The Words Of J.C. Ryle

J.C. Ryle is one of my all time favorite authors, so I was very excited a few months ago when I found a ministry that sends out emails every weekday with a different quote by J.C. Ryle. Now each morning when I turn on my computer I am greeted by my daily Grace Gem (which I highly recommend that you sign up to receive) and a quote by Bishop Ryle.

And since it has been several weeks since I have posted anything here I thought that today I would take several of these quotes and post them so you can see what I am talking about and why I love to read the writings of J.C. Ryle.

Know Your Doctrine

Learn to know what you mean when you talk of believing the doctrines of Christianity. Be able to give a reason of your hope. Be able to say what you think true, and what you think false in religion. And never, never forget that the only foundation of soundness of faith, is a thorough textual knowledge of the Bible.

~ J.C. Ryle: Never Perish

Dying To Know Christ 

The story of Christ’s moral teaching, self-sacrifice, example, and the need of being earnest and sincere like Him, will never smooth down a dying pillow. Christ the Teacher, Christ the great Pattern, Christ the Prophet, will not suffice.

We want something more than this! We want the old, old story of Christ dying for our sins and rising again for our justification. We want Christ the Mediator, Christ the Substitute, Christ the Intercessor, Christ the Redeemer, in order to meet with confidence the King of Terrors and say, ‘Oh death, where is your sting? Oh grave, where is your victory?’

~ J.C. Ryle:The Upper Room

The Proper Mindset at the Table

The benefit of the Lord’s Supper depends entirely on the spirit and frame of mind in which we receive it. The bread which we eat, and the wine which we drink, have no power to do good to our souls, as medicine does good to our bodies, without the co-operation of our hearts and wills.

~ J.C. Ryle: Day by Day with J.C. Ryle

A View From the Pew

There are those, of whom their congregations have said, that when they were in the pulpit—they were so good, that never wished them to come out; and when they went out of the pulpit—they were so bad, they never wished them to go in!

May God give us all grace to take that to heart! May we seek so to live, so to preach, so to work, so to give ourselves wholly to the business of our calling, that this bitter remark may never be made about us.

~ J.C. Ryle: Give Yourself Wholly to Them

Three Essentials in a True Christian

There are three things which, according to the Bible, are absolutely necessary to the salvation of every man and woman in Christendom. These three are: justification, regeneration, and sanctification. All three meet in every child of God: he is both born again, justified and sanctified.

He that lacks any one of these things is not a true Christian in the sight of God, and dying in that condition will not be found in heaven and glorified in the last day.

~ J.C. Ryle: Faithfulness and Holiness: The Witness of J.C. Ryle

The Main Cause of Backsliding

Now what is the cause of most backslidings? I believe, as a general rule, one of the chief causes is neglect of private prayer. You may be very sure men fall in private long before they fall in public. They are backsliders on their knees long before they backslide openly in the eyes of the world.

~ J.C. Ryle: A Call to Prayer

Christ’s Demonstration of Salvation

There is one great work which the Lord Jesus Christ has done and finished completely. That work is the work of atonement, sacrifice, and substitution.

He saw us ruined by the fall, a world of poor, lost, shipwrecked sinners. He did not sit in heaven pitying us from a distance. He did not stand upon the shore and see the wreck, and behold poor drowning sinners struggling in vain to get to shore.

He plunged into the waters Himself. He came off to the wreck, and took part with us in our weakness and infirmity, becoming a man to save our souls.”

~ J.C. Ryle: Old Paths

The Dissatisfaction of Money 

Money, in truth, is one of the most unsatisfying of possessions. It takes away some cares, no doubt; but it brings with it quite as many cares as it takes away.

There is trouble in the getting of it. There is the anxiety in the keeping it. There are the temptations in the use of it. There is the guilt in the abuse of it. There is the sorrow in the losing of it. There is the perplexity in the disposing of it.

Two-thirds of all the strifes, quarrels, and lawsuits in the world, arise from one simple cause – money!

~ J.C. Ryle: Practical Religion

Take Heed What You Read

Do not let newspapers, novels, and romances be read, while the prophets and Apostles be despised. Do not let the exciting and sensual swallow up your attention, while the edifying and the sanctifying can find no place in your mind.

Young men, give the Bible the honor due to it every day you live. Whatever you read, read that first. And beware of bad books: there are plenty in this day. Take heed what you read.

~ J.C. Ryle:Thoughts For Young Men

Let Us Glory in the Cross 

Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ; let us regard it as the source of all our hopes, and the foundation of all our peace. Ignorance and unbelief may see nothing in the sufferings of Calvary but the cruel martyrdom of an innocent person: faith will look far deeper; faith will see in the death of Jesus the payment of man’s enormous debt to God, and the complete salvation of all who believe.

~ J.C. Ryle: Day by Day with J.C. Ryle

Our Compassionate Savior 

Let us remember that the eye of our loving Savior is upon us, morning, noon and night. He will never suffer us to be tempted above that we are able to bear. He can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, for He suffered Himself being tempted.

He knows what battles and conflicts are, for He Himself was assaulted by the Prince of this world. Having such a High Priest, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

~ J.C. Ryle: Faithfulness and Holiness: The Witness of J.C. Ryle

Hold Your Possessions Loosely 

Are you prosperous in the world? Have death, sickness, disappointment, poverty, and family troubles passed over your door up to this time and not come in? Are you secretly saying to yourself, ‘Nothing can hurt me much. I shall die quietly in my bed and see no sorrow.’ Take care.

You are not yet in harbor. A sudden storm of unexpected trouble may make you change your note. Set not your affection on things below. Hold them with a very loose hand and be ready to surrender them at a moment’s notice. Use your prosperity well while you have it; but lean not all your weight on it, lest it break suddenly and pierce your hand.

