Does God So Love the World? – John MacArthur

Posted by Dan C. on

This is the beginning of an article by John MacArthur.  

“Love is the best known but least understood of all God’s attributes. Almost everyone who believes in God these days sees Him as a God of love. I have even met agnostics who are quite certain that if God exists, He must be benevolent, compassionate, and loving.

All those things are infinitely true about God, of course, but not in the way most people think. Because of the influence of modern liberal theology, many suppose that God’s love and goodness ultimately nullify His righteousness, justice, and holy wrath. They envision God as a benign heavenly grandfather-tolerant, affable, lenient, permissive, devoid of any real displeasure over sin, who without consideration of His holiness will benignly pass over sin and accept people as they are.

Liberal thinking about God’s love also permeates much of evangelicalism today. We have lost the reality of God’s wrath. We have disregarded His hatred for sin. The God most evangelicals now describe is all-loving and not at all angry. We have forgotten that “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). We do not believe in that kind of God anymore.

We must recapture some of the holy terror that comes with a right understanding of God’s righteous anger. We need to remember that God’s wrath does burn against impenitent sinners (Psalm 38:1-3). That reality is the very thing that makes His love so amazing. Only those who see themselves as sinners in the hands of an angry God can fully appreciate the magnitude and wonder of His love.

In that regard, our generation is surely at a greater disadvantage than any previous age. We have been force-fed the doctrines of self-esteem for so long that most people don’t really view themselves as sinners worthy of divine wrath. On top of that, religious liberalism, humanism, evangelical compromise, and ignorance of the Scriptures have all worked against a right understanding of who God is. Ironically, in an age that conceives of God as wholly loving, altogether devoid of wrath, few people really understand what God’s love is all about.”

The entire article can be read here. Just scroll down to the article section after the radio broadcast options. The article presents a very balanced view of God’s love and wrath, while focusing on the need for presenting a balanced view of the love of God to all whom we desire to reach with the Good News of Christ.

The Evils of the Present Time – C. H. Spurgeon

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Below are excerpts from Chapter 10 of a volume of Spurgeon’s Presidential Addresses at the Annual Conferences of the Pastors’ College between 1872 and 1890.

Nobody can question that there are evils which are constant throughout the ages; and, on the other hand, there are certain intermittent fevers which rage only at intervals. There are evils of all seasons: evils of winter, evils of summer, evils of autumn, evils of this springtide. Certain evils abound at this particular period, with which we were not so familiar twenty years ago. We meet now with error, and with sin, in forms which they did not commonly assume in the early years of our ministry. Truth is one and the same in all eras, but falsehood changes its shape, and comes and goes like the fashions of dress. To evil things also there is a season, and a time for every doctrine which is not from Heaven.

To some, the teaching of Scripture is not of final authority: their inner consciousness, their culture, or some other unknown quantity, is their fixed point, if they have a fixed point anywhere. The fount of inspiration is not now within the Book, and with the Holy Spirit, but within the man’s own intelligence. We have no longer, “Thus saith the Lord;” but, “Thus saith modern thought.”

There will always be trouble in the churches so long as men are afraid to denounce sin and error.

I see the spirit of compromise concerning holiness and sin, truth and error, far too prevalent. The spirit of compromise comes not of the Spirit of God, but of the spirit of the world. It is always wisest and best to exhibit clear decision upon fundamental points; we must draw the line distinctly, and then stand to it firmly. Do not alter your course because of winds and currents. Do not try to make things pleasant all round.

Another great evil of the times is the insatiable craving for amusements. That men should have rest from labour, and that they should enjoy such amusements as refresh both body and mind, nobody wishes to deny. Within suitable bounds, recreation is necessary and profitable; but it never was the business of the Christian Church to supply the world with amusements.

In reference to ministers, many church-members are indifferent as to the personal piety of the preacher; what they want is talent or cleverness. What the man preaches does not matter now; he must draw a crowd, or please the elite, and that is enough. Cleverness is the main thing. One would think they were looking for a conjuror rather than a pastor. Whether he preaches truth or error, the man is held in admiration so long as he can talk glibly, and keep up a reputation as a speaker.

