June 4, 2009

The hardened disobedience of men’s hearts leads not to the frustration of God’s plans, but to their fruition.

April 11, 2009

“I have a great need for Christ; I have a great Christ for my need.”
– Spurgeon

“Jesus does not give recipes that show the way to God as other teachers of religion do. He is Himself the way.”
-Karl Barth

“I had rather be in hell with Christ, than be in heaven without Him.”
– Martin Luther

“Defend the Bible? I would as soon defend a lion! Unchain it and it will defend itself.”
– C. H. Spurgeon

March 21, 2009

If any of you should ask me for an epitome of the Christian religion, I should say that it is in one word - prayer. Live and die without prayer, and you will pray long enough when you get to hell.

-Spurgeon

March 20, 2009

Let this truth be our foundation: that there is more mercy in Christ than there is sin in us.

War

March 8, 2009

Ed Welch, in preparation for his book called A Banquet in the Grave (Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 2001), said: . . . there is a mean streak to authentic self-control. . . Self-control is not for the timid. When we want to grow in it, not only do we nurture an exuberance for Jesus Christ, we also demand of ourselves a hatred for sin. . . . The only possible attitude toward out-of-control desire is a declaration of all-out war. . . . There is something about war that sharpens the senses . . . You hear a twig snap or the rustling of leaves and you are in attack mode. Someone coughs and you are ready to pull the trigger. Even after days of little of no sleep, war keeps us vigilant.

There is a mean, violent streak in the true Christian life! But violence against whom, or what? Not other people. It’s a violence against all the impulses in us that would be violent to other people. It’s a violence against all the impulses in our own selves that would make peace with our own sin and settle in with a peacetime mentality. It’s a violence against all lust in ourselves, and enslaving desires for food or caffeine or sugar or chocolate or alcohol or pornography or money or the praise of men and the approval of others or power or fame. It’s violence against the impulses in our own soul toward racism and sluggish indifference to injustice and poverty and abortion.

Christianity is not a settle-in-and-live-at-peace-with-this-world-the-way-it-is kind of religion. If by the Spirit you kill the deeds of your own body, you will live. Christianity is war. On our own sinful impulses.

February 22, 2009

The amount we sin is directly proportional to how much we fear God.

Solid in Sovereign Grace

February 15, 2009

IT is a great thing to begin the Christian life by believing good solid doctrine. Some people have received twenty different
“gospels” in as many years. How many more they will accept before they get to their journey’s end, it would be
difficult to predict. I thank God that He early taught me the Gospel and I have been so perfectly satisfied with it that I do
not want to know any other. Constant change of creed is sure loss. If a tree has to be taken up two or three times a year
you will not need to build a very large loft in which to store the apples.
When people are always shifting their doctrinal principles they are not likely to bring forth much fruit to the glory
of God. It is good for young Believers to begin with a firm hold upon those great fundamental doctrines which the Lord
has taught in His Word. Why if I believed what some preach about the temporary, trumpery salvation which only lasts
for a time I would scarcely be at all grateful for it. But when I know that those whom God saves He saves with an everlasting
salvation, when I know that He gives to them an everlasting righteousness, when I know that He settles them on an
everlasting foundation of everlasting love and that He will bring them to His everlasting kingdom—oh, then I do wonder
and I am astonished that such a blessing as this should ever have been given to me!
I suppose there are some persons whose minds naturally incline towards the doctrine of free will. I can only say that
mine inclines as naturally towards the doctrines of Sovereign Grace. Sometimes, when I see some of the worst characters
in the street, I feel as if my heart must burst forth in tears of gratitude that God has never let me act as they have done! I
have thought if God had left me alone and had not touched me by His Grace what a great sinner I should have been! I
should have run to the utmost lengths of sin and dived into the very depths of evil! Nor should I have stopped at any vice
or folly, if God had not restrained me. I feel that I should have been a very king of sinners if God had let me alone. I cannot
understand the reason why I am saved except upon the ground that God would have it so.

How well do you know your Bible?

