Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Journey to Josiah

by: Rebekah Hixon

Our adoption journey is moving along, and we are coming closer each day to bringing Josiah home. We recently received an update from his orphanage along with several new pictures. They were helpful to answer several questions we had about our new son concerning his dear little personality and also about how his day typically looked and about the schedule his foster parents keep. We learned he is “fairly extroverted” and “talkative and lively.” Sounds like a Hixon!

We expect to travel this winter; however, we understand how unpredictable adoption processes can be, so we are daily submitting to the Lord’s timetable. We are keeping ourselves busy with normal life: ministry opportunities, church ministry, homeschooling, and the day to day activities of a family. In addition, we are fundraising for Josiah. We have been blessed with the opportunity to participate in an online adoption t-shirt fundraiser. You can check it out on my blog: www.intheheartofourhome.blogspot.com. We are also planning for 2 different bake sales in September. This will not only give us an opportunity to fundraise, it will be a wonderful opportunity for our children to contribute in a tangible way and, hopefully, always remember the journey is not necessarily easy but so very worth it!

I know many understand the eternal aspect of adoption and see it as ministry to the orphan, an extension of the Great Commission, and a beautiful picture of the Gospel, not to mention a truly wonderful way to welcome someone to your forever family. To you, I plead that you would commit our family to your prayers. We are asking the Lord to prepare our family for Josiah and that He would please prepare his little heart for such a huge upcoming change. We are also praying that the Lord would provide the remaining resources for the fees. Finally, we are prayerfully asking the Lord to make the paperwork path before us smooth to allow Josiah to come home as soon as possible. We would so appreciate your prayers, knowing you loved Josiah before you even met him! If you desire to contribute to our fundraising efforts, you are able to do so in a “tax-deductible way” by giving through M.U.D. Ministries and marking it “Suggested Use: Adoption.”

So many of you have inquired about Josiah and this journey, and we are grateful to know we have such sweet support from family and friends. Thank you!

Monday, August 30, 2010

From Eric

There is nothing to be bragged upon except the Lord Jesus Christ! He is all that we can boast in because we know that every good thing, every good deed, every act of obedience is a work of His grace. I praise the Lord for His mercy and love for me and my family every day. There is nothing that I find more encouraging than the Word of God! My strength comes from Christ and my very best is nothing apart from His wonderful amazing grace!

The Lord has been very good to M.U.D. Ministries and the Hixon Family. We do not deserve any good thing to come upon us, and it is all for His glory that we have been allowed to serve in a full-time manner for the past 7 years. God laid it upon our hearts to serve Him and to live by faith, and we are very grateful to the Lord for His blessings. When I had the very first meeting with some prayer warriors concerning M.U.D. Ministries, I knew that the Lord was impressing upon me to never turn down an opportunity to serve the Lord based on a church’s financial ability or size. Many modern evangelist have been convinced that they are “worth” a certain amount or deserve a certain size crowd to hear them. I cannot see that as the example of Jesus or Paul. They did talk to the crowds when the opportunity arose, but Jesus also talked to the woman at the well and many other smaller groups as well. Our confidence has never been in our ability or our worth. The confidence I have is in the Gospel.

The fact is that people let us down. There is nothing we have apart from Christ, and I promise you, friend, we can count on Him! The fact is that God doesn’t need M.U.D. Ministries or Eric Hixon. There are no great ministries or great men of God—only wicked sinful men that God has redeemed for a work that will bring Him glory! I have found that the church in America can be very man-centered, and we are paying the price for such a focus. Let us repent of any man-centered attitude or self confidence, and let God’s people be committed to doing God’s Work, God’s Way, for God’s Glory!

I am asking you to please pray for God to raise up people that have a heart for Biblical Evangelism. If God chooses to sustain us, it is totally undeserved and a work of grace. We have not places our confidence in man, but in Christ! Please know that we appreciate all your prayers!!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Hello Managua and South Carolina!!

Just wanted to say hello to all those who have been recently enjoying our blog! Especially those who have suddenly became so interested in what M.U.D. Ministries is doing.

Our ministry prays for each person that visits our blog as we get updates on those that visit us. Please feel free to shoot us an email or call the ministry to let us know how we can pray for you! We are praying for those from Managua today and South Carolina! God bless and we hope you keep visiting our blog!!

Integrity is vital!

International Mission Trip Opportunities for 2011

M.U.D. Ministries has been hosting mission trips to the country of Nicaragua for the past five years.  In 2010, over 100 people from dozens of churches throughout the U.S. participated.  These trips have included: city-wide crusades, door to door evangelism, revival services, pastor's conferences, marriage conferences, women's conferences, VBS for children, construction projects, and ministering to orphans.  The primary focus for all M.U.D. Mission Trips is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ biblically and effectively.  M.U.D. is also committed to equipping international churches to reach their communities. 

In 2011, M.U.D. will be hosting five trips to Nicaragua.  M.U.D. will also be hosting an international trip to a brand new location— JAMAICA.  This trip will take place in a Deaf Community.  Below is a brief description of each international trip for 2011.  For questions, reservations, or more information, please call the M.U.D. office at 256.620.1788.

