We have 4 or 6 children depending on how you count them.
We are involved in Christian ministry. We participate in the Sunday morning children's ministry program at our local church. And we participate in various evangelistic outreaches.
Yes, it’s true. I’m regifting this year. In the current economy, it seems that regifting is more common than ever, but it is by no means new. The Christ of Christmas said, “You received without paying; give without pay.” So with the vast number of friends and family to whom I would like to give a gift, I’ve decided to join trend of regifting. The gift I have received is the gift of God – eternal life. It is the perfect gift for regifting. It is the gift that once you’ve received it you can regift it over and over again and still keep it for yourself. (Of course God, the original giver, continues to be the source of the gift.)
I love Christmas. But celebrating the birth of the Christ child apart from the reality of why He was born is empty and meaningless. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born in order that He might live as a man the perfect sinless life that no one else could ever live. And having lived that life, He was to die in the place of sinners. God, the universal Lawgiver and Judge, is holy and just. His justice demands that He punish lawbreakers, and all of mankind is guilty before the God to whom we must give account.. Yet He is merciful, and in His mercy he has determined to provide salvation in His Son, Jesus Christ.
When Jesus died on the cross, he died as a substitute for sinners. God, the Judge of all, transferred the penalty for sin to His sinless Son and punished Him. “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” The penalty for sin, if exacted upon sinners, would consign each and every one of us to eternal conscious punishment in hell. Yet the sinless God-Man suffered the full wrath of a holy God in one day on a Roman cross in Jerusalem, just six miles away and 33 years after His birth in Bethlehem. And three days later, as if to say, “I am satisfied with the death of My Son on behalf of sinners,” God raised Jesus from the dead. Now, because God has poured out all of His wrath for sinners on the Savior, all those who receive Christ have their sins forgiven and live forever with God.
This Christmas season receive the gift of eternal life. Stop trusting in your own goodness (you have none). Put your faith in the sinless Son of God instead. Repent and turn from your life of sinning against the Lawgiver and His law. Receive this greatest of gifts. And then you can regift it over and over again and still keep it for yourself.
If you are a follower of Harold Camping I have something to say to you. When May 22, 2011 arrives please know that Mr. Camping is a false teacher and he does not represent biblical Christianity. Reject the false teacher. Do not reject the Bible. Find a Bible believing church, REPENT, and be restored.
You may know many things about the death and resurrection of Jesus. You may know about the Man who was killed on the Cross. You may know that man. I do!
Or, maybe you don’t know anything about the story. You may have questions. You may be asking:
Did these things really happen?
Who was that Man on the Cross?
Why did He have to die?
Did He really come back to life?
What does it all have to do with me?
I hope to answer these questions over the next few minutes.
The Gospel – Good News
Paul the Apostle wrote these words in the Bible:
(Romans 1:1b-4 ESV) 1 …the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
These words speak of the gospel of God. Gospel means “good news”. And they say it is God’s gospel. It is “good news” from God. This “gospel of God” was promised by God “through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.”
In another place we read this about the gospel of God.
(First Corinthians 15:1, 3-4 ESV) 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you… 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
There is a clear statement of the gospel:
Christ died for our sins and Christ rose from the dead!
That is the gospel. That is the “good news”.
The Bad News
But if you were listening close, in that clear statement you also heard some bad news. And it is that bad news that makes the “good news” so very good.
“Christ died for our sins.” Christ Jesus, the man who died on the Cross, “died for our sins.”
The bad news we must face is the bad news about “our sins”.
What is sin?
Have you ever lied? God said, “do not lie.” Lying is sin. That is why Jesus died; “for our sins.”
Have you ever stolen anything? God said, “do not steal.” Stealing is sin. That is why Jesus died; “for our sins.”
Have you ever disobeyed your parents? God said, “Honor your father and your mother.” Disobeying your parents is sin. That is why Jesus died; “for our sins.”
