Gospel

The first is a conversation with Paul Washer that will be part of a documentary made at the 2008 Revival Conference (at which he preached the Ten Indictments) sponsored by Sermonindex.net. In the video, brother Paul shares his testimony and his thoughts on the Gospel, revival, missions, and the need for reformation.

The second, a much shorter interview, is taken from an interview conducted by Joe Reilly of CrossReach at the Deeper Conference 2008 in which brother Paul shares his views on evangelism.

This thought has been running through my mind a few hours now, so I thought I’d share and see what you think.

While I know that at its fundamentals, legalism is defined as an adherence to laws and works versus grace for salvation, there’s a loose definition that defines it thus: “if I do this for God, God will do that for me”.

In which case, I’ve been thinking, in light of accusations by those who subscribe to new-fangled Christianity that includes the accursed prosperity message of being a legalistic fundamental — aren’t these folks themselves practising a perverted form of legalism?

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Time Magazine asks the question if the Prosperity “gospel” has turned most of its adherents into victims of the current financial crisis:

Has the so-called Prosperity gospel turned its followers into some of the most willing participants — and hence, victims — of the current financial crisis? That’s what a scholar of the fast-growing brand of Pentecostal Christianity believes. While researching a book on black televangelism, says Jonathan Walton, a religion professor at the University of California at Riverside, he realized that Prosperity’s central promise — that God will “make a way” for poor people to enjoy the better things in life — had developed an additional, dangerous expression during the subprime-lending boom. Walton says that this encouraged congregants who got dicey mortgages to believe “God caused the bank to ignore my credit score and blessed me with my first house.” The results, he says, “were disastrous, because they pretty much turned parishioners into prey for greedy brokers.” (more…)

Albert Mohler also weighed in on the issue with Are We Promised Prosperity?, with these sobering words:

Perhaps we all need a refresher course in Christian economics and Christian theology. Niall Ferguson argues from the record of history in looking to the current crisis. Perhaps we should remember our own history lesson — that far more believers in Christ have been and are now among the poor, rather than among the wealthy. We should hear Jesus warn against materialism and Paul remind us that we are to be content when we have plenty and when we have little. We should know that the Christian virtue of thrift is incompatible with the lies of those who push consumer credit.

Oh, and by the way, I learned that the senior pastor of a mega-church in Singapore preached this morning about having to tithe (and give to the building fund) so that your debts will be canceled because God is a “debt-canceling God” and we can chase off the “spirit of debt”.

God sure can cancel debt — our sin the heaviest debt when you repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ, but to say that God will cancel your debt if only you will tithe and give to the building fund… that’s preposterous! Stop feeding these feel-good, engage-the-marketplace, build-a-house-for-God pastors who offer choice passages from the Bible to substantiate their false claims.

The key to overcoming debt which is a result of materialism and greed is not giving more to a church building fund or tithing. Pray God that you will abide in Christ, and He will give you a new heart to focus on His kingdom and not the things of this world which moths and rust can, and will, destroy. In my opinion, that should have been preached, but then again, I never did expect much Biblical sense from a pastor who calls John Avanzini “friend”.

Photo by swamysk.

Yo, yo! Welcome to Pimp My Church! Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are totally rad here and when we’re done with your church, you’ll be enjoying the best sound experience, LCD screens and entertainment!

Huh? What? The Gospel?

Dude! That’s old and fuddy-duddy. We’re fly and our church is totally relevant and fly too. “God is certainly not out-of-date and neither should God’s people be out-of-date.”

What are you waiting for?! Come join us and get pimped out, like, totally, today!

p.s. The above is not my position on the Gospel and church, and is (most likely) a dismal attempt at relevant-speak. The church in question, however, is unfortunately very real.

Or have you yourself been given the false Gospel by a Christian, who though well-meaning and sincere, didn’t tell you the Good News as it should be?

I have, and was even taught the same manner of evangelism once, in particular the “relational gospel”. Add the ‘miracle prayer’ and bam! another false convert is born.

James MacDonald tells us of the four false gospels out there today — the relational, relevancy, resource, and prosperity “gospels” (taken from an old clip from Todd Friel’s previous radio show, Talk the Walk, on AM 980 KKMS in Minneapolis).

