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Can we "Live the Gospel?"

1 Corinthians 15: 1-5 - Now I would remind you, brothers,[a] of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Have you ever heard someone say we need to "live the gospel"? Have you ever been encouraged by a pastor or friend to "live the gospel"? Chances are you have. But is that possible? Do you ever hear that in Scripture? It sounds nice, but if you think about it, it really represents what I believe is a great misunderstanding of the true gospel, its power, and its purpose in saving souls. And this misunderstanding is important because it has a direct impact on the eternal destiny of people. When people truly believe that they can somehow "live the gospel" their lives become more marked by trying to do good works rather than obeying the call to simply proclaim the gospel. In the end, the Christian church becomes almost indistinguishable from Mormons, JWs, Catholics and any other humanitarian group dedicated to doing acts of service. Should we do acts of service? Of course! But without the proclamation of the gospel, that is all they are, acts of service.

Only one Being can live the Gospel and only one Being has lived the gospel; Jesus Christ. Part of living the gospel involves complete fulfillment of the Law, which only Christ can do. The other part of living the gospel is dying as the propitiating sacrifice for the sins of the world, being buried for three days and rising from the dead. Only Christ can do that. Only Christ has done that. Encouraging someone to "live the gospel", while it sounds nice, makes about as much doctrinal sense as encouraging someone to walk on water or feed the 5,000 with 2 loaves and 5 fish.

One of the most disturbing parts of Christians encouraging one another to "live the gospel" is when they say that, they often attach it to doing "good works". They relate service projects, or giving someone a cup of cold water, or feeding the homeless, or building houses, or doing relief work or [insert act of service] to "living the gospel". This is dangerous, because by themselves, those acts have no power to save anyone. This is dangerous because what you wind up with is Christians who love to do good works and never proclaim the gospel because they think that by their works they are in fact "proclaiming the gospel."

In an article about the relationship between the Law and the Gospel, Michael Horton touched on this topic:

For instance, we often hear calls to "live the Gospel," and yet, nowhere in Scripture are we called to "live the Gospel." Instead, we are told to believe the Gospel and obey the Law, receiving God's favor from the one and God's guidance from the other. The Gospel--or Good News--is not that God will help us achieve his favor with his help, but that someone else lived the Law in our place and fulfilled all righteousness. Others confuse the Law and Gospel by replacing the demands of the Law with the simple command to "surrender all" or "make Jesus Lord and Savior," as if this one little work secured eternal life.

This is why it is so important to structure our activities according to what we see in Scripture. If you don't, it is easy to get caught up in doing things that make you feel good but ultimately leave people around you hopeless without the true gospel. When it comes to the gospel, we are called to proclaim it to all creation. We cannot live the gospel, but we can live in light of the gospel. When we do that, true gospel proclamation will be our primary concern, our acts of service will be secondary. That, I believe, is the proper order of things according to Scripture.

Thankful for Skeptics

This past week I had the opportunity to engage one of my co-workers in a conversation about God, the Bible, Jesus Christ, the Gospel and the like. He is an atheistic skeptic who hates God, at least the God that he has fashioned in his mind. One thing that occurred to me during our conversation is that the god that he is rejecting, is not the God of the the Bible. It is not the true and living God. He is rejecting a god that he has framed in such a way that suits his own criteria for rejection. And I think this is true of most atheists and skeptics. They have a caricature of the true God in their mind and the caricature they build is the same god they wind up rejecting.

One objection in particular that he brought regarding the Bible's credibility was the value of Pi. He claimed that the Bible says Pi=3 which means that the Bible can't be trusted. I have to admit, this is the first time I heard that objection. I have read the Bible several times and have never come across a passage where the Bible discusses the value of Pi. In any case, I told him that was interesting and that I would look into it.

After looking into it, I found out the passage in question is 1 Kings 7:23-26. After reading it and running some calculations on my own I found out that the value of Pi is not explicitly stated but could be calculated indirectly from the information given in the passage. As the passage describes the diameter and circumference of a round object, it says:

Now he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in circumference....It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold two thousand baths.

