Category: Theology Page 61 of 67

Let’s ‘Othercott’ Da Vinci – Barbara Nicolosi

Let me start out by saying that I know Barbara hates that people slam Christ, just as I do. It makes me angry when they slam my Savior. But how is it we as believer’s should respond to this? Should we engage or disengage the skeptical culture at hand? Well, all I have to say to this article and the way the author desires to respond is …

Good grief. Pastors and theologians like Spurgeon, Calvin, Dever, Mohler, Sproul, Piper, and Keller would have words with her concerning her attitude toward evangelizing and engaging the culture. Sure, what she says about the book and its fallacies are good, and I echo her statement when she says, “I love Jesus. It makes me physically sick to entertain discussion about the ways in which the defining acts of his life—his Passion, Resurrection and establishment of the Church—could be a diabolical scam that he never anticipated nor experienced.” And I don’t dispute any of that. But how should we react? Does this mean we disengage the culture altogether, or pursue them with the Gospel all the more? This movie coming out and really any attack on Christianity is one of the many reasons why theology, apologetics, and at least a basic knowledge of church history are so essential. What unbeliever would ever read this article and take her seriously? What unbeliever would ever gain trust with her and entertain anything she has to say with this kind of attitude as a backdrop? I sure wouldn’t, I’d just walk away … and many do because of Christians like her. Believers with this type of rhetoric are one of the things that are wrong with the church. No heart or care for the lost, for those who throw up arguments in our faces. Those people are eternally lost unless they believe in Christ! Believers like this, especially with the ability to write articles on ChristianityToday.com, flatten other Christian’s effectiveness in witnessing and they make unbelievers even more hostile to the church. It’s like a fellow soldier in battle with you that every time you try to engage the enemy, your fellow soldier trips you, and then goes and does something to enrage the enemy even more. These believer’s attitude is basically, “Unbelievers hate us Christians, therefore we should hate them back; and I will not talk with them about this, and for that matter, about Christ. They don’t deserve it.” Well, no one deserves Christ, which is why we must engage them in this, that some of them may be saved.

Concerning the DVC, Christians like her essentially say, “This book isn’t even worthy of my godly assessment and therefore I will not even engage an interview with any unbeliever. It doesn’t even deserve a response.” In my estimation, though I’m not authoritative in any manner concerning this and it’s simply an opinion, this is a scapegoat for not having a proper defense for the hope that is in her, sharing Christ with those who desperately need it. Maybe it’s because theologically, apologetically, and historically, she doesn’t even know where to start to defend her faith (who knows, not saying she doesn’t, but with a response like this, how can anyone know? It just seems like a scapegoat to me, because it’s not an easy task at hand and requires a ready defense). Maybe she gets into those types of arguments with people she cited where they don’t let her speak because of her attitude toward them to start with. Has she ever thought of that? If the church wants to pigeonhole itself away from society and not bring the Gospel near to those who desperately need it (even if those people fight against it), then it needs more people like her who avoid interviews or debates, and any meaningful conversation with unbelievers at all costs. She states, “I get lots of calls to do interviews about The Da Vinci Code, but I duck as many of them as I can. Basically, I hate talking about DVC because I have a personal relationship with Jesus.” This is utterly tragic. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Because you love Christ you want to engage the culture and share with them the all-satisfying joy you have in Christ, by properly defending against this heresy? I for one am sick of people who claim the name “Christian” possessing this type of attitude, and I personally want all of us believers to engage the culture in order that as many as possible can be saved, as God sees fit to work in the preaching of His Gospel. Can she look at the cross and not see how desperate her condition is herself and see that she doesn’t deserve salvation either? It just seems she may have forgotten that fact. There just seems to be this type of arrogance among those with the name “Christian” and this is just one example. Prior to conversion, was she not a sinner slapping Christ in the face and nailing Him to the cross with her sins, hostile and arrogant in nature, just like all of us? Me, you, all men under heaven? Barbara, you’re acting just like they are. And whatever happened to the words of Christ, “Love your enemies?” She’s attempting to defend Christianity by adopting the very same attitude of the world that hates us and it defeats the purpose of sharing Christ with those who hate us, and even injures the cause of other believers to properly defend against heresy and share the Gospel.