I’ll also like to include a quote by Dr. John MacArthur here on this issue:

Listen to the typical gospel presentation nowadays. You will hear sinners entreated with words like, “accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior”; “ask Jesus into your heart”; “invite Christ into your life”; or “make a decision for Christ.” You may be so accustomed to hearing those phrases that it will surprise you to learn that none of them is based on Biblical terminology. They are the products of a diluted gospel.

John MacArthur

HT: Bororean for the quote.

Wow, it feels like a decade that I’ve been away. For those who have been accustomed to me updating this blog daily, you might be wondering where I was.

First off, I migrated the blog from the hosting service I was using (and which was giving me headaches going down every so often in the past week or so) to a new host. Thanks to some friendly pointers and recommendations, I’m settled with a new hosting service company that’s offering me a ton of disk space (350 GB to be exact) and loads of options.

With thanks to God, the migration went well!

At the same time, because I can now host an unlimited number of domains and sites on my account, I decided to set up a blog that I’ve been meaning to for the longest time.

And this is where this call for contributors comes in.

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The shortest verse in the Bible — John 11:35 — has always intrigued me. To me, it is this verse that fully captures and reflects His humanity (for Christ was fully man too during His ministry on earth), more than what the temptations in the desert, the hunger our Lord experienced (Matthew 4:2, Matthew 21:18, Mark 11:12), and the thirst and weariness (John 4:6-7) did.

It also speaks volumes of the compassionate nature of the Lord our God whom we serve.

With regards to understanding this particular verse in the context of the account of Lazarus’ death and subsequent raising by our Lord as recorded in John 11:1-44, I love what Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary [Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible (mhcc.xxxv.xi)]:

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“Prosperity Gospel is no Gospel because what it does is offer to people what they want as natural people. You don’t have to be born again to want to be wealthy and therefore you don’t have to be converted to be saved by the Prosperity Gospel.

When you appeal to people to come to Christ on the basis of what they already want, 1st Corinthians 2 makes no sense! The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit, they are foolishness to him. Therefore if you offer to people what they do not consider foolishness in the natural man, you’re not preaching the Gospel.

And the Prosperity Gospel offers to people what they desperately want as fallen people, gives it to them and grows huge churches … I can’t believe what we tolerate in the Church, so I am on a crusade to crucify the Prosperity Gospel!”

John Piper
“God Is the Gospel: Meditations on the Love of God as the Gift of Himself”
February 18, 2007

It’s amazing how, when placed against the light of Jewish practices, the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and even the Apostles as recorded in Scripture can oftentimes leap out and give us a new understanding. Case in point: remember when you first understood how the Passover (Pesach) is a foreshadow of how Christ Jesus will be the Passover Lamb whose blood will be shed so that God’s wrath will pass over those who believe on Him, it felt like a revelation, didn’t it?

I’ve been reading a few interesting articles on the Jewish betrothal, and it was amazing how I was seeing some teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ in a wonderful, new light!

Before a Jewish marriage is completed, there’s the betrothal which, in Jesus’ time, was essentially a marriage covenant where the bridegroom would take the initiative to travel from his father’s house to the home of the prospective bride and negotiate with the bride’s father a price that he’ll need to pay for his bride.

Once a price was agreed upon and when the bridegroom has fully paid the price, a marriage covenant was established. By this time, the man and woman were regarded as husband and wife, but had to live apart for yet a season. The woman would be declared to be set apart, or sanctified, for her groom from then on. The couple will also drink from a common cup of wine over which the betrothal benediction had been pronounced to signify the covenant.

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The State-controlled local broadsheet — The Straits Times — published a special report¹ on religion on 9 August, which was also our National (or Independence) day.

The report noted a major shift in the professed religion/faith of many who were born Taoists to Christianity. For those who are not familiar with the religious landscape in Singapore, Taoism is the traditional religion of choice, so to speak, of many Chinese here. In fact, I was born into a Taoist family myself and had even considered myself a Buddhist/Taoist when asked to declare my religion/faith in primary school.

While seven out of 10 people would consider themselves to be Taoists 90 years ago, that percentage has taken a big hit through the years with recent census figures taken in the year 2000 putting this figure at just 8.5 per cent of the population surveyed. Conversely, Christianity has seen an impressive growth — from just 12.7 per cent of the population in the census taken in the year 1990 to 14.6 per cent in 2000. Given that numbers in the other major religions recognized in Singapore (Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam) held steady, the conclusion was that most Christian converts hail from a Taoist background.

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Christian, do you truly believe in God, and that our Lord Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life and no one goes to God the Father but through Him (John 14:6)? Do you truly believe that hell is where those who die without Christ will suffer eternal punishment and torment?

