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Showing posts with the label good news

Rich Provision in Jesus Christ

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." -1 Corinthians 6:9-11 In our day, such biblical passages such as the one above are condemned as being judgmental; indeed they are, but rightfully so (John 7:24). During a St. Patrick's Day local festival last month, I took God's Word to the street in an area where a saint of God is being celebrated with leprechauns, pots of gold, and drunken debauchery. While my wife and others with us were handing out gospel tracts, a man who walked past me became angry about what I was preaching and thought I was being judgmental ...

His Cursing, Our Cleansing

I am sure you are familiar with the popular song Amazing Grace  written by John Newton, an English poet and Christian in the 18th-19th century who was a former slave trader. The first stanza of the song reads, "Amazing Grace! how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch; like me!" You and I are the "wretch" in that song, worthy to only be condemned and tossed into the fiery pits of hell because of our sinfulness in the presence of the one true holy God; Newton was very keen on this notion because of his past as a slave trader. The Lord would be just to send any one of us to damnation; it is as if every one of us are walking on doors which are ready to swing open, dumping us into the pit where the worm doesn't die. If you are reading this, then obviously God hasn't done that to you. But why? It is because of His mercy that keeps the hinges on those doors from swinging open. Mercy is about not getting what we do deserve. But then there is also grace ... When...

Friendship Evangelism?

"Live your life in such a way that people ask you why." "People don't care about what you believe until they believe you care." I've been guilty in believing such concepts. I've even heard these teachings from fellow ministers of the gospel. Yes, Christians are called upon in the Bible to be both friendly, relational, and live exemplary lives, but those things certainly do not replace the biblically-sound teaching of the clear verbal expression of the gospel message. Anything that adds to the Word of God is to be preceded with caution. Christians, don't ever believe into the lie that you need to establish a relationship with someone before being "allowed" to minister the gospel of Christ to them. That is a pitfall teaching of American Evangelicalism called "Friendship Evangelism" and it is NOT biblical. This kind of "evangelism" leads most to try to make others around them "see Jesus" in them, rarely...

Man is basically good?

 The writer of Ecclesiastes makes it very well known that this is simply not true when he states, "...the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead" (Ecc. 9:3). This is certainly not the same thing as saying that humans are not able to do "good" things; they most certainly are capable since every person is made in the image of God and are able to judge between right and wrong. Nonetheless, people naturally put themselves on the throne and view God as only an accessory to be used when things aren't going well in their lives (that is, if they acknowledge God at all). If every person was only "wounded" by sin instead of being totally depraved with sin, then that would suggest that there is an "island of righteousness" inside the heart of every human being which is the part that every person can use to reach out to God and be saved. Where does this idea come...

Delight in God

"Blessed is the man   who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners,      nor sits in the seat of scoffers;  but his delight is in the law of the Lord ,  and on his law he meditates day and night." - Psalm 1:1-2 We live in a world where right is declared to be wrong and wrong is declared to be right. We live in a world that despises holiness and promotes haughtiness. We live in a world that shuns God as if ignoring Him would actually keep Him out of worldly affairs. As for the latest current events, we live in a world where instead of an investigation being done on an organization that sells the bodyparts of aborted infants, an investigation is rather being done on those who filmed the evidence to expose the criminal acts. This saying is true: we live in a world that is filled with the spirit of error (cf. 1 John 4:6). Just as Christians ought to not take part with those that dwell in lawlessness, the...

Sinful Silence

It is one of the most popular sayings right now on social media, both from those who make a claim to Christ and those who would refute the truth: "Don't judge someone else because they sin differently than you do." Although there is truth in this statement, to just leave it there is for a Christian to take a passive stance that is filled with stagnant faith. It is a statement that leaves the Christian knowing what not to do (the negative aspect) and does not proclaim what a Christian ought to do (the positive aspect). Are Christians just supposed to step back and only pray when real evils confront them? Are they to remain silent on these matters that contradict the Word of God? Let me first say that all Christians are to live with an attitude of prayer (1 Thess. 5:17); prayer is especially paramount when dealing with challenges that are directly opposed to the Word of God. Prayer is often the means that God uses for His plan to be carried out (Heb. 13:18-...