This Sunday we continue our “March to the Cross” as we study the doctrine of regeneration. Remember from our first two weeks; justification deals with the external, but now we are going to see that in regeneration God deals with the internal. Hope to see you in class tomorrow.

“The preaching of the cross, the preaching of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on that cross, is the very heart and center of the Christian gospel and the Christian message. Put that in the center, place it in the front, proclaim it above everything else.”

- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, quoted by Arturo G. Azurdia in Connected Christianity (Christian Focus: UK, 2009), 53.

On this Friday edition of the Buzz I take up the issue of the “EMERGENT CHURCH”

• Are you aware of this church movement in America?
• Can you define it in general?
• Did you know that the emergent church is one of the fastest forms of church growth in our country especially among our youth?
• Do you think this is just another healthy expression of the orthodox local church or is it heretical false teaching?
• Could your church be embracing and heading toward a more emergent church doctrine?
• Are there basic differences in the essentials such as the substitutionary atonement of Christ for us as a result of the cross?

In the last year of teaching at Carmel one of the questions that has come up is “can you tell me about the emergent church?” This can be a hard issue to explore because those who define themselves as emergent will not give a definition. I know that sounds strange and bizarre but that is how the emergent leaders think.

This will probably be the subject next week as well so let’s move into this issue at a reasonable pace. In order to do so I have included several links. The first link is an article written by Phil Johnson that gives you an overall sense as to the philosophy behind the emergent church. The second link is a video (8 minutes) that also provides a good foundational understanding regarding the characteristics of those who call themselves emergent. And the final link is a phone conversation with William Young who is the author of the best selling book “The Shack.” Unfortunately many Christians in the church have been deceived by the theology that Young writes about in this book. It is the classic case for God is love but we don’t see the God who must have His wrath satisfied because of sin. As a matter of fact William Young does not believe in the substitutionary atonement of Christ for sin. And in link #3 you can hear this from the mouth of William Young himself.

If you don’t like controversial church issues or hard Bible verses then you might want to skip the Buzz on Friday.

LINK #1 (Article by Phil Johnson)

LINK #2 (Video on Postmodern and Emergent)

LINK #3 (Interview with William Young of “The Shack”)

We are "marching to the cross" as we head toward Easter Sunday. In the last two weeks we have specifically focused on the doctrine of justification. This is the one doctrine according to Martin Luther the church or individual stands or falls on. That is such an amazing statement to me from one of the key theologians in all of church history. Therefore I am trying to find different ways to present this to your learning and living. Today I have created a brief video that will give you a quick review of the definition and also the 6 essentials to know in regard to justification. Don't worry no test will be forthcoming but may I encourage each of you to read this between now and class on Sunday. I once heard a well know pastor and theologian say that one of the keys to a healthy marriage is a good understanding of justification. I think you could broaden the statement to include relationships with people.

This is from the Gospel Coalition Website and is an article from Pastor Tim Keller.

In my regular, daily Bible reading over the past year I read through Proverbs 3, a passage I’ve studied and preached through many times. But during this reading, I realized that in verses 3 through 12 we have all the themes of the rest of the book, and therefore a kind of mini-guide to faithful living. There are five things that comprise a wise, godly life. They function both as means to becoming wise and godly as well as signs that you are growing into such a life:

1. Put your heart’s deepest trust in God and his grace. Every day remind yourself of his unconditioned, covenantal love for you. Do not instead put your hopes in idols or in your own performance.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart (Prov 3:3-5a)

2. Submit your whole mind to the Scripture. Don’t think you know better than God’s word. Bring it to bear on every area of life. Become a person under authority.

Lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov 3:5b-6)

3. Be humble and teachable toward others. Be forgiving and understanding when you want to be critical of them; be ready to learn from others when they come to be critical of you.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. (Prov 3:7-8)

4. Be generous with all your possessions, and passionate about justice. Share your time, talent, and treasure with those who have less.

Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (Prov 3:9-10)

5. Accept and learn from difficulties and suffering. Through the gospel, recognize them as not punishment, but a way of refining you.

My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. (Prov 3:11-12)

As I meditated on these five elements–rooted in his grace, obeying and delighting in his Word, humble before other people, sacrificially generous toward our neighbor, and steadfast in trials–I thought of Jesus. The New Testament tells us that the personified ‘divine wisdom’ of the Old Testament is actually Jesus (Mt 11:19.) And I realized that a) he showed the ultimate trust and faithfulness to God and to us by going to the cross, b) he was saturated with and shaped by Scripture, c) he was meek and lowly in heart (Mt. 11:28-30), d) he, though rich, became poor for us, e) and he bore his suffering, for us, without complaint. We can only grow in these five areas if you know you are saved by costly grace. That keeps you from idols, from self-sufficiency and pride, from selfishness with your things, and from crumbling under troubles. Jesus is wisdom personified, and believing his gospel brings these character qualities into your life.

For a number of weeks I have been spending time praying for these five things for my family and my church leaders. There’s no better way to instill these great things in your own heart, than to pray intensely for them in the lives of those you love.

Dr. Tim Keller is the Senior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Manhattan, NY and a Council member with The Gospel Coalition. For more resources by Tim Keller visit Redeemer City to City.

If you do not journal during Bible devotion time I would highly recommend that you do so. There is something about reading, thinking and writing notes that locks Scripture into the brain.
This has been something I have done consistently over the past 10 years, and have lots of notebooks filled with Scripture study and devotions. In regarding to journaling the verse that comes to mind is Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. As you journal with Scripture in front of you it becomes a very effective way to renew the mind. Obviously the transformation here is done by the Holy Spirit but we have a responsibility to be wise in the tools we use to take in the Scripture for our daily living.

From Tullian Tchividjian:

In one of his [Paul Tripp] books (co-authored with Tim Lane), How People Change, he identifies seven counterfeit gospels—-”religious” ways we try and “justify” or “save” ourselves apart from the gospel of grace. I found these unbelievably helpful. Which one (or two, or three) of these do you tend to gravitate towards?
Formalism. “I participate in the regular meetings and ministries of the church, so I feel like my life is under control. I’m always in church, but it really has little impact on my heart or on how I live. I may become judgmental and impatient with those who do not have the same commitment as I do.”

Legalism. “I live by the rules—rules I create for myself and rules I create for others. I feel good if I can keep my own rules, and I become arrogant and full of contempt when others don’t meet the standards I set for them. There is no joy in my life because there is no grace to be celebrated.”

Mysticism. “I am engaged in the incessant pursuit of an emotional experience with God. I live for the moments when I feel close to him, and I often struggle with discouragement when I don’t feel that way. I may change churches often, too, looking for one that will give me what I’m looking for.”

Activism. “I recognize the missional nature of Christianity and am passionately involved in fixing this broken world. But at the end of the day, my life is more of a defense of what’s right than a joyful pursuit of Christ.”

Biblicism. “I know my Bible inside and out, but I do not let it master me. I have reduced the gospel to a mastery of biblical content and theology, so I am intolerant and critical of those with lesser knowledge.”

Therapism. “I talk a lot about the hurting people in our congregation, and how Christ is the only answer for their hurt. Yet even without realizing it, I have made Christ more Therapist than Savior. I view hurt as a greater problem than sin—and I subtly shift my greatest need from my moral failure to my unmet needs.”

Social-ism. “The deep fellowship and friendships I find at church have become their own idol. The body of Christ has replaced Christ himself, and the gospel is reduced to a network of fulfilling Christian relationships.”

