Francis Chan Warning People About Hell By Proclaiming It Boldly Now

Francis Chan Warning People About Hell By Proclaiming It Boldly Now

Q: When you say that your study caused you to realize that you had some sins to repent of, what type of things are you talking about?

FC: “As I reread the Gospel passages, Jesus’ words are much harsher than I remember. There’s a tone in some of the things that he said that are really difficult to stomach, and he says things in a way that I would not have.

Because we in America read certain passages over and over to the neglect of others, we start to believe that Jesus had a friendly tone all the time. And that there isn’t any wrath or anger or judgment. When you read it all like you are reading it for the first time, you walk away going, “Wow, he was pretty hardcore.”

Here’s what I had to repent of: I had felt the need to soften a lot of Jesus’ statements, because in my arrogance I think, “Okay Jesus, I’m not going to say that like that. Trust me, people will like you more and be more willing to accept you if I say it like this.” Obviously I’ve never said that to God. But that’s the attitude I’ve taken, and it made me sick. Who in the heck do I think I am? To think that I can make God more palatable or attractive if I try and change the tone in which he says some things. I know people say, “Well it’s just cultural this or that.” That’s garbage. People back then had a much deeper reverence for God than we do. Especially the religious community. Yet it’s to those people whom he speaks so harshly.

What in the world would he say to us today? I don’t think it’d be a softer message. I had to come before God and say, “Lord I feel sick…….”

Q: Is that what makes it compelling for you to continue to affirm the reality of hell? That it’s so frequently mentioned?

FC: “It comes down to God and people. I have to warn people. I don’t want people going there. And if they ignore it, there’s a much more likely chance that they’ll end up there. Obviously I take that in light of the sovereignty of God, but looking at it from a pragmatic perspective, it’s like canoeing before Niagara Falls if you don’t know it’s there or you’ve got yourself deceived that there’s no drop off. So one reason is my desire to love people and care for people and warn people.

The other is what I mentioned about God himself. I want to make sure that I’m being faithful to present him as he presents himself. I’m not ashamed of this, I don’t understand it completely, but I surrender to it, I submit to it. And I want to proclaim it boldly now.“

Quotes from Q&A: Francis Chan on Rob Bell and Hell from ChristianityToday.com

Bane of Modern Evangelism: Building a seeker sensitive church via another Gospel

” Neo-Christianity, which seems for the time to be the most popular(and is certainly the most aggressive), is very careful not to oppose sin. It wins its crowds by amusing them and its converts  by hiding from them the full implications of the Christian message. It carries on it projects after the ballyhoo methods of American business.” – A.W. Tozer from “The Next Chapter after the Last, p. 18.

” The feeling that we got to make converts at any cost has greatly wounded the Church of Christ. We must present the truth as we are told to present it and let the Holy Ghost(Spirit) work and the individual man decide whether he will accept it or not. This soft, pussy idea that in order to keep people coming and giving and filling the seats we don’t dare in any wise offend them, and we’ve got to make everything smooth and soft, is not New Testament.” -A.W. Tozer from sermon, “This I Believe,” 1969.

“The temptation to modify the teaching of Christ with the hope that larger numbers may ‘accept’ Him is cruelly strong in this day of speed, size,  noise, and crowds. But if we know what is good for us, we’ll resist it with every power at our command. To yield can only result in a weak and ineffective Christianity in this generation, and death and desolation in the next.”- A.W. Tozer from the “The Size of the Soul”, p. 119.

“The crowds-at-any-price mania has taken a firm grip on American Christianity and is the motivating power back of shockingly high percentage of all religious activity. Men and churches compete for the attention of the paying multitudes who are brought in by means of any currently popular gadget or gimmick ostensibly to have their souls saved, but , if the truth were told, often for reasons not so praiseworthy as this.” A. W. Tozer from “The Size of the Soul”, p. 117.

Galatians 1:6-12  “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel– not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.“

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“It would seem that everybody in evangelical Christianity, everybody who is truly a Christian, would understand that the gospel is the heart of Christianity, that the gospel is found only in the Scripture. And that the gospel must be preached to the ends of the earth. ……. The heart of the Christian faith is the gospel. The gospel is found in the New Testament. The foundations of the gospel are found in the Old Testament. And the gospel must be preached to the ends of the earth if people are to be saved. That’s essentially the Christian mission.

“That’s what the church has believed. That has compelled its life. That has been its mandate. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in My name and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” He said it another way. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”……..That has been the church’s mandate. True Christians have always believed that. The true church has always taught that. We have believed and been compelled by the fact that if people don’t hear the gospel, they can’t be saved. And if they aren’t saved, then they’ll spend eternity in hell under the judgment of God. So it is absolutely critical that the world hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. That they not only hear it but that they understand it accurately. That they believe it. That they embrace it for themselves because it is the only saving truth.”

“Compelled by this clear biblical mandate, Christians through the centuries have taken the saving message to the ends of the earth. Generation after generation they have been engaged in doing this. Preaching the gospel to every person on earth has been the goal of the church. I have told you many times that that’s the only reason we’re still here. We’re already saved and sealed for eternity. There’s no reason to leave us here except for this responsibility of evangelism.”

