Every so often I will read the doctrinal statement of churches, schools, organizations and other institutions as is this one is from a school of theology.  This is what part of a doctrinal statement looks like.  Usually if a person wanted to join a church or institution that had a doctrinal statement, the person would have to sign a statement of agreement or agree audibly. 

Sometimes though as a person grows to maturity in Christ, that person might want to read again the doctrinal statement they signed or agreed to when maturity was lacking in themselves.  Sometimes it will get to a point where the agreement becomes awkward and you may have to put up and shut up or “move along”.  This may be a hill to die on.

I like this partial statement and the whole one from where I copied it.  Notice how it refers to the God Head three in One.

           By His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus made a perfect atonement for sin, by which the wrath of God against sinners is appeased and a ground furnished upon which God can deal in mercy with sinners. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse in our place. He who Himself was absolutely without sin was made to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The Lord Jesus is coming again to his earth, personally, bodily, and visibly. The return of our Lord is the blessed hope of the believer, and in it God’s purposes of grace toward mankind will find their consummation.

The Holy Spirit is a person, and is possessed of all the distinctively divine attributes. He is God.

Man was created in the image of God, after His likeness, but the whole human race fell in the fall of the first Adam. All men, until they accept the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior, are lost, darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, hardened in heart, morally and spiritually dead through their trespasses and sins. They cannot see, nor enter the Kingdom of God until they are born again of the Holy Spirit.

Men are justified on the simple and single ground of the shed blood of Christ and upon the simple and single condition of faith in Him who shed the blood, and are born again by the quickening, renewing, cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of the Word of God.

All those who receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and their Lord, and who confess Him as such before their fellow men, become children of God and receive eternal life. They become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. At death their spirits depart to be with Christ in conscious blessedness, and at the Second Coming of Christ their bodies shall be raised and transformed into the likeness of the body of His glory.

Saturday night Tom, Tim, Jon, and I went out to the Dallas Cowboys playoff game.  Let me reiterate something here, the new stadium was custom built for open air preaching!  Exterior glass walls leaning at an angle almost funnel like.  Big at the top and then smaller at the bottom.  The sound from an amplifier will bounce downward to the ground where people are hoopin it up.  Jerry Jones is the billionaire that built the biggest stadium so we would have a great place with thousands of people to preach.  Jerry still fails the good person test though.

All four of us preached, and all four of us were heckled.  I believe when a person feels he has to say something to us to try to jostle us, he is feeling the “pinch” of his conscience.  It is a kind of conviction that provokes action.  Only their action is verbal (most of the time) and loud.  Because a heckler disagrees with what he hears, he feels compelled to let everyone else know what he thinks.  If we would leave Christ and the Scripture out of the open air sermon, we would not ever be heckled, only praised.

Hecklers are one side of the coin.  The other is the conscience of those who call themselves Christians to give us the proverbial “high five”.  Because we have a vantage point up high on a bench, most of the time we see them coming.  You see the rowdiness in their action as they cross the street.  You then see that they hear the Word and that they notice what we are doing.  When they pass by, they too have to say something to soothe their conscience.  I am not saying this is good or bad.   I just think it is interesting to see conviction on both sides. 

After we were there for some time, in those cold temperatures, I was finally able to talk to a man named Joshua.  I do not know about you, but when I hear a Bible name I wonder right away why they have that name.  In the case of Joshua, his father was a pastor!  Why so much passion? Let me tell you.  When the questions bite into their conscience you get a lot of information as though you were in a confessional (gross).

Once I knew his name and his father’s profession in life, I asked him, “If God took your life tonight would you be ready?”  Shaking his head at the same time, without much hesitation, he said “No”!  I stared at him for a second to let it sink in deeply.  Not knowing how much time I had with him, I had hoped he learned something from dad.  I knew I probably did not need to explain sin but, I went to the Ten Commandments as soon as possible.  The Commandments showed him his sin.  I then asked if he was concerned at all about not being prepared for eternity.  He was.  I said, “Don’t you know the wrath of God abides on you right now?”  I told him I would be scared if I were him.  He said yes he was scared.