Sin is doing what God has commanded us not to do or not doing what God has commanded us to do. Everyone has sinned. The Bible says:
(Romans 3:23 ESV) 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the gloryof God,
The consequence of sin is death. The Bible says:
(Romans 6:23 ESV) 23 For the wages of sin is death…
The death this verse speaks of is an eternal painful existence in hell - separated from God and all that is good.
That is why Jesus died; “for our sins.”
Jesus, Our Sin, and His Death
Who is Jesus? How could He die for my sin?
There is one answer to both of these questions.
Our Scripture talks about “the gospel of God… concerning his Son.”
The reason Jesus could die for our sins is because he is the sinless Son of God. He is God in human flesh. Jesus…
“was descended from David according to the flesh”
He was the perfect Man who never sinned
And Jesus…
“was declared to be the Son of God”
Very God in human flesh. And he “died for our sins.”
How can we know that Jesus is the Son of God? That is what Easter is all about. Our Scripture says Jesus…
“was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead”
We know that Jesus is the Son of God because, after he “died for our sins” on the Cross, He rose from the dead. He came back to life.
Your Response
Do you still ask, “What does this have to do with me?
Well, nothing if you reject the good news. If you reject the Son of God’s death as payment for your sin, then it has nothing to do with you. You must pay for your own sin forever in hell.
But, if you receive Jesus and His death as payment for your sins then your sins are forgiven and you will live forever with God in heaven.
You must receive Jesus by faith. Faith is turning to Jesus in love and trusting in his death and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sins. And faith is turning from sin. This is called repentance. It means that with God’s help you live the rest of your life the way God wants you to live.
If you understand that you need your sins forgiven - if you believe that Jesus died to pay for your sins and that He rose again - if you are willing to turn from sin and trust in Jesus, you can receive Him now.
Prayer
If you would receive Jesus, tell Him so in prayer. Tell Jesus that you want to trust Him and turn from your sin. Tell him you want your sins forgiven. Tell Him you believe that he died for you and that He rose again from the dead.
There is great room for error when we fail to properly distinguish the various works of God in the salvation of sinners. This is especially true with reference to three prominent aspects of God's work of salvation: regeneration, justification, and sanctification. The work of God in regeneration must be distinguished from both justification and sanctification. And justification must be clearly distinguished from sanctification.
First, regeneration is to be distinguished from justification. Justification is a legal declaration by God the Judge of the universe. In it God declares the believing sinner to be righteous because Jesus paid the penalty for his sins on the cross, and the righteousness of Jesus has been credited to him. In justification the believing sinner becomes positionally righteous not practically righteous. In justification righteousness is credited or imputed (not infused) to the sinner; no change is made in him.
In regeneration, however, there is a radical change in the sinner. He who was dead in sin is now made alive. He who hated God now loves and trusts God. He who lived for sin now lives for righteousness. Regeneration is the actual infusion of holiness.
If we fail to distinguish regeneration from justification we fall in to the error of believing that our righteous standing before God depends on how holy and righteous we behave. Holiness in the life of the believer has as it origin and of necessity follows from regeneration, but our justification before God is always and only dependent on the merits of Jesus Christ.
Second, regeneration is to be distinguished from sanctification. Sanctification is a progressive work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer whereby we are brought into conformity with the righteous character of Christ. It begins at regeneration and is completed at glorification. Therefore, from the moment we put our trust in Jesus until we breath our last breath, the Holy Spirit is at work in us making us holy. Whereas in justification we are positionally declared righteous by God through faith in Jesus, in sanctification we are progressively made righteous practically.
Regeneration is an instantaneous work of the Holy Spirit and is the seed of all holiness of life that is to follow. Sanctification is a progressive work of the Holy Spirit, following upon the new birth, making us more and more holy.
If we fail to distinguish regeneration from sanctification we fall into the error of believing that any failure in the progress of sanctification makes void the grace of regeneration. Those who make this mistake find themselves seeking to be born again again and again.
Men are incurably religious. When we reject the true and living God we have to create a god or gods to take His place. The result is a world full of false religions.
Every false religion has its origin in the sinful heart of man under the inspiration of demons.
(First Corinthians 10:18-20 ESV) 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.