There have been people I’ve talked with that have said they would listen more to what Christians had to say if they didn’t have to speak with people like this lady who ruin the message of the Gospel with their attitude, thus disengaging the very people we need to reach with the Gospel! What unbeliever would ever care to engage someone like this? I know she wouldn’t care to engage them, but still. She says in that article, “DVC as great opportunity for evangelism? Hmmm. The climate of evangelism is not consistent with a posture of defiance and cynicism.” What about her cynicism toward unbelievers? I’m sorry, but who is it that does the work in salvation? It’s not us, we’re just instruments in God’s hands, and He does what we cannot: change the disposition of people’s hearts. Do we avoid those who oppose us? No, absolutely not, but like Paul, when they beat us and throw us out of the city for the Gospel, we get right back up and walk right back in to preach the Gospel more. Cannot God the Holy Spirit disengage the most hostile of people through the message of the Gospel? Maybe if through the kindness of believers presenting the Gospel in love, some may get a taste of the kindness of Christ, thus leading them to repentance and faith in Christ. She goes on and sarcasticly asks, “Is slander an opportunity?” Yes! Read the book of Acts, the whole thing! “Is angry superiority an opportunity? DVC represents all the ‘opportunity’ that the Roman persecutions offered the early Church. Rah.” Okay … many people were saved in the early church because of God working through the faithful believers who persisted and endured to share Christ with the culture, despite the opposition! How else do you think the church survived?

The Da Vinci Code is absolutely an opportunity to defend the faith and absolutely a chance for evangelism … in fact, it’s more of an opportunity now than if the book was never written at all, because people are asking the questions we want them to ask in order that we may share the Gospel with them. I personally have had several very meaningful conversations with unbelievers as a direct result of this movie about to come out, in which I was able to preach the Gospel to 5 or more people at one time, and they listened to every word! (God has opened that opportunity, I take no credit for anything, just giving a subjective example that thwarts her statements). I would question whether or not she’s even engaged anyone at all concerning this. The people I talked with definitely had their share of questions and arguments against things, but they allowed me to answer (opposing her assumption that people won’t let you speak), and it generated a conversation that gave me a chance to defend the name of Christ among unbelievers … and did they not listen to me because the Holy Spirit was working to disarm their hostility toward Christ? If she and others like her want to stick their heads in the sand because of this book and “every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God,” go for it, I’d rather they not open their mouths anymore and let people like Keller, Piper, and other like-minded pastors speak on behalf of believers. I’d rather us all engage the skeptical post-modern culture before us and give them the very thing they most desperately need: truth, forgiveness, cleansing of sin, and a saving, love-relationship with the God of the universe, in Christ Jesus the Lord.

I found it ironic too that when I went to this article, there was an advertisement on the right-hand side that said, “The Da Vinci Code – How Will You Repsond?” Well, not like Barbara … try this out instead … The Truth About Da Vinci.com

This is a statement written by four solid Gospel-believing preachers that desire a recovery of the Gospel within our churches. Many modern evangelical churches have turned aside to messages that are 1) not based on Scripture but rather based on cultural influences, 2) utilizing marketing principles and worldly techniques to deliver that message, and 3) purely moralistic and thus no gospel at all. check it out …

The Together for the Gospel Statement
Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, C.J. Mahaney, Albert Mohler

We are brothers in Christ united in one great cause – to stand together for the Gospel. 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. Compromise of the Gospel has led to the preaching of false gospels, the seduction of many minds and movements, and the weakening of the church’s Gospel witness.

As in previous moments of theological and spiritual crisis in the church, we believe that the answer to this confusion and compromise lies in a comprehensive recovery and reaffirmation of the Gospel – and in Christians banding together in Gospel churches that display God’s glory in this fallen world.

We are also brothers united in deep concern for the church and the Gospel. This concern is specifically addressed to certain trends within the church today. We are concerned about the tendency of so many churches to substitute technique for truth, therapy for theology, and management for ministry.

