Happy Reformation Day!

Most Evangelicals who celebrate Reformation Day do so on October 31, which is the day that Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenburg in 1517. The debate that ensued led to a full outbreak of reformation and to Luther's trial at the Diet of Worms in 1521. So, I offer the above video as a reminder of this important occasion in the history of the Church. The clip is taken from the excellent 1953 film, Martin Luther, in which Luther was wonderfully portrayed by Niall MacGinnis. I really like the way the film employs Luther's famous hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God, in the background.

For those who are interested, here is the complete film:

The Simple Gospel

"The Simple Gospel" by my friend Jon J. Cardwell is now on sale at Amazon. I would encourage you to go check it out. It is a book of essays relating to the gospel, person, and work of Jesus Christ.

"Propitiation through Faith," "The Sign of Jonah," "The Shroud of Turin," and the "The Mystery of God" are a few of the many wonderful essays contained within this valuable book. I enjoyed reading them all because I enjoy learning.

As I explained in the foreword, which I happen to have been privileged to write, "The manner in which Jon describes the passion of Christ is the most vivid I think I have ever read. I felt like weeping as I read his description of the utter loneliness, emotional humiliation, and physical agony that Christ endured as He was rejected by men and crushed by God." Any book that brings me closer to my Lord in love and devotion is book I love to recommend. The reason I am posting about this book now is that the eBook is currently only 99 cents. This is too good to pass up. If you buy this book, I don't think you will be disappointed.  

"The Church: Why Bother?" On Sale This Week

The picture pretty much says it all! The Church: Why Bother? eBook is on sale this week only for just 99 cents!

A Biblical View of Self-Image (Teaching Outline)

Introduction: Back in the early 1980's, the popular pastor of the Crystal Cathedral, Robert Schuller, called for a “new reformation” in his book Self-Esteem: The New Reformation. Here are a few of the comments he made in that book:

Self-esteem then, or “pride in being a human being,” is the single greatest need facing the human race today. (p. 19)

It is precisely at this point that classical theology has erred in its insistence that theology be “God-centered,” not “man-centered.” (p. 64)

Once a person believes he is an “unworthy sinner” it is doubtful if he can honestly accept the saving grace God offers in Christ. (pp. 98-99)

The classical error of historical Christianity is that we have never started with the value of the person. Rather, we have started from the “unworthiness of the sinner” and that starting point has set the stage for the glorification of human shame in Christian theology. (p. 162)

Wow! This hardly squares with Biblical teaching! For example, our forefather, Jacob, had no problem at all recognizing that he was unworthy to receive God's grace:

NKJ  Genesis 32:9-10a Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you': 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant ….”

Or what about John the Baptist, who certainly had no problem thinking of himself as unworthy when he spoke thus of Christ:

NKJ  Luke 3:16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Or what about Jesus' Parable of the Lost Son, in which He provides a model of repentance in the wayward son when he comes to his senses and returns to his father:

NKJ  Luke 15:21 And the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

According to Robert Schuller, these men were way off track! But we may easily see that it is actually Schuller himself that is wrong. And he certainly isn't the only one affected by such an unbiblical view concerning the concept of self-esteem. Consider this comment from Bruce Narramore of the Narramore Christian Foundation, which is billed as “Your Resource for Christian Psychology”:

Under the influence of humanistic psychologists like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, many of us Christians have begun to see our need for self-love and self-esteem. (You’re Someone Special, p. 22)

Notice that Narramore concedes that a recognition of this supposed “need for self-love and self-esteem” actually comes from “the influence of humanistic psychologists like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow” rather than from Scripture. Sadly, such thinking has filtered down into many churches and many professing Christians don't realize just how much this mindset has affected them. They have imbibed it slowly from the culture without even realizing it. And this is one of the reasons we need to address this issue on a fairly regular basis. In fact, Gary Gilley, pastor at southern View Chapel in Springfield, Illinois, has stated very well what is at stake here: 

How people think of themselves will to a large degree determine how they will think of others, how they will think of God, how they will obtain and maintain all their relationships, and how they will make decisions. There is no area of life that will not be directly or indirectly affected by the way we view ourselves. (The Biblical View of Self-Image)

This is why it is so important that I periodically address this issue directly, although it is in some sense included in every teaching I give. In dealing with the subject today, I will follow a very basic outline, first considering how we ought not to think of ourselves and then how we ought to think of ourselves. Under these two basic headings, I hope to address in one way or another the primary issues involved.

I. How We Ought Not to Think of Ourselves

The overwhelming emphasis of Scripture regarding self-image is that it ought not be too high. Scripture never assumes that we have too low a view of ourselves but rather consistently assumes the opposite, namely that we all have a problem with sinful pride. For example:

NKJ  Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.

NKJ  Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

NKJ  Proverbs 29:23 A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor.

NKJ  James 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” [Citing Prov. 3:34]

NKJ  1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world-- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-- is not of the Father but is of the world.

But the Apostle Paul gives specific direction to the Church about this as well, and I would like to focus special attention upon a couple of passages from his epistles:

NKJ  Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

In the following verses Paul goes on to address the many spiritual gifts the Lord has given to the various members of the body of Christ in accordance with His grace (vs. 6). So, when he says that we should avoid thinking more highly of ourselves that we ought to think, Paul means that we should never think that we are better than others in the Church, since we have all received faith from God and are all merely recipients of His grace. Yet Paul clearly assumes that we may all be tempted to be prideful, and he tells us the remedy, namely that we should remember that all we have is by God's grace and not due to anything inherent in us.

NKJ  Galatians 6:3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing [μηδείς, mēdeís], he deceives himself.

When I considered this passage many years ago, I wondered what Paul meant when he used the word nothing. Did he mean ... 

1) that we are “nothing” in the sense that we are totally worthless as beings?

2) that we are “nothing” in comparison to God?

3) that we are “nothing” in comparison to what we are deceived into thinking we are?

I suspect Paul has in mind the latter of these three possibilities. He is speaking in the context of the need to bear one another's burdens by helping one who is caught in some sin, and he warns us to be careful lest we too are tempted (read vss. 1-2). You see, if we are not careful, we can start to think that we are better than another who is struggling with some sin that we might not be dealing with ourselves. But a spiritual person (vs. 1) will realize that he too is capable of falling into sin and will be moved by compassion to help his brother rather than look down on him. The point here is really that we should be aware that a prideful attitude toward others in their struggle with sin necessarily means that we are self-deceived. In this sense we are tricked into thinking we are something when we are nothing. We must realize, however, that are no better than anyone else! We are all just sinners saved by grace!

Paul issued a similar warning to the Corinthian church as he did to the Roman and Galatian churches when he put a series of rhetorical questions to them: “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7).

Ant any rate, it is clear that Scripture warns us repeatedly about our tendency toward sinful pride. It assumes that we all have this problem, and it expressly teaches us that we ought no think too highly of ourselves. With this in mind, let's turn now to our next major heading.

II. How We Ought to Think of Ourselves

Here I would like to explain how we ought to think of ourselves, according to Scripture, by addressing three modern concepts communicated by three loaded and interrelated terms brought over primarily from pop psychology. The three concepts are 1) self-worth, 2) self-esteem, and 3) self-love. It is my hope that the Biblical view will become clear through interacting with these concepts on the basis of the Bible's teaching.

1. The Concept of Self-Worth – Is it Biblical? 

Whenever I teach on this issue, I am reminded of what a psychology professor I had in college once said to the class. He was decrying what he saw as a rampant problem in Christians circles, a problem he described as “worm theology.” I think he got this term – “worm theology” – from the old Isaac Watts hymn, “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed?” The first verse of the song originally said:

Alas! and did my Savior bleed,

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For such a worm as I? 

