The Exposed Affections in Psalm 119

 Psalm 119 is not only the longest psalm written in scripture, but also one that displays a lot of affection for the Lord’s commands. This has been one psalm that I really wanted to know, and I certainly wouldn’t say that I’ve plumbed the depths of this beautiful psalm. But there had been something bothering me all this time, as I was reading this psalm and reading how the psalmist had unbounding affection for the Lord’s precepts, commands, statutes and instruction…I couldn’t help but ask myself “why? Why does he have so much affection for the Lord’s instruction?” I read the psalm again and again, in search for my answer, carefully reading into the verses that speak of where the Psalmist’ heart was at. And then I prayed…

It was as if I couldn’t see the forest through the trees, I wanted to know so much why the Psalmist had an abundant delight in the Lord’s commands. So I asked God to reveal it to me and there it was, staring right at me, a single verse that gave greater meaning to every line of affection exposed in this great psalm!

I will never forget Your precepts,
for You have given me life through them. Psalm 119:93

This one verse took on a new light of the entire psalm for me, and it was as if I was questioning myself at the same time “do I delight in the Lord’s commands under the new covenant in the same way?” I began reading the preceding verses and I also noticed something else about the Psalmist’ affections.

I have not turned from Your judgments,
for You Yourself have instructed me. Psalm 119:102

The Psalmist exposes an intimate relationship in the delight of knowing the Lord’s instructions, as one who is instructed by the Lord! I believe this psalm speaks volumes of how we as Christians should respond knowing that it is Christ who established a new covenant with His people and allows us to delight in His instruction. Do we as Christians remember the Lord’s commands because He has provided life through them? Do we as Christians fear the Lord rightly knowing that He has personally instructed us through His word? Dear friends I would encourage you all to know this psalm, to know the affections that this Psalmist is displaying and to know why the psalmist takes delight in the Lord’s commands. To know this is to know that God has provided life through His word!

The Other Side of The Nativity Narrative

The Other Side of The Nativity Narrative

I want to look at the birth of Christ in a different light. I want to focus on the actions of King Herod and his response after hearing of the birth of Christ.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east^[a] and have come to worship Him.”^[b]

³ When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. Matthew 2:1-3

 I believe King Herod knew that his position as king was threatened, and since the rest of Jerusalem was under the reign of the Roman Empire at the time, it makes perfect sense why the rest of Jerusalem was also largely disturbed. The birth of Christ was so significant that it could make a powerful king shake in his royal boots. So how does a king deal with such a threat? Like what any king would do to protect his own position, but let us consider how far Herod was willing to go in order to maintain his position on the throne.

After they were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy Him.” Matthew 2:13

Herod sort out to kill Christ. Consider this for a minute; this is the Roman Empire under full control of Jerusalem. The Roman Empire that has its historical name for being the proverbial juggernauts in battle, and the king is in fear of this new born Jesus Christ. None of this makes ANY sense…unless the birth of Christ was foretold by the prophets.

 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.

⁵ “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:

⁶ And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the leaders of Judah:
because out of you will come a leader
who will shepherd My people Israel.” Matthew 2:4-6

And so Herod as we read later on from verse 16, flew into a fit of rage and kills every male child under the age of two, so as we should let us consider the value of Christ’ kingship when observing these biblical truths. Herod certainly knew that Jesus was the Christ, the messiah, the one to take the royal throne over His people. Herod certainly acted on this truth, but in a way that was undeniably wicked! How much more should we as Christians respond in a way that is glorifying to God, knowing that Christ is king over our lives? We should likewise fear God but in a way that honours His position as king. John Piper once said (in paraphrasing) “the fear of God is not drawing back away from God when you’ve sinned, but knowing that He’s sovereign and running back to Him!”  

 

World Mission Society Church of God – part 2

World Mission Society Church of God – part 2

 In part one of this article blog series, I presented a partial summary of beliefs within the Church of God. The belief in the mother god and the belief in a second Christ named Ahnsahnghong. As I also pointed out within the first article, the COG also believes that we as human beings are fallen angels. I will be exposing this belief in light of scripture and more doctrinal beliefs within the COG, in particular the influence that Ahnsahnghong has had on many millions of followers. Let’s begin by looking at the idea that we as humans are an actual state of fallen angelic beings according to the Church of God.

One of the main passages that COG uses for backing up their belief that all humans are fallen angelic beings comes from Proverbs 8:22-31.

²² “The Lord made^[a] me
at the beginning of His creation,^[b]
before His works of long ago.
²³ I was formed before ancient times,
from the beginning, before the earth began.
²⁴ I was born
when there were no watery depths
and no springs filled with water.
²⁵ I was delivered
before the mountains and hills were established,
²⁶ before He made the land, the fields,
or the first soil on earth.
²⁷ I was there when He established the heavens,
when He laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean,
²⁸ when He placed the skies above,
when the fountains of the ocean gushed out,
²⁹ when He set a limit for the sea
so that the waters would not violate His command,
when He laid out the foundations of the earth.
³⁰ I was a skilled craftsman^[c] beside Him.
I was His^[d] delight every day,
always rejoicing before Him.
³¹ I was rejoicing in His inhabited world,
delighting in the human race.

Here is the argument that COG put forth in their belief that we are fallen angels. ““In the above verses, “I” designates Solomon, who was the third king of Israel. When he wrote the book of Proverbs, he stated that he already existed before the creation of the earth. From this, we can see that he existed as a spiritual being before he came to this earth─that he lived in the angelic world, the kingdom of God.” © WMSCOG English WATV.org - Accessed on 24/11/2013.” Assuming that the “I” used is referring to Solomon, the COG misunderstand the personified meaning that this is purely God’s wisdom expressed. When we observe the beginning of Proverbs 8, we can see that this proverb is personified in its form.

