Unity Where Possible, Truth At All Costs

"Unity where possible, truth at all costs" is a quote from Martin Luther (1483-1546).  Luther led the Protestant Reformation which was a recovery of Biblical truth.  Those of us today would do well to emulate Martin Luther in many ways.  We need men like Luther who are willing to stand for the truth no matter what the costs. 

Unfortunately in the modern church and society most are not willing to stand for the truth.  They just seek to get along and view the truth as unimportant.  Many are just concerned about their own comfort and convenience.  Their are even those who deny the existence of truth as well as the existence of right and wrong. 

Many are unwilling to speak the truth in the public square.  Many people, even many Christians are unwilling to take a stand against homosexuality.  Some think as long as Christians are allowed to preach the gospel we should keep quiet about controversial issues.  But the gospel may be the most controversial issue of all.  It will only be a matter of time before they will try to stop it as well. 

People must be confronted with the reality of their sin and their need of a savior.  Unpopular truths must be proclaimed.  Society must be told that Jesus is the only way to heaven.  We must tell the culture that Christianity is true and all other religions are false.  We must tell them that God created the world and everything in it.  Christians must teach that the Biblical creation account is true and evolution is false.  We must be willing to accept the costs of proclaiming the truth though.  It will make us unpopular.  We will also face ridicule and persecution. 

The truth has fallen on hard times even in the church.  Many are more worried about unity than they are about the truth.  For example Biblical Christians cannot be united with Roman Catholics, Mormons, the Emergent church, or those who hold to liberal theology.  Our ultimate concern must be the truth.  After all Jesus is the truth (John 14:6).  We must speak the truth with love though.  Our reason for proclaiming the truth should be love of people and love of God. 

Those speaking the truth these days are often called judgmental.  The modern church is worried about offending people.  It should be worried about offending God.  Jesus and the apostles often offended people with the truth.  Unity is a good thing but it must be unity in the truth.  Unity for the sake of unity is no good. 

Is Love All You Need?

The Beatles told us all you need is love and asked if we had heard the word is love.  For the Beatles and the 1960's counter culture love became a god.  When you reject the one, true God you will always have to find a substitute.  Love is a wonderful thing but it can't substitute for God himself.  God is love but love is not God.  Love is actually one of the characteristics of God.  By the way, actually the Word is Jesus (John 1:1). 

Many people today believe in a god who just loves them and approves of whatever they do.  Of course this is love as defined by them.  Their god doesn't judge or make any demands of them.  There is no moral code for them to follow.  There god wouldn't send people to hell or display wrath, and sin is no big deal.   They are right in saying their god wouldn't do these things because he couldn't.  He could not do these things because he does not exist.  Their god is made up by them.  In reality they are trying to be their own god. 

In the modern church many only want to talk about the love of God.  They do not want to offend people, they only want to please them.  True love for God and people means we must speak the truth.  People must be told of the reality of their sin and that it incurs the wrath of God.  God must be presented as he really is.  He is sovereign, holy, majestic, supreme, and a judge.  He is loving and merciful as well but we must have a complete view of God.  We must accept God as he has revealed himself to us in the Bible.  God showed his love for us most of all when he sent Christ to save his people from their sins. 

In Defense Of Calvinism

I agree with Charles Spurgeon who said that Calvinism is just a nickname for Biblical Christianity.  Calvinism is also known as Reformed theology.  It has it's roots in the Protestant Reformation, which was basically a recovery of Biblical Christianity.  Reformed theology is really the classic Protestant position.  Unfortunately many modern evangelicals reject it, leaning toward Arminianism.  Words like predestination, chosen, and the elect cause many to freak out. 

The typical description of Calvinism goes something like this.  God drags some people kicking and screaming to salvation against their will, while rejecting others who want to be saved.  God is unfair and man has no free will, makes no actual choices, and is just a mere puppet.  Evangelism is destroyed as well.  And this was all made up by a terrible monster named John Calvin.  There is just one problem with this description, it is not Calvinism. 

In the Reformed view no one is forced to be saved against his will and no one who truly believes is rejected.  Calvinism teaches that people are dead in their sins and cannot respond to God.  This is sometimes called the bondage of the will.  People who are dead in their sins have no desire or inclination for God.  Jonathan Edwards pointed out that people choose what they most desire.  When people are dead in their sins they will never choose God because they have no desire for him.  Their will is in bondage to sin.  They make real choices but the choices are never for God.  Dead men can't make themselves alive so they must be made alive by God.  When they are made alive by God or born again, they will respond to God.  When we go from being spiritually dead to being spiritually alive, Jesus becomes irresistible to us. 

The Reformed view is also seen as unfair.  It just does not seem fair that some are chosen and predestined for salvation while others are not.  Behind this objection is the belief that we really deserve to go to heaven.  God actually owes it to us.  But this is not the case at all.  All people have sinned against God and deserve to face his wrath in hell for eternity.  If everyone got what they deserved, it would mean that everyone would go to hell.  God has the right to decree that some will receive salvation and others will not because he is God.  Salvation is totally by God's grace.  

