W. A. Criswell defined teaching (from the pulpit) as “instructing a man in the will and ways of the Lord,” and preaching as “seeking to drive a man’s will God-ward.” There is a raging debate today over how much freedom people really have. A renewed fascination with Calvinism has brought this debate to the forefront. I’m not opening the whole can of worms here - just this one point. Preaching should be directed to the will of a person. Decisions count.

If you carry Calvinism as far as many, you’ll begin to say that there is no free will or free agency with man. This morning I read from Spurgeon’s evening sermon from December 27th, 1874 called Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth. Spurgeon never started a sermon softly. The second sentence declares “This every Christian minister must do if he would make full proof of his ministry, and if he would be clear of the blood of his hearers at the last great day.”

What Spurgeon said just moments later, however, issues a clarion call for addressing the will of our human hearers…

Remember, dear hearers, if the preacher does not push you to this–that you shall be converted, or he will know the reason why; if he does not drive you to this–that you shall either willfully reject, or cheerfully accept Christ, he has not yet known how rightly to handle the great ’sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’

We all do what we want every moment of the day. We make choices and decisions that impact eternity and preaching that does not appeal to the will of man fails to satisfy the expectations of the Great Commission. In case you wonder where I stand on the issue of God’s grace and His role in our salvation, I agree just as strongly with what Spurgeon said later in the same message:

The Lord alone must save you as a work of gratis mercy, not because you deserve it, but because he wills to do it to magnify his abundant love.

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The sovereignty of God is an ever-mysterious issue that we must struggle with and come to terms with as we seek to have an understanding of God’s role. Salvation is all of Him and not of us at all. But there is a receiving, an accepting of Him that must be decided in the human heart upon the call of one sent with the gospel.

Preach to change the mind. Preach to move the emotions. And preach to drive the will of man God-ward.

Find Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia at Amazon.com

Yesterday, I was too sick to go to church, so Angie and Ella went. We had a Trunk-or-Treat in which David Stewart, our awesome Children’s Ministry Director told a story about a pumpkin. I have no idea what David said, but Angie used it to spark a discussion when we got home. She had enough insight to see the question marks written on Ella’s face.

She’s been asking a lot of questions for a long time. In fact, just a couple of months ago, we had one of those “near misses” in which we really thought she might be ready, but encouraged her to wait a bit longer. We’ve sensed a deep longing in her to have peace about this issue. When some of her friends made a commitment to follow Jesus, she took notice and has remained in deep thought until now.

We talked about the meaning of a relationship with Jesus. We talked about the meaninglessness of terms such as “asking Jesus into your heart.” (Never use it… ever.) She expressed a thorough understanding of sin, guilt, separation from God, hell, the meaning of the cross, forgiveness from God, and the fact that being “saved” really means a lifetime acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior. She got it all right. Then, she bowed her head, acknowledged her own sinfulness, expressed her belief that Jesus died to pay the penalty of her sins, and asked Him to save her.

Afterward? My lovely wife led them in the “welcome to the Kingdom dance” (a phrase we picked up from our good friend t-show). Ella was ecstatic! She danced… with Jesus! She smiled… with Jesus. She laughed… because she was relieved of a burden. She’s free forever! She’s truly, in every sense of the word, eternally a child of the King!

Angie and I are relieved, elated, and blessed! God has brought us tremendous joy by watching our daughter take multiple steps toward a personal relationship with God. Now… the huge and heavy responsibility of guiding her faith until we release her into adulthood. God be praised!!

Yesterday, I preached about depravity. We’re journeying through the entire Bible and I came to the passage where Moses comes down off the mountain and the people have made a golden calf. God prepared him with the information, but Moses was still utterly shocked at their rebellion. That’s how we approach the subject of depravity - we can hardly believe it. I mean, sure, people mess up, but totally wicked to the core from birth?

WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

What is it to be a Christian? Is it that we’ve had a one-time experience of salvation? Or is it that we experience growth in Christ daily, some evidence of change? I know the argument is endless, but I wanted to share this quote from Clyde Crandford’s book Because We Love Him.

Repentance that is not ongoing is not genuine; faith that does not involve surrender is not adequate; a life in which holiness does not develop is not Christian.

