Let's take our Bibles and turn to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1. If you're just joining us this Sunday evening, this is a theme that I've developed over the last several weeks addressing topics that are contemporary Christian concerns. I confessed a couple of weeks ago that from time to time I see things happening and I'm uneasy. And rather than responding radically in the moment, I usually fester for a long period of time. putting things aside and saying, you know, around the new year, I'll try to come at those topics. Typically, I've done these on Wednesday evenings, conversations of discernment, if you will. But with so many in our young adult ministry, as well as in our Kids for Truth and different places around the campus, I felt it was wise for us to do some of these on Sunday evenings. And so two weeks ago, we talked about the theme Baptist not reformed. And last week we talked about deviant worship. And so with those two messages still in your minds, I trust that we can enter into a conversation this evening that will be helpful as we talk about the question, it's all about the Gospel. It's all about the Gospel. We found our way to 1 Peter 1. I want us to read verses 13 through 16 carefully and thoughtfully before we open our Bibles this evening and enter into the message tonight. The Apostle Peter writes, wherefore, and by the way, he's writing to a people who have suffered dramatic persecution. They've been scattered from their homeland. They're far, far away from the things that they love. And as the Spirit of God moves the Apostle Peter to write, he says, gird up the loins of your mind and be sober, and hope to the end. Peter is uniquely the author that speaks of hope. If you want to read about faith, you read Paul. If you want to read about love, you read John. If you want to read about hope, these three things abide, faith, hope, and love. But hope, that's the message Peter shares. Hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. What a day of grace and blessing that will be. So as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lust, which was of course in your ignorance, he says, But as he which hath called you is holy, so be holy in all manner of conversation or lifestyle. Because it is written, be holy, for I am holy. We ask an important question from the outset this evening. How carefully are we guarding ourselves from being fashioned after the former lusts? How different are we today from the world? The Christian is called to a life of holiness because God is holy. The Christian ought to be different because God has commanded this of us. And so we're to gird up the loins of our mind and be sober as we hope to the end for the grace that will be given to us when Christ appears. This evening I'm going to be talking about a question. Is it really all about the gospel? Let's ask the Lord to bless as we look into His word. Father, I pray that you'd give me wisdom, and boldness is necessary, but kindness as well. And that this evening, Lord, you would cause us together as a congregation to make convictional decisions and be discerning. Lord, help us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. and to go out from this service with tender hearts together, being motivated by the cost of the cross and the blood of the Savior, to live in this world with wisdom, seeking to be holy for you are holy. For it is in Christ's name we pray, amen. The Great Commission has been given to us in a number of texts in the Gospels. Jesus said in Matthew 28, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you, and lo, I'm with you always, even unto the end of the age." Christianity is fundamentally about the gospel, the good news. Redemption completed through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, that's essentially what unites us together as Christians. And I trust what unites us together even this evening as we gather in this place. Surely we would ask, believers are to be gospel-centered, right? Many people are asking that question today. In fact, there are gospel-centered communities, there are gospel-centered counseling organizations, there's gospel-centered life and gospel-centered discipleship and gospel-centered parenting and gospel-centered student ministry, and if you haven't Google the little phrase gospel-centered, you're only seeing a snippet of the thousands of banners that are under this phrase within Christendom this evening. Gospel-centeredness. After all, shouldn't Christians be together for the gospel and shouldn't we coalesce together around the gospel? Isn't it all about the gospel? There are a few here this evening who are already a bit lost, unaware of the fact that a gospel-centered movement has been introduced within evangelical Christianity and flowed beyond that to other boundaries in the last 50 years. Being gospel-centered is hard to define. What exactly is meant by all the gospel-centered chatter? For some people, they're speaking about a worldview. that being gospel-centered changes the way we look at everything. They even talk about gospel-centered dating. Some use the phrase as that common denominator that at least binds us all together, that while we differ and disagree about many things, whether they be theologically or practically, at least we can gather together and coalesce about this, that the lowest common denominator is we all believe the gospel, right? For some people, the phrase is being used as a chief motivation for sanctification. Gospel centeredness means meditation on the cross to these so that our footsteps are changed in the direction that we live is more pleasing to the Lord. In truth, All about the gospel has become a ubiquitous catchphrase that's frequently used with seldom any consideration reflecting upon the ramifications of what exactly is being said. So this evening I want to pause and I want us to think together