Evangelism 24:7

When we think of worship today, I believe it is common to automatically think of music. Maybe this is not the case for everyone, but it definitely is for me. I love music, I sing, I play music, so when I think of worship, it is real easy for me to think of music. However, worship is so much more than that. I am going to attempt to give an in depth look at worship - its importance and how we can do it.

I am going to define worship as what we assign worth to. Worship comes from the old English word “weorthscipe” (pronounced worth-ship). I think that is much more accurate than today’s word worship. The old English word was used in England and it meant that in worshiping God that they were assigning to God His true worth. It would refer to knowing and praising God as He has revealed himself to be by His creation and through the Scriptures.

First, what importance does worship hold? Worship should be important to us because it is important to God. I believe John 4 is an excellent place to see this importance. Take John 4:23 as an example:

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

More on the subject of “in spirit and truth” will come later, but that verse illustrates the point of importance of worship to God.

The next question is why should we worship God? God has revealed Himself to us in human flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ. He has accomplished redemption through the work of Jesus Christ. The sin which alienated us from God has been paid for by the death of Christ. That is the plain cut answer on why we should worship God.

Next, and maybe the most important thing to distinguish is, what is true worship?

“Christians believe that true worship is the highest and noblest activity of which man, by the grace of God, is capable.” - John Stott

I would agree with this, but I would also say that true worship today is almost non-existent. According to A.W. Tozer,

“To great sections of the church the art of worship has been lost entirely, and in its place has come that strange and foreign thing called the ‘program.’ This word has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the type of public service which now passes for worship among us.”

Tozer wrote this in 1948; today I am sure the problem has only worsened. John Armstrong equated the worship of God today as “Mac-Worship” - meaning that worship has been made common, cheap or trivial.

So, back to the question what is true worship? I like John Piper’s definition in his book Desiring God, “Strong affections for God, rooted in and shaped by the truth of Scripture - this is the bone and marrow of biblical worship.” Further,

“To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.” - William Temple

Notice how in both Piper’s and Temple’s definition of worship, God was the object. Worship is not for us, it is not to meet our needs. Yes, worship can give us joy and satisfaction, at least for me it does. But, that is not the primary purpose. To repeat what I wrote earlier, worship is what we assign worth to. So we should assign worth to God, we should worship God for His infinite majesty, His unconditional love, His mercy, His saving grace, and so much more. We should not worship to make ourselves feel good.

I believe that we can only worship God by knowing God. After all, how can we worship what we don’t know? We can know God primarily through His Word. I think we have to be rooted in scripture as Piper said.

To further define true worship, there are a couple words used in the Scriptures to describe true worship. One word is humility (Gr. “tapeinophrosune”) - true worship views God in His perfection and man in his imperfection. Another word is reverence (Gr. “sebomai”) - the idea of the Greek word is that of fearing God. It is not so much the fear of terror and dread so much as it is the fear of wonder and awe at the majesty and greatness of the infinite God.

Now, what does it mean to worship “in spirit and truth”? Jesus said in John 4:21, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” In those days, worship took place in a certain place at a certain time. Jesus was saying that soon this will not be the case. To worship God in spirit means that you can worship God at any place and at any time. Jesus was initiating a new age - through His death and resurrection - that the place of worship would not matter. In the words of William Barclay,

“The true, the genuine worship is when man, through his spirit, attains to friendship and intimacy with God. True and genuine worship is not to come to a certain place; it is not to go through a certain ritual or liturgy; it is not even to bring certain gifts. True worship is when the spirit, the immortal and invisible part of man, speaks to and meets with God, who is immortal and invisible.”

To worship God in truth is to approach God truthfully and honestly. Jesus warned of false worship in Matthew 15:7-8, “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;’”

Also, as I mentioned earlier (but cannot stress enough), we must worship according to the Bible. As Jesus said in John 17:17, “…your word is truth.” I can tie this together. In order to worship in truth, we must worship according to what is truth (the Bible).

Thirdly, we must approach God “Christo-centrically” - meaning we must worship God with Jesus at the center of everything. As Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” So only through Jesus can we come to God and know who He is.

Overall to worship in spirit and truth means that we must come in God’s way and not in any way of human devising. Worship centers around God and His perfection, and His desire for praise and adoration. All too often we try to modernize worship, to update it and make it more meaningful and relevant to us. Worship is first and foremost for God’s sake rather than our own. As D.A. Carson puts it,

“To worship God ‘in spirit and in truth’ is first and foremost a way of saying that we must worship God by means of Christ. In him the reality has dawned and the shadows are being swept away (Hebrews 8:13). Christian worship is new covenant worship; it is gospel-inspired worship; it is Christ-centered worship; it is cross-focused worship.”

Finally, I would like to address some ways that we can worship God. At the beginning, I mentioned music as not the main way to think of worship. However, music is a means of worship. Other means of worship include prayer, preaching, and testimonies (obviously, this is not an exhaustive list). When using these forms of worship, we must be careful not to let them turn into false worship. Take prayer for example. Prayer can (and should) focus on who God is and focus on adoration and praise of Him. Prayer can also turn into a laundry list of petitions for our needs. Yes, God does want to know our needs, but my caution (to myself as much as to you) is to not let prayer turn into only petitions and lists.

In addition when worshipping through music, it can be used to quiet our hearts and minds and focus them upon God and His goodness. Music can also be an instrument through which our praise and adoration can be expressed to God. We must choose music which focuses upon God and expresses adoration and praise to Him.

When we worship God through testimonies, it should be about telling how God has worked in our lives and He deserves the glory and praise for what He has done; a testimony should not bring the focus on ourselves.

Worship requires an inner humbling, a surrender of self-will, a repentance of sin, and trust. It requires cultivating the presence of God. It ascribes to Him the supreme value of who He is and acknowledges His worthiness (worth-ship) in words and in deeds (Col. 3:17). In his book, Worship in Spirit and Truth, John Frame says,

“Redemption is the means; worship is the goal. In one sense, worship is the whole point of everything. It is the purpose of history, the goal of the whole Christian story. Worship is not one segment of the Christian life among others. Worship is the entire Christian life, seen as a priestly offering to God. And when we meet together as a church, our time of worship is not merely a preliminary to something else; rather, it is the whole point of our existence as the body of Christ.”

