A Biblical Defence Of The 5 Pillars (Part 5)

In my previous series, "The Anatomy of the Gospel", I broke down the Gospel message into five basic components (as an attempt at constructing a helpful witnessing framework) and called them the "Five Pillars of the Gospel". This is the fifth and concluding part of a series of posts in which I will have biblically defended each of the "five pillars" I laid out as the fundamental elements necessary to faithfully proclaim the Gospel.

DEFENDING PILLAR 5 - THE HUMAN RESPONSE THE GOSPEL DEMANDS

Jesus death for sins was an act of salvation. To receive God's gracious gift Scripture explicitly teaches that:

Truly, then, God overlooking the times of ignorance, now He strictly commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day in which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He appointed, having given proof to all by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).

Repentance is necessary in order to receive salvation - therefore it is a necessary component of the Gospel we proclaim (Next week I will reveal the stunning hypocrisy in the famed Hillsong church, Australia, concerning the necessity of repentance). This repentance from sin and turning away from is also a turning to Christ in saving faith in order to receive salvation.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

And that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:47).

And how I kept back nothing that was profitable, but have shown you and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:20-21).

Some people claim that faith alone, as mentioned in Ephesians 2:8, negates the need to repent. But we must remember our hermeneutical rule mentioned way back in part one of this series:

Scripture cannot contradict itself - therefore in understanding any portion rightly, it must harmonize with the rest of Scripture.

So do the following two statements of Jesus contradict each other?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). (emphasis mine)

unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (Luke 13:3b). (emphasis mine)

Regarding salvation the Scriptures always speak of faith (believing) or repentance or both. This is easily harmonized when we remember that repentance is turning away from sin and faith is turning towards Christ. As Todd Friel says "They are the two wings of the same bird that fly us to the Savior".

Jesus Himself said that:

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6:24a).

It is not possible to embrace Christ whilst still embracing our sin. Turning to Christ as our new master demands that we turn our back on the old carnal life. This is not to suggest that Christians don't sin - but it is to suggest that we have a new relationship with sin. Our flesh and our spirit are engaged in constant war and we are not living in a lifestyle of continual, wilfull, habitual sin.

In conclusion to the subject of man's necessary response to the Gospel we must clearly state that - a failure to preach God's requirement for men to repent and believe is a failure to preach the Gospel.

So all these 5 pillars:

PILLAR 1 – THE HOLINESS OF GOD
PILLAR 2 – THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN
PILLAR 3 – THE NECESSITY OF JUDGMENT
PILLAR 4 – THE WORK OF CHRIST
PILLAR 5 – THE HUMAN RESPONSE THE GOSPEL DEMANDS

are all essential elements of a faithful proclamation of the Gospel.

Next week I will begin applying this benchmark to certain well known public Gospel proclamations to see how they measure up. The purity of the Gospel is so sacred that we cannot afford to sanitize this discussion or be bogged down in diplomacy. The Bottom Line will be speaking up!

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8-9).

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A Biblical Defence Of The 5 Pillars (Part 4)

In my previous series, "The Anatomy of the Gospel", I broke down the Gospel message into five basic components (as an attempt at constructing a helpful witnessing framework) and called them the "Five Pillars of the Gospel". This is the fourth part of a series of posts in which I will biblically defend each of the "five pillars" I laid out as the fundamental elements necessary to faithfully proclaim the Gospel.

DEFENDING PILLAR 4 – THE WORK OF CHRIST

Christ died for our sins. This is what we call penal substitutionary atonement. To be right with God we need pardon for our sin. As impossible as that is we also need something else. We need righteousness to enter into eternal life and God’s presence. Let’s take a look at Proverbs 17:15. Just stop and meditate on this for a moment.

He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD (Proverbs 17:15).

This verse reveals the heart of the problem. If God pardons a sinner He becomes an abomination. This is why the Gospel is not about us telling God we’re sorry and being forgiven. God is bound by His law to punish sin. Do you see this problem?

There was only one way and that is why He is the only way!

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

Now the only way that God can forgive sinful men is if God who made the law and God who demands satisfaction, if He Himself comes down, and pays the penalty. This is why God became a man, Jesus Christ, and fulfilled the whole law. So that He could be condemned as a just man, in order that the wicked could be justified. Here is where we find God’s love.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

John Macarthur comments on this verse:

As Christ was not a sinner, but was treated as if He were, so believers who have not yet been made righteous are treated as if they were righteous.

Here we see what we call imputation. Jesus takes the sinner's punishment and credits him with His righteousness. The great exchange in order that we may inherit eternal life. This righteousness is a legal statement, not an injection of righteousness or infused righteousness as the Catholics teach:

"Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification." (Catechism of the Catholic Church par. 2023)

The righteousness Paul speaks of is not an infused righteousness but an imputed righteousness. It is a righteousness that is a credit to your account – something that you can never take credit for. You don’t become a better man. You become a bad man saved by a good God. Macarthur continues in his commentary on 2 Corinthians 5:21:

Christ bore their sins so that they could bear His righteousness. God treated Him as if He committed believers’ sins, and treats believers as if they did only the righteous deeds of the sinless Son of God.