Anyway, in disagreeing with the way in which Christians had commonly spoken and sung about their own unworthiness, this professor essentially said, “God died for us because we are worth so much.” And he went on to say, “Many Christians feel they are not worthy, but we are worthy of God's love.” I remembered so clearly what this professor said because when he said it I nearly had a conniption! But he did highlight the need for making some careful distinctions when we speak of the concept of self-worth. For example:

1) We must distinguish between what we are as God's creatures, created in His image, and what we are as fallen sinners.

2) We must distinguish between having worth because of God's love and being worthy for God's love.

My professor had failed to make such important distinctions, and he ended up making it sound as though we are actually worthy of God's love and that this is why He saves us. We do not wish to make the same mistake, however, so let's take a look at a number of key Scripture passages in order to see the importance of theses distinctions. First, we must understand that we were created in God's image: 

NKJ  Genesis 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Then, however, we were corrupted because of the fall of Adam, which is recorded in Genesis 3. After this the Biblical description of man is quite grim: 

NKJ  Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

But the image of God remained in man, although distorted due to sin. This is clear from what God says to Noah after the flood: 

NKJ  Genesis 9:6 Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.

This is also clear from what James says when speaking of the evil use of the tongue: 

NKJ  James 3:9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude [image] of God.

So, we definitely can say that we have worth as those created in God's image, and that this worth is still real to the degree that His image remains in us after the fall. I think Jesus assumed as much, for example, when He admonished His disciples, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31). Now, we might say based on Jesus' analogy that we aren't worth much, but we cannot say that we are worthless. We all do have value as God's creatures. Indeed, it seems to me that David was asserting what is in some sense still true of all men when he wrote of the greatness of man in Psalm 8:

NKJ  Psalm 8:4-8 What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen-- even the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas.

But, although we all have great worth because we have been created by God, and as Christians we can say that we have great worth because God loves us, we are none of us worthy for His love or salvation. This is why Paul issues this important reminder to the Roman believers:

NKJ  Romans 5:8-10 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

And Paul is also very clear in writing to the Ephesians believers:

NKJ  Ephesians 2:1-5 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) ….

So, when we ask of what we are worthy, the answer must be the wrath of God. It is only by His grace that we have been saved and not because we are deserving in any way. May we all learn, then, more and more each day to say sincerely with Paul, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain …” (1 Cor. 15:10a).

You see, we are at one and the same time those who are of great worth as creatures of God, but yet who are not worthy of His love because of our sin. Both of these facts must shape how we view ourselves. As Augustine once wisely said:

Thus in a marvelous and divine way [God] loved us even when He hated us. For He hated us for what we were that He had not made; yet because our wickedness had not consumed His handiwork, He knew how, at the same time, to hate in each one of us what we had made, and to love what He had made. (As cited by John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Vol. 1, p. 507)

Do we have worth? Yes, but this should not be called self-worth, as though it were somehow derived from ourselves or as though we may arbitrarily assign worth to ourselves. Rather, any worth that man has comes from the fact that God attaches such worth to him as His creation. I call on all Christians, therefore, to reject outright the use of the term as one that confuses believers and even undermines the Gospel. With this in mind, let's turn now to the second concept.

2. The Concept of Self-Esteem – Is it Biblical?

Based upon what we have seen thus far, in answer to the question concerning how we should regard ourselves, whether highly or lowly, two observations may be made:

1) Nowhere in Scripture are we told that we have a problem with esteeming ourselves too lowly. Our big problem is not low self-esteem, but sinful pride!

2) As Christians we must esteem ourselves both negatively and positively at the same time – negatively for who we are in and of ourselves, but positively for who we are in Christ.

I think that J.R. McQuilkin got it right when he said, “A 'strong' self-image is that perception of self which is true, which is most nearly aligned with the facts, including all the weakness that is mine by nature and all the glory that is mine by grace.”

But, is it in any way possible for Christians to view themselves too lowly? I don't think so, even though I would agree that many Christians may have struggles which they may think are due to their viewing themselves too lowly. There are at least three ways this may happen:

1) We may allow ourselves to be trapped by false guilt. For example, this is the problem faced by the one Paul describes as having a “weak” conscience (1 Cor. 8:7). Such a person may think that he or she is unworthy in ways that are not true because they think of themselves as guilty in ways that they are not. The answer to their problem is to learn to distinguish between true and false guilt based upon Scripture.

2) We may wrongly focus solely upon the negative aspect of our self-image. That is, we may focus so much on who we are in and of ourselves that we lose sight of who we are in Christ. For example, this is the problem faced by the Christian who is – you might say – stuck in Romans 7 and can't seem to make it into Romans 8. This person is good at seeing his own sin but not at seeing God's grace. This person finds it easy to say with Paul:

NKJ  Romans 7:18-24 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? [Notice the emphasis on first person pronouns with no mention of Christ.]

But such a person may find it difficult to go on to say with Paul in faith: 

NKJ  Romans 7:25-8:1 I thank God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

3) We may think we are worthless as a being rather than as a sinful being. But this is false, since we are beings made in the image of God. As beings created by God we are worth a great deal, but as sinful beings we are complete unworthy of God's love.

So, in all these ways one might say that we could view ourselves wrongly in the sense that we do not take into account the whole truth about ourselves. But we are not faced with low self-esteem. For the answer to each of these dilemmas is not to view ourselves more highly, but rather to view ourselves more accurately. So, again, I call upon all Christians to reject the use of the term self-esteem, especially since it is so often preceded by the word low and thus feeds into the self-deception that leads so many people to mask their sinful pride as some psychological problem and in this way to excuse it. With this in mind, let's turn now to the third concept.

3. The Concept of Self-Love – Is it Biblical?

It must be said at the outset that nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to love ourselves. The Bible simply regards men as already loving themselves. For example: 

NKJ  Proverbs 19:8 He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will find good.

This proverb does not see this kind of love toward oneself in a negative light. But, then, this self-love is oriented on seeking wisdom from the Lord, thus seeking the glory of the Lord as one's highest good. It is acknowledging that the best thing one could ever do for oneself is to seek such God-given wisdom.

NKJ   Matthew 22:35-39 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”

Notice that our Lord Jesus does not command love for oneself here. He simply assumes it. Those who see a command implied here to love ourselves before we can love God or others are simply reading into the text. Gary Gilley correctly responds to these kinds of self-love advocates when he declares:

[W]e are told that what Jesus meant to say is that we have to learn to love ourselves first, before we can love others. In other words, there are really three commandments given here (even though Jesus said that there are “two”). We are commanded to love God and our neighbor; then, Jesus concludes by saying, “On these two commandments depend the whole Law. . .” If Jesus says that there are two commandments here how dare we claim that there are three! (The Biblical View of Self-Image)

So, there is a sense it which we can say that it is proper to love oneself, if by that we mean doing what is best for oneself by seeking wisdom from the Lord and thus actually loving Him first. After all, our Lord Jesus did say that the greatest command is to love God! In this sense we might say rather paradoxically that we love ourselves by denying ourselves. Surely this kind of motivation was in Jesus' mind when He said:

NKJ  Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

So, it is not possible to love God first without doing the best and most loving thing for ourselves in the process. If we love God first, then our lives will be saved. If we seek His wisdom above the wisdom of this world, then we do the most loving thing we can do for ourselves. If we love God first, then we will also love what He loves, and we will seek His glory first in our lives. You see, God's glory and our good are really not two separate ends; they are inseparably linked, so that, when we seek His glory first, we also seek our own ultimate good.