The religions of the world come in many shapes and sizes. Postmodern philosophy would say, it’s up to you to choose which one is true for you, to choose not to participate in any, or to create your own system. And no religion is better or truer than any other.
But Christianity, with its truth claims stands out from all the religions of the world. It can never be subjected to the postmodern idea of relative truth. You cannot say, “Christianity is true for me.” Because Christianity is either absolutely true, or it is not true at all. Either Jesus really did rise from the dead, and therefore, Christianity is the only true ‘religion,’ or Jesus did not rise from the dead and Christianity is to be absolutely rejected.
Those who want to hang on to Christianity, but spiritualize the resurrection of Jesus are really creating another false religion and simply calling it Christianity.
No other doctrine sets Christianity apart from the false religious systems of the world more than the doctrine of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Christians claim that the bodily resurrection of Jesus is a historic fact. No other religion can say that its founder came back from the dead; nor do they need to. But if Christ did not rise, our faith is useless. The validity of our faith is dependent on the absolute truth of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ as a historic fact.
(First Corinthians 10:18-20 ESV) 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19If in Christ we have hopein this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
(Matthew 1:23 ESV) 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
(John 2:12 ESV) After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothersand his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches as a dogma (a teaching that must be believed by faithful Catholics) that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was perpetually a virgin. They say that Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus and for her whole life. But the plain reading of John 2:12 (and many other passages that refer to the siblings of Jesus) seems to debunk this dogma. Obviously, if Jesus had even one brother in the normal sense of the word then it would stand to reason that Mary did not remain a virgin. So, to maintain the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary in the face of these passages Roman Catholics have offered a number of alternative understandings of the phrase “his brothers.” (I refer here to explanations given by private Catholics and/or popular Catholic apologists, not official Roman Catholic statements). For example, some have said that Joseph was married to another women before he married Mary and the “brothers” are the children of Joseph and his first wife. But most Roman Catholics argue that the word for “brothers” in the original language is broad enough to mean “cousins,” so the “brothers” are really the children of Mary’s sister. This is the preferred view because it saves Joseph’s virginity as well as Mary’s.
In response I would make seven points:
1). The “brothers” are always referred to as the brothers of Jesus and they are never called the sons of Joseph. This would be strange if their only connection to Jesus is that they were Joseph’s sons, because being Joseph’s sons would not make them the biological brothers of Jesus.
2). The “brothers,” whenever they appear in the Gospels, are always with Mary, which would be strange if they were the children of her husband and another woman.
3). The Greek word for “brothers” is the normal word for “brothers.”
While in certain contexts the word for "brothers" is used with a broader meaning such as kinsmen or even countrymen, the context always determines the meaning. There is a Greek word for cousins, but it is never used of this group’s relationship to Jesus. There is nothing in the context of John 2:12 or any other passage that refers to Jesus’ brothers to make one think it means anything other than “brothers.” Therefore, the Roman Catholic argues that “brothers” means cousins only because there is a predetermined perspective that says that Jesus had no siblings and this ultimately leads them to circular reasoning.
Imagine this conversation:
Evangelical: “John 2:12 says Jesus had brothers.”
Roman Catholic: “That means cousins.”
Evangelical: “How do you know that it means cousins?”
Roman Catholic: “Because Jesus didn’t have any brothers.”
Evangelical: “But the text says He did have brothers.”
Roman Catholic: “That means cousins.”
Evangelical: “How do you know that it means cousins?”
Roman Catholic: “Because Jesus didn’t have any brothers.”
So this is the kind of circular reasoning we encounter. To break this cycle the Evangelical must ask another question,
Evangelical: “How do you know that Jesus had no brothers?”
Roman Catholic: “Because Mary was perpetually a virgin.”
