TODAY ON TRUTHS THAT TRANSFORM.
THROUGHOUT THE AGES,
CREEDS HAVE BEEN USED BY THE CHURCH
TO DEFINE TRUE CHRISTIANITY.
WE’RE NOT AT WAR WITH PEOPLE, WE’RE AT WAR WITH IDEAS.
WELCOME TO TRUTHS THAT TRANSFORM,
A PRODUCTION OF CORAL RIDGE MINISTRIES.
IN OUR CURRENT “WOKE” ERA,
MANY CHURCHES AND MINISTRIES ARE COMPROMISING BIBLICAL TRUTH
AND THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
BY CHASING AFTER CULTURAL FASHIONS.
ONE OF THOSE FASHIONS IS THE PURSUIT
OF SO-CALLED SOCIAL JUSTICE,
WHICH SOUNDS GOOD, BUT PROVES TO BE UNBIBLICAL.
ON TODAY’S PROGRAM, WE’LL LOOK AT ANCIENT TRUTH THAT UNITES ALL
TRUE CHRISTIANS-WHICH IS OFTEN A STARK CONTRAST WITH THE
WATERED-DOWN AND COMPROMISING FORMS OF CHRISTIANITY
WE FIND TODAY.
AND WE BEGIN BY INVESTIGATING THIS QUESTION OF SOCIAL JUSTICE.
WHAT COULD BE WRONG WITH SOCIAL JUSTICE?
QUITE A BIT, AS IT TURNS OUT
WHEN WE COMPARE IT WITH BIBLICAL JUSTICE.
I’M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT I SEE TAKING PLACE
IN CHURCHES ACROSS AMERICA
THE CHURCH HAS BEEN COMPROMISED BY PERSPECTIVES
LIKE CRITICAL RACE THEORY
I THINK IT'LL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO A LOT
OF UGLINESS THAT MANY EVEN WITHIN THE CHURCHES
I THINK DON'T EXPECT
MANY RADICAL LEFT WING IDEOLOGIES
HAVE INFILTRATED THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH.
AMONG THESE IS THE IDEA OF SOCIAL JUSTICE.
THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH IS SO INFILTRATED
BY THE POLITICAL LEFT,
I WOULD SAY THE SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS
AND THEY USE GUILT AND
THEY DIVIDE NOT JUST WHITES AGAINST BLACKS,
BUT ALSO MEN AGAINST WOMEN.
AND IT’S THE TACTICS OF CONFLICT AND DIVISION
I THINK WHAT YOU'RE SEEING WITH THIS KIND OF WOKE INVASION
OF EVEN THE CHURCH IS HOW IT WARPS
THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE OF CHRISTIANITY OF CHRIST.
I MEAN THAT'S WHAT IS SO DISCONCERTING ABOUT THIS
IT IS INJECTING ESSENTIALLY A SECULAR IDEOLOGY INTO
THE CHURCH ITSELF AND CHANGE ITS MESSAGE FUNDAMENTALLY.
OBVIOUSLY THE CHURCH HAS ENORMOUS INFLUENCE
ON AMERICAN SOCIETY
FOR THOSE WHO ARE WOKE OR BELIEVE IN SOCIAL JUSTICE
THEY KNOW THAT THE CHURCH IS AN INSTITUTION THAT THEY
MUST CONTROL TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM AMERICA.
I THINK WOKEISM IS REALLY BASED ON THESE THEORIES
OF SOCIAL JUSTICE
IT RELIES ON MUCH ON CRITICAL RACE THEORY.
I THINK IT'S THIS IDEA THAT
AMERICA MUST BE FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORMED
IT IS AN INHERENTLY UNJUST COUNTRY
THAT IS A RACIST COUNTRY
THAT THERE IS ESSENTIALLY THAT IF WE NEED
IF WE WANT TO MOVE INTO AN ANTI-RACIST FUTURE
TO A CERTAIN EXTENT WE HAVE TO EMBRACE
A KIND OF NEO-SEGREGATIONISM
MUCH OF THIS IS APPARENT DURING THE SUMMER OF 2020
AND THE RIOTS FOR GEORGE FLOYD.
