Sharing the Gospel in a Godless Age

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to be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within us yet to give this answer with gentleness and reverence the dividing line is brought to you by alpha and omega ministries calvary press publishers the phoenix reformed baptist church and bethany house publishers your host is dr james white director of alpha and omega ministries and an elder at the phoenix reformed baptist church if you'd like to talk with dr white call now by dialing 1 -888 -TALK -960 that's 1 -888 -TALK -960 and now with today's topic here is james white how do you defend the gospel of jesus christ in fact how do we present it in such a way that is honoring and glorifying to him and even more so in light of what we talked about last week man's deadness in sin the fact that jesus himself taught in john 644 that no man is able to come to him unless a father who sent him draws that person how do we present the gospel and defend the gospel in our godless age in our godless society in a way that is honoring and glorifying to god that's an important question all of us are called upon to defend the gospel all of us have that opportunity as we work in the workplace as we attend school as we go about our daily duties to present the gospel and to defend the gospel how do we do that in a way that is honoring and glorifying to god well that's what we're gonna be talking about today on the dividing line in light of the subject that we covered last week that being the deadness of man in sin this week we want to look at romans chapter one and what the bible says about the state of man and how we can present the gospel in a meaningful way romans chapter one has always been a passage that has fascinated theologians and christians and i guess i shouldn't use that term because all christians are theologians if you're a christian you believe in jesus christ you are a theologian you are called to have a knowledge of god but it's a passage that down through church history has drawn our attention because of the striking way in which the apostle paul begins his argument there in the book of romans and if you're not familiar with it i would invite you to listen for just a moment to what the apostle paul says about man and think about the situation in our world today think about the situation in our nation today and see if the apostle paul did not have his finger directly on the heartbeat of mankind when he said these words for i am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of god for salvation to everyone who believes to the jew first and also to the greek for in it the righteousness of god is revealed from faith to faith as it is written but the righteous man shall live by faith for the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because that which is known about god is evident within them for god made it evident to them for since the creation of the world his invisible attributes his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse for even though they knew god they did not honor him as god or give thanks but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened professing to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible god for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four -footed animals and crawling creatures therefore god gave them over and the lust of their hearts to impurity so that their bodies would be dishonored among them for they exchanged the truth of god for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever amen for this reason god gave them over to degrading passions for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural and the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned their desire toward one another men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge god any longer god gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper being filled with all unrighteousness wickedness greed evil full of envy murder strife deceit malice they are gossips slanderers haters of god insolent arrogant boastful inventors of evil disobedient to parents without understanding untrustworthy unloving unmerciful and although they know the ordinance of god that those who practice such things are worthy of death they not only do the same but also give hearty approval to those who practice them it almost sounds as if the apostle had been watching modern american television and was commenting on the type of philosophy and world view that unfortunately we see on any channel we turn to almost any program that we might watch the apostle paul knew what filled the heart of man but i especially want to draw your attention not so much to the list of sins that that automatically causes us to consider so many of the things going on in our nation these days but but what the apostle says the beginning he says in romans 1 18 the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness and that's where i'm going to focus and i i want you to think with me about how we view those to whom we speak the gospel when we seek to simply explain the gospel to someone when we seek to to answer objections what is their standing what is their state the audience that we seek to reach with the gospel what are they what is their attitude toward god what is their relationship toward god well i think this passage is extremely important to us and if we believe in all of scripture if we believe in applying all of scripture and scripture alone then the quote -unquote methodologies that we use the types of means that we use to reach other people has to take into consideration what the bible itself teaches about the state of man and sin and what the bible teaches about the state of man and sin is not popular as we saw last week but this week i want to focus upon the question of how we do apologetics how we defend the faith and specifically i ask you each person listening to me today to think about your attitude your viewpoint when you think about a lost person i remember last week we talked about romans chapter 3 it says there is no god seeker there is none who seeks after god well do we take that into consideration is that a a biblical truth that impacts how we think does it impact how we act in the church does it impact the programs of the church uses and do we take seriously what romans 1 18 says the wrath of god is literally being revealed from heaven it's an ongoing action it's an ongoing action are we embarrassed by that are we embarrassed to proclaim the biblical truth that god is a god of wrath that the true god the bible has wrath against sin that he has wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness or have we bought into our society's viewpoint that well it's it's not all ungodliness and unrighteousness it's it's only bad ungodliness and bad unrighteousness whatever that is have we dumbed down our god so that his standards are not the standards of scripture that's certainly the case in our society as long as you aren't blatant about your sin it's okay and then even then you go over to some cities in the united states and you can be very blatant about your