~ J.C. Ryle: Practical Religion

Never Be Ashamed of Christ! 

Live a courageous life, my brethren. Confess Christ before men. Whatever station you occupy, in that station confess Christ. Why should you be ashamed of Him? He was not ashamed of you on the cross. He is ready to confess you now before His Father in heaven. Why should you be ashamed of Him?

Be bold. Be very bold. The good soldier is not ashamed of his uniform. The true believer ought never be ashamed of Christ.

~ J.C. Ryle: Warnings to the Churches

Do You Ignore the Lord’s Table? 

Nothing can possibly be of small importance which the Lord Jesus Christ ordained and appointed. Our Lord most distinctly commanded His disciples to ‘eat bread’ and ‘drink wine’ in remembrance of Him. What right has any Christian to disobey this commandment?

No doubt a man may be saved, like the penitent thief, without having received the Lord’s Supper. It is not a matter of absolute and indispensable necessity, like repentance, faith, and conversion. But it is impossible to say that any professing Christian is in a safe, healthy, or satisfactory condition of soul, who habitually refuses to obey Christ and attend the Lord’s Table.

~ J.C. Ryle:The Upper Room

Take Heed What You Read

Do not let newspapers, novels, and romances be read, while the prophets and Apostles be despised. Do not let the exciting and sensual swallow up your attention, while the edifying and the sanctifying can find no place in your mind.

Young men, give the Bible the honor due to it every day you live. Whatever you read, read that first. And beware of bad books: there are plenty in this day. Take heed what you read.

~ J.C. Ryle: Thoughts For Young Men

Humbly Believing In God’s Election 

Is the doctrine of Election plainly stated in Scripture? This is the whole question which an honest Christian has to do with. If it is not in the Book of God, let it be forever discarded, refused and rejected by man, no matter who propounds it.

If it is there, let us receive it with reverence, as part of Divine revelation and humbly believe, even where we are not able to understand completely or explain fully.

~ J.C. Ryle: Old Paths

The First Mark of Conversion 

A habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian. All the children of God on earth are alike in this respect. From the moment there is any life and reality about their religion, they pray. Just as the first sign of the life of an infant when born into the world is the act of breathing, so the first act of men and women when they are born again is praying.

~ J.C. Ryle: A Call to Prayer

Dying With The Bible in Hand

There is but one fountain of comfort for a man drawing near to his end, and that is the Bible. Chapters out of the Bible, texts out of the Bible, statements of truth taken out of the Bible, books containing matter drawn from the Bible – these are a man’s only chance of comfort when he comes to die.

~ J.C. Ryle: How Readest Thou?

The Key to Your Salvation 

You may be saved, and reach heaven without many things which men reckon of great importance — without riches, without learning, without books, without worldly comforts, without health, without house, without land, without friends — but without Regeneration you will never be saved at all.

~ J.C. Ryle: Are You Regenerate?

Bring Your Mind to Church

Let us take with us to church, not only our bodies, but our minds, our reason, our hearts and our consciences. Let us often ask ourselves, ‘What have I got from this sermon?’, ‘What have I learned?’, ‘What truths have been impressed on my mind?’.

The heart is unquestionably the main point: but we must never forget that the Holy Ghost generally reaches the heart through the mind. Sleepy, idle, inattentive hearers are never likely to be converted.

~ J.C. Ryle: Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Careless Christianity? 

Sanctification is a thing which depends greatly on a diligent use of Scriptural means. When I speak of ‘means’, I have in view Bible-reading, private prayer, regular attendance on public worship, regular hearing of God’s Word, and regular reception of the Lord’s Supper.

I lay it down as a simple matter of fact, that no one who is careless about such things must ever expect to make much progress in sanctification. I can find no record of any eminent saint who ever neglected them.

~ J.C. Ryle: Faithfulness and Holiness: The Witness of J.C. Ryle

Examining Your Debt to Christ 

How is it that many who profess and call themselves Christians, do so little for the Savior whose name they bear? How is it that many, whose faith and grace it would be uncharitable to deny, work so little, give to little, say so little, take so little pains to promote Christ’s cause and bring glory to Christ in the world?

These questions admit of only one answer. It is a low sense of debt and obligation to Christ, which is the amount of the whole matter. Let us daily pray that we may see the sinfulness of sin, and the amazing grace of Christ, more clearly and distinctly.

~ J.C. Ryle: Day by Day with J.C. Ryle

Boldly Proclaiming God’s Word

Let us pray to be kept from corrupting God’s Word. Let neither fear nor favor of man induce us to keep back, or avoid, or change, or mutilate, or qualify any text in the Bible. Surely we ought to have holy boldness when we speak as ambassadors of God. We have no reason to be ashamed of any statement we make in our pulpits so long as it is Scriptural.

~ J.C. Ryle:Warnings to the Churches

Revelation Chapter 1, Part 1 - Introduction

I was looking back over some of the studies that I have already posted here on The Christian Journey and I realized that when I began posting the study of the book of Revelation is was as a study on the seven churches which begins in chapter two and I never went back and picked up chapter one. Instead I have just continued on and posted studies on chapters four and five. So before I move on to chapter six in that study I thought I would go back and post a series of studies on chapter one. I pray that you find this helpful and that through this (and everything else I post) that you will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation Chapter 1, Part 1

Chapter one begins with the words “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” and this is what we need to remember as we study this book. This book was not given to us so that we can debate over the chronology of end time events, or so that we can speculate on what the ten horns on the beast might be. The purpose of this book is to reveal Jesus Christ. In this book we will see Jesus not as the suffering servant of the Gospels, but as the risen King, and the Judge of the world.

We will break this chapter down into three sections as follows:

    Introduction (verses 1-3)
    Greeting (verses 4-8)
    John’s vision of Jesus (verses 9-20)

Let’s jump right in and see what we can learn.

