Watch Daniel McArthur’s “Faith Under Fire” Message

April 2, 2015 David Murray 2 comments

Daniel McArthur, the General Manager of Ashers Baking Company, speaks about his company’s courageous stance, freedom of conscience and The Christian Institute. Ashers Baking Co. was recently taken to court by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and is now awaiting the judges decision on whether they discriminated against homosexuals for refusing to ice a cake with a pro-gay marriage message.

What a beautiful, brave, and inspiring speech! And this is the kind of quality person being declared a bigot and beyond the pale of civilized society. God, have mercy upon us.

Reading some books on the history of apologetics recently, I’ve been struck by how many of the early church apologists were focused merely on winning tolerance from extremely hostile pagan government. That was it. It was all about survival and carving out just enough space to practice the basics of the Christian faith without state interference. Nothing more ambitious than that.

Given the similarities with our current situation, there’s much we can learn from these courageous men. One thing’s for sure, we desperately need alternatives to the conservative politicians who wilt under the slightest pressure and don’t have sufficient convictions or skills to answer the most basic questions from journalists in a clear and convincing way.

We need multiple apologists who will be strong without being obnoxious pugilists;
Apologists who will have the confidence of Christians but who will not just play to the gallery;
Apologists who can argue on biblical grounds but also on the grounds of common sense and constitutional law when necessary;
Apologists who have the discipline to stick to this one subject, to play this one note, to focus on this one target;
Apologists who genuinely and demonstrably love people regardless of their sexuality;
Apologists whose only and limited aim is to outline the very few areas of life where Christians must, in good conscience, refuse certain services to gay people;
Apologists who can explain the difference between refusing a service because it violates a central religious principle and a general discrimination based upon hatred of people;
Apologists who can convince that Christians will not withhold goods and services from gay people in the other 99.9% of everyday life;
Apologists who can illustrate the gracious manner in which Christians will communicate this;
Apologists who can highlight and expose the terrible bigotry and hate that Christians are suffering at the hands of gay activists.

At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that God is raising up such apologists. Maybe, because few realize how desperate the situation is, and even fewer are praying for God’s intervention.

The time is short. The need is great. The consequences are enormous. The church is asleep. God, have mercy upon us!

UPDATE: If you think this is too alarmist, have a look at this: Social Media Mob Closes Christian-owned Pizza Shop. As Denny says, the bigotry and hate is all on the other side.

How To Wake Up

April 1, 2015 David Murray 0 comments

In a sermon on How to Begin Every Day with God, based on the text, “My voice you shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to you, and I will look up” (Psalm 5:3), Matthew Henry gives eight reasons why we should wake up with prayer.

1. The morning is the first part of the day, and it is fit that He that is the first should have the first and be first served.

2. In the morning we are fresh and lively, and in the right frame due to our spirits being refreshed by sleep.

“Worshipping God is work that requires the best powers of the soul, when they are at their best.”

3. In the morning we are most free from company and business, and ordinarily have the best opportunity for solitude and retirement.

4. In the morning we have received fresh mercies from God which we are concerned to acknowledge with thankfulness to His praise.

”Many lie down to sleep and never rise again – but we have slept and waked again, rested and refreshed.”

5. In the morning we have fresh matter ministered to us for adoration of the greatness and glory of God in the common good of the universe (Psalm 19).

“How many thousands of miles has the sun travelled this last night, to bring the light of the morning to us poor sinful wretches that justly might have been buried in the darkness of the night!”

6. In the morning we have, or should have had fresh thoughts of God and sweet meditations on his name, and these we ought to offer up to him in prayer.

7. In the morning we find cause to reflect upon many vain and sinful thoughts that have been in our minds in the night season; and it is necessary that we apply for the pardon of them.

“Dare we go abroad till we have renewed our repentance, which we are every night making new work for?”

8. In the morning we are addressing ourselves to the work of the day, and therefore are concerned by prayer to seek unto God for His presence and blessing.

“Pray for God’s presence and blessing…for our families…for wisdom to manage our callings…for opportunities to do good….for preservation from evil.”

A Readable and Enjoyable Book on Apologetics!

March 31, 2015 David Murray 5 comments

IVP sent me this book a couple of years ago and it went straight to my shelves unopened. I mean, 750 pages on apologetics! Who wants to read that unless they really have to?

But a couple of weeks ago I had cause to take it down, dust it off, and have a look inside. And I was stunned. Despite its intimidating size, and despite it being an apologetics textbook, it was one of the best reads I’ve enjoyed in a long time. I know, it’s hard to imagine putting these three words in a headline – apologetics, readable, and enjoyable – but, really, that’s what this book is.

