Daniel Abbey

To all bean curd lovers, my apologies in advance

A few weeks ago I listened to a Christian Q&A session posted online and was disturbed to hear some patently unbiblical teaching regarding confession. I’m not talking about the Roman Catholic practice of holing up in a booth and admitting your wrongdoing to a priest (who has no power to forgive you whatsoever). No this was a little more insidious.

It goes thus: if you’re a true Christian (that is, someone who has repented of sin and is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation) then God has forgiven your trespasses and you never have to ask for forgiveness of sin again.

What a problematic statement.

First of all, it’s half true. Yes, God has forgiven all our sins (Psalm 103:12) and yes justification is a one-time deal wherein God forgives a sinner based on the merit of Christ’s perfect righteousness alone.

But what’s this business of never having to ask forgiveness ever again?

I call it the DAFT view (Don’t Ask for Forgiveness Theology). It’s an old idea often linked to antinomianism or the extreme grace idea that says adherence to the Mosaic Law is unnecessary for the modern Christian.

It’s sneaky, like tofu, pretending to be meat while actually being a poor substitute.

Yet I can see why it’s attractive – who wouldn’t want to just ditch all the negativity that comes with sin and get on with the more positive aspects of the Christian life? If God has forgiven us (which He has) and has blotted out our sins (which He has) then perhaps it makes better sense to focus on living by the Spirit rather than having to contemplate our sin and ask for forgiveness all the time (it’s not).

It’s dangerous theology, to say the least. And that’s because the Bible, contrary to this flawed doctrine, teaches us that:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

You’d think that’s a pretty clear verse huh? Yet many people want to do away with this, as if it were some impediment to the Christian life rather than a critical component. DAFT guys have to reinvent the meaning of this verse and reinterpret certain passages to give their DAFT teaching legs. Yet in so doing they mangle the Bible and destroy the faith of others.

For example, DAFT folks teach that Jesus’ command that we confess our sins doesn’t apply today.

You see the first torpedo that DAFT proponents have to dodge is the issue of Christ’s model of prayer where he teaches us to confess our sins (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). Note Jesus’ specific words:

“Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” (Luke 11:4).

As a suggested prayer pattern from our Lord I’d say this is a crucial thing to practice. Yet DAFT people say this verse no longer applies to us because, get this: at the time he said that He hadn’t died on the cross yet.

In other words, atonement wasn’t yet made and therefore justification by grace wasn’t yet possible. Jesus, they say, was telling His disciples they needed to continually ask for forgiveness of sin because, who knows, if they got trampled by a mad cow or crushed underneath an unstable brick tower, they might end up in hell for unconfessed and unforgiven sin.

In a works-righteousness economy where people have to earn their salvation by obeying the Law, this makes perfect sense. Except there never was a works-righteousness economy (not in God’s eyes anyway).

You see this whole new covenant (saved by grace)/old covenant (saved by law) thing is a flawed understanding of God’s plan of redemption. It’s a broken understanding of the gospel. DAFT folks would have us believe that as members of the new covenant, the covenant of grace, we are forgiven by grace – the grace made possible by the death of Jesus Christ – who now freely forgives people and no longer demands them to go through the complicated and perpetual requirements of works-righteousness Judaism to be saved.

But that view is only half true because salvation has ALWAYS been by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus. It’s been this way since the time of Adam and Eve. There was never a time in redemptive history where a person could be saved by doing good and praying for forgiveness on a daily basis.

We know this because the author of the book of Hebrews labors to inform his readers (a Jewish community steeped in Pharisaic, works-oriented doctrine and no doubt struggling with the concept of grace) that salvation by grace through faith has always been the case. He argues for this throughout the beautiful chapter of Hebrews 11, beginning with Abel, making his way through Noah and the Patriarchs, steadily contending that salvation was always a free gift imputed to us rather than earned.

Note the author’s comment in verse 11 that Moses forsook the pleasures of the Egyptian court for the sake of Christ “because he was looking ahead to his reward” (Heb 11:26). Moses was looking to Christ in faith!

Paul says that Abraham was justified by faith and not works (Romans 4). Like Moses, he was looking ahead to the Messiah, and was thereby justified by faith in Jesus Christ through the merciful grace of God.

We on the other hand, look back to the finished work of Jesus the Messiah but are still justified by the same means – faith alone by grace alone.

That’s how salvation has always been. To say that people who lived before Christ had to somehow earn or acquire salvation other than through faith in Christ is unbiblical.

