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Wednesday, May 6, 2015
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?
Monday, April 20, 2015
A Call For Protestant Separatism
This is not a call for an extremist separatism or a return to Fundamentalism. In case you have not noticed America is not exactly Christian and Evangelicalism is not exactly transforming the culture. We need something between Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism. It needs to be distinctly Protestant in the line of the Reformers and the Puritans. We need a return to classic Protestantism, which is Biblical Christianity.
Fundamentalism became extremely separatist and legalistic. It became anti intellectual and withdrew from the world. While Fundamentalism was not of the world, it was also not in the world. Evangelicalism set out to reform Fundamentalism. But it became too accommodationist and lacked doctrinal distinctiveness. Without the theological distinctiveness it could not sustain itself. Evangelicalism has been said to be a mile wide and an inch deep, it has become shallow. Evangelicals seem to think that they need to become like the world in order to reach the world (a distortion of Biblical teaching). Some have even commented that Evangelicalism has managed to be of the world but not in the world.
The call for Protestant separatism is needed. It may just be the case that we must get smaller in order to become more effective in the long run. It must be distinctively Protestant and separate from other groups that are not.
Mainline or liberal Protestants should be separated from. As Machen said liberalism is not Christianity at all. The liberal Protestants have no right to use the name Protestant either. Evangelicals and Catholics together sounds nice but the divide is too wide. The Roman Catholic Church does not even get the gospel right. Some seem to think we can unite with the Mormons. But Mormonism is a Christian heresy with its many gods. The emergent church, the seeker sensitive movement, and the prosperity gospel should all be avoided too.
We need to stop trying to be like the world and start being the church. Protestants must separate from the world. I mean to be in the world but not of the world. We must also separate from false and erroneous teaching which pervades the modern church. We need a distinct Protestantism to proclaim truth to the world and to be an example to it. We must not water down our doctrine in order to partner with other groups.
We must recover our confidence in the authority and sufficiency of the Bible. We must hold to the gospel of grace, salvation is the work of God and not the work of man. We must also recover our sense of the greatness of God. We must focus on the holiness, majesty, and transcendence of God.
We must hold to Biblical Christianity and not compromise it. Classic Protestantism represents true Christianity. We must hold to Protestant distinctives to reach and influence the world. We must have intellectual vigor along with heart felt devotion. We must love God with our minds and our hearts.
Fundamentalism became extremely separatist and legalistic. It became anti intellectual and withdrew from the world. While Fundamentalism was not of the world, it was also not in the world. Evangelicalism set out to reform Fundamentalism. But it became too accommodationist and lacked doctrinal distinctiveness. Without the theological distinctiveness it could not sustain itself. Evangelicalism has been said to be a mile wide and an inch deep, it has become shallow. Evangelicals seem to think that they need to become like the world in order to reach the world (a distortion of Biblical teaching). Some have even commented that Evangelicalism has managed to be of the world but not in the world.
The call for Protestant separatism is needed. It may just be the case that we must get smaller in order to become more effective in the long run. It must be distinctively Protestant and separate from other groups that are not.
Mainline or liberal Protestants should be separated from. As Machen said liberalism is not Christianity at all. The liberal Protestants have no right to use the name Protestant either. Evangelicals and Catholics together sounds nice but the divide is too wide. The Roman Catholic Church does not even get the gospel right. Some seem to think we can unite with the Mormons. But Mormonism is a Christian heresy with its many gods. The emergent church, the seeker sensitive movement, and the prosperity gospel should all be avoided too.
We need to stop trying to be like the world and start being the church. Protestants must separate from the world. I mean to be in the world but not of the world. We must also separate from false and erroneous teaching which pervades the modern church. We need a distinct Protestantism to proclaim truth to the world and to be an example to it. We must not water down our doctrine in order to partner with other groups.
We must recover our confidence in the authority and sufficiency of the Bible. We must hold to the gospel of grace, salvation is the work of God and not the work of man. We must also recover our sense of the greatness of God. We must focus on the holiness, majesty, and transcendence of God.
We must hold to Biblical Christianity and not compromise it. Classic Protestantism represents true Christianity. We must hold to Protestant distinctives to reach and influence the world. We must have intellectual vigor along with heart felt devotion. We must love God with our minds and our hearts.