“Doesn’t Wisdom call out?
Doesn’t Understanding make her voice heard?
² At the heights overlooking the road,
at the crossroads, she takes her stand.” Proverbs 8:1-2

By observing scripture from the premise of knowing the author’s written intentions and what the author has intended to convey, we can distinguish between eisegetical and exegetical language. A good way to begin with scripture is by asking yourself “what is the author’s intentions of this passage? Is my interpretation biblically accurate?” If you struggle interpreting scripture in a biblical way, observe commentaries that might help you understand the meaning of the scripture.

 As for Ahnsahnghong, I had done a little research on this man. And a lot of the information that is available is written in Korean. There was a massive problem when I started investigating who Ahnsahnhong was. The reason for this is that I wanted to essentially uncover the reason behind his preaching of the ‘mother god’. However when I found some info on this, Ahnsahnhong never supported the teachings of a ‘mother god’. During the time that Ahnshanhong was alive, a woman by the name of UmSooln apparently claimed to be the ‘mother god’. After Ahnsahnhong’s death in 1985, it was the WMSCOG that gave a new name to the ‘mother god’, ZhangGilJah. Ahnsahnhong never claimed to be the second Christ as what I first indicated in part one of my blog entries; instead he claimed to be the prophet Elijah (still quite strange if you ask me). The reason it’s so hard to profile Ahnsahnghong is because there’s a lot of information that reveals the inconsistencies of the Church of God’s doctrine. For more information, I recommend visiting this site http://www.examiningthewmscog.com/. This site has citations and some of Ahnsahnghong's writings have been translated into english.

 

Before You Send Your Kids to University…

This is a short blog entry that I want to express what’s been on my heart lately. This blog is for the parents and the young men and women who are considering university or college studies. I’m in my second year at Murdoch University based in Perth (I study via correspondence). As a Christian I will tell you this straight up, your worldview will constantly be attacked, this may be directly or indirectly. The one plea I have with godly Christian parents is this, please please don’t send your children to a secular university until they know the gospel and going to university is their primary mission to share the gospel.

I did an introductory course a couple of years ago and they taught us a lot about worldviews. They taught some truth but not all truth, what do I mean by that? The course never explored ‘how’ people assume their own worldview. They taught more or less that it’s everyone’s right to a worldview (which isn’t wrong). What they left out was information that is extremely vital in allowing Christians to have an excellent foothold in good apologetics, it’s called presuppositions.

Presuppositions are essentially the things that are presupposed. For example, before even discussing the cosmic evolution theory, a lecturer might presuppose that God doesn’t exist and therefore truth itself might be relative. Presupposition argumentation allow for a Christian to take out the pillars that hold up the secularist worldview. It’s dangerous, because you’re exposing the inconsistencies within their worldview. It’s an argument that has no effective counter argument to it. That’s why I say it’s dangerous because the premise of using this argument should effectively be out of love for the non-believer.

This argument works for the religious and non-religious people. It’s ‘nuclear’ as professor Greg L. Bahnsen would have it put. It’s easy to trust in the argument more so than the gospel, so like anything pray before using this. Remember this is just a tool in order to share the truth of the gospel. That’s why I plead with parents to not send their children to university until they know the gospel. I’ve posted up a youtube video of Greg L. Bahnsen’s first lecture on the ‘Myth of Neutrality’; this is an important position to know since secular lecturers still love to use this trick in the lecture halls. I also recommend purchasing Greg L. Bahnsen’s book “Pushing the Antithesis”, it’s a great book based on all 5 lectures which are all on youtube and I highly recommend viewing each one of them.

The False Impressions of ‘Celebritised’ Christianity

The False Impressions of ‘Celebritised’ Christianity

The one thing that has me frustrated recently is many articles and apparent Christian quotations from Paul Walker who died recently in a car accident. Paul Walker was well known for his star role in ‘The Fast and Furious’ movie series. Many of these articles are quoting Paul Walker as a Christian, and therefore we as Christians should be at peace with his death as a response. I want to make it very clear that I’m not attacking Paul Walker, nor am I saying that Paul Walker is in hell. As a Christian I strongly believe that judgment completely rests in God’s hands. At the same time, there are signs of knowing what to look for in a true believer.

Jesus says in Matthew 7:15-17

“Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. ¹⁶ You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.”

In this particular passage Jesus speaks of two kinds of people, both outwardly agreeing to be believers in some measure. However there’s a distinguishing difference between the two, both might appear to have come from the same proverbial tree but the outward signs of the fruit show what is produced is either good or bad. So what is good fruit? In Galatians 5:22-23 we see the signs of the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,^{[a] 23} gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

These are the essential fruits of knowing a true believer. Jesus goes on in saying in Matthew 7:21-23

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ ²³ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’

Jesus emphasises that although a person may emphatically call Jesus Christ ‘Lord’, it most certainly doesn’t save them. And they may very well have done many things, even miracles but still be cast out as a lawbreaker. So what does the difference look like? Jesus certainly doesn’t leave anyone in the dark on this one! He goes on to explain what is meant by the above statement.

Matthew 7:24-27

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!”

Jesus speaks here of two kinds of people. Both of which are actively building houses yet the house that survives is grounded on the rock. Essentially Jesus is saying that unless your life is so dependent upon Christ, than you’re building on sand! We should be a people who continually check the foundation for what it is we’re building our lives on. Do the things we do and say reflect the glory of God?

As I mentioned earlier, I do not have the power to say “Paul Walker is in hell!” But as a Christian who has read and understood these passages, it is clear that Christ has given us a foundation of understanding true biblical Christianity. So what does true biblical Christianity look like in a celebrity?  Consider someone like Tim Tebow, the American footballer who has made frontline in sporting magazines, sporting interviews and who openly shares his faith about Christ. I admire someone like Tebow who puts Christ first above his celebrity career, he’s a man who checks the foundation to make sure he’s building on the rock!