I think Anthony Hoekema probably hit the nail on the head when he wrote, “I believe a proper self-love is possible for the Christian, when he loves the new person God by His grace is creating within him, thus praising God” (Created in God's Image, p. 103). However, although we cannot love God first without at the same time loving ourselves in this sense, we certainly can love ourselves without loving God at all, and this is sinful. This seems to me to be the Biblical perspective, but I must reemphasize that self-love is nowhere directly commanded. In fact, we are warned about the danger of an improper self-love:

NKJ  2 Timothy 3:1-4 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God ....

Again one might say, then, that we cannot love God without loving ourselves in so doing, but we can certainly love ourselves without loving God at all! Thus love for oneself, even in a proper Biblical sense, is not the focus of the Christian life. The Christian's focus is not to be love toward self, but love toward God and others! As Paul told the Corinthian believers, Christ died for us “that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15). 

Conclusion: I will conclude with a summary of what we can take away from this teaching. First, the Christian life is a life of declaring God's worth, not self-worth. Second, it is a life of self-denial, not self esteem. And, third, it is a life of selflessness, not self-love. May God grant us the grace to seek His glory above all else, and may He protect us from the self-serving lies of this wicked generation. 

The Second Edition of "The Church: Why Bother?" Is Now Available!

Jeff Johnson announced earlier this morning that the new edition of The Church: Why Bother? is now
available for sale on Amazon. If you want bulk discounts, please contact Jeff. Here is what John MacArthur has said about the book:

In one way or another, virtually every troubling trend in the current world of evangelical Christianity is rooted in misunderstanding about the church. What is her proper mission? What is her role in an increasingly secular culture? What should her priorities be? How should a local church function? Why is church membership necessary? or is it? What is the basis for true unity? This excellent book shines the clear light of Scripture on those and many other questions. Since Christ loved the church enough to die for her, every believer ought to share that passion. Jeffrey Johnson clearly does, and I believe you will find his enthusiasm contagious.

I highly recommend this book. It is an excellent overview of the Bible's teaching on the Church, and it is a great book to give to other people in your church.

Bob Gonzales on the Lord's Day

Recently I was reminded of a couple of very good articles by Bob Gonzales on the Lord's Day. The first article is a defense of observing the Lord's Day as a Christian Sabbath, and it is entitled How I Justify a First-Day Christian Sabbath. Here is the conclusion of that article:

I believe the argument above provides a biblical basis for treating the first day of the week not merely as a time for corporate worship, but also as a Sabbath. This reflects the teaching of our the Westminster and Second London Baptist confessions. We must note, however, that the biblical basis or warrant for a first day New Covenant Sabbath is established neither by the data of the NT alone nor by any explicit command alone. As Richard Barcellos notes, “This issue … cannot be decided upon one proof text for or against. Each text comes in a wider context in the book it appears in and, in its widest sense, a canonical context.” [“The New Testament Theology of the Sabbath,” Reformed Baptist Theological Review 5:1 (2008): 63] So good and necessary inference is an essential part of the argument.

For those, like myself, who agree that warranted inference is a legitimate form of argument, a first day Christian Sabbath can make sense. I can appreciate the Christian who wishes for an explicit command. However, the absence of an explicit command need not preclude such a believer from understanding the Lord’s Day as sabbatic in character. Perhaps some Christians are hesitant to view the Lord’s Day as a “Sabbath” because they think Sabbath-observance entails a long, dreary, and legalistic list of “don’ts.” I can sympathize with their concern. But I suspect their view of Sabbath-observance may be based on a misunderstanding of what the Bible actually teaches. A proper consideration of the biblical data enables one to view Sabbath-observance as a delightful “holi-day” (Isa 58:13). For more along these lines, click here.

The link provided by Bob at the end of that article is for the second article I would like to recommend. This is an article about proper Lord's Day observance, and it is entitled Does All Worship and No Play Make Jack a Holy Boy? Sabbath-keeping according to Isaiah 58:13. I highly recommend reading both articles. My thanks to Bob for writing them!

The Second Edition of "The Church: Why Bother?" Coming Soon!

Jeff Johnson has just announced that the second edition of The Church: Why Bother? will be available in just a few weeks. Here is Jeff's announcement from his Facebook page:

The second, edited, and expanded edition of "The Church: Why Bother?" will be released in just a few weeks. It carries a new endorsement from Mark Dever and a new chapter on missions. If you or your church is interested in bulk orders, please private message me.

I have read the first edition of this book and found it to be a very helpful and Biblically faithful work. A number of people in my church have also read the book and found it very helpful in understanding the true Biblical nature of the local church and there place within it.

I look forward to reading the new edition, and I highly recommend buying a copy, or perhaps ordering a number to hand out to people in your church family.

Voddie Baucham on "How to Fight Addiction in a Pornographic Culture"

The video above was posted on the Desiring God website yesterday. Here is the description on the
site:

In five minutes, Voddie Baucham exposes the pornographic nature of our culture and provides men and women with a key tool necessary to fight addiction.

I highly recommend taking the five minutes to watch this video. May God grant us all His enabling grace to withstand the temptations around us every day.

The Absurdity of Unbelief Coming Soon!

The blog's regular readers will recall that I posted an article previewing The Absurdity of Unbelief, Jeff Johnson's upcoming book on apologetics, here. I then posted an article seeking reviewers here. Now I am pleased to say, however, that the book will be available on December 1 and that Jeff has just debuted a new website for the book here. You may preorder the book at a 50% discount on the website.

Another Great Baptist Reprint Coming Soon!

Regular readers of this blog will remember previous books in the series by Free Grace Press entitled Baptist Reprints. These books are meant to bring some of the best of past Baptist literature to today's Christians at an affordable cost, and I am happy to announce that yet another is on the way. The tentative title is The Ten Most Influential Sermons by Charles H. Spurgeon. Earlier today Jeff Johnson posted this announcement on his Facebook page:

The title may change, but this book is coming soon from Free Grace Press. Every sermon by Spurgeon is excellent, but some were more influential than others. Christian George, the leading Spurgeon scholar and curator of the Spurgeon Library, has collected the 10 most important sermons ever preached by Spurgeon. The goal is to introduce the Prince of Preachers to a new generation of Christians. This book will be inexpensive and one that churches could easily distribute to their congregations free of charge. 

I look forward to reading the book myself, and I hope all of you will want to as well. You may read about the first two books in the series here. In addition, you will find a great price on both of Jeff Johnson's outstanding books on Reformed Baptist Covenant Theology, namely The Fatal Flaw of the Theology Behind Infant Baptism (in my opinion, the best book ever written by a Baptist on the subject) and The Kingdom of God.

Shawn Mathis Has a New Website

Many of the blog's regular readers will remember that I have linked to a number of Shawn Mathis' articles in the past, particularly dealing with the Family Integrated Church Movement. Shawn has offered a critique of this movement from the Presbyterian point of view, while I have responded from the Reformed Baptist perspective. I still recommend reading his articles on the subject, and I have recommended his book Uniting Church and Family as well. Some of the blog's readers may also already be aware of the unfair firing of Shawn due to the political correctness at Examiner.com. However, I am glad to inform you all that Shawn has a new website. Here is Shawn's own description of the site:

This website is the development of ten years of writing in cyberspace. Beginning with the old Blogger platform (as Polymathis), I graduated to writing about apologetics, news and opinion from a Christian perspective at Examiner.com…until they laid me off for writing one too many articles on gay marriage around the time of the infamous SCOTUS ruling.

Before losing my writing gig there, Examiner.com considered me a reliable news-source and Google and Bing had accepted my articles into their news-search engines. My first search-engine break was the fall of Doug Phillips; my articles garnered front page news-search. Many times my articles were featured on the front page of Examiner.com.

