Why We (I) Reject Evolution As Repudiation Of Genesis One

One word. Abiogenesis.

Evolution, as a doctrine in science, was originally framed in two contexts.  As a foundational theory of Genetics, evolution is the framework for explaining the way environment influences mutations.  As a popular theory in Biology, evolution is commonly thought to provide justification for the notion that life arose spontaneously from dead (“non-living”) matter.

Abiogenesis is the little-used term for the part the theory which claims to explain the origins of life. The abiogenetic explanation amounts to the following; “Special conditions existed way back then. We can’t reproduce the conditions. So, we can’t prove the theory by producing life from dead material. Trust us. We’re working on it.”

So Evolution is half-right. It tells half of the story, because the facts for one half of it cannot be presently established. In fact, Abiogenesis is just a fairy tale.

We find it odd that so-called Christians are willing to put Genesis, Chapter One in the realm of fairy tales…to embrace the false doctrines of men.

TONY JONES: A church leader for all of the wrong reasons?

I recently saw a classic film entitled "A Man for All Seasons". It was a 1967 movie adaptation of Robert Bolt's stage play. The play and movie are based on Sir Thomas More, who died at the (figurative) hands of King Henry VIII. More was executed by the King's court because he refused to bless Henry's claim as the head of the Church of England. Thomas More's ecclesiastical allegiance was to the Church of Rome, and many Protestants would question the biblical soundness of More's faith. Nevertheless, More was undoubtedly a man of conviction.

Having read Chapter 1 of "The New Christians - Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier" by Tony Jones, I feel like I'm watching a bizarre drama in Theatre of the Absurd style. The primary conviction that Tony seems to project in his first chapter is that American church life is dying and the Emergent church is a life-saving medicine. Jones' treatment of Christianity is both comedic and tragic.

Tony sets the stage in his introduction. Hoping to convince the reader that the movement is an unstoppable organic force, Jones compares the Emergent church to a weed that can't be killed. The funny-sad part of that analogy is that Jesus Christ compared weeds (tares) to the work of Satan in Matthew 13. Jesus used parables to illustrate great spiritual truths. Jones identifies himself, in the very back of the book, as a practical theologian. That apparently means a person who claims to study God, but who believes in the supremacy of pragmatism over Scripture. This first gaffe betrays a disregard for, or ignorance of, what the Holy Bible says about ecclesiastical matters.

The curtain opens as Tony Jones is sitting in the first-class cabin of a airline passenger jet. He weaves a story about a woman assigned to the seat next to him. Jones tells of trying to hide the fact he was reading a Bible as the plane takes off. Tony Jones, practical theologian and spokesman for the Emergent church, is ashamed to be caught reading his Bible!

Continuing on in the second paragraph of the first chapter, Mr. Jones shifts the focus to laptop computers, hers verses his. He tells us that he's busy writing a Bible study on his laptop, but he draws our attention to the woman. He practically gushes over her in his description. Despite using the word "Bible a couple of times, Tony Jones paints a very carnal picture in this opening scene. The climax of the plane ride occurs halfway through the flight, when the woman pulls out a rosary and leans back in her seat to pray. As Tony relates it, she prays to the "Blessed Virgin".

Not being swayed by what the Bible says...Tony Jones overlooks the fact that Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, lost her virgin status when she had other children (Mat. 12 & 13). He fails to connect Luke 2:21-39 with Leviticus 12:2-6 which demonstrate Mary to be a sinner. Tony doesn't stop to question the biblical ramifications of praying to Mary. No, Tony Jones is on a mission to script an engaging segue to the main act of Chapter 1. Tony's purpose in this airline drama is to hold the woman up as picture of religion that doesn't look like religion.

The woman on the plane is merely a literary tool, a device, to introduce a "spiritual itch" that comes out of "the air". Put those thoughts of 2 Timothy 4:3 and Ephesians 2:2 out of your minds, friends. You're not going to benefit from this chapter unless you cast out all thoughts of the Bible!

The plot of this absurd tale proceeds into a down-hill slide from the sixth paragraph. Jones proceeds to narrate a tour of 20th Century American Christianity. He talks about left and right, claiming that liberalism represents the "high church" and conservatism represents the "low church". He begins to exploit divisions between left and right, so he can put "kite flying", disenchanted Christians squarely in the middle. Christ remains somewhere backstage, muzzled, and out of sight.