In light of this, what did Jesus mean when he gave his model of prayer? If he wasn’t teaching his disciples to ask for forgiveness daily that they might be consistently assured of salvation, what was he saying?

In John 13 we find a fascinating answer. Jesus and his disciples gather in the upper room for the Passover meal, the Last Supper. They have come in from another long day in the hot and dusty outdoors, their feet grimy and in need of washing before sitting down to eat. Jesus, in a startling act of humility and love, decides to perform this act Himself. He wraps himself in a towel, splashes some water into a bowl, and begins to wash his disciple’s feet.

Peter finds this offensive. The Lord God of the universe is washing them? He quickly objects: “You shall never wash my feet” (v8).

Jesus responds in the same verse: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

Peter thinks about this and decides he wants to have full part with Jesus (which isn’t surprising, since he was perhaps the most devout and outspoken of the disciples and wanted to be with Jesus in everything). Not wanting to lack in any way when it came to communion with his Lord, he tells Jesus, “Not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” (v9).

Jesus’ reply is significant: “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean… ” (v10).

Did you catch that? Jesus was painting a spiritual analogy, telling Peter that someone who is justified (whose sins are completely forgiven) is like someone who has taken a bath and is totally clean. That person need not be justified again; it’s a done deal (“You are clean”). All he needs is the occasional washing of feet to get rid of the build up of dirt that comes with walking in this tainted world.

In other words, confessing your sins as a believer is not a matter of justification (coz that’s already been sorted); it’s a matter of sanctification or holy living (which is an ongoing process). We confess our sins as believers because we need day-to-day purification, that washing of the feet, so we can consistently enjoy the harmony of fellowship with our holy and perfect Lord.

We don’t ask for forgiveness out of some spiritual obligation to maintain good credit with a vengeful God, we ask forgiveness because we know God is holy and we want no part in anything that offends Him.

In more practical terms, we confess sin because to harbor it or ignore it would be like stepping in a patch of dung and entering a restaurant pretending nothing happened. Eventually the stench becomes so overwhelming all the guests leave or you’re booted out the door. Disharmony happens. And the only way to set things right is to wash off the dung (not buy a new pair of shoes).

Sanctification is a lifelong course that begins at our justification and carries through until our glorification, when the Lord calls us home to be with Him. It is our A-Z journey to Christ-likeness, a necessary path and natural consequence of being born again. We are all at different stages of sanctification and we all bear fruit to various degrees (Matthew 13:8). But make no mistake, all true believers are on the road and all true believers step in dung on the way.

That’s because we are still prone to sin (1 John 1:8). Yes we’ve been transformed and made into new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17) but we are still stuck in the flesh – our bodies, the earthly casings tainted and corrupted by sin (Romans 7).

This is why we are urged to confess our sins and forgive others; we need to be honest with our condition and bring before the Lord the stuff that bogs us down – our constant blunders, unbroken habits and secret sins. We need to confess and lay them before the Lord because the opposite would be to deny them and say that sin is of no consequence.

John had this to say of the man who felt no need to acknowledge his sin:

“If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives” (1 John 1:10).

I don’t know about you but I would not want to call God a liar.

Speaking of lies, you know what’s worse than a lie? Truth mingled with untruth. I find it very distressing to hear people who claim to be Christians preach the Word mixed with unbiblical teaching. At best it causes confusion in the body of Christ; at worst, it can damn people to a Christless eternity.

Don’t deny your sins or think that God finds them trivial. We ought to cultivate an attitude of submission to Christ that includes bringing our daily sin to him and asking Him to forgive and cleanse us. Remember, it’s not our eternal standing before God that is at stake; He settled that once and for all when you repented of sin and gave your life to Him as Lord and Savior. You ARE clean. Rather it is our fellowship with Him that is at stake, that daily communion where we enjoy His presence and power in our lives.

If we refuse to acknowledge our sins, like David after the Bathsheba debacle our fellowship with God will be marred and we risk experiencing a less fruitful walk. Indeed, it can get painful, as God makes it clear that he will always discipline His erring children (Hebrews 12:4-11).

The comforting thing is God is in the cleansing and restoration business (1 John 1:9) and disciplines us because He loves us.

Be on guard against false doctrine that tickles the ears and seduces the heart. Test all novel teaching to see if it matches the pure meat of the Word which is able to truly satisfy and nourish our souls.

Don’t settle for tofu.

Perhaps my all-time favorite hymn is “And Can it Be?” by Charles Wesley. It is one of the most melodically stirring and lyrically profound songs ever written, surely the best of the six thousand plus hymns Wesley penned.