“Now we believe that the Bible is very clear that salvation comes through believing in Christ. Believing in Christ comes from hearing and understanding the gospel. Being able to hear and understand the gospel can only occur if somebody takes the message. And somebody can only take the message if they’re sent with it. And that’s what Romans 10 says, “You’re saved by believing in Christ but you can’t believe in Christ unless you hear about Christ. You can’t hear about Christ unless somebody preaches. And somebody is not going to preach unless they’re sent. And that is our mandate and that has been the mission of the church since the church was born on Pentecost and Jesus said, “You’ll receive the Holy Spirit and you’ll be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth.” Since the church was launched till today, uncounted millions of dollars in every currency on the map of the world and millions of hours of effort and work and millions of Christian people through the centuries have been spent and sacrificed to take the only message of salvation to the edges of the earth. Translation work, rigorous, difficult, challenging work of taking a language that isn’t even written and developing an alphabet and developing a way to write that language and then teaching the people to read their own language when they’ve never even seen it. And then giving them the scriptures and the gospel, leading them to Christ, rigorous work that takes decades and then printing materials in every language, preaching, teaching, evangelizing…that’s what the church has been engaged in since its calling, since the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. An unrelenting effort to use every means available to reach people with the only message that can save them from eternal judgment and that’s the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.“

“Now all of that is bad enough and we’ve tried to address that. But there’s a new wave in the evangelical world that is at least as frightening, if not more frightening. And the new wave in the evangelical world is this, there are some people who are telling us it isn’t necessary to even take the gospel to the ends of the earth. It’s not necessary. People are being saved without it…without it.”

“Well what does the Bible have to say about this? Do we have a biblical case for the…for the exclusivism? Do we have a case for the fact that if you don’t know the gospel and if you don’t believe in Jesus Christ, you aren’t going to heaven?…….The answer to that is yes.“

selected quotes from The Exclusiveness of the Gospel, Part 1 -December 31, 2000 by John Macarthur.

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A “Christianity” without Jesus Christ and the Gospel

The Truth of the Cross: Jesus Christ taking God’s curse and wrath in the place of sinners

The Essence of Gospel Evangelism Is To Proclaim the True Doctrine of the Cross

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Understanding Origins in Genesis is Foundational to the Rest of the Bible

It is also important to all of us because understanding origins in the book of Genesis is foundational to the rest of the Bible. If Genesis chapter 1 and chapter 2 don’t tell us the truth, then why should we believe anything else in the Bible? If it says in the New Testament that the Creator is our Redeemer, that God is not the Creator, then maybe He’s not the Redeemer either. If it tells us in 2 Peter that God Himself will bring about an instantaneous dissolution of the entire universe as we know it, that God in a moment will uncreate everything, then that has tremendous bearing upon His power to create…the same One who with a word can uncreate the universe is capable of creating it as quickly as He desires.

So what we believe about creation, what we believe about Genesis has implications all the way to the end of Scripture, implications with regard to the veracity and truthfulness of Scripture, implications as to the gospel and implications as to the end of human history all wrapped up in how we understand origins in the book of Genesis. The matter of origins then is absolutely critical to all human thinking. It becomes critical to how we conduct our lives as human beings. Without an understanding of origins, without a right understanding of origins, there is no way to comprehend ourselves. There is no way to understand humanity as to the purpose of our existence, and as to our destiny. If we cannot believe what Genesis says about origins, we are lost as to our purpose and our destiny. Whether this world and its life as we know it evolved by chance, without a cause, or was created by God has immense comprehensive implications for all of human life.

Now there basically are only two options. You can either believe what Genesis says or not. And that is no over-simplification. Frankly, believing in a supernatural creative God who made everything is the only possible rational explanation for the universe, for life, for purpose and for destiny.

“Creation: Believe it or Not–Part 1″, Selected Scriptures by John MacArthur

Below a sermon by Pastor John Macarthur:  The Theology of Creation, Pt. 1

Do Not be Bound Together or Unequally Yoked with Unbelievers.

Separating from Unbelievers, Part 2
2 Corinthians 6:14-16
by John MacArthur
(below is an extract from the sermon)

“Do not be bound together with unbelievers for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?  Or what harmony has Christ with Belial?  Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?  Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?  For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, `I will dwell in them and walk among them and I will be their God and they shall be My people.  Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,’ says the Lord, `and do not touch what is unclean and I will welcome you and I will be a Father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’ says the Lord Almighty.  Therefore having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Now as I pointed out last time, this passage identifies two opposing worlds.  The terminology is clear.  One of those worlds is marked by righteousness, light, Christ, believers, and the presence of God. The other is marked by lawlessness, darkness, Satan, unbelievers, and the presence of false gods.  And these two worlds are utterly different and distinct, so much so that they are mutually exclusive.  They cannot work together in common partnership, they cannot fellowship together, they are not in harmony with one another.  One is old, the other is new.  One is earthly, the other is heavenly.  One is deadly, the other is life giving.  One is wicked, the other holy.  One is built on lies, the other is all truth.  One perishes and the other lives eternally.

Paul then is making it clear that believers can’t live in both worlds.  Certainly John said this in his first epistle, 1 John, when he clearly identified this disparity between the two worlds with these familiar words, “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  Mutually exclusive worlds.  You can’t be in both at the same time.

Then in James we read in chapter 4 and verse 4, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God.  Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”  And later in verse 8 he says, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded.”  People trying to live in two different worlds.

In Romans chapter 12, of course that very, very familiar passage that begins the exhortation part of Romans, “I urge you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship, and do not be conformed to this world.”  Make a clean break.

When a person becomes a believer they are transported out of one world into another.  And shuttling back and forth is absolutely unacceptable.  And that is precisely what the Corinthians were trying to do.  Having named the name of Christ, identified with Him, come into the church, they were still hanging on to their own idolatry, their old pagan ways.  They had come to Christ out of idolatry, as it says in 1 Thessalonians, they had come to serve the living and the true God from idols.  But they didn’t make a clean break.  They had been wooed back into the old idolatry, back into the old pagan culture because it was so pervasive, and so dominant and it was so on display and so woven into the fabric of their life, family life, social life, community life.  Corinth was dominated above the city by an acropolis, a high mountain on top of which was the temple to the false deities which engaged itself in pagan ritual and worship and priest…priestess prostitution.  This temple not only was the center of that religion, but from it disseminated its religious viewpoints and ideologies through the entire culture of Corinth.  It was a part of everything in life…holidays, festivals, celebrations and so forth.  And it was a constant pull to the Corinthians to fall back into those old patterns.  And they did.

