Leaving Laodicea

Right now, we as a nation and as the church are in the midst of an unprecedented worldwide pandemic that has some unfortunate, unforeseen circumstances. We are currently mandated by our government to stay at home and practice social distancing. Which, in effect, means no corporate church services. No normal business activities. No hugging our grandchildren or shaking hands with a friend. No picnics at the park, no day trips to the mountains, no shopping at the mall, no having friends over for dinner. All of that has changed.

But so has our culture. Our economy is in a free-fall. Unemployment claims are greater, much greater, than in the time of the great depression. Small businesses are closing at a rate unseen in our lifetime and the future looks dim, at best. Liquor stores and abortion clinics are deemed essential, but churches are not. And since lawlessness has increased greatly, “the love of many,” as Jesus foretold, “has grown cold” (Matt. 24:12).

These are truly desperate times.

But could God be trying to tell us something by all that is happening around us? Is He trying to get a message to us, a warning? And, if so, what is that message and why are we as a people so obstinate and hard of hearing?

We know, from Scripture, that God warns His people primarily in two ways. One, by sending them a prophet, a prophetic voice in their generation to proclaim the words of the Lord. God often sent a Jeremiah, Ezekiel, or John the Baptist to bring His people back to repentance before He chastised them for their sins. Unfortunately, because of our collective pride, we in the West are not particularly open to a modern-day Isaiah or a proclamation of “Thus says the Lord!” from anyone.

So often God warns His people the second way, by a remedial judgment. He allows storms, plagues, war, famine, or pestilence to bring us to our knees and allows us to realize that God is God and we are not. God often humbles us by showing us how much we are not in control.

Could that be what is happening right now? And, if so, what warning are we failing to heed? And what changes do we need to make in our lives right now?

Remember, God is sovereign. That doesn’t mean He is the cause of suffering and death. No, our sin brought that upon us. That blood is on our own hands. But what it does mean is that nothing happens in our lives, good or bad, without His permission. Why? Because He is sovereign. He is good and gracious and holy, but foremost, He is sovereign.

In Deuteronomy, we find a list of promises God gave to Israel that also applies to each of us today, as individuals and as a nation (and church). They are found in Deuteronomy 28. In this chapter, God gives His people one grand if/then promise.  If they will “diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, (how) to observe carefully all His commandments” (Deut. 28:1), then an incredible, breathtaking list of blessings will follow. In fact, the Lord says “all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake (overwhelm) you, (why) because you obey the voice of the Lord your God” (Deut. 28:2). Did you catch that? His blessings will literally overtake them (you can’t outrun the blessings of God), and literally overwhelm them.

Would you like to be blessed like that? Then read the rest of the if conditions in Deuteronomy 28:3-14.

But there is a dark side. It is the consequence of not meeting God’s if/then standard. He says:

“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you” (Deut. 28:15).

And as wonderful as the blessings are, the curses are much worse. Much! And we are seeing many of them manifest right before our eyes.

If you are wondering what you and your church can do to prepare your hearts for God’s possible remedial judgments, keep listening. For our days ahead may be dark indeed.

To download the slides for this message, click – HERE

456: Fully Embracing the Kingdom of God

455: Exactly What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

454: How Does God Respond to Repentance?

453: How Can We Increase our Faith?

452: Learning How to Hear the Voice of God

I love this quote, “The definition of a fanatic is someone who loves Jesus more than you do.” So true. But as a culture, we have always had a love/hate relationship with total commitment and self-abandonment. We admire those whose commitment leads them to do great things, like win an Olympic Medal or lose a tremendous amount of weight. And we applaud their commitment because we value the object of their goals. But on the other hand, we detest the commitment of terrorists, idealogues, and others like that. We brand them as activists, fanatics, or extremists.

But in Jesus’ day, this is exactly how the world saw His followers. They were activists who wanted nothing more than to see the entire world come to the same understanding they had regarding Christ. They were extremists who sacrificed everything for a cause greater than themselves. And they were fanatics, no longer interested in the things of this world because they had their life focused on something unseen, mystical, and illogical.

