Lawson, Sproul, Sproul Jr., and Tada: Questions and Answers #1

we're going to redeem the time and I'm not going to sort through these I'm gonna let the order be established by the Providence of God and in that wonderful Providence the first question Lord doesn't want that one is for you dr. Lawson and regarding your foolishness of preaching message if a local church is moving as part of its evangelism focus to congregational worship does not reflect the Herald messenger style of preaching the one which is more concerned with seeker-sensitive approach is it appropriate for members who disagree with this approach to sever their ties or break membership with this kind of a church well that's certainly an easy question well I think this first of all I think the seeker sensitive approach to church really turns church upside down on its head I think first and foremost we gather for worship and we scattered to witness and that the worship service of the church should most resemble heaven as opposed to most resemble the world so I think that the church gathers for the exaltation of the name of the Lord primarily and and that's where the seeker sensitive approach to church misses it I think there should be a heralding of the Word of God that lifts up the hearts of the saints of God and that there will be those who will come to faith in Christ as the word is preached in fact even in the church there are tares among the wheat and the church's first mission field is its own membership and so we are to herald and proclaim the Word of God in church although we are there for the magnification the holiness of God first and foremost so I don't know if I'm exactly hitting the question and as you've read it but there should you stay in a church like that I personally would have to go elsewhere where there is the centrality of the holiness of God and the primacy of the preaching of the word of God and with the seeker-sensitive movement there comes things to me that that trivializes the Sunday morning worship and and really dummies it down to kind of VBS for adults so I would want to set a higher watermark thank you for your candor doctor yes sir this next more son your son just whispered in my ear tell the truth right this next one is directed to him but before I read it I want to just say two things first of all remember your courses in logic where you learned what a complex question was yes sir and also when you learned the informal fallacies including the either-or fallacy or the fallacy of the false dilemma keep those ideas in mind and remember that one of the gifts of the Spirit is self-control so there are two questions here all right the first one is who should we blame if God chooses sovereignly not to save one of our children that's the first question the second question is it the hypocrisy of the parent that causes a child to reject the faith or is it God's sovereign will all right let me answer the second one first I know you were gonna say that the answer to the first one is yes I'm sorry the second one is yes is it the hypocrisy of the parents or the sovereign efficacious will of God that would cause bring this to pass of course it's both that God works through means God if a child rejects their Christian upbringing in the face of hypocrisy and the part of the parents that hypocrisy exists by God's sovereign efficacious decree and the failure to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit comes to pass on the basis of for your sake dr. Sproul God's non-sovereign efficacious decree got silenced with respect to the call of election for that person it's both of these things that so much that was a clever sort of pause away from super-luxury nism to satisfy his dad you said self-control right that's right so many of the questions every year no matter what it is we're talking about come down to man and God's sovereignty and freedom cause and effect in these kinds of things and of course we say the same answer every year that God works through means whether positively or negatively and so it is both of those things remind me please of this first question who should we blame if God chooses sovereign we not to save one of our children well in light of the first excuse me Lana the second question I think the answer would be both only I would rephrase the word blame I would say that we blame the unrepentant child we blame the parents who did not raise the child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and we recognized that this came to pass by God's sovereign efficacious decree so we do not lay at his feet moral failure we look at it in terms of God's righteous judgment I I don't know that I've ever heard a more powerful exposition of the suffering as the judgment of God then we heard this afternoon I don't know if you know this mrs. Tonto but I once made a similar expression in a very public way I wrote an article in World magazine years ago immediately after the Oklahoma City bombing in which I drew a parallel between that event and the Tower Salome and and also a well-known speaker who said at the time we know all these children are in heaven and I said I'm not sure that we know that and we need to recognize that everyone needs to hear the gospel preached and that all of these people we do know this all these people are under judgment and God's righteous holy judgment and no one no matter how badly they suffered under the rubble no matter how many hours they spent before they were rescued or before they passed away every one of them was resting in the gracious hand of God until they died and I told the truth and I didn't have very many people like me but I just I just thought that was a wonderful expression and it applies not only in the context of physical suffering it applies in terms of the question of our salvation of course the answer you gave was the same answer that Jesus gave of the question about the power so long said you're asking the wrong question wake up unless you repent you shall all likewise perish a question should be why didn't that temple fall on your head on my head but here's another one for you RC maybe I'll answer it for you that's just an