sin that's okay too the bible says the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness all unrighteousness the standard is very very high god's wrath is revealed from heaven is being revealed you wonder why things happen in our nation you wonder why things are taking place in our nation i think it's the wrath of god i think it's the wrath of god against a nation that has had more light and more truth than any nation ever has and has sinned against that light in a way that no nation ever has the wrath of god is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who do what you see so many people have the idea that we approach men as if they're they're neutral moral agents all you've got to do is show them the right arguments give them the right data quote the right verses do it in the right order with a smile on your face and you can close the deal that's not what the bible teaches about man how is man described in this passage the unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness what are men doing the bible says that man suppresses the truth in unrighteousness first of all he's doing in the sphere of unrighteousness in the sphere of being sinful but he is suppressing the truth what does it mean to suppress the truth well we get the feeling these days that that's almost a prerequisite of being a politician knowing how to suppress the truth but that's not really what this is referring to to suppress the truth first and foremost the greek term that is used refers to possessing it but to holding it down you cannot suppress something you don't have men have the truth but they suppress it they are actively involved in holding it down they are expending energy in holding down truth in an unrighteous fashion that is they're in rebellion against god they're in rebellion against his truth and they are expending energy to suppress that truth and to hold it down now obviously if a man is suppressing that truth holding that truth down then showing him more of that truth is not going to change him he's already holding it down as it is look what else paul says because that which is known about god paul does not say that all of god's revelation is known to everyone that's what you need the special revelation the scriptures for but that which is known about god is evident within them for god made it evident to them well how do you do that what's paul what's paul driving at here verse 24 since the creation of the world this is nothing new this has been since the very creation of the world his invisible attributes that is his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse god has revealed his existence his eternal power his divine nature in what he has created both in the external creation around us as well as in ourselves since we are created in the very image of god now notice it doesn't say that everything there is to know about god is revealed in creation i know there's some folks who who run around and they they say that you can you can find the gospel in the stars and you can find this and that and you can you can find the cross in a tree and the gospel in this and all the rest of that stuff that's not what paul says he specifically says that god's invisible attributes that is his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen so that man is without a defense he's without an excuse specifically men should know that god exists and that they need to be thankful to him for being their creator but men refuse to do that and then look at what it says in verse 21 for even though they knew god there's the statement man knows that the true god exists but he suppresses that truth he holds that truth down why because he's a rebel because he's in rebellion against god and if you rebel against god you don't want anyone talking to you about the true god that you're in rebellion against in fact you could get downright angry and mad at someone who brings out to you the truth of that god that you're in rebellion against and so they know god but they do not honor him as god or give thanks that's what every man can be held accountable for doing honoring god and giving thanks but they won't do it instead even though they knew god they did not do what they had to do what is right for every man to do that is honor him as god and give thanks instead they become futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened that refers to the very inner essence of man his thought process in his heart that means sin touches every aspect of man that includes the mind so let me summarize what paul is saying here and then let's think about it together in summary paul is saying that men suppress the truth of god that which is known about god is evident to them they know god exists they can see his eternal power and divine nature but they refuse to honor him as god or to give thanks to him as god instead they become futile in their speculations their foolish heart is darkened professing to be wise they become fools and they exchange the glory of the incorruptible god for an image in the form of corruptible man of birds and four -foot animals and crawling creatures that is man must must either worship the one true god or be an idolater there is no middle ground there is no morally neutral position there is no person who can honestly say well i just haven't decided no you have there is and if you do not honor the true and living god you are engaged in idolatry you say wait a minute i'm an atheist for crying out loud i'm not an idolater yes you are what what what do you mean you have exchanged the truth of god for a lie and you see god has created you to be a worshiping being you will worship the question is what will you worship you worship if you don't worship the one true god then what are you worshiping i would submit to the atheist who listens that you worship yourself maybe you worship your mind maybe you worship science humanism but you worship you ascribe honor you ascribe glory you worship you just worship something in the created order part of the creation rather than the creator in fact one of the biggest religions in our nation today well the biggest religions in our nation today is to worship scholarship oh yes the great high priests of the land today wear white smocks and they have many letters at the end of their name and so we worship scholarship we worship scholars and whatever they say even though they hardly ever agree with one another whatever they say we worship that's humanism that is the religion of our land we encounter it in most of our our institutions of higher learning but you see every man will worship the religious man worships too you see false religion is idolatry religion that is not in accordance with god's truth is idolatry if you're not going to worship the one true god in the way that he has prescribed you are engaging in idolatry that's not a nice word idolatry but it is a biblical word and if we love the truth we'll use it and we'll explain what it means and we'll call people to repent of it false religion is idolatrous worship to worship god in a way outside of what he has commanded to worship god in in in a way that involves a denial of his truth is to engage in idolatry so everybody has to deal with this issue everybody has to answer the question who do
