Victory from Trials

As I'm preparing for Compass Night this Thursday evening @ 6:15 (please pray for me about this!!!), I have been reading a number of books and wanted to share this line from Bill Thrasher's A Journey to Victorious Praying--a book I can so far recommend though I haven't finished it yet. He wrote:

"Many times great difficulties precede special works of God. You can even say that God wins His greatest victories in the midst of apparent defeat. This can be clearly demonstrated in the life of our Lord on earth. When Jesus was crucified and placed in the tomb, it looked like the forces of unrighteousness had triumphed. However, it was in this time of apparent defeat that our victory for our salvation was won."

Think about how this is true over and over again in the Scriptures and then bring that truth into your own life. I don't know what you're going through, but take heart. God has not and will never abandoned you (see Matt 28:20, Phil 4:5 & Heb 13:5) and will bring victory from the what looks like defeat (Rom 8:28).

The First Church of...Oprah???

You've got to watch this video about Oprah and the new book she's pushing and her denials of Christianity, especially for all those Christians who believe watching her is innocent.

Purposeful Praise: Rejuvenating Your Christian Life

We had a great weekend at Compass Bible Church with the best part being the preaching of God's Word from Psalm 100! If you missed it, go here to watch it. If you were here this weekend, to jar your memory, the points from Pastor Mike's sermon were:

1. Celebrate God (vv. 1-2)
2. Worship God because He is God (v. 3)
3. Worship God because He is Good (vv. 4-5)

How did God use Pastor Mike's sermon on Psalm 100 to speak to you this week?

2008 Truth & Life Conference

Just a quick entry to say Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. As a result of your prayers, God truly blessed the seminar I gave at the Truth & Life Conference last week at The Master's College.

I spoke on "How to Fail at Life and Ministry" with the thesis that the bad reputation many doctrinally sound, Bible believing circles have for being cold, unloving, elitist, confrontational, disrespectful and self-righteous is directly tied to God's reputation in this world.

MANY are flooding away from our circles for other religions and cults, the New Age and occult as well as more liberal forms of Christianity either in mainline churches or the emergent movement / conversation, not because of prolonged exposure to God's Word, but because of interaction they've had with us.

By the way, the biblical way of talking about giving God a good name, a good reputation is a very common saying in our circles. Giving God a good name with our lives is EXACTLY the same as saying I'm living for the glory of God.

So, if our reputation is bad because of us (and not because of our message), we're not glorifying Him no matter how theologically rich we are, how much we love the Bible, how much we love preaching, the gospel and the local church. If you're still not convinced that God cares about our reputation, read Romans 2:24. In short, it is not optional for those who love the Word of the Spirit most to go above and beyond to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit most.

We'll see what the fall out ends up being on a message like that (especially when the podcast goes online), but as of now I've received nothing but positive feedback from everyone, and pray that God will use it to give us a better reputation since nothing less than His glory is on the line.

Minor Controversy over a God-Centered God?

I thought I'd make you aware of what I thought was a minor controversy brewing on the blogs between Ben Witherington and John Piper about the God-centeredness of God.

You can read Dr. Witherington's discomfort with a self-centered God here and Dr. Piper's response to him here.

I wrote "a minor controversy," but if Piper is right (and I think he is) than there is nothing minor about the God-centeredness of God.

Messages on the Trinity

Just in case you were wondering how my recent 2-week series at The Refuge on the Trinity went, I wanted you to know that it did not turn people off or away.

Rather than hurting the ministry, which is conventional "wisdom" for pastoral ministry today when it comes to teaching doctrine to Christians--let alone those in college & their 20s--just the opposite has happened.

Actually the ministry grew, newcomers came back for more and the Christians have a renewed zeal to study the Bible and reach out to, rather than run away from, cultists (Oneness, JWs, Mormons) and false religions (Jews, Muslims) who explicitly deny the Trinity.

Thank God for His marvelous grace for blessing His Word when we talked about Him--Father, Son and Holy Spirit!!!

U Believe in the Trinity? Prove it!!!

This is the only illustration of the Trinity I know of that does not lead to or directly teach heresy.

I spoke on this topic tonight, and I'll post here what I gave the people at the 20s ministry of Compass Bible Church. I tried to summarize the Bible's teachings that, when combined, become the doctrine of the Trinity. Here is what I gave them:

The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity

Definition: “God eternally exists as three persons--Father, Son & Holy Spirit--and each person is fully God, [yet] there is one God” (Grudem).