World Mission Society Church of God – part 1

World Mission Society Church of God – part 1

 It’s been on my heart more recently to investigate this ‘cult like’ church and to expose the truth of what the COG (Church of God) folk believe and how this compares with the scriptures. There are a number of beliefs that simply do not compare with Protestant or Catholic Church history, for example, the belief in god the mother and also the belief in a second Christ named Ahnsahnghong from Korea. At first hand many people who believe in the biblical teachings would already be questioning how anyone could believe in such things in the first place. This was my first gut reaction when I investigated more of what the COG folk believe in. But given that this ‘cult like’ church has established 450 churches in South Korea and has 2,200 churches abroad, it’s easy enough to say that the COG is having a huge impact on society in some measure.

The church of God was first established in 1948 by Ahnsahnhong who is considered the second Christ by the COG. The salvific beliefs were written by Ahnsahnhong in his book “Doctrine Manual of The Whtiness of Jesus Church of God.” The book’s contents are ultimately built around a ‘works based’ salvation which involve; baptism being the first step to salvation, keeping the Sabbath on Saturday’s and also not celebrating Christmas because of the historic ties with pagan worship.

So what do the COG people believe in? As I mentioned above, the COG people believe in god the mother. They essentially back this up with scripture from Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth,^[a] and the creatures that crawl^[b] on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created man in His own image;
He created him in the image of God;
He created them male and female.”

As many protestant church goers would agree, this passage doesn’t mention anything of god the mother, but simply expressing the powerful ability of God creating man by His word. So how does the COG folk interpret this scripture? “The above verse states that God has two images – a male image and a female image. Until now, we have only know and called upon the male image of God: “Father.” Then how should we call upon the female image of God? Logically, we should refer to God’s female image as “Mother.” This is why God has said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” - World Mission Society Church of God. Retrieved 2013-23-11.

Unfortunately for the COG folk, you can only eisegete scripture so far until you’re asked with a question “so what’s the role of the mother?” This really can’t be answered because passages, chapters and books of the bible show zero consistency of any such being as ‘god the mother’. The COG folk only use one other verse to back up the existence of god the mother, found in revelation 22:17 “Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Anyone who hears should say, “Come!” And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift.” Scripture declares that the bride in reference here is referring to Christians, those who are saved by Christ to take part in the heavenly blessings that is offered up for those who pursue in their faith to the end.

In my next article/note, I will explore further into the origins of mankind from a scriptural aspect and how the COG interprets that we as human beings are fallen angels as well as looking at more of their doctrinal beliefs. It is important that we as a church know that cults like COG are being established at an alarming rate, spreading false teachings by false prophets and ultimately supplying false hope to vulnerable individuals. The reason for these upcoming articles is to expose the truth of what COG believe and compare this with what scripture has to say.

“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves.” 2 Peter 2:1

To keep you all up-to-date

Dear Brothers and Sisters. I haven’t kept to my word that is to say I haven’t been blogging as much as I should. Nor have I fulfilled my duties as I said I would reply each week with a blog relating to Brian Houston’s book “You Need More Money.” A lot has happened in the past couple of weeks regarding my work situation. I have to be very general because it’s a situation that could potentially go to court. In short, I was asked to do something that was wrong and I refused to do this thing. I’ve asked a number of close brothers and sisters to pray for me, they’ve been faithful in doing just that. I’d appreciate your prayers as well; it’s been difficult for both my wife and myself, particularly since I am without a job at the moment. I will return to blogging when things are a bit more settled. Honestly, I need to spend a lot of time with the Lord both in prayer and reading the word. I’m sorry if you’ve been keen to read my next blog, I’ve spoken to close friends of mine, most of them agree that it would be better to write a summary of Houston’s book than it would be to go through each chapter. Given the time it took to write the first blog, I will probably go with this option. In the meantime, feel free to browse my past blogs. God Bless

 

Dan McGurgan

A Biblical Expository on Brian Houston's "You Need More Money" Chapter 1

Each week I will be creating additions to this expository. The aim of these blog entries is simply to expose the teachings of Brian Houston and compare them with biblical truth. In short, I do not agree with Brian Houston's teachings and through reading this blog entry, I hope you will see why.

Brian Houston, a review of “You Need More Money”, Sydney: Maxamised Leadership Inc, 1999, 7-13

 

 

A Biblical Expository on Brian Houston’s “You Need More Money”

by Daniel McGurgan

Abstract

When I first heard of this book, I was shocked like many Christians based primarily on the title itself “You Need More Money.” I have to admit that this book was difficult to read without flipping tables over in the proverbial sense. At this point, I’d like to mention why I’ve decided to write this expository of You Need More Money. The reason why writing these entries is really because as a Christian I love truth and I love truth to be told in an unhindered loving manner. So with this in mind, I will try as best to let scripture decide if you or I need more money. Given that this book had received a number of bad reviews on the World Wide Web, it’s fair to say that Houston’s title does attract a lot of controversy within the church, the reason being that many mainstream churches teach the contrary that we don’t in fact need more money. In this expository, I will analysis and critic each chapter and expose the teachings of Brian Houston on the topic of money and by upholding the scriptures, my goal is to expose the truth. For the sake of consistency, I’ve decided to use the scriptural quotations as they are written in this book. However, additional quotations will be notified within these entries.

 

Chapter 1

Dealing with a Poverty Mentality

This chapter largely addresses the problem of most church goers that is to say that we don’t have a right view of money. Houston gets straight to the point in saying that we as individuals require more money and he backs this up with scriptural reference. “I believe that God wants the church to have the kind of wealth that the world experiences” Isaiah 60:5 p8

Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the gentiles shall come to you.