We are also concerned that God’s glorious purpose for Christ’s church is often eclipsed in concern by so many other issues, programs, technologies, and priorities. Furthermore, confusion over crucial questions concerning the authority of the Bible, the meaning of the Gospel, and the nature of truth itself have gravely weakened the church in terms of its witness, its work, and its identity.

We stand together for the Gospel – and for a full and gladdening recovery of the Gospel in the church. We are convinced that such a recovery will be evident in the form of faithful Gospel churches, each bearing faithful witness to the glory of God and the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Article I

We affirm that the sole authority for the Church is the Bible, verbally inspired, inerrant, infallible, and totally sufficient and trustworthy.

We deny that the Bible is a mere witness to the divine revelation, or that any portion of Scripture is marked by error, incompleteness, or the effects of human sinfulness.

Article II

We affirm that the authority and sufficiency of Scripture extends to the entire Bible, and therefore that the Bible is our final authority for all doctrine and practice.

We deny that any portion of the Bible is to be used in an effort to deny the truthfulness or trustworthiness of any other portion. We further deny any effort to identify a canon within the canon or, for example, to set the words of Jesus against the writings of Paul.

Article III

We affirm that the truth ever remains a central issue for the Church, and that the church must resist the allure of pragmatism and postmodern conceptions of truth as substitutes for obedience to the comprehensive truth claims of Scripture.

We deny that truth is merely a product of social construction or that the truth of the Gospel can be expressed or grounded in anything less than total confidence in the veracity of the Bible, the historicity of biblical events, and the ability of language to convey understandable truth in sentence form. We further deny that the church can establish in its ministry on a foundation of pragmatism, current marketing techniques, or contemporary cultural fashions.

Article IV

We affirm the centrality of expository preaching in the church and the urgent need for a recovery of biblical exposition and the public reading of Scripture in worship.

We deny that God-honoring worship can marginalize or neglect the ministry of the Word as manifested through the exposition and public reading. We further deny that a church devoid of true biblical preaching can survive as a Gospel church.

Article V

We affirm that the Bible reveals God to be infinite in all his perfections, and thus truly omniscient, omnipotent, timeless, and self-existent. We further affirm that God possesses perfect knowledge of all things, past, present, and future, including human thoughts, acts, and decisions.

We deny that the God of the Bible is in any way limited in terms of knowledge or power or any other perfection or attribute, or that God has in any way limited his own perfections.

Article VI

We affirm that the doctrine of the Trinity is a Christian essential, bearing witness to the ontological reality of the one true God in three divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of the same substance and perfections.

We deny the claim that the Trinity is not an essential doctrine, or that the Trinity can be understood in merely economic or functional categories.

Article VII

We affirm that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, in perfect, undiluted, and unconfused union throughout his incarnation and now eternally. We also affirm that Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinners, as a sacrifice for sin, and as a propitiation of the wrath of God toward sin. We affirm the death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Christ as essential to the Gospel. We further affirm that Jesus Christ is Lord over His church, and that Christ will reign over the entire cosmos in fulfillment of the Father’s gracious purpose.

We deny that the substitutionary character of Christ’s atonement for sin can be compromised or denied without serious injury, or even repudiation, of the Gospel. We further deny that Jesus Christ is visible only in weakness, rather than in power, Lordship, or royal reign, or, conversely, that Christ is visible only in power, and never in weakness.

Article VIII

We affirm that salvation is all of grace, and that the Gospel is revealed to us in doctrines that most faithfully exalt God’s sovereign purpose to save sinners and in His determination to save his redeemed people by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to His glory alone.

We deny any teaching, theological system, or means of presenting the Gospel that denies the centrality of God’s grace as His gift of unmerited favor to sinners in Christ can be considered true doctrine.

Article IX

We affirm that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s means of bringing salvation to His people, that sinners are commanded to believe the Gospel, and that the church is commissioned to preach and teach the Gospel to all nations.

We deny that evangelism can be reduced to any program, technique, or marketing approach. We further deny that salvation can be separated from repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Article X

We affirm that salvation comes to those who truly believe and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

We deny that there is salvation in any other name, or that saving faith can take any form other than conscious belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving acts.