MANY EVANGELICALS SUPPORTED THE MARXIST GROUP
KNOWN AS BLACK LIVES MATTER
BLACK LIVES MATTER, THAT MARCHED IN MINNEAPOLIS, MN,
IN RESPONSE TO GEORGE FLOYD BEING KILLED,
SUPPOSED TO BE ENGAGED IN PEACEFUL PROTESTS,
WELL THEY QUICKLY MIGRATED FROM JUSTICE FOR BLACKS
TO INCLUDE BURNING THE BIBLES IN PORTLAND OREGON,
DENIGRATING THE CHRISTIAN CROSS,
SAYING IT’S A SYMBOL OF WHITE SUPREMACY
YOU GOT TO UNDERSTAND THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACE,
IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH USING RACE AS A BLUDGEON
TO TRY TO DESTROY CIVIC INSTITUTIONS IN AMERICA,
IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACE,
THEY'RE USING RACE AND THEY'RE HIGH JACKING
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THEIR QUEST
TO UNDERMINE THIS COUNTRIES FOUNDING VALUES.
EVEN CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CHRIST, NOW KNOWN AS “CRU”
HAS CONFORMED TO “WOKENESS”
WE LAMENT THAT WE STOOD BY
AS SYSTEMIC AND INSTITUTIONALIZED RACISM BECAME
FOUNDING PILLARS AND STRUCTURES IN AMERICA AND WITHIN THE CHURCH
LORD HAVE MERCY
THIS COUNTRY WAS BUILT BY WHITE PEOPLE FOR WHITE PEOPLE
WELL NO, BY SLAVES FOR WHITE PEOPLE
IT WAS BUILT RIGHT SO THAT PEOPLE COULD GENERATE WEALTH
ONE THE ONE HAND,
IT’S SHOCKING TO SEE TRADITIONAL EVANGELICAL GROUPS LIKE UH
THE AS IT USED TO BE KNOWN CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CHRIST,
NOW CRU, WOULD START LEADING INTO A LEFTWING AGENDA,
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, THE LEFT HAS BEEN BRILLIANT
AT CO OPTING GROUPS, TAKING OVER GROUPS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS THE CASE WITH PEOPLE THAT HAVE TAKEN
MONEY FROM GEORGE SOROS OR OTHERS ON THE LEFT IS THAT THEY,
IN SOME CASES, HAVE SLID IN THEIR CHRISTIAN VALUES
THE FOUNDER OF THE GROUP IS BILL BRIGHT, OF COURSE,
AND I’M OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER THE OLD-FASHIONED
CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CHRIST,
WHICH WAS A EVANGELICAL IN THE PUREST SENSE.
I MEAN, IT BROUGHT THE GOSPEL, RIGHT,
TO HIGH SCHOOL KIDS WHO NEEDED TO...
AND COLLEGE KIDS WHO NEEDED TO HEAR IT.
SO, I THINK THAT ITS FOUNDERS WOULD BE SHOCKED TO SEE
WHERE IT HAS ENDED UP TODAY.
THIS BEGS THE QUESTION, WHY HAVE SO MANY EVANGELICALS FALLEN PREY
TO THESE IDEAS OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CRITICAL RACE THEORY?
THE CHURCH IS MADE UP OF PEOPLE WHO
ARE PART OF THE CULTURE, A PART OF THE SOCIETY,
THEY’RE OUT THERE AT WORK EVERYDAY IN THE CULTURE,
GOING TO THE SAME UNIVERSITIES.
EVEN MANY OF OUR CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITIES HAVE FALLEN PREY
TO THESE IDEOLOGIES OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF GENERATIONS.
THE CULTURE AS A WHOLE HAS BEEN DISCIPLED
AND MENTORED IN THESE... IN THESE IDEOLOGIES,
AND SO, BECAUSE OF THAT, IT’S EVERYWHERE.
I THINK MANY IN THE CHURCH HAVE MANY GOOD INTENTIONS MAYBE WHEN
THEY EMBRACE THIS THEY WANT AMERICANS TO
THEY DON'T WANT RACISM IN AMERICA
THEY THINK THAT SOMETHING MUST BE DONE AND
CERTAINLY THE CHURCH HAS HAD A HISTORICAL ROLE
I THINK IN ELIMINATING RACISM FROM AMERICAN SOCIETY.