interest of time that's fine what do resourceful remorseful parents do who realize that they blew it with their children that's a good one for you to answer repent and believe the gospel absolutely right your answer that's my answer wait a minute you just put about five down there on the floor you dropped about four or five of them that's again the promise of God that was one for you Johnny far the consequences of the fall our granddaughter 21 has been homebound for over a year with the great illness she's mad at God the question how can my words to her encourage her towards the Savior when she thinks he's forgotten her oh boy you thought that once - yeah well I think what any parent and what a friend could do any Christian friend for someone with a disability whether they're a child or a teenager is to hit your needs knees and pray fervently on behalf of that person because we wrestle not against cerebral palsy or spinal cord injury we wrestle against powers and principalities that would love nothing more than to keep a young girl locked in bitterness and her focus turned inward so I think prayer is always the first remedy first first thing to do just to gather about five or six people who will pray specifically and committed ly I know that's what happened in my life when I was first injured my church youth leader pulled together a group of young people who met together at her house every Thursday and for an hour they prayed and I know I'm still as I've often said feeling the repercussions or those prayers so I think prayer is one way to soften a young person's heart but then I'm gonna just say this out loud Brett just bring them to one of our John Eagan friends family retreats it does a world of good to see other young people in wheelchairs who are zooming around relating wheelchair square dancing wheelchair rock climbing wheelchair ziplining wheelchair dodgem carring wheelchair you name it when it's done and it's wild and it's risky and it's it's just great fun and I think if we could get that child to one of our Johnny and Friends family retreats we'll have one here in Central Florida this spring so just please do that I think that would be a wonderful thing for that young person to meet some other young kids her own age who are grabbing hold of life and moving forward and doing it because God's giving them grace to do so it's a hard question to answer and there's so many complexities with it but prayer and the power of example thank you this is please answer this one and nobody is designated know what nobody is particularly designated to answer this question since we know that it is God who calls effectually is there any reason to have an altar call I am Baptist and it is expected who wants to take that one and whatever you do I'll clean up your mess as always well I'm the Baptist here so I'll take a shot at this we know from church history that there was never any altar call until really the Ministry of Charles Finney which really introduced a method into Christianity in the 19th century that led many astray with a false assurance of their salvation Finney had a man named father Hyde praying Hyde who would stand in the lobby and pray out loud lad enough for people to hear and he would call out the names of people and they felt needed to be converted while Finney was preaching and of course Finney's theology was aberrant and that in very mild that very mild way to put it right it was heretical and and so it is really out of that has come the method of the sawdust trail and leaving your seat and walking forward in order to parrot a prayer repeat a prayer and usually that takes place within one verse of a hymn that's being sung and I've been put in that awkward position when I first got out of seminary and it was my responsibility to get the person's name take them you know back through the doors what decision you want to make and then have them back out by the time you finish the altar call and my conscience began to greatly bother me because we have no idea what God is doing in this person's life and it's just been my experience living in the south and being a Baptist that it it it has done far far more harm then then good as as people have a false assurance of their salvation as they've responded Spurgeon put it this way as the greatest Baptist preacher ever lived that when the the deer is wounded it actually wants to retreat to the thickets to lick its own wounds not to be paraded publicly in front of everyone so I personally do not favor the get out of your seat and walk forward although I preach the gospel every Sunday and call sinners to faith in Christ and sinners are saved but they can be saved right where they are in the seat where they're seated and they have an amazing way of finding me by when the after church is over and I have an amazing way of just no I don't have an amazing way on anything they have a way of finding me and it makes for very sound conversions so well you know I think the Bible makes it clear that we are to make an outward profession of faith and and a lot of things we want to sort of prime the pump and help people to to make that statement publicly but like you've underscored the principal danger is we live in a culture now particularly that somehow has come to the place where people think that they're saved by a profession of faith rather than the possession of it right and you have all kinds of people walking around who think that they are saved who on the last day Jesus we're going to say I don't know who you are these Leafman and it's again the profession of faith which we are supposed to do we have to understand the profession of faith never saved anyone and what happens is what when we make this a method and then we see these people make their profession and then fall away then we construct the whole theology right to accommodate that right say they didn't really fall away they're truly converted but they just they're just carnal yeah they're carnal Christians and that's a fact but thank you Steve I didn't want to anything that thank you here's the question I'm going to send it to to you if I may Johnny when is it right to die with