Monthly Archives: January 2013

Jan 31 2013

Preach the Gospel AND Use Words!

St Francis of Assisi is said to have said something to the effect of “preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words.”

In their zeal for the gospel many have taken to social media to post and tweet this quote to convey the message that your life must preach a gospel without necessarily communicating it verbally.

Such a quote is problematic because this is not what the Bible teaches. It is further problematic because no one can actually prove that Francis said this.

None of the biographies written in the 200 years after his death contain a reference to such a quote. It somehow made it into the folklore, and social media is taking it as fact.

Contrary to his modern image of a gentle soul, Francis was known not only for his finesse but also for his severity in sermons.

Early biographers wrote: “He denounced evil whenever he found it and made no effort to palliate it; from him a life of sin met with outspoken rebuke, not support. His words were neither hollow nor ridiculous, but filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, penetrating the marrow of the heart, so that listeners were turned to great amazement.”

Known as a preacher who sometimes preached as many as five sermons per day, it is unlikely that Francis of Assisi would have said this quote.

Evangelism is absolutely dependent on verbal communication, with nonverbal action playing a supporting role, and definitely not the other way around.

Jesus said in Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” This entails telling, speaking, and preaching the good news.

And one of my favorite verses, Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

The world must hear our preaching. Your unsaved friend must hear the good news. Your neighbor must hear you telling them the Gospel.

Let’s alter this quote into “preach the gospel at all times, and it is necessary to use words!”

image credit

Jan 29 2013

PRIDE is the Root Cause of Evil

Yesterday was a sad day in our community.  The murderous spirit of Cain visited one of my medical colleagues in the form of an elderly man who shot and killed the doctor inside his medical office.

The perpetrator is in custody and he will pay for his crime.

But why? Why do humans kill other humans? Why do we harbor hate, greed, lust, pride, jealousy, revenge, and so many evil emotions?  Why do we lash out, revile, and follow our instincts to commit violence and so many other sins?

I believe the Word of God gives us the best answer to these difficult questions in Genesis 3.

All the evil intentions of man’s heart come down to one sin: PRIDE.

Before the original sin of disobedience by Adam and Eve there was the sin of pride.  The fall of Lucifer was based on this sin, and he kindled the same evil emotion in Adam’s heart, which eventually led Adam to disobey and fall. Pride made Lucifer desire to be like God, and the serpent enticed Adam and Eve with the same prospect.  Pride was born when Adam wanted to share God’s attributes, and human beings have been sinful ever since.

Pride is a product that is at the center of the human SELF.

Pride leads to hate because the SELF cannot bear when someone else is better than the SELF, or someone is a threat to the SELF.

Pride leads to greed because the intense desire to accumulate wealth and power satisfy the SELF, which further amplify pride… and the vicious cycle continues.

Pride uses lust to fan the SELF.  We are establishing a common theme here.  The SELF will stop at nothing to make the SELF the center of the universe.

Pride generates jealousy because the SELF is threatened by someone else’s achievement.

Pride wants revenge.  “I’ll show him I am the best…” And revenge can lead to murder.

Pride causes violence.  The SELF must be satisfied at all cost, and violence against others is a justification of the prideful SELF.

Even the “temporarily insane” who murder others get to that point because pride has driven them to obsession, compulsion and lack of logic.

Whatever the motive for this murderous act, the root cause was pride.  The SELF needed to perform this act to meet a revengeful, hateful, jealous, obsessive or whatever desire…

Can you imagine a world without pride?

There is only one man who did not experience the sin of pride, nor any other sin.  He is Jesus Christ.  And everything He did was the polar opposite of the evil things I listed above.

He substituted meekness for pride.  Instead of hatred He loved.  Instead of committing violence or reviling he allowed Himself to be violated and mocked.  He undid greed by giving Himself away.  He did all this to save His children, to undo the damage that pride has done in their lives.

Without the introduction of PRIDE, this world would have continued to be a perfect world.  But one day I believe Jesus will make things perfect again.

