Neglecting Such a Great Salvation

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

(Hebrews 2:1-3a)

This passage in the book of Hebrews was written to the church to serve as a great warning in regards to the new covenant. In knowing the just retribution that came with neglecting the Mosaic law which was given by angels (see Leviticus 26:14-39; Numbers 15:30-31), the writer makes a lesser-to-greater argument by emphasizing the greater judgment that came with neglecting the salvation through Jesus Christ that was proclaimed by God Himself. The overarching principle is that the gospel that God has proclaimed through Christ is so important, that God will judge all men who neglect it.

While it is a great tragedy when a person who is lost in their sins hears the gospel message only to neglect it and walk away indifferent, what is even a greater shame is when the church neglects this gospel message that has been entrusted to us by God. Instead, we turn to shameful and irreverent schemes that have nothing to do with the Christ. Whether it is during a Sunday morning worship service or at a youth conference, the church has perverted the gospel to appeal to carnal men. We claim to care about the souls of men but in reality our methods show that we only care about numbers and getting "decisions" for Christ. If we truly were concerned for the salvation of men, then we would be faithful to preach the God's word, which is the only medium that is sufficient to bring lost sinners to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:15) and thus bring them to repentance and faith in Christ (2 Kings 22:11; Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18) and guide them into all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:3).

I've seen this at it's worst this week in Houston, TX. A conference that prides itself on being "the most anticipated inner city multi church student conference in Houston, Texas" is busy spreading its Christless and worldly Christianity to 1,000+ youth. As you walk through the website and watch some of the highlights, you will see that the preacher has been replaced by the comedian and the storyteller and the message has been replaced with silly illustrations and bad jokes. Even worse, rather than proclaiming the gospel and God's word, the "pastors" and "speakers" feel it necessary to hold sessions on how teens can be prepared for their "first time". And this is all done in the name of "love".

This is where parents and churches are sending their youth, and sadly, churches across the evangelical landscape have used these antics to replace the message that Paul said was "of most importance" ( 1 Corinthians 15:3). The only message that is the power of God to save, sanctify and glorify the sinner (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2).  So rather than proclaiming this gospel message, the church turns to man-centered and man-made strategies that may produce results that look good on paper but in God's scheme of things, do nothing to profit the souls of men.

It's a sobering thing when we see those lost and dead in their trespasses and sins turn away from the only way to find reconciliation to a holy and righteous God but what's just as frightening (if not even more) is when pastors and teachers, those very men that are called to preach this message of reconciliation to the lost, ignore God's message and method and replace it with their own. I pray that God would awaken our hearts and unplug our ears to pay careful attention to this great salvation so that we use God's means to preach God's message for God's glory.

The Priority of Love

My pastor's exposition of 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 on Sunday was very insightful and brought conviction upon me regarding how zealous I can become for sharing the love of Christ and at the same time not apply it to my life in a personal way. I think anyone who is involved in evangelism in a consistent manner can benefit from this message.

It reminded me of the following video from Desiring God. Although the video was based on James 3, it contained similar reminders of one who is involved in Christian activity while leading a loveless life.

Peasant Saints

The ministry I am involved with, Peasant Saints, recently created a new YouTube channel with two new videos. Here is one that features our "Origins into Schools" project on the main campus of University of Houston...enjoy.

Should the Christian Pray for the Destruction of God's Enemies?

Here was some interesting commentary from the ESV Study Bible regarding imprecatory prayers. There has been a lot of talk about whether a Christian should pray for the destruction of the enemies of God and many quickly scoff at the idea. I mean really, who would really pray for harm to come to those who oppose the gospel?

Psalm 35 with an emphasis on vs. 4-8

"4 Let them be put to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life!
Let them be d turned back and disappointed
who devise evil against me!
5 Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!
7 For without cause they hid their net for me;
without cause they dug i a pit for my life.
8 Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his destruction!"

ESV Online Study Bible Crossway: Let Them Be Ashamed
The faithful pray that the schemes of the pursuers would fail, and that the pursuers themselves would suffer disappointment and humiliation, and finally destruction. There are many reasons that such a prayer is proper for God's people to pray.

1. It is realistic; God's protection of the faithful means that he must thwart the schemes of those who would harm them.
2. It is just, since the pursuers devise evil (v. 4), and without cause they hid their net for me (v. 7). (Observe the repetition of “without cause,” in vv. 7, 19.) Third, it takes God at his word (cf. v. 5 with 1:4).
3. From all of this it is plain that the prayer is not a vindictive response to personal injury but an appeal based on faith."

Ultimately, the world will scoff at the idea that God will punish sin and all those who practice it...they love evil and hate righteousness. Sadly, even in the church we make a god who is not just and will simply turn a blind eye to evil.

Whether or not we should pray imprecatory prayers is up for debate but one thing is certain-God will bring destruction upon those who are without Christ so it is important that we are preaching the gospel and warning sinners of the wrath that is to come.

Hold Fast to the Gospel

With the Christmas season already upon us, many right-wing Christian organizations are already waging war against a secular industry that is attempting to remove Christ from Christmas. While I do find this type of extreme political correctness a bit annoying, what concerns me more is not what's going on in the secular realm but the Christless preaching that many hear from church on Sunday morning.

