David Westerfield

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Category: Theology Page 60 of 67


C.S. Lewis, a Thought from a Quote in Mere Christianity

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On May 23, 2006

In Theology

“God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” (p.50, Mere Christianity)

Some people just seem to not understand what this is saying. I hear from people, “I just don’t agree with that statement. You can find happiness in things apart from God.” But it is not saying that there is absolutely no joy that can be found in the world and what it offers, but that there is no ultimate joy or happiness found in anything outside of God. If God gave us these created things and they give us X amount of joy, how much more will the infinitely glorious God give us X times an infinite amount of joy in Himself, the one from whom the joy in those created things came from to begin with? If I find my ultimate happiness in created things, what do we know ultimately happens to all these things? They wind up going away in the end. And the joy and happiness they deliver is nothing, absolutely nothing compared to the joy, peace, and happiness found only in the One from which our whole existence is dependant, who holds the universe together by the power of His word.

Sure, I can find happiness and joy in Courtney, my wife. She is awesome and makes my life so much fun. But if I find my ultimate happiness in her, then I will be disappointed because we’re all sinners, and inevitably, she will fail my expectations. And the reverse is true for her. If she stakes all her joy and happiness in me, (and the Lord knows) she will be utterly disappointed because I’m a sinner and fail her continually. And really if you want to get Biblically technical about it, if either of us stakes all our hope, joy, and happiness in each other, it’s called idolatry. And this is true for anything within all of creation that we stake our ultimate hope and joy in outside of Christ. And so this quote from C.S. Lewis is stating that in comparison to all the things within creation that are so wonderful, that we enjoy on a daily basis, they do not deliver the satisfaction, the joy, the happiness, the peace, the love, the deep soul rest that can only be found in Christ, mainly because they can’t give us any of that. In all honesty, they are not even worth comparing, because He is incomparable with anything within creation. And those things do not deliver because they are not ultimate, only God is ultimate. I think to understand this quote more though, we need to see what C.S. Lewis wrote leading up to that statement:

“God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” (p.50)

God designed us in such a way that our souls can only be truly satisfied, truly happy, truly joyful, totally satisfied in Christ Himself and no other. The whole of the history of man has been spent trying to find an ultimate happiness in something other than God Himself. You cannot do it. It is not possible. Just look at history to see what man has done to himself by attempting to find an ultimate joy and peace apart from the Creator that they are dependent on for every breath. Men seek power, prestige, money, relationships, anything other than the true God that can give them all these things beyond understanding through Christ. And look at how utterly miserable people are outside of Christ! They run to and fro, from here to there seeking to find the next thing that will give them satisfaction, but as soon as they get what it is they are seeking, it fails to deliver. Why? Because it’s a created thing, just like themselves, and because only the eternal God can give them what they need spiritually. In going along with C.S. Lewis’ thought above, it’s the equivalent of putting sugar water in the gas tank of an engine. It kills the car! So I would qualify the quote to say that there is no true, divine, ultimate happiness, joy, love, peace, satisfaction that can be found in anything outside of Christ. Sure, you can find satisfaction in created things, but it will last only for a season, and then fade away. But the satisfaction Christ gives is beyond comparison to the things of this world. The satisfaction obtained from created things only points to the greater satisfaction found in Christ alone. In speaking about this infinitely deep satisfaction that can only be found in Him, He says to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:13-14, “‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'” And what an excellent comparison! Everyone who drinks of the water from the well will thirst again. But everyone who drinks of the water Christ gives will never be thirsty. And this living water He gives is the fullness of Himself. This is true happiness. This is true satisfaction.

