In Light Of Carson’s Warning McAtee Invokes Lloyd-Jones

“Failure to distinguish between the gospel and all the effects of the gospel tends, on the long haul, to replace the good news as to what God has done with a moralism that is finally without the power and the glory of Christ crucified, resurrected, ascended, and reigning.”

D. A. Carson
Thelimos

I couldn’t agree with this quote more. However, as D. Marty Lloyd Jones used to teach one can fall off the razor’s edge of truth on both the left side and the right side. Dr. Carson has given us a proper warning regarding falling off one particular side of the razor’s edge of truth. The reality that Dr. Carson would have us to be aware of is, is the danger of failing to distinguish between the gospel and all the effects of the Gospel. However, there is another warning that needs to be raised against another danger and that is the danger in failing to articulate the reality that the Gospel does have effects and consequences.

If we were to frame it in similar ways to Dr. Carson we might say something like this,

“Failure to articulate to the Church that the Gospel has effects tends, on the long haul, to replace the truth that because we have been raised with Christ we are to walk in newness of life, with an anti-nomianism that is finally without the power and the glory of Christ crucified, resurrected, ascended, and reigning.”

I am more than willing to admit the danger of which Dr. Carson speaks. There is a great danger in the Church today to exchange the Gospel for moralism. However, I wonder if those who are so excited to raise their voices in warning against moralism will also raise their voices in warning against anti-nomianism.

We must remember Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd Jones warning that one can fall off the razor’s edge of truth in two different directions.

For Tom, Michelle & Tommy J. – Pt. II

Dear Tom & Michelle & Tommy J.,

Matthew 6:9-13

9After this manner ought you to pray:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11Give us this day our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Yesterday we ended by asking how it is possible that God would hear our prayers. Another way we might ask this is how is it that God can be addressed as “Our Father.”

Tommy J., most people consider it automatic that God should hear prayers but they forget that God being Holy and pure He cannot remain Holy and pure and be in a relationship with those who are not Holy and pure. So, again we ask, “how is it that God can be addressed as “Our Father.(?)”

The answer to that Tommy J., reveals how loving God is. God can be called “Our Father” because God Himself takes the initiative to take away our sin by providing someone who served as a substitute for us. We couldn’t come to God with our sin and call Him “Our Father,” so God provided Jesus Christ as the one who, by His death, would bear the sins of those, and serve as the substitute for those who trust in Christ. The Bible says,

“Jesus, who knew no sin God made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him.(II Cor. 5:21)”

Tommy J., it is because of the death of Jesus Christ for sinners like you and me that His people can call God “Our Father.”

This means Tommy J., that those who don’t trust in Christ as the one who is their substitute, cannot call God their “Father.” This is why the Bible says that “no one can come to the Father except through Jesus (John 14:6).”

So, Tommy J., we can call God “Our Father” when we pray because God provided Jesus Christ as a substitute to take away the sins of those whom God loves.

Tomorrow Tommy J., we will begin to look at how the Lord’s prayer continues to teach the followers of Jesus how to pray.

Since we are learning how to pray, let us end with a prayer,

“Our Father we thank you for being Our Father and for loving us so much that you sent Jesus to make known to us your love for us as a Father. Father, we thank you that gave Jesus to us as our substitute and that you hear our prayers because of the death of Jesus on the Cross as our substitute. We thank you that we can call you ‘Our Father.’ In Jesus Name We Pray …. AMEN”

Political Potporrrui

Arlen Specter has been a Democrat ever since he was elected in 1980. Why does anybody consider it news that he has finally admitted it? Now if we can only get the rest of the Republican party to admit it.

Hi, my name is the Republican party and I’ve been a Democrat for 50 years.

Don’t let the talking heads fool you. When they lament that the Republican party can’t keep their moderates what they really mean is that the Republican party can’t keep their Liberal Democrats who call themselves Republican. The whole fricking Republican party is moderate by any sane standard…. and that is being generous.

Why do I get the sense that the swine flu is a bunch of bull-crap? Why does anyone automatically give credence to anything that the government reports about anything? If the Government isn’t lying to the public it can only fall back on being totally incompetent. Giving the government responsibilities in the health realm is like putting a Witch doctor in charge of the University of Michigan Medical school. Here is some cheap advice. If we ever get to the point where things are really dire and the government says the citizenry should do “x” wise citizens will completely ignore these buffoons and do “y.”