I THINK THE REAL PROBLEM IS JUST THAT THE IDEOLOGY OF ANTI-RACISM
OF CRITICAL RACE THEORY I THINK ULTIMATELY DO BECOME
INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE CHURCH'S TEACHINGS.
CRITICS NOTE THAT THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MARXIST
VIEW OF JUSTICE AND THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF JUSTICE.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IS ESSENTIALLY A MARXIST CONCEPT,
BECAUSE IT HOLDS THAT WHAT WE NEED TO DO
TO MAKE OUR SOCIETY A JUST AND EQUAL
AND FAIR SOCIETY IS TO REDISTRIBUTE THE WEALTH.
WE NEED TO SHARE THE WEALTH
IN ORDER TO MAKE OURS A JUST SOCIETY.
SO, IT IS IT REALLY DOESN’T HAVE TO DO WITH JUSTICE,
IT HAS TO DO WITH MARXISM
BIBLICAL JUSTICE AS OPPOSED TO SOCIAL JUSTICE
TAKES EVERY SINGLE HUMAN BEING SERIOUSLY,
THAT’S WHY IT OPPOSES ABORTION, FOR INSTANCE.
EVERY SINGLE HUMAN IS MADE IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD
AND, THEREFORE, EACH ONE IS DISTINCT AND GLORIOUS
AND MEANT FOR IMMORTAL LIFE.
THERE’S A BIG CONTRAST BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND MARXISM.
ONE THE ONE HAND, CHRISTIANITY ENABLES PEOPLE TO FIND
FORGIVENESS AND REDEMPTION, AND THAT’S AVAILABLE
THROUGH CHRIST AND HIS SACRIFICE ON OUR BEHALF.
HOWEVER, MARXISM IS COMPLETELY VINDICTIVE.
IT REALLY HAS NO MEANS OF REDEMPTION WHATSOEVER.
MANY HAVE TWISTED THE SCRIPTURES,
USING CONFIRMATION BIAS, TO CONFIRM THEIR VIEWPOINT.
SOCIALISM IS COMPLETELY OPPOSITE TO WHAT THE SCRIPTURES TEACHES,
BECAUSE IT IS NOT FREE AND IT INVOLVED COERCION,
AND IT’S ALSO ESSENTIALLY THEFT.
AND IT INVITES ENVY.
IN THE BIBLE, JESUS TALKS ABOUT UNITY.
AND WE KNOW THAT BY LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER,
WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE RECOGNIZABLE.
WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE FRAGRANT FRAGRANCE IN THE WORLD.
WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE LIGHT.
BUT WHAT YOU FIND IN TODAY’S CHURCHES IS A LOT OF DIVISION,
A LOT OF INFIGHTING,
AND THEY LOOK VERY MUCH LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD.
WHAT’S SO IRONIC ABOUT THE TERM SOCIAL JUSTICE,
IS THAT IT IS MARXIST IN ITS ROOTS.
AND MARXISM HAS BEEN THE LEAST JUST THEORY THAT WE’VE SEEN
IN THE LAST CENTURY AT LEAST.
OVER A HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE HAVE DIED BECAUSE OF SOCIALISM,
BECAUSE OF MARXISM, BECAUSE OF COMMUNISM;
IT’S ALL THE SAME THING.
AND SO, THE HUMAN COST IS ENORMOUS.
WE HAVE TO STAND FIRM IN THE TRUTH OF THE WORD OF GOD
AND FIGHT OFF THESE BAD IDEOLOGIES
THAT HAVE SLOWLY CREPT INTO THE CHURCH.
I THINK WOKEISM IN THE CHURCH IS INCREDIBLY DIVISIVE
I MEAN EVEN THE MOST BASIC ASPECTS OF
THIS IDEOLOGY THAT OFTEN TIMES SEPARATES AMERICANS
BASED ON THEIR RACE
I MEAN THAT'S THE KIND OF STUFF THAT LEADS TO HATRED OF OTHERS
AND IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR
IT'S ABOUT HATING THEM BECAUSE OF THEIR SKIN COLOR
BECAUSE THEY ARE DIFFERENT FROM YOU.
ULTIMATELY, OUR RESPONSE HAS TO BE CLEAR,
IT HAS TO BE UNAMBIGUOUS,
IT HAS TO BE BOLD,
ULTIMATELY, WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE AT WAR.
