Parrots

A few weeks ago I had a discussion with someone I've known for over a year now. He isn't a Christian, but he never ceases to think out loud about the concept of being created by some sort of God.
He tried challenging me on whether there was a God or not last time we spoke.
At the beginning of our conversation, he asked the simple questions, and I could answer them just fine, but when he began asking "why" I was without answer.
"Why can't we understand God, if there is one?"
"Why can't we know everything?"
"Why does God keep things from us? It seems unfair."

When those questions came rolling out of his mouth, I could only answer, "I don't know. God doesn't have to let us know all of the answers. And obviously, He doesn't think we need to know them right now."
I could tell that after every time I failed to give him a firm, thorough answer, he would give me a certain look.  I didn't realize what look he was giving me until near the end of our conversation. Then I realized that he thought I was just a blasted parrot.
He thought I was just parroting what other Christians around me had said before. And now that I couldn't give him a thorough answer, he had knocked me off guard.
And yet, that was not the case.

This conversation wasn't the first where I couldn't give a full answer.
And I am sure that as you are reading this, you've already had at least one experience quite similar. It's a bit discouraging when you know someone thinks you are a parrot, isn't it?
Especially when you've done tons of study all over the Bible to make sure you really believe what you believe, and that you are firm in your faith.
After all of that, I think in the end it was foolish for me to be discouraged about that. The truth is that we will never understand the mind of God. We will never be able to answer all of the questions that are shot at us.
And just because you might fail in the world's eyes to answer, doesn't mean that you've failed to defend your faith.
I know that there are a lot of people out there who will let themselves be ashamed of their work in evangelism because of things like this.
If something like this has happened to you, then maybe God is trying to show you that you've been reading your Bible through rose-colored glasses. Or maybe He used it to humble you by realizing that you aren't invincible, that you don't have all of the answers.
Or maybe He was even showing you your need to learn discernment in what you hear.
Who knows what God meant to teach you in that situation. Maybe it was that you were being a parrot.
And then again, perhaps it wasn't.
Whether you are wearing rose-colored glasses and parroting what you've heard or if you have had much studying and are firm in your faith it is always good to go back and test yourself to see whether you are firm or not.
It's good to test yourself. To examine your faith.
But don't let what the world thinks is a "challenge" shake you up.
Just because God doesn't let us know all of the answers doesn't make us unsteady in our faith.
Answer the questions as best you can, even when you don't have a clear answer.
So overall, those conversations are good. God is always teaching us something. The goal is to see what He means to teach us after every conversation.

God Bless,
  A.W.

"The trouble with all false evangelism is that it does not start with doctrine, it does not start by realizing man's condition...If you and I realized that every man who is yet a sinner is absolutely dominated by the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, if we only understood that he is really a child of wrath and dead in trespasses and sins, we would realize that only one power can deal with such an individual, and that is the power of God, the power of the Holy Ghost. And so we would put our confidence, not in man-made organisms, but in the power of God, in the prayer that holds on to God and asks for revival and a descent of the Spirit. We would realize that nothing else can do it. We can change men superficially, we can win men to our side and to our party, we can persuade them to join a church, but we can never raise the spiritually dead; God alone can do that." 
--D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The Sinner's Prayer

I've heard many times over and over that the sinner's prayer will lead more souls to hell more than anything else will. And not only have I heard that, but I've run into quite a few people who have grown up and claimed to be Christians because they have said a prayer when they were 5 years old, even though they live like the devil.
I have a friend who I was talking to last week, she isn't a Christian. In fact, she says she is Agnostic, but when we talk about eternity she says, "Well, I got saved long ago, when I was 5, but right now I'm not a Christian. But I'm still saved."
That's what the sinner's prayer does to people. That's a terrifying thing to hear someone say.
She had fallen into the lie that when you say a prayer you become a Christian.  So many people have fallen into the lie that if you say a little prayer you will be saved. What saves you is repentance and faith in Christ Jesus. But instead of looking back at the Bible, we have fallen into this heresy.

A lot of times we treat the sinner's prayer just like any other tool for evangelism. And we say, "Well, what if the person doesn't know how to pray? Then can't you lead them?"
Honestly, I don't know how I feel about that.  I don't know if it's the best idea to pray for them, I would lean towards saying no. But I know that others would differ.
Considering how much destruction that the sinner's prayer has caused in the church, I would back away from treating it like it is a wonderful tool for evangelism, when in all reality it will lead many souls to destruction.


God Bless,
  A.W.

Theologians

It seems like most of the time Christians don't see the need for theology. Some Christians think that one can't love theology and evangelism at the same time.
I think that many Christians have misunderstood.
When I first became a Christian I didn't think that theology was important at all. I just thought that theology was something for preachers like Phil Johnson and John MacArthur.
But then God brought people into my life to challenge my beliefs, and I was not ready to give an answer.
So many times I have heard the excuse that, "If you like or study theology then you will be puffed up and arrogant."
Just because the Bible warns of that happening, doesn't mean that you can just apply that to everyone who enjoys the study of theology. Yes, it can make one prideful. But for the most part, I find people who, the more that they study theology, the more they have a lower view of man and a higher view of God.
I've also found that others in the church think that theology isn't as important as evangelism so they have an excuse not to study it.
How wrong they are!
And so often the people who think that theology and evangelism cannot go hand-in-hand preach a false Gospel to the unconverted! To evangelize we must preach the true and saving Gospel, not a false, man-centered one.
Theology is necessary for evangelism, and for your everyday walk with God.
Without theology in evangelism we come out with the teaching of, "God loves you, He died for the sins of the entire world, all you have to do is say a little prayer, and accept Jesus into your heart, and then you have a free ticket to Heaven!"
That's what these churches are going around preaching right now. Not even the Gospel! Without hell, sin, the justice and grace of God, and repentance, it's not the True Gospel!
Without theology we have ended up like this. Theology is so important, and yet so many people refuse to study their Bible.
So many of us Christians have missed that: Just like every Christian should be an Evangelist, every Christian should be a Theologian.

God Bless,
   A.W.