A recent Pew Research Center Poll shows that the percentage of Americans identifying themselves as Christians has dropped from 79% to 71% over seven years. Evangelical Protestants have dropped 1% while those with no religious affiliation has increased. Should this be a cause for concern?
Does anyone really believe that 71% of Americans are Christians? It is simply the number of people who profess to be Christians. I would say the real percentage of Christians in America is less than 10%. Most professing Christians do not think or live Biblically. The name Christian has almost lost it's meaning. It is important to define the term when dealing with people in order to understand what they mean when they use the label Christian.
The United States is most definitely not a Christian nation. You would not have television, movies, internet, and music full of immorality, profanity, and blasphemy. A 71% Christian nation would not approve of homosexuality, abortion, or living together outside of marriage. A 71% Christian nation would honor God and his design for things.
So why are there so many false Christians? Much of the blame belongs to the leadership of the modern church. They have taught cheap grace as Dietrich Bonhoeffer called it or easy believism as John MacArthur has referred to it. A person simply makes the decision and then there is nothing to worry about. Salvation is presented as the work of man instead of the work of God.
In this pseudo-Christianity you have Christianity without the cross. There is no sacrifice, no self denial, and there is no cost of discipleship. There is no repentance, no required obedience, no church discipline, and no hell. You are presented a God with no wrath or judgment. There is no sense of the holiness of God and his sovereignty is denied.
So the decline of people identifying as Christians may actually be a good thing. The decline is occurring mainly because of the disappearance of the cultural expectation to identify as Christian. As the culture becomes more secular and hostile to Biblical Christianity the numbers will continue to decline.
Many professing Christians have a false assurance and are on the road to hell. The church needs to stop leading people astray and proclaim the truth. The modern American church is in bad need of reform. Unfortunately I think the only way we may see reform is if persecution comes to the American church. Then identifying as a Christian will be taken much more seriously.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Monday, May 11, 2015
A Look At The Gospels
So when were the gospels written? Who wrote them, aren't they anonymous? Do we need to look elsewhere for the historical Jesus? Questions are being raised about the trustworthiness of the four gospels in the Bible from The History Channel to CNN to Comedy Central.
The genre of the gospels is known as bios. This was ancient biography which focused on the key events and teachings of a person. It is actually not surprising that the four gospels are anonymous (the names of the authors are not included in them) because they were probably originally written to their own churches where the people already knew them.
Matthew
-Early church tradition is unanimous for the Apostle Matthew as the author.
-Both Papias (A.D. 135) and Irenaeus (A.D. 175) testify that it was written by Matthew.
-Irenaeus says that this gospel was written while Peter and Paul were still living.
-It was probably written around A.D. 60.
-Matthew was a tax collector who became an Apostle.
Mark
-Papias (A.D. 120) states that Mark wrote down the words of Peter.
-Papias received this tradition from the Apostle John.
-Church tradition says that Peter was in Rome in the early to mid 50's.
-This gospel was probably written from Rome around A.D. 55.
-The shortest gospel, it was also probably the first gospel written.
Luke
-Church tradition is unanimous for Luke as the author.
-Luke was a companion of Paul.
-Eusebius (A.D. 325) says Paul quoted from Luke saying "According to my gospel".
-It was probably written around A.D. 61.
-It is the longest gospel containing the most parables.
-Luke was a physician, an excellent historian, and also wrote Acts.
John
-Church tradition supports John as the author.
-Irenaeus (A.D. 175) states that Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John testified that John was the author of this gospel.
-Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 200) said that John wrote last of all the canonical gospels when he was old in age.
-John probably wrote from Ephesus.
-Probably written around A.D. 85.
All four of the gospels included in the New Testament canon were written in the first century. They were written by an Apostle or by an associate of an Apostle. The Apostles were given special authority from Jesus. Other so called gospels were written after the first century, not by the Apostles or an associate of the Apostles, were Gnostic (an ancient Christian heresy), and were often just plain strange.
The Biblical gospels are trustworthy
and reliable. They along with the rest of the Bible are the Word of God. Do not listen to Bart Ehrman, Elaine Pagels, or Marcus Borg. Anyone wishing to find the historical Jesus needs only to look to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The genre of the gospels is known as bios. This was ancient biography which focused on the key events and teachings of a person. It is actually not surprising that the four gospels are anonymous (the names of the authors are not included in them) because they were probably originally written to their own churches where the people already knew them.
Matthew
-Early church tradition is unanimous for the Apostle Matthew as the author.
-Both Papias (A.D. 135) and Irenaeus (A.D. 175) testify that it was written by Matthew.