1 Kings 7:23-26

With a 10 cubit diameter, it would follow that the circumference would be 31.4 cubits, not 30 cubits, as the passage states. So what is going on here? There are a couple ways I suppose one could look at it.

First, the measurements could be approximations rather than exact numbers. This would be entirely consistent with the genre of literature that this is written in. It is not a mathematical discourse. If the diameter were 9.5 cubits and written down as 10, that would lead to a circumference of 29.9 which could be approximated as 30 cubits. This is a perfectly valid explanation by itself.

Second, if you take into consideration the outer brim, which is a handbreadth thick, then you really have an outer and inner circumference. The passage does not say whether or not it is describing the outer or inner circumference. The above scenario where Pi=3 is for the outer circumference and it could very well be an approximation. However, if the passage is describing the inner circumference then you could calculate for Pi directly. Based on the historical value of a cubit (18 inches) and a handbreadth (4 inches), you can calculate for Pi from the equation:

Wow! Solving for pi we get Pi=3.14. This is the same approximation we use today for Pi in everyday calculations! So, either way you look at it, the Bible's credibility is not called into account, rather it is supported!

In the end, the trustworthiness of Scripture is validated once again when you take the time to investigate the claims of skeptics. The more I witness to people, the more I come to realize that this is the usual outcome whenever I investigate objections against Scripture. I always come away with more confidence and trust in the absolute authority, reliability and trustworthiness of Scripture. For this reason, I thank God for skeptics and I thank God the the opportunities He gives to reach out to them. I'm looking forward to sharing this discovery with my co-worker in the near future.

Where are the Harvest Fields?

I was skimming through the entire gospel of Matthew recently to get a better understanding of how Jesus went about ministering with the 12 disciples.When I got to this passage, I was stopped in my tracks and decided to write down what I learned...

When Jesus talks about the harvest and the laborers, what was the context? Where are the harvest fields he is referring to? Is it our home, our neighbors, our workplace? It is safe to say that we need to be laboring for the gospel's sake in all those places, but I don't think those were the specific places Jesus had on his heart when he spoke this message to his disciples. Let's look at the passage starting in Matthew 9:35:

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:35-38 ESV)

We see that Jesus was going through cities and villages, preaching the gospel and healing people. He was in the public gathering place of the day, synagogues, where he knew people would be and he could reach many people with a single teaching. In other words, Jesus went to preach the gospel where he knew there would be a significant number of people gathered. He was a fisher of men, and it just makes sense that fishermen go to places where they know fish gather. He wasn't invited to each city and village to be a guest speaker. These weren't people he had spent 6 months (or 6 years!!!) establishing a friendship with and had now earned the right to preach the gospel to. These were strangers, as were most of the people Jesus preached to throughout his public ministry. Jesus' motive was to seek and save the lost through the preaching of the gospel because that was His Father's will. And that is the same reason we are here today, to seek and save the lost, following the example of Jesus (John 20:21).

Next, we see the heart of Jesus having compassion on the crowds. His compassion came from his understanding that these people were harassed and helpless (other translations write confused, distressed, weary, scattered, dispirited, fainted, troubled) and they were also without a shepherd. Now at this moment, after being moved with compassion for these crowds of helpless people that he had been encountering from city to city, Jesus says to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

So, the harvest fields referred to in context here are the crowds of harassed, helpless and shepherd-less people in the cities and villages around us. And Christ calls us to pray for laborers to go into these harvest fields.

The following chapter in Matthew's Gospel makes this passage even more amazing. Right after the statement about laborers in the harvest, Jesus then turns to the disciples and we read, "And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction." (Matthew 10:1). So he gives them AUTHORITY for the task that was ahead of them, namely going into the harvest fields. After giving them authority, he sends them out (ie. he commissions them, Matthew 10:5-15). He warns them that persecution will come on their journey (Matthew 10:16-26), that they need to fear God and not man and to confess Christ before men (Matthew 10:27-33). While Jesus limited the scope of his disciples specifically to the lost sheep of Israel in this case, in Matthew 28 Jesus commissions us to do the same, but to go to the whole world, Jew and Gentile alike.

