to a little less than the entire population of India!

Yet, we actually rejoiced when we watched the evening news from the comfort of our sofas and armchairs, and we saw the countless thousands being swept into eternity for their part in attacking our country. Oh, we were happy! Justice was being meted out by our brave men and women, and the judgment that was pronounced and executed was in our minds – “FAIR!”

However, does this stack up with the commands of Scripture that we who claim the name of Christ are called to obey? We as Christians are commanded to love our enemies. We are to share the good news of the gospel with those who have never heard. The apostle Paul loved his fellow countrymen of Israel so greatly that if it were possible, he was willing to be eternally accursed from God if only all Israel would place their faith in the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ alone for their salvation!

During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ was asked what the greatest commandments were. He replied, “The first is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And, the second is very much like it – LOVE your neighbor as yourself.”

Do we bother to realize that only God can hate the wicked with the demand for perfect justice that hatred requires? Who are we to think that we can stand in the place of the Almighty and condemn others to eternity where they will be in the lake of fire forever? What hypocrisy that our churches are willing to spend millions on new edifices and on entertaining the sheep while 3 people every second go to stand in judgment before the Holy, Righteous God of the Universe! What hypocrisy and lack of true Christian character that we can say equally with the lost of America that we hate our enemies and wish their deaths in whatever manner it comes upon them!

How are we ANY different from those of the Islamic faith? They are willing to kill for the ideals of their faith so that they might enjoy eternity in the bliss of earthly pleasures. Yet, we are willing to kill simply because we hate what others have done to us. We hate and kill indiscriminately because they made our lives uncomfortable. We hate and demand death as they make our trips through airport security highly annoying at best. We hate because we somehow believe what is coming from our pulpits – our sins are not as bad as those of the terrorists. Here in America, we are civilized. We do not deserve death like they do. They deserve justice. They deserve the wrath of God to fall upon them. They deserve hell!

Wake up Christians before it is too late! The world should know us by our love for one another and by the fact that we are willing to sacrifice our very lives so that others will know the love of God, and more importantly, so they will know it is possible to escape from the wrath to come!

We want to ask God to bless America, yet we refuse to obey His commands. May God forgive us for our hatred! The Lord Jesus Christ said that hatred is the same as murder. May the Lord forgive us for our lack of compassion! May He help us to see that we ALL deserve to die, but for the grace of God – His mercy endures forever!

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Examining Francis Beckwith’s Return to Rome.

returntoromeA while ago I wrote a post about an ecumenical meeting at Wheaton College between Francis Beckwith and Timothy George. For those who do not know, Francis Beckwith was baptized and raised as a Roman Catholic, where according to his web site, “…his faith journey led him to Protestant evangelicalism. He [then] became a philosophy professor at Baylor University and president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). And then, in 2007, after much prayer, counsel, and consideration, Beckwith decided to return to the Catholic church and step down as ETS president.” 1

Now, firmly entrench in Rome, Beckwith is doing his utmost to preach the merits of Catholicism with individuals like Timothy George and others in the “evangelical” camp helping the cause through their ecumenical discussions. For those who want to better understand some of the key doctrinal issues that separate Roman Catholicism from Biblical Christianity, I’ve included a link below to a series of messages by TBFaceTony Bartolucci, pastor/teacher of Clarkson Community Church in NY. These messages address in very detailed fashion Mr. Beckwith’s return to Rome, which he has documented in his book “Return to Rome – Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic.”

The messages are much more in-depth than the coverage given by James White on his Dividing Line program, which is I included in my prior post (they still are good to listen to). For those who take the time to listen to thee messages, I fully believe you will be greatly blessed and benefited. Not only so your faith is bolstered, but also so you can better minister to Roman Catholics. And so that you can rebuke those in our midst who join hand-in-hand with Catholics calling then brethren.

The messages can be found here, where I have included Tony’s introduction to the messages explaining why he took the time to give them.

As I have stated in the first part of this series, my motivation in pursuing this topic has nothing to do with personal animosity toward Dr. Francis Beckwith or Roman Catholics in general. I was a Roman Catholic. I know what it is like to have my religion challenged and attacked. I left the Roman Catholic Church kicking and screaming all the way. I wanted to remain a Catholic. However, God would not have it. In 1981 he drew me in, fighting all the way, to a repentance that is unto eternal life (2 Timothy 2:25).

