Passion 4 Him

by Jeremiah Johnson What does it mean for believers to stand together for the gospel ? In simple terms, it means that while they might have other theological differences, they are united in affirming the gospel’s core tenants. Specifically, they agree that sinners are justified not by their own efforts, but by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It’s that last element in particular that offends and annoys our pluralistic, inclusive society. But as F. F. Bruce explains, the gospel’s exclusivity flows directly out of Christ’s nature in His incarnation. He is, in fact, the only way by which men and women may come to the Father, there is no other way. If this seems offensively exclusive, let it be borne in mind that the one who makes this claim is the incarnate Word, the revealer of the Father. If God has no avenue of communication with mankind apart from his Word . . . mankind has no avenue of approach to God apa...

By Cameron Buettel The threat of infiltrators is something that secular society takes very seriously. Anyone who enters the United States from abroad knows that. Fingerprint scanners, sophisticated passport technology, and heavily armed border security all indicate that imposters and frauds will not be permitted entry. It’s tragic that the church isn’t as strict when it comes to prohibiting spiritual imposters. The poor protection of the church is an outrage–especially in light of Christ’s repeated warnings to His disciples about false disciples ( Matthew 7:21–23 ), false prophets ( Matthew 7:15–20 ), false christs ( Matthew 24:23–26 ), and false shepherds ( John 10:1–13 ). The Lord could not have been clearer about the vital need to guard His people from false shepherds and other spiritual threats: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thi...