Amazing Grace by John Newton (1725-1807)
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
T'was Grace that taught...
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear...
the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares...
we have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home.
The Lord has promised good to me...
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be...
as long as life endures."
Thank God for Pastor John Newton. Being dead he yet speaks.
Chris Connally
Romans 8:28
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Our Silence Is Deafening
The Church is called by Paul "a pillar and buttress of the truth." (I Timothy 3:15 ESV) To the Church is given the task of promoting and defending the very gospel itself. This task is no small one, and should be taken very seriously by all, especially those who claim the mantle of elder or pastor. We take upon ourselves a very serious responsibility when we mount the pulpit and step behind the lectern to deliver the precious gospel to our congregations. This is why James warned: "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." (James 3:1 ESV) This sober warning is given to communicate the seriousness of the role of teacher. Paul exhorts us to preach the Word of God. We have been given this mandate to preach, not what we would preach, but what God has commanded we preach. We are to preach no more or less than what God has revealed to us in His Word. When we hear one proclaiming something as truth we are to be noble Bereans and search the Scriptures for ourselves to see if these things be so. If Scripture reveals these things to be truth we are to embrace those teachings, but if they do not stand up to Scriptural scrutiny they are to be rejected.
Our silence becomes deafening when we know something to be in error but we allow that error to continue unchallenged. As pastors-elders-teachers we must remember our calling and the serious responsibility it carries. We are not called to do the comfortable thing or to take the easy way. We are called to preach the Word of God, and without apology proclaim it's truth while decrying the error that is taught in God's name. We are called to protect the flock from wolves that would destroy them and their faith. When we allow false teaching to go unchallenged we are not fulfilling our responsibility to protect the sheep God has entrusted to us. How many shepherds have given their lives to protect their flock from attacking wolves? How many have lost everything including their flocks because they would not abide false teaching? How many have remained silent in the name of protecting their flocks? How many use the cloak of compassion to hide their cowardice? It is much easier to ignore false teaching than it is to confront it. It is easier to sit idly by hoping that it will just go away. We justify our silence with the notion that confronting false teaching may hurt some in our congregations. Or even worse, we justify our silence with the excuse that "to stand against false teaching may cost me my Church, and then what good would I be able to do?"
Where in the independent baptist movement would I start breaking this silence? How about the 'doctrine' that the King James Bible is THE Word of God for the English speaking peoples? The proponents of this false doctrine claim that all other versions of Scripture are perversions and in essence pronounce an anathema on anyone who uses them. Some even go so far as to claim that anyone who was 'saved' using a version other than the KJB is not truly 'saved'. This false teaching has been elevated to a place of doctrinal status in our movement, and that without one single verse of Scripture to support it. One could also start by confronting the perverted belief that by repeating a prayer at the end of the Romans Road one is saved no matter what fruit their life is marked by after profession day. If these two examples do nothing to stoke your fire there are plenty of other issues to choose from.
If you fear the consequences of speaking the truth so much that you keep silent then you are in the wrong business. Being a soldier of the cross may not be for you and you should ring the bell and leave the ranks of pastor/teacher.
Proclaiming the truth is a costly business and one should count the cost before taking on the mantle of preacher. We are not in a popularity contest but are involved in spiritual warfare. This warfare calls for soldiers to endure hardness, loneliness, ridicule, and scorning. We are to proclaim the truth in love, but love should never be used as an excuse for silence.
God help us!
Our silence becomes deafening when we know something to be in error but we allow that error to continue unchallenged. As pastors-elders-teachers we must remember our calling and the serious responsibility it carries. We are not called to do the comfortable thing or to take the easy way. We are called to preach the Word of God, and without apology proclaim it's truth while decrying the error that is taught in God's name. We are called to protect the flock from wolves that would destroy them and their faith. When we allow false teaching to go unchallenged we are not fulfilling our responsibility to protect the sheep God has entrusted to us. How many shepherds have given their lives to protect their flock from attacking wolves? How many have lost everything including their flocks because they would not abide false teaching? How many have remained silent in the name of protecting their flocks? How many use the cloak of compassion to hide their cowardice? It is much easier to ignore false teaching than it is to confront it. It is easier to sit idly by hoping that it will just go away. We justify our silence with the notion that confronting false teaching may hurt some in our congregations. Or even worse, we justify our silence with the excuse that "to stand against false teaching may cost me my Church, and then what good would I be able to do?"