Article XI

We affirm the continuity of God’s saving purpose and the Christological unity of the covenants. we further affirm a basic distinction between law and grace, and that the true Gospel exalts Christ’s atoning work as the consummate and perfect fulfillment of the law.

We deny that the Bible presents any other means of salvation than God’s gracious acceptance of sinners in Christ.

Article XII

We affirm that sinners are justified only through faith in Christ, and that justification by faith alone is essential and central to the Gospel.

We deny that any teaching that minimizes, denies, or confuses justification by faith alone can be considered true to the Gospel. We further deny that any teaching that separates regeneration and faith is a true rendering of the Gospel.

Article XIII

We affirm that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to believers by God’s decree alone, and that this righteousness, imputed to the believer through faith alone, is the only righteousness that saves.

We deny that such righteousness is earned or deserved in any manner, is infused within the believer to any degree, or is realized in the believer through anything other than faith alone.

Article XIV

We affirm that the shape of Christian discipleship is congregational, and that God’s purpose is evident in faithful Gospel congregations, each displaying God’s glory in the marks of authentic ecclesiology

We deny that any Christian can truly be a faithful disciple apart from the teaching, discipline, fellowship, and accountability of a congregation of fellow disciples, organized as a Gospel church. We further deny that the Lord’s Supper can faithfully be administered apart from the right practice of church discipline.

Article XV

We affirm that evangelical congregations are to work together in humble and voluntary cooperation and that the spiritual fellowship of Gospel congregations bears witness to the unity of the Church and the glory of God.

We deny that loyalty to any denomination or fellowship of churches can take precedence over the claims of truth and faithfulness to the Gospel.

Article XVI

We affirm that the Scripture reveals a pattern of complementary order between men and women, and that this order is itself a testimony to the Gospel, even as it is the gift of our Creator and Redeemer. We also affirm that all Christians are called to service within the body of Christ, and that God has given to both men and women important and strategic roles within the home, the church, and the society. We further affirm that the teaching office of the church is assigned only to those men who are called of God in fulfillment of the biblical teachings and that men are to lead in their homes as husbands and fathers who fear and love God.

We deny that the distinction of roles between men and women revealed in the Bible is evidence of mere cultural conditioning or a manifestation of male oppression or prejudice against women. We also deny that this biblical distinction of roles excludes women from meaningful ministry in Christ’s kingdom. We further deny that any church can confuse these issues without damaging its witness to the Gospel.

Article XVII

We affirm that God calls his people to display his glory in the reconciliation of the nations within the Church, and that God’s pleasure in this reconciliation is evident in the gathering of believers from every tongue and tribe and people and nation. We acknowledge that the staggering magnitude of injustice against African-Americans in the name of the Gospel presents a special opportunity for displaying the repentance, forgiveness, and restoration promised in the Gospel. We further affirm that evangelical Christianity in America bears a unique responsibility to demonstrate this reconciliation with our African-American brothers and sisters.

We deny that any church can accept racial prejudice, discrimination, or division without betraying the Gospel.

Article XVIII

We affirm that our only sure and confident hope is in the sure and certain promises of God. Thus, our hope is an eschatological hope, grounded in our confidence that God will bring all things to consummation in a manner that will bring greatest glory to his own name, greatest preeminence to his Son, and greatest joy for his redeemed people.

We deny that we are to find ultimate fulfillment or happiness in this world, or that God’s ultimate purpose is for us to find merely a more meaningful and fulfilling life in this fallen world. We further deny that any teaching that offers health and wealth as God’s assured promises in this life can be considered a true gospel.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…. – I Corinthians 15:1-4

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” – Revelation 14:6-7

Signed: J. Ligon Duncan III, Mark E. Dever, C.J. Mahaney, R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

The Canons of the Council of Orange – 529 AD – A MUST READ.