But this only broadens the circle of reason and a circle is a circle no matter how large. In other words Roman Catholics believe that the references to Jesus’ brothers must mean cousins because Mary was perpetually a virgin. So when you point out passages that speak of Jesus’ “brothers” it is automatically assumed that they are His cousins because Mary could not have had more children because she was perpetually a virgin. But the perpetual virginity of Mary is the very point that is at question. So they are using their conclusion, that Mary remained a virgin for her whole life, as the basis for their argument, that the references to Jesus’ “brother’s” means “cousins,” to prove their conclusion, that Mary remained a virgin for her whole life. That is the essence of circular reasoning.
Let’s take it one step further:
Evangelical: “How do you know that Mary was perpetually a virgin?”
Roman Catholic: “Because that is what the Church teaches.”
Evangelical: “The Bible says that Jesus had brothers.”
Roman Catholic: “That means cousins.”
Evangelical: “What makes you think that that means cousins?”
Roman Catholic: “Because Jesus did not have any siblings.”
Evangelical: “How do you know that Jesus did not have any siblings?”
Roman Catholic: “Because Mary was perpetually a virgin.”
Evangelical: “How do you know that Mary was perpetually a virgin?”
Roman Catholic: “Because that is the teaching of the Church.”
Ultimately then, for Catholics, the Bible does not determine what the Church teaches; the Church
determines what the Bible teaches. The final authority then is not the Bible but Rome.
4). The Bible nowhere teaches that Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Christ. To say that she did is an argument from silence. This argument from silence is defeated by the argument from the texts which teach that Jesus had siblings.
5). The Bible actually teaches that Mary did not remain a virgin after the birth of Jesus. It does so in the many references to Jesus’ siblings.
Also, Matthew 1:25 says that Joseph had no sexual relations with Mary “until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus” (ESV). The word “until” is significant.If I say to you, “Loan me $50 “until” Friday,” it means that, if you agree, a certain condition will exist from now to Friday. The condition will be that you are without $50 of your own money and that I am indebted to you for $50. Well then, how long will this condition last? This condition will last “until”Friday, at which time, if I am true to my promise, the condition will change. So the word “until”implies that at the end of the stated time the condition will change. Matthew 1:25 says that Joseph had no sexual relations with Mary “until she had given birth to a son.” I might break my promise to pay back your $50, but when Matthew said, “until she had given birth to a son,” he was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Who cannot lie.
6). Mary was far too godly to abstain from normal sexual relations in the context of marriage.
Paul the Apostle, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, commanded married couples: “Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control”(First Corinthians 7:5 ESV). Accordingly, for Mary to remain a virgin she would be sinning by depriving her husband the normal sexual relationship that is commanded in Scripture for married couples, and doing so would make Joseph unduly vulnerable to sexual temptation.
7). The belief that Mary was perpetually a virgin (as well as the celibate priesthood) seems to stem from the false assumption that virginity is somehow better or more spiritual than marriage. It certainly does not come from the biblical record.
For the Bible says, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous" (Hebrews 13:4 ESV).
John 2:12 says that Jesus had “brothers.” And “brothers” means brothers. Jesus had brothers because, after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary experienced normal marital sexual relations. Mary did not perpetually remain a virgin.
Hell is a place of eternal conscious punishment. Unredeemed sinners, Satan and the fallen angels will forever experience the tormenting wrath of a holy God there. There will be no relief, no break, no end, and no hope. There are those who would say that sinners are cast into hell and experience its torments, but only temporarily. Either they will be annihilated or they will be paroled after serving a finite sentence. But the punishment of hell is not corrective purgative or rehabilitative.
Hear what Jesus said.
(Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46 ESV)31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world... 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels... 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Jesus used the same word - “eternal” - to describe the punishment of the wicked as He used to describe the “eternal life” of the righteous. The punishment of the wicked is as “eternal” as the “life” of the righteous.