Did I hear you say that you do?

So why are we afraid to share the Gospel with those whom we know? Why are we more concerned about what the world thinks is important rather than sharing the Gospel at every opportunity?

“If you’re right about God, as you say you are, and you believe that, then how can you sleep at night? When you speak with me, you are speaking with someone who you believe is walking directly into eternal damnation, into an endless onslaught of horrendous pain which your ‘loving’ god created, yet you stand by and do nothing. If you believed one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unchangeable fate, you should be running the streets mad with rage at their blindness. That’s equivalent to standing on a street corner and watching every person that passes you walk blindly directly into the path of a bus and die, yet you stand idly by and do nothing … Imagine the horrors hell must have in store if the Bible is true. You’re just going to allow that to happen and not care about saving anyone but yourself? If you’re right, then you’re an uncaring, unemotional and purely selfish (expletive) that has no right to talk about subjects such as love and caring.”

– An Atheist

No, I am not “better” than you. I will sooner think about what it’d be like losing a friend or acquaintance than “offend” him or her by preaching the Gospel. That’s why this letter from an atheist puts me to shame. Funny that it’ll take an unbeliever to do that, when we’ve been commanded, yes it’s a command, by our Lord Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel to all. And if we do indeed acknowledge Him as Lord, then we will do well to put that acknowledgement into action (James 2:19).

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

2 Timothy 4:1-2

HT: Atheist Central for the letter.

Deceivers will beguile the weak; some have been turned aside by [post]modern doubt; and positive infidelity has its partisans. They begin cautiously by reading works with a view to answer scientific or intellectual scepticism. They read a little more, and dive a little deeper into the turbid stream, because they feel well able to stand against the insidious influence. They go on, till at last they are staggered. They do not repair to them who could help them out, but they continue to flounder on till, at last, they have lost their footing, and he that said he was a believer has ended in stark atheism, discrediting even the evidence of the existence of God.

Oh, that those who are well taught would be content with gospel teaching! Why should you be so unwise as to go through pools of foul teaching merely because you think it easy to cleanse yourself of its pollution? Such trifling is dangerous. When you begin to read a book and find it pernicious, put it aside. Someone may upbraid you for not reading it all through. But why should you?

If I have a joint of meat on my table of which the smell and the taste at once convince me that it is putrid and unwholesome, should I show discretion by eating the whole of it before giving my judgment that it is not fit for food? One mouthful is quite enough, and one sentence of some books ought to suffice for a sensible man to reject the whole mass. Let those who can relish such meat feed on it, but I have a taste for better food.

Keep to the study of the Word of God. If it be your duty to expose those evils, encounter them bravely, with prayer to God to help you. But if not, as a humble believer in Jesus, what business have you to taste and best such noxious fare when it is exposed in the market?

C. H. Spurgeon
Excerpt from the sermon “A Mournful Defection”, 1877 (emphasis added).

HT: Pyromaniacs.

If you, like me, are Chinese but can’t preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in Mandarin well, this video might help you.

It’s comprehensive, lasting 76:10 minutes  — giving a detailed account of the fall of man, Abraham, Exodus and the life, death and resurrection of our Lord. For me, it was a good way to learn the Chinese terms for salvation, repentance, etc.

Judging by this “appreciative” email sent by a certain Rose after watching Ray Comfort on TBN, perhaps this might be indicative of the fact that what Ray is preaching is the true Gospel without compromise.

To understand this “Ray Comfort Issue” (a term I coined for the entire episode), first read this post then this.

Read the entire email at Atheist Central (Ray’s new tongue-in-cheek name for his blog).

I’m overjoyed reading this piece of news. No doubt there remains much persecution of Messianic Jews in Israel, but it is wonderful to witness more in Israel coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Source: The Christian Broadcasting Network.
Original broadcast July 13, 2008.

Israel’s Messianic Jews: Some Call it a Miracle

In Israel, a resurgence in the number of Jews who believe in Jesus is getting a lot of attention. Many leaders say it’s the strongest growth since the time of Jesus and that the Messianic movement could be on the brink of a great revival.

“This is the first time where we’ve seen Israeli society in general being so open to consider who Yeshua is,” said Messianic leader Asher Intrater. “This is a real miracle, and there’s beginning to be grace and favor with us in the land.”