all the technologies to maintain biological life how should they be applied to our terminally ill people for example in the last six months of life when someone is terminally ill there comes a point in that illness where he or she enters what is an irrevocable process of dying and the challenge for the Christian is to find a clear distinction between applying medical treatment which would sustain the life that every person has a right to you never ready to live or applying treatment that does nothing more than prolong the process of dying got to find that clear distinction that's why many people that I talk with I often lead them to James chapter one where God's Word assures us he'll give us hand-tailored wisdom to fit the particular need of the moment having said that the the questioner is correct it is a complex world now I think that when man reached out and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil what that means is as knowledge increases so will potentials for good but also potentials for evil knowledge is a double-edged sword that way so it is a very complex world of medical technology that we live in we should be assured though by the fact that we each have what is called a patient's right of autonomy if if I let's say this quadriplegic body forty years in a wheelchair I would not opt to go on a dialysis machine if I had kidney failure that's my right to refuse medical treatment if I think it would safeguard my chances of life my circulatory system is very fragile very very it's very old before it's time so there are there are lots of different factors to consider age and the extent of one's illness but I think the best decisions are always made within the counsel of your physician your doctor who shares your life values if you do not have a doctor a physician who shares your life values then find one find a doctor who is a believer in the Lord Jesus with whom you share those life values discuss these things with him and then it is always wise to to put down your express wishes in a document what is called an advanced medical directive in which you have an opportunity to designate a healthcare proxy that is a family member who you believe knows your hearts wants and wishes should you become mentally incompetent and not be able to choose for yourself but I do believe that God gives wisdom and that we can know what is God honoring when that comes when that time comes for us to say no this treatment will do nothing more than prolong the process of dying or yes I want this treatment because I'm still living and my life needs to be sustained with this particular treatment didn't answer that as sophisticatedly as perhaps RC jr. might but thank you that's my best shot doing my lifetimes teach ethics and one of things I would tell my students is the overwhelming majority of ethical issues that the Christian faces as matters of conscience the church had the benefit of 2,000 years of reflection to guide us in discerning the proper principles that apply the Bible to life situations but what we've seen in the last 30 years at the quantum leap of biomedical systems that the church has had very little time to reflect on the complexities of these things and I like what you had to say here's another question for you Johnny I'm married to an unbeliever my question has to do with first Peter 3:1 does this mean I should never share the truth verbally with my unbelieving husband am i being disobedient if I share verbally okay she's unbeliever and she's wondering if yeah she allowed that tell the gospel to her husband or does she just have to be a an example a model and woman I said well again I will say prayer is is probably the most important thing a woman can do for her husband can I tell a real quick story very quick my husband and I married in 1982 and I thought that our marriage was doomed that September because on that particular Monday night he was in the refrigerator looking for salsa and chips and cokes and I had my K our third precept Bible study out on my kitchen table with my pink pens my yellow pens my red pens my purple pens and he was supposed to be my hands and he ignored me and went right past me to spend Monday evening with Dan Dierdorf and Al Michaels and I was mortified I had thought I've done the wrong thing I have not married a man of God's Word well I nagged I twisted his arm I cajoled I coaxed I wheedled I prodded got pushed I whined I did everything and finally read Philippians 2:4 where it says in humility of mine consider better than yourself okay like mr. Sports Illustrated is better than miss precepts here but it was very convicting and I decided RC that first year of our marriage every Monday night during Monday Night Football I'd sequester myself in the bedroom and pray for Ken and I did so and you know this football games less what about three hours four hours or something so there I'm in my bedroom and I'm praying for he knows I'm praying for him by the way and so I'm in my bedroom praying for my husband and I'd love to tell this because an absolute miracle occurred Super Bowl Sunday you got all of the Steelers I sure did I became the hugest football fan and it's interesting how when we pray God changes us and now my husband memorizes much more scripture than I do I mean he's got the whole sermon on the mount memorized he's on I don't know how many different Psalms he's memorizing he's a man of God's Word it's interesting 25 years later how God has answered that prayer but my point is when we pray as this woman I'm sure will get down on her knees and pray for her husband at least a couple of hours a week it committed ly specifically not only will she have wisdom about how to share the gospel in creative and ways that I believe are respectful of her husband but her life will change and I'm convinced his life will change J I Packer wrote a great book evangelism and the sovereignty of God in which prayer really you know was was so well explained how God uses prayer to change the landscape of our most sticky dilemmas and so I would encourage this woman to to pray for her husband and God will give her the wisdom and not only the wisdom but the