The Manhattan Declaration
Striking the news, blogesphers, social networks and radio programs is this new delemma over a recent constructed document called, "The Manhattan Declaration." The document itself is a declaration of unity over the outcry of aggressive assaults upon the sanctity of life, homosexuality and a few other moral issues happening in the United States at this time. The signers of this document claim to be unified in agreement that these issues are non negotiable and are bonding together to affix there names to this document as an outcry to these injustices. The problem is that the signers range from Roman Catholics to Conservative Evangelicals.
Why is that a problem you ask? The issues is mainly that the terminology within the document. Terms like, "We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ" or "We (Christians), act together", "We are Christians who have joined together." It is simply declaring a unity within the worldwide church of Jesus Christ (with only ecclesial differences) to come together and unite for the cause of these moral dilemmas that are in fact plaguing this country. But the problem is the fact that there is not a brotherhood with in Christians and Catholics when referring to the gospel and the fundamental belief of Justification by Faith alone in Christ alone. This is not a small chasim. Imputed and infused righteousness as a theological difference find no common ground. Now without getting into that fully (as I have spoken about that in more detail on former post) I would simply like to express my shock to see some very conservative evangelical leaders affix there name to this document. People like Dr Alber Mohler and Dr. J. Ligon Duncan who I respect and love as brothers very much. Less shocking (yet notable) were people like Ravi Zacharias, Joni Eareckson Tada, Randy Alcorn. And of course there were those we all would have been surprised if there names were not on the list, Jim Daily, James Dobson and Chuck Coloson just to name a few.
I just dont think we can set theology aside, come together with a degree of theological similarities and show the world that we are in fact any different. I cant help but wonder if Dr Albert Mohler and others like him would have signed this if Depoch Chopra was one of the main framers? Is the level of uniformity only based on the name of Christ and not the work achieved on the cross? Can we ever simply work along side people with theological difference to bring about some kind of moral agenda? Well I say Yes we can. I can join a local neighborhood watch with the people in my community if there are a string of break in's to help protect each other. I would have no problem signing my name to that kind of declaration. The problem comes when it is done in a overtone of spiritual uniformity. I would never sign a document in my community to fight crime in the spirit of Christian brotherhood. I just simply know all the people in my community do not adhere the the fundamentals of the faith. So any time in the spirit of ecumenicism, when we subvert the gospel to achieve some moral high ground we are actually doing more harm for the gospel then good!
I also know that in an era of quick post, one minute drama and all us blog writers thinking we have the next big story or in my case that I have anything worth reading. Lets be quick to pray. I know Dr Mohler is a great man of God and has not subverted the gospel. I think in signing this document he had done just that but lets not be quick to shoot at our faithful brothers who work so hard and labor over the gospel. Although this is a shocker. Lets use this as a reminder to pray for the issues outlined in this document as well as the unconverted Roman Catholics and Evangelicals. Lets use discernment and pray for wisdom when it comes to emotionally charged issues such as these and continue to proclaim the biblical gospel of complete forgiveness of sins by repenting and trusting Christ alone as your savior. This is the method God will use to combat moral issues, by changing the hearts and minds of those who adhere to those differences. Not by a stock pile of signatures to a document but souls won to Christ.
For more information see the following links....
The Manhattan Declaration.
Albert Mohlers gives a defense.
Dr Mohler on Detroits radio program The Paul Edwards Program explaining.
Ravi Zacharias explains.
John Macathur Explains why not.
John Macarthur on Chris Fabry on why not.
Phil Johnson on The Paul Edwards Program explaining why not.
Alistair Begg on why not.
James White on why not.
Why I can sleep after reading Jeremiah 29:17-18
"thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. 18 And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them"
I know it is a strange title and a fairly obscure text in a well known Old Testament book. But I want to draw out a few important factors when it comes to reading the Old Testament. Whenever we look into the Old Testament we have to be careful in how we interpret the verses we are reading. Some of the verses are simply not to us. That is why I quoted the above text. No Christian is reading that and under great sorrow because God has just declared His war on them and their family. Just a basic reading of that text in the context will give us an understanding that it is not to Joe Smith from Wisconsin for example. And I am sure that we will not be finding this written on the bible case or wall photo in somebody's house.
Now that is not to say that there are not basic principles to pull out of the above text. Every single text in Gods word has something to teach us. Yes every single one. The question we should be asking our self first is this, was this text written to me? The basic principle is called the grammatical, historical method of interpretation (Hermeneutics).I just want to give you enough information that it will wet your appetite for your bible reading.