Compared with what it used to be, it is hard to win attention to the Word of God. I used to think that we had only to preach the gospel, and the people would throng to hear it.

There has been a growing pandering to sensationalism; and, as this wretched appetite increases in fury the more it is gratified, it is at last found to be impossible to meet its demands.

The entire volume can be read here.

News Flash!!!!! We Humans Are the Center of God’s Universe!

Posted by Dan C. on

Some time ago a man with whom I work commented to another co-worker that the God of his church (one of the two major categories of the Christian church) was more of the kindly grandfather sort than the God spoken of in the past. The other major category, or at least a large section of it, would have us believe that God is SO passionate and SO loving that He sent his own Son to die a bloody death on a cross, just so we can be with Him in the Heaven.  After visiting an average church in this category, an ‘unchurched’ person could easily come away thinking that WE are the center of God’s universe! And of course that is what the ‘unchurched’ are supposed to believe!

After years of reading and studying the Bible I have never been able to find that concept within its pages – until yesterday, and by accident! I was driving to work and I heard the host of a local Christian radio station offer the following uplifting quote:

“Mostly what God does is love you.” Ephesians 5:1

What a revelation! With all that God has to do with running the universe, what He does MOST is sit around in Heaven loving ME!

Actually, that wasn’t my immediate reaction. My first thought was, “Gee, I don’t remember that…is it really what Ephesians 5:1 says?” I looked it up and here is what I found for Ephesians 5:1-2 in several translations and a modern paraphrase that is used by many as a translation:

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” – NKJV

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” – NIV

“Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.” – NET

The above are just three of the translations I researched, but all of the translations were remarkably similar. Here are the same verses from what many consider a translation. In fact, one wildly popular author has prefaced quotes from this version of the Bible with “The bible says. . .”:

“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” – The Message

Please understand that I am not bashing The Message. I had not intended to mention the title, but copyright restrictions require that I do so. This post is about God – specifically, what we think about God. When I heard that quote, the thought that the main activity of God is to sit around in Heaven loving us just didn’t quite ring true. Maybe it’s just me, but that sort of God somehow seemed much smaller than the God I held in my mind and heart.

Does what we think about God make a difference in our lives and how we live out our faith? Does what the Church believes and communicates about God make a difference in the larger context of the Church’s impact on our culture? In answer to those questions I offer the following quotes excerpted from the first chapter of A.W. Tozer’s book, The Knowledge of the Holy. The chapter is titled ‘Why We Must Think Rightly About God’:

“The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above it’s religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater that it’s idea of God.”

.” . .the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.”

“Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid. . .”

“Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is unearthed and exposed for what it is.”

“It is my opinion that the Christian conception of God current in these middle years of the twentieth century is so decadent as to be utterly beneath the dignity of the Most High God and actually to constitute for professed believers something amounting to a moral calamity.”

“The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him – and of her.”

Readers and friends of this blog, I don’t take this matter lightly. If my grieving heart over this state of affairs is genuine and not self-deception, it is certain that the grief of the Holy Spirit of Almighty God is far, far greater.

Do Today’s Churches Give God a Subordinate Role?

Posted by Dan C. on

The quote below is borrowed from Old Truth, but on my cluttered bookshelf I do have the referenced work by John MacArthur, first published about 15 years ago.

“Many in the church today believe that the only way to reach the world is to give the unchurched multitudes what they want. . . Subtly the overriding goal is church attendance and worldly acceptability rather than a transformed life. Preaching the Word and boldly confronting sin are seen as archaic, ineffectual means of winning the world. After all, those things actually drive most people away. Why not entice people into the fold by offering what they want, creating a friendly, comfortable environment, and catering to the very desires that constitute their strongest urges? As if we might get them to accept Jesus by somehow making Him more likable or making His message less offensive. That kind of thinking badly skews the mission of the church.

The Great Commission is not a marketing manifesto. Evangelism does not require salesmen, but prophets. It is the Word of God, not any earthly enticement, that plants the seed for the new birth (1 Peter 1:23). We gain nothing but God’s displeasure if we seek to remove the offense of the cross.