because we're to gird up the loins of our mind and be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto us by the revelation of Jesus Christ. And as obedient children, we're not to fashion ourselves according to the former lust and ignorance, but as we, he which hath called you as holy, so we too are to be holy, saith the Lord. Three quick considerations this evening. We need to understand that when we talk about the gospel, that there's a commission that we accept. There's a commission that we accept. Dr. Ernest Pickering, in his wonderful book, The Tragedy of Compromise, that you can pick up in our bookstore, makes the following statement. Bible-believing Christians have always taken seriously the command of Christ to evangelize the world. Pickering goes on, even in the midst of terrific cultural and theological pressure, believers in the Middle Ages witnessed to the truth. The rulers of the Roman Catholic Church hounded them mercilessly, but they continued to preach the gospel all over the continent of Europe. Then says Pickering, truly born again people have a special place in their hearts for the work of getting out the gospel. And all God's people should say, amen. Truth is, if those who had gone before us weren't zealous in getting out the gospel, we wouldn't be here this evening. Within a culture of confusion, however, we must regularly be reminded that Jesus' last command is always our first priority. Jesus said, go ye therefore and teach all nations. Jesus' last command is our first priority. Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 9 and verse 16, for though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. Now, when we're obedient to the Great Commission, to the work of preaching the gospel, we really have two obligations that we're constantly balancing. The first obligation we have is this. We have an obligation of evangelism. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The obligation of evangelism. What do we mean? Well, when we're being evangelistic and sharing the gospel with the lost, we're talking about the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. That Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. Lots of people died. In fact, the same day that Jesus died, but only one person died for our sins. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried and he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. These are the elements that are essential in the preaching of the gospel. That the good news needs to be heard, for by grace you say through faith and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. It's not of works, lest any man should boast. And when we hear the message of the gospel, there are strings in our hearts that begin to chord in wonderful song, even when we're troubled by the messengers of the gospel. I want to say that again. There are strings in my heart that resonate, even when the messenger causes me sometimes to fear. That's exactly what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1 and verse 8. Whether in pretense or in truth, Paul said, if Christ is preached, I therein, I rejoice. Yay. And I will rejoice. So the first component in being true to the Great Commission, we evangelize. The second component, we edify. For after all, Matthew 28 says, we teach them to observe all things that have been commanded of us. And so there's this ongoing work of edification. And how do we know when the work of edification is actually being accomplished? It's really not all that complicated. We know that the work of edification is being accomplished when people, in response to their love for the Lord, they keep His commandments. And His commandments are not grievous. The Lord would say in John 15 and verse 10, if you keep My commandments, you abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father's commandments and even abide in His love. that we teach them to observe. Matthew 28 says in verse 20, that word to observe means to pay careful attention, to carefully consider what Christ has commanded of us and live in obedience out of love for Him. So we have these two parts of the Great Commission. There is evangelization, there is edification. Are you ready for a warning? Because as simple as that seems for us to obey, there's a warning that God's word provides for us, that believers who go about to do great commission work must earnestly contend for the faith. The book of Jude says in verse three, beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you. Now what's he writing about? Look up on the PowerPoint, you can see it there, look in your Bible. When I gave all diligence to write in view of the common salvation, that's the least common denominator that binds us together across denominational boundaries. And as Baptist who believe in the individual priesthood of the believer, no one in this room probably agrees with anyone else in this room completely on everything that we would talk about, we get that. But we're bound together. by this common salvation, and Jude says, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, you don't recognize them, you don't really think about it, who were before of all ordained to this condemnation, even ungodly men who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. What does that mean? It means wanton, lustful desires. And they deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Jude is saying you better be careful because you need to be on guard while earnestly contending for the faith. There will be those who would compromise on doctrinal purity, who would head in directions that would cause them to be disobedient to the command that has been given to us to be holy, even as he is holy. So Jude says, be careful. In fact, Ephesians 5 and verse 11 says, have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. So when we begin to talk gospel, we remember we're talking about