You see I picked this verse because it is just a few verses away from one of the most used verses in the local Christian book store and more then likely in your home and it says this,
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
You see the problem in reading this verse is the very same reason I didn't freak out after reading Jer. 29:17-18. Even though we find these verses in complete contrast to one another. It still does not apply to us. Why? Because this was too those people at that time. Think about it, God's chosen nation is in captivity and under heavy persecution. About to be carried away. And our wonderful God calls to them in there moments of most need and says that he will be there with them. They dont understand what is happening but God does and this will work out for there good. It is a wonderful verse for them. Now can we pull out a principle? Yes we can, God is kind, God disciplines, yet in love. God will not leave us. Some wonderful principles can be found but the verse is simply not for us in this day. We can find other verses that talk about God's grace, His kindness, His unfailing presence. But just not here. If we are going to quote this verse as a verse for us then how is it we can skip over the more negative text. Some may say, well its because they were God's children and we are God's children so therefore it is all the same. Well I can think of more then a few verses of God writing to His people in the Old Testament we would be good in hoping that time has passed.
So why write this blog? Other then show some biblical knowledge and offend people who have that as there life verse? Why, well simple...
To the believer,
1)We are commanded by God to rightly divide God's word (2 Timothy 2:15)
2)Not get our self in despair over a verse misused and not working.
3)Draw a improper conclusion about God because of a misinterpreted verse.
4)Trust in God by using his promises that you can lean on and count on.
To the unbeliever,
1)Help you understand your position apart from God and your inability to quote any promise in the bible for your purpose.
2)Understanding your inability to reject Gods word simply because of some obscure text taken out of context.
For example we hear the straw man arguments that we cannot eat pork or shellfish. We cannot cut our beards, etc etc etc. There is simply biblical illiteracy here. Besides the fact the Old Testament has now been replaced with the New Testament. We must read it rightly to ensure we are applying text to our life that should be applied. We should be studying those Old Testament verses as they would have been understood to the reader. So that a lost world can be given a reason for there misrepresentation of Gods word. Last but not least we should be counting God's promises as precious to us as we dive into His word for His glory.
Here is a good resource on the subject...
Legalist or Literalist? Pharisee or Proper Theology?
Luke 18:9-14These terms are often misunderstood and misused in today's culture. Often even in the context of the church the terms are thrown at almost any ministry that is strong in its biblical headship, leadership and conviction. I think this is mainly due to the over feminization of today's church. We are finding that more and more men are folding under pressure to not warn people of judgment day, Gods wrath, sin or any other attribute of God or action of God that is to masculine. We then crank out over emotional, love-only preachers who stay away from any form of conventional terms "as to not offend anyone." When a text of scripture is accurately interpreted and applied with no wiggle room. Legalist or pharisee are terms usually not far behind. What I want to do is take a look at how those terms apply and see if they fit the modern day use of them.
Legalist is a term intended to be used in reference to a person who has used the law of God and twisted to bind people to a moral set of standards to appease God. All world religions are legalist. They say you must follow a set of standards laid out either in ancient writings or tradition in order to contribute to your salvation and or increase the likelihood of your reincarnated soul coming back as a human. In the realm of Christianity it is used when someone has misrepresented the mosaic law and declared a work based system back into true salvation. We see this rear up in the New Testament in the following verse.
Acts 15:1
And certain men came down from Judea and taught the bretheren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."
We also see this in places such as Galatians 2:11-21 when Paul confronts Peter for his misrepresentation of the truth by preferring one crowd over the other. Other example's would be claiming that someone has to go to church to be saved. Or that someone must be reading there bible to be saved. Anytime the word legalist is used in reference to Christianity it is a direct assault on the work of salvation. So when using the term legalist toward someone there is really one area to look at to see if they are in fact being a legalist. There gospel message. Has it now included a work based righteousness or "infused" righteous opposed to "imputed". If one has not claimed any change in there gospel presentation and are still holding to Sola fide ("by faith alone"), Sola gratia ("by grace alone") Solo Christo ("through Christ alone") then by definition they are not a legalist.