Something is wrong with a philosophy that relegates God and His Word to a subordinate role in the church. It is clearly unbiblical to elevate entertainment over biblical preaching and worship in the church service. Sadly, some actually believe that their salesmanship can bring people into the kingdom more effectively than a sovereign God – a philosophy that has opened the door to worldliness in the church.” John MacArthur – Ashamed of the Gospel

In the book, Dr. MacArthur refers to some of the same deep concerns for the church felt by C.H. Spurgeon 100 years earlier!

Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Posted by Dan C. on

And Can It Be that I Should Gain

 Words: Charles Wesley, 1739 (Acts 16:26)
Music: Thomas Campbell, 1835

And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior’s blood!
Died he for me? who caused his pain!
For me? who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

‘Tis mystery all: th’ Immortal dies!
Who can explore his strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
to sound the depths of love divine.
‘Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
let angel minds inquire no more.
‘Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
let angel minds inquire no more.

He left his Father’s throne above
(so free, so infinite his grace!),
emptied himself of all but love,
and bled for Adam’s helpless race.
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,
for O my God, it found out me!
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,
for O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned sprit lay,
fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
my chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine;
alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach th’ eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’ eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ my own.

I was reminded of this hymn this morning listening to a presentation given by Albert Mohler at the Together for the Gospel conference. Dr. Mohler described it as systematic theology. At the center is the doctrine of Christ’s substitutionary atonement on our behalf. What is sad is that in our time there are many who claim Christ who hate that doctrine.

The presentations made at the conference can be found here: http://www.t4g.org/.

"More Love, More Power"

Posted by Dan C. on

A popular contemporary worship song has these lyrics:

More Love, More Power,
More of You in my life.
More Love, More Power,
More of You in my life.
I will worship You
with all of my heart.
I will worship You
with all of my mind.
I will worship You
with all of my strength.
For You are my Lord.

More Love, More Power,
More of You in my life.

In some churches it might not be considered contemporary, or even used, since it was written in the late ’80s, but that’s beside the point. It was played on a local Christian radio station yesterday and certain questions came to mind as I listened to it during my 17 mile drive home from work. I remember singing it often when it first was published, and without the questions that recently came to mind. I loved this song!

The questions:

If we receive more love and power are we better worshipers?

Do I worship because He is my Lord, just because he is God, or both?

Do I really worship God with all of my heart, mind and strength? Isn’t that a pretty bold statement?

Why do we ask God for MORE love and power in our lives? Follow my thought process. . .

  • I don’t ask for MORE of anything unless I think I NEED more. I sense a lack of something.
  • As a believer, the third person of the Trinity is already living in me.  Is that just a little of the Holy Spirit living in me – or what?
  • Does the Holy Spirit doesn’t need MORE of himself?

If I really don’t need more of Him in my life because he already lives in me, what is really going on here? Is it really about needing more of Him in my life, or is it a matter of me getting out of His way?

I can think of several things that hinder the work He wants to do in my life: sin, other distractions, the cares of this world, etc., but the biggest one is ME.

One last thought. . .with the number of personal pronouns and adjectives in this song (I/my), who is really at the center of the lyrics, me or God?

The Path to Atheism. . .

Posted by Dan C. on

How does any person come to the place of professing to be an atheist? I hesitate to say that anyone actually becomes an atheist, if we define ‘atheism’ as  believing that there is no God. What I see in the quotes below from John Bunyan and the Apostle Paul is a progression from what is known in the heart of every person ever born to a state of denial of that which is planted in every heart – the knowledge of God.

“When wicked and unprincipled persons have gone on in a course of sin to the degree that they can scarcely hope for a pardon and find that they have reason to fear the just judgment of God for their sins, they begin at first to wish that there were no God to punish them, which they think would be in their best interests. And so, by degrees, they come to persuade themselves that three is no God. Then they determine to find arguments to back their opinion in order to prove what they are willing to believe.” John Bunyan – Visions of Heaven and Hell

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. 

Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.” The Apostle Paul-Romans, Chapter 1

Furthermore, I do not think for a second that the knowledge of God really disappears, but rather, it is intentionally buried under successive layers of sin and en ever increasing hatred of God. Why else would those who profess to be atheists become so vitriolic and spiteful towards those who do believe in the one true God? In discussing the existence of God with professing atheists I have encountered the same thing over and over again. After their ‘scientific’ reasoning has fallen flat, when faced with facts of science pointing to an intelligent designer far more compelling than those used to ‘prove’ the non-existence of God, they are left with little more than name-calling, slandering and attempting to destroy the lives of those who refuse to deny their God.

