Posts tagged The Gospel
Saving Mass Murderers
Jul 8th
Adolf Hitler is a man responsible, ultimately, for the deaths of millions. Joseph Stalin is another figure in history responsible for the tragic ending of many lives. Unfortunately, there are many people throughout history that we would recognize as mass murderers. In an instant, Osama Bin Laden became known by virtually all Americans for being the face of terror. He is a man known for being the head of Al Qaeda, a terrorist group who masterminded and carried out the September 11th attacks on the United States. Osama Bin Laden, Adolf Hitler, and Joseph Stalin are by all accounts evil people. And yet, a question lingers: can mass murderers such as them be saved?
The prompting of this post comes at a time locally when two police officers 
lost their lives in a routine traffic stop when a man pulled a gun on them and shot them to death. It was the comments made by someone I know that prompted me to think deeper on the issue of saving those who are most obviously evil among us. The man that killed these two police officers is deserving of whatever the law has in store for him. He will likely get the death penalty and sometime in the not too distant future, this man who murdered two police officers will stand before his creator and be judged. He will be judged, not only for these two murders, but for every sin he committed on this earth. I ask you, when he stands before God, will he be sentenced to hell? Of course, based purely on the way he lived his life, yes he will go to hell. And yet, we could easily say the same thing about our own lives. Based purely on the way I have lived my life, I too would stand before God and the verdict will be read, “Guilty!”
The most amazing, astounding, and sometimes baffling thing about the gospel is that it applies universally to all people, no 
matter how evil we believe they are (and no matter how good we think we are). The Bible states resoundingly that we are all condemned by the law of God. We have all broken God’s laws. In God’s courtroom, we stand as guilty as Osama Bin Laden. Yes, every one of us has the same guilty verdict awaiting us when we stand trembling before Almighty God. However, just as we are all condemned, God has also offered a pardon found in the substitutionary death of His Son. When Jesus died on the cross, he stepped into that courtroom and said, “I will pay the fine.” It does not matter how evil someone is, or how allegedly good they may seem, we are all condemned for our transgressions and we can all be saved by the shed blood and atoning work of Christ – yes, even mass murderers can be saved!
We, as Christians, must be careful of the things we say about those we see as evil. Rest assured that there is plenty of evil to be found. However, when we talk about someone else’s evil in a manner that portrays it as unique to them alone, we do not accurately reflect the evil that is within. Further, were it not for God’s restraining grace, we could not say for sure the level of evil we ourselves are capable of. Instead of the bitter anger for the mass murderer, I suggest we in humble love seek to offer the gospel even to them. I do not pretend to understand some of the seemingly senseless acts of violence that occur each day. More and more, my heart breaks over these acts. And yet, if I understand the gospel correctly, I understand then that I must forgive even the mass murderers among us and pray for their salvation. I hope and pray that those two police officers knew Christ as their Lord and Savior. I pray now that the man that killed them will also come to know the Savior.
Popularity: 9% [?]
Evaluating the Usefulness of Apologetics
Jul 3rd
The first iteration of this site began primarily as a foray into apologetics. As I became more and more passionate about my faith, I found myself wanting to express an intelligent faith. I had always found apologetics interesting. My first taste of defending the faith, ironically, came from a book that in and of itself was not an apologetic. At least, that was not its primary aim. The book was Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. The way in which C.S. Lewis explained Christianity opened my eyes to an aspect of Christianity that I did not know previously. And yet, ironically, I had read Mere Christianity two times before I was even a Christian. It was a powerful book, but it was not (at least for me) something that led me to salvation. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I still have an interest in apologetics, but I wonder if it is useful? Does it edify the body, or is it a system founded primarily on a secular foundation of thought? I would like to evaluate these questions in this post.
First and foremost, we need to understand what the practice of apologetics actually aims to do. At its most basic form, an apologetic is simply a defense of the Christian faith. It aims to defend the claim of truth by Christianity. So, in that sense, it would be strange and difficult for me to claim that apologetics are not useful. However, as with all thought systems, apologetics as a system of thought is subject to the corruption of man. Apologetics in the hands of an unsaved purely religious person is no more useful than a science textbook in the hands of Richard Dawkins. In both cases, you will find many truthful statements and a system of thought that in many ways is intelligent, but in the end, both systems are utterly bankrupt of moral authority. Further, as a system of thought or an overarching philosophy, both are tragically destructive and build up human pride rather than making the person more endeared to Christ.