The wonder of Christian worship is that when we come to the true God and come in the way He has established, we find Him to be inexhaustible and discover that our desire to know and worship Him further is increased.

What do you assign worth to?

- Adam Smith

Resources

Barclay, William. The Gospel of John, Vol. 1. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1958).

Boice, James. “What Is Worship.” (1994 Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology).

Carson, D.A. Worship by the Book. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002).

Deffinbaugh, Bob. “Worship.” <http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=438>.

Frame, John. Worship in Spirit and Truth. (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1996).

MacArthur, John. “True Worship.” <http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/TWCH1.HTM>.

Piper, John. Desiring God. (Colorado Springs: Multnoma Books, 1996).

Stott, John. Christ the Controversialist: A Study in Some Essentials of Evangelical Religion. (London: Tyndale Press, 1970).

Temple, William. The Hope of a New World. (New York: Macmillan Co., 1941).

Tozer, A.W. The Pursuit of God. (Harrisburg: Christian Publications, 1948).

For parts one and two of this series, see the end of this post.

5. The Gospel - Who Is Jesus

A logical question can come from this passage - who is this Jesus, and what qualifies Him to be our Savior? A little research can prove this answer. I will give a pretty quick definition of who Jesus is; of course I don’t know all there is to know about Him. First, Jesus is the one and only begotten Son of God (John 3:16). Larry Huck says that Jesus was not the only begotten Son of God, and that absolutely disgusts me. A key term when thinking about Jesus is incarnation - the fact that God became flesh and took on the form of a man in the person of Christ. He possessed all of the attributes of God and yet was fully man. The fact that Jesus is God is absolutely essential to understanding who He actually is (Col. 2:9, Phil. 2:6-7).

Further, Jesus was the only person to ever walk this earth and die without committing a sin. He was tempted, but did not sin (Heb. 4:15). It was because of this that He was the only possibility for a perfect sacrifice to God. We could never be holy, but He was holy - this qualifies Him to be our Savior. There will be more about Jesus later, but that is the bare bones definition of who He is.

6. The Gospel - Why We Need It

The question of why we need the gospel can be looked at from a number of angles. I will take it from the angle of salvation. We need the gospel for salvation. One may ask at that point, “why do we need salvation?” It is a real simple answer - because we are sinners, and are subject to eternal punishment apart from God. Now, I will attempt to explain this a little further.

In order to see the “salvation message” if you will, we need to understand three things about God. First, God is Holy. Having previously written about this, I will quickly define what this is. Holy (from the Hebrew word, qodesh) implies differentiation: the realm of the holy is entirely set apart from the common, the habitual, or the profane. Charles Ryrie defines God’s holiness when he says, “In respect to God, holiness means not only that He is separate from all that is unclean and evil, but also that He is positively pure and thus distinct from all others.” God is so holy and so perfect that nothing short of perfection can live with Him in heaven. Second, God is just. This means that according to His perfect holiness, He must punish sin. If He was to allow sin and evil, it would compromise His holiness. Because of His just nature, we (as sinners) deserve to die and spend eternity separated from Him. Third, God is love. He desires to have a relationship with man. He did not create man so that He could rely on man, but that man could share in His love, His glory, and His majesty.

I have put those three things in that order for a reason. We hear a lot about how God is love. One might ask, “How could a God of love send someone to hell?” Yes, God is love, but He is also holy and just, and it is because of his holiness and justice that He HAS TO send someone to hell who is an unrepentant sinner. I will come back to this in a second.

The next thing that we have to look at in response to why we need salvation is some of the qualities (or lack thereof) of man. First, man (blanket term for all people) is not holy. Man tends to rationalize his error and justify his own goodness. The bottom line is that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Man is not holy because man is a sinner. Because of Adam’s sin, all of us have inherited this propensity to sin. Man has a sinful nature and has a desperately wicked heart (Jer. 17:9). Because of this, God cannot let us into His kingdom. Secondly, man cannot justify himself or make himself holy. There is no amount of positives that can be done to outweigh the negatives. Perfection is God’s standard, and because we have sinned, the game is over. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death.” This may seem like sheer hopelessness. Well, you’re right, it is. Because we are sinners (Rom. 3:23), we die (Rom. 6:23).

However, since God is love, He made a way that we may live eternally with him. This is the true message of the gospel. God cannot violate His holy standard which requires justice according to the Law. Now, I have already stated that man is not perfect, and yet God requires perfection. So, in order for the penalty of sin to be paid, the one who bears the judgment of God must be perfect; if He wasn’t, then He would be dying for His own sins, and not the sins of the world.

This is the good news that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to be a propitiation for our sin (Rom. 3:25). Further in Romans 6:23, it states, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It is through His Son that we have eternal life.

There is nothing we can do to earn or deserve it. Romans 5:8 shows the best demonstration of God’s love; this verse states, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This has to be addressed in the message of salvation. It is not acceptable to say “Okay, that’s great, he sent His son to die for me that I might have eternal life. See you heaven.” No, just knowing the facts will not get you that eternal life. The way to get this salvation is a two step process: repent and believe. This is the gospel that Jesus preached (Matt. 4:17).

First, we have to believe that God did send his Son to die, to be buried, to be resurrected, and that He reigns as Lord over all creation, as it states in Romans 10:9. Also, we must repent. Repent (from the Greek word metanoia) is defined as “to feel such regret for past conduct as to change one’s mind regarding it” or “to make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one’s sins.” In Acts 17:30-31, it states:

“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Salvation is a gift of God, through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (the gospel). There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” God reached out in love to us with a free gift through Jesus Christ. Salvation is a gift - through faith alone, grace alone and through the merits of another, Jesus Christ.

Further, I feel the need to address Romans 3:24-30:

“and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.”

We must understand that Christ’s sacrifice was enough to justify us. We “are justified by His grace…to be received by faith.” The passage goes on to say “so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” I believe this is where Catholicism fails. Catholics believe that salvation is through Jesus Christ, but they reject the idea that we are justified by faith alone. Essentially, they are saying that there is something we must do to be justified. In my opinion, this is saying that Jesus isn’t good enough.