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I worship and see as as Christians as we share the gospel and as we defend the gospel why is it that the majority of people have the viewpoint that what we need to do when we defend the gospel and when we we engage in Christian apologetics giving a defense of the faith or a reason defense the faith is that we just need to give them more facts you see they just don't have enough facts and so I want to get all my arguments ready and I want to get all my facts ready and I'm going to line up all my archaeological stuff on this side and all my fulfilled prophecies over here and all
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I've got to do is hit them with both barrels and I if I'm really prepared and I do a good job it's guaranteed that by the end of the conversation they're going to be on their knees repenting well isn't that how works isn't isn't that how apologetics are done well there are a lot of folks that think that way but they're the same folks that I encounter all the time we have a we have a chat room in the internet on in the
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IRC internet relay chat and Alpha Omega Ministries has a a chat channel called prosopology on it's not in the internet if any if you have any idea what
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I'm talking about you know how to find it now it's called prosopology on one word you can find information about this this chat room on our on our website at www .aomin
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.org there's a section there about the IRC chat room and people come in there all the time because we try to provide apologetic information to folks and sometimes we'll have folks come in who are from another perspective another religious viewpoint and we'll have discussions there but it's it's not so much a debate room there's another channel for doing that as it is a resource area and I'll have people come in all the time they've just been over talking to the atheists so they've just been over talking to a cult group or something like that and they come in so frustrated and they say you know
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I presented all the the the data I presented all the verses
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I thought I presented in a clear way and it was like I was shooting 22s at a at a at a m1 tank they're just bouncing off all over the place it was it was like there was no power in what
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I was doing and they're frustrated because they can see the truth of these things and they may have done an excellent job they may have done a wonderful job in presenting the truth of the resurrection and demonstrating the historical data for that and all the rest that they may have done a wonderful fine job and there's certainly nothing wrong with knowing those trues presenting those trues but it was the mindset and the attitude that brought them to a point of almost despair why because they had the wrong understanding of the people they're trying to deal with so many people go into the apologetic task thinking that it's up to them to have the right arguments in the right words in the right order and if we just do our job right bingo since they are in reality morally neutral before God then just giving them enough facts is gonna change their mind and my friends
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I can tell you something that's not biblical you see when you're talking with someone who's already suppressing the truth of God as you hand them more and more of that truth what are they gonna do with it they're just gonna suppress it they're gonna twist it in fact some of the most amazing examples of the ability of man to twist truth to to deny what is self evident in front of them have come as I have talked with people and shared the gospel with people and made the truth as plain as I could to them you would not believe the ability of man to close his eyes and cover his eyes this hands so as to not see the truth that's in front of him and you say well well then why bother what's the use
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I mean if that's really what you believe why is it that every six months you're staying outside the temple in Salt Lake City why is it that you do all of these things well
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I'll tell you because I believe that it is God who saves because I believe it is
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God who can break through that rebellion break through that suppression it is
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God who can raise the spiritually dead to spiritual life it is
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God that can remove that stony heart of rebellion and place within a man a heart that love loves
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God's truth I cannot do that it is not within my power and ability to do so but it is within God's will and the role of the
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Christian apologist is not to try to change the heart of man that's
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God's work the role of the Christian apologist is to honor and glorify
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God in the presentation of his truth always with the understanding that that truth will fall upon deaf ears unless God in his grace moves but the flip side of that understanding is this that when
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I stand in Salt Lake City when I stand anywhere and present
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God's truth in a way that is honoring and glorifying to him in other words
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I don't shave off the edges I don't try to worry about whether I'm going to offend someone when
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I talk about sin and rebellion and repentance but when I preach all of the gospel the way the
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Bible presents it then I have the promise that God will honor his word and there is no power in heaven or in earth that can stop the sovereign
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God from drawing his elect people under himself when he chooses to do so that is the promise that I have as I proclaim
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God's truth I feel so for every pastor who labors so hard in the church and thinks that in reality the burden is upon him to somehow change hearts and minds that's the
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Holy Spirit's work we are called to change hearts and minds to preach the gospel and to honor