Jan 28 2013

Muslim Friendly Bible Translations Present a False Gospel

Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT) are one of the most renowned Bible translation companies in the world. They are continuing the tradition of John Wycliffe, the great pre-Reformation theologian who broke away from the Catholic Church, and translated the first Bible in English risking his life in the process.

To the disappointment of many Christians, WBT are not following in the footsteps of Wycliffe with their most recent attempts at translating the Word of God into certain Arabic and Bengali translations.

I would go further and say that WBT are attempting to “help” God “sell” His Gospel by changing the names of God in order to make them more palatable to Muslims.  Since when does God need us to change his Word in order to win souls for His kingdom?

The changes are not slight.  They are in fact abominable.  They distort the most important doctrines found on the pages of the Bible: the doctrines about God the Father, the doctrine of the Trinity, and Christology.

Muslims do not accept the concept of Trinity, the idea of Son of God, and the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and WBT is now changing the Bible to be more fitting with their theology… and therefore more acceptable to them.

Here are some critical changes:

  • “Son of God” replaced with “Messiah of God”
  • “God the Father” replaced with “guardian.”
  • the removal of any references to God as “Father,” to Jesus as the “Son” or “the Son of God.”
  • replacing “Father” with the Muslim name for God, Allah

For example, it changes Matthew 28:19 from: “baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” to: “cleanse them by water in the name of Allah, his Messiah and his Holy Spirit.”

Allah is NOT the Triune God of the Bible.  Allah is a singular entity in Muslim theology, and the name of this false god should never be used to replace the Triune God revealed in the Bible, especially in a Bible translation!  Such an act amounts to a false Gospel.

Presenting a watered down Gospel via an altered Bible, is no Gospel at all.  How can Muslims ascertain the dramatic difference between our God and their god if the Bible they receive does not present that difference?  We are certainly not aiming to convert Muslims to Chrislam… or are we?

WBT must come back to the foot of the cross and repent because they have made themselves guilty of the terrible sin outlined in Revelation 22:18-19:

“18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

Jan 26 2013

The Pro Life Movement as a Civil Rights Movement

The Pro Life movement has been invigorated in recent years like never before.  It is now moving in the direction of the Civil Rights movement, that is a Right to Life cause, despite the fact that abortion legality is here to stay.

The line has been drawn in the sand 40 years ago, but as the Bible tells us, in the last days we are seeing an increasing separation between good and evil.  The contrast has never been greater on the issue of the unborn, primarily because many young people are beginning to see the evil of abortion that their parents ignored.

Many of the staunched feminists of the Roe v Wade era have passed, and the new wave of abortionist feminism is not nearly as dedicated to their cause as the previous generation.  The recent TIME Magazine article on this topic explains the reasons for it.

But the mainstream media will not let you hear of it.

At the superficially covered ‘March for Life’ event in Washington this week where 500,000 pro lifers participated, there was a higher percentage of young people compared to previous marches.  These Christians have made their stand for the fundamental right to life.  And all the pro-life websites are taking notice.

So are the politicians.

Senator Rand Paul (Presbyterian) spoke at the rally and said:

“I have a question for those who don’t respect and won’t protect life: Can a nation long endure that does not respect the sanctity of life?”

“Can a nation conceived in liberty carry its head high if it denies protection to the youngest and most vulnerable of its citizens? Can a country founded on God-given rights continue to thrive without understanding that life is a precious gift from our Creator?”

He called for this new generation to be part of a great “revival” for the country centered on justice and compassion, seeing the present state of the nation as being in moral peril.

I have seen this polarization in my medical career.  I have NEVER met a doctor in my generation who specializes in abortion.  All the abortion doctors I know are from the previous generation, and they are about to retire.  In fact many of them are way past the retiring age because the system NEEDS them and will not let them retire.

New doctors coming out of med school do not want to do abortions.  Many find it morally wrong, but most find it absolutely hideous.  The idea is absolutely physically repulsive and is in stark contrast with our committment to healing.  We will not become a tool of the abortionist activist movement.