Having come through the other side I now cherish the simple Gospel of grace and loath any system that would pervert this precious truth. I abhor what I know will appear to many as an attack on a man. The desire of my heart is to be humble and gracious, while not compromising a God-honoring tenacity for the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3).

In fact, I don’t particularly enjoy having to do this series. I would be among the first to raise a hand in reply to the question, “are you ready for this series to be done with?” But I am literally compelled to address not only the book, but in doing so, a much larger issue: the Gospel of grace verses [sic] the gospel of Rome.

Like most anyone, I like flying under the radar. I don’t want to be a lightning rod for controversy, to have my name flamed on the internet. But I also know that the closer one gets to the front lines of the battle, the higher the likelihood that one will find himself in the proverbial cross-hairs. So be it.

I’m sure that, like so many Roman Catholics, Francis Beckwith is a very nice guy. I’ve listened to his interview with Greg Koukl on the latter’s program, Stand to Reason. I mourn for him; for his very apparent inability to see that which only those with the eyes of faith (eyes sovereignly granted by God) can see. I would welcome a phone call from Dr. Beckwith in order to discuss these things with him.

My prayer is that God will use this series, and perhaps a forthcoming book, to strengthen genuine believers in the most holy faith, bring faith to those who are doubting, and to save others, snatching them from the fire while hating the garment polluted by the flesh (Jude 20-22). Soli Deo Gloria! 2

End Notes:

1 – Return to Rome. Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic. http://web.me.com/francis.beckwith/Return_to_Rome/home.html [Accessed 11/3/2009]
2 – Why am I doing this? Tony A. Bartolucci. Clarkson Community Church, Clarkson, New York. 585-637-6070. http://www.tonybartolucci.com/Sermons/whytiber.htm [Accessed 11/3/2009]

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The testimony of a dying wife, mother, Christian.

Rachel BarkeyYou simply must download and listen to this speech, Death Is Not Dying, by Rachel Barkey. You will be encouraged, you will be moved, you will be challenged, you will need a tissue. I listened to it twice in two days and wanted to share it with the readers of DefCon.

Mrs. Barkey gave this speech in March 2009 to over 600 women after learning that she would be dead in a few short months; she died July 02, 2009. You can read more about her story here.

HT: Atlantic Baptist

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The Gospel: The Power of God Unto Salvation

gospelIt is written in the Scriptures that the gospel of Jesus Christ “…is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Rom 1:16)  Likewise, it is written that if anyone one “…be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (II Cor 5:17)

Today, countless people have religion that purports itself as Christianity.  Yet this religion has no power to save and no power to transform their lives.  Rather, it is dead religion not unlike what one would have found with the Pharisees and their disciples during the days when Jesus walked the earth.  Rote, ritualistic and repetitious; this religion is found across our land.  Here, countless people are raised in such faiths from babes upward and have been taught the traditions of men from their religion’s hierarchy as to what they must do and must not do in order to be “right” with God and rewarded with eternal life. 

Or, we have so-called pastors instructing millions that salvation is simply raising their hand to “ask Jesus into their heart” or the repeating of the “sinner’s prayer.”  Scant mention is ever given to the gospel, repentance and what salvation truly is; rather the bulk of their appeal is made to the flesh.  This done through various mediums with the most popular being music where skilled musicians take the congregants on an emotional roller coaster ride so as to get as many as possible to raise their hand or come forward to the “altar.”

Yet I ask how many of these persons are ever changed by the power of God through the gospel?  How many can truly testify that they are new creatures in Christ where they have put to death the old man and are now walking in newness of life?  How many can say that the darkness they use to love and run to, they now hate and flee from?  How many can profess that the light they use to hide from and scorn, they now seek out and proclaim from the rooftops?  Truly some can and to God we give all the glory for this, but many cannot because sadly for these once the music dies down, the lights dim and the crocodile tears dry, they are the same person they were before every praying that prayer or making their purported profession of faith.