P.S. In case you are wondering, I did just see the documentary Expelled and I would call it a ‘must see’. This is not however, strictly an advertisement for the film. Seeing this film only reinforced what I already believed to be true.

It’s ALL About the Love?

Posted by Dan C. on

Lyrics in a popular contemporary Christian song offer this explanation of why Jesus went to the Cross:

“It was all about the love
That was bigger than a life . . .
‘Cause you would rather die
than to ever live without me”

I am in no way implying that Christ’s love for those God would give Him (See John 6)) was not one of the reasons He died for us. There’s a tremendous love element in Christ’s death for our sins! In fact there is NO GREATER LOVE!  But is it ALL about love? The song would have us believe that it is by telling us that Jesus would rather die than live without us, as if he’s some sort of love-sick teenager!

To the above lyrics and the ALL ABOUT LOVE theme that is so pervasive in contemporary music (and today’s evangelism), I have a something to say – There’s more!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OBEDIENCE held Christ to the Cross. Over and over again throughout the Gospels we find the theme of Christ’s obedience to His Father. The awesome perfection of that obedience was expresseed in the Garden of Gethsemane hours before His final suffering and crucifixion.

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42

OUR SIN held Jesus to the Cross. Christ bore our sins to satisfy the law of God.  God accepted His death as payment for our sins.

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed”.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way: and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53 :5,6

“Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4

“The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”  Ezekiel 18:20

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

To say ‘Cause you (Jesus) would rather die than to ever live without me” is not even close!!!!!!! That’s right up there with the sentiment expressed in “God sent his own Son to die because He (God) could not imagine His heaven without us!”

I cannot find that Jesus, or that God in scripture! Can anyone help me out here? What Jesus and what God are they talking about?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ACCEPT CHRIST?

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“Now if you were to ask the average man, the average preacher or the average person – the average Christian anywhere – “How do I come into saving relation to Jesus Christ?” the answer would be one of three. People would either tell you “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” — that’s Acts 16:31 or, they would say “Receive Christ as your Savior” — that’s John 1:12, or else they would give you this other answer. (And of course, those first two answers are true; they’re true!) Or else they would give you this third answer, “Accept Christ as your personal Savior.”

Now the word ‘accept Christ’ to the astonishment of a good many people does not occur in the Bible – it’s not there. What is it to ‘accept Christ’?”

The above is taken from an A.W. Tozer sermon. There are two parts to that sermon that can be found and read here. Just scroll down and you will see links to Parts 1 and 2. It is well worth the read!

What is ‘New Age’ Religion, and Why Can’t Christians Get on Board?

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What is ‘New Age’ Religion, and Why Can’t Christians Get on Board?

Barbara Curtis

Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

If you haven’t run into it before, it would be hard to avoid it now. Oprah’s rolling out the red carpet for the New Age: a weekly online class with New York Times bestselling guru Eckhart Tolle and a daily broadcast with Marianne Williamson, whose Course in Miracles was beckoning seekers thirty years ago when I was tripping through the wonderland of discovering my own divinity and wielding the powers of the universe to create my own reality.

Ah, but I didn’t know Jesus back then – that is, I didn’t know him as the Son of God. I knew him only through my guru, who taught that Jesus was a great spiritual master and who blended quotes from the New Testament with quotes from the Bhagavad-Gita to produce a spiritual foundation for people like me – too hip, too cool, too sophisticated to tie themselves to the narrow-minded thinking of Christianity.

As someone plucked out miraculously from the New Age, I can only hope that Christians who love and trust Oprah will not blur the lines of their faith. Oprah has stated that though she was raised as a Baptist, she no longer believes that Jesus is the only way to reach God. It sounds so much more rational and compassionate, doesn’t it?

Why can’t we all just get along?

There are questions we don’t have the answers to. And there are questions that are not seeking an answer, but rather opening a door leading to “a wider path” – questions like the one posed long ago: “Hasn’t God said that you could eat of every tree of the garden?”