Houston’s premise for attaining wealth begins with his belief in God, however the scriptural reference here doesn’t match ‘the church’ as it is today. The reason being is because this passage addresses the House of Israel and actually using this verse to say that “God wants the church to have the kind of wealth that the world experiences” is a bit like shooting yourself in the proverbial foot, really because it doesn’t address the modern church at all. Let’s see what Houston has to say explaining this verse.  “See it is this way: money can accomplish tremendous things for the kingdom of God. In order to do this, we have to become comfortable with wealth, and break the bondage, guilt and condemnation of impoverished thinking. Poverty is definitely not God’s will for His people, in fact all His promises talk of blessing and prosperity.” P8

Well he doesn’t explain the text at all; in fact it’s easy enough to say that this verse has been taken largely out of context (I’ll get to that later). Instead what Houston is doing is eisegeting the scriptures, that is to say that he is interpreting scripture by inserting his own presuppositions. Exegesis is the antithetical of eisegesis, that it is the expository of scripture in order to uphold the scriptures without altering the meaning in anyway. How do I know that Brian Houston is eisegeting scripture? Well there’s only one way to find out, let’s really examine what that particular verse is holding to.

Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the gentiles shall come to you. Isaiah 60:5

Firstly we should probably ask who the ‘you’ is referring to in this verse. Because the verse doesn’t imply who the ‘you’ is referring to, we need to go to other verses within the chapter to see if there are any clues as to who this might be referring to.

 

 with the ships of Tarshish in the lead,
to bring your children from far away,
their silver and gold with them,
for the honor of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
who has glorified you.
Foreigners will build up your walls,

and their kings will serve you.
Although I struck you in My wrath,
yet I will show mercy to you with My favor.
and their kings will serve you.  Isaiah 60:9-10 (HCSB)

There are a couple of clues here in this passage as to who Isaiah 60 is referring to. Isaiah 60 is like a prayer, so without looking deeply into the text, you could easily take what Brian Houston says about Isaiah 60:5 as meant for the modern church. Here in this passage I’ve highlighted two parts, foreigners and God’s wrath upon a people. It’s clear to see that the foreigners (or gentiles, if we take translation what Houston presented with) are separate from this people. But who are they? Well if we look at verse 10 there’s a big clue there “The Holy One of Israel”, This entire chapter is referring to the House of Israel (or Israelites), gentiles and the Lord’s relationship with both of these groups of people. So what does Isaiah 60:5 really mean? Well it doesn’t mean anything relating to money, but the biggest clues are actually found in the beginning verses.

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For look, darkness covers the earth,
and total darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will shine over you,
and His glory will appear over you. (Isaiah 60:1-2 HCSB)

This chapter begins with a wonderful claim of God’s mercy over the House of Israel and a separation of His wrath to those who are outside of His covenant. Isaiah 60:5 is nothing more than a partiality of God’s mercy over Israel, not addressing the modern church, but given that gentiles are mentioned within the text it’s confusing why Brian decided to use Isaiah 60:5 to illustrate his point. Brian does a similar thing with the scriptural text on page 12; “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you, through His poverty, might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

So how does Houston explain this text? “They (Christians) completely miss the crucial point because if you read on, the reason why He became poor was that you through His poverty, might become rich. That is what it says, He became poor so YOU could become rich. The purpose of Jesus coming to earth included giving up a place of abundance and riches and becoming poor so that we could escape poverty.” P12

 The problem here is not entirely his teaching, it’s that there’s a misunderstanding of what is meant by biblical ‘richness’. It’s absurd to consider a Holy God giving up their own throne and lowering themselves to a position of poverty so that we could have nice homes and a sweet ride. One would might want to start questioning Houston’s teachings at this point “why would a holy God give up His rightful position on the throne so that He could grant me an abundance of that which is temporal?” So let’s have a look at what 2 Corinthians 8:9 says in context.  

I am not saying this as a command. Rather, by means of the diligence of others, I am testing the genuineness of your love. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich. ¹⁰ Now I am giving an opinion on this because it is profitable for you, who a year ago began not only to do something but also to desire it.^{[b] 11} But now finish the task^[c] as well, that just as there was eagerness to desire it, so there may also be a completion from what you have. ¹² For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. ¹³ It is not that there may be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality^[d]— ¹⁴ at the present time your surplus is available for their need, so their abundance may also become available for our need, so there may be equality.( 2 Corinthians 8:14 HCSB)

Of all verses that Houston chose, this one is actually a rebuke on the Corinthian church for their lack of giving for Paul’s ministry. How does this differ from what Houston is saying? Well unlike Paul, Houston is ‘hash tagging’ the idea of richness being something that we need to attain through the poverty of Christ. Paul on the other hand, reminds the Corinthian church of their salvation through Christian and rebukes them on the bases of essentially a lack of giving. The clue really in this text is found in verse 8 “I am testing the genuineness of your love.” How does the Apostle Paul’s teaching differ from Houston’s teaching here? Well essentially it’s the focus; the Apostle Paul begins with a testing of love, whilst Houston’s focus still remains solely on attaining wealth.

 So how does Houston conclude chapter 1 “It is time to relax and become comfortable around money. You need to stretch yourself and position yourself right out of your comfort zone. For example, it may involve a little exercise like putting on your best clothes and ordering coffee in a fancy restaurant or hotel lobby.” This is far from biblical teaching! The scriptures give us commands that are so contrary to this kind of teaching.

for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13 HCSB)

Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil (Ephesians 6:10-11 HCSB)

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,  keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne. (Hebrews 12:1-3 HCSB)

 
 Final thoughts on Chapter 1

It’s not hard to see how Brian Houston uses scripture to manipulate and uphold his own ideas. However, with close examination of the scriptures in context, it’s easy enough to see how his teachings become easily flawed. My advice like I mention to anyone, is simply this, please test all things with scripture. No man is greater than the scriptures and thus as a biblical principle, we as Christians should uphold and honour the word of God as it stands, pure and immovable. Even if my own quotations are not accurate, I would prefer to be corrected for the sake of biblical accuracy.