Additionally, the false teachers had come in and they had brought a quasi Christian syncretism and eclectic religion which took Christianity, a little bit of Jewish legalism, and some pagan religion and melted it all together and offered it as the truth.  And that compromise had found its way into the Corinthian church and found an audience and some of them were listening and believing and accepting it.

You see, the false teachers wanted to make Christianity more popular, less demanding, less distinct, less narrow, less offensive, less different, less exclusive so they’d get more people in on it, so they could get more money, which is always what false teachers want.  And so here is the Corinthian church new and fresh and being assaulted by pagan religion around it.  You couldn’t separate the social life from the religion, you couldn’t separate the historical life of that village in terms of its patterns from the religion.  That village that became a city bore all of the signs of the religion that moved in its growth.  It was a full-blown pagan system down to the very core.  And it was hard to sort it out.  To be involved at all in the life of the culture was to be involved in the paganism, unless you made a very clean break.  The Corinthians didn’t do it. And as I said, then add to that the confusion of the false teachers and you can understand why Paul says to them, “Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers.”

It’s very much like modern Christianity today, by the way, that seeks to blend Christianity with popular culture, wants to make Christianity more popular, less different, more palatable, less offensive, less narrow, less exclusive.  And the result of it is that true Christianity in the purity of God’s Word gets corrupted by compromise and the church can become useless and shameful and blasphemous in mocking the truth.  For believers there can be no compromise.  We cannot engage ourselves with unbelievers in any spiritual enterprise.  That’s the issue.  “Do not be bound together with unbelievers,” that is he command that sets this text in motion.  And it is an unmistakable call to believers to separate from unbelievers.  No one could miss that that’s what it’s saying. The question is, what does it mean?

And as I said last time, it is essential to understand what it means but first of all what it does not mean.  Paul is not saying, cut off all contact with non-Christians.  He’s not saying that because we have to reach them with the gospel.  That is not the issue.  He’s not saying don’t evangelize the unconverted, don’t confront people in false religions.  He’s not saying that.  We must do that.

Secondly, he is not calling for complete isolation on the part of the church.  We are not to become isolationists.  We are not to be monastics.  We are not to go hide somewhere and pull apart from the world.  Quite the contrary.  We are to find unbelievers and love them and be their friend and set a model of spiritual example for them.

Furthermore, he is not saying you are to divorce your unsaved partner, or to sever all unsaved contacts…all contacts, I should say, with unsaved people in your family.  He is also not saying that you can’t work or play or do business or be engaged in common earthly enterprise with unbelievers.  He’s not saying that, of course you can.  What he is saying is you cannot link up with unbelievers in religious causes…or religious enterprises.  You cannot go to their worship and become a part of it, you can’t make them a part of the Kingdom of God.  You can’t engage them in anything that involves ministry, teaching, or worship.  Where there is ministry, teaching and worship there has to be absolute separation.

So he’s referring in actuality to harnessing up believers and unbelievers in any common religious, spiritual enterprise.  The two cannot be yoked together anymore than an ox and an ass can pull a straight furrow when under the same yoke, as Deuteronomy 22:10 forbids. But that is precisely what the Corinthians were doing.  They were going to the feasts that were involved with the idols and they were trying to still befriend the people in the world and in their families and in their society by attending and being involved in idol festivals and such compromise is intolerable.

At the same time they had invited into the church forms of pagan religion and that was equally intolerable.  There can be no harmony, no fellowship, no partnership, no participation between believers and unbelievers in any religious enterprise.  That is the issue.  Pagan religion, false teaching ruins those who listen to it.  It leads to ungodliness.  It spreads like gangrene and it upsets the faith of people.  Paul directed all of that to Timothy and warned him to warn the church.

The issue then is religious cooperation, religious compromise with false teachers and with heresy and error.  We can have nothing to do with the people involved in that when they are so involved.  And we can allow them to have nothing to do with enterprises that involve the advancement of the Kingdom of God. And yet through the years the church has continued to do this.  Sometimes it’s called cooperative evangelism where an evangelist will come into a city and bring together Christians and non-Christians, those who believe the Word of God and those liberals who would openly deny the Word of God in a common evangelistic enterprise.  That is in direct violation of what this text is teaching.

It happens all the time in common efforts at evangelism.  It happens in educational institutions where those institutions that would claim to be Christians would have on their faculty those who believe the Word of God, those who were born again, and those who are not.  And they are illegitimate linked together in a common spiritual enterprise to the detriment of the church, to the debilitation of the believers and the false assurance of the unbelievers.  True Christians have to separate from unbelievers in matters related to ministry, teaching and worship.  And when I say teaching I’m talking about teaching that relates to God and His truth.

So Paul fixes that principle. And that, by the way, was a brief review of the first message.  But in response to that initial principle he gives us five reasons, or five motives for following this mandate. And I want to approach those motives from a negative perspective…if I might.  To be bound together with unbelievers in any spiritual effort is…number one…irrational, irrational.  The point that Paul is making here is one of congruity.  It is one of simple reason.  And to make this point of the irrationality of such a common enterprise, he asks for rhetorical questions, each of which demands a negative answer.

Here they come, verse 14, “For what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness?  Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or Satan?  Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?”  And the answer to those is negative.  Righteousness and lawlessness have no partnership.  Light and darkness have no fellowship.  Christ and Satan have no harmony.  And a believer and an unbeliever have nothing in the spiritual realm in common.  That is axiomatic.  An axiom is a self-evident truth that doesn’t need proof.  And that is obvious.  It is obvious that you can’t make opposites the same.  And those are all opposites.