Having written well over 300 articles (all deleted by Examiner.com), I am slowly republishing them at this site even as I continue to write about things of Christian interest from a distinctly theological perspective.

I specialize in homeschooling news, the Christian roots of American legal rights and practical apologetics.

I am the pastor of Providence Orthodox Presbyterian Church. And, naturally, what I write does not necessarily represent the views of my church, my Presbytery or my denomination and are not intended to be contrary to our received confessions.

Unfortunately, due to Examiner.com's having scrubbed their site of all of Shawn's past articles, some of the links to his articles here on the Reformed Baptist Blog no longer work, but I will repair the links as Shawn reposts his articles on his new website. I recommend checking out the site as he posts his old articles once again and as he continues to write new ones.

On the Delights and Dangers of Learning the Biblical Languages

In a podcast entitled Biblical Languages – Who Need ‘Em?! two experienced pastors discuss whether or not pastors need to learn the Biblical languages, as well as the positive and negative implications of such study. The podcast was uploaded earlier today, along with this description:

Biblical Languages – Who Need ‘Em?!  

In which Mr. Geer and Mr. Alligood discuss the study of biblical languages and the delights and dangers of such study. 

You may listen here. Or to obtain a copy for your future listening, simply “right click” the link and “Save As,” or whatever your computation machine requires.

Here is some information about these two pastors:

Garry Geer – Garry is the pastor of Calvary Baptist Bible Church in Peoria, IL. While Garry is proud of being from Texas, he still counts himself blessed having lived the last few decades in the Midwest. He and his wife, Joy, are raising four kids who range from college age to elementary. They are also accompanied by a continually changing menagerie gathered by the children. Garry graduated from Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Jason Alligood – Jason has been an elder and the Teaching Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Peoria, IL since November, 2012. He and his wife Amber were married in 1997 and have three children: Jonah, Karis and Aubrey. Jason holds a master’s degree in Bible and Theology from Calvary Theological Seminary in Kansas City and a bachelor’s degree in Bible and Student Ministries from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

I recommend listening to this practical and informative discussion between two friends and fellow pastors.

John Piper Explains Why He Hates the "Prosperity Gospel"

In the video above, John Piper explains why he abominates -- or hates -- the "prosperity gospel." He lists several reasons. He rightly says that it is another gospel, and he cites Paul's teaching in 1 Timothy:

NKJ 1 Timothy 6:6-9 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

John also cites our Lord Jesus, when He said that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Matt. 19:24). He explains how it is that prosperity preachers actually encourage people to adopt the sinful attitudes that will lead to their destruction.

John then gives as another reason that he abominates the "prosperity gospel" the fact that the preachers of it take their theology to lots of poor people around the world, giving them false hope with a false gospel and taking their money -- what little they have -- in the process. They also leave many of these Christian people unprepared for the suffering of the Christian life.

John also speaks about how the preachers of the "prosperity gospel" undermine the mission of the Church by teaching people that the suffering necessary is a bad thing. On this point he also speaks of the over-realized eschatology of the "prosperity gospel."

John ends the video by saying:

It's a tragic thing that one of our greatest exports of America is the prosperity gospel. People are being destroyed by it. Christians are being weakened by it. God is being dishonored by it. And souls are perishing because of it. And a lotta guys are getting rich on it!

I recommend watching all of this excellent video. It is just over ten minutes long, and it is well worth the time.

Psalm 95 – A Call to Worship (Teaching Outline)

Note: The LXX says that David wrote this Psalm, and the author of Hebrews confirms this fact when he cites a portion of the psalm and attributes it to David (4:7). We will look at this passage from Hebrews later in our examination of the psalm. I have added transliterations for any Hebrew words.

Introduction: C.S. Lewis offers a helpful observation on the relationship of our joy in the Lord to the due praise we offer Him:

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not to be able to tell anyone how good he is; to come suddenly, at the turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to keep silent because the people with you care for it no more than for a tin can in the ditch; to hear a good joke and find no one to share it with .... (Reflections on the Psalms, p. 81)

I think Lewis was right when he spoke about how our delight in the Lord is incomplete until it is expressed. Today we will examine some ways in which such worship – worship which completes the enjoyment of our relationship with God – should be expressed. Such worship should be expressed 1) through rejoicing; 2) through reverence; and 3) through a response of obedience.

I. Worship Should Be Expressed Through Rejoicing (vss. 1-5)

First we will talk about the way we rejoice, and then we will talk about why we rejoice.

1. The Way We Should Rejoice

David speaks about the way we should rejoice in verses 1-2.

NKJ  Psalm 95:1-2 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

Here David stresses singing and shouting joyfully, and doing so with thanksgiving for God, who has given us salvation.

You know, I have been to ball games with normally reserved believers who I would never imagine shouting. But when you get them excited at a game where their favorite team is playing, then they suddenly shout and cheer. I wonder why we do not feel so easily moved to shout to God and cheer for Him? Is it because we do not delight in His victories in our lives as much as when, say, the Cubs win a ball game? But aren't the victories God has won for us over sin, death, Satan, and Hell even more worth cheering for? I am not trying to say that we must always shout in order to worship in a Biblical way, for even in the Psalms worship may be expressed in other ways as well, but I do wonder if maybe we are missing something if we do not ever find ourselves desirous of shouting praise and thanksgiving to God. It is certainly something to think about, isn't it? Although, of course, the really important thing is that our praise and thanksgiving be verbally expressed to the Lord, whether through shouting or not.

2. Why We Should Rejoice

We have already touched upon one reason why we should rejoice in verse 1.

NKJ  Psalm 95:1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

So we should rejoice in the Lord because He, as the “Rock” of our salvation, is the foundation and assurance of our salvation. But David has more to say about why we should rejoice in verses 3-5.

NKJ  Psalm 95:3 For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods.

So we should also rejoice in the Lord because He alone is the great God! He alone is the great King who is greater than any gods men may imagine or invent!

NKJ  Psalm 95:4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also.

God's greatness is pictured metaphorically as His holding the whole world in His hand. This is what is meant by speaking of both the deepest and highest places of the earth. It is a way of emphasizing that all of the earth is under His sovereign control.

NKJ  Psalm 95:5 The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.

Not only does He hold the whole world in His hand, but – metaphorically speaking – His hands have created that world. But here David refers to the whole world by speaking of God as the maker of both the land and the sea.

Thus David teaches us that our worship should be expressed through rejoicing in the fact that we get to know the true sovereign God of the universe who has given us our salvation. He teaches us that we should be thankful that He has made us, that He has saved us, and that He is ultimately in control of all things, for all things are “in His hand.”

II. Worship Should Be Expressed Through Reverence (vss. 6-7a)

Again, first we will look at the way we show reverence, and then we will look at why we show reverence.

1. The Way We Should Show Reverence

David speaks about the way we should show reverence in verse 6.

NKJ  Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

Here David uses three terms that describe humbling ourselves before God. He speaks of bowing down and of kneeling, but even the Hebrew word he uses for “worship” means to prostrate oneself. Thus the essence of reverence for God is being humble before Him. The following illustration may help drive home the point:

Noblemen were gathered together in London waiting for the King of Great Britain. They all knew him personally, yet they all honored him as their king. When he entered, they stood solemnly to their feet. “Take your seats, gentlemen,” he said, “I count you as my personal friends.” And then joking he added, “I am not the Lord, you know!” Immediately one of the noblemen, a Christian, said, “No, sir, if you were our Lord, we would not have stood to our feet; we would have fallen to our knees.” (“Greeting the King,” 2000+ Bible Illustrations, e-Sword)

This illustration shows a grasp of the sense of reverence that should characterize our worship, doesn't it? We should realize when we worship God that we are in the presence of the sovereign King of the universe, and this realization ought to humble us in a way that affects our actions.