I have many Catholic family members, including in my immediate family, and I had one of them tell me once that I was interpreting that text wrong. The problem here is that I didn’t interpret the text; it is printed on the page - black and white. There is no interpretation involved. I don’t mean to pick on Catholicism alone; any religion of works is a wrong religion - making true Biblical Christianity the only one that relies on faith alone. To my knowledge, there is not another world religion that relies on faith apart from works. I am not saying that my way is right. I am saying that God is right, and whoever does not believe in Him and in His word fully is wrong. Praise God for loving us so much, and yet be so holy and so just, that He sent His only begotten, perfect Son to die for us, that we might live! Charles Spurgeon was truly a man led to preach the gospel. Two of his quotes are below:

“It will not save me to know that Christ is a Saviour; but it will save me to trust Him to be my Savior. I shall not be delivered from the wrath to come, by believing that His atonement is sufficient; but I shall be saved by making that atonement my trust, my refuge, and my all. The pith, the essence of faith lies in this - a casting oneself on the promise. It is not the life buoy on board ship that saves the man when he is drowning, nor is it his belief that it is an excellent and successful invention. No! He must have it around his loins, or his hand upon it, or else he will sink.”

“This Man receiveth sinners; not, however, that they may remain sinners, but he receives them that he may pardon their sins, justify their persons, cleanse their hearts by his purifying word, preserve their souls by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, and enable them to serve him, to show forth his praise, and to have communion with him. Into his heart’s love he receives sinners, takes them from darkness, and wears them as jewels in his crown; plucks them as brands from the burning, and preserves them as costly monuments of his mercy. None are so precious in Jesus’ sight as the sinners for whom he died.”

Other Parts - (Will become active as I post them):

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

- Adam Smith

For other parts of this series, see the end of this post.

3. The Gospel - In The Bible

Whatever definition of the gospel that I could come up with, or whatever opinions of others that I could share, none would compare to the Bible. We can just offer commentary on the Bible. The best Bible commentary is the Bible itself. I belief that a great definition of the gospel is given in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 by the apostle Paul:

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” (Emphasis added).

I want to try to break this down a little bit. I have added bold and italics to some part of the text to for a purpose. First however, look at the phrase “of first importance…” This is to denote that Paul is stressing that it can’t wait. What he has delivered must be a priority. Next, look at the word “that” (in bold). There are four clauses in particular that I want to point out:

• “Christ died for our sins”
• “he was buried”
• “he was raised on the third day”
• “he appeared to…”

I believe that the word “that” is there to signify the fact that each one of these clauses do not work independently. The gospel is all four of these clauses together. Christ died for our sins, and was buried, and was raised, and appeared to Cephas (Simon Peter), to the twelve, to more than five hundred and to James and all the apostles and finally Paul. Yes, I am saying that even that fourth clause is essential to the gospel. The fact that he was buried verified His death, but further, the fact that he appeared verified His resurrection.

The second thing I want to point out from this passage is the phrase “in accordance with the Scriptures.” It’s amazing that Christ’s death for our sins is prophesied, foreshadowed, flash-backed, declared, demonstrated, taught, and unpacked throughout all of Scripture (what we refer to as the Old Testament). Paul is saying exactly this. Scripture was written to reveal this truth, to spell it out propositionally; Christ is Himself the Word, the true revelation which Scripture was pointing to (e.g. Isaiah 53).

There are obviously many more places where the gospel is found in the Bible, but I believe 1 Corinthians 15 is one of the best places for the pure explanation of what the gospel is, and that is all I am trying to do with this writing.

4. The Gospel - Where It Started

As I mentioned in the introduction, the gospel is the good news that God sent Jesus Christ into the world. So I am going to start the gospel with the birth of Jesus Christ as recorded in Luke 2:7-11:

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.””

As a quick side note, Luke 2:5 states that Mary was with child, so starting off in verse 7, the “she” is referring to Mary. Now, I want to point out one thing from that above passage. The angel is bringing good news: “unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” This was the good news - Jesus has come.

Other Parts - (Will become active as I post them):

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

- Adam Smith

I am starting a new series called “What Is The Gospel?” I spent all day last Friday writing a paper about it. It turned into 22 pages! I will be posting it in parts on here, and at the end will upload a pdf version of the paper with sources if you want it. Comments are always appreciated. Part 1 below:

All of the Bible verses that I use are from the ESV Bible unless otherwise noted.

1. Introduction

At first, this may seem like a hard question, based on all of the preaching and messages that are available today. In all actuality however, it is a real simple answer. The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). However, the answer to the question has to go beyond that. The gospel is not only that Jesus came, but that He died to take away our sins, and not only did He die to take away our sins, but He was resurrected from the dead. The gospel was not a work of Jesus, however. It was a work of God through the Son Jesus Christ.

Let me try to give a summary of the gospel as I see it.

The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ was sent by God into the world to save sinners from eternal damnation. Jesus Christ, a perfect and righteous man who never committed a sin, took the sins of the world upon his back and was crucified on a cross. He was raised from the dead to forever reign in glory as our Lord, that whoever believes in Him and repents of their sins will be saved. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16).

There are many ways that I could go from here. I am going to break down the gospel in its entire context, and try to explain more about what it is, and also list the opinions of some men much smarter than myself.

2. The Gospel - The Meaning of the Term

The term gospel is found ninety-six times in the ESV Bible. Gospel is a term from the Old English “Godspel” meaning good tidings or good news. Gospel is a translation from the Greek noun “euangelion” (eu = good, angelion = message), and also from the verb “euangelizo” meaning “to bring or announce good news.” In my opinion, the fact that it is used almost one hundred times in the ESV is a testament of its importance. The gospel is the central Christian message. It cannot be built upon and it cannot be taken away from. If it is, then it is no longer the good news.

Other Parts - (Will become active as I post them):

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

- Adam Smith

This will be the last post for a while. In case you haven’t read the other parts of this writing series, I am viewing this series as a personal journey for myself to become more knowledgeable in the attributes of God, and I hope that I can help you in some way as well.

Introduction to Series

Part One

Part One-A

Part Two

Part Three

God is great because of His authority. If God chooses to do something it is for a reason. God does not have a “plan b.” God never says “oops.” God is sovereign over this world, over satan, and over all of creation. Follow with me as we examine some of God’s authority as shown in scripture.

God has authority over creation and it starts in Genesis 1:1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. His authority stretches all over creation; in verse 3, He says “Let there be light” and it happened. Read the rest of chapter one and you will see His authority over creation.

Colossians 1:16 states, For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him.