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God and to leave the results in his hands but we dare not ignore the fact that we deal with men who are in rebellion against God we are not dealing with morally neutral agents and that will change how we approach the task of apologetics that will change how we approach the lost man and how we present the truth of God to him well what do you think why don't you get involved in the program right now by calling 1 -888 -TALK -960 1 -888 -TALK -960 perhaps you've had an apologetic experience an experience where you attempted to defend the faith and you ran up against that very same wall
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I was just mentioning in regards to man's ability to twist the truth and to ignore the truth that is right before him
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I'd like to hear about it at 1 -888 -TALK -960 1 -888 -TALK -960 my name is
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James White this is The Dividing Line and I'd like to hear from you right after this break how do you present the gospel to the lost man how are we to view him that is an important subject and that's what we're looking at here on today's edition of The Dividing Line and we're inviting your participation at 1 -888 -TALK -960 that's 1 -888 -TALK -960 in the future we are right now thinking about who can we get on to do some interesting debates for example we just mentioned my new book on the
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Trinity and the fact that we have a holiday promotion you know every once in a while I drive around the city here and it's now what
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January 9th and every once in a while I still see somebody with Christmas lights on and I go there's a die hard for the holidays well
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I guess we are too because we're going to hold over the holiday special until this
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Friday and that means when you order the Trinity book you also get two other books Justification by Faith and Drawn by the
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Father Drawn by the Father by the way would be relevant to the subjects we've been dealing with the past couple of weeks and then next
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Saturday we will have a new offer for you but we obviously could be looking at folks in regards to the issue of the
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Trinity I've got contact with some Jehovah's Witness individuals but of all the groups
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Jehovah's Witnesses are the hardest to get them into a media type situation where you've got give and take the
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Watchtower Society will not do that obviously in an official capacity and very rarely do you encounter too many
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Jehovah's Witnesses who want to engage in that type of dialogue most the time they'll tell you that we are looking for sheep like individuals and sheep like individuals are individuals who won't give a fight basically and will not to cause them to defend their position basically so I've got some contact with some folks like that I would like to try to work something out like that where we could deal with the deity of Christ we could deal with the doctrine of the
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Trinity in a debate format I've got some some leads on some LDS individuals not here locally but at least some that are fairly well known in regards to that issue and certainly a number of individuals that I know of who are
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Roman Catholic apologists who hopefully we could possibly arrange some debate type situations we would probably basically divide the hour up into two 20 -minute segments where we could present our case on a particular topic
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I'd like to find a Roman Catholic apologist for example who would deal with the issue of my book
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Mary another Redeemer and deal with the Marian doctrines possibly do a couple of weeks on a subject like that and then use the last 20 minutes of the hour for give -and -take cross -examination that's when it always gets very very interesting as they say so we're looking at all these subjects but fundamental to doing any of those issues addressing any of those topics is we have to define the faith we're defending before you go out to defend it most the time that I see
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Christians getting in trouble they're getting in trouble because they go running off they get on their steed and they grab their sword and they get all zealous for the truth and go running off to defend it and to be honest with you they don't have the foggiest idea what they're defending and so they come up against someone who has some tough questions some probing questions some questions that require you to have a very in -depth understanding of what you believe and all of a sudden they stumble and they're in trouble and frequently sadly a lot of people who get involved in apologetics do so I think in an unbiblical way what do
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I mean they do it outside of a relationship with the church they sort of become experts unto themselves and they go out without guidance without that grounded foundation that you get in being a part of a local assembly of believers and they get into trouble and I'm telling you
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I've seen people who knew certain cult groups backwards and forwards join those very groups because they went out there and they did not have a solid foundation in of themselves apologists let's be honest have a bad rap a bad rep
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I guess is a better way of putting it a bad reputation of being somewhat arrogant of being somewhat boastful and not being a part of the local church and hence becoming imbalanced and you know what there's a reason why that is and I guess we need to deal with that and need to be honest about it so anyways one eight eight eight talk nine sixty one eight eight eight talk nine sixty
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I'd like to hear from some folks also what are some of the topics you'd like to hear us address we're in a series right now in the gospel and we're going to be talking about God's electing grace next week and then we're going to start a firestorm week after that when we address the issue of the atonement of Christ we're going to talk about how
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God brings men to himself and then we'll have another one that'll undoubtedly get a few people on the phones when we talk about the perseverance of the
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Saints but when we finish this the series defining the gospel itself where would you like to see us go what type of topics would you like to see covered what type of debates would you like to hear yes we do debates