Why not let Paul Washer elaborate far better than I ever could (the guy in the video holding the cross is my good friend Tony "The Lawman" Miano). . .



We can take confidence in this truth because Christ rose from the dead defeating death and proving his Divinity. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was proof of God's satisfaction with Christ's penal substitutionary payment (Rom 4:25).

On Friday I will close this series with a biblical defence of PILLAR 5 – THE HUMAN RESPONSE THE GOSPEL DEMANDS.

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A Biblical Defence Of The 5 Pillars (Part 3)

In my previous series, "The Anatomy of the Gospel", I broke down the Gospel message into five basic components (as an attempt at constructing a helpful witnessing framework) and called them the "Five Pillars of the Gospel". This is the third part of a series of posts in which I will biblically defend each of the "five pillars" I laid out as the fundamental elements necessary to faithfully proclaim the Gospel (a good friend just contacted me to inform me that Islam has five pillars and I am sorry if this has caused any confusion. I could change the name but then I would have to go back and correct all my previous posts. So I will persevere with this name and hope it inadvertently ministers to some Muslims).

DEFENDING PILLAR 3 – THE NECESSITY OF JUDGMENT

Why did Christ die for our sins according to the Scriptures?

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life (Romans 5:10).

That we might be saved. Saved from what?

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God (Romans 5:9).

The truth of pillars 1 and 2 create the situation of pillar 3. If God is Holy and man is sinful then God must pass judgment because of Who He is and because of who we are and what we do as a result of that.

And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

The concepts of grace, mercy, and salvation are robbed of meaning without explaining God's wrath for their very definition depends on this truth.

The necessity of God's judgment must be preached in order to proclaim why Christ died for our sins because salvation is from God's judgment, wrath, and hell. Many people avoid the subjects of judgment, God's wrath, and eternal damnation under the guise of love. But is it really loving never to warn damned men i=of their impending fate?

But, in hell, there is no hope. They don't even have the hope of dying or the hope of being annihilated. They are forever--forever--forever--lost! On every link of the chains in hell are written the word "forever." In the fires, the flames spell out the word "forever." Up above their heads, they read the words "forever." Their eyes are irritated, and their hearts are in anguish with the thought that it is "forever." Oh! if I could tell you tonight that hell would one day be burned out, and that those who were lost might be saved, there would be a jubilee in hell at the very thought of it. But it cannot be--it is "forever." They are "thrown outside, into the darkness."

Now shut your Bible. Who wants to say any more about it? I have warned you solemnly. I have told you of the wrath to come. The evening darkens and the sun is setting. Ah! and the evening of life darkens for some of you. I can see gray-headed men here. Are your gray hairs a crown of glory, or a fool's cap to you? Are you on the very verge of heaven, or are you staggering on the edge of your grave, and sinking down to hell?

Let me warn you, gray-headed men; your evening is coming. O, poor, staggering gray-head, will you take the last step into the pit? Let a young child step in front of you and beg you to reconsider. Think tonight of your past seventy years worth of sin. Let your past life march before your eyes. What will you do with seventy wasted years to answer for--with seventy years of criminality to bring before God? God give you grace this night to repent and to put your trust in Jesus.

And you, middle-aged men, are not safe either; the evening lowers on you too; you may die soon. A few mornings ago, I was awakened early from my bed, and asked that I would hurry and go to see a dying man. I hurried as fast as I could to see this poor dying creature; but, when I reached the house, he was dead--a corpse. As I stood in the room, I thought, "That man gave little thought that he would die so soon." There were his wife and children, and friends--they also gave little thought that he would die, for he was robust, strong, and healthy just a few days earlier. None of you have a signed guarantee on the length of the days of your lives. Go and see if you have such a contract anywhere in your house. No! you may die tomorrow. Therefore, let me warn you by the mercy of God; let me speak to you as a brother; for I love you, you know I do, and would press the matter home to your hearts. Oh, to be among the many who shall be accepted in Christ--how blessed that will be! And God has said that whoever will call on His name will be saved: He throws none out that come to Him through Christ.

And now, you young men and women, one word with you. Perhaps you think that religion is not for you. "Let us be happy," you say: "let us be cheerful and content." How long, young man, how long? "Till I am twenty-one." Are you sure that you will live till then? Let me tell you one thing. If you do live till that time, if you have no heart for God now, you will have none then. Men do not get better if left alone. They are just like a garden: if you leave it alone, and allow weeds to grow, you will not expect to find it better in six months--but worse. Men talk as if they could repent whenever they like. It is the work of God to give us repentance. Some even say, "I will turn to God someday." But if you truly had the right heart, you would say, "I must run to God, and ask Him to given me repentance now, lest I should die before I have found Jesus Christ, my Savior." (this is a part of an open air sermon Charles Spurgeon delivered to a crowd of 12000 people on September the 4th, 1855)

On Wednesday I will continue with a biblical defence of PILLAR 4 – THE WORK OF CHRIST.

