Why should we know God's Word?

In our day and age where anti-intellectualism runs rampant in the visible church, it is not surprising to see poll after poll verify what students of scripture have known for many years. The visible church does not know much about the scriptures they profess to believe in. This is sad considering many saints during the Reformation period lost their lives for the sake of being able to read and study God's word. Not to mention the many passages in scripture that speak as such:

Isaiah 66:2 This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
John 8:31-32 Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Psalm 19:7-8 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalm 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
Psalm 119:11 I have hidden Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
Psalm 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.
Psalm 119:162 I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.

The posts on this blog will address essential Biblical doctrines of the Christian faith. You can find much of the background for the posts here. My prayer for these posts is that the people who read them will be encouraged to open their Bibles and not just read a verse or two, but learn them and indeed, be transformed by them. As Jesus prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." (John 17:17). This is my prayer as well.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Rob Bell - what's the big deal?

There's been a super abundance of words poured out regarding Rob Bell's now infamous book Love Wins, but if I may speak with candor, why all the fuss? I know your immediate reaction might be, "But Chris, it's heresy!" Well, I know that but liberalism has been pumping this stuff out by the metric ton for centuries so why all of sudden is there great amounts of copious writing? In my opinion, I think it is because many so-called Evangelical scholars have been giving the emergents (like Rob Bell) a pass in the sense that they have been treating them like brothers who ere in some points of doctrine. But the reality is, they are no different than the latest spiritual, psychological guru that Oprah has on her programs.

John MacArthur is one of the very few prominent Christian leaders to speak the whole truth on this man named Rob Bell: "If Christopher Hitchens or Deepak Chopra penned a book that scoffed at the biblical teaching on hell, we would not be surprised. So why would anyone be shocked or confused when Rob Bell writes Love Wins? Has Bell shown any more commitment to gospel truth, or any more devotion to the principle of biblical authority than Hitchens or Chopra?"

The answer is an emphatic NO and John is posting some blog entries to prove his point. You can see them at his excellent blog: http://www.gty.org/blog

It's one thing when men such as John Piper endorses Rick Warren as a sincere brother or Al Mohler signs the Manhattan Declaration or JI Packer signs the ECT, because these men are orthodox in their teaching of the gospel. But when a liberal, like Rob Bell, writes a piece of garbage seeking to debunk the Biblical teaching on hell, warn the flock and give the right teaching on hell but don't give the man any more publicity than a false teacher deserves.
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