Monday, April 13, 2015
The Righteousness Of God
(Romans 1:16-17) "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith." (ESV)
Paul emphatically states that he is not ashamed of the gospel. Unfortunately many Christians today seem to be ashamed of the gospel. They are intimidated by the secular culture often being called intolerant or narrow minded. But the gospel is the truth even in our postmodern culture that says there is no truth.
The gospel is the power of God for salvation. People are saved when they hear and believe the gospel. Salvation does not come through hearing someone's testimony or by persuasive speech or by any other means. It is through the gospel, the Word of God that people receive salvation.
In this gospel the righteousness of God is revealed. The primary meaning of the phrase is in the sense of the righteousness from God. It is the basis for our justification. Christians are declared righteous and not guilty. The perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed or credited to believers. We must have the righteousness of Christ because none of us are truly righteous. When God looks upon the believer he sees Christ and his perfect righteousness. The righteousness of God also refers to his holiness and justice. But it primarily refers to the righteousness of Christ (Philippians 3:9, 2 Corinthians 5:21).
The righteous shall live by faith. The righteous are those who have the righteousness of Christ. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. Those who place their faith in Jesus receive eternal life.
Paul emphatically states that he is not ashamed of the gospel. Unfortunately many Christians today seem to be ashamed of the gospel. They are intimidated by the secular culture often being called intolerant or narrow minded. But the gospel is the truth even in our postmodern culture that says there is no truth.
The gospel is the power of God for salvation. People are saved when they hear and believe the gospel. Salvation does not come through hearing someone's testimony or by persuasive speech or by any other means. It is through the gospel, the Word of God that people receive salvation.
In this gospel the righteousness of God is revealed. The primary meaning of the phrase is in the sense of the righteousness from God. It is the basis for our justification. Christians are declared righteous and not guilty. The perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed or credited to believers. We must have the righteousness of Christ because none of us are truly righteous. When God looks upon the believer he sees Christ and his perfect righteousness. The righteousness of God also refers to his holiness and justice. But it primarily refers to the righteousness of Christ (Philippians 3:9, 2 Corinthians 5:21).
The righteous shall live by faith. The righteous are those who have the righteousness of Christ. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. Those who place their faith in Jesus receive eternal life.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Peace With God
(Romans 5:1) "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (ESV)
Because of sin people are not at peace with God. Sin breaks our relationship with God and makes us enemies of him. Because of sin we face the wrath of God. God's holiness and justice requires that he punish sin. All people are sinners, in fact we are all born sinners. We have all fallen short of God's perfect standard of righteousness. No person is righteous, not even one. We have all rebelled against God and turned away from him. The result of sin is death, both physical and spiritual. We all deserve to face God's punishment and spend eternity in hell.
So how can we be made right with God? Our good works and religious rituals will not accomplish it. God requires perfect righteousness and none of us are capable of that. We are justified (that means to be declared righteous, not guilty) by faith alone in Christ alone. Jesus lived a perfect life without sin allowing him to be our perfect substitute. Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sins of his people. On the cross God's wrath was poured out on Jesus instead of on us who deserved it. Jesus was then raised from the dead bodily victorious over sin, death, and the devil. The resurrection proves that Jesus is God and that his sacrifice for sin was accepted by God the Father.
Because of God's love and grace we can be saved from our sins and have peace with God. All people must repent of their sins and place their trust in Christ alone for salvation. Repent means to have a change of mind. After true repentance a person desires to live for God and no longer live against God. The person's desire is to obey God. True Christians still commit sins but they agree with God that their sin is sin and confess it to him.
Our salvation is because of Christ alone. He takes our sins on himself and his righteousness is credited to us. This is true for all who truly believe in him. If we could be saved by our own works or efforts then Christ died for no purpose. Because we could not save our selves, Christ accomplished salvation for us. Because of Jesus and his work on the cross we no longer face the wrath and judgment of God. Believers have peace with God. This is both and internal and external peace. This is all because of God's grace (that is his undeserved favor toward us). Even though we deserved to go to hell we can now go to heaven if we repent and believe in Jesus. To God alone be the glory.