I remember singing it in church while growing up, mastering the tune but barely understanding its message. Then one day, after repenting of sin and embracing Christ as Lord and Savior, I sang it during Sunday worship and could not believe the clarity with which I read the words. The Spirit was working in me, helping me fathom and appreciate the hymn as never before.

The following verse sprung out at me with particular vigor:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

It was an unforgettable moment; the verse crystallized exactly what I was going through. Like Wesley, I was once incarcerated in a dungeon of doom, shackled by sin and blinded by the darkness. I had no hope of clawing my way out; I was a prisoner of nature’s night, unable to reverse the inexorable hold of sin on my life. People told me to choose God but I chose the devil, each and every time.

Then the Lord pierced the darkness with His living light – flaming, glorious and resplendent. I awoke to the truth of His love; my chains crumbled, my heart was set free. I was now able to choose God because He had resuscitated my heart. I was now free to follow Him because He chose to set me free.

I’m so glad Charles Wesley articulated what I, and no doubt thousands of others, feel but can barely put into words regarding so great a salvation. It’s a magnificent hymn and a wonderful way to honor God and His mighty redeeming work. The thunderous sound of several hundred vivacious believers singing this at the top of their lungs is surely a taste of heaven.

Anyway, enough. Sing along with me, in your heart, wherever you may be.

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

’Tis mystery all: th’Immortal dies:
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

Still the small inward voice I hear,
That whispers all my sins forgiven;
Still the atoning blood is near,
That quenched the wrath of hostile Heaven.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

After keeping us waiting for a century, Mark Twain will finally reveal all

“The creator of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and some of the most frequently misquoted catchphrases in the English language left behind 5,000 unedited pages of memoirs when he died in 1910, together with handwritten notes saying that he did not want them to hit bookshops for at least a century.

That milestone has now been reached, and in November the University of California, Berkeley, where the manuscript is in a vault, will release the first volume of Mark Twain’s autobiography.”

The Council of Trent – The Sixth Session: Justification Canons

It’s interesting to read Rome’s official stance on reformation doctrine, particularly the doctrine of justification by faith alone. All people who hold to this doctrine (that is all who believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone) have been declared by the Roman Catholic church as accursed. And yet if we (evangelicals) are right on the gospel and Rome is wrong (and there can only be one correct view) then they have actually placed the anathema on themselves.

Is The Thickness of Two Short Planks A Forgotten Divine Attribute?

“None of the systematic theologies I own include `being as thick as two short planks’ in their treatments of the divine attributes; but it appears that there is a trend today to rectify this neglected aspect of God’s being.”

Pornography — The Difference Being a Parent Makes

“Ryan Tate got more than he bargained for when he made his protest to Steve Jobs. In a strange way, we are now all in his debt, because the response from Steve Jobs now puts Apple on the line. In the end, the real meaning of this media eruption is less about computers and “apps” and more about parents and kids.”

Mark Zuckerberg responds to privacy concerns

“We have heard the feedback. There needs to be a simpler way to control your information. In the coming weeks, we will add privacy controls that are much simpler to use. We will also give you an easy way to turn off all third-party services. We are working hard to make these changes available as soon as possible. We hope you’ll be pleased with the result of our work and, as always, we’ll be eager to get your feedback.”

And this guy says don’t believe it (Why you shouldn’t trust Facebook’s apology)

“Facebook isn’t sorry. It says it’s sorry, but it isn’t sorry. Sure, it’ll come up with tweaked privacy settings to defray criticism, just like it did in December 2009. And in August 2009. And in March 2008. And in December 2007.”

50 Freely Available Professional Fonts For Your Designs

Need some really neat and professional fonts? This here is a very good list.

I once had a bookmark that had a bunch of “Rules for Teenagers” printed on it – maxims for minors you could say. I forget what they were, except for one that really stuck in my head:

Stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.

Unless you’re a religious jihadist, sex trafficker, or something worse, this is generally good advice. Stand for something (good) or you’ll be swept away by whatever is fashionable to believe in, regardless of whether it’s good or not, like some hapless invertebrate in the turbulent open sea.

Of course, for Christians, that “something good” should be the gospel of Jesus Christ, the “power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom 1:21). It’s the one thing that can save a person’s soul and transform him forever into the likeness of Christ to the eternal glory of God.

It should be, therefore, the supreme cause around which all Christians must rally.

Unfortunately many of us would rather give ourselves to anything but our Savior. Instead of standing for Jesus we fall for shiny and seductive alternatives – modern idols that glow with invisible power but are impotent to save and sanctify our souls.