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I know that's politically incorrect I know that's very unusual in our land these days but we do debates because we feel that the truth shines the brightest against the backdrop of error and hence when you have the opportunity of getting two sides together you can cut out all of the semi answers half answers circular answers you can force people to really deal with the truth and that's one of the things that we definitely want to do on the dividing line so give us a ring 1 -888 -TALK -960 what you're interested in hearing in the future as well we have a caller online hello
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Dennis how you doing Dennis are you there I was just thinking of the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 yes sir and you've got four different types of soil representing four different types of people and only one of them receives the gospel and it seems kind of that you know it doesn't seem a loose thing what this person and this person this person don't receive it for different reasons well you know it's interesting
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Dennis a lot of people are and I agree with you but a lot of people are listening right now and they know what the parable of the sower or probably we should probably call it the parable the soils is and they're going no no no wait a minute
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I've been taught that there's only one type of soil that doesn't receive the gospel that's the hard rocky soil where the birds come along and and eat the seed all the rest of them do receive the gospel but they just have different results in their lives and it is very very common in our land for that to be the interpretation the parable the soils
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I agree with you I think it's very plain that what Jesus is indicating there is there is only one type of soil that bears fruit the other types of soil while they have growth do not bear fruit and as a result they may look like the real thing but they are not the real thing they do not have spiritual life within themselves and I think a misunderstanding of what the
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Bible teaches about this is one of the things that leads so many pastors and workers in the church to such great confusion and in fact disheartening because the fact that they they look out their congregation they see a lot of leafy plants they don't see much in the way of fruit and it's really hard to get those plants that are in the rocky soil or in the shallow soil to do much because they have no root within themselves so I believe though that you're you're quite right in your understanding of the the parable of the of the soils and the only differences really are that Jesus says in that good soil you get 30 60 100 fold increase so obviously there are those who who have greater fruit than others but the point is in them there is life because in them there is fruit when
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James said faith without works is dead so if you really have saving faith gratitude you by God you will have fruit and of course the thing is fruit is
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Christian exactly but it has to exactly it has to be fruit that is defined by the scriptures themselves and of course that is a passage
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James 220 that we deal with all the time we go out and talk to our Mormon friends because instead of seeing it the way that we just presented it and that is that if you have saving faith if it is a true and living faith in Christ it will have that result most the cult groups want to reverse that and make the doing the works the prerequisite for having the saving faith for having a relationship with God and as a result
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I think I end up undermining the entire gospel of Jesus Christ I wonder what you think about it to say verse 10 and onward said and the disciples came and said to him why do you speak to them in parables and he answered and said unto them because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but to them it has not been given that doesn't seem very broad of Jesus I don't know if a good campus crusader would like Jesus' attitude there
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God has a plan for everybody and has a plan for everybody Matthew chapter 13 verses 10 and 11 is what you were just looking at and obviously those passages are some of the many that you can look at that very clearly indicate that there is a specific element of God's grace there's a specific purpose that he is accomplishing and when individuals do not open their eyes to that fact of scripture it can become very very confusing especially when we see people who come into the church they they confess faith they're there for a while and then all of a sudden poof they're gone and we wonder well that that means they've lost their salvation that means that's a that the
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Jesus isn't really a perfect Savior when the Bible is very clear in telling us they're going to be those who have a a immediate response to the presentation of the gospel but it is not a response that lasts it's not that initial zeal that is evidence it is the long term consistency in the
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Christian life that is evidence of a work of grace and unfortunately in the
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United States where everything is is supposed to be instant you know you get instant spirituality you get instant sanctification you get instant maturity just follow this program and poof you've got it in two weeks maybe even shorter if you're really good that kind of theology just doesn't fly very well but it is most definitely biblical theology well thanks your call today
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Dennis I appreciate it I'd be interested if maybe you could debate a Lutheran because I've heard a Lutheran kind of mishandle this and speaking against eternal security or the preservation of faith well that's interesting some of the discussions we could have with with Lutheranism would revolve specifically around the issue of what baptism does or does not do that's a important area yeah that would be an interesting area of discussion maybe
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I can get one of my good Presbyterian friends we can we can do a program someday on pedo baptism we did a debate on that what was that about three or four years ago now somewhere around there out in Mesa on the issue of pedo baptism and it was very friendly it was done between brothers and I thought it was very useful to everyone that was there
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I was I was thinking I was during the summer and we had over 200 people show up I don't think 200 people show up to anything in Phoenix during the summer especially at night it was so hot but anyways