2. Why We Should Show Reverence

David speaks about why we should show reverence in the first part of verse 7.

NKJ  Psalm 95:7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.

First, David emphasizes the powerful truth that the great God of whom he has just spoken (vs. 3) is also “our God.” What a truly humbling realization this is! The God who reigns supreme over all the universe is our God!

Second, David describes us as “the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.” Here God is described as a Shepherd who looks after His flock with care. His pasture refers to a place of safety and provision for our needs.

Notice also the repetition of the word hand. In verse 4 David described God as the One who holds the whole world in His hand, and in verse 5 he described God as the One who made the whole world with His hands. Now, he communicates the very humbling thought that God is a Shepherd who holds each one of us in His hand! I am reminded of the words of our Lord Jesus, who used this same imagery in order to assure us of our salvation:

NKJ  John 10:27-29 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.

This helps us even further to see why we should express our worship through reverence.

III. Worship Should Be Expressed Through a Response of Obedience (vss. 7b-11)

First we will see that we must heed the LORD's voice, and then we will see that we must not harden our hearts.

1. We Must Heed His Voice

David stresses the importance of heeding the LORD's voice in the last part of verse 7.

NKJ  Psalm 95:7b Today, if you will hear [שָׁמַע, šāma‛] His voice:

David uses these words to introduce the words of the LORD that follow in verses 8-11.

The word translated hear in this verse is šāma‛, which frequently refers to hearing in such a way that we take to heart what we have heard. The word can be translated listen, pay attention to, heed, or even obey. So, if we are really rejoicing in the Lord and showing a humble reverence for Him, won't we also heed His voice? James Montgomery Boice summarizes well the point which the Psalm is making here and in the following verses when he writes:

Worship begins with listening rather than speaking, still less singing or shouting. It requires listening to God as he speaks to us in his Word. Worship must be based on the preaching of the Word of God. First, we must hear God's Word. Second, we must obey it. Only then can we praise God joyfully for what we have heard. (Psalms, Vol. 2, p. 778)

But hearing requires an openness to God's word, which leads to our next point.

2. We Must Not Harden Our Hearts

David teaches that we must not harden our hearts in verses 8-11.

NKJ  Psalm 95:8 "Do not harden your hearts [לֵבָב, lēḇāḇ], as in the rebellion [מְרִיבָה, meriyḇāh, strife, contention], as in the day of trial [מַסָּה, massāh, testing] in the wilderness,

This verse may also be translated as in the NASB, which renders two key terms as place names, an approach which I prefer here:

NAU  Psalm 95:8 “Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness....” [See also the ESV and NIV]

Whichever translation one prefers for this verse, however, it is clear that David is deliberately using two terms that refer to a very well known event in the history of Israel:

NKJ  Exodus 17:1-7 Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?” 3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!” 5 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 So he called the name of the place Massah [מַסָּה, massāh, testing] and Meribah [מְרִיבָה, meriyḇāh, contention], because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

It is hardheartedness such as this that prevented a whole generation of Israelites from entering into the rest promised for them in the promised land of Canaan. Their faith was tested, and they failed to trust the LORD. Indeed, they sought to test Him! Even so, David knew that the Israelites in his day would have their faith tested as well, so he warned them that cultivating a worshipful heart would help prevent them from having a hard heart. On the other hand, David also made it clear that the one thing that will prevent genuine worship is a hard heart that refuses to heed the voice of God. We simply cannot genuinely worship God and not obey Him!

Remember what Jesus once said to those who made a pretense of worship, but whose hearts were hard:

NKJ  Matthew 15:7-9 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me ….” [Citing Isa. 29:13]

Hardhearted people such as these are worthy of God's judgment, as David reminds us in the next verse.

NKJ  Psalm 95:9-11 When your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work. 10 For forty years I was grieved [קוּט, qûṭ, loathed, NIV = was angry; NET = was continually disgusted] with that generation, and said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts [לֵבָב, lēḇāḇ], and they do not know My ways.' 11 So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'

Where did God make such an oath? A possible answer may be found in the book of Numbers, where we are told of the refusal of the Israelites to trust the LORD and of His reaction to their unbelief:

NKJ  Numbers 14:26-30 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. 28 Say to them, 'As I live,' says the LORD, 'just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: 29 The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. 30 Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.'”

This is an example of what the LORD was referring to in Psalm 95, in which we have His thoughts about the unbelief of the Israelites as revealed to David.

In the New Testament, the author of Hebrews quotes from verses 7c-11 a total of five times in chapters 3-4, and his application of this passage is very helpful, so let's read a portion of the passage together and see how important a lesson there is here for Christians:

1) In Hebrews 3:7-11 the author quotes all of  Psalm 95:7c-11, and he drives home the point that we must all beware, lest there be in any of us “an evil heart of unbelief” (Heb. 3:12)

2) In Hebrews 3:15 the author quotes verses 7c-8a as he explains why we must each “exhort one another daily, while it is called 'Today'” (Heb. 3:13).

3) In Hebrews 4:3 the author quotes verse 11, and he reminds us that through faith we must enter the “rest” that remains for us and that was typified by the rest that Israel was promised in the Land of Canaan (Heb. 4:1-3a).

4) In Hebrews 4:5 the author quotes verse 8b as he stresses that we must realize that this “rest” was accomplished for us from the foundation of the world and was symbolized for us by the Sabbath Day (Heb. 4:3b-5).

5) In Hebrews 4:7 the author quotes verses 7c-8a and teaches us that we must realize that the Sabbath rest that we enter is a ceasing from our own works and thus a realization of God's grace (Heb. 4:8-9).

Conclusion: In all these ways the author of Hebrews uses the words of David in Psalm 95 in order to encourage struggling Christians not to harden their hearts but to trust in the LORD. In doing so, he also reminds us of the importance of worship and thanksgiving in combating a hard heart. I hope we will all do as he says and take to heart the word of God as revealed through David.

Jeff Johnson Offers a Biblical Case for Cessationsim

On Sunday, August 9, my blog partner, Jeff Johnson, will seek to answer the question, "Have the spiritual gifts ceased?" In answer to the question, he will offer a Biblical case for Cessationism. He will be addressing the issue at 6:00 PM at Grace Bible Church in Conway, Arkansas, where he serves as the primary teaching elder. Perhaps those of you who live in the Conway, Arkansas, area will be able to drop by for the evening and leave a comment here with your thoughts about it. I'll keep the rest of the blog's readers posted and let you all know when the audio and/or video of the teaching is made available. Here is Jeff's description of what we can expect from the teaching:

On August 9^th Grace Bible Church will present a Biblical case for Cessationism in a two part presentation. There are three Scriptural reasons why the spiritual gift of tongues has ceased. One, the nature of tongues indicates that they have ceased. Two, the purpose of tongues indicates that they have ceased. Three, the finality of the cannon indicates that they have ceased.

We will cover these 3 reasons in two sessions. In the first session we will cover the nature and purpose of tongues, and the second session we will cover the finality and completion of the Word of God.

In the first session we will cover the nature and purpose of tongues, which gives us the first two reasons why tongues have ceased. Under the nature of tongues, we will examine the reasons why biblical tongues were not ecstatic utterances as practiced today. After examining (A.) the etymology and the historical use of the Greek word glossa (γλῶσσα), we will (B.) exegete the major biblical texts relating to tongues. In each text, unknown foreign language(s) is the best interpretation of the meaning of the gift of tongues. (C.) Next we will show why speaking in an unknown foreign language was truly a supernatural miracle that testified the divine source of the revelation. Ecstatic utterances are easily faked and thus prove and testify of nothing. This naturally leads to the purpose of tongues. Tongues, according to God’s Word, had a restricted and temporal function that was inherently connected to the apostolic age. That is, tongues gave divine testimony and validation of three things: (A.) new revelation, (B.) apostolic authority, and (D.) divine judgment upon unbelieving Israel. All three of these purpose are temporal by their very nature. Thus, if tongues were given for these three reasons, it is impossible for them to continue past their intended usefulness and purpose.