February 14, 2009

A Short Quiz For those who think they know their bible.

You are not allowed to use the Bible or any other Biblical help; nor may you ask the opinion of others, nor in books unless otherwise instructed. The only time the Bible may be used is when it explicitly tells you to read the passage and comment on it.  You have 5 days to complete it.  

Some young people who knew their Bible well:
The Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ: 30 years old.
John the Apostle: ? (His age may range from 17-31??
Aurelius Augustine: 37
John Calvin: 22 (He had his first chaplainry at age 12)
Christopher Love: 27
Jonathan Edwards: 15
Richard Baxter: 23

There are:
296 questions,
183 terms to define,
and 31 practical application questions at the end. (more…)

February 10, 2009

“When Jesus calls a man, He bids him come and die” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

February 8, 2009

“God does not amuse us with his miracles, but arouses the senses of men, which he perceives to be in a dormant state.” - John Calvin (taken from his commentary on Luke 1:66)

Lincoln’s Logic on Slavery Applied to Abortion

January 23, 2009

On January 12, 2009 Samantha Heiges, age 23, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for drowning her newborn in Burnsville, Minnesota. If she had arranged for a doctor to kill the child a few weeks earlier she would be a free woman.

What are the differences between this child before and after birth that would justify it’s protection just after birth but not just before? There are none. This is why Abraham Lincoln’s reasoning about slavery is relevant in ways he could not foresee. He wrote:

You say A. is white, and B. is black. It is color, then; the lighter, having the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with a fairer skin than your own.

You do not mean color exactly? You mean the whites are intellectually the superiors of the blacks, and, therefore have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own.

But, say you, it is a question of interest; and, if you can make it your interest; you have the right to enslave another. Very well. And if he can make it his interest, he has the right to enslave you. (“Fragments: On Slavery“)

There are no morally relevant differences between white and black or between child-in-the-womb and child-outside-the-womb that would give a right to either to enslave or kill the other.

-John Piper/Justin Taylor

January 18, 2009

To be made a curse is so horrible (Gal. 3:13), that the last thing we would hear before we stepped into hell would be all of creation standing to its feet and applauding because God has rid the earth of us.

Wrath of God - Paul Washer - Sermon Jam from I'll Be Honest on Vimeo.

A Savior from hell…

January 2, 2009

The nature of Christ’s salvation, is woefully misrepresented by the present-day “evangelist.” He announces a Savior from hell–rather than a Savior from sin! And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire–who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness!

The very first thing said of Him in the New Testament is–”You shall call His name Jesus–for He shall save His people…[not “from the wrath to come,” but] from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Christ is a Savior for those realizing something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, who feel the awful burden of it on their conscience, who loathe themselves for it, and who long to be freed from its terrible dominion. He is a Savior for no others. Were He to “save from hell” those still in love with sin, He would be a minister of sin, condoning their wickedness and siding with them against God. What an unspeakably horrible and blasphemous thing, with which to charge the Holy One!

True, as the Christian grows in grace, he has a clearer realization of what sin is–rebellion against God; and a deeper hatred of and sorrow for it. But to think that one may be saved by Christ, whose conscience has never been smitten by the Spirit, and whose heart has not been made contrite before God–is to imagine something which has no existence in the realm of fact. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor–but the sick” (Matthew 9:12). The only ones who really seek relief from the great Physician, are those who are sick of sin–who long to be delivered from its God-dishonoring works, and its soul-defiling pollutions.

As  Christ’s salvation is a salvation from sin–from the love of it, from its dominion, from its guilt and penalty–then it necessarily follows, that the first great task and the chief work of the evangelist, is to preach upon SIN: to define what sin (as distinct from crime) really is, to show wherein its infinite enormity consists, to trace out its manifold workings in the heart, to indicate that nothing less than eternal punishment is its desert!

Ah, preaching upon sin will not make him popular nor draw the crowds, will it? No, it will not; and knowing this, those who love the praise of men more than the approbation of God, and who value their salary above immortal souls, trim their sales accordingly!