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A Biblical Defence Of The 5 Pillars (Part 2)

In my previous series, "The Anatomy of the Gospel", I broke down the Gospel message into five basic components (as an attempt at constructing a helpful witnessing framework) and called them the "Five Pillars of the Gospel". This is the second part of a series of posts in which I will biblically defend each of the "five pillars" I laid out as the fundamental elements necessary to faithfully proclaim the Gospel.

DEFENDING PILLAR 2 – THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN

I Corinthians 15:3 states that Christ died for our sins. The obvious implication here is that we must be sinners if Christ died for our sins. Scripture teaches mans depravity on many occasions - here are some examples:

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it - the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:10-23)

Ok, so maybe Paul could say something so brutal to our fragile self esteem, but surely not Jesus . . . then check the verses that immediately follow John 3:16:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (John 3:17-20)

Does the natural man know he is a sinner (as Joel Osteen suggests) therefore nullifying our need to preach on sin and define it. Absolutely not. Mr Osteen clearly hasn't visited any prisons recently because if he did he would have found a building full of self professed wrongly convicted people. Indeed the Scripture teaches that "every man proclaims his own goodness" (Proverbs 20:6) and is "clean in his own eyes" (Proverbs 16:2). That he "suppresses the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18) and has a heart that is "deceitfully wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9).

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)

If we are to teach that Christ died for our sins then we must define what sin is:

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (1 John 3:4)

And how do we come to a knowledge of our sin:

if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." (Romans 7:7b)

A faithful proclamation of the Gospel, therefore, must present men as sinners and bring this knowledge by the use of God's law.

So the law functions first of all to kill me, to end my self creation - all attempts to write my own life movie and reinvent my character. The gospel inserts me into a new script: "alive in Christ" (Michael Horton - Christless Christianity p129).



On Monday I will continue with a biblical defence of PILLAR 3 – THE NECESSITY OF JUDGMENT.

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A Biblical Defence Of The 5 Pillars (Part 1)

In my previous series, "The Anatomy of the Gospel", I broke down the Gospel message into five basic components (as an attempt at constructing a helpful witnessing framework) and called them the "Five Pillars of the Gospel". I have recently received correspondence concerning this series of posts questioning what basis I have for defining the Gospel message as something that should contain:

PILLAR 1 – THE HOLINESS OF GOD
PILLAR 2 – THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN
PILLAR 3 – THE NECESSITY OF JUDGMENT
PILLAR 4 – THE WORK OF CHRIST
PILLAR 5 – THE RESPONSE IT DEMANDS

I can only commend people for being Bereans and testing what I have to say. "The Bottom Line" is a blog which regularly puts "Christian teaching" under the blowtorch scrutiny of Scripture. Therefore it would be inconsistent, were I not willing to subject myself to the same scrutiny. So what follows is my biblical defence of the use of these five pillars as the critical core elements of Gospel proclamation.

First up consider these two important passages of Scripture:

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8-9)

It is important to remember that 1 Corinthians 15 is meant as a defence of the resurrection, hence it has a major emphasis on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and briefly deals with the other issues when defining the Gospel. Nonetheless I can still make my case for defending my "five pillars" from 1 Corinthians 15. Additionally, it is worth paying close attention to Galatians 1:8-9. It is here that Paul goes on to say that there is only one Gospel, it is the Gospel that Paul preached, and preaching any other gospel is a damnable offence. Purity is, quite clearly, extremely important with the Gospel - it is life or death, heaven or hell! We must get it right.

We must also remember this simple rule of hermeneutics:
Scripture cannot contradict itself - therefore in understanding 1 Corinthians 15 rightly, it must harmonize with the rest of Scripture.

DEFENDING PILLAR 1 – THE HOLINESS OF GOD

In 1 Corinthians 15:3 we see the two characters of pillars 1 (The Holiness Of God)and 2 (The Depravity Of Man) - God (as Christ) and man (our sins) are presented in the roles of redeemer and criminal respectively. We also see that this message submits to "accordance with the Scriptures". In other words, Paul's terms of reference ("Christ" and "our sins") can be safely defined within the entire counsel of Scripture. We can know that God's Holiness, His character, and His nature, must be understood rightly because 1 John 2:22-23 teaches:

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:22-23).