The conversion of Pasha, a Russian immigrant in the 1800’s, is no such empty profession or example of impotent religion.  Rather, it is an amazing testimony of the power of God through the gospel to totally transform a wretched sinner.  A story that will surely bring tears to your eyes not only as you see how great the gospel is and the God who has given it unto this world, but also for his tender mercies to shower rich blessings on his children.  Please take the time to read it as you will be greatly blessed therein. 

My hope for the true Christian is that reading it may give you great joy as your love is increased for the God who hath graciously saved you even if your testimony or mine is not as stunning as Pasha’s.  For the Christian in name only, I pray your reading it may give you a longing in your heart to be set free from your sin and changed by the power of the God through the gospel even as Pasha was.

The full text can be found here. 

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Is Ray Comfort’s Idea Original?

Ray ComfortA lot of Christians are opposed to presenting the law before the gospel, and say Ray Comfort’s method is unbiblical. They generally say that his series of questions isn’t found in the Bible, and they would be right. However, no one has said that they were in the Bible, and there are many ways to present the law and the gospel without using Comfort’s spiel.

I really have no interest in defending Ray Comfort or Kirk Cameron. On the other hand, if someone wants to disagree with their method, they have their work cut out for them. Ray Comfort should get a lot of credit for popularizing biblical witnessing, but he didn’t make up “law to the proud, grace to the humble” by himself. Here are a few quotes about the law and its proper use:

  • Charles Spurgeon said, “The law serves a most necessary purpose. They [unbelievers] will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy Law.”
  • Martin Luther said, “So it is with the work-righteous and the proud unbelievers. Because they do not know the law of God, which is directed against them, it is impossible for them to know their sin.”
  • Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “The trouble with people who are not seeking for a Savior, and for salvation, is that they do not understand the nature of sin. It is the peculiar function of the law to bring such an understanding to a man’s mind and conscience.”
  • John Bunyan said, “In my preaching of the Word, I took special notice of this one thing, namely, that the Lord did lead me to begin where His Word begins with sinners; that is, to condemn all flesh, and to open and allege that the curse of God, by the law doth belong to and lay hold on all men as they come into the world, because of sin.”
  • Paris Reidhead said, “I would declare a moratorium on public preaching of the “the plan of salvation” in America for one to two years. Then, I would call on everyone who has use of the airwaves and the pulpits to preach the holiness of God, the righteousness of God, and the law of God, until sinners would cry out, “What must we do to be saved?” Then, I would take them off in a corner and whisper the gospel to them….Such drastic action is needed because we have gospel-hardened a generation of sinners by telling them how to be saved before they have any understanding why they need to be saved.”
  • John MacArthur said, “Grace means nothing to a person who does not know he is sinful and that such sinfulness means he is separated from God and damned. It is therefore pointless to preach grace until the impossible demands of the law and the reality of guilt before God are preached.”
  • Charles Spurgeon said, “I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the law.”
  • John Wesley said, “Before I can preach love, mercy, and grace, I must preach sin, law and judgment.”
  • George Whitfield said, “That is the reason we have so many ‘mushroom’ converts, because their stony ground is not plowed up; they have not got a conviction of the law; they are stony-ground hearers.”
  • Martin Luther said, “Satan, the god of all dissension, stirreth up daily new sects, and last of all, which of all other I should never have foreseen or once suspected, he has raised up a sect such as teach…that men should not be terrified by the law, but gently exhorted by the preaching of the grace of Christ.”
  • Paris Reidhead said, “When 100 years ago earnest scholars decreed that the law had no relationship to the preaching of the gospel, they deprived the Holy Spirit in the area where their influence prevailed of the only instrument with which He had ever armed Himself to prepare sinners for grace.”
  • John R.W. Stott said, “We cannot come to Christ to be justified until we have first been to Moses to be condemned. But once we have gone to Moses and acknowledged our sin, guilt and condemnation, we must not stay there.”
  • Dr. J Gresham Machen said, “A new and more powerful proclamation of [the] law is perhaps the most pressing need of the hour; men would have little difficulty with the gospel if they had only learned the lesson of the law.”
  • D.L. Moody said, “I can always tell a man who is near the kingdom of God; his mouth is stopped. This, then, is why God gives us the law. To show us ourselves in our true colors.”