You may or may not agree, but I think if nothing else, this statement should serve as a wake-up call for believers. We argue about this issue because we haven’t lived consistently. A life in which we are ever being changed into Christ’s image should be the norm, not the rare exception. How are you changing today?Technorati Tags: discipleship, salvation, repentance, holiness, clyde cranford, growth

Today is pretty special for several people. I have the privilege of baptizing a man who is 68 years of age. He’s been a Christian for a long time, but was baptized after he received Christ. I’m excited to welcome Bob into our church family and his encouragement has already gone a long way in my life. Jimmie is 70, and she’s also joining our church by baptism in the evening service tonight. Then there’s little Alexandria who is in elementary school. All three are giving a public testimony of their salvation. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

“I will rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” -Isaiah 61:10

Angie and I drove from our home in Beebe, Arkansas to the campus of Central Baptist College in Conway for classes. I was on a diet at the time and had a chocolate diet shake in the car. Just as we pulled into the parking lot of the school, I spilled and splattered that shake all over my shirt. So there I was, just before class, with a diet shake all over my clothes. Know what I did? I went home. I missed class and changed clothes!

A more dedicated student would have stuck it out, no matter the embarrassment. I, on the other hand, am rather picky about such things and just had to have different clothes on. Ever feel like that? We get stained in life. For some, there are the big stains that are embarrassing because of their public nature. While every sin is serious, for most of us, the stains seem more like little annoying spots that we just can’t wash away no matter what cleaning method we try.

But then there’s God. He saves. He forgives. He washes away every stain in the blood of the Lamb. Isaiah declared that we could greatly rejoice because God has given us new clothes! We stand before the Judge in a spotless robe of white because of the blood, the name, the nature of Jesus who died in our place.

Click here to view “Another Interview With God,” a dynamic flash presentation that clearly explains why not everyone goes to heaven when they die.

Eternal Life

What does God have to say about Himself? If we were to start from scratch and read the Bible for the first time, bringing no previously formed assumptions with us, we’d make certain discoveries very quickly, for instance…

God is Big!

If we started at the beginning of the Bible, we’d discover with the very first phrase that God must be big. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) He formed the vast universe in which we exist. Not too far into your journey through the Bible, you’d also quickly discover that…

God is Holy!

We try to define “holiness” by adding up all the good qualities of mankind, but God is really in a class all by Himself. He’s perfectly free from even the possibility of sin and error. Because we have discovered God’s greatness and holiness and moral perfection, we must certainly be struck by the reality of our own sinfulness. Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

Because God is the holy and just Creator, He must hold every one of His creatures to the same standard, and that standard is defined by His own definition of goodness. So, are you good enough?

The best way to find out is to take God’s test, the Ten Commandments. Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything, no matter its value? Have you ever used the Lord’s name in a vain or meaningless way? Have you ever lusted for something or someone you weren’t supposed to have? Then you’ve failed, along with the rest of humanity. Paul went on to state that “the wages (fair payment) of sin is death.” We are dead already because of our sins. Spiritually, we are separated from God and if we die in our present condition, we’ll spend eternity apart from this holy God in hell forever. Why? Because that is the fair sentence for our crimes. However, you would also discover…

God is Love!

The Apostle John said it plainly, “God is love.” (1 John 4:8, 16) That doesn’t simply mean that God loves us, it means that His very nature defines love. To prove that His love is greater than any we could offer, the Bible is clear that God went to the greatest possible extreme to show His love for people by giving His Son, Jesus… “But God commendeth His love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Even though we’ve failed His “perfection” test for us, He still loves us, and He’s done everything necessary to make a way for us to know Him personally and to enjoy Him for all of eternity in heaven. Our sins have interrupted any possible relationship we might have with God, but Jesus died for our sin, in our place, to pay its penalty. But we aren’t saved automatically. We are expected to respond to all that God has done for us. We also need to discover that…

God is Wise!

We often miss this because when we think of wisdom, we think of the smartest people we know. Truthfully, God’s wisdom trumps ours infinitely. God always has a better plan than we do. This is true in spiritual matters as well.

Left on our own, we would devise all kinds of religious systems to use as our vehicle to pleasing and appeasing God, but He has a better plan. God’s plan is rebirth! “Jesus answered and said unto Him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) So how can you be “born again?” God has given us two important words: repent and believe. Turn and trust. We must forsake our own way of salvation and by faith, embrace Jesus’ death as the sacrifice for our sins.