Three Step Proof / Argument

1. There is Only One God – Deut 4:35, 39; 6:4; 1 Kgs 8:60; Isa 43:10, 45:5-6; Mark 12:29; Eph 4:6; 1 Tim 1:17; James 2:19
2. The Bible Identifies 3 Persons as Equally God
1. The Father is God: 1 Cor 8:6; Phil 1:2
2. The Son is God: John 20:28; Titus 2:13; Heb 1:3-8; 2 Pet 1:1
3. The Spirit is God: Acts 5:3-4; 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19; 2 Cor 3:17-18
   
3. The 3 Persons are Distinct from Each Other: Matt 28:19
1. The Father is NOT the Son: John 14:23, 17:24; 1 Cor 8:6
2. The Father is NOT the Spirit: John 14:26; Rom 8:26
3. The Son is NOT the Spirit: John 14:16, 15:26

The Trinity is simply an attempt to summarize the biblical data above without contradiction:
1 God (1 what), 3 Persons (3 who’s)

It seems to me, although I'm no expert, that every heresy denies at least one of the three proofs. Either someone posits more than one God (e.g., Mormons, JWs, Hindus, etc.), denies the deity of one Person (JWs, Islam, Judaism, Mormons, etc.) and/or combines distinct Persons into one Person (oneness Pentecostals, modalists, etc.).

I printed this on little cards that I hope they'll keep it in their Bibles so that when they get that knock on the door they'll be ready to engage rather than retreat.

Update, Thank You & The Trinity

I've been swamped since getting home from Hawaii so I'm sorry for not blogging more regularly. I got off the plane Tuesday morning at 5am at LAX, ran home to shower and go right to work to help oversee the setup for our Fall Fest, Compass Bible Church's fun and safe alternative to / attempt to redeem Halloween. I preach Tuesday nights so I left the Aliso Viejo Towne Center around 4pm to prepare for The Refuge at 7pm (the singles ministry for the college students and those in their 20s that I oversee).

I was back at the Towne Center at 8am the next morning and went home around 11pm, but God richly blessed our efforts as we saw some 4000 people show up on Wednesday night and we gave out some where around 1 ton of candy. The Fall Fest was a great way to introduce the church to the community, and Lord willing many will come visit us. Thursday I was back at the Towne Center to help oversee clean up for about 7 hours, and then crashed!

Now that the weekend is over, I'm in the office preparing to preach tomorrow night on the Trinity. I'm doing a short series I called Mythbusters where we'll bust some myths about Christianity (topics are truth, the Trinity and the Deity of Christ). From there, we'll move into expositional, verse-by-verse preaching through John 17 (there may be some short Mythbuster series in the midst of that too) and then we'll jump into more exposition, this time the whole book of Galatians.

The idea is to spend a considerable amount of time on the person and work of Christ (John 17) before moving into a explanation of the Gospel and its implications for life (Galatians)--don't want to create legalists who live like Christians apart from a real deep focus on Christ first.

However, my work on the Trinity this weekend reminded me that at the beginning of this blog last year I posted four times on the heresy of modalism as embodied in Oneness Pentecostalism (by the way, did you hear about the new movement called Pentecostal Scientology?)--a false doctrine alive and well and making considerable inroads into evangelicalism. They are here, here, here and here.

Many blessings to all of you, and thank you for your prayers for me in Hawaii. It was a very difficult trip for me--not a vacation at all--because every square inch of Kauai reminds me of my grandparents. I pray the Lord will be pleased to bless the short and feeble words I gave at my grandparents' memorial service. Hope you liked the pictures I took!

What's in it for God?

I came across this quote from Dr. Michael Horton's book Made in America, and had to share it here:

"The older theology tended to produce character. By the end of the twentieth century, we have become God's demanding little brats. In church, we must be entertained. Our emotions must be charged. We must be offered amusing programs. We give up a lot to become Christians and what little teaching we do get must cater to our pragmatic, self-centered interests. Preaching must be filled with clever anecdotes and colorful illustrations with nothing more than passing references to doctrine. I want to know what this means for me in my daily experience. Have we forgotten that God is a monarch? He is the king, by whom and for whom all things were made and by whose sovereign power they are sustained. We exist for his pleasure, not he for ours. We are on this earth to entertain him, please him, adore him, bring him satisfaction, excitement and joy. Any gospel that seeks to answer the question, "What's in this for me?" has it all backwards. The question is, "What's in it for God?"

I have nothing to say in response except I think he's dead right.

Sovereignty & Suffering

Thank you to Between Two Worlds for posting this convicting and inspiring video. Take 7 minutes and watch it.

I get angry when there's traffic, or my order isn't right at a restaurant, or there's too much noise in the office. I fail to see all of these things as the gracious hand of sovereign providence in my life for my good and to advance God's glory.

I am so convinced by this man's testimony, and so grateful for the Savior who saved me from this constant sin in me.

I really like and am deeply challenged by this quote from Kris Lundgaard's The Enemy Within:

“The person who…says he loves God, yet does not seek his company and delight in it, can’t be a true lover of God” (118-9).

