The Rise of Expository Preaching

In the place of sound verse by verse expository preaching has come a montage of topical sermons. Topical sermons aren't bad, they just get worn out because topics are limited.  Their greatest deficiency is when large portions of rich Scriptural texts are inevitably passed over, sometimes on purpose.  Even moreso, many of these topical sermons have become ineffective because they have turned from merely topical to altogether superficial.  It's one thing to preach on the issue of debt on a given Lord's Day (which is badly needed), yet it is another thing to talk endlessly about money and how God is going to give you a boatload of it.

In spite of all the bad topical sermons and even an overabundance of good ones, there has been a return in orthodox circles to sound verse by verse expository preaching.  Expository sermons, when crafted and delivered well, have tremendous impact because they bring full exposure to the Word of God. Each section is read and preached through carefully, which reduces the amount of eisegesis (a reading into the text what is not there).  This takes extensive time and effort, yet its fruit is far more plentiful.

Expository preaching also protects the pastor from false charges, and, likewise, it keeps the pastor from maliciously directing sermons towards any given person.  Because the expositor is preaching through a large text (perhaps a book of Scripture), everyone knows what the next sermon will be about, so accusations to embarrass a particular sheep from the pulpit will generally reduce and/or go unfounded. In the same way, if someone has a beef against the pastor before the sermon, an effort by the pastor to attack individuals personally from the pulpit will be prevented because that is not part of the expected sermon.

Therefore, let us preach expositorily for the betterment of both the Church and its pastor.

Liberty to Worship God

There is much talk of liberty these days amidst endless litigation, extensive regulation, and high taxation. However, even if one has greater liberty in all of these areas, slavery to sin is still the main issue. To be free from the power of sin to worship the living God is the greatest liberty of all, for sin brings an infinitely greater magnitude of burden than lawsuits, regulation, and taxation combined.

Man was created to worship God, yet He exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever, Amen. He rejected true liberty and enslaved himself to sin. Nevertheless, where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, for Christ atoned for the sins of His sheep as the Good Shepherd. 

Therefore, repent you wicked sinner, and turn to Christ placing of all your faith in Him, for He alone is the Living Hope that we desperately need.  He alone sets men free from their bondage of slavery to sin to worship the One True and Living God. 

It is a terrifying the thing to fall into the hands of the Living God, yet it is sweet joy when empowered to worship Him and not the vain trifles of this passing world of sin, disdain, and death.

To Him be the glory! Amen!

Right In His Own Eyes

The end of Judges proclaims that there was no king in Israel and that every man did what was right in his own eyes. This is moral relativism; it is an old philosophy that corrupts. Lawlessness results because no standard of law is enforced. Truly, any society without a basis for law will turn into this. The only solution is tyranny or basing law on Biblical principles. Man often chooses tyranny over Scripture because he wants autonomy apart from God. Sadly, magnifies man's hatred and contempt for God. Might we repent instead.

Politics: Nothing New Under The Sun

We tend to complain or even become apathetic about politics because of all the 'corruption', but there is nothing new under the sun. As bad as it is, tyranny of the elite has become the norm for six thousand years. Man is inherently sinful, so he will seize power, and use it to his advantage. For this reason, America was started as a nation that recognized man's lust for power. However, the system will continue to degrade the more America leaves her basis for justice: a Judeo-Christian ethic. We will soon find out that direction. Even so, our God is sovereign, and nothing comes to pass apart from his decree. We rest in that as Christians.

Decades of Abortion

Abortion has been legal in America for almost 40 years. This is a testament to the depravity of our society. We are ruthless with the unborn yet lenient upon the most hardened of criminals. Why then are we not surprised when God does not bless us? Truly, our current financial meltdown is only the tip of an imposing iceberg.

In The News: Oil Pipeline

There has been much debate over a pipeline that could create jobs and improve America's energy independence. However, it has far reaching political implications, so it has stalled out because of radical environmentalism. As Christians, we are called to good stewardship, but that does not mean that we cannot develop and use the world that God has given us.

In the News: The President--He's Not Our Savoior

The upcoming primary and general election has brought a key question back to the forefront.  What are we looking for in a president?  That is an important question, but, in this blog, I would like to address another question that often goes overlooked.  What are we not looking for in a president?