And of these, the Lord said the “world was not worthy” of them (Heb. 11:18). My, how we have changed today.

Today, the church falls into two main camps. One, the camp where our relationship with Christ is defined by rule-keeping and our ability to follow the law. And two, those who view their relationship with Jesus as something profitable to add to their already busy lives, much like sprinkles on a cupcake or sweetener to our coffee. But there is another option. And these are the ones whose relationship with Christ is not based on guilt, religious duty, the hope of heaven and eternal reward, or the fear of hell and eternal punishment. No, this select group is drawn to Christ because of His overwhelming beauty and glory and the irresistible power of His Kingdom. The very kingdom we are commanded to proclaim today. Remember? We are to proclaim, like Jesus, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). And we are to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (Matt. 4:23)

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. (Matt. 9:35)

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matt. 24:14)

But what is the “Gospel of the Kingdom”?

In the first century, the words “gospel” and “evangelize” referred to heralding the good news that a new emperor had been installed in the Roman Empire. Heralds would go out to proclaim the good news, informing people that a new era of peace, salvation, and blessing had begun. They then exhorted people to get down on their knees to worship the new emperor, their rightful king. The apostles used the same term to describe the preaching of the good news of the Kingdom of God. The gospel that the apostles preached was the announcement, the heralding, that Jesus of Nazareth had become this world’s true Emperor (Lord), launching a new era of peace, salvation, and blessing, and because of it, everything has changed.

And it was this message that turned the world upside-down during the first century. But it is a message seldom preached today. Did you ever wonder why?

Once we begin to see the glory of Christ and the wonder of His Kingdom, everything changes. He is no longer a historical figure, but Someone we literally adore and long to be with. He is Someone we will gladly abandon all to follow. Are you interested in knowing more about this glorious Christ and His wondrous Kingdom? Then keep listening.

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

455: Exactly What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

454: How Does God Respond to Repentance?

453: How Can We Increase our Faith?

452: Learning How to Hear the Voice of God

451: Make No Mistake, Everything Follows Faith

As we begin our study on John the Baptist, we are going to take the Scripture accounts of his life from all four gospels and merge them into one single narrative. But rest assured, all you will see is nothing but Scripture. Nothing has been added. This helps us get a complete view of John’s incredible ministry, the man Jesus said was without rival in all of humanity (Matthew 11:11).

The following is the beginning of John’s ministry as told from Matthew 3:1-12, Mark 1:4-8 and Luke 3:1-18.

(LK) Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

(MT) In those days John the Baptist (MK) came baptizing in the wilderness (MT) of Judea. (LK) And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, (MT) saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, (LK) saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'” (MT) Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. (MK) Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, (MT) and all the region around the Jordan went out to him (MK) and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

(MT) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, (LK) he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, (MT) “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (LK) So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?” He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, (MK) and he preached, (LK) saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water (MT) unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry, [and] (MK) whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but (LK) He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.

But there is so much more. And note the substance of John’s preaching. It was of repentance and the coming Kingdom of Heaven. Are they both related? Absolutely.

Did you catch the open phrase of John’s ministry? It says “the word of God came to John in the wilderness” (Luke 3:2). How did that happen? What was that like? Does God still reveal Himself to others as He did to John? Or has that time of specific, intimate instruction from God to man somehow ceased? And if the “word of God” doesn’t come to individuals today, did God stop transmitting or did we stop receiving? These are important questions you must answer for yourself as you grow in your understanding of Him. But remember, God can do anything He wants to anyone under any circumstance and at any time that pleases Him, period. And He doesn’t ask you or me for permission or how comfortable we feel about what He is doing. We just hang on for the ride.

That’s why it says in Ephesians 3:20-21:

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Did you get that? Ask or think. It may take a measure of faith to ask God for something, but it takes even less to think it. And God can do “exceedingly abundantly” beyond what we dream about in the solitude of our mind late at night but would never allow it to pass our lips and be heard by others. God has them both covered.

Join with us as we look at the life of the greatest man that ever lived, according to Jesus. And I think He is a perfect judge of character. Don’t you?

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

454: How Does God Respond to Repentance?