On the other hand we have the first term in the five sola's of the reformation. Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone"). Which simply means that scripture is the main authority for faith and practice. This is where we get into the meat of Gods truth. This is where men die, get excommunicated, imprisoned, persecuted or (so far the worse today)called a legalist. When one stands on the literal interpretation of Gods word they will face much opposition. Today's cultural is getting even less tolerant of men and women who say that anyone is wrong when they base there convictions on verses that directly address the situation in which they oppose. For instance the catholic church threatened Martin Luther with excommunication (and death) if he did not recant. Martin Luther's reply was,
So when using those terms one must determine what the person opposing them is basing there opposition on. If it is scripture then one may be in error to God's holy word and must search the scripture to see if these things are true. But it seems that many men seem to perch themselves upon pride and arrogance and see no need to search scripture. They disagree simply because they dont "feel" its effective which goes back to the over feminization of today's modern/western church. Theology and doctrine are viewed as boring and expositional preaching (verse by verse) is to "inside the box". Or even worse the gospel message itself is "always the same" the law of God, the holiness of God and the cross of Christ received by repentance and faith. Many today feel they need to liven it up or change it as to not sound the same. Pride nipps at the heals of those who think they can do better then God. Consequently they remove essential elements of the message and lead men to a wrong understanding of God and biblical salvation and therefor disqualify themselves (and there converts) from the faith (Galatians 1:6 would apply but I am doubtful if they ever knew the true gospel).
May God help us to remain humble in our love toward one another. But may God also give us strong convictions to stand for Gods truth. It was Martin Luther who said unity when possible but truth at all cost. May we raise the truth of Gods word and the purity of the church to its proper place and commit to studying Gods word and applying it to our life. May we as men in the church train our children to do as Paul warned Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16 to
"take heed to yourself and to the doctrine."
And keep the fifth sola in view...
Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone")
Theological Rap Music.
Those words which so easily can be typed were once difficult to imagine for myself. There was a time that form of music dominated my life as a young unsaved man. The words and the messages behind the lyrics had me convinced that women were second class citizens, fathers and mothers were needless, money was the ruler of the world and much more. I would not say I was a gangster or a thug or anything like that but I had a sinful attraction to foul language and perverse lyrics. After my conversion nearly 4 years ago God removed many things from my life that had been offending him like improper shows on tv, my offensive choice of words, the desire to be wealthy, and of specific importance my love for rap music. Gods mercy was made evident when he replaced an unlearned man who did not like to study or read and gave me a desire for His word and showed me the importance of theology and biblical discernment.
Colossians 1:16 - “All things were created through Christ and for Christ”.
Even Hip Hop???
Part way through my conversion some close friends at the time were listening to some Christian rap music that was a bit more then your family friendly radio station hip hop songs that, like secular hip hop/rap, just repeat an idea of phrase with out diving into the truth of scripture. The Bible may be a part of the songs but not the main focus of the music. So I had my doubts in place and after hearing what the radio played I was sure that form was sunk. But then a friend of mine played a CD for me that was a breath of fresh air in with theological accuracy. Although I was not ready to rekindle my love for the music form I had been surprised. Since that time God has given me a love for the art of putting theology to rap beats. I have been more and more amazed at the theological implications of the music and just amazed that God can rescue a genre of music and use it for His glory. Dont believe me? Dont take my word for it.....
Shai Linne's song on Charles Spurgeon
Spurgeon - Shai Linne
Albert Mohler Show (Russell Moore) talks about the subject here.
Although my favorites tend to be old time hymns I still appreciate the way young men have in fact honored God with there music and seem to dive into scripture to get there material. Which brings me back to Colossians 1:16 - “All things were created through Christ and for Christ”. Even hip hop when done to His glory.
We are back up and a lot is going on.
Well after a long break I am back up and blogging. We are still in the works of putting a collaborated website up but have much work going into it. So for now we will be up and going here. This is where we will keep you up to date with all the things going around the ministry. We have started Friendship Fridays which most of you have seen posted on places like facebook. Well in order to motivate the saints to get out there and share there faith I will provide your youtube page so you can see those updates. College campuses are filling up with the new fall semester starting out so we will be posting some videos of open air events, one to ones etc. So please keep an eye out and pray for us. Feel free to give us input, remarks, snarks, etc.
In Christ,
Gary Morris.
See this video...
A lot has happened!!
Sorry for those who have asked about my blog here. We have had a busy time over the past 6 weeks or so. The top in the news is that we became members of our church :-) WHEW HEW (Mt Morris Community Church) and have just been very excited about that and getting into the grove of things and at the same time fight with all the sickness our kids are passing to mom and dad here. So I want to jump in and update you with some stuff....
First...We are looking at combining some of our blogs to get a professional web page done to write about our witnessing encounters, books, theology, videos and/or all the other things that I discuss about here. So look for that soon. In addition.....