In the second session we turn our attention to 1 Cor. 13:8-13. Tongues were never meant to continue. They were prophesied to cease when that which “perfect comes.” By studying the context of this passage the best description of “that which is perfect” is the completion of the objective revelation of the New Testament. The infallible Scripture is not only “perfect,”  it best fits the context of what was predicted to come and replace tongues, the less reliable source of divine revelation. This session will conclude with some of the important implications of a closed and complete canon of Scripture. Mysticism and the charismatic movement are dangerous, for anything that adds to or competes with the sufficient, finished, and complete Word of God is something that is not harmless.

I am looking forward to hearing more of Jeff's thoughts on this important issue, and I hope you all will be anxious to hear his teaching on the subject as well.

John MacArthur Encourages Us Not to Bow to Our Culture

On Sunday July 19 John MacArthur spoke to his congregation in the light of the June 26 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same sex marriage in our country. His response is thoroughly Scriptural -- as is usual with John -- and it stands in stark contrast to the responses of some "pastors," such as the very troubling response of Carey Nieuwhof (to which I reacted here). The title of John's message is We Will Not Bow, and in it he has accurately described and diagnosed in the light of Scripture what is happening not only in our country but in western culture in general. John tells us that "a lot is happening at a very rapid rate. And with all the discussion that’s been going on, I’ve been kind of eager to get to you, and maybe help to give you a perspective." I am grateful that he did. Here is the transcript of a portion of the message:

This country talks a lot about terrorist attacks—and rightly so. Almost anybody in America can give you some kind of a listing of the most destructive acts of terror that have happened in our country. But let me suggest to you this: The two greatest attacks of terror on America were perpetrated by the Supreme Court. Not by any Muslim, but by the Supreme Court of the United States. The first one was the legalizing of abortion. Subsequent to that, there have been millions of babies slaughtered in the wombs of their mothers. It’s incalculable to even comprehend that. The blood of those lives cries out from the ground for divine vengeance on this nation.

The second great act of terror perpetrated by the Supreme Court was the legalization of same-sex marriage. The destruction of human life in the womb—in a sense, the destruction of motherhood—and now the destruction of the family itself. No bomb, no explosion, no attack, and no assault on people physically can come anywhere near that kind of terrorism. Our country is being terrorized by the people most responsible to protect it—those who are to uphold the law.

Just a few comments beyond that. No human court has the authority to redefine morality. But this human court has said murder is not murder; and marriage is not marriage; and family is not family. They have usurped the authority that belongs only to God, who is the creator of life, marriage, and family. Any and all attempts to define morality differently than God has is a form of rebellion and blasphemy—blasphemy against God, against His holy nature, and His holy law, and His holy people.

This nation, at its highest level, has taken a position against God. Such blasphemous rebellion is energized—it is energized by the corruption of the collection of sinful hearts, which make up this nation or any nation. There’s no question about that. But behind that collection of sinful, corrupt, human hearts—that make this kind of thing possible and acceptable—is the realm of Satan and demons. The Bible says Satan holds the whole world in his hands; the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one.

God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and the Bible, and the church, and truth are the enemies of Satan. And Satan rules the world. He rules the world of sinners. And he has his power in high places. He is the ruler of the kingdom of darkness, and he hates and seeks to destroy all that is light, all that is truth, all that is pure, all that is holy, all that is virtuous, and all that is good.

I’m saying all of this to let you know that you don’t need to be surprised. I admit, that for a few hundred year America had a very rare reprieve from this normal kind of conflict that most of the world has always known. But that reprieve has come to a screeching halt. And I want to remind you that homosexuality, homosexual marriage, gender transition—these are not the real battlegrounds. The real battle ground is against God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and the Bible, and the church, and the gospel. Any blasphemy against God comes from God haters, Christ haters, Bible haters, gospel haters. And they are fueled by the arch-hater, Satan himself.

Later is the message John accurately says:

And that leads me to believe that we’re now living in Romans 1. I’ve told you that. How do you know when the wrath of God is released? How do you know when the wrath of God is unleashed against a society? First, Romans 1:24, there is a sexual revolution. We’ve had that—in the 60s, the last century. Then there will be a homosexual revolution led by lesbians. The women are mentioned first in Romans 1:26. And then there will be the reprobate mind. And that’s when the thinking is really the product of the sexual, homosexual revolutions, and the thinking is so corrupt we can’t find our way back. That’s where we are. 

The rest of the transcript, as well as video of the message, may be found here. I highly recommend listening to the entire message.

The Widespread Problem of Boredom and Impatience with God's Word

My wife recently reminded me of an article that Al Mohler wrote over a year ago, but which is still very much worth reading. In fact, it describes a problem that is becoming more and more widespread every day. The article is entitled Why So Many Churches Hear So Little of the Bible, and it describes the way in which so many people are bored or impatient with the Bible and how this has affected the teaching and preaching of the Bible in a negative way. In the article Al Mohler actually interacts with another article written by Mark Galli of Christianity Today, and I will include the link to his article in the following citation from Al's own article:

"It is well and good for the preacher to base his sermon on the Bible, but he better get to something relevant pretty quickly, or we start mentally to check out.” That stunningly clear sentence reflects one of the most amazing, tragic, and lamentable characteristics of contemporary Christianity: an impatience with the Word of God. 

The sentence above comes from Mark Galli, senior managing editor of Christianity Today in an essay entitled, “Yawning at the Word.” In just a few hundred words, he captures the tragedy of a church increasingly impatient with and resistant to the reading and preaching of the Bible. We may wince when we read him relate his recent experiences, but we also recognize the ring of truth. 

Galli was told to cut down on the biblical references in his sermon. “You’ll lose people,” the staff member warned. In a Bible study session on creation, the teacher was requested to come back the next Sunday prepared to take questions at the expense of reading the relevant scriptural texts on the doctrine. Cutting down on the number of Bible verses “would save time and, it was strongly implied, would better hold people’s interest.” 

As Galli reflected, “Anyone who’s been in the preaching and teaching business knows these are not isolated examples but represent the larger reality.” 

Indeed, in many churches there is very little reading of the Bible in worship, and sermons are marked by attention to the congregation’s concerns, not by an adequate attention to the biblical text. The exposition of the Bible has given way to the concerns, real or perceived, of the listeners. The authority of the Bible is swallowed up in the imposed authority of congregational concerns.

Al Mohler perceptively concludes that:

How can so many of today’s churches demonstrate what can only be described as an impatience with the Word of God? The biblical formula is clear: the neglect of the Word can only lead to disaster, disobedience, and death. God rescues his church from error, preserves his church in truth, and propels his church in witness only by his Word—not by congregational self-study. 

In the end, an impatience with the Word of God can be explained only by an impatience with God. We all, both individually and congregationally, neglect God’s Word to our own ruin.

As Jesus himself declared, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

I highly recommend reading the entire article. Also, if you have found yourself struggling with boredom or impatience with the Word of God -- even despite your best intentions -- then perhaps the advice of John Piper will be helpful. You can read his advice for a person dealing with this problem here.