December 10, 2008

November 23, 2008

If I want my own way rather than God’s, it is quite obvious that I shall want my own way rather than the other man’s. A man does not assert his independence of God to surrender it to a fellow man, if he can help it.

-Roy Hession

November 22, 2008

Our confidence in evangelism comes from God’s freedom to have mercy on whomever he wills (Rom 9:18).

Tell the Preacher

November 9, 2008

There was a man of God who had been a very distinguished preacher, and when he lay dying he was much troubled in his mind. He had been greatly admired, and much followed. He was a fine preacher of the classical sort, and one said to him, “Well, my dear sir, you must look back upon your ministry with great comfort.” “Oh, dear!” said he, “I cannot; I cannot. If I knew that even one soul had been led to Christ and eternal life by my preaching I should feel far happier; but I have never heard of one.” What a sad, sad thing for a dying preacher! He died, and was buried, and there was a goodly company of people at the grave, for he was highly respected, and deservedly so. One who heard him make that statement was standing at the grave, and he noticed a gentleman in mourning, looking into the tomb, and sobbing with deep emotion. He said to him, “Did you know this gentleman who has been buried?” He replied, “I never spoke to him in my life.” “Then what is it that so affects you?” He said, “Sir, I owe my eternal salvation to him.” He had never told the minister this cheering news, and the good man’s death-bed was rendered dark by the silence of a soul that he had blessed. This was not right. A great many more may have found the Lord by his means, but he did not know of them, and was therefore in sore trouble. Do tell us when God blesses our word to you. Give all the glory to God, but give us the comfort of it. The Holy Spirit does the work, but if we are the means in his hands, do let us know it, and we will promise not to be proud.

Your poor little boy!

November 3, 2008

July 4, 1777.
My dear Sir,
Your poor little boy! It is mercy indeed, that he recovered from such a severe burn. The Lord wounded–and the Lord healed. I ascribe what the world calls accidents–to Him, and believe, that without His permission, for wise and good ends–a child can no more pull a bowl of boiling water on itself–than it could pull the moon out of its orbit!

Why does God permit such things? He does these things–to remind us of the uncertainty of life and all creature-comforts; to make us afraid of cleaving too close to pretty toys, which are so precarious, that often while we look at them–they vanish; to lead us to a more entire dependence upon Himself; that we might never judge ourselves or our concerns safe from outward appearances only–but that the Lord is our keeper, and were not His eye upon us–a thousand dangers, and painful changes, which we can neither foresee nor prevent–are lurking about us every step, ready to break in upon us every hour!

“Men are but children of a larger growth.” How many are laboring and planning in the pursuit of things, the outcome of which, if they obtain them, will be but like pulling scalding water upon their own heads! They must have the bowl by all means–but they are not aware what is in it–until they feel it!

From the letters of John Newton

Theological controversies and disputes

I am not to expect others to see with my eyes! I am deeply convinced of the truth of John the Baptist’s aphorism in John 3:27, “A man can receive nothing–except it be given him from Heaven.” I well know, that the little measure of knowledge I have obtained in the things of God–has not been owing to my own wisdom and teachableness, but to God’s goodness. Nor did I learn everything all at once–God has been pleased to exercise much patience towards me, for the past twenty-seven years–since He first gave me a desire of learning from Himself. He has graciously accommodated Himself to my weakness, borne with my mistakes, and helped me through innumerable prejudices, which, but for His mercy, would have been insuperable hindrances! I have therefore no right to be angry, impatient, or censorious to others, especially as I have still much to learn, and am so poorly influenced by what I seem to know!

I am weary of theological controversies and disputes, and desire to choose for myself, and to point out to others, Mary’s part–to sit at Jesus’ feet, and to hear His words. I cannot, I must not, I dare not–be contentious! Only, as a witness for God, I am ready to bear my simple testimony to what I have known of His truth, whenever I am properly called to it.

September 27, 2008

Hell is unspeakably real, conscious, horrible and eternal– the experience in which God vindicates the worth of his glory in holy wrath on those who would not delight in what is infinitely glorious.