Separating from Unbelievers, Part 2
2 Corinthians 6:14-16
by John MacArthur

Copyright 2007, Grace to You.

He Is Not Here: The Significance of the Empty Tomb

He Is Not Here -The Significance of the Empty Tomb

From the sermon titled “He Is Not Here: The Significance of the Empty Tomb” by Pastor Alistair Begg

Please visit this link (He Is Not Here: The Significance of the Empty Tomb) to watch  the full video of this sermon which was delivered during the Ligonier Ministries: 2009 West Coast Conference with theme: “Is There Life After Death?”

The following are extracts of  sermon notes by Alex Chediak which was posted here: 2009 West Coast Conference – Session 1 – Alistair Begg :

‘1. . The resurrection is historical.

Christianity is a historical faith. It is based on actual events.  There was a tactile element; the disciples saw and touched the risen Lord.  When Peter preached in Acts 2, he did not hold back.  He said “as you yourself knows” (vs. 22-23).  Later, when Paul spoke of the resurrection (I Cor. 15), he noted that many of the witnesses were still living.  It was as if Paul were saying, “Go ahead and check this out  — verify it for yourself.” It would be as if I wrote a book about The Beatles making up some fantastical story about who they were and where they came from.  It would never fly.  There are plenty of people around who remember the Beatles.  They know that there were only four of them, and that now just two are left.

The Bible is either true or it is the most amazing falsehood ever spun.  And to believe the latter is to build one’s lives on despair.

[Aside:  The resurrection of Christ, and the believer's union with Him, is why believers do not perish upon their death.  Their resurrection and eternal life are secured by their union with Christ, who conquered death.]

2.  The resurrection is rationale.

The Dawkins’ book, The God Delusion, does not interact at all with the resurrection of Jesus. Dawkins writes, “Jesus probably existed, but the idea that he rose from the dead is absurd.”  On what basis?  He gives none.

The resurrection is the center of Christianity, because it confirms:

A)  The reality of the fall and the decay which is pervasive in this world.  “The whole creation is groaning.”

B)  The reality of the immortality (life beyond the grave).

C)  The demonstration of the truth of all of Christ’s claims and the trustworthiness of all of Christ’s promises.

D)  The inevitability of our own resurrection.

3.  The resurrection is empirical.

It stands up to the test.  It truly fulfills man’s longing.  Men like Hemingway and Shakespeare wrote that life was a journey from “nothing to nothing.”  But the resurrection answers the cry for meaning.  For forgiveness, love, hope, God.

And this is the story that we are called upon to take to the world.  Take Sartre: “Here we are, all of us.  Eating and drinking for preserving our existence, and yet there is no reason for our existence.”

But C.S. Lewis wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe in the sun, not because I can see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

CONCLUSION
The symbol of Christianity is the triumphant Christ, risen and reigning.  And men and women can call out to Him and find Him to be a Savior and Friend. ‘

Read the Gospels: Jesus Christ is not Politically Correct

This article by Pastor John MacArthur was published by The Washington Post within the “On Faith” section of their website on 14 Aug 2009.

Read the Gospels: JC is not PC

By John MacArthur
Pastor, author

Let’s be brutally honest: most of Jesus’ teaching is completely out of sync with the mores that dominate our culture.

I’m talking, of course, about the Jesus we encounter in Scripture, not the always-gentle, never-stern, über-lenient coloring-book character who exists only in the popular imagination. The real Jesus was no domesticated clergyman with a starched collar and genteel manners; he was a bold, uncompromising Prophet who regularly challenged the canons of political correctness.

Consider the account of Jesus’ public ministry given in the New Testament. The first word of his first sermon was “Repent!”–a theme that was no more welcome and no less strident-sounding than it is today. The first act of his public ministry touched off a small riot. He made a whip of cords and chased money-changers and animal merchants off the Temple grounds. That initiated a three-year-long conflict with society’s most distinguished religious leaders. They ultimately handed him over to Roman authorities for crucifixion while crowds of lay people cheered them on.

Jesus was pointedly, deliberately, and dogmatically counter-cultural in almost every way. No wonder the religious and academic aristocracy of his generation were so hostile to him.

Would Jesus receive a warmer welcome from world religious leaders, the media elite, or the political gentry today? Anyone who has seriously considered the New Testament knows very well that he would not. Our culture is devoted to pluralism and tolerance; contemptuous of all absolute or exclusive truth-claims; convinced that self-love is the greatest love of all; satisfied that most people are fundamentally good; and desperately wanting to believe that each of us is endowed with a spark of divinity.

Against such a culture Jesus’ message strikes every discordant note.

Check the biblical record. Jesus’ words were full of hard demands and stern warnings. He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?” (Luke 9:23-25). “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).

At one point an unthinkable Roman atrocity took the lives of many Galilean pilgrims who had come to worship in Jerusalem. Pilate, the Roman governor, ordered his men to murder some worshipers and then mingled their blood with the sacrifices they were offering. While the city was still reeling from that awful disaster, a tower fell in the nearby district of Siloam and instantly snuffed out eighteen more lives.

Asked about these back-to-back tragedies, Jesus said, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:2-5).

Ignoring the normal rules of taste, tact, and diplomacy, Jesus in effect declared that all his listeners were sinners in need of redemption. Then, as now, that message was virtually guaranteed to offend many–perhaps most–of Jesus’ audience.

Those with no sense of personal guilt–including the vast majority of religious leaders–were of course immediately offended. They were convinced they were good enough to merit God’s favor. Who was this man to summon them to repentance? They turned away in angry unbelief.