Matthew 28:18-20 - And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore[c] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Mark 16:15 - And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

So, in summary...Jesus's heart was broken for the harassed and helpless crowds of people around him and he was burdened with the fact that the laborers giong to these harvest fields are few. So Jesus then tells his disciples to pray for laborers to go to the multitudes and then commissions them himself to go out and preach the Kingdom of God in the harvest fields. When I read this I was struck at the similarity to the Great Commission given us who call Jesus Lord. We have been sent into the harvest fields, to the multitudes of harassed and helpless people around us in our local cities and villages. That is where we are to go.

By all means, we must preach the gospel in our homes, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, etc. But if we neglect to proclaim the gospel in the places around our city where we can reach many people with the gospel, then we are missing out on one of the specific places that broke Jesus' heart.

I pray that our heart will be moved with compassion for the multitudes around us that are harassed and helpless. That we will not limit our evangelism efforts to the people and relationships already in our lives but we would be burdened for the multitudes and take the time to go to the crowded places in our cities where many souls can be reached with the message of the gospel. 

Can These Bones Live?

I was reading Ezekiel 37 recently and two things occurred to me...First, God commands Ezekiel to speak to the dead bones. Second, after Ezekiel speaks what God commands him to, God carries out his plan as He ordained and God gets all the glory!

What was Ezekiel's part in this miraculous event? Simple obedience. Speaking what God had told him to speak. Being faithful to the task God had given to him. Ezekiel was just a faithful servant obeying his Master's command.

God is still raising the dead today and for some reason only known to Him, He has chosen to use us in this process. In a similar way, we live in a world where we are surrounded by spiritually dead people (1 Cor 2:6-16). Spiritually speaking, people are walking around us as a heap of dry bones. The job God has given us is like Ezekiel's, to speak what God has told us to speak to the dead bones around us. And God has given us a very specific message that must be spoken in order for the dead to be made alive.

Mark 1:15 - “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Mark 16:15 - And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Repenting and believing the gospel is the means by which dead bones come alive, the means by which God places His Spirit in them and causes them to live again. This is the means by which a dead deserter becomes a disciple of Christ, the means by which God gives the natural man the mind of Christ and he is radically transformed from the inside out. Our part is simple obedience to preach the gospel as our Master has commanded. It is the miraculous work of God to carry out His ordained plan.

The Problem with Modern Evangelism

"But showed first to them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance." Acts 26:20

The Problem with Modern Evangelism. Many Christians obtain “decisions” by using the following method: “Do you know that you are going to heaven when you die?” Most will say, “I hope so.” The Christian then says, “You can know so. The Bible says ‘All have sinned.’ Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and if you give your heart to Him today, you can know for sure that you are going to heaven. Would you like to have that assurance that you will go to heaven when you die?” He will almost always say, “Yes.” The person is then led in what is commonly called a “sinner’s prayer.” (Click here for why the sinner's prayer is unbiblical.)

There are a few difficulties with the popular approach: 1) There is no mention of Judgment Day—the very reason men are commanded to repent; 2) There is no mention of hell; and 3) The Law isn't used to bring the knowledge of sin. The apostle Paul said that the Law was the only means by which he came to know what sin was (Romans 7:7). The modern approach may get a decision or gain a church member, but if there is no biblical repentance, there will be a false conversion and there will be no rejoicing in heaven.

Source: The Evidence Bible, Acts 26:20 Comment

Is There a Key to Reaching the Lost?