This stresses the importance of knowing God rightly and defining Him rightly. That is why we call Mormonism a cult - because even though they name the name of Jesus, they define Him not as fully God but as a brother of Satan (among other things). So the God Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 15 must be understood and presented rightly (as Scripture does) in order for a sinner to be rightly saved. I am not suggesting that to be saved you must understand and know every attribute of God - we cannot do that. After all, who can fathom the Trinity? But conversely, it is damnable to consciously deny God as He is presented in Scripture - which Bishop TD Jakes does, for example, when he denies the three distinct Persons of the Trinity by describing them as three manifestations (http://www.thepottershouse.org/v2/content/view/18/32/). This is a heresy that was denounced in the fourth century AD by the Athanasian Creed (http://www.ccel.org/creeds/athanasian.creed.html). TD Jakes' modalist presentation of God is clearly not the God of Scripture and therefore an idol.

The Christ Who dies for our sins in 1 Corinthians 15 is God incarnate, "the Holy one of God" (John 6:69). The God of the Bible is Holy and unlike anything in the universe. He is the creator and sustainer of all things (John 1:3). He is so powerful that He spoke the universe into existence (Genesis 1). He is so huge that he measures the entire universe with the span of His Hand (Isaiah 40:12). He is so detailed that he numbers the hairs on our head (Luke 12:7). He is so just and righteous that He must punish all sin against Him (Genesis 18:25, Isaiah 13:11). He is so loving and merciful that He withholds his judgment giving us time to repent (2 Peter 3:9). Many people and religions use the Name of God, but in defining Him differently they commit the sin of idolatry.

On Friday I will continue with a biblical defence of PILLAR 2 – THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN.

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The Anatomy Of The Gospel (Part 7)

PILLAR 5 – THE HUMAN RESPONSE THE GOSPEL DEMANDS

Jesus death for sins was an act of salvation. To receive God's gracious gift Scripture explicitly teaches that:

Truly, then, God overlooking the times of ignorance, now He strictly commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day in which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He appointed, having given proof to all by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).

Repentance is necessary in order to receive salvation - therefore it is a necessary component of the Gospel we proclaim. This repentance from sin and turning away from it is also a turning to Christ in saving faith in order to receive salvation:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

And that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:47).

And how I kept back nothing that was profitable, but have shown you and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:20-21).

Some people claim that "faith alone" in Ephesians 2:8 negates the need to repent. But we must remember this hermeneutical rule: Scripture cannot contradict itself - therefore in understanding it rightly, it must harmonize with the rest of Scripture. As we harmonize all of Scripture we can clearly see that sometimes only faith or belief is mentioned, sometimes only repentance is mentioned, and sometimes both are mentioned (see the verses quoted in this post).

By harmonizing all of these (rather than focussing on a single verse) we can see that the salvation call is a call to turn away from sin in repentance and a turning to Christ in faith – trusting Him alone to save us. The turning to Christ (faith) necessitates a turning away from our carnal affections (repentance). Man cannot serve two masters. As Todd Friel says; "Repentance and faith are two wings of the same bird that fly us to the Savior".

This salvation is ultimately a work of God. Both repentance (Acts 11:18) and faith (Ephesians 2:8) are works of God. We cannot come to God unless the Spirit draws us (John 6:44). We are not saved by praying a prayer or walking down to the front of a church. It is God who saves. It is God who gives us a love for His law and a desire to live in holiness. It does not mean we stop sinning but it does mean we have a new relationship with sin manifest in a love for God's law and a desire to obey it:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

Scripture is clear! Baptism won’t save you, Confirmation won’t save you, praying a prayer won’t save you. We must be born again – and it is a transforming work of God. Does a tree become an apple tree because it has apples on its branches? Or do the apples on the branches reveal what the tree always was. Does the fruit of the Holy Spirit make us a Christian. Or does the fruit of the Holy Spirit reveal that our new birth is real.



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The Anatomy Of The Gospel (Part 6)

PILLAR 4 – THE WORK OF CHRIST

I must say from the outset that I am incapable of discussing this subject and doing it justice. It goes so far beyond my sinful flesh and tiny brain. I cling to the hope that God will be glorified in my human weakness.

To be right with God we need pardon for our sin. As impossible as that is we also need something else. We need righteousness to enter into eternal life and God’s presence. Take a look at Proverbs 17:15. Just stop and meditate on this for a moment.

He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD (Proverbs 17:15).

This verse reveals the heart of the problem. If God pardons a sinner He becomes an abomination. This is why the Gospel is not about us telling God we’re sorry and being forgiven. God is bound by His law to punish sin. Do you see this problem?
There was only one way and that is why He is the only way!

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12)

Now the only way that God can forgive sinful men is if God who made the law and God who demands satisfaction, if He Himself comes down, and pays the penalty. This is why God became a man, Jesus Christ, and fulfilled the whole law. So that He could be condemned as a just man, in order that the wicked could be justified. Here is where we find God’s love.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

John Macarthur comments on this verse:

As Christ was not a sinner, but was treated as if He were, so believers who have not yet been made righteous are treated as if they were righteous.

