McKinley: Out in the world, wealth makes you important...

The church is a society of people who have a greater treasure than anything in this world. Members of the church pool their money together to support the ministry of the congregation, help with the relief of the poor, and spread the gospel around the world. Out in the world, wealth makes you important. Not so in the church.

So James tells his readers that God has a different kind of economy:

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? (James 2:1–5)

McKinley, M. (2011). Am I Really a Christian? (p. 146). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

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Repackaging the gospel? It's more like obscuring the gospel!

Preface : I recognize this post may make me unpopular with some, but I think it is an important issue to blog about here. I’ve had time to reflect on this video and in my opinion, I think what is in this video raises some questions. This gentleman featured below is slotted to speak at the SBC's 2020 Pastors' Conference and it prompted me to think more about this illustration. I want to note that I don't know him and I have no personal issue with him. I assume he is a brother in the LORD. Having said that, I see some significant issues here that relate to this type of preaching being clear on the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, it appears to be obscuring it in my observation. Concern: Should the SBC or churches, in general, be in the habit of holding this up as a good and healthy example? Let's think about it some together. (Watch this clip below here first.) Context: The clip was posted to stand on its own as if it were wise and sound on it

Smith: "Many people believe God opens the door of salvation and then stands back...".

Jonah 2:9 “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” God’s dramatic intervention in the life of Jonah is full of hope—not only for those who seek God, but also for those who, like Jonah, have determined to shut him out. Many people believe God opens the door of salvation and then stands back, leaving it up to us to decide if we want to come in. But if God made salvation possible and then stepped back, refusing to interfere with our choice, then the entire life of believers would be about us—our believing, our serving, our following, and our choices to live a good life. In the case of Jonah, imprisoned in the whale’s belly, God was claiming someone who was quite incapable of performing any redeeming work to compensate for his sin. God was not relying on Jonah to save Jonah. The message remains the same for each of us today: if you have trusted God for salvation, he has done more than simply make salvation possible; he has actually saved you. Colin Smith, “Jonah,” in Gospel Transformation B

Men stirred, boys exhorted, and Jesus exalted!

Neh 8 v 13 (CSB) 13 On the second day, the family heads of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, assembled before the scribe Ezra to study the words of the law. Notice the feel of the scene. After that long day in the Word, it appears that the women and children were, understandably, exhausted and urged to stay home on this occasion. And, among the men, there is a growing interest of “What else are we missing right now as it pertains to obeying God's Word?”. So clear is the fact that the family heads, the men, came back to get more. The real sense of enthusiasm starts with the men here. If you were an able-bodied man here, you stayed behind to get instructions so that you might be a good instructor at home. The text says these men came together to study the words of the law . That means to give attention to and ponder. This is the process of thinking through complex things, resulting in wise dealing and the use of good practical common sense. Here in

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