He began feeling convicted.  He said that he would be looking for a church soon.   He mentioned that his girlfriend attends church.  She was not just any girlfriend, but a Dallas Cowboys Dancer.  I did not know of any such thing.  Anyway, I knew from this information that this man was not going to attend church anytime soon.  This is what I mean:

Proverbs 7:8-23

8 Passing through the street near her corner;
And he takes the way to her house,
9 In the twilight, in the evening,
In the middle of the night and in the darkness.
10 And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.
11 She is boisterous and rebellious,
Her feet do not remain at home;
12 She is now in the streets, now in the squares,
And lurks by every corner.
13 So she seizes him and kisses him
And with a brazen face she says to him:
14 “I was due to offer peace offerings;
Today I have paid my vows.
15 “Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you.
16 “I have spread my couch with coverings,
With colored linens of Egypt.
17 “I have sprinkled my bed
With myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.
18 “Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with caresses.
19 “For my husband is not at home,
He has gone on a long journey;
20 He has taken a bag of money with him,
At the full moon he will come home.”
21 With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her flattering lips she seduces him.
22 Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,
23 Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a bird hastens to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

Joshua asked if I knew of a church in Denton. I did and mentioned Denton Bible Church.  He told me he had to meet with a friend.  I said I understood.  Joshua knows the Gospel today because someone was willing to freeze off their south ends and open their north end and explain it, talk it, with passion and urgency.  Joshua must repent and ask God for mercy unless he should go eternal torment. 

NOTE:  I know one man personally and some from afar who explain eternal torment, hell, and lake of fire to mean to be separated from God.  This is a disservice to say it like that.  Scripture does not say “your are going to suffer by being “separated” from God.  Scripture is clear, you will suffer because you will burn in the lake that burns with fire.  God does not need our help to make His word softer to the ear.

No one listens anyway, do they?

Read what Charles Spurgeon (1834 – 1892),  wrote:
You that preach in the streets, go on preaching Him. I saw a man preaching the other day with no creature but one dog to listen to him, and I really thought that he might as well have gone home. But I met with a story yesterday, which I know to be true, and it showed me that I was making a mistake. There was a woman who for years had been is such dreadful despair that she would not even hear the gospel.
She became very ill, and she said to one that called on her, “You sent a man to preach under my window 3 months ago, and I got a blessing.”
“No,” the friend said, “I never sent anyone to preach under your window.”
“Oh,” she said, “I think you did, for he came and preached, and my maid said that there was no one listening to him. I did not want to hear him; and as he made so much noise , my maid shut the window, and I lay down in bed; but the man shouted so that I was obliged to hear him; and I thank God he did, for I heard the gospel, and I found Christ. Did you not send him?”
“No,” said the good man, “I did not.”
“Well,” she said, “then God did. There was nobody in the street listening to him; but I heard the gospel, and I got out of my despair, and I found the Savior, and I am prepared to die.”
Fire away, brethren! You do not know where your shot will strike, but “there’s a billet for every bullet.”

What happened on New Years Eve 2009

  On December 31, 2009, I decided to go out one more time to the “stop” before year’s end.   I am exceedingly glad I did.  It was cold and windy night.  My family and I had been invited to the home of Paul and Colleen Tosello. Images of the warm fireplace, wonderful fellowship, and delicious food were going through my mind.   My wife and son took my Mother, Step-Father and youngest sister on ahead of me to enjoy the festivities.   I felt I needed to go to the “stop” even though I did have second thoughts of backing out.  I am glad I did not.

     I spoke with a man named John at about the 10^th truck I came to that night.  He eyed me coming around his truck as I held up a tract (I knew he had no clue what I had).   He looked from me and then to the tract.  He opened his window,  I handed it to him telling him what it was.  Not having great timing, especially when it gets cold, I told him what it was and just as fast asked, “Do you attend church anywhere?”.  He said he attended church a couple of weeks ago.  I then asked, “Are you a Christian?”  He replied that he was a Christian.  After further conversation and more investigation there was scanty evidence of Christianity.  After a few more questions he began to feel cold with his window open.  He invited me inside his truck for more conversation.  I am thinking how odd, not even my own brethren from my church invite me to their homes.  This had to be of the Lord I was thinking, so I said sure.

     Once I settled into the truck and thanked him for his hospitality, (weird, like a Christian) he said it was not a problem because he was getting cold.  Prior to my entering the truck, I had a host of “red flags” waving in my head stemming from his various responses to the questions I asked, (wondered if I could get all those flags into the truck or not).  My next few questions indeed settled in my mind the direction our conversation needed to head.  I asked first, “When was the last time you read the Bible, and what did you read?”  To the first question the response was “two weeks ago”, and to the second, he could not even provide an answer.  Oops, not a good start.

     Over the next few minutes we went through several of the Scriptures with one being John 9:31 to lead him in the direction of what unbelievers should expect for their prayers.  After all, John had said he prayed all the time.  By now he was on his second cigarette, interesting.  Going through this exchange another red flag popped up.   John did not believe this verse applied to him.  We began establishing firmly that he was not a Christian, a true believer.   If a professed Christian does not read the Word of life, has no fellowship with other believers, does not attend church, does not know the Scriptures to be true, then it could be, this man is not a Christian.  1 John 1:6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”  Five cigarettes later and an upset stomach for me (too much smoke in my lungs), I asked him again,  “do you think you would be ready if God were to take your life today?”  He replied with a yes.  It was not long after that point that I thanked him for the Mountain Dew and bid him farewell.  He was glad that I made him think.  I was glad I made him doubt!

