Image found: http://visaodemenina.blogspot.com (via google images) In much of the western hemisphere, today, 14th of February, is Valentine’s Day – a commercially-driven, overly-sentimental excuse to give flowers, candy, greeting cards, and special dinners to one’s spouse/boy-friend/girl-friend, etc. Many people will experience disappointment today as they have no one to lavish these dainties upon them. Others will […]
Tag: The Gospel
New Year, Same Story
From my father I inherited a fascination with cemeteries and obituaries – a morbid, but interesting hobby that leads one to the biographies and of “the dead, small and great” (Rev. 20:12.) Accordingly, I was delighted when some friends took my family on a tour of historic Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia on the […]
Blessed are the centenarians
If she were alive, my paternal grandmother, who went to be with Christ in 2003, would turn one hundred years old today. Being of a historical cast of mind, this set me to thinking about all of the changes she saw in her comparatively long lifespan: society moving from horse-drawn conveyance to the dominance of […]
True Love
This is a gospel tract that I wrote in 1995 & came across yesterday. -KRK
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Love is a fundamental need of all people. Regardless of race, religion, or nationality, all human beings need this four letter word. Many people today drift from one meaningless relationship to another in search of this basic need. However, to experience true love, we must know what it is. Most people would agree that sacrificial giving is at the heart of true love. Others would add that provision for a loved one’s needs is an important part of love. Most would agree that commitment is also an essential part of love. Sadly, in a d world which speaks a great deal about love, we find relatively few who exhibit true love. Nevertheless, there is one person who does exhibit true love. His name is Jesus Christ, and He truly loves you.
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Ditch Digging Evangelism
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Despite the title, I am no authority on excavation projects, large or small. Being afflicted by cerebral palsy, I am no authority on manual labor, or any blue-collar type of work for that matter. Given my physical limitations, my parents urged me early in life to attend to my studies and plan on some career where I would make a living with my mind. I relate the following two anecdotes therefore, as a means of stirring the imagination of Christians on gaining practical opportunities for sharing the gospel with the lost through practical service. It doesn’t have to be physical labor, it may be some other sort of service that will open the door for the gospel.
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Podcast: The Sacred Trust
A Meditation on 1 Thes. 2:4 & our attitude towards the Gospel. Click here: KRK.6.1.11.Podcast.SacredTrust
The Unparalleled Cross
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“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8
People sometimes read the account of Jesus’ crucifixion as if it is an ancient event that does not pertain to them. Yet the Scriptures make it plain that everyone – Jews and Gentiles – must reckon with the crucified Christ and what His death on the cross means for them personally. One may not remain neutral in Calvary’s shadow. The Lord Jesus’ death on the cross sets Christianity apart from all other belief systems, and reveals the truth about everyone: ancient or modern; rich or poor; educated or illiterate – as well as every other human demographic.
A Unique Event In The Annals Of Human History
No humanly devised philosophy or religion could invent the Lord Jesus’ unparalleled sacrifice on the cross. Numerous belief systems have martyrs like Socrates or Joseph Smith; others have noted prophets and teachers like Gautama Buddha or Muhammed. Yet only biblical Christianity has the propitiatory offering of Christ, taking place on a despised gibbet of shame. As the classic commentator J.C. Ryle notes:
The cross is the grand peculiarity of the Christian religion. Other religions have laws and moral precepts, forms and ceremonies, rewards and punishments. But other religions cannot tell us of a dying Saviour. They cannot show us the cross. This is the crown and glory of the Gospel. This is that special comfort which belongs to it alone. Miserable indeed is that religious teaching which calls itself Christian, and yet contains nothing of the cross. A man who teaches in this way, might as well profess to explain the solar system, and yet tell his hearers nothing about the sun.