There is a song by Jesus Culture ( 😉 ) called ‘Break Every Chain’ that talks about an army rising up in the name of Jesus to proclaim the power that is in the name of Jesus.  This young generation of believers may be the ones to finally match the abortionist’s activism… but do it in the name of Jesus.

Roe v Wade will not be overturned.  But the fight to limit it at the state and federal level is intensifying.  On the spiritual front the fight is the fiercest it has ever been.

Could we be seeing the beginning of a new spiritual revival… possibly the last one before Christ’s return?

image credit: Drew Angerer/The New York Times

Jan 25 2013

How Greg Laurie Explains 666

Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest (mega)Church in Riverside, is currently teaching on Revelation subjects.

In explaining the mark of the beast he says that everything will be centered on Satanic worship (excerpt from a Christian Post article on Laurie’s teaching):

“The Antichrist is going to introduce a cashless society… The endgame of this is to cause people to engage in devil worship.”

About the changing global economy, the pastor quoted a financial expert as telling Fox News, “The real reform is some kind of a banking union where everyone signs on board, that there’s going to be some kind of a banking overlord, a banking union that everyone’s gonna have to bow down to.” Can this actually happen? Actually, it can, Laurie said. “And the leader of it will be the antichrist, and he will have his mark.”

Laurie added, “The antichrist’s economic policy will be very simple. Take my mark and worship me, or starve to death… No mark, no merchandize… No seal, no sale.”

The technology to do this is already here, the pastor said. A June 1, 2012 headline from New York Daily News read, “‘Human bar code’ could make society more organized.” The article said, “Microchip implants have become standard practice for our pets, but have been a tougher sell when it comes to the idea of putting them in people.”

“Am I saying that this technology will be the mark of the beast? No, I’m not,” Laurie cautioned. “I’m just saying the ability to technically pull this off exists.”

We don’t know when the tribulation period will begin, five or 20 years from now, Laurie said. But with the technology today, we know all this is “totally plausible.” But let’s not overreact, Laurie advised. Not every stamp put on someone’s hand by some authority is the mark of the beast. Or, if an office building’s number is 666, that’s not the mark of the beast.

While we do not know exactly when the mark of the beast will appear, we know this though that a great delusion will come upon the world and many will believe the lie leading to their destruction, as 2 Thessalonians 2:9 warns. Destruction will happen “because they refused to believe the truth that would save them.” At the time of the tribulation, they will choose to believe in a lie that the antichrist is “God,” Laurie said.

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I have never taken a particular interest in speculating about the mark of the beast, but I am inclined to think it will not necessarily be a physical item.  It might be something like a membership, a citizenship, an ideological affiliation, a participatory involvement in worshiping the system.  It will probably be mandatory, but people will do it based on their own volition in order to participate in the global market.

In a post-trib or mid-trib rapture scenario, how will Christians react to this system?  Will they be required to make a confession against their faith and participate in satanic worship, therefore declaring apostasy?  Will they be able to still participate in the global market as an “underground” Church?  What happens if they repent after being marked by the beast?  Is that repentance even possible?

These are just some of the issues that make this subject difficult.  One thing is certain.  If the Church is still here when the Antichrist and his false prophet come on the scene, authentic believers who belong to God will not join them.

The children of God are set apart by God and the Spirit that is in them will testify that they belong to God.  The end will be near for them.  Their glorification will be at hand.

Jan 24 2013

The Gospel in an Abortion Culture

by Russell D. Moore @ http://www.russellmoore.com

On the 40th anniversary of Roe v Wade, Russell D. Moore touches on a painful subject below… abortion in the church:

As the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision [is this week], most Christians recognize, and rightly so, the loss of millions of unborn human lives. What we often forget is the second casualty of an abortion culture: the consciences of countless men and women.

Too often, pastors and church leaders assume that, when talking about abortion, their invisible debating partner is the “pro-choice” television commentator or politician. Not so. Many of the people endangered by the abortion culture aren’t even pro-choice.