Because of sin people are not at peace with God. Sin breaks our relationship with God and makes us enemies of him. Because of sin we face the wrath of God. God's holiness and justice requires that he punish sin. All people are sinners, in fact we are all born sinners. We have all fallen short of God's perfect standard of righteousness. No person is righteous, not even one. We have all rebelled against God and turned away from him. The result of sin is death, both physical and spiritual. We all deserve to face God's punishment and spend eternity in hell.
So how can we be made right with God? Our good works and religious rituals will not accomplish it. God requires perfect righteousness and none of us are capable of that. We are justified (that means to be declared righteous, not guilty) by faith alone in Christ alone. Jesus lived a perfect life without sin allowing him to be our perfect substitute. Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sins of his people. On the cross God's wrath was poured out on Jesus instead of on us who deserved it. Jesus was then raised from the dead bodily victorious over sin, death, and the devil. The resurrection proves that Jesus is God and that his sacrifice for sin was accepted by God the Father.
Because of God's love and grace we can be saved from our sins and have peace with God. All people must repent of their sins and place their trust in Christ alone for salvation. Repent means to have a change of mind. After true repentance a person desires to live for God and no longer live against God. The person's desire is to obey God. True Christians still commit sins but they agree with God that their sin is sin and confess it to him.
Our salvation is because of Christ alone. He takes our sins on himself and his righteousness is credited to us. This is true for all who truly believe in him. If we could be saved by our own works or efforts then Christ died for no purpose. Because we could not save our selves, Christ accomplished salvation for us. Because of Jesus and his work on the cross we no longer face the wrath and judgment of God. Believers have peace with God. This is both and internal and external peace. This is all because of God's grace (that is his undeserved favor toward us). Even though we deserved to go to hell we can now go to heaven if we repent and believe in Jesus. To God alone be the glory.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Jesus Lives
You ask me how I know he lives, he lives inside my heart, the popular hymn tells us. Although "He Lives" is well intentioned it actually gives us weak theology and a weak answer to the question of how we know Jesus lives.
It presents Christianity as something that is just internal and feelings based, like a leap of faith. In this regard it is much like the view of skeptics and atheists. Christian belief is seen as not being reasonable or historically verifiable. One is to believe in spite of evidence to the contrary. A false dichotomy is set up between faith and reason.
In reality Christianity is reasonable and historically verifiable. It deals with external reality as well as internal reality. The Christian worldview is intellectually robust and satisfying.
People learn theology from hymns and spiritual songs so they are important. Weak theology produces weak Christians, a weak church, and a weak Christianity in the public square.
So how do we know Jesus was raised from the dead? We will look at how the Apostle Paul dealt with the question in (1 Corinthians 15).
(1 Corinthians 15:3-4) "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" (ESV)
Paul starts with the testimony of Scripture as a reason for believing in the bodily resurrection of Christ. At this time the Scriptures were the Old Testament. Christ's death and resurrection fulfilled prophecy from the Bible. Paul may have had in mind (Isaiah 53, Hosea 6:2, Psalm 16:10).
Then in (1 Corinthians 15:5-9) Paul recounts resurrection appearances of Christ. The appearances were to Cephas (Peter), the 12 Apostles, more than 500 brothers (most still living), James, all the apostles, and last of all to Paul.
If anyone doubted the resurrection of Christ he could ask over 500 witnesses who had seen the risen Lord. The resurrection is a historically verifiable fact. There were witnesses to the actual historical event.
Ultimately we know the resurrection is true because the Bible tells us it is true. God has revealed it to us in his Word. The Bible is self authenticating. The Bible is the inerrant, infallible, authoritative Word of God. The Biblical worldview is consistent, non contradictory, livable, and it gives us reality. No other worldview can measure up to this standard.
So why is the resurrection of Christ so important? If there is no resurrection there is no Christianity (1 Corinthians 15:17). The resurrection proves that Jesus is the Son of God and that his substitutionary sacrifice was accepted by God the Father as payment for sin.
It presents Christianity as something that is just internal and feelings based, like a leap of faith. In this regard it is much like the view of skeptics and atheists. Christian belief is seen as not being reasonable or historically verifiable. One is to believe in spite of evidence to the contrary. A false dichotomy is set up between faith and reason.