WE’RE NOT AT WAR WITH PEOPLE, WE’RE AT WAR WITH IDEAS.
THERE IS A WAR GOING ON IN THE MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS
WE HAVE TO IDENTIFY AND OPPOSE THESE FAULTY IDEOLOGIES.
THE TEMPTATION TO CAST ASIDE BIBLICAL TRUTH IN FAVOR OF A
PERCEIVED CULTURAL RELEVANCE HAS ALWAYS BEEN SOMETHING
THAT CHRISTIANS HAVE FACED.
IT CAN EVEN START WITH AN EARNEST DESIRE TO EVANGELIZE.
BUT WHEN WE BEGIN TO SHAVE OFF HARD TRUTHS
JUST TO MAKE IT MORE PALATABLE TO MODERN EARS,
WE DISTORT-AND ULTIMATELY LOSE-THE GOSPEL.
THAT’S WHY I RECENTLY LED OUR CONGREGATION
HERE AT CORAL RIDGE BACK TO A VITAL CHURCH DOCUMENT
THAT PRECEDES OUR OWN MODERN SENSIBILITIES.
WE LOOK AT ANCIENT TRUTH THAT HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME, AND
THAT HAS UNIFIED CHRISTIANS OF EVERY GENERATION, IN MY MESSAGE,
“AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANITY IN A SECULAR AGE.”
THROUGHOUT THE AGES, CREEDS HAVE BEEN USED
BY THE CHURCH TO DEFINE TRUE CHRISTIANITY.
THE APOSTLE’S CREED THAT WE RECITE WEEKLY HERE AT
CORAL RIDGE IS ONE OF THOSE CREEDS
THAT HAVE STOOD THE TEST OF TIME.
THE CREED WAS FORMULATED IN ITS ORIGINAL VERSION
AS EARLY AS THE SECOND CENTURY.
IT CAME INTO ITS FINAL FORM, THAT CREED THAT WE RECITE TODAY,
AND EACH WEEK AROUND 700 AD
IT WAS FORMULATED THE CREED AMONG OTHER CREEDS
TO DEFINE IN A WORLD THAT WAS RAMPANT WITH PAGANISM
AND THE GRECO ROMAN CULTURE.
WHAT IS TRUE CHRISTIANITY?
IN A WORLD THAT WAS RAMPANT WITH HERESY LIKE GNOSTICISM?
WHAT DOES THE CHURCH TRULY BELIEVE?
2000 YEARS LATER, DO YOU THINK OUR WORLD NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANITY IS ALL ABOUT?
DO YOU THINK WE NEED TO BE REMINDED YET AGAIN
OF THE FOUNDATIONAL TRUTHS FOUND IN GOD'S HOLY WORD
THAT ARE SUMMARIZED IN CREEDS LIKE THE APOSTLES CREED?
IN A WORLD THAT CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT IS TRUE AND WHAT IS FALSE.
IN A WORLD THAT CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT IS BLACK AND WHAT IS WHITE.
IT IS THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST, FOR 2000 YEARS,
THAT HAS BEEN STANDING ON GOD'S HOLY WORD,
THE INFALLIBLE TRUTH OF SCRIPTURE
AND SUMMARIZING THAT FAITH IN FORMS LIKE THE APOSTLES CREED.
TO SAY, THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVED.
IT WASN'T WRITTEN BY THE APOSTLES, BUT IT SUMMED UP
WHAT THE APOSTLES BELIEVED AND WHAT THEY TAUGHT.
NOW YOU MIGHT BE HERE SAYING, I COME TO CORAL RIDGE
TO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD, NOT THE CREED.
I'M NOT GOING TO PREACH THE CREED.
I'M GOING TO PREACH THE BIBLE,
BUT THROUGH PREACHING THROUGH THE BIBLE,
I WANT US TO GO BACK TO THE CREED
AND UNDERSTAND THESE ARE THE FOUNDATIONAL TRUTHS
THAT DEFINE AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANITY.
COULD THERE BE A MORE RELEVANT MESSAGE IN A SECULAR AGE
THAN THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY
AS THEY ARE SUMMARIZED IN THE APOSTLE'S CREED?