In your congregation this Sunday, and in the neighborhoods around you right now, there are women vulnerable to abortionist propaganda, not because they reject the church but because they’re afraid they ‘ll lose the church. Pregnant young women are scared they will scandalize church people when they start to show, so they keep it secret. Parents are fearful their pregnant daughter, or their son’s pregnant girlfriend, will prompt the rest of the congregation to see them as bad families.

As they keep all of this secret from the Body of Christ, many of them fall prey to the false gospel of the abortion clinic. “We can take care of this for you,” these people say. “And it will all go away.”

Moreover, there are thousands of men and women in our churches who have aborted their children, or urged the abortion of their grandchildren. Bearing the shame of this, they keep it secret. And in the concealment, the satanic powers accuse them: “We know who you are; you’re a murderer, like us.”

Every time pastors and church leaders speak, they are speaking, at least potentially, to these men and women, the aborting and the abortionists. Many of these people don’t argue that the “fetus” is a “person.” Their consciences testify to that, and they’re either tortured by this or violently trying to sear over that persistent internal message.

The answer, for the church, is to preach the gospel to the conscience.

For many evangelicals, to “preach the gospel” seems to be obvious and ineffective because they think this means to, by rote, prompt people to accept Jesus and go to heaven. But the gospel speaks right where the abortion culture is in slavery, to the conscience.

For one thing, those guilty of this silent atrocity often don’t think we’re talking to them. For some, the demonic structures have helped them to conceal this secret, and to convince them the safest thing to do is to try to forget it altogether. Others are so burdened down by guilt, they really don’t believe they are included in the “whosoever will” of our gospel invitations.

Speak directly to these people. To the woman who has had the abortion. To the man who has paid for an abortion. To the health care worker who has profited off of tearing apart the bodies of the young and the consciences of their parents.

Speak clearly of the horror of judgement to come. Confirm what every accusing conscience already knows: clinic privacy laws cannot keep all this from being exposed at the tribunal of Christ. When the Light shines, there’s not enough darkness in which to hide and cringe.

But don’t stop there.

Proclaim just as openly that judgment has fallen on the quivering body of a crucified Jesus—accused by Satan, indicted by the Law, enveloped by the curse.

An abortion culture knows that hell exists, and they know judgment waits (Rom 2:14-16). Agree with them, but point them to the truth that God is not simply willing to forgive them. Show them how in Christ God is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom 3:26).

The woman who has had the abortion needs to know that, if she is hidden in Christ, God does not see her as “that woman who had the abortion.” He hasn’t been subverted from sending her to hell because she found a gospel “loophole.” In Christ, she’s already been to hell.

And, in the resurrected Christ, God has already told her what he thinks of her: “You are my beloved child and in you I am well-pleased.”

The consciences around us don’t believe what they’re telling themselves. They’re scared and accused. Shine the light in the eyes of their consciences. Prophetically. All for justice, legally and culturally, for the unborn. But don’t stop there.

After all, the spirit of murder doesn’t start or end in the abortion clinic (Matt. 5:21, 15:19; Jn. 8:44; Acts 9:1; Rom. 1:29; Jn. 3:15). And the blood of Christ has cleansed the consciences of rebels like all of us.

Warn of hell, but offer mercy. Offer that mercy not only at the Judgment Seat of Christ, but in the small groups and hallways of your church.

Jan 23 2013

God and the Verb “to Be”

I find it amazing that God chose to reveal Himself using various conjugations and tenses of the verb “to be.”

Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Here are the 7 “I am” statements made by Jesus in the gospel of John

      • I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35)
      • I am the Light of the World (John 8:12)
      • I am the Door (John 10:9)
      • I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14)
      • I am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)
      • I am the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6)
      • I am the Vine (John 15:1,5)

If you are reading this, please post in the comment section more verses where God identifies Himself with some form or conjugation of the verb “to be.”