Although Jesus and the early disciples were Jewish, for nearly 2,000 the gospel has been viewed as a religion mainly for Gentiles. Even the name Jesus or Yeshua has been a forbidden word among many Jews. But in the last few years, Messianic leaders in Israel say something important is happening.

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Just last year, I was convicted by the Lord that I should stop listening to the filth that is secular music. Consequently, I began building up a library of Christian music, most of it contemporary, with the likes of Casting Crowns, Mercy Me, Paul Baloche, Paul Wilbur, and even Hillsong.

What I then noticed was that much of the songs from some, not all, of these artistes weren’t that Christian, to the point where it was more about “me” rather than the Lord Jesus Christ, or even if there was a reference to God, He was referred to as “He”, “Him”, or even the generic “You” and not specifically.

Worse yet, there were songs which seemed to suggest that the Lord Jesus Christ is our “homeboy”, “boyfriend” and even some needy, lonely man who needs our companionship.

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Mikael Thomsen is a young man in Denmark who burns to preach the true Gospel. Listen as he delivers some thunder from the pulpit to a stunned congregation. Pray for him, this is highly unusual preaching in this part of the world (Danish with English subtitles).

My thanks to AllSufficientGrace for bringing this to my attention.

Has the Church forgotten about doing good in the name of the Lord that He might be glorified? Reading Matthew 25, it occurred to me that we have become self-serving, cocooned in our own Christian bubbles and forgetting about the need to feed the poor and care for widows.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Matthew 25:34-40

The following story reminded me that there is much more we can do as Christians, aye, even for our own brethren. No, I am not preaching the social gospel, but it seems to me that we have lost much of our saltiness if we have faith but are without works.

Works will not save us, but works demonstrate our faith in Christ (James 2:14-26).

A Beautiful Flower In A Broken Pot

Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out patients at the clinic.

One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. “Why, he’s hardly taller than my eight-year-old,” I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But the appalling thing was his face, lopsided from swelling, red and raw.

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Looks like it’s a musical Monday today…

This piece of news, taken from Symphony of Scripture, rather saddens me because I’ve always quite enjoyed the more Biblical songs by Hillsong such as Hosanna and Savior King:

Hillsong church are promoting and uniting with the gospel of the Roman Catholic religion. On a poster advertising World Youth Day, Hillsong worship leader Darlene Zschech says:

“We see WYD08 as a great opportunity to serve the Catholic Church in its vision to present the gospel and reach out to our city, our nation and our world in unity.” (Source)

Serve the Roman Catholic Church, the Whore?!

And which gospel would that be, Darlene?

Moving forward, I don’t see myself spending any more money buying their CDs and thereby indirectly supporting the preaching of a false, ecumenical gospel.

Full story at Symphony of Scripture.

The good folks at Tominthebox.net recently learned that Benny Hinn has been granted the first official “sainthood” by Health, Wealth and Prosperity “Gospel” (HWPG) leaders like Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, Leroy Thompson, and Joel Osteen.

In a statement, Kenneth Copeland explained the rationale behind the decision to bestow the sainthood upon (Benny) Hinn:

“Well, the man has healed many,” said Kenneth Copeland. “And his ministry is worldwide, plus he’s got that cute little accent which really adds a sort of cultural flair to the whole deal. Overall though, we looked primarily at his bank account and his possessions. That man’s got a lot of stuff and that’s proof he’s got a lot of faith.”

I wonder what I might get if I revere this saint alongside the popes of the Emergent movement and the Environment (Al Gore). First things first though, I’ll have to print this out, get it laminated then stick it on my bank book!

Full story here.

HT: Team Tominthebox News Network (TBNN) via Daniel’s Place.

I’ve just come home from the hospital visiting my mom who has just undergone a surgery on her right knee. Visits to hospitals always remind me of the frailty of life itself — that one day, rich or poor, king or peasant, we’ll have to face the ultimate destiny of all man: death.

What matters is what happens after death, for that is the beginning of one’s fate in eternity, be it abject suffering in hell or overflowing joy in the presence of the Lord, our Creator and God. As Christians, we all have the truth that those who die without Christ are condemned to suffer the wrath of God for their sins against God no matter how much good works they have done during their time on earth.

The question, therefore, is what are you doing about it?

Beloved: we know very well that people need the Lord, and we’d do well to share the Gospel whenever we can, in season and out of season. May this song exhort and encourage us all to continue to share God’s good news of salvation through Christ Jesus with the lost.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:16

Shabbat Shalom.