SO LET'S DIG TOGETHER AS WE TAKE THE FIRST TRUTH
THAT WE ARE CONFRONTED WITH IN THE APOSTLE'S CREED,
THAT WE BELIEVE IN GOD, THE FATHER ALMIGHTY,
AND TO DO SO TO UNDERSTAND THE DEPTH OF THAT TRUTH.
WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT ROMANS CHAPTER 8 VERSES 28 THROUGH 39.
SO IF YOU'RE ABLE AND WILLING, WILL YOU NOW PLEASE STAND
FOR THE READING OF GOD'S WORD.
THE APOSTLE PAUL WRITES,
THE GRASS WITHERS AND THE FLOWER FADES, BUT THE WORD OF OUR LORD,
IT STANDS FOREVER. AMEN.
YOU MAY BE SEATED.
I BELIEVE. I BELIEVE.
TWO SIMPLE WORDS THAT YOU RECITE EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY
AND WHETHER YOU REALIZE IT OR NOT, THOSE TWO SIMPLE WORDS,
I BELIEVE ARE SOME OF THE MOST COUNTER CULTURAL
POLITICALLY INCORRECT WORDS YOU COULD EVER SAY.
IN THE 21ST CENTURY, WE'RE TOLD YOU CAN'T BELIEVE IN ANYTHING.
YOU CERTAINLY CAN'T HAVE ASSURANCE.
YOU CERTAINLY CAN'T BE CERTAIN, BUT YOU COME EVERY WEEK AND
YOU STAND TOGETHER AND YOU BOLDLY PROCLAIM
NO, THIS I BELIEVE.
YOU SAY IT WITH CERTAINTY AND YOU SAY IT WITH REPETITION
BECAUSE WE ARE SAYING IN A WORLD THAT CAN'T DECIDE
THAT WHICH IS TRUE OR THAT WHICH IS FALSE.
A WORLD THAT CAN'T DECIDE WHAT TRULY WE ARE TO BELIEVE.
IN A WORLD THAT SAYS YOU CAN'T BELIEVE IN ANYTHING
THAT IS CERTAIN, ANYTHING THAT IS FIXED,
WE ARE THE COUNTER CULTURAL PEOPLE OF GOD
THAT COME WEEK AFTER WEEK AND SAY,
NO, I DO BELIEVE AND I BELIEVE WITH CERTAINTY,
I BELIEVE LIKE THE APOSTLE PAUL
THAT I AM SURE OF WHAT I BELIEVE.
THE FIRST TRUTH THAT WE ARE CONFRONTED WITH
IN THE APOSTLE'S CREED
IS THAT I BELIEVE IN GOD, THE FATHER ALMIGHTY.
IT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL THE TRUTHS.
IT'S THE REASON IT COMES FIRST, BECAUSE
IT'S THE TRUTH OF GOD BEING THE FATHER ALMIGHTY.
THAT DEFINES ALL THE OTHER TRUTHS
THAT WE PROFESS AS BELIEVERS.
CHRISTIANITY PRESENTS AN ALMIGHTY GOD,
THAT HE IS MIGHTIER AND MORE POWERFUL,
SOVEREIGN OVER ALL THINGS ABOVE AND ALL THINGS BELOW.
THE GOD OF CHRISTIANITY IS UNLIKE ALL OTHER GOD’S.
HE IS THE FATHER ALMIGHTY.
VERSE 28 SAYS THAT HE IS CONTROL OF ALL THINGS.
HE SAYS AND WE KNOW, AND WE KNOW THAT GOD WORKS ALL THINGS.
THAT HE IS SOVEREIGN.
AND THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD AND THE REALITY THAT GOD IS
THE FATHER ALMIGHTY IS WHAT SEPARATES THEISM FROM ATHEISM.
YOU CAN’T HAVE GOD OF CHRISTIANITY UNLESS
YOU BELIEVE THAT GOD IS COMPLETELY SOVEREIGN.
IF THERE IS ANYTHING OUTSIDE THE CONTROL
AND THE SOVEREIGN REIGN OF GOD
IT CEASES TO BE THE GOD OF THE BIBLE
AND IT CEASES TO BE THE GOD OF CHRISTIANITY.
IT IS THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD AND
THE TRUTH THAT HE IS THE FATHER ALMIGHTY
THAT SEPARATES THEISM FROM ATHEISM.