I vividly remember the "Christian" opposition I received when I expressed this particular concern I had with a popular preacher here in Houston. Over and over I heard "inspiring" messages of how to live a victorious kind of life. One thing was missing though...the gospel. Any mention of repentance, sin, Christ, and the cross was limited to the end-of service 2-minute invitation to say a prayer and ask Jesus into your life. This was after a 30 minute presentation on how to live your best life now. I shared my concern with friend from the congregation but they saw no need to place the gospel at the center of any of the pastor's sermons. In fact, they sarcastically asked how many times does he have to talk about the gospel. We're already Christians, right?
Unfortunately, this wasn't a unique experience. At every church I visited, I heard similar preaching. This was also prevalent at churches that didn't sugar-coat the sermons but steadily exhorted the congregation to do this and do that and live holy. I was told what I should be doing but I was never really explained why I should be doing these things or the fact that Christ has already fullfilled all that God requires on my behalf. I was told the what but never the Who or the why.

So what you have in many churches is a message of moralism. Preaching that focuses on what we do rather than on what Christ has done. Messages centered on our righteousness rather than on Christ's righteousness. The end result produces Christians who work hard merely out of duty or guilt and not out of a love for their Savior. What follows is an attitude that starts comparing other Christians to our standard of obedience or what we're doing. We fall into a mindset that other Christians are not doing enough.

What we don't understand is in light of all that Christ has done, we can never do enough.

The Gospel is not merely, as Michael Horton puts it, the spark that ignites the Christian life via salvation. It is also the fuel that drives faith and practice. Too often I hear well-intentioned Christians exhort new believers to get into a discipleship/accountability program and learn the deeper things of God. They view the gospel and salvation as an event that happened in the past. But what is deeper than the infinite love of Christ that was demonstrated on the cross (1 John 3:1)? And isn't it in the gospel that we now stand? Everything we do from getting up in the morning to laying down at night and everything in between should be motivated by the love that God has shown us through Christ.

The new and old believer's response to Christ's saving work on the cross is one of obedience flowing from a heart of love for their Savior (John 14:15, 23-24). You can't have one without the other. If you remove love, then you have legalism. Remove obedience and you have antinomianism. The true Christian who obeys God's law understands that Christ obeyed all that law perfectly on the his behalf. This is why no discipleship program or twelve-step class can do anything for anyone unless the Gospel is at the center of all things, especially in our Sunday morning services. What He has done for our sake should be our focus and not simply what we should be doing.

I want to write more but I do not want to make my initial post on this topic too long. I'd like to share something from 1 Corinthians 15 that is very important regarding Christ-centered preaching, evangelism, living, etc. and I will do so in my following posts.

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

Happy Reformation Day-2009

I wish I could write more about this historic event but as usual, I wait to the last minute to post something. What I will say though is that the faith we proclaim today was passed down to us from great men of faith like John Wycliffe, John Hus, William Tyndale, John Calvin, Martin Luther, and Ulrich Zwingli. And because we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us endure the race set before us and not grow weary as we exalt and proclaim Christ and Him crucified.

Here is a powerful rendition by Steve Green of the great hymn written by Martin Luther.

Is Abortion an Equal Opportunity Killer?

When you think of Hispanics with picket signs, what is the first thing that comes to mind? If you're from Houston and read The Chronicle, your thoughts will quickly turn to immigration. Within recent years, the immigration debate has heated up and many protesters flooded the streets for the sake of immigrant rights.

But their is something else going on within the Hispanic community...something much more serious.

Hispanics are adamant about defending the human rights of those who made it out of Mexico and across the border to America, yet everyday the human rights of 700 Hispanic babies are squashed before they even get a chance to make it out of their mother's womb. Look at these statistics from Abort 73.

AGI (The Guttmacher Institute) tells us that Hispanic women account for 22% of all U.S. abortions, though they make up just 12.5% of the female population. Compare those numbers to non-Hispanic, white women, who make up 62.6% of America's female population(1), but account for only 34% of all U.S. abortions.

The fact is as Hispanics took to the streets of Houston to protest illegal immigration, the largest abortion facility in the western hemisphere was being built in their backyard...6 stories high and 75,000 square feet. Is it then no surprise that the abortion of Hispanic babies is double their percentage of the population? No doubt this is a strategic location motivated by money as Planned Parenthood continues to rake in the cash, $831 million per year on abortion services to be exact. Couple that with their racist roots in which Margaret Sanger desired to "exterminate the Negro population" and you have a recipe for success. By placing one of the largest abortion facilities right near Hispanic and African American neighborhoods, it is obvious that PP continues to prey on minority communities. And this doesn't just happen in Houston.

So the greater tragedy is not that Hispanics are denied the rights of an American citizen but that everyday hundreds of Hispanic babies are denied their rights as a human beings and aborted before they ever had a chance to live. For those who are actively fighting for racial equality, I think it's time we wake up to the somber fact that a large percentage of the Hispanic baby population are being killed in their mother's womb. At least those illegal immigrants had a chance to cross the border, take up a job, and raise a family...whether it be in Mexico or America. Unfortunately 700 Hispanic children per day will never have that chance.

For more information please visit The Subtle Racism of Abortion & BlackGenocide.org. If you're pregnant and need assistance click here and contact any of the available websites and phone numbers.