 

The Greatest Sin

At the time that Adam and Eve had sinned, what was the greatest sin that they had committed? Was it eating the forbidden fruit? Or was it something greater? John 1:1 sheds some light on this question.

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

The very authoritative spoken word of God was there in the beginning, His word, powerful enough to create all things in existence! The greatest sin that Adam and Eve had committed was not simply that they ate the fruit, but that they disobeyed the authoritative word of God. Genesis 2:16 says;

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but you must not eat^[m] from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

This is the same word that spoke nature into existence and binds life together! God is the reason for the uniformity of nature as it says in Colossians 1:17

He is before all things,
and by Him all things hold together.

We see the echoes of this sin in both Jeremiah and the book of Joshua. In Jeremiah 42:9-17 it says:

⁹ He said to them, “This is what the Lord says, the God of Israel to whom you sent me to bring your petition before Him: ¹⁰ ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will rebuild and not demolish you, and I will plant and not uproot you, because I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought on you. ¹¹ Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear; don’t be afraid of him’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘because I am with you to save you and deliver you from him. ¹² I will grant you compassion, and he^[a] will have compassion on you and allow you to return to your own soil. ¹³ But if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ so as not to obey the voice of the Lord your God, ¹⁴ and if you say, ‘No, instead we’ll go to the land of Egypt where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for food, and we’ll live there,’ ¹⁵ then hear the word of the Lord, remnant of Judah! This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: If you are firmly resolved to go to Egypt and live there for a while, ¹⁶ then the sword you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine you are worried about will follow on your heels^[b] there to Egypt, and you will die there. ¹⁷ All who resolve to go to Egypt to live there for a while will die by the sword, famine, and plague. They will have no one escape or survive from the disaster I will bring on them.’

This wasn’t just one warning against the move to Egypt, this was one of many warnings! But in the preceding chapters, Israel fails to obey the Lord, wrath and turmoil falls upon them which is reason enough for the book of Lamentations. In Joshua, we meet a fellow by the name of Achan who coveted a number of items retrieved from the first attack against Jericho. It was made clear to the Israelites that no one was to covet any items of value upon this first attack. Achan confesses his sin in Joshua 7:20-21

Achan replied to Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I did: ²¹ When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Babylon,^[h] 200 silver shekels,^[i] and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels,^[j] I coveted them and took them. You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the money under the cloak.”

But friends, this confession only came about after Joshua went through the entire house of Israel to know who coveted these items. Did Achan have time to repent? Absolutely! But his confession was not one of sincerity, but one of simply being caught in the act. Friends I hope that each and every one of us don’t have a confession like Achan’s on the Day of Judgment. We need not delay in coming to the Lord and confessing our every known sin to Him. We have all broken the greatest commandment, that is, true obedience to the Lord’s word. But let us not rest on the arm of laziness and let us not grow weary of doing good (Galatians 6:9). But let us press on, knowing that our Lord is good to save and to correct our footing back to the narrow path.

The Conditions of Hell

Hell is the subject and the place of eternal torment that will keep me up at night as I ponder this very fact that many people I work with, many people close to me are on a wide path to eternal destruction. Does it keep you up at night Christian? Do you consider the flames that are never ending for many who are being held accountable for their iniquities against a holy and righteous God? O how we should rightly fear our Lord! And let us make no mistake about what it means to be saved as well, for it says in Matthew 7:22

On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ Oh yes, the very fact that a professing Christian is ever active in the church cannot keep them out of that terrifying place where the flames never die down nor where the worm likewise never dies. Should we not rightly fear our Lord? If only then that our lives become of no use even to Christ’ observance, what a terrifying thing to hear from our great and powerful Lord “away from me, I never knew you!” The underlying presumption is that this person presumes to know Christ, but clearly it is more right that Christ knows us.

Do you ever consider Christian that the very thing that keeps you away from hell is the Lord’s attribute of grace and mercy? We all deserve hell, we all deserve the full cup of the Lord’s holy and right wrath poured out onto our souls. Paul’s observation of mankind tells us so in Romans 3:10-18 “there is no one good…” And right you are Paul! Do you ask yourself this simple question Christian, “what did the Lord see in me to choose a person like me?” I can tell you the simple truth is this; He saw nothing but a vile wretched sinner that without the working of the Lord’s love upon the cross, none of us would see the light of heaven! This simple and yet extraordinary truth should keep us ever mindful and thankful of the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is this truth that causes division between the believer and the non-believer. Jesus says in Matthew 10:34 “I have come to bring a sword” a sword that creates division between those who adore Christ as Lord and of those who despise Him. Does the topic of hell make you sorrowful knowing many non-believers are headed for this eternal destruction? Hell should keep us sober minded, prayerfully vigilant and ever seeking to obey Christ! It is good to dwell on hell; it is where our minds meet the reality of many under the wrath of God. Let us not be comfortable in this life! Let us continue to pray for and minister to those who are headed for a great and terrifying fate!