Anyone that runs for public office is fallen and has baggage.  Even the best Christian representative is still in need of the grace and mercy of God.  We must take that into account when we elect our officials; if we don't, then we are only setting ourselves up for disappointment and future apathy.  No man will ever be perfect this side of death, and so we must not see any candidate as our potential Savior. 

A politician is not our Messiah.  He must govern with a righteous attitude, but he is not the King of kings and LORD of Lords.  Only Christ is our Savior. He alone washes away sin. He alone laid down His life for His sheep who were enemies of God.  No one else can do that. 

Therefore, when we vote, we must consider what an official must possess, but we must also know who he is not.

The King of Glory May Come In!

Christ is the King of Glory! He is the One Who has clean hands and a pure heart. He is the Suffering Servant who laid down His life for His sheep.

No other was capable of atoning for the sins of sinners, so let us be thankful that the LORD strong and mighty died upon a cross to set men free.  May we never take for granted the burden that Christ lifted from His people: their sins.

Self-Sufficiency And Being Home

Besides disciplined budgeting practices, self-sufficiency is a critical attribute if you want to be able to spend more time with your family.  Most people in America work extensively outside of the home to support a lifestyle at the expense of family (which often times isn't as joyous as it is advertised), and/or they are incapable of doing things themselves.  Even large complex tasks are simple tasks strung together, though meticulous at times. 

You may think, "Well, I can make more money at work and just pay someone else to do it faster than I can, which means I will save money because time is money."  However, that kind of thinking is the reason you have to spend so much time at work and away from family to begin with.  As a society, we are pegged into one or a small handful of skill sets will results in slavery to the 'experts', which are, ironically, just like you.  They too are pegged into a small handful of skill sets.

How does one begin to become more self-sufficient like the patriarchs found in Scripture?

1) Start taking on small tasks yourself.  If you don't take care of your own lawn, then start with that.  Over time, you will become both self-sufficient and efficient, and let your children help out.  They need to learn self-sufficiency themselves.  Do some research on lawn care, home improvement, mechanics, gardening, sewing, etc., and ease into it.  If you try to do too much at one time, you'll get burned out and frustrated. 

2) Don't let the 'experts' tell you that you can't do it; they say that because they don't want you to realize that you don't need them.  You may make some mistakes along the way, but most of these experts are just faster than you because they do these tasks every day.  Read some books, watch some videos (YouTube is a great start), and learn to think yourself out of a jam by being creative. In time, you will be just as fast or even faster than they are.  The difference is that you will not be doing the same thing everyday, and so you won't get burned out like they do.  Moreover, you can enjoy yourself because it is at your pace and no one is looking over your shoulder with a whip.

3) Learn how to cook good meals, and plan inexpensive side items to keep everyone full. Learning to cook is just a skill. Start small, and then progress over time.  Eventually, your meals will taste better and will be healthier than the restaurant you go to on a regular basis.  In time, your desire to eat out as much will be greatly reduced.  This will also increase your hospitality skills when cooking for several families at a time.

Following some of these basic principles take discipline, and it's not always easy to start out with, but it can be done. We do it everyday. I love my family, and I'd rather be with them than at work. Eventually, I'll be financially independent and self-sufficient enough to be with them instead of being reduced to a 'human resource' at work.

Hide God's Word In Your Heart

We are commanded to hide God's Word in our hearts that we may not sin against Him, so we rightly conclude that Scripture memory is a vital discipline of the Christian life, yet many overlook or dismiss this as 'legalistic'.  However, it should come as no surprise that a nation which lacks godliness does little Scripture memory.

How then does Scripture memory affect the heart and mind?

Memorizing the Scripture gives you the ability to chew on the Bible regularly because it is so close to the heart and mind.  You then cannot help but meditate on it, and, when temptation comes, you are far more capable of fighting against the world, the flesh, and the Devil.

Regular Scripture memory also reduces misquoting and vague generalizations.  Furthermore, I encourage Christians to memorize several passages in context so as to reduce taking verses out of context, which is a regular occurrence.  The more text that is memorized in context, the greater the impact as well. Not only is more of it being learned, but the scope of the larger theme is being understood along with is application.

