OK… I am taking notes of this Paul Washer sermon. This guy is awesome.

Why did Paul have to say that he was not ashamed of the gospel? (Romans1:16) He makes no attempt conform to the culture. To the Jew and Greek, the gospel was absurd. Paul knew that he would be ridiculed and scorned unless the Holy Spirit moved on the hearers. If the gospel is not a scandal, then it is not the gospel. Most modern church growth strategies try to get around the exclusivity of the gospel. The gospel contradicts the “isms” today. Relativism …we applaud those who look for truth, but publically execute those who say they have found it. The carnal man hates the gospel because he is morally corrupt and want to be in charge of their own life. He hates God because He is righteous and His moral laws because they censor him and expose his evil deeds. Hates the truth because it exposes him as he is and troubles what is left of his concience. So he will suppress the truth so far as to say there is no such thing as truth, or it has no bearing on our lives. The problem is never the intellect, but the will. No such thing as athiests. If there are no moral absolutes, then the natural man can put out of his mind the judgement that MUST come. The gospel does what the natural man wants to avoid, confront his sin, repenting and putting his faith in Jesus Christ. When everything is true, even things that are opposite, then truth dies.

The early followers of Christ were marked as athiests. That is why they, and soon you, ended up in jail. The world looked on Chrisitans with “jaw dropping arrogance, to be exclusive”. Pluralism does not fix things, but it makes those believing such things as numb to the truth. The gospel IS RADICALLY EXCLUSIVE! Christ is the only way. This is what is happening today. If Chrisitanity would change the definite article…Jesus is A way instead of THE way, then the scandal would go away. Then Chrisitanity would cease to exist and the world would be without a Savior. The secularlist is very religious. Man has managed to make himself the center of the universe. Self realization and actuallization is everywhere…even in the church (Your Best Life Now). Any suggestions that exposes his guilt or tells his concience that it is right in it’s testimony against him is unthinkable. The gospel convicts of concience and guilt..Thus the world HATES true gospel preaching. It ruins mans party, rains on his parade and exposes his make believe.

More later…………….

The Idolatry of “Decisional Evangelism”…

Got the Way of the Master third season video series yesterday.  One of the episodes discusses the issue of a “Protestant Purgatory” that results from the omission of hell from modern day preaching.  Ray interviewed some folks who said that they try to witness to people all the time, but NEVER mention hell.  So Ray asks, what are they saved from?  The response is comical and very sad.  Typical fear of man answers, such as “Christless eternity”, or “lost eternity”, or “separation from God”.  What needs to be stated is that they will be saved from the everlasting torment of hell.  It is described by Jesus (who had no problem talking about it), as the place where the “worm never dies, and the fire is not quenched”.   Because of this watered down witness to the lost, it robs us of evangelistic passion.  People are offered everlasting life and they argue about it.

The old preachers had no problem talking about hell.  In one of George Whitefield’s sermons, he said “you blame me for weeping, but how can I help it, when you will not weep for yourselves, although your immortal souls are on the verge of destruction, and for aught I know you are hearing your last sermon, and never more have an opportunity to have Christ offered to you”.   Got some passion there, huh.  And there is no doubt for a need of a Savior.

In this season of politics..I need this, and maybe so do you.

“Brethren, do something; do something, do something! While societies and unions make constitutions, let us win souls. I pray you, be men of action all of you. Get to work and quit yourselves like men. Old Suvarov’s idea of war is mine: `Forward and strike! No theory! Attack! Form a column! Charge bayonets! Plunge into the center of the enemy! Our one aim is to win souls; and this we are not to talk about, but do in the power of God!’”
Charles Spurgeon

In this political season, it can be very discouraging to hear the rhetoric from all the political parties.  John MacArthur has a great article on this …   excerpt..   

If we do not evangelize the lost and make disciples of new converts, nothing else we do for people—no matter how beneficial it seems—is of any eternal consequence. Whether a person is an atheist or a theist, a criminal or a model citizen, sexually promiscuous and perverse or strictly moral and virtuous, a greedy materialist or a gracious philanthropist—if he does not have a saving relationship to Christ, he is going to hell. It makes no difference if an unsaved person is for or against abortion, a political liberal or a conservative, a prostitute or a police officer, he will spend eternity apart from God unless he repents and believes the gospel.

When the church takes a stance that emphasizes political activism and social moralizing, it always diverts energy and resources away from evangelization. Such an antagonistic position toward the established secular culture invariably leads believers to feel hostile not only to unsaved government leaders with whom they disagree, but also antagonistic toward the unsaved residents of that culture—neighbors and fellow citizens they ought to love, pray for, and share the gospel with. To me it is unthinkable that we become enemies of the very people we seek to win to Christ, our potential brothers and sisters in the Lord.  Full article HERE.

It is important to be informed and vote.  There are candidates who share a biblical world view that we should support.  But all this craziness of the election just makes me even more fired up to share the gospel.  Eternity is what is really important, and glorifying God in sharing the good news of the Gospel.  That gets my vote!

Another BEAUTIFUL day yesterday, here in Colorado. Folks from the Bible Institute met for a picnic.  Subjects of discussion…

• Mac vs Windows…students get a discount on Mac, but probably still not necessary unless doing graphics or more advanced stuff.
• Compassion…lots of stuff going on there.  Departments are getting relocated all over the new building.
• Best “sinners prayer” in the bible is the tax collector pleading with God to “be merciful to me, a sinner” no one(btw) lead this guy in this prayer
• Only true sacrament is “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”.

One of things that I see all the time when witnessing, are those folks who consider themselves to be Christians, but have no idea what a Christian is. If I ask them if they are going to heaven, they say “I hope so”. Well, if you are a true Christian, you know so(Romans8:16). The Holy Spirit will testify to your spirit that you are saved.
Probably one of the reasons for this is the return to “Finneyism” in a lot of churches nowadays.
We went and saw Steve Camp a few weeks ago, and loved the concert that he gave. He has a comment on this on his blog…. an excerpt.. One of the damnable lies that has crept into evangelism over the last fifty years again is a return to Finneyism - that salvation is the result of your free will enacted by your own volition to decide to follow Jesus Christ so that you can gain eternal life. Rubbish! Salvation is the result of His sovereign election of His own from all eternity past in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1:1-2). Salvation is not the result of you mumbling some little sinners prayer, walking an aisle, raising a hand, or signing a decision card. “The only thing,” as Jonathan Edwards has said, “that you bring to your salvation is the sin that makes it necessary.”

Entire article HERE.

God was glorified in the truth of the gospel being preached this morning.  Even as imperfect as this presentation was, I trust that God will use it to His glory. 

A couple afterward thanked me for sharing that message, and Kevin shared with a guy of Hindu faith. And Robert talked to a guy who was a “candidate” to be a pastor at a Presbyterian church.  He did not like what we did because the people had no choice to listen to it.  Robert asked him where he was going to go when he died, and he said heaven.   Then he asked him about another guy down the line.  What if that guy got into an accident after leaving the DMV and was killed.  Did he not deserve the chance to hear the gospel and respond to it?   Apparently, the guy had no response to this…….  I am still amazed at the amount of church goers that are the most offended by the gospel.  This was a message of love and hope, and they don’t want it proclaimed.  Amazing…and very sad.

Halloween tract from Way of the Master

There is still time before Halloween to get your tracts from WOTM.  They have a special going for Halloween tracts that would be perfect to hand out to the folks coming to trick or treat.  What a great time of the year for witnessing!  Instead of you going out to hand out tracts, THEY come to your house!  Get your tracts today HERE.