God has authority the planets; He said spin in this direction, and they do. God has authority over the oceans; He said ocean, you can come this far and no further and it does! He tells the mountains how high to go and the valleys how low to sink! This is really an awesome sentiment when you think of the expanse of the earth and even more so the expanse of the universe.

Another example of God’s authority over creation is in Mark when Jesus and disciples are on the boat. Mark 4:39: And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.

This next part is simply awesome to me. I battle with satan it seems like on a daily basis and yet God has complete authority over satan. Take Genesis 3:14 as an example. This was after the fall of man: The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, dust you will eat all the days of your life…”

Another example of God’s authority is shown in Job. When satan wants to destroy a saint (satan is really stupid), he must get permission from God. Chapter 1, verse 12: “Then the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him…” And then satan wants to attack Job’s health to make him curse God. So God says in Chapter 2, verse 6: “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”

Another example of God’s authority is shown in Mark 1:27. The second part says “…He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” Read the whole story in that passage - it is great. When Jesus speaks with absolute authority, the devil does what he is told. Period.

Finally, God has the authority and the power to destroy satan and he will do it! Revelation 20:10: “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

I feel I have just barely cracked the surface of God’s authority in this part of the series. I have examined God’s authority over creation, and His authority over satan. There are so many more areas I could hit on God’s authority, and if He leads me to do so, then I will do it. I encourage you to look deeper for yourself at the awesome authority of God.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. (1 Chr. 29:11)

- Adam Smith

If you have, then be assured you are not alone. I have felt that way as of late…always wondering what in the heck is going on, how I am supposed to get through life.

The good news for you (and me) is that there is hope. Hope is found in Jesus Christ. He is the foundation of hope. While I am going to touch on my life in this post, most of it will deal with finding hope through Jesus Christ.

There are many areas of my life as of late that I have no idea how it will work out. School, jobs, relationships/dating, people I hang out with, and so on. It seems to me that all of these areas are out of control right now. I have no idea how each one is going to end up. I have finally come to this conclusion. Yes, they are out of control - they are out of my control, but God is in control. He knows exactly what is going to happen. And with that, I can breathe a sigh of relief.

For most of my life, I have been in control of any situation that I was in, sports, work, relationships, etc. I had built this self made box if you will, and everything runs according to how I want it to. It wasn’t until God tore down the walls of my self made box that I realized I don’t have to be in control - or more importantly that I am not in control. Within the last 5 months, God has torn down every sense of security that I have had in every imaginable situation. While it may seem to me that there is no hope left, I know that I have hope in Jesus Christ.

Without going into detail with the situations in my life, I will say that with what has happened to me over these past few months would have driven most people to the point of collapse; to the point of wanting to give up; to the point of utter despair. I am not saying this to get anybody to feel sorry for me or anything like that. I am just using an illustration to show how God can use situations in a person’s life to make that person reach the point of nowhere to turn but Him. I think that for me, this “breaking point” is the greatest thing that could have happened. It is exactly what God wants - for us (and me) to lose all senses of independence and be completely dependent on Him. We reach the point where we cry out, “Oh God, who do I have in heaven but You, who do I have on this earth but You!” It is at that point that we will start to grow and mature spiritually. I can honestly say that I am closer to God now then I have ever been in my life and I hope that I can say that every day from now on.

So I have been talking up to this point about having hope that is only found is Jesus Christ. Now the question becomes, where do I find this hope? This hope is found in the word of God. Hope comes through reading (although I take a fine line with reading as I realize not all people who have found hope are literate), and through meditating on the scriptures. Christ gave His life so that we may have the hope of eternal life. What follows now is a multitude of scriptures of where we can find hope in the Bible. I will be using the ESV translation through all of these scriptures.

Ps. 16:8-9: I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.

Ps. 31:24: Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!

Ps. 33:18-22: Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Ps. 42:5-6a: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Ps. 119:114: You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.

Ps. 130:5: I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;

Ps. 146:5-10: Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

Ps. 147:11: but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Ecc. 9:4: But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

Jer. 17:7-8: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. “He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Jer. 31:16-17: Thus says the Lord: “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, declares the Lord, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. “There is hope for your future, declares the Lord, and your children shall come back to their own country.

Lam. 3:21-26: But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Acts 2:25-28: “For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’”

Acts 24:15: “having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

Rom. 5:1-8: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 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.

Rom. 8:24-28: For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Rom. 15:4: For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Rom. 15:13: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

1 Cor. 13:12-13: For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Gal. 5:5: For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

Eph. 1:17-21: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

Col. 1:27: To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

1 Thess. 5:8-10: But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

2 Thess. 2:16-17: Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Heb. 6:18-20: so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

1 Peter 1:13: Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 3:15: but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you;

1 John 3:2-3: Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

John 14:1-3: Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

John 10:27-28: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Acts 16:31: And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Ps. 84:11: For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Ps. 43:5: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Ps. 52:8: But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.

Is. 12:2: “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

Nahum 1:7: The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.

Matt. 6:33-34: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Luke 12:27-28: “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

Ps. 18:30: This God - his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

Ps. 20:7: Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Ps. 44:6-8: For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah.

Phil. 3:8-14: Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Obviously that is not an exhaustive list, but just the verses I found through a word study of hope. We, as Christians, must totally let go of our own selfish sense of control and rely totally on the cross of Christ. It is only through this that we may have hope.

That is the “where” about finding hope. But what about the “how?” How and why do we have this hope? Here is why I (and you) have hope in Christ Jesus. I have hope because (paraphrasing Romans 3) I have sinned and fallen short of His glory and I am justified by His grace as a gift through Christ Jesus’ redemption, who was a propitiation for me and by faith I have received the gift - I do not deserve this justification, but it was given to be by the grace of God. Further, quoting Hebrews 10:10-14,

“And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

And finishing with Hebrews 10:23,

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

I know that whatever my situation, I have hope in Christ. I do not have to be successful in the world’s eyes. I do not have to be powerful, or eloquent, or intelligent, or any other thing. Simply, I am loved by God (as you are).

My comfort, my peace comes not from my performance or what I can do for God. It comes from what God has done for me in the finished work of Christ.

Let me encourage you today that if you find a person who shares your Christian faith, encourage them in Christ as they should for you. This is a huge lacking in my life right now; I do not have many friends who share my faith who I can talk to. I am not worried, though, because God is in control, and I have hope in Christ Jesus. If you would like to discuss hope further, let me know.