Finally, as we memorize God's Word, it becomes more and more of our general vocabulary and conversation.  For example, the statement I made previously about the world, the flesh, and the Devil is from a collection of passages that speak of the spiritual warfare that we face from each of these foes.  Though different passages speak of these enemies independently, we see a common vein throughout the Bible, which allows us to make a doctrinal affirmation about them as a whole.

Therefore, what are you memorizing, and what are you encouraging your family to memorize?

Liberty To Raise Your Children: Fight For It!

Today, the religious elite in the Church of Nanny Statism has enacted a massive amount of legislation that is incredibly intrusive in all facets of life, especially in the raising of children.  These institutional churches are everywhere, and their priests are as the sand of the sea. They want nothing more than the heart, mind, soul, and strength of your child. 

Where are they?  They are everywhere.  You can run, but you can't hide. 

These churches are government schools, and her priests are the educators and administrators.  You will find them in urban centers and in the far reaches of America's grasslands, farms, and mountains.  Now you are sorely afraid, and you should be.  These statists will go to great lengths to set their will against the family like spending about $8,000/child each year to pay their priests and maintain this massively expensive infrastructure.

However, you must fight for your children, and you can begin by taking them out of government education. Join the mass exodus and raise your child with the liberty that God gave you.  Raise them in truth and righteousness instead of in the gang and drug infested cesspools that we call public schools.  There will be sacrifice and you will have to give up a times of leisure, but the sacrifice is worth it.  God has given you the ability and resource, His Word, to raise your children and educate them yourself. 

Praise Him, for He is The God of Liberty that entrusts families to raise children and not priests of the state. He is the Creator and knows the best means to raise children, and that is via Mom and Dad under the instruction of God's Word.

Children & Voting

As time goes on, the far left inevitable loses voters, so they must steal the minds of our children. Their worldview self-destructs because many on the far left have few or no children by choice.  In contrast, those on the right have children, and if not biologically they adopt.  This causes great consternation to the left because the absurdity of their worldview is put on display every time a child is born.

Though times appear to be going stagnant for years to come, God always preserves a remnant, and that remnant has children. We do not have children to influence elections, but a large number of godly children who grow into adulthood inevitably affect society.

Let us therefore raise children to the glory of God that He might be made known in our society. So remember, the next time that you are ridiculed for having children, especially a lot of them, point out that our worldview is not the one the rocks because it is built on The Rock, He Who is LORD of lords and King of kings! Amen!

To Him be the glory!

Integrity & The Lack Thereof In America

George Washington along with many Christians prized integrity for several centuries in both colonial and republican (our cconstitutional rrepublic) America.  That does not need mean that these men were perfect nor does it mean that America is without blemish, for she has many.  However, when someone took an oath or vow in which integrity was on the line, it was serious because that vow or oath was in the name of The God of the Bible. They were not made rashly, and they were not made on unBiblical grounds. 

However, integrity is an after thought today. Why?

As America has left its Christian base, its moral compass has been abandoned for relativism and situational ethics.  For this reason, integrity means very little to most people, and the results are enormous.  Not only does this affect the court system in cases of perjury, but it affects everyday life, especially marriage.  American citizenry looks for ways out of honesty instead of binding its conscience to that which is honorable.  Ironically, to be honorable today is to be outdated and old-fashioned. 

How shall we then live?

As Christians, we are held to a higher standard no matter the era or culture we live in.  We must not let the wiles of the world, the flesh, and the Devil deter us from that which good, loving, holy, and just.  We are to honor parents, spouses, etc., and we must do this with great fervor in the realm of integrity. 

Therefore, let us walk in Biblical honesty and be circumcised of heart that our praise maycome from God and not merely men from religiosity and a culture that is steeped in dishonesty.

Government Education: Can't Reclaim What Was Never Ours

K-12 Public School is most definitely not something we ought to spend time 'reclaiming'; it was never ours to begin with.  Compulsory public education has always worshipped according the the religion of statism.  Simply put, the state is the provider and protector in all areas of life.  It is especially suited for a people who are controlled by a socialist mentality. 

