Practicing Discernment in Searching for Christian Websites

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Whether we want to admit it or not, the Internet is a marvelous invention