I received an email from a dear brother, Nick, who is currently on a mission trip in China, coveting our prayers. Here’s a quick update that he gave me in his email:

Hubei - where we’ve been doing all his work for the past 10-20 years and where we are this week. The main people we’ve been working with is the head of the Hubei Christian City Council (in charge of all the govt churches in the Hubei Province) and they’ve been the one opening all the doors for us, including outdoor crusades every week in one of the smaller towns, booking a stadium for our band, etc. Sadly, last night, these leaders we’ve been working with just got ousted out of the council and kinda forced into retirement. Not only that, their church has been taken away from them. It’s still early to tell the impact as we liaise with the new leaders and teach them the ways of God so please keep this in prayer. But apparently there’s some politics going on in the church already, people turning people in to the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) and apparently we were turned in too! The RAB didn’t wanna care about us but because somebody reported us, they had to come on Sunday to film our services (we actually praised God for that - that they can hear the word of God, ha ha ha)

Hunan - Mao Ze Dong’s hometown. Apparently more than 2000+ govt churches changed their worship styles after my last trip there (think you remember the last testimony I sent out on this one where even the govt officials were touched in our worship sessions) and the Hunan Christian City Council (head of all the govt churches in Hunan) kinda want me back there to teach for 1 year *gulps* (I’m trying to see if I can arrange anybody else to go)

Personally I’ve been doing back to back leading worship and teaching Praise and worship to the church, to their bible training centre, their Christian School (called ‘the Ark’) and to their seminary (all in Hubei) for the past 2 days from dawn to dusk literally (6am to 10pm everyday). The pollution here is not good for my voice I remember last time I came I fell really sick by the end of the week (which was also spiritual warfare) so covet your prayers there.

Please pray for the missionaries, and the Church in China.

Nick, here’s an encouragement for you that I hope you’ll be able to see all the way in Wuhan.

The LORD bless and keep you safe.

Instead, I have lined up for you one of my favorite sermons by Paul Washer. May it bless and encourage you as it had me.

Shabbat Shalom.

This article at Apprising Ministries really got me thinking. Much of today’s evangelism methods involve what I call the “John 3:16 Approach”, telling sinners that “God loves you, Jesus loves you, accept Him into the ‘hole in your heart’ and you shall be saved!”.

Ugh!

Yet, if we look closer at how the Apostles went about preaching the Gospel, we find that (while we acknowledge that God is love and concur with what John wrote in John 3:16 not a single mention of the “feel-good” message of “God loves you, Jesus loves you” is found, but what they preached was how lost people were, bound as slaves to sin, emphasizing on forgiveness of sin by Jesus Christ the Messiah.

Reading the article also reminds me of a great quote by A.W. Pink on present-day evangelism which I very much agree with:

The nature of Christ’s salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day “evangelist”.

He announces a Savior from hell rather than a Savior from sin.

And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire, who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness!

The very first thing said of Christ in the New Testament is — “You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” (not from the wrath to come)

Christ is a Savior for those realizing something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, who feel the awful burden of it on their conscience, who loathe themselves for it, who long to be freed from its terrible dominion. And He is a Savior for no others.

Were He to “save from hell” those still in love with sin, He would be a minister of sin, condoning their wickedness and siding with them against God.

What an unspeakably horrible and blasphemous thing with which to charge the Holy One!

A.W. Pink

To read the full article, visit Apprising Ministries.

Perhaps you are facing some problems at work, in your personal life, or even at home, and I pray that this be of some encouragement to you as it had been to me.

People were overwhelmed with amazement.
“He has done all things well!” they said.

Mark 7:37

The truth to which they gave utterance, is full of deep and unspeakable comfort; and ought to be daily remembered by all true Christians.

Let us remember it, as we look BACK over the past days of our lives, from the hour of our conversion. “Our Lord has done all things well!” In the first bringing us out of darkness into His marvelous light; in humbling us and teaching us our weakness, guilt, and folly; in stripping us of our idols; in choosing all our portions; in placing us where we are, and giving us what we have — how well everything has been done! How great the mercy — that we have not had our own way!

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This story just made me sad and angry all at the same time. In my opinion it is very indicative of the fact that we are witnessing a great falling away that Jesus warned of in Matthew 24:11-12.

The Line Continues To Fade

by Tony Miano.