The New Age is based on concepts that sound almost irresistible. Like Eve, some hear the spiels of modern gurus like Tolle and Willamson and begin to think the faith of their fathers is too rigid, too narrow – that God would never impose an “irrational” boundary between us and “full knowledge of the spiritual realm.”

Sometimes the lie creeps in subtly as Christians begin to research natural or holistic medicine – alternatives which can be very God-honoring but for years were shunned by Christians, thus becoming New Age territory by default. Or a doctor may recommend yoga or meditation to reduce stress. No matter how uplifting and innocent some New Age practices appear, Christians need discernment in these areas, just as at the seashore they need to know where the undertow begins.

The more we understand the distinctions between New Age religion and Christianity, the less vulnerable we are ourselves and the better able to address the confusion of people who may be – as I once was – earnestly seeking the truth.

What exactly is the New Age? Impossible to narrow down, the New Age is actually a vast smorgasbord of beliefs and practices. Each New Ager fills his tray with whatever assortment fits his appetite. All is liberally seasoned with self-centeredness. It’s really a Have-It-Your-Way religion – thus its modern appeal.

Although there are many branches of New Age thought – ranging from meditation to firewalking – they stem from an ancient stock. The roots of the New Age tree spread around the globe to India. One might think that the desperate, degraded human condition of a land dominated by Hinduism would speak louder than words about the truth of the religion. But New Agers seem blind to the contradiction.

Instead the typical New Ager believes: 

  • God is in everything (pantheism)
  • All things are one (monism)
  • Man is God
  • Mind creates reality
  • One’s own experience validates the truth

New Agers do not believe in evil. Therefore, they do not accept man’s problem as separation by sin from God. Instead, they believe that each of us has forgotten his or her own divinity. Therefore, the New Age solution is to seek “higher consciousness” through meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, diet, crystals, channeling. spirit guides, and more. Each of these diverse practices has the same purpose: to awaken the god in man.

While these practices may seem too far out to pose much of a threat to those abiding in the truth, Christians need to be on guard. In the past twenty years, New Age influence has been steadily creeping into our culture in schools, corporations, and doctors’ offices. Since Star Wars, movies have become dominated by New Age spirituality. Reincarnation, karma, the cosmic consciousness – all these once obscure ideas have become commonplace.

A true understanding of New Age practices makes one thing clear: Eastern practices cannot be blended into Christianity to produce something better. New Agers are Universalists, believing that all paths lead to God. They fault Christians for being intolerant and narrow-minded. But God’s word anticipates this: “Enter the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the path that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13, NIV)

The good news is that, in a way, the New Ager’s broad acceptance holds the key to getting him back on the straight and narrow. Most New Agers hold Jesus in high regard, believing Him to be a great spiritual teacher, or guru. Many study the words He spoke, although they put a different spin on them.

How can we reach those under such subtle deception? The answer is Jesus Himself. Since Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” He Himself can be the common ground on which the New Ager and the Christian can meet, though one stands in darkness and one in light.

Here is a five-step approach to discussing Jesus with new Agers:

1. Whom do you believe Jesus is?

2. Whom did Jesus say He is?

3. What did Jesus say about other spiritual paths?

  • “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

4. Jesus was either who he said He was or He was a fraud. Given His claims, we can’t logically believe he was only a great teacher, for He would have been teaching falsehood rather than truth (this is an argument by C. S. Lewis).

5. Jesus alone is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

New Agers are in a lot of confusion. That’s because they haven’t found the Truth, but only what fits into the spiritual perspective they have constructed. As in the Garden of Eden, the lie has never changed.

But neither has the Truth. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see immediate results from sharing with New Agers. In many cases – like my own – when they finally come to Christ, it’s because God had been planting seeds and watering for a long time. Just keep praying and loving and sharing the words of  Jesus (from experience, I’d say they really won’t hear much else).

And remember, God loves New Age seekers too!

Barbara Curtis, now a prolific Christian writer, was a New Age seeker for seven years before learning the truth about Jesus Christ in 1987. She lives with her husband Tripp in a rapidly-dwindling nest with 6 of their 12 children in Waterford, Virginia