Introduction (Verses 1-3)

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Revelation 1:1-3

As I have already pointed out, Revelation begins with the words “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” and that is, first and foremost, what this book is. Merriam Webster defines the word Revelation this way:

An act of revealing or communicating divine truth: something that is revealed by God to humans. 1

The word comes from the Greek word apokálupsis, which means to reveal, uncover, unveil, disclose. Dr Zodhiates says that this is:

One of three words referring to the Second Coming of Christ. The other two words are epipháneia appearing and parousía coming, presence. Apokálupsis, a grander and more comprehensive word, includes not merely the thing shown and seen but the interpretation, the unveiling of the same. 2

So what we will see here is the unveiling of Jesus Christ. This is telling us that the book of Revelation is an open book, that is, it is a revealing of God’s plan.  By way of comparison let’s look at what Daniel was told when his prophecy was written:

But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.

Daniel 12:4

When Daniel was given his prophecy he was told that the book was to be sealed, or shut up, until the end of time. When John received this prophecy; however, he was told that he was to write it down and share it with his fellow servants because he was going to be shown the things that “must soon take place.”


Daniel also tells us “there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries” (Daniel 2:28) and that is exactly what He is doing here; God is revealing to the church the mystery of what is to come. But as we will see in a few verses that is actually that third part of the book; first John will tell us the things that he has seen, and then the things that are.

Next notice that this is the Revelation that God the Father gave to His Son Jesus. The use of the word “gave” here implies that this was a gift from the Father to the Son, but for what purpose would God the Father give a gift to Jesus? Some have tied this back to Mark 13:32 where Jesus said, speaking of His second coming, “Of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” John MacArthur points out that there are two “insurmountable difficulties” with this view; he writes:

The most obvious one is that the book of Revelation nowhere gives the day or hour of Christ’s return. Thus, it does not contain the very information the Father was supposedly revealing to the Son. Further, the glorified, ascended Son resumed the full use of His divine attributes more than half a century before the book of Revelation was written. Being fully God and omniscient, He had no need for anyone to give Him any information.3

So why is Jesus receiving this gift from His Father? To see the answer to this question we must go back to Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Speaking of Jesus, Paul said:

who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:6-11

Here what we see is that because Jesus humbled Himself to become a man, and because He was obedient to the Father’s will even to the point of death, His Father highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name. Every knee will one day bow before Him, and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. Again John MacArthur writes:

Christ’s exaltation, promised in the last three verses (9–11) of that passage, is described in detail in the book of Revelation. It thus contains the full disclosure of the glory that will be Christ’s at His return—His ultimate reward from the Father for His faithfulness during His humiliation.4

So the answer to the question then is this; the Father, by giving this Revelation to Jesus to show to His followers, is telling us that Jesus, because of His faithfulness and obedience, has been exalted to the highest place of honor, and this Revelation lays out, in detail, what that exaltation looks like.

The next thing we see in these verses is the progression of the message. Verse one tells us that God gave this Revelation to Jesus to show to His bond-servants. The word that is translated here, as “bond-servant” is the Greek word doúlos, and it means:

A slave, one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will being altogether consumed in the will of the other.5 

This word, according to Dr. Vine was:

Originally the lowest term in the scale of servitude, came also to mean “one who gives himself up to the will of another.” 6

What a perfect picture of what it means to be a Christian. As a bond-servant we willingly put ourselves in into a permanent relationship of servitude under the authority of Jesus. Our will becomes subject to His will and we give ourselves up in service to Him. This is not a concept that is unique to the book of Revelation; Paul used this term many times to describe himself and his relation to Jesus.

To understand the concept of a bond-servant we need to look back to the Old Testament books of Exodus and Deuteronomy where we can see the Jewish origins of this position.

Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

Exodus 21:1-6

If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. But if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And to your female slave you shall do the same.

Deuteronomy 15:12-17

From these two passages we can see that a bond-servant was one who has chosen to be in a relationship of subservience to his master. This is not one who has been forced into bondage, but one who has, because of his love for his master, chosen to submit himself to his masters will. As a bond-servant he has forever and willingly given up all of his own rights and his own will to do the will of his master.

Paul uses this term to describe himself at the beginning of three of his epistles (Rom. 1:1, Phil 1:1, Titus 1:1) and in each of these instances it precedes his mention of apostleship indicating that his position as a bond-servant of Christ was of greater significance to him than his position as an apostle. And this is the term that is used here in Revelation to describe the followers of Christ; we are told that this is the Revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His bond-servants. (For more on this topic see the post Servants or Slaves)

Continuing in verse one we see is that this revelation was given to show us the things “which must shortly take place.” This is an interesting phrase, and it is the reason that some scholars, know as preterits, believe that this book was written to prophesy the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. They reason that the book was written during the time of Nero (about 65 A.D.) before the fall of Jerusalem, and that it was a warning to the Jews living at that time about the things that were about to happen. They also argue that since the book doesn’t contain anything about this event, one of the most significant in Jewish history, it therefore stands to reason that this is what the book was warning about.

Those with a pre-tribulational position also use this phrase to support their position that the return of Christ is imminent. They argue that this phrase means that the events contained in the book of Revelation will take place “soon.” But this Greek phrase can also mean that once the events described in this book begin they will continue in a rapid-fire fashion, and will all be accomplished in a very short period of time. This point can definitely be argued since all of the judgments contained herein will come to completion in the span of just seven years. Warren Wiersbe says here:

The phrase… “shortly come to pass” (v. 1) [does] not mean that these prophecies were to be fulfilled right away in John’s day. Rather, they indicate how swiftly time will transpire when they are fulfilled. 7

So the question that must be answered here is this: is John talking about how the events will happen, or when the events will happen? Robert Van Kampen in his commentary on Revelation put it this way:

Theologically, for John to state that the events depicted in Revelation will happen soon, with reference to time, contradicts Matthew 24:36. Matthew 24:36 states, ‘But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.’ Therefore, John could not say how soon the Lord might return or how soon the events connected with His return might transpire unless God gave him direct revelation.8

For this reason I believe that John is telling us how and not when these events will take place.