The only ones not offended were those who already sensed their guilt and were crushed under the weight of its burden. Unhindered by indignation or self-righteousness, they could hear the hope implicit in Jesus’ words. For them, the repeated phrase “unless you repent” pointed the way to redemption.

Elsewhere, Jesus made the promise of life and forgiveness explicit: “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24). “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).

That, of course, is the glorious message of the gospel, just as potent and just as relevant today as it was then. But the promise is for those who are weary of sin; those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6); those who come to Christ with repentant heartsCnot those who are convinced they are fundamentally good.

Proud people, including lots of religious people who call themselves Christians, don’t really believe Christ’s message at all. He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2:17).

So what would Jesus say to a pluralistic, tolerant, self-indulgent society like ours? I’m convinced his approach today would be the very same strategy we see in the New Testament. To smug, self-satisfied, arrogant sinners (including multitudes on church rolls) his words would sound harsh, shocking, provocative. But to “the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3)–those who are exhausted and spent by the ravages of sin; desperate for forgiveness and without any hope of atoning for their own sin–Jesus’ call to repentant faith remains the very gateway to eternal life.

This is a particularly hard message in cultures like ours that elevate self-love, self-esteem, or self-righteousness, but Jesus was absolutely clear, and these words do still speak to us: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14).

Dr. John MacArthur, pastor of 7,000-member Grace Community Church in Southern California, is a best-selling author of more than 200 books and study guides. His new book is “The Jesus You Can’t Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Christ.“

True Worship Must Engage Emotions and Thought.

John Piper describes true worship as:

Worship must have heart and head. Worship must engage emotions and thought. Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full (or half-full) of artificial admirers (like people who write generic anniversary cards for a living). On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the discipline of rigorous thought. But true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship.

(DESIRING GOD, Multnomah Press, 1986.)

The Heart of Worship from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

The Key to Joy, Growth and Passion: Is Your Life Cross Centered?

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him Rev 1:7

In the embedded video clip from WorshipGod 2009 conference, CJ Mahaney’s explained why Sovereign Grace Ministry’s preaching focus and singing focus during corporate worship is always centered on and saturated with the Cross and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our corporate worship should be guided by the tone and focus of worship so clearly described in the Book of Revelation.  While a Holy God bid us to come boldly to Him at His Throne of Grace (Heb 4:16), all who are born of God  must always remember that we cannot approach God unacceptably except through a Mediator (1 Tim 2:5), through the Lord Jesus Christ  on the basis of what He has accomplished on the Cross

Read CJ Mahaney’s blog on this interview: Why So Many Cross-Centered Songs? by C.J. Mahaney

For the complete 70 minutes  video of C.J. Mahaney’s interview together with Bob Kauflin at the  WorshipGod09 conference, follow these links:

WG09 Interview Video

“Lessons Learned from Three Decades of Leading.”

In the book titled “The Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney with Kevin Meath“, CJ Mahaney wrote following in “The Most Important Truth Is the Easiest to Forget”:

THE ONLY ESSENTIAL MESSAGE

I hope to teach my son many other things as well, but the gospel is the one essential thing for him to know.

“The gospel,” writes Jerry Bridges, “is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history. Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it and experiencing the joy of living by it.”

Author John Stott agrees. “All around us we see Christians and churches relaxing their grasp on the gospel, fumbling it, and in danger of letting it drop from their hands altogether.”

Sometimes the most obvious truths are the ones we need to be reminded of the most.

George Orwell once noted that “sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious.” Perhaps the purpose of this book is to restate the obvious, yet oft-neglected, truth of the gospel, to bring it before you one more time.

On the other hand, maybe you’re thinking, “I already know this truth-I’ve known it for years.” That’s good, but let me ask you this:

Is your life cross centered?

The symptoms that arise from not being cross centered are easy to spot. Do any of these describe you?

• You often lack joy.

• You’re not consistently growing in spiritual maturity.

• Your love for God lacks passion.

• You’re always looking for some new technique, some “new truth” or new experience that will pull all the pieces of your faith together.

If you can relate to any of these symptoms, let me encourage you to keep reading. As you learn to live a cross centered life, you’ll learn:

• How to break free from joy-robbing, legalistic thinking and living

• How to leave behind the crippling effects of guilt and condemnation

• How to stop basing your faith on your emotions and circumstances

• How to grow in gratefulness, joy, and holiness

These aren’t the overhyped promises of an author wanting to convince you to read his book. These are God’s promises to all who respond to His wonderful plan of salvation.

Too many of us have moved on from that glorious plan. In our never-ending desire to move forward and make sure that everything we do, say, and think is relevant to modern living, too many of us have stopped concentrating on the wonders of Jesus crucified.

Too many of us have fumbled the most important truth of the Bible, and therefore we’ve suffered the consequences.

But it’s not too late to change. It’s not too late to restate and reestablish the obvious truth as the most important truth in your life.

The message that Paul had for Timothy is the same message God has for you. You need to rediscover the truth that first saved you. The key to joy, to growth, to passion isn’t hiding from you. It’s right before your eyes.

It’s the gospel.

O Church, Arise

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. Heb 10:35-36

O church, arise and put your armor on;
Hear the call of Christ our captain;
For now the weak can say that they are strong
In the strength that God has given.
With shield of faith and belt of truth
We’ll stand against the devil’s lies;
An army bold whose battle cry is “Love!”
Reaching out to those in darkness.

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,
But to rage against the captor;
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valor.
When faced with trials on ev’ry side,
We know the outcome is secure,
And Christ will have the prize for which He died—
An inheritance of nations.

Come, see the cross where love and mercy meet,
As the Son of God is stricken;
Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet,
For the Conqueror has risen!
And as the stone is rolled away,
And Christ emerges from the grave,
This vict’ry march continues till the day
Ev’ry eye and heart shall see Him.