—John Piper

September 20, 2008

You won’t hear much about this in modern day Christianity in America, but one of the greatest signs of God being with a people is His discipline. And one of the greatest signs of God not being with a people is the lack thereof.
- Paul Washer

I don’t care how strong your religion is, or how strong your church life is, I don’t care how strong your morality is. On that day of judgment God will tear it down and it will wilt. Whenever humans declare themselves to be righteous they are doing it by contrasting themselves with other humans who are worse. And you can get away with that, but when your righteousness is contrasted with the righteousness of God there is nothing but to throw yourself down and declare your morality to be dung.

- Paul Washer

How could we have such a low view of the gospel of Jesus Christ that we have to manipulate men psychologically to get them to come down and pray a prayer? . . . How many times have I heard evangelists say, “It’ll only take five minutes.“? No my dear friend, it will take your life–all of it! “We’re just trying to attract people and then we’ll gradually bring them in further and further.” That is what the cults do, that’s not what Jesus did. Notice that in the gospels every time a great crowd is following Jesus, he turns around and says something so radical to them that most of them walk away. Of course Jesus probably would not get invited to teach evangelism [in most churches today].- Paul Washer

In modern day evangelism, this precious doctrine [of regeneration] has been reduced to nothing more than a human decision to raise one’s hand, walk an aisle, or pray a “sinner’s prayer.” As a result, the majority of Americans believe that they’ve been “born again” (i.e., regenerated) even though their thoughts, words, and deeds are a continual contradiction to the nature and will of God.- Paul Washer

“Pastors, your kids don’t need pizza parties and six flags over Jesus, they need to hear the true gospel.” — Mark Cahill

September 6, 2008

Sound Biblical Christian Doctrine teaches us that Christ is the one who made His decision for us and that our salvation is NOT based upon our decision. In other words, Jesus added our name to His book and we played no part in that decision.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved athrough faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.John 1:10   He [Jesus] was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Romans 9:8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Rom. 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he [God] has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

Persecution

August 23, 2008

It seems to me that persecution never hurts the Church and prosperity always does.

Holy, Holy, Holy

The Bible never says that God is “love, love love.” And it never says that God is “merciful, merciful, merciful.” But it does say God is “holy, holy, holy.” And the repetition is important, very important. You want to know what God is–who God is? God is holy. And if there was ever a message we needed to hear in America today, it’s that.

What’s your cover?

You can judge a book by its cover according to Jesus Christ. And it is terrible–I have spent my life preaching around this country and I want to tell you something, it is terrible when the guest preacher has to walk in with his head down because he’s afraid that he will be caused to stumble by other believers.

Relevant

I was preaching somewhere in a town of 5,000 people and this guy [who was a street preacher] . . . had earrings and everything and hair all moussed and all this stuff because man, he was working the street. . . . He’s the dude, he’s the man you know, Serpico for Jesus type thing . . . and he’s like you don’t understand, you’re in context, you know, you’re preaching . . . [And I said] look, I worked inner city Dallas, I lived with male prostitutes, alright? And I’ll tell you how I dressed: I wore a pair of blue jeans, tennis shoes, a shirt, and my hair was combed. ‘Cause I want to be honest with you, those guys down there selling their bodies and the other guy’s selling drugs, and the girls dying of AIDS, they could care less whether I looked like them or not. What they wanted was someone who loved them. So that whole idea of you gotta look like them to relevant–no, you gotta love them to be relevant.

- Paul Washer

The Greatest Privilege

What is the greatest privilege? To be able to preach like Spurgeon? No, to look like Jesus. When we talk about fruit we’re automatically in our American mindset thinking about activity instead of character, character, character; Chirst-likeness, Christ-likeness.

fruitless?

“Every branch in Me that does not bare fruit, He takes away.” What does He mean? Let me just make this statement: There are men and women, young and old in every congregation who identify with the people of God but are unbelieving and fruitless, and when they die they will go to Hell.