- Adam Smith

With Easter approaching, I believe this is the perfect time to post this part in the series.

As I am about to write part three of this series, I feel that this is the most important aspect of God (I say aspect in this sense, because I hesitate to call holiness an attribute of God - I believe holiness to be what God IS, not just a part of His character - every one of His attributes come from His holiness). Right now it is December 30, 2007 - yes, I know that means that even though this series is not being published until 2008, that I have written the introduction and parts one, two, and three in December 2007. At this moment, I am not sure what date this is being published, but I am really serious about what I am writing, and I am really putting a lot of prayer into this series. I am hoping this is evident by the lapse between the date written and the date published.

There is not a lot that I am afraid of. I could probably count the things that I am afraid of on one hand. I am not going to list those, but I will say this: I am afraid of what I am writing in this series. I am afraid that I will screw up what God is trying to say, and that I will screw His word up in a way that may in fact be the difference between life and death for someone. And that truly scares me. So with that in mind, it is by God alone that I continue now.

God is great because of His holiness. I believe that His holiness is the very core of His character; everything that happens is a result of God’s holiness. Take a minute to reflect on that.

I think I have to define the idea of holy. The idea of the holy (from the Hebrew word “qodesh”) implies differentiation: the realm of the holy is entirely set apart from the common, the habitual, or the profane. The holy is singular, awe-inspiring, even “terrible” or dreadful. God is absolutely separated and is above all His creatures and He is exalted above in infinite majesty.

I think that we can describe the holiness of God both positively and negatively. Positively: Holiness refers to the absolute integrity and purity of the nature of God. It means He is always absolutely pure and so distinct from all others. God is pure light (1 John 1:5). Holiness refers to His uncontaminated purity. Negatively: Holiness is that perfection in God that totally separates Him from all that is evil and defiling and common. God is unstained by sin.

Holiness is an essential and inherent part of His Being. Only God is absolutely holy because only God is God. “There is no one holy like the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:2).

Holiness means that God is not common; He is not ordinary; He is not casual; He is distinct - He is not like us. He is never to be taken lightly. In Psalm 111:9, it says “Holy and awesome is His name.” Have you ever really thought about that? How many times have you used the name of God flippantly or without regard (in vain)? I am guilty more times than I care to remember on that one, as I am sure you are too.

We (our culture today) market the name of Jesus like Tommy Hilfiger. We buy T-shirts, and cups that have the name of Jesus on it - a name that is above every name! His name is not what you use it for; it is not a marketing device. This god that most Americans have is no god at all - he can do nothing for you; but these same Americans like him because he can do nothing to them. That is not the God of the Bible. God says that He will vindicate His holiness: “And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes” (Ezekiel 36:23).

We (in our culture today) don’t want to make God seem too glorious because he will seem too far away from us; we want to bring God down on our level. If you bring God down on any level, you have created an idol. God is in a high and lofty place according to Isaiah 57:15. Even though this is true, because we are His children, we can call him Father; Jesus taught us this in Matthew.

We must, however, when talking to our Father mark our words before they come out of our mouths; be sure not too say too many things in the presence of Yahweh, because He is God. God is not our good buddy, He is not the man upstairs; Jesus is not your homeboy, and me and Jesus don’t got our own thing going. He is God and He is holy.

There is a word that must go with holiness - transcendence. One definition of transcendence is “being above and independent of the material universe.” God’s holiness represents His transcendent majesty and absolute moral perfection: Hosea 11:9, “For I am God, and not man - the Holy One among you.” The holiness of God transcends any idea that we have of holiness; and it transcends any aspect of holiness that anyone might reflect.

In Isaiah 6:3, it says, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts…” This is the only time in the Bible that an attribute of God is repeated three times. The Bible says that God is love, but not love, love, love. According to Jewish custom, when they wanted to emphasize a point they repeated it two times, this is known as Hebrew parallelism. Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say unto you” This means it is absolutely truly what he was going to say. But here in Isaiah it says Holy (the declaration), Holy (the repetition), Holy (further confirmation). God’s holiness is repeated not to the second degree but to the third degree, which means He is infinitely holy. On the other hand the Antichrist is called with the number 666, repeated to the third degree of evil. Wow, that makes you think a little doesn’t it? Well, it made me think anyway; moving on…

Look at how God appeared in the Old Testament. God said to Moses, “Do not come any closer; take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5) But this is just a normal place, and Moses is familiar with this area. Why is it that only now this spot suddenly became holy? Whenever God’s presence appears, everything becomes sanctified. It was the presence of God that made the ground holy.

Look at Isaiah 6:2. It says, “Above it [the throne of God] stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.” These angels were created and designed to proclaim the holiness of God. Why did they have six wings? They had two to cover their faces (so they won’t gaze directly into God’s glory), two to cover their feet (acknowledging their subservience to God), and two with which to fly (serving the Lord who sits on the throne). The God of the Universe is infinitely holy; even these angelic beings cannot see the full glory of Him. Wow!

I have barely begun to cover this idea of the holiness of God. Hopefully, however, I have been able to get you on the track of thinking about the holiness of God, and cause you to personally research this further. If I have done that, then I feel that I have accomplished what God has called me to do through writing these parts.

To conclude part three, I will say that the holiness of God humbles our pride and unveils our hypocrisy, and demonstrates the absolute perfection of God. It is not our right to be in the presence of God, but our privilege - given by the grace of God.

I want to end with the lyrics of a song by Phillips, Craig & Dean, “You Are God Alone.”

You are not a god
Created by human hands
You are not a god
Dependent on any mortal man
You are not a god
In need of anything we can give
By Your plan, that’s just the way it is

You are God alone
From before time began
You were on Your throne
Your are God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on Your throne
You are God alone

You’re the only God
Whose power none can contend
You’re the only God
Whose name and praise will never end
You’re the only God Who’s worthy of everything we can give
You are God
And that’s just the way it is

Unchangeable
Unshakable
Unstoppable
That’s what You are

Final note: I used various sources in writing part three. While most of the stuff in this part is mine, some of the stuff in this part is a direct quote from other people. If you would like to know the source of a certain part, please let me know.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. (1 Chr. 29:11)

- Adam Smith

This quote looks to be an answer to the question: How come you believe the Bible? Is the Bible accurate?