“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.” Luke 11:52

Have you ever thought, “There must be a key to reaching the lost”? There is—and it’s rusty through lack of use. The Bible does actually call it “the key,” and its purpose is to bring us to Christ, to unlock the Door of the Savior (John 10:9). Much of the Church still doesn't even know it exists. Not only is it biblical, but it can be shown through history that the Church used it to unlock the doors of revival. The problem is that it was lost around the turn of the twentieth century. Keys have a way of getting lost.

Jesus used it. So did Paul (Romans 3:19,20), Timothy (1 Timothy 1:8–11), and James (James2:10). Stephen used it when he preached (Acts 7:53). Peter found that it had been used to open the door to release 3,000 imprisoned souls on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus said that the lawyers had “taken away” the key, and even refused to use it to let people enter into the kingdom of God.

The Pharisees didn't take it away. Instead, they bent it out of shape so that it wouldn't do its work (Mark 7:8). Jesus returned it to its true shape, just as the Scriptures prophesied that He would do (Isaiah 42:21). Satan has tried to prejudice the modern Church against the key. He has maligned it, misused it, twisted it, and, of course, hidden it—he hates it because of what it does. Perhaps you are wondering what this key is. I will tell you. All I ask is that you set aside your traditions and prejudices and look at what God’s Word says on the subject.

In Acts 28:23 the Bible tells us that Paul sought to persuade his hearers “concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets.” Here we have two effective means of persuading the unsaved “concerning Jesus.”

Let’s first look at how the prophets can help persuade sinners concerning Jesus. Fulfilled prophecy proves the inspiration of Scripture. The predictions of the prophets present a powerful case for the inspiration of the Bible. Any skeptic who reads the prophetic words of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, etc., or the words of Jesus in Matthew 24 cannot but be challenged that this is no ordinary book.

The other means by which Paul persuaded sinners concerning Jesus was “out of the law of Moses.” The Bible tells us that the Law of Moses is good if it is used lawfully (1 Timothy 1:8). It was given by God as a “schoolmaster” to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). Paul wrote that he “had not known sin, but by the law” (Romans 7:7). The Law of God (the Ten Commandments) is evidently the “key of knowledge” Jesus spoke of in Luke 11:52. He was speaking to “lawyers”—those who should have been teaching God’s Law so that sinners would receive the “knowledge of sin,” and thus recognize their need of the Savior.

Prophecy speaks to the intellect of the sinner, while the Law speaks to his  conscience. One produces faith in the Word of God; the other brings knowledge of sin in the heart of the sinner. The Law is the God-given “key” to unlock the Door of salvation. See Matthew 19:17–22 comment and Romans 3:19,20.

“I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the Law. The Law is the needle, and you cannot draw the silken thread of the gospel through a man’s heart unless you first send the needle of the Law to make way for it.” Charles Spurgeon

Source: The Evidence Bible

God Will Bring the Increase!

"So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."

1 Corinthians 3:7

Some time ago, I had the opportunity to witness to a young couple down at the Redondo Beach Pier. They had recently moved to the area from Miami, Florida and were in their early twenties. I spoke with them for about 20 minutes and was able to witness the Law of God work on their conscience in a way only God's Law can. When I first met them, the young lady told me that she was 100% sure that she would go to heaven when she died. When I asked her why she believed that she told me it was because she was a good person and she treated people well. Just like when Jesus encountered the Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-23), Jesus corrected his understanding of the word "good" and "loved him" by taking him through the Ten Commandments. Following his example, I asked them both if I could ask them a few of the Ten Commandments to see if they were in fact good people and they were happy to do so.

Less than five minutes later, they were both admitting their guilt and told me that if they died and God was a just God, then they would be heading to hell, and rightfully so. That is the power of God's Law. In a completely loving and friendly manner, God's Law allows a person to see themselves in the true light of God's holiness and their conscience bears witness (Rom 2:15) of their guilt before God. At this point, I was able to share the grace of God and the Gospel with them which now made sense in light of the fact that they understood their sin before a righteous God and that God's judgment would leave them headed for hell. Rather than the gospel being foolishness to them, it is seen as the power of God to salvation, because like a sick person in need of medicine, they see their illness and Jesus Christ as the cure.