See also: Help Being a Good Hearer of the Word

Carey Nieuwhof Offers Some Bad Advice to American Pastors Regarding Same Sex Marriage

On June 29 a Canadian pastor named Carey Nieuwhof posted an article on his blog entitled Some Advice on Same-Sex Marriage for US Church Leaders From a Canadian. His intent was to offer advice to American pastors in the light of the June 26 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same sex marriage in our country. In this article Carey offers five "perspectives" that he hopes "are helpful as church leaders of various positions on the subject think and pray through a way forward." I will briefly address each of them.

First, Carey reminds us that "The church has always been counter-cultural," and here he has a few good things to say. For example, he reminds us that:

If you think about it, regardless of your theological position, all your views as a Christian are counter-cultural and always will be. If your views are cultural, you’re probably not reading the scriptures closely enough.

We’re at our best when we offer an alternative, not just a reflection of a diluted or hijacked spirituality.

I agree. We need not fear that our culture is forcing us to actually be as counter-cultural as we are called to be, nor to be seen as such. But, as we shall see, Carey doesn't remain faithful to such an understanding in what follows, since his advice begins to sound more like something one would hear in our culture than what one would derive from Scripture.

Second, Carey asserts that "It’s actually strange to ask non-Christians to hold Christian values," and it is here that he begins to get off track, so I will spend some time quoting portions of this section of the article and offering my responses as I go.

The question Christians in a post-Christian culture have to ask themselves is this:

     Why would we expect non-Christians to behave like Christians?

If you believe sex is a gift given by God to be experienced between a man and a woman within marriage, why would you expect people who don’t follow Christ to embrace that?

Why would we expect people who don’t profess to be Christians to:

     Wait until marriage to have sex?

     Clean up their language?

     Stop smoking weed?

     Be faithful to one person for life?

     Pass laws like the entire nation was Christian?

Seriously? Why?

Most people today are not pretending to be Christians. So why would they adopt Christian values or morals? 

My counter-question for Carey is, "Why would God expect people created in His image to behave like it? Seriously? Why?" But to ask the question is to answer it. It is because He made them, right? So He has the right to expect them to live as the moral creatures He created them to be, and He has the right to judge them when they don't. Surely Carey must know this. Surely he must understand that all men are under the judgment of God precisely because they fail to live up to His moral standard. And surely he must know that "Christian values or morals" are not just standards we have chosen to adopt from some list of our own making but rather are the very standards that God has revealed in His Word as what He expects of all men everywhere. In fact, such an understanding of God's right to hold all men accountable for their sins against Him and His own standard of righteousness is presupposed in the early preaching of the Gospel as seen in the New Testament. For example:

NKJ Acts 17:22-31 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."

Thus Paul preached repentance from sin in the light of God's sovereign right to judge all mankind. He clearly said that God "now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained," namely Jesus Christ our Lord. This was the same message that the Apostles had preached to the religious Jews (Acts 2:22-39; 3:12-19). Indeed, when Paul later stood trial before Herod Agrippa, he spoke of his Gospel ministry this way:

NKJ Acts 26:19-20 Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.

Thus the Apostle Paul had no problem telling pagan Gentiles that God as their Creator had the right to call them to repentance for their sins, and we know that among such sins Paul included the sin of homosexuality (e.g. 1 Cor. 6:9). In fact, when Paul wrote to the Roman Christians in order to explain his preaching of the Gospel to them (Rom. 1:9-15), he spent a great deal of time showing how he taught that all men, including pagan Gentiles, are guilty of sin before God and in need of forgiveness and salvation, and he specifically confronted the rampant homosexuality of his day:

 NKJ Romans 1:16-27 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 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. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man-- and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

Thus there can be no doubt that Paul saw the confrontation of sin and the need for repentance from sin as necessary to a proper preaching of the Gospel. And there can be no doubt that the sins he confronted included the sin of homosexuality. Paul clearly believed that God, the Creator of all mankind, has the right to challenge their sin and to call them to repentance from sin and to faith in Christ. He did not give any indication in any of his writings that he thought it pointless to call men to "adopt Christian values or morals," because he clearly saw such values as God's values by which all men are judged. How can Carey possibly not know these things? They are basic to a Biblical worldview and to a Biblical preaching of the Gospel.

It is also worth pointing out that there may be some category confusion for many believers who read Carey's post. For example, although writing to suggest how we should respond to a U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning gay marriage, Carey also asks questions about whether or not we should expect non-Christians to "clean up their language" or "pass laws like the entire nation was Christian." Yet Carey must know that there is a significant difference between issues like using foul language on the one hand and completely rebelling against God's intention for men and women as He created them on the other. That he would even ask such questions so indiscriminately, treating such issues as though they belong in the same category, reveals an apparent lack of understanding in Carey of just how serious an issue gay marriage really is. In addition, we must be clear that Christians who take a strong stand against the sins of homosexuality and gay marriage are not trying to "pass laws like the entire nation was Christian." We are not, for example, trying to require everyone to attend church on Sundays, regularly read the Bible, or take part in the Lord's Supper. We understand full well that there are certain practices we take part in that are unique to us as Christians and that we would not expect non-Christians to take part in (indeed, we would refuse to allow them to take part in the Lord's Supper). But human sexuality and marriage are not among such things. They are common to all human beings. Yet Carey makes it sound as though we are expecting people to "behave like Christians" when we are simply expecting them to behave like human beings created in the image of God, something which God Himself expects of them.

Please don’t get me wrong.

I’m a pastor. I completely believe that the [sic] Jesus is not only the Way, but that God’s way is the best way.

When you follow biblical teachings about how to live life, your life simply goes better. It just does. I 100 percent agree.

I do everything I personally can to align my life with the teachings of scripture, and I’m passionate about helping every follower of Christ do the same.

But what’s the logic behind judging people who don’t follow Jesus for behaving like people who don’t follow Jesus?

Why would you hold the world to the same standard you hold the church?

So, the real reason people should follow Christ is that their lives will "go better"? Not because they are sinners who deserve judgment and can only find forgiveness and salvation through repentance and faith in Christ? Does Carey think following Christ is like joining a country club? Can anyone who takes the Bible seriously really say something like this?

In addition, that Carey would even ask such a question as "Why would you hold the world to the same standard you hold the church?" reveals a postmodern mindset that is foreign to a Biblical worldview. It appears to assume that values are determined by groups of people and that we should not expect others to adopt our values unless and until they have decided to join our group, and then because they want a life that "goes better." Such a mindset certainly doesn't sound like anything the our Lord Jesus would accept.

First, non-Christians usually act more consistently with their value system than you do.

It’s difficult for a non-Christian to be a hypocrite because they tend to live out what they believe.

Once again Carey reveals a mindset that is foreign to a Biblical worldview. After all, how can he possibly say that "It’s difficult for a non-Christian to be a hypocrite because they tend to live out what they believe" unless he refuses to accept what Paul says when he asserts that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Rom. 1:18). How could anyone possibly be more hypocritical than to "suppress the truth in unrighteousness"!?

Chances are they are better at living out their values than you or I are. Jesus never blamed pagans for acting like pagans.

But he did speak out against religious people for acting hypocritically. Think about that.

Really? "Jesus never blamed pagans for acting like pagans"? Then why, after His resurrection, and as the time approached to take the Gospel to the pagan Gentiles, did Jesus teach His disciples that repentance from sin should be preached to them? For example:

NKJ Luke 24:44-47 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."

Why would Jesus think it necessary to preach "repentance and remission of sins" to all the pagan nations if He didn't blame them for "acting like pagans"? Or why did Jesus use the pagan Gentiles as examples of sinful behavior to be avoided if He did not blame them for "acting like pagans"? For example:

NKJ Matthew 6:7-8 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

NKJ Matthew 6:31-32 Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

NKJ Matthew 20:25-28 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave-- 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Again, does Carey really think that Jesus didn't blame the pagan Gentiles for the sinful attitudes and actions that make them such bad examples to follow?