453: How Can We Increase our Faith?

452: Learning How to Hear the Voice of God

451: Make No Mistake, Everything Follows Faith

450: How to Prepare for the Coming Apostasy

Another Sunday is upon us and the church is still having to figure out how to worship together while practicing self-distancing. Awkward and uncomfortable, I know. But I believe our choice to forgo our right to assemble and worship for the sake of the least of these (those who are at greater risk), is proper and prudent. And I believe the Lord will honor the free sacrifice of our own rights for the sake of others.

With that said, the following message is from the first two chapters of the book of Joel. In fact, as we go through Joel together, I think you’ll be amazed and comforted at how the crisis in Joel’s time (locust invasion) parallels the crisis we are facing as a church and a nation today. For me, the most encouraging truth from Joel is the solution to their locust problem then is the same as the solution to our coronavirus problem now. And that solution, as always, is repentance.

We will specifically focus on Joel 2:12-13, which reads:

“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, (how) with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, (why) for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.”

Note, the first sentence is a statement by God. The second is the application from Joel. And Joel’s words are timeless. They are just as valid and true in his generation as they are today. So take them to heart.

If you read the small book of Joel, you will discover there are two unchanging truths the Lord wants us to know about Himself. It is almost like He is presenting these as an encouragement to His children when they go through trying times and He wants us to rest in these eternal truths. The first one deals with God’s sovereignty.

God is in control of all situations we may face – government intrusion, war, illness, heartache, financial ruin, swarming locusts and the coronavirus. Name your catastrophe, it doesn’t matter. God is in control.

And the second one is even more encouraging.

God responds to repentance. Always and forever. Without fail. No matter how horrible the sin that prompts the repentance.

Or, to put it another way, God loves us as least as much as the best human father we could imagine would love his children. Howie Cunningham, Ward Cleaver, James Dobson, Andy Taylor, Carl Winslow, Philip Banks, you name it. They are great fathers, maybe better than the ones you had as a child. But God is off the charts! Beyond comprehension. So there is no comparison. Period.

As we face an uncertain future, let’s confidently hold fast to our certain God. Rest in Him. Trust Him. Grow in a likeness to Him. And when you do, you’ll find His promises to be true.

My brethren (put your name here), count it all joy when you fall into various trials, (why) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4).

And remember, you are “complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10).

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

453: How Can We Increase our Faith?

452: Learning How to Hear the Voice of God

451: Make No Mistake, Everything Follows Faith

450: How to Prepare for the Coming Apostasy

449: The Inherent Limitations of Apologetics

As I have been sharing with you since late last year, the times we are facing as believers, and as a church and a nation, demand faith. But not faith as usual or faith that is comfortable. We need mature faith, secure faith, maybe even radical faith to believe what our Lord says about everything, and then act on that belief like we truly believe what we claim to believe.

In fact, one of the signs of maturity in our walk with Christ is our ability to drown out the voices of our culture, and even our own voice of fear, doubt, and insecurity, and live in the joy of sheer trust in His character, His Word, and His promises (and warnings). Our desire is to learn how to trust as a little child does his loving father, without question, and with great joy. And for logical, pragmatic, even somewhat cynical people, that leap in trust can be quite difficult.

“But where does faith come from?” many often ask. The disciples recognized their need for more genuine, mature, seasoned faith when it came to continually having to forgive someone who sinned against them over and over again with no true sign of repentance. When faced with that impossible task, they cried out to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5).

Our need for more faith is apparent. But where do we go to increase our faith?

In Romans 10, after speaking about Israel’s need to hear the gospel, Paul then makes this most revealing statement:

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Rom. 10:17)

Or, to put it another way, “faith comes by hearing the word of God.” And it’s really just that simple. The object of what we are to hear to increase our faith is the Word of God.

If you have been in church for any amount of time, you know that on Easter you will hear a sermon about the resurrection, just like you will hear about the birth of Jesus during December. It’s just what we in the church do. It’s almost a sacred tradition.

This means that many of us have heard dozens of sermons about the empty tomb every late March or early April. And if we’re not careful, the wonder of the resurrection may get dull by rote habit or tradition. Remember, familiarity often breeds contempt.

