How to Make Sure that your Church Attendance Doesn’t end up Damaging your Friendship with the World

If you’ve been a Christian for any period of time at all, you may have noticed that the more time you spend in church, the harder it is to fit in and feel comfortable with non-believers or to really enjoy worldly activities, relationships, speech, movies, habits, etc. So how on earth are you going to make sure that your church attendance doesn’t end up damaging your friendship with the world? How can you make sure that you’ll never seem weird, different, and overly religious to friends, relatives, and coworkers?

I mean, you don’t want to be the guy who can stop the telling of a dirty joke just by walking into the room, do you? Well friends, as he has been since the beginning, the deceiver is here to help. He’s prepared this handy list of his top ten tips for minimizing the sanctifying effects of Church attendance. Simply by following these easy-to-do directions you can proudly join the legions of American Christians who have already mastered the fine art of remaining babes in the faith who show little or no sign of growth in what Peter called, “the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)!    Continue at Andy Webb

Trump, Liberty, and Getting Even

Earlier this week, businessman, reality TV star, and former presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke at Liberty University’s convocation. As far as I can tell, convocation is like chapel, except that non-Christians are allowed to occasionally ascend the pulpit. In his speech, Trump said that if you want to be successful in business, you need to learn to punish people for crossing you. You have to be comfortable sending a message to those who wrong you by “getting even,” so others learn not to mess with you.

This was not the only troublesome line in his speech. He encouraged people to get prenuptial agreements in case of divorce, then joked that “you people never get divorces” (the “you people” apparently referring to Christians and/or Liberty students), and he spoke disparagingly of the President. But Trump is on his third wife, does not claim to be a Christian (as far as I know), so certainly can’t be expected to have a handle on the finer points of Christian business ethics, the seriousness of marriage, or the what it means to honor our leaders.

Thus, one could argue that it was unwise for Liberty to expose their student body to a non-Christian’s business ethics… Or one could argue that it was helpful to the University’s mission by giving their students a front row seat to a non-Christian businessman showing how radically different worldly ethics are from the Bible’s. I’d buy either argument, and since Liberty isn’t a church, I ultimately don’t really care one way or the other who speaks at their convocations.    Continue at Jesse Johnson

The Danger of Worldly Compromise

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” — 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

B.B. Warfield (1851-1921)

Commenting on the above passage, Warfield writes,

If we will scrutinize our present passage closely we shall quickly see that the separation which the Apostle is urging here, too, is not separation from men but from evil – applying, in deed, to the Corinthians in the way of exhortation what our Lord prayed for in behalf of His followers, not that they should be taken out of the world, but that they should be kept from the evil of the world. The exhortation: ‘Come ye out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord,’ is immediately followed by the explanation, ‘And touch no unclean thing.’ And the whole exhortation closes with a poignant prayer that they may ‘cleanse themselves from every defilement.’ It is not from their fellow-men that the Apostle would have Christians hold themselves aloof; it is from the sin and shame, the evil and iniquity, which stains and soils the lives of so many of their fellow-men. This is the Apostolic variety of Puritanism.  Continue at Eric. T. Young

Now I See That Which Is Done

Last week my I was thrilled to see that my friend Justin Taylor highlighted on his blog Bo Giertz’s fictional work The Hammer of God. A relatively unknown book in Evangelical circles, Justin noted that Leland Ryken–longtime literature professor at Wheaton College–referred to Giertz’ book as “one of the best literary finds I have ever made.” I couldn’t agree more!

After sitting on my shelf uncracked for the better part of a year, I finally decided this past summer to read  The Hammer of God (first published in 1941). I first heard about it from my friends Elyse Fitzpatrick and Mike Horton. I couldn’t put it down. It was simply breathtaking. Giertz was a master storyteller and theologian. 

Both of these gifts shine brightly on every page of this book. It tells three stories (novella’s) of three different pastors who learn in three different ways the nature and necessity of relying on God’s grace. It is law/gospel theology in captivating narrative form. You have to read it.

To whet your appetite, I want to share one part that I found especially illuminating for preachers. I need to first give some context, though.   Keep Reading  >>>

We Do Not Preach Ourselves

Two weeks ago, we looked at 2 Corinthians 4:3 and considered what it had to teach us concerning the nature of Gospel ministry. The conclusion to that post was that the purpose of Gospel ministry was not to amuse the goats, but to call the sheep. Last week, we moved onto verse 4 and discovered the world’s problem: they are blind to the glory of Christ. Therefore, the Church’s mission is to solve that problem. If we’re doing something that won’t solve that problem, we need to stop.

The question is, then, what solves that problem? How can the Church be instrumental in the opening of blind eyes? Well, Paul gets to that in verse 5. Just as we must know the purpose and the problem of Gospel ministry, we must also know the proclamation.

For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.

– 2 Corinthians 4:5 –

What does it mean to “not preach ourselves?” It means that we don’t put ourselves—the messengers—forward as the appeal to unbelievers in our ministry. We don’t make our methodology or our style the draw. We don’t appeal to that which is fleshly or worldly in the unbeliever in order to attract and compel their participation. Instead, we do everything we can to get ourselves out of the way so as to be merely incidental—merely the finger that points to the substance, to the content of the message: that Jesus Christ is Lord.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 really sheds light on what it means for Paul that he not be preaching himself. He says... Keep Reading >>>

Sensual Worship — A Sign of Impending Apostasy

When interest in the churches begins to centre round the visual and the sensual it is commonly a sign of impending apostasy. By ‘sensual’ I mean that which appeals to the senses of man (sight, smell, hearing), as opposed to ‘spirit’, that is, the capacity that belongs to those born of the Spirit of God. Hence the antithesis, ‘sensual, having not the Spirit’ (Jude 19). ‘Sensual’ is also translated ‘natural’ or ‘worldly’; the meaning is the same. It does not take regeneration to give the sensual or the aesthetic a religious appeal to the natural man or woman. In the Old Testament the people of God were in measure taught by their senses as God imposed the form of worship. As a check against any misuse of that means of teaching no additions to or subtractions from it were allowed. But with the finished work of Christ, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, a momentous change took place. The church was raised to the higher privilege of worship in ‘spirit and truth’ (John 4:24). She belongs to the ‘Jerusalem which is above’ (Gal. 4:26). Continue Reading>>>

The Deep Depths of Relevancy: A Response

Trying to use the world and its ways to attract people is against scripture itself. Here are a few: ". . . do not be conformed to this world. . ." -Romans 12:2. "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ." -Colossians 2:8. "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." -1 John 2:15. "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." -1 Corinthians 3:19.

We just produced a video on this subject that may be helpful to you. http://vimeo.com/15035465. Please watch it and remember that it is not based on what we think but what scripture says.

Next, some of the comments defended the sincerity and genuineness of the guys in Grave Robber. I am not saying anything against their sincerity or personal devotion. I do not know any of them. But as the old saying goes you can be sincere, yet sincerely wrong. Plus, even if someone was converted to Christ, the end does not justify the means. I rejoice over a conversion, but pragmatism is not the rule of thumb. Scripture is our only source of truth.

Some have questioned why I am against their celebration of death since death is natural and all around us. We do not rejoice in nor glorify death. Horror movies and zombies are unacceptable because they are not only glorifying death but glorifying death by entertainment. Read the rest HERE

See the original blog post HERE

Sorry God But I Am Busy