Bible

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The passing of blogging pioneer, Jim Bublitz.

Coming on the heels of Phil Johnson’s announcement of his retiring from blogging, it is with sadness that I report that I’ve been notified by Lyn of Saved by Grace (and confirmed by Lane Chaplin on his Facebook page), that retired blogger, Jim Bublitz, has passed away.

Bublitz, who retired from blogging due to illness in 2008, was one of, if not the blogger, who inspired me to enter the world of blogging. In fact, Jim’s blog, Old Truth, was the first Christian blog (along with Ingrid Schleuter’s Slice of Laodicea) that I came across and was the inspiration and impetus behind the blog you are reading right now.

You can still read Jim’s blog (which I encourage you to do) at OldTruth.com.

I do not know any further details of Jim’s passing, but I’m certain more information will come out in the next few days.

Please keep the Bublitz family in your prayers.

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Sermon of the Week: “The Sovereignty of God”

The clarion call of the mush-mouthed preachers of lies that please the flesh is “God is love!” – as if almighty God was a one-dimensional character who is simpering in inability masquerading as “love”. The Creator and sustainer of all things is complex beyond our ability to comprehend. He is holy and His love is not captive by the creature. His love is primarily directed to and for Himself. We who are redeemed are loved with an everlasting love that God has set upon His elect – that we would shine the light of His Truth for the glory of His name.

God is sovereign, not trapped by a Greco-Roman perspective of human love that we may project upon our image of God. We must submit our mind to the Word of God and embrace what He has revealed – about Himself and us.

I don’t know the man preaching this sermon, but it will be good for your soul; and the glory of God.

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Debate: Mariology – Who is Mary according to Scripture?

When you build a theology on pagan goddess worship, man’s traditions, a dead religion of works, and arguing from silence, you will always lose the debate when faced with God’s Word.

See also: It’s All About Mary?

HT: Cup of Joe

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Sermon of the week: “Jesus Christ Teaches Limited Atonement” by James McClarty.

The battle continues to rage within the evangelical community – for whom did Christ die? Did He die for all who ever lived or did He die for the elect? Read the lyrics below and listen to the sermon from James McClarty and humbly see if what these men represent is true. Not, do you like it; not, does it line up with your thinking. Is it in line with the clear teaching and intent of God’s Word, for the glory of His name?

You can download the sermon here.

Mission Accomplished, Shai Linne:

Here’s a controversial subject that tends to divide
For years it’s had Christians lining up on both sides
By God’s grace, I’ll address this without pride
The question concerns those for whom Christ died
Was He trying to save everybody worldwide?
Was He trying to make the entire world His Bride?
Does man’s unbelief keep the Savior’s hands tied?
Biblically, each of these must be denied
It’s true, Jesus gave up His life for His Bride
But His Bride is the elect, to whom His death is applied
If on judgment day, you see that you can’t hide
And because of your sin, God’s wrath on you abides
And hell is the place you eternally reside
That means your wrath from God hasn’t been satisfied
But we believe His mission was accomplished when He died
But how the cross relates to those in hell?
Well, they be saying:

Lord knows He tried

Father, Son and Spirit: three and yet one
Working as a unit to get things done
Our salvation began in eternity past
God certainly has to bring all His purpose to pass
A triune, eternal bond no one could ever sever
When it comes to the church, peep how they work together
The Father foreknew first, the Son came to earth
To die- the Holy Spirit gives the new birth
The Father elects them, the Son pays their debt and protects them
The Spirit is the One who resurrects them
The Father chooses them, the Son gets bruised for them
The Spirit renews them and produces fruit in them
Everybody’s not elect, the Father decides
And it’s only the elect in whom the Spirit resides
The Father and the Spirit- completely unified
But when it comes to Christ and those in hell?
Well, they be saying:

Lord knows He tried

My third and final verse- here’s the situation
Just a couple more things for your consideration
If saving everybody was why Christ came in history
With so many in hell, we’d have to say He failed miserably
So many think He only came to make it possible
Let’s follow this solution to a conclusion that’s logical
What about those who were already in the grave?
The Old Testament wicked- condemned as depraved
Did He die for them? C’mon, behave
But worst of all, you’re saying the cross by itself doesn’t save
That we must do something to give the cross its power
That means, at the end of the day, the glory’s ours
That man-centered thinking is not recommended
The cross will save all for whom it was intended
Because for the elect, God’s wrath was satisfied
But still, when it comes to those in hell
Well, they be saying:

Lord knows He tried

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“What Would I Do If My Daughter Told Me She Was Gay” by Stephen Altrogge

Stephen Altrogge has posted an article at his blog, The Blazing Center, about how he, as a Christian father, would respond if his daughter came to him and said she was gay. This is one of the most gospel centered, compassionate responses I have ever read. I ask that you read this article and consider, how would you respond if you found yourself in this situation?

