In the Old Testament book of Daniel (chapter 3) we read of King Nebuchadnezzar's act of setting up a large golden image which he commanded people to worship, or be cast into a fiery furnace. All complied with this except 3 men - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They refused to fall in line with the overwhelming majority and stood up for what they believed in despite the consequences. They were thrown into the furnace but God miraculously delivered them. They refused to bend, budge or burn! They stood for truth when it was unpopular to do so. They were the freethinkers of their day.
Fast forward to 2009 and ask the question - who are the freethinkers of today?
In an age when militant atheism is becoming popular and, indeed, "fashionable" it is freethinkers who, daring to be different, boldly declare their belief in God.
In an age when the Bible is considered to be a book of fairy stories it is freethinkers who, daring to be different, state their absolute confidence in it's infallibility, historical accuracy and the final authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
In an age when evolution is accepted as the "conventional wisdom" (despite the lack of scientific evidence) it is the freethinkers who, daring to be different, unashamedly state their belief in the truth of Biblical creationism.
In an age of rampant immorality and perversion it is the freethinkers who, daring to be different, make a decisive stand for purity - despite being labelled as puritanical and homophobic.
Who are these modern day freethinkers, these bold custodians of truth, who willingly "stick their heads above the parapet" knowing it will lead to opposition and, indeed, even persecution?
Answer: the Evangelical Christians. We are the ones who are daring to be different and swim against the stream. We are the ones who will not be deterred from spreading the truths of the Christian Gospel - that Christ died for our sins and rose again, that He is the only way to Heaven, and that the alternative is eternal damnation in Hell.
Down through the ages there have been those brave souls who refused to follow the crowd but, with faces set like flint, stood for truth when it was hugely unpopular to do so. It is the true Christians - the Evangelicals, (call us fundamentalists if you will) who are now bearing the torch of truth in an age of error, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus "Beware when all men speak well of you" - Luke 6 v 26.
Friday, 28 August 2009
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
The Tragedy of Jacob Eames
Some years ago I read an excellent book "To the Golden Shore" by Courtney Anderson which focused on the life of Adoniram Judson, a missionary to Burma in the early 1800s. This book covered his entire life and not just his missionary activity. One particular incident in his youth was to impact him for the rest of his life, and I thought it good to share this.
Despite being raised in a Christian home he began to have doubts about the faith when he reached his mid-teens. Heading off to college at 16 he soon fell into the company of one Jacob Eames, a year older, and a Deist. (Deists believe that there is a God but reject many of the teachings of the Gospel, particularly the divinity of Christ and the infallibility of the Bible).
Eames was everything Judson admired - exceptionally clever, witty, full of arrogance and self-assurance - and it was not long before he took on board Eames' beliefs, or rather lack of belief. Eventually, they both left college and went their separate ways, but the damage was done - Judson was a confirmed Deist and he knew that, sooner or later, his family would discover this and there would be a row.....big time. Eventually the showdown occurred and Judson left home to go his own way. Some months later, he found himself in need of a bed for the night and went into an inn. The owner said that there was a room available but it was next door to a sick man and there may be some noise. Judson was so tired he accepted the room and, despite the groaning from next door, he fell asleep.
The next morning dawned bright and sunny, a glorious September day. Judson went downstairs to have breakfast and settle his bill. He asked the owner how the man in the next room had fared. The owner related the sad news that he had died. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, what was his name?". The reply hit him like a thunderbolt - "Jacob Eames". In the words of the book "Judson didn't know how he got through the next few hours". He made his way home and, to cut a long story short, eventually became a Christian and a missionary to Burma.
What lessons can we learn from such an account as this? I believe there are two points that stand out very clearly:
1. The arrogant proud will be brought down. In my work of street evangelism I often see people who boast of their own self-sufficiency and have no need of God (so they think). The Bible is dismissed as rubbish, and the purpose of life is....and they reel off a list of sinful activities that give them temporary, passing pleasure. However, a day of reckoning will come. "Each of us will give account of himself to God" - Romans 14 v 12. For Jacob Eames that reckoning came earlier than he expected; one can only hope he repented and accepted Christ before that divine appointment.
2. God is sovereign. In all-knowing, over-ruling providence He arranged the circumstances of that incident in Judson's life and it was to play a major part in his conversion. If God, in His mercy, has someone "in His sights" for conversion then that lost sheep will be sought by the good shepherd until he is found. As Jesus put it "All that the Father gives me, will come to me....." John 6 v 37. What an encouragement that should be in our evangelism.
So, persevere, fellow Christians, in sowing the good seed of the Gospel - God will be glorified as He draws precious souls to Himself.