We must also take into account the teaching Jesus gave that refers to universal standards for all men everywhere, such as when He cited the creation passage from Genesis regarding God's intention for marriage:

NKJ Matthew 19:3-6 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" 4 And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' [Gen. 1:27] 5 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh '? [Gen. 2:24] 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

Does Carey really think that Jesus wouldn't blame pagan Gentiles for "acting like pagans" in denying God's intention for marriage between one man and one woman? As we have seen above, the Apostle Paul -- who learned His Gospel preaching from Jesus (Gal. 1:11-12) -- certainly didn't understand our Lord's teaching this way. Thus I would suggest that Carey is the one who should take some more time to "think about that" before he takes it upon himself to advise the rest of us.

Third, Carey reminds American "church leaders" that "You’ve been dealing with sex outside of traditional marriage for a LONG time." Here again I will quote at some length a portion of Carey's article and offer my own response.

If you believe gay sex is sinful, it’s really no morally different than straight sex outside of marriage. 

Be honest, pretty much every unmarried person in your church is having sex (yes, even the Christians). 

I know you want to believe that’s not true (trust me, I want to believe that’s not true), but why don’t you ask around? You’ll discover that only a few really surrender their sexuality. 

Not to mention the married folks that struggle with porn, lust and a long list of other dysfunctions. 

If you believe gay marriage is not God’s design, you’re really dealing with the same issue you’ve been dealing with all along—sex outside of its God-given context.
You don’t need to treat it any differently...

By the way, if you don’t deal with straight sex outside of marriage, don’t start being inconsistent and speak out against gay sex. 

And you may want to start dealing with gluttony and gossip and greed while you’re at it... 

At least be consistent…humbly address all forms of sex outside of marriage.

There is a sense in which Carey makes a good point here. If we believe that gay sex and gay marriage are both sins against God, we should treat them as such and should not fail to deal with other sins that also violate God's intentions for human sexuality and marriage. But he doesn't seem to grasp the fact that this is precisely what most of us conservative Evangelicals -- who are more interested in allowing the Bible to dictate our approach than he seems to be -- are actually doing, despite the fact that there is great pressure being exerted on us not to do so.

Furthermore, Carey is simply wrong when he asserts of "gay sex" or "gay marriage" that "it’s really no morally different than straight sex outside of marriage." For not only does "gay sex" violate God's moral standard for sex between a man and a woman in marriage, but it also violates His intention in creating them male and female in the first place. Thus it is not simply the same thing, especially given the fact that there has not been a large movement among sexually promiscuous heterosexual people to redefine marriage as properly being between two men or two women rather than only a man and a woman. Yet this is precisely what has happened due to those who argue for so-called "gay rights."

Fourth, Carey asserts that "The early church never looked to the government for guidance." Although I might take issue with the way Carey states a few things in this section of the article, I have no problem with the main idea and thus will move on to the final point.

Fifth, Carey asserts that "Our judgment of LGBT people is destroying any potential relationship." Here Carey again gets way off track, as the following assertions clearly demonstrate:

Even the first 72 hour of social media reaction [after the June 2015 Supreme Court decision] has driven a deeper wedge between Christian leaders and the LGBT community Jesus loves (yes, Jesus died for the world because he loves it). 

Judgment is a terrible evangelism strategy. 

People don’t line up to be judged. 

If you want to keep being ineffective at reaching unchurched people, keep judging them.

Judging outsiders is un-Christian. Paul told us to stop judging people outside the church. 

Jesus said God will judge us by the same standard with which we judge others.

Once again we hear the same basic idea that most unbelievers like to point out to us, namely that Christians aren't supposed to judge. But Carey fails to grasp -- as do most unbelievers who say essentially the same thing -- that there is a difference between sinful judgment of others from a standpoint of arrogance and hypocrisy and a righteous judgment based on God's Word. In fact, he fails to see that we aren't really judging the LGBT community at all -- God's Word is judging them, and we are simply declaring what His Word says, as we have been called to do.

Carey also provides a couple of links to Scripture in the text cited above, and both are misapplied by him. First, he links 1 Corinthians 5:12 to the words to stop judging people outside the church. To be sure, in this verse the Apostle Paul writes, "For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?" But a look at the larger passage will show that Carey is taking these words out of context. Here is the whole passage:

NKJ  1 Corinthians 5:1-13 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles-- that a man has his father's wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner-- not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person."

Even a cursory reading of this passage will reveal what most Bible scholars and commentators agree to be true about it, namely that it is dealing with a matter of church discipline. Thus, when Paul says that we do not "judge" those who are "outside" (vss. 12-13) -- i.e. who are not named among the brethren (vs. 11) -- he means that we do not adopt the disciplinary practice of avoiding them as we would avoid a sinning brother (vss. 9-11). Paul isn't dealing at all with whether or not we should make moral judgments about the sins of unbelievers, something which he himself does in this very passage when he refers to them as "sexually immoral" (vs. 9). Nor is Paul dealing with whether or not we should tell such immoral people the truth about their sins and call them to repentance, something which we have already seen above that Paul clearly did as a regular part of his Gospel preaching.

Second, Carey links Matthew 7:1-2 to the words God will judge us by the same standard with which we judge others. Good grief! Has he really adopted the same ridiculous misinterpretation of this verse that so many unbelievers seem to have adopted whenever they ignorantly remind us that "Christians aren't supposed to judge"? As with the preceding passage, a look at this passage in its larger context will reveal that Carey is once again wrong. Here is the whole passage:

NKJ  Matthew 7:1-5 Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me remove the speck from your eye"; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Notice that Jesus is not saying that we should refuse to make moral judgments about the actions of others or refuse to confront their sins. In fact, He assumes that we must make such moral judgments if we are to properly confront their sins. Thus when He says, "First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye," He assumes that we will indeed seek to remove the speck from our brother's eye. Jesus is warning us against hypocritical judgment of others that refuses to take our own sin into account when we seek to correct them, but He assumes that we ought to try to correct them if we love them. I'm sure that Jesus would agree with the Old Testament teaching in this regard about how to truly love our neighbor:

NKJ Leviticus 19:17-18 You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. 

Now, I suppose someone like Carey might try to argue that this passage is directed to Israelites whose neighbors were expected to share their same moral values and thus that it doesn't apply to the way in which we are to love pagans. But I would simply point out that he should not, then, try to apply a passage about taking a speck out of your brother's eye to pagans either. However, if the principle of judgment that Jesus teaches is aptly applied to our treatment of pagans, then I fail to see how the principle of confrontation of sin contained in the Old Testament command to love our neighbor should not apply.

I will finish by agreeing with Carey about one important thing, namely that "the LGBT community" are among those whom "Jesus loves (yes, Jesus died for the world because he loves it)." However, Jesus also said to His earthly brothers that "The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil" (John 7:7). And He warned His disciples that, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also" (John 15:18-20). Carey apparently thinks that we could not possibly be loving the people of the world as we ought to if they ever feel judged by us or hate us, but our Lord Jesus would most definitely disagree with him! Carey apparently also thinks it possible to be "counter-cultural" without being hated by the world, but, again, our Lord Jesus would most definitely disagree with him!

In conclusion, then, I would simply say that Carey ought not seek to advise "church leaders" here in the U.S. -- or anywhere else for that matter -- until he has learned his Bible a lot better. After all, some of us do know how to read the Bible, and we can tell when someone is distorting its teaching.

Update 7 July 2017

I ran across this post by Paul Carter today, and it also has some good points made in response to Carey's "advice."