Jesus has no part in Tony's Chapter 1 new christian drama. Christ is not mentioned except for a reference to the UCC denomination, and an offhand mention of the term "Christ-like". Jones willfully leaves the Holy Bible and Jesus Christ out of all of his discussion of what a church is or should be.

One of the most comical and tragic highlights in the main act is when Mr. Jones sets up the straw man of "foundationalism" to show us "the real problem". Tony Jones wants you to accept his premise that biblical-faith is self-defeating. He attempts to kill foundationalism by acting out an imaginary conversation between a low-church Bible-believer and a skeptic. Jones lays down a series of vacuous questions and answers to prove that anyone who trusts in the Bible as Truth is a rube. That kind of thinking, to use his words, is "infinite regression". Tony says there isn't any "rock-bottom" foundation that defines what it means to be Christian. (SPOILER, Mr. Jones: Jesus Christ is Truth [John 14:6], the great I AM [John 8:58; Rev 1:8], and the foundation of His Church [Mat 16:18; 1Co 3:11]. Jesus Christ is a foundationalist!)

No, don't walk out of the theater yet! What about the chickens?

If you believe the Bible has no authority in a church or Christian life, then Tony Jones has a church for you. If you think that Jesus is whoever you want him to be, then Tony Jones has a new christian movement you can join. If you are willing to throw your Bible out the window at 30,000 feet, then come join the Emergent church. It's coming soon to a location near you!

Never mind the tree. What of the root?

I have been neglecting this blog, in part because I've been fighting battles for biblical truth elsewhere. I have been invited to join three other godly men is a deconstruction of a new book by Emergent church leader, Tony Jones.

I don't have the book in my hands at the moment, so the thoughts that follow refer to things that others have written about Chapter 1.  In it Mr. Jones is said to compare Christendom to a forest. He is reported to compare failed churches, faulty theologies, and old methods to a materials in a compost heap. Others tell me that Tony Jones likens the Emergent church to a new tree in a forest, feeding from the better parts of the compost heap of Christendom.

That is the gist of Chapter 1 as I understand it.  I was inspired to today to consider the Root. So I wrote the following.

I was just reading a blog about the Shepherds Conference 2008. I was praising God for allowing me to see and read about men of faith coming together to uphold Truth. I prayed that God would bless the men who spoke there and those who attended. I prayed that such conferences might not be the formation of, or outworking of a man-made system, but of Christ. Something crystallized in my mind as I was praying. My comments follow from that.

I think we can all agree that churches have much to answer for. But we should not uphold the doctrine of Balaam (Rev 2), which is that God cannot bless that which He has promised to bless. God has not promised to bless everything that we see in going on churches. He has promised to bless the teaching and hearing of His Word.

It is right to question and judge ourselves, as believers and churches, to make sure that we are abiding in biblical truth and spirit. But we should be very careful in saying God cannot bless where His Word is faithfully preached. And yes, preaching is not done just with words. Walking (halikah) in faith is demonstrated to a perishing world through actions.

I must admit that I often wonder how (why) God is going to bless Christendom. But I'm not willing to take my questions and lift them up in order to propose a new system. For me, that is entering into the realm of Balaam. I believe that is one of the first steps on the path to gross apostasy. A departure from God starts in the heart and will proceed outward from there.

A tree often represents a system in the Holy Bible. The fig tree (Mat 21) represents a system that is not bearing fruit for God. Mark (11) paints the picture of Christ not knowing if the tree bears fruit as He approaches it (see Luke 18:8). In Matthew, Jesus is clearly headed to the cross and meeting nearly constant questioning and opposition from the Apostates of that time. I agree with those who interpret the fig tree in Matthew 21 as being a picture of first-century Judaism. It represents a broken-down, fruitless system.

If Tony wants to talk about broken-down fruitless systems, then fine. Christians should do that regularly. However, I do not find his propositions to be consistent with the Holy Bible.

Tony seems to want to make Jesus Christ into the 'Great Ecologist', or something much lower. Does Tony read Psalm 22:6 too literally? Perhaps Tony thinks that Jesus is the 'Great Recycler'. The compost analogy may seem very fitting in all of this talk about trees. But it is wrong, because it ignores the Root! Any system that takes it's sustenance from detritus is not of Christ. Christ is not only the Vine (Jn 15:5), but He is also the Root (Rev 5 & 22.) Does Christ, the Creator and author of Life, draw sustenance from the waste of broken-down systems? Is the Body of Christ nourished by dung?