words to share the gospel in creative yet respect full ways with her spouse here's another for you joy oh come on you have an RC sits there come on RC junior please give us a little wisdom regarding a child's credible confession of faith what makes a child's confession credible do you think well I would first want to reiterate the wisdom I heard just a few moments ago that we make sure that we distinguished between the profession of faith and the possession of faith and that not only does profession not guaranteed possession but a lack of profession does not necessarily mean a lack of possession I mentioned my daughter Shannon I know she's a sinner and I know that her only hope is if God should give her if God has or before she dies it's her a new heart that trust in the finished work of Christ alone I also know with some level of confidence that she will not be able to express that verbally until she does enter into her reward that's her particular burden that she has to bear to that that's all background of the question what makes a credit profession of faith one more background thing some of my friends with different theological perspectives tend to begin with an innate suspicion of a child's profession of faith they don't like the child to be given specific words to say they want to wait and see whether it takes and they have the the notion that we can't trust this profession from the child because the child just loves their parents like that's evidence against the sincerity of the profession that they love their parents that must mean it couldn't be real and as if a seven-year-old is more practiced at lying to their parents than a fifteen-year-old I don't understand perspective at all let's wait till they get through the Catechism class let's wait till they're 15 and that way we'll know they're not lying just don't don't buy that I think that the way we measure the child's the credibility of a child's profession of faith is twofold just like it is for anybody elses is the profession itself sufficiently sound and fitting for the child I was a search planter at the church where I now serve and as a church planter it was my obligation to hear professions of faith and I approached my daughter Darby when she was three years old looking to see if I could hear from her a credit profession of faith that's fitting for her age so I asked her this question my three-year-old daughter Darby I said do you love Jesus and she said to me no and I thought you know I'm not skeptical but there's no way I can stretch that there's no way I could turn that into a credible profession of faith so I said well Darby we'll come back to this another time when my father was was working with evangelism explosion and I was five or six years old he asked me the famous EE question he said Craig because that's what I was called then Craig if you were to die today and stand before the judgment seat of God and God were to ask you why should I let you into my kingdom what would you say and I gave my dad this look that I've done thankfully not too many other times since then like he was the stupidest man on the planet I was worried about his theological soundness I thought what kind of question is that now with that and I said cuz I'm dead that's what he started working on faith alone the book justification by death since I don't think that's officially credible not if I had said because Jesus died for me I wouldn't expect him to turn around and say to five-year-old me well now how does that become yours is that an infusion process is an imputation process you know are see what say you about the sixth session of the Council of Trent I don't think that's appropriate so I believe in age-appropriate professions of faith and they should be relatively sound given their age they shouldn't be against what we know about the gospel any sort of Pelagian notion oh I'm good enough and secondly you look for fruit now fruit beloved is fruit it's not solid crystal gems then it's sometimes bruised fruit it's sometimes mushy fruit but it's fruit it's it's you know when when when Shannon is able to stop you know throwing her toys because daddy has said they're shin don't throw your toys and don't reach oh it's not good throw your toys that's progress that's fruit that's and I expect children to grow in grace to to become better than they were before just like I would with anybody else so it's not rocket science and it's really not any different than we would do for anybody else is the profession itself sound and fitting for the person and are they bearing fruit thank you here's one for Steve yes sir why is David that is King David good we've witnessed the sad governor Spitzer scandal and country felt disgrace and their form under President Clinton's escapades one a little bit Monica Lewinsky and so on why then do we look at the Bible who's whose and extol the virtues of King David next to whom these other guys or junior grade sinners compared to him why do we call him good I'm not entirely certain I understand the thrust of the question well we extolled David as a model of greatness and everything in Ryerson was even worse than the sins of these public figures that well David was a great sinner but David was also a great repenter and there was sorrow and his heart that was genuine over his moral failure and there was a rejoicing in the forgiveness of God and I would say obviously David was not one who never fell for David did fall morally but when he did fall even if it required a prophet to come to him and say thou art the man he nevertheless was very responsive at that point and psalm 32 in Psalm 51 both record that the testimony of a man who was broken over his sin so I don't know some of these other political figures but there seems to be a lack of true genuine repentance when they are caught in their sin yet David is Exhibit A for yes true repentance yes sir all right this is addressed a dr. Sproul and it says on the side RC that would be you know 1st 2nd 3rd senior which of your books do you recommend as a gift to an unbelieving friend well I wouldn't recommend any of my books for that I'd recommend some of your books