O that the church should wake up to this reality! It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God! (Hebrews 10:31) Salvation therefore is not dependant on man’s doing, it is not dependant on a simple prayer (that is, the sinners prayer) but it is dependent on the very working of our Lord. It is He who changes the heart, mind, soul and course of a believer! Knowing our wretched condition before the Lord is to know that all we brought to the table was nothing more than our filthy sin. There was nothing worthy inside of you Christian when the Lord chose you and that is reason to fear the Lord and be ever thankful for His mercies upon us. Let us not treat the mercies of God as something trivial, but something that we should strive to know and strive to push on in telling others of through the power of the gospel! (Romans 1:16)

The Intrinsic Value of Knowing Christ Jesus

More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:8

What does it take for any man to say that he counts all things a loss for the sake of knowing Christ? In order for Paul to say such a thing would imply that he knows that there is extraordinary value in knowing Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul gives us an insight into his own life prior to meeting Christ on that road to Damascus.

circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless. Philippians 3:5-6

By Paul’s own confidence in the flesh, it would be very clear to say that not many would be able to match the same values as what Paul had attained. Paul was a man who by the Pharisee’s, would have been upright and blameless in his ways. Paul had celebrity status, power and wealth. This was a man who knew the Mosaic Law greater than any one of us today. A Hebrew of Hebrews! Paul was a legitimate Jew and not a half Jew like the Hellenistic kind. Paul had zeal; he had passion for his service toward God and the law! He persecuted the church and approved the killing of Stephen that we see in Acts 7:58.

There’s no doubt about it! Paul was a religious man with much zeal, so much zeal that the death of Stephen was validated in his own eyes prior to meeting Christ on the road to Damascus. And even then, Paul was on a crusade to divide the church! (Acts 9:1-2). Friends I can say this with great confidence, there was no desire in Paul to join the church whilst he walked that road other than by a revelation from Christ Himself! And so for Paul to say that he considers all that he has done, his contribution to the Pharisaic community, means that he knows an eternal source of greater value!

And so I want to ask you personally (and I reflect this on myself as well) do you know Christ, the eternal source of greater value? Are we like Paul willing to say “it’s true, I once put my confidence in the arm of the flesh, considering my status and power as something to lean on. But I count it all at a loss, in knowing Christ my Lord!” Paul gave up his life by a revelation of knowing Christ! Paul gave up confidence in the flesh, boasting no longer in the works that he had achieved for himself and for the Pharisaic community. It takes a work of God to do this to anyone, to no longer see value in the identity of what we used to be! Do we truly believe this friends? Do we consider everything that we have worked towards prior to knowing Christ as a loss? I guarantee that like Paul if we continue to strive on and press forward into greater maturity, we too will see the eternal value that Paul saw in Christ and say with great confidence “amen Paul, I too consider all things at a loss for the sake of knowing Christ!”

Be Imitators of God

Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. ² And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. Ephesians 5:1-2

Brothers and sisters I want to start this blog entry by apologising for not being faithful in the ministry as I should. I’ve become lukewarm and I have not been ‘fighting the good fight’ as I should. Part of the reason (and I’m not saying this as an excuse) is that I have torn a ligament in my shoulder at work and have been off work for almost four weeks. It seems rather irrational to be off work for so long, but I work as a labourer in construction, so not many builders would want someone who is limited to light duties. Thankfully my boss has decided to keep me on despite the fact that they continue to pay out workers compensation. So I’ve been feeling like my place has felt like the constraints of a prison over the last four weeks and I’ve been in and out of depressive stages by not working regardless of having an income.

 I was watching a video last night with Sola church and there was something in the video that struck me. The video was about a Christian professor who gave insight into how worldviews are established and its purpose in everyone’s lives. He mentioned that as a Christian, we resume a Christian worldview, whereby our entire presuppositions are formed solely for the purpose of glorifying God. The second we wake up and consider anything outside of glorifying our Lord, than we have essentially given in to alternate presuppositions, much like giving into our fleshly desires (Romans 8:13).

Many of you might think that I’m a legalist in saying that our presuppositions need also to be focused on Christ and need alteration from our Lord as well. But that’s simply not the case at all! In fact the very reason why Christ died on the cross for us, gives us reason to be radically transformed in such a way that our thinking, actions and the way we speak are no longer a service for ourselves, but rather to glorify the Lord. This is synonymous with what Christ teaches us in Matthew 7:24-27, having our lives concreted on the Rock (that is Christ). And for the very reason why the apostle Paul gives us this command to be imitators of God! I don’t know of any greater command that is given in scripture than to be imitators of God.

Often we see scriptural reference to love mentioned on these almost motivational Christian posters, sometimes you might see them on social networking websites like Facebook within Christian circles. But here, Paul reiterates the meaning of love in the second verse. “Gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.” Without this perfect and pure action of our Lord Jesus Christ, none of us would know what true love is! And this in itself is true, if we know that all knowledge, wisdom and understanding of love comes from our great God! Without the demonstration of what Christ did for us on the cross, we would never have such a great command for us to follow. We wouldn’t know how to love, nor could anyone be able to love. We know love, as it was first given to us by our Lord “but God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8).

Our lives should reflect that we follow Christ who opposed culture radically! We follow the powerful and mighty God who gave us a command to love as Christ has loved us sacrificially. And we should likewise be imitators of our great Lord. This doesn’t mean that you will be perfect at doing this, but our daily focus should be to imitate our Lord knowing the depth of what He has done to redeem a people for Himself! Everything we have; thoughts, actions, words, resources and skills/abilities are all for Christ’ service. This is something that we as Christians should pay very careful attention to, that our lives to honour Christ do not end up like two hours to a week. Sunday church is not a place where you can fool God into presuming your Christianity, either you’re there to serve God and to hear the word preached to your soul, or you’re not there at all. Let us all love like our Lord has demonstrated and press on to ‘fight the good fight!’  

The Sword of Conviction

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!” Acts 2:36

Often I’ve heard in some Christian circles that we are often better off to make friends prior to sharing the gospel. That somehow our friendship outweighs the sharpness of the word of God! I want to tell you brothers and sisters, that this just isn’t so! This is why I love the above verse which was preached in my church today. The apostle Peter makes no haste to tell the Israelites that they have essentially committed the most vial crime in the history of mankind.