I've looked at the root of the Emergent church, and I have not found Christ there so far. The Emergent movement emphasizes fruit, but what of the root? They seem to have a lot of leaves. I must give them credit for that.

---

After actually reading the first chapter, I have a different take on it. The interesting thing is that I can say, with even greater conviction, that the Root of David is not there at all.

The King Speaks (Building the Kingdom) - Part 6

Introduction

We heard the King offering the Kingdom to the Jews in Matthew 11. They rejected Him, despite the mighty works He performed in the name of His Father.  Being rejected, He compares the multitude of Jews to spoiled children who love to be divided against each other. He tells them they don't know righteousness when it was presented to them. Jesus tells them that wisdom is proven by what it produces. Then He pronounces judgment on the cities where He preformed most of the works of the Messiah. He found little repentance in those cites of Galilee.

Chapter 12 presents Jesus and His disciples in a cornfield. They are plucking ears of corn for food. God provided for the poor by commanding the Israelites to reserve a corner of their fields for the poor to glean from. The Pharisees complained about Him allowing His disciples to harvest on the sabbath. He answered them by speaking of the way David provided for his men during the days of his rejection as king (1Sa 21). Jesus reminds the Pharisees that God accepts the service of the priests in the temple by grace. The temple and sabbath were at the center of a great deal of legalistic power for the Pharisees. Jesus engendered their hatred by placing himself in the position of God, greater than the temple and Lord of the sabbath. They knew He was claiming to be equal with God. (It's tragic that so many, especially those who claim to know and love Him, question His deity.)

Jesus was right to say the Pharisees were merciless, because we see them gathering in verse 14 to talk about destroying Him. We begin to find His enemies setting traps for Him in Matthew 12:9-14. They will not be satisfied until He is dead.

The rejected King in the countryside

Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. (Mat 12:22-28)

To be continued...

The King Speaks (Building the Kingdom) - Part 5

Introduction

We're presently looking into the Gospel of Mathew, focusing on the LORD's teachings on the Kingdom. God has been painting pictures of the Kingdom and the King from Genesis up to this Gospel. The pictures continue from here on through the book of Revelation. You'll find the King cleaning house and establishing His kingdom when you get to that last book. But this book is about the King coming to a people He promised to visit. He's bringing the Kingdom to them, but as a nation, they reject Him.

The King was heralded by messengers for centuries. He was promised to a disobedient, adulterous, and backsliding nation (Hos 3). He came to them in the fullness of time, knowing that they would reject Him. If you read this Gospel rightly, friends, you'll find out that He has very harsh and condemning things to say about a people who reject Him. But He won't forget the promises He made to Israel. He's going to give them eternal possessions. He offers eternal possessions to everyone who will receive Him. (The Church's possessions are spiritual in 2007.) He's going to save them by grace through faith also (Zec 12:9-14), but they're going to reject Him first. He's going to be pierced, but He's not going to cast the faithful overboard.

So, we saw the King teaching about the Kingdom in Matthew chapter 5-7. He had already met His greatest enemy in chapter 4. He proved there that Satan could not defeat Him. Jesus moves down from the mount in chapter 8 and begins to demonstrate His power to rule over all things. We find Him there healing diseases, challenging pretenders, commanding the forces of nature, casting out demons, and being rejected for the love of swine.  He meets opposition from the religious rulers in chapter 9, as he continues to heal, call disciples, restore young and old, and proclaim a time of harvest.

He chooses disciples to be apostles in chapter 10. They are sent to reap a harvest in Israel. He endues them with power to do the works of the King, telling them to travel as beggars and go to the lost sheep of Israel. He tells them to freely give the gifts He just gave them. He pronounces judgment on those who reject the King's gifts and message. He warns them that they will be rejected and persecuted. He spells out the terms of a new relationship to God. It's one that will divide families. He spells out a different basis on which to have power with God. He is sending Jews out to minister to Jews. This is not to the Gentile church! Man can no longer say the he is saved by lineage and law. An age is coming to an end!

He offers the Kingdom to them

Chapter 11 opens with Jesus traveling alone. He goes into cities to teach and preach. Disciples of John the Baptist come to him confused, asking if He is the Messiah. They were expecting the Kingdom to be established at this time. Christ answers by referring to Isaiah35 and Isaiah 42. Jesus was doing the works of the Messiah, but they expected the judgments to come with the works. He had come to provide salvation to them first, so that they might be spared from the judgments.

John's disciples leave, and Jesus turns to the the multitudes that had come to hear Him. He tells them that the Kingdom has come to them if they will receive it.