Two great imperatives, evangelizing and edifying under this one great consideration, always with caution, earnestly contending for the faith. The second consideration when we talk about the gospel, we ask the question, isn't it okay to be gospel-centered, is this consideration. There's a cooperation that has to be assessed. There's a cooperation that has to be assessed. As I look at the landscape of the last 80 years, I have opinions and you have opinions. I have the privilege of sharing some of mine this evening. I hope I don't rub yours the wrong way. I trust that we can come out with some measure of discernment and that we can do what Peter has instructed us to do, gird up the loins of our mind and be sober and hope to the end. As I look at Evangelicalism or the preaching of the gospel over the last many years, I've thought about this many times. In the 1950s, cooperation was evangelistically motivated. There was a focus on the first part of the Great Commission. Go ye therefore and teach all nations. The battle cry was, let's bring people together. Let's have someone come in that can preach the gospel so that people can get saved. I had a conversation last night with some in our adult Bible fellowship, and the question was asked, do you think that great arenas and great stadiums can ever again be filled for an evangelist to stand before the people and give the gospel? It's an interesting question. I think God can do anything God wants to do at any time. I would never bind God's omnipotence in any way, and I'm not omniscient, so I can't really answer the question, but I can say this. Paging back into the last century, whether it was Billy Sunday or Bob Jones or whether it was Gypsy Smith or whether it was Billy Graham or others that we can talk about, great stadiums were filled with this common purpose. Let's reach our community for Christ. Great stadiums are still being filled. but not necessarily with an evangelistic burden. Today, great stadiums are being filled more with an educational burden. Now, there are two pillars of the Great Commission. We preach the gospel to every creature and we teach them to observe all things that have been commanded. And so today, cooperation seems to be educationally motivated. It seems to be educationally motivated. We've moved from the sawdust trail in the tent revivals of yesteryear to the scholastic ranks. We're still coalescing together. We're still conferencing together. In fact, we're often blogging together, often with the specific focus of dialoguing on matters doctrinal. Many, many people come together. They come together, not necessarily to hear the gospel preached to the lost in the community, but they're filling stadiums in order for Christians to be edified. I'd say it this way. Whether cooperation is encouraged by practitioners, evangelist, or by professors, edifiers, we need to follow the principles that are in God's word. And so what are those principles that ought to always be considered when cooperation is assessed? The first principle is this, we are called upon to maintain holiness. As it is written, be holy for I am holy. Holiness requires a separation from evil. In fact, maintaining a conscience that the Apostle Paul spoke of in Acts 24 that is void of offense before God and man requires tremendous vigilance. We are to maintain holiness. We are to remember that spiritual cooperation may be dangerous. Spiritual cooperation may be even far more dangerous than cooperation with those who are lost. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5 and he says, I wrote unto you not to company with fornicators, yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, for then you must come out of the world. I wrote unto you not to company with those who call themselves brothers who are fornicators. What's he saying? Be careful. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 33, evil communications can corrupt good manners. Often I find in my life greater confusion when fellowshipping with compromised believers. than when trying to share my testimony with someone that I know to be lost. And so we're reminded in 2 Corinthians 6 that we're not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? We need to be careful if we're in a spiritual yoke, if we're doing God's work, to be very, very, very, very sure that we're not giving credibility to someone that doesn't even know the gospel. In fact, he goes on, and what conquered hath Christ with Belial, or what part hath one that believes with an infidel, and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. We must practice, then, carefulness. We must practice carefulness. We are those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. And so we're always on guard to earnestly contend for the faith. Even as in the early days of the church, they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine. We need to be discerning about our doctrine. As Titus 1.9 says, we hold fast the faithful word as we have been taught, that we might with sound doctrine exhort and convince the gainsayers that we're to speak the things which become sound doctrine. As I said, back in the 1950s, there was a great deal of... emphasis on cooperation for evangelism to reach our communities for Christ. Let me ask, how many in the room have ever been to a cooperative evangelistic campaign, say in a stadium or a great civic center where an evangelist was coming to town and the church where you participated or a friend invited you to be there? Let's see your hands around this room. Okay, I remember these days. I remember back in the 1970s, my father was asked to be the campaign secretary for Jack Van Ippie's citywide crusade in the place where my father was serving. And he did it with joy. I'd never seen a room so full of people for a religious purpose. Even as I was asked yesterday, do we think that we could ever see such gatherings