Famine for God

If this is not a description of most churches in the West and most churches in Orange County where I live, than I don't know what is. I pray that God is gracious to us and relents of this particular judgment on us:

Amos 8:11-12

"Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord GOD, "when I will send a famine on the land--not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it."

First, notice who's speaking and who's acting. This is a sovereign act of Adonai Yahweh, God our Lord, our Master.

Second, what does our Lord do? HE sends the famine. Notice, the effects of the famine are the same--hungering, thirsting, wandering, running to and fro for an unfulfilled desire. However, the object being sought after for consumption is not food or water, but it is the Word of God.

Today, it's en vogue in church to teach everything at church but God's Word. When that's an accurate general description of the church, I think this passage should arrest us and cause us to ask "Are things like this because of God's judgment?" Is this more than an educational issue? Is mass repentance in order?

Third, notice the result of what God does. Despite the passionate search, God's Word is not found.

I can't tell you have many conversations I've had in the last decade about this, especially in Orange County, California--people hopping from church to church to simply hear someone explain the Bible. I'm convinced there are thousands of Christians, right here, who don't want to hear about the latest cultural fads, the current trends in psychology, philosophy, social issues, business management, relationship therapy, etc.

They are asking one question. They care about one thing. What does God say? What does He say about Himself? What does God say about me? What does He say about salvation? What does God say about relationships? What does He say about good and evil and truth and integrity? They're just dying to hear God's Word, even poorly explained, at church.

God! God! God! It's all about Him. Christianity is NOT about me! Christians instinctually know this, and are longing for a place where they will hear God speak.

So, are you part of the solution, or part of the problem?

Behold The Holy God (Ezek 36)

While reading Ezekiel today I was deeply struck with these words, and just how different they are from the therapeutic portrayal of God perpetrated on us by much of American Christianity. God says:

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the LORD, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight"'" (vv. 22-23).

After that, my next thought was: How do I profane the name of God? God, help me not to be marked by these words. Help me to see where I've profaned Your name among those I know, and how I can fix that in my own life as well as with them.

Warnings to Pastors (Ezek 22)

In my daily reading of Ezekiel I was brought to these words:

"Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them" (v. 26).

God's things, especially God's Word, is holy. It is distinct from ALL other common or "profane" things.

There are vast movements within Christendom that make no distinction between God's holy Word and all the ologies and osophies and fads of mankind. They call for integration when God calls for distinction.

However, by making no distinction, these well-meaning but misled people are doing violence to God's word, which leads to disregard for God, then disobedience to God because He and His Word are being treated as common when He and His Word are anything but common.

This treating as common of God and His Word happens all the time. It was part of the reason for the rebuke of Psalm 50:21 "You thought I was just like you" when He and His Word are anything but.

Happy in God

When Christian heroes write phrases like "this one thing I do," or "I make it my ambition," or "the most important thing I've learned," or "the key to my life," or "the meaning of life is," I sit up and take notice.

Well, in preparing for a lecture I'm about to give on George Mueller I came across this:

“I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished” (George Mueller, A Narrative of Some of the Lord's Dealing with George Muller, Written by Himself, Jehovah Magnified. Addresses by George Muller Complete and Unabridged, 1:271).

...and...

“According to my judgment the most important point to be attended to is this: above all things see to it that your souls are happy in the Lord. Other things may press upon you, the Lord's work may even have urgent claims upon your attention, but I deliberately repeat, it is of supreme and paramount importance that you should seek above all things to have your souls truly happy in God Himself! Day by day seek to make this the most important business of your life. This has been my firm and settled condition for the last five and thirty years. For the first four years after my conversion I knew not its vast importance, but now after much experience I specially commend this point to the notice of my younger brethren and sisters in Christ: the secret of all true effectual service is joy in God, having experimental acquaintance and fellowship with God Himself" (Ibid., 2:730-731).

I need this. God, how I need to do this daily. I need to read the Bible with this goal in mind, taking what I read and making myself happy in God by it.

Thank God for encouragements and rebukes from dead friends.

Tradition vs. Scripture (Jer 35)

In Jeremiah 35 there is the fascinating story of the descendants of Jonadab the Rechabite who did not drink wine or build houses for themselves because "our father, commanded us, saying, 'You shall not drink wine, you or your sons, forever" (35:6).

God tells Jeremiah to bring them to the temple and give them wine (35:2). Now, God knows their oath, but He does this to visually and logically demonstrate the sin of the Jewish people at that time.

Watch how God responds when they refuse to drink wine: "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Go and say the the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, "Will you not receive instruction by listening to My words?" declares the Lord. 'These words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are observed. So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. But I have spoken to you again and again; yet you have not listened to Me'" (35:13-14).

Visually, God brings this group before His people to demonstrate to them what loyalty looks like. Logically, He argues that if these can obey the one-time-given command of a dead man, why can't all His people obey the commands of the living God given "again and again."

