In our culture, the battle for worldviews is warring at a fever pitch.  Many see the battle as being between political mindsets: conservatism, which is grounded in practical, common sense thinking that gives people the freedom to pursue their dreams; and liberalism, being grounded in the desire to level the playing field and give everyone equal chance to meet the same dreams, even if it means denying some the ability to pursue their dreams further.  This political battle is played out on the nightly news, talk radio, rallies, schools, protest gatherings, and more.  It is seen as a battle as being between political parties, between the upper class and the average Joe.  However, the political aspect of this battle is really only part of a much bigger issue.  Conservatism and liberalism must have a source for their beliefs, somewhere that they draw their thinking from.  The real battle, the one where the war for worldviews rages hottest, is between truth and emotionalism.

Not all conservatives ground their arguments in truth and it is not just liberals who argue from an emotional viewpoint.  To determine how the battle for the mind is to be fought, we must understand the weapons of our warfare.  The worldview of truth seeks to determine what is actually true, to know that which comports with reality.  Upon knowing and understanding what is true, this worldview then informs the actions and emotions of the person who is submitting to truth.  By way of example, when someone learns that the law of gravity is what holds them to the ground, they understand that stepping off a cliff will result in death or serious bodily harm.  This knowledge informs their actions and emotions.  The person fears the possible consequences of falling and steps away from the edge of the cliff.

However, the worldview of emotionalism starts with the premise that what one feels about a matter is what determines truth.  The concern is not for what comports with reality, but rather with what is perceived by the person submitting to this worldview.  Perception and emotion determine what is true in the mind of this person and their actions will follow.  To use our same analogy, if a person perceives that gravity is simply a state of mind that can be overcome through intense concentration, then no matter how much evidence is submitted, they will deny that the dangers of falling will apply to them.  Thus, their emotions and perceptions overcome reality and the possible consequences their actions.  Eventually, the person will be driven to act on their beliefs and step out over the edge.  Sadly, the denial of the actual truth will have disastrous results.

Continue reading

The unbelieving world has repeatedly demonstrated that it has the mistaken belief that Christians are the “good people.”  The world often describes Christians (often sarcastically so) as those who follow the rules, do things right, always be moral and so forth.  That’s why they are so very quick to point out professing Christians who sin publicly.  There is a perverse pleasure in putting on display, for the world to see, a Christian who did something wrong, who failed to measure up.  In the eyes of the world, the Christian is someone who lives their lives always obeying God, earning favor with Him by doing what is right.  Because of this belief, they feel justified when we fall, because it means that, since we can’t toe the line, why should they bother?  But this belief is rooted in a complete misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christian.  Christianity is not a “do” religion; it is a “done” religion.  Our standing before God is not based on what we do for Him, but what He has already done for us.

I have previously written on how Christianity can be the only way when there are a myriad of other world religions.  The truth is that there are really only two religions, the religion of God and the religion of man.  The religion of man is the broad path of human achievement which leads to Hell.  Man seeks to atone for his own sins through various works to appease whatever false god he has set up in his mind.  His works cannot ever bring salvation because his nature is sinful; therefore, all that he does is sinful by consequence.  A sinful work can never atone for a sinful heart.  Every religion outside of Jesus Christ is part of the religion of man.  The true religion of God is that which is accomplished in the completed work of Jesus Christ.  His bloody sacrifice on the cross is the only possible atonement for sin because it is the perfect, sinless blood of the God-Man, Jesus Christ.  His propitiatory death paid the debt sinners owe to the perfect Judge in Heaven.  His resurrection, the resounding defeat of sin and death, promises eternal life to all who submit themselves to Him in repentance and faith.  This is religion of the narrow path that few find because it requires that man humble himself, acknowledging his own inability to save himself, and trust in the work of God to redeem him.

When the world looks at Christians and assumes that we are a people who are part of a “do” religion, it errs on a monumental level.  True, biblical Christianity takes someone who is depraved by nature and, through a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, changes his nature completely.  The Christian is freed from the bonds of sin and is made righteous in the eyes of God.  Rather than having to follow a bunch of spiritual do’s and dont’s to appease God, the Christian is made perfect in God’s eyes by being given the perfect righteousness of Christ.  In other words, all of Christ’s perfect work is already credited at the times of salvation to the Christian.  There is nothing more the Christian can do to add to the completed work of Jesus.  Nor can the Christian take anything away by his failure to obey God.  He is at one time justified.  Additionally, as stated above, the Christian’s nature is changed.  Prior to salvation, all people are slaves to their sinful nature.  Nothing we do is without the taint of selfish, self-pleasing, sin.  We are bound to it like a slave to his master.  Yet, in Christ, the Christian is freed from the bonds of sin.  He is now able to choose to not sin because he has been given a new heart with godly desires.  The Christian obeys God, not out of an attempt to earn God’s favor, but out of a genuine love for the One who changed him.

Continue reading

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written

 ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

And the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’

“Where is the one who is wise?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the debater of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.  For the Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

 “For consider your calling brothers:  not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is week in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.  And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (1 Cor. 1: 18-31)

It always causes me to stop in wonder when I hear a professing Christian tell a street preacher, “You’re doing it wrong.”  Not because I believe they have presented to me information that I have never considered before, rather, that they are blindly holding to a mindset that identifies with the wisdom of the world instead of the wisdom of God.  That is not to say that everyone who says this is a false believer who worships the world  (though that is possible), but that they are blind to what God’s Word has said regarding the preaching of the cross.  Sadly, such mindsets are not reserved for judgments on street evangelists.  It is far too often the case in American Evangelicalism that pastors and churches embrace this thinking.  There are a great many churches who, in an effort to increase numbers of professing believers, endorse pragmatic, worldly minded techniques to achieve their goal.  The result are churches who look, sound and taste like the world and have little to no resemblance to the God they claim to worship.