Despite being raised in a Christian home he began to have doubts about the faith when he reached his mid-teens. Heading off to college at 16 he soon fell into the company of one Jacob Eames, a year older, and a Deist. (Deists believe that there is a God but reject many of the teachings of the Gospel, particularly the divinity of Christ and the infallibility of the Bible).
Eames was everything Judson admired - exceptionally clever, witty, full of arrogance and self-assurance - and it was not long before he took on board Eames' beliefs, or rather lack of belief. Eventually, they both left college and went their separate ways, but the damage was done - Judson was a confirmed Deist and he knew that, sooner or later, his family would discover this and there would be a row.....big time. Eventually the showdown occurred and Judson left home to go his own way. Some months later, he found himself in need of a bed for the night and went into an inn. The owner said that there was a room available but it was next door to a sick man and there may be some noise. Judson was so tired he accepted the room and, despite the groaning from next door, he fell asleep.
The next morning dawned bright and sunny, a glorious September day. Judson went downstairs to have breakfast and settle his bill. He asked the owner how the man in the next room had fared. The owner related the sad news that he had died. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, what was his name?". The reply hit him like a thunderbolt - "Jacob Eames". In the words of the book "Judson didn't know how he got through the next few hours". He made his way home and, to cut a long story short, eventually became a Christian and a missionary to Burma.
What lessons can we learn from such an account as this? I believe there are two points that stand out very clearly:
1. The arrogant proud will be brought down. In my work of street evangelism I often see people who boast of their own self-sufficiency and have no need of God (so they think). The Bible is dismissed as rubbish, and the purpose of life is....and they reel off a list of sinful activities that give them temporary, passing pleasure. However, a day of reckoning will come. "Each of us will give account of himself to God" - Romans 14 v 12. For Jacob Eames that reckoning came earlier than he expected; one can only hope he repented and accepted Christ before that divine appointment.
2. God is sovereign. In all-knowing, over-ruling providence He arranged the circumstances of that incident in Judson's life and it was to play a major part in his conversion. If God, in His mercy, has someone "in His sights" for conversion then that lost sheep will be sought by the good shepherd until he is found. As Jesus put it "All that the Father gives me, will come to me....." John 6 v 37. What an encouragement that should be in our evangelism.
So, persevere, fellow Christians, in sowing the good seed of the Gospel - God will be glorified as He draws precious souls to Himself.
Saturday, 22 August 2009
A Higher Power
Even those taking just a passing interest in the news cannot fail to have noticed that al Megrahi, (not his full name!) the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, has been returned to Libya on compassionate grounds due to his terminal cancer. This has caused a great deal of outrage to relatives of the victims who feel cheated of justice. What is perhaps not so well known is that when the Scottish justice secretary announced the decision he spoke of Mr Megrahi's illness as being a sentence imposed by a "Higher Power", the inference being that he has not got away with his crime (assuming, of course, that he was guilty) because God has judged him.
In an increasingly secular age it is very rare for a politician to make such a statement - especially when making a highly sensitive announcement. However, this episode caused me to ponder just how much God-consciousness there is inside each of us, even for those who make no pretence of being committed Christians. The Bible teaches that we are made in God's image; though that has been tarnished by sin we still have the capacity to make moral choices, and God's law is still written on our consciences. Indeed, the Bible teaches that God has put eternity into our hearts (see Eccles. 3 v 11). Deep down we know that there is a God, there is a judgement day, and there is an eternity to face - in Heaven or Hell.
All this, of course, has implications. If people really do have this knowledge within them why do so many reject the Gospel and refuse to humble themselves before God in repentance and faith? Again the Bible gives the answer, this time in Romans Chapter 1. We are told there that man is without excuse because the evidence for God is all around but instead of believing in Him they "supress the truth" - verse 18. What does this mean? As a boy I once owned a "Jack in the Box" - a simple toy consisting of a puppet on the end of a spring that could be pressed down into a box and the lid fastened on top. Once the catch was released the puppet sprang up. In a similar way people press down the knowledge of God and His truth into the inner recesses of their hearts, when a Christian speaks of Christ or they see a Bible text the "catch is released" and the truth springs back to the surface - with all it's uncomfortable implications.
Perhaps this could explain why atheists get so angry when Christians preach the Gospel and seek to evangelise - we are, effectively "releasing the catch" and causing these people to lose their self-assurance. Instead of supressing what they know in their hearts to be true, unbelievers should repent, and plead with Christ to have mercy on their souls. Once they do this then they can have that true peace which, at present, seems to elude them.