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I appreciate I appreciate the call Dennis thank you very much for calling today we'd like to hear from you at 1 -888 -TALK -960 that's 1 -888 -TALK -960 we're talking about the issue of how you share the gospel with folks today we'll be right back right after this break the
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Apostle Paul said to the Ephesian elders I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself so that I may finish my course and the ministry which
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I received from the Lord Jesus to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God and now behold
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I know that all of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will no longer see my face therefore
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I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God is that what every pastor can say is that what every
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Christian can say it needs to be we dare not ever ever ever avoid speaking the whole counsel of God even those those things that well they cause people to get a little uncomfortable around us and they cause people to be maybe a little bit upset with us well that may be but the simple fact the matter is it is the whole counsel of God it is the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ that changes hearts that changes an individual it is the power of God that has been given to the church we have no other power and so we need to be very clear on what the gospel of Jesus Christ is we need to be very clear on what we're presenting to people around us and even then what you need to expect is rejection no
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I'm not saying that you just run around going well everybody's just gonna say that what I say is stupid and I'm just gonna expect that no it needs to be a balance we need to recognize that the same things are gonna happen to us that happened to the
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Lord Jesus when he preached the gospel when when he had ascended up into heaven how many people were there that gathered in the upper room who had embraced his teachings and truly followed him 120 three years of ministry and there's 120 people there even when he had great crowds following him he managed to get rid of them with fair regularity in John chapter 6 he had over 5 ,000 men not including women and children who wanted to come and make him king and in one sermon he got rid of all of them one sermon and they're all gone he would have failed any type of class is currently being offered in most
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Bible schools on proper methodology why because he knew what was in the heart of man he knew that those people were following him not because they understood not because they embraced his truth but because they had seen miracles and they had seen signs they want another free lunch is why they were following him so keep in mind that when you present
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God's truth unless God by his spirit and his grace opens that heart and opens that mind there is only one response you're gonna get and that is response of rejection that is a response of rebellion in fact
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I was I was reminded when I was thinking about how man responds to God's truth of a scene in a movie and all of a sudden it struck me during the break that you know
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I think we have here thanks to the great resources of that world -famous talk show host dr.
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Tim Kimmel we have because of his tremendous resources here at q96 we can help me to remind you of a particular scene in a movie with the dreaded
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Black Knight and the Black Knight is defending his bridge no man will pass and he takes on the king and the king turns out to be a better swordsman though to be perfectly honest with you it didn't look that way in the movie but anyways he takes on the king and the king sort of really badly defeats the
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Black Knight but despite all of that the Black Knight could still say that's exactly what he said but in reality the response the king was he was that's exactly what happens that's what we feel like we feel like we've thrown everything we can at this person we have absolutely decimated them logically factually biblically and all they can sit there and say
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I'm invincible you can't touch me and we get all frustrated and there's really no reason to get all frustrated about that because the
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Bible warned us it was gonna happen but oh people just I've had people who have decided to give up on talking about their faith because they didn't have a biblical view of man and his sin
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I know of ministers who have completely changed the emphasis of their ministry and the direction of their church why because they didn't realize the lost man is gonna stand there with all this truth around him with the clearest demonstration right there in front of them say
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I'm invincible you haven't shown me anything you know you think of the guy over at UCLA or USC or one of those
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Southern California colleges who knows which one it was but he's a professor and he's brilliant and he's smart and he goes you know what
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I'm an atheist but I think there's good evidence for the resurrection I think
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Jesus rose from the dead strange things happen don't they strange things happen and we look at that and go well wait a minute if he rose from the dead then that means and it means this and remember what
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Paul said professing to be wise they became fools their foolish hearts were darkened their speculations their thinking's their their very thought processes become darkened futile empty we have to deal with that when we deal with the lost man and if you today are an heir of grace if you are one who has bowed the knee to Jesus Christ you need to realize the only reason that has happened in your life is that God was merciful to you he quelled that rebellion he took out that stony heart and he replaced it with a heart that loves him he replaced it with a heart that bows before him and instead of those futile speculations now we have a longing for God's truth we see that all of God's wisdom is hidden in Jesus Christ we desire to think and act in a way that is honoring and glorifying to God but the only reason that any one of us today bows the knee to the