The story you are about to read is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

I received a call today from a friend of mine. He is a godly man who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, his family, his fellow Christians, and those who are bound for hell apart from the gift of eternal life that only Jesus Christ can give. He is passionate about biblical evangelism. I’ve listened to him preach in the open-air and I’ve listened to him engage strangers in one-to-one conversations. He speaks the truth in love.

My friend came up with an innovative way to reach lost people with the gospel. His plan was simple enough: set up a table; give away hot and cold drinks; give away gospel tracts; and use this simple act of kindness as a springboard for sharing the Law and the Gospel with lost people. All he needed was a place to set up his table.

Read the rest of this entry »

Let this be to you the mark of true Gospel preaching - where Christ is everything, and the creature is nothing; where it is salvation all of grace, through the work of the Holy Spirit applying to the soul the precious blood of Jesus.

Charles H. Spurgeon

What is it with female teachers nowadays? — a female teacher in Australia, Nazira Rafei, has been charged in court for allegedly telling her 15-year-old male student to treat her like a “sex slave”.

Is it me or has there been an escalation in the number of such cases involving female sexual predators?

Handing out Gospel tracts in a Muslim area is a “hate crime” — according to WorldNetDaily, two American pastors were told that it was a “hate crime” to hand out Gospel leaflets in a predominantly Muslim area in Birmingham, England.

I wonder if the same rule applies if a Muslim evangelist hands out Islamic tracts in a predominantly Christian area.

Read the rest of this entry »

Originally posted here. Written by William MacDonald.

There is a curious problem today in the evangelical [and fundamental] world — one that poses sobering questions for the church and for the individual believer. The problem in brief is this: a great army of personal soul-winners has been mobilized to reach the populace for Christ. They are earnest, zealous, enthusiastic, and persuasive. To their credit it must be said that they are on the job. And it is one of the phenomena of our times that they rack up an astounding number of conversions. Everything so far seems to be on the plus side.

But the problem is this: The conversions do not stick. The fruit does not remain. Six months later there is nothing to be seen for all the aggressive evangelism. The capsule technique of soul winning has produced stillbirths.

What lies at the back of all this malpractice in bringing souls to the birth?

Read the rest of this entry »

Please understand that I mean no offense to this brother, but I just cannot stand by and do nothing while he wallows so deeply in such lies spun by the prosperity “gospel” preachers!

I stumbled across a local Christian blog yesterday, and being pleasantly surprised since I don’t really think there are that many Christian blogs in Singapore, decided to read some of his posts.

Written by Yeap Chee Seng, the blogroll on the blog immediately set off some alarm bells in my head — on it were listed the ministry sites of people like Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen, and Kenneth Copeland and even a book he authored containing specific verses in the Bible that address prosperity.

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I am greatly vexed by this “sowing and reaping” business that many churches are running a circus of today. The modus operandi usually involves the pastor having a promise or revelation he supposedly received directly from God which will bless many in the congregation. To receive that blessing, congregants will have to sow into the church’s building fund, ministry or whatever pet project.

For those not in the know, this “sowing” just means that you give your hard-earned money to the church or pastor in anticipation of returns on your “investment”. It’s sort of like financial investments.

More often than not, the congregation is primed to give readily with carefully-selected candidates going up to the pulpit to give their testimonies of abundance:

We were poor, down to our last five hundred dollars, but we sowed into the building fund, and the next day we received a multi-dollar order to print tee shirts for a football team!

I was doing well, but there was more I can achieve, so I sowed, and this year, after some calculations, I have not only gained a promotion but been given a total of 250 per cent increase in my take-home pay!

Does that sound like these people struck it big at the lottery to you?

Is that how God works?

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A recent uproar in Malaysia over remarks that school uniforms worn by school girls in the country are too sexy and encourages rape and pre-marital sex is both amusing and a great reminder of how depraved the minds of man are.

While I don’t agree that the girls are the primary ones to be blamed and men are just responding to their lusts as it is in their nature to do so, I’d like to state that it doesn’t matter if the school uniforms are perceived to be sexy to begin with, but that the total depravity of man itself is the primary lesson we can all draw from this episode.

Don’t look so surprised or shocked when I say this — that sometimes it doesn’t matter what a woman wears or how she looks, but that if a man has his thoughts on lust, those factors don’t matter one single bit. A woman can be all covered up, but some men can still have perverted pleasure in undressing her in their minds!