The Compromise of Corinth

In the above passage, the apostle Paul is writing to the church in Corinth.  History tells us that Corinth was well known for its hedonistic debauchery.  For a modern corollary, we may think of Las Vegas, New Orleans or even San Francisco.  While my readers might be from any of these locations, and may object to the characterization, it cannot be denied that these cities have a reputation tied directly to the industries they support.  As such, when people speak of these cities, those who live there are seen in light of those reputations.  Such was the case with Corinth.  In Paul’s day, to be one who lived in Corinth was to be one who had a reputation of being part of a very perverse culture.

Continue reading

I did not read Scripture today,

But I made sure to read the latest blogs
I devoured quotes from the the old dead guys,
And I listened to the best Christian podcasts,

That’s what I did today.

I did not pray today,

But I read the prayer requests from my friends,
I gave hearty assent to those who complain we need more prayers,
And I joined an online prayer group,

That’s what I did today.

I did not teach my children the Word today,

But I debated theology online,
I refuted my fellow brethren on their doctrinal beliefs,
And I proved I am the best debater in cyberspace,

That’s what I did today.

I did not share the gospel today,

But I complained about the lack of growth in my church,
I shared all those articles about the loss of Christian liberty,
And I signed a petition to let prayer back in school,

That’s what I did today.

I did not sing praises to God today,

But I complained about the lack of theology in worship,
I sent off a fiery letter to my worship leader about supporting that questionable band,
And I blocked that “Christian” station on my radio from playing,

That’s what I did today.

I did not edify my wife today,

But I posted an article on failing Christian marriages,
I rebuked an elder at church for what he let his wife say,
And I pointed out some “good marriages” to my wife saying we need to be like them,

That’s what I did today.

I looked at the state of my life today,

My children are in rebellion,
My wife is in pain,
My church is in shambles,
My walk with Christ is stagnate,
And I have no one to blame but me,

That is what I realized today.

Christian, what are you doing today?

When it comes to evangelism, there is a big divide between those who believe the law of God must be used and those who claim such use is judgmental and thus state it should never be addressed. For the purposes of this article, I want to address some of the objections that are given by those who oppose the use of the law in evangelism.

Thou Shalt not Judge

Most objections center on Matthew 7: 1-5 in which Jesus Christ states, “Judge not that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but you do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

The primary reason that this passage is used is the very clear statement in verse 1, “Judge not that you be not judged.” It would seem that Jesus made a very unambiguous command that Christians are not to judge other people. Therefore, many Christians see that telling a person they are sinning by pointing to God’s law is making a judgment of that person. Since Christians are not to judge others, to point out another person’s sin is a clear violation of this command. Were this verse to be the only statement on the matter, perhaps they would be correct. However, the context of the following verses actually defines what Christ meant in this command.

Continue reading

“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So also you, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” (Luke 17: 7-10 ESV)

Those of us who are born again Christians, wretched sinners made clean and redeemed by the blood of Christ, are called to be servants of our great and glorious King. Knowing we have no right to be in His presence, we willing[ly] bow the knee and submit to the authority of the One who purchased us by His sacrifice. We were once slaves to sin, to our most base desires and passions. But now the chains of bondage have been removed and we have been made willing servants of Christ. Therefore, it makes all the sense in the word that we would desire to obey the commands of our Lord and seek to please Him in all that we do. Yet, it often seems that those of us whom desire most earnestly to contend for the faith, who intensely strive to preach the truth of God’s word, can be prone to taking pride in what should be humble obedience to God.

It would seem unlikely that those who call themselves biblical Christians, those who decidedly proclaim that we should submit to all that God’s word teaches, would be those who would struggle with the tempestuous beast known as pride. Those who declare that God’s word is inspired, inerrant, and sufficient are those who would admit that they are wretched, foul, and deserving of the pits of Hell. They would declare that they were conceived in sin, that their entire life has been marked by the stain of lawlessness, and that they deserve the righteous wrath of God’s judgment. Those persons are the ones who confess that God, in His mercy, sent His Son to take the punishment they deserve on the cross, so that they might receive the righteousness of Christ through repentance and faith. Such professions are made through hearts humbled by the power of the gospel. No one who has been made a new creation in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit can arrogantly attest that they deserved to be saved by God. Therefore, it would seem that those who have been humbled by the cross would be the least likely to fall prey to pride.

Today, there is no end to the assaults on the Christian faith, whether from without or within. As our culture falls further prey to secular humanistic, post-modern thinking, the absolute, exclusivist claims of Christ are considered anathema to the “modern” world. We see ongoing attacks against the faith in our schools, workplaces, and the public square. The media openly mocks Christians, calling them hateful and intolerant, declaring biblical teachings to be regressive and dangerous. The government seeks to marginalize all Christians, giving token acknowledgement to the freedom to practice our faith and speak freely, but claiming that our beliefs are narrow-minded and that they exclude those with whom we disagree. Every which way Christians turn, there is an assault upon the faith, seeking to cause us to surrender to the onslaught of cultural progressivism.

Continue reading