That's My King!

What a Gospel!

The following article is copied by permission from Wretched Radio's July 2009 Newsletter. The article is written by Todd Friel. http://www.wretchedradio.com/

Warning Ditch Ahead!

Get ready for whiplash. If history is any barometer, it appears we are headed for a ditch.

Consider this. The church in the middle ages had grown corrupt due to work righteousness (among other things). The Reformers proclaimed, "We are saved by grace alone!" That was good, but it was not long before the church fell into the ditch of grace abuse.

Because of that ditch, in the 19th century, the church fell into another ditch, liberalism.

But a movement sprang up in the 20th century to yank us out of the liberal ditch and voile', they fell into the ditch of fundamentalist legalism and worldly separation.

Hello 1940's. Meet evangelicalism: the movement that was (sort of) conservative but decidedly engaged in the world.

Great idea, but we fell into the ditch of Seeker Sensitivity. In response to fundamentalist disengagement, we decided to not only engage the world, but bring the world into the church. Oops. Another ditch.

That brings us to today's growing movement that has no title: conservative, Puritan loving, engaged in the world, personal regeneration, Jesus lovers. Even Time Magazine recognized this movement as the third most influential spiritual trend of this decade.

This is a wonderful sign, but let's take a moment and ask, "Will this be the first movement that does not have a whiplash counter movement?" I doubt it. The question of course is, "What will that counter movement look like?"

I suspect it will be a counter to either our strengths or weaknesses.

What are the movement's s strengths and what does a potential counter look like?

1. Biblical literalism. The counter attack could be, "Legalism."

2. Personal regeneration. The counter attack might be, "Legalism."

3. Personal holiness. The counter assault will be, "Legalism."

What are the movement's weaknesses and what does a potential counter look like?

1. Theological arrogance. The counter attack could be, "Liberalism."

2. Lack of love. The counter attack might be, "Liberalism."

3. Lack of assurance. The counter assault might be, "Liberalism."

What a shocker! A counter movement will likely fall into one of the two ditches that EVERY movement has fallen: Legalism or Liberalism.

This matters on a universal church level and on a personal level. If we are not mindful of these potential ditches, a counter movement will fall into a pit...or we will.

Let's rejoice that God is raising up a conservative movement. But let us also be cautious that we don't fall into a ditch. Whiplash is a terrible thing.

This Could Be My Testimony!

Pastor Jim McClarty has an excellent website with a large question and answer section. If there isn't a question you have been wondering about you can e-mail him and he will answer. I know... I've done it! His website is at http://salvationbygrace.org/

Bruce's Testimony

Does the World Wide Web Need Another Blog About Jesus?

Have you ever wondered what the Bible was really all about? Have you really ever understood what the gospel is? That is our goal with this blog. There is an account in the book of Acts chapter 4, where Peter and John (disciples of Christ) have healed a man and are spreading the gospel of Jesus. They are called before the council and are told to stop teaching and preaching about Jesus. In verse 19 and 20, Peter and John answered them saying, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” We cannot but speak for what God has done for us…and He has done it for you too, if you believe!

This is the gospel. God is Holy. Holy means separate, unique, other. He is not like us. There is nothing to compare Him to. All things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things and in Him all things are held together. God created man but man rebelled against God and sin entered into the world. Sin is the transgression of the law. Man, in his sinful state, is an enemy of God, always rebelling. We want to be God. We shake our fist at God and say “my way!” Sin has caused a huge divide between God and man. That is the big conflict of the Bible. There is a Holy, Righteous God and there is sinful man. How can we obtain peace? How can we be justified? How can we be made right?

God humbled Himself and was born of a virgin, in a manger and His Name is Jesus. He is called Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. He began His public ministry at the age of 30 when he was baptized and for 3 years He walked among us, teaching, healing and performing miracles proving He was who He said He was. Man put Him to death on a cross because of what He said, though He was innocent. There, Jesus, fully man and fully God, took the sin of His people upon Him and God, the Father, poured out His wrath on His Son, taking the penalty we deserve for our sin in our place. He died, was buried and the third day He rose again from the dead. God accepted the sacrifice on our behalf.

Conflict resolved! Good News! Justification was made for those who will repent and put their faith in Christ!! He truly is the Prince of Peace. Peace on Earth…Good will towards man! Repent means to turn around, make a change going in the opposite direction. The things you once loved (your sin, being in charge, etc.) you will now hate and the things you used to hate (Jesus, the Bible, true Christians, etc.) you will now love. Faith means to be believing. Not just believe in something wishfully, but to actually believe because you know it to be true. One day Jesus is coming back and those who have believed will be co-heirs with Him forever. This is our hope. This is the good news. This is the gospel.

Is this good news for you today? I sure hope so! Maybe not now? Sure, this gospel message always rubs our flesh wrong when we don’t see our true condition. And it probably sounds really crazy and way out there! It truly is good news though and that’s why we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard that He has done in our own lives! There are many questions and objections and lots of rabbit trails to chase. We will do our best to try to answer those same questions and objections that we have had through this blog. We pray this will be a tool God will use to reveal Himself to you so you know the good news for yourself and experience the peace of Christ!!

Please, leave a comment if you have a question or objection or rabbit trail!