Here we see what we call imputation. Jesus takes our punishment and credits us with His righteousness. The great exchange in order that we may inherit eternal life. This righteousness is a legal statement, not an injection of righteousness as the Catholics teach. Your righteousness is a credit to your account – something that you can never take credit for. You don’t become a better man. You become a bad man saved by a good God. Macarthur continues:

Christ bore their sins so that they could bear His righteousness. God treated Him as if He committed believers’ sins, and treats believers as if they did only the righteous deeds of the sinless Son of God.

This doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement is under continual attack today. There are those who prefer to downplay penal substitutionary atonement to emphasize
1. Christ defeating the forces of darkness or;
2. Christ identifying with us and our suffering by going to the cross.

These ideas are the most popular in Denmark right now. How often do you hear Jesus referred to as an example to follow. While there is an element of truth to these ideas:

1. Hebrews tells us (Heb 2:17) that Jesus is a compassionate intercessor having tasted of the human experience.
2. Jesus did come to destroy the works of the devil (I John 3:8).

But these ideas fall so far short of what the good news really is. The major reason Jesus came, to bring salvation, was because He is not like anybody and nobody can really be like Him. No one could keep the law, and no one could suffer God’s wrath. There are some ways in which I try to follow Jesus’ example but I am a hundred times more greatful that He fulfilled the law that I had broken and suffered the punishment that I deserve. There is the real good news.

There are also those within the emergent movement who totally deny Penal Substitutionary Atonement altogether. Steve Chalke calls Penal Substitutionary Atonement a form of cosmic child abuse:

... a form of cosmic child abuse - a vengeful Father, punishing his Son for an offence he has not even committed. (The Lost Message Of Jesus p182)

And Brian McLaren had these shocking words to say . . .



The root of all these attacks on this doctrine lies in the earlier mentioned pillar 2 – the depravity of man. We live in a culture that is therapeutic and egotistical. A culture that inflates people’s self esteem, but never lays blame at anyone's feet. And if churches want to accommodate those people, they can try and do it by getting rid of Penal Substitutionary Atonement. Because to teach that you have to teach why Christ had to take punishment that we deserve which, in turn, means that you have to present man as a criminal and not a victim.

Did you ever wake up in the morning and wonder “where did all the stars go?” Did they all just disappear? No – but we only ever see them shining in their glory against the background of a dark night sky. And the cross of Jesus Christ shines in its glory against the dark background of our sin against Him – and it was only when God helped me to see the awful darkness of my sin against Him that I could start to see the depth of His love for me in sending Jesus Christ.

What was the one thing Jesus feared? It wasn’t the Jews – he fearlessly humiliated them in public. It wasn’t the Romans – our Lord looked Pilate square in the eye and told him that the only reason the Roman Governor had any power over God in flesh was because God had given him that power for that moment (John 19:11). Jesus did not fear Satan for he overcame and rebuked him in the wilderness. What was the only thing that Jesus feared - when he prayed in the garden. It was the cup, the cup of God’s wrath (Luke 22:42). How terrifying must God’s wrath be if our Lord asked for another way. How serious must God’s Holiness and man’s sinfulness be if this was the only way that payment could be made.

We must preach the cross as the place where the perfect righteous Lamb of God drank the cup of God’s wrath in our place. The key word in this is “propitiation”. Both John and Paul speak of it.

And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins (Romans 3:24-25).

The word propitiation means a “sacrifice that takes away sin and satisfies wrath” (James White, The God Who Justifies, p194). This is wonderful news and something that true Christians get excited about. God no longer has wrath aimed at those who he saves because Christ has taken it in their place.

And the resurrection is the proof of God’s satisfaction with Christ’s payment. Isn’t it great to hope in a resurrection body (Romans 4:24-25)?



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The Anatomy Of The Gospel (Part 5)

PILLAR 3 - THE NECESSITY OF JUDGMENT

Last year the Star Trek Movie was watched by millions of people. Seeker sensitive churches worked hard and fast to develop their “Star Trek” sermon series’ and stay on the cutting edge of relevance. Relevance? Less than 10% of people went to see that movie! My brother-in-law recently told me that his home church has become so relevant that it is now totally irrelevant. Brothers and sisters, we are not relevant because we are like this sinful world. We are relevant because we are different.

Do you know the ultimate statistic? That one out of one people die!

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

It is a stunning irony to see trendy seeker friendly churches priding themselves on how relevant they are and never preaching the most relevant message of all. Less than ten percent of people went to see Star Trek but 100% of people will die and be judged. And that is what I mentioned in my previous posts. Here is a quick revision:

PILLAR 1 – THE HOLINESS OF GOD
We learnt that God is Holy and demands perfection. We see God’s standards of perfection in His law.

PILLAR 2 – THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN
We learnt that man is very sinful and God’s law serves as a mirror to show us our total wickedness.