Here is our new youtube page that will be getting updated on a regular basis,
Also a couple cool things..Tony Miano from Way of The Master posted two of our videos on his blog...
The Lawman's Blog
as well as talking about it on The Way of The Master Radio program....
Ambassadors' Alliance Radio program.
It was the April 9th edition and it is within the first 10 minutes or so and the last couple minutes...what a blessing.
So in additional the all the above we hope to hear from you as to what encourages you to go out there and share your faith!!!
We will update you with the new URL once all that is said and done and we will go from there...
So until then....GO SERVE YOUR KING
First...We are looking at combining some of our blogs to get a professional web page done to write about our witnessing encounters, books, theology, videos and/or all the other things that I discuss about here. So look for that soon. In addition.....
Here is our new youtube page that will be getting updated on a regular basis,
Also a couple cool things..Tony Miano from Way of The Master posted two of our videos on his blog...
The Lawman's Blog
as well as talking about it on The Way of The Master Radio program....
Ambassadors' Alliance Radio program.
It was the April 9th edition and it is within the first 10 minutes or so and the last couple minutes...what a blessing.
So in additional the all the above we hope to hear from you as to what encourages you to go out there and share your faith!!!
We will update you with the new URL once all that is said and done and we will go from there...
So until then....GO SERVE YOUR KING
Humility
This is one of my favorite book and the reason I assure you is that humility is a charter trait that I lack very much. The reason I love this book is that it properly and accurately identifies where this sin lies within my own heart. It seems that this sin lurks in so many places that discovering it without Biblical exposure is impossible. So I highly commend this book to you. You will find yourself needing to read it from front to back on a regular basis.
Here is a line or two....
"Humility gets God's attention. In Isaiah 66:2 we read these words from the Lord:
This is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word."
"Here we find motivation and purpose rooted in this amazing fact: Humility draws the gaze of our Sovereign God."
"Why does God hate pride so passionately?
Here's why: Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him."
This was extremely helpful in the identification of Pride because it allowed me to accuritly see that when I am prideful about anything I am in contention with God. I am battling him for the credit instead of giving him the glory.
BRAKE FLUID WITNESS
Today on my trip to the local auto part store I happened to come across a young man name Miguel. I have been having such a wonderful time with Living Waters newest celebrity million dollar bills. I was sceptical at first but they are fantastic.
Walking in to my favorite auto part store I noticed I was the only one in there which alerted me to seek out opportunities to witness to the employees that I may run into. After grabbing my 2 for 1 deal on brake fluid I walked over to the counter. After paying I gave the young man behind the counter a million dollar bill. He went to open the cash register but realized he was out of paper. At that point he called another young man over to help him. I gave him a million dollar bill that allowed us to launch into the conversation of the million dollar question, "Will you go to heaven?" at which point Miguel said to me soberly that he was going to heaven. The original young man who was taking my money said, "no comment". I asked him if he was an atheist and he said that he was. I asked that if building prove builders and paintings prove painters does not creation prove that there was a creator? He laughed and looked down to read the bill. At that moment the phone rang and he picked it up. I then switched to Miguel. I said, Miguel if you are going to heaven what do you base that fact on? He said, "oh you know I believe." I said, with out expanding on what it just is that he "believes" in, do you consider yourself to be a pretty good person. He of course professed his own goodness and said, yup. I at that point used the law to show him his true state before God and his guilt not to man but to God. He said that even though he has broken Gods law and would be guilty he would still go to heaven. I asked why and he proceed to tell me how he has changed his life and is living much better now. I told Miguel that it does not matter if he is perfect everyday for the rest of his life, he still was guilty. I reminded him that if he was found guilty in a court of law of a crime and then told the judge he was innocent because even though he broke the law he has been doing good stuff since then. It would not change the fact that justice must be made for his crimes. He told me at that point he has been to prison. I was able at that point to ask him if he knew what God did so that he would not go to hell. He thought for a moment and came back with a big nope. I said to Miguel that 2000 years Jesus Christ stepped into his court room and paid his fine. He broke the law but Jesus paid his fine. I said, "Miguel do you understand what took place was a legal transaction. Jesus paid your find so God can legally remit all yours sins on the day of judgment?" He was silent (the law shuts the mouth). I said to Miguel that he must repent of his sin not just say I am sorry but turn from it once and for all and to trust in Jesus the same way he trusted in his own goodness just a few minutes ago. At that point the other man ended his phone call and two customers came in and walked next to me and asked them questions. I asked Miguel if he has a Bible he said yes he does and so I looked at him and he was for the first time eye to eye with me and I said Miguel please read it. He said he would. I looked at the original man and told him he could keep the change. Pray for the both of them.