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May this episode be an encouragement and inspiration to you as much as it has me. Sometimes, people are thinking of their eternal fates, and if you feel a gentle push to share the Gospel with that someone, you can be sure that it’s God orchestrating the meeting!

Today, Augustus “happened” to be wandering around the mall with no place to go. Then he ran into me and I asked him, “Do you have any thoughts about God and spiritual things?”

“For sure… I’ve got plenty to say!”

Instantly he wanted to talk about God.

So we put him on The Way of the Master Radio and afterward he was very moved by the law. He got off the program and his eyes filled with tears as he explained, “I was asking God for a sign — last night… you know… I needed to hear from God… and then he brought you.”

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Let’s be honest here, my Christian brethren and sisters — we all know very well that the “natural” disasters that have cost and devastated the lives of millions in Myanmar and China in recent times are just the beginning and part of the “birth pains” before the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we watch images of the tragedies on our television sets, it is natural for our hearts to go out to them, wishing that we could help in some small way. Most times, being Christians blessed in well-off countries, we do what we can financially to see that the survivors receive aid.

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

1 John 3:17-18

Yet, I believe with all my heart that we are to do more.

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Do you believe that God saved you or do you believe that you yourself made a conscious decision to accept God’s free gift of salvation a la Revelation 3:20?

James White offers one of the best and most compelling summaries, in my opinion, on the issue of election and the Gospel in his closing comments to the debate with George Bryson on “Who Controls Salvation?”. If you’re interested in listening to the entire debate, the series can be obtained at Alpha and Omega Ministries for a mere US$4.13.¹

HT: Lane Chaplin.

¹ The author is not affiliated with Alpha and Omega Ministries and does not derive any benefits, financial or otherwise, from recommending the purchase of the recording of the debate.

There’s a series of posts at a local portal by “star bloggers” who had to write on what they’d do if they knew that the next day would be the “end of days”. Interesting read from what I’ve seen so far, but it worries me that none mentioned any concern for their eternal fates, save for one. The rest wrote on making sure that they have had enough sex, a last taste of their favorite food, etc.

If you have been reading this blog for some time now (thank you!), you’d know that I look at the world through Christian lenses, so it’s worrying that many do not know that the return of our Lord Jesus Christ is indeed near, and therefore life indeed does go on as in the “days of Noah”.

I have a bad case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome which makes it rather painful to type more, so I’ll share this little article by Hal Lindsey at WorldNetDaily with you (copying and pasting don’t hurt as much), titled “Last-days ‘birth pains’ have begun”.

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I chanced upon a Roman Catholic blog written by a blogger who calls himself “ordinary guy” the other day because my curiosity got the better of me when I saw that he had written on the issue of purgatory. After a short exchange with him on the issue, “ordinary guy” decided to respond to my comment with a post where he asked if only Christians are saved, and I thought I’d respond with a post of my own as well.

Dear friend, while you mentioned that you “… do not base on ‘sola scriptura‘ alone”, let me first state that I’ll be basing all my points on Scripture, because it is the Word of God. For that matter, I think that many Roman Catholics misunderstand the concept of Sola Scriptura. While it primarily means “Scripture alone”, it also means that we take Scripture as the final authority on all issues pertaining to our faith. We do refer to other writings by men (I myself love the works of Charles Spurgeon), but we check their writings against Scripture, and reject them if they contradict Scripture.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

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I am going through a bad case of bloggers’ block at the moment, but with so many thoughts on my mind I’d really like to share, I thought this a la carte series would be a good way to do so without having to kill too many brain cells trying to conjure up a decent post.

There Is A “The Other Side”

This video reminded me a lot of the time when my maternal grandpa passed away when I was very young. I still vividly remember the conversation that an aunt had with my mom when the latter asked what his last words were (we lived a distance away and wasn’t there when my grandpa passed on).

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I just learned about this from reading the blog posts at Simply Jean and Mr Wang Says So.

ST April 15, 2008
Couple charged under Sedition Act
By Elena Chong

A COUPLE were charged on Tuesday with distributing a seditious publication to two others.

Ong Kian Cheong, 49, and Dorothy Chan Hien Leng, 44, are alleged to have distributed The Little Bride, an evangelistic material, to Sembawang resident Irwan Ariffin last Oct 19.

They are also said to have distributed the same publication to one Madam Farharti Ahmad at her home in Woodlands on March 6 last year .

It is not clear why they face the Sedition Act and the Undesirable Publication Act when the publication is the same.

