Put Away the Plastic Forks!

Where have all the biblical preachers gone - those with a true prophetic tone to their preaching? For the last couple of weeks I've been immersed in the first twelve verses of Matthew 3, which present a snapshot of the ministry and message of John the Baptist. In our day of syrupy, sentimental, superficial, "Chicken Soup for the Soul" kind of sermons (oh, and short, too - excuse the alliteration), hard-hitting Gospel preaching is hard to find.

Oh, sure, occasionally you'll come across the stereotypical "hell, fire, and brimstone" preacher who belittles his hearers to build up his own ego and uses his pulpit as a whipping post. I'm not referring to that sort of preaching - a sermon that's "all heat and no light." I'm talking about real Gospel-oriented, Christ-centered, soul-stirring, heart-convicting preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit.

When it comes to penetrating people's hearts, there is no substitute for Scripture. "For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires" (Hebrews 4:12). What else in the world can do that? Answer: Nothing! As my good friend Steve Lawson, a passionate expositor himself, likes to say to fellow preachers: "Put away the plastic forks, and unsheath your sword!"

Here is a great example of that. Don't focus so much on the graphics, and certainly disregard the typographical errors. Concentrate instead on the preaching. Listen to the words ... the urgent tone ... the voice of authority ... and the plea for repentance. The preacher whose voice you'll hear just retired after 46 years of faithful preaching and pastoral ministry. May we, too, be unwaveringly committed to the uncompromising truth of God's holy word.

"Truth" Video

Thumbs Way Up for "UP"

On Monday evening before dinner, a friend swung by the house to drop off a video that he thought we'd enjoy seeing. It was the latest Disney-Pixar movie, "Up," an animated comedy adventure about a 78-year-old man who ties balloons to his house and flies away, with an 8-year-old stowaway. My friend's timing was perfect. Our older boys had other commitments for the evening, so I snuggled down on the sofa with my ten-year-old son to watch the 90-minute film. Our family had enjoyed previous Pixar productions, so we were anticipating another good film this time around.

We were not disappointed! Maybe it was the mood I was in, but this seemed to have all the wholesome qualities one would want in a family film. The plot was simple enough for kids to follow, yet enjoyable enough to keep adults engaged. Same case with the humor.

But what I really liked about this movie is that it went beyond humor and cool computer graphics to incorporate the serious and meaningful realities of life. (I want to be careful not to print any spoilers here!) There are some sad moments in the film that touch the hearts of children and adults alike. The characters experience not only adventure, but disappointment; not only fun, but loss. Sentimental ties collide with unexpected circumstances which lead to difficult decisions. These tensions are not only real to each person, but they also create balance in our lives.

What I especially appreciated about the film is its strong affirmation of wholesome family values, i.e. the blessings of lifelong fidelity in marriage, the tragic effects of divorce, the joy and freedom that comes from putting the interests of others above our own. In this film, black is black, and white is white. The lines of morality are not blurred but clear - and, sadly, that seems to be so rare nowadays, even in children's films.

There are few films that, after watching, I can get up off the sofa and say, "Now that was a great movie!" This was one of them. Be sure to get it and watch it with your kids. You'll be glad you did.

Modern-Day Martyr

As most of you know, this past Sunday, November 8, was the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. In my morning sermon on Revelation 2:8-11, I alluded to the martyrdoms of the apostles. Hundreds of other accounts throughout church history are recorded in Foxe's Book of Martyrs, a book that every Christian should read. (You can read it online by clicking here.)

But it occurred to me that despite our religious liberties here in America, every now and then Christians suffer persecution to the point of death. One such incident occurred exactly eight months ago this past Sunday. I blogged on this tragedy back at the time it occurred, and in light of this Sunday's emphasis on the persecuted church, have posted it again today. Here's the original post from March of this year:

Before heading off to prayer meeting last evening, I checked my e-mail and logged on to the Internet. My home page is Fox News, and the cover story was about Fred Winters, a pastor in Illinois who was gunned down in the pulpit while preaching in morning service. You can read all about it here.

I checked out the church website, and from everything I've seen, this pastor was a godly man who was utterly committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to the authority of God's Word. He had a great love for the Lord and for people. Supposedly, as the gunman walked down the aisle toward the pastor in the middle of the service, the pastor said to him, "Can I help you?" - something that another pastor on staff did not find surprising at all. Here's the video clip this morning from Fox News:

Yesterday morning started out like just any other Sunday morning for this preacher. He simply got up behind his pulpit and started preaching God's Word to his flock. As a pastor, I am reminded of how important it is for me to "to preach ... as a dying man to dying men" (Richard Baxter). And certainly all of us should pray, as Moses did,

Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.

- Psalm 90:12

What are the practical implications of this verse for us as believers? Perhaps they are best stated in the following two resolutions of Jonathan Edwards:

1. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
2. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

By all accounts, Pastor Fred Winters finished well. God help us to do the same.

