Tim Challies Interview

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

The Move to Podcast-Only Distribution and Listener Support

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth, and as of just recent future, we are just on podcast now, so no longer on WVNE 760. Maybe we�ll go back on someday, but we thought it would be best to put our resources into some of the podcast and Worldview Weekend and other outlets that we have, and so you could do us a favor.

We don�t ask for money, but if you have benefited through the ministry of No Compromise Radio, or you benefited by it, please tell your friends, NoCompromiseRadio .com. Well Wednesdays are the day that I love to interview authors, writers, preachers, bloggers, to think that the Lord gives us stewardship for gospel ministry.

It's pretty amazing to just think in His grace we could represent Him, preach His Word, write about His Son, and so I like to talk about men who have been entrusted with such a stewardship, and today we're talking to Tim Challies.

Tim, welcome to No Compromise Radio. Thank you. Glad to be here. Hey Tim, we've had you on before, probably five years ago or so, but I'm sure we've got plenty of new listeners. Tell us a little bit about yourself in terms of what you love to do, what ministry the Lord has given you, and then I've got some more specific questions.

Associate pastor at Grace Fellowship Church here in the Toronto area. There are two major parts of.

Challies.com, Daily Writing, and Helpful Resources

Tim, tell me about the website a little bit, Challies .com. Do you have about, you know, 50 blog posts loaded, so in case you have an appendectomy or something, you don't lose your streak of 11 years?

I do not. So, I write every day, and I post them to get up early and advance very much.

Well, for our listeners that are not familiar with the website, I'd encourage them to go. There are book reviews, especially helpful, the a la carte postings with a variety of different links to different things that are happening in evangelical Christianity and beyond.

Tim, tell us about the post that's been the most popular, and then maybe the one you got in the most trouble for.

The most popular article I ever wrote. Is there going to be a new Shack movie? Is there a Shack movie out?

Not in the immediate. Tim, I think you're a good resource for analyzing certain things that come out that are close to Christianity. So, in light of that, what would be your advice and your words of wisdom to our listeners with shows like A .D., Exodus, Noah, from that kind of genre and then into the Shack?

What do you typically tell people as a pastor who� I'm sure you get asked this question regularly. What do you tell them?

You know what? I don't get asked that question very much, which I think just shows that the people in my church just aren't that interested in those kinds of shows. And I don't know if maybe that's the difference between Canadian and American evangelicalism.

I don't think people are that interested in them. I suppose they're very, very careful.

Natural Revelation, Special Revelation, and Learning from the Bible

Tim, tell our listeners a little bit about the difference between natural revelation and creation and specific revelation, especially when it comes to learning. So, what you'll have is people say, well, I'm a visual learner, therefore these shows help, versus what the text reveals, and I'll just give you a little insight so you know where I'm coming from.

I was reading today the account in Mark 5 where Jesus heals the demoniac, the man with the legion of demons, or the man named Legion, or the demon rather named Legion. And as I was reading it, the writing style of Mark just drew me in.

It was like I was there. Here's this Holy Spirit-inspired writer, and with the chains and the shackles and the strength, the crying, the cutting, the stones, help our listeners understand that this is the way God teaches us specifically, and there's drama and excitement, and I hope Christians can just read their Bible more.

Yeah, yeah, I would love to see Christians do both, understand. This is the one side, so you can... Tim, as you know, there's a difference between natural revelation and special revelation,.

But I was reading Matthew 7 recently, and, excuse me, Matthew 6, in special revelation, Jesus drives us outside for the anxious people. He says, go look at the birds, and for a long time, I always thought bird watchers were, you know, it was the geriatric crowd, and they have their binoculars, and they're out there looking, and my neighbor likes to take pictures of birds, and either I'm older now and or wiser, but I think, okay, I do get anxious.

I have kids, and the world's a wicked place, and how do I solve the problem of anxiousness and trust in the Lord? And the Lord says, go out and look at the birds.

Solomon, he wanted to know...

Canadian and American Evangelicalism

Well, Tim, I hate to say this, but I think the Canadian side of Niagara Falls is more awesome than the American side. I tend to agree. Okay, good. Let's talk a little bit more about Canada and the United States.

I know it's pretty similar in a lot of regards with media and because of geography, but how do you, as a Canadian, see American evangelicalism? Because you are kind of one area code removed. Are there any trends in evangelicalism that you can see that maybe we can't see?

Through evangelicalism, it looks an awful lot like...

Persecution, Legal Restrictions, and What Canada Requires

Tim, how about persecution? Tell our listeners a little bit about what Canada requires via the legal, the legalities, what you can talk about, what you can't talk about, what about homosexuality, what's coming for America, basically.