RC SPROUL SAID THIS,
NOT ONE MAVERICK MOLECULE,
NOTHING IN ALL OF THE UNIVERSE
THAT IS OUTSIDE THE SOVEREIGN HAND OF GOD.
NOW, YOU MIGHT SAY GOD IS IN CONTROL OF ALL THINGS,
BUT NOTICE IN VERSE 28,
IT DOESN'T SAY THAT ALL THINGS ARE GOOD
BECAUSE YOU MIGHT BE SITTING HERE SAYING,
GOD'S NOT DOING A GOOD JOB
ON MAKING ALL THESE THINGS GOOD IN MY LIFE.
NO, IT SAYS THAT GOD WORKS ALL THINGS FOR THE GOOD,
FOR THOSE THAT KNOW HIM AND LOVE HIM AND
ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD HERE IN ROMANS 8 TEACHES US
THAT GOD EVEN TAKES THE BAD THINGS IN OUR LIVES,
THE DISCOURAGEMENT AND THE DOUBT,
THE BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS AND THE SHATTERED DREAMS.
HE TAKES THOSE BAD THINGS IN OUR LIVES AND
FOR THOSE THAT ARE CONNECTED TO JESUS CHRIST BY FAITH ALONE,
HE EVEN TAKES THOSE BAD THINGS
AND HE TURNS THEM TO THE GOOD ACCORDING TO YOUR PURPOSE,
NO, ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE, ACCORDING TO HIS WILL,
HE'S ALMIGHTY OVER ALL THINGS.
IT'S THE PROCESS OF SANCTIFICATION.
IT'S THE PROCESS OF GOD CONFORMING US INTO THE IMAGE AND
LIKENESS OF CHRIST, AND THAT MEANS EVEN TAKING US
THROUGH THINGS THAT HURT TO MAKE US MORE LIKE JESUS,
BUT EVEN THE BROKEN THINGS IN OUR LIVES
AND THE BAD SITUATIONS THAT HAPPEN TO US
REST ASSURE THAT IN CHRIST GOD IS TAKING ALL THINGS UNDER HIS
SOVEREIGN REIGN AND RULE AND WORKING THEM FOR THE GOOD,
YOUR GOOD ACCORDING TO HIS WILL AND ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.
IN A WORLD FULL OF DOUBT AND DISCOURAGEMENT,
I HAVE ONLY ONE THING TO OFFER.
THAT HE IS ALMIGHTY OVERALL, BUT ULTIMATELY, IT'S THE
ONLY THING YOU NEED REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU'RE FACING.
REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU WERE EXPERIENCING TO KNOW THAT YOU
HAVE A GOD THAT IS ALMIGHTY, IN YOUR MARRIAGE, IN YOUR HEALTH,
IN YOUR FAMILY, IN YOUR BUSINESS, IN THIS WORLD,
PAUL TELLS US THAT THERE IS NOTHING THAT WILL STOP OUR GOD.
NOTHING HIGH AND NOTHING LOW, NO RULER, NO PRESIDENT, NO HEALTH
SCARE, NO FINANCIAL DISTRESS, NOTHING IN ALL THE WORLD,
WILL STOP YOUR FATHER FROM LOVING YOU TO THE VERY END.
IS HE BIG ENOUGH?
IS HE ABLE?
OF COURSE!
HE'S GOD.
HE'S THE FATHER ALMIGHTY.
HI, I’M JENNIFER KENNEDY CASSIDY.
AS YOU JUST HEARD FROM DR. PACIENZA,
CHRISTIANS COME TOGETHER WEEKLY IN WORSHIP TO SAY “I BELIEVE.”
WE CAN HAVE CERTAINTY AND TRUTH BECAUSE
GOD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF IN HIS WORD.
BUT THAT TRUTH ALWAYS COMES UNDER ATTACK AND
ALL TOO OFTEN, THOSE ATTACKS COME FROM WITHIN.
THAT WAS TRUE IN THE TIME OF THE APOSTLES, AND IT’S TRUE NOW.
IN THE NAME OF RELEVANCE AND WINSOMENESS,
TOO MANY CHURCH LEADERS COMPROMISE THE TRUTH IN ORDER
TO GET THE ACCEPTANCE AND APPROVAL OF THE CULTURE.