In reality Christianity is reasonable and historically verifiable. It deals with external reality as well as internal reality. The Christian worldview is intellectually robust and satisfying.
People learn theology from hymns and spiritual songs so they are important. Weak theology produces weak Christians, a weak church, and a weak Christianity in the public square.
So how do we know Jesus was raised from the dead? We will look at how the Apostle Paul dealt with the question in (1 Corinthians 15).
(1 Corinthians 15:3-4) "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" (ESV)
Paul starts with the testimony of Scripture as a reason for believing in the bodily resurrection of Christ. At this time the Scriptures were the Old Testament. Christ's death and resurrection fulfilled prophecy from the Bible. Paul may have had in mind (Isaiah 53, Hosea 6:2, Psalm 16:10).
Then in (1 Corinthians 15:5-9) Paul recounts resurrection appearances of Christ. The appearances were to Cephas (Peter), the 12 Apostles, more than 500 brothers (most still living), James, all the apostles, and last of all to Paul.
If anyone doubted the resurrection of Christ he could ask over 500 witnesses who had seen the risen Lord. The resurrection is a historically verifiable fact. There were witnesses to the actual historical event.
Ultimately we know the resurrection is true because the Bible tells us it is true. God has revealed it to us in his Word. The Bible is self authenticating. The Bible is the inerrant, infallible, authoritative Word of God. The Biblical worldview is consistent, non contradictory, livable, and it gives us reality. No other worldview can measure up to this standard.
So why is the resurrection of Christ so important? If there is no resurrection there is no Christianity (1 Corinthians 15:17). The resurrection proves that Jesus is the Son of God and that his substitutionary sacrifice was accepted by God the Father as payment for sin.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Presbyterian Church (USA) Embraces Homosexual Marriage
The Presbyterian Church (USA) has officially endorsed homosexual marriage. This comes as no surprise because the denomination has been on the wrong track for nearly a century. The PCUSA has been captive to theological liberalism since the days when it removed J. Gresham Machen, the great defender of Biblical Christianity, from the denomination.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) should no longer even be considered Christian. There are still some true Christians in the denomination but the leadership and the denomination as a whole are not truly Christian.
The Bible plainly says that homosexuality is a sin (Romans 1:18-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Leviticus 18:22). But the PCUSA has rejected the authority of Scripture and elevated human reason and experience over it. The rejection of the ultimate authority of the Bible is a rejection of the ultimate authority of God.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) and other liberal Protestants have rejected Christianity and are regressing toward paganism. As Machen said liberalism is not Christianity at all. True Christians in the PCUSA should leave it. Presbyterians should move to the Presbyterian Church In America. The PCA is a conservative, Bible believing denomination.
Even more troubling may be that some Evangelicals are embracing homosexuality. Evangelicals are supposed to be the ones who hold to the authority of the Bible. In Evangelicalism many have elevated their own experience over the Bible. Our own experience and feelings cannot be trusted because they are tainted by sin. The Bible is authoritative because it is from God.
Will Evangelicalism go the way of theological liberalism? Will it follow the culture into paganism? Biblical Christians must stand strong for the truth of God's Word even if it means being unpopular with the surrounding culture.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) should no longer even be considered Christian. There are still some true Christians in the denomination but the leadership and the denomination as a whole are not truly Christian.
The Bible plainly says that homosexuality is a sin (Romans 1:18-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Leviticus 18:22). But the PCUSA has rejected the authority of Scripture and elevated human reason and experience over it. The rejection of the ultimate authority of the Bible is a rejection of the ultimate authority of God.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) and other liberal Protestants have rejected Christianity and are regressing toward paganism. As Machen said liberalism is not Christianity at all. True Christians in the PCUSA should leave it. Presbyterians should move to the Presbyterian Church In America. The PCA is a conservative, Bible believing denomination.
Even more troubling may be that some Evangelicals are embracing homosexuality. Evangelicals are supposed to be the ones who hold to the authority of the Bible. In Evangelicalism many have elevated their own experience over the Bible. Our own experience and feelings cannot be trusted because they are tainted by sin. The Bible is authoritative because it is from God.
Will Evangelicalism go the way of theological liberalism? Will it follow the culture into paganism? Biblical Christians must stand strong for the truth of God's Word even if it means being unpopular with the surrounding culture.
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