NICARAGUA WEEK #1
Date: February 5-12, 2011
Capacity: 30 participants *
Cost: $1,495 per person **
Description: Plans include Revival Services, Evangelism, Women's Conference, Pastor's Conference, and Children's Ministry.
Payment breakdown: $600 deposit due October 1, 2010; $500 payment due 12/1/ 2010; and $395 final payment due 1/ 1/11.

NICARAGUA WEEK #2
Date: March 12-19, 2011
Capacity: 30 participants *
Cost: $1,495 per person **
Description: Plans include Revival Services, Evangelism, and Children's Ministry.  This is a wonderful opportunity to bring High School Students or for College Students because it falls within many Spring Breaks.  This is a trip for everyone!
Payment breakdown:  $600 deposit due November 1, 2010

NICARAGUA WEEK #3
Date: July 23-30, 2011
Capacity: 30 participants *
Cost: $1,495 per person **
Description: Plans include Revival Services, Evangelism, and Children's Ministry.  Plans are also underway for a possible BASEBALL CAMP and Evangelistic Baseball Games against Nicaraguan Teams.
Payment breakdown: $600 deposit due March 1, 2011

* Participants under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or chaperone.  Student Groups must have one adult chaperone per four students of the same gender.

** Cost includes: administration, meals, lodging, ground fees, and airfare from Atlanta, GA.  Cost is subject to change if airfare increases or your group needs to fly out of a different city.  Deposits are NON-Refundable and used to purchase airfare for participants.  Call the M.U.D. Office (256.620.1788) today for questions, reservations, or more information.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Nicaragua Mission Team #4 Update

In the month of August, M.U.D. Ministries mobilized 14 people to go on international missions to Nicaragua. We went to a new area and worked with pastors and churches that have not had any missionaries working with them in recent years. This mission trip was probably the most spiritually healthy trip that we have led in many years; we were very impressed with the commitment and diligence of the local pastors and churches. These churches had resolved to do God’s Work, God’s Way many years ago and were established on a Biblical standard.

Berea Baptist Church was located in Managua and was only a few blocks away from the Jehovah Witness Headquarters of Central America. Pastor Jorge and his members were faithfully out witnessing with our team and very involved in the evangelism. The brothers and sisters were strong in evangelism and discipleship. The congregation was small and met in a rented house with an open courtyard. It was stirring to see some neighbor children looking over the wall and listening to the services. The pastor’s wife, Doris, found out the week we were there that she has a tumor, and she’s having it removed later in the month. They will determine then if it is cancerous. Please pray for this dear sister; she’s in her mid twenties, and she doesn’t look well. They have one small son and care for their twin nieces.

Los Cedros (The Cedars) Baptist Church was also a blessing to serve. Pastor Adonis has been there for 9 years, and he is only 30 years old. This congregation is in the center of a poor community, and several spiritually unhealthy groups have come in, and there is a lot of confusion about what salvation is. Pastor Adonis has a solid in-road to the local school and community. He has invited us to come back in October and preach at a large evangelistic outreach and do a women’s conference. This will be their first community-wide outreach and would impact several thousand people. We are renting out the local school’s facilities for the event. We are praying for souls!

The Pastors’ Conference and Women’s Conference were amazing to say the least! They both had a distinctively Biblically healthy approach and were very Bible-saturated. Rebekah taught the women of Berea Baptist and Los Cedros Baptist the book of Ruth, and two other pastors and I taught a Pastors’ Conference, emphasizing the Sufficiency of Scripture in Preaching and Biblical Church Discipline. It is so easy to follow tradition or what we think is best. We communicated very thoroughly that we are called to preach the Gospel and to restore those people who are in our churches to health God’s Way! This will allow us to not be found as a compromiser and idolater.

We are servants to our Savior, and we need your prayers and support as we prepare to return to Nicaragua in October to work with these local churches again. If you are interested in going with us or supporting our work there, please let us know! Pray for Nicaragua!

Friday, August 20, 2010

S.C.A.N. the Scriptures

From Justin Taylor's Blog

If you want a quick and easy way to memorize the traditional four attributes of Scripture, just put them in the order of S.C.A.N.:

•the Sufficiency of Scripture
•the Clarity of Scripture
•the Authority of Scripture, and
•the Necessity of Scripture


Below are some definitions and thoughts from Wayne Grudem (Systematic Theology) and Timothy Ward (Words of Life: Scripture as the Living and Active Word of God).

Sufficiency

Ward: “Because of the ways in which God has chosen to relate himself to Scripture, Scripture is sufficient as the means by which God continues to present himself to us such that we can know him, repeating through Scripture the covenant promise he has brought to fulfillment in Jesus Christ.” (p. 113)

Grudem: “The idea that Scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at stage of redemptive history and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly.”

Clarity

Grudem: “The idea that the Bible is written in such a way that its teachings are able to be understood by all who read it seeking God’s help and are willing to follow it” (p. 108).