It would seem that the only way to truly evaluate apologetics is to categorize it rightly. As I see it, there are two categories that are relevant to this discussion. The first is apologetics whose aim is foremost about proclaiming the need for salvation in Christ alone. The second is more general and simply aims to defend the intellectual truths claimed by Christianity. Now both systems ultimately run alongside one another and have many commonalities. However, the thread that holds each one together is very different and is what is most important for this evaluation that I am doing here.
Intellectual Ascent
John MacArthur wrote a book called The Gospel According to Jesus some years ago, which was strongly criticized by many within the greater evangelical world. The reason it was criticized is that it challenged the prevailing winds of evangelicalism and ultimately claimed that a large portion of visible Christianity is delusional in upholding mere religion as opposed to true saving faith. What John MacArthur argued was that many people have an intellectual ascent to the facts of Christianity, but have not surrendered their lives to Jesus. I had never read the Gospel According to Jesus until recently. When I did, it solidified something I had already known. For most of my life, despite claiming to be, I was not really a Christian. I conformed to a faith that was an intellectual ascent to the facts of Christianity. The first time I read Mere Christianity, I actually became more religious and further embedded in false religion. Of course, I didn’t know it at the time.
In evaluating apologetics in a very general sense, I would ask that Christians be ever mindful of the gospel. I believe that anything we endeavor to do as Christians should ultimately come back to the gospel. There is a quote that I am fond of from a sermon by Reverend Al Martin that is relevant to what I am trying to convey. He said, “The cross does not give us a minor shift or two with regards to a few of our ethical and religious values. The cross radically disrupts the very center and citadel of your life from self, to Christ.” If you are a Christian, everything flows from and to Christ. Thus, as I would evaluate anything we do, I would evaluate the usefulness of apologetics. If the apologetic aim does not center on Christ, it is not useful. Of course, God in His magnificence may still use it, so please do not misunderstand. However, it is not in and of itself what we should seek to do in apologetics. It is not God honoring. Instead, it is merely man centered and aimed at the proclamation of religion.
Gospel Centered
As I have stated, I believe apologetics must be gospel centered and flowing from and to Christ. But what does that look like? I wish I could say it was an easy thing to distinguish, but I can’t. It can be a challenge many times to rightly divide the truth. I have read and followed an apologetics ministry, sometimes for years, before realizing that it was simply not gospel centered. And yet, there are some telltale signs that I believe we should watch for. They are as follows:
- When is Christ brought into the argument? There are some apologetics ministries that almost never get to actually proclaiming Christ.
- What is the general tone of the ministry? Is it bitter and argumentative? Or, is it humble and heartbroken over the lost? Make no mistake, proclaiming Christ will get people upset. However, are people getting upset because the person proclaiming the truth is simply mean and argumentative, or are they getting upset because of an accurate proclamation of the gospel? Is it hatred for the messenger because of the message, or hatred for the messenger because of the way it is delivered? We should be heartbroken and humble when we venture to proclaim these truths, issuing the proclamation in love, not anger.
- Is the ministry aimed ultimately at proclaiming the gospel, and bringing lost souls to Christ? Or, is it simply defending truths as a means of intellectual superiority? Our arguments should not be about our intellect, but should at some point draw in on the gospel.
- Is the ministry proclaiming Biblical centered truths, regardless of their secular support, or is it simply seeking to prop the Bible up by secular means? The Bible has stood the test of time, not by human might, but by it being the very Word of God. It is great when our human systems of thought offer support to the Bible, but we should not be confused into thinking that the Bible actually needs that support. Even if every secular system went against the Bible, it does not make it any less true.
These are just some general aspects of an apologetics ministry that might help in evaluating whether it is gospel centered. In the end, the usefulness of apologetics is found in the fruit it bears. For that aim, I believe that the best apologetic is always the one that is within the context of the gospel.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Paul Washer on His “Shocking Youth Message” Sermon
Nov 6th
It has been a long week at work, so no posts this week. However, I’ll Be Honest posted the following interview by Paul Washer on his sermon that has been dubbed the “Shocking Youth Message” sermon and I simply had to share. I listened to this sermon a while back and it absolutely opened my eyes and it is great to see Paul Washer explain the context of the message. I also included the video of the message below the interview video. This is a great message for anyone who calls them self a Christian, especially youth. It will challenge you to find out if you are truly saved or just playing religion.
Popularity: 100% [?]
The Gospel v. The End Times
Oct 31st
I was listenning to a Paul Washer sermon the other day (you can watch it below) and he said something to the effect of: The day Jesus comes back you will know everything there is to know about eschatology (the end times), but throughout all of eternity you will be searching the depths of the gospel.