Isaiah 64:6 tells us that even our righteous works are as filthy rags – wow! Imagine what our sin must look like!

This leads us to todays post in which we examine the third pillar:

PILLAR 3 – THE NECESSITY OF JUDGMENT
The problem with sin is not only how evil it is. But Who it is done against. The bible teaches that God is good and righteous and loving and because of this He must punish us for our sin otherwise He would be violating His goodness, righteousness, and loving kindness. Do you think a judge is loving if he lets murderers, rapists, and paedophiles go free? Certainly not! How much more so that God cannot be good and let the guilty go free.

The Bible teaches us that God loves us. That he is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). This leads us to Luther’s great question. How can God be both just and the justifier of sinners (Romans 3:26)? Luther, as crazy as he seemed to all the other monks, actually was the one who was asking the right question.

These are the wrong questions:
1. How can a loving God send people to hell?
2. What about people who never hear the Gospel or grow up in other religions?
3. Why does God allow suffering and evil?

Next time someone asks you those questions hold up the mirror of God’s law and show them they are asking the wrong questions. When they understand Who God is and who we are they will ask these right questions:
1. How can a good God forgive anybody?
2. How does God put up with me?
3. Why aren’t there more disasters and suffering?

Heaven and hell are real places where real people go. When we understand the Holiness of God and the depravity of man, we can start to fathom why hell is a reasonable consequence of our rebellion against God - and be mystefied as to how God can save anybody. The judgment of God should provoke us to serious self examination and motivate us to fervent evangelism.



When you are humbled and broken by God’s law. When you see the impossibility of being right with God. When you abandon all hope in your own flesh and cry out to God for mercy. Then you are ready to hear the good news, the Gospel, of Jesus Christ. Pillar 4 is all about Christ's redemptive work and that is the subject of Friday's post - so stay tuned!

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The Anatomy Of The Gospel (Part 4)

PILLAR 2 - THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN

All people are sinners. This is one of the strongest and most obvious evidences for the truth of the Bible. We don't teach our children to lie, covet, or be selfish. They are all born with a PHD . . . just like their parents.

As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans 3:10-18)

But could Jesus say something like that? Yes He did just after John 3:16:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (John 3:17-20)

It is very easy to detect a false gospel by how humanity is presented. False gospels tell us we are victims. The true Gospel tells us we are the criminals. It is true that there are people who are victims and we must be sensitive to that, but they still need to see that their crimes against God are far greater than the hurt they have experienced.

Now I’m going to say something that is going to shock a lot of you. There is a part of the Bible that is not inspired by the Holy Spirit! Please don’t stone me just yet – please hear me out. Do you know which part? The Ten Commandments! They weren’t inspired – they were actually engraved in stone with God’s finger! Of course I am being facetious here and I do hold to the inerrancy and divine inspiration of Scripture. But I really want to bring home the importance of God’s Law to New Testament Christians in seeing that dark night sky of our sin against God.

Some preachers in the past have tried to preach God’s law as a stick to make us behave, and others in more modern times have tried to use it as a carrot to a better life. But it was Martin Luther who realized that God’s law is not meant to be used as a stick or as a carrot – it is meant to be used as a mirror. Now mirrors can hurt, but they also help. Every day my mirror reminds me that the effects of the curse are taking their toll on me – I’m getting older and my body is wearing out. But it also sets off the alarm to do something about it. I’m not talking about plastic surgery but I am talking about our need to be saved.

A failure to understand God’s law is the reason behind the three most common objections against Christianity by the man on the street:
1. How can a loving God send people to hell?
2. What about people who never hear the Gospel or grow up in other religions?
3. Why does God allow suffering and evil?

Do you ever get asked those questions? Who here asks those questions? Do you struggle to find the answer? Would you like to be able to answer them? The answer is quite simple really – they’re all asking the wrong question! They have a wrong view of God and a wrong view of man and it causes them to ask the wrong questions.

So what’s the right question? Let me see if I can lead you to it by holding up the mirror of God’s law. The ninth commandment says you shall not lie. Who here has told a lie? The Bible says that all liars will end up in hell which usually causes us to default back to the wrong question “how can a loving God send someone to hell?” But what if we considered why lying is so offensive to God? What if we contrasted the evil of lying with the goodness of God? Can good judges ignore crime? How much more can God never ignore every time we break one of His laws? If I lie to my daughter she can do nothing to me. But if I lie to my wife I’m going to be sleeping on the sofa. If I lie to my boss he can fire me and if I lie to the government they can throw me in jail. Did you notice that it was the same crime in every scenario but when I did it against a higher authority the consequence became more and more severe. How serious is it to lie against an infinite authority? It is an infinite crime and that is why there is a hell.

The right questions to ask are:
1. How can a good God forgive anybody?
2. How does God put up with me?
3. Why aren’t there more disasters and suffering?