At the end of our conversation, I asked them if there was any sin in their life that they loved so much that they would rather hold onto it and go to hell then to surrender to Jesus Christ and receive his mercy and forgiveness. The young man then told me he smoked weed and could not see himself giving it up. That was an honest admission. It was then that I was able to share my testimony with him and how God had changed my heart and allowed me to stop drinking and smoking marijuana after I became born again. I told him that if he humbled himself and submitted to Christ then God would change him from the inside out and what seemed like an impossible habit to get rid of today would be completely changed as he became a New Creation in Christ. At the end of our conversation I asked if I could leave them a free gift. They said yes and I gave them a DVD called Why Christianity? and some gospel tracts and thanked them for their time.

Exactly 1 week later, while down at the pier witnessing to others, God allowed me to run into them again down at the pier, just as I was getting ready to leave! What are the odds of that? I was excited to see them and ask them how their week was and if they had a chance to watch that video. As I spoke with them they told me their lives had been changed. They had watched the DVD I gave them shortly after talking with them and they had both repented and put their faith in Christ that night. They had also gone to church that Sunday near where they live in Wilmington and talked with the pastor after the service. PRAISE THE LORD!!! I was so thankful to the Lord for this testimony and that He allowed me to meet back up with them to see how they were doing a week later. So many times, I never get to see the people I witness to again but God used this situation to remind me that all I am called to do is plant seeds and to water seeds, He alone is responsible for the increase. He alone begins that good work in people and He alone carries it on to completion (Phil 1:6). "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." 1 Corinthians 3:7

As I read once before, "we must agree with Paul that we are debtors to all men (Romans 1:14), we must preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15) and obey Christ’s command to tell of this glorious gospel to the ends of the earth and reach every living person that we can for Christ (Matt 28:19-20). Though we will never be sufficient for all of these things, we can rest in the Sovereign hand of God that He can. So much joy abounds when we are faithful to preach the Gospel. There is never one time where I have regretted telling someone about the Lord. Christian, He has chosen to use us - all of us. Go! Share the Gospel, the World Desperately Needs it!

GENIUS - The Movie

A new movie from the producers of www.180movie.com has just been released.

From www.geniusthemovie.com website:

Los Angeles, CA. "Genius" is a new and chilling movie based on the life and tragic murder of John Lennon. The Producer of the Los Angeles-based film company, Ray Comfort, said, "It's chilling because it reveals what people will do for money. There are ordinary people out there who would kill you. All they need is the right amount of money and the belief that they won't get caught."

You can watch it online for free at the link below.

www.geniusthemovie.com

The Importance of Family Discipleship

This is our first duty, we are to begin at the family hearth; he is a bad preacher who does not commence his ministry at home. The heathen are to be sought by all means, and the highways and hedges are to be searched, but home has a prior claim, and woe unto those who reverse the order of the Lord's arrangements. To teach our children is a personal duty; we cannot delegate it to Sunday School Teachers, or other friendly aids, these can assist us, but cannot deliver us from the sacred obligation; proxies and sponsors are wicked devices in this case; mothers and fathers must, like Abraham, command their households in the fear of God, and talk with their offspring concerning the wondrous works of the Most High... Plots of Popery (reliance on the religious professionals) is covertly advancing in our land, and one of the most effectual means for resisting its inroads is left almost neglected, namely, the instruction of children in the faith. Would that parents would awaken to a sense of the importance of this matter. (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, P387, July 11)

The Harvest is Plentiful

Today, May 4, 2012, I went to the Redondo Beach pier to share the gospel with the people there. I was there for about an hour and it is amazing how much need there is for the gospel right here in our own backyard.

I met a man named Angel who didn't care much where he was going when he died, even if that meant Hell. As we talked, he seemed to soften up a little bit and said he would honestly think about our conversation and eternity.

I also ran into Tony, a young man who said he was without sin. After going through a few of the Commandments he realized he was not sinless but still thought he was good enough for heaven. I tried to reason with him and some if it seemed to get through to him.

