ISLAM MUST BE EXPOSED

Martin Luther:

 

 "If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the Word of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him. Where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point."

 

If Christian preachers do not shine the light of God's infallible Word on the corruptions and perversions of true religion, we cannot expect the world to do so.  If Christian preachers fail in this respect, they are failing Christ and the Gospel, regardless of how loudly they say otherwise.

Study so that you understand the hell-inspired realities that are facing the Christian church and Gospel.  Meditate so that you might consider how you might deal with this and every other religious menace.  Pray to the sovereign LORD that He might send His Spirit-empowered Gospel to convict all those who have embraced false religions of every kind.

And what is a false religion?  It is one in which the grace of God in salvation is concealed or even denied.  It is a religion that works hard to keep sinners away from Christ and His saving Cross.  It is that religion that substitutes the Church for the Cross, orthodox theology for the Saviour, religious formalism for a personal saving interest in the Redeemer pof the world.  It is any form of religion that does not clearly and pointedly present Christ as the only hope of mankind.

Islam falls into these categories.  Like Roman Catholicism, and liberal Protestantism, it is a false religion that is damning millions of souls to a lost Christless eternity.  This must be esposed of ever sinners held within the evil clutches of Catholicism, Protestant liberalism or Islam are to be delivered.

 

 

Dr D Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981)

This book will inform you on matters central to the Gospel.  Get your copy here.

Calvin Inspires Courage.

This is a MUST READ and you can get it here.

Criticising What You Do Not Know!

It is of interest and concern that reformed Christians who appear to know little or nothing about Amyraldianism claim that they do not believe it is a biblical system.  They have not read anything by Amyraut, but their understanding is merely second-hand knowledge?  Even this knowledge proceeds from an inbult prejudice against this servant of God and dedicated disciple of Calvin.  Those professed followers of John Calvin do not seem to know Amyraut was immersed in Calvin's thought; for example, when Amryaut was being tried for heresy by theological extremists at Alencon in 1637, his defense was so full of quotations from John Calvin's work that his accusers realised that were they to condemn Amyraut, they would thereby also be condemning Calvin - which very thing they would not do.  The same is true today; those who condemn Amyraut's theology are simultaneously condemning Calvin's.

The opponents of Amyraut's theology must tell us which part(s) of the Amyraldian/Calvinist theology is unbiblical?  It would also be essential that they inform us of those biblical reference(s) that state(s) that Christ died only for elect sinners.  The Bible must be our point of reference is all these matters.

I challenge anyone reading this post and who opposes Amyraut's theology to  answer these questions.

My advice for what its worth is this: always seek to go to the original sources to ascertain a man's mind on a matter, and do not trust implicitly those who claim to be his supporters and/or opposers.  That is why in my study of the theology of Dr D Martyn Lloyd-Jones I go to his actual words and weigh the statements of his 'friends' in the light of the Doctor's own published statements.  I think that's fair. 

I think we also need to be aware of the negative influence on theology of medieval scholasticism with it watertight systems of logic.  We must concern ourselves with being theological, not logical.  Rev. Eric Alexander told me many years ago that "biblical doctrine must lead to biblical conclusions and not necessarily to logical ones."  Methodologically, this is very good.  Logic is a good servant, but a very bad master.  

I encourage informed comments on this piece, comments that are not just designed to score a point or two, but which are intent rather on growing in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Norwich Minister Vindicated by the Police

Norwich minister, Rev. Dr Alan C Clifford has informed me that the Norfolk Constabulary, who were brought into the controversy over his leaflet "Why not Islam," has been vindicated when the police stated that Dr Clifford had committed no crime.

This is a matter of great delight to Christians, and of deep thankfulness to God for His care of Alan and for His standing by His own inspired Word and Gospel.  God is sovereign in everything and is able to make the wrath of man praise Him.

The Norwich City Council meant it for evil but God meant it for good. 

May I thank, on Alan's behalf, all those readers of my blog who prayed for Alan and his situation.  Thank you for your interest in the Gospel.  Please go on supporting all those faithful ministers of God who proclaim fearlessly this glorious message.

Dr Clifford's courage may be well illustrated in the life and ministry of John Calvin, when in 1553, he had to deal with several very difficult situations.  He, too, proved God's faithfulness.  Click here for further information.

Queen's Honours and Christain Integrity

I sometimes wonder how some Christian people who work for the government in any capacity can be given an award by Her Majesty the Queen, given the corruption that exists within government circles.  I mean, to be a 'good servant' of the government necessitates 'keeping your nose clean' and not thinking for yourself in case it might disadvantage you at the next promotion board. 

Over the years, I have worked with government employees, and I must confess they have not impressed me in the least.  They are so "PC" in all they say and do that, for Christians to 'key in' to that way of operating, is a denial of the Christian faith.

What these Christians have to do and are prepared to do in order to get these awards is truly amazing.  The boot licking that goes on within government/civil service circles is obscene.  What can be said about Christians in politics can also be said about Christian holding any government job - it is corrupt and it is corrupting.