The Council of Orange played a very prominent role in the defining of doctrine and theology within the church to defend against heresy. But what was the heresy they condemned? Pelagianism. But how is this relevant at all today? Because elements of this heresy are holding us, the church, captive in our thinking. But how? As R.C. Sproul says in his article entitled Augustine and Pelagius,

“Humanism, in all its subtle forms, recapitulates the unvarnished Pelagianism against which Augustine struggled. Though Pelagius was condemned as a heretic by Rome, and its modified form, Semi-Pelagianism was likewise condemned by the Council of Orange in 529, the basic assumptions of this view persisted throughout church history to reappear in Medieval Catholicism, Renaissance Humanism, Socinianism, Arminianism, and modern Liberalism.”

Both the Council of Orange and the Roman Catholic Church condemned pure Pelagianism as heresy, but the Council of Orange went a step further (rightfully so) and condemned semi-pelagianism as heresy as well. Full blown Pelagianism, as described by Adolph Harnack, is this:

“Nature, free-will, virtue and law, these strictly defined and made independent of the notion of God – were the catch-words of Pelagianism: self-acquired virtue is the supreme good which is followed by reward. Religion and morality lie in the sphere of the free spirit; they are at any moment by man’s own effort.”

Pelagianism essentially denies original sin (that man has inherited sin from Adam), and states that man is born in a true natural state of innocence (i.e. without a sin nature at all), and that he can be good enough to attain perfection of his own works and deeds. This essentially is a revisiting of the same error man is naturally inclined to follow: moralism, that man can attain to perfection independent of a work of God in the life of the individual, based upon his own works. The notion that man is saved by grace at all infuriated Pelagius. The theological ramifications of this heretical error are alive and well today in the church; and even if the church as a whole doesn’t buy into full blown pelagianism (which many liberal churches are already embracing in their theology), the church is definitely biting on the bait of semi-pelagianism.

What’s the difference between Pelagianism, Semi-Pelagianism, Arminianism, and Calvinism? Pelagianism states man can attain perfection on his own without God at all; Semi-Pelagianism states man takes the first steps toward God for salvation (that faith is produced by the unregenerate human nature – JWH); Arminianism states that God takes the first steps in salvation and that man then adds a response of faith (that faith is produced by an “island of righteousness” within the unregenerate man – JWH); and Calvinism states that it is every man’s duty to believe in Christ, but man is dead in sin, unwilling and unable (because of sin) to turn to God for salvation, his entire being is bound in the chains of sin (including his will), that God must first come and undo the chains of sin on every facet of his existence on His own time, and then effectually regenerate the unregenerate man in order that his spiritual eyes are opened, his ears unclogged, and he then, of his own will, is able and willing to believe in Christ.

I ask you to look at the cross of Christ, see our Savior hanging on the tree for sinners, and tell me which is more Biblical. I’m not asking you to exalt a system of theology above the Scriptures. But I am asking you to look at these options, look at the cross of Christ, see what the cross says about man’s nature, that man would nail God to a cross, what it says about God’s freedom and sovereignty in the midst of the cross, as well as His love, and tell me which is more accurate to the words of Scripture.

Pelagianism is an error that desperately needs to be readdressed within the church because there is a greater and greater resurgence of this error that is flattening the pure message of the Gospel, that God sovereignly saves sinners by grace alone through faith alone in Christ’s blood. The Council of Orange in 529 AD condemned Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism as heresy and we as a church would do well to recondemn it.

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Scriptures Pertaining to This, The Infallibly Authoritative Word of God:

“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” [Man will not and cannot submit to God apart from the work of the Holy Spirit alone to change his disposition and ability] – Romans 8:7

“And you [believing Ephesians] were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience– among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved.” – Ephesians 2:1-5

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” [Faith is clearly shown here to be the grace and gift of God] – Ephesians 2:8

“And I am sure of this, that he [God] who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6 [Notice who Paul references as beginning his salvation. Take note of Paul’s conversion experience in Acts as well; he was on his way to Damascus with letters to throw believer’s in prison when God stunned him with his glory. How much clearer can that be?]