Where in the independent baptist movement would I start breaking this silence? How about the 'doctrine' that the King James Bible is THE Word of God for the English speaking peoples? The proponents of this false doctrine claim that all other versions of Scripture are perversions and in essence pronounce an anathema on anyone who uses them. Some even go so far as to claim that anyone who was 'saved' using a version other than the KJB is not truly 'saved'. This false teaching has been elevated to a place of doctrinal status in our movement, and that without one single verse of Scripture to support it. One could also start by confronting the perverted belief that by repeating a prayer at the end of the Romans Road one is saved no matter what fruit their life is marked by after profession day. If these two examples do nothing to stoke your fire there are plenty of other issues to choose from.
If you fear the consequences of speaking the truth so much that you keep silent then you are in the wrong business. Being a soldier of the cross may not be for you and you should ring the bell and leave the ranks of pastor/teacher.
Proclaiming the truth is a costly business and one should count the cost before taking on the mantle of preacher. We are not in a popularity contest but are involved in spiritual warfare. This warfare calls for soldiers to endure hardness, loneliness, ridicule, and scorning. We are to proclaim the truth in love, but love should never be used as an excuse for silence.
God help us!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Happy Birthday to John Calvin July 10, 1509-May 27, 1564
500 years ago today one of the great reformers in the history of the church was born. He lived some 55 years accomplishing much by God's amazing grace. Being dead he yet speaks. Thank you Lord for Pastor Calvin.
Chris Connally
Romans 8:28
Chris Connally
Romans 8:28
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
A Solemn Deprival By Charles H. Spurgeon
This is an excerpt from a sermon by Charles H. Spurgeon on the state of mankind without Christ. His text is Ephesians 2:12.
"THE MISERY OF OUR PAST ESTATE, be it known unto you that, in common with the rest of mankind, believers were once without Christ. No tongue can tell the depth of wretchedness that lies in those two words. There is no poverty like it, no want like it, and for those who die so, there is no ruin like that it will bring. Without Christ! If this be the description of some of you, we need not talk to you about the fires of hell; let this be enough to startle you, that you are in such a desperate state as to be without Christ. Oh! what terrible evils lie clustering thick within these two words!
The man who is without Christ is without any of those spiritual blessings which only Christ can bestow. Christ is the life of the believer, but the man who is without Christ is dead in trespasses and sins. There he lies; let us stand and weep over his corpse. It is decent and clean, and well laid out, but life is absent, and, life being absent, there is no knowledge, no feeling, no power. What can we do? Shall we take the word of God and preach to this dead sinner? We are bidden to do so, and, therefore, we will attempt it; but so long as he is without Christ no result will follow, any more than when Elisha's servant laid the staff upon the child—there was no noise, nor sound, nor hearing. As long as that sinner is without Christ, we may give him ordinances, if we dare; we may pray for him, we may keep him under the sound of the ministry, but everything will be in vain. Till thou, O quickening Spirit, come to that sinner, he will still be dead in trespasses and sins. Till Jesus is revealed to him there can be no life.
So, too, Christ is the light of the world. Light is the gift of Christ. "In him was light, and the light was the life of men." Men sit in darkness until Jesus appears. The gloom is thick and dense; not sun, nor moon, nor star appeareth, and there can be no light to illumine the understanding, the affections, the conscience. Man has no power to get light. He may strike the damp match of reason, but it will not yield him a clear flame. The candle of superstition, with its tiny glare, will but expose the darkness in which he is wrapped. Rise, morning star! Come, Jesus, come! Thou art the sun of righteousness, and healing is beneath thy wings. Without Christ there is no light of true spiritual knowledge, no light of true spiritual enjoyment, no light in which the brightness of truth can be seen, or the warmth of fellowship proved. The soul, like the men of Napthali, sits in darkness, and seeth no light.
