it's coming...soon!

To the 3 people who actually read this blog, I will be updating it very soon (okay, I'm exaggerating, 2 people, including myself).

Working title: "Lord, help me! I'm saved!"

Must the Gospel be Heard?

There are many who say that one can "preach the Gospel without words." Well, can the Gospel message be conveyed to the point where it saves a man...without words? What saith the Scriptures?

Romans 10:17 is the favored passage among many who claim that in order for someone to be saved by the Gospel, they must have heard it preached to them. "God has ordained His means by which men may be saved. Those means include the public preaching and hearing of the Gospel. Without this action, the Gospel does not save. That is why it must be preached."

Does Scripture, this one in particular, agree with such a claim? If a group goes out and pantomimes or dramatizes the Gospel, without speaking the message itself, isn't that enough? Can't people "get" what they mean and walk away changed by their performance? Haven't they done enough by simply putting the message into a form that's more entertaining and most likely less threatening than a man standing on a soap box in the town square preaching his heart out? Won't they be saved just the same by watching the play?

The short answer is, no. How can I claim such a thing? Well, let's look at what the Bible says.

Romans 10:17
"So then faith is by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."

Breaking this one statement down and analyzing the Greek text, we will see why the physical act of preaching the Gospel is essential for saving anyone.

First, let's look at the word faith. In the Greek text, it is literally "the faith." This of course refers to the faith that Paul has been expounding for the last 10 chapters. It is the faith that saves. It is the faith that justifies one before God, atones for one's sin, and it is the same faith that all the saints of old had: the faith in the One who does the saving, Christ Jesus, the Lord.

Second, this faith, the only true and saving faith, comes by (or literally, through) "hearing." Interestingly, this word "hearing" is the same Greek word used in v.16 for "report." It implies something heard from someone else. It is the act of hearing the report of another. So, saving faith comes through the act of hearing another person's report.

Jesus often said, "he who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Mark 4:9). And He also spoke of those who "having ears, hear not" (Matt. 13:13-15; Mark 8:18). There are those who may "hear" the Gospel preached, but never "hear." Only God can "grant them ears to hear" with understanding. Left to themselves, they will not have the understanding necessary to receive it and be saved. This is especially true when the Gospel preached is foreign to the Gospel of the New Testament.

That is why Paul specifies what must be heard that empowers men to be able to hear and receive the faith that saves. They must hear "the word of Christ." Or, quite possibly, "the word concerning Christ." The Gospel message is about Jesus Christ. The One and only Jesus Christ is the one who saves. It cannot be a message of hope in self-fulfillment or self-improvement. It must be the good-news message about Jesus Christ and Him only. That is the message that must be preached, that is the message that must be heard, and that is the message that saves.

Fourth, and finally, let's look at the word used to define what the powerful message is: the "word" of Christ. This is not the Greek word "logos." Typically when the phrase "word of God" is used in the New Testament, the Greek word "logos" is employed. Not here. Instead, God the Holy Spirit breathed out the word "rhema."

This word has a very unique meaning. Strong's Greek & Hebrew Dictionary defines it as "that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word." Other listings in this definition include:

• any sound produced by the voice and having definite meaning
• a series of words joined together into a sentence (a declaration of one's mind made in words)
• an utterance
• subject matter of speech, thing spoken of.

These words are quite clear: it means something verbally spoken, audibly, with the intent of another person hearing what is being said. That simply cannot occur with a video, pantomime, pictures, etc. Paul made no mistake in the words he chose. He elaborates in 1Corinthians 1:21,

"God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe."

In this passage, Paul describes what the lost world demanded of Gospel preachers: signs and wisdom. Both of these would be public happenings for a crowd to see and hear. But, Paul says, God's wisdom is to have the Gospel preached so that men will either be saved or condemned by its hearing.

It is the wisdom of God to have a public, verbal, proclamation of the Gospel, to the point that when the Gospel is rightly preached, the power of God in it gives men the ability to hear it with understanding and be saved to the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

So, next time someone says to "preach the Gospel without words," ask them how that is even possible, since Scripture clearly says otherwise.

Boycott Godtube.com...

...for omitting Congressman Ron Paul from their list[s] of presidential candidates, being informed of their omission, and STILL not posting anything of his candidacy on their site.

RonPaul2008.com

TBN, at it again...

Here's a good example of why the "prosperity gospel" is not only foolish and unbiblical, but dangerous.


http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/12/27/prosperity.preachers.ap/index.html

A Good [brief] Point...

While watching a video on Stoplight, Mr. Shepard makes a very good point.

The government seems to dislike the idea that abstinence programs deserve your tax dollars for support. Why is that? As the video points out: abstinence would produce healthier children [physically, emotionally, maybe spiritually]. These healthy children who do not have pre-marital sex would not contract incurable diseases, have children to support with their minimum wage jobs, or [God save us] have abortions so that they wouldn't have to support the child.

