False Doctrine

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." 2 Timothy 4:3-4

"Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." Romans 1:21-25

"People are obsessed with programs today. The latest gimmick, method, fad, trend, cultural anomaly seems to govern the thinking of most church leaders in how they structure their church services and do ministry. Christian market researchers have made the audience sovereign and not honored God and His Word as the only true Sovereign in ministry.

The new hermeneutic of the trendy reformed champion this paradigm: interpret Scripture through the lens of culture. Whether they are seeker-friendly; emerging; emergent; grunge; edgy; culturally contextualized; missional, blah-blah-blah-etc. - it's really all the same... a man-centered means to doing divine ministry.

They simply have forgotten the words of our Lord Jesus Christ when He said, "I will build My church..." He is not only the chief cornerstone and the head of the church; He IS its divine builder and architect. And in so doing, our Lord has given us all the privilege to be about this ministry of reconciliation. Proclaiming His gospel to all; calling all men everywhere to repent of their sins; to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him; and believe solely on the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. Oh what a joy to serve the Lord... isn't it? And lest we forget, this ministry of reconciliation (compelling others to be reconciled to God and to flee the wrath to come) is not about healing race relations, ministering to the poor, or carrying for people with AIDS. Though those are things that we should be involved in as a way to love our neighbor - the ministry of reconciliation is one thing: the proclamation of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ!

So why don't more churches simply be about the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the proclamation of His Word, equipping the saints for the work of the ministry, biblical worship and evangelism? Because they are dominated by the times in which they live. Relevance and Pragmatics are the two voices of our postmodern culture that are the dominating voices in any local church pastors meeting.

May I encourage you to pray for your church and pastors today. Pray that they would be men of the truth and not of the times; pray that they would preach the Word in season and out of season; pray that they would fulfill their ministry and do the work of an evangelist. And lastly, pray that the one burning question that they would ask of themselves each week is not: how can we better relate to our people and draw bigger crowds? BUT, how can we bring more glory to God and further exalt the Lord Jesus Christ through the power and ministry of the Holy Spirit according to His Word?

I trust this short Spurgeon illustration below will help to focus our thoughts on what is truly important. It's the gospel...

Think biblically - not culturally!"

2 Cor. 4:5-7

written by Steve Camp

"And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. 'And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.' But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil." 1 Peter 3:13-17

Answer: "Does God exist? I find it interesting that so much attention is given to this debate. The latest surveys tell us that over 90% of people in the world today believe in the existence of God or some higher power. Yet, somehow the responsibility is placed on those who believe God does exist to somehow prove that He really does exist. To me, I think it should be the other way around.

However, the existence of God cannot be proven or disproved. The Bible even says that we must accept by faith the fact that God exists, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). If God so desired, He could simply appear and prove to the whole world that He exists. But if He did that, there would be no need for faith. "Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed'” (John 20:29).

That does not mean, however, that there is not evidence of God’s existence. The Bible declares, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4). Looking at the stars, understanding the vastness of the universe, observing the wonders of nature, seeing the beauty of a sunset – all of these things point to a Creator God. If these were not enough, there is also evidence of God in our own hearts. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us, “…He has also set eternity in the hearts of men…” There is something deep down in our beings that recognizes that there is something beyond this life and someone beyond this world. We can deny this knowledge intellectually, but God’s presence in us and through us is still there. Despite all of this, the Bible warns us that some will still deny God’s existence, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1). Since over 98% of people throughout history, in all cultures, in all civilizations, on all continents believe in the existence of some kind of God – there must be something (or someone) causing this belief.

In addition to the Biblical arguments for God’s existence, there are logical arguments. First, there is the ontological argument. The most popular form of the ontological argument basically uses the concept of God to prove God’s existence. It begins with the definition of God as “that than which no greater can be conceived.” It is then argued that to exist is greater than to not exist, and therefore the greatest conceivable being must exist. If God did not exist then God would not be the greatest conceivable being - but that would contradict God's very definition. A second is the teleological argument. The teleological argument is that since the universe displays such an amazing design, there must have been a Divine designer. For example, if earth were even a few hundred miles closer or further away from the sun, it would not be capable of supporting much of the life it currently does. If the elements in our atmosphere were even a few percentage points different, every living thing on earth would die. The odds of a single protein molecule forming by chance is 1 in 10243 (that is a 10 followed by 243 0’s). A single cell is comprised of millions of protein molecules.

