Grace Blogs

Homework for this week’s Gospel Conversations class is to listen to a message from Sovereign Grace Ministries called “Conversational Apologetics.” Besides being made available free of charge, it’s lively, funny, easy to listen to, and worth taking in more than once.

(It seems to me it could just as easily have been called “Conversational Evangelism” — this is one of those times when the line between evangelism and apologetics is so blurry it’s not worth trying to pick it apart.)

The message was delivered by Michael Ramsden, the European director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

Click

…

 

 Standard Podcast [3:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Read the full entry

A recent GraceTalk question reads…

How did people populate with the children of Adam and Eve? Did they marry brother/sister? If so, how is it explained that God would never tolerate inter-family relationships? Also, If God knows everything before it happens, did He not know Adam and Eve were going to sin?

We have two different questions here; so, I will tackle the first one here and the second one in a follow-up post within the next week or two. I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but this question defies a quick, simple answer.

The question starts with a premise that God would never tolerate inter-family relationships [I'll assume that the questioner means "intra-family"]. As we

…

Read the full entry

When we speak that there must be a necessary change when a person trusts in Christ there is often an undercurrent of distinction between the message of Jesus and the teaching of Paul. Advocates for looking toward Paul for the Gospel (and not the messages of Christ) will appeal to the sections of Scripture like Romans 3 and 4 because it is in these chapters we see the clearest picture of justification by faith alone. The reasoning goes something like this, “if there must be fruits of obedience to express a person truly being justified, then Paul would have most certainly included that teaching in these chapters.” At this point, a citation of a teacher(s) such as …

Read the full entry

There is only one reason to be a Christian: because it’s true. —Francis Schaeffer

Toward the end of the “Does God Exist?” teaching from April 20 (which was re-recorded and includes extra material we didn’t cover in church—call it the “director’s cut”), I offered the following “either/or” version of the Gospel:

Either God exists, or he doesn’t. The Gospel says he exists, so… Either we’re accountable to him for our lives, or we’re not. The Gospel says we’re accountable to God for our lives, so… Either we’re in trouble with God, or we’re not. The Gospel says we’re in trouble, so… Either God offers forgiveness, or he doesn’t. The Gospel says he offers forgiveness through faith in Jesus …

Read the full entry

So first she tasted the porridge of the Great, Huge Bear, and that was too hot for her; and she said a bad word about that. And then she tasted the porridge of the Middle Bear, and that was too cold for her; and she said a bad word about that too. And then she went to the porridge of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, and tasted that;and that was neither too hot nor too cold, but just right; and she liked it so well she ate it all up…

Last week’s “God Question” about the existence of God got into some deep science that hopefully didn’t lose too many people. I wanted to follow up on that by

…

Read the full entry

Read the full entry

Friday night, Taylor and I went to see Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, the new film by actor Ben Stein (you might remember him as the devastatingly boring teacher in Ferris Beuller’s Day Off). Here’s a synopsis from CNS News:

“Expelled” calls attention to the plight of highly credentialed scholars who have been forced out of prestigious academic positions because they proposed Intelligent Design as a possible alternative to Charles Darwin’s 150-year-old theories about the origins of life. Instead of entertaining a debate on the merits of competing theories, the scientific establishment has moved to suppress the ID movement in a “systematic and ruthless” way at odds with America’s founding principles, the film asserts.

This film employs humor and artistic filmmaking techniques …

Read the full entry

Yesterday’s “God Question” about the existence of God was certainly jam-packed, and I have one huge regret when it comes to points that didn’t make it into the discussion:

You start with the Gospel. You follow up with apologetics.

Here’s what I mean: giving people reasons to believe in God is great, but believing in God is not the same as following Christ. James 2:19 says that “Even the demons believe—and shudder!”

It is far better, then, to lead with the Gospel—that we are created by God and accountable to him; we have broken his laws and stand condemned; that God has made a way for our guilt to be paid for and our crimes forgiven through Jesus Christ; and

…

Read the full entry

This week’s “God Question” is “Why do you believe God even exists?” In a bit of good timing, Stand to Reason has started posting some of Greg Koukl’s podcast commentary as YouTube videos, and one of the first asks the question, “Can God’s Existence Be Proved?”

Skip down to the video if you’d like, but before diving into this question it’s worth establishing what is meant by “proof,” at least in a philosophical sense:

1. You must have at least two premises and a conclusion.
2. The conclusion must logically follow from the premises.
3. Each premise must be true, or at least, more probable than the opposite.

Accept the Argument, or Say Something Silly: Your Choice

The trick is that someone who really …

Read the full entry

One of the main points to remember about our “God Questions” series is that we are seeking to show that Christianity provides a coherent worldview that adequately answers the full range of life’s greatest questions.

It’s a clear sign that you need to rethink your position if you have to use one way of thinking to answer a certain set of questions, but then switch to a different way of thinking to answer others. Case in point: in 2006, Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) was asked about the consistency of his views as an atheist, and it looks like he knows his worldview doesn’t work:

Questioner: …You

…

Read the full entry