There is a type of joy that can be found in created things, but it is not ultimate. We all need water to live. And I do find joy in water after I go on a run or after I workout. But how long does that last? It dissipates very fast. I find joy in Courtney, my work, fellowship with other believers, Chipotle burritos, and many other things. But that joy is temporal and shallow, and it will fade faster than you could even anticipate; whereas the satisfaction God gives in Christ is eternal and infinitely deep. All the things the world offers are fleeting, and if we stake our hope in them, we will be terribly disappointed over and over and over again. Why is it that so many divorces are occurring in this nation? Is it not because people seek ultimate satisfaction in their spouse, and when the spouse fails them, they get out of the situation, hoping once again to find ultimate happiness in something besides the marriage? The story of the history of man is like that of a dog chasing its own tail. But in Christ, we can have that ultimate peace, that deep satisfying soul rest we all so desperately need. It can only be found in Christ, it can be found in nothing else. And if we set anything else up as God (as that ultimate joy), we will be miserable and utterly ruined, because it cannot deliver what God can deliver to you through the cross of Christ.

We see that because of this plight of man, attempting to find ultimate joy in created things rather than the Creator, we exchanged the glory of God for created things. How offensive must that be to God? Here He is, the great Author and Founder of all things, never created, always there, infinitely powerful, infinitely knowledgeable, the One from whom our entire existence is dependent, knowing full well that He is infinitely satisfying and the ultimate value in all the universe; and instead of being in awe of who He is and of all He’s done, we take the things He’s made and worship them instead, setting them up as our gods, and we thus sin in these things. This sin is infinitely offensive because it’s telling God to His face that He is worthless, that His glory is worthless, that everything He does is meaningless. How infinitely, unbelievably offensive is that!? And because God is just, he must indeed punish sin, and that punishment is experiencing His eternal wrath forever, because the offense is infinite. It would be totally fair of God to send every single one of us to hell forever.

But in great mercy, this is not what He has done. He saw man’s plight, that sin had corrupted every faculty of his being, that no one wanted God, that all had turned away, that no one wanted anything to do with Him, and left to themselves, they would all be damned forever. And so He Himself had to become like one of us. On our behalf, He lived the life that we could never live, and died the death that we should die for our wicked betrayal of the almighty God. In order to turn away the wrath of God, He offered Himself up as an eternal sacrifice of atonement on the cross in order to bridge the infinite gap we ourselves have created by exchanging the glory of God for created things. However, this turning away of the wrath of God comes only to those who by faith trust in Christ for their salvation. After He died, and then by the power of God, being that death couldn’t hold Him, He burst forth from the grave and now sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven, where He lives and pleads for those who through faith are redeemed from eternal death. All the joy, happiness, peace, love, mercy, grace, deep soul-satisfaction you are looking for can only be found in the great God who became one of us: Jesus Christ.

Church History – Tommy Nelson

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On May 20, 2006

In Audio, Church History, Theology

This is a great overview of the history of the church by Tommy Nelson, pastor of Denton Bible Church (not the publisher). I highly recommend this because it is so vitally important to know how we got where we are in the modern day church. Check it out!

Sermon 1 (MP3)
Sermon 2 (MP3)
Sermon 3 (MP3)
Sermon 4 (MP3)
Sermon 5 (MP3)
Sermon 6 (MP3)
Sermon 7 (MP3)
Sermon 8 (MP3)
Sermon 9 (MP3)
Sermon 10 (MP3)
Sermon 11 (MP3)
Sermon 12 (MP3)
Sermon 13 (MP3)

One Last Note on the Da Vinci Code

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On May 19, 2006

In Entertainment, Movies, Theology

If you’re going to see it tonight, just know that the historical “facts” claimed in the movie are mostly false. Brown mixes enough truth with lies to make his historical assessment of Christianity seem true, but it is indeed false, false beyond measure. He is no historian, and he is no scholar by any means. And yet he claims the history within his book is true. He has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about on so many points. For example, it is asserted in the story that the idea of Christ being God was first introduced in the 4th century at the Council of Nicea. In the book it states,

“‘Jesus’ establishment as ‘the Son of God’ was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea.’” (p. 233)

Absolutely False. The idea of Christ being God is clearly shown in the Gospel’s, in Paul’s letters, and other letters of the NT, written shortly (a few decades) after Christ’s death and resurrection. Even atheistic scholars agree on this!

Just take the whole movie as fiction, and enjoy it for what it is: a decent fictional conspiratorial movie that isn’t in any way based on the reality of the history of Christianity.