FIND OUT SOME OF THE WAYS THIS IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN THE
AMERICAN CHURCH IN OUR DOCUMENTARY SPECIAL,
HOW THE LEFT IS STEALING YOUR CHURCH,
WHICH WE WILL SEND YOU ON DVD AS
THANKS FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION TO THIS MINISTRY.
BIBLICAL TEACHING ON GENDER, SEXUALITY, RACE,
AND A HOST OF OTHER ISSUES IS BEING COMPROMISED AND TWISTED
AND IT’S HAPPENING EVEN IN CONSERVATIVE,
BIBLE-BELIEVING DENOMINATIONS.
THERE ARE LEFTIST FOUNDATIONS AND FUNDING-SOURCES THAT
MAY BE TARGETING YOUR OWN DENOMINATION OR CHURCH.
THIS COMPELLING DOCUMENTARY FEATURES EXPERTS LIKE
VODDIE BAUCHAM, ERWIN LUTZER, AND CAROL SWAIN,
AND IT WILL EQUIP YOU TO BE VIGILANT TO PROTECT THE TRUTH.
AND IF YOU’RE ABLE TO GIVE A GENEROUS DONATION OF $50 OR MORE
TO HELP US EXPOSE THE LIES OF THE CULTURE,
WE’LL SEND YOU THE DVD PLUS OUR NEWLY-PUBLISHED MINISTRY VERSION
OF THE CLASSIC BOOK CHRISTIANITY AND LIBERALISM
BY J. GRESHAM MACHEN.
THIS HARDCOVER VERSION FEATURES A NEW FOREWORD FROM
DR. PETER LILLBACK, THE PRESIDENT
OF WESTMINSTER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,
WHICH WAS FOUNDED BY MACHEN.
MACHEN BROKE OFF FROM PRINCETON AND FOUNDED A NEW SEMINARY WHEN
HE DISCOVERED THAT LIBERALISM HAD EATEN THROUGH
THE ONCE-GREAT CHRISTIAN FOUNDATIONS OF THAT INSTITUTION.
WHERE PRINCETON HAD ONCE PRODUCED
AMERICA’S GREATEST THEOLOGIANS,
IT HAD BEGUN PRODUCING SKEPTICS WHO WERE USING
CHRISTIAN LANGUAGE WHILE EMPTYING OUT ITS MEANING,
AND SPREADING UNBELIEF IN THE CHURCHES.
THIS CLASSIC BOOK BRINGS OUR CURRENT SITUATION
INTO SHARP FOCUS, AND SHEDS BRIGHT LIGHT ON
HOW OUR CHURCHES ARE OFTEN CAPTURED BY UNBELIEF.
YOU’LL WANT TO GET THESE RESOURCES AND
ALSO MAKE SURE TO SHARE THEM WITH YOUR PASTOR.
THAT’S THE UPDATED DOCUMENTARY,
HOW THE LEFT IS STEALING YOUR CHURCH,
AS THANKS FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION.
AND THE DVD PLUS THE NEWLY PUBLISHED MINISTRY VERSION OF
CHRISTIANITY AND LIBERALISM
BY J. GRESHAM MACHEN,
FEATURING A NEW FOREWORD BY PETER LILLBACK,
AS THANKS FOR YOUR GIFT OF $50 OR MORE.
AND AS YOU DONATE, YOU ARE HELPING THIS MINISTRY
EXPAND OUR REACH THROUGH TELEVISION, RADIO, PODCASTS,
PRINT RESOURCES, AND OUR CENTER FOR CHRISTIAN STATESMANSHIP
ON CAPITOL HILL, AMONG MANY OTHERS.
SIMPLY WRITE TO US AT CORAL RIDGE MINISTRIES:
OR CALL TOLL FREE:
OR GO ONLINE TO:
UNLESS YOU’RE A THEOLOGY STUDENT,
IT’S UNLIKELY THAT YOU’RE FAMILIAR WITH THE NAME
J. GRESHAM MACHEN.
BUT HE’S A PIVOTAL FIGURE IN AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY, AND
HIS INSIGHT INTO THE STRUGGLE THE MODERN CHURCH WAS FACING
IS AS FRESH AND APPLICABLE AS IT WAS ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
MACHEN WAS A PROFESSOR AT PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,
WHICH HAD BEEN THE PREMIERE SEMINARY IN AMERICA.