I also talked with Effin and Andrew (?) about the gospel. They laughed when I asked them if they were thieves because apparently they scam people all the time. They heard the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation.

On my way home I ran into an English man named Dave. I was in a hurry, but he stopped and wanted to talk. Thus, I stopped and engaged him. He was a man from England, here for business, and we had a great conversation. I shared with him the Law and the gospel and he asked me questions about cancer, suffering, dealing with sin and about my personal testimony. He had an English Baptist background that he walked away from because of hypocrisy in the people there. He knew he needed to return and he knew he was not right with God if he were to die tonight. I pleaded with him to repent and put his faith in Jesus and he seemed to agree at a surface level. I told him that God may have sent him across the globe so that we would meet and he would hear the gospel and the urgency to make peace with God through His Son. My prayer is that he would not forget our conversation and would cry out to God to save Him. He said I was "a good chap" and that "my faith was strong", which he admired. He was wrong on both accounts.

It had nothing at all to do with me. God will do whatever it takes to save someone. Perhaps bringing this man from England to Redondo Beach was God's way of making sure that the 1 was brought back to the 99 (Luke 15:1-7) and spared from being dragged away by the enemy.

Just a vivid reminder that the harvest is plentiful. Pray that God would raise up more laborers to go into the harvest (Luke 10:2)!

I Will Follow You, But....

Luke 9:57-62: Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

What a sobering message Jesus gave to someone who claimed that he would follow Jesus wherever He went. Jesus is essentially saying that a follower of His will be marked by three things:

1. You will be rejected wherever you go.

“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

2. Your primary focus in life will be to go and preach the kingdom of God.

“Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

3. If you think twice about your commitment to Jesus, you are not fit to follow Him.
“No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Jesus seems to be moving from the end result to the root cause in these verses. The end result is that they will be rejected. The root cause for this rejection is wholeheartedly following Jesus. In the middle, we see that a wholehearted follower of Jesus will be primarily focused with preaching the kingdom of God.

In summary, if you have a complete commitment to follow Christ (v.62) the result will be that you will go and preach the kingdom of God (v.60) and as a result you will be rejected by the world and you will have nowhere to lay your head (v.58).

Hopeful Apologetics

We read through Romans 1-8 this weekend in church and it was a time of blessing. Hearing the pure Word of God and allowing it to minister to me and the rest of the people at our church was refreshing. God revealed many things to me during that time, two of which were somewhat related to evangelism so I wanted to write them down here before I forget them.

God's ExistenceOne of the simplest proofs for God’s existence is the building-builder, painting-painter, Creation-Creator analogy. If you are unfamiliar with that proof, check it out here under the heading “Does God Exist?”. This proof is powerfully summarized in Hebrews 3:4.

As we were reading through Romans we came across Romans 4:17: (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

This Scripture states that everything that has come into existence has been called into existence by God. Most people realize the absurdity of an eternally existent universe and know that it cannot have existed forever. As a result, most everyone agrees that the universe came into existence at some time in the past. With this starting point, you can take someone to Romans 4:17 to show them that God, not some natural mechanism, is the One who calls things that do not exist into existence. It is a Scriptural support to the apologetic of trying to prove the existence of God to an atheist or non-believer.

Hope and Faith
Later on in Romans, we came to Romans 8:24-25: For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

The way this can be helpful in evangelism is confronting atheists or those who believe that “faith” is something contrary to logic and reason and therefore distance themselves from having “faith” or believing in something they cannot see or analyze with their 5 senses. Most atheists are ready to defend their worldview when it comes to “faith” and explain why they don’t have the same type of “faith” as a religious person. However, this verse showed me an alternate approach to the idea of faith with an atheist; a backdoor, so to speak. Rather than trying to get them to admit they have faith, ask them if they have any hopes about their future or have ever hoped for anything in the past. They will undoubtedly say yes. But what is hope? It is a type of faith about a future event or circumstance that you cannot see and has not yet come to pass. We hope for good health, for a good job, for a long life, to get married, to fall in love, to be successful and much more. The truth is that the object of your hope, by definition, has to be something we have not yet seen or known otherwise it would not be hope. It is a type of faith we have in looking forward to a future event. Romans 8:24-25 brought this to my attention during my reading this weekend and I look forward to using this apologetic as necessary during conversations on the street with lost people.