Environmentalism, political issues, social activism – there’s a cause and movement for everything. We’re all lured by their seeming worthiness to end global crises, alleviate human strife, and make the world a better place. But do they measure up to the peace and power that come through knowing and being reconciled to a holy, infinite God?

Of course not. Yet our lives betray us. We pay lip service to the power and importance of the gospel and then center our existence around some lesser crusade, whether it be saving Mother Nature, electing government officials, or simply trying to convert people to a new brand of coffee coz it’s just too awesome and you haven’t lived until you’ve tried it blah blah blah.

Not that there’s anything wrong with a good cause, political reform, or better coffee. In fact, there are many good things in this world to be involved in and passionate about. But if we call ourselves Christians and our fervent desire to save the whales, change the government, or wax lyrical about overpriced consumer beverages overshadows our gospel message, then maybe we ought to reexamine what we believe in.

You see the gospel of Jesus is more important than any human cause or movement no matter how significant or high-impact they may be. That’s because the gospel is the only thing that can reconcile a person to God, ensure his sanctification, and bring him to everlasting glory (Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:3-5).

It’s also the most significant display of God’s grace, mercy, and power (Romans 5:8). God’s plan and execution of redemption puts His matchless person and character on vivid and unparalleled display; He is magnified in His love for us, glorified beyond measure when He redeems sinful, rebellious people.

We’d do well to remember that the next time our earthly causes eclipse God’s ultimate calling on our lives. We change the world by sharing, preaching, and living the gospel to lost people. The power of God works through the gospel to transform and redeem sinful lives. God is glorified through the execution of His gospel, not our Rainbow ships, government officials, or our all-flaming Orange Mocha Frappuccinos.

Standing for the gospel should be our supreme cause. We can certainly count on its effect (Isaiah 55:11).

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)

It seems that atheism is undergoing something of a renaissance these days.

Not that it has ever gone out of style; there always has and always will be an abundance of people who don’t believe in God. In recent years, however, atheism (or the New Atheism as it is popularly known) is making a marked comeback, vehemently opposing anything and everything in its humanistic path, Christianity being its chief opponent.

Leading the fray is the multi-awarded Richard Dawkins, New Atheism’s poster child and perhaps the movement’s most outspoken evangelist. Dawkins is a biological theorist who used to teach at Oxford University until his retirement in 2008. He is the author of the best-selling book “The GOD Delusion” and a notorious critic of religion.

His disdain for Christianity is legendary. Says Dawkins in an interview with the Independent:

“…insofar as theology studies the nature of the divine, it will earn the right to be taken seriously when it provides the slightest, smallest smidgen of a reason for believing in the existence of the divine. Meanwhile, we should devote as much time to studying serious theology as we devote to studying serious fairies and serious unicorns. “

Dawkins enjoys pillorying Christianity. The very notion that the God of the Bible could exist is patently absurd to him. Ironically Dawkins is something of a god himself for being as outspoken, accomplished, and articulate about atheism as he is. His major scientific cred and Old Testament zeal have impressed thousands of junior atheists the world over; his teachings have been all but canonized by the Dawkins faithful.

Dawkins is one in a long line of internationally famous atheists with sparkling academic credentials and snarling arguments against God. They all raise their fingers against the Almighty, denying His existence, insisting that THEY have the right answer and that all begins and ends with science and science alone.

They pen bestsellers, engage in international debates, and draw multitudes into their web forums; they laud their own ideas while ridiculing all opposition, even if their dissenters offer thoroughly academic counterarguments to their Godless positions.

There’s nothing we can do or say to repudiate their claims, we are told; our arguments are weak and emotional, our evidences flawed, fabricated, pitiful. Darwinism is the true gospel; the New Atheists its chief promulgators. We Christians are urged to move out of their way or be steamrolled by the unrelenting “truth” of the humanist perspective.

Of course, a whole slew of rabid followers eat this up. And the result is an intense movement that’s rapidly gaining momentum across the world, spreading a particularly aggressive form of atheism that’s aimed squarely at toppling Christianity and instituting Darwinism and humanism as the only true explanations for life and living.

What are we to do in the face of this fierce opposition to the truth of God’s Word and our Christian faith?

Well for one, don’t run. While it’s easy to be intimidated by intellectuals hostile to Christianity, don’t hide, don’t cower, and don’t feel sorry for yourself if you can’t answer their every objective. We have nothing to fear (2 Timothy 1:7); New Atheism is simply an old lie screamed with renewed conviction. But like dogs without fangs, atheists are limited to barking.

