Monday, April 20, 2009

Why I Blog














“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”
~ Charles Spurgeon



BLAH, BLAH, BLAH

With the advent of the Internet came a whole new approach to communication. E-mails, instant messages, chat rooms, forums, bulletin boards, MySpace, Facebook and blogging. Now more than ever, everyone has something to say about everything or nothing at all. For those information-junkies (I'm one of them), there is an endless flow of fact, fiction, theory, opinion and everything in between available on the 'Net. For those who feel the need to share what they've discovered, observed, pondered or stumbled across, there is Blogging.

The purpose behind this blog is to share the truth. Not just any truth but more specifically, the truth that leads to Jesus Christ, the author of Truth. Despite what the post-modernist may think, truth is not relative. Some things are true whether you choose to believe them or not. Christ came in order that we may know life-changing truth. That in knowing this truth, we might be freed from the bondage of our sins. As such, what I hope to convey through this Blog is that which will encourage others to find and grow in the Way, Truth and Life of Jesus Christ. Just because we're passionate about something doesn't necessarily mean we ignore our responsibility to apply biblical principles in all that we do and say.

"If the tongue is a fire, the Internet is a nuclear bomb; and blogs, if wrongly used, are the radioactive waste that endangers us all." ~ Pastor Scott Thomas, Director of Acts29


THE RELIGIOUS SOAP-BOX

There are generally two topics that many people prefer to keep private and not talk about. Politics and religion. Why? Because everyone has an opinion and we see things differently. What's right for you may not be right for the next person. The question is, who defines what is right and true? If there is a God (and I believe there is), then He has established the standard of right and wrong. For the Christian, we have God's inspired Word to guide us in truth and morals. This Word is also where we find instruction for living and sharing the good news of the Gospel with the world. Evangelizing is not a special gift nor is it an option. All believers are called to preach, teach and share the truth of the Gospel. This Blog is one way for me to attempt to do just that.


SO WHAT'S YOUR POINT?

What motivates me to write or share the things I do on this Blog:


1) A PASSION FOR THE LOST

"Paul sought to save men; and because he sought to save them, he was not content merely to throw truth at them; but he went out of his way to get alongside them, and to start thinking with them from where they were, and to speak to them in terms that they could understand, and above all to avoid anything that would prejudice them against the Gospel...in his zeal to maintain truth he never lost sight of the needs and claims of people." ~ J.I. Packer

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." ~ Matthew 28:19-20

"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." ~ Matthew 24:14

"for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED." How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?" ~ Romans 10:13-14

"but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." ~ Acts 1:8


2) SHARE WISDOM FROM THE WORD OF GOD

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
~
2 Timothy 3:16-17


"You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine." ~ Titus 2:1


3) INSPIRE OTHERS TO SEEK THE TRUTH

"but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."
~
Ephesians 4:15-16


"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." ~ Acts 17:11

"Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you." ~ 1 Timothy 4:16


4) IDENTIFY FALSE TEACHING

"Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." ~ Jude 1:3-4

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." ~ Matthew 7:15

"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." ~ John 7:24

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." ~ 2 Timothy 4:3-5


5) PROVIDE ENCOURAGEMENT

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction." ~ 1 Timothy 4:2

"Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5: 11


6) PERSONAL LIFE LESSONS

"The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether."
~ C.S. Lewis ("Mere Christianity")


"but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."
~
1 Peter 3:15


"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." ~ 2 Timothy 2:15

"In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us."
~
Titus 2:7-8



7) SHARE UNCOMPROMISING TRUTH

"I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people." ~ Romans 16:17-18

"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." ~ James 4:4

"This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith..." ~ Titus 1:13


TRUTH DIVIDES

If you're a genuine follower of Jesus Christ, one thing you will discover is that you will encounter resistance to what you believe and what you share. No matter how hard you try, sooner or later you're going to offend someone with what you say or write. Again, the purpose of this Blog is to share the truth of the Gospel in love, without compromise. I'm not a theologian nor am I without fault. Some of what I share comes from personal experience. Don't take what I say to be the final word on anything. There are much wiser biblical scholars and then there is the Word of God. I'll try to reference these sources whenever I'm trying to make a point. Check them out and above all, pray and ask God to reveal His truth to you through the bible.

"And you shall be hated by all men for my name’s sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, he shall be saved." ~ Mark 13:13

On occasion, some have confronted me regarding certain comments in my posts that seem to be speaking directly to them. Some have accused me of attacking them or their church. It's been said that if you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that squeals is the one that got hit. The Gospel offends. Never should we try to soften it in order to avoid this. The power of the Holy Spirit is what convicts us of sin and ultimately what opens our eyes to the truth that saves. Our responsibility is simply to share the truth in love. Both in our words and in our actions.