“My oldest daughter, Charis, is four, so hopefully we’re a little while away from having any sort of sex talk. But at some point in the future I’m sure I’ll be talking to Charis, along with the rest of my kids, about sexuality, and there’s the possibility that one of my kids will experience homosexual attraction.

What would I do if Charis told me that she was experiencing homosexual attractions?

The first thing I’d do is give her a giant hug and tell her that nothing, nothing, nothing can ever change my love for her. She’s my precious little girl, and nothing is ever going to change that. I’d thank her for telling me about her feelings and tell her that she can always tell me anything, no matter how big or small. I want my kids to feel comfortable telling me anything, and to know that I won’t get angry with them no matter what they tell me.”

Read the remainder of the article here.

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Please Pray for Michael

When I am not busy working, raising my family or blogging, God allows me to share the gospel with people in evangelistic endeavors. One such effort was inspired by Tony Miano of Living Waters (who has recently been blogged about here and here). In the picture you see here, I constructed a cross with the words “Are You Ready?” on it. The original intent of Mr. Miano had been to use such a cross in his town as yet another tool to share the gospel. Many other evangelists, including myself, made similar crosses and a small but growing group has been taking the gospel to the streets in this unique manner. But the point of this article is not to brag on our evangelism technique.

Meet Michael. He is the point of this article. I met Michael today on a street corner in my home town where I was out with the cross trying to evangelize. As you can see, Michael spends a lot of time walking the roads and sleeping in the outdoors. When I saw Michael walking down the street towards me, I prepared to hand him a gospel tract, but I doubted he would be willing to stop and talk with me. I was quite surprised when he stopped directly in front of me and asked “Are you a crosswalker?” I explained to him that I was attempting to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people. What followed next was a half hour conversation where Michael explained he had become disillusioned with the “physical processes of life” and was looking to determine if he was something more than a biological machine that simply existed for itself and then died.

I was blessed to be able to share with Michael that he had been created for God’s glory. That because of his sin, Michael stood guilty before God and would be condemned to Hell. Yet, God in His mercy, poured His wrath out on Jesus Christ so that the righteous law of God could be satisfied. I explained that through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, Michael could receive salvation and spend eternity with the God who created him. I explained that God created him so that God Himself could be glorified by redeeming him out of his sinful state. While Michael did not immediately repent and place his faith in Christ, he stated he was very glad to hear that redemption was possible.

After talking for a half hour, Michael and I had to part ways. It was such a blessing to talk with Michael. It was a reminder of how desperately the world needs to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, that forgiveness is indeed available to wretched and vile sinners. So often we get caught up in discerning false religions and teachers, or we get caught up in the political machinations of the government to shut down the church’s influence, or even in discussing the watering down of the Word that is going on in evangelicalism. And while those can be worthwhile endeavors, the first and primary effort of every Christian is to share the gospel. The souls of people like Michael depend on our daily obedience to the command of Christ to go forth and preach the gospel to every creature. Let us not fail in this, but let us make every possible effort to share gospel with people so that souls might be saved.

Please pray for Michael. Pray that God would keep him safe as he continues to walk the roads and pray that God would lead him to true repentance and faith. Pray that we will one day meet Michael in Heaven.

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What Do You Do When You Ask Jesus Into Your Heart But He Doesn’t Stick Around?

I have heard this story before. A young boy or girl attends VBS and at the end of the week, they raised their hand and said the prayer. Or maybe, when they were older they came forward at the altar call at church or at the local evangelist crusade. No matter the venue, they were told to “ask Jesus into their heart,” and assured that once He came in, life would get better. They were assured they were a Christian now, and were told to never question it, no matter what. The initial spiritual high carried them for a time. They read their Bibles, went to church, talked about how great it was to be a Christian. But in time, the buzz wore off. The feeling just wasn’t there anymore. Other things, people or events just seemed more interesting. Or they began to be ostracized by their peers, so the compromises began. Before long, life was like it was before, or maybe worse because they began to look for other things to fill the void. But no matter how bad it might be, they were still a Christian…weren’t they?

When it comes to the modern day evangelism of “asking Jesus into your heart” there is a very big problem in that it rarely, if ever, addresses the issue that a person is a wretched, vile sinner. A spiritual criminal deserving of God’s righteous judgment. It avoids examining the life of the person under God’s law. It fails to show that when we lie, steal, lust, hate, blaspheme God, or any other sin, we are committing crimes against our Lord. It fails to reveal that on the day that we stand before God, every sin, every thought, word and deed is called into account. And because God is a good and just Judge, He will condemn us to Hell for eternity. It does not explain that the punishment is infinite because we have sinned against an infinite God.

