Spud Files

"I'll Stand by Merits"

2010-08-18T13:33:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure if you've been following this story about the coach of the New York Jets, Rex Ryan.

Ryan appeared on some kind of reality show, on which he apparently uttered some profanities. In the days following, Tony Dungy, a former coach and professing Christian, voiced his disappointment in Ryan's words, saying "the league doesn't need that."

And now Ryan has responded to Dungy inviting him to training camp to see that Ryan's really not that bad of of a guy. There was one comment from Ryan in this latest article that caught my eye.

"I'm a good person," Ryan said. "Just because somebody cusses or whatever doesn't make them a bad person. Just because a guy doesn't cuss doesn't make him a good person. So, I'll stand by my merits."

Now, Ryan can't be faulted for making such a comment (1 Corinthians 2:14). But it is good for us as Christians to recognize that this is likely typical of unregenerate man's view of goodness. Most people will proclaim their own goodness. But it is this claim that doesn't finally hold water when it comes to our last reckoning. For we know full well that we cannot possibly stand in front of Holy God "by my merits." God's standard is perfection. The only way we can stand is by another's merits, namely the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

We can only pray that Rex Ryan would come to this realization. Perhaps the spirit of God might be pleased to use Tony Dungy or anyone else to point out this fatal flaw in Ryan's response.

Helping Questions for Bible Studies

2010-08-17T10:53:00.000-06:00

Colin Adams, over at Unashamed Workman is a pastor's friend. He consistently shares good resources, and seems to have access to great preachers (see sidebar on his blog, called 10 Questions interviews). Today he shares some questions for Bible study from J.I. Packer, which I am re-posting below. These are not just for pastors, but for Small Group Leaders, Bible Study leaders, or for those seeking to interpret a passage for themselves.

J.I. Packer suggests that we ask 6 questions of any bibilcal text. I’ve found these most helpful:

(1) What do these words actually mean?
(2) What light do other scriptures throw on this text? Where and how does it fit in to the total biblical revelation?
(3) What truths does it teach about God, and about man in relation to God?
(4) How are these truths related to the saving work of Christ, and what light does the gospel of Christ throw upon them?
(5) What experiences do these truths delineate, or explain, or seek to create or cure? For what practical purpose do they stand in Scripture?
(6) How do I apply them to myself and others in our own actual situation? To what present human condition do they speak, and what are they telling us to believe and do?

J.I.Packer, Among God’s Giants: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life, p138.

"Reminders of Grace are Not Dry Cereal for the Soul"

2010-06-01T15:23:00.000-06:00

I believe it was Jerry Bridges from whom I first read that we must preach the Gospel to ourselves every day. To that point I love this paragraph from Bryan Chappell in his Christ Centered Worship:Letting the Gospel Shape our Practice.

The corruption and weakness of our natures make it vital that we preach the gospel to our own hearts every day. Reminders of grace are not dry cereal for the soul; they are daily bread, blessed manna, and needed meat. For those in whom the Spirit dwells, grace is the fuel of obedience and the foundation of hope. Without its regular support, we quickly resort to self-dependence or private despair. The maturest of believers most appreciate regular nourishment from the truths of God's love. The old gospel song is true: those who know "the old, old story" best are "hungering and thirsting to hear it, like the rest." While the gospel's power can become lost in canned and stale recitations, its sincere and authentic expression is a never-ceasing source of joy that is strength for God's people. Worship that keeps the gospel before God's people serves their deepest needs and highest aspirations, enabling them to feed on God's grace while praising Him for it (p. 117).

Adoption Reflections - Story #2

2010-04-07T10:34:00.000-06:00

As I said in an earlier post, I aim to start posting adoption stories in this site. Our family has been forever affected by adoption. If you are a Christian, you have been forever affected by adoption. You were a spiritual orphan adopted by your heavenly Father. And now you are a son or daughter of God.

My contention is that, as Christians, our transition from orphans to sons/daughters in a spiritual sense ought to move us to care for the many orphans that populate our world. Reflect on your spiritual condition before you were adopted. Then find a way to care for orphans. The possibilities are endless - domestic adoption, international adoption, adoption funding, foster care, pregnancy care, right to life advocacy, orphanage volunteer, starting an adoption ministry at your church, etc.