Summing up man in his natural state: “As it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’ ‘Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.’ ‘The venom of asps is under their lips.’ ‘Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.’ ‘Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.’ ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.'” – Romans 3:10-18

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born [a prerequisite to believing], not of blood [bloodlines don’t determine salvation] nor of the will of the flesh [man cannot morally work hard enough to born again] nor of the will of man [this couldn’t be clearer! man cannot force his will contrary to its natural state in sin], but of God.” [God alone effects regeneration in an unregenerate people He’s chosen for Himself in order that they cannot help but believe, being stunned by the glory and beauty of God.] – John 1:12-13

Quoting Jesus: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” – John 6:44

“We love him, because he first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19 [Notice that God loving us is the very reason we love Him, i.e. He initiates the love at the cross which changes us and gives us a new nature that wills to love Him.]

“Whoever believes in him [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out [or wrought] in God.” [In other words, the fact that anyone believes proves God already worked in their hearts to draw them to Himself, that it’s a work of God alone.] – John 3:18-21

“So then it [meaning the granting of God’s mercy] depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” – Romans 9:16 [We must understand here that contextually, Paul is explaining why not all of Israel is saved and is cut off from Christ, but that rather only a remnant is saved. Why else would Paul be willing to cut Himself off from Christ for the sake of His kinsmen unless he was referring to their betrayal of the Messiah at the official level of Israel, that as a whole Israel is eternally lost? And if Israel as a whole is lost, what are we as Gentiles to make of the promises iterated in chapter 8? Will God’s word fail us? But Paul, in Romans 9:7 – 11:36, substantiates his argument in verse 6 that the word of God indeed does not fail, mainly because God never promised He would save every single Israelite, but His mercy towards individual people depends solely on His will and timing, not in any way on man’s willing or running. This could not be clearer in verse 16.]

David attests: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” – Psalm 51:5

Isaiah states: “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” – Isaiah 64:6

(Insertions and emphases mine)

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Other articles and resources pertaining to this:

The Canons of the Council of Orange – 529 AD – A MUST READ.
Augustine and Pelagius – R.C. Sproul EXCELLENT!
Pelagianism – R. Scott Clark
The Pelagian Captivity of the Church (PDF) – Dr. R.C. Sproul

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. And I believe one holy *catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

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*The word “catholic” refers not to the Roman Catholic Church, but to the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Deciphering ‘The Da Vinci Code’

This blog entry was written by Al Mohler almost three years ago now when the Da Vinci Code first came out, and still amply applies to the current fuss with the movie about to be released. Al Mohler does a good, concise job of laying out the main arguments proposed by Dan Brown within the book (whether Dan actually believes them or not, I don’t know), and then asks the question, “Is this conspiracy even feasible?” I think one of the big problems with this book is that Dan Brown takes some historic truth and then mingles it with pure non-truth to make it appear plausible to the average reader. And being that the average reader generally doesn’t know the actual history of Christianity to begin with, someone seemingly speaking in an authoritative manner can spout out correct names and dates but have all of the other information dead wrong about those people and events, and the reader buys it hook, line, and sinker. All in all, this, amongst other things, such as the Gospel of Judas, are nothing new under the sun: it is called Gnosticism. This is purely on attack on Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The same types of general arguments against Christianity have been brought up in the past and refuted over and over again by Christian scholars and historians, but the world will always reject the factual evidence because the world hates Christ. Those who continue in their obstinance will not understand the things of God unless the Holy Spirit gives them eyes to see and ears to hear the call of God unto salvation, to see and know in their hearts that these things are indeed true. And it’s funny how those arguments against Christianity rise and fall over and over again, but the truth of the Gospel continues without moving to this very day … hmmm, maybe that’s because what it says is the truth? Just consider …

Articles and Resources Pertaining to this Subject:

Da Vinci Code Truth – TheTruthAboutDaVinci.com
The Da Vinci Code – Christian History Institute
Dan Brown Breaks His Silence – MSNBC.com (Video)

The obvious answer to this is, yes, we glorify God for all of our salvation. It’s a rhetorical question. But if that’s true, and we boast in nothing of ourselves but only in the cross of Christ, what does that look like theologically? This answers that very question. Excellent …