Without Christ there is no peace. See that poor soul hunted by the dogs of hell. It flies swift as the wind, but faster far do the hunters pursue. It seeks a covert yonder in the pleasures of the world, but the baying of the hell-hounds affright it in the festive haunts. It seeks to toil up the mountain of good works, but its legs are all too weak to bear it beyond the oppressor's rule. It doubles; it changes its tack; it goes from right to left but the hell-dogs are too swift of foot, and too strong of wind to lose their prey, and till Jesus Christ shall open his bosom for that poor hunted thing to hide itself within, it shall have no peace.
Without Christ there is no rest. The wicked are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest, and only Jesus can say to that sea, "Peace, be still."
Without Christ there is no safety. The vessel must fly before the gale, for it has no anchor on board; it may dash upon the rocks, for it has no chart and no pilot. Come what may, it is given up to the mercy of wind and waves. Safety it cannot know without Christ. But let Christ come on board that soul, and it may laugh at all the storms of earth, and e'en the whirlwinds which the Prince of the Power of the air may raise need not confound it, but without Christ there is no safety for it.
Without Christ again, there is no hope. Sitting wrecked upon this desert rock, the lone soul looks far away, but marks nothing that can give it joy. If, perchance, it fancies that a sail is in the distance, it is soon undeceived. The poor soul is thirsty, and around it flows only a sea of brine, soon to change to an ocean of fire. It looks upward, and there is an angry God—downward, and there are yawning gulfs—on the right hand, and there are accusing sounds—on the left hand, and there are tempting fiends. It is all lost! lost! lost! without Christ, utterly lost, and until Christ comes not a single beam of hope can make glad that anxious eye.
Without Christ, beloved, remember that all the religious acts of men are vanity. What are they but mere air-bags, having nothing in them whatever that God can accept? There is the semblance of worship, the altar, the victim, the wood laid in order, and the votaries bow the knee, or prostrate their bodies, but Christ alone can send the fire of heaven's acceptance. Without Christ the offering, like that of Cain's, shall lie upon the stones, but it shall never rise in fragrant smoke, accepted by the God of heaven. Without Christ your church-goings are a form of slavery, your chapel-meetings a bondage. Without Christ your prayers are but empty wind, your repentances are wasted tears, your almsgivings and your good deeds are but a coating of thin veneer to hide your base iniquities. Your professions are white-washed sepulchres, fair to look upon, but inwardly full of rottenness. Without Christ your religion is dead, corrupt, a stench, a nuisance before God—a thing of abhorrence, for where there is no Christ there is no life in any devotion, nothing in it for God to see that can possibly please him. And this, mark you, is a true description, not of some, but of all who are without Christ. You moral people without Christ, you are lost as much as the immoral. You rich and respectable people, without Christ, you will be as surely damned as the prostitute that walks the streets at midnight. Without Christ, though you should heap up your charitable donations, endow your almshouses and hospitals, yea, though you should give your bodies to be burned, no merit would be imputed to you. All these things would profit you nothing. Without Christ, e'en if you might be raised on the wings of flaming zeal, or pursue your eager course with the enthusiasm of a martyr, you shall yet prove to be but the slave of your own passion, and the victim of your own folly. Unsanctified and unblest, you must, then, be shut out of heaven, and banished from the presence of God. Without Christ, you are destitute of every benefit which he, and he alone, can bestow."
Chris Connally
Romans 8:28
"THE MISERY OF OUR PAST ESTATE, be it known unto you that, in common with the rest of mankind, believers were once without Christ. No tongue can tell the depth of wretchedness that lies in those two words. There is no poverty like it, no want like it, and for those who die so, there is no ruin like that it will bring. Without Christ! If this be the description of some of you, we need not talk to you about the fires of hell; let this be enough to startle you, that you are in such a desperate state as to be without Christ. Oh! what terrible evils lie clustering thick within these two words!