"The first device that Satan has to keep souls in a sad, doubting, and questioning condition, and so making their life a hell, is by causing them to be still poring and musing upon sin, to mind their sins more than their Savior; yes, so to mind their sins as to forget, yes, to neglect their Savior, that, as the Psalmist speaks, 'The Lord is not in all their thoughts' (Psalm 10:4). Their eyes are so fixed upon their disease, that they cannot see the remedy, though it be near; and they do so muse upon their debts, that they have neither mind nor heart to think of their Surety. A Christian should wear Christ in his bosom as a flower of delight, for he is a whole paradise of delight. He who minds not Christ more than his sin, can never be thankful and fruitful as he should."

- Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices

(via Josh Harris)

Jesus said in Matt. 6:21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. There are so many things that vie to be our treasure. It can be expensive cars, nice homes, successful business careers, social recognition and yes even our own families.



But look at the parable in Matthew 13:44. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. For the Christian our treasure must be Christ Himself.

Prayer;
Father in heaven passion my heart by Your grace in such a way that my greatest treasure will be the Lord Jesus Christ.

In this short audio clip the producer from the White Horse Inn is interview students on a Bible college campus. The interview consists of two primary questions, have you ever studied Galatians and what is justification. Since we have invested the last two weeks of our class on the doctrine of justification I thought this would be a relevant post. The comments after the interview are those of the well regarded theologian J.I. Packer, co-author of Grounded in the Gospel. Listen closely as he explains the difference between those in church 200-300 years ago and today.

Simply click on this LINK

Yesterday in SS our focus was on justification as we looked at 2 Corinthians 5:21. I listed the following points that would be helpful to study when devoting or studying on this verse. Here is the verse in the ESV; For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The study points:

1. Christ knew no sin
2. He made Him to be sin
3. So that we might become the righteousness of God
4. In Him

Unfortunately I never made it to point #4 “In Him.” However I came across a great description of this from Tony Reinke’s blog site called Miscellanies. In this blog he puts the notes from a lecture by Professor Richard Gaffin. The phrase in HIm, in Christ, and in the Lord is primarily used by the apostle Paul and occurs over 150 times in the New Testament. Ultimately this means our union in Christ but what does that really mean? Well, check out this article for further help in this area of your study.

Simply click on this LINK.

May I have your attention please? If you are traveling with us through the Bible this year we have reached the halfway point in our journey. As we continue there will be stops along the way to reflect on more Scripture. If you haven’t started it would be a great place to begin and allow this to be your day number one. What is the difference between those who can’t read the Bible and those who don’t read the Bible? Answer, nothing because both parties are functionally illiterate. So if you aren’t reading or haven’t starting may I appeal to you to pray for a passionate desire to read, and study the word of God? Read these words from the Lord Jesus in John 8:31“...“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.” For those who are at week 26, I want to exhort you to continue running the race, keeping the faith and fighting the good fight!

If you enjoyed our video clip from Paul Washer this morning, then you will enjoy this clip from Pastor Steven Lawson. It is from the I’ll Be Honest website and reads as follows;

What does it cost you to follow Christ? Everything. Steve Lawson preaches on Luke 14 on the Cost of Discipleship. The sad reality is that many people are just part of a crowd, many are in the crowd of those who listen to Piper, Washer, Conway, MacArthur, yet they themselves have not truly submitted to the Lordship of Christ. Search yourself out this very day... have you come to saving faith? Or do you just wish you had the reality of Christ that you see others have? Don't be part of the wrong crowd.

Grab your Bible and a pen, a cup of coffee or tea and take a few minutes to watch this video. Click on this LINK

Today we continued in our “March to the Cross” as we again looked closely at the doctrine of justification. After last week a number of people in the class asked if I would continue teaching this particular doctrine. Therefore we are looking at the “doctrine of justification part 2 in our teaching this week. Please understand that in the notes I have included much more than we were able to cover in the class. I would highly recommend that you go through the power point presentation, grab your Bibles in order to mark Bible verses and make some study notes. Also you will find contained within this presentation 6 essential principles you need to learn regarding the doctrine of justification.



To see the entire Paul Washer video called “Jesus Died” just click on this LINK.

If you want to print out the notes from a pdf file then simply click on this LINK

Apostle Paul never starts with what we need to do; he begins with what God has already done;get it backwards and miss the gospel - Tullian Tchividjian

It’s Friday so time for another edition of the Buzz. In follow up to last week’s “The Sovereignty of God” in and through natural disasters you are in for another audio treat.

On January 8, 1956 there were five missionaries Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youderian who were killed by a tribe known as the Huaoranis.
These five brave men are credited with sparking an interest in Christian missions among the youth of their time and are still considered an encouragement to Christian missionaries working throughout the world. After her husband's death, Elisabeth Elliot and other missionaries began working among the Auca (Huaorani) Indians, where they had a profound impact and helped bring many people to Christ.

The following is a quote that was found in the journal of Jim Elliott - "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

I would like you to hear from the son of Nate Saint whose name is Steve Saint, he wrote a book that several years ago was turned into a movie called "The End of the Spear." The context of this is within the NPR interview last week done with Dr. John Piper. In that interview Dr. Piper referred to Nate Saint and here you will learn the rest of the story. Trust me this is well worth the time to put on bunny slippers, grab the hot chocolate, and listen to this incredible testimony of God’s sovereign grace in and through suffering.

Several years ago I was talking to a well known pastor about people leaving the church. He told me that if the church is preaching the gospel as instructed by the full counsel of God’s word then the term is called “blessed subtraction.” I must say I pondered on that for weeks if not months. In a day and time where so many churches are developing strategies to bring in the crowd, a preaching of the full gospel may take people out.

So when I found this picture here is the question that came into my mind regarding the subject of church growth. Would it be better to fill up the church in a “seeker-friendly,” try it before you buy it type of preaching, or basic gospel preaching where the crowds are much smaller? In later posts I will provide actual documentation on this specific issue. I would like you to answer the poll from the perspective of what you are actually observing in the American mega churches. A mega church is a church with attendance over 2000. The answer to poll question covers from Houston to Chicago in other words the whole country. Don’t answer based on what you would like to see but what you do see.

Check out the poll question below:

1. There is no subject that is more worthy of our time.
By the way I meant to ask last night if you were asked to give the subject of the Bible in two words how would you respond?
My answer to that question would be Jesus Christ. Let me give you a quotation from one of the great Bible teachers who taught for many years at Columbia Bible College now known as Columbia International University. His name is Buck Hatch and he now resides with that great cloud of witnesses mentioned in Hebrews 12. Here is a quote directly from Buck Hatch - "What is more important to man than God? He is everything. To know God is the primary, pre‑eminent pursuit of any human. And how is he, man, to study, to know God? God has shut Himself up, as it were, or limited Himself in His revelation to mankind through the channel of the written Word of God ‑ The Bible.
This is the only authentic, true text to which we may turn. Anything God has of Himself or His blessings comes from Himself immediately, directly, and only to a human being through this book, God's Word. Consequently, to know God is to know the Bible; to know the Bible is to know God. If God is all important, then His Word is all important. In other words, The Word of God is as important as God Himself. As far as mankind is concerned, this is true. A hunger for God will mean, must mean, a hunger for the Word of God. Therefore, one must immediately realize if God's Word is as important as God Himself (for by it we can know and understand God), then how we interpret God's Word is just as important as God's Word. We must know exactly what it says so that we may know exactly what God says! This is where correct and accurate Bible study plays its important role."