Here's Lookin' at You, Christians

In the Nov. 7 issue of World magazine, Joel Belz shared some new and rather interesting statistics from the Barna Group on how those in the 16-29 age group perceive evangelicals. Those surveyed were classified as either "Non-Christians" or "Churchgoers." Here's a chart summarizing the results:

What are we to make of these statistics? Well, first of all, we need to define the term "evangelicals." First, Barna considers evangelicals to be "born again Christians" which may be defined as

people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated that they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

In addition to meeting the born again criteria (described above), evangelicals also meet seven additional conditions, which include:

1. saying that their faith is very important in their life today;
2. believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians;
3. believing that Satan exists;
4. believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works;
5. believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth;
6. asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches;
7. describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.

It should also be mentioned that, according to Barna, being classified as an evangelical is not dependent upon church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church attended. Also, respondents were not asked to describe themselves as "evangelical."

So keeping all the above criteria in mind, what do you make of the above chart? How do you read these numbers? Are you surprised, pleased, angered, saddened or confused? As we sift through and try to make sense of these statistics, here are - according to Joel Belz - two related questions that thoughtful evangelicals should consider:

When is it that our own clumsiness and klutziness leaves people alienated from the truth that we think should be so attractive? And when is it that the very essence of God's truth drives people away?

As I think through these questions in light of the above statistics, I am reminded of a quote I heard years ago from C. Sumner Wemp, while I was a Bible college student:

If the Gospel is an offense, praise God.

If I'm an offense, that's sin.

So what, in your opinion, are evangelicals in general doing right? What are we doing wrong? Where do we go from here? Please share your thoughts.

"Good Without God"?

This was the theme of the Tuesday evening broadcast of Chronicle HD on Boston's Channel 5 (ABC). Several atheists were interviewed, including Greg Epstein, who serves as the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University. Epstein has written a book entitled Good Without God, which Channel 5 obviously borrowed as their label for last night's program. Epstein declares, "God is the greatest literary character we as human beings ever invented."

In describing his own spiritual journey, Epstein says that while he grew up wanting to believe in God, he eventually came to the realization that "what I really wanted was not a God to care for me, but for other people to care for me." Epstein says that miracles and other things pertaining to the supernatural are "no longer helpful." He believes that people have an inclination toward morality because they're aware that they get only one shot at life, and they need to make it count for good.

My son Matthew had urged me and his mother to watch this show with him, because scheduled to appear on it was another atheist named Zachary Bos, whom Matthew had met while doing open-air evangelism at Boston University with his friend Kaleb and two evangelists from our church (along with a few others who joined them). Zachary Bos is the Director of Boston Atheists and refers to himself as the "friendly neighborhood atheist."

"Aggressive atheism" is on the rise. Books denying God's existence have become best-sellers (e.g. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris). "Over the last 20 years," said Alan Wolfe of Boston College, "the number of people willing to tell people in surveys that they don't believe in God have pretty much doubled." Even Congress has its first self-professing atheist, Rep. Pete Stark (D-California).

Celebrity atheist Christopher Hitchens, while a guest on "Good Morning America Weekend Edition," said that American believers should recognize they live in a secular state. Says Hitchens,

It would be better for them if they didn't give themselves false conciliation. My challenge is really to say, "Can you name me a moral action or a statement that has been made by a believer that couldn't have been made by a non-believer?"

To that question the Bible provides a ready answer, a response that more than meets the challenge and gets to the heart of the matter:

For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

- Romans 2:14-16 ESV

Far from disproving the existence of God, Hitchen's challenge actually affirms what the Bible teaches about man's sense of morality, how it originates from God, and how it renders man accountable to God.

When confronted by atheists - or any other advocate of false religion - we can respond with confidence, knowing that what we are giving them is not the word of men but the word of God. Atheists resort to mere rational arguments aimed at the head, whereas believers declare God's Truth which penetrates the heart (Heb. 4:12). The sword of the Spirit is infinitely more powerful than the plastic fork of human rhetoric. Therefore, precious believer, remember:

who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

- 1 Peter 3:13-16 ESV

I praise God not only for our open-air evangelists who boldly proclaim the Gospel in the public square, but also for those believers who speak the truth of God in love in their classroom, place of employment, with their neighbors, hair-dresser and whoever else. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17).

People Who Make a Difference

The elders here at First Baptist Church have been reading through the classic missionary book, Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret. We have been moved by Taylor's passion for God and his heart for China. That, coupled with this weekend's missions conference - the theme of which is "The Challenge of a World in Crisis" - brought to mind a 7-minute video clip of John Piper that every Christian teenager, senior, and everyone in between should watch. Listen carefully to this passionate plea. Don't waste your life. Be a person who makes a difference in the lives of those that you can impact for God's glory.

Jesus Christ, the Only Way

Pluralism has polluted not only our society, but also the church. As one theologian lamented, there is no place for the truth in this age of tolerance.

Yet if we are to be faithful ambassadors of Jesus Christ, we must proclaim Him as the only way of salvation. "Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Now I am committed to this truth and to declaring it unapologetically, regardless of what the world may say. But I confess that there have been times when I have been committed to it volitionally without being moved by it emotionally.

Yesterday a colleague sent me a link to the following video by R. C. Sproul who expounds on the exclusivity of Christ by telling a 7-minute story - the story of redemption and God's offer of salvation. Listen to this message. It could be the most meaningful seven minutes of your day. And you may very well want to pass it on to a loved one who does not know Christ, as this is one of the most tender presentations of the Gospel I've heard in a long time.