By way of disclosure, I must admit that my wife and I did not fully realize the spiritual implications of adoption when we entered the process. Our eyes were opened to the realities of vertical and horizontal adoption at some point during the process. Our initial motive could be viewed as selfish. We wanted children. We were told we would not be able to have children the way most people have children. So we immediately pursued adoption. And God has blessed us with three boys.

Sounds simple. But, trust me, in between the periods of those previous sentences, there are many stories. Each adoption was fraught with varying levels of anxiety. In our case, all three adoptions have had good outcomes. But I am well aware, that's not always so. Josh and Miranda's story is a case in point. It is a story of hope, grief, loss and hope.

After the experience of the past three weeks, Josh amazingly still has the where-with-all to reflect on the experience. Here is part of that reflection.

Miranda and I know and love Jesus Christ – not the one on television commercials for churches, not the one who says he’s just there to make you healthy and happy, but the one in the Bible. We don’t believe because I’m a pastor. We believe he actually lived the life we should have lived and actually died a death that we sinners deserve to die. We actually believe this. I know for many of you that’s completely crazy. And I agree. Christianity looks quite foolish. That’s part of what attracts me to it.

The cool part about an adoption story is that as Christians, Miranda and I know what it is like to be adopted. God didn’t have to graft us into his family, but he did.

Read the entire story. And then pray for Josh, Miranda, the "boy we called 'Cash'" and the birth mother.

HT: Jason Kovacs

The God-Centeredness of Christ's Sufferings

2010-04-01T17:01:00.000-06:00

Frederick Leahy on Matthew 26:67-68 - "Then (the religious leaders) struck Him and spit in His face."

O my soul, what a sight is this! As with tear-dimmed eyes we look on this terrible scene - do we? - we behold with wordless wonder the matchless love and infinite condescension of the one who came to seek and to save the lost.

Here, however, there is an error to avoid, the danger of seeing the loving obedience of Christ as primarily and exclusively for the sake of man, when, in fact it was primarily out of the love of God that he accepted the cross... This is a truth too often overlooked.
The Cross He Bore (p.57)

Two Voices in Caiaphas' Courtroom

2010-03-31T16:30:00.000-06:00

I'm being aided in my personal Holy Week reflections by Frederick S. Leahy's little book, The Cross He Bore: Meditations on the Suffering of the Redeemer. In numerous places in the margins, I'm finding myself scribbling the words, "great insight." My eyes are being opened to the redemptive significance of the plot/trial leading up to the crucifixion.

Here is one such instance.Concerning the high priest's garment-tearing response to Jesus' confirmation that He is in fact the Son of God (Mt 26:63-65), Leahy writes,

Ultimately two voices have spoken in that courtroom, the voice of God and the voice of Satan: both said, 'One for all.' But there is fundamental disagreement between them. God speaks in terms of redemptive substitution, substitutionary atonement; Caiaphas, who is Satan's tool as much as Judas, speaks in terms of elimination. God would have his Son die for his people so that they might live; Caiaphas would have Christ die in order to be rid of him, and so he sticks by his policy (John 11:49-50) that one man should die for the people rather than that the whole nation should perish.

Thus predestination and human responsibility meet as Christ is condemned. He was 'delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,' yet 'crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men' (Acts 2:23). God's eternal purpose was realized in the death of His Son.

Jesus as Lamb and Lion

2010-03-31T10:53:00.000-06:00

Exulting in Diverse Excellencies - a worship-inducing reflection on the Person of Christ from Kevin DeYoung. Here's how it starts:

Secularists and liberals might take him if he were a Lamb. Muslims might love him if he were a Lion. But neither side will worship Jesus Christ as both.

Read the rest.

Luther: He Rides No Stallion

2010-03-28T20:08:00.000-06:00

Thankful to Chris Brauns for pointing out this quote from Martin Luther. I used it in my sermon today.

This is Luther's comment on the Palm Sunday passage in Matthew 21:5 - "Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’"

He is presented as sheer grace, humility, and goodness, and whoever believes that of him is blessed. Look at him! He rides no stallion, which is a war animal, and he comes not with fearful pomp and power, but sits on a donkey, which is no war animal but which is ready for burdens of work that will help human beings. Thereby he shows that he does not come to terrify people, to drive or oppress them, but to help them, to carry their burdens and take them on himself.