-Irenaeus says that this gospel was written while Peter and Paul were still living.
-It was probably written around A.D. 60.
-Matthew was a tax collector who became an Apostle.
Mark
-Papias (A.D. 120) states that Mark wrote down the words of Peter.
-Papias received this tradition from the Apostle John.
-Church tradition says that Peter was in Rome in the early to mid 50's.
-This gospel was probably written from Rome around A.D. 55.
-The shortest gospel, it was also probably the first gospel written.
Luke
-Church tradition is unanimous for Luke as the author.
-Luke was a companion of Paul.
-Eusebius (A.D. 325) says Paul quoted from Luke saying "According to my gospel".
-It was probably written around A.D. 61.
-It is the longest gospel containing the most parables.
-Luke was a physician, an excellent historian, and also wrote Acts.
John
-Church tradition supports John as the author.
-Irenaeus (A.D. 175) states that Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John testified that John was the author of this gospel.
-Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 200) said that John wrote last of all the canonical gospels when he was old in age.
-John probably wrote from Ephesus.
-Probably written around A.D. 85.
All four of the gospels included in the New Testament canon were written in the first century. They were written by an Apostle or by an associate of an Apostle. The Apostles were given special authority from Jesus. Other so called gospels were written after the first century, not by the Apostles or an associate of the Apostles, were Gnostic (an ancient Christian heresy), and were often just plain strange.
The Biblical gospels are trustworthy
and reliable. They along with the rest of the Bible are the Word of God. Do not listen to Bart Ehrman, Elaine Pagels, or Marcus Borg. Anyone wishing to find the historical Jesus needs only to look to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
The World's Smallest Political Quiz
Take the quiz and see where you fit on the political map.
*Just 10 Questions
www.theadvocates.org/quiz
*Just 10 Questions
www.theadvocates.org/quiz
Monday, May 4, 2015
How Will The Supreme Court Rule On Same Sex Marriage?
The U.S. Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments for and against same sex marriage. There will likely be 4 in favor, 3 against, and 2 others who could go either way. It will most likely be 5-4 or 6-3 in favor of homosexual marriage being the law of the land. I would be shocked if they ruled against it.
So how did we get here? In recent decades we have seen the rise of secularism and the decline of the church. In the 1990's television began to make homosexuality appear normal especially with Ellen Degeneres. Today homosexuality is a common thing on television. Of course it is always presented as a good and positive thing.
Many of the young people approve of it seeing it as perfectly normal. Activists have succeeded in presenting it as a civil right as if the right to homosexual marriage is in the Constitution. Of course the Constitution says nothing about the right of same sex marriage. Activists have made a faulty argument in favor of it. They have equated sinful behavior with a person's skin color. This argument is absurd because the two things are not the same at all.
So what about religious liberty? Indiana recently enacted a law to protect the religious liberty of citizens so they would not have to violate their convictions. But the homosexual rights crowd went crazy and forced the state to basically scrape the law. Governor Pence and the Indiana legislators quickly caved under all the pressure. Will people eventually be fined or imprisoned for standing against homosexuality? Will calling it a sin be classified as hate speech? Christians could be persecuted for simply holding Biblical beliefs.
We have become an absurd and foolish people. We have embraced everything from homosexuals to transgenders. We have rejected and rebelled against God. It is like our nation is under a delusional spirit. Dare I say our nation is following the devil himself?
So how did we get here? In recent decades we have seen the rise of secularism and the decline of the church. In the 1990's television began to make homosexuality appear normal especially with Ellen Degeneres. Today homosexuality is a common thing on television. Of course it is always presented as a good and positive thing.
Many of the young people approve of it seeing it as perfectly normal. Activists have succeeded in presenting it as a civil right as if the right to homosexual marriage is in the Constitution. Of course the Constitution says nothing about the right of same sex marriage. Activists have made a faulty argument in favor of it. They have equated sinful behavior with a person's skin color. This argument is absurd because the two things are not the same at all.
So what about religious liberty? Indiana recently enacted a law to protect the religious liberty of citizens so they would not have to violate their convictions. But the homosexual rights crowd went crazy and forced the state to basically scrape the law. Governor Pence and the Indiana legislators quickly caved under all the pressure. Will people eventually be fined or imprisoned for standing against homosexuality? Will calling it a sin be classified as hate speech? Christians could be persecuted for simply holding Biblical beliefs.
We have become an absurd and foolish people. We have embraced everything from homosexuals to transgenders. We have rejected and rebelled against God. It is like our nation is under a delusional spirit. Dare I say our nation is following the devil himself?
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