Next we need to realize that while atheism is in direct opposition to what we believe and its adherents often use arguments and speech that is painful to hear and tolerate, atheists are still lost people in need of a Savior. They are on the broad way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13) and are blinded by the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4). The fact that they are so anti-God should make us realize how much danger they are in and how desperately they need Jesus.

And how are they to come to faith in Christ?

Through the gospel according to Jesus of course.

The gospel is what convicts people, exposes their sin, and smashes their sense of self-righteousness to pieces. When God sees fit, the gospel breaks men in the light of His law which they realize they cannot possibly keep. And ultimately it ushers them to Jesus Christ, the sinless God-man who lived a perfect life and offered it on the cross as a pleasing blood sacrifice to the Father.

The gospel is the story of the atonement of Christ for our sins, His dying in our place that we might never have to endure the punishment for all our wrongdoing. It is the story of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, His victory over death that completes the redemption saga and makes possible full restitution between sinful man and an infinitely holy God.

It’s the news atheists need to hear, more than Biblical apologetics and arguments for Intelligent Design. For it is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16) – the key to setting them free from sin and spiritual blindness.

Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely believe in refuting error with truth and sound apologetics, in being ready with an answer for anyone who asks why we believe in God (1 Peter 3:15). I agree that atheism needs to be debunked and that believers should arm themselves with Biblical knowledge (as well as knowledge of what they’re fighting against) to do so.

And I totally support and dig people who have devoted much of their lives to countering the shrill cry of atheism.

The works of great apologists like Ravi Zacharias and Josh McDowell are thought-provoking and indispensable; similarly, the distinguished Oxford mathematician John Lennox (who has refuted Richard Dawkins in many an insightful debate) has much good to say on the subjects of science, philosophy, and God. His life, teaching, and example are great sources of strength and encouragement for anyone grappling and squaring off with atheist ideas.

CS Lewis made a powerful case for the faith with his classic book Mere Christianity (as well as many other esteemed works); Lee Strobel, the investigative journalist turned Christian apologist, has written several compelling works that effectively destroy common “intellectual” objections against Jesus, the Bible, and the Christian faith.

And more recently, chief Intelligent Design proponent Stephen Meyer has released a cutting-edge book on the case of Intelligent Design which has rocked the scientific community, both Christian and secular, with its arguments for a Creator God based on the unfathomable and magnificent complexities of our DNA code.

But as I said, while providing reasonable support for our faith through apologetics and thoroughly researched and well-written scientific books in favor of God is good, the arguments themselves won’t save people from their sins.

Only the gospel can do that.

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of engaging an atheist via email and exchanging a few ideas regarding God, science, the Bible, and what it means to be a Christian. I was told by a mutual friend that he was open to the idea of God if only someone could produce incontrovertible proof of His existence. I sat for a while, pondering how I should phrase my first email.

Although I wanted to start with an emphatic statement, a contention that was almost as incontrovertible than the God I was trying to prove, I ended up abandoning an “opening argument” as it were and proceeded instead to narrate my statement of faith – why I am a Christian and what I believe to be true of God, Jesus Christ, and the gospel. I didn’t want to get bogged down by complex apologetical/scientific arguments (there’d be plenty of time for that later) – I simply wanted to be like Paul who declared to the Corinthians, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

He replied right away, rejecting outright the existence of God (claiming, among other things, that since he doesn’t believe in God and sin, that he is actually sinless!) We went into a short exchange, a quick 24-hour flurry of activity which ended in 16 emails, lots of strong words, and a fascinating look into the mind of an atheist.

His comments were irritating and insulting; perhaps mine were too (to his ears anyway).

And while no one was soon “converted”, I like to think that I had sowed the seeds of the gospel in his heart. If he one day responds and turns to Christ then I will rejoice with the angels in heaven. If he doesn’t, I’ll be sad but not surprised.

“The gospel is foolishness to the natural man; his mind cannot understand it” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Ultimately, atheists will reject the gospel and the God from whom it comes simply because they do not understand it. They want no part in God’s truth; their only wish is to believe worldly ideas which, although they may have the appearance of wisdom, are as valuable as goat droppings.

Yet for every thousand or hundred thousand people who mock the gospel, who spit on the Savior, who laugh ferociously at the truth of the Atonement, there will be a handful of people who’ll be genuinely saved (John 6:37). These will be penetrated by the Word, quickened by the Spirit into believing God’s truth, and they’ll abandon all hope in their faulty and humanistic concepts to embrace Jesus as Lord.