Imagine for a minute, that you’re in Peter’s shoes and you’ve just spoken these very words “you crucified the Christ!” What does it take to say this? What does Peter’s life hinge on when in fact the man is practically offending EVERYONE in Israel. What kind of faith does Peter have?? Is this madness or some kind of insanity? No, it is neither madness nor insanity friends and the following verses prove the living faith that Peter has!

When they heard this, they came under deep conviction and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what must we do?” Acts 2:37

The house of Israel fell under deep conviction! They saw with open eyes the sin that had been dwelling in. The mockery against the Christ! The castings of slander “crucify Him!” They saw the vial hatred toward Jesus Christ and in a moment, their eyes were open. “What must we do?” They saw their conviction, and it led them to one of the greatest questions in the history of mankind “what must we do to be right with the Lord?” I could only imagine that at this stage the apostle Peter would have been holding back tears of joy!

“Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38

Peter finishes by telling the Israelites to rest on Christ. Yes they had hated the Lord, yes they were under conviction but by the grace of our Lord they understood by a revelation. Friends this is what it means when unbelievers hear the true gospel! I’m not saying it will happen on the spot, but that we should abandon the idea that we need to make friends first in order to share the gospel! We should be trusting our Lord like Peter did. He brought such an offensive word to the Israelites; I would not have been surprised to read that he was the first martyr instead of Steven! Alas though, it is God who opens the eyes of the blind, and this is why we need not rest on the arm of our flesh but on Christ. Let us be convicted of scripture and be bold like Peter, humbling ourselves under the word of God and exalting our Lord by sharing the gospel! Let us be open about it, not confining the Lord’s word to our friends but to anyone and everyone who needs to hear this beautiful message! Let us have an unshakable faith like Peter, strong in the Lord with a firm trust in the risen Christ!    

Thou Shall Not Speak Out Against Hillsong

I'm sure a number of you are dying to know this question (that is, what happend at the Hillsong Conference). So this is a follow up blog and in this entry I want to make it very clear that I have carefully considered what to write about, so not bigot or accuse Hillsong in anyway. First and foremost I want to also make it clear that the very reason why Sola Church and Adelaide Street Church had attended the Hillsong Conference in Sydney, Australia was motivated largely by love in order to give the gospel.

On Thursday and Friday night, the 4th and the 5th of July 2013, Sola Church had partnered with Adelaide Street Church to warn people who were attending the Hillsong Conference of heretical teachers such as T.D. Jakes and Joel Osteen. These men are largely motivated in sharing a false gospel, a gospel that promotes "your best life now." My friends and I were openly sharing the gospel, warning people not to associate themselves with heretical teachers. We had experienced hostile behaviour, many people were throwing rocks at us, we had property stolen and one friend of mine was punched in the face.

I was extremely confused, much as confused as anyone who is reading this blog entry. I was confused largely because these people actually believe themselves to be Christians and it wasn't until we found the source of the problem (that is, the "easy believism" gospel) that we started to understand why so many of these Hillsong members were acting with hostility. But this was not half the problem, we also witnessed adult youth leaders who were encouraging this violent behaviour and even laughing when one of the sisters who was with us had their handbag stolen.

In Matthew 7:15 it says: Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. For anyone to recognise a wolf or a false teacher, they must use discernment, they must make a judgment in accordance with God's holy word. We were told a number of times that we were being 'judgmental', which is true, we were being judgmental. However, in Matthew 7:1 Jesus calls us not to judge hypocritically, and later in the same chapter in verse 16 it says "you shall know them by their fruit."

So for us as Christians it is good to judge and to make a judgment so that we know that the word of God is being preached with accuracy and out of love. As Christians, we don't want to see God's word miss contexualised or for anyone using the word eisegetically (that is to use a text of scripture and introduce ones own presupposition onto it). So for anyone who partners with Hillsong in someway or another my my final note is for you. Please use discernment and go to the scriptures to test what is being said and who Hillsong associate themselves with. I don't hate the people of Hillsong at all! In fact none of my brothers and sisters hate anyone from Hillsong. We love them enough to share the gospel with them and we collectively grieve knowing that so many confessing Christians are being mislead by a false gospel. It is my prayer that many would come to know the true saving gospel, the gospel that the Apostle Paul says he's unashamed of in Romans 1:16.

The Dangers of Believing a False Gospel

On Thursday and Friday night, a few members from Sola church and I had met with Adelaide Street Preachers to share the gospel openly outside the Hillsong Conference, warning people of heretical teachers who were present at the event. We had received a lot of backlash including one of my brothers having been punched in the face. This was essentially the fruit of what we had experienced and whitnessed. This blog entry is not an attack at Hillsong, I want to make that perfectly clear. I want to look at the gospel that I had a chance to whitness and expose the dangers of believing a false gospel.


After Adelaide street church and Sola church members had gathered to pray together, we made our way down to the entrance of the event. They had a large screen to accommodate for those who were sitting outside. The speaker had given what is known in some circles as "easy believeism." That God loves you (directed at the unbeliever) and that He can forgive your sins. And if you raise your hands right now, pray this prayer and He will welcome you in with open arms. I was shocked to the core of my stomach! I realised that this was the core problem of why exactly we were receiving such hostile behaviour.

So why is this gospel so wrong? Why does this gospel make some so angry? There are common truths in this gospel, but the message itself is not entirely true. In fact, no where in the bible does it mention that if you pray a prayer, God will welcome you in. In making any sense of the error of what this gospel is producing, we need to go to the scriptures on the matter.

