Paul warns elders not to teach 'what itching ears' desire to hear. It is an easy thing to do.
My essay for potty training (post-ordination training) is called 'What are you doing when you preach? I have been lead to 1 Thes 1 as a good biblical starting point. There seem to be three necessities.
1. To call people to a knowledge of God,
2. To call them to the acknowledgment of sin and to repentance
3. To call them to the the reality of Jesus.
It would be easy to have a gospel that went from 1 straight to 3 bypassing that nasty word sin and the need for repentance. It would be pretty attractive and if it caught on may very well fill a stadium (see Osteen's extraordinary stadium in the clip below).
Only this morning one of my readings was Acts 14 where we read in vs 14
'We must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God'
Have a look at Mark Driscoll's ( of Mars Hill and Acts 29) critique of a chap called Joel Osteen. Osteen is currently the best-selling Christian author in the US and is a staple on Christian TV with his theology of happiness.
If you want to check out Driscoll (who is a pal of Keller and a great communicator/preacher) then check both out HERE
Now watch this....
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1. My pal tells me I am old and not middle aged. Middle age he thinks is mid 30's to early 40's. 2. Dr Moore ask 'Have the pla...
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I have just got back from New Wine where Francis Chan has been teaching us for a week. He has said no to all speaking engagements for over a...
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I watched the Cornel West interview and he quotes a Tennessee Williams essay called 'the Catastrophe of Success' which makes inter...
1 comment:
thanks for this David,.. interesting. Ive thought a bit about Osteen from the little i saw on YT and wonder whether God is big enough to deal with a message of hope and grace in the gospel rather than detached criticism and legalism? just a question...I must admit that I warmed to him despite his texan smarminess and I am the biggest cynic..anyway it made me post a thought..t
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