So Spirit, come, put strength in ev’ry stride,
Give grace for ev’ry hurdle,
That we may run with faith to win the prize
Of a servant good and faithful.
As saints of old still line the way,
Retelling triumphs of His grace,
We hear their calls and hunger for the day
When, with Christ, we stand in glory.

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

God Centered Worship: A Matter of Infinite Importance

True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth John 4:23

“You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, …. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:22-24

Worship matters and it must be anchored  entirely on God’s truth. The entire truth about God, which He has revealed about himself  within His word, is the key for any worshiper in truly  knowing God and worshiping  God acceptably in spirit and in truth. It is a matter of infinite importance. Without getting or accepting the complete truth about God as revealed by the scriptures only mean a professed worshiper  is not truly worshiping the God of the bible  but a “god” of his or her own imagination. It is a matter of eternal consequence when people get worship wrong, as a result they do not worship God acceptably however well meaning they may be. Worship matters,  it really does.

‘Worship is not an addendum to life, it is at life’s core. You see, the people who worship God acceptably enter into eternal life, but the people who do not worship God acceptably enter into eternal death. Worship, then, becomes the core. Time and eternity are determined by the nature of a person’s worship.’ True Worship by John MacArthur, Jr.

Quotes from Bob Kauflin’s book “Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God“:

Worship matters. It matters to God because he is the one ultimately worthy of all worship. It matters to us because worshiping God is the reason for which we were created. And it matters to every worship leader, because we have no greater privilege than leading others to encounter the greatness of God. That’s why it’s so important to think carefully about what we do and why we do it. (Pg 19)

Because I want to make it clear from the start that worship isn’t primarily about music, techniques, liturgies, songs, or methodologies. It’s about our hearts. It’s about what and who we love more than anything. Here’s my sobering discovery. I learned that I could lead others in worshiping God and be worshiping something else in my own heart. But by the grace of God, I was beginning to understand what worship is all about. (Pg 25)

That’s why as worship leaders our primary concern can’t be song preparation, creative arrangements, or the latest cool gear. Our primary concern has to be the state of our hearts. The great hymn-writer Isaac Watts once wrote: The Great God values not the service of men, if the heart be not in it: The Lord sees and judges the heart; he has no regard to outward forms of worship, if there be no inward adoration, if no devout affection be employed therein. It is therefore a matter of infinite importance, to have the whole heart engaged steadfastly for God. (Pg 26)

Related Posts:

God Centered Worship: The Importance of Singing Truth

Genuine worship is a response to divine truth as God has revealed Himself in His Word

What Kind of Worship God Desires From His People ?

Finding Joy in Worship – Psalm 100 by Dr. Arturo G. Azurdia

The Harmony of God’s Providence and its Uniform Designs

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

When God allows severe trials and afflictions come into our lives, as feeble human beings, they test our faith in God. Are trials and afflictions in fact  privileges of God’s children ? From the scriptures, it is clear that God is  always on the His throne and in control. He does what He purposes for His Glory.  He acts out of His sovereign will.   The redeemed belong to Christ, He bought them by His own blood. Everything that comes into our lives does not come by chance but is all a  manifestation of God’s fore knowledge and special care for his children, all them who loved God and are Christ’s redeemed.  Christ  promised that He will never leave His sheep. In our journey of life as sojourners through this earth , all providences come about for the good of those that are Christ’s. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

In this embedded clip  is a moving testimony of Brady, a young boy who was diagnosed with brain cancer at age of 10.  It was then God shined the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ into his heart.  He was transformed  and showed great joy through the 4 years of living  and suffering with this terminal illness. His testimony before all people who came into contact with him showed that he had a great hunger for God showing  much faith and joy in knowing that God was at work in him. Through it all, the testimony of his parents showed that their lives and that of their other two children were drawn much closer to God through the experience that Brady underwent. We may not have the answers now as to why God allowed experience such as this to come to Brady  but we can trust that such  seemingly sad experience worked for His purpose and for His Glory. God ensured that all things worked together for good for Brady and his family.

In Matthew Henry‘‘s commentary on Rom 8:28:
The privilege of the saints, that all things work together for good to them, that is, all the providences of God that concern them. All that God performs he performs for them, Psalms 57:2. Their sins are not of his performing, therefore not intended here, though his permitting sin is made to work for their good, 2 Chron 32:31. But all the providences of God are theirs – merciful providences, afflicting providences, personal, public. They are all for good; perhaps for temporal good, as Joseph’s troubles; at least, for spiritual and eternal good. That is good for them which does their souls good. Either directly or indirectly, every providence has a tendency to the spiritual good of those that love God, breaking them off from sin, bringing them nearer to God, weaning them from the world, fitting them for heaven. Work together. They work, as physic works upon the body, various ways, according to the intention of the physician; but all for the patient’s good. They work together, as several ingredients in a medicine concur to answer the intention. God hath set the one over against the other (Ecc 7:14): sunergei, a very singular, with a noun plural, denoting the harmony of Providence and its uniform designs, all the wheels as one wheel, Eze 10:13. He worketh all things together for good; so some read it. It is not from any specific quality in the providences themselves, but from the power and grace of God working in, with, and by, these providences. All this we know – know it for a certainty, from the word of God, from our own experience, and from the experience of all the saints.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. Psalms  57:2

God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.” 2 Chron 32:31

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. Ecc 7:14

Before the Throne of God Above

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

Words: Charitie L. Bancroft, 1863.

Updated Music arranged by Vikki Cook and Sovereign Grace Ministries

Speak O Lord

Speak, O Lord

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow’r that can never fail—
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

Related Posts: Speak, O Lord

A Good Time to Thank God for John Calvin.