Answering Objections - The Bible is Full of Errors

When you are out talking to people about Jesus and the Gospel it is not uncommon to come across questions and objections. Some are valid objections and an honest answer will help prepare the person's heart for the seed of the gospel.  Others are just smoke screens that people hide behind because the truth of God's existence and our accountability to Him for our actions would throw a wet blanket on their current lifestyle.

So, I wanted to address a common objection that you might come across along the way and offer some potential answers that I have found helpful when trying to respond. The next time you are talking with someone about the Bible and they throw an argument out there like: "the Bible is full of errors" here is a potential way you can respond.

1. Challenge them to show you 3 supposed errors by asking "Can you show me in the Bible some of the errors you are referring to?" Chances are they won't because they are just parroting out what they heard in some classroom, blog, movie, radio show, etc. If they give you something tangible and you don't have a good answer for it, go here to learn about supposed Bible Difficulties and how to respond to them. If you do not have an immediate explanation, then your starting assumption that the Bible is true must take precedence, and you just have to learn more. In every case, there is a logical explanation— we just have to clear up our own ignorance. The idea that God made an error is never a possibility.
2. Since they are affirming errors in the Bible ask them some questions to see how familiar they are with the Bible. If you can show that they don't know some of the most basic truths about the Bible then their argument will lose any credibility and you can counter with some positive truths about the infallibility of Scripture. One way to do this is to say "oh, so you are familiar with the Bible?" If they say no, then you can just say "well why should I believe you when you tell me there are errors if you yourself are not familiar with it." If they say yes they are familiar with the Bible then ask them some basic questions that anyone remotely familiar with the Bible should know.
1. Question 1: How many books are in the Bible? Answer: 66.
2. Question 2: What is the first book in the New Testament? Answer: Matthew.
3. Question 3: How many Gospels are in the New Testament? Answer 4.
4. Question 4: Who wrote the letter to the Philippians? Answer: The Apostle Paul
5. Question 5: What is the 2nd book of the Bible? Answer: Exodus
6. You really could ask any number of basic questions. The idea is to really see if the person is at all familiar with the Bible. If not, call their bluff and tell them that since they don't really know the Bible it makes no sense for me to take anything they say about the Bible seriously. Then you can reason with them from the Scriptures about why the Bible is reliable, trustworthy and true. See the following link for examples: Can we trust the Bible?
3. If they are sharp enough, they might call you out and say well how do you know that all other religious books and beliefs are not true, are you familiar with all of them? Below is a helpful response to this challenge thanks to my friend Tony over at Systematic Evangelism.
1. Your answer should be no, that's unnecessary and impossible, and here's why:  If I know that 1 + 1 = 2 and only 2, I do not have to check to see if 3, 4 , 5 or any other number are possible answers.  By knowing the correct answer and knowing that there is only one right answer, I can know for sure that all other answers are false.  In the same way, by knowing that Christianity is true, I do not have to investigate every false religion under the sun.  If Christianity is true, all other religions are false. And here are just a few of the reasons why I know Christianity is true...( see Can we trust the Bible?)

Hopefully, you find some of this information useful. The most important thing to remember is that you must be respectful and gentle when responding to any objection (1 Peter 3:15-16). Remember, lost people are deceived (2 Cor 4:4) therefore we should have compassion on them and pray for them. Our hope is that by answering intellectual objections it will help soften their heart to the truth of the Gospel. But don't spend all your time addressing their intellect, remember that it is the Law, not our arguments, that is the school master that will ultimately lead them to Christ (Galatians 3:24).

