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129 pages

English

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Keeping the Church on Track in a Secular World The church today faces great challenges, both from without and from within. Popular culture tempts Christians to compromise truth in the name of relevance and to ignore sin under the guise of tolerance. At the same time, serious doctrinal errors threaten to undermine the authority of God's Word, leading to all sorts of unbiblical practices.Right Thinking in a Church Gone Astray offers responses from trusted evangelical voices on 15 timely issues. With a careful look at God's Word, you'll gain wisdom and insights on highly relevant topics such as...measuring true success in ministrycountering the church's celebrity cultureresponding biblically to homosexualityreclaiming the essentials of the Christian faithdiscerning God's ultimate priority for the church With biblical guidance on these and other vital matters, this resource provides much-needed clarity for today's church.

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Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
Date de parution	28 février 2017
Nombre de lectures	3
EAN13	9780736966764
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0738€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Verses marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Italicized text in Scripture quotations indicates authors emphasis.
Cover by Bryce Williamson
RIGHT THINKING IN A CHURCH GONE ASTRAY
Copyright 2017 Nathan Busenitz
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-6675-7 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-6676-4 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Busenitz, Nathan, editor.
Title: Right thinking in a church gone astray / [edited by] Nathan Busenitz.
Description: Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016048379 (print) | LCCN 2016051070 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736966757 (pbk.) | ISBN 9780736966764 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Christianity and culture. | Church.
Classification: LCC BR115.C8 R57 2017 (print) | LCC BR115.C8 (ebook) | DDC 261-dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016048379
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
Contents
Foreword by John MacArthur
SECTION I:
The Church and Contemporary Issues
1. When the Church Goes Astray -Nathan Busenitz
Evangelicalism s Misguided Quest for Popularity and Prestige
2. Rock-Star Religion -Tom Patton
Countering the Church s Celebrity Culture
3. The Crescent and the Cross -William D. Barrick
Engaging Muslims for the Sake of the Gospel
4. When Truth Meets Love- Alex Montoya
The Church s Response to Homosexuality
5. Is This Jesus Calling? -Jesse Johnson
Evaluating a Bestselling Book in Light of Biblical Truth
SECTION II:
The Church and Sound Doctrine
6. Who s In Charge of Your Church? -Michael Mahoney
Submitting to the Headship of Christ in Everything
7. Nothing But the Truth -Abner Chou
Why We Cannot Compromise Our Commitment to Scripture
8. The Hallmarks of Heresy -Michael Riccardi
Discerning the Difference Between Doctrinal Confusion and False Teaching
9. The Charismatic Question -Nathan Busenitz
Are the Miraculous Gifts Still in Operation Today?
10. Things That Should Not Be Forgotten -Nathan Busenitz
Why Church Leaders Should Care about Church History
SECTION III:
The Church and the Great Commission
11. To the Ends of the Earth -Irv Busenitz
God s Global Agenda to Reach the Lost
12. Compassion Without Compromise -Jesse Johnson
Thinking About Social Justice in Light of the Great Commission
13. Fit for the Master s Use -Carl Hargrove
Proclaiming the Gospel from a Platform of Personal Piety
14. Global Risk Assessment -Mark Tatlock
Threatening Trends Within Evangelical Missions
15. To the Praise of His Glory -James Mook
A Call to Remember the Church s Ultimate Priority
Topical Reference Guide
Contributors
Notes
You Will Also Want to Read
About the Publisher
Foreword
JOHN MACARTHUR
T he world is getting worse.
Read the morning paper, turn on the evening news, or log on to your favorite news website at any point in between, and you re certain to catch a glimpse of the chaos that characterizes contemporary society. Biblical principles and Christian moral values are under assault like never before in recent history. What Scripture identifies as sin, modern culture celebrates under the guise of personal liberty. Meanwhile, those who boldly proclaim biblical truth are mocked as being intolerant, ignorant, and irrelevant.