I realize that many Christians have tried to even use it as a mission field, but when most children come out agnostics or practical atheists, this should sound the alarm.  Public school is not a mission field, it is a mine field.  Furthermore, those teachers and admnistraters who try to bring the gospel either get fired or lose their saltiness. 

There is a better way: homeschool.

In The News: Republican Presidential Nomination

The race for the Republican Presidential Nomination has begun to cast its first votes.  How should we think about politics as a Christian?

We are blessed to live in a society where we have a vote, which means that we can choose our officials.  However, a majority is required to elect the best candidates.  Often times, the best candidate is not elected, but that does not mean we cannot force critical issues like abortion, out of control debt, etc. into the political fray.

Ultimately, we are held accountable for how we vote by the Almighty.  He is sovereign over all things, and nothing occurs without his decree.  For this reason, we ought not panic when things go array.  We are not held responsible for the results, but we are held responsible for the stewardship that we have been given, whether voting or our own personal finances.

Defining Worldview

Worldview has been defined in numerous ways, yet it usually encapsulates both thought (known or unknown) and action.  It can be simply defined as that body of beliefs (known or unknown) that one treasures and applies to life.  I use the term treasure because where your treasure is, there your heart lies. I say known or unknown because there some things that we acknowledge as part of our belief system and other things that are there but that we may suppress or be ignorant of.  Furthermore, what your heart treasures will be expressed in thought, deed, and word.  This is to imply that whatever a man treasures as his system of belief will then be intrepeted and applied to all of life according to these respective principles which he then proclaims and lives out.

No one is without a worldview, which means that no one is unbiased.  Bias is not always negative, but it is there.  For example, a judge that treasures life will not be very lenient on a convicted murderer.  Likewise, a NAZI will see no problem murdering Jews becuase his worldview rejoices in it.  Bias is important to point out because many people believe that they are or can be unbiased.  However, this is an impossible position because everyone sees the world through some type of lens.  This affects everything from how one understands knowledge to why one justifies behavior, and it is magnfied in education, religion, and politics.

Theology & Apologetics: Understanding the Relationship

 

Van Til makes an excellent case for how Theology and Apologetics are often divorced because theology is understood as faith while apologetics is associated with reason.  He argues that this is problematic because it inevitably elevates reason and makes it the highest mental standard, which is idolatry. 

What should our approach then be?

Instead of divorcing theology and apologetics, both should come out of the text of Scripture.  Furthermore, a correct understanding of the body of doctrine that comes out of Scripture, which gives us the fundamental framework of the Biblical worldview, is best defended when our defense, or apologetic, is framed by that doctrine.

It is true that the apologist, like the philosopher, geologist, etc. may not exhaustively use Biblical terms to communicate, but he should be operating from a Biblical worldview because it is the Biblical worldview alone that makes any field understandable.  Reason does not make the different fields of life and study understandable because reason itself is dependent upon the Biblical Worldview as the only basis for intelligibility.  A remarriage must occur.

As we intertwine apologetics and theology, we must use the most Biblical theology that best exegetes the text, which was best systematized by Calvin, Luther, and others during the Reformation.  It is from these doctrines that we gain an acute insight into the nature of man and God.  If we dismiss these doctrines, then our assumptions about man and God will be wrong, which will then negate what we are trying to defend or apologia.  A Reformed understanding of God and man meets this challenge and propels us in the right direction apologetically.

Truly, man is dead in trespasses and sin.  He is wicked and hates God by his very nature; his reason is bound to suppress the truth in unrighteousness.  Therefore, if we elevate reason as the standard to judge the Bible, then we have already lost the war before we have begun the first battle.  By his fallen reason, man will always judge God to be wrong, which is why we must defend and proclaim the gospel as an entire worldview and expose the emptiness of the sinner’s worldview. In this, the unbeliever is called to repent and abandon his worldview because it is fruitless and substantiates nothing. 