2. It is a litmus test for us as to determine if we are true disciples of the Lord Jesus.
Check out John 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine". Sometimes what I like to do is to contrast what I have just read in order that the truth even be brought into my mind and heart in a more significant way. Therefore based on the verse above would it be fair to say that those who don't continue in His word aren't true disciples! Whoa, now that should really get our attention! By the way the word "continue" in this verse is the Greek word "meno" and it means to reside or stay in. If you cross reference this word it also appears in John 15:4 - "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me". One of the keys for determining whether are true or just professing disciples of the Lord Jesus is do we abide in His word!

3. This is the primary way in which we as believers can know God.
The Bible is a unique Book. There is no other like it. It is a Supernatural Book ‑ it is God's Book, written by Him to us, about Himself. The Bible is simply everything a person needs to know about God in order to have an intimate personal relationship with Him.
Remember what Phillip asked the Lord Jesus in John 14:8 - "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." And Jesus says to him "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father". Since we know that Jesus is the Word then to know the Word is to know God. How sad that for many people the knowing is only information that resides within the head instead of a transformation that is known in the heart!

4. It is commanded by God Himself.
Read carefully and slowly 2 Timothy 2:15 - "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth".
The words "be diligent" can be translated study and in this particular sentence it is a verb that is used in the "imperative" mood. The "imperative" mood carries with it the mood of command, it other words we aren't asked to study but rather commanded to in God's word!
While we are on the subject of God's commands let me mention something that you might find interesting about accurate Bible study. Go back with me to the garden of Eden when God commanded Adam in Gen. 2:17 "but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." Do you think that Adam really understood what God meant by what He said? I vote yes for a number of reasons that I won't go into other than Adam totally understood that command. Now later on Eve had a conversation with the serpent that is recorded in Gen. 3:4 The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! Now doesn't that seem to be in conflict with what God said to Adam? And as Paul Harvey says "you know the rest of the story". Can you see one of the strategies that Satan is constantly using on us as believers? He wants to be sure that we do not know what God really means by what He says. If fact Satan takes the very word of God and twists it around because he knows that a wrong believing will lead us to a wrong behaving. Folks, we need the tools and principles to accurately know how to interpret the word of God for ourselves, our families and our lives.

If you put a title on our reading today in Proverbs it would probably be "warning in regards to adultery." Jesus brings further clarity to this issue in the New Testament when He states from the "Sermon on the Mount" these words in Matthew 5:28; "but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Since this is a class focused on Bible doctrine there are a number of "hot topics" that we will probably never cover in depth. However I am utilizing these blog articles with you to cover at times that which we may not cover on Sunday morning.

As you probably already know the divorce rate in America is a little over 50%. And the trend has turned in recent years, as the churches divorce rate has actually exceeded that of those in the world. The reason is because many outside the Christian faith have agreed to live together and not enter into a marriage covenant. And therefore would not be calculated as part of the divorce statistics. I think today the most significant form of adultery that we see in America, is that which is being committed online through pornography. Recently a major university was going to do a study in order to track the effects of pornography on males between let's say 20-40. I don't remember the exact ages but this is fairly close. They were to take one group with no exposure and then set up another test group who had significant exposure over a certain number of years. The study was cancelled before it started because they could find no males that had not been exposed to online pornography. This is not just a problem but an epidemic according to those in the know and it embraces both male and female.

However we should not be surprised by this when we read what the apostle Paul teaches in Romans Chapter 1. He writes under the inspiration of the Spirit, that when a culture, community or individuals start to exchange the glory of God for the glory of man they enter into a descending staircase of sin. This begins with sexual immorality that leads to a culture of homosexuality then leads to a culture of depraved minds. God gives people over to the desires of their hearts. The message in this section of Romans 1 is as follows; If you want to exchange the glory of God for the glory of self and if you continue and maintain this to be your passion and treasure then God will give you over to it. Step back for a minute or two, look at the newspaper and headline news and then read Romans 1 in the context of what you are seeing play out in the American culture.

Tim Chester who has a forthcoming book called "Captured by a Better Vision," has done a good job of providing us with a statistical analysis of the current pornography epidemic.

* Every second, 28,258 Internet users are viewing pomography and $3,075.64 is being spent on pomography
* The pomography industry is larger than the revenues of the top technology companies combined: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink
* There are 4.2 million pomographic websites, which is 12% of all the websites on the internet
* Every day there are 68 million (25% of the total) search engine requests for pomographic terms
* 42.7% of internet users view pom
* The average age of first exposure to pomography is 11 years old and 80% of 15-17 year olds have had multiple hard-core exposure
* The 35-49 age group is the largest consumer of internet pomography
* 47% of Christians say that pomography is a major problem in the home
* 17% of women struggle with pomography addiction and 70% of women keep their cyber activities secret
* The USA produces 89% of all pomographic web pages (Germany are the next biggest producer, producing 4% of all pomographic web pages)

Now that you can see the problem in great detail, allow me to share with you the solution. The solution to the pornography problem in a man or a woman's life is "THE GOSPEL." When the Lord Jesus and the cross become beautiful and desirous in the life of a Christian then pornography becomes ugly and utterly sinful. This is the very reason Paul is going to argue at the beginning of Romans that "the gospel is the power unto salvation for all who believe." As you have heard me say many times the word believe there is in the present tense, and the word salvation covers justification, sanctification and future glorification. This is the very reason that before our class was two months old that we handed out books to teach those in our community "how to" preach the gospel to themselves daily. Unfortunately we still are dealing with in most cases the fruit of our sins instead of killing the root of "THE SIN."

The church has suffered in the last 50 years because "the gospel" has been relegated to something that people have already heard or something they have already done. However when we look at the original language (Greek), we can quickly learn that the gospel must be a continuous happening in the life of each and every Christian. If you give a problem to an American they will immediately give you a solution. The solution that I see most often in dealing with pornography looks like an off shoot of the 12 step program for alcoholics or those suffering drug addiction. Christians today are big on computer programs like "covenant eyes" and accountability partners when it comes to pornography. This becomes a sophisticated form of the law that we put on our brothers and sisters in Christ. Do I think there are tools that can be used to help? Of course I do, but these tools can never be killing "the sin" because only God's word and His Spirit are able to accomplish this result.

There was a man that I met in 2003 who was doing extensive writing and training in additive behavior. He sent me all the research and it was a massive amount of reading all supported with the latest statistics. Bottom line the failure rate for the 12 step program was 95%. Yes, you read this correctly the FAILURE rate was 95%. He started a ministry at church in Charlotte on recovering from addition and it was based on Romans 6-8. I don't remember all the particulars but there is a certain period of time and the sample group that has to be a certain size in order to give out predictive results. But I did see Paul several years later and he again shared all the statistics and the Romans 6-8 ministry had over a 90% success rate.

The problem of sin must always be met with the solution of the gospel. It so happens that this particular area of sin, known as pornography, has become what many today are calling an epidemic. It is not the law that can solve this problem but grace and grace that comes through faith in Christ alone! I conclude with a quote from Pastor Tim Keller in which he says and I paraphrase "you can know all the facts about the gospel but if your behavior is not in line nor consistent with the gospel, that even though you know the gospel to be true, it is not true for you." Maybe we need to get back to "THE GOSPEL" in such a way that it will be true for us within the church.