When the church tells a person to, “just ask Jesus into your heart” there is very little weighing of the issue. Very little understanding of the severity of their sins. Consequently, many people will experimentally ask Jesus to become part of their lives without ever turning away from the sinful life they have lead. In other words, because they didn’t understand how wicked they were, they never obeyed the command to repent. They simply saw Jesus as a way to make their life better, or as some sort of “fire insurance.” There was no genuine commitment or surrender of their lives. If that happens, that person is not genuinely born again. And if they are not born again, they are still slaves to their sinful nature.

Often times, churches today will ask people to repeat a prayer, sign a card and get them baptized. Once that is done, they absolutely assure them they are saved and tell them to never doubt it. And if they see that person returning back to worldly pursuits, they claim they are backslidden, a person who is a Christian, but is actively sinning.

Such an evangelistic program, while certainly adding numbers to church roles, actually does more damage than good. The problem is twofold. First, the Bible tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith. Both the books of James and 1 John help us examine our walk to see if we are actually producing fruit that is consistent with a born again Christian. That doesn’t mean that once a Christian gets saved he is suddenly perfect, but what is the course of his life. If a person can look at their life and see that it is, bit by bit, growing in a God honoring direction, then they can see true spiritual fruit that is consistent with being born again. But if they look like the rest of the world day to day, if there is no brokenness, no desire for true repentance, then it would become prudent to ask if they were ever actually born again.

The second problem with the modern day gospel presentation is that it ignores the truth of false converts. In the parable of the soils, Jesus taught of two groups of people who spring up as apparent converts upon hearing the gospel. However, in due time, they fall away either because of the cares of the world or from persecution. The falling away demonstrates that they never were in the faith to begin with. So when the church baptizes someone and assures them they are saved without ever looking at the fruit of their walk, it can actually add numbers of false converts to the list.

So what does all this mean for you the reader? Well, the first question would be to ask yourself if you are truly saved. Examine your walk in the light of the Bible. Do you truly love the Lord? Do you desire to obey His commandments above all else? Do you hate your sin because you love Lord and don’t wish to sin against Him? Or do you care more about the things of this world? Is the only time you feel bad about sin is when you have to suffer the consequences?

If it is the former, I would encourage you to dig into the gospels again. Learn what it is that Christ did for you because He loves you. Gain assurance by preaching the gospel to yourself daily. But if it is the latter, then you need to repent of your sins and trust in Christ now. You need to get saved for the first time. What happened before may have only been an experimental attempt, but one where, like so many others, you never truly repented and trusted in the Savior. If that is so, then examine your life, understand that your sins are an offense to God deserving of judgment. Yet know that His Son died to pay the price that you deserved. Turn away from those sins and trust in the Savior today.

(Note: this article is also published on my personal blog at fernleycrossguy.wordpress.com)

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Like a lamb to the slaughter? The final moments of Joseph Smith.

The following article from the Mormonism Research Ministry was written by Bill McKeever:

“The events leading to the death of Mormon founder Joseph Smith are much like the events surrounding his life—full of contradiction. To hear Mormons tell the story, Smith did no wrong; for others, he did no right. Like most stories, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.”

Continue reading here.

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Roman Catholic cardinal claims Adam and Eve were a mythology.

Below is the article from The Australian:


AUSTRALIA’S Cardinal George Pell has described the biblical story of Adam and Eve as a sophisticated myth used to explain evil and suffering rather than a scientific truth.

Cardinal Pell last night appeared on the ABC’s Q&A program, where he was debating British evolutionary biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins.

Cardinal Pell said humans “probably” evolved from Neanderthals but it was impossible to say exactly when there was a first human. “But we have to say if there are humans, there must have been a first one,” he said.

According to Genesis, God created Adam and Eve as the first man and woman.

Asked by journalist Tony Jones if he believed in the existence of an actual Garden of Eden with an Adam and Eve, Cardinal Pell said it was not a matter of science but rather a beautiful mythological account.

“It’s a very sophisticated mythology to try to explain the evil and the suffering in the world,” he said.

“It’s certainly not a scientific truth. And it’s a religious story told for religious purposes.”

Cardinal Pell argued that the “great atheist movements” of Hitler and Stalin were the personification of social Darwinism.

“It’s the struggle for survival, the strong take what they can, and the weak give what they must and there’s nothing to restrain them.” he said. “And we’ve seen that in the two great atheist movements of the last century.”

Professor Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, rejected the notion as “ridiculous”.

He said Stalin was an atheist and Hitler was not, and they each perpetrated their acts for different reasons.

