martin luther

My dad and I just watched the movie Luther. It got me so excited, I had to write a quote:

Your Imperial Majesty and Your Lordships demand a simple answer. Here it is, plain and unvarnished. Unless I am convicted [convinced] of error by the testimony of Scripture or (since I put no trust in the unsupported authority of Pope or councils, since it is plain that they have often erred and often contradicted themselves) by manifest reasoning, I stand convicted [convinced] by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, and my conscience is taken captive by God's word, I cannot and will not recant anything, for to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us.

On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me.

Amen.


-Martin Luther (At the Diet Of Worms in 1521 - After being asked if he would recant his teaching.)

Mormon Preaching

My wife was talking to me the other day and telling me about some time that she had spent with a mother of my daughter's classmates. In the course of our conversation I asked my wife, "Does she go to church anywhere?" And my wife replied, "She grew up Catholic but she just started attending a Mormon church." I said, "Wow, how did that happen?" That's like going from worse to worser (excuse the poor English). My wife asked her the same thing and so proceeded to tell me her response. This young lady likes going to the Mormon church because she gets all kinds of advice and principles for marriage, parenting, the workplace and finances. My heart grieved...for several reasons.

The first being that she is going to a church where Christ is not exalted according to Scripture, where much of the same language as Christianity is used but the definitions are different, where law-keeping is a requirement for salvation and God is a man in an exalted state.

The second reason I grieved was because this type of preaching is exactly the way a large portion of Christian pastor's preach. They are under the impression that the unchurched will come to church if you give them principles by which they can better their lives. Some will add a one minute summary of a partial gospel at the end of their messages--a post script if you will, but the substance of preaching is not Christ--instead it is moral principles to live by. They treat Scripture as if it is an owner's manual to live be--not as though Christ is the substance of it all (Colossians 2:11, 16-17, John 5:39, John 5:46, Luke 24:27, Acts 17:2-3). I know some may disagree and say that only portions of the Old Testament referred to Christ, but if you look at how Christ and the Apostles used the Old Testament then you will see that they continually referred to Christ. They didn't call the unsaved together to hear sermons that would supposedly alleviate the stress they feel in this world. They preached Christ who came to deliver His enslaved people.

This is personally frustrating to me and scary at the same time. It is frustrating because the supremacy of the triune God is not exalted in preaching today...unregenerate man's perceived needs are. Much of today's preaching does not end with God Himself but with His gifts, His wisdom, His whatever. But preaching that exalts God is looked down upon as dry, uninteresting, and old-school. One catechism asks in the very first question: Who is the first and best of all beings? The answer: GOD is. And this is true. So for the pastor to get up each Sunday and proclaim God is to point his people and any unsaved in attendance to the One who can capture our hearts and minds forevermore. It is the opposite of dry and boring. During the preaching of the Word it is God Who serves us by showing us Christ in the Word. His gifts are secondary and only are shadows that lead us to HIM! And sadly much preaching today arouses affections towards the gifts that God gives us, but it never arouses any affections towards God Himself. And God's gifts are not to become more important to us than Himself. Such is the case with felt needs preaching. It never arouses love for God. All it does is direct the listener inwardly to focus on how their life can improve. And that is why this kind of preaching is scary to me. The unsaved can feel as though they are at peace with God because they are "practicing" the Bible. It can lead to a false sense of salvation.

If Mormon and Christian churches are giving principles by which to live out your marriages, finances, sex-life, parenting and so on, why should anyone choose a Christian church over a Mormon church. What really separates the two in message? For a lot of Christian churches the answer is nothing. There really is nothing distinct in the message.

Pastors, if your sermon can be preached in a Mormon, Catholic or Jehovah's Witness church and be received as if it is the same message they are preaching and if it can stand with no objections from them, then I dare say that you are not preaching the message of Scripture. You are not preaching Christ. And that is of no benefit whatsoever to so-called seekers. Indeed you are just scratching itching ears. You are giving false hope to the unsaved while you yourself may be deceived that the church is growing--that God is blessing your work--due to larger crowds.

Imagine how the church would be changed if Christ were supremely exalted and shown to be the treasure of all treasures. The worship of God would flourish. Local and worldwide evangelism would explode--for who can keep quiet about the one they love the most. Fellowship would be rampant and would not be based on external things like hobbies, former sins, etc. It would be based on the indwelling Spirit of Christ. And the Lord would sanctify, mature and disciple His people by the very Word which promises to conform us to the image of Christ--our all consuming desire.

Pastor, if your sermons are not weekly arousing affections for Christ, then what in the world are you preaching for? If the gospel message is a one minute P.S. at the end of a sermon, then can you honestly say that you care that the lost are without Christ? Your seeker-friendly sermons are not friendly at all.