Northern Ireland is perhaps the best current example of this.  The last twenty years has seen this happen with nauseating regularity.  Christians politicians, some of whom are church elders, have drank from the fountain of compromise for personal gain, and have paid a heavy price for so doing.  One politician I know very well, and a church elder, simply refused to object to immoral legislation concerning the victims of terrorism, because that would have jeopardised his future prospects as a politician; his inaction was a wise one for someone who has personal ambitions to get on and up within his party.

Other Christian politicians have supported, by their actions or inactions, the award of tens of thousands of public money for the organising of the Belfast Gay Pride.  Christian police officers do not appear to have any difficulty in supporting and defending sodomy.  If the law says sodomy is right, then unconscientious police officers will agree.  There are promotion boards ahead, and the salaries paid to middle to senior officers of huge, so the enticement is there to subjugate conscience for greater personal good.  I know of Christian police officers who were told to lie in order to get their way respecting evidence and witness statements.  One Christian policeman's wife told me that those first lies were very difficult for him, but as time passed, lying became easier until it became a way of life for him.

The church is not much different.  Think of the number of church ministers who had lucrative part-time jobs in education board, health boards, sport, etc, who were given these spurious awards from Her Majesty - for services to.... It is laughable. 

The issue is not over who gets what and why.  The issue is over the level of compromise, of violating conscience, that is involved just to be thought well of by superiors, and the possibility of enhancement at work.  Compromise is only possible at immense personal cost.  Compromise, some of which is honourable where no point of principle is involved, and, for the Christian, where there is no known disobedience to God's Word, is essentially evil. 

Christians who get involved with any government agency is vulnerable to being 'bought.'  They have ways of bringing employees into line.  So great and attractive a thing it is to be a civil servant that they are prepared to sign the Official Secrets Act in order to get the job.  This 'gagging order' allows government to do whatever it wishes, regardless of how immoral it is, and no one employed by government can squeal.  Christians who take such 'oaths' that forbid the uncovering of certain wrongs are wrong to do so.  They are knowingly compromising themselves. 

Christian employees need to reassess their stand and their prior allegiance to Christ and His Gospel.  For them to give an undertaking to accept whatever government decides is to give prior and total allegiance, not to God and His Christ, but to a divine institution.  It is to relegate God Himself to a lower position than what he has ordained.  It is to say, for example, that marriage is to come before God in the Christian's priorities.  We know that the biblical priorities is Christ first, then the spouse, then others; never otherwise.

I commenced with discussing the Honours system in light of Christian integrity, and discovered that other applications are equally valid.  Let us re-consider our position if any of this applies to you. 

EVANGELICAL VINDICTIVENESS

You must be joking!  No, I’m quite serious.  For many a long year, I would not have believed that such a quality remained within evangelicalism.  Not until a friend told me of a man who now holds high public office in Northern Ireland and who would have preached for me at my invitation in my churches many years ago, and who is known for his vindictiveness.  I was appalled.  A well-known evangelical man being a vindictive person. 

Then very recently I was in touch with a former ministerial colleague about a matter, believing him to be a friend.  Again, I was appalled at the unadulterated and undisguised vindictiveness of this Christian brother. 

I thought, ‘I must have missed something somewhere.  I did not realise that this was, or had become, an acceptable evangelical way of behaviour towards a Christian brother.”  But I was wrong again.  This appears to be the way you do it within the churches.  In order to protect your patch you hold grudges. 

What is most ironic is that this man and I would have held the same theological ground.  Perhaps he has ‘matured’ or ‘mellowed,’ as they put it. Which is another way of saying that he ‘compromised’ for an easy life. 

As a young minister, I remember hearing Rev. R. C. (Dick) Lucas, senior minister of St Helens, Bishopgate, London, saying that we must maintain an “eschatological perspective” on and throughout our ministries.  That means that we must conduct our ministries with a view to the last Day, the final judgement.  On that dread Day, we will have to stand before the holy Judge and give a strict account of our stewardship.  That fearful thought has tended to keep me steady, despite some stumbles and tumbles on the way.  I don’t want to live as a vindictive person; in fact, nothing could be further from my mind. 

But that is a reality within Ulster evangelicalism in the 21^st century.  Vindictiveness is a strategy for defending your church and your patch against Gospel intrusion.  The last thing that many churches want today, even those with evangelical ministers and backgrounds, is the Gospel, the truth.  Keep these from your people and you’ll have a nice comfortable ministry.

But when you stand before that awesomely holy Judge on that last Day, how will you answer for your unfaithfulness?  What will you say when asked about the exercise of your ministry?  Why have you tolerated so much wrong and falsehood within your church?  Why have you lived comfortably with open disobedience to the authority of Scripture?  Why has your total heart and life submission to the authority of Scripture not been a reality for you?  Why did you replace your own fallen human wisdom for the wisdom of My Word?  Why did you operate your ministry on a purely pragmatic mode rather than be principle-driven?  Why did you have no fear of standing before Me on the last Day?  Why were you so vindictive towards other Christians who sought only to proclaim Christ and Him crucified?  Why did you not work as a better physician of souls? 

These are just some of the momentous questions you and I will have to answer when we stand before the righteous Judge.  There will be more, many more.

That Day is coming.  How will it be for you?