again? Well, there are those who over the years have become a little bit phobic about such gatherings. Because in truth, The results of evangelistic cooperation have become well-known. And I want to be careful this evening as I introduce some of those results. What happens when we fail to assess our cooperation? We are cooperating together with the great purpose of being gospel-centered. I want to talk for just a moment about probably the person who filled more arenas, and this week his life has been in the news, and I intend to go home this evening and watch more about that. I have known many, many believers who come to Christ as Savior through the ministry of Billy Graham over the years. In fact, in my last ministry, our music pastor in whose home the church started, he and his brother both trusted Jesus Christ as Savior in the Madison Square Garden campaign in 1957 under the ministry of Billy Graham. I don't think we can begin to imagine what it must have been like when Billy Graham entered heaven recently. Can you imagine? Don't you desire just for one person to say you were instrumental in my residence here? Imagine the welcome that he received from so many who across the globe came to know Christ as Savior. Billy Graham was widely known to cooperate with just about anyone if he could fill a stadium to share the gospel. And let me say every time he shared the gospel in those stadiums, he really shared the gospel. I've listened to many messages by Billy Graham. I've never heard him to preach anything but the straight truth of God's Word. And the cord strings of my heart resonate when I hear such things. But if you've been with us the last couple of weeks, you might find the following statement a little bit difficult. Back in 1961, Billy Graham was quoted in Lutheran Standard Magazine, October of 61, saying, I still have some personal problems in this matter of infant baptism, but all of my children... Now, Billy Graham was a member of First Baptist Church Dallas, W.A. Criswell was his pastor. And he says, all of my children, with the exception of the youngest, were baptized as infants. He continues, I do believe that something happens at the baptism of an infant. We can understand the mysteries of God, but believe a miracle can happen in these children so that they are regenerated. That is made Christians through infant baptism. Billy Graham was married to a Presbyterian wife. I think on some of these matters, he deferred to her direction. When I read this to my wife, she having come up through infant baptism as a Lutheran, commented, well, if he saw something happen in the four, why would he deny the fifth infant baptism? His youngest son, Ned, apparently never enjoyed the blessing of this mystery that's spoken of here. Folks, that's not what Billy Graham preached in the great assembly halls where God brought people into the sound of the gospel. That's confusion. I believe a miracle can happen in these children so that they're regenerated. That's made a Christian through infant baptism. There were many people who were shocked back in 1957 when Billy Graham was on Robert Shuler's television program out of the Crystal Cathedral. Shuler asked, tell me, what do you think is the future of Christianity? Graham responded, well, Christianity and being a true believer, you know, I think there's the body of Christ. This comes from all the Christian groups around the world, outside the Christian groups. Then he continues, it's kind of interesting here. I think everybody that loves Christ or knows Christ, whether they're conscious of it or not, they're members of the body of Christ. He continued, I believe God's purpose for this age is to call out of out of people for his name. And that's what he is doing today. He's calling out of the world for his name. And right there, I'd say amen to that. But then he continues, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they're members of the body of Christ because they've been called of God. Then this, they may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don't have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think that they're saved. I think they're going to be with us in heaven. Robert Schuller was confused by the comment, and he followed up. Well, what I hear you saying is that it's possible for Jesus Christ to come into human hearts and souls, even if they're born in darkness and have never been exposed to the Bible. Is that a correct interpretation of what you're saying? Graham says, yes. Yes, it is. I believe that. I've met many people in various parts of the world in tribal situations. They've never seen a Bible. They've never heard about a Bible. They've never heard about Jesus. But they believed in their hearts that there was a God and they've tried to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding community in which they live. Schuller's taken aback. He says, I'm so thrilled to hear you say this, that there's a wideness to God's mercy. And Graham says, yes, yes, there is. Folks, I want to be careful. But Acts 4 and verse 12 says, neither is there salvation in any other. There's no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me. And the Apostle Paul, who would sacrifice his life for the cause of sharing the gospel where it had not been heard, would write in Romans 10, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him whom they've not believed? How shall they believe on him whom they've not heard? And how are they going to hear without a preacher? It's a blessing to have Brett come this evening. He and Brittany are heading to South Africa to share the gospel. If people could receive Christ without missionaries coming and preaching the gospel, there'd be no need for him to be out on deputation. But there is a need. You see, it's possible for a person to be right about the doctrine of salvation and wrong about the doctrine of separation. And once this occurs, the word of God gives to us a command. We're to separate from them. And that can be really hard. Now, we command you, brethren, it's not a suggestion. You're still with me. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks disorderly and not after the word tradition, no time to expound upon that word tradition. But that word tradition actually is speaking of the nuances and ramifications of the revelation of the New Testament. When a person walks away from what's clearly taught in God's Word, the Word of God says we withdraw ourselves from them. Why? Because there's a corruption to avoid. There's a corruption to avoid. Isn't it all about the gospel, pastor? May God help me to have a heart that always rejoices in sharing the gospel. But there's a corruption that we ought to avoid. Titus says we're to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. And to do this, quite honestly, we need to sometimes avoid cooperation. We avoid cooperation when the word of God, when the word of God is in question. Isaiah 8 and verse 20 says, to the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it's because there's no light in them. Our commission, 2 Timothy 4 and verse 2, is to preach the word, be instant, in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. Galatians 1 reminds us, but though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which is preached, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men or God? Do I seek to please men or do I seek to please God? And if I please men, Paul says, I would not be the servant of Jesus Christ. So we have to be ever vigilant about our proclamation. We have to be ever pure with how we share God's word. We can't adulterate it, we can't negotiate it, and we can't cooperate it away. And there's something else that we need to avoid. The corruption of this world. The corruption of this world. Now, remember I said back in the 50s, people cooperated for evangelistic purposes and great evangelists were greatly used, but often with confusion. Today, arenas are being filled up, not necessarily for edification, but certainly for, or for evangelism rather, but certainly for edification. Authors, radio speakers, filling large arenas with people who are professing believers, And it is part of the Great Commission that we're to teach them to observe all things. But we need to be careful. James says this, pure religion is this, to keep himself unspotted from the world. Romans 12 says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Holy, H-O-L-Y. and be not conformed to this world. It's not about how close we can get to the world. We are not to be sheep in wolves' clothing. We're to be sheep who are watching out for the wolves who are coming in sheep's clothing. We're to present our bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind that we may present and prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Back in 2009, Peter Masters, who is the pastor of what's commonly known as Spurgeon's Tabernacle, the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, England, a phenomenal Bible teacher, Very Calvinistic in his persuasion. God has used this man since the 1970s. He's a very dear friend of our own friend, Dr. Whitcomb. Peter Masters went to the Metropolitan Tabernacle in the 70s, and the place was falling down around him. And by faithfully preaching and expositing God's Word, that ministry that's so known for what God did there under Spurgeon now has over 1,000 people gathering Lord's Day by Lord's Day. We thank the Lord for that. Peter Masters still writes the Sword in the Trowel, the old magazine that originally was edited by Charles Spurgeon. I want you to listen to his words. These are Peter Masters' words. They summarize my burden so beautifully, I think I'll just agree with them and conclude. Peter Masters says, when I was a youngster, newly saved, it seemed as if the chief goal of all zealous Christians, whether Calvinistic or Arminian, was consecration. Sermons, books, and conferences stress the spirit of Romans 12, 1 and 2. Wherefore, beseeching, the apostle Paul calls believers to present their bodies living sacrifices. Not conformed to this world, Masters continues, the heart was challenged and stirred. Christ was to be the Lord of our life. Self must be surrendered on the altar of service to him. Then he continues, a recent book, Young, Restless and Reformed by Colin Hansen tells the story of how a so-called Calvinistic resurgence has captured the imaginations of thousands of young people in the USA. And this book has been reviewed with great enthusiasm in well-known magazines here in the UK, such as Banner of Truth and Evangelical Times and Reformation Today. He's writing from England about what he's seeing in America. He continues. The author begins by describing the Passion Conference in Atlanta in 2007, where 21,000 young people reveled in contemporary music and listened to speakers such as John Piper proclaiming Calvinistic sentiments. This picture is repeated many times through the book, large conferences being described in which the syncretism of worldly sensation-stirring, high-decibel rhythmic music is mixed with Calvinistic doctrine. This gives a clear picture of what New Calvinism is about. We are told of thunderous music, thousands of hands raised, Christian hip-hop and rap lyrics. The examples seem inept and awkward in construction, uniting the doctrines of grace with the immoral, drug-induced musical forms of worldly culture. Peter Masters continues, the New Calvinists constantly extol the Puritans. They do not want to worship or live as the Puritans worshipped and lived. One of the vaunted new conferences is called Resolved, after Jonathan Edwards' famous youthful resolutions, 70 searching undertakings. But the culture of this conference would unquestionably have met with outright condemnation of that great