Preach Christ.
Preach Christ.
Preach Christ or you have no business preaching at all. Your members and attenders might as well attend a Mormon service this coming Sunday.

T4G

Here is a classic ad for Together For The Gospel 2008:
(im going by myself so far. anyone coming with me?)

Hostile Minds

Colossians 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in
mind, doing evil deeds...

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to boast of Christ to some men who were hostile towards the Lord and His Word. I was at work looking for a guest to help but there were none at that time. One co-worker pointed out to another that I was a pastor. The 2nd gentlemen replied, "Oh, really." And the conversation started from there. Gentlemen #2 began to ask questions and state why he did not believe the Bible. Before I could reply to anything, Gentleman #3 jumped in and began to grind his axe as well. Sparks were flying everywhere and all I did was barely affirm that I had been a pastor for some time and studied the Bible most of my life.

With their axes sharpened they tried to tear down Christianity and the Word of God. I waited patiently for them to quiet down and I said, "If you like I can try to answer some of your questions. I have heard them before and I believe that Scripture offers reasonable responses to the objections you've raised. Now whether you believe them or accept them is another issue altogether. But I will tell you what the Bible says."

Their questions and statements ranged from: "Why would God order the slaughtering of babies?" "How is it fair for the native who's never heard of Jesus to be damned to hell?" "How do you know the Bible wasn't just written by men who had some great stories to tell?" I don't know about you, but I had never heard these tough questions...wink, wink.

In their hostility towards God they assumed that there were no valid explanations. I said, "Whoa! Let's slow down and try to answer them one at a time. You're asking some great questions and there are good answers to them. Let's start with the first one you mentioned." Knowing that some of these questions require some background and prior knowledge to answer them, I started at a place that they were not familiar with...God's holiness and hate for sin. But within a minute or two of the explanation they cut me off and said, "Get to the point." Seeing that their minds were set against God, my only hope was to continue declaring the Word of the Lord. I cast all confidence in my ability to persuade to the side and trusted in the Lord's Word which does not return void.

A fellow believer that was listening to the conversation later expressed to me that he was frustrated with their inability to listen to a Biblical response. They didn't really want answers. They really weren't seeking the truth. They just wanted to vent and grind their axes. Thank goodness the Word of the Lord is sharper than any man-made mental axe. Perhaps God penetrated a hard heart. I may never know.

But the one statement that clearly pointed to their spiritual blindness and natural ignorance had to do with the following Scripture. According to Gentleman #3, the follow Scripture was a clear indication of contradictions in the Word of God.

Matthew 5:38 [38] “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ [39] But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

There is a difference between law and grace. One requires that recompense be paid to the offended party. The other allows for graciousness, mercy and forgiveness. That is what the gospel is all about. They were straining to make a case against Scripture, when the Scripture they were so concerned about could have led them to find salvation from God's wrath in the mercy of Christ. Pray that the Holy Spirit regenerates these dead hearts.

nursery duty.

Matthew 19:14
But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."


Today i had the opportunity to serve in the nursery. At first i was sad to have to miss my fellowship group, but macy gebhards (possibly the world's best behaved baby) made it all worth it!

lead.

Psalm 31:3b

"for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;"

I might have posted this verse before; but I think that often times I seek guidance from God selfishly. I want this to be my prayer:

Lord, lead me and guide me for YOUR NAME'S SAKE!

What Is A Healthy Church?

I didn't even know that this book came out. Dever delivers another one (it seems like he just released "The Gospel And Personal Evangelism").

Here is what Tim Challies says:

"What is a Healthy Church? is a shortened, introductory version of Dever's previous book 9 Marks of a Healthy Church written primarily for people in the pews rather than the men in the pulpits. After all, church health is not the sole responsibility of a local church's leadership. "If you call yourself a Christian but you think a book about healthy churches is a book for church leaders or maybe for those `theological types,' while you would rather read books about the church life, it may be time to stop and consider again exactly what the Bible says a Christian is." Said even more forcefully, "you and all the members of your church, Christian, are finally responsible before God for what your church becomes, not your pastors and other leaders--you."

Here is a quote from the book:

"If you call yourself a Christian but you are not a member of the church you regularly attend, I worry that you might be going to hell."

Why so harsh?

"I want [the reader] to see something of the urgency of the need for a healthy local church in the Christian's life and to begin sharing the passion for the church that characterizes both Christ and his followers."

That's intense... passion for the church characterizes not only Christ but should also characterize us. Kind of like how oranges characterize an orange tree.