LUMINARIES LIKE CHARLES HODGE AND B.B. WARFIELD
LED THE WAY IN ORTHODOX, FAITHFUL, REFORMED THEOLOGY.
BUT ENTERING THE 1920’S, THE SEMINARY,
AS WELL AS OTHER ELITE CHRISTIAN INSTITUTIONS, WAS DRIFTING.
IN A MORE MODERNIZED WORLD WITH TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION, RADIO,
AIR TRAVEL, AND THE SPREADING OF DARWIN’S THEORY OF EVOLUTION,
SOME BEGAN TO SEE THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AS OUTDATED.
THE IDEA OF SIN HAS NEVER BEEN ALL THAT POPULAR WITH SINNERS,
AND IN THIS MORE MODERN CONTEXT, A NUMBER OF INFLUENTIAL
PREACHERS AND TEACHERS BEGAN TO ADVOCATE FOR A MORE MODERN,
LIBERAL VERSION OF CHRISTIANITY, WHICH EMPHASIZED
JESUS’S TEACHINGS, BUT MINIMIZED OR ELIMINATED
THE MIRACULOUS ELEMENTS OF HIS MINISTRY.
THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT JESUS CHRIST WAS GOD IN HUMAN FLESH,
BORN OF A VIRGIN, WHO CAME INTO THE WORLD TO DIE ON THE CROSS,
AND IN DOING SO, TO SUFFER GOD’S WRATH
AGAINST OUR SIN IN OUR PLACE.
BUT THE NEW LIBERALS SAID THAT THESE WERE BARBARIC IDEAS
FROM A PRE-SCIENTIFIC ERA.
AS RICHARD NIEBUHR, WHO WAS A CRITIC OF LIBERALISM,
LATER OBSERVED, THEY TAUGHT THAT
“A GOD WITHOUT WRATH BROUGHT MEN WITHOUT SIN
INTO A KINGDOM WITHOUT JUDGMENT
THROUGH THE MINISTRATIONS OF A CHRIST WITHOUT A CROSS".
J. GRESHAM MACHEN SAW THIS AS IT WAS HAPPENING.
IN HIS SEMINAL BOOK, CHRISTIANITY AND LIBERALISM,
HE SHOWED THAT A CHRISTIANITY THAT CHANGED THE MEANING
OF ALL THESE TERMS WAS NO CHRISTIANITY AT ALL,
BUT ANOTHER RELIGION ALTOGETHER.
HIS BLUNTNESS ON THE ISSUE, AND HIS CONVICTIONS ABOUT THE TRUTH,
ULTIMATELY LED HIM TO LEAVE PRINCETON AND TO FOUND
WESTMINSTER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PHILADELPHIA,
WHICH TODAY STILL STANDS AS ONE OF THE
STALWART AND FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN SEMINARIES IN THE WORLD TODAY.
THOSE LIKE MACHEN OFTEN CATCH A LOT OF HEAT IN THE MIDST
OF THE BATTLE FROM THOSE URGING COMPROMISE AND CAPITULATION.
BUT IT’S THE MACHEN'S--AND THOSE LIKE HIM-- WHO TRULY STAND IN
THE LINE OF PETER AND JUDE--AND OF PAUL WHO SAID,
I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY.
IF YOU’RE EVER IN SOUTH FLORIDA, PLEASE COME JOIN US IN PERSON
FOR WORSHIP SUNDAY MORNINGS AT CORAL RIDGE.
OR, YOU CAN TUNE INTO THE LIVESTREAM AT CRPC.TV.
AND MAKE SURE TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH ALL OF OUR PROGRAMMING
AND RESOURCES AT OUR WEBSITE AT CRM.TV.
ALSO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA AT FACEBOOK, X, INSTAGRAM,
AND ON YOUTUBE.
AND NOW, HERE’S A LOOK AT THE NEXT TRUTHS THAT TRANSFORM.
I DON'T THINK IT'S ABUSE TO CALL SOMEONE
TO REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE AND HOPE.
THAT'S NEXT WEEK
THIS HAS BEEN A PRESENTATION OF CORAL RIDGE MINISTRIES