Biblical Balance not Present in Pagan Cultures

As Christians we should be well balanced on the strait and narrow path. We shouldn't be falling off the cliff on one side of the road or the cliff on the other side. Within God's Law and sovereignty we do not have to make a choice between asceticism or indulgence. We do not have to choose between extreme poverty or filthy riches. We do not have to choose between celibacy or orgy. These are all false dichotomies. We do not acknowledge a radical antithesis or contradiction between all things physical and all things spiritual. Jesus, in His incarnation and resurrection demonstrated that you can be both physical and spiritual. Within God's covenant we can glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We have been gracefully placed in the radical middle. It is the tendency of fallen man who has rejected the Creator to either worship creation or despise creation.

I was listening to a message today given by Steve Wilkins on the history of Rome where he wisely said this:

• Pagan cultures are cultures of extremes. As the implications of unbelief work themselves out in a culture the culture looses balance. The biblical balance that is characteristic of Christian cultures is not present in pagan cultures… They either renounce the world and forsake it totally or they embrace it without reservation. They despise riches or they worship them. They are cruelly barbaric or wickedly tolerant. They think nothing is humorous or they think everything is funny. They insist upon strict conformity or they scream in outrage that their individuality is hindered. They are stubbornly atheistic or incurably superstitious… The more consistent a culture becomes with unbelief the more extremes become characteristic. This is so because unbelieving cultures reject the eternal, sovereign God who is working His unchanging purposes in the earth. That distinctly Christian doctrine gives a stability that cannot be present in any unbelieving culture. That doctrine keeps us from panicking as much as it keeps us from sloth… Without stability of a sovereign God there is no stability at all.

From no limbs to no limits

Phil 2:14 - "Do all things without complaining"
This video will help you to stop complaining.

Things

Find the books of the Bible

Ray Comfort posted this and I thought it was kind of fun. See how many books of the Bible you can find in the paragraph below. There are 20 of them. Let me know how many you find. There is a link at the bottom with the answers but don't cheat.

There are 20 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph. Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you. (People love these kinds of puzzles, something in our genes is responsible.) While you’re looking, let’s consider an important question. You probably consider yourself to be a good person, but are you good enough to go to Heaven? From answers to the following questions, we’ll find out… Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything, (regardless of its value)? Have you ever used God’s name in vain? And just one more, have you ever looked at someone with lust (sexual desire)? Answer all of these truthfully. Now comes the bad news. If you’ve told lies, that makes you a liar – that's a fact. Steal just one time, and that makes you a thief. If you’ve used God’s name in vain, that’s blasphemy. And Jesus said that if you’ve looked at someone with lust, you’ve committed adultery in your heart. These are just a few of God’s Laws (the Ten Commandments) that you’re guilty of breaking. When God judges you, you’re in a jam; especially since He has given you a conscience. (Isn’t it true that every time you’ve done wrong, you knew it?) God’s place of punishment for those who break his laws is Hell, forever. But God did a most remarkable thing so that you wouldn’t have to go to Hell. Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins, then he rose again defeating death. If you repent and put your faith in Him, you will be saved. The truth is that you are not a good enough to go to Heaven; it’s your job to admit it. Use your God-given will to live—let it drive you to turn from your sin (repentance) and put your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Humble yourself and talk to God in prayer right now. Find a Bible believing church to fellowship at, and start reading your Bible every day—start with the book of John. We’re almost to the end of the puzzle. If you didn’t find all the Bible books, don’t let it get on your nerves. There is a website you can go to: http://www.needGod.com/answers/

T4G 08 Report

Well, the Together for the Gospel conference was great. Many inspiring and informative messages were given. God, along with the gospel, was highly exalted. You can download all the messages and the panel discussions for free HERE. We came home with fifteen new books that they gave us for free. Every time we sat at our chair their would be 3 or 4 more books for us.

Someone put together this little video with short audio clips and pictures from all the messages:

Together for the Gospel Conference

Well, today is the first day of a pastors conference I am going to with my cousin Jason. We are in Louisville, Kentucky and the conference is called Together for the Gospel. We will hear messages by R. C. Sproul, John MacArthur, John Piper, Al Mohler, Mark Dever and C. J. Mahaney. I will try to give you an update tonight. Pray that God will use this conference for His glory in a big way.

Jesus and Human History

“God could have poured out judgment on mankind in the Garden, therefore the only reason there is any history is because God has purposed to send his Son into the world, to pour out judgment on him and thereby bring salvation. Jesus is the only reason there is human history, and therefore he is the goal of human history. Thus everything God says and does in history explains and prepares for the salvation of his Son.”

~ Timothy Keller, “Preaching the Gospel in a Post-Modern World,” 34.

Judgment Day at Blockbuster

Spend your time, your every moment, as if someone was videoing your every move and your every thought in order to prepare a video recording of you that would be given to a Just and Holy God on judgment day.

I'm Now Seeker-Sensitive...

I know I have said much against "seeker-sensitive" churches. I want to now change my stance. I now believe that we need to design our worship services with and for the seekers in mind. Our entire corporate worship service needs to be seeker-friendly. The Lord's Day assembly needs to be decently ordered for the seekers. The reason I say this is because the New Testament makes it clear that those who seek after God are those who have already been regenerated and converted by the Holy Spirit of God. It is Christians, and Christians only, who seek after God. In Rom 3:10-11 Paul says, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God."

The modern church has bought in to this idea that God is somehow playing hide and seek with the lost and waiting for them to seek Him out and find Him. The lost, though, love their lostness. They have "all turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (Rom 3:12) Paul, a couple chapters earlier described the lost like this: "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse" (Rom 1:19-20). They, the lost, do not seek after God, says Paul, they suppress the truth that has been made so very clear to them (1:18). So why do Christians today design their entire worship service to appeal to the unbelieving, so-called "seekers"?

The unbeliever is not a seeker. The only two kinds of people who are truly seeking in a worship service is the Triune God and those who believe in the Triune God. This is why Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost. He is the true Seeker and He is seeking true worshipers. The worship and the seeking after God by the Body of Christ is for Christ and only done by the Body of Christ. You do not begin seeking after God until you have found Him, or rather, He has found you. The church is the "called out ones" who the New Testament calls the communion of saints. The worship service is not supposed to be primarily about evangelism. It is a time for God's people to ascend together into the heavenly presence of God in order to worship Him and be equipped for the work of the ministry (like evangelism) throughout the rest of the week.

The main focus of the "assembly of the saints" needs to be worship and not evangelism. Our worship equips us for evangelism but our worship is not evangelism. So many today go to church concerned only about how the "service" makes them feel or how it serves their needs. We need to go to church concerned about how God feels and how well we served Him. The unbeliever should be the outsider looking in to our worship service. The unbeliever should not be the focus or the audience. Biblical corporate worship has God as the focus and God as the audience. Because of this misunderstanding today, exaltation has been replaced with entertainment. Confession has been replaced with carnality. Preaching has been replaced with performing. Sacraments have been replaced with sentiment. Liturgy has been replaced with licentiousness.

Affliction and Suffering

The secret formula of the saints: When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines. - By Samuel Rutherford

Not to be afflicted is a sign of weakness; for, therefore God imposeth no more on me, because he sees I can bear no more. - By Joseph Hall

As the wicked are hurt by the best things, so the godly are bettered by the worst. - By William Jenkyn

Afflictions are light when compared with what we really deserve. They are light when compared with the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. But perhaps their real lightness is best seen by comparing them with the weight of glory which is awaiting us. - By Arthur W. Pink