The Comparison of 1 John 2:2 with John 11:51-52

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On May 18, 2006

In Audio, Theology

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”
> 1 John 2:2 (ESV)

“He (Caiaphas) did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.”
> John 11:51-52 (ESV)

Many will cite 1 John 2:2 to support their claim that Christ died indiscriminately for the sins of all men. And while on the surface this does indeed appear to be exactly what it says, upon closer examination within the context, using the reasoning skills God has blessed us with as humans, and in light of John 11:51-52 (written by the same John) amongst other passages, we have reason to think otherwise. First of all, we must ask ourselves, what exactly is a propitiation? It is a sacrifice (specifically of Christ) that effectually appeases, satisfies, turns away, or averts wrath for those the sacrifice is being made for. Now, in the book of Revelation, we have a very clear picture that in the end, there will be people both in heaven and in hell (Revelation 20:11-15). If Christ died to “appease, satisfy, turn away, or avert wrath” for all people for all time, then we must ask ourselves, why are there people that will still experience this wrath if Christ died effectually to take away that wrath for all men? Seems to me that if this is the case, God didn’t accomplish all He had in mind, and that there are conflicting interests within the Godhead. But this just isn’t the case. John Piper and Bethlehem Baptist Church, in the article entitled What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism, states of 1 John 2:2:

“If ‘the whole world’ referred to every individual in the world, we would be forced to say that John is teaching that all people will be saved, which he does not believe (Revelation 14:9-11). The reason we would be forced to say this is that the term propitiation refers to a real removal of wrath from sinners. When God’s wrath against a sinner is propitiated, it is removed from that sinner. And the result is that all God’s power now flows in the service of his mercy, with the result that nothing can stop him from saving that sinner. Propitiated sins cannot be punished.”

Someone will now object to this and say the reason some will be in hell and others will be in heaven is that those in hell didn’t have faith, they didn’t believe in Christ, and that’s true. But why does one person believe while another doesn’t? To shed some light on this, I would like to quote from the same document:

“Which of these statements is true?

1. Christ died for some of the sins of all men.

2. Christ died for all the sins of some men.

3. Christ died for all the sins of all men.

No one says that the first is true, for then all would be lost because of the sins that Christ did not die for. The only way to be saved from sin is for Christ to cover it with his blood.

The third statement is what the Arminians would say. Christ died for all the sins of all men. But then why are not all saved? They answer, Because some do not believe. But is this unbelief not one of the sins for which Christ died? If they say yes, then why is it not covered by the blood of Jesus and all unbelievers saved? If they say no (unbelief is not a sin that Christ has died for) then they must say that men can be saved without having all their sins atoned for by Jesus, or they must join us in affirming statement number two: Christ died for all the sins of some men. That is, he died for the unbelief of the elect so that God’s punitive wrath is appeased toward them and his grace is free to draw them irresistibly out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

But aside from the logical reasoning above refuting the idea of a universal atonement, spefically refuting this idea within 1 John 2:2, we also have the passage of John 11:51-52 that goes against the idea proported by universal atonement advocates, written by the same author, using the same grammatical structure, using different wording. And we know that John did not contradict himself, mainly because God-breathed Scripture doesn’t contradict itself, and neither does John. Now before I talk about those verses in particular, we need some background on the context of this passage. The chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together to figure out what to do about Jesus because so many people were believing in Him and they were afraid that if everyone believed, Rome would come and take away their land. John 11:48-52 states, “‘If we let him (Jesus) go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.’ He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.”