Do We Glorify God for Part or All of Salvation? – John Hendryx

In reading through the book of Acts, it’s so awesome to see that when Paul spoke to Jews or Gentiles, he spoke in the Holy Spirit with power. What is this power? What does it mean? Where does it come from? Who initiates it? With much of modern day Christianity submerged in a secularized culture like ours, it seems much of modern evangelicalism (whatever that means anymore in our contemporary context) we have lost what it means it speak in the power of the Holy Spirit. This has to do with the intellectual infiltration of godless, secular thinking into the minds of believers within the American church. Our minds have been enslaved to the culture. And so when we as a church witness to unbelievers, many tend to preach as if people are saved by what they say, by their own strength, that somehow others are saved by their forceful, convincing arguments, without any reference to the working power of the Holy Spirit within the unbeliever. Preaching the Gospel then becomes a burden for us that we cannot bear instead of a delight, because in this line of thinking unbelievers will only be saved if we as believers work hard enough to get them saved. This is just another law though! These believers will indeed preach the true Gospel, and God saves people anyway despite the believing sinner He chooses to use, but they seem to not understand or believe that the Holy Spirit alone effects change within unbelievers, this blessing itself purchased by Christ on the cross. We should indeed speak in a clear manner so people understand what we say, but it seems many forget the underlying principle at work that when we preach the Gospel, the Holy Spirit alone effectually regenerates unbelievers (or chooses not to) as He wills so that they are (or aren’t) freed from their bondage in sin to believe in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit alone creates that which was not there: a desire for Jesus Christ. Just as God spoke creation into existence from nothing, so also the Holy Spirit creates in wicked sinners that which was not in existence: a desire and love for the things of God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul clearly understood that this was the case when he went before the Ephesians, the Corinthians, the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, the Jews, and so many others, that he himself did nothing to effect change. Yes, he did indeed exercise his will to get up and speak. But he was simply a conduit, a vessel of God to deliver the message of the Gospel, an instrument in the hands of the great Redeemer. But only the Holy Spirit could (and can) actually change an unbelievers sinful disposition, disarming them, removing their hostility toward Himself, in order that they see and perceive the divine truths within Scripture, salvation through Jesus Christ and Him crucified for sinners, risen from the dead.

For Paul himself said in 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5, “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” Paul knew the Christians in Thessalonica were chosen by God to inherit salvation because the message of the Gospel came not just by the words of his mouth (i.e. that’s not what actually effected their change), but it came in 1) power, 2) in the Holy Spirit, and 3) as a result, with full conviction. He knew they were chosen because the Holy Spirit alone came in power and changed them, and their change was made apparent through their belief in Christ as Savior and Lord. Grace alone is what brought repentance, and is what gave rise to the Thessalonian Christian’s faith in Christ, in order that they were then saved. Paul in no way relied upon his own eloquence for people to be saved (though it is still important to communicate the Gospel clearly), but He relied on the Holy Spirit alone, because that’s where true change comes from, and he knew that.

Paul also reiterated this point to the Corinthian Christians in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, [in order] that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (Emphasis mine) Paul wanted to make sure they knew the roots of their election, salvation, faith, sanctification, justification, their everything lied not in the power of man in any respect (especially not their own power), but in the power of Christ, effected by the Holy Spirit alone. And this blessing of grace bestowed on sinners by God through the Holy Spirit, was purchased by Christ through the shedding of His blood for His bride, the church. And this atonement blessing is applied by the Holy Spirit alone to those people the LORD God has chosen from eternity past to inherit salvation through the indiscriminate preaching of His people (i.e. preaching to all people everywhere). Paul states in Romans 10:14-15, “But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'” And so we are to go out and preach to all people everywhere the forgiveness of sins and redemption through faith in Christ’s blood.