That is an interesting statement. And after much thought, I have to say he is right. Eschatology (the study of end times) attracts a large audience of people. And yet, the reality of the end times is that they signify an end. They are a set of events, though confusing at times and fearful at others, that will simply be a part of history. They are important and they signal a pending judgment for mankind and hope for God’s elect. However, I am not sure there is any real infinite knowledge in the end times. As much as they will require awe from all that watch, we will quickly understand and quickly see what side we are on. However, the depths of the gospel are unfathomable and an eternity will not find us reaching those depths. It is difficult to even speak in a way that gives justice to the wonders of the cross.
As a Christian, as a person who claims to follow Christ, I cannot but scratch the surface of the proverbial iceberg that is the gospel. Paul Washer is pointing to something here that all true Christians understand. At the cross, we find not only our salvation, but we find the very essence of God. We find His justice, His truth, His love, His power, and we find hope. And as much as we see the mirror of our own sinfulness, we see the love of God in His forgiveness of those very sins through the death of Christ. I mentioned to a friend recently how much I love to hear about the cross and the gospel and how it just excites me — revs me up! It would seem that is because we will be spending an eternity talking about that very thing and searching its’ riches.
Here is the sermon:
Popularity: unranked [?]
Thinking of Salvation: My Testimony
Oct 17th
I was fairly young the first time I “accepted” Christ. I am not sure of the exact age, but I do remember parts of the event vividly. There are only a handful of events in my youth that I remember more vividly. And yet, if you notice the quotation marks around the word accepted in that first sentence, or if you have read any of my prior content, you will perhaps know that I do not believe I was saved at that early age. Bless my mom, I know she desired to see me saved and perhaps that early seed stayed with me. Nonetheless, I did not know anything of repentance and I would not know it until I was in my late twenties. It was only when I grew older and further away from God that I knew something was off. 1 John 2:19 says that those who went out from the faith did so because they never were of the faith. I have to confess that was me. As much as I wanted my profession to be true, an accurate reading of the Bible says otherwise.
And so there I was later in life. My faith was floundering. I was on the verge of abandoning my faith all together. I was struggling to be the husband and father I should have been. I was struggling with sin and knew it. I did not understand it at the time, but the only thing I had going for me was the fact that I recognized my sin. As much as I tried to bury the feeling of being unclean, I simply could not. I felt like Isaiah who said, “I am a man of unclean lips.” I had at the time early seeds of repentance, but not yet faith. I continued in those struggles for some time, until one day the mirror of my sin finally revealed my sinful heart. I repented and placed my faith in God. And one of the greatest signs that my faith is real is that God granted me victory over one of my most deep rooted sins.
From that point on, I was changed. I was not sinless, but my relationship to sin changed. The things I loved before began to fade away — in many cases, I began hating those sinful ways instantaneously. The boredom of reading my Bible became enthusiasm for God’s Word, His truth. It is difficult to explain this to a world that is bent on earning their salvation, but this was not anything of me. It was not until I rested solely on Jesus that I found true salvation. I had come to the end of me. And yet, there is also a strangeness about the whole thing because I did not fully understand what happened until later. I knew things changed, but I could not point to that exact moment like so many others do. Instead, I can only point to a season when my sin began to weigh on me. And though I remember an event when salvation came to me, it only became clear in time when my whole life changed without any effort of my own.
Consider Matthew 11:25-30:
25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [emphasis mine]
Come to Jesus you who are heavy laden with a sinful heart. Seek him, for He can give you rest!
Popularity: 5% [?]
Gospel Video Home Page
Oct 17th
I went ahead and created a new home page for the gospel video. You can find it here: http://www.proclaimthetruth.net/thegospelvideo.html
I am looking to feature it more by setting up ads on Google. So far, it has been seen by over fifty people in the last two days. Please feel free to share this link with friends and families, especially if they are unsaved.
Popularity: 5% [?]
The Gospel
Sep 26th
Episode 2 on Romans
Sep 7th
I completed Episode 2 much faster than anticipated (the benefit perhaps of a three day weekend). This time, I mean it for real…it will be at least a week or more before Episode 3. Enjoy!
Popularity: 16% [?]
The Wrath of God
Aug 16th
This is a video that is a little hard on the senses. And yet, I can’t help but think it is precisely what we in America need. Every once in a while, I myself begin to slumber just ever so slightly. And then I hear a sermon preached rightly and it wakes me up. Oh that we would all have ears to hear.
Popularity: 12% [?]