We are calling sinful man to repent of what he already knows is true; he is in rebellion and needs a Savior.   The unbeliever possesses generally revealed truth because Scripture tells us that God is made evident in creation and that man suppresses this truth in unrighteousness, so he is culpable and without excuse or without apologia (which would be a direct translation).  We are not convincing him of what he already knows but rather confronting him with what he denies.  God is commanding him to repent of what he is suppressing. This moves the playing field from probability to certainty.  God is not a strong hypothetical probable; rather, He is the absolutely suppressed certain.  Exalting reason makes God probable at best, but our theology informs us that God is certain as man is explained to be suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.  Man does not use his reason to be a conscientious objector of the truth; rather, he uses his reason to suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

Granting man reason without forcing him to substantiate said reason to begin with grants him what he wants: the authority to deny his responsibility to repent and submit to Him Who created him and Who demands his obedience and worship.  We must not grant the unbeliever anything he cannot account for when starting from himself, which is nothing.

This is what Paul did in Acts.  He commanded men to repent of their sin and suppressed knowledge of God, but he does not leave them hopeless. On the contrary, he then delivers further revelation of God in Christ.  They knew they had rebelled against a Holy God as their consciences bore witness against them (Rom 2), yet they needed special revelation to know on Whom to Believe.  Paul gave a proclamation of what men must do, and he did so from within and not from without of the Biblical worldview.  He exposed what these men already knew they were suppressing concerning the God of Creation, and he then charged them to believe on Him Who is the only One Who can save them from their miserable fallen condition.

Paul did not try to convince sinners of the Biblical God by appealing to their reason. Instead, he used their ingrained knowledge of God that is suppressed to expose them and call them to repentance.  This is very powerful, yet it is often overlooked because we have bought into the fallacious philosophy that man can establish truth apart from God.  For this reason, we use various evidences to make a case for God and then try to let the unbeliever's reason be the judge.  That is, God and His Word are put on the stand, and human reason is the judge, which is idolatry.  Furthermore, man, in his bent against God (including his reason), will always attempt some vain rescuing device.  Exposing his ability to account for anything, even his ability to argue anything, eliminates his rescuing devices and leaves him naked and ashamed. He will either repent or continue to mock God with ad hominem attacks (unsubstantiated character attacks like those used at the charade we call the trial of Christ) in spite of his exposed nakedness.

God has already revealed Himself, so man is on trial, and he must make his case, yet he cannot even argue with and against God without stealing from the very God that He hates, for only God Himself is the fountainhead of knowledge, logic, reason, ethics, etc.  Apart from Him, one cannot even argue against Him.  It is in this exposing of man's suppression of the truth in unrighteousness, which he already knows, that charges him to repent and believe on Christ for salvation.  This is the gospel message by which the Holy Spirit works. 

Apologetics is then not some vain attempt to convince the unbeliever to at least believe there is a God.  On the contrary, it is an evangelistic proclamation and defense of the Biblical worldview against all other worldviews; it commands men to repent and put all their faith in Christ for eternal life.  God is not presented as a hopeful possibility; on the contrary, the Biblical worldview is a train wreck that smashes into the idols of the unbeliever and crushes his puny excuses and pathetic rescuing devices in a vain attempt to reject a Holy Almighty God! Amen!

Indoctrination

My wife and I viewed an incredible documentary exposing the sham that is government education. It is entitled Indoctrination, and nothing could nail it on the head more than that.  The religion of atheist socialist statism is its doctrine, and its administrators and educators are the high priests, whether they realize it or not. 

The director's use of sound research and comedic parody is insightful and impacting.  I highly recommend this video to everyone to own and distribute, especially to those who desire to see their child raised n the fear and admonition of the LORD.  We need to continue to implement a sound and quick exit strategy. 

Government education cannot be recovered because it was never ours to begin with.  Let us pray it finds itself in the ash heap of history.

New Year Scripture Reading

With the beginning of the new calendar year, I especially encourage you to read the Scriptures regularly.  Instead of simply reading through the Bible, meditate on the texts that you are reading throughout the day, and apply them to your life.  Don't just read it and forget it. 

Also, take time to memorize scripture, for this is actually one of the best ways to meditate upon God's Word.  If you know it, you will be far more likely to apply it.  Memorize a whole chapter or several verses in context.  Not only does this prevent interpretation out of context, but it helps in gaining the full picture surrounding the punchline of a text.

To Him be the glory!