The man who is without Christ is without any of those spiritual blessings which only Christ can bestow. Christ is the life of the believer, but the man who is without Christ is dead in trespasses and sins. There he lies; let us stand and weep over his corpse. It is decent and clean, and well laid out, but life is absent, and, life being absent, there is no knowledge, no feeling, no power. What can we do? Shall we take the word of God and preach to this dead sinner? We are bidden to do so, and, therefore, we will attempt it; but so long as he is without Christ no result will follow, any more than when Elisha's servant laid the staff upon the child—there was no noise, nor sound, nor hearing. As long as that sinner is without Christ, we may give him ordinances, if we dare; we may pray for him, we may keep him under the sound of the ministry, but everything will be in vain. Till thou, O quickening Spirit, come to that sinner, he will still be dead in trespasses and sins. Till Jesus is revealed to him there can be no life.
So, too, Christ is the light of the world. Light is the gift of Christ. "In him was light, and the light was the life of men." Men sit in darkness until Jesus appears. The gloom is thick and dense; not sun, nor moon, nor star appeareth, and there can be no light to illumine the understanding, the affections, the conscience. Man has no power to get light. He may strike the damp match of reason, but it will not yield him a clear flame. The candle of superstition, with its tiny glare, will but expose the darkness in which he is wrapped. Rise, morning star! Come, Jesus, come! Thou art the sun of righteousness, and healing is beneath thy wings. Without Christ there is no light of true spiritual knowledge, no light of true spiritual enjoyment, no light in which the brightness of truth can be seen, or the warmth of fellowship proved. The soul, like the men of Napthali, sits in darkness, and seeth no light.
Without Christ there is no peace. See that poor soul hunted by the dogs of hell. It flies swift as the wind, but faster far do the hunters pursue. It seeks a covert yonder in the pleasures of the world, but the baying of the hell-hounds affright it in the festive haunts. It seeks to toil up the mountain of good works, but its legs are all too weak to bear it beyond the oppressor's rule. It doubles; it changes its tack; it goes from right to left but the hell-dogs are too swift of foot, and too strong of wind to lose their prey, and till Jesus Christ shall open his bosom for that poor hunted thing to hide itself within, it shall have no peace.
Without Christ there is no rest. The wicked are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest, and only Jesus can say to that sea, "Peace, be still."
Without Christ there is no safety. The vessel must fly before the gale, for it has no anchor on board; it may dash upon the rocks, for it has no chart and no pilot. Come what may, it is given up to the mercy of wind and waves. Safety it cannot know without Christ. But let Christ come on board that soul, and it may laugh at all the storms of earth, and e'en the whirlwinds which the Prince of the Power of the air may raise need not confound it, but without Christ there is no safety for it.
Without Christ again, there is no hope. Sitting wrecked upon this desert rock, the lone soul looks far away, but marks nothing that can give it joy. If, perchance, it fancies that a sail is in the distance, it is soon undeceived. The poor soul is thirsty, and around it flows only a sea of brine, soon to change to an ocean of fire. It looks upward, and there is an angry God—downward, and there are yawning gulfs—on the right hand, and there are accusing sounds—on the left hand, and there are tempting fiends. It is all lost! lost! lost! without Christ, utterly lost, and until Christ comes not a single beam of hope can make glad that anxious eye.