Ward: “Scripture is the written word of the living Word, God’s communicative act, and the Spirit who authored it chooses to continue to speak most directly through it. Therefore we are right to trust that God in Scripture has spoken and continues to speak sufficiently clearly for us to base our saving knowledge of him and of ourselves, and our beliefs and our actions, on the content of Scripture alone, without ultimately validating our understanding of these things or our confidence in them by appeal to any individual or institution” (pp. 126-127).

Authority

Grudem: “The idea that all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.”

“The phrase ‘the authority of Scripture’ must be understood to be shorthand for ‘the authority of God as he speaks through Scripture.’ . . . The authority of Scripture is a statement about what God did in authoring Scripture, and about how he continues to act in relation to Scripture” (p. 128).

Necessity

Grudem: “The idea that the Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel, for maintaining spiritual life, and for knowing God’s will, but is not necessary for knowing that God exists or for knowing something about his character and moral laws.”

Ward: “Necessity sits right at the heart of the ways in which sola scriptura is explicated and defended. If Scripture alone is claimed to be the supreme authority in Christian thinking and living, that is because both its content (the verbal revelation) and its form (the written Scriptures) are indispensable” (p. 102).

Thursday, August 19, 2010

To Serve is to Suffer

by: Ajith Fernando

(I know this is a long post but I think it is a must read for anyone in ministry. ~ Eric Hixon)

If the apostle Paul knew fatigue, anger, and anxiety in his ministry, what makes us think we can avoid them in ours?

_____________________________________________________________________________________


North American Christians have paid special attention to the suffering of Christians in the Global South ever since 1996, when a coalition of Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish activists began raising awareness about the persecution of Christians outside the West. When Christians, especially in the West, have shown concern for the persecution of majority-world believers, they have often approached it through the lens of human rights. In this installment of the Global Conversation, Sri Lankan pastor and evangelist Ajith Fernando helps us focus on suffering as an essential part of Christian discipleship, but especially for those called to be church leaders.

I write this shortly after returning from a week of teaching pastors in the deep south of Sri Lanka. These pastors' experience shows that when people pioneer in unreached areas, they usually wait 10 to 15 years before seeing significant fruit and reduced hostility. In the early years, they are assaulted and accused falsely; stones are thrown onto their roofs; their children are given a hard time in school; and they see few genuine conversions. Many pioneers give up after a few years. But those who persevere bear much eternal fruit. I am humbled and ashamed of the way I complain about problems that are minute compared to theirs.

When I return from ministry in the West, my feelings are very different. I have been able to "use my gifts" and spend most of my time doing things I like. But when I resume being a leader in Sri Lanka's less-efficient culture, frustration hits me. The transition from being a speaker in the West to being a leader in Sri Lanka is difficult. As a leader, I am the bond-servant (doulos) of the people I lead (2 Cor. 4:5). This means that my schedule is shaped more by their needs than by mine.

Vocational fulfillment in the kingdom of God has a distinct character, different from vocational fulfillment in society. Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work" (John 4:34, ESV, used throughout). If we are doing God's will, we are happy and fulfilled. But for Jesus, and for us, doing God's will includes the Cross. The Cross must be an essential element in our definition of vocational fulfillment.

Young Christian workers who come back to Sri Lanka after studying in the West struggle with this. They are highly qualified, but our poor nation cannot afford to give them the recognition they think their qualifications deserve. They cannot use their gifts to the fullest because we cannot afford pure specialists. They struggle with frustration. Some end up leaving the country after a few years. Some start their own organizations so as to fulfill their "vision." Others become consultants, giving expert training and advice in their specialized field. Others pay the price of identifying with our people and ultimately have a deep impact on the nation.

I try to tell these students that their frustration could be the means to developing penetrating insight. I explain that people like John Calvin and Martin Luther had a dizzying variety of responsibilities, so that they could only use their gifts in the fog of fatigue. Yet the fruits of their labor as leaders and writers still bless the church.

Frustration and Fulfillment

Paul's theology emphasized the need to endure frustration patiently as we live in a fallen world awaiting the redemption of creation. Paul said that we groan because of this frustration (Rom. 8:18-27). I believe we fail to include this frustration in our understanding of vocational fulfillment. A church that has a wrong understanding of fulfillment for its workers will certainly become sick. This may be one reason why the church contains so much shallowness. We have measured success by the standards of the world and fail to challenge the world with the radically different biblical way to fulfillment.

To Serve is to suffer The Cross must be an essential element in our definition of vocational fulfillment.The contemporary emphasis on efficiency and measurable results makes frustration even harder to endure. In the past four centuries, industrial and technological development in the West made efficiency and productivity top values. With rapid economic development, things once considered luxuries became not only necessities but also rights in the minds even of Christians. In this environment, the Christian idea of commitment has taken a battering.

We call our churches and Christian organizations "families," but families are very inefficient organizations. In a healthy family, everything stops when a member has big needs. We are often not willing to extend this commitment to Christian body life.

Commitment and Community

The biblical model of community life is Jesus' command to love one another as he loved us—that is, for members to die for other members (John 15:12-13). The model of Christian leadership is that of the Good Shepherd dying for his sheep, not abandoning them when the situation gets dangerous (John 10:11-15). When God calls us to serve him, he calls us to come and die for the people we serve. We don't discard people when they have problems and cannot do their job properly. We serve them and help them come out of their problems. We don't tell people to find another place of service when they rebel against us. We labor with them until we either come to agreement or agree to disagree.