I have a suggestion on the torture issue. We could try water-boarding on our politicians and if a few of them die then we can conclude that it really was torture…. or conversely we might conclude that poetic justice exists and that the ones who died were terrorists. If we are still unsure we could do it again until we find out for sure. Listen people, our political and bureaucratic class is much more dangerous to us then the terrorists out there. Unlike the political / bureaucratic class the terrorists haven’t killed 50 million unborn babies.

Today Congress passed more hate crimes legislation thus proving that crimes that are committed out of hate are to be punished more seriously then crimes that are committed out of love. Juries are now going to be asked not only to find people guilty beyond a reasonable doubt they are going to be asked to be soothsayers who can pretend to know what was on the criminals mind when he was committing the crime.

Take it to the bank … by the time that the Obama administration is finished the race relations in this country will be more tense then they have been since the 1960’s.

Church Advocates Putting Light Under A Bushel As Effective Means Of Evangelism

“Because he was known as a hard worker and a devout Muslim, a young man got a good job herding cattle for wealthy families in his West African village. The families fed and paid him well. He liked the job and it helped him and his family members survive.

But then something happened. The young man started to talk with friends and others about Christianity—a religion about which he had known very little. He began to pray and reflect. One day, although he was frightened to make the move, he became a Christian.

At first he was happy and relieved. But then a group of Christians from another area told him that he needed to stop going to the mosque, stop fasting during Ramadan, and start speaking out against Islam.

The young man did this, but it didn’t go over well in his village. His friends turned against him. He lost his job. His wife was taken from him. He was attacked and beaten. Soon he was ostracized and not able to participate in the life of his village. In despair, he moved away.

Only later, after talking to other Christians, did he realize that he could have acted differently. These Christians told him that people had not been ready to hear his testimony. Following the first group’s advice had driven people away and made it harder for anyone to talk about Christianity. If the young man had kept his new faith “under the radar,” over time he might have been able to help others to consider becoming Christians.”

That this is being advocated as a new approach to evangelism is mind boggling. Are they actually advocating that the convert to Christ should have continued attending Mosque? Are they actually suggesting that the convert to Christ should have continued to celebrate the pagan holiday Ramadan? Are they saying that the convert was wrong for speaking out for Jesus? Are they actually teaching that when we are opposed for the sake of the Gospel we should shut up?

This article from the CRC Banner makes my head hurt.

The Banner Keeps Beating The Homosexual Drum

The Christian Reformed Church publication, “The Banner,” continues to push the homosexual agenda with its Editor’s recent Editorial on homosexuality. The Editor professes that he is not pushing homosexuality but merely desires to see all the hurting homosexuals that attend CRC churches receive loving acceptance and pastoral care.

The Editor suggests that the way to get past the current conversational impasse on the issue in the Denomination is for everybody to put aside their certainties on the subject and “do some fresh, serious, Bible study that is also informed by the latest scientific research on the subject.” Speaking only for myself, I would prefer to see some fresh, serious, scientific research that is also informed by wisdom of the Bible.

The problem with consulting “creation revelation” independent of the presuppositions drawn from Scripture is that “creation revelation” is only as good as the presuppositions that we bring to the “creation revelation.” Good and bad, and right and wrong, can not be determined by scientific research, though scientific research can be used and has been used to justify changing good and bad, and right and wrong in order to fit our preferences.

Face it, if Adam and Eve had looked to creation revelation and scientific research in order to determine whether or not they should eat the forbidden fruit they would have concluded that since the tree was good for food, and since the tree was pleasing to the eye, and since the tree was desirable to make one wise therefore scientific research and creation revelation taught that it was good to eat the fruit.

The call for people to put aside their certainties is merely a pretext to get the opponents of homosexuality to lay aside their opposition. It is only the opponents of homosexuality who lose by laying aside their certainties that the Scriptures speak against homosexuality. I mean, nobody really believes that the latest greatest scientific research is going to return a report confirming that homosexuality is deviant and putrid behavior. So, Rev. DeMoor appeals to laying aside our certainties and appeals to “scientific research,” knowing that such a call serves his agenda.

Rev. Bob DeMoor of the Banner, by opening and pursuing this conversation, whether intentionally or unintentionally, is serving the homosexual agenda.