If we need evidence for the importance of learning Bible doctrine then we need to go no further than this article and audio clip. First the audio clip comes from Dr. Michael Horton with the White Horse Inn. And this was a question asked to students at a conservative evangelical college about Biblical ignorance. To listen just click on this LINK.

Crisis in America’s Churches: Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.

A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in America’s churches, and church leaders must do all they can to address this growing problem, so say experts monitoring the beliefs of people in Christian churches across the United States.

“The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical illiteracy,” warns researcher George Barna. “How else can you describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned, see no need to evangelize, believe that good works are one of the keys to persuading God to forgive their sins, and describe their commitment to Christianity as moderate or even less firm?”[1]

Other disturbing findings that document an overall lack of knowledge among churchgoing Christians include the following:

• The most widely known Bible verse among adult and teen believers is “God helps those who help themselves”—which is not actually in the Bible and actually conflicts with the basic message of Scripture.
• Less than one out of every ten believers possess a biblical worldview as the basis for his or her decision-making or behavior.
• When given thirteen basic teachings from the Bible, only 1% of adult believers firmly embraced all thirteen as being biblical perspectives.[2]

Gary Burge, professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, asserts that biblical illiteracy is at a crisis level not just in our culture in general but in America’s churches.

“If it is true that biblical illiteracy is commonplace in secular culture at large, there is ample evidence that points to similar trends in our churches,” he says.[3]

Burge points to research at Wheaton College in which the biblical and theological literacy of incoming freshmen have been monitored. These students, who represent almost every Protestant denomination in the United States from every state in the country, have returned some “surprising results”:

• One-third could not put the following in order: Abraham, the Old Testament prophets, the death of Christ, and Pentecost.
• Half could not sequence the following: Moses in Egypt, Isaac’s birth, Saul’s death, and Judah’s exile.
• One-third could not identify Matthew as an apostle from a list of New Testament names.
• When asked to locate the biblical book supplying a given story, one-third could not find Paul’s travels in Acts, half did not know that the Christmas story was in Matthew, half did not know that the Passover story was in Exodus.[4]

Like Burge, George Lindbeck, the famous Yale theologian, has commented on the decreasing knowledge of Scripture from a professor’s perspective.

“When I first arrived at Yale, even those who came from nonreligious backgrounds knew the Bible better than most of those now who come from churchgoing families,” he says.[5]

This is also the view of theologian and author David Wells.

“I have watched with growing disbelief as the evangelical church has cheerfully plunged into astounding theological illiteracy,” declares Wells in his book No Place for Truth.[6]

If you want to read the entire article then simply click on this LINK.

“God’s grace is his active favor bestowing the greatest gift upon those who have deserved the greatest punishment.”

– William Hendrickson, Commentary on 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus (London: Banner of Truth, 1959), 370.

I started out last night with the example of the yoke. If you put oxen together in a yoke and look at them from the side then what you should see is one pair of legs. In other words they should walk together in a way that there is harmony and unity. The goal for our men's study is to walk together as we are yoked to Christ and His word.
Over the years I have learned that it is better to go slow when learning the Bible rather than go to fast. The subject of our men's study is "how to study the Bible." If you were to ask me two key elements we must understand when coming to the Bible they would be;
1. The Purpose of the Bible
2. The Plan of the Bible

Before I go on with this review let me mention something close to my heart. Most people that you come across in the church today have never read the Bible through one time. Therefore one of the first exhortations from our very first study was for the men to read through the entire Bible each and every year. How should we expect to learn "how to study the Bible" if we have never read the very book we are going to study? So I will continue to emphasize as I did last night the big picture approach before starting into a study of individual books of the Bible.

Last night, I again challenged us to know the purpose of the Bible. And the answer is "the glory of God." We have discussed this before, talked about the importance of God's glory and even made references to how this should apply to our life. But I am asking the question from a three-fold perspective. Once the answer comes from the mouth there are three additional essentials I want you to know.
1. How would you define the term or phrase?
2. Can you give an illustration?
3. Are you able to support the definition with Scripture?

Guys this is not a question on Bible jeopardy! This is a question about knowing the God of the Bible and to know Him is to know His word. Check out the high priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17:3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." When we are studying the purpose of the Bible which means we are studying the purpose of God. And the natural follow up question is if the "glory of God" is the theme of the Bible is this the theme of our lives. If you died tomorrow and your wife, children, extended family and friends were able to give a eulogy would they say "his life was dedicated to or lived out for the glory of God." What is the goal of our conversion while we are living here on planet earth? In 2 Corinthians 3:18 we read this "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." Each and every day as we read and have devotions in the word of God the Spirit of God is transforming us little by little into a Christ likeness. And should we ask "WHY?" The answer is so that when others watch you, hear you and put a telescope lens up to your life, what they see is the demonstration of the greatness of Jesus Christ!

I think the big challenge in 21st Century American church can be seen in who is getting the glory. In my own study and research over the years has shown that in the past 30 years of American church history is a strong movement toward a man-centered theology. Two of the largest churches in our country were started by surveying the people in the demographic areas to ask them what would they want if they came to church. And the result becomes a feeding of goats and a starving of the sheep. Therefore doesn't it make sense that if man is at the center of the preaching and teaching then it becomes man who gets the glory. Today if you take a survey of the mega-churches across the country you will find predominate sermons on leadership, marriage, finances, service and relationships. And you will find to a much lesser degree consistent messages on the cross, justification, regeneration, atonement, blood of Christ, wrath of God and propitiation. We unfortunately have moved the majority of the messages on Sunday to be horizontally focused when instead we need to be vertically focused.

The focus of our men's Bible study is not you, the focus of this men's Bible study is God. And that is why I am spending so much time on purpose and plan. Because to know the purpose of God regarding the Bible and to know the plan of God regarding the Bible is essential in knowing Him. The story is His story and if I tell any story He should be front and center not me.

So last night I asked the men as it pertains to the glory of God, can we define the glory of God, can we give an illustration and can we support this with Scripture? If you want to hear last night's teaching session simply click on this LINK. I will cover in this review the Scripture support for the glory of God as was covered last night.
Please keep in mind this is a very broad brush treatment of a subject that we could teach and study about for years. But last night I wanted to give an overview in a way that each man could go back to the notes and use this for family devotion, discussion with friend, neighbor or even a co-worker.

Let's look at the "glory of God" in the following;
1. Predestination
Eph. 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
Eph. 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Eph. 1:11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
Eph. 1:12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

Eph. 1:14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

2. Creation
Isaiah 43:7 Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

3. Incarnation
John 1:14 ¶ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

4. Propitiation
Rom. 3:21 ¶ But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
Rom. 3:22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
Rom. 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Rom. 3:24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
Rom. 3:25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
Rom. 3:26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

As we discussed last night the most right thing God can do is to uphold the glory of His name! You may have grown up in church with the expression drilled into your head that "Jesus died for me, Jesus died for me." And yes in a secondary way that is true but the primary reason that Jesus dies is to glorify God.

5. Sanctification
Phil. 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
Phil. 1:10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
Phil. 1:11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

6. Consummation (the second coming of Christ)
2Thessalonians 1:10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.

Therefore from before the foundations of the world throughout all eternity the purpose is "the glory of God." If we don't have that locked and loaded into our hearts, minds and souls then it doesn't make sense to me for us to move forward into more and more truth. Therefore last night I drove the stake in once again and exhorted us as a group to learn these critical things about the glory of God.