Obviously, since this is Mr. Baucham’s quote, most of this blog will come from what he said. However, I will start with this. I have been accused of using circular reasoning to defend the Bible. People will say you can’t defend the Bible with the Bible (refer to some of the comments on my blog, “Why Atheism Doesn’t Exist” (Smith, Jan. 2008)).

Let me be real clear here. I will never defend the Bible. The Bible does not need a defense. It will defend itself if you look intellectually at it. As Charles Spurgeon put it,

Now back to the main question, is the Bible inerrant? The answer is yes, and here is a passage from 2 Peter to support it.

“…A reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses …”

Look at 2 Peter, it says they did not follow cleverly devised myths (another translation says ‘tales’). These authors wrote the Bible based on historical events that they saw with their own eyes, or was recounted to them by other eyewitnesses. They didn’t write based on myths or tales, but actual events.

“…that report supernatural events which took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies…”

The authors of the Bible wrote of supernatural events, not just superhuman events. For example, Jesus healing the man’s withered hand (Matt. 12:13); Jesus walked on the water (Matt. 14:25); when Jesus healed the blind men (Matt. 9:29-30). Finally of course, the fulfillment of the prophesy of crucifixion in Psalm 22. This was written a thousand years before Jesus was born and it was fulfilled. So the authors wrote about events that they saw, and were writing about fulfilled prophesy.

“…claim to be divine rather than human in origin.”

In verse 20 and 21 of 2 Peter, “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God…” No prophesy can be fulfilled by a human. No prophesy comes from human interpretation, it is only from God.

The Bible is inerrant. Yes, it was penned by men, but it was inspired by God. There are many “arguments” that can come from this. One example: someone might say, since it was penned by men, then it must be disregarded because it is inaccurate. Well, using this logic, all books must be disregarded. The last time I checked, all books were written by men (and women). So if that’s the argument, it has no logic to it.

The question of is the Bible accurate and why do you believe it is an intelligent question and deserves an intelligent response. It is not enough to say something like well I believe it because I believe it, or I am a Southern Baptist and that is how we believe. A Christian has to stand ready to give a reason for the hope that is in them (1 Peter 3:15).

Again, the quote at the beginning comes from Voddie Baucham and then of course most of the breakdown of it comes from his explanation because it is not my quote, however, it is a wonderful answer to the question of why I believe the bible, therefore I am now using it. I encourage you to check out brother Baucham.

I just found a seemingly great apologetics resource website: http://www.4truth.net/. The only reason I say seemingly is as of now I have only had a chance to skim it, although it looks to be historically and classically accurate.

- Adam Smith

It is our responsibility to spread the gospel that Jesus Christ is the only way to true salvation, that we are all dead in sin. Salvation is about the glory of God. Joel Osteen doesn’t preach this. In my opinion, the thing that makes Joel Osteen a false preacher is the fact that he does not preach the true gospel - or I should say he does not preach the true purpose of the gospel.

According to Tim Challies, life is meant to glorify God, not to bring blessing and ease to the individual. I would agree with this statement. Osteen’s book, “Become a Better You” seems to emphasize bringing blessing and ease to the individual.

In case you haven’t read the book, it is divided into seven areas: 1) Keep pressing forward, 2) Be positive toward yourself, 3) Develop better relationships, 4) Form better habits, 5) Embrace the place where you are, 6) Develop your inner life, and 7) Stay passionate about life.

This is pretty much like all of the other “self-help” books out there, except for one glaring difference. This one is supposed to be built upon the Bible and it is publicized as such, and that is very dangerous.

Here is what Osteen is teaching in this book: “We’ve all sinned, failed, and made mistakes,” he says, “But many people don’t know they can receive God’s mercy and forgiveness.” That sounds reasonable right? Sure. But, he goes on to say, “As long as you’re doing your best and desire to do what’s right according to God’s Word, you can be assured God is pleased with you.” Now I ask, is it enough to just desire to do right? Is God really pleased with those who sin, but desire to do right? I would submit to you that He is not pleased with just that. God is so holy that He cannot even look upon a sin. I got this question from Paul Washer and it stands up to the Bible: How many times did Adam and Eve sin before they were cast out of the presence of God? The answer is once.

Wow, I kind of got off track a little bit there. Back to my original question: What makes Osteen’s preaching wrong?

Here is the question: what is the purpose of the Bible? The Bible is the inspired word of God, it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God might be equipped for every good work (based on 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The reason for our existence is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Osteen says that the Bible is full of common sense that can help us in our every day lives. Yes, this is true I believe, but that is not the purpose! The Bible is theology and doctrine. It is an instruction manual so people can learn who God is, what He has done, who we are and what we must do to be saved so that He can be glorified.

According to Osteen, the gospel is letting people know that God loves them, that Jesus came, that we can overcome any obstacle, and that we can be forgiven for our mistakes. This is a huge watering down of language. What Osteen says is not the gospel. The gospel is the good news of the forgiveness of sins. Osteen needs to realize that mistakes are not the same as sin.

Osteen says that he doesn’t see how beating people down can help them grow closer to God. In my opinion, this is a “straw man.” The gospel does not beat people down, we are already down. The gospel exposes our position and shows how God will lift us from that.

Osteen says that he believes hell is a real place and that it is separation from God. This is true, it is a real place and it is separation from God. So why doesn’t he warn people of this? Osteen is not taking into consideration what the separation from God really is. It is only by God’s general grace and goodness that I am able to use my hands to type right now; that I am even able to breathe is by God’s general grace. When His general grace is gone, that is separation from God. Even our ability to have light to see right now is by the grace of God. That light will be gone when God’s grace is gone. It will be utter darkness in hell. Separation from God is the worst possible thing that can happen to a human and Osteen needs to realize this.

Osteen preaches the American dream. He preaches that God wants us to be blessed, to increase and to be successful in our career. While this may be partly true, the American dream is not God’s plan. He wants us to take the gospel and preach it to the uttermost parts of the earth. He wants us to be salt and light in our career. The purpose of the gospel is that we can be Godly in Christ Jesus so that He may be glorified.

There is a difference in the way that Osteen preaches and the way that historical Christianity has been preached. The difference is called expository preaching, taking a verse (or series of verses) and explaining and going deeper on the meaning; verses: here is what the Bible says and here is how it applies to your life. It is a different approach to Scripture and it is a different approach to God.