Well, it's interesting that... Talking to Tim Challies today, Challies .com, I'm sure most of our listeners are familiar with the ministry that the Lord has given him. Tim, as a Canadian, you look into evangelicalism and there are these movements, large organizations, Together for the Gospel, Gospel Coalition, Shepherd's Conference.

Everyone's kind of a unique entity. They're not all the same, but they all draw in a lot of folks. How do you, a Canadian, look at this, you know, so much to be said positively in these things? What's your analysis of them?

I certainly thank God for them and...

Do you think in 20 years, any of those will exist? Well, I think with both... Tim, maybe the thing that I've benefited from you the most is the book, Sexual Detox, a guide for guys who are sick of porn, Cruciform Press, 2010.

I think you had it for free for a long time, maybe you still do. What's been the reaction to that book and those biblical thoughts that you've put on paper?

Yeah, it's been difficult. It's series, and then the book. I started writing, and I started series, and that just brought the things that were done to take confidence, pornography, all that much. Now, of course, there's many, many books written.

Tim, you have a wise way about yourself in terms of your writing and how you say things. In that book, you're more becoming than I am, because often I say to ladies, if you catch your husband looking at pornography and it's confirmed, then a sledgehammer to the laptop is what I suggest.

Well, if your right hand causes you to sin, Jesus says to cut it off. I'm eager to do battle.

Tim, do you think there's an element of laziness involved in pornography, in the sense that for single guys, God has given them, rightly and even before the fall, hormones and a desire for intimacy? And they're to use that, in my opinion, to go out and, you know, to be godly, and then go win a godly girl.

And then for husbands as well, where if they're kind to their wives and self-sacrificial, there's an opportunity for intimacy. But then, you know, there's a disagreement, argument, the man's lazy, and so it's easier to go to a computer.

To what degree is laziness a factor in this?

I think it can be huge. And you're just to look at that, those urges, right? You'll never know how good God is. You'll never know that. You know, you won't know that unless you actually, yeah, God is good.

I don't know if it can be difficult to be married. It can be difficult to care.

Temptation, Endurance, and the Way of Escape

Tim, I was thinking of 1 Corinthians 10, 13, as you were speaking, no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape.

And then sometimes we forget the end of the verse, that you may be able to endure it. And so I think lots of people, and myself included, we want the way out. We want the escape hatch. But here in 1 Corinthians 10, it is escape through endurance.

And then give in to sin. Tim, I was on your blog recently, and on the April 9th edition, or, you know, what you wrote on that day, the most important thing my parents did. Summarize the article for us, because I think it was insightful, and maybe it'll spur some parents on in the light of who they are in Christ to leave a legacy like that, too.

Sure. Yeah, I think the most important thing my parents did was simply let me...

I loved Ligon Duncan's message at the Shepherds Conference, the Inerrancy Conference in 2015. And didn't he say something to the same effect, where there are people that go off to college and university and higher places of learning, and the Bible systematically destroyed or attempted to destroy the Bible, and then he or some of his students would say, yes, but my mom didn't believe that way.

My dad didn't believe that way. What a legacy of teaching your children. I believe in inerrancy, sufficiency, the authoritative Word of God. It is God-breathed.

Right. Absolutely. And what a joy in front of you and your parents this week on 2 Timothy 3. And it's interesting to see, Paul, in what you have learned and have firmly acknowledged. We've got a couple minutes left, Tim.

As I'm trying to be a good steward of the children that the Lord has given me, I often say to myself, I don't want to be a cranky old Calvinist parent. I would like to be a parent who, yes, I'd like to be godly and sober, but not somber.

I want my children to say from a very early age, I want to be just like mom and dad. I want to have fun and joy. And I think Danny Akin told me the number one advice he has for parents is to have fun with your children.

And he wasn't excluding all the exhortations in Scripture for godliness. But don't you think cranky Calvinists can also be cranky Calvinistic parents?

Yeah, absolutely. And man, I want the same thing. I want my kids.

Well, sometimes I'll tell my children, you know, what if everything God made for food was, it just tasted like mud or dirt? Or then for the older crowd, I say, what if it was soylent green? Remember soylent green?

I remember soylent green. And we would just have to eat. I mean, my dog eats the same dog food every single day. And it's just, you know, utilitarian for the dog. Anyway, Tim, I've got about 30 seconds left.

What's your new book? Anything new with the ministry you want to let our folks know about?

I'm working on a book on productivity that I hope...

Productivity, Publishing, and Closing Thanks

Talking to Tim Challies today, challies .com. You can pick up some of his books. He's got a publishing company there. Many helpful resources for the church, for the evangelical church. And I'd highly recommend the site.

Tim, thanks for taking the time today to be on No Compromise Radio. We appreciate your ministry. You're very welcome.

Thanks for having me. God bless you. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God's Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.