When people leave a church because they do not fit the program, it communicates a deadly message: that our commitment is to the work and not to the person, that our unity is primarily in the work and not in Christ and the gospel. The sad result is that Christians do not have the security of a community that will stay by them no matter what happens. They become shallow individuals, never having true fellowship and moving from group to group. Churches committed to programs can grow numerically, but they don't nurture biblical Christians who understand the implications of belonging to the body of Christ.

Sticking with people is frustrating. Taking hours to listen to an angry or hurt person seems inefficient. Why should we waste time on that when professionals could do it? So people have counselors to do what friends should be doing.

Ideally, counselors help diagnose and treat difficult cases, and friends give the time that is needed to bring healing through acceptance, comfort, and friendship. Hurt people usually hurt those who try to help them. Hurt and angry people to whom we are committed will hurt us too. Others they hurt could get angry with us because we are committed to them. But we endure the pain because Christ called us to die for our friends.

Several people have sympathized with me, saying it must be hard and frustrating to serve in a country wracked by war and hostile to evangelism. Indeed, we have suffered. A few months ago, one of our staff workers was brutally assaulted and killed. But I think the biggest pain I have experienced is the pain I have received from Youth for Christ, the organization for which I have worked for 34 years. I can also say that next to Jesus and my family, Youth for Christ has been the greatest source of joy in my life. Whether you live in the East or the West, you will suffer pain if you are committed to people. This is suffering that can be avoided. We can avoid pain by stopping the relationship or moving on to something more "fulfilling." But what do we lose?

Some years ago I was preparing a message on commitment while traveling in the West. Within the space of a few days, three people told me how they or someone close to them had left a group or a person because of problems. One had left an unhappy marriage; another, a church; another, an organization. Each person described his leaving as a merciful release from suffering. But I could not help asking myself whether, in each of these cases, the Christian thing to do would have been to stay and suffer.

Drivenness or Servanthood?

I have a large group of people to whom I write asking for prayer when I have a need. Sometimes my need is overcoming tiredness. When I write about this, many write back saying they are praying that God would strengthen me and guide me in my scheduling. However, there are differences in the way friends from the East and some from the West respond. I get the strong feeling that many in the West think struggling with tiredness from overwork is evidence of disobedience to God. My contention is that it is wrong if one gets sick from overwork through drivenness and insecurity. But we may have to endure tiredness when we, like Paul, are servants of people.

People who are unfulfilled after pursuing things that do not satisfy may be astonished to see Christians who are joyful after depriving themselves for the sake of the gospel.The New Testament is clear that those who work for Christ will suffer because of their work. Tiredness, stress, and strain may be the cross God calls us to. Paul often spoke about the physical hardships his ministry brought him, including emotional strain (Gal. 4:19; 2 Cor. 11:28), anger (2 Cor. 11:29), sleepless nights and hunger (2 Cor. 6:5), affliction and perplexity (2 Cor. 4:8), and toiling—working to the point of weariness (Col. 1:29). In statements radically countercultural in today's "body conscious" society, he said, "Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16); and, "For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you" (2 Cor. 4:11-12). I fear that many Christians approach these texts only with an academic interest, not seriously asking how the verses should apply in their lives.

The West, having struggled with the tyrannical rule of time, has a lot to teach the East about the need for rest. The East has something to teach the West about embracing physical problems that come from commitment to people. If you think it is wrong to suffer physically because of ministry, then you suffer more from the problem than those who believe that suffering is an inevitable step on the path to fruitfulness and fulfillment. Since the Cross is a basic aspect of discipleship, the church must train Christian leaders to expect pain and hardship. When this perspective enters our minds, pain will not touch our joy and contentment in Christ. In 18 different New Testament passages, suffering and joy appear together. In fact, suffering is often the cause for joy (Rom. 5:3-5; Col. 1:24; James 1:2-3).

The Glory of the Gospel

In a world where physical health, appearance, and convenience have gained almost idolatrous prominence, God may be calling Christians to demonstrate the glory of the gospel by being joyful and content while enduring pain and hardship. People who are unfulfilled after pursuing things that do not satisfy may be astonished to see Christians who are joyful and content after depriving themselves for the gospel. This may be a new way to demonstrate the glory of the gospel to this hedonistic culture.

I have a great fear for the church. The West is fast becoming an unreached region. The Bible and history show that suffering is an essential ingredient in reaching unreached people. Will the loss of a theology of suffering lead the Western church to become ineffective in evangelism? The church in the East is growing, and because of that God's servants are suffering. Significant funding and education come to the East from the West. With funding and education comes influence. Could Westerners influence Eastern Christians to abandon the Cross by communicating that they must be doing something wrong if they suffer in this way? Christians in both the East and the West need to have a firm theology of suffering if they are to be healthy and bear fruit.

Ajith Fernando has been national director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka since 1976. With his wife, Nelun, he also serves in a church in Colombo consisting mainly of poor, urban first-generation Christians. He is the author of The Call to Joy and Pain (Crossway) and An Authentic Servant (The Lausanne Movement).