Men's Breakfast

2010-03-27T11:43:00.000-06:00

I just returned from our men's breakfast. It was good to chat with some men around the table. Part of my table conversation was with a Filipino brother talking about the spiritual situation in his country. That led to another conversation on church history, which ultimately led to conversation on the consummation of redemptive history. All the while, I was thinking about how good it was for men converse about things other than the all-to-typical fare of news, sports, and (in this neck of the woods), soil conditions.

After breakfast, I showed an interview with C.J. Mahaney on the topic of biblical manhood. I've seen this interview a couple of times, but one thing C.J said stood out at me this morning. Paraphrasing, he said that instead of viewing home as a refuge for our relaxation, us men need to view at as a context in which to serve our wives and children.

Ouch! I was convicted. I know too often I come home just wanting to be served and to put my feet up after a hard day. But this is not a good example of male headship. Male headship is played out in service. And as men, the arena in which our service should be played out is, first and foremost, the home. Servanthood is an expression of Christ-like headship without abdicating leadership, authority and responsibility.

Here is the entire 40+ minute interview

Q&A on Biblical Masculinity from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

Adoption Reflections

2010-03-25T09:09:00.000-06:00

I'm always on the lookout for adoption stories - stories of Christians who have understood how the reality of God's adoption of us as orphans into His spiritual family, ought to inform our care for orphans. I was able to draw out that application in my sermon on Sunday from Ephesians 1, and now I've decided that whenever I hear or read of such a story, I'm going to post it here.

Here the first one:

Adopted in Christ from Grace EV Free on Vimeo.

HT: Challies

Like Snow in May

2010-01-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

Brock and Jen are close family friends. Mrs. Potato and I enjoy their company for many reasons, but mostly because we are very like-minded in the things of God. For the past few years, I've been secretly hoping that Jen would share her thoughts with a larger audience. Well, over the last few months, my hopes have materialized in the form of Like Snow in May.

Since it's her birthday tomorrow, I thought I'd give a "shout out" to her new blog. Head on over. Jen's thoughts and musings merit your careful thought and attention.

Brothers

2009-12-31T16:40:00.001-07:00

At one point yesterday, our three children were happily playing together when I was awakened to a Gospel reality.

We have three boys.

They were conceived by six different parents.
They were born in three different hospitals.
One has blond hair. One has black hair. One has brown hair.

Yet here they were, enjoying one another's company.

They are brothers. They are brothers through adoption.

So it is in God's world.

People chosen by God.
People from different backgrounds.
People that look different.

Yet they are re-created to enjoy "one another's" company.

They are brothers. They are brothers through adoption.

The Bloggers are Hot this Monday Morning

2009-12-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

I probably spend a disproportionate amount of time reading some of my favorite blogs. But sometimes I'm so glad I didn't miss what someone wrote. This morning was one such day. There were four separate posts that the Lord used to stir my mind, to convict my spirit and to exhort me in pastoral ministry. I'm thankful for the men and women who write to God's glory for the benefit of His church.

1. The first is by Thabite Anyabwile. In his post called "Calvinist Confessions,1," he writes about how the concern of "The Reformed" with precision is fraught with danger towards pharisaism. I've seen this tendency in myself lately and I don't like it.

2. "Letters to Luke (I)," by Tim Challies, is a good example of how to respond humbly, thoughtfully, biblically, yet forthrightly to an atheist.

3. In his "Thoughts on Officiating the Funeral of an Unbelieving Friend," Michael McKinley gives a sobering list of thoughts from his experience. The short list contains some deeply profound insights on making our lives count.

4. Finally, Dr. Albert Mohler provides a great foundational reminder for preaching Christmas messages in, "Where Does the Story of Christmas Begin."

Well-Timed Exhortations and Reproofs on Parenting

2009-12-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

In this present season of life, the thing that seems to consume a lot of well-placed energy is parenting. One of the struggles I grapple with daily is to walk the fine line of not bearing the responsibility of producing pharisaical children, while at the same time, helping my children realize that rules and standards have a role to play for their spiritual good.

I know, in my head, that the answer to that dilemma is found in the Gospel. The difficulty comes in applying Gospel-based parenting to day-to-day, situation-to-situation life. I pray daily for God's help in this.