Towards the end of the debate, the head of the Catholic Church in Australia appeared to lament his struggle to promote Christ.

“My life would be much easier if I didn’t have to go into bat for . . . Christian principles,” he said.

Cardinal Pell then mused that he sometimes wondered if he should regret his life’s work, before asserting: “No, no.”

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Christians Are We Ready?

Maybe I am overstating the obvious here, but the Christian church has lost a lot of ground with regards to homosexuality. I’m not talking about on the legislative or protest front, I’m talking about in our preaching and teaching of the gospel. We are losing and the culture is looking at us as old, fuddy-duddies who simply haven’t got a clue.

In truth, I have to admit, when it came to discussing homosexuality, this was an area I just stayed out of. I simply believed I was going to get steam rolled if I ever tried to talk about it, so it just didn’t seem worth it. And it’s not like there isn’t evidence to support this. How many videos have we seen of Christians being escorted by police away from homosexual events or neighborhoods. The animosity from the homosexual community toward Christians is pretty well documented. So honestly, I felt justified in staying away from the matter.

But I realize now that I have done a disservice to the gospel. In fact, I would wager that I have sinned by unilaterally deciding to never deal with the issue. I say this because I never bothered to dig into scripture and learn how to defend what God teaches on this matter. I never learned how to explain how homosexuality was still wrong while eating shrimp was fine. I never learned how to preach the gospel compassionately and lovingly to a person who was struggling to understand how their attractions could be an affront to the God who created him. I simply just didn’t want to do it.

Now, all one has to do is peruse social media and blogging sites to see the prevailing attitude among our culture. Young people have no clue what the Bible says about homosexuality. And what little they think they know is grossly wrenched out of context. But the sad truth is that many Christians know less about this issue, biblically speaking, than those whose voices are being the agent of change in our culture. We simply don’t know how to defend the faith, and we look like fools when we try. So the culture throws the out of context verses at us, along with emotionally charged rhetoric, and we either respond with half thought answers, or we fold under the pressure. The result is that immorality grows unabated and the church loses more influence everyday.

So how do we address this? Well, it certainly isn’t going to be through protests, legislation and lawsuits. Just watch the evening news to see how well that battle is going. What’s worse, because there is no gospel centeredness in such efforts, all we appear to be are hate mongering jerks who want everyone to do things our way.

I believe that we as a church must first start by educating ourselves in the scriptures. And this means doing a lot of hermeneutical homework. We have to understand the passages of scripture, and their contexts, with regard to homosexuality. We also have to understand the passages the world loves to use to point out the so called hypocrisy in what we obey (such as the prohibitions to the Jews to wearing blended fabrics or eating shellfish). We have to understand for ourselves the differences between moral and civil laws and know what it is Christ really said about marriage. If we don’t take the time to do this individually, we will be ill prepared for any conversation that comes up. Incidentally, a good resource on this, which has prompted me to reconsider my involvement, is Dr. James White’s response to Matthew Vines (a young homosexual who spoke at a church regarding homosexuality not being sinful). Dr. White spent five hours on his webcast dissecting Mr. Vines’ speech and addressing the very issues we see being brought up today. He has made this response available as a download. You can find it on the main page at www.aomin.org. Please consider downloading and listening to this resource.

Once we have spent the time learning what the Bible really says, we need to start taking this out into the world to share. And I don’t mean go on some holy crusade to lash out at people on websites or get into arguments with people at protest rallies. I simply mean that as we talk with people, as we share the gospel, be prepared to answer this matter biblically. When the subject comes up with friends, relatives and co-workers (trust me, it will), give loving and compassionate answers straight from God’s word. Also, let us discuss this matter within our own homes. Face it, our husbands, wives and children are being exposed to this everyday. All you have to do is turn on the evening news and it’s right there. We have to raise them up in the scriptures so that they too will have a firm foundation to stand on.

Finally, let us be about our Father’s business of preaching the gospel at every single opportunity we have. Let us do so with great love and compassion, knowing that we too are sinners, but have been saved by the grace of Christ alone. While it is very easy to look at the agenda of the homosexual lobby and become angry, let us never forget that those lobbies contain hundreds and thousands of lost souls desperately in need of the gospel.

We have lost so much ground because, as a church, we have not invested the time to learn the right answers. We have lashed out angrily, we have given weak answers that toppled with a mere shove, or we have cowered into our philosophical corners and let the issue march right by. Yet, we serve a great and powerful God! His gospel is the power of salvation to all mankind! Let us not retreat in fear, let us not strike out in anger, but let us proclaim the truth to all mankind in love so that sinners might be saved. In doing, we might just change the attitude of our culture because people will be getting saved and led by the Spirit. Let us engage the culture and let us stand on God’s word alone.

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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).