Question to ask yourself....
If God never answers another prayer
If God never gives you a comfortable day
If God never lets you go home to your family
If you never get to kiss your children goodnight again
If you never again get to see the light of day or the kiss of your spouse
Is what He has already done enough?
Have you told Him?
How much more do you have then what you deserve?
How long or Lord?
At what point does your belief make killing wrong?
Listen to this episode of Wretched Radio.
The following is an edited transcript of a message preached by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. for "Sanctity of Human Life Sunday" on January 18, 2009. Today's installment is the fifth in the six-part series.
Abortion is a Gospel issue.
Abortion is a Gospel issue because the extinguishing and termination of a life within the womb is not merely homicide, it is robbing God of His glory - the glory that rightly is His, displayed in every single human life.
Abortion is an act of defiance against the Creator. Is it an act of violence against this unborn child? Yes, it is an act of violence that leads even to homicide against this child. But it is also an act of defiance against God. It is the willful act of denying God His glory. God made this human being in His image. Before the person even was formed in the womb he was known by the Creator, and before he or she was formed, he or she was loved.
When that baby was destroyed, when that pregnancy is terminated (there's the euphemism), it is a Gospel issue because we know that when that life is terminated it is not merely that a human life is extinguished, it is that there dies a person who desperately, desperately deserves life. And, living desperately, needs to hear the Gospel.
You see, every life that is terminated is a life made for covenant and made for communion. And yet, this same life is willfully terminated by people whose abhorrence of life and rebellion against the Creator is so extreme that they will become the agents of death rather than the agents of life. Abortion is always a Gospel issue because we can never talk about human beings, even in secular terms, as just being superior to other animals. We cannot speak of human beings simply as having a special dignity merely because we are the ones with language, self-consciousness, a sense of the future, and a sense of humor.
Some anthropologists say that human beings are distinct from other animals, but is becoming increasingly difficult to answer the "why?" - the question of why humans are distinct. Very seriously, just recently I read that human beings are different because we have a sense of humor. Are you telling me that we get to drive and they don't, because we laugh? This is the ridiculousness of a world in rebellion against God. We are the ones who understand that every single human being is made in God's image, and thus, to extinguish that life is to extinguish the image of God within the womb.
We come to understand that abortion is a picture also, in a Gospel-perspective, of why we so desperately need the Gospel. It is because we are people who would do this. And it is so dangerous that we would be here today on the Lord's Day as Christians, and that we would think about abortion as something that is someone else's fault, and someone else's problem. It is our problem because it is a picture of sinful humanity. Brothers and sisters, that is who we are. We are a people who in our own way will choose death rather than life. We are the people who, each in his own way, just as "every sheep has gone astray in its own way" as Isaiah says, will form our own rebellion against the Creator - and we do and we did.
Abortion is a Gospel issue because it is such a graphic sin that it points us to the very heart of the human rebellion of God against sin and it points to the very heart of why we so desperately need Christ.
You know, there may be someone reading this today, there may be someone reading this ten years from now - and you are someone who has experienced an abortion. There may be someone who has experienced not only one, but multiple abortions. There may be someone here who is haunted by empty footsteps. The sight of every stroller and crib brings a pang of conscience.
I have good news for you. I know who you are. You are a murderer. I have good news for you. I know who you are. You are a sinner. I have good news for you. There is a savior. I have other news for you. You are in the company of fellow murderers.
You see, the story of the Bible, the story of the Gospel is that when Jesus Christ was sent by the Father, those Jesus was sent to save, killed him. Jesus himself told the parable of the wicked tenants within the vineyard. Because of their wickedness - a picture of our human wickedness - when the vineyard owner sends his own son, the tenants killed him!
I want to tell you, if you have yourself chosen abortion, if you have experienced abortion - you are a murderer. But you are in the company of fellow murderers with blood on our hands because sinful humanity killed the sinless Son of God.
If that is where the story ended, then death would have its victory, sin would have its victory, and that would be the end of it. We would have nothing to say and we would just go home and live out whatever remains of our lives in the despair of a people who know no hope.