Continuing then in verse 1 we see that Jesus sent and communicated this message, by means of His angel, to His bond-servant John. As we move throughout the book we will see that at several times John is receiving this message from an angel, but we will also see John getting pieces of it from the elders, the living creatures and from Jesus Himself. But Jesus communicates the majority of this revelation to John through His angel. The Greek word translated angel here is the word ággelos, which simply means messenger.

We also see here in verse one the use again of the term bond-servant. This time used to describe John himself. Just like Paul, James, Jude, and Peter, John does not bring any special attention to himself. He doesn’t say that he was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, he doesn’t draw attention to his apostleship, he simply says that he is John, the bond-servant of Jesus.

Now, moving into verse two we are told that John “bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ”. With this simple sentence John is telling us that he took no literary license with the recording of this book – he didn’t embellish anything; he simply bore witness to what he saw – the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Like the prophets in the Old Testament, who received the “word of the Lord”, John is also receiving the word of God, and the word that he is receiving is the testimony of the risen and glorified Son of God; Jesus Christ the Almighty.

This is not the first time we have heard this from John. This is the same way he began his first epistle:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:1-3

This should be the passion of every Christian. We know God, and we know His Son. All that we need to do is share what we have seen and heard with this lost and dying world. Jesus said that if He is lifted up He would draw all men to Himself (John 12:32). Getting people ‘saved’ is not our responsibility - that is the work of the Holy Spirit. We are simply to lift up Jesus and declare what we see and hear as we grow closer to Him through His word; He will draw men to Himself. This is what John is doing here; it was the pattern of His life.

In verse three we see the first promise of blessing in the book of Revelation. This blessing is promised first to the one who reads the book, and then to the one who hears, and heeds, what is written in it. In the church of the first century it was very uncommon for the congregation to have in there possession more than one copy of the Scriptures since all copying was done by hand and the expense of doing so was beyond the means of most people. So it was the practice of these early Christians to have someone, usually the leader of the congregation, read aloud from the Scriptures whenever they assembled together. What we are being told here is that there is a blessing promised to the one who reads aloud the book of Revelation.

Secondly, we are also told that there is a blessing for those who hear and heed what is written here. Note that this promised blessing is not promised to these who hear only, but to those who act upon what they hear. This is no different than what we read in the letter of James:

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

James 1:22-25 (NASB)

John then ends his introduction by telling us that the time is near. He is not here telling us that he has knowledge as to when the events he is describing will take place; what he is pointing out is that the events contained in this prophecy are the next events to take place in the plan of God. Again, Robert Van Kampen writes:

Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost indicated that the coming of the Holy Spirit is a mark of the ‘last days.’ We are presently living in the ‘last days.’ Thus, a literal physical reign (kingdom) of God is the next event on the agenda of God. It is near. 9

1 Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. Includes index. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
2 Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G602). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
3 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (17). Chicago: Moody Press.
4 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (18). Chicago: Moody Press.
5 Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G1401). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
6 Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W. (1996). Vine's complete expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words (2:73). Nashville: T. Nelson.
7 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1992). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (795). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
8 Van Kampen, Robert.  Revelation Commentary Ch1 Pg2 (© www.revelationcommentry.org). Orlando Fl.: Sola Scriptura
9 Van Kampen, Robert.  Revelation Commentary Ch1 Pg3 (© www.revelationcommentry.org). Orlando Fl.: Sola Scriptura

Next time we will look at John's greeting in verses 4-8.

Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

In 1741 Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon that many feel is the greatest sermon ever preached - Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. While I take some time to study and write some new posts I encourage you to take some time and read the outline to this great sermon below, and if you have a few minutes click on the link at the bottom of the page and give it a listen.

Sinners in the hands of an angry God!

Jonathan Edwards

"Vengeance belongs to Me--I will repay! Their foot shall slide in due time, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly!" Deuteronomy 32:35

OBSERVATION: There is nothing which keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell--but the mere pleasure of God.

 1. There is no lack of power in God, to cast wicked men into hell at any moment.

 2. They deserve to be cast into hell.

 3. They are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell.

 4. They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell.

 5. The devil stands ready to fall upon them--and seize them as his own--at whatever moment God shall permit him!

 6. There are those hellish principles reigning in the souls of wicked men, which would presently kindle and flame out into hell fire--if it were not for God's restraints.

 7. It is no security to wicked men for one moment--that there are no visible means of death at hand.

 8. Unsaved men's prudence and care to preserve their own lives--do not secure them from death for a single moment!

 9. All wicked men's pains and contrivances which they use to escape hell, while they continue to reject Christ--do not secure them from hell for one moment!

10. God has laid Himself under no obligation, by any promise--to keep any unsaved man out of hell, for one moment!

APPLICATIONS:

1. Consider more particularly--WHOSE wrath it is!

2. Consider--that is the fierceness of God's wrath, which you are exposed to!

3.  Consider--that the misery you are exposed to, is that which God will inflict to that end--that He might show what His almighty wrath is!

4. Consider--that it is EVERLASTING wrath!

J.C. Ryle On The Importance Of Using The Mind

Let us take with us to church, not only our bodies, but our minds, our reason, our hearts and our consciences. Let us often ask ourselves, ‘What have I got from this sermon?’, ‘What have I learned?’, ‘What truths have been impressed on my mind?’.

The heart is unquestionably the main point: but we must never forget that the Holy Ghost generally reaches the heart through the mind. Sleepy, idle, inattentive hearers are never likely to be converted.