But this Sunday, I want God’s Word to bring the sermon and not me. I want each of us to have our faith increased by hearing His Word, and not by hearing a pastor (like me) expound on His Word. In essence, let’s go directly to the source for the pure milk of His Word and not settle for the homogenized, skim stuff.

Therefore, I have taken the liberty of reading a combined account of the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord taken from the four gospel accounts. In other words, what you will hear is everything Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote so we can get a perfect picture of everything that transpired with our Lord and His disciples from His death until His ascension. And to be quite honest, I have preached these passages for decades and yet found myself mesmerized as I marveled at the picture they present when combined and synthesized together.

What you will hear is pure Scripture (although I do make a comment or two. Sorry, can’t help it. It’s in my nature). And I will let you know the source from where I am reading before I read.

So join with me today as we let the Holy Spirit, using Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, present our Easter sermon for us. I will simply try to act as the host or facilitator, bring a few comments of clarification or questions, as we listen to this wondrous story.

452: Learning How to Hear the Voice of God

451: Make No Mistake, Everything Follows Faith

450: How to Prepare for the Coming Apostasy

449: The Inherent Limitations of Apologetics

448: Narcissism – The Ultimate End Time Personality Disorder

As we see the day of His return approaching, we must be more diligent to make sure we don’t fall for the great deception Jesus spoke about (Matt. 24:4) and prepare ourselves for the coming apostasy (2 Thes. 2:3). Why? Because as our Lord warned the deception would be so great even the elect, if possible, would be deceived and fall away (Matt. 24:214).

So what are we to do? How do we become a faith prepper and guard ourselves against such great deception? The answer is simple to understand, yet difficult to do. In Cliff Notes style:

•  You must personally experience God yourself.

•  Second-hand faith won’t cut it.

•  Your faith must be first-person, personal.

•  You cannot live on the faith of another.

•  And your encounters with God must be on-going and habitual.

•  Especially as we see the darkness approaching.

•  This is what becoming a faith prepper is all about.

In essence, you must know God. Intimately. Personally.  And you do that by learning to hear His voice.

“And this is eternal life, that they may know (ginōskō) You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)

The key to not falling for falsehood and deception is an experience with God. After all, a relationship between two people must include talking and listening from both parties. And so it is the same with each of us and the Lord. We talk. We ask. We beg. Sometimes we demand. But does God ever speak personally to us? If so, how? And how often?

The key to learning to hear God’s voice is desire. Do you have a desire to thirst after Him and His righteousness more than you do, for example, to keep abreast of current events? Do you watch FOX News more than you spend time in His Word? Are you on Facebook more than on your knees in prayer? If so, why are we surprised we seldom, if ever, hear the voice of our Lord?

Remember, a key characteristic of being one of the Lord’s sheep is being able to hear His voice.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know (ginōskō) them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)

Did you get that? Jesus’ sheep hear His voice. It’s the defining characteristic of being His sheep. But what does that say if we don’t hear His voice? What are the implications?

The key to intimacy with anyone is communication. That’s two-way communication. Between each of us and the Lord. So one of the most important things we can learn in our life with Christ is how to hear his voice?

Do you long to hear His voice? Do you have a hard time differentiating between His voice and your own voice? If so, keep on listening.

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

451: Make No Mistake, Everything Follows Faith

450: How to Prepare for the Coming Apostasy

449: The Inherent Limitations of Apologetics

448: Narcissism – The Ultimate End Time Personality Disorder

447: The Two Invitations Offered by Christ

One of the questions each of us will have to come to grips with as we see the time of our Lord’s return approaching is this: Do you believe what you say you believe? Or, more pointedly, how does your life reflect what you claim to believe? In other words, do we really believe everything the Scriptures say about God, this world, heaven and hell, our lives, the future, whatever? Or are we somehow hedging our bet in His Word to fit what we feel or think?  Consider the following scriptures and ask yourself if you truly believe what they say.

But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Do you believe this statement to be true of you? If so, make it personal by putting your name in the place of “those”.

But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for (your name) who love Him.”

