Five marks of revived churches

J. I. Packer, writing in God in our Midst (Ann Arbor, 1987), pages 24-35, proposes that, among the variety of God’s ways, five constants appear in all biblical revivals:
1.  Awareness of God’s presence: “The first and fundamental feature in renewal is the sense that God has drawn awesomely near in his holiness, mercy and might.”
2.  Responsiveness to God’s Word: “The message of Scripture which previously was making only a superficial impact, if that, now searches its hearers and readers to the depth of their being.”
3.  Sensitiveness to sin: “Consciences become tender and a profound humbling takes place.”
4.  Liveliness in community: “Love and generosity, unity and joy, assurance and boldness, a spirit of praise and prayer, and a passion to reach out to win others, are recurring marks of renewed communities.”
5. Fruitfulness in testimony: “Christians proclaim by word and deed the power of the new life, souls are won, and a community conscience informed by Christian values emerges.”

Ray Ortlund

Source: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/rayortlund/2011/08/19/five-marks-of-revived-churches/

Are There Many Ways to God?

Many people today are uncomfortable with the idea of absolute truth. Like Oprah Winfrey, they think that there are many ways to God. Not only do most people believe there are many ways to God; they think that anyone who believes there is only one way to God is somehow less spiritual, narrow-minded, or even bigoted and racist. However, their insistence that there is no absolute truth or that there are many paths to God in and of itself, constitutes a theological truth claim just as narrow as any other. It is also a self-refuting claim, because if all truth claims are valid, then so is the contradictory claim that says there is only one way to God.


Jesus himself answered the question of how to reach God in various Gospel accounts, but none more clear and unequivocal than this one:

Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)


As author C.S. Lewis observed, Jesus’ claim to be the way, the truth, and the life; the only way to the Father meant that He (Jesus) was either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord.


Christian author Paul E. Little in his book How to Give Away Your Faith addresses objections that people have to Jesus being the only way to God. He says:

• Our sincerity or intensity of faith cannot produce truth.
• Faith is no more valid than the object of the faith.
• Completely contradictory truth claims cannot be simultaneously true.
• All other religions deny that Jesus is the only true God.
• All other religions say that individuals must somehow merit salvation by their own works.
• Jesus himself repeatedly defined who he was and how salvation is obtained.
• God himself has the right to define the terms of a relationship with him.

I would invite you to consider the truth claim of Jesus: that as the virgin-born, incarnate Son-of-God, He is the only way to the Father, and that the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for sin and His bodily resurrection from the dead are a testimony to the truth of who He is and how we can be reconciled to God.


The Apostle Peter, who denied Jesus three times prior to the resurrection, made this bold, narrow statement to the Jewish Leaders who had put Jesus to death:
　
"For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved."(Acts 4:11-12)

For additional reasons to believe that Jesus is the only way to God, check out this video by Dr. Bobby Conway, Pastor of Life Fellowship Church in Charlotte NC:

Can You Know For Sure That You're Going To Heaven?

Can You Know For Sure That You're Going To Heaven? This is a question that many people are asking. Erwin Lutzer, Pastor of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago IL, answers this question in the video below:

What Not to Wear

If you have a wife or teen/young adult daughters like I do, you have probably seen this program. The show begins with a woman, wearing her favorite clothes (which are out of date or worse), seeing nothing wrong with her clothes or appearance, and totally oblivious to what others think. Then, she walks into a room surrounded by mirrors and bright lights, exposing every detail of her appearance, good or bad (mostly bad). Suddenly, two fashion consultants, Stacy and Clinton, walk in and give their caustic critique of the woman’s clothing. Such is the typical opening of the cable television program What Not to Wear. The woman eventually realizes her bad fashion, the old clothes are taken away, and an entirely new and complimentary wardrobe is provided completely free. All is well.

Dr. Philip Ryken, current President of Wheaton College (IL) and former pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia PA, says that the show What Not to Wear is like a modern parable of salvation. We are like the woman wearing what not to wear, clothed in our sinful nature. When we are confronted with the light of the gospel and God’s holiness, we are fully exposed for what we are. In spite of our sinful, hopeless condition, God takes the initiative and acts to take away our iniquity and gives us the “new clothes” of His righteousness, entirely by His grace.

Similarly, famous British Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) describes how God’s transforming grace clothes the believer in  righteousness:

"Christ has delivered us from the power of the serpent who opened our eyes and told us we were naked, by covering us from head to foot with a righteousness that adorns and protects us so that we are comfortable in heart and beautiful in the sight of God and are no more ashamed." (Spiritual Warfare in the Believer’s Life)

For Dr. Ryken’s entire chapel message on “What Not To Wear” (one of the best I have heard on God’s gift of transforming grace), click on the link below:

http://www.wheaton.edu/WETN/All-Media/Chapel/Undergraduate/101020Ryken?lightbox=true

Dare to Be A Sinner

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a German Theologian, Pastor, and martyr. In his book “Life Together,” he explains why Christian Community is important for many reasons, including for Christian spiritual growth. Bonhoeffer notes that religious or pious people are “shocked” when a sinner is discovered in their midst, and do not permit sinners in their fellowship. What happens as a result is the sin of the pious is hidden, resulting in their remaining alone in their sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The absurd thing about this is that the Bible says we are all sinners, so the fact that someone is a sinner shouldn’t come to anyone’s great surprise. How and why should we, as sinners, come to God? Bonhoeffer explains:

"You are a sinner; a great, desperate sinner; now come as the sinner that you are, to the God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. My son, give me thine heart (Prov. 23:26). God has come to you to save the sinner. Be glad! This message is liberation through truth. You can hide nothing from God. The mask you wear before men will do you no good before Him. He wants to see you as you are, He wants to be gracious to you. You do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brothers, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner.“

The solution, according to Bonhoeffer, is do not worry about what others think; come directly to the God that is full of grace, who freely forgives.

quote from Life Together, 1954 Harper & Row, pg 111