Without Christ, beloved, remember that all the religious acts of men are vanity. What are they but mere air-bags, having nothing in them whatever that God can accept? There is the semblance of worship, the altar, the victim, the wood laid in order, and the votaries bow the knee, or prostrate their bodies, but Christ alone can send the fire of heaven's acceptance. Without Christ the offering, like that of Cain's, shall lie upon the stones, but it shall never rise in fragrant smoke, accepted by the God of heaven. Without Christ your church-goings are a form of slavery, your chapel-meetings a bondage. Without Christ your prayers are but empty wind, your repentances are wasted tears, your almsgivings and your good deeds are but a coating of thin veneer to hide your base iniquities. Your professions are white-washed sepulchres, fair to look upon, but inwardly full of rottenness. Without Christ your religion is dead, corrupt, a stench, a nuisance before God—a thing of abhorrence, for where there is no Christ there is no life in any devotion, nothing in it for God to see that can possibly please him. And this, mark you, is a true description, not of some, but of all who are without Christ. You moral people without Christ, you are lost as much as the immoral. You rich and respectable people, without Christ, you will be as surely damned as the prostitute that walks the streets at midnight. Without Christ, though you should heap up your charitable donations, endow your almshouses and hospitals, yea, though you should give your bodies to be burned, no merit would be imputed to you. All these things would profit you nothing. Without Christ, e'en if you might be raised on the wings of flaming zeal, or pursue your eager course with the enthusiasm of a martyr, you shall yet prove to be but the slave of your own passion, and the victim of your own folly. Unsanctified and unblest, you must, then, be shut out of heaven, and banished from the presence of God. Without Christ, you are destitute of every benefit which he, and he alone, can bestow."
Chris Connally
Romans 8:28
Friday, June 19, 2009
This Is Too Close to the Truth to be All That Funny
But it's funny nonetheless. Check out this parody on youth pastors:
With the exception of the older gentlemen throwing Ignatius off the stage this is pretty spot on.
Chris Connally
Romans 8:28
With the exception of the older gentlemen throwing Ignatius off the stage this is pretty spot on.
Chris Connally
Romans 8:28
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Jesus Did Not Die For Good People
Romans 5:6-8 (ESV)
"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Jesus died for ungodly sinners. Let us never forget that fact lest our love grow cold for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, or we grow prideful in our judgment of those who are without God's grace. Paul exhorts us in Ephesians 2:11 not to forget what we were before we were saved by the grace of Almighty God. We were dead in our sins, we were controlled by Satan, we were driven by our evil thoughts and passions, and we were by nature the objects of God's wrath. But God being rich in mercy poured out His holy wrath on Jesus who in turn poured out His grace upon us. Let us never forget that Jesus saved us from our sins and if we were to live a thousand lifetimes we would never be able to earn what God freely gave us through His Son Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:11-16 (ESV)
"Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility."
We who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. What an honored place we have been given to occupy. We, who deserved to not only be the objects of God's wrath, but to have it poured out on us in all of it's severity, have instead been brought near to God by the blood of Jesus Christ. May we never presume upon His grace, but live lives dependent upon it and be ever aware of it's presence in our hearts. Never forget that God died for ungodly sinners when He died for you and me.
Chris Connally
Romans 8:28
"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Jesus died for ungodly sinners. Let us never forget that fact lest our love grow cold for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, or we grow prideful in our judgment of those who are without God's grace. Paul exhorts us in Ephesians 2:11 not to forget what we were before we were saved by the grace of Almighty God. We were dead in our sins, we were controlled by Satan, we were driven by our evil thoughts and passions, and we were by nature the objects of God's wrath. But God being rich in mercy poured out His holy wrath on Jesus who in turn poured out His grace upon us. Let us never forget that Jesus saved us from our sins and if we were to live a thousand lifetimes we would never be able to earn what God freely gave us through His Son Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:11-16 (ESV)
"Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility."
We who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. What an honored place we have been given to occupy. We, who deserved to not only be the objects of God's wrath, but to have it poured out on us in all of it's severity, have instead been brought near to God by the blood of Jesus Christ. May we never presume upon His grace, but live lives dependent upon it and be ever aware of it's presence in our hearts. Never forget that God died for ungodly sinners when He died for you and me.
Chris Connally
Romans 8:28
Thursday, June 11, 2009
How Does One Reach Our Culture for Christ?