A third logical argument for God’s existence is called the cosmological argument. Every effect must have a cause. This universe and everything in it is an effect. There must be something that caused everything to come into existence. Ultimately, there must be something “un-caused” in order to cause everything else to come into existence. That “un-caused” something is God. A fourth argument is known as the moral argument. Every culture throughout history has had some form of law. Everyone has a sense of right and wrong. Murder, lying, stealing, and immorality are almost universally rejected. Where did this sense of right and wrong come from if not from a holy God?

Despite all of this, the Bible tells us that people will reject the clear and undeniable knowledge of God and instead believe a lie. Romans 1:25 declares, “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen.” The Bible also proclaims that people are without excuse for not believing in God, “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

People claim to not believe in God because it is “not scientific” or “because there is no proof.” The true reason is that once people admit that there is a God, they also must realize that they are responsible to God and in need of forgiveness from God (Romans 3:23; 6:23). If God exists, then we are accountable for our actions to Him. If God does not exist, then we can do whatever we want without having to worry about God judging us. I believe that is why evolution is so strongly clung to by many in our society - to give people an alternative to believing in a Creator God. God exists and ultimately everyone knows that He exists. The very fact that some attempt so aggressively to disprove His existence is in fact an argument for His existence.

Allow me one last argument for God’s existence. How do I know God exists? I know God exists because I speak to Him every day. I do not audibly hear Him speaking back to me, but I sense His presence, I feel His leading, I know His love, I desire His grace. Things have occurred in my life that have no other possible explanation other than God. God has so miraculously saved me and changed my life that I cannot help but to acknowledge and praise His existence. None of these arguments in and of themselves can persuade anyone who refuses to acknowledge what is so plainly clear. In the end, God’s existence must be accepted by faith (Hebrews 11:6). Faith in God is not a blind leap into the dark, it is safe step into a well-lit room where 90% of people are already standing."

Atheist-turned-Christian Lee Strobel, the former award-winning legal editor of The Chicago Tribune, is a New York Times best-selling author of nearly twenty books and has been interviewed on numerous national television programs, including ABC’s 20/20, Fox News, and CNN.

Described by the Washington Post as “one of the evangelical community’s most popular apologists,” Lee shared the prestigious Charles “Kip” Jordon Christian Book of the Year award in 2005 for a curriculum he co-authored about the movie The Passion of the Christ. He also has won awards for his books The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, The Case for a Creator, and Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary.

Q. "I know several people who have never known or heard about God, let alone Jesus, for most of their lives, and they say that life's been great without him. They don't need him. What made you want to believe or to seek the truth? What made you humble yourself and say, 'I need and want to have a relationship with God'"?

A. "When I was an atheist, I didn't see any need for God either. I was a successful journalist at the Chicago Tribune, my first book had just been published, and I had no interest or desire to find out anything about Jesus. I was happy enough without faith.

What changed? Basically, I came to realize that if Christianity is true, then there was no way I could rescue myself from an eternity in hell. If the New Testament is accurate, then my wrongdoing had separated me from God and the only way I could be reconciled with him would be through receiving the freely offered gift of forgiveness that’s available through Christ. Of course, the operative word is "if."

To find out whether Christianity is based on mythology, wishful thinking, or make-believe, I launched into a nearly two-year investigation of the evidence for Jesus of Nazareth. I focused on the issue of whether he had risen from the dead. If he had, that was good evidence that he was telling the truth when he claimed to be the unique Son of God. And eventually, I discovered that there’s abundant historical evidence supporting the resurrection, as I set forth in my book The Case for Christ.

In short, I didn’t become a Christian because God promised I would have an even happier life than I had as an atheist. He never promised any such thing. Indeed, following him would inevitably bring divine demotions in the eyes of the world.

Rather, I became a Christian because the evidence was so compelling that Jesus really is the one-and-only Son of God who proved his divinity by rising from the dead. That meant following him was the most rational and logical step I could possibly take."

Jesus Loves You Too ®

"Fear not: I am the first and the last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen." Revelation 1:17b-18a

Bring Nothing to the Spiritually Starving Except the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