Key Christian leaders respond to this article at ChristianityToday.com/go/conversation. Post your own comments to become part of the Global Conversation about important issues related to world evangelization in preparation for the Lausanne Movement's Cape Town 2010 conference.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Two Tones of Biblical Faith

by: J.I. Packer

J.I. Packer:

Christian faith is shaped, and its nature determined, entirely by its object, just as the impression of a seal is shaped entirely by the die-stamp that is pressed down on the hot wax.

The object of the Christian faith, Packer writes, is threefold:

first, God the Three-in-One, the Creator-become-Redeemer, who throughout history has been, and still is, transforming sinners into a new humanity in Christ;

second, Jesus Christ himself, God incarnate and Saviour, now absent from us in the flesh but personally and powerfully present with us through the Holy Spirit; and

third, the many invitations, promises, commands and assurances that the Father and the Son extend to all who will receive Jesus as their Saviour and Lord and become his disciples, living henceforth by his teaching in his fellowship under his authority.

Biblically, then, faith is a matter of knowing the facts of the gospel (the person, place and work of Jesus Christ),

welcoming the terms of the gospel (salvation from sin and a new life with God) and

receiving the Christ of the gospel (setting oneself to live as his follower, by self-denial, cross-bearing, and sacrificial service).

Packer calls New Testament faith a “two-tone” reality:

Believing the biblically revealed facts and truths about God, and trusting the living Lord to whom these facts and truths lead us, are the two “tones,” the intellectual and relational aspects, of real faith, blending like a chord in music.

This is the understanding of faith that need to be re-established.

—J.I. Packer, Taking Faith Seriously (Anglican Essentials Canada, 2006), p. 5.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Terminal Generation

by; Al Mohler

Is this evangelicalism’s terminal generation? Without doubt, we are facing an unprecedented set of challenges to evangelical identity. The rise of a postmodern culture has produced an intellectual context in which the very concept of truth is held under suspicion, and claims to revealed truth are simply ruled out of order.
Benjamin Franklin, caught on the street during a break in the Constitutional Convention, is said to have been asked by a passerby to describe the new order to be proposed. "A republic," he answered, "if you can keep it." By definition, evangelicals are to be a Gospel people, cherishing, teaching, and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We will remain evangelical only insofar as we maintain the integrity of our Gospel witness--if we can keep it. We are truly evangelical only if we keep our testimony to the Gospel without confusion or compromise.

We should be very concerned about certain trends in contemporary evangelicalism that threaten this integrity. The first is an ominous confusion about the Gospel itself. The heart of the Gospel is the objective truth that Christ died for sinners, and that salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ--alone. The cardinal doctrine of justification by faith is, as Martin Luther warned, "the article by which the church stands or falls."

If so, the church is falling in many quarters. Much of what is presented in many pulpits--and marketed by flashy television preachers--bears little resemblance to this simple message. Instead, sinners are told to seek after riches, material blessings, vibrant health, and earthly rewards. Salvation is packaged as a product to be hawked on the airwaves and sold at a discount. The notion of salvation from sin and judgment is entirely missing from this scenario. Instead, salvation is presented as a gift of self-enhancement.

On the theological left, the Gospel had long ago been transformed into a social and political message of liberation from oppression. Now, among some who consider themselves evangelicals, the Gospel of Christ has been reduced to a form of self-expression or therapy. Salvation is promised as the answer to low self-esteem and emptiness. Gone is any notion of a holy God who offers salvation from sin and its eternal penalty.

The other pressing front in the current battle for the Gospel concerns the exclusivity of the work of Christ. The testimony of the Bible could not be more clear. Salvation comes to all who call upon the name of the Lord. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ--and through Jesus Christ alone.

In our culture of political correctness and intolerant tolerance, we are told that such a claim is simply unacceptable. There cannot be only one way of salvation. Who is to say that the religions of the world are wrong, and that Christianity alone is true?

Well, that is the non-negotiable criterion of evangelical faithfulness. Jesus identified Himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life--and "no one comes to the Father, but through Me" [John 14:6]. Without this clear testimony, the Gospel is emptied of its integrity. The Bible allows no misunderstanding. Without conscious faith in Jesus Christ, there is no salvation.

Dean Kelley, a liberal Protestant, once noted that, "Even the most gentle, humble, and loving Christians must divide the world into those who confess Jesus as Lord and those who don't." Given the clarity of the Gospel, we have no other choice.

Even so, various forms of compromise erupt on this crucial front in the battle for the Gospel. Some advocate an open universalism, in which all persons are eventually saved. Others promote pluralism, promising that all roads will eventually lead to God, and that no faith has a privileged claim to truth. Closer to home, some have advocated a form of inclusivism in which other religions and faiths are seen to be included in the work of Christ. Still others advocate a form of "anonymous Christianity" or a post-mortem opportunity to confess Christ.

Against these various attempts to evade the simple clarity of the Gospel stands the Word of God. Our evangelical integrity stands or falls on this truth--salvation is found through faith in Christ alone. This is the logic of the missionary mandate and the sustaining conviction for all evangelism. Nevertheless, the worldview held by many individuals today--especially those among the educated classes--flatly rejects such claims as imperialistic and arrogant.