which ones which year I think I would recommend assuming we can still get it at this point or one as soon as we can get it get it available again you know book safe from what which is just a wonderful exposition in a I don't know if I'd say it's an evangelistic setting but it is in a setting where the person is confronted with the claims of Christ and and the judgment of God and as you well remember that particular book grew out of an address to the Christian Booksellers Association convention in which you had to remind these experts these Christian book publishers and editors and writers of what it is we're saved from and I think it's a sound biblical approach to the gospel you see it's in John the Baptist you see it in Jesus himself that the that they're told to escape the wrath that is to come back to the the the seeker sensitive you're not preaching wrath you're not preaching the gospel and I think that's a book is a wonderful introduction for people in that circumstance as far as the province of God is concerned and what I have seen have an impact on people's life certainly the holiness of God and and also this latest one on the meaning of the cross yeah that's yeah can I say also driving down here because it was yesterday my son drove me and I was able to read in the car and I reread getting the gospel right and I know that might not be a book you would hand to an unbeliever although you might but as far as a clear articulation of the gospel with positive assertions and negative denials that is very precise and its distinctions I highly recommend getting the gospel right and you told me this morning that it's it's a book that it has not sold as well and it's probably because it is so clear as well as detailed in its presentation of the gospel I highly recommend that to everyone here today I just reread it yesterday okay you fuzzing it up maybe it'll sell as well as your other books if I want fuzzy it up a little bit here's one another one for you jr. any idea for reaching a grown son that has turned from the faith and embraced atheism do you've faced him directly or do you pray become a model what do you do well the thing that goes back to a slightly lengthier answer to the previous question of parents who are grieving over weaknesses and I hope that when I show up here and I have my children here and they're all serving the Lord and they're clean cuts and all that they you don't think that all of us don't have to repent for our child-rearing just like all of us need to hear the gospel whether we believe or not we all need to repent for our child-rearing failures none of us do it right and so that's critical that repenting and believing includes believing in God's power to overcome our failures I don't want to turn everything into a commercial for for what we've already heard from these other speakers but to listening to Johnny this afternoon going from her clear teaching on the suffering that we're so often not aware of I just had the opportunity to go to Myanmar a few weeks ago and minister there and witness much of the same kind of suffering to present that so clearly and then finish with that song that's the story of the gospel and it can happen in dark third-world countries and it can happen in your house yeah that however badly we fail God is able to do mighty things it may be that your heartfelt prayers for your atheistic son or for your failures in your child ring it may end up changing you and turning you into a football fan which is a great thing too or it may create a miraculous agustin like moment your life that you will cherish into eternity we don't know so important that as we learn to emphasize and understand the sovereignty of God that we don't look at the world as a fixed reality but just because God chooses who believes and who doesn't believe does not mean that all those who do not now believe will die not believing amen including the children who we did not raise as well as we might have so do not lose sight of praying and of course do not stop living the gospel being the gospel for them and when fitting and appropriate without being a horrible nag use words to this this next one has two questions and there's nobody particularly designated and so the instance of time all instrument because they can be answered so easily and so briefly the first one is can prayer change the sovereign will of God to save someone the answer is no of course not and to what criteria does God use to sovereignly select the elect his own good pleasure and his own glory do a min there's got to be a little a little bit on the first part all right obviously we've been saying all day that prayer is a means that God uses to bring the elect to salvation but the way the question is framed can prayer change the sovereign will of God usually it's framed this way can prayer change God's mind and I say to people if you think about that for five minutes the answer jumps out of you what information could you possibly give God that he didn't have before you gave it to him or what counsel could you possibly give him that would correct his foolish intentions none of us are his counselors prayer changes things and prayer changes us and God uses its prayer to bring his elect into salvation God changes the whole world as a result of our prayer but he doesn't change his mind because of what we tell us okay and the criteria is this is the thing of people think that what salvation is that God looks down the corridor of time and he sees what you're going to do and based upon whether you do the right thing or the wrong thing you're the right answer the or the wrong answer then he'll select you on the basis of what you do this is what unconditional election does not mean the criteria are all in him not in us amen there's so many people who who who are solidly reformed sometimes fail to pray or not or knows passionate in prayer because they believe since God's sovereign will is fixed there is no requirement for them to pray would you expand on that just a bit well if a sovereign God tells you to pray for people then you better pray or or you don't really believe in his sovereignty yeah God is not