Self-Preservation

One of the greatest sins of pastors in America today is self-preservation. To preserve self they will turn away from preaching the truth.
- Paul Washer

I don’t care how strong your religion is, or how strong your church life is, I don’t care how strong your morality is. On that day of judgment God will tear it down and it will wilt. Whenever humans declare themselves to be righteous they are doing it by contrasting themselves with other humans who are worse. And you can get away with that, but when your righteousness is contrasted with the righteousness of God there is nothing but to throw yourself down and declare your morality to be dung.

Oh young person, you want to wear the Christian T-shirts, and sing the Christian music, and hang around with Christian friends, but how many of you will wear out a Bible and say “I must know this, else I die?”
- Paul Washer

In modern day evangelism, this precious doctrine [of regeneration] has been reduced to nothing more than a human decision to raise one’s hand, walk an aisle, or pray a “sinner’s prayer.” As a result, the majority of Americans believe that they’ve been “born again” (i.e., regenerated) even though their thoughts, words, and deeds are a continual contradiction to the nature and will of God.

God is a holy God, that’s something that the Americans have forgotten. Many of the things that you love to do, God hates. Did you know that? . . . . You’re going to have a youth meeting, you want God to move, but before you go there you watch programs on television that God absolutely despises and then you wonder why the Holy Spirit hasn’t fallen on a place and why you have to create false fire and false excitement.

“Here stands God on the day of creation. He looks at stars and He says “all you stars move yourself to this place and start in this order and move in a circle and move exactly as I tell you, until I give you another word. Planets-pick yourself up and whirl, make this formation at my command, until I give you another word. He looks at mountains and says “be lifted up” and they obey him. He tells valleys “be cast down” and they obey him. He looks at the sea and says “you will come this far”, and the sea obeys. Then, he looks at you and says “come” and you go “no! Does that bother anyone?”

“People tell me judge not lest ye be judged. I always tell them, twist not scripture lest ye be like satan.”

“The work is hindered. The glory of God is tarnished and it is because the people of God no longer know how to discern the things of God.”

“Ever wonder how the people of God could walk into the temple of God, could offer sacrifices to God could praise God, and then turn right around and find the biggest tree on the highest hill and worship any number of idols, and not be able to tell the difference, and not be able to recognize the wrong, in a mulplicity of gods? Well, I want you to know that is the church in America today. And because the greatest sin among the men of God today is the fear of men which is a snare, and the fear losing economic security and reputation in the denomination.”“As the church runs headlong into judgment today the men of God instead of repenting and crying out and studying God’s word with all their passion are looking for models on how to keep lost people in their congregations and it’s wrong.”

(As American Christians) “We have forgotten how to blush”

“Most of you live your life on flimsy little songs, not upon the word of God.”

“We honor the old prophets, we honor the Tozer’s and Spurgen’s but we don’t want to pay the price they payed, and they payed the price by being men who walked alone who lived with God and who loved his word.”

“What’s the will of God for my life? You don’t need to know the will of God in your life, you need to know the God of your life!”

Our problem is not styles of music. Our problem is styles of life.

August 21, 2008

If you vote for a pro-abortion candidate for personal reasons like economics that are not more weighty than justice concerns like the wholesale destruction of children, then you are doing something profoundly unchristian, and if this happens often enough, either you are not a Christian, or your Christianity completely  fails to inform your political life. One wonders if it informs any other aspect of your life as well. And if it does not, at what right do you call yourself a Christian?

August 11, 2008

“We must school and train ourselves to deal personally with the unconverted. We must not excuse ourselves, but force ourselves to the irksome task until it becomes easy.”

Take heed, lest ye fall

August 1, 2008

Seeing Bathsheba bathing led to David’s adultery with her (2 Samuel 11:2-3).

David was a man after God’s own heart. David was born again. David wrote divinely inspired scripture. David was blessed with wisdom and power. David enjoyed an everlasting covenant relationship with God.

So what chance do you think you have to escape the effect of looking at naked women?

Those who are already gone—who’ve given up and forsaken their relationship with God—may say: Well, if you’ve seen it, you’ve done it. So might as well do it.