Sociologist James Davison Hunter has long warned that younger evangelicals tend to go soft on this doctrine. Educated in a culture of postmodern relativism and ideological pluralism, this generation has been taught to avoid making any exclusive claim to truth. Speak of your truth, if you must--but never claim to know the Truth.

Unless this course is reversed, there will be no evangelicals in the next generation.
Charles Spurgeon stated it plainly: "We have come to a turning-point in the road. If we turn to the right, mayhap our children and our children's children will go that way; but if we turn to the left, generations yet unborn will curse our names for having been unfaithful to God and to His Word." Those words ring with prophetic urgency more than a century after they were written. Evangelicals must regain theological courage and conviction, or we must face the tragic reality that this may be evangelicalism's terminal generation.

Monday, August 16, 2010

The Heart of True Ethics

by: John MacArthur


It is common in the evangelical church today for people to verbally acknowledge that the Bible, as God’s Word, is the final authority for both what they believe and how they live. Yet in reality, a clear connection between that public confession and personal conduct is rare.

Instead of looking to the Bible, many professing Christians look to psychology and sociology for supposed solutions to personal needs and social ills. The rise of postmodern thought has similarly skewed the church’s understanding of right and wrong—as an unbiblical tolerance (in the name of love) has weakened churches to the point where they are as soft on truth as they are on sin. Popular television shows, from Oprah to Leno to the average sitcom, have had a tangible effect (and not for the better) on how American Christians think through everyday issues. The political arena, too, has played a major role in shaping an evangelical understanding of morality, as words like “Republican” and “Democrat” or “liberal” and “conservative” have come to redefine the difference between what is good and what is evil.

The fact is that far too many professing Christians live their lives, day in and day out, on the basis of something other than the Bible. As a result, their priorities reflect the world’s priorities, not God’s priorities. Their patterns of behavior and their plans for the future differ only slightly from those of their unsaved friends and neighbors. Their expenditures reveal that their perspective is temporal, and that they are vainly pursuing the elusive American Dream. Their shortcomings, when they admit to them, receive the same fault-free labels that the world ascribes (“mistakes” or “diseases” or “addictions” rather than “sins”), as they search for answers in psychology, medication, or the self-help section of the bookstore. Though they adhere to an external form of traditional Christian moralism, there isn’t anything particularly biblical or Christ-centered about how they live.

Yet it is in the lives of sinners who have been transformed by the Gospel of grace, that a distinctly Christian ethic must be fleshed out. True Christianity is not defined on the basis of external moralism, religious traditionalism, or partisan politics; but on the basis of a personal love for Jesus Christ and a desire to follow Him no matter the cost (cf. John 14:15). It is only because believers have been transformed on the inside (through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit), that they are able to exhibit godliness in their behavior. And the world cannot help but take notice. As Jesus told His hearers in the Sermon on the Mount, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16; cf. 1 Peter 2:12).

The heart of the Christian ethic, of course, is the Gospel. Only those who have been transformed from within (Titus 3:5–8), being indwelt by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:13–14), are able to exhibit genuine holiness (Gal. 5:22–23; 1 Pet. 1:16). Biblical Christianity is not primarily concerned with external behavior modification (cf. Matt. 5–7), but with a change of heart which subsequently manifests itself in a changed life (1 Cor. 6:9–11).

A true Christian ethic, then, is not possible without the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Unless the inner man is washed first, external morality and religious observances are only a superficial façade. Jesus rebuked the hypocrites of His day with these words, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matt. 23:27). Christ was not saying that behavior is unimportant. But rather that from God’s perspective, the heart is what matters most (cf. 1 Sam. 16:7; Mark 12:30–31).

Of course, a heart that has been truly transformed by God will respond in love to His Son, Jesus Christ (cf. John 8:42). And those who love Jesus Christ will eagerly desire to follow and obey His commands (cf. John 14:15), as found in His Word (cf. Col. 3:16). A truly Christian ethic, then, eagerly affirms and applies the moral instructions found in the Bible. But it does not do so in an attempt to legalistically earn salvation (Is. 64:6). Rather, having received salvation as the free gift of God through faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8–9), it readily obeys out of a heart of love (Eph. 2:10).

If Christians are to live in keeping with who they are (as children of God), they must live according to the Word of God through the power of His Spirit. No other source of wisdom or moral insight will do. By definition, they are people of the Book—and not just on Sundays, but every day of the week (cf. Is. 66:2).

8/16/ - 8/20

I will be posting some borrowed articles over the next few days while I'm in Managua. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Don't forget to check out the blog for a possible Field Update. If I can get to an Internet Cafe I may be able to do a post.

For Christ Alone,


Eric

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Nicaragua and God's Grace

by: Eric Hixon

I have been through many disappointments in life. I have lost many friends who have died or walked away from me because of my faith in Jesus Christ. Well, not just my faith, but because the old Eric died. He was made new and is still being changed by the grace of God.