In His kindness, God led me to two quotes today to help me out. I post these in their entirety to perhaps help out those of you who face similar struggles.

This first one comes from Chris Brauns:

Below are two messages that parents of young children should memorize.

The Bible instructs parents to love their children. But, the Bible does not define love as squishy sentimentalism that gives children whatever they want whenever they ask for it.

In fact, Scripture says, “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” (Pr 13:24) Parents who truly love their children consistently discipline them.

As the parent of four children, I do not enjoy disciplining my children. But, one sentence I learned early on is very helpful. In the context of discipline I have learned to say and think:

Message #1: I love you too much to teach you that you can make bad choices without any consequences. As someone has said, “Choose to sin, choose to suffer.” Don’t be deceived God cannot be mocked. You reap what you sow. (Galatians 6:7-8).

Or, when my children are upset with me because they think I am too protective, I say and think this:

Message #2: All your life, I have been willing to die for you. I can honestly tell you that it came down to your life or my life, I would give up mine on your behalf. So, if I am willing to die for you, then having you upset with me because I am protecting you is a relatively small thing in my world. If protecting you, means you being mad at me, then so be it.”

Parents, if you are unwilling to discipline your children then you are being unloving to them.

“He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” (Pr 13:24)

The second comes from Elyse Fitzpatrick, as posted by Timmy Brister on the Grace Baptist Church of Cape Coral, FL website.

“Parents who forget that they are law breakers expect their children to keep the law and to make them look good. They expect children who exhibit exemplary respect and self-discipline. Such parents are self-righteous and proud, and all too often they put confidence in themselves, their ability to obey God, and their methodology for extracting obedience from their children. They forget that the Lord didn’t save or bless them because they were law keepers but, rather, because they weren’t.

Although they may know they have failed to keep the law–loving God with heart, soul, mind, and strength and their neighbor as themselves–they give their children the law (or house rules) and expect perfect compliance the first time and every time, with a happy heart. Such parents are harsh and impatient and tempted to anger when their children fail. Although they might know the law doesn’t change the heart (and is, in fact, a ministry of death [2 Cor. 3:7]), they expect the law to change the hearts of their children. They forget that they have been adopted and brought into the family, not only as those who misunderstood and slipped up from time to time, but as defiant rebels. Have parents consistently obeyed God the first time and every time, with a happy heart? Children need what parents need–the gospel. Certainly children need to learn God’s law and to have house rules to follow, but gospel-oriented parents give the law to show children their need for a Savior, not to make them obedient.”

- Elyse Fitzpatrick, Counsel from the Cross: Connecting Broken People to the love of Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2009), 159 (emphasis mine).

The Wonderful Exchange

2009-11-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

I've enjoyed reading through John Calvin's, Institutes in 2009. This morning, I started reading the section on the Lord's Supper. This line was particularly helpful, when writing about our union with Christ as a special fruit of the Lord's Supper (I have added the breaks):

This is the wonderful exchange which, out of his measureless benevolence, he has made with us; that,
becoming Son of man with us, he has made us sons of God with Him
by his descent to earth, he has prepared an ascent to heaven for us
by taking on our mortality, he has conferred his immortality upon us
accepting our weakness, he has strengthened us by his power
receiving our poverty unto himself, he has transferred his wealth to us
taking the weight of our iniquity upon himself, he has clothed us with his righteousness

A Tribute on Orphan Sunday

2009-11-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

The Christian Alliance for Orphans has designated this coming Sunday, November 8th, "Orphan Sunday." Many different churches will be marking this occasion with sermons, videos, testimonies, songs, etc. You can see some of the goings-on at the Orphan Sunday website. I was a little late hearing about that this year and we had other things planned at church, but we'll mark the occasion next year, d.v.

In it's stead, I thought I'd share a tribute to my friends, Lee and Anna Dyck. Here is a portion of their adoption story.

Three years ago my wife and I were challenged with the need to pursue adopting a baby with Down syndrome when we discovered, among other things, that the termination rate for mothers who test positive for having a baby with Down syndrome is between 80 and 90%. This past December the Lord answered our prayers with a beautiful baby girl named Emma, pictured here with her equally beautiful mommy.