The gospel is the means by which men are saved. Apologetics and sound scientific arguments in favor of a Creator God are extremely useful tools in opening minds to Christ. But the opening of hearts is the Spirit’s work. When the Word of God is taught with clarity and conviction the Spirit moves men to repentance.

Share the gospel. Don’t be afraid of the New Atheism.

I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge… (2 Corinthians 11:6a)

I am not a gifted speaker.

As much as I wanna be like Charles Spurgeon or John MacArthur, I’m faaaar from that mold.

I can’t instantly think of 5 different ways to say something to drive home a prominent point. I don’t have a deep reservoir of profound words that I can dip into every few seconds as I deliver a speech.

I don’t have one of those Richard Burton, auditorium-shattering voices.

I can’t make a morning reading of the Psalms sound like a Shakespearean soliloquy.

I have a very basic voice, the kind you hate to listen to when captured on tape and played over and over by an annoying sibling with a voice recorder.

I really don’t have anything in the way of oratorical power.

What I do have though is gospel knowledge.

And that, according to Paul, is enough.

You see, when you have gospel knowledge, you are in a position to devastate sinful lives with your words.

Why?

Because the gospel needs no embellishment. Its effectiveness isn’t rooted in a preacher’s oratorical skill. Its power is not dependent on human ingenuity or a man’s linguistic flourish.

The gospel is in itself “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

One need only deliver it and God the Holy Spirit will take care of the rest.

I don’t have a problem with this. Honestly, I love the fact that I don’t have to put on a show to get people to listen and respond to the gospel. Because if it were up to me, I’d do everything in my power to sound good, say all the right things, and be as attractive and personable as possible when preaching the Word.

Because as a human being, I tend to think I can influence a person’s response.

But the truth is I can’t make the gospel any truer than it already is. I can’t make the Bible any more powerful than it already is. The Word of God is active – it’s alive! (Hebrews 4:12 ) And when combined with the Holy Spirit’s regenerative work, it is the power of God for the redemption of all who hear and embrace Christ as Savior and Lord.

Consider Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5:

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

Paul didn’t rely on human wisdom and articulacy to preach the Word. In fact, he showed up in Corinth with trepidation. He was wary of the environment (Corinth was known for being a hub of Greek culture, highfaluting philosophies, and intense paganism) and perhaps he didn’t want to get embroiled in a superficial speech war with the city’s intellectuals.

Yet whatever Paul may have felt at the time, he knew only one thing – that his message would be Christ crucified. That would be enough to compel his listeners to salvation.

That’s not to say we can be shabby and ill-prepared when sharing the gospel. We ought to be presentable when preaching and we should choose our words wisely. There’s nothing wrong with being affable, clear, and enlightening when we communicate the gospel to others. In fact, we must make sure our presentation is coherent in order for people to properly understand the message.

But changing people’s lives, getting them to repent of their sin and trust in Jesus for salvation – that’s God’s job.

Our job is to simply preach the Word, even the hard parts.

And you know what this really means right?

It means more than a big slap in the face for people who pride themselves on worldly technique.

It means more than a fine argument against the error of contextualization.

It means, more than anything, that we have no excuse.

We are commanded to preach the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20). And with God making it abundantly clear that the gospel is powerful enough in and of itself to bring men to salvation, we really have nowhere to hide on this.

We can’t invoke the Moses Defense (Exodus 4:10-14). We have an obligation to Christ to deliver His good news to all people of the Earth and there’s nothing we can do to wiggle out of it!

But why fight it? We must not be ashamed of the gospel. For while it may not appeal to many men’s ears, there are thousands in this world who are destined to be saved through the cross. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

And so brothers and sisters, let’s us not retreat from our calling but let us celebrate the fact that God can use all of us, whether we can communicate well or have difficulty expressing ourselves.

Let us be thankful for the many Christian men and women who are gifted with impeccable speaking skills and can wield language with precision. These people have been given by God to the church to lead us, strengthen us, and help us on our pilgrimage. We should seek to emulate them as we continue on our Christian journey.

And while we may never become as powerful a preacher as Paul, Spurgeon, Edwards, or any of our Christian heavyweight heroes, we can rest assured that in preaching the gospel, our words can and will be used by God to accomplish His plan of redemption (Isaiah 55:11).

As long as we have gospel knowledge, we can turn the world upside down.

1. Preach the gospel.
2. Explain the gospel.
3. Teach the gospel.
4. Pronounce the gospel.
5. Proclaim the gospel.
6. Share the gospel.
7. Discuss the gospel.
8. Present the gospel.
9. Clarify the Gospel.
10. Declare the Gospel.