One of the biggest blessings in my life has been my ministry in Nicaragua. I had spent most of my ministry in the United States and more specifically in the southeastern US. Then, several years ago, I was invited to go on a mission trip to Nicaragua, and I accepted. I did not plan on having a major life changing encounter with the Lord. It hit me out of nowhere when I was on the plane about to land. At first, I thought it was just the bumpy ride and the fact that I was farther away from my wife than I had ever been. I soon found out that it was God doing a work of grace in my life. It was a fear of God that made me well aware that He was with me. I was so convicted of my sins and spent much time confessing and repenting of my selfishness.

This was a work of grace because God would use this time to refine me and make me very uncomfortable. I would not have chosen this path...I assure you. I like the easy road. God, however, isn't all that concerned about what I want, He is concerned about what I need. I needed to spend some serious time getting my focus on Him. For that reason, most of my ministry has not been a path of ease...it has been difficult. That is what God allowed me to do through my first Nicaragua trip. I could give you all the details, and maybe someday the Lord will allow me that time; however, I just want you to know that I thank God for what He did in my life during that time.

I am now preparing to go back to Nicaragua again. I can't even tell you how many times this makes, but it has been a lot. I have been heartbroken in more ways than words can describe over the spiritual condition of Nicaragua. I've had people try to use me and take advantage of our tenderness toward these precious people. I've also made friends that are like family to me. God has used these people in each group to refine me and to make me into what He is wanting me to become.

In all honesty, I'm compelled to go back by in spite of the hard times and dissapointments. The Lord has allowed my heart to be touched by the children and the pastors of this country. Lord willing, M.U.D. Minsitries will soon be beginning a Bible Institute in Nicaragua with the vision of training pastors. Our desire is to help equip and train these men and show them how to do God's Work, God's Way, for God's Glory!

I assure you, it will be the grace of God if that is allowed to happen. There are those that say Central America is too overrun with missionaries. I would disagree. Yes, there are many who come down but few that teach sound doctrine. I've been told that I take the Scriptures too seriously, but I honestly don't think that is possible. Let God decide. These indigenous pastors need solid Biblical training! God will use them to do a work that only a Nicaraguan can do. The day may come when the doors to this country are shut to those like me. It is vital that these men get the Gospel and preach it. That door cannot be shut by any man.

For now, I ask you to pray for me and the 13 others that I have helped mobilize to join us on a mission to glorify God through serving others and making disciples as our King has commanded. If anything good comes from us, it will be a work of grace. I thank God for Nicaragua and God's grace!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

It Is Good To Have Zeal

This morning I am reminded that true zeal comes first from the heart of the individual and then can manifest itself in the life of the church as a whole. Ask yourself tough questions and deal with them. No one can ask you a better, more probing, deeper question than you.

Do you have a zeal for God today? Does your actions relay to God and others the condition of your heart?

Zeal is defined as enthusiastic devotion or care to or for a cause. In many instances, our zeal is for our job or our hobby, or other causes. It is easy to find oneself influencing others for these causes and not influencing others for Christ isn't it? I pray that God uses me to influence othes in their devotion and love for God. That God would use my feeble efforts to stir up love for other believers.

Our enthusiasm has the ability to stir others into action. (2 Corinthians 9:2)

I am constantly reminded that my zeal should not be born out of a selfish desire, but out of a love for Christ and others. This type of zeal will help you to develop a hatred for those things that oppose Christ, such as sin in my own life. I desire to be used by Christ for God's glory!

James 5:19-20, "My brothers, if anyone among you wanders fromt he truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings a sinner back from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."


I need to be encouraged and I do this by encouraging those that read this post. It is good to be zealous for Christ and to see souls saved. Yes, it is only God who can save but it is God's will that we are used as the ones who bring the message of Christ! Today, go and witness to the world of the grace of God and give each person a personal warning, encouragement, and invitation to come to God through Christ and Christ alone!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Adoption Update

We are doing an adoption fundraiser that is really cool and you can even win a amazing book! To learn more go to www.intheheartofourhome.blogspot.com today!!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Confidence in the Gospel

I wanted to share something with you that didn't shock me the way it should have. I am getting less and less taken back when I hear of such things. Much of what I am sharing I learned from Brad Williams, Pastor of New Covenant Baptist in Albertville, AL. He is a dear brother to me.


From Brad Williams recent church wide newsletter:

You may not have ever heard of Julea Ward, but I hope that you soon become familiar with what has happened to her. Julea was a graduate student at Eastern Michigan University in pursuit of her Master’s in school counseling. That is, until Julea was recently expelled. She was expelled, not because of her conduct but because of her conviction that homosexuality is morally wrong. She refused to counsel homosexual clients, doing so was a breach of school policy and of the American Counseling Association’s code of ethics.

Julea sued the university on the basis that she had been discriminated against due to her religious beliefs. The judge refused to hear the case. She never got her day in court. Here is Judge Steeh’s statement as to why:

The university had a rational basis for requiring students to counsel clients without imposing their personal values…In the case of Ms. Ward, the university determined that she would never change her behavior and would consistently refuse to counsel clients on matters with which she was personally opposed due to her religious beliefs – including homosexual relationships.