Engaging our culture is not dressing the part, or speaking the lingo, or even adapting music to fit the younger generations tastes (Nothing makes me sicker than to hear a 40 year old man trying to speak the language of 16 year old kids in the name of bridging the generational gap. Kids are not as dumb as we who are older, and hopefully wiser, suppose them to be. It sounds just as fake to them as it does to everyone else).
The fundamentalists get a bad rap (and rightly so) for focusing so much on outward appearances. In reality the fundamentalist movement does not stand alone in this regard. When speaking of engaging our culture with our hipper brethren the talk inevitably turns to a standard that deals mostly with dress, music, lingo, or the color of the praise band leaders hair. In other words, the younger and hipper evangelicals of today are just as hung up on outward appearance as those who occupy the seats of the more 'legalistic' and conservative generation of evangelical/fundamentalists. What we all need to realize is that we cannot fix what is broken by performing simple cosmetic surgery. With that said I would like to take a closer look at we are engaging when we engage our culture.
This story should shock us all to tears but it probably won't:
"Philadelphia, PA (LifeNews.com) -- An abortion business in Pennsylvania is drawing criticism for giving away free abortions on Tuesday in honor of slain late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller. The Philadelphia Women's Center said the free abortions were meant to show appreciation for Tiller, who was allegedly killed by extremist gunman Scott Roeder."
What a disgusting demonstration of the depravity of our culture today. Over 1 million babies are murdered in the US alone every year in the name of reproductive freedom and this murder factory gives away free abortions as a way of honoring one of the more proficient doctors of death.
Homosexuality, adultery, fornication, drunkeness, idolatry, disrespectful youth, haters of good, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, and a lascivious pursuit of all things evil--This is our culture and we had better wake up to that reality.
We are not engaging a culture that is a little bit sick and just needs to be convinced that they are a little off course; and that by dressing like them, speaking like them, or mimicking their mannerism and musical tastes in Jesus' name we are somehow impacting our culture for Christ. In reality we are engaging a culture that hates God and celebrates its depravity. Our culture is one that is wallowing in its spiritual deadness and sees nothing wrong or shameful in it's behavior. It calls evil good and good evil. We need to wake up and see that the culture is not becoming more godly. Instead we have a Church that is becoming more worldly with every passing day. All of the sins mentioned previously are being accepted by the Church today in some way, shape, or form. We have lost our desire to stand in the gap and declare the holiness of God and His demand that all men everywhere are to repent and believe. We do not preach the Lordship of Christ but instead preach a god who will be what you need him to be when you need him to be it. In place of a holy Church that has Christ as it's Lord and Savior we have a social group that is more concerned with being culturally relevant and views everything through the lens of pragmatism. Everyone who claims the name of Christ is our brother and it is bad form to call into question anyone's claim of being a Christian. After all God is love and all this negativity is bringing people down.
We must not continue to engage our culture as if its problems are nothing a little paint won't fix.
Paul declared in I Corinthians 6:9-11(ESV):
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Our culture is on its way to hell and our becoming like them is not going to fix that. We must live lives that loudly declare that we have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God. We must declare the holiness of Almighty God, and the Lordship of Jesus Christ over all things.
Do I have the all the answers for what is ailing us? No I do not. However, it is evident to anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear that the current methods employed by fundamentalists/evangelicals and the hip non-denominational emergents are failing. I do know that we will not reach our culture by conforming to its ways or by presenting a legalistic, extra-biblical list of things people should adhere to if they want to please God. Nor will we reach them by avoiding confrontation in the name of being seeker sensitive. We will reach them by preaching the Word of God without compromise. We will reach them by presenting ourselves as yielded servants to our King. We will reach them by presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice and by our non-conformity to this world. We will reach them one person at a time. Our culture will be saved God's way or they will not be saved at all. We must stay faithful to our King and seek to glorify Him and Him alone. Paul admonished Timothy to preach the Word even when people refused to hear it. We are not to change the message in hopes that people will listen to and like the new and improved culturally relevant message. Our culture needs people who faithfully proclaim the truth instead of these masters of illusion that have lulled people into a stupor with a message that is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
May God awake us out of this sleep and open our eyes to what He has called us to be.