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction." - James 1:27

Pastoral Training in La Belle Province.

2009-11-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

When I was at the Together for the Gospel (T4G) Conference in 2008, I was thrilled to meet some of my Canadian brothers in Christ from Quebec. The Gospel is moving forward in that predominantly secular province, largely through the pastoral training that is taking place by the folks at SEMBEQ Seminary in Montreal.

Over the years, SEMBEQ has brought in the likes of John MacArthur and D.A Carson for training seminars. I was grateful this morning to hear of the partnership between SEMBEQ with Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF).

If you want to hear more about the work of SEMBEQ, CCEF has posted an interview they recently did with Francois Turcotte and Francois Picard.

An Example of Why Pray for the Gospel to (re)Appear at Mainline Churches

2009-10-27T13:02:00.000-06:00

This is a portion of a letter that arrived at our church from one of our neighboring churches:

I'm writing to ask if you would mind announcing that (our) church is having its annual "Blessing of the Animals" service on _______.

The service includes a blessing for each animal and care-giver. There is also a "table of remembrance," so people are encouraged to bring along pictures of all the animals with whom they've shared their lives over the years.

Yours in Christ,
_____________

The following week, this service received front-page coverage in our local newspaper, with a picture of a dog sitting in the church pew with it's owner.

This letter is sad on many levels, not the least of which is that the closing of the letter affirms a common union with Christ. Yet I wonder if the Christ the author professes has been ushered to a 'back seat' in the church he leads.

How the Gospel Applied Leads to Care for the Poor

2009-10-26T07:32:00.000-06:00

This quote from Milton Vincent's, A Christian Gospel Primer, better articulates what I tried to say in my sermon from Amos last Lord's Day.

When I see persons who are materially poor, I instantly feel a kinship to them, for they are physically what I was spiritually when my heart was closed to Christ. Perhpas some of them are in their condition because of sin, but so was I. Perhaps they are unkind when I try to help them; but I too have been spiteful to God when He has sought to help me. Perhaps they are thankless and even abuse the kindness I show them, but how many times have I been thankless and used what God has given me to serve selfish ends?

Perhaps a poverty-stricken person will be helped and changed as a result of some kindness I show him. If so, God be praised for His grace through me. But as the person walks away unchanged by my kindness, then I still rejoice over the opportunity to love as God loves. Perhaps the person will repent in time; but
for now, my heart is chastened and made wiser by the tangible depiction of what I myself have done to God on numerous occasions.

The Gospel reminds me daily of the spiritual poverty into which I was born and also of the staggering generosity of Christ toward me. Such reminders instill in me both a felt connection to the poor and
a desire to show them the same generosity that has been lavished on me. When ministering to the poor with these motivations, I not only preach the Gospel to them through word and deed, but I reenact the Gospel to my own benefit as well.

HT: Z

Our Role in the Conversion of Others

2009-10-22T15:45:00.000-06:00

John Piper covers lots of biblical territory in this article - Should Christians Say That Their Aim Is to Convert Others to Faith in Christ? He points to the dual and non-competing truths that God is the decisive Cause in converting people, and we are His commissioned agents, appealing for the unregenerate to be converted.

The Gospel is Better than Unconditional Love

2009-10-22T14:13:00.000-06:00

JT recently alerted me to a 1995 article written by David Powlison in the Journal of Biblical Counseling entitled, Idols of the Heart and "Vanity Fair." The entire article is worth reading as it persuasively identifies heart idolatry as the root of all human rebellion.

Near the end of the article, Dr. Powlison addresses the tendency among some Christian counselors to psychologize when making a diagnosis. In the course of doing that, Powlison puts words to what, in my observation, is the default pop-evangelical Gospel presentation.

The logic of therapy coheres with the logic of diagnosis: "I accept you, and God really accepts you. Your needs can be met, and you can start to change how you feel and act." Behavioral responsibility is muted, and the process of change becomes a matter of need-meeting than conscious repentance/metanoia and renewal of mind unto Christ.

He continues,

What happens to the Gospel when idolatry themes are not grasped? "God loves you" typically becomes a tool to meet a need for self-esteem in people who feel like failures. The particular content of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - "grace for sinners and deliverance for the sinned-against" - is down-played or even twisted into "unconditional acceptance for the victims of others' lack of acceptance." Where "the Gospel" is shared, it comes across something like this: "God accepts you as you are. God has unconditional love for you." That is not the biblical Gospel, however...