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A Loving God Must Send The Lost To Hell
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“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false
teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the
Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow
their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By
covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment
has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. For if God did not spare the
angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of
darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved
Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the
world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes,
condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would
live ungodly.”2 Peter 2:1-6
Recycling Old Lies
The recent publication of Rob Bell’s Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of
Every Person Who Ever Lived generated much commentary in the media, including interviews
with the eminent journalists George Stephanopoulos and Martin Bashir.i While denying that he is
a universalist, Bell makes contradictory statements that point in that heretical direction.ii Of
course, “evangelical” critiques of the Bible’s teaching on eternal punishment in the lake of fire
are nothing new. During the past thirty years various prominent scholars have vacillated on this
controversial issue, while others have denied it outright.iii Some prominent nineteenth-century
evangelical scholars also had difficulties with this doctrine – F.W. Farrar and Andrew Jukes to
name a few.iv Human doubts and opinions notwithstanding, the clear teaching of the Bible
affirms that the holy God of the Universe will consign unrepentant sinners to eternal punishment
in the lake of fire (e.g. Mk. 9:38-50; Rom. 2:4-11; Rev. 20:10-15.) Peter warned that such false
teachers would arise; thus one should not be surprised to read of heresies like this universalism
and annihilationism reappearing in modern times.
As horrible as it may be to contemplate the future perdition of the lost, eternal punishment
shows that God is righteous and loving. If the Almighty did not judge sin and evil, then He
would be an accomplice to every wicked thought and act ever committed by men on planet earth.
If there is no justice beyond this world, then the heinous deeds of men against their fellow
creatures would be unresolved. It would mean that God does not care about the damage that sin
does to people made in His image. Genocide, war, corruption, oppression, and perversions of
every kind would go unpunished; therefore, the Lord would be saying that He is uncaring toward
those who are hurt by these sins. Hitler, Stalin, Mao and many other tyrants would escape any
reckoning for their lives of iniquity and dissipation. The cross of Christ pronounced judgment
upon this wicked world, for only the redemptive work of Christ – which entailed His
unparalleled suffering for sin in all of its foulness – could adequately provide a payment for such
evil (John 3:18-21; Gal. 6:14; Eph. 1:7.)
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Only one will not do…How many have you?
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Today, February 9th, is the birthday of notable historical figures such as the 9th President of the United States, William Henry Harrison, and the 18th century philosopher and political agitator – not to mention inveterate infidel – Thomas Paine. Contemporary figures such as Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, the diminutive actor Joe Pesci, and the actress Mia Farrow were also born on this date. More pertinent to my situation: 38 years ago today I was born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, USA. This birth was somewhat surprising because I arrived 3 months early (I’ve always been partial to dramatic entrances!) The local doctors looked at this scrawny baby who weighed a mere 2 pounds 7 ounces and opined that I only had a 30% chance of surviving. Happily, there is a God who rules over all and determines the times appointed for men. Thus, in His sovereign mercy He spared my life.
A Mother’s Faith & A Faithful God
Although premature and suffering from cerebral palsy – which would go undiagnosed until I was nearly two – I enjoyed many blessings. My chief advantage was to be born into a household where the parents were devout Christians who had a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and knew the value of intercessory prayer. Anyone who has met my parents knows that my father is louder, larger, and much more forceful than my mother. Nonetheless, in the early moments of my life it was my faithful Christian mother who offered a “Hannah prayer” to the Lord. Those unfamiliar with this great woman of faith, Hannah, can consult 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2. Hannah prayed that the Lord would give her a son so that she could give him back to the Almighty for His service. Similarly, my mother said, “Lord if you spare the boy’s life, I’ll give him back to You for Your work”. I did not learn of this prayer for many years. It was only after I began preaching and teaching from the Word of God that she told me of her “bargain” with the Lord. In His grace, He honored that prayer and I have now been preaching His Word for over 20 years, spending nearly 12 of those in full time service for His glory.
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New Year’s Podcast: What people really need
To listen click here: KRK.NewYear’sPodcast.12.31.10