John Calvin born 10 July 1509 - 500th Anniversary

“Among all those who have been born of women, there has not risen a greater than John Calvin; no age before him ever produced his equal, and no age afterwards has seen his rival. John Calvin propounded truth more clearly than any other man who ever breathed, knew more of Scripture, and explained it more clearly.” – C H Spurgeon on the John Calvin

“There is no soul living who holds more firmly to the doctrines of grace than I do, and if any man asks me whether I am ashamed to be called a Calvinist, I answer—I wish to be called nothing but a Christian; but if you ask me, do I hold the doctrinal views which were held by John Calvin, I reply, I do in the main hold them, and rejoice to avow it.” C H Spurgeon on the doctrines of John Calvin


“The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach to-day, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox’s gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again.”— C H Spurgeon on the doctrines of John Calvin

Two clips on John Calvin from Steve Lawson and John Piper:

1. Pastor Dr Steve J. Lawson speaking on John Calvin he found and wrote in his book “The Expository Genius of John Calvin” available from Reformation Press.

2. Pastor Dr John Piper speaking on John Calvin and why a Desiring God Conference in 2009 with a theme focusing on John Calvin right on the 500th year of his birth.

Genuine worship is a response to divine truth as God has revealed Himself in His Word

 

O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. Psalms 96:9

‘..”An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” I saw as clearly as I had ever seen before the implications of that phrase, “worship . . . in spirit and truth.” The phrase suggests, first of all, that true worship involves the intellect as much as the emotions. It underscores the truth that worship is to be focused on God, not on the worshiper. The context also shows that Jesus was saying true worship is more a matter of substance than of form. And He was teaching that worship embraces what we do in life, not just what we do in the formal place of worship.’

“..about worship, we were continually drawn to the only reliable and sufficient worship manual—Scripture. If God desires worship in spirit and truth, then surely all true worshipers must fashion their worship in accord with the truth He has revealed. If worship is something offered to God—and not just a show put on for the benefit of the congregation—then every aspect of it must be pleasing to God and in harmony with His Word. So the effect of our renewed emphasis on worship was that it heightened our commitment to the centrality of Scripture.’

‘Scripture tells us that the purpose of spiritual gifts is for the edification of the whole church (Eph. 4:12; cf. 1 Cor. 14:12). Therefore all ministry in the context of the church should somehow be edifying—building up the flock, not just stirring emotions.

Above all, ministry should be aimed at stimulating genuine worship. To do that it must be edifying. This is implied by the expression “worship . . . in spirit and truth.” As we noted earlier, worship should engage the intellect as well as the emotions. By all means worship should be passionate, heartfelt, and moving. But the point is not to stir the emotions while turning off the mind. True worship merges heart and mind in a response of pure adoration, based on the truth revealed in the Word.

Music may sometimes move us by the sheer beauty of its sound, but such sentiment is not worship. Music by itself, apart from the truth contained in the lyrics, it is not even a legitimate springboard for real worship. Similarly, a poignant story may be touching or stirring, but unless the message it conveys is set in the context of biblical truth, any emotions it may stir are of no use in prompting genuine worship. Aroused passions are not necessarily evidence that true worship is taking place.

Genuine worship is a response to divine truth. It is passionate because it arises out of our love for God. But to be true worship it must also arise out of a correct understanding of His law, His righteousness, His mercy, and His Being. Real worship acknowledges God as He has revealed Himself in His Word. We know from Scripture, for example, that He is the only perfectly holy, all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent source from which flows all goodness, mercy, truth, wisdom, power, and salvation. Worship means ascribing glory to Him because of those truths. It means adoring Him for who He is, for what He has done, and for what He has promised. It must therefore be a response to the truth that He has revealed about Himself. Such worship cannot rise out of a vacuum. It is prompted and vitalized by the objective truth of the Word.

Neither rote ceremonies nor mere entertainment are able to provoke such worship—no matter how moving such things may be. Those things can’t edify. At best they can arouse the emotions. But that isn’t true worship.’

‘Hebrews 12:28 says, “Let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.” That verse speaks of the attitude in which we should worship. The Greek word for “service” is latreuo, which literally means “worship.” The point is that worship ought to be done reverently, in a way that honors God. In fact, the Authorized version translates it this way: “let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (emphasis added)—and the next verse adds, “For our God is a consuming fire” (v. 29)……….”Reverence and awe” refers to a solemn sense of honor as we perceive the majesty of God. It demands both a sense of God’s holiness and a sense of our own sinfulness. Everything in the corporate worship of the church should aim at fostering such an atmosphere. ‘How Shall We Then Worship? by John MacArthur All Rights Reserved

Embedded is another sermon by John MacArthur where he speaks on the similar truths on true worship: ‘The kind of worship God desires“.

 

For a related post: What Kind of Worship God Desires From His People ?

Speak, O Lord

Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Psalms 25:4-5

Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Psalms 25:4-5

Speak, O Lord

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow’r that can never fail—
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

Finding Joy in Worship – Psalm 100 by Dr. Arturo G. Azurdia

True and Joyful Worship - Psalm 100

The heart of  joyful worship is what God want from His people. Worship is what believers will do and perform before a Holy God throughout eternity. God, the LORD, is good. God alone is worthy of worship. True and joyful worship can only come about from knowing God and what He delights in (Jeremiah 9:23-34). When the Gospel blessings and grace, from our Lord Jesus Christ,  are poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, we love to come to worship the God of the Bible.  In Dr Art (Arturo)  Azurdia ‘s sermon, he recounted a wisdom learned from someone he spoke with within an African American church:

We sing when we are happy.
We sing when we are not happy.
And when we are not happy, we sing until we get happy.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Psalms 100:1-5

Here is link to the sermon by Dr Art Azurdia:

Session 6: Finding Joy in Worship from Front Range Alliance Church on Vimeo.