How is it that all these men came to believe the same thing about the law? Because that is what the Bible teaches.

If you’ve never taken the time to listen to Hell’s Best Kept Secret, you definitely should do so.

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Book review: “The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus” by John Cross.

The Stranger From the author of The Lamb comes The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus. This book explains the gospel of Jesus Christ in the most detailed yet simple way that I have ever read. This easy-to-read book is full of illustrations and details the gospel beginning all the way back in creation. It shows the many foreshadowing events that point to the Messiah from the animal sacrifice to cover Adam and Eve, to the Passover Lamb, to the bronze serpent on the pole, etc.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-read book that thoroughly explains the gospel of Jesus Christ look no further. Whether you’re someone who’s been in the faith for a while or if you’re someone who knows absolutely nothing about the Bible, this book is for you.

From ChristianAnswers.net:

A breakthrough book for sharing a chronological approach to the Bible with unsaved friends and family in a reasonable amount of time. This can be read through in about eight hours.
A great evangelistic tool.

From the publisher:

What if there was a tool that could not only make sharing your faith less intimidating, but also help give you a better grasp of what you believe? A way to communicate the gospel in such a way that as you shared it, people’s eyes would light up with an understanding of what Jesus Christ did for them? Something that you could walk through with them as a Bible study or simply give to a friend to read? A way to make what many see as a dusty old book come alive with meaning in their lives? . . .This fully illustrated, 304-page book is written for adults and teens who know little or nothing about the Bible. It explains in a straightforward way the greatest themes of the Bible, step by step creating an understanding of sin, substitution and atonement. You yourself may be asking the meaning of these terms, words you’ve heard many times but never quite grasped the full meaning of. These truths are woven through the text as each chapter builds on the previous. By the end, the reader has the foundation needed to understand the importance of Christ’s death and resurrection. The logical teaching of truth from creation to the cross makes for a clear understanding of what the Bible is all about.

Currently www.FamilyFaithBooks.com is offering the accompanying workbook free with the purchase of the book.

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How to Evangelize Drivers

carIt can be annoying when people put flyers under your windshield wiper. Usually, you get into the car before you realize there’s a flyer on the windshield. Here’s a place to put a tract where the driver will definitely see it before they get in the car. It helps to have tracts that are printed on thick paper. Nevertheless, some cars are difficult to get the tract in.

There are some situations where this is the best way to get the best gospel to people, although I think it’s preferable to hand someone a tract or get a chance to talk to them. If you’ve never passed out tracts or witnessed, this may be a good way to get started.

This is my favorite tract to put in car doors.

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The Harvest Past for the Dying Universalist

ISpencer“Here is a moving account of the tragic death-bed of a hopeless universalist who has seen the error of his way, but refuses to pray to God for mercy. Ichabod Spencer (1797-1854) recounts this emotional scene with such vivedness (sp) that you feel yourself an eyewitness to the scene. Hear this man plead with his younger brother not to follow his ways, and see him confront his father who raised him in the false doctrine of universal salvation. This is one of the most amazing incidents recorded in the book “A Pastor’s Sketches” which is filled with amazing incidents drawn from the pastoral journal of a remarkable pastor who was nicknamed THE BUNYAN OF BROOKLYN.” (Quote from “Brief Sermon Overview” on Sermon Audio)

More than sixteen years have now passed away since the occurence of which I am now to write made its first impression upon me but  I am still unable to recall the scene to my mind without the most painful emotions.  There was something in that whole scene too horrible for description and I would much rather were to consult my own feelings, pass it over in silence.  And let a vail be drawn over it forever, than have the recollection revived by copying the notes made respecting it. 

To hear the entire message, go here. 

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God’s courtroom

As I type this, the sentencing phase of the Letalvis Cobbins trial is taking place. If the system works as it should, he will receive the death penalty. Why? Because that is what he deserves for the crimes he has committed. They were heinous, barbaric, abominable, and not simply inhumane–but inhuman. And because of the inhumanity with which he and his accomplices acted toward Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom, they should all be removed from society and sentenced to death. (And before you say that the death penalty is “unbiblical” I would direct you to Romans 13:1-4).