The downward spiral taking place in America and other western societies is articulated by the apostle Paul in Romans 1:18-32. In that passage, Paul explains how the judgment of God affects those who reject Him. Having suppressed the truth in unrighteousness, they are without excuse. Therefore, God gives them over to degrading passions, including nature worship (verse 25) and homosexuality (verses 26-27). A society under divine judgment begins to self-destruct as God allows rebellious people to run headlong into sin. As Paul explains,
God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them (Romans 1:28-32).
Paul s words, penned two millennia ago, provide a fitting description of the state of American culture today. It is no longer a question about whether or not America will fall under God s judgment. The reality is that such judgment has already begun.
People often ask me if I m surprised by the accelerated rate of cultural deterioration taking place. My answer to them is simple. The New Testament teaches that the world will grow increasingly worse before the Lord returns. So no, I m not surprised, nor am I overly concerned. The Lord Jesus told His disciples that they would be hated by the world. Those who follow Jesus should not be shocked or dismayed if they are persecuted by an unbelieving society. Their hope is not in this world anyway. They know they will one day see their Savior face to face. When He comes back to this earth, He will make all things right. That is their blessed hope.
So I m not shocked by secular culture s precipitous decline. But there is one trend I find both surprising and deeply concerning-namely, the downward trajectory of the church. If there were ever a time when the church needs to distinguish itself from the world, standing firm in its commitment to biblical truth and sound doctrine, this is that time. Rather than succumbing to secular pressures, or camouflaging itself to blend in with the world, the church ought to be boldly shining the light of the gospel into the kingdom of darkness. Now is not the time for compromise, but for courage and conviction.
Sadly, the broader evangelical church finds itself unprepared for the storm clouds of persecution gathering on the horizon. The net effect of weak theology, shallow preaching, syrupy sentimentalism in worship, and a consumer-driven approach to ministry has left the church vulnerable and infirm. Too many preachers are more concerned with being popular than with rightly dividing the Word of truth. Too many Christian universities care more about federal funding than they do about upholding biblical morality. Too many seminaries are abandoning their evangelical heritage to maintain a fa ade of intellectual respectability. And too many churches are nothing more than glorified youth events, designed to draw a crowd but devoid of the biblical qualities that define a church. In many ways, the evangelical church has gone astray.
When the Lord Jesus addressed the churches of Asia Minor in Revelation 2-3, He commanded those congregations that had strayed into apathy, worldliness, and false teaching to repent and return (Revelation 2:5, 16, 22; 3:3, 19). Churches today ought to heed that same warning. As Christ Himself repeatedly states, He who has an ear, let him hear (Rev. 2:7, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). Those who fail to listen will face His hand of discipline.
The church today is in need of a serious wakeup call. Right Thinking in a Church Gone Astray not only provides that wakeup call, it also offers a biblical framework for how to evaluate some of the key issues in contemporary evangelicalism. The book s contributors are men whom I trust, having worked alongside all of them in ministry at either Grace Community Church or The Master s University Seminary. Hence, I heartily recommend this resource to both church leaders and laypeople looking to honor Christ and think biblically in spite of the confusion that persists both inside and outside the church.
The world is indeed spiraling down at breakneck speed; and to a significant degree, the church is going with it. Nonetheless, believers can rest in knowing that Christ promised to build His church, declaring that the gates of death and hell would never prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). Though dark days may be on the horizon, at least for the church in America, the true church of Jesus Christ will never be defeated or destroyed. All who belong to Him will triumph, even in death. The present may seem bleak, but the future remains glorious.
As believers, our hope is not diminished. When this life is over, we will gather with all the saints of every age to worship the Lamb around His throne. In the meantime we need to arm ourselves with biblical truth and right thinking as we press on for the glory of Christ and the advance of His kingdom. This book will help you do exactly that.
SECTION I:
THE CHURCH AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
CHAPTER 1
When the Church Goes Astray
Evangelicalism s Misguided Quest for Popularity an