We must preach the Gospel knowing there is great and awesome power from the Holy Spirit in what we say, and God does as He wills among those He chooses to work in through our words. And so this alleviates us of feeling like we have to work harder to convince people (when they continue in their unbelief) when really all we need to do is clearly preach the Gospel to people, concisely articulate all of the aspects of man, God, His attributes, sin, wrath, judgment, the cross, Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension, and His final return, and the Holy Spirit alone changes people through that message. If someone remains obstinate and refuses to heed your words, that’s not a failure on your part in witnessing (unless, that is, you are not preaching the true Gospel). They simply won’t believe until (if) the Holy Spirt chooses to effectually save them. By believing in grace alone, we see that we are freed from the burden of “getting people saved of our own doing and working” because only the Holy Spirit works in and through our preaching as He wills. I would like to add too though that if someone does reject what you say but will continue to listen to you and work with you, give it your best shot to reason through the Scriptures with them, being patient, merciful and loving, just as Christ was infinitely patient, merciful and loving toward you.

So if you preach the Gospel clearly and know in your heart you preached it accurately from His word (i.e. using Scripture as your only infallible authority) and preached it as clearly as you possibly could, then if someone doesn’t believe, it’s because they are still in bondage to their sin and are unable to see the things you speak of. If we forsake belief in grace alone in the preaching of the Gospel, we’ve lost the very thing, the very power that will bring any change at all. I do believe unbelievers will still be saved regardless of whether or not a believer accepts this doctrine (mainly because of grace alone working despite the believers’ theological convictions). But if we fail to recognize and believe that the Holy Spirit alone changes people in our Gospel preaching, what power are we relying on in our preaching? Ours? I have no strength apart from Christ. Man forget that. Praise God He saves sinners despite the vessels He uses! Talk about about drawing a straight line with a crooked stick …

So basically, in our witnessing, the two principles here are:

1) God is sovereign, saves who He chooses, and it’s only by grace alone that men are regenerated from their deadness in sin and then able to believe in Jesus Christ. Basically, God must first come and unlock the chains of sin binding up our hearts and free us in order that we may freely choose Him. “We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19),” not the other way around.

2) Being that God is sovereign in the salvation of sinners and saves who He chooses, we are not apathetic toward His sovereign rule so that we think people are saved by His sheer decree without the preaching of the Gospel. Anyone who is saved is always saved in relation to Jesus Christ. Also, no one is saved apart from the preaching of the Gospel. But instead, because God is sovereign, and has sovereignly chosen the preaching of His word by His people as the means by which people are saved, we are now empowered and emboldened to go and preach the Gospel fearlessly and freely (without burden), precisely because we believe the Holy Spirit alone is the only power and agent who effects change within unbelievers and that we do nothing but open our mouths. Because of God’s sovereignty are we now truly free to preach the Gospel knowing that God can and does save sinners in His great, infinite love and mercy!

In writing my blog yesterday on Judges, it really hit me how great my sin is against God. Just thinking about the fact that in order for me to be saved from the eternal wrath of God that every man deserves (especially me), it was necessary for the Son of God to come into the world and die on the cross for me, the wrath of God falling on Him instead of me. And to think that my sins held the precious Son of God there until it was finished! What a great sinner I am! What great mercy is this that God would pardon me? Why did He choose me and not another? I cannot give an answer, but I just fall on my knees in praise. There is no answer other than He wanted to in His great divine eternal counsel that I cannot fathom. I am no better than anyone else that He should visit His eternal, covenantal blessing upon me. I’m a sinner of sinners. I fall on my face and stand and wonder at such love for me, a sinner; a sinner! Just think about that … How can God forgive anyone being that He is holy and we are wicked? We deserve His wrath, we’ve earned it. It is only through the cross of Christ that God can pardon men, by faith in His blood, it is only through God Himself becoming man and living the morally perfect life we are unable to and then dying the eternal death that was ours. If you think you are too far gone in your sinning that Christ cannot save you, consider the cross of Christ. On the cross, Jesus bore the sins of any who would believe in Him and He can wipe you clean; He was obedient even to death on behalf of those who believe in Him. After He died, He rose again, that any who believe in Him would rise to a better life, with a perfect body, forever. How great a sinner I am … but how great of a God is the Lord, that He would take my wrath in Himself and make me able to stand before the Father in perfect righteousness, His righteousness. What praise does the Lord of heaven and earth deserve? Unceasing praise.