Right now, his sister is pleading on his behalf, that he not be sentenced to death. She, along with the rest of his family, is pleading that the judge and jury spare his life. And they may succeed. They may play on the sympathies of the judge and the jury, or the judge and jury may be so soft-hearted that they will sentence Cobbins to life without parole. And as this unfolds, several thoughts come to mind.

First, is Letalvis Cobbins any worse than we are? Consider this for one moment. Letalvis Cobbins committed one of the most despicable murders in the history of Knoxville, or Tennessee, or the United States for that matter. But is that so very different from the ways we break God’s laws? Without the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in those of us who know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior; without the Holy Spirit of God holding back the wicked hearts of evil men, there is not one person on the face of the earth–past, present, future–who has not been capable of doing everything Letalvis Cobbins did–and worse. (And when I say, “not one person” I am, of course, excluding Christ our Lord.)

Second, as much as he deserves the death penalty for his crimes, are we any less deserving of eternal punishment for trampling over the laws of Almighty God? Which of us can say that we are “not as bad” as he is? We may not appear to ourselves or to other humans to be as bad. But who is the final decider on what and who is “good?” Which brings me to………

Third. On the day when we stand before God to give an account, there will only be two possible scenarios for us:

1) We can stand there, alone, with no one to plead our cause. When the books are opened, and the charges read, we will not have an attorney. We will not have friends and family pleading with The Judge that we were a “good person.” And even if our friends and family could stand there and plead for us, God will not see us as a “good person.” Why? “No one is good but One, that is, God” (Mark 10:18). Our friends will do no good pleading our cause. Our family will do no good pleading our cause. Not even the Virgin Mary will do any good pleading our cause. Without the blood of the spotless Lamb of God (1st Peter 1:18-19), the Great Mediator (1st Timothy 2:5) and Advocate (1st John 2:1), then all the pleading on our behalf is useless. Because when God judges, He does not offer compassion. He does not offer mercy. If anything, when we stand there and beg for mercy, He will say, “I offered you mercy. I gave you My Son, and you wanted nothing of Him. Now, I want nothing of you.”

And then what will they cry? “‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’” (Matthew 7:22). And they will cry, and they will weep, and they will gnash their teeth (Luke 13:28). All to no avail. For He will cast His fiery gaze at them and declare, for all to hear, “‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you worker of iniquity!’” (Matthew 7:23).

No mercy.
No compassion.
No retrial.

No appeal to a higher court. For there is no higher court than the one presided over by that Great and Perfect Judge, Almighty YHVH. And they will be cast into a Lake burning with fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:15), and their torment will be eternal, and the smoke of it will rise like incense to the heavens (Revelation 14:11), as a memorial to the perfect justice of a perfect and holy God. And His justice is perfect, because all men are judged by the same Law, by the same Judge, and with no respect of person (Romans 2:11; Romans 3:19-20; Deuteronomy 1:17; 2nd Samuel 14:14; 2nd Chronicles 19:7; Acts 10:34; Revelation 20:12).

So I ask you, my friend, who is pleading for you?
Mother?
Father?
Friend?
Priest?
Joseph Smith?
Your “good works?”

Unless it is the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord which is pleading to the Father on your behalf, be sure that you will receive nothing less than what you are due: eternal punishment for transgressing the eternal Law of an eternal God.

OR………

2) As guilty and as heinous as the crimes committed by Cobbins et al, , there is an even greater One who will plead for us to that eternal and Almighty God if we ask. The name of that advocate is Jesus Christ the Lord. If He is pleading for us, we can stand there, with our sins forgiven, having been paid for on the cross of Golgotha. Those who have acknowledged Christ Jesus as Savior AND LORD will have their debts wiped off the books. And when they stand before the Great and Almighty Judge of all, they can hear their final verdict read–“NOT GUILTY!!” 1st Timothy 2:5—For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. And that Mediator is seated at God’s right hand, ever ready to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). And as many as He draws, and as many enter into Him for rest, and as many as He saves, He saves to the uttermost.

We will face consequences for our actions here on earth. But be assured, friend, that there is hope even for one like Letalvis Cobbins. And there is even hope for one like you.