In an interview, Osteen used the example of Abraham saying that he was the wealthiest man in the east. This is true, but this is Old Testament. God did bless people in the Old Testament, under that old covenant, with physical wealth. In Ephesians 1, under the new covenant, we see spiritual blessings which are far superior, in my opinion.

Is providing for our family important? Yes, it is. Am I saying that we should not advance in our careers? No, but that is not the emphasis or the purpose of the gospel. I believe the purpose of the gospel is to get us saved, to glorify God, to grow in the process of sanctification, and to share the gospel with others in order that God can be glorified.

What Osteen preaches is so far from the real good news, that it isn’t good at all. It is man centered and built around men. The gospel does not center around men; the gospel centers around God.

Osteen’s preaching is what Tim Challies (I think) calls skyscraper preaching, because it is constructed building one story on top of another.

When you are evaluating Osteen or any other preacher for that matter, you should ask three questions. First, how often is Jesus mentioned? For this purpose, a simple tally will suffice; second, is Jesus the subject of the verbs? Is Jesus the one who acts, or are you? Third, what are the verbs? What has Jesus done and what is He doing?

To sum it up, I believe that Joel Osteen is a false preacher. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Does he realize it? I don’t know. But while some of what he says is not necessarily false (a lot of it is heresy, and possibly blasphemy), he does not preach the true purpose of the gospel, and that is why I hate his preaching.

Finally, it seems to me that Osteen’s preaching is good advice rather than good news. What makes him different from Dr. Phil? Well, nothing except that he (Osteen) operates under the premise that what he preaches will get you saved. I would disagree, but ultimately it is up to God how people hear Mr. Osteen’s message. There is a part of me that feels sorry for Mr. Osteen. I believe that he was under his father for so long, that he doesn’t know what true, Biblical, expository preaching is. He has never been to college, much less seminary, and so he has not had a chance to experience great men of faith who preach and teach the true purpose of the gospel. If you follow Joel Osteen, take some time and examine the true purpose of the gospel based on historic Christianity.

Joel Osteen is the poster boy for shallow, feel-good, meaningless, powerless, gospel-free Christianity.

To see a sample of some of what Joel Osteen preaches, download the document below. It is a partial sermon from Joel Osteen with my response to it: Osteen Response

- Adam Smith

In an attempt to answer this question, part two deals with the justice of God. God is great because of His justice. He is a just God, and that is part of His character; God cannot go against His character. Justice by definition means the quality of being just; fairness; the upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law. The law in the context of this part is referring to God’s law; His ultimate standard is by which we will be judged.

I am going to use a real-world example. This case is national news, so I am sure you have heard of it: the Christian-Newsom double murder that happened in Knoxville in January 2007. I knew one of them personally, so it is easy for me to answer the following question. Would I want a judge in this case to let the suspects go free of any penalty? No! That would not be justice according to the law, and the judge would not be doing his job.

Put this in the context of God’s law. God hates sin, and His law says that sin equals eternal death. We, as humans, have a sinful nature and were born in sin (Ps. 51:5). Should we go free without a penalty? No! That would not be justice according to God’s law and God would not be just. As I have already said, God is just according to His character and He cannot defy His character.

It all comes down to this one thing: If God is just, He cannot forgive us.

What had to happen then? God cannot forgive us unless a sacrifice is made. God sent His Son to this earth to die. He had to walk as a perfect man on this earth, God as man (Jesus) could not have sinned on this earth, because then he would not be accepting the sins of His people, He would have been dying for His own sin; so He could not (and did not) sin on this earth.

His judgment had to be poured out on that tree; Jesus Christ drank the cup of God’s wrath. All of this wrath should have fallen upon His people; instead Jesus took this punishment; the justice of God was satisfied; His son has died for the chosen (by chosen, I mean ones who have accepted Jesus Christ and he is the Lord of their life - Jesus did not die for those who won’t accept Him as Savior and Lord). Having died, Jesus made it possible for a just God to declare wicked men righteous and yet still be just.

I think that J.I. Packer sums it up perfectly in his book, “Knowing God”:

“On the cross, God judged our sins in the person of His Son, and Jesus endured the retributive come-back of our wrongdoing. Look at the cross, therefore, and you see what form God’s judicial reaction to human sin will finally take. What form is that? In a word, withdrawal and deprivation of good. On the cross Jesus lost all the good that He had before: all sense of His Father’s presence and love, all sense of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, all enjoyment of God and of created things, all ease and solace of friendship, were taken from Him, and in their place was nothing but loneliness, pain, a killing sense of human malice and callousness, and a horror of great spiritual darkness.” (p. 176)

God is such a just God that He even turned away from Jesus on the cross. He did not turn away because He couldn’t stand the pain that Jesus was suffering; He turned away because Jesus had become sin, and God hates sin. I like what the Amplified Bible says in Matthew 27:46: “And about the ninth hour (three o’clock) Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?–that is, My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me [leaving Me helpless, forsaking and failing Me in My need]?”

By sending His son to accept the sins of the world and die on a tree is the ultimate example of God’s just nature. I will also show a couple of other Biblical examples of God’s justice. In Genesis 18, God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah, because of their wicked ways. Abraham, being a man, does not understand God’s justice (as many of us don’t understand today). God is unwilling to destroy the innocent among the guilty. You should take some time to read this account in Genesis 18.

Another example is in 1 Corinthians 11:31. Justice is applied for discipline, that we (children of God, saved ones) are spared of eternal death.

God shows more of His power by saving a man (or woman) than he did by creating the earth. The earth was created “ex nihilo” (out of nothing); man was saved, he is recreated out of a corrupt mass. It is easier to create something out of nothing than to transform something corrupt into something (or someone) who loves God.

You must now ask the question, when Jesus died on the cross what have you been saved from? Were you saved from sin? No, sin is an inanimate object; you cannot be saved from an inanimate object. You have been saved from God. You were not saved for a purpose driven life; you were not saved for your best life now; you were not saved for forty days of purpose; you were not saved to become a better you; you were saved for God. Maybe he will tear you down, or exalt you; maybe he will give you a life of ease and comfort, maybe he will send you to the jungle to die as a martyr. It is all for Him!