Do You Know Who Adolf Hitler Is?

"Do you know who Adolf Hitler is?"

That is the opening question to the 180 Movie - a shocking documentary that compares two holocausts, the WWII holocaust and a holocaust that is taking place today.

In response to this question, several college students openly admit that they do not know who Adolf Hitler was. Some of them have never even heard of him...I was shocked and reminded of the common saying:

"Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it." Unknown

Well, history IS repeating itself, and it's happenning right in our own backyard. How can we possibly let something as horrible as what Hitler did happen right here in our "civilized" American country?

Whatever your thoughts are about abortion, whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, you owe it to yourself to find out what this documentary is all about.

Go to 180movie.com to watch the documentary online for free.

Third Street Promenade

Third Street Promenade

 1 Corinthians 3:7: So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 

Recently, I teamed up with my friend Tony from Systematic Evangelism at Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, CA. In 5 hours we were able to spread the gospel message in many different ways. We did some open air preaching using the sketchboard evangelism technique from Open Air Campaigners Ministry, interviewed people on camera, engaged people in one to one conversation and passed out hundreds of gospel tracts. I am amazed at the amount of people that can be reached by only two people in a relatively short period of time on a Friday night. Please pray for the gospel seeds that were planted in the hearts of the people we encountered.

Be encouraged. You can make a difference for eternity simply by being obedient to Jesus' command to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15). That is our job. It is God's job to change hearts. God bless you!

Interview at El Camino College

Part 1:

Part 2:

Our Mission on Earth

 Luke 19:10 "...for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

If God’s primary purpose for the saved were loving fellowship, He would take believers immediately to heaven, where spiritual fellowship is perfect, unhindered by sin, disharmony, or loneliness. If His primary purpose for the saved were the learning of His Word, He would also take believers immediately to heaven, where His Word is perfectly known and understood. And if God’s primary purpose for the saved were to give Him praise, He would, again, take believers immediately to heaven, where praise is perfect and unending.

There is only one reason the Lord allows His church to remain on earth: to seek and to save the lost, just as Christ’s only reason for coming to earth was to seek and to save the lost. “As the Father has sent Me,” He declared, “I also send you” (John 20:21). Therefore, believers who are not committed to winning the lost for Jesus Christ should reexamine their relationship to the Lord and certainly their divine reason for existence.

Fellowship, teaching, and praise are not the mission of the church but are rather the preparation of the church to fulfill its mission of winning the lost. And just as in athletics, training should never be confused with or substituted for actually competing in the game, which is the reason for all the training." John MacArthur

God is a Trinity

I recently started a study called The One True God by Paul Washer and the first chapter of the study is God is One and deals with the topic of God is a Trinity. Going through this study, I found some Scriptures that further support the fact that Jesus is God, which is a particular area of conflict when dealing with cults such as Mormonism or Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The first verse I wanted to share with you is Matthew 28:19:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…”

 Notice here that the word “name” is singular yet it refers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It does not use the word “names” because the three persons of the Godhead are all One. That is awesome!

 Also, 2 Cor 13:14 states:

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”

 The literary structure here denotes absolute equality. Notice that the Son is here mentioned even before the Father. If the Father were above the Son as the JWs or Mormons claim, this would be blasphemous. However, this shows that they are co-equal with the Father.

Other Scriptures which denote the same sort of literary structure showing equality between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are:

1 Corinthians 12:4-6:

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

Ephesians 4:4-6

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

1 Peter 1:2

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Also, compare the following verses from Isaiah with Titus 2:13. Notice in particular the use of the terms “God” and “Savior” in the Old Testament and how in the New Testament the same terms are used in regards to Jesus Christ. Hat tip to my friend Jason for the Isaiah verses.

Isaiah 43:3

For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Isaiah 43:11

I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.

Isaiah 45:15

Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

Isaiah 45:21

Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.

Titus 2:13

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Watch "Did Jesus Exist?" on YouTube