But that is not where the story ends, because that is where the Gospel turns and tells us that even in light of the fact that we are sinners beyond even our own imagination to understand our sin, even though we rob God of His glory, even though we do everything we can and everything within our power to do new ways of doing evil, even though the Apostle Paul makes clear - "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - God loved us so much! It was His purpose in the very beginning before we ever existed. He knew us and He loved us, before we were formed in the world He had a plan for us and He sent His Son, to die on the Cross, to shed His blood, to pay the penalty for our sin, to pay a price that we could not pay, to die in our place, and yes, by that one death, to accomplish salvation for sinners.
Abortion is a Gospel issue.
How to grow a new high school? Oops I mean a Church.
Ever dream you could go back into high school and relive your glory days. Or maybe you were a shy person and the thought of going back to be a social butterfly has passed your mind a time or two. What about a school that had no teachers and no authority. Imagine a place today where nobody tells you what you are doing is wrong and you can all join together and remake your high school songs into songs that make you feel like the center of the universe. Imagine!!!!!
Yes, you have a hole that we can fix!
Are you hurt, do you need a place to belong?
We want to help put all the pieces together!
What has Jesus become?
To the American church, Jesus is just a life enhancer not a savior. You may ask, how is that? Well churches in large today present Jesus Christ as the one who will fix there marriage, fix there financial situation, give them purpose, give them hope, give them love, love, love, love. So they come to Jesus and give it a try.
The Problem......SIN.
People must come to Jesus as Lord and Savior not some kind of wishing star.
What happens.....Trials, tribulation, persecution, funny we don't tell them about any of that.
Churches now are filled with unconverted, hip, party goers and the church fills up with theses people and at the same time the leaders keep going for the next wave of the same people. For one purpose....to fill up there church with more people.
Now keep in mind the church messages are geared to get unconverted people in the door. So once they get in the door they get to hear more messages toward those on the outside to feel like Christianity is cool and hip and relevant (of course). Growth occurs only by joining a small group and even then the books and DVDs are all geared toward the unsaved and so they dry up and become unconverted older people.
What premise to you build your church on? Filling it up with unsaved people and training them how to reach out and bring in more unsaved people who train them to reach in to bring more unsaved people and nobody gets converted but they come to Jesus as a life enhancement and a place to belong!!!
or
Do you do what the New Testament Church does. Do church for believers and not market it as a tool for evangelism? You bring in believers (sure non believers can come in if they wish) but you strengthen each other and preach, teach and train others to grow in holiness and send them into there jobs, homes, schools to reach a dying world and come back and do it again each blessed Sunday.
Which one are you?
To Presup or not?
I am trying in my own study to decide which perspective of Evangelism is more beneficial. I think most people will agree it depends on the situation but I believe when you formulate a conviction than you will approach a conversation with that conviction. So here is the question I want to ask others what they think. Do we evangelise with Presuppositional apologetics or not? If you are not sure what this is please read on...
(carm.org)
This form of Christian apologetics deals with Presupposition's. A Christian Presuppositionalist presupposes God's existence and argues from that perspective to show the validity of Christian theism. This position also presupposes the truth of the Christian Scriptures and relies on the validity and power of the gospel to change lives (Rom. 1:16). From the scriptures, we see that the unbeliever is sinful in his mind (Rom. 1:18-32) and unable to understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14). This means that no matter how convincing the evidence or good the logic, an unbeliever cannot come to the faith because his fallen nature will distort how he perceives the truth. The only thing that can ultimately change him is regeneration. To this end, the presuppositionalist seeks to change a person's presuppositions to be in conformity with biblical revelation.
I have found that a person's presuppositions are extremely important when discussing God and the validity of Christianity. I always ask diagnostic questions to find out where a person is philosophically and presuppositionally so I might better discuss Christianity. This is a very important point to focus on because one's presuppositions will govern how one interprets facts. Please consider the following dialogue as a realistic example of how this works.
Allen: I am an atheist and evolutionist. Prove to me there is a God.
Paul: I do not think I can do that, because of your presuppositions.
Allen: Why not?
Paul: Because your presuppositions will not allow you to examine without bias the evidence that I present to you for God's existence.
Allen: That is because there is no evidence for God's existence.
Paul: See? There you go. You just confirmed what I was stating.
Allen: How so?
Paul: Your presupposition is that there is no God; therefore, no matter what I might present to you to show His existence, you must interpret it in a manner consistent with your presupposition: namely, that there is no God. If I were to have a video tape of God coming down from heaven, you'd say it was a special effect. If I had a thousand eye-witnesses saying they saw Him, you'd say it was mass-hysteria. If I had Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in the New Testament, you'd say they were forged, dated incorrectly, or not real prophecies. So, I cannot prove anything to you since your presupposition won't allow it. It is limited.