As it is written:


There is no one righteous, not even one.
 11There is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away;
all alike have become useless.
There is no one who does what is good,
not even one.
13 Their throat is an open grave;
they deceive with their tongues.
Vipers’ venom is under their lips.
14 Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and wretchedness are in their paths,
17 and the path of peace they have not known.
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Romans 3:10-18


Paul exposes the truth of mankind in this passage. At the essence of what this passage is describing, is the radically depraved state of makind before our Lord! Before we as Christians came to know Christ, we hated Christ and our depravity was proof enough that we needed salvation! In understanding the love of Christ demonstrated on the cross, we need to first understand the depth of how far Christ has gone to redeem such a people for Himself. If we don't first and foremost understand this, than we have begun to adopt a lie. It's not wrong to say that 'God loves the unbeliever', in so much as that He provides the air that they breath and the water that they drink, but He will condemn that which is evil.


When we know who we are before our Lord, knowing that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves and knowing the extent of what Christ has done on the cross. Only than can we grasp just a piece of the proverbial 'iceberg' of the love of our Lord. So what else is wrong with this easy believism' gospel? I mentioned also that if a prayer is prayed (that is, the sinners prayer) than you are deemed as saved. But this is far from the truth! It's not wrong to say that conversion should lead us to prayer, but it is wrong to condition fruit of salvation based on prayer. In Romans 9:15 Paul rightly displays how salvation is for the Lord to offer.


For He tells Moses:


I will show mercy
to whom I will show mercy,
and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion Romans 9:15



The fruit of salvation is not conditioned on a prayer but rather a revelation from the Lord Himself. And we know our Lord is not a God of confusion, the fruit of salvation is based on true faith in Christ that results in a turning away from sin and a turning to Christ. So that we as Christians should be able to look back over the times when we we not Christian and praise our Lord for His mercy upon us! The Apostle Paul gives us a clear demonstration as to what it looks like to gaze upon the past and glorify our Lord.

This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them.16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life. 1 Timothy 1:15-16

Paul is not saying that he is the worst of sinners (in a worldly sense) but in a reflective sense. A sense that all Christians will look back over their lives and 'amen' Paul in thinking the same "I Dan McGurgan am the worst of sinners for the offence I have caused my Lord." But our salvation and knowing the mercy of our Lord should never leave us in a depressive state, but rather a state of thanks giving and an offering up of praise to our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. This is the fruit of a Christian, they essentially become a changed being. It is not enough that someone simply stops taking drugs, stops drinking excessively and stops associating themselves in gangs. No! The fruit of a Christian is seeing if their life is giving glory to God!

If you think you might have been told a false gospel and you want to know more of the true gospel. I would encourage you to read the entire book of Romans. Paul gives a clear uncompromised truth of the gospel in its perfect form from the depravity of mankind, to the depth of the Love of our Lord (Romans 5:8). It is a book that can be measured to any false gospels that are present in some modern day evangelical churches today.

What is Presupposition Argumentation?

 

The beautiful thing about presupposition argumentation is first and foremost, you don’t have to be a genius to use this line of argumentation for it to work. If you type in “presupposition meaning” in Google, it might come up with a definition like this: “A thing tacitly assumed beforehand at the beginning of a line of argument or course of action.” In other words, this is the very core of what someone pre-supposes. So when looking at worldviews (that is, the way in which someone observes the events of life through religious or non-religious ways), a presupposition is already present before an argument can begin.

 Let me give you an example, say for instance an Atheist is arguing in the case of cosmic evolution in opposition to creation. Their presupposition begins with chance and not a created order. So let’s look at the Christian presupposition for the created order. You don’t have to go far to see what Christians presuppose; “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1. This verse is the foundation of the Christian worldview and how we understand all knowledge and all understanding. So what does this verse tell us? 1) This verse alone tells us the existence of God, His ability to create AND on top of that, the Christian presupposition starts with certainty and not chance.

 So what does that look like in an argument against an Atheist? Well since our worldview starts with certainty and more importantly, certainty of God, we have confidence of where all knowledge and all understanding comes from. If by starting with a worldview that presupposes chance, than technically there is ultimately no true foundation for morality. In fact I’ve heard one Atheist try telling me that morality is subjective after they posted an image fighting for prochoice rights on Facebook. My reply was simple “If you believe that morality is relative, than does that mean you could be wrong about the image you just posted?” Needless to say, there was no following comment. And this is an example of presupposition argumentation; all we are doing is showing the truth that the Atheistic worldview does not even exist.

As Romans 1:18-20 says; For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, ¹⁹ since what can be known^[o] about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse.

According to this verse, nobody needs evidence of God. And in fact by arguing to anyone about evidence of God, that lowers the position of God from judge to the one who is on trial! And by doing so, we allow the unbeliever to judge God and weight in whether they should believe in God or not. That’s not biblical argumentation! But praise God we have a clear and succinct way to engage in apologetics (that is, a defence for what you believe in).

It says in Proverbs 26:4-5; Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness or you’ll be like him yourself.
Answer a fool according to his foolishness
or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.

 

Now in no way are these verses contradicting themselves. What does the fool ask for, evidence right? But how should we answer them? According to their foolishness, in other words, according to their presupposition and showing them that their worldview doesn’t exist! This is how Christians should engage in argumentation and to do so out of gentleness and humility. Remember this is dangerous stuff, you’re destroying worldviews. You want to see their worldview crash right before their eyes, but if you aren’t motivated by love, they’re not even going to believe a word of the gospel that you mention to them. Presupposition argumentation is just a tool, the main reason anyone should use this is ultimately to share the gospel with the unbeliever and (I can’t stress this enough!) to do so out of love and obedience to our Lord. For more information on presupposition argumentation, I highly recommend watching a DVD called “How to Answer The Fool” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM1AWO92Crc for the trailer link).