Now with that context, we come upon verses 51-52 that states, “… [Caiaphas] prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad,” and in comparing this with 1 John 2:2 that says, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world,” we have very similiar language that essentially states the same thing, that Jesus came to die for the sins of not only the readers of John’s letter in 1 John (namely the Jewish believers, but also to gather into one the children of God scattered abroad (i.e. over the whole world), or the Gentiles. John was not saying that Christ died to effectually take away the sins of every individual person in the world, but rather that God would gather to Himself and purchase men for God from every tribe, language, people and nation. And in fact, in Revelation 5:9 (this book also written by John), the four living creatures and the 24 elders cry out this very thing by saying, “Worthy are you (Jesus) to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

So when we read 1 John 2:2, based on these other verses in Scripture that were also divinely inspired by the same author, the Apostle John, he’s not stating that Christ died to effectually take away the sins of all men for all time (mainly because that’s not what will happen in the end, Revelation 20:11-15), but rather that He would purchase men for God, who were given to Christ by the Father (i.e. chosen before the foundation of the world to receive divine, judicial, merciful pardon through Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, John 6:37, Ephesians 1:3-7) from every tribe, language, people and nation (i.e. the whole world, Revelation 5:9).

Articles and Resources Pertaining to this:

What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism – John Piper and Bethlehem Baptist Church
Limited Atonement – Part 1 – Piper (MP3)
Limited Atonement – Part 2 – Piper (MP3)

And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice

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On May 15, 2006

In Theology

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” … It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

> John 10:14-18 and 10:23-30

What a sovereign, all-powerful Savior and God who doesn’t just make salvation possible, where a person’s eternal destiny hinges on sinfulness and frailty (inherent within man), but He makes salvation actual in those the Father has given Him to purchase with His blood, His chosen one’s, His sheep! What a wondrous thought this is indeed, that God pursues any sinner at all, despite the sinner, His choice to act mercifully in this way being based only on His free, sovereign love that He dispenses as He sees fit. Why did He choose me and not another? I was in no way more deserving than any other person; I am a sinner of sinners, to be despised! The reason He chose me is based solely on His eternal counsel with Himself (and with no other) that I simply cannot fathom. I can boast in no action on my part, that I in any way contributed anything to the price of my salvation (that is to say that I do not even boast in my faith as my contribution in salvation), but I boast only in the cross of Christ, where He purchased my pardon and everything necessary to bring me to Himself. How can I boast in the fact that I have faith and another doesn’t? Is this not itself a gift and blessing of the cross, given to me by grace (grace = receiving something you do not deserve)? Why did He choose this sinner? All I can answer to these things is that my salvation is all of grace, from beginning to end … to which I fall on my face before the LORD with tears of joy inexpressible, praising the God of grace, that He not only rescued me from eternal death in the just fires and torments of God’s wrath, but even better, He reconciled me to Himself! He is my sovereign joy, the Great Satisfier, my great King from all eternity! Who compares with the great God, Yahweh, who from eternity past always saw His sheep as being reconciled through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ!? There is no other worthy of such praise and glory … And the LORD doesn’t just give His sheep salvation and leave them to fend for themselves in this life, but He keeps them and holds them by the power of His word through the Spirit, with cords of heavenly love inwardly bestowed, in order that they will follow Him. Soli Deo Gloria!

Personal, Humbling Encouragement from Christ Today

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On May 13, 2006

In Personal, Theology

Today was a very exciting day for me. Over time, by the mercies and grace of God alone, I have had the privelage of witnessing over and over again to co-workers, neighbors, and others I come in contact with, in hopes the Holy Spirit will use the discussions to bring people to faith in Christ for salvation (as He sees fit). However, I have seen very little evidence that anything was actually happening in the lives of these friends and have been a little discouraged. It is the equivalent of casting out seed and watering it, but never seeing anything grow. After you do that for a while and see no evidence of your labors, you can become a little discouraged and feel that it’s to no avail (though I know that’s not true in the context of giving God glory through witnessing, regardless of the outcome). And I’ve felt discouraged for a while now; that is until today.

This one particular friend (who will remain anonymous for obvious reasons) started talking with me about various random things and then all of a sudden the discussion turned into talking about God, Christ, sin, justice, the cross, mercy, salvation, etc. He told me his story about how when he was younger, he went to a Southern Baptist church and believed in Christ, but the teaching was very moralistic and left the sinner even more burdened before they came. And so as a result of this teaching (though he was still responsible for his actions), he turned to his sin, all the while feeling wrong about all he did (very similar to my own experience in regard to turning away and feeling terrible about it the whole time).