Allen: It is not limited.
Paul: Yes it is. Your presupposition cannot allow you to rightly determine God's existence from evidence -- providing that there were factual proofs of His existence. Don't you see? If I DID have incontrovertible proof, your presupposition would force you to interpret the facts consistently with your presupposition and you would not be able to see the proof.
Allen: I see your point, but I am open to being persuaded, if you can.
Paul: Then, I must ask you, what kind of evidence would you accept that would prove God's existence? I must see what your presuppositions are and work either with them or against them.
Presuppositional apologetics differs from Classical apologetics "in that presuppositional apologetics rejects the validity of traditional proofs for the existence of God." A pure presuppositionalist tackles the worldview of a person and seeks to change the very foundation of how a person perceives facts.
Adherents to this position have been Cornelius Van Til, Abraham Kuyper, Greg Bahnsen, John Frame, etc.
(End Quote)
Now the non Presuppositionalist will attempt to spend some time on proving the existence of God and debate evolution, polytheism, etc.
Now the two sides of the coin for me would be someone like Mark Spence (The Dean of the School of Biblical Evangelism) says that he is not a presup and that he finds that the Holy Spirit's job is to convict the world of sin, judgment and righteousness. The longer he is off track on trying to convince someone of God without "presupposing" God the less work is being done on conviction with the power of God.
On the other side we have someone like James White who quotes (and debates) people like Richard Dawkins, and other militant atheist and he says that it is impossible in today's climate not to be a Presuppositionalist in evangelism.
Now I know we can have both, I know we need a good mixture but what do you think is the best way to go about it? Do we spend much time on apologetics to boost our credibility and than use the law and the cross to share the gospel. Or do we use little apologetics and preach the gospel regardless of there opinion??
Top Events of 08'
Today I was encouraged by a brother in the Lord to write my top events of 2008 and as I pondered the thoughts I was overwhelmed with all God has done for me and my family for His glory in 2008. I just don't know where to start but here is a top ten although this list is MUCH longer...
10. My first drink of Coffee. MMMMMMM Jk. This is number 10.
9. Answered prayer.
8. Getting a more solid foundation for our family devotion.
7. Meeting John Macarthur (thanks to my wife).
6. Getting a phone call from Ray Comfort at work (thanks to my wife).
5. A brother in the Lord who happens to be in a Pastoral roll and seeing the wonder of expository preaching and the importance of Biblical Theology. You have grown so much.
4. Following our convictions and finding Mt Morris Community Church.
3. Our daughter Grace having her first positive heart exam in her short 4 years of life.
2. The son my wife gave me Joshua Benjamin Morris.
1. The amazing ability my wife has at handling Me and the kids. The amount of Grace that God has given her and the fact she is still sane and seeking to be even more godly is just amazing. Babe, I stand in awe of all that you do. Thank you!
With all that said I just am a blessed man and God has been so good to me and my family. I thank Him for answering pray in the life of Jeff and Kari with the birth of Payton. I thank God for letting us meet the Norris Family, I thank God for our Pastor and His wife being so instrumental, I thank God for all that New Creation did for us, I thank God for the growth I see in our children, I thank God for my Job and all the owners have done to press on, the growth my mom has shown in the past few months, and there is so much more.
Thank you Lord for this past year.
Even a home appliance can preach.
I know it is a crazy title but let me explain....
But before I do that I want to just say that this year I want to make a point of sharing more of my witnessing encounters. I want to share audio, video and just stories of sharing the gospel. I have prayed about because I did not want to loose my reward or sound a trumpet. At the same time I recognize in my own life that it was real life stories, encounters, audio and video that got me out of the pulpit and into the work. So as I share don't think I am trying to draw attention to me. Trust me, without the work of God and the power of the Holy Spirit as well as redemption in Christ I am nothing. In fact I just Carry the message, I did not make the message and I don't give the message any power. God does all of that. So these are not primary stories about me but about God. Gods work in my life, Gods work in the message, Gods work in the hearer. We all just sit back and watch Him.