Evangelism is not destroyed by Calvinism either.  Evangelism is the means God uses to bring his people to himself.  The elect are unknown so the gospel is proclaimed to all.  Only those chosen by God will respond with faith in Christ.  In the Reformed view God actually saves his people, he doesn't just make it possible.  In the Reformed view salvation is of the Lord, not dependent on man.  Some well known evangelists who were also Calvinists include:  Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield (prominent figures in the Great Awakening), Charles Spurgeon (the Prince of Preachers), and William Carey (considered the father of modern missions). 

Calvinism was also not made up by John Calvin and he was not a monster either.  R.C. Sproul points out that Martin Luther wrote more about predestination than John Calvin did.  One should read Luther's "The Bondage of the Will".  It was also the theology of the church father, Augustine.  And most importantly Reformed theology is taught throughout the Bible.  I do not know how anyone can read passages such as Romans 9 and Ephesians 1&2 and not adopt the Reformed view. 

The Arminian view has many problems itself.  In trying to save the freedom of man it actually limits the freedom of God.  It ends up denying his sovereignty.  If God is not sovereign he is not God.  Arminianism makes salvation dependent on man instead of God.  That adds works to salvation and it is no longer by grace.  God ends up sharing the glory with man in this view.  In the Arminian view Jesus doesn't actually save people he just makes it possible for them to be saved.  It ultimately depends on their decision.  The Arminian view also teaches that Jesus paid for the sins of all people.  This would mean universal salvation because no one would still have to pay the penalty for their sins if Jesus had already paid for them.  Another problem for Arminianism is that it has God trying to save all people but not succeeding.  The Bible clearly teaches that God does not fail, his will is never thwarted. 

Calvinism is rejected by many because it takes the control away from us.  It teaches that God is in control he is sovereign.  In the Reformed view it is to God alone be the glory.  Man does not get to share the glory.  This is not what we want to believe it goes against our natural human reason.  It has been said that all Christians are Calvinists when they pray and this is true.  Reformed theology is indeed Biblical Christianity. 

As John Calvin said, "Since no man is excluded from calling upon God the gate of salvation is open to all.  There is nothing else to hinder us from entering, but our own unbelief." 

On The Cover Of The Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone magazine has put the picture of the younger Boston Marathon bomber on it's cover.  The magazine cover glamorizes him like a rock star.  But he is a terrorist and murderer.  Rolling Stone actually romanticizes an Islamic jihadist.  Islamists themselves are probably laughing at us and thinking we are incredibly stupid. 

Many people are outraged by this cover even many liberals.  Think of how this makes those who lost loved ones and those who suffered injuries feel.  The magazine says that he was failed by his family.  We are supposed to take a sympathetic view of him and feel sorry for him.  I feel sorry for those people he murdered and injured.  Rolling Stone should be ashamed of itself.  They should rename their magazine Rolling Stain.

In modern America some leftists do seem sympathetic to Islamic jihadists.  This is a strange alliance though, maybe it is because they share common enemies.  They both hate traditional America, capitalism, and the Judeo-Christian heritage. 

Secularists/leftists have trouble defining evil.  Even the most obvious evils seem to allude them.  This happens with the rejection of Biblical revelation.  Rolling Stone is a leftist magazine that rejects Biblical truth. And the rejection of Biblical truth is a rejection of the God who is there.  Rolling Stone regularly makes rock stars and pop culture figures appear as gods.  Now they have even done this with a murderer and terrorist.  With the rejection of the one true God comes a loss of the sense of right and wrong.  Unclear thinking results and the whole world is turned upside down.   

Grace Alone, Faith Alone

(Ephesians 2:8-9) "For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."  (ESV)


We are saved by grace through faith, not by works.  Most evangelicals would agree with this statement but do they really hold to it?

Grace refers to God's unmerited favor on sinners.  While faith consists of knowledge, belief, and trust in Christ.  Grace and faith are both gifts from God. 

(Ephesians 2:1-5) tells us that we were dead in our sins and had to be made alive by God.  When we were dead in our sins we were unable to respond to God and had no inclination for him.  Our will was in bondage to sin.  Christians had to be made alive before they could believe.  In other words you must be born again before you can believe.  This is actually the opposite of what many modern evangelicals believe.  They say that you must believe in order to make yourself alive or born again. 

It is hard to see how one who is dead in sin could make himself alive.  The passage obviously teaches that God must make a person alive before he can respond in faith.  After a person is made spiritually alive he will respond in faith alone to obtain salvation.  It is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone that a person is saved.  It is not achieved through works but is totally the work of God.  No one can earn salvation because all have sinned against God and only deserve to face his wrath.  We are only saved from his wrath by the blood of Christ.  It is important to note that while we are not saved by our works, saving faith does produce good works (Ephesians 2:10). 