~ J.C. Ryle

Kirk Cameron Bashed for Darwin Campaign

Here is an article that appeared on WND today that I thought my readers might find interesting:

Kirk Cameron bashed for Darwin campaign

Media gets snarky over effort to debunk evolution on college campuses

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Posted: September 25, 2009
12:45 am Eastern

Kirk Cameron in screen shot of video introducing his "Origin of Species" campaign

A campaign by Ray Comfort and actor Kirk Cameron to give away 100,000 copies of a special edition of Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species" on 100 university campuses in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the seminal book's publication in November already is drawing a caustic reaction from media.

The special release of the book challenges the theory of evolution with a 50-page introduction that includes an overview of Darwin's life and presents a case for a universe created by God through arguments such as the structure of DNA and the absence of species-to-species transitional forms.

Reacting to a video presentation of the campaign by Cameron, a television writer and contributing editor to Rolling Stone magazine, David Wild, wrote in the Huffington Post that Cameron "seems like a really nice guy."

"Unfortunately, the Artist Formerly Known as Mike Seaver seems like a really nice guy who's evolved into a willfully ignorant idiot," Wild wrote, alluding to Cameron's role as a teen star in the 1980s TV sitcom "Growing Pains."

The introduction to the special "Origin of Species" release, which can be read on Living Waters website, also shows how great scientists of the past such as Nikolas Capernicus, Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon and Albert Einstein, believed in God's existence

Meanwhile, a TMZ video parody features "the matchup of the century, Kirk Cameron versus Charles Darwin, who is dead."

"Yes, the former 'Growing Pains'-star-turned-religious-fanatic is launching an all-out attack on Darwin's theory of evolution."

The TMZ spoof says, "Kirk has decided to unbrainwash people by teaming up with fellow Bible-thumper Sonny Bono, er Ray Comfort, who literally rewrote Darwin's 'Origin of Species.'"

Cameron is co-host with Comfort of "The Way of the Master" television show, produced by Comfort's Bellflower, Calif.-based Living Waters ministry.

In his video presentation of the Darwin campaign, Cameron says, "An entire generation is being brainwashed by atheistic evolution without even hearing the alternative; and it's radically changing the culture of our nation."

Cameron encourages providing students with an alternative view of life's origin and letting them decide for themselves what to believe.

The Huffington Post published a brief item on the Darwin campaign, coupling Cameron's video with a snarky "response" from a Slavic-accented YouTube user.

The YouTube video, with more than 444,000 views, is accompanied by a robust string of more than 8,800 comments, including, "Sorry, science teaches that people evolved. That means NO Adam and Eve. That means NO first sin, or fall from grace. That means NO need for Jesus to have died on a cross to save us."

The Living Waters video, featuring Cameron, has more than 143,000 views.

Comfort previously told WND "atheists are going crazy" on Internet forums in response to the "Origin of Species" plan, saying, "How can we stop this? We're going to have a book burning."

Comfort's Living Waters is working on the project with Answers in Genesis, Campus Crusade for Christ, Teen Mania and the Alliance Defense Fund.

To critics of the campaign, Comfort points out his edition features the entire publication, with nothing removed, and his name will be on the cover.

"I think that the liberal media need to stand back for a moment, take deep breath and think about what they are saying," Comfort told WND in an e-mail.

He argued there have been more than 140 reprints of "Origin of Species," most have had introductions or forewords, and some were critical of the theory of evolution.

Comfort cited an introduction by Prof. W. R. Thompson in 1956, who said it was "right and proper to draw the attention of the non-scientific public to the disagreements about evolution."

Thompson added: "But some recent remarks of evolutionists show that they think this unreasonable. This situation, where scientific men rally to the defense of a doctrine they are unable to define scientifically, much less demonstrate with scientific rigor, attempting to maintain its credit with the public by the suppression of criticism and the elimination of difficulties, is abnormal and unwise in science."

Comfort contends he hasn't attacked Darwin, "but simply looked objectively at his belief and asked if it's scientific, and then left it up to the reader to make up his own mind."

"What's wrong with that?" he asked. "Charles Darwin, in his own Introduction in 1859, said, 'A fair result can be obtained only by fully stating and balancing the facts and arguments on both sides of each question.'"

Ray Comfort

Comfort also pointed out that, thanks to advice from atheists on his blog and others, the 50-page introduction will address Darwin's "racism" and "reveal how he was truly a gentleman who was adamantly against slavery."

It also qualifies Darwin's apparent disdain for women and argue that his moral character is irrelevant to the theory of Evolution, just as the theory of relativity should stand on its own merits and not on the morality of Albert Einstein.

Comfort said his introduction also makes it clear that Adolf Hitler's attraction to the theory is not relevant to whether or not it's true, pointing out the Nazi dictator also used Christianity for his own political ends.

"I want this introduction to be fair-minded, free from prejudice against Darwin, with no straw men or quote-mining," Comfort said.

Nothing created everything

Comfort notes a survey showed 61 percent of U.S. professors in biology or psychology said they were atheists or agnostics.

"Atheism has doubled in the last 20 years among 19 to 25 year olds. So young people are being brainwashed by this stuff," he said. "All we want to do is give an alternative."

"So many young people are being convinced that atheism is right, that evolution is right, there's no god, there are no moral absolutes," he said. "Who cares if you marry a dog? What's the big deal? And that's what atheism believes, too. It's very sad, and we're going to do our best to fight back in November."

He said the plan includes a trip to a leading bastion of academic skepticism, the University of California at Berkeley.

"So what is Berkeley going to do, ban 'Origin of Species'? Especially when they sell it in their bookstore for $29.95, and we're going to be giving away copies."

