Exposition Must Have Application

A. W. Tozer

"The Bible is among other things a book of revealed truth. That is, certain facts are revealed that could not be discovered by the most brilliant mind. These facts are of such a nature as to be past finding out. They were hidden behind a veil, and until certain men who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost took away that veil, no mortal man could know them. This lifting of the veil of unknowing from undiscoverable things we call divine revelation.

The Bible, however, is more than a volume of hitherto unknown facts about God, man and the universe. It is a book of exhortation based upon those facts. By far the greater portion of the book is devoted to an urgent effort to persuade people to alter their ways and bring their lives into harmony with the will of God as set forth in its pages.

No man is better for knowing that God in the beginning created the heavens and the earth. The devil knows that, and so did Ahab and Judas Iscariot. No man is better for knowing that God so loved the world of men that He gave His only begotten Son to die for their redemption. In hell there are millions that know that. Theological truth is useless until it is obeyed. The purpose behind all doctrine is to secure moral action.

What is generally overlooked is that truth as set forth in the Christian Scriptures is a moral thing; it is not addressed to the intellect only, but to the will also. It addresses itself to the total man, and its obligations cannot be discharged by grasping it mentally. Truth engages the citadel of the human heart and is not satisfied until it has conquered everything there. The will must come forth and surrender its sword. It must stand at attention to receive orders, and those orders it must joyfully obey. Short of this any knowledge of Christian truth is inadequate and unavailing.

Bible exposition without moral application raises no opposition. It is only when the hearer is made to understand that truth is in conflict with his heart that resistance sets in. As long as people can bear orthodox truth divorced from life they will attend and support churches and institutions without objection. The truth is a lovely song, become sweet by long and tender association; and since It asks nothing but a few dollars, and offers good music, pleasant friendships and a comfortable sense of well-being, it meets with no resistance from the faithful. Much that passes for New Testament Christianity is little more than objective truth sweetened with song and made palatable by religious entertainment.

One reason for the divorce between truth and life maybe the lack of the Spirit’s illumination. Another surely is the teacher’s unwillingness to get himself into trouble. Any man with fair pulpit gifts can get on with the average congregation if he just “feeds” them and lets them alone. Give them plenty of objective truth and never hint that they are wrong and should be set right, and they will be content.

On the other hand, the man who preaches truth and applies it to the lives of his hearers will feel the nails and the thorns. He will lead a hard life, but a glorious one. May God raise up many such prophets. The church needs them badly."

From the book "Of God and Man".

The Relevant Church

The Relevant Church in Tampa, Florida is making national headlines. The Church's pastor, Paul Wirth, has issued a challenge to his church members: 30 days of sex or no sex for 30 days. He wants married people to have sex once a day for thirty days and single people to abstain from sex for the same period (I thought single people were suppossed to abstain until marriage anyway??).

He makes the argument that half of all marriages end in divorce. The 30 days of sex for married couples is designed to strengthen the marriage.

The problem is that many marriages end in divorce because they have no substance. They are built primarily on sex and attraction only. When one begins to wain so does the marriage.

MSNBC carried the story here and the church's website is here.

**I should give a little warning here. The church's website does have a blog regarding this "challenge". There is a video on the blog that one of the church staff has posted. The video does not show any nudity but is highly suggestive. Use Caution.

People that attend these type of churches are having their felt needs met and their spiritual needs ignored. Unfortunatly they are being misguided and need prayer. They have been told a lie and have believed it.

KJV Only Preacher

Life has been busy recently and I haven't had the time to post as I would like. However, here is a short video that my good friend, Greg Birdwell, told me about.

As far as I know this is a real sermon by a real "preacher". There is a lesson in hermeneutics somewhere in here.

Highly Recommended Reading

My good friend, Greg Birdwell, is doing an excellent job with the book of Matthew over at his blog "Drink Deep". Check it out here.

You've Got To Be Kidding Me

Senator Larry Craig was arrested for trying to lure another man into a sex act in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on June 11, 2007. Now the ACLU is backing Senator Craig saying that sex in public bathroom stalls is private. You can read it for yourself here.

A Change to the Book of Mormon

A one-word change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon has reignited discussion among some Latter-day Saints about the book's historicity, geography and the descendants of those chronicled within its pages. News outlets such as this one are catching up on this controversy.

Past editions of the page in question says all of the people chronicled in the book "were destroyed, except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians." The new introduction reads much the same but says the Lamanites "are among the ancestors of the American Indians."

The Mormon church says the change was made to make it "reader-friendly".

However, scientific studies in recent years have been causing quite a concern for Mormons. In several studies there is a complete lack of a genetic, or DNA, connection to Hebrew blood in American Indians. Thus drawing into question the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.

If the Book of Mormon is proven to be false then the religion sinks. This "small" change is an attempt by church leaders to adapt writings and history in an effort to retain credibility among their flock.

Joel Olsteen: Mormons are true Christians

Joel Olsteen at his finest. Refusing to take a stand and refusing the Christ of the bible.

Here is an excerpt from an interview done with Chris Wallace of Fox News. You can read the transcript here.

WALLACE: And what about Mitt Romney? And I've got to ask you the question, because it is a question whether it should be or not in this campaign, is a Mormon a true Christian?

OSTEEN: Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his savior, and that's what I believe, so, you know, I'm not the one to judge the little details of it. So I believe they are.

And so, you know, Mitt Romney seems like a man of character and integrity to me, and I don't think he would — anything would stop me from voting for him if that's what I felt like.

WALLACE: So, for instance, when people start talking about Joseph Smith, the founder of the church, and the golden tablets in upstate New York, and God assumes the shape of a man, do you not get hung up in those theological issues?

OSTEEN: I probably don't get hung up in them because I haven't really studied them or thought about them. And you know, I just try to let God be the judge of that. I mean, I don't know.

I certainly can't say that I agree with everything that I've heard about it, but from what I've heard from Mitt, when he says that Christ is his savior, to me that's a common bond.