"A mist in the pulpit (still) becomes a fog in the pew."

You have to love Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages (Baker, 1980) by my former professor Haddon Robinson.  How could we then imagine the thousands of sermons that would flow from our introductory preaching classes with Haddon and Dr. Scott Gibson?  Those were the days...or rather, these are still the days!  Preaching, with Biblical Theology, is a never-ending life-consuming pursuit.  Today I'm reminded of why the basics are called the basics:

"Explanation proves difficult if the expositor does not know his audience.  The more familiar he is with a subject, the less aware he may be of a congregation's ignorance of it.  The people in the pew live in a different intellectual world from their pastor.  Indeed they support him financially so that he can study what they cannot.  He must not assume that his listeners immediately understand what he is talking about.  He owes them a clear explanation of exactly what he means.  As a guiding rule, a speaker should define every important term in language the audience understands.  Certainly it is better to define too many terms than too few.  Explaining the relationships and implications of ideas, we should know the explanation ourselves so clearly that no vagueness exists in our own minds.  Then we should work through the steps in the explanation so that they come in a logical or psychological order.  A mist in the pulpit becomes a fog in the pew." (p. 141)

There should be no pride in preaching, but a sober and humble effort to both speak from the heart of God and speak to the hearts of people.  Here's to continually clearing out the mist!

Are You on the Sidelines?

“Christians are sitting on the sidelines while the culture rots.”  Baloney.

The culture is rotted, that's true.  But make no mistake: studying God's word, preaching God's word, publishing God's word as much as possible, proclaiming God's word publicly and living it out in our lives as we attempt to be faithful followers of Jesus... is exactly and only what the culture needs. 

In other (Biblical) words, “Repent and believe the Gospel!”

But people think,  "It isn't having an effect, things are just getting so much worse by the second!”

What, however, are we to expect by way of results if we are on mission with Jesus?  Adoring crowds and back-slapping congratulations? No! There is such a thing as the “ministry of death.” Christian ministry produces an “aroma of death” to “those who are perishing” (2 Cor 2:14-7, see also carefully 2 Cor 3-4)!

It should be no surprise that the culture has been rotting since the garden of Eden closed. The world's culture doesn't want to hear God's word of grace, mercy, and salvation. Self-serving cultural moral relativism (and its fascist political correctness) is the quite predictable result of scientific materialism an all its incarnations.This includes, by the way, those “ministries” that actively campaign against traditional Biblical Christianity in the name of “embracing” the culture (thereby becoming part of the culture and leaving the rule and reign of God). Christians who attempt to embrace the flatulent winds and grasp the festering waters of our culture in the vain effort to be accepted are finding this only hardens people's hearts against the gospel, which is (all by itself!) “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

The salt of the earth is also the light of the world. People are welcome to congratulate themselves all they want, but the salt may become tasteless and the light may be extinguished one day when the time of God's patience is exhausted (2 Thess 2:6-12)! Take heart, don't panic, the party is already over.  Most of what we hear about is being exaggerated by a tiny minority of Minitrue wannabes anyway.

In the meantime, the Great Commission is still as true as ever, and we are called, imperfect though we be, to proclaim the truth about the forgiveness that God offers.  God is merciful, full of grace, and willing to forgive and transform whoever is willing to come to Him by faith. That is the truth.

So though the world may seem to be nuts, remember that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm" (Ephesians 6:12-13).

Christians aren't on the sidelines, the world is playing the wrong game.

For another similar perspective that I just found after writing this:

http://thefederalist.com/2015/06/15/christians-need-to-stop-playing-the-self-flagellation-game/

It's Simply Apocalyptic: False Teaching is Very Popular

All these years later and things are still the same.  The only difference is the labels on the "camps" have changed.  I confidently maintain that the local church is the outpost of the Kingdom of God, and likely the mini-kingdoms of man-centered, world-loving religion are not.  They are popular, but free beer also draws a crowd. Why do we buy their books, tapes, and seminars and rallies?

Who, exactly, are YOU listening to?  What message do they bring to you?

2 Peter 2:1-3  But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.  Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Copyright © 2015 HarperCollins Christian Publishing

It's Going To Be An Issue

I don't often just re-post items, but this is a good analysis, done quickly after the oral arguments last week. I hope the trend is reversed in days to come. What does the Bible say that we can expect? Don't play along...

Article: "It is Going To Be and Issue" by Albert Mohler

Will Gay Marriage "shut down" the churches in years to come? 

Jesus Pays His Taxes?

"Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said.  And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any.  Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax." And they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away."

What were those 7 Words?

Traditionally, what I refer to as the seven words of Christ are considered the seven "last" words of Christ.  This is of course a ridiculous title since Christ said plenty of other things after this, and is still speaking today.  Do people who are alive as Jesus is not speak if they are able?

So here are the seven words of Christ spoken from the cross, as it were:

"Father, forgive them, because they don't know what they are doing." Luke 23:34
"Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise."Luke 23:43
 "Woman behold your son...behold your mother." John 19:26
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?" Mark 15:34 (Psalm 22:1)
"I am thirsty." John 19:28
"It is finished." John 19:30
"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." Luke 23:46

I want to emphasize these are NOT the last words of Christ.  They are the last words of Christ prior to His death on the cross.  They are a tool that helps us to appreciate the sufferings of Jesus on that day many years ago.  And we appreciate them even more when we realize that our sins were the reason for them, and not His own sins.

The last words of Jesus before His miraculous ascension are those I used in the benediction Easter Sunday, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the naitons, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."