As WND reported, Comfort's lively interaction on his Atheist Central blog with scores of atheists and agnostics of all kinds – from young students to decorated scientists – has given him unusual insight into the skeptical mind and led him to conclude atheism rests on a remarkably illogical and unscientific premise that became the title of his latest book, "Nothing Created Everything."

 

Comfort's new book leading scientists who believe "nothing created everything," including British biologist and unofficial leader of the popular atheist movement, Richard Dawkins.

Dawkins, in his 2004 book "The Ancestor's Tale" wrote, "The fact that life evolved out of nearly nothing, some 10 billion years after the universe evolved literally out of nothing, is a fact so staggering that I would be mad to attempt words to do it justice."

As Comfort offered $20,000 to Dawkins to debate him on BBC radio, but the British scientist has not responded. 

© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Meditate On These Four Things

Over several days last week Grace Gems featured excerpts from William Dyer’s booklet Christ’s Famous Titles. Dyer, a 17th century English preacher, gives us a list of four things on which we need to meditate often; these are Death, Judgment, Hell, and Heaven. Here is what he wrote:

Meditate often on these four last things:
Death, which is most certain.
Judgment, which is most strict.
Hell, which is most doleful.
Heaven, which is most delightful.

Meditate upon DEATH, which is most certain.

"It is appointed unto men once to die."

Hebrews 9:27

Out of the dust was man formed; into the dust shall man be turned.

To think of death--is a death to some men!

Oh, sirs! Meditate upon death.

Meditation on death--will put sin to death!

Death to the wicked--is the end of all comfort, and the beginning of all misery!
Death to the godly--is the outlet to sin and sorrow, and the inlet to peace and happiness!

The saints' enjoyment shall be incomparable, when the sinners' torments shall be intolerable!

When a believer's soul goes out of his own bosom--it goes into Abraham's bosom! When a saint dies--he leaves all his bad behind him, and carries his good with him! When a sinner dies--he carries his bad with him, and leaves his good behind him!

The godly man goes from evil--to all good.
The wicked man goes from good--to all evil.

When a saint leaves the world--his soul returns to happiness and rest!
When a sinner leaves this world--his body goes to worms to be consumed, and his soul goes to flames to be tormented!

The saint goes to Abraham's bosom; the sinner goes to Beelzebub's bosom!

The wheat goes to the barn; the chaff goes to the fire!

Oh, sirs! meditate upon death!

Meditate upon JUDGMENT, which is most strict.

"We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ!"

Those who will not come before His mercy-seat, shall be forced to come before His judgment-seat!

Those who will not hear His Word--shall feel His Sword!

Those who are graceless in this day--will be speechless in that day!

At the world's end--such will be at their wits' end, to see:

the earth flaming,
the heavens melting,
the stars falling,
the graves opening,
the judgment hastening,
the sun and moon mourning,
Christ and His angels coming!

He who comes to raise the dead, will also come to judge the dead.

Oh! sirs, the great day to great sinners will be a dreadful day--when they shall see Christ coming in the clouds:

with great power and glory,
crowned with dignity,
enraged with anger, and
attended with His angel reapers!

He will bring all kings and nobles, high and low, rich and poor, to His judgment bar! And there He will judge them, not by the whiteness of their faces--but by the blackness of their hearts!

"He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity!"

 Psalm 98:9

You who make no account of His coming--how can you give an account at His coming?

Sirs! Meditation on judgment--may make you judgment proof!

Those who now judge themselves in their own private sessions--shall not be judged by Christ at His great white throne judgment!

Meditate upon HELL, which is most doleful!

Heaven is a place where all is joyful; and Hell is a place where all is doleful.

In Heaven--there is nothing but happiness; but in Hell--there is nothing but heaviness!

"The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all the nations that forget God.''

Psalm 9:17

Mark, sirs--the wicked shall be turned into hell.

Oh, dreadful place--where the devil is the jailer!

Hell is the prison, damnation is the punishment, eternity is the duration, brimstone is the fire, and men and devils are the fuel!

To endure this will be intolerable; and to avoid it will be impossible!

This is the day of God's long-suffering; that will be the day of man's long-suffering!

There they will suffer:

pain without ease,
torment without end,
sorrow without support,
and misery without mercy!

Sirs! Meditate upon Hell! Oh, what hells are there in Hell!
Hell is:

the loss of God,
the loss of Christ,
the loss of all good!

Endless, ceaseless, and remediless torments must be their eternal portion!

Oh, that you would often think of Hell!

If once you drop into Hell--then after a thousand years:you will be as far from coming out of Hell, as you were at your first entrance into Hell!

There is only one way to KEEP a man out of Hell--but there is no way to GET a man out of Hell!

In this world, the wheat and the chaff both grow together, but they shall not always both lie together!

In Hell, there shall not be a saint among those who are terrified!
In Heaven, there shall not be a sinner among those who are glorified!

The sea of damnation--shall never be sweetened with a drop of compassion!

Will you pity a person who is going to the gallows--and will you not pity a person who is going to the bottomless pit?

What a dreadful visitation is that--where the black horse of death goes before, and the red horse of wrath follows after!

Oh, that must needs be sad--when one death comes upon the back of another; when the second death comes upon the back of the first death!

A man's condition in this life may be honorable, and yet his state in eternity may be damnable!

Poor Lazarus goes to Heaven--when rich Dives goes to Hell.

It is far better to go to Heaven poorly--than it is to go to Hell richly!

Oh, sirs! let us go to Hell by contemplation, that we may never go to Hell by condemnation!

Oh sirs! Meditate upon Hell!

Meditate on HEAVEN, which is most joyful.

"Then the King will say to those on His right--Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world!"                                                                                                     Matthew 25:34

"Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord!"