theologian. Resolved is the brainchild of a member of John MacArthur's pastoral staff, gathering thousands of young people annually and featuring the usual mix of Calvinism and extreme charismatic style worship. Young people are encouraged to feel the very same sensational nervous impact of loud rhythmic music on the body that they would experience in a large worldly pop concert complete with replicated lighting and atmosphere. At the same time, they reflect on predestination and election. Worldly culture provides the bodily emotional feelings into which Christian thought are infused and flouted. Biblical sentiments are harnessed to carnal entertainment. Masters continues, in times of disobedience, the Jews of old syncretized by going to the temple or the synagogue on the Sabbath and to idle temples on weekdays. But the new Calvinism has found a way of uniting spiritually incompatible things at the same time in the same meeting. C.J. Mahaney is a preacher highly applauded in this book. Mahaney, charismatic in belief and practice, appears to be wholly accepted with the other big names who are featured in the new Calvinistic conferences, like John Piper, and John MacArthur, and Mark Dever, and Al Mohler, evidently an extremely personable, friendly man. C.J. Mahaney is the founder of a group of churches blending Calvinism with charismatic ideas, and is reputed to have influenced many Calvinists to throw away their cessationist views. In other words, it's okay to speak in tongues, to claim miracles, and for C.J. Mahaney to claim to be an apostle. He claims to be an apostle. He continues, a final sad spectacle reported with enthusiasm in the book is the Together for the Gospel Conference. Running from 2006 and forward, a more adult affair convened by respected Calvinist, this nevertheless brings together cessationist and non-cessationist, traditional and contemporary worship exponents. While maintaining sound preaching, I love the balance of Peter Masters. While maintaining sound preaching, it conditions all who attend to relax in these controversial matters and learn to accept every point of view. In other words, the ministry of warning is killed off so that every error on the new scene may race ahead unchecked. These are tragic days for authentic spiritual faithfulness and worship and piety. We find it in the challenging conviction, he says, we find a challenging conviction, rather, in the call of Joshua. And then he cites, now therefore fear God, serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which our father served on the other side of the flood in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it seemed evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we'll serve the Lord." The picture that is there in front of you has an unusual list of speakers. There's C.J. Mahaney right behind the shoulder of John MacArthur. MacArthur is the author of a wonderful book entitled Charismatic Chaos. And C.J. Mahaney is a charismatic. Just behind MacArthur's shoulder, Al Mohler, a Southern Baptist professor, actually not professor, president of Southern Theological Seminary in Louisville. His statements on all things culture are fabulous to be considered. I try to listen to him and read him as much as I can. And yet in front of him, John Piper. John Piper's open. to the possibility of tongues being spoken while he says, I've never spoken in tongues myself. It's interesting to see Ligon Duncan, who of course is very reformed in his outlook now. They're reformed saying babies are not baptized to be regenerated like Billy Graham once said. They're saying babies are baptized into the covenant. But folks, if we're going to be wise as serpent and harmless as doves, once in a while we have to take an assessment of the culture in which we live. gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ and as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lust. So I ask the question tonight, in what way are you different from the world? And in what way do you expect the church of the living Christ to be different from the world? And so as we make assessment and watch cultural trends, may God help us with discernment to say, Lord, I find myself troubled. I have an obligation to holiness. I have an obligation to carefulness. And so as I meet these obligations, Lord, help me and help us to walk with wisdom until he comes or until he calls us home. Let's stand together, please, as we pray. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed. Father, this evening, we confess that we have we have walked together where angels are fearful to tread. Lord, if I have said something that is out of context or that wrought confusion, Lord, if I've said something that isn't spoken with wisdom or spoken in love, God, I pray that you'd forgive me for it. But Lord, I pray that you'd help us to realize. That your word has given to us the challenge. That the grace of God that brings salvation, having appeared to all men, teaches us. It teaches us to avoid ungodliness and worldly lust, it teaches us to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the great God and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So may we live soberly, righteously and godly. And while many would turn, because ears today are itching, as we gather around this table this evening, Lord, we pray that you would help us to gather with great deliberation and concern. For none of us are worthy, and all of us come here trembling. considering ourselves, lest we receive upon ourselves even condemnation. O God, forgive us, for we have conformed ourselves so often We find ourselves so at home in the world that our evangelistic zeal has been diminished. While our heads are often full, our hearts are often cold. So warm our hearts this evening, Lord, as we reflect upon the body of Jesus which is broken and His blood that was shed. For it's in His name we pray. Amen.