     Allen, the next trucker, did not let me into his truck.  This is what Ezekiel says: “When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand.”

     Allen cut me off shortly after I said that if I did not tell him about Christ, then the words of Ezekiel would probably apply to me.  Allen knew nothing about the Gospel even though he lived with his wife who attended church “all the time”.  He said she does the la la la thing when she is there and that whatever she tells him, he believes her.  I shared a few other things with him including that I did not do the “la la la thing.”

     Allen was nervous from the onset.  I assured him I was not there to make him uncomfortable, or to ridicule him.  He understood what I said, but he could not go on talking to me.  Ezekiel really gave him a scare.

     So, we bid farewell to 2009, thanking the Lord my God for His mercy and grace on my life.  I deserve hell, but He gave me life eternal.  I did not earn one atom of God’s wondrous grace, but He shed His blood for me.  Nothing will ever take His salvation from me.  Because I did not earn my salvation, I cannot lose it.  Because God gave it to me, I cannot give it back.  Christ Jesus is Lord!  Christ Jesus is Lord and Savior of my life and my household.  I praise my Lord God, I praise Him and give Him all the glory.

Paul in Chains

    In Acts 26:28 we read how King Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.”   Powerful insight of a known unbeliever. People I speak to most often reply as King Agrippa did.   I know for sure in the majority of instances that the men, women and children that I have spoken with are mulling over what I have presented as the Gospel.   With the assistance of the Holy Spirit, I, like Paul, had the ability to persuade many sinners to become believers, followers of Jesus Christ. 

        After a lengthy, solid discussion of sin, hell, the Cross, justification, expiation, being “in Christ”, no longer an enemy of God, but His child, many people I encounter on the streets have a visible change in their countenance.  My encounters with these people is usually but once.  I see the irritation melt away, the puffiness deflated, and a clear change of attitude as they see themselves and their lifestyles in the clear light of the Law.  Many times I hear people say things that I used to say before I came to Jesus Christ.  Many times as they leave, it is much like King Agrippa as he left Paul.  They walk away not wanting to have the Light expose their sinfulness–it causes uneasiness.  I think they feel the tug of the Holy Spirit calling them to “give in” to the power of Jesus Christ that is working on their hearts, (yes, I know, Christ is more powerful than our stubborn wills, I don’t claim some great insight either).  Sometimes there could be the beginnings of conversion taking place (a taste) that is causing them to think hard and to reflect on what they have heard. 

        As I have spoken with individuals out on the streets, and as the Holy Spirit works on their hearts, I see a change in their eyes and body language.  As they contemplate the way God views sinfulness verses the world’s view, there literally seems to be at least a glimmer of light turning on within their expressions.   Presenting scripture verses like Revelation 21:8 that provides serious warning about those that will be left out of the new heaven, “But for the cowardly, (fearful) and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death;” and then getting hitting even closer to home there is Matthew 5:22 that admonishes, “…but I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever say to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

        Yes, this is the message I share with people that I meet out on the streets.  It is the message I share with everyone whether they are obvious sinners or professing “Christians.”  I cannot count how many times I have parted after these many and varied encounters with a handshake, a thank you, a hug,  a prayer, tears, the exchange of information, and then there are many times all of the above are experienced.  It is the love of Christ that drives me to go out.  I look at each with the love that only Jesus Christ can produce and the knowledge that if they perish, their eternity would be in hell with despair, weeping and the gnashing of teeth.  It is my prayer that I will be used of God to share with everyone that He brings my way and even with those that I go out to encounter on the streets.  I want them to hear the Truth and have the ability to chose for themselves either Jesus Christ or to be an enemy of God who gave His only begotten Son. 

        Yes, King Agrippa could have yielded to the Truth.   His heart of stone could have become a heart given totally to God, with ears to hear, and eyes that could clearly see.  Conversion is never easy, but it is well worth the loss of worldly desires for heavenly treasures.  It sets the sinner apart from what they now know to be a lie.  It is in Jesus Christ that there is fullness of joy.  Believers are now in Him, and God sees them as righteous, just, pure and holy.  He gives believers the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  All the sin was placed on the perfect Lamb of God.  We deserve the death He died, but Jesus Christ bore our sin-debt, paying it with His precious blood.  In our place Jesus Christ took on the fury of His Father.

        My friends, King Agrippa, like unbelievers in our world will never enter the Kingdom of God on their merits.  Being “almost persuaded” will only land the unbeliever in hell for all eternity.  But to those that repent and trust in Jesus Christ, they will be forgiven.  A place has been prepared in heaven for all who repent, (not for all) in eternity.  Time as we know it will stop.  Reality, in heaven or hell, will never stop!

Unbeliever, please repent, don’t be “almost persuaded”.