God is truly a just God, and this is proven in His Word. This is just another answer to the question, “How Great Is Our God?”

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all (1 Chr. 29:11).

- Adam Smith

I was reading the book of 1 Chronicles last night, and I was absolutely amazed at the faith of David. He fully relied on God to deliver him and his men from the hands of the Philistines. You just don’t see faith such as that today that much.

Take 1 Chronicles 14:10-16 (ESV) as an example:

I try to imagine what I would have done in that situation. I am human after all and I might have questioned the orders of God at least once when He said you shall not go after them; go around them… I might have said something like, “But they are right there, and I got this!” I would like to think that in the end I would have obeyed Him, because I have faith. But look at David. He did not question God at all. In verse 16 it says, “and David did as God commanded him…”

How many times in our own lives do we do without question what God is telling us to do? I can only speak for myself, and I know there are times when I don’t listen real well. The faith of David in this passage is just simply amazing to me.

Faith is all that we have. It is by faith alone that we are saved (Sola Fide). Romans 5:1 says that we are justified by faith. Notice how it does not say we are justified by faith and works; or we are justified by merit. No, it says faith only. 1 Corinthians 2:5 says, “that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Why is it that I question what will happen in my life? When God says that everything will work out according to his will, why do I doubt that at times? Is it because my faith is weak? No, I don’t think so. I think it is because of my human nature, which I am continuously trying to let go of according to faith through His word.

I did a search of “faith” in the ESV Bible. It brought back 257 verses. There are so many examples of faith spelled out in the Old Testament, from Abraham to Noah and so many more. So I think faith is important to God. I think we are all weak in faith at times. I am currently questioning how a certain situation will play out in my life. Although I don’t know what will happen, God knows. God will work everything out in my life according to his will. I have to remember that truth. I have to be strong in faith.

I would like to take a minute now and try to explain faith how I understand it using what I have heard from John Piper. Does this mean that because I understand what faith is, that I have it completely? I would like to think so, but that is my prayer; that God would strengthen my faith - that I will get out of my own way and have this immeasurable faith.

Faith embraces the worth, the beauty, and the all sufficiency of Christ as its treasure, and is satisfied there. So when we make that act the definition of our being, our value as a person consists in our valuing of Jesus. The meaning and the value of self resides in our esteeming and treasuring of Christ. That is why we exist.

Faith is a gift. We cannot boast in a gift, so as we make faith our standard, the boasting is eliminated.

Why should faith be the standard of our thinking of ourselves? Faith is the root of all spiritual gifts. It is the trait that turns our natural abilities into spiritual gifts. All of our gifts then will point to the glory of Christ and not to us.

God can use our faith to move mountains if He wants too. How awesome would that be? How much better would our world be if we would have unending faith and let God use us? I long for that faith of David, which is truly faith immeasurable.

I encourage you today to not lean on your own understanding, and do not try to do things your way, but trust in God, because His ways are higher than our ways.

Father, I pray that you will strengthen my faith on a daily basis. I pray that you would give me the faith of David and so many others illustrated in Your word. I thank You for men of faith today such as John MacArthur, John Piper, Paul Washer, and so many others. Your word is infallible, undeniable, and fully sufficient, and for that I thank You. May it be that I never rely on myself, Lord, but I rely on only the cross of Christ, by which I am saved through faith.

- Adam Smith

First let me start off by answering a question. Do I believe that a true Christian can lose salvation? No they cannot. Now, if you agree with me, please continue reading. If you disagree with me, I urge you to continue reading, but I wanted to tell you up front what I thought.

I think that I have to define “true Christian” as the Bible defines it, because based on the results of a Gallup poll in 2007, 82 percent of Americans say they are Christian. A true Christian by Biblical standards is a person who has realized that they were born into sin (Romans 5:12) and have repented and have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their savior and their Lord, and have come to hate the sin that they once loved and find their joy and pleasure in Jesus Christ.

It is by this definition that I can call myself a Christian, and for that I worship and praise God, because his saving grace is a gift that has been given to me. I did nothing to earn it, and can do nothing to merit it.

Back to the topic, it is this Christian that I believe cannot lose salvation. My basis for this writing is Hebrews 6:4-6 which states (NASB):

I believe that this text in Hebrews is saying that an unbeliever can lose the possibility of salvation. This is the type of unbeliever who has fallen away in both inward disposition and in outward profession. This is the definition of apostasy: abandonment of one’s religious faith. These are those who have tasted, who have been drawn, who have appreciated the gospel and the death of Christ, saw the beauty of it, the wonder of it, and can conceive the wonders of heaven, but have never truly committed to Christ.

They never sensed that true inward transformation where they begin to abhor their sin and see their lostness, and see their wickedness, and see the holiness of God, and turn from their sin, and embrace Christ to be their savior and Lord of their life.

I believe that there is a line that you can cross and once you cross it, you can never return and be saved. The people who have crossed this line are so severely hardened that they are hopelessly lost. They have turned aside in a blatant manner; they don’t just abandon the outward faith, they abandon their conscience (their conscience says they know that is wrong, and yet they still go against their conscience).

There is a type of falling away that a believer can commit and yet not lose salvation. I believe this is shown in Matthew 26:69-75. Peter outwardly denied Christ, but did not abandon his conscience. I know that I have been like Peter in the past (and for that I am ashamed), but I never did abandon my conscience, and it is only by the grace of God that I am still saved. There is probably a little Peter in all of us, don’t you think?

Am I saying that a person who is saved has a license to sin? No. I know that I still sin. However, I do not live in a lifestyle of sin. That is the difference between an unbeliever and a believer. A believer will sin, but will not live a lifestyle of sin such as an unbeliever.

To sum up, the people in Hebrews 6 are the people that have come so close to salvation, climbed the ladder almost to the top, saw the glory of God, appreciated his Word, and yet did not commit to Christ, and have since fallen away both outwardly and inwardly, and because of that they have no hope of salvation.

In the true biblical understanding, true converts, true believers, true Christians can never ever be lost again, only unbelievers can lose salvation.

There is no salvation where there is no repentance. Repentance comes before faith - you have to turn from something to turn to someone. We must seek God while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6). Jesus is mighty to save! There is always hope if you will come to Christ.

Finally, my personal motto based on the words of Martin Luther: Here I stand, God help me.

- Adam Smith