Chris Connally
Romans 8:28
The fundamentalists get a bad rap (and rightly so) for focusing so much on outward appearances. In reality the fundamentalist movement does not stand alone in this regard. When speaking of engaging our culture with our hipper brethren the talk inevitably turns to a standard that deals mostly with dress, music, lingo, or the color of the praise band leaders hair. In other words, the younger and hipper evangelicals of today are just as hung up on outward appearance as those who occupy the seats of the more 'legalistic' and conservative generation of evangelical/fundamentalists. What we all need to realize is that we cannot fix what is broken by performing simple cosmetic surgery. With that said I would like to take a closer look at we are engaging when we engage our culture.
This story should shock us all to tears but it probably won't:
"Philadelphia, PA (LifeNews.com) -- An abortion business in Pennsylvania is drawing criticism for giving away free abortions on Tuesday in honor of slain late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller. The Philadelphia Women's Center said the free abortions were meant to show appreciation for Tiller, who was allegedly killed by extremist gunman Scott Roeder."
What a disgusting demonstration of the depravity of our culture today. Over 1 million babies are murdered in the US alone every year in the name of reproductive freedom and this murder factory gives away free abortions as a way of honoring one of the more proficient doctors of death.
Homosexuality, adultery, fornication, drunkeness, idolatry, disrespectful youth, haters of good, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, and a lascivious pursuit of all things evil--This is our culture and we had better wake up to that reality.
We are not engaging a culture that is a little bit sick and just needs to be convinced that they are a little off course; and that by dressing like them, speaking like them, or mimicking their mannerism and musical tastes in Jesus' name we are somehow impacting our culture for Christ. In reality we are engaging a culture that hates God and celebrates its depravity. Our culture is one that is wallowing in its spiritual deadness and sees nothing wrong or shameful in it's behavior. It calls evil good and good evil. We need to wake up and see that the culture is not becoming more godly. Instead we have a Church that is becoming more worldly with every passing day. All of the sins mentioned previously are being accepted by the Church today in some way, shape, or form. We have lost our desire to stand in the gap and declare the holiness of God and His demand that all men everywhere are to repent and believe. We do not preach the Lordship of Christ but instead preach a god who will be what you need him to be when you need him to be it. In place of a holy Church that has Christ as it's Lord and Savior we have a social group that is more concerned with being culturally relevant and views everything through the lens of pragmatism. Everyone who claims the name of Christ is our brother and it is bad form to call into question anyone's claim of being a Christian. After all God is love and all this negativity is bringing people down.
We must not continue to engage our culture as if its problems are nothing a little paint won't fix.
Paul declared in I Corinthians 6:9-11(ESV):
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Our culture is on its way to hell and our becoming like them is not going to fix that. We must live lives that loudly declare that we have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God. We must declare the holiness of Almighty God, and the Lordship of Jesus Christ over all things.
Do I have the all the answers for what is ailing us? No I do not. However, it is evident to anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear that the current methods employed by fundamentalists/evangelicals and the hip non-denominational emergents are failing. I do know that we will not reach our culture by conforming to its ways or by presenting a legalistic, extra-biblical list of things people should adhere to if they want to please God. Nor will we reach them by avoiding confrontation in the name of being seeker sensitive. We will reach them by preaching the Word of God without compromise. We will reach them by presenting ourselves as yielded servants to our King. We will reach them by presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice and by our non-conformity to this world. We will reach them one person at a time. Our culture will be saved God's way or they will not be saved at all. We must stay faithful to our King and seek to glorify Him and Him alone. Paul admonished Timothy to preach the Word even when people refused to hear it. We are not to change the message in hopes that people will listen to and like the new and improved culturally relevant message. Our culture needs people who faithfully proclaim the truth instead of these masters of illusion that have lulled people into a stupor with a message that is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
May God awake us out of this sleep and open our eyes to what He has called us to be.
Chris Connally
Romans 8:28
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