It is called an argument from the lesser to the greater--if they can obey the lesser command from the lesser person they have no excuse for disobeying the greater command from the greater person.

And, when they refuse to drink wine they are saying "No" to a direct command from God (cf. 35:2, 5). They are saying "No" because they've elevated a human tradition above God's word, God's command. In essence, they're saying "My loyalty to my forefather trumps my loyalty to God. God's authority over my life and thought takes a backseat to my human ancestor's authority over me."

They're finding their authority, their safety, their identity, their self-understanding in the words of a mere man, which forces them at the same time against finding their authority, safety, identity and self-understanding in the words of God.

What does God think of that? "Behold, I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer" (35:17).

Jesus put it this way when He, God in the flesh, gave God's opinion of elevating traditions above God when He pronounced judgment on the Pharisees by saying, "'This people honors Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men" (Mark 7:6-8).

In other words, it is no small matter to disregard God for the teachings of men. It brings His judgment when you do that.

Oneness Pentacostals & the Trinity

Oneness Pentecostalism (a.k.a. Jesus Only or the Apostolic Church) is ruthlessly monotheistic. To demonstrate the centrality of this issue for OP’s, one of their own advocates, Wilbur King, writes “Please don’t let Old Satan deceive you any longer with His 3 person 3 god teaching” (“Let Use Make Man in Our Image, After Our Likeness” tract).

In fact, this is such a defining issue that the very name of their movement, “Oneness,” derives its name from their theology of God. In fact, they have no problem calling the Trinity (1) an illogical and pagan idea that the early church fathers opposed, (2) an imposition of the apostate Roman Catholic Church on the purity Christian doctrine, and (3) an entirely unbiblical notion since both “Trinity” and “person” are not biblical words (neither is "oneness" or "pentecostal" though).

In the end, they openly call the Trinity a demonic lie. Only the Oneness understanding of God “upholds biblical Christianity” as they are vehement that the trinity unavoidably devolves into tri-theism (see E. Calvin Beisner, “Jesus Only” Churches, 28-30 and Robert M. Bowman Jr., “Oneness Pentecostalism and the Trinity,” 26 [article found here]).

Their understanding of the Father, Son & Spirit is as follows:

There is only one God. The Father is God. The Son is God. The Spirit is God. Therefore, the Father is the Son is the Spirit. Or, Jesus = the Father = the Spirit.

This is nothing new. Throughout church history it’s gone by the names monarchianism, modalism or sabellianism (see Harold OJ Brown, Heresies).

In other words, God is one person with one nature who is “manifested” in three different ways. God is not three distinct persons, but three aspects, titles or roles for three different manifestations of one person, or three offices filled by one person. This is akin to an actor wearing three different masks to play three different roles on stage, or one man with three different roles he plays in life (e.g. father, husband, employee).

In OP that one person of the godhead is Jesus--as seen in the picture above.

Since Jesus is supposedly the called “Father” in Isa 9:6 and is alluded to being such in John 8:19, 12:45, 14:9 they conclude that Jesus is “the Father manifested in the flesh” (David Bernard, The Oneness of God, 68 [most consider this the book about OP by an advocate of OP]).

Also, Jesus is interpreted by OP as being the Holy Spirit in 2 Cor 3:17 so that the Holy Spirit is really Jesus in spirit-form.

Finally, they argue that the Bible clearly identifies the Father and the Holy Spirit as one and the same interchangeable person (comp. Acts 5:3-4 or 2 Cor 3:16 with 6:19).

Again, it is important to know what the person believes that you're talking to before trying to give them the gospel. In later posts, we'll seek to debunk their arguments, but for now, we're simply explaining what they believe.

Welcome!!!!!!!

The name of this blog is Latin for "Truth is Immortal."

It comes from the life motto of the 16th century Anabaptist theologian and martyr, Balthasar Hubmaier (1480-1528) whose life and thought I will be mixing into this blog as time goes by. If you don't know who this man is, please take a moment to read short bios here and here, with a longer one here.

When he signed his writings with "Truth is Immortal," he did it in German (which I think looks something like Wahrhaftigkeit ist unsterblich). We have it in Latin because a friend of mine said Latin is cool and gives a blog instant credibility.

Regardless of the possible effects of a blog with a Latin name, my hope and prayer is that my interaction with the immortal, divine Truth will begin to reverse the inconsequentiality of God, His gospel, His Son and His Word in every crevice of my life.

As to the sidebar on the right, the ministries listed are those that have helped me most in my short 11 years as a Christian. The books are some of the best I've read, and the mp3s are free download sites that, also, have helped me in my struggle to erase God's inconsequentiality in me.

Finally, please leave comments because we don't grow in solitary confinement, but from and with each other.

So, Welcome! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you come back soon!