Thoughts on “Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing” Chapels

I really enjoyed last week’s emphasis on missions at BJU. It was a great reminder to be soul-conscious wherever we go. I especially enjoyed the class lecture Dr. Bob Rutledge gave my Middle Eastern History class on reaching the Muslim world. It was a real challenge and conviction to my heart that will not soon be forgotten.

****

The Chapel messages by Rev. J.D. Crowley were ones that caught my attention. I never seek to enter a service preparing to censor or critique the speaker, and I would never try to undermine a guest speaker; I could not help but see an underlying message being presented. There was a phrase or two, that are related in thought, that kept surfacing throughout the week: “Become all things to all men” and “focus on the Gospel and don’t make minor issues major issues.” I realize that some of what he was speaking about referred to following the letter of the law as a legalist and lacking the heart relationship. I do agree with that and understand why people are frustrated with it. But that is not all he meant. Though I initially believed him to mean simply to not judge cross-cultural differences that are not essential to the Gospel, the broader context presented a need to preach salvation and Christ alone and that all other aspects of the Christian life were cultural or personal preferences. I am not attacking Rev. Crowley, for I do not know his heart and cannot judge his motives, but I am pointing out the inevitable message and where it comes from.

Don’t crucify me yet, please hear me out.

This message of “keep the gospel the main thing” is not at all original with Rev. Crowley, for I have heard and read this from men and organizations such as C. J. Mahaney, John Piper, Mark Dever, Al Mohler, Sovereign Grace Ministries, Together for the Gospel etc. What is going on?

The idea of “becoming all things to all men” is perfectly valid in situations like not serving an orthodox Jew a ham sandwich during a witnessing opportunity or not wearing a suit coat in an African village, but the way we heard it presented it was an underlying way of saying worship methods, music choices, and even social drinking choices are cultural and minor preference issues.

“We must preach the Gospel, which is ‘salvation by Christ alone’ but we must not discard the Biblical mandate of  the changed and separated life that is lived in response to the Gospel.” [edited 10/25/10]

When discussing this with a friend, he said that he had worked in many cross-cultural missions situations and pointed out that Jesus and the disciples were not blending into the culture, but were sticking out—not in an offensive way—that got people’s attention and made Christ and His followers distinct. When Christians turn the “become all things to all men” into a license to place virtually no value on so-called “minor issues of preference,” they are hijacking that verse, using it out of context and promoting a worldly Christian lifestyle that might draw large numbers but will never cause the world to see a real difference in believers and will not further the cause of Christ.

I am not seeking to slander or cast negative vibes, but somebody needs to say something. I may not be eloquent or intellectual, but we are dealing with an attack on truth here. How can Christians ever hope to impact the world by blending in with them? How can we support those who teach this?

I love BJU, I know it’s not perfect, but it is one of the final remaining pillars of Fundamentalism; it hurts to see it sliding away from what so many in the past have stood and fought for.

I pray that God will preserve my school and keep it pure from the “cultural blendism” ever so popular among modern day evangelicals.

Though I am NOT representing BJU in this note and do NOT speak for BJU, I consider BJU my home away from home and want to see it remain undefiled from this modern-day philosophy.

Sincerely,

Kenneth Willis

Thoughts on The Empty Tomb

“He is risen; He is not here.”

Those seven words are the difference between the claims of Christianity and every other religion on Earth. What other religion can point to an empty tomb? What other faith group can boast of a resurrected savior? None.

When I personally reflect on the events of what we celebrate as “Easter Sunday,” I think fo several things: F

First, of the above statements; how awesome a thought to know that I serve and worship a real and living God. He is not dead, fake or powerless, but is alive, real and almighty.

Second, I think of the great sign of the resurrection. Some would argue that the ressurection was the actual securing of the sin atonement for mankind, but I believe that said atonement was secured on Calvary as Christ said, “It is finished!” So, what does it mean? I believe, as Scripture indicates, that it was the evidence of divine approval of the cross. Christ arose as the triumphant victor of the cross; the savior who had undone the curse of the first Adam. Christ undid everything Adam did and conquered death and Hell for all those who believe in Him.

