My Argument for Pre-suppositional Apologetics

All of creation knows of the existence of God. Paul labors this point in his letter to the church in Rome when he states that "since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made" (Romans 1:20). Every man who has rejected the existence of God throughout the centuries knows this truth, but as Paul said, they "suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18). Every atheist knows that the LORD reigns on high, but because of their hatred for Him they deny Him, and so when witnessing to an unbeliever one should always come with a presupposition knowing that in the heart of the unbeliever he fully believes in the full existence of God.

To come with a pessimistic mindset thinking that one must first prove the existence of God to an unbeliever before one can preach the gospel is a false assumption. The use of logic, however, can be an useful tool in the practice of apologetics. Some devout classical apologists presuppose that pre-suppositional apologists are anti-logic, which is a false presupposition on their part. I, being a pre-suppositionalist myself, actually engage in the use of logic often while witnessing to unbelievers. When people ask questions, us as Christians must have answers, as Paul writes, "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God" (1 Corinthians 10:5). The use of logic can be a tool of much worth, but for it to be the main tool of apologetics is when the danger arises.

The reason I am against adherring to the practice of classical apologetics is because it is trying to argue a worthless argument. The existence of God, as Paul stated, "has been clearly seen" (Romans 1:20) to all mankind. The argument for the existence of God has been won, and what is needed is not primarily an argument, but the conversion of the unbeliever. Paul said that "the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Unless a man is regenerated he will not come to faith, for it is impossible for him to do so. The apologetics of a believer are to rest on the power of God and not on the wisdom and intellect of man. To base one's arguments off of logic is like fighting a dead man, you may win the fight, but he is still dead. The unbeliever will not be converted through the argument of logic, but rather the Gospel. The preaching of the Christian is to teach a faith that does not rest on the wisdom of men but on the power of God. The Spirit of God unblinds the eyes of His elect through the preaching of the Word, not the arguing of logic.

"And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God."

[1 Corinthians 2:1-5]

This Life is a Vapor

This life it fleeting, and in the blink of an eye it shall be gone. We are daily on the brink of eternity, and since we are so, then why are we daily wasting our lives that shall soon be gone? The apostle James wrote, “You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” [James 4:14], and the same idea David penned in the psalm saying, “surely every man at his best is a mere breath” [Psalm 39:5]. Our lives are so short, so fragile, and so finite that they are compared to a mere mist and breath in time. As C. T. Studd once said, “Only one life twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Eternity shall be here in the blink of an eye and the worthless vanities of this life shall be all burned, and since it is so then why are we wasting our preciously scarce time? There are over two billion people on this planet who have never heard the gospel and it seems all we want to do is watch television. Why not sell the television and send the money to a tribal missionary who can barely support himself on the field? Why not turn off the computer and get on your knees and pray that the Lord spend you for His glory and send you to the nations? Why not just do what Jesus commanded you to do and go into the world and preach the gospel?

You have unsaved friends that you hang out with and yet you never bother to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. Why? You have family that is the same, and why do you never take the time to sit down with them, open up and Bible, and show them the way of salvation? It’s just uncomfortable, right? Do you think it was comfortable for the Peter to stand in the midst of the Jewish temple and flat out tell the Jewish people that they crucified the Messiah? Do you think it was comfortable for Stephen to be stoned by his kinsmen for preaching the gospel? Do you think it was easy for Paul to spend his entire life going into towns to preach the gospel knowing that they would arrest, beat, falsely accuse, and eventually behead him?

Why, brother and sister in Christ, why are we so? Why do we desire so much to hang onto this life? The apostle Paul wrote this saying, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” [Philippians 3:8]. Do you count all things as rubbish compared to Christ? If not so, then why not? For as Paul wrote again saying, “the form of this world is passing away” [1 Corinthians 7:31].This life is fleeting and shall soon be gone, and when you drop dead and head onto glory the only thing that matters is did you spend it all for His glory.

One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture is Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Paul could have not put it more simply, for life is Christ and death is gain. Oh how good this life is as we daily “labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God” [1 Timothy 4:10]. Brethren, fix your hope on Him and you shall find unceasing joy and all fulfillment in this life. Fix your hope on Him, spend your life for Him, and live and die for Him. For “in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” [1 Corinthians 15:52]. That day is coming quickly, and since it is so “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” [Hebrews 12:1-2]. May we run and run quickly. Grace be with you all.

God's Soverign Plan

There is no other more beautiful picture of God’s unmerited salvation unto us through Jesus Christ than that of the story of God’s deliverance of His chosen people, Israel, from the land of Egypt, and not only His deliverance, but also His sovereign plan that led them into Egypt to begin with so that He might deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and make His power and glory known. God, in His sovereignty, actually commands Jacob and his sons to move to the land of Egypt,

"I am God, the God of your Father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again." [Genesis 46:3-4]

Jacob and his sons move to the land of Egypt, and for two generations they live at peace with the Egyptians. But the Lord raises up another king, one who oppresses the sons of Israel and makes them his servants, and for several generations the sons of Israel are the forced laborers of Egypt. The Lord God is the One responsible for the enslavement of the Israelites, for He is the One who sent them there. Why? For without bondage there is no deliverance, and through their bondage He delivers them and makes his power and glory known. In Paul’s letter to the Romans he writes,

“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope, that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” [Romans 8:20-21]

Paul is saying here that the fall of man in Genesis was a pre-ordained measure of God, for He was the one who subjected creation unto futility and He was the One who let man fall. One might ask why a loving God would do such a thing, to allow man to fall, sin to enter the world, and condemnation to fall upon all mankind. Well, the answer is easy, for without condemnation there is no salvation, and out of our condemnation He delivers us through the blood of Christ and makes His power and glory known. The only reason we have salvation through Christ is because we were once condemned, and how could we be redeemed without once being condemned?