In the remaining time I went through in a more brief way the plan of the Bible. But for the purpose of this email allow me to encourage each of you to go through the same exercise in regard to the plan of the Bible. So here are my questions to you as we have studied this together.
1. What is the plan of the Bible?
2. What is the key phrase the we have learned in regard to the plan?
3. Can you define this key phrase?
4. Can you illustrate by drawing it on a chart from Genesis to Revelation?
5. Can you put the supporting Scripture that goes with each of the lines that you illustrate on the chart?

Again once we learn the things above, then we are in the best position to move forward in our study of the individual pieces regarding the plan of the Bible. The answers to the 5 questions above are in your Bible study notes. However if you can't find them then please send me an email and I will get the notes to you.

In conclusion:
Each man who is taking part in our study should be able to know the purpose of the Bible and the plan of the Bible. These two critical areas of "how to study the Bible" would prove to be very helpful for your wives and children. This might even be exciting to go over in a connect group format. The truths that we are learning and meant to be lived out and shared with those that God places in our lives. So may I encourage you to learn, know, apply and share!

Pat announced last night some changes in our Spring session which he will further clarify on Sunday. Please know that our ultimate goal is to engage as many people as possible within our community to read, study and learn the truths of God's word. Therefore we are hoping to do this with different approaches as we come into the winter, spring and fall teaching sessions.

If you would like to listen to last night's audio simply click on this LINK.

One of the practical exercises that will help you learn doctrine is when you see a doctrine put it in the margin of your Bible. Another suggestion would be to keep a journal of the Scriptures and doctrines that you come to as you read through the Bible this year.

This morning our reading was 1 Kings Chapters 14-18. The last two weeks of February we as a class studied the doctrine of immutability. Before I show you where I see the doctrine of immutability in our reading this morning let's have a short review.

The Attribute of Immutability - to say that God is immutable is to say Biblically at least two things:
1. God can’t change in His attributes, His essence, His very being, that is who God is as God
2. He can’t change in His ethical commitments that are an extension of His own moral nature

The first aspect of His immutability is called ontological because this is referring to the very being of God, His essence can not change
God is holy which means He can not be unholy (Lev 11:44-45
God is love which means He can not be not loving (1John 4:8) God is just and therefore can not be unjust (Is 30:18)
God is omnipotent which means God can’t lack power (Genesis 18:14 and Luke 1:37)
God is faithful which means He can not be faithless (2 Timothy 2:13)

The next kind of immutability which is dependent upon the first one might be called ethical immutability.
So by God’s very nature when He make an ethical commitment then He is bound to it.

Bottom line the immutability of God might best be stated as follows; the word of God is as good as it is because the character of God is as good as it is. Again when you read through the Bible keep these things in mind. For example this morning I the following verses an immediately thought about the doctrine of immutability.

Here is the message of the LORD delivered through His prophet Ahijah to Jereboam's wife;
1 Kings 14:6-11 (What God says)
So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this pretense? I have been sent to you with bad news. Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I raised you up from among the people and made you a leader over my people Israel. I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have provoked me to anger and thrust me behind your back." 'Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone. Dogs will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country. The LORD has spoken!'

1 Kings 15:29-30 (What God does)
As soon as he began to reign, he killed Jeroboam's whole family. He did not leave Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all, according to the word of the LORD given through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite- because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger.

You will notice in the verses above that God says it then later God does it! Again the principle to learn about the immutability of God is; the word of God is as good as it is because the character of God is as good as it is.

So you come out of your reading this morning and this doctrine of immutability and say "how does that help me or encourage me?"

Now travel in your Bibles over to Romans 8:37-39 (the context is all the hard things that you will ever encounter here on planet earth)
Rom. 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
Rom. 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
Rom. 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing - Nothing - Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus! Do you understand that when God says it He is bound to it through the very doctrine of immutability?

Shout for joy, because He never had to do this for you, He wasn't obligated to you or to me. But through His wonderful grace and mercy He has made a way for us to be the recipients of this very promise!

When our class started in August of 2008 one of the slogans we used for a while was “A caring community unto the glory of God.” As I look back on the beginning days and now today these statements about our ‘learning and living” community still ring true.

So what do we care about?
- We care about getting people back to the basics of God's word
- We care about prayer individually and corporately
- We care about touching, calling and knowing the people in this class
- We care about gathering in order to build relationships at a deeper level
- We care about being there with meals or whatever may be necessary as those in the class are in crisis
- We care about the gospel not only in Charlotte but in the outermost parts of the earth
- We care about being intentional with the time we have to make a difference for the kingdom
- We care about getting involved with others even when it means inconveniencing ourselves
- We care about living truth and not just learning truth
- We care about using our God given gifts and encouraging others to use theirs
- We care about God because He first cared about us!

From the Gospel Coalition Blog site;

John Flavel:

Lord, the condemnation was yours,
that the justification might be mine.

The agony was yours,
that the victory might be mine.

The pain was yours,
and the ease mine.

The stripes were yours,
and the healing balm issuing from them mine.

The vinegar and gall were yours,
that the honey and sweet might be mine.

The curse was yours,
that the blessing might be mine.

The crown of thorns was yours,
that the crown of glory might be mine.

The death was yours,
the life purchased by it mine.

You paid the price
that I might enjoy the inheritance.

John Flavel (1671), from his sermon, “The Solemn Consecration of the Mediator,” in The Fountain of Life Opened Up: or, A Display of Christ in His Essential and Mediatorial Glory.

We meet at Pat’s house tomorrow night at 7 PM for our men’s Bible study. This is our continued teaching on “How To Study the Bible.” The first thing we must do is lay down a solid Bible grid from Genesis to Revelation. Often Bible study is about looking at one of the pieces of the puzzle. In doing so we get lost in the piece without being able to understand how the piece fits into the whole puzzle. This is week #5 of our winter session. After tomorrow’s Bible study we will take a two week break and then resume our study again.

Here is a great quote from J.I.Packer on this subject;

Faith is a conscious acknowledgment of our own unrighteousness and ungodliness and on that basis a looking to Christ as our own righteousness, a clasping of him as the ring clasps the jewel (so Luther), a receiving of him as an empty vessel receives treasure (so Calvin), and a reverent, resolute reliance on the biblical promise of life though him for all who believe. Faith is our act, but not our work; it is an instrument of reception without being a means of merit; it is the work in us of the Holy Spirit, who both evokes it and through it ingrafts us into Christ in such a sense that we know at once the personal relationship of sinner to Saviour and disciple to Master and with that the dynamic relationship of resurrection life, communicated through the Spirit’s indwelling. So faith takes, and rejoices, and hopes, and loves, and triumphs.
J. I. Packer, Honouring the People of God, p. 228.

On Saturday our reading was in Luke 11-12. Look at the following section of Scripture;

Luke 12:15 Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
Luke 12:16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.
Luke 12:17 “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’
Luke 12:18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
Luke 12:19 ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’
Luke 12:20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
Luke 12:21 “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Read carefully, read slowly and read from a God-centered perspective. Check out the statements of this rich man;

* what shall I do
* I have n place to story my crops
* This is what I will do
* I will tear down my barns and build larger ones
* and there I will store all my grain and my goods
* And I will say to my soul,
* Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease

Sitting under an excellent Bible teacher one night he asked the class does anyone here know of the unholy trinity? He said the unholy trinity in the church today is; "I, ME or MY." Our focus should be on Thou, Thee and Thy but unfortunately we live in a culture that recognizes and applauds the I, me and my. Notice that Jesus later in Luke Chapter 12 gives us something else to consider in this context when He says "“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." And we can also connect this to what Jesus taught when He said "from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." In this parable above you can tell much about this man's heart by listening to what is coming out of his mouth. I was in another class where the question was asked; "So how can we have a heart for Jesus?" The teacher paused and said "make Him your treasure!"