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14)

There’s no other way.

Golgotha, 33AD.

Jesus Christ is suspended from a wooden cross between two criminals. Blood flows freely from his punctured wrists and feet, from the deep lacerations on his back, arms, and legs, the result of intense flogging. A crown of thorns is jammed onto his head, causing blood to drip down his face and sting his eyes. Bits of flesh dangle and flutter in the wind, the same chilly breeze that carries voices from a crowd of onlookers, mesmerized by the horror, unable to tear their eyes away.

He said he could save people. Yet He can’t even save Himself.

Jesus’ breathing is tight and spasmodic as He attempts to prop Himself up and perhaps alleviate the agony in His arms. The crucified thief next to Him observes His pitiful, bloody shape; he watches Christ shift and writhe in pain. The thief hurls a couple of insults but is rebuked by the other thief across him who, despite spewing similar insults at Jesus earlier in the day, realizes his error and pleads for mercy from the Savior.

Jesus promises him they’ll be together in paradise later that day.

The hours stretch, the soldiers gamble for His clothes, the skies grow increasingly dim. And then, after six excruciating hours of being naked in front of hundreds, bleeding profusely from the head, back, and just about every part of His body; after shaking relentlessly from the throbbing pains shooting through his nerves every time His body weight sagged against the giant nails impaling Him; after sustaining cramps in every muscle, freezing up His body in wave upon wave of pain; after using up every ounce of energy fighting for oxygen, taking in short breaths but unable to exhale because of the ongoing, cramp-induced paralysis in his chest muscles; after somehow pleading the Father to forgive the mocking crowd around Him, Jesus, a broken man, unrecognizable from happier days healing and preaching in the countryside, slips slowly into the cold clutches of death.

“It is finished,” he cries.

And then He breathes His last.

It wasn’t until my later years as a Christian that I would ponder the Lord’s death in such graphic imagery. It wasn’t until much later in my journey of faith that the meaning of this phrase would be explained to me in all its profound glory.

“It is finished.” (John 19:30)

When these words passed Jesus’ lips right before His death, it wasn’t because he was relieved the pain was finally over. He wasn’t serving notice to the Roman authorities that His trial had finally concluded either.

It was because Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, God incarnate, the Word become Flesh, did the unthinkable – he gave His life as payment for our sins that we might be spared the wrath of the Father and be reconciled to Him.

Let’s break it down.

Every person since Adam and Eve was born tainted with sin (Romans 5:12); we were birthed with a full propensity and desire for unrighteousness, with no care to be holy or reconciled to God. Indeed, from the day we are born we have a compelling desire to have things our way, even if it means screaming, whining, and fighting without any restraint.

We carry these base attitudes into our teenage and adult years, our depravity knowing no bounds. We grow up steeped in sin. We pursue sinful lifestyles and aim to gratify every selfish and immoral impulse in our bodies. We may think and say we do good, that we believe in living good lives but the truth is we crave the darkness, our hearts secretly love evil, and we embrace the world (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 1:21-32). No one is exempt (Romans 3:10).

But there’s a price for evil. And God, by His holy nature, demands that the price be paid. The infinitely holy God who cannot even look upon sin, whose very nature is the exact opposite of evil, demands that sin be accounted for, in a judicial as well as moral sense, for that is what his Holy nature requires.

The price?

That sin be punished by death and an eternity in hell (Romans 6:23; Luke 16:23).

If it sounds nasty it’s because sin is a deadly problem, one that God takes very seriously. Evil will be punished on God’s terms, the lake of fire being the final judgment for the damned (Revelation 20:15; 21:8)

The only way to escape eternal punishment is to live a perfect life – to achieve perfect righteousness (Matthew 5:48). A perfect existence from cradle to grave that God can look at, evaluate, and declare satisfactory according to His law (Romans 2:12-13).

Anything less than perfect is worthless. We are to be holy just as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). And it’s either 100% perfection or we’re in trouble.

Which is pretty much what the Bible declares of man in the first three chapters of the book of Romans.

If that was all there was to this deal, the story would end here. We’d all be consigned to hell, terrified and angry and despairing, yet God would glory in His righteousness because justice was upheld, His Holiness and Perfection validated.

But it doesn’t end here. The story is far from over. God may be infinitely Holy and Just but He is also LOVE. And it’s His compelling, perfect love that devised a plan, a means of escape from eternal punishment for man that didn’t require infinite torment in Hell (Romans 5:8).