However, recently, he told me he has been very convicted about his actions and how they haven’t lined up with that of Christ’s, and it started bothering him even more. And when I asked him what led him to this conviction, he told me, “Seeing your life and the way you live has been the Gospel to me, and I thought to myself, ‘I want that again, I have missed it for so many years.'” All I could do at that point was not point to myself and say, “Well done, David. You really are a righteous guy, good for you, you’re a great example and he should follow your pattern,” but rather point him to the One who has changed me of His free grace and mercy and attribute any change in me that works itself out in my life to God alone, mainly because simply following my example won’t produce the change he so desperately needs. And all this in hopes that my friend would look to the beauty and worth of Christ alone even moreso than he is now, in order that he may be forever changed (sanctified) and drawn near to the Father through the blood of Christ.

If my life, my actions, and my words were a witness of the Gospel to him, praise God for using such an unworthy sinner as me to do His divine work. Praise God He works despite the vessel He chooses to use. I am in no way qualified to be a witness of God on my own, but I preach the Gospel only on the basis of the death and resurrection of Christ. Firstly, who am I that He would choose me for salvation to begin with; but then secondly, who am I that He would use me as an instrument to do His mighty, powerful work in the life of another soul? How glorious is this, that the righteous, holy, perfect, just God who spoke the universe into existence, with whom there is no imperfection, would use the crooked, defiled, lisping tongues of sinners to save sinners? How humbling …

But at the same time, I was very encouraged because it was so refreshing to see that God has indeed been using me and that my work (to His glory) has not been in vain. How uplifting this has been for me today! All glory to God! This also illustrates something else I have been talking about recently a lot in my blogs: that in this instance, and every instance, it is God alone who changes people’s hearts, we do not. That is our only hope in witnessing and teaching. All we do is open our mouths and God either sovereignly (on the basis of His own will, design, purpose, and counsel alone) convicts someone to the core of their being, or He sovereign chooses not to and thus leaves them (justly) to their own sin. It’s His doing and His perogative to change the disposition of someone’s heart in order that they believe in Christ, as well as grow in Him. In addition to this point, just as much as preaching a clear concise Gospel is so important, so also living that Gospel out in our lives is equally important. Toward the end of our conversation, my friend told me that he had heard what I had to say in the past, but he said that seeing it work itself out in my life and how much joy it gave me on a day to day basis was what struck him even more than my words. As he said, “Your actions reinforce what you said, and I see what you mean by those words.” Man, praise God that He alone sovereignly saves and changes people. What other hope do we have?

Conversion of the Will … John Calvin

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On May 9, 2006

In Theology

Conversion of the Will is the Effect of Divine Grace Inwardly Bestowed – John Calvin

“A must read for all Christians who aspire to better understand the Bible’s teaching on God’s work in bringing a sinner to faith in Christ.” – John Hendryx

“The beginning of right will and action being of faith, we must see whence faith itself is. But since Scripture proclaims throughout that it [faith] is the free gift of God, it follows, that when men, who are with their whole soul naturally prone to evil, begin to have a good will, it is owing to mere grace. Therefore, when the Lord, in the conversion of his people, sets down these two things as requisite to be done, viz., to take away the heart of stone, and give a heart of flesh, he openly declares, that, in order to our conversion to righteousness, what is ours must be taken away, and that what is substituted in its place is of himself. Nor does he declare this in one passage only. For he says in Jeremiah “I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever;” and a little after he says, “I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me,” (Jer. 32: 39, 40.) Again, in Ezekiel, “I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh,” (Ezek. 11: 19.) He could not more clearly claim to himself, and deny to us, everything good and right in our will, than by declaring, that in our conversion there is the creation of a new spirit and a new heart. It always follows, both that nothing good can proceed from our will until it be formed again, and that after it is formed again in so far as it is good, it is of God, and not of us.”

– Excerpted from a portion of Ch.8, Book2 of Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion

“It is the glory of God and his essential nature mainly to dispense mercy (but also wrath, Ex 34:7) on whomever he pleases apart from any constraint originating outside his own will. This is the essence of what it means to be God. This is his name.”