The only bit I struggled with was the brief section on Alvin Plantinga’s philosophy, but I don’t expect ever to fully understand that this side of eternity.

Instead of interacting with alternative Christian apologetic schools of thought (there are only a few paragraphs on Van Til’s presuppositionalism). Groothius’s agenda was to write a comprehensive and accessible book on classical Christian apologetics. He has succeeded magnificently.

Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith by Douglas Groothius.

Video Lectures On R C Sproul’s Holiness of God

March 31, 2015 David Murray 0 comments

Here’s the video of our adult Sunday School on chapter 9 of Dr R C Sproul’s book, The Holiness of God.

Chapter 9 Video/Handout

You can find the rest of the series here. Scroll down each page for the PDF handouts.

What Dawkins, Hawking, and Harris Know About God

March 30, 2015 David Murray 46 comments

How would you like to peer into the mind of Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking, and Sam Harris to see what they really think about God? Romans 1:18-32 lets us do just that. There God tells us what every atheist knows about God.

“But, how do they know anything about God when they don’t go to Church, read the Bible, etc?”

The Apostle Paul says that the invisible things of God are made plain to everyone through the made things (v. 19). In other words, the creation reveals the Creator to all creatures. “What may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them” (v. 20). And he shows it to them through what He has made. Just as handwriting tells us something about the writer, and just as a painting tells us something about a painter, so God’s creation tells everyone, even atheists, a lot about God.

And what does the visible creation tell every atheist about the invisible Creator?

1. God exists. If they clearly see God’s invisible attributes (v. 19), then they obviously know He exists. As verse 21 says, “They know God.”

2. God is eternal. They know that there is a being who had no beginning and will never end (v. 20).

3. God is powerful. They have an eerie sense of God’s overwhelming almightiness (v. 20).

4. God is God. They not only know His eternal power but His eternal Godhead (v. 20). This is not someone just a bit bigger then themselves, but a wholly other kind of being, a transcendent God.

5. God is angry. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against ungodly and unrighteous men (v. 18). Even atheists tremble in the thunder.

6. God will judge. Not only do they know God is presently angry with sin, but that he will justly judge it in the future (v. 32)

7. God is good. God has left a witness to His goodness everywhere in the regularity of seasons and harvests (Acts 14:17)

8. God is glorious. Day after day, and night after night, the fingerprints of God in His creation preaches “God is glorious, God is glorious” (Ps. 19:1-3). Every people and land have hear this sermon every day.

So why do Harris, Hawking, and Dawkins not believe this daily sermon that’s so full of theology?

Television
Let me use the TV to illustrate Paul’s explanation. God transmits a clear signal, and people receive a clear signal (v. 19-20). However, the viewers turn down the volume, they hold down or suppress the truth in unrighteousness (v. 18).

When that doesn’t work, they try to change the channels. They know they should worship, but they exchange the glory of God for idols (v. 22). They know there is truth to believe, but they exchange the truth of God for a lie (v. 25). They know there is a morality to govern relationships, but they exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural (v. 26).

When the signal still gets through, they try and switch off the TV, they do everything they can to get rid of this unwanted knowledge (v. 28), and then ultimately try to drown out the remaining message by ungodly lives (v. 29-31). But Paul says, despite these desperate attempts, despite all their protestations and denials, “They still know the judgment of God” (v. 32). They cannot escape the certain fact that they will one day meet a divine judge.

What grace!
What grace! That God makes such a generous daily revelation to a world which daily spurns, mocks, rejects and attacks his revelation! No ordinary artist would persevere when his handiwork was treated like this.

What madness! That men and women should reject such precious and valuable knowledge, and admire themselves as wise in the process (v. 22).

What privilege! This revelation of God through creation is often called general revelation because it is given to all. But it cannot save anyone. General revelation can only show us our need, and give hints that God’s goodness may supply our need. But it cannot save us. It can only leave us without excuse. To be saved we need an extra revelation, a special revelation. That’s why God gave us His written and enfleshed Word. If we have that, we are highly privileged. But to whoever much is given, much will be required.

What hope! As we evangelize, we are not evangelizing blank slates. We are not starting with total ignorance. We are going to people who already know much about God. There are already mental sockets prepared for the truth of God’s Word to fit into and to explain.

Dawkins, Hawking, Harris & co. will vehemently deny all this. But they know. And you know. And we know you know. And we only want you to know more, to know the Jesus who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”