Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you! -Walking In The Way
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Never Give Up on Evangelism—Seriously, Never
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you! -Walking In The Way
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Pentagon Classifies Evangelical Christians, Catholics as “Extremists”
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you! -Walking In The Way
Mercy for the believer
Psalms 51:1
When one of God's choice servants, William Carey, was suffering from a dangerous illness, the inquiry was made, "If this sickness should prove fatal, what passage would you select as the text for your funeral sermon?" He replied, "Oh, I feel that such a poor sinful creature is unworthy to have anything said about him; but if a funeral sermon must be preached, let it be from the words, 'Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.'" In the same spirit of humility he directed in his will that the following inscription and nothing more should be cut on his gravestone:
WILLIAM CAREY, BORN AUGUST 17th, 1761:
DIED-
"A wretched, poor, and helpless worm
On Your kind arms I fall."
Only on the footing of free grace can the most experienced and most honored of the saints approach their God. The best of men are conscious above all others that they are men at best. Empty boats float high, but heavily laden vessels are low in the water; mere professors can boast, but true children of God cry for mercy upon their unprofitableness. We need the Lord to have mercy upon our good works, our prayers, our preaching, our offerings, and our living sacrifices. The blood was not only sprinkled on the doorposts of Israel's houses, but upon the sanctuary, the mercy-seat, and the altar, because as sin intrudes upon our holiest things, the blood of Jesus is needed to purify them from defilement. If mercy is needed to be exercised toward our duties, what will be said of our sins? How sweet the remembrance that inexhaustible mercy is waiting to be gracious to us, restore our backslidings, and make our broken bones rejoice!
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Oil and Light from God
Exodus 25:6
My soul, you really need this, for your lamp will not continue to burn for long without it. Your snuff will smoke and become an offense if light is gone, and gone it will be if you run out of oil. You have no oil well springing up in your human nature, and therefore you must go to them who sell and buy for yourself, or like the foolish virgins you will have to cry, "My lamp has gone out." Even the consecrated lamps could not give light without oil; though they shone in the tabernacle, they needed to be fed; though no rough winds blew upon them, they required to be trimmed, and your need is just as great. Under the most happy circumstances you cannot give light for another hour unless fresh oil of grace is given to you.
Not every kind of oil could be used in the Lord's service; neither the petroleum that exudes so plentifully from the earth, nor the produce of fish, nor that extracted from nuts would be accepted; only one oil was selected, and that was the best olive oil. Pretended grace from natural goodness, fancied grace from priestly hands, or imaginary grace from outward ceremonies will never serve the true child of God; he knows that the Lord would not be pleased with rivers of such oil. He goes to the olive-press of Gethsemane and draws his supplies from Him who was crushed there. The oil of gospel grace is pure and free from sediment and dregs, and so the light that is fed by it is clear and bright. Our churches are the Savior's golden candelabra, and if they are to be lights in this dark world, they must have plenty of holy oil. Let us pray for ourselves, our ministers, and our churches that they may never lack oil for the light. Truth, holiness, joy, knowledge, love-these are all beams of the sacred light; but we cannot send them out into the darkness unless in private we receive oil from God the Holy Spirit.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Spurgeon Gold
Correct Interpretation
“The next time someone says, ‘That's just your interpretation,’ have the person read the verse and ask him how he might interpret it differently. Ask him to give reasons why he would choose one interpretation over another. Ask him if his interpretation matches what the author intended to say. The question is not, ‘Whose interpretation is this?’ but ‘Is this interpretation correct?’” Todd Friel
2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Religion is Empty Hypocrisy
The next time someone tells you that religion is a personal thing and that you should keep it to yourself, think of this verse, Isaiah 58:1, because “religion” is empty hypocrisy and should be kept to oneself. But God has opened the door of everlasting life through the gospel, and that message should be shouted from the housetops. Lift up your voice like a trumpet, and use God’s Law as Jesus did, to show this people their transgressions.