And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elijah, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. (Mat 11:7-19)

The LORD refers to Elijah, saying that John the Baptist stands in the place of Elijah if they will believe that the Kingdom is at hand. God promised, in Malachi 4, to send Elijah before He came in judgment. John the Baptist preached repentance in the face of impending judgement. The King says that men cannot produce the Kingdom, though they try to do it by force. All we can do is simply receive the Kingdom by receiving Christ, the King.

This chapter parallels Exodus 19 where Jehovah offers to make the children of Israel a kingdom of priests. We don't have the response of the people in Matthew 11 like we have in Exodus 19, but in both places something seems to go wrong. In both places, God seems to suddenly become angry. We need to know what God says about the human heart and hypocrisy to understand what is at work here. The LORD searches the heart, friends. The King knew that He would be rejected. They didn't need to say it. He knew it.

Witness His response to rejection. He begins to pronounce judgement on the cities that witnessed most of His mighty works.

Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for thee. (Mat 11:20-24)

Repentance means turning. God wants everybody to turn away from sin and turn to Jesus Christ. The cross represents an impending judgment for all who will not receive The Lamb who died there, and salvation for all that will. Judgement will precede the establishment of the Kingdom.

Our concern, in the face of impending judgment, for those who are confused about these things should cause us to teach this Gospel rightly! This Jesus is not just a hippie love child. He is both Savior and Judge.

This is where the Gospel comes into conflict with the heresy of the Emergent church movement. The teaching of sin, righteousness, and judgment is offensive to people. Seeker sensitive movements like the Emergent church want people to forget about the judgments of Christ and focus only on the works of Christ. Emergers propose to be kingdom builders, as if God has been waiting for them to arrive and start building. Study the leaders of the Emergent movement; Rob Bell, Doug Pagitt, and Brian McLaren. You'll find that they are too worried about offending anyone to talk about the judgments of Christ truthfully, if at all.

The King Speaks (Building the Kingdom) - Part 4

Introduction

I began writing this series of articles about the Emergent church, and more specifically about a right perspective on the Kingdom of God. I thought I would take the reader through the teaching of the King himself, but I have gotten bogged down along the way. I don't want to take my LORD's words out of context, because I think that too many in our churches have lost the context. I don't know how else to explain the adoption of so much heresy in so-called Christian circles. I find the present state of Christendom disturbing. I thought I should devote some time and effort to pave the way to this junction, but I find myself over-doing the paving. So I think I'd better proceed with this part while I keep laying the King's red carpet.

Promoters of Kingdom Theology, like the Emergers, broadcast the idea that God is just waiting for Christians to start building His kingdom. To hear them talk about working for the kingdom, you might think that Christ will return as soon as we get busy building Him a palace with our good works. Kingdom Theology is an old heresy that was at work among professing Jews in the days of Christ's earthly ministry (Mat. 11:12).

There is a lot of nonsense in Christian circles concerning the Kingdom of God. Nonsense in relation to the things of God is the result of bad theology, which itself is a product of people failing to read the Holy Bible. We need to read all sixty-six books and treat each one as well as all of the others. We have too many pastors in too many churches failing to teach the whole counsel of the word of God. The thirty-nine books that many pastors view as footnote material are just as worthy as the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. They provide context, and they need to be taught in context!

What is the context of which I speak? God's work from Genesis to Revelation. A beloved teacher once said that the Holy Bible is God's picture book for His children. (I don't know about you, but I had to be born-again to be able to enter the Kingdom. I'm growing in Christ as I write this.) It's uses words to paint pictures of righteousness, sin, and judgement. Every picture has a backdrop, and every sketch has a point. The whole thing lays out a panorama of the Kingdom that stretches from Eden to the New Jerusalem. It's wondrous, and we need to step back often to take it all in. Many of us are guilty of taking colors and brushstrokes out of context to paint a different picture. That is what is being done in the organized church today.