The only way that Ms. Ward would be re-admitted into the program was if she went into a remediation program in order to see the error of her ways and change her belief system about homosexuality. The remifications of this decision are dizzying, and the logic used to reach this decision is patently absurd.

In this decision, the University of Eastern Michigan has done precisely what they have warned Ms. Ward not to do: that is, they have imposed their beliefs onto her. They believe that homosexuality is morally fine. They believe that to counsel otherwise is a breach of ethics. Their “Bible”, if you will, is the American Counseling Association’s code of ethics. Ms. Ward’s code of ethics is the Bible itself, the University has declared that the ACA’s code is a higher and more correct authority than the Bible, and this deviation from their faith in the ACA is met with expulsion from the program. So much for academic freedom of thought.

Should Ms. Ward have refused to counsel homosexuals? The details are vague as to what is meant by that. If she outright refused to counsel them, I believe she erred. I believe she should definitely have given them counsel, but she should have pointed out that homosexual behavior is sin, and that abandoning the counsel of God’s Word in pursuit of illicit pleasure will always result in misery. That counsel would have gotten her expelled also, it seems, but it would have been a better way to get kicked out.


We are hearing more and more about public prayer being banned and Christians being told they must "change" their beliefs in order to graduate. I am not a prophet but I do think this is just the beginning. I agree with Brad, she hould have shared the only hope these people have with them. I'm not being negative or a messenger of doom and gloom. I think if God allows persecution to happen it will only be used to strengthen the true church. Don't think because we live in America that we are exempt from persecution.

Persecution is allowed to strengthen God's people and drive them to do what they wouldn't do without persecution. I pray that you take the initiative to disciple your children and your wife. There are those who will challenge us and like unreasoning animals attack truth with lies. We must learn how that we are to respond and how that we are to survive in these times. If you have not, I encourage you to listen to the series on Jude that Bro. Cliff Cook and myself preached at New Covenant Baptist Oneonta recently. You can visit the churches website to listen to the series.

www.ncbconeonta.org

I pray that God will work in your heart so much that your confidence in God would surpass all your fears of man! There is a proper way to live this life for the glory of God. I pray that you and I will obey the Word of God

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Pray for God to Awaken Your Church

Every true revival that God has blessed us with has begun after much prayer. I encourage you to pray that God would stir your church diligently. I find that Christians who pray for their church specifically have a much deeper, meaningful membership in that local body than those who do not pray regularly for their church. Pray that god would move in such a way that:

Pray that hundreds of people come to Christ

Old animosities would be removed

Marriages would be healed and renewed

Prodigal children would come home, both young and old children

Dominating sin would be crushed

Spritual dullness is replaced by spirit filled joy

Worship would not be routine but a true time of praise and prayer to God

Confidence in the flesh would dissappear and confidence in the Gospel would increase

Prayer would be fervent

Evangelism wouldn't be a program but a natural result of a desire to glorify God

Missions would be something people DO and SUPPORT

Pastors would PREACH the WORD

Fear of man would be replaced by a fear of God

Radical faith would seem, well...not radical, but normal

Monday, August 2, 2010

The Getty's on Modern Hymn Writing

Keith Getty led one of the workshops at the National Worship Leaders Conference on the topic, “Writing Today’s Modern Hymns.” David Neff, editor-in-chief for Christianity Today Media Group, edited and distilled ten notable ideas from the workshop:

1. The primary form we use is the story form. The gospel is primarily story. How do you take people who want 4-line worship songs and get them to sing 32 lines? By structuring the song as a story.
2. It is important to look at things that are harrowing and that don’t necessarily make us feel happy. The central core of the Christian faith is not something that makes us happy. We need to acknowledge our need for a redeemer. The reason we worship is that we meet God through the central story of the cross.
3. We need lament. But if you want to write lament, remember that a successful lament resolves. Not into a happily-ever-after ending, but like the psalms of lament, by ultimately acknowledging that God is God.
4. To write strong melodies remember that folk melody has to be passed on orally (aurally). I try to write songs that can be sung with no written music. I imitate Irish folk melody, with a great deal of contour, of rise and fall.
5. Use pastors and theologians as resources for your writing. But keep company with them. Don’t just ask them to fix your text here or there when you’re done with it.
6. Trinitarian worship safeguards us from so many problems our worship can get into: either an overly stern view of god or a casual view of god. Both can lead to problems in our lives.
7. Martin Luther is one of ten people from history I would want to have coffee with. I have looked at a lot of Luther’s hymns and emulated him. First, Luther had a high view of redemption. He also believed we live our lives in the midst of spiritual warfare. Thirdly, he had a high view of the church and a high vision of the church.
8. The congregation is the choir and it is merely the privilege of those of us who are musically gifted to help them sing.
9. Lyrics and great writing are the same thing. Lyricism is poetry. If your write lyrics, read as much poetry as you can. Lyricists are people who love words and do crossword puzzles.
10. Growing up, I never listened to pop music as a child. I was steeped in church music. That could be a blessing because everything I write can be sung by a congregation.

Keith and his wife Kristyn have several CDs that might be of interest to you:

In Christ Alone
Awaken the Dawn
Songs that Jesus Said (music for children)