only sovereign over salvation he's sovereign over law that he imposes obligations upon his people sovereignty and if we believe in a sovereign God then we better obey Him that's right okay oh my if you saw me shifting sifting through these and putting some to the back it's because they were repeats that's all I'm still trying to honor my promise here we go how does the Bible address the church's role in politics should Christian leaders and believers be involved in the political realm should we advocate certain political positions and this is not addressed to you this is addressed to Steve so is the question finished well we are commanded to go into all the world and preach the gospel and we are allied set upon a hill and we are to do what God has called us to do which is to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ that is the way I believe that we most affect the national landscape is change that it's brought about from the inside out as God gives men and women new hearts and are brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ we are to I think participate in the political process as God would lead individuals to participate in that and there are different degrees and different levels at which different people choose to participate in that everything from running to office themselves and we are to be salt and we are to invade the culture and I think the lordship of Christ is to be brought to bear upon every realm of society so it's not that we just remain in the holy huddle and only come out and throw a few tracks at people and go back in and our our lives are to be fully involved in every arena of life and it's not just politics but it's education and business and athletics and music and every other arena as well says here should we advocate certain political positions I think we should address with the scripture of every issue that the scripture addresses it's like asking should we address ethical issues exactly you know it's been said that you know I read a book an Old Testament book many many years ago an excellent treatment of the prophets and it was the title it was intriguing this study of the Old Testament prophets that title the book was called the conscience of Israel we see that the God calls the church to a different mission than he calls the state to and there may be a distinction between the two divisions yes but the church is always to exercise conscience and remind the civil magistrate of his duty you know like the question of abortion people ask me of what right does the church have to tell the state what to do are we trying to tell the state to be the church that's absolutely not what I want the state to do is to be the state that God has given the state the responsibility to maintain protect and sustain human life and when it fails to do that it is demonized and we need to save it okay thank you for that Steve we're almost done I have just a couple more here this is also for you Steve how does your church practically go about evangelizing door-to-door marketplace to the leader do this regularly are the members of your church encouraged on a regular basis to make this a regular practice yes I think the greatest evangelism is a lifestyle evangelism seven days a week you know 24 hours a day as God gives us opportunity to interact in the lives of people I think that there can be programs that can be used in the church for equipping and for training as well as sending people out but I think that on the whole that the the strongest evangelism is as we all just live the reality of Christ and as God gives us divine appointments and opportunities to share the gospel of Christ that we'd be faithful to to capture those moments and we as a church have all different kinds of evangelism strategies and quite frankly we've even done and continue to do even going door-to-door in our neighborhood and and inviting the neighborhood into our church for special times as well as inviting people to church I mean basically evangeline evangelism you're either taking the Word of God to loss people are bringing loss people to the word one of the two and we do both but again we we emphasize that God has placed everyone in our church in various strategic places in the community and that they should occupy where they live and where they are planted by God and to fill up that place with with their gospel witness both by their lip as well as by their life and so that's the way that we do that one of the things that we're looking at in this conference is what evangelism really is and what it isn't yes for example my personal testimony may bear witness to Christ but it's not evangelism right it doesn't speak to the Evangel the evangelism is not that you can have purpose for your life which it's true that you may or that you can have joy out of sorrow which may flow but the gospel has a very clearly defined content it's a message about the person and work of Christ and now the benefit see as one may be accrued through faith or through faith alone and if and if we have techniques or methods that don't have that content we're kidding ourselves we're right RC what does the Bible say about unborn children infants and the mentally challenged when they die does God save all of them if not what happens there's been some level of disagreement in the history of the church everybody recognizes this is a very difficult issue some would say something to this effect that all those who died in infancy or who have particular mental weaknesses when they die that their elect which i think is an exceedingly unhelpful answer to the question I think along with what Johnny was saying about our failure to pray despite our Pat answers about why reformed people still should we actually don't in like manner I'm afraid that we too often teach not a doctrine of justification by death but justification by election nobody gets into heaven on the basis of their being elect and I would warn you good heart Calvinists among us that if you die and stay before the throne of God and God says why should I look I let you into my kingdom if you say well look in your book you'll see my name listed there your