The King on a mount

The passage below is taken from the Sermon on the Mount. It is part of the Law of the Kingdom. The Gospel of Matthew is the gospel written specifically for the Jews, who were looking for a king in the line of David. The book of Matthew is a kingdom gospel. It begins with the genealogy of the King in chapter one. Chapter two of Matthew deals with his birth and childhood. We find Jesus being baptized in chapter three. He is tested, calls disciples, heals diseases, casts out demons, and gathers followers in chapter four. He begins to teach on the Kingdom in chapter five of Matthew, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

This Sermon on the Mount is one of the most abused passages of the Bible. Everybody seems to approve of it for some purpose. The enemies of the Church find justification in it for believing that Christ is a myth and Christians are hypocrites. Nominal Christians think that it sets forth rules that they can live by, and it provides a nice detour around the cross. The confused Messianic crowd finds righteousness by works there. And liberal Christianity promotes it as the only essential and palatable part of the Bible for all people, everywhere. Each misunderstanding is built on the notion that we are expected to live up to this ethic. Never they mind verse 5:48 where He says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." That verse is supposed to take you to the cross, my friend, not give you a pass around it!

The proper context for the Sermon on the Mount is provided by the preceding and following chapters. He is speaking to the Jews. This a picture of the Kingdom that Hannah foresaw. This is for the Church, but it is not to the Church. The Church does not come into existence until the second chapter of Acts, after Christ's crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension. The picture here is that Christ is the King and we can't earn our way into the Kingdom. The Church is not the Kingdom. It is of the Kingdom, but it does not define or represent the Kingdom.

If you read the full sermon, chapters five through seven, you'll see that the Kingdom is not of this present world. Consider the following passage from chapter 6;

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Mat 6:24-34)

Does that fit the present world? No, we live in evil days. Let's give the promoters of Kingdom Theology credit, friends. They recognize that people need to be concerned about worldly goods like food and clothing. They go off the rails, however, when they assert that the King is telling us to establish the kingdom through clothing the naked and feeding the hungry. I agree that the King's people should do these things, but let's be clear that we have to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of righteousness and perfection. Man can't produce righteousness or perfection, but God can. If you read all sixty-six books, friends, you will see where man departed from righteousness and where God will restore it. The former was in the beginning, the later comes at the end. In the meantime Christians have the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. God sees us in Christ, but the world doesn't. We still have an old nature, and that is why this world is in a sorry state. That is why the Church appears weak. We can't produce the Kingdom. The King is the only one who can do that. We're told to teach and baptize. Food and clothing may get us in the door where the lost dwell, but teaching (knowledge of Christ) and baptism (identification with Christ) are not to be neglected. Those things are essential to get them into the Gate (Mat 7:13-27) by faith (Rom 10:13-17).

Even then, we are at the mercy of the Spirit of God to accomplish the work. It's His book and His work. It's only by the grace of God if I can say anything here that will be helpful to anyone.

Listen closely to the sermons of the Emergent leaders, friends. They focus on good works and purposely squelch the clear teaching of sin, righteousness and judgement. Their Jesus is a hippie love child, who would never judge anyone. If you read that section in Matthew chapter 7, you'll know better. He says that there will be false teachers who try to enter the Kingdom on good works that they thought were in His name. He says that they will be shut out. Why? Because they despise His atoning work on the cross. They don't want to teach it. It's a message the world does not want to hear.

The Emergers say that "love" isn't love if it comes with an agenda. God has an agenda. He wants to bring you into the Kingdom through the atoning death and justifying resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. His love provided the blood of the Lamb, which was shed so that you might be forgiven (John 3:16-8). You're already condemned without the blood of the Lamb. You must apply His atoning blood to your life by faith. They would know and teach these things if they were indwelt by the Spirit of God and read their Bibles!

He taught with authority

I feel that we should close this portion by considering what the hearers of the Sermon on the Mount said about Jesus.

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Mat 7:28-29)

The teachers of that day, the scribes, we're known to argue with each other. Read the Talmud sometime to see their method at work. They would start with a doctrine or question and try to out do one another in their explanations and answers. You might say that their method was to settle matters through conversation.

The Emergent church is big on conversation too. So much so that one of their tenants is that all theological suppositions should be questioned. This Sermon on the Mount is not some church focus group at work! Jesus isn't asking the congregation for ideas on how to be 'missional', nor is He teaching that. He is elevating God's commandments to a very high standard. He's telling you and me that we're not going to get away with slapping His name on whatever passes for good works and expect to get into heaven on our own merit. This is not a conversation or an argument. It's a sermon!

Don't miss the context, friends, or you'll probably miss the message.

Video Interlude

I saw these on another blog and thought they are worth sharing. The first is a parody of worship music for 'prosperity churches'. The second is for an electronic Bible to replace your iPod. And the third is a parody on Rob Bell's heretic sermon, Bullhorn Guy.

 

 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (Joh 3:16-18)

Credits to sermonspice.com; Community Christian Church; Timotheus333