However, when you obey this verse, the ungodly will reprove you. They may tell you to instead speak about God’s love, accuse you of being self-righteous, tell you to “judge not lest you be judged,” and even insist that Jesus didn’t talk about sin.
“Religion is hanging around the cross. Christianity is hanging on the cross.”Stephen Hill
Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Our Shepherd-King
Micah 5:4
Christ's reign in His Church is that of ashepherd-king. He has supremacy, but it is the superiority of a wise and tender shepherd over his needy and loving flock. He commands and receives obedience, but it is the willing obedience of the well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved Shepherd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force of love and the energy of goodness.
His reign is practical in its character. It is said, "He shall stand and shepherd." The great Head of the church is actively engaged in providing for His people. He does not sit down upon the throne in empty state or hold a scepter without wielding it in government. No; He stands and shepherds. The expression "shepherd" in the original is like an analogous one in the Greek that means to do everything expected of a shepherd: to guide, to watch, to preserve, to restore, to tend, as well as to feed.
His reign is continual in its duration. It is said, "He shall stand and shepherd"; not "He shall feed now and then and leave His position"; not "He shall one day grant a revival and then next day leave His Church to barrenness." His eyes never slumber, and His hands never rest; His heart never ceases to beat with love, and His shoulders are never weary of carrying His people's burdens.
His reign is effectually powerful in its action; "He shall . . . shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD." Wherever Christ is, there is God; and whatever Christ does is the act of the Most High. It is a joyful truth to consider that He who stands today representing the interests of His people is very God of very God, to whom every knee shall bow. We are happy to belong to such a shepherd, whose humanity communes with us and whose divinity protects us. Let us worship and bow down before Him as the people of His pasture.
Friday, August 16, 2013
How can we be sure of our motives for Wirnessing?
Ask God to search out your motives. However, even if your heart is not in the right place (I’m not talking about sin, but that you are going because of a sense of guilt or obligation), you should still go. If you were rescued from a burning building by a fireman who left the firehouse because he felt guilty not coming to the fire, as far as you are concerned, his motive for rescuing you is irrelevant. All that matters is that he did. So don’t get hung up on why you reach out to the lost, just do it, while there is still time. The quality is in the seed, not in the sower. This gives great consolation to those of us who feel we lack ability.
However, some who are worried about motive may lack motivation themselves. Love for God and love for the lost is all we need. Jesus told us to go, and gave us the Holy Spirit to help us. So if you are waiting for the “prompting” of the Holy Spirit to witness, just ask yourself if the people you are waiting to witness to fit the category Jesus mentioned in Mark16:15: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every [person].” The word “every” puts them in the “need to hear the gospel” category. If you were sitting in one of the Titanic’s lifeboats, with plenty of room on board, would you look to the captain for his approval before you reached out to each drowning person, when he has already commanded you to reach everyone you can? Of course not. A good rule of thumb is: if they are breathing, they need to hear the gospel. Regardless of motive, the important thing is that Christ is preached.
Philippians 1:18 What then? Onlythat in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.
God in the flesh
“In the Incarnation, God masterminds the announcement of the good news of the birth of Christ. He sends prophets well in advance to foretell the coming of the Messiah. He commissions an angel to announce the birth to a virgin. He sets a new star in the heavens to summon wise men from the East. He sends a company of singing angels to pronounce Christ's birth to the shepherds in the fields. He quickens Anna the prophetess to declare the arrival of the Messiah on his day of circumcision. Though Christ was born in a lowly manger, there was nothing quiet about his birth.” John Witte, Jr.
Luke 2:38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
Monday, August 12, 2013
No cause for Anxiety
Psalms 97:1
There are no real causes for anxiety as long as this blessed sentence is true. On earth the Lord's power controls the rage of the wicked as readily as the rage of the sea; His love refreshes the poor with mercy as easily as the earth with showers. Majesty gleams in flashes of lightning amid the tempest's horrors, and the glory of the Lord is seen in its grandeur in the fall of empires and the crash of thrones. In all our conflicts and tribulations, we may behold the hand of the divine King.