So salvation is by grace through faith totally a gift of God.  If salvation was dependent on the work or decision of a person it would no longer be by grace.  If the decision of a person was the final determiner of salvation then their would be room for boasting.  Unfortunately many evangelicals actually make salvation seem to be God and man working together.  But in reality it is the work of God alone.  Since it is grace alone and faith alone, and these are gifts from God, it is to God alone be the glory. 

The Separation Of Church And State

The 1st amendment of the U.S. Constitution says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"...

We notice that the words separation of church and state are not in the Constitution.  In a certain sense there should be a separation of the church and the state.  Each should operate in it's proper sphere.  The church should not control the government and the government should not control the church. 

But the 1st amendment was written mainly to protect religion from the government.  While it prohibits Congress from establishing a religion, the individual states actually could establish their own religion.  In fact some did have established religions into the 1800's after the Constitution was written.  I do not think an established religion is a good thing but it is still constitutional for the states to do so. 

The 1st amendment also guarantees the free exercise of religion.  This concept seems to be lost on many modern secularists and liberals.  In our modern society secularists/atheists have tried to eliminate religion (that is Christianity) from the public square.  By doing this they are violating the Constitution.  In fact the founders of our country expected there to be a Christian influence on the government. 

The real agenda of secular liberals is to impose their belief system or shall we say religion on the rest of us.  They want to eliminate the Christian influence from our society.  They actually do not like Jesus because he shines light into their darkness. 
Secularists do not want any judgments made about them and their lifestyles.  They wish to remain comfortable in their sin. 

Secular liberals always talk about tolerance but they are only tolerant of those who agree with them.  In reality they are actually intolerant.  Under the guise of tolerance they seek to have secularism/atheism reign in our society. 

But our Constitutional Republic cannot be maintained without it's Biblical foundation.  Freedom requires the existence of virtue among the people.  And virtue can only exist with a Biblical foundation. 

Stephen, The First Christian Martyr

We find Stephen in the Book of Acts (6:1-8:3).  The events recorded in the Bible about Stephen took place around A.D. 34. 

There arose a problem in the Jerusalem church concerning the Hellenists widows.  It seems the Hellenists widows were being neglected in the daily distribution, a provision for the poor.  The Hellenists were Greek speaking Jews who lived outside of Palestine.  While the Hebrews lived in Palestine and primarily spoke Aramaic.  The language barrier may have been a reason for the neglect of the Hellenists widows. 

The apostles then had the disciples select seven men from among them to take care of this duty so they could focus on prayer and the ministry of the Word. They were to be men of good repute, full of the Spirit and wisdom.  Most notable among the seven were Stephen and Philip the evangelist.  Some interpreters see the seven as the first deacons but the text never refers to them as deacons.  Stephen himself helped the needy but it seems he primarily focused on the ministry of the Word. 

Stephen was a Hellenist (Greek speaking Jew), and was said to be full of grace, power, wisdom, and the Holy Spirit.  He preached Christ in the Greek speaking synagogues.  There arose some who disputed with Stephen but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.  They accused him of blasphemy and brought him before the council or Sanhedrin.  They had false witnesses testify that he spoke against the temple and the law, saying Jesus would destroy the temple and the customs from Moses. 

As Stephen was before the Sanhedrin his face appeared like the face of an angel.  It showed the brightness of the glory of God.  Stephen then made a speech before the council in which he mad his defense.  In the speech he gave an overview of Old Testament history.  He focused on the patriarchs, Moses, and the continued apostasy of Israel.  Stephen turned the argument around on the Jewish leaders.  He showed that they were the ones who were disobeying and rejecting God.  The Israelites constantly rejected the leaders and prophets God sent them.  In the speech Stephen also showed that the temple cannot contain God.  It was also to be temporary until the time of Christ.  Stephen closed his speech calling them a stiff necked people who resist the Holy Spirit.  He accused them of killing the prophets and told them they had now betrayed and murdered Jesus, the Messiah. 

On hearing these things the Jewish leaders were enraged.  But Stephen looked to heaven and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  They then took him out of the city to stone him.  Stephen's final words were "Lord Jesus receive my spirit" and "Lord do not hold this sin against them".  After this persecution broke out against the Jerusalem church and the disciples were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.  The gospel had begun to be taken to the ends of the earth. 

As Stephen was being stoned a man name Saul also known as Paul was there giving his approval.  Stephen's witness had a great effect on Paul (Acts 22:20).  This persecutor of the church would soon become a Christian himself.  Paul would go on to become a great apostle and wrote 13 books of the New Testament  lead by the Holy Spirit. 

Where are the men like Stephen in the church today?  There do not seem to be many with the boldness and devotion he showed.  His speech would be considered harsh by many modern American Christians.  But he was correct in what he said because he was full of the Holy Spirit as he spoke.  We need men who are willing to boldly speak the truth and who are willing to die for the cause of Christ.