Jesus taught in a way and lived in a way that focused on the "Thou, Thee and Thy" and not the I, me or my. Could it be that we are much like the rich man in this parable in that our use of personal pronouns on a continuous basis reflects that which we most treasure in our hearts?

Our Connect Group gathered on Saturday night for a time of fun, food and fellowship. If you are in our community but not yet connected in a group then may I encourage you to do so. I took some pictures from our time together.



Here is a brief description regarding about connect groups.

Christa Moose in our class is responsible for the Connect Group ministry. She does such a great job with the organization and ongoing vision for this within our community.

What are Connect Groups?
Learning and Living care group ministry identifies itself with our purpose statement of "equipping God's people to delight in His glory and declare that glory to the nations." These care groups meet together regularly in a non-church setting to help us pursue this goal of delighting in and declaring God's glory in a very personal and practical level.

This is accomplished through…

1. Encouraging one another (i.e., fellowship and biblical application) day after day in our battle against attitudes of unbelief that arise in our hearts to steal our joy in God (cf., Hebrews 3:12-13; 10:23-25);

2. Building up one another (i.e., ministry and discipleship) in faith through the use of spiritual gifts that God freely distributes to His body as He wills for the purpose of edification, so that we might become mature in Christ (cf., Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 14: 12, 26; Hebrews 2:4); and

3. Pursuing our joy in God (i.e., worship and evangelism) through the multiplication of worshipers for the glory of God in our community and beyond.

Groups may vary according to age, special needs/interests, geographical location, family orientation, etc., but they seek to make the above three areas the goal of their existence.

Today we looked closely at the doctrine of justification. Over the years I have been privileged to read and study on this subject from a number of different pastors, teachers and theologians. The subject of justification is an ongoing study for me that continues to expand. Through my studies I stumbled upon a book by Charles Leiter called Justification and Regeneration. I found it to be an excellent book that is written for primarily for lay people on these two doctrines. The layout of the 6 essentials of justification that I plan to cover come from Pastor Leiter’s book. I also had to occasion to talk to him on the phone and thank him for his clear writing in this critical area of Bible doctrine. His book is a great tool and would suggest that you add it to your list as a must read.



If you want to print out the notes from a pdf file then simply click on this LINK

Listen to Phil Ryken’s definition of justification at the Gospel Coalition Conference

This is week #2 for The Buzz. Last week was an intro and why I am now tackling this type of broadcast for our class. There will be a number of different subjects as we continue in our study of Bible doctrine. But this week I have for you one of the best audio interviews I have ever heard on the sovereignty of God in and through natural disasters. In coming weeks I hope to have interviews and other subjects that will allow those in our community to dig deeper.
I hope you enjoy this edition of The Buzz.

Check out the video below in order to understand essentials needed while listening.



To listen just click on play button below;

Dr. John MacArthur has some strong words on his “Grace to you” blog for the present day, “trendy” evangelical churches in America.

You don’t have to be an astute observer of the evangelical scene to notice the unrelenting barrage of outlandish ideas, philosophies, and programs. Never in the history of the church has so much innovation met with so little critical thinking.

Giving a thoughtful biblical response becomes harder and harder all the time. Merely sorting through all the evangelical trends and recognizing which of these novelties really represent dangerous threats to the health and harmony of the church is challenging enough. Effectively answering the huge smorgasbord of accompanying errors poses an even greater dilemma. New errors sometimes seem to multiply faster than the previous ones can be answered.

To sort it all out in a godly way, cutting a straight path through the wreckage of evangelicalism, several old-fashioned, Christlike virtues are absolutely essential: biblical discernment, wisdom, fortitude, determination, endurance, skill in handling Scripture, strong convictions, the ability to speak candidly without waffling, and a willingness to enter into conflict.

Let’s be honest: those are not qualities the contemporary evangelical movement has cultivated. In fact, the exact opposite is true. Consider the values and motives that prompt postmodern evangelicals to do the things they do. The larger evangelical movement today is obsessed with opinion polls, brand identity, market research, merchandizing schemes, innovative strategies, and numerical growth. Evangelicals are also preoccupied with matters such as their image before the general public and before the academic world, their clout in the political arena, their portrayal by the media, and similar shallow, self-centered matters...

The sad truth is that the larger part of the evangelical movement is already so badly compromised that sound doctrine has almost become a nonissue.

The mad pursuit of nondoctrinal “relevancy.” Even at the very heart of the evangelical mainstream, where you might expect to find some commitment to biblical doctrine and at least a measure of concern about defending the faith, what you find instead is a movement utterly dominated by people whose first concern is to try to keep in step with the times in order to be “relevant.”

Sound doctrine? Too arcane for the average churchgoer. Biblical exposition? That alienates the unchurched. Clear preaching on sin and redemption? Let’s be careful not to subvert the self-esteem of hurting people. The Great Commission? Our most effective strategy has been making the church service into a massive Super Bowl party. Serious discipleship? Sure. There’s a great series of group studies based on The Matrix trilogy. Let’s work our way through that. Worship where God is recognized as high and lifted up? Get real. We need to reach people on the level where they are.

Evangelicals and their leaders have doggedly pursued that same course for several decades now—in spite of many clear biblical instructions that warn us not to be so childish (in addition to Eph. 4:14, see also 1 Cor. 14:20; 2 Tim. 4:3-4; Heb. 5:12-14).

What’s the heart of the problem? It boils down to this:many inthe evangelical movement have forgotten who is Lord over the church. They have either abandoned or downright rejected their true Head and given His rightful place to evangelical pollsters and church-growth gurus.

If you want to read the entire article then click on this LINK.

The focus over the next 5 weeks in our community is going to be the cross and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Over this period of time I am hoping to post any number of writings, audio’s and video’s about this subject. One of my key disappointments within the evangelical church in America has been a lack of focus and understanding regarding the gospel. We all know the expression “familiarity breeds contempt” and I fear this statement is true for many Christians today as to the cross of Christ. I pray that as we turn our attention to this important doctrine that we as a community of believers will have a fresh wind of the Spirit that will reignite our passions for Christ.

In this short video Paul Washer gives a strong exhortation that is titled “Jesus Died.” Allow me to encourage you to set aside a few minutes to watch and ponder this great truth in your life and the life of those within your sphere of influence.
To watch simply click on this LINK.

The book of Ezekiel offers much debate among evangelicals because it contains so much figurative language. Hopefully as we study through the years I can give you some basic guidelines that will be helpful coming to this type of genre in the Bible.

In the first 6 chapters it seems that you have the following flow of events;

* The glory of God that is seen by Ezekiel in a vision
* The call of Ezekiel into prophetic ministry
* The capture of Jerusalem that is symbolized
* Jerusalem will be destroyed
* God's judgment against idolatry

This is where it is important to understand the covenants. When Moses brings the people to Mount Sinai God give them not only the 10 commandments on tablets of stone but another 613 commands. These commands are divided into three basic groups, civil, ceremonial and moral. Remember in our study that the definition of a covenant is a divinely sanctioned commitment. Divinely sanctioned doesn't mean divinely approved but it means that the covenant has sanctions in it which normally includes blessings and curses. A key for us to understand is that every covenant in the Bible does not operate under the same principle. Though all covenants have blessings and curses not all covenant relationships are conditioned on the human partner.