Thirdly, I am very prone to think on the events prededing the Crucixion. Christ’s anguish in the garden, His anticipation of divine rejection and wrath, His agony over being the object of God’s anger and judgment; all of these unimaginable thoughts were running through his mind as he showed emotional and physical stress over them.

I am so thankful that Jesus Christ did all of that for me. He lived, agonized, prayed, died and rose for me; how great the debt I owe. What can I do save give him my life and my all?

Hated For His Sake – by Ken Willis

In Acts 4, verses 1-21, we are presented with an account of the disciples teaching and preaching in the midst of the religious leaders of Israel. As people were hearing the sound of the gospel, getting under conviction, and being illumined unto the light of salvation, these religious leaders are filled with anger and lay hands on, [or seize] the disciples. Why the anger? Why the violence? Why seize these men of God? They were not teaching heresy or errant doctrine, and the scribes knew this; the disciples were simply preaching Christ to the unsaved people of Israel. After they held them in captivity for a time, they questioned them saying, “by what authority do you teach these things?” This question has to be taken for the significance it presents. By asking whose authority, the leaders revealed their knowledge that the message was not man made. The Lord Jesus has been ascended into heaven for approximately 2 or 3 days; He had been crucified around 45 days earlier. The whole of Jerusalem knew this, and they knew he had died. Not many believed in his resurrection, except the disciples, the remaining eleven, and the soldiers and Pharisees involved in the cover up over the tomb. When the religious leaders hear the disciples preaching Christ, the resurrected Savior, they must have felt some perplexity. Now, given some may have been in this previous category, many of them knew Christ had risen, but refused to believe on Him and accept Him. Their hearts were hardened unto damnation; hardened to the point of no hope.

Now, when Peter is asked this question–by this hostile bunch of hypocritical gurus–he does not simply give the simple answer “Jesus” he begins to preach with the bold power of the Holy Ghost. The Book says “Peter, being filed with the Holy Ghost.” I believe that this phrase “filled with the Holy Ghost” is significant, I’ll show you why in just a few moments, but let us see that it was the Spirit of the LORD empowering and emboldening Peter in the face of great rejection and possibly even death. These same men just plotted against the LORD Jesus; surely this is going through Peter’s mind. But what does Peter do? He proclaims the gospel of Christ with power, with clarity, with fervor, knowing he may be ending his own life. When he preaches to them the message of Christ, they immediately marvel because even though Peter and John are laymen, they have authority and boldness and the religious leaders recognize that they were Jesus’ Disciples and that they spent time with the LORD. Now here is a sermon within itself. The scribes were not astounded by Peter’s rhetoric or by his logic; they knew he had authority that could only come from having been in Christ’s presence and from sitting at His feet. Oh that preachers would preach, having sat at Jesus’ feet! Would to God that people would hear our message and know that we had been with the LORD!

After hearing Peter’s miniature sermon, the leaders conferred with each other on how to silence these men whom they knew were telling the truth. This goes to show the hardness of their own hearts to the gospel of Christ. They charged Peter and John not to preach the name of Jesus again. Peter and John then give a wonderful response. “Whether it be right to obey men than God, decide ye, but we must preach what we know to be, for we have heard and seen it for ourselves.” They are saying in essence, regardless of what you think, we know this is the message of the Son of God; we are witnesses of it and therefore we must proclaim it as such. Praise God for men who are deeply grounded in the message of truth, who know and are convicted of it and therefore fear not man, and proclaim it regardless of the consequences. Peter and John were faced with deadly opposition and chose instead of folding under pressure, to stand firm and be counted for the name and cause of Christ. Their example should be the same as our lives.