The plan was simple – send His sinless son Jesus to live that perfect life (John 3:16). To demonstrate perfect righteousness that no one else could achieve. To fulfill the requirements of God’s law without failure. And then offer that spotless life as a penal sacrifice to God, Holy and Righteous and waiting.

Which is exactly what Jesus did. He came, He saw, He conquered evil and death. He lived a pure life, unsullied by sin or the evils of this world. Although tempted and tried in every way He lived a 100% holy and blameless life (Hebrews 4:15). And he eventually offered His life as a sacrifice at Calvary, dying a brutal and humiliating death for the sins of the world.

How brutal was Christ’s suffering and eventual death on the cross? Medical experts have attempted to capture the horrors of crucifixion – Christ’s crucifixion – in graphic scientific terms. The introduction to this article was based in part on what one doctor believes was characteristic of Jesus’ final hours of crucifixion. It was bloody, tormenting, and one of the cruelest ways to die.

But the real pain of the cross was what happened within the Truine Godhead the moment God the Father poured out His wrath on His Son. The Trinity, God in three persons but still one God, experienced something that we as human beings will never fully comprehend. And that was the moment when the Father had to “turn away” from His Son. As Christ assumed the sins of the world, the Father momentarily “forsook” His Son, so abominable was the stench of sin on Jesus.

As Christ took upon Himself every sin imaginable, God treated Him as if He Himself had committed thousands upon thousands of despicable acts. Murder, thievery, rape, blasphemy – you name it, Jesus atoned for it.

All so that we won’t have to.

This act of penal substitution (Christ receiving punishment for our sins instead of us – 2 Corinthians 5:21) was so radical it caused a mysterious, painful tension between God the Father and God the Son. The sins of the world were unbearable to look upon by the Father, so much so that when Jesus became the sin offering, the Father had to turn away. That, more than the physical injuries and emotional pain of the cross, was what wracked the Savior at that moment and caused Him to cry out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

Then, after the great outpouring of God’s divine incense on each sin borne by Jesus, His wrath abated, appeased.

“It is finished.”

Jesus had completed His mission, what He came to earth to do. He bore upon Himself the sins of you and me, atoning for them in our place, satisfying God’s requirement for justice, that we might escape the divine punishment (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2).

“By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” says Hebrews 10:10. He gave Himself for us, even endured the Father turning away from Him, so that we might know true peace, mercy, and love.

That’s why He said what He said. His work was done, perfected, and accepted in full by the Father. His resurrection three days later would seal the deal, showing just how dynamic God’s plan of redemption was, how full, final, and victorious His salvation for the elect would be.

This is the means by which we can be reconciled to God, a means which can be appropriated simply by repenting of our sins and believing Jesus performed this great work and rose from the dead to save us (John 1:12; Acts 3:19; Romans 10:9).

If you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, that is if you are not trusting in Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, then you are on a path to eternal damnation. When you one day face the Creator, you will be asked to give an account for all the things you have done; you will have to explain yourself fully to God (Romans 14:10b-12).

And if all you have to offer Him are tainted, man-powered efforts at righteousness, then you’re in deep trouble. For any attempt at human righteousness always falls severely short of God’s demand for perfection (Romans 3:23).

The only thing that can save us is Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. And the way it works is this: When you put your trust in Jesus as the ONLY way to save you from your sins, God declares you justified – cleared from your sin (Romans 5:1-2).

Imagine being in court for speeding. The judge examines the evidence and you’re found guilty. Can he just let you off the hook? Of course not; justice must be served. So he sentences you to a hefty fine. The problem is you can’t pay; you’re broke. And just as you think you’re now in more trouble than you can deal with, a man walks in and offers to pay the fine on your behalf. Because he loves you and wants to set you free.

Do you accept the offer?

Substitute speeding with sin and switch the hefty fine to eternal damnation and you basically have a picture of how God’s salvation plan looks. The real question is, when the Day of Judgment comes – and it will come (Acts 17:31) – will you be trusting in your rags of human goodness to save you from God’s wrath or will you stand clothed in the righteousness of Christ, pleasing and acceptable to God?

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him.” (John 3:36)

I’m humbled and grateful that God made a way for me to be saved and that He suffered the horror of divine punishment on my behalf. His last three words before dying on the cross comfort me because they tell me He paid the price.

May you trust in Jesus for salvation and find comfort in His last utterance from the cross.

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“The work has been done / redemption has been won /
The war was over without a fight / It is Finished”
It is Finished
by Petra
Beat the System, 1985

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