There are two types of covenants in the Bible

* One is a covenant of grace in which God Himself takes the sanctions
* And covenants of law or works in which the sanctions are taken against the human partner

The simple way to tell the difference is to ask the question; who is taking the oath by which the covenant is taking place. The oath is recognized by the language my I be under a curse if I don't do everything stated in this covenant.

Should God take the covenant on Himself then it will be a covenant of grace
Should man take the covenant on himself then it will be a covenant of works

Therefore when you come to the covenant at Mount Sinai then you see it is a covenant of works because it is Israel that is agreeing to do what God says.
Check out Exodus 24:7-8; Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

The technical term for making of a covenant would be to cut a covenant. So why is this terminology used? Because this is what you would do in order to take the oath, you would take an animal and cut it's throat. And by doing so you are saying if I don't obey the covenant then may what happen to this animal happen to us. And so the people of Israel make a covenant with God to keep the Law. Also we can read in Leviticus 26 and also Deuteronomy 27 and 28 the stipulations of the blesses and curses.
The Old Testament prophets are God's specially appointed prosecuting attorneys for the Law that has been broken by Israel.

Do you see how the doctrine of immutability comes into focus when you read through a book of the Bible like Ezekiel?
The character of God, or the essence of God is truth. So if we say that God is truth then we know automatically that God can't be untruth or false in any way. That is what we call the ontological part of God or His being. When God speaks, this is another form of immutability called ethical immutability. Therefore because God is true and faithful when He speaks about the judgment of Israel then it must come to pass. The principle is simply this God's word is as good as it is because God's character is as good as God is.

However even though we see the judgment of God on the people of God did you notice there is still underneath all of this a thread of grace that continues. And that grace can be traced back to the covenant with Abraham and further yet to the promise by God made in Genesis 3:15. So though judgment is deserved God brings His grace to a remnant and through that remnant Christ will eventually be born.

Ezekiel 6:8
8 “Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations some who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries,

Ezekiel 12:16
16 But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the Lord.”

Ezekiel 14:22
22 But behold, o some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it.

In the next 5 weeks our class will take a “March to the Cross.” By the grace of God we, as a community, will cover these doctrines each year prior to Easter Sunday. These 5 doctrines are essential for us to know as we continue to learn and live the God-centered life. If you are a bit nervous about Bible doctrine and its importance in the church today, then click on this LINK.

• Justification
• Regeneration
• Redemption
• Propitiation
• Resurrection

Along the way I hope to include some short video and audio files that will help us to build healthy Biblical categories in our study. This video clip has Dr. John Piper explaining that a person’s faith is the evidence necessary for regeneration. Don’t worry by the time we have concluded you will have definitions and Scripture support for each of these doctrines. To watch simply click on this LINK.

One of the arguments that I have battled over the years as a teacher is when people say Bible doctrine is not practical for true Christian living. To that I have a very good and astute theological reply; say what? Michael Patton who has a blog called the Parchment and Pen writes about this kind of thinking among Christians in the church.

This is very common in our world. It is also, to some degree, understandable. People are tired of the search for answers and have decided to just enjoy the journey. While it may not be called “emerging” anymore, the mood is still present and represents a large portion of our culture and church.

For these, the search has brought them nothing but confusion and disillusionment. There are so many things that they used to believe—used to passionately believe—that they no longer believe. They are embarrassed about their former commitments. Because of this, the best approach to theological issues is a sort of “soft-agnosticism.” In other words, people are not saying that truth does not exist, they are simply saying that they don’t know what it is and they don’t think you do either.

As a coping mechanism, theology is distanced from “practical” (Christian) living. Orthodoxy (right thinking) is disassociated with orthopraxy (right living).

A few words of advice for those who find themselves here or heading here:

1. There is no way to distance yourself from theology.
Even the belief that theology is impractical for Christian living is a theological belief. One would have to assume quite a bit about theology in order to make such an assertion. Agnosticism is a theological stance, and quit a complex one at that. You are a theologian whether you like it or not. The question is can you give sufficient warrant for your beliefs.

2. No one can live rightly without believing rightly.
Most fundamentally, people act according to what they believe. As the old saying goes, “you are what you eat,” a better version of this is, “you are what you believe.” Just because there is the possibility that you could be wrong, this does not justify an apathetic attitude toward theology. I appreciate people’s timidity and I wish that some people had more. We dare not to take the Lord’s name in vain. Silence is often better than speaking. But to harden one’s self into such a philosophy is the most dangerous proposition of all. When our practice is devoid of foundational beliefs, we will be carried about by every wave and current of thought simply ascribing to that which seem the most pragmatic at the time. Today, it is faddish to be apathetic toward theology. But this is not Christian. The Christian worldview is about theology first. It is about who Christ is. It is about what God has done. It is about following a definite person who we can point to and distinguish from others. It is about a definite hope. If you were to take these away, the who? what? why? and where? of our practice is void. Therefore, our practice is void.

Christianity rests first on what we believe, not what we do. What we do is a product of what we believe. Practice without belief does not please the Lord. There is simply no room for it in the Christian life.

If you want to read the entire article then click on this LINK.

“We are not only saved by grace, we are blessed by grace every day of our lives. A common misunderstanding is that we are saved by grace, but we can earn God’s blessings by our obedience. I believe this misunderstanding is not just common, it is the unspoken assumption of the vast majority of Christians.” - Jerry Bridges in March Decision magazine

Our reading this morning is in Proverbs 4. Look carefully at Proverbs 4:23 and understand the context, here are 4 different translations;

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

New International Version (NIV)
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.

Amplified Bible (AMP)
23 Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.

21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the outflowings of life.

And the emphasis in the NIV is important when it says "above all else" guard your heart. So in the context of the writer of Psalms how are we supposed to guard our hearts?

Now look at Proverbs 4:13 in the same 4 translations;

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
13 Take hold of instruction; do not let go
Guard her, for she is your life.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard it well, for it is your life.

Amplified Bible (AMP)
13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
13 Hold fast to instruction, let her not go; keep her, for she is thy life.

The wisdom we as Christians need is Christ Himself and the way we are to learn, understand about Him is the very word of God. Isn't that also what we learn from the apostle Paul in Colossians 2? All wisdom and knowledge are in Christ;
Col. 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
Col. 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Look at the connection in this Proverb between one's heart, the word and their life!
And Moses talking to the nation of Israel about the commandments of God or His word in Deut. 32:47 “For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life..."

It is everywhere in the Bible! God is always bringing us back to His word which when properly seen reveals Christ (wisdom in the Proverbs) and that is done through the illumination to our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

John 6:35 ¶ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

First I would like you to focus on two parallel phrases "he who comes" in John 6:35 and "he who believes.” And how that parallels with “will not hunger” and “will never thirst.” Do you see the implication of the word believe? Maybe it would be better for me to ask it this way? Just from this verse how would you define the word BELIEVE as the Lord Jesus uses it here? By the way the word believe and faith are the same words in the Greek, one is a verb and the other is a noun. But when reading the New Testament I find it helpful to interchange the words when reading the Scriptures.