name's not listed we get into heaven because of the work of Christ on our behalf which is appropriated by faith now it's true that all the elect are given the gift of faith and only the electric given the gift of faith but it is the faith which appropriates the work of Christ and is the work of Christ which brings this peace with God so some would argue that's that they must be elect if that's shorthand that's okay if they mean they must have faith that's one particular position some would say they're innocent I've disagree with that also terribly strongly the scripture speaks about being conceived in iniquity and not only that the better rejoinder that I've given to others is how come they die death is the penalty for sin if they die they're sinners it follows there's some logic for you so in my view my answer is this all those who die whenever they however long they live wherever they live whatever their mental capacity is all those who die trusting in Christ go to heaven all those who die not trusting in Christ go to hell everyone in hell was there because of God's justice everyone in heaven is here because of God's mercy does God give saving faith to all those who died in this circumstance I don't know I know that the judge of all the earth does rightly which does not necessarily mean he does God gives mercy to whom he gives mercy and the rest receive justice and I think that's as far as we can go yeah we that's a long way of saying we don't really know yes this one's picky it's the last question of piggybacks on one earlier about witnessing to our unbelieving spouses should I avoid any evangelizing in any manner if I am married to an unbeliever what if I have children should i evangelize them privately what about evangelizing his family when he does not want me to you're looking at me mature I thought surely you'd have Steve answered I was looking at you the way my greek professor used to look over the classroom when he was going to call on people to recite and i had found a way to beat it if he was looking around you know and everybody would duck their eyes I would look him straight in the eye and then they'd never call on me they'd always calling the people that were ducking and I thought you were doing that to me that's why go ahead I will give a quick story of a woman who is exactly who you described her name is Joan Liggins she works in our office she had a wildly promiscuous teenaged life married one of her boyfriends and was the hot-headed Italian nagging scolding wife for the first couple of years of their marriage all right there's all redundancies you have to be hot-blooded a dying to be a nagging scoring wine you guys need to make sure you stay away from these Italian lady yes she is Italian to the route and she will often say that that's that's what got her into so much trouble but of course we know the answer to that one she she came to Christ started attending John MacArthur's Grace Community Church her no excuse me let me back up she divorced her husband she her husband got divorced before she got saved they were divorced your reconcilable differences I can't stand living with you get out of my life I don't want ever see you again you're just like your mother all that kind of stuff more redundancies she then came to Christ went to John MacArthur's church the first thing the spirit of the Living God spoke in her heart was remarry your husband that was coming up on 40 years ago and they've been married now 40 years and he still has not bent the need of Christ but she is praying for and he knows that she remarried him on the basis of an act of obedience to Christ she felt she did not love him but he wanted her back after that separation and so she has been praying for and has all of us and here she's one of my get up girls who gets me up on Tuesday mornings and every Tuesday morning after I'm in the wheelchair and we have her him sing in our Bible time we pray for her husband and mine as well and others but but always her husband and he has not bent the knee to Christ and he has not forbade her to share the gospel with him but he has inferred such so she has doubled the prayer effort around him and all of us know this that she is somewhat restrained in being you know forthright toward him all her children know Christ but he does not but what if what if the kids don't know and and and the husband says I don't want you evangelizing the kids what should she do well I think she needs to homeboy I think she needs not to rebel against her her husband's you know sit down the kids of the dinner table and you're gonna hear the gospel in front of my husband I mean there are ways to be respectful of I believe your husband's wishes yet at the same time demonstrate Christ by your lifestyle and both Steve and and RC have spoken to this demonstrated Christ by your lifestyle to your children I I feel that prayer will change that situation I I think that those are those kinds of knotted situations where there where there seems to be no unraveling it means we we pray all the more specifically and committed Lee I think we have to say who Christ is to our children in as many words or as actions but but I think you can do that yet still yet still be respectful of your husband I hope that makes sense I think it doesn't I mean the question here is does the wife as the mother have the moral obligation to communicate the gospel to her children even for husband doesn't want her to right I think she does yes she does but she has to be sensitive to it she has to be sensitive to her husband okay our time is up and these have been some very provocative and and difficult questions I want to thank our panel here for their candor and wisdom you

Channel: Ligonier Ministries

Views: 24,052

Rating: 4.8761611 out of 5

Keywords: seeker-sensitive movement, sovereign grace, human free-will, parenting, disability, altar call, human aging, death, life-support, profession of faith, repentance, evangelism to family, prayer, political activism, Evangelism (Religion), Jesus Christ (Deity), orl08

Id: LmcdEaG0gBo

Length: 57min 5sec (3425 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 12 2013