Just as the Lord allowed Jacob and his sons to move to the land of Egypt so that they may become enslaved to the Egyptians, so He also allowed Adam and Eve to fall in the Garden, and through them sin entered into all mankind. And just as He delivered His chosen people, Israel, from the hand of the Egyptians, so the same He does unto us, His chosen, the church of Christ, through the blood of Christ from the everlasting wrath of Himself. What a God we serve.

The Smoke of a Thousand Villages

"I have seen, at different times, the smoke of a thousand villages--villages whose people are without Christ, without God, and without hope in this world."

[Robert Moffat, Missionary to South African Interior, 19th Century]

This man saw a need, a very great need. As he peered towards the sky daily he would gaze upon smoke that ascended from the villages of tribes of men who were unknown to men and unreached for Christ. This alone kept him in the dangerous South African Interior for over half a century as he labored joyfully for the Lord, and although often at times he never met the men of these tribes he sought to reach with the Gospel, he loved them. He almost daily faced opposition and death, but such things were minor obstacles that he simply trusted in the Lord to get him through. Rough terrain, dangerous countryside, foreign tongue, extreme climates, and cannibals would not halt him in bringing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ unto lost men who were without Christ, without God, and without any hope in this world. "He had withstood medicine men like Elijah had withstood the prophets of Baal at Carmel."

Although that was almost a century ago, the smoke continues to rise, and it is rising here in our own hometowns. It is rising from the souls of men who are without Christ, without God, and without any hope in this world, and it is our duty to bring to them the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. Young man. Young woman. Give up your life to Christ and spend your days laboring for Him and His glory bringing the Gospel unto lost men. We have one chance to do this.

Sweet Hour of Prayer

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight.
This robe of flesh I’ll drop, and rise
To seize the everlasting prize,
And shout, while passing through the air,
“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”

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-William Watford, 1845 [hymn]

The Heart of the Matter

I love lost men. There is absolutely nothing that can describe my deep passionate love for lost young men and woman. But the other day I was pondering this thought: how do I love them so? It is something I never really thought about or tried to give and answer to. But through prayer and studying the Word I have drawn a conclusion, and it is my desire to share with you the secret that compells a man to give up his life so that another might live.

When a man comes to Christ he denies himself, completely. The selfish and lustful man he once lived for is dead and now he lives to glorify Christ and Christ alone and his desires of are no longer His desires but rather the desires of God. And,

"God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth."

[1 Timothy 2:4]

Therefore since it is the desire of God for men to be saved it instinctively becomes the desire of the believer. The love that God has for lost men the believer now also have. But it is not just this that creates the obsession of the believer to lead others to Christ. You see, God not only loved us and desired for us to obtain salvation, but he completely gave up himself so that we might live.

"He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." [Philippians 2:7-8]

It is none other than true and absolute love that compelled our Lord to leave His glorious throne in Heaven to come to sinful earth and give His life so that sinful man might live. That is true love, for He gave up His own life that we might die to sin and live to righteousness through Christ [1 Peter 2:24].

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And just as it was the obsession of God for us to be saved, it is also our obsession to see other men saved. And just as love was so great for us that Christ was willing to die on a Cross for us, so also is our love so great for lost men that we are willing to go anywhere and suffer anything so that they may find life, true life in Christ.

"Greater love has none than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."

[John 15:13]

On Your Knees

The day has been tiring, wearisome, and long. You are tired and simply desire rest. It is late and you must wake early the next morning, so you begin making excuses to yourself as to why you should sleep. But in the middle of your selfishness a thought comes to mind, a thought of a friend, a thought of a dearly lost beloved friend who is without hope, without love, and without Christ.

And then suddenly your heart is burdened. Thoughts of eternal judgement strike pangs in your heart and your once drowsy eyes are now fully awakened. And then you hear a whisper calling, calling you to your knees.

So you fall upon your knees. The hours fly by, but you are pleading with God so intimately for the deliverance of this soul that you heed not the time. You keep praying, fighting sleep, fighting the flesh, for your love for this person has captivated your heart. But there are physical limitations, and without cause you fall asleep, still on your knees.

Time passes on and you awake and are started to find that you have drifted off. But there is not much more you can do, so you slip into bed fully trusting Christ for everything in the day to come.

Your alarm clock rings. It's early morning, before dawn, your set-apart early morning prayer time with the Lord. You quickly arise and are surprised to find strength for you thought you would be tired for you received not much sleep. But the Lord instead gave strength and zeal, so you again fall, right back on your knees.

The morning wanes on and daylight dawns and the day begins. You then see that person, that dear friend of yours to whom you love and spent the night in fervent prayer for. They pay not much attention to you, maybe a simple hey or a quick conversation about past events. But time is short and they move on.

They may never know of your love for them and your extreme longing for them to find freedom in Christ. But that is OK, for you have concluded that nothing is for yourself but rather all for them and the Glory of Christ. Deliverence is all you long for them to have, deliverence from this world and freedom in Christ.

And the day ends, night comes, and there you are again, on your knees.

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man

availeth much." [James 5:16]