Those who are not yet gone may say, I will make a covenant with my eyes not to look upon a woman (Job 31:1).

May the Lord grant you grace to show that you are not already gone.

Honeyed poison

July 28, 2008

(Thomas Brooks, “London’s Lamentations” 1670)

O Sirs! in the grave it is all the same–to one who has
had all, and to another who has had nothing. What folly
is it to lay up goods for many years, when we cannot lay
up one day for the enjoyment of our goods! Christ, who
never miscalled any, calls him “fool!” who had much of
the world in his hands–but nothing of God in his heart.

All this whole world is not proportionate to the precious
soul. All the riches of the Indies cannot pacify conscience,
nor secure eternity, nor prevent death, nor bring you off
victorious in the day of judgment. Therefore be contented
with a little.

All the good things of this world, are but cold comforts.
They cannot stretch to eternity, they will not go with us
into the eternal world. Therefore why should the lack of
such things either trouble our thoughts–or break our
hearts?

The whole world is but . . .
a paradise for fools;
a beautiful but deceitful harlot;
a dreamed sweetness;
a very ocean of gall.
There is nothing to be found in it, which has not mutability
and uncertainty, vanity and vexation stamped upon it. And
therefore he cannot be truly happy who enjoys it; nor can
he be miserable who lacks it. And why then should not he be
contented–who has but a little of it? The greatest outward
happiness is but honeyed poison; and therefore do not
mutter or murmur because you have but little of the world.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be
content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5

the altar

July 26, 2008

The following from Desiring God blog…

I was studying Psalm 43 with a friend in Urdu the other day. We came to where it says in English, “I will go to the altar of God.”

As I read along in Urdu, I did not know the word for “altar,” so I asked my friend what it was. He didn’t know how to translate the word into English, but he gave the following English description: “It is God’s bloody place, where the throats of the animals are slit for sacrifice.”

Of course. It’s an altar.

Sometimes I think of an altar as the carpeted stairs and dais at the front of the church meetinghouse. But it’s not. It is a bloody place—a place of sacrifice and death.

I need to remember that.

Play it Again

July 24, 2008

- By Ray Comfort

Nathan’s heart went out to King David. The king had made some bad decisions. Even though he wasn’t actually aware of it, he had messed up, and God wanted to help him. David had had an affair, and then he tried to remedy the problem himself. What had happened was unfortunate, and the prophet saw his job as one who was there to help bring some sort of healing to the situation.

He began his message by gently explaining to the king the good news that there was something missing from his life. That missing piece was “real and lasting peace,” or as someone once put it, there was a “God-shaped vacuum” in his heart. It was the good news that God had a wonderful plan for the king’s life, and that He wanted him to experience that plan.

What the prophet was steering towards was a moment of “decision.” Would the king respond to this incredible offer that God had made him, or would he reject it?

To help the king, Nathan psychologically prepared him by telling him what he was going to do. He had said that in a few moments he would want him to respond by coming forward. The prophet had learned that this would help the king move closer to the decision he needed to make.

To help further, Nathan had David and the guards that stood around his throne, close their eyes. This would help to make sure that the king felt a little less self-conscious about his decision when he did come forward.

David, like King Saul, had a personal musician close by, so as Nathan continued to speak, he nodded to the musician to begin to play some appropriate music. Even though the song was very moving, there was no movement from David. Nathan nodded to the skilled performer to play the tune again and then again as he pleaded with David to respond.

To help him further, the prophet let him know that if he did come he had prearranged with one of the king’s guards to come forward with him–to stand alongside him in support.

Still the king didn’t make a move. Nathan gently reminded him that no one was watching him, and that every eye was closed. He again spoke of the incredible offer God had made to him.

Suddenly, it seemed that David was convinced about this new life that could be his, if he would just respond. He began to move slowly forward, and as he did, one of the closest guards gently took him by the arm and walked with him.

It was a very emotional moment. It was so touching that the rest of the guards couldn’t contain themselves. They burst into joyful applause. David smiled slightly at their gesture of support. The guards smiled. So did Nathan. There was great joy. This was what it was all about . . .