Somehow Christians have gotten the idea that the fear of hell is an illegitimate motive for fleeing to the Savior. It is not. It is to save us from hell that the Savior has come. QUOTE: Arthur W. Pink
Concerning the eternal punishment of the wicked there are few, it seems, who realize the vital importance of a ringing testimony to this truth, and fewer still who apprehend the deep seriousness of what is involved in a denial of it. The importance of a clear witness to this doctrine may be seen by noting what a prominent place it holds in the Word; and contrariwise, the seriousness of denying it is evidenced by the fact that such denial is a rejection of God’s truth. The need of giving this solemn subject a prominent place in our witness is apparent, for it is our bounden duty to warn sinners of their fearful peril and bid them flee from the wrath to come. To remain silent is criminal; to substitute anything for it is to set before the wicked a false hope. The great importance of expounding this doctrine, freely and frequently, also appears in that, excepting the Cross of Christ, nothing else so manifests the heinousness of sin, whereas every modification of eternal punishment, only serves to minimize the evil of it. (Arthur W. Pink, Eternal Punishment)
For many the most objectionable doctrine of the Bible is the doctrine of hell. Even among professed Christians there are those who deny that it could really be eternal. Most Christians have never heard a sermon preached on hell. Preachers and teachers today avoid the doctrine of hell at all cost.
The reason seems simple. In a day when men “will not endure sound doctrine” (Second Timothy 4:3 KJV) and preachers prefer the acclaim of men to the pleasure of God, sound doctrine in general must go and the most difficult doctrines must go first. Hell is clearly one of the most unendurable doctrines. But it is certainly the teaching of the Bible.
We do not want to be among those who “will not endure sound doctrine.” We want to know, understand, believe, and proclaim the whole counsel of God. Even the most difficult doctrines.
Christianity is nothing if it is not historical. Christianity is all about a Person; a real Person. A man! He was a man who lived in history. He lived at a particular place. He lived at a particular time; “when the fullness of time had come” (Galatians 4:4 ESV). He lived in a particular way. A man! He was an utterly unique man - a man like no other man, yet a man.
God the Son became a Man. Jesus possesses from all eternity the nature of God. He is equal to the Father in power, knowledge, self-existence, and holiness. In every way the Son is equal to the Father; “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15 ESV). God the Son in His Deity is spirit. He is eternally the WORD of God. He never ceased to be all that the Father is. But in the course of human history - at a particular place and time - He assumed a second nature. He became a Man. He did not become half Man and half God. He never lost a single attribute of Deity. While He never ceased to be 100% God, He became a real Man. He became a Man in every sense, only without sin. From eternity He was one Person with one nature. At a particular moment in history He became one Person with two natures. He is the God-Man. He is not a mixture of the divine and the human. He is 100% God and 100% Man. He is the WORD become flesh.
Christ, by highest Heav’n adored; Christ the everlasting Lord; Late in time, behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail th’incarnate Deity, Pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.
All of eternity past looked forward to the events that began when God became Man. And all of eternity future will look back on the Incarnation of the Son of God as the greatest event in the history of mankind. The events that began with the conception and birth of Jesus Christ stand as the ultimate demonstration of both the justice and the mercy of our great God.
Jesus remains the God-Man. In His glorified state He forever retains His Humanity. This qualifies Him to be our Mediator.
(First Timothy 2:5 ESV) 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
As Mediator, Jesus can represent men to God because He possesses our human nature. Jesus can represent God to men because He possesses God’s nature.
“God sent forth his Son” (Galatians 4:4 ESV). “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14 ESV). God became a Man. The importance of this doctrine cannot be overstated. All Christian doctrine hangs on the fact that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. It is because of the Incarnation that we can know God. Had God not pitched His tent among us we could not know Him.
What an amazing thing that the God of creation would condescend to live among His creatures. Jesus lived the life of a man on earth for nearly three and a half decades. Think about it. He played. He laughed. He “increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52 ESV). He worked. He taught. He loved. He healed. He prayed. He wept. He died. He rose again! His life has had a greater impact on the world than any other person or event. The events of one Passover weekend at the end of His life changed the world forever.
In Acts 16 we read about the ministry of Paul in Philippi.
While in Philippi a demon possessed slave girl became a hindrance to the ministry. Finally, “...Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour” (Acts 16:18 ESV).