Let’s try one more. Do you believe this statement to be true?

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

If you believe God can do more than you can ask or think, then put your name in this verse. Make it first-person, personal.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that (I can) ask or think, according to the power that works in (me), to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

So why is this important? Because your relationship with God, your intimacy with the Father, will rise and fall on your belief in Him and in His character. Your beliefs always determine your actions. Always. In everything. For example, if you don’t believe God can do “exceedingly abundantly above all that (I can) ask or think,” then you will be overcome by your doubts and fears and feel like a helpless kitten abandoned in the dark. But if you believe God is who He says He is, then you will be invincible in faith before anything that comes your way.

Why? Because everything follows faith!

Search your soul and ask yourself the following questions:

Do you really believe what the Scriptures say about God, life, His church, and you?

Do you really think it’s possible to learn how to hear His voice speak to you in a way that is unmistakable?

Do you believe you will ever experience an outpouring of His Spirit like what is revealed in Scripture during your lifetime?

Or let’s hit a little closer to home.

Do you believe these statements are true?

Do you believe what God’s Word proclaims is true as reality, and not necessarily what we see, feel, or hear?

How are you going to begin to change your life to live in His Kingdom and not in the world that is fallen and passing away?

And are you ready to begin today?

If you answer yes to the last question, you are just beginning the great adventure. So hang on, it’s going to be quite a ride!

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

450: How to Prepare for the Coming Apostasy

449: The Inherent Limitations of Apologetics

448: Narcissism – The Ultimate End Time Personality Disorder

447: The Two Invitations Offered by Christ

446: Experiencing the Fullness of the Holy Spirit

When we have the discernment that Jesus spoke about to know the “signs of the times” (Matt. 16:3), it becomes clear we are living in the last days. In fact, there are several key signs that bring us to this conclusion.

•  The regathering of Israel into their own land

•  The surging apostasy

•  The coming Middle East peace

•  The reuniting of the Roman Empire (East, West, both?)

•  Globalism

For the church today, the most important of these prophetic signs is the rising tide of apostasy or defection from God and the Christian faith. We see this happening almost daily within the ranks of the church. As we have already discussed, apostasy means to “depart, revolt, or forsake. It is a deliberate defection from a formerly held religious position.” Apostasy doesn’t necessarily mean a total rejection of God or the authority of His Scripture. Apostasy can come in stages. It usually begins with a defection from a section of Scripture or a specific teaching that is incompatible with the current cultural church mood. Some examples are homosexuality, divorce, women pastors, abortion, or a myriad of other issues that divide the Body today. And once a small defection takes place, full-blown apostasy is not far behind.

But this shouldn’t surprise us. After all, Jesus said in Matthew 24 the greatest sign of His return was deception. And He warned His disciples about that deception four times (Matt. 24:4, 5,11, 24). He even went so far as to say the deception at the end would be so great that, if it was possible, even the elect would be deceived (Matt. 24:24). And the elect includes Peter, Paul, James and John, Martin Luther, D.L. Moody, Spurgeon, Billy Graham, and you and me. That’s a sobering thought that should not be taken lightly.

So what can we do to prepare for the coming apostasy?

Or, how do we prevent falling prey to the deception that will only get greater as the Day approaches? Great question. You must know what you believe, and why. You must personally experience God for who He is. It is not possible to ride on the coattails of another’s faith. Your faith must be your own. And you must understand how overwhelmingly powerful the deception will be in the end times and be prepared.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Has God ever revealed Himself to you in an unmistakable fashion that left no doubt? Has He ever revealed Himself to you through His Word? If so, what was that experience like? How did it change your view of Scripture? Do you hunger for more of Him? Has that hunger led you to read more of His Word? And if not, why?

Once you begin to understand the power of His Word and the wisdom He gives you through His Word, what the world offers is nothing more than pocket change. You, through Him, have more wisdom than the talking heads on CNN. You have more understanding than those who make acceptance speeches at the Academy Awards and spend that time telling you how to live. You are the dwelling place of God Himself, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, which makes you a living sanctuary of the Presence of God.

