I honor men who know what they believe.
David Platt is one of them.
When the church is grey….David Platt brings a refreshing description of the actual Word of God. Grey is not the new black. There are things that are clear in scripture and our lives need to be founded on truth.
Here are some of my faves from the book:
One of the reasons I’ve written this book is because I see a temptation to retreat…
I see it in Christian students who don’t want to be labeled narrow-minded or intolerant and who are slowly (or sometimes swiftly) concluding that Christianity is outdated or irrelevant.
I see it in Christian leaders who are proud to stand up and speak out on social issues like poverty and slavery when they are commended by culture but prone to sit back and stay silent on social issues like abortion and sexuality when they will be criticized by culture.
A tendency to elevate my thoughts over His truth….
But if we don’t retreat, only one option remains: Risk. Neutrality is not a possibility.
Risk in one’s family, future, relationships, reputation, career, and comfort in this world.
This book is about refusing to retreat…choosing to face them with a fearless faith that is full of hope in Christ and free to love those who would belittle Christian belief.
The gospel creates confrontation with the culture around us and within us.
Others try to remove guilt by shifting the standards of right and wrong in the name of cultural progression. One of the easiest ways to assuage guilt is to convince ourselves that our moral standards are impractical or outdated.
“How then could God love us when his justice requires condemning us?” But the question in the Bible asks is exactly the opposite. “God, how can you be just and still let guilty sinners into heaven?”
Tim Keller observes “If Jesus, the Lord of Love and Author of Grace spoke about hell more often, and in more vivid, blood curdling manner than anyone else, it must be a crucial truth.”
…you don’t believe the gospel. You currently profess to be a Christian….maybe a “progressive Christian”….my hope is that you will stop calling yourself a Christian until you believe the gospel.
An estimated 92 percent of all women who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down’s syndrome choose to terminate their pregnancies.
If you sleep around on your husband, you show the world that Christ is not satisfying enough for His people.
Close to 80 percent of unmarried, church going conservative Protestants who are currently dating someone are having sex of some sort.
Even Christians who refuse to indulge personally in sinful sexual activity often watch movies or shows, read books and articles, and visit Internet sites that highlight, display, promote or make light of sexual immorality. It’s as if we’ve said to the world “We’re not going to do what you do, but we will gladly entertain ourselves by watching you.”
How are you funding a sex crazed entertainment system that poisons your soul as you find pleasure in seeing others sin sexually?
If we are going to throw aside God’s word in favor of human experience, then whose experience are we going to trust?
If someone wants to advocate for homosexuality activity, he or she must maintain that the Bible is irrelevant to modern humanity, inconsistent in our experience and thus is insufficient as a source of truth and guidance for our lives- that the Bible is not only deficient; it is downright dangerous.
The reality is as soon as we advocate homosexual activity, we undercut biblical authority.
It is no surprise that people who struggle with gender dysphoria have historically high suicide (or attempted suicide) rates.
There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period when the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was the thermostat that transformed the mores of society…But the judgment of God is on the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring….and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club ~MLK Jr
God is in control and satan is controlled.
Are we going to choose comfort or the cross?
Are we going to settle for maintenance or sacrifice for mission?
Will our lives be marked by indecisive minds or undivided hearts?
We constantly see prominent Christian leaders leaving behind timeless biblical truth in the name of love for their neighbor and tolerance in the culture.
“and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Luke 24:47 ~Jesus
Jesus has not given us a commission to consider but a command to obey.