Matthew 25:21

Heaven is a place where all joy is enjoyed!
In Heaven, there will be:

mirth without sadness,
light without darkness,
sweetness without bitterness,
life without death,
rest without labor,
plenty without poverty!
Oh, what joy enters into the believer--when
the believer enters into the joy of his Lord!

Who would not . . .

work for glory with the greatest diligence, and
wait for glory with the greatest patience?

Oh, what glories are there in glory! Thrones of glory, crowns of glory, vessels of glory, a weight of glory, a kingdom of glory!

Here on earth--Christ puts His grace upon His spouse!
There in Heaven--He puts His glory upon His spouse!

In heaven the crown is made for them, and in Heaven the crown shall be worn by them!

In this life believers have some good things--but the rest and best are reserved for the life to come!

Oh, sirs! meditate upon Heaven, for meditation on Heaven will make us heavenly!

Heaven is not only a possession promised by Christ--but a possession purchased by Christ!

When our contemplations and minds are in Heaven--then we enjoy Heaven upon earth!
To be IN Christ is Heaven below; to be WITH Him is Heaven above!

There cannot be a better thing for us, than for us to be with the best of beings! "To me to live is Christ--and to die is gain!"
Philippians 1:21

Let our condition now be ever so great--it is Hell without Christ! Let our condition now be ever so bad--it is Heaven with Christ!

"I had rather be in Hell with Christ--than in Heaven without Him!" said Luther.

Hell itself would be Heaven--if Christ was in it!
Heaven would be Hell--if Christ was out of it!

That which makes Heaven so full of joy--is that it is above all fear!
That which makes Hell so full of horror--is that it is beyond all hope!

The vessels of grace--shall swim in the ocean of glory!

We may talk of the greatness of our crowns--but we shall never know the weight of our crowns--until they are set on our heads!

We would all do well to head this advice.

Were I To Define A Christian

Here is a brief excerpt from the Letters of John Newton.

Were I to define a Christian, or rather to describe him at large, I know of no text I would choose, sooner than Galatians 5:17, "The sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other--so that you do not do what you want."

A Christian has noble aims--which distinguish him from the bulk of mankind. His leading principles, motives, and desires--are all supernatural and divine. Could he do as he desires--there is not a angel before the Eternal Throne, that would excel him in holiness, love, and obedience! He would tread in the very footsteps of his Savior, fill up every moment of time in His service, and employ every breath in His praise!

This he would do--but, alas! he cannot! Against these spiritual desires, there is a contrary desire and working of a corrupt nature, which meets him at every turn! He has a beautiful copy set before him in the Scriptures--he is enamored with it, and though he does not expect to equal it, he writes carefully after it, and longs to attain to the nearest possible imitation. But indwelling sin and Satan continually jog his hand, and spoil his strokes!

Therefore, the most spiritual and gracious people confess themselves as vile and worthless! One eminent branch of our holiness, is a sense of shame and humiliation for those evils which are only known to ourselves, and to Him who searches our hearts!

In proportion as the Lord enables you to live more simply upon the blood, righteousness, and grace of the Mediator--you will possess a more stable peace. The nearer you are brought to Him--the more lively sense you will have of your vileness and worthlessness; and your continual need of Him. Thereby your admiration of His power, love, and compassion, will increase from year to year.

Deeper 2009

I was just privileged to  be able to spend two wonderful days of worship and study at the Deeper Conference 2009 at First Baptist Church in Woodstock, GA. Last year the conference was great ,and this year was even better as the focus of every session this year was our awesome God and His attributes.

The theme of the conference this year was There is no god like our God! taken from Psalm 86:8-13, which reads:

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

Psalm 86:8-13

The conference began Friday afternoon with a message by Ray Comfort entitled The Eternality of God. In this message Ray talked about the fact that one in four of our college and university professors today are either atheists or agnostics, and that they are turning out zealous atheists like there is no tomorrow. 

He   showed that by focusing on the eternality of God we can confront these atheist with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He also talked about how we all have a sixth sense - common sense - and that if we don't abandon the use of this sixth sense we will see the proof of God's existance all around us; he used Romans  1:20-25 as his main text:

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Romans 1:20-25

Ray also reminded us that as Christians we need to keep our eyes focused clearly on the cross - especially when witnessing - because if we win the argument but fail to preach the cross we have failed.

The next speaker was Emeal "E.Z." Zwayne. E.Z. spoke on God of the Generations and reminded us that our primary responsibility as God's people is to make sure that we are instilling a love for and fear of God in our own children and grandchildren. 

He talked about a recent trip that he took to Europe and the heartbreaking situation going on there as that continent has walked away from God and many of the great cathedrals that were once filled with praise and worship to our God have become something secular or  abandoned altogether. 

E.Z. then showed how we in the United States will face the same situation if we fail to pass our faith on to the next generations; he said:

The deterioration of the Christian family is the root cause of the deterioration of a nation.

And if we look around us we can see clearly that the Christian family, and our nation, is in decline.

E.Z. asked two questions:

1. What are my children and grandchildren seeing in my life? 
2. Do we have a multi-generational vision for our family?
   

Then ended with this Scripture:

Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. 

Malachi 2:15

After a short break we then got to hear Pastor Johnny Hunt talk about The Forbearance of God. He talked about how when Jesus went to the cross He completely satisfied the wrath of God that we deserved; He became our propitiation - our sacrifice of atonement - and paid the price for all of the sins that had been committed by those Old Testament saints that we read about in the Bible that God - in His forbearance - had overlooked in anticipation of the cross.

But, God's forbearance didn't stop there; in His forbearance He also overlooked all of the sins that each one of us have committed before coming to Christ. He explained that it is because of God's forbearance that He did not utterly destroy us the second that we committed our first sin (as that is what we deserved) but instead He showed us mercy and waited patiently for us to repent and in faith believe. 