Tell me what the world has that you don’t. Exactly. Nuthin’!

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

449: The Inherent Limitations of Apologetics

448: Narcissism – The Ultimate End Time Personality Disorder

447: The Two Invitations Offered by Christ

446: Experiencing the Fullness of the Holy Spirit

445: What it Means to Follow Jesus

As the Scriptures claim, one of the greatest signs of the end is the mass defection or apostasy from the Christian faith by those who once claimed to be believers. Paul, in his letter to Timothy, warns that the “Spirit expressly says that (when) in latter times (who) some (what) will depart from the faith, (how) giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). This great apostasy is characterized by a rebellion or revolt against God and His Word. And it is promoted by those who once claimed Jesus as Lord but are now “giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” Peter says “scoffers will come in the last days” (2 Peter 3:3-4). Jude calls them “mockers” (Jude 17-19).

So what are we to do in the face of this great apostasy? How do we answer skeptics when they demand we “prove our God exists?” How do we defend our faith in the unseen God? What are we to do? Historically, the answer has been to study up on apologetics and be prepared to go toe to toe with those who demand answers from us void of faith. But is that the real purpose of apologetics? I’m not so sure.

For the message (or, preaching) of the cross is foolishness (mōría – folly, absurdity, moronic, stupid, senseless, foolhardy, insane) to (who) those who are perishing (or, being destroyed completely, to render

void), but to (who) us who are being saved (to deliver, make whole, preserve safe from danger, loss, or destruction) it (the message of the cross) is the power (dúnamis) of God – 1 Corinthians 1:18.

Our faith in the cross of Christ is moronic to those who are perishing. Period. And apologetics won’t change that fact. Think about it, our God doesn’t need defending. He can take care of Himself. And you cannot lead someone to Christ by logically answering all their questions about faith and the Scriptures to their satisfaction. Why? Because faith in Him is a gift from God and, before God imparts faith to the individual, the lost are incapable of believing the Gospel. To them, our faith in the cross of Christ is moronic.

So, is apologetics important? Absolutely. But not necessarily in the way you think.

The purpose of apologetics is for you to have all your questions answered about God and salvation and to allow your faith to grow strong. It is not for the direct benefit of the lost. This is what 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 shows in graphic detail. It has always been God’s plan to thwart man’s wisdom by revealing Himself through something man considers foolish. He does this to bring to nothing the wisdom of this world and, in turn, exalt faith in Him as the key that opens the door of salvation. Consider the following from 1 Corinthians 1:21-22:

•  Question: Where is the wise (or, respected, learned philosophers and experts)?

•  Question: Where is the scribe (or, writers, scholars)?

•  Question: Where is the disputer (or, debater, reasoner, influencer) of this age?

•  Question: Has not (who) God made (what) foolish the wisdom of this world (kósmos)

•  Answer: Absolutely!

But why?

For since, in the (what) wisdom of God, the world through (its) wisdom did not know (ginōskō – or choose to know) God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached (foolishness to those who are perishing) to save those who believe (faith).

The reason for apologetics is for you to be secure in your faith and not necessarily to convince someone by the power of your arguments to receive Christ. That is a sovereign act of God alone. And prior to the impartation of faith in the elect, our most important argument is foolishness (stupid, ridiculous, moronic, insane) to those who are perishing. Jesus never gave signs for others to believe in Him.

So let me ask you just a few questions about your belief vs. God’s wisdom.

•  Do you believe in the creation account in Genesis?

•  Do you believe in the virgin birth?

•  Do you believe in the floating ax head?

•  Do you believe in the lion’s den or the fiery furnace?

•  Do you believe in the fall of Jericho?

•  Do you believe a good God sometimes does things that don’t seem so good to us today?

•  Do you believe God rewards faith and punishes unbelief?

Are there parts of His Word that you don’t believe? If so, you are on very dangerous ground. Why? Because Jesus said the deception in the last days would be so great that, if it was possible, even the elect would be deceived (Matt. 24:24). And that includes you and me.

As we see the day of His return approaching, it is vital to know what we believe to be true. For help in securing your belief against apostasy, keep listening.

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

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