How many businesses would that eliminate??? How many billions of dollars in revenue would be lost??!! Think of it! The Dept. of Health would have to be re-vamped [or done away with]. NO more condom ads! NO more abortion clinics! NO more welfare! NO more health programs funded by your tax dollars which only produce more illness than real health!

In short [as the video states so wonderfully]: If kids are taught and follow abstinence, they would be healthier.

And healthy kids don't need liberals! :)

Evolution or Homosexuality?

It's time to choose: evolution or homosexuality. Which one will it be, America? You can't have both.

Why? Simply put, they are conflicting ideas. Evolution [if my public education has taught me anything] is the theory that states "survival of the fittest" and that species "evolve" in order to continue in existence. Now, micro-evolution is a valid fact: organisms adapt and change certain qualities in order to survive in their environment. I absolutely agree with that, and science does as well. [Macro-evolution: one species changes enough over a period of time to become a different species = FALSE!]

But what about homosexuality? The same public school system that teaches "survival of the fittest" also indoctrinates our children to believe that homosexuality is "normal." This cannot be so. It's illogical, un-ethical [for MANY reasons], and down right un-evolutionary! Darwin would be rolling over in his grave if he weren't a paramecium by now [my attempts at evolutionary humor stop here :)].

So if evolution is true, and the species does what is must to survive, then the human race must be doomed. The "normalcy" of homosexuality forbids us to continue as a race. And for those who need further reasons why, let me say this: homosexuals CANNOT bear children. If A + B = C, you can't get C with two A's or B's!

So what of our precious children caught in the federalized schools? They are indoctrinated [against the will of the parents, mind you] to believe that homosexuality is normal. They are forced to accept homosexuality, and in some circles are even encouraged to experiment with it for themselves, no matter what age they are [I don't have a link here because I would simply become too infuriated while reading any]. What people do in the bedroom has been pushed to the forefront of academia on the level of reading, writing, and arithmetic [Math, by the way is a perfect argument against relativism].

So, if homosexuality is normal, and I mean ethically and biologically normal, then evolution cannot be true. It can't be "survival of the fittest" anymore, since those fittest for survival are the ones who will reproduce [naturally]. If evolution is true, then homosexuality can't be normal.
So which one is it? The public education system seriously needs to get its story straight [no pun intended]. If they want to teach that humanity evolved from lower life forms and became more adapted so as to survive, then they need to declare homosexuality as abnormal behavior since it would wipe out the species [if they are going to address sexuality at all, which they have no right to do!]. If they are going to teach that homosexuality is normal, then evolution must go.

But then, they are left with no explanation of how we got here. Unless......yeah, like that'll ever happen! If the public schools ever were allowed to reach the level of scholarship of their predecessors [those of the 1700-1800s in America], they'd be smart enough to know that there is a God who created all things, for His glory, and then they'd be stuck with the same problem of homosexuality: it's just plain wrong.

What Kind of Preacher are You?

To all the pastors who will ever read this [and they are most likely slim to none]:

What kind of preacher are you? To whom can you be compared? What do people think of when they hear you preach the things you do? Below is a text that would serve every pastor well to live up to...

Mark 6:14-15
14 And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
15 Others said, That it is Elijah. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.

This passage speaks of Jesus, the one whom we follow and are to imitate [1 John 2:6]. Especially as ministers of the great Gospel, we are to present ourselves in every way to be like Christ. So, for preachers, what kind of preacher are you?

Do people see you like these people saw Jesus? These were lost people who spoke this way about Jesus. they spoke with reverence for Him simply because of the way He preached. He preached with authority [Matt. 7:28-29]. He knew that of which He spoke intimately and was zealous for the glory of God in His preaching. We should all be this way.

The people confused Him for one of the "prophets of old." If you read the prophets of the Old Testament, they did not play games or speak sheepishly. They boldly proclaimed: "thus saith the Lord!" And they could do so because they had been with God intimately and were commanded to speak in such a way.

Why are we any different? Why is it that so many Sundays men will stand and "chat" about life issues instead of boldly proclaiming the Word of God? Why must we do this? The only reason i have is that we are too deep in humanism in our thinking and have spent far too little time actually studying the Bible and being alone with our Great God and Father.

We do not exist to please men! Don't preach that way. Jesus didn't preach to please men or to make their lives "better." He preached to change people from lost sinners who hate God into saints who live only to glorify Him with their every being.

So don't shy away from proclaiming the Word of God, unless you do not know it. In such case, do not preach at all. Be humble enough to confess your failure to know thy God. Silence is better than a lie.

So before you step up that platform to perform your act of worship, prepare yourself with the Word of the Lord, and speak only what He has given. Speak it boldly and clearly, as you ought [Eph. 6:19-20; Col. 4:3-4]. Maybe then people, even the lost, will respect the office of the pastor once again. And maybe, just maybe, we will be considered men who speak as the prophets of old, and truly follow in the steps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.