Do you want to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and have the free gift of eternal life today? Acknowledge your own sinfulness and receive Him as your Savior. You can express your heart to Him in a prayer like this… Dear God, I admit my sinfulness and I know that I don’t deserve heaven. But I believe that Your Son Jesus died on the cross and rose again to pay my sin penalty. I receive Him now as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

If you’ve made that commitment, or if you have more questions, please write, call, or visit us soon!

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” -1 Peter 1:18-19

Do you realize that we’ve each sold ourselves under slavery to sin? We owe a spiritual debt for our rebellion that we cannot pay. Further, we cannot pay the debt of those we love either. For us to be redeemed, purchased back from the grip of hell, One far wealthier than we must pay our price. God, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, who created all that exists, paid our price. He did not pay for us in terms to which we could assign a dollar amount. Even the most precious things on earth could not ransom our soul from the cold grip of death. But the blood of an innocent Savior… that alone would suffice.

So Jesus stepped from the portal of heaven and stood in our place. The nails were driven through His ministering hands and His calloused feet. The crown of thorns was thrust through to His skull. The whip tore the flesh from His back and the blood ran down. Immanuel’s blood covered the cross of shame and flowed to the dust beneath His altar. Once spilled, our souls were purchased. Now all who will receive His sacrifice alone for salvation may have heaven, free of any charge.

Is His blood precious to you? To the world, the idea of the blood of Jesus is a scandal, a spurious thing. But to us who are saved, it is the precious blood of a spotless Lamb. In the words of William Cowper…

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

Have you been plunged into that fountain today? Trust Jesus and live eternally!

“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” -1 Corinthians 15:57-58

When I was in Junior High, I had a Nintendo game system and a particular baseball game in which you could pre-program the statistics of your team to make them better. You were allowed a certain number of homeruns for the season and you divided them among your lineup as you felt best. I would stack the first seven batters with all of the statistics so that I would end up winning almost every game against the computer. In a 162-game season, I’d end up winning about 150 games! Cheating? You decide.

One thing I know is that the odds are already stacked in our favor. You may feel like Satan’s punching bag today, but God has already insured your success. Satan is defeated, or at least he is as good as defeated. When darkness shrouded Jesus on the cross, Satan had his brief glimmer of limelight, but when the tomb was opened, Satan’s doom was sealed! Now God’s Word says clearly that every believer has sure victory, certain success, absolute assurance of final conquest.

We often wonder at God’s ways. If you want your people to work hard, why guarantee their salary? Why not give them a quota, some incentive to earn their keep. But remember that the very nature of salvation is that it’s a free gift from God. The gospel would not be so glorious if it could be earned by our labor. Instead it is too lofty, too high for us. It is so glorious it is unattainable. God’s eternal riches are reserved for those who, in absolute humility, fall on their faces before His throne in worship and adoration. May His name be praised! We’ve won, now let’s get to work!

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” -Romans 8:29

I have always found it best, when I leave something out of a message that I had planned to share, to leave it alone rather than to sneak it in later in the message. Sunday, I left out just such a detail, but when I explained it to my wife later, she confirmed the wisdom of leaving it alone by letting me know just how confusing the thought was. Nonetheless, I’d like to share it here.

In verse 29 of Romans 8, the Bible used the word “predestined” to refer to the second of five links in God’s chain of salvation. The Greek word for predestined is prohorizo, from which we get our English word “horizon.” Essentially, Paul was communicating that when God foreknew people in His family, long before they were even born, He established the horizon of their lives beforehand. That is, He determined the limits and boundaries within which they would live. In short, He determined their destinies.

Does this mean that they now have no power over their destinies? On the contrary, the Bible is clear that our choices always have an impact on the future and often work like a string of dominoes, each one affecting the next. Nevertheless, if God foreknew you as one of His very own children, then He has made certain that you’ll be saved and reach your final destination.

This thought is especially vital when considering what comes next in Romans, chapter eight. Paul concludes the chapter with some great rhetorical questions related to the security of the born again believer. We will win in the end. Why? Becuase of God’s knowledge, God’s plan, and God’s power. I am His child, so my destiny is set. I’m headed home!