Jan 22 2013

Delight in Truth: Most Viewed Posts and Pages

These have been the most read articles on Delight in Truth through January 22, 2013:

Rick Warren on Homosexuality: “not everything natural is good…”

What Would it Be Like to Hold Baby Jesus?

Truth

Perspective on Halloween

Theology 101: What is Double Predestination?

Mark Driscoll’s “Puff or Pass?” on Recreational Marijuana

Come, and you will enjoy… great “worship!”

Jan 21 2013

Why are Young People Leaving Religion?

nones-exec-3

According to the latest data from Pew Forum on Religion, one in five US adults have no religion affiliation, while that figure rises one in three young adults who consider themselves part of the “nones.”  Nones are now a group that encompass atheists, agnostics, skeptics and open theists.

One in three!!! These are staggering statistics!

At the same time, NPR published an interview with six young people who have abandoned their religion, and I will paste some highlights here:

Miriam Nissly, 29, was raised Jewish and considers herself Jewish with an “agnostic bent.” She loves going to synagogue.

“I find the practice of sitting and being quiet and being alone with your thoughts to be helpful, but I don’t think I need to answer that question [about God] in order to participate in the traditions I was brought up with.”

Yusuf Ahmad, 33, raised Muslim, is now an atheist. His doubts set in as a child with sacred stories he just didn’t believe

“Like the story of Abraham — his God tells him to sacrifice his son. Then he takes his son to sacrifice him, and he turns into a goat. Today if some guy told you that ‘I need to sacrifice my son because God told me to do it,’ he’d be locked up in a crazy institution.”

Kyle Simpson, 27, raised Christian. He has a tattoo on the inside of his wrist that says “Salvation from the cross” in Latin.

“It’s a little troublesome now when people ask me. I tell them and they go, ‘Oh, you’re a Christian,’ and I try to skirt the issue now. They go, ‘What does that mean?’ and it’s like, “It’s Latin for ‘I made a mistake when I was 18.’

“I don’t [believe in God] but I really want to.

“I think having a God would create a meaning for our lives, like we’re working toward a purpose — and it’s all worthwhile because at the end of the day we will maybe move on to another life where everything is beautiful. I love that idea.”

Melissa Adelman, 30, raised Catholic

“I remember a theology test in eighth grade where there was a question about homosexuality, and the right answer was that if you are homosexual, then that is not a sin because that’s how God made you, but acting upon it would be a sin. That’s what I put down as the answer, but I vividly remember thinking to myself that was not the right answer.”

Rigoberto Perez, 30, raised as Seventh-day Adventist

“While I was younger, my father drank a lot. There was abuse in the home. My brother committed suicide in 2001. So at some point you start to say, ‘Why does all this stuff happen to people?’ And if I pray and nothing good happens, is that supposed to be I’m being tried? I find that almost kind of cruel in some ways. It’s like burning ants with a magnifying glass. Eventually that gets just too hard to believe anymore.”

Lizz Reeves, 23, raised by a Jewish mother and a Christian father. She lost a brother to cancer.

“I wanted so badly to believe in God and in heaven, and that’s where he was going. I wanted to have some sort of purpose and meaning associated with his passing. And ultimately the more time I spent thinking about it, I realized the purpose and meaning of his life had nothing to do with heaven, but it had to do with how I could make choices in my life that give his life meaning. And that had a lot more weight with me than any kind of faith in anything else.”

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What do all these young people have in common?  Their answers prove how ineffective formal religion is at addressing their need for a Savior.  They have all been exposed to empty religious practice which can never save.  Even the four who had contact with Christianity do not mention the center of Christianity: Jesus Christ.

Everything in their universe is focused on themselves.  They are the authors of their future and no one will stand in their way.

They have tried to find answers in religion and they could not.  Now they will attempt to find answers in the philosophy, meditation, and human wisdom.  They will fail with these as well…

Until they find “the folly” of the cross, and the Savior who was crucified on it.

1 Corinthians 1:21-25 “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”