God is God; He sees and hears
All our troubles, all our tears.
Soul, forget not, in your pains,
God o'er all forever reigns.
In hell, evil spirits acknowledge, with misery, His undoubted supremacy. When permitted to roam about, it is with a chain at their heel; the bit is in the mouth of the beast, and the hook in the jaws of the monster. Death's darts are under the Lord's jurisdiction, and the grave's prisons have divine power as their jailer. The terrible vengeance of the Judge of all the earth causes fiends to cower and tremble.
Fear not death, nor Satan's thrusts,
God defends who in Him trusts;
Soul, remember, in your pains,
God o'er all forever reigns.
In heaven there are none who doubt the sovereignty of the King Eternal, but all fall on their faces to do Him homage. Angels are His courtiers, the redeemed His favorites, and all delight to serve Him day and night. May we soon reach the city of the great King!
For this life's long night of sadness
He will give us peace and gladness.
Soul, remember, in your pains,
God o'er all forever reigns.
Friday, August 9, 2013
How to witness to those in cults.
All cults and manmade religions are based in “works righteousness.” Their adherents believe they have to do something to earn their way to heaven (pray five times a day, lie on beds of nails, do good works, fast, repeat certain prayers, etc). They do this because they are ignorant of God’s standard of righteousness. This is why they need the Law of God to show them that the leap they are trying to make is infinitely wider than the Grand Canyon. However, before you take them through the Law, help them see that they are indeed trusting in “works” for salvation.
Let’s say there are a couple of cult members at my door. I warmly ask for their names, and then say, “I have a knife in my back. I am dying and have only three minutes to live. What do I need to do to enter heaven/paradise/the kingdom of God?” They look concerned. One says, “A lot.” I ask, “What do you mean ‘a lot’? I have only two minutes to live. Help me.” They will normally say they cannot help someone who has just a couple of minutes to live, because their salvation is based on gaining knowledge and doing “good works.” The fact that they must do things to be saved reveals that they are trusting in their “self-righteousness.”
When I then ask if they think they are “good” people, they almost always say they are, and that is the root cause of their deception. While they know they are sinners, they believe their sin is not so bad that they cannot earn their own way out of it and “merit” heaven. So they must be taken through the Law and made to understand that they are criminals in the sight of a holy Judge, and are guilty of countless crimes. They must understand that God is perfect and holy, that He considers lust to be adultery and hatred to be murder, and He will see to it that absolute justice is done. That means adulterers, murderers, liars, and thieves will be damned forever. Once they recognize that, they will understand that their “good” works are not good at all, but are in reality a detestable attempt to bribe the Judge of the universe. Hopefully they will trust in His mercy alone to save them.
That is how the thief on the cross was saved—through mercy alone. He didn’t go anywhere or do anything to save himself. He couldn’t, because he was nailed to the cross. He had no other avenue but to humbly turn to Jesus and say, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). In doing so, he acknowledged Jesus as Lord, and believed that He would rise from the dead (Rom. 10:9).