People who read the sermon on the mount as a list of moral guidelines miss the point completely. When Jesus tells us that lust is adultery and hatred is murder. That our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees. That we must be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. Jesus isn’t giving us pointers on how to live our best life now. He’s holding up the mirror of God’s Law to destroy all our confidence in our own righteousness leaving us destitute before God and longing for a perfect substitute.

If the Holiness of God and the depravity of man are preached rightly and understood rightly then we should be left hungering and thirsting after the perfect righteousness we need for right standing with God. We should also see that it is impossible because of our guilt. It is impossible and our guilt demands that God must judge and punish all evil.



People say that God is good and loving and this is true and it is also exactly what our problem is. If God is good and loving then he must judge us and punish us, otherwise He is violating His own character and nature.

Everyone thought Luther was crazy in his monastery but he was actually the only sane one there. His great question should be our great question – “How can God be both just and the justifier of men?

That is the question I will answer on wednesday!

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The Anatomy Of The Gospel (Part 3)

PILLAR 1 – THE HOLINESS OF GOD

Paul Washer often says that the Gospel should never start with man but always with God. And so it is today as we embark on a journey through what I call the five pillars of the Gospel.

I can never do justice to the subject of the Holiness of God. All I will try to do is scratch the surface and give some basic truths about God’s Holiness to help us with self examination and sharing the Gospel with others.

God is the creator and sustainer of all things. He is so powerful that He spoke the universe into existence (Genesis 1). He is so huge that he measures the entire universe with the span of His Hand (Isaiah 40:12). He is so detailed that he numbers the hairs on our head (Luke 12:7). He is so just and righteous that He must punish all sin against Him (Genesis 18:25, Isaiah 13:11). He is so loving and merciful that He withholds his judgment giving us time to repent (2 Peter 3:9).

Romans 1 tells us that all men are born with the knowledge of God.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse (Romans 1:18-20)

So here we learn that God does not believe in atheists. They know there is a God but they love their sin more. And that’s important to remember when witnessing to an atheist – talk to them about morality, not proof of God’s existence. The creation reveals there must be a creator and we must all one day answer to Him.

God is Holy. He is separate and completely unlike anyone else. And this is where the puny gospel of "Jesus as our example" falls down. Yes, there is an element of truth to it, but if that is the extent of your gospel then you have really missed the heart of the cross. Jesus came precisely because of our inability to be like Him. We required a Divine substitute to fulfill the requirements of a Holy God. How great a God - omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, Sovereign over all things - and yet willing to stoop down to us in human form and pay a price we could never pay to redeem a people incapable of redeeming themselves.

For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy . . . For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." (Leviticus 11:44-45)

There is none holy like the LORD; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. (1 Samuel 2:2)

The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face. (Psalm 11:4-7)

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" (Revelation 4:8)



Yes, unredeemed man is completely incapable of pleasing a Holy God. And that will lead us onto my next post on Monday: Pillar 2 - The Depravity Of Man

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The Anatomy Of The Gospel (Part 2)

RESPONDING TO COMMON OBJECTIONS

I have quickly learned that saying I have the Gospel right and others have it wrong is offensive to many people. So for those who are offended by my claims I want to start by responding to the most common objections I hear.

1. Nobody is perfect, no one gets everything right.

No one is claiming that anybody is perfect. What I am claiming is that we can get the Gospel right, not the book of Revelation.

2. What makes you say that your opinion is right and theirs is wrong?

This has nothing to do with my opinion and everything to do with biblical truth. The issue is for you to test what I say against Scripture.

3. Ok so you get the Gospel right, but what about the power of God?

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).

I’ve heard people return from mission trips saying that “people got saved and there were miracles as well”. Conversion is the greatest miracle because God takes someone dead in sin and brings them to life by the power of His Holy Spirit. I’ll have a lot more to say about that in the coming posts. But for now consider these two passages of Scripture:

This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:2-6).

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

Someone recently spoke to me about deliverance ministry and how it is possible to get the Gospel right and still be lacking in the spiritual warfare department. Bob De Waay had a deliverance ministry for many years and he finally arrived at the point where he concluded that the best form of deliverance ministry is pure Gospel preaching because that is what causes the Holy Spirit to start living where those demons once were.

4. Don’t criticize others they will answer to God.

It seems that the eleventh commandment has become “thou shalt not criticize” (or maybe tithing is the eleventh and this is the twelfth). This is simply not what the Bible teaches. It tells us in Romans 16:17 to mark false teachers who teach doctrine contrary to that we have learned. Ephesians 5:11 tells us to expose the works of darkness. Paul pronounces damnation on anyone who preaches any other gospel (Galatians 1:8-9). Many of the New Testament letters are responding to false teachers. Can a true shepherd ignore the work of wolves? We should be careful not to focus on minor issues but on major ones – especially the Gospel. We should come with an attitude desiring to honor God and warn those deceived. We should also carefully test all teaching against Scripture.