Ong, who works in a telecommunications company, and his wife, a bank employee, were represented by Mr Selva K. Naidu.

The police prosecutor sought an adjournment of the case pending a Health Sciences Authority on handwriting specimen.

The couple were freed on $10,000 bail each. Their passports were impounded.

The case will be mentioned on April 29.

Under the Sedition Act, the maximum penalty is a $5,000 fine and/or a jail term of up to three years.

The maximum penalty under the Undesirable Publication Act is a fine of up to $5,000 and/or up to 12 months.

If this goes to trial, I’m guessing that it’ll become a landmark case whatever the outcome.

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No gimmicks (though some props like gold dust might be useful)!

If you have some knowledge of theology (even if it’s bad), have read the Bible at least once from cover to cover or even just some choice verses (it doesn’t matter, really), you are in place to have all that you covet beyond your wildest dreams without having to spend a single dime of your own!

Introducing…

Pulpit Pimping For Dummies

Take your ministry to the next level. Walk in divine prosperity. Get the breakthrough you keep promising the sheeple. Drive the best cars, live in the biggest house, fly the best planes and patronize the best restaurants.

The Dummies guide tells you how to convince people to give you more money than they can afford to give you. But not only that, it teaches you how to make those people think you are doing them a favor by taking the money. We give you the secrets for convincing people to pay you their tithes BEFORE they pay their rent or electric bill. Do you want to make people financially dependent on you? We’ll tell you how.

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Resurrection Sunday is over; most of us have been soberly reminded of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ who came to bear upon Himself the suffering and death that we deserve for our sins so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)!

Many Christian blogs I visit on a regular basis celebrate the Resurrection in their posts and on quite a few occasions, I have left comments in agreement.

One comment I usually left was “Hallelujah! Our LORD is risen!”, and the first time I wrote it I had a prompting that has been on my mind since then — I was asked “What do you do now, then?”

I answered, “Er, Lord, love you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love my neighbor as myself?”

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:37-40

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

Mark 12:30-31

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Luke 10:27

“Besides that,” the prompting came.

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The empty hallway with its closed and heavy steel doors on either side have always made you uncomfortable, but as chaplain at a high-security prison where inmates headed for execution as punishment for the heinous crimes they have committed are held, you know it’s your duty to minister to those 24 hours away from death.

You walk up to a cell where such an inmate is held in solitude. He looks up at you as you enter, sneers, then resigns himself to the moral preaching (as he calls it) he knows he has to listen to shortly before his time on earth is up.

Without a word, you press into his hands a book by a famous author in Christendom and exit the cell.

The prisoner looks down at the title, and it says “Your Best Life Now!”.

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Yes, yes, I know the fact that I don’t have any children doesn’t escape you, so what am I doing talking about sharing the Gospel with one’s child(ren)?

The upside is that it’s not me that’s doing the teaching, but a pastor, Emeal Zwayne, whom I think did such a great job of sharing it with his children that I decided to record the portion they played at Way of the Master Radio and share it with you.

The entire sermon can be ordered at the web site of said radio station.

What would I do if I had children of my own, you ask?

I’d probably tell them from a young age that I don’t really mind if they don’t become doctors or teachers or professionals or whatever career that’s popular in their time, but that I desire that they be men and women of God first and foremost.

I think that’s the best motivation ever — that in whatever they do they first glorify God.

I leave you now to enjoy the 5-minute track¹.

¹ Way of the Master. Way of the Master Radio. 5 Feb. 2008.
Picture of CD cover taken off Way of the Master store.

I get both really riled up and sad at the same time whenever I hear or read of those who profess to be serving God fleece gullible people out of their hard-earned money while giving them false promises.

Oh, you wolves in sheep’s clothing! Woe to you!

Just read about this poor woman — Cindy Fleenor’s a 53-year-old accountant, someone smart by academic standards anywhere in the world, and she’s been conned into writing so many checks to these wolves in the shape of Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer and Paula White that she has to borrow money from friends and payday loan companies just to buy groceries!

And when the promises didn’t come about (of course they didn’t, because they are false!), she learned that it was because her faith wasn’t strong enough.

Is it any wonder that she’s now bitter and angry? And the worse thing is that this episode might just push her away from God and she loses the real promise — salvation — because of the misdeeds of these wolves!

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This is now my favorite song and I’ve been repeating it ad nauseum on GodTube. Just read the lyric and meditate on them; I hope they touch you as much as they did me.

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.