This was a great blessing for the slave girl, but “her owners” were not pleased because the demon was a “spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling” (Acts 16:16 ESV). “They seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers” (Acts 16:19 ESV). They falsely accused Paul and Sillas before the magistrates who had them beaten with rods and thrown in prison. After Paul and Silas were beaten they were placed in stocks in the deepest part of the prison.
(Acts 16:25-29 ESV) 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.
The next verse records, in the words of the Philippian jailer, my dream question.
(Acts 16:30 ESV)30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
In all my years as a Christian I have never had anyone ask me a question like that. (Just as an aside, I think most Christians are waiting for such a question before they will ever proclaim the gospel.) But I can tell you this. If someone ever asks me that question I will have an answer for them. I say that with confidence because I do not wait for someone to ask may dream question before I proclaim to them the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Having said all that, let me tell you a story. A few days ago I was with my family at a farmer’s market/street fair passing out tracts and talking to people about the gospel. Occupying one of the booths at the street fair was a church that is a new plant from a local seeker sensitive mega church. So I decided to see what they were all about. I asked them what kind of church they were. They said, “We are a Christian church...evangelical Christian. Our pastor preaches messages that are relevant to life and they come from the Bible. We are not a seeker church.”
As we talked they introduced themselves. One of them was the children’s ministry director, one was the worship pastor, and the other two were also involved in the ministry. They said that they were half of the leadership of the church.
That’s when I decided to ask my dream question. What must I do to be saved? Only I wanted to ask it in a way that was still a question about their church.
So I looked at the worship pastor (after all he’s a pastor) and said, “What does your church teach about the nature of the gospel?”
His mouth opened as he visibly inhaled. He looked at the children’s ministry director and said, “Uh.” He looked back at me and said, “Uh, the nature of the gospel? Jesus died for our sins.”
Okay, that’s true. That Jesus died in the place of sinners is essential to the gospel message. But half the unbelievers I talk to tell me that Jesus died for our sins. I gave a pastor the opportunity to expound the gospel of Jesus Christ and that was all he could come up with.
For all he knew I could have been a Mormon, a JW, or an irreligious pagan asking him to explain the gospel.
He continued, “We preach the whole gospel, not a watered down message. Uh, I’m new at the church. I’m still learning.” Then the others chimed in to tell me about the great programs they had at the church.
As we were walking away my wife heard the worship pastor say, “Well, that was a really broad question.” I said, “That’s my dream question.”
The Bible commands Christians to be prepared to answer that question:
(First Peter 3:15 ESV) 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
Below I have linked to a couple ministries that help Christians to be prepared to proclaim the gospel.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 will mark the publication of the ESV Study Bible.
I’ve been reading the English Standard Version for almost two years now and I am very pleased with it. I’m also excited to see the publication of this new study Bible based on the ESV.
“The ESV is a dream come true for me. The rightful heir to a great line of historic translations, it provides the continuity and modern accuracy I longed for. Now the scope and theological faithfulness of the ESV Study Bible study notes is breathtaking. Oh how precious is the written Word of God.” John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN
First, I want to say a few things about me. I’m married with anywhere from 1 to 6 children depending on how you count them.
My occupation is in law enforcement (and that’s all I have to say about that).
I’m involved in Christian ministry. I direct the Sunday morning children’s ministry program at my local church. I’m a disciple maker in an evangelism and discipleship training program with my local church. And I teach an adult Bible study at my home twice a month.
This blog will primarily focus on the Bible and theology. I write thing that interest me. If you read it and enjoy it, learn from it, or have any other reaction to it that will be secondary to my purpose. My purpose is to write whatever I want to write.
I will post twice a week (Tuesday and Friday) as my schedule allows.
The content will include my comments on current theological trends, excerpts from Bible studies I teach, and quotes from others I believe are worth quoting.
If you do happen to read this blog, let me know in the comments section. You can just tell me that you are reading, you can tell me that you like what you are reading, or you can tell me you don’t like what you are reading.
I also see this as a learning process for me. If I am in error in anyway that can be shown from the Bible please correct me.
You can comment on anything I write, but please tell me “Doth this Offend You?”