5. What authority does Cameron have to say this?

What authority is this really about? My opinion or what Scripture says. If what I teach is biblical then obey it. If it is false then mark me as a false teacher and warn people about me.

6. It is arrogant to say you know the truth.

This is the great deception of postmodernism. Whereas humility is about a low view of self they have redefined it to mean a low view of truth or certainty. One of the people who teaches this is that emergent heretic called Brian McLaren. Here is what McLaren says about certainty:

If I seem to show too little respect for your opinions or thought, be assured I have equal doubts about my own, and I don't mind if you think I'm wrong. I'm sure I am wrong about many things, although I'm not sure exactly which things I'm wrong about. I'm even sure I'm wrong about what I think I'm right about in at least some cases. So wherever you think I'm wrong, you could be right. If, in the process of determining that I'm wrong, you are stimulated to think more deeply and broadly, I hope that I will have somehow served you anyway. (A Generous Orthodoxy p19-20)

Is God the author of confusion? No – clearly that’s Brian McLaren’s job. Is it arrogant to say God is so kind that He made His plan of salvation so clear that even I can understand it and be sure about it? Or is it arrogant to say that no-one knows and everyone else has got it wrong? To claim to know the truth is an appeal to God’s kindness and not to any confidence in myself.

Ok Cameron, so what is the Gospel? In the coming days I will be going through what I call 5 Pillars of presenting the Gospel.

PILLAR 1 – THE HOLINESS OF GOD
PILLAR 2 – THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN
PILLAR 3 – THE NECESSITY OF JUDGMENT
PILLAR 4 – THE WORK OF CHRIST
PILLAR 5 – THE RESPONSE IT DEMANDS

But prior to that, tomorrow, being Christmas day, will feature a Gospel presentation I have prepared for Christmas - a Christmas e-card if you like. Read through and see if you can spot those pillars.

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The Anatomy Of The Gospel (Part 1)

Denmark is a strange land for an Australian. When you first arrive you notice that everyone drives on the wrong side of the road. Then you go to the gas station and everything seems normal . . . until you pull the trigger and see that the litres move way too slow and the price moves way to fast. It is a land where they have a conference to save the planet from global warming while Denmark is having it's very own "ice age".

But what I find strangest of all is that Denmark is a land where you can go into a “church” and never hear the true pure Gospel of Jesus Christ. And that is what we need to discuss over the coming days. We are called to be a prophetic voice to this worlds biggest problem - and it's not global warming. The problem is the infinite gulf between God's Holiness and man's sinfulness, and God's solution is His Gospel and that is what must be shouted from the rooftops. But people now debate what the Gospel is and whether it can be properly understood. It's a good thing that this hinges, not on the immensity of our intellect, but on the kindness of a God Who stooped down to us in the person of Jesus Christ to speak His message of salvation crystal clear.

The Bible tells us that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. If our first priority is Jesus’ last command then it will be to preach this Gospel. And it must remain pure because the Apostle Paul said that if anyone preaches any other Gospel than the one he preached let him be damned to hell. We must get the Gospel right – if we get it wrong everything else is a waste of time. For this reason it is extremely important to clearly define the Gospel so that we can rightly know it and rightly articulate it – because this is the heart of the crisis.

This has been highlighted in the last week where there has been a large number of religious leaders sign on to a document called the “Manhattan Declaration”. I am not against this document but it does highlight the mass confusion concerning the Gospel at the highest level. The large number of Evangelical and Catholic leaders who all signed the agreement to oppose abortion and homosexual marriage also stated that “It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season”. Though they all agreed on the importance to preach the Gospel, the document never states what the Gospel is. If they did, then Catholics and Evangelicals could not sign it together because they believe and preach different gospels. Remember that little thing called the reformation??

This same problem has entered the evangelical churches of today. Most will agree that the Gospel is the good news about Jesus Christ. That it is a message of God’s love, grace, forgiveness, and salvation. And this is where the problem lies because if we don’t define those words love, grace, forgiveness, and salvation then they are robbed of meaning.

If you want to talk about God’s love then you’d better talk about sin because God’s love was demonstrated while we were sinning (Romans 5:8).

If you want to talk about grace then you’d better talk about our evil sinful nature because grace means undeserved favour ie why don’t we deserve it?

If you want to talk about forgiveness then you’d better talk about all the bad things we do because that’s what we need to be forgiven of.

If you want to talk about salvation then you’d better talk about hell because that is what salvation is from.

Just like in the Manhattan declaration the word gospel gets thrown around a lot but is rarely explained and that is what I plan to do today and in my subsequent posts. I’m going to be presenting what I call the five pillars of the Gospel that will help us to examine ourselves and search our own hearts and also equip us to faithfully present this precious message to others.

Stay tuned - there's more to come!

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