– John Piper – The Justification of God, pp. 88-89

Why Postmodern Thinking Cannot be Adopted into the Church

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On May 8, 2006

In Philosophy, Philosophy of Ministry, Theology

Eros Spirituality Vs. Agape Faith by David F. Wells – Excellent!

The philosophical nature of Postmodern thought can essentially be described as this:

“In postmodernism the intellect is replaced by will, reason by emotion, and morality by relativism. Reality is nothing more than a social construct; truth equals power. Your identity comes from a group. Postmodernism is characterized by fragmentation, indeterminacy, and a distrust of all universalizing (worldviews) and power structures (the establishment). It is a worldview that denies all worldviews (“stories”). In a nutshell, postmodernism says there are no universal truths valid for all people. Instead, individuals are locked into the limited perspective of their own race, gender or ethnic group. It is Nietzsche in full bloom. (CIM)”

(Quote from Monergism.com – Postmodernism)

So if this is true of postmodern thought, how in the world can this possibly jive with the absolutes presented to us within Scripture? Well, it can’t. And that’s why the Emerging church in particular is doomed to fail in its endeavor. It does indeed have legitimate beefs with the modern day church, and is itself a revolt against many of the problems that I also see within the church. But it has swung out to another extreme. In order to reach the postmodern culture of our time, the Emerging church has adopted postmodern thought as a way to make Christianity more palatable, but this is just not possible. “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.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) If we are preaching the Gospel in its true Scriptural light, why would the word of the cross be folly to those who are perishing unless they deny the truthfulness of what is stated (thus implying the word of the cross is true)? But if we are preaching a relativistic Gospel (and thus a false Gospel) what truth is there to deny? What is faith in Christ except that you are stating His Gospel is indeed true? And so how can relativism be reconciled with the Gospel? It cannot.

Postmodern thought states that there are no absolute truths, and yet the Bible is the entire unfolding of God’s absolute truth. These two approaches to the world and man cannot be reconciled. One is divine, the other is secular and worldly, self-focused. Postmodernism/Relativism is just another philosophy of the age spun out by the world to deny the true God. So why would we want to adopt thinking along these lines? Paul warned the Colossians not to be taken captive by any philosophy or empty deceit in Colossians 2:8. Speaking of absolute truths within Scripture, Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There are no other alternatives.

Truth is not dependent on the individual or what he perceives as reality, a notion that makes self the center of the universe. No individual defines for himself what is right or wrong. They may think they do, but they will think differently when standing before the judgment seat of the eternal God. But rather truth is based on God, who He is, and what He’s done. God defines reality, He alone defines what is true, because He is truth. And He defines right and wrong. For an individual to say “I define my own truth,” is the same as saying he is his own god. We are saved by Grace alone through Faith alone in Christ alone. There can be no “other” way. If someone denies this truth, then so be it, he must answer to God. But there are not multiple ways to God, as if truth were based in the individual. In speaking to the Jews, Peter states in Acts 4:11-12, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

In adopting the current philosophy of the age, the Emerging church is self-contradictory in that the very thing it wants to offer, namely salvation through faith in Christ and hope of eternal life in Him, is the very thing it cannot successfully offer, because to offer the Gospel is to imply the truthfulness of it. And as believers, we cannot waiver on the truth of the Gospel. The Gospel is not relative truth, it is absolute.

So what’s the answer to addressing our postmodern culture? A full, unbridled recovery of the Scriptural Gospel within the church, that we may bring it to our culture and that many may be saved through the “foolishness of what we preach,” by the power of God alone. (1 Corinthians 1:18-24) We must reaffirm all of the truths of the Gospel within Scripture, lest the church become even less effective in its witness to our culture than it already has. The answer to the problems the Emerging church sees within the larger evangelical church is not to adopt another secular philosophy in its place, but rather go back to the core of our faith, Christ and Him crucified, and corporately state the doctrinal truths of Scripture. We must return to the Gospel, and by the power of God exhibited through the cross of Christ, not be swayed by the empty deception and philosophy of the world that will not cease to rise and fall until all things are made new by God.