In an increasingly secular age it is very rare for a politician to make such a statement - especially when making a highly sensitive announcement. However, this episode caused me to ponder just how much God-consciousness there is inside each of us, even for those who make no pretence of being committed Christians. The Bible teaches that we are made in God's image; though that has been tarnished by sin we still have the capacity to make moral choices, and God's law is still written on our consciences. Indeed, the Bible teaches that God has put eternity into our hearts (see Eccles. 3 v 11). Deep down we know that there is a God, there is a judgement day, and there is an eternity to face - in Heaven or Hell.
All this, of course, has implications. If people really do have this knowledge within them why do so many reject the Gospel and refuse to humble themselves before God in repentance and faith? Again the Bible gives the answer, this time in Romans Chapter 1. We are told there that man is without excuse because the evidence for God is all around but instead of believing in Him they "supress the truth" - verse 18. What does this mean? As a boy I once owned a "Jack in the Box" - a simple toy consisting of a puppet on the end of a spring that could be pressed down into a box and the lid fastened on top. Once the catch was released the puppet sprang up. In a similar way people press down the knowledge of God and His truth into the inner recesses of their hearts, when a Christian speaks of Christ or they see a Bible text the "catch is released" and the truth springs back to the surface - with all it's uncomfortable implications.
Perhaps this could explain why atheists get so angry when Christians preach the Gospel and seek to evangelise - we are, effectively "releasing the catch" and causing these people to lose their self-assurance. Instead of supressing what they know in their hearts to be true, unbelievers should repent, and plead with Christ to have mercy on their souls. Once they do this then they can have that true peace which, at present, seems to elude them.
Friday, 21 August 2009
I have just started my own web log, known as a blog!
On this I intend to outline the truth of the Christian Gospel and issues that concern Evangelical Christians today.
One of the big concerns for us in this politically correct age is that of free speech. At one time a Christian could preach the truths of the Bible and, although opposition may well have come from hecklers and humanist types, the law couldn't touch him even if the views stated were offensive.
All that has changed; as this country has been getting spiritually darker so opponents of the Gospel have been using the law to try and silence us. This was apparent several years ago when the government tried to pass a law which would have made it illegal for a Christian to label Islam a false religion, and teach that Christ is the only way to God. In the providence of God the government was defeated on a House of Lord's amendment and Gospel freedom was preserved.
Now the government are trying again. Last year they passed a "gay hate" law which made it an offence to incite hatred against gays. Of course, no true Christian wants to do anything of the kind, but simply teaching that homosexuality is sinful should not be a criminal offence. Consequently, the House of Lords passed a free speech clause which, after attempts to overturn, the government accepted. Now they are trying to repeal the free speech clause. The Lord's defeated them recently but, due to their vindictiveness against Evangelicals, goverment ministers have stated that they intend again to repeal this vital legislation that protects free speech.
Incidentally, the most vocal gay rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell, has actually said that he supports free speech even going so far as to speak up for a Christian's right to disagree with homosexuality - let's give him credit for that.
Anyway, we must pray that this latest attempt by a spiritually bankrupt, and corrupt government to silence free speech will be defeated - watch this space.
On this I intend to outline the truth of the Christian Gospel and issues that concern Evangelical Christians today.
One of the big concerns for us in this politically correct age is that of free speech. At one time a Christian could preach the truths of the Bible and, although opposition may well have come from hecklers and humanist types, the law couldn't touch him even if the views stated were offensive.
All that has changed; as this country has been getting spiritually darker so opponents of the Gospel have been using the law to try and silence us. This was apparent several years ago when the government tried to pass a law which would have made it illegal for a Christian to label Islam a false religion, and teach that Christ is the only way to God. In the providence of God the government was defeated on a House of Lord's amendment and Gospel freedom was preserved.
Now the government are trying again. Last year they passed a "gay hate" law which made it an offence to incite hatred against gays. Of course, no true Christian wants to do anything of the kind, but simply teaching that homosexuality is sinful should not be a criminal offence. Consequently, the House of Lords passed a free speech clause which, after attempts to overturn, the government accepted. Now they are trying to repeal the free speech clause. The Lord's defeated them recently but, due to their vindictiveness against Evangelicals, goverment ministers have stated that they intend again to repeal this vital legislation that protects free speech.
Incidentally, the most vocal gay rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell, has actually said that he supports free speech even going so far as to speak up for a Christian's right to disagree with homosexuality - let's give him credit for that.
Anyway, we must pray that this latest attempt by a spiritually bankrupt, and corrupt government to silence free speech will be defeated - watch this space.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)