Christianity remains under attack from the world. Jesus warned us of this. Furthermore, there is a split taking place within evangelical Christianity as a result of the Emergent movement. In an effort to try and reach the lost, many have resorted to methods that appeal to world which often leads to compromising the Word of God. There is no room within the truth of the Gospel for tolerance of sin or compromise of moral principles that God put in place. Our purpose here on earth is to glorify God. We do this by preaching the Word and demonstrating love in all things in order that sinners be saved through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. God Himself is the one who does the saving.


IF WE BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME

No where in scripture does God instruct us to appeal to the world or become like the world in order to draw people to Him. Mega Churches, marketing, programs, entertainment, drama, music and charismatic preaching are pointless if the Gospel is not being rightly proclaimed. There is one way to God and that is through Jesus Christ. How we present this is where it gets tricky. Our pride-filled, self-centered nature often leads us in an attempt to win others through persuasion, debate or coercion. We must be careful of our motives and focus on the main thing otherwise we may find ourselves winning the battles but losing the war.

Should we speak boldly for the truth, contend for the faith, and champion the gospel? Absolutely! Should we encourage each other to love and good works? Yes! Should we plead with others with tears to turn and repent if we see them heading down a wrong path? Unquestionably! But let us do so with self-sacrificial love, reverence for God and respect for one another. May we do so abandoning anger, wrath, slander, gossip, bitterness and malice. May we not strive to just be right, win an argument, publicly champion an issue, and on our blogs try to one up each other by tearing each other to pieces in the combox turning someone's life, ministry, and failings into blogging sport for the week. ~ Steve Camp


The goal should never be about numbers or success but rather, about teaching sound doctrine. Church was designed to be a place where Christians gathered to worship God. Where people are discipled in the truth and sent out into the world to reach the lost with the Gospel. Sadly, many churches have become like the world in order to please the seeker-sensitive crowd. This has led to more emphasis on a Social Gospel rather than a Cross-Centered Gospel.

"Spiritual decline...is the result of the presence of falsehood where there should be truth...gospel truth, not unity, was the first need....We can be sure that it will not be addressed effectively until there is renewed anointing of power upon those whose only authority is the Word of God." ~ Iain Murray


As I've said before, the purpose of this Blog is truth. If ever you come across something that contradicts the truth in what I write, confront me with it. I welcome your comments, critique and criticism. I will try my best to heed the advice I've offered above when it comes to sharing the truth in love. Certainly, I will fail at times. For that, I apologize in advance. My intent is not to cause dissension within the body of believers but at the same time, I will not sugar-coat the Word of God in order to avoid offending someone. I recognize that everyone is at a different point in their spiritual journey but, we should all be striving for the same thing.. to glorify God.

In summary, if you're only interested in "God is love", feel-good, best-life-now, purpose-driven, seeker-sensitive messages, this is probably not a Blog you'd like. If you're looking for God in the Shack, behind the Velvet Elvis or some sort of New Christianity, you're in the wrong place. If however, it's truth you are seeking without everything having to change, then you're in the right place.


~ktf~
John

2 comments:

GodisFreedom said...

2 Timothy 2:15 should say "rightly dividing the word of truth". There is a big dif between "handling" and "dividing". The reason we have so many "religious" beliefs today is that not many divide the Bible where it applies to us today. Romans through Philemon applies to us today, and if you think the Old Testament applies, works, you are in trouble. Right division is the key to doctrine, and this verse has been nuetered in all but the King James. VERY IMPORTANT verse. Wonder why the new Bible wouldn't want you to divide the Bible correctly, or didn't think it was important ? I know, I know,...here I go again.
Forgive me, but this is a very important verse tells us the Bible is to be studied and applied in timeline, crucial to doctrine. "Handling" just will not cut it here at all. Not a substitute for dividing by any stretch of the imagination !

GodisFreedom said...

Nice post John. I love the last paragraph especially. I like the stuff before it, like preaching the truth because...well...it's the TRUTH. STUDY to show thySELF aproved unto GOD, a workman ( like John ) that needeth NOT TO BE ASHAMED, rightly DIVIDING ( where doctrine is formed ) the WORD OF GOD. A lot of people will NOT study, they just repeat what they hear, repeat what they hear, repeat what they hear....BORING ! It will never be real to them, they will just look for people to argue with like with you, to make themselves feel better. But that last paragraph, I like that first sentence in the last paragragh, it spoke to me, just like I wrote it myself. Keep it up, you're doing the "most good" to coin a new collectivist phrase that the emergents can relate with. By the way, did you know that the Greens are actually Reds in drag ? Turns out, they don't want any kind of energy, they want complete Gov. Socialism top to bottom, the environment is just a nice tool to get it done. Sorry, it's on my mind, heavy on my mind. Who would have thought the anti christian left would take over in the name of environment ? I thought it would be like "hey, we're communists, and we out number you now, so now we will all be communists...so lets get rid of all the uncontrolables like Christians, intellectuals, rich people"...kinda like that. I never saw " hey we need to take over everything and turn this into a third world country to save the precious mother Earth" coming. Anyway, nice post. See ya.
Mike