Now, after that rather long introduction, I would like to come to the main thrust of the message: that is, How did these disciples arrive at such boldness and loyalty in the midst of this opposition and even danger? We find the answer in the latter half of Matthew 10. Starting in verse 17 and reading through verse 28, we have an intimate lesson from the mouth of the Savior to the Disciples. Christ’s words in verse 17, I believe are prophesies of his disciples of every generation, but also of the disciples sitting at His feet then and there. I can’t help but imagine Christ seeing Peter and John before the scribes, even as He teaches. In verse 18, the LORD gives a simple, yet profound promise that is the greatest comfort to the preacher and the greatest terror to the enemy of the Gospel: “For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” It’s not your words, but mine. The Spirit of God will speak through you. When preachers speak from the pulpit, the Spirit of God is using them as mouthpieces for His message. Never fall into that trap of thinking that the preacher is preaching his own message. The message is the LORD’s. This puts quite a different level of importance to the preaching of the Word, because it is not man’s message, but God’s.

Then Christ goes on to point out a very solemn fact: “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.” If they hated the LORD, the God of heaven, how much more will they hate those that follow Him and worship Him. We can expect no better treatment than Christ was given, which was rejection, mockery, blasphemy, beating, and murder. We read about persecution as if it were a foreign and unnatural, heinous thing. It is simply to be expected. Now Christ does not end the sermon there. He goes on to say
“Fear not.” “What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.” These are loaded verses. Christ tells us that we are not to fear, but to preach, to witness, to proclaim boldly what He has told us. Preach it in the open, even on rooftops. The idea here is that we are not to be fearful and ashamed of the message. We are to shout it out in a world of darkness. Fear not the enemies of God; Christ is teaching us to be more afraid of Satan, the one who will destroy the lost if we preach not the gospel of Christ. Fear not those human enemies of God who can only destroy our bodies. Preach boldly that men and women and children may escape the one who really can destroy them in Hell. This is why preachers must be bold and refuse to be silent. The eternal state of millions hangeth in the balance. The consequence of fearing men is the eternal damnation of souls! When we are rejected, scorned, and even abused, we are not the target of aggression, our LORD is. It is not us the world hates, but Christ whom dwells within us. Let’s get this down. They hate the God that lives within us. We have given them no reason to hate us. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood.” It is rather a spiritual conflict that we physically feel the repercussions of. When we get this fact that Jesus himself presented His disciples, we will be bolder, more courageous, and more passionate in living the Gospel before the lost world.

So fellow brothers and sisters, take great comfort in the promise of Christ that because the world hates us, we are identified with Him and are lifted up before the throne of the Father. Be not shocked when the world rejects you and despises you; be not amazed when men falsely accuse you and spread lies about you. It happens to those who stand and proclaim the Word of the LORD. From non-believers and believers, we will face opposition. Don’t be afraid of this rejection. It is the norm for the believer. Even as the insults, accusations, and stones fly, you are faithfully representing the King of Kings and the LORD of Lords. May the Lord impart the message of His holy Word to each of our hearts, Amen

KW

Christ’s Last Command

Matthew 28:18-20

¹⁸And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The Great Commission

While we can easily spend so much time and effort contending over different systems and views, one thing we know quite clearly is that Jesus Christ’s last command to us before ascending unto the Father was simply to take the Gospel to every corner of the Earth and proclaim His message of salvation by faith in His finished work on Calvary.

We need not fear or doubt His authority or divine power, for verse 18 makes it clear that all power is given to Christ; all in Heaven and Earth. Because Christ and God the Father are one, there is no doubt that He is all-powerful and can help us in this divine mandate.

Verse 19 is the great “therefore” of the passage. Because of Christ’s divine power and Lordship over all the world, we are commanded to go forth boldly unto the heathen to proclaim the Gospel of a Sovereign God who made a way of salvation to every man and woman on Earth–through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. We are to teach the lost, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Verse 20 goes on to say that we are to teach the lost to observe every word of God’s Word.

And finally, we have the most precious promise: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” This is the believer’s unique promise of comfort; one the world does not enjoy, nor can they claim it. So, we are to go into all the world, preach the Gospel and disciple new converts–all in the confidence that Jesus Christ has promised us His power and His superiority over all the World. And finally, we have His personal Word of promise to be with us until He returns and we go to be with Him forevermore.

What a comfort and joy to have such a promise!

God Bless,

KDW