This is Session 6 -”Finding Joy in Worship” based on Psalms 100 from Front Range Alliance Church’s 2009 Fall Conference with Dr. Art Azurdia.

Here is another video reminder on Worship…………it is all about the one true God, the LORD.

God does all that He pleases.

Sovereignty of God

There is but one only, living, and true God, who is …. most free (Of God, and of the Holy Trinity -WCF Chapter II -I)

Psa 115:3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Psa 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

Eph 1:11 “..according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,”

Rom 11:36 “For from him and through him and to him are all things…”

1 Cor 8:6 “…there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”

“The Sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite. When we say that God is Sovereign we affirm His right to govern the universe which He has made for His own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that His right is the right of the Potter over the clay, i. e., that He may mold that clay into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. We affirm that He is under no rule or law outside of His own will and nature, that God is a law unto Himself, and that He is under no obligation to give an account of His matters to any.” Arthur Pink’s “THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD”, CHAPTER ONE, GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY DEFINED

“No doctrine is more despised by the natural mind than the truth that God is absolutely sovereign. Human pride loathes the suggestion that God orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything. The carnal mind, burning with enmity against God, abhors the biblical teaching that nothing comes to pass except according to His eternal decrees.” John Macarthur’s “Ashamed of the Gospel”, God’s Absolute Sovereignty.

““He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”Up till this moment his decrees have been fulfilled, and his eternal purposes accomplished; he has not been asleep, nor oblivious of the affairs of men; he has worked, and he has worked effectually, none have been able to thwart, nor even so much as to hinder him. “Whatsoever he hath pleased”: however distasteful to his enemies, the Lord has accomplished all his good pleasure without difficulty; even when his adversaries raved and raged against him they have been compelled to carry out his designs against their will. Even proud Pharaoh, when most defiant of the Lord was but as clay upon the potter’s wheel, and the Lord’s end and design in him were fully answered. We may well endure the jeering question, “Where is now their God?” while we are perfectly sure that his providence is undisturbed, his throne unshaken, and his purposes unchanged. What he hath done he will yet do, his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure, and at the end of the great drama of human history, the omnipotence of God and his immutability and faithfulness will be more than vindicated to the eternal confusion of his adversaries.” C. H.Spurgeon on Psalms 115:3

Feed The Lord’s Sheep With The Truth: Declaring all the counsel of God

The world out there says there is no such thing as absolute truth. Today, it is much more popular and politically convenient to the world to say no religion has the monopoly to the Truth. However, Truth is absolute. Truth cannot be relative or it becomes meaningless. So when a Christian says that there can only be one and only one Truth from God, a Christian is often labelled as unloving, narrow-minded, closed-minded, arrogant and bigoted. As a result, in Churches where the teachings emphasize a need on love for and acceptance of the world, both Churches and Christians become conscious of offending the world and opt for toning down declaring “all the counsel of God”

Every disciple of the Jesus Christ has to know and believe Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Truth: “Jesus said unto him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” John 14:6. The Gospel is a very exclusive message pointing to one God and the only Way for sinners to be reconciled to God and be spared from God’s wrath. The Gospel is very clear: Jesus Christ is the only way to God, there is no other way. The Truth to God is found in the person of Jesus Christ alone, there is no other Truth. Eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ, there is no other way to be with God in heaven.

People of God who heard and believed the Gospel must live it and declare it faithfully. We know that “God is Love” (I John 4:8) and it is true. It is very important to know that Love “rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor 13:6). Apostle Paul loved the Lord’s sheep and he wants to present the Church as the chaste bride to  Christ the Bridegroom (2 Corinthians 11:2). Paul lived the Truth and wholly preached and fully declared everything he has received from the LORD Jesus Christ. He said, “for I have not shrunk from declaring unto you all the counsel of God.” (Act 20: 27).

Paul recalled, “in all seasons,…and how I kept back nothing that was profitable for you, but have shown you and have taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying…..repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Act 20: 18-21). The focus of his ministry, his joy and his life was very clear to him. The Apostle Paul said, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God.” (Act 20: 24).

While Paul’s ministry and purpose is to preach, convert and disciple believers for the Lord Jesus Christ, he is well aware that Satan will always be there to try subverting what God has purposed to do. The “wolves” will present a perverted Gospel: watered down Gospel, half Gospel, twisted Gospel. As an under-shepherd who has watered and fed God’s sheep, he reminded the “overseers” of God’s flock to “take heed” because the “grievous wolves” shall enter in amongst the sheep. He was saying very clearly that there will be “wolves” amongst the sheep within the professing believers in the visible church.

He pleaded and urged the “overseers” to do their duty to God: “to feed the church of God” (Act 20: 28). He commended the “overseers” to feed the sheep on “God and to the word of His grace”. Overseers of God’s sheep must desire and work very hard to ensure that every sheep in their care “that they received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily to see whether those things were so” (Act 17: 11).

If overseers are not vigilant or do not care to “take heed” and are not preaching and teaching “all the counsel of God”, then God’s sheep are not fed. If God’s sheep are not fed, they will likely follow “wolves”. The character of these wolves is as such: “among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them”.

Paul warned and warned God’s sheep for THREE years DAY and NIGHT. This part of the ministry is no small matter to Paul. “Therefore watch, and remember that for the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears.” Act 20: 31 Today it appears that this “take heed” and “to warn” aspect of an overseer’s ministry is a small matter to many “overseers” within the visible church ? Why ? Why the neglect of “all the counsel of God ” ?

Paul’s plead is that overseers must feed and warn the sheep all the time. All believers must fix our eyes upon God by immersing in His Word seriously “And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.