The Gospel is better than unconditional love. The Gospel says, "God accepts you just as Christ is. God has 'contraconditional' love for you. Christ bears the curse you deserve. Christ is fully pleasing to the Father and gives you His own perfect goodness. Christ reigns in power, making you the Father's child and coming close to you to begin to change what is unacceptable to God about you. God never accepts me "as I am." He accepts me "as I am in Christ."

I always have the 'this-doesn't-sound-right' feeling when I hear the line "God accepts you as you are." But I've never been able respond to my own satisfaction. When I read this part of the article, I wrote in the margin, "Yes. That's it." Exactly."

Evangelizing the Middle

2009-04-14T14:55:00.000-06:00

Dr. Ray Ortlund, Jr has a blog that I have only lately come upon, but have learned to appreciate. Today he issues a call targeted at Christian men in the city of Nashville, in regard to planting churches.

But there was a line that post that particularly caught my attention.

Think of a bell curve. At one end are a few people who obviously are not Christians. At the other end are a few people who obviously are Christians. In between are multitudes of people who are hard to read – good people, talented people, Bible-believing people, not living for Christ. They are nice people living nice lives, going to church, going to hell.

It is this segment of people - I've called it 'the middle,' - for which I have a particular concern.

Could it be that our pop-evangelical churches pander to these kinds of people? Could it be that these people largely feel comfortable in our churches, because we have tried to be too much like the world, rather than being distinctively different? Could it be that people are coming into our churches and hearing calls for behavior change devoid of Gospel foundation? Could it that these people are, in Ortlund's words, "nice people living nice lives, going to church, going to hell."

Those piercing words serve as an exhortation to keep preaching the Gospel, and keep praying that the Lord, in His kindness, might bring conviction of sin and repentance and faith to these "hard to read" people.

An Unlikely Kingly Geneology

2008-12-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

If you've read Matthew's geneology list of Jesus Christ, you may just enjoy this "spiced up" version..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5O8h-pkrqM

There's a book that goes with it on Amazon.com, if you're interested in teaching those kiddos.

What are they Thinking?

2008-12-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

As I read my daily emails and blogs this morning, a couple of stories collided in my thoughts.

1. I received an email from Amazon.ca listing their top 50 most popular books of 2008. Number 3 on that list was The Shack.

2. Next, I came upon a blog post by Dr. Albert Mohler in which he refers to a statistical study done by The Pew Forum. What stood out to me from this report was this statistic: "52% of those in churches and denominations that teach that Jesus is the only way of salvation - reject that teaching."

I wondered how that could be true. How could over half the people sitting in a church on Sunday morning, a church that teaches John 14:6, reject John 14:6? What are the people in the pews thinking?

Which brings me back to The Shack (pithy rhyme not intended), and its popularity, even and especially among Christians. I have been stunned to hear how many pastors and leaders see no issues with this book, and even go so far as even recommending their people read the book. It makes me shake my head.

Here is a sample of the kind of confusion that people will read in The Shack.

The author quotes Jesus as saying, “Those who love me come from every stream that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims, Democrats, Republicans and many who don't vote or are not part of any Sunday morning or religious institutions” (182). When the main character asks for clarification - “Does that mean...that all roads will lead to you?” - the answer is “'Not at all,' smiled Jesus... Most roads don't lead anywhere. What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you'” (182).

Is it any wonder that church attenders are confused? While church and denominational leaders teach the black and white statement made by Jesus in John 14:6, they also endorse gray statements like the ones attributed to Jesus in The Shack.

Mohler is spot on when he says, "Overall, the new findings are "an indictment of evangelicalism and evangelical preaching. The clear Biblical teaching is that Jesus Christ proclaimed himself to be the only way to salvation... We are in an age when we want to tell everyone they are doing just fine. It's extremely uncomfortable to turn to someone and say, 'You will go to hell unless you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus.

I take this as a warning and exhortation for myself - a warning to re-commit myself to Gospel clarity and purity in my preaching/teaching, and an exhortation to pray for the men filling the pulpits of our country.