For example in the case of John 6:35 you could read it in the following way "He who has faith." Now go back to John 6:35 and look at the parallel implications between someone who comes to Jesus and someone who believes in Jesus. Doesn't this mean the same thing within this context?

But here is the most important question, what does that mean? Look carefully at the context of what Jesus is saying and answer this question, how is Jesus teaching someone to believe in Him or come to Him? I am going to interchange come and believe as meaning the same thing.

Can you remember a time when you were physically hungry? Let’s say after church one Sunday you take the family to McAllister’s for lunch. They have a sandwich that is so good you can almost taste it before you even arrive at the restuarant. I want you to see the connection between the physical hunger and a spiritual hunger. As you eat the sandwich the hunger starts to become satisfied. Therefore when a person comes to or believes in Jesus, they come to Him in such a way that He and He alone is the One who satisfies them. It also means that believing in Jesus must be accompanied by a satisfaction in Him as the One who can fill our spiritual hunger. Is that true of your coming to and believing in Him?

Can you see the connection between your faith and God’s word? As we remember that one of the litmus tests for genuine salvation is a love for, embracing of and obedience to the Bible. So allow me to ask are you hungry for the word of God? When you drink from the Scriptures is your spiritual thirst satisfied? He created you to be hungry for Him, and He is the bread of life. It is only Jesus that can satisfy that hunger! Is Jesus filling that hunger in your life or is it the job, family, children, hobbies, vacation, approval from others or personal reputation. Christ must be the One who satisfies or you have never come to Him. Oh brothers and sisters in Christ, how many in the church today have walked an aisle, said a prayer, raised a hand and signed a card and have been told that they are saved. Yet they are not satisfied with Christ and their life is a testimony to the satisfaction that they have in everything but Christ. Remember the words that the apostle Paul penned in 2Cor. 13:5 ¶ Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? Please examine yourself and see if Christ and Christ alone who you are coming to as the ultimate satisfaction for your life.

Here is an Old Testament Chart that will help in getting a handle on the timeline as it relates to the kings and the prophets.
Also it is a very simple way to remember which prophets spoke to which group of people.

This post from the blog of Ray Ortlund;

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

“The true Christian’s portion is the grace of God. This is the ‘good part’ which he has chosen, and it is the only portion which really deserves the name of ‘good.’ It is the only good thing which is substantial, satisfying, real and lasting. It is good in sickness and good in health, good in youth and good in age, good in adversity and good in prosperity, good in life and good in death, good in time and good in eternity. . . .

The true Christian’s possession shall never be taken from him. He alone, of all mankind, shall never be stripped of his inheritance. Kings must one day leave their palaces. Rich men must one day leave their money and lands. They only hold them till they die. But the poorest saint on earth has a treasure of which he will never be deprived. The grace of God and the favor of Christ are riches which no man can take from him. They will go with him to the grave when he dies. They will rise with him in the resurrection morning, and be his to all eternity.”

J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, ad loc.

On Sunday our Bible reading was in Ephesians 1-3. If you remember a couple of weeks ago I started the Sunday School class by asking the question "what is the chief end of man?" The answer to that question is; to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. But then I followed up with the question; "what is the chief end of God?" And I think the answer is; to glorify Himself and enjoy Himself forever. In Ephesians 1:1-14 we can see the answer to the question "why does God act to choose a man in regard to salvation." And three times within the first 14 verses He tells us in very clear language. They are as follows:

Eph. 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
Eph. 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
Eph. 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Eph. 1:11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
Eph. 1:12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

Eph. 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Eph. 1:14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

When we get to this doctrine of salvation there are many other words that we need to define such as election, predestination, foreknowledge, calling, and so on. But for the purpose of this note I want you to see God's answer to the why He does what He does. If Ephesians 1:1-14 gives us a glimpse into what happened prior to the foundations of the world then shouldn't this be consistent all through the Scripture?

How about creation? Isaiah 43:7 Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

How about the incarnation? John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

How about sanctification?
Phil. 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
Phil. 1:10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
Phil. 1:11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

And finally how about when Jesus comes back in full consummation?
2Th. 1:10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.

As you continue to read through the Bible year after year the dots will connect in these various doctrinal components. You will be reading in Ephesians and then the Spirit will take you to other similar verses. This is where we get the expression that Scripture interprets Scripture. So if you are wondering what God is doing in your life, or why He is doing what He is doing, be encouraged to remember that it is so His name will be glorified as great! In having that kind of theological underpinning you will be on your way to learning and living the God-centered life.

The Bible must be read from a God-centered perspective. Even though we can see a plan of the unfolding and progressive redemption of mankind, that redemption is for the glory of God. In this short video clip, Dr. James White provides some excellent insight on “how” we must come to Scripture if we want to understand it.

To watch simply click on this LINK.

The “Learning and Living” leadership team met last night. It was incredible to watch how the Lord has put together such a committed group to “know Him and make Him known.” Last night the leaders put forth plans and schedules that will carry us through the 2010 year. If you are coming to our class but have yet to connect may I encourage you to do so. If you were to do a word search on the phrase “one another” in the New Testament, you would see it occurs over 100 times. Things like encourage one another, pray for one another, love one another and so on. We are created to be in relationship with each other so that as the gifts come together the body of Christ can most manifest the glory of God. Of course I had the camera and tried to get some action shots of the brainstorming and planning.

If you want to print out the notes from a pdf file then simply click on this LINK

I have mentioned this before but the role of a teacher is two-fold in teaching the Bible. At times there must be a warning to those in the body of Christ where false teaching has crept into the church. And second the teacher must bring the truth of God's word developed from a hermeneutical study of the text. Again as you have heard me say over and over, hermeneutics is simply a system of Bible study in which the goal is to arrive at what the author meant by what he wrote. It seems for the last 5 years I have been constantly burdened with the amount of false doctrine and teaching that has invaded the evangelical church. Before coming to teach at Carmel I was hoping to have a radio podcast to review current sermons from the pastors of the largest churches in Charlotte. But long story short one day the phone rang it was Pastor Russ and as Paul Harvey used to say "now you know the rest of the story."

The point of telling you that background is because my study and research has led me to the extremes within the evangelical church. One of my goals in the development of the blog site is to point those in our class toward those pastors, teachers and theologians who are Biblically sound. As you know the church in America has suffered over the past 30 years in what has been referred to as a "dumbing" down of the gospel. The very things that Christians used to hold as precious and dear have now been compromised in lieu of tolerance. Many times since we don't understand the basics of the Christian faith we are passing down our experiences instead of the gospel. Basically we have arrived at the point where no one is right and no one is wrong. Because now in our postmodern culture we both get to be right. There are several different angels that I want to approach this subject from as it relates to what is happening to Christianity in America. And today I have a clip for you from the Resurgence Blog, which is the Mars Hill Church in Seattle pastored by Mark Driscoll. In this clip you have an interview from a staff member at Resurgence church with Dr. Michael Horton. If you were to ask the question today of Dr. Michael Horton, professor at Westminster Seminary in California, what is happening to Christianity in America, here is a sample of what he thinks based on much research and evaluation. He is the author of two very helpful books that the church today needs to read;
1. Christless Chrisitianity
2. The Gospel Driven Life

In this short video clip he deals with the subject of "moral therapeutic deism." Now at first glance you might ask yourself what is that? But you will soon understand after seeing this video. And will go a long way as we seek to answer the question "what is happening to Christianity in America?"

To watch the video, simply click on this LINK.