We must stand firm for the cause of the Gospel, for the truthfulness of it, in order that God’s name would be glorified, and that many would be made sons of the living God, by the power of God through the cross. If the church in any way adopts the ways of the world, how can it possibly be effective in its witness for Christ? We must not adopt a dead, fleshly, worldly way of thinking, but rather preach Christ, Him crucified and risen for sinners that have infinitely offended Him, and through that message the power of God through the Holy Spirit can transform the most hostile of sinners.

Other Resources pertain to this:

The Spirit of the Age and the Reality of the Risen Christ – John Piper
Emerging Church – Monergism.com

Together for the Gospel: Final Statement

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On May 5, 2006

In Theology

Together for the Gospel – Final Statement (PDF)

Here is a link to the final version of the Together for the Gospel statement. It is my opinion every Gospel-loving church should sign this statement and affirm these truths because as time progresses, more and more churches are falling victim to worldly influences and powers that seek to squelch the message of the Gospel. As they say at the beginning of this statement, “We are convinced that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been misrepresented, misunderstood, and marginalized in many churches and among many who claim the name of Christ.” Right on. Check this out … it’s a great modern day document defining core Biblical, historical truths we must re-establish and refuting errors that have risen in the modern-day American church. We must recover the Gospel for the name of Christ, that He may be pre-eminent in all things.

What’s the big deal with the Da Vinci Code? It’s just fiction!

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On May 5, 2006

In Culture, Entertainment, Theology

I have heard this response from many people I know and I’d like to explain what’s wrong with it. Yes, it’s fiction. But Dan Brown himself has come out publicly and said that within the story, he intends to challenge the historical account of Christ as well as that of Scripture itself by asking, “How do we know any of the things said of Christ are true?” Hmm, that’s a big problem to me, and it’s coming from the author himself. And what a better way to do that in the form of fictional, conspiratorial entertainment that captivates the average American. He has found quite a platform to launch his real agenda.

The story itself is fiction, it never happened, yes. Any “in-your-face” unbeliever must admit that, if they know anything concerning Christianity. It’s really an intriguing story and from what I’ve heard a real page turner. But what Dan Brown does within the fictional story is raises the question, “How can we possibly know if Scripture is breathed out by God, and if that’s the case, how do we know if anything is historically correct about who Christ actually was? If there are 80 other gospels that were written back in the early church, but only 4 were accepted in the canon of Scripture, how can we know if those gospels are accurate in any manner?” One of the big problems is that Dan Brown knows more historical information concerning the early church than most people, and specifically more than most Christians (though he’s dead wrong on about half of it, and it can be proven). He then takes that information and twists it with absolute historical lies in an attempt to paint a picture of the early church that is dead wrong.

The danger of this book is not that people will believe the fictional story actually happened (those who do are missing his main point any way), but rather the danger is that Brown raises questions about the truthfulness of Christianity altogether, and he knows the average American Christian cannot answer the questions that unbelievers will now be raising (which sadly, in my personal estimation, is true). The positive aspect about these questions being raised is that I believe it will separate out those who are the faithful of Christ from those who are frauds. It will separate the sheep from the goats, basically, because much of modern day Christianity has been blurred with the ways of the world because of the passive, watered-down, culture-friendly preaching by pastors within much of the church. We must return to and know how to defend the 5-Solas of the Reformation: Salvation is by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone, infallibly revealed in Scripture Alone, all for the Glory of God Alone.

Persecution is good for the church, mainly because it purifies her and makes her holy, sets her apart from the world and it’s ways, and exposes those who do not truly believe within the church, that they may be shown for what they are. Could it shake the faith of some unestablished believer’s? Sure it could. But it will challenge them to know why they believe what they believe, and thus get them established in their faith, that they may know that the roots of their salvation are in God alone and His Son’s work on the cross to bring them back to life from spiritual death … And that they may know that God has revealed Himself through the Scriptures alone and that what has been canonized as Scripture has been breathed out by God Himself through the pens of His people.

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