That is all that any who are involved in “works righteousness” religions need to do to be saved. They are condemned by the Law. They cannot go anywhere or do anything. All they can do is turn to Jesus and trust in Him alone for their salvation. We are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves; “it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8,9). So plant that seed in the hearts of those who think they can be saved by their own works, then pray that God causes it to grow and produce fruit.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Message of Pardon and Repentance
“The fact is that the New Testament message embraces a great deal more than an offer of free pardon. It is a message of pardon, and for that may God be praised; but it is also a message of repentance. It is a message of atonement, but it is also a message of temperance and righteousness and godliness in this present world. It tells us that we must accept a Savior, but it tells us also that we must deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. The gospel message includes the idea of amendment, of separation from the world, of cross-carrying and loyalty to the kingdom of God even unto death…
To offer a sinner the gift of salvation based upon the work of Christ, while at the same time allowing him to retain the idea that the gift carries with it no moral implications, is to do him untold injury where it hurts him worst.” A. W. Tozer
Titus 2:12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Evangelism and the wrath of God
Recently, the wrath of God became a point of controversy in the decision of the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song to exclude from its new hymnal the much-loved song “In Christ Alone” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. The Committee wanted to include this song because it is being sung in many churches, Presbyterian and otherwise, but they could not abide this line from the third stanza: “Till on that cross as Jesus died/the wrath of God was satisfied.” For this they wanted to substitute: “ . . . as Jesus died/the love of God was magnified.” The authors of the hymn insisted on the original wording, and the Committee voted nine to six that “In Christ Alone” would not be among the eight hundred or so items in their new hymnal.
The Controversy Grows
So I watched the controversy grow. As a student of the local church, I was fascinated to see how far left the Presbyterian Church (USA) had moved as it banned one of the top hymns of the era from their hymnal.
I was also intrigued by the controversy because I consider Keith and Kristyn Getty to be friends. Keith, of course, is the co-composer of the hymn. And his wife Kristyn has sung the hymn countless times before audiences around the world. They are a wonderful and godly couple that only desire to bring glory to God through their music.
The Russell Moore/Washington PostArticle
But it was an article by Russell Moore in the Washington Post that framed the issue for me in a powerful way. Here are his words:
As an evangelical, I would argue that it’s necessary to sing about the wrath of God, because we are singing not just from and to our minds, but to and from our consciences. There’s a reason why evangelical congregations reach a kind of crescendo when they sing out that line in the Gettys’ song. It’s not because, per the caricature, we see ourselves as a “moral majority” affirming our righteousness over and against the “sinners” on the other side of the culture war.
Instead, it’s just the reverse. When Christians sing about the wrath of God, we are singing about ourselves. Our consciences point us to the truth that, left to ourselves, we are undone. We’re not smarter or more moral than anyone else. And God would be just to turn us over to the path we would want to go — a path that leads to death. It is only because Jesus lived a life for us, and underwent the curse we deserve, that we stand before God. The grace of God we sing about is amazing precisely because God is just, and won’t, like a renegade judge, simply overlook evil.”
Wow. Those words hit me like a metaphorical two by four. I can spend time bemoaning the travesty of the hymn’s omission, or I can look at the plank in my own eye. Too often I say I believe a central tenet of the Christian faith, like the wrath of God, but I don’t demonstrate either its meaning or its application in my own life.
Mercy Compels Me to Go and Tell
You see, if I truly grasped fully the meaning of God’s wrath, I would live like a recipient of God’s mercy every moment. Once again, Russell Moore articulates the issue well:
The Gospel is good news for Christians because it tells us of a God of both love and justice. The wrath of God doesn’t cause us to cower, or to judge our neighbors. It ought to prompt us to see ourselves as recipients of mercy, and as those who will one day give an account. If that’s true, let’s sing it.
Moore is exactly right. We ought to sing of God’s mercy. We ought to grasp the grace that has been given to us. Mercy and grace we don’t deserve.
But beyond singing about it, we ought to tell others about it. If truly understand what I deserve—wrath—and what I have been given—mercy—I should be telling everyone about that good news. I should be so overwhelmed by God’s act of mercy and grace in my life that I cannot help but tell others about it.
Perhaps our evangelistic efforts are anemic because we evangelicals have become functional liberals. We cognitively accept such tenets as the wrath of God, but that belief does not become a functional reality in our lives and in our sharing of the Gospel. If I truly grasp the wrath of God and the undeserved mercy I have received, I should not be able to shut up telling others about my Savior Jesus.
For we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard (Acts 4:20).
May it be so in my life Lord. And forgive me when it’s not.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Two Simple Words: Follow Me by David Platt
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you!-Walking In The Way