Pastor Hunt then went on to warn us, however, that God's forbearance to sinners will not last forever; Jesus paid the price for the the sins of those who will repent and believe, but for those who refuse there will come a day when the cup of the wrath of God will be poured out on those who have not come to faith in Christ. 

This was probably my favorite study of the conference and I will write a more in depth post on this one at a later date.

Mark Cahill followed Dr. Hunt with a message entitled The Holiness of God. 

This was a very convicting message as Mark showed us how God is absolutely holy and we are not. He began this message by telling us that he felt completely inadequate to be bringing this message and that it would be at best a very poor representation of who God really is as we cannot even begin to comprehend the holiness of God. 

In this message he explained that holiness demands justice, and that as a holy God, God cannot just overlook our sin - it must be paid for. He also showed us that we cannot set our own standard for right and wrong; the standard is complete perfection - the standard is absolute holiness (and the standard of holiness is God Himself).

but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 

1 Peter 1:15-16

So what are we to do since we are not holy, God is holy, and we are commanded to be holy like He is holy? We are to repent of our sins and put our faith is the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is only as we exchange our sinfulness for His Righteousness that we will be holy as God is holy.

After a dinner break we were blessed with a message from Kirk Cameron entitled Keeping the Foundations Sure. In this message Kirk built upon what E.Z. and Mark had said  by talking about the importance of living out our faith at home first before we try to preach to others. 

He talked about the danger that each of us faces in our walk with God: we focus so much on  reaching the lost world that we neglect the needs of those under our own roof and in our own families. He reminded me that my primary responsibility to God is to live out my Christian life:

1. With Christ
2. With my Wife
3. With my son
4. With the people of God
5. Then with the lost
   

If I mess up this order I will not only be living in disobedience I risk loosing what is most important - my own family.

Finally on Friday night we were privileged to hear a message from Ravi Zacharias, one of the preeminent apologist of our time. Ravi's Friday night message was entitled The Veracity of God and in this message he asked and answered the question, is there a God?

He explained that this is a question that the atheist asks of the Christian thinking that in doing so they have made the move that cannot be countered, but the atheist is not the only one who gets to ask questions, he must also answer them himself. 

Ravi then went on to explain that even the atheist believes in right and wrong, but that in order to have right and wrong there must be a moral law - a standard from which right and wrong are determined. And if there is a moral law there must also be a moral law giver, he said:

1. If there is no moral law giver that transcends us then there is  no moral law by which we must live.
2. If there is no moral law giver then life has no meaning.
3. If life has no meaning then there is no hope.
4. In addition to life being meaningless, if I believe that there is no moral law giver and no moral law and I am wrong there is also no recovery. If you are wrong here the result is catastrophic (read eternity in hell).

Day one then ended with about 45 minutes of worship lead by Scott Krippayne.


Day two began where day one ended, with more worship lead by Scott Krippayne

The first speaker on Saturday morning was Todd Friel, host of the Wretched Radio TV shows.  Todd, in his chaotic, hyperactive way took us though a two hour sermon on the Kindness of God (in just under an hour). 

In this message Todd showed us that it is the kindness of God that leads us to true repentance. It was all I could do to keep up with him while  trying to take notes, so here is what I got:

Romans 2:4 The kindness of God leads to repentance

Psalm 34:8 The Lord is kind

1 Peter 2:3 Give thanks - the Lord is kind

Luke 6:35 God is kind

God did not create the world to show His wrath, He created it to show His kindness.

Psalm 106:7 Remember the kindness of God

Romans 11:22 God shows kindness to the repentant but wrath to the ungodly

Ephesians 2:7 God's kindness to us is in Christ Jesus

Titus 3:4-5 We are saved because of God's kindness

Galatians 5:22 kindness and Goodness are both part of the fruit of the Spirit

Psalm 25:5 Good and upright in the Lord

Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good

Exodus 33:19

Psalm 25:7

Psalm 31:19

Isaiah 27:4-5

1. Fury is not in God
2. God is not looking to demonstrate His wrath
3. God gives us His strength

And that was just the introduction! This was another great sermon by Todd, and I highly recommend that you get it and listen to it if/when it is made available.

Todd was followed by Greg Koukl who gave a very in-depth talk on Evil, Suffering, and the Goodness of God.  Dr. Koukl did an amazing job explaining that just because a person decides that there is no God they are still faced with the problem of evil in the world. And that more importantly, evil in the world is  actually proof that there is a God. 

This message built right on top of the foundation that Ravi laid on Friday night; Dr. Koukl explained that in order to have evil in the world you must have a standard by which to measure what is and is not evil. You cannot say that something is evil unless you have an absolute standard of what is good - and that standard is God. Good and evil are just relative terms compared to that standard.

He also explained that evil is not a thing, it is the absence of a thing. For example: a shadow is not a thing, it is merely the place where light is absent. In the same way evil is not a thing, it is the place where good is absent, and in order for good to be absent there must be good, and if there is good there must be God. Therefore the very existence of evil in our world is proof that there is a God.

After lunch we were treated to another message from Ravi Zacharias, who picked up where he ended the previous night, and built more on the message that we had just received from Greg Koukl.

In this session Dr. Zacharias talked about the importance of truth saying "The most valuable thing and most powerful weapon in the world is truth."

He went on to give a three stage argument that points to the existence of God:

1. However the concrete physical is broken down it will always lead outside of itself for proof of its existence.
2. No matter where you see intelligibility, you will always see a designer.
3. The course of Human events - Historical, Social, Cultural -  points to a designer.
1. Jesus is the only one who explains the human condition in a way that corresponds to reality
2. Jesus is the only one who provides a solution for my malady - it is only in the Christian faith that atonement is offered
   
3. Jesus' claim that He would be raised bodily made the resurrection provable 
   

This was a wonderful weekend and I can't wait until next year. I hope you can make it.