Not quite. God hadn’t instructed Nathan to talk to the king about a “God-shaped vacuum in his heart,” or to talk about real peace, or of improving his life. He was there to reprove a devious murderer who had despised God’s commandment and committed adultery with another man’s wife. As a married man, the king had burned in lust after another woman, and knowing that she herself was married, he had illicit sexual intercourse with her, caused her to become pregnant with his child, and then as if that wasn’t bad enough, he had her loving and faithful husband murdered, and married her himself. He had carefully covered his terrible sin, but as far as God was concerned, his wicked hands were dripping with innocent blood.

What an awful betrayal it would have been if the prophet had reduced the king’s horrible crimes against a holy God to insignificance, by talking to him about a new and better life that could be his.

But Nathan didn’t pervert the message. He told the king about a man who stole another man’s pet lamb and slaughtered it, and when David became indignant, he said, “You are that man!” Then he said, “Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord!” and when David cried, “I have sinned,” Nathan then gave him the good news of God’s mercy and grace.

There was no mention of a vacuum in the heart, no music to stir the emotions, no deceptive psychological manipulation, no closing of the eyes to make things easier. David was a devious law-breaker. He was a conniving criminal. He was a man who had deliberately violated the moral Law, but God was willing to show him mercy.

It was the king’s breach of God’s Law that shaped the prophet’s message, and it’s the sinner’s breach of that same Law that should shape our message. We too have the same commission–to “reprove and rebuke” those who have despised God. We are to preach the Word, be in season and out of season, and to “reprove, rebuke and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2). In the sight of God every sinner is a devious criminal, but neither the Church nor the world will see that as being true without the Law to show sin as being “exceedingly sinful” (see Romans 7:7-13).

The sinner enthrones himself as a king, enrobed in the filthy garments of self-righteousness. He commits adultery in his lust-filled heart. His throat is an open sepulcher. His mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. There is no fear of God before his eyes. He lies, steals, blasphemes and hides murder in his heart–and in doing so he sins against a holy God and stores up His wrath. He has a desperately wicked heart, and a multitude of sins which he thinks his Creator doesn’t see. The Bible tells us that God is filled with indignation and wrath, and promises that He will bring tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that does evil (see Romans 2:5-9).

We have such a wicked heart, without the light of the Law we reduce sin to insignificance and trivialize the claims of the Divine Prosecution. The modern message is a betrayal of our commission, and a victory for the enemy. Like the Pharisees, contemporary preachers prefer their traditions to the truth of God’s Word. They cling to the security blanket of closed eyes, emotional music, psychological manipulation, misguidedly pleading with wicked criminals about the promise of a wonderful new life in Christ.

Such folly is perhaps the greatest deception of the last days. It is to do the work of the enemy, by planting tares alongside the wheat. An unbiblical Law-less gospel will almost certainly produce lawless converts–”workers of iniquity” who the Bible warns will be cast out of the gates of Heaven into the waiting jaws of Hell (see Matthew 7:21-24).

A forsaking of biblical evangelism has left our churches looking and acting just like the world. This has happened because our pulpits have reduced the glorious gospel of God’s grace to a 30-minute low budget infomercial, peddling the Word of God as a competing product for life enhancement.

If you have been trusted with a pulpit, or if you are someone who cares about the lost, please stop this insanity. Don’t think of the use of the Law as a “method,” or look for “results” as a legitimate criterion to measure its worth. Our churches are filled with misleading “results.” The impressive numbers are the product of unbiblical methods. The use of the Law brings the knowledge of sin… Jesus and Paul used it, (see Luke 10:17, Romans 2:20-24). Ask the question “Is this principle biblical?” and if it is, instigate it, and then leave the numbers game up to God.

Adapted from, The Way of the Master (Bridge Logos Publishers).

 

July 22, 2008

“The world should realize with increased clearness that Evangelicalism stands or falls with Calvinism.”

- B.B. Warfield (1851-1921)

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