So let me explain the title. We have a oil furnace. Kind of old but works great. The only problem is you have to watch it like a gas gauge and see how much you have left. Well once this year it broke down and I had a repair man come out. I shared the Gospel with him and it was such a wonderful conversation. He got a copy of Herman who, available at wreteched radio and we talked for nearly and hour as he described never hearing anything like what I shared and how we can know the Bible is true. Well soon after it was on E before I expected. This happened last Saturday. I just thought about checking it and was just shocked it went so quick. Either way I called Marathon Oil and asked them if they could come out today. They said that they are booked but would try and if they did not make it out today than they could not come out until Monday. Well I know that we would be out of oil by than. So we prayed God would do His will. If they did not come out well we praised God we have home heaters to plug in the wall. That day was a new year for us and I prayed that as God brought people around me that it would be divine intervention and I would pray for those situations more. So I prayed that if God could do it, He would send someone out today and it would be the person He wanted to hear the gospel.
Not even 30 minutes after praying that prayer my wife gets a call as we were walking out the door to go to the store and it was a driver looking for our address. She thanked him and told him he was an answered prayer and blessing than gave him our address and hung up.
She left for the store and he showed up. His name was Mark and he was a pretty tough looking dude. I walked out there and gave him the money he needed and because I am nice I gave him and extra million dollar bill. He said that he appreciated the tip and he asked me if we were Christians. I said yes and that we prayed God would lead the right person to us. He said that he has not been in church for a while and he could tell we were Christians by my wife's attitude on the phone. He said that the day before he prayed that God would help him be more committed to Him and the reading of the word.
Seeing and opportunity I asked Mark if he died today would he go to heaven? He said that he would and so I asked if he thought he was a good person. At that point he was confused but agreed that he was. So seeing a conflicting self diagnoses, mainly that Gods saves sinners and those that are not good, he was given the law and then the gospel. I must say that he knew many of the words before I could even say them. But what made the difference is the term legal transaction. I know we have heard that a lot lately but it made him silent. I told him that God can "legally" let him go now on judgment day based on the work of Jesus Christ. It all clicked. I saw the light go on and than my next words where to Mark that if he died today that he would go to hell if he trust in his goodness as the foundation for his admittance into heaven but that is not Gods will. He paid your fine in His life's blood and what you must do is repent and trust in Christ not just believe. He shook his head yes and said that made so much sense (Truth does).
I asked him how long has it been since he read his Bible. He said he did not even want to tell me. So than I asked him what if his wife wrote him a love letter on the way out the door and she said she poured her heart out in it and has everything she wants to say to him in it. Then she called you at lunch and you were eating with your friends at a restaurant and watching a game on TV and you told her that you did not have time. What would her reaction be? He agreed she would be very upset. So I asked him how God must feel about his lack of attention to Gods 66 love letters to him. He said, "I know what I am doing tonight". I asked what, he said going to church and reading my Bible. Needless to say that even when I was bummed that the heat went so quick. God gave us money to pay for it, sent someone the same day, and was glorified in the proclamation of the Gospel. Home Appliance's preach! I am breaking my fridge tonight!!!!!
Pray for Mark.
If you are struggling with reading your Bible than check out The New Testament Project Here.
It's been a bit
Sorry to the bloggers. It has been a bit since I posted. We have had a house of sick kids and parents since the new year. But we are all well at this point.
Looking to 09 I am so excited. We plan on taking on some challenges this year that are all new. The New Testament Project was one that we are getting of the ground but look forward to the development of the site and more important, the blessing that comes from the text. For evangelism it will be a new year for our family and fellow brothers that will join us or have been with us before. With a new church means a new area to make an impact in. So we will be putting together our schedule and posted it here and I am sure it will be on sobeitLord.blogspot.com! So we are looking for areas to open air and pass out tracts in the Mt Morris area. If you know of high traffic areas and/or fairs, community events, whatever would give us open ears. We will also be doing more of the things we did last year near our work in Pontiac. Either way if you are interested in joining us this year or know some spots that would be of interest....please let me know so we can be prepared.
Thanks and God bless,
Looking to 09 I am so excited. We plan on taking on some challenges this year that are all new. The New Testament Project was one that we are getting of the ground but look forward to the development of the site and more important, the blessing that comes from the text. For evangelism it will be a new year for our family and fellow brothers that will join us or have been with us before. With a new church means a new area to make an impact in. So we will be putting together our schedule and posted it here and I am sure it will be on sobeitLord.blogspot.com! So we are looking for areas to open air and pass out tracts in the Mt Morris area. If you know of high traffic areas and/or fairs, community events, whatever would give us open ears. We will also be doing more of the things we did last year near our work in Pontiac. Either way if you are interested in joining us this year or know some spots that would be of interest....please let me know so we can be prepared.
Thanks and God bless,
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)