Gospel Living

Discussing Evangelicalism's attacks on Scripture (yes, you read that right), Dr. David Farnell took the stage at the Veritas Evangelical Seminary 2014 National Apologetics Conference on November 8th, 2014. Here's the video: Defending Inerrancy posted this video as well as partial transcript , should you want to read instead of/in addition to watching.

There was a time in American history when the Christian chaplain led many desperate souls to hope in Christ.  Today, to be both Christian and a chaplain is becoming a contradiction in terms, at least according to the policies of the U.S. government. Al Mohler posted an important article highlighting this very challenge , writing in part to respond to another article on the same theme.  He says, Make no mistake — the moral revolution driven by those who demand the total normalization of homosexuality and same-sex relationships will not stop with the crisis over military chaplains. But at this moment, the chaplains are on the front lines of the great cultural and moral conflict of our times. This is a moment of crisis for the chaplains — but it is also a moment of crisis for the entire nation. If religious liberty is denied to evangelical Christian chaplains in the military, if they must surrender their convictions or their commissions, then religious liberty is lost in Ame...

One of the worst blights besmirching American pulpits is the online degree.  With that in mind, biblically sound institutions indeed post free resources featuring theological heavy-weights who love the Lord.  Thus, many Christian leaders lacking the ability to attend a quality seminary scour the web for the good, hoping to gain the knowledge they need for daily ministry. Maybe that describes you, and perhaps you missed something really good.  No, it's not an e-ordination, but it will build your ability in and love for the Bible.  Seminary professor Nathan Busenitz announced the launch of this goldmine of online training that is indeed free: Earlier this month, The Master’s Seminary launched its Theological Resource Center (TRC) — an online hub for ministry-training resources. Because many pastors around the world will never be able to attend seminary in the United States, the TRC extends the resources of TMS and its partner ministries t...

JC Ryle (1860-1900) must have been taking his charismatic pills, because, as AM notes , he waxed prophetic with this message: The consequences of this widespread dislike to  distinct biblical doctrine  are very serious. Whether we like it or not, it is an epidemic which is doing great harm, and especially among young people. It creates, fosters, and keeps up an immense amount of  instability  in religion. It produces what I must venture to call, if I may coin the phrase, a  ‘jelly-fish’ Christianity  in the land–that is, a Christianity without bone, or muscle, or power. A jelly-fish, as everyone who has been much by the seaside knows, is a pretty and graceful object when it floats in the sea, contracting and expanding like a little delicate transparent umbrella. Yet the same jelly-fish, when cast on the shore, is a mere helpless lump, without capacity for movement, self-defense, or self-preservation. Alas! it is a vivid type of much of the reli...

...or, "An open letter to Real Life Church ." Christians react differently to the Halloween question.  As a matter of conscience, some feel it best to avoid participation, while others use it as a means of preaching Christ and Him crucified.  Assuming that God gives us opportunity to minister to both the lost and saint alike, what are some ways that a church can miss the mark? Image credit: Murals for Kids This weekend, our family visited Real Life Church's "Halloween Under the Big Top."  For the most part, we had a great time.  However, as a fellow brother-in-arms in ministry, I could not help but notice three rings in this circus that could have performed better.  How can churches neglect Christ this Halloween? Churches forget Christ when they forget their witnessing opportunity. As we entered the church, we received fliers for various functions and offerings at the church.  We had cause to question our marriage, the effectiveness of ou...

From Christianity Today: Breaking News: Charles Colson Has Died Charles Colson, the ruthless Nixon White House figure who became one of evangelicalism's most famous and influential leaders and served as a Christianity Today columnist for the last 26 years, has died at age 80. See our full coverage of his life and legacy: Obituary Evangelical Leader Chuck Colson Dead at 80 The infamous convicted Nixon adviser became famous for prison reform, evangelical-Catholic dialogue, and his Christian worldview. Sarah Pulliam Bailey Tribute Remembering Charles Colson, a Man Transformed The real story of how "Nixon's hatchet man" ended up in, out, and back in prison (and the White House), shaping a movement in the process. Jonathan Aitken CT Classic: The Legacy of Prisoner 23226 Twenty-six years after leaving prison, Charles Colson has become one of America's most significant social reformers. Wendy ...

(HT: Kevin DeYoung )

As a young believer, I sampled quite a bit of what Evangelicalism had to offer… good and bad.  I don’t know which category you would place Mark Lowry in, but many agree that this song is a Christmas-time winner.  The following video comes from his 1995 VHS, “Remotely Controlled,” and is the version by which I judge all other versions: (Don’t worry, I’m not a Lowry-Onlyist). Of course, my dad wondered what I was getting into with the oft-times seemingly-pedestrian humor.  I loved it, perhaps because I found a kindred spirit.  Here are a couple other delights.  First, how to properly cook: Of course, on the theme of Lowry’s food habits and his singing, let’s not forget his parody of “I Surrender All” (a parody I have committed to memory): (Yes, that was Clay Crosse at 3:39) Have fun, and I hope y’all have had a wonderful Christmsa.

The Christian duty to the poor is not always as clear as how some Bible teachers state.  On the one hand, stories like the Good Samaritan seem to advocate a radical dedication to the poor and abused. Let's face it, though.  Many, if not most, of the American poor choose poverty.  Other verses comport with our common sense on the matter: "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat" (2 Thes 3:10). Those who appeal to Moses create more confusion.  Is Israel's call to social justice a 1:1 call to the church? Cripplegate is launching a new series on the biblical pillars for mercy ministry , and I recommend subscribing and following it to help you sort through these issues.

Why should ministers take care with the words they use? Consider what Christ had to say to the Pharisees in Mt 12:34–37: You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. Among the requirements of those who oversee God's people are "above reproach," "self-controlled," "respectable," and "must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace" (1 Tm 3:1–7). None of this is true of the man who uses his pulpit for shock purposes. Yet, as  A Little Leaven  points out, parents are now having to explain to their children and to their lost friends why their ...

A majority of professing evangelicals agree with the statement that human beings are basically good, a clear repudiation of the biblical view of human fallenness. The irony here is that while we decry the baleful influence of secular humanism on the culture, we are busy adopting secular humanism’s view of man. It is not so much that the secular culture has negotiated away the doctrine of original sin, as that the evangelical church has done so. R. C. Sproul, Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1997), 20. I'm an optimist by nature, but theology and real life must meet.  It helps us in our dealings with Craigslist , for example. We cannot blame the culture's eroding influence on the church if we are unwilling to adopt the Bible's authoritative declarations concerning man, sin, etc.  Nor can we blame sinners for acting like sinners in their dealings with us.

Preacher-man, read this article (PDF).  Repent in sackcloth and ashes; it took a liberal to point it out.

Again, there are some questionable evangelism tactics Christians use.  It's funny that it takes Jon Stewart to point it out. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c God Smacked www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party At first I thought this was a spoof.  But I knew of the Power Team  from my younger, more "zealous" evangelistic days, and sure enough, here is a link to the Xtreme Ministries Vision and Values page . I remember taking my karate uniform to church one day for the children's ministry and breaking a couple of boards during a demonstration.  All in an effort to boost attendance on our church bus. Hey, I was like 16 or 17 and had only been a Christian for two or three years, okay?  Leave me alone.  :)

Dr. Farnell dropped his paper (docx format) and PowerPoint on the Evangelical community today at the  International Society of Christian Apologetics , and it is sure to make controversy resound when it lands. The trend within Evangelicalism over the past couple of decades has been to adopt ideologies that are classically defined as "liberal" -- embracing of a synoptic problem, searching for the "historical Jesus," and all that stuff lay people would think of when someone says, "Jesus Seminar." Of pertinent focus for this blog, there is no Gospel message if we cannot trust the four Gospels . Dr. Farnell  (see faculty page) , affectionately known as "Maximus" among his (frightened) students, dared to connect the dots between what Evangelical scholars are doing today and what mainline denominations were doing at the height of the modernist-fundamentalist controversy.  He asks, "Is history repeating itself?" and you will be doomed t...

If you haven't done so yet, check out the current ejournal from 9Marks. January/February 2010, Volume 7, Issue 1   Also, it's available in good 'ol fashioned HTML, pasted below.  (See source page for editor's note, upcoming events, and other important 9Marks material.) THE MINDSET OF THE NEW EVANGELICAL LIBERALISM How to Become a Liberal Without Attending Harvard Divinity School What kind of pastor is susceptible to liberalism? One who loves self, and even the sheep, more than he loves the Good Shepherd.  By Michael Lawrence The Real Scandal of the Evangelical Mind Why do evangelical academics so crave worldly acceptance? By Carl Trueman Air Conditioning Hell: How Liberalism Happens Liberalism happens when we try to save Christianity from itself. By R. Albert Mohler, Jr. The Neo-Liberal Stealth Offensive   The gospel's most dangerous adversaries are not raving atheists. They are church leaders with gentle, friendly, pious demeanors. By Phil John...

Bill VanDoodewaard gave a talk on this centuries-old explanation of the interplay of Law and Gospel in the life of the believer. Bill VanDoodewaard - Marrow Lecture from Puritan Reformed on Vimeo . (HT: The Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary blog )

Pulpit Magazine has posted the full transcript of Phil Johnson's "What is an Evangelical?" P1: What Is an Evangelical? P2: Scripture and Evangelical Conviction P3: The History of Evangelicalism (Part 1) P4: The History of Evangelicalism (Part 2) P5: Where Evangelicalism Went Astray (Part 1) P6: Where Evangelicalism Went Astray (Part 2) On a related note, they have also posted the full transcript of his address on course language in the pulpit: Sound Doctrine, Sound Words (Part 1) Sound Doctrine, Sound Words (Part 2) Sound Doctrine, Sound Words (Part 3)

Phil Johnson, Speaker Evangelicalism is a “ mixed multitude .” Each time that term is used in the Old Testament of the KJV, it is used despairingly. We are living in a time of apostasy that is not too diff erent than some of the times described in the book of Judges. We have reached a time where everyone does what is right in his own eyes. He says he is tempted to stop calling himself Evangelical to distance himself from those who claim the label, from Joel Osteen to Tony Campolo to some Catholics and now, even some Mormons! However, he affirms the historical definition of Evangelicalism, and his spiritual fathers are Evangelicals. A lot of Evangelicals are fed up with the superficiality of the movement, and are following the path of Francis Beckwith, and run to Rome. Others, like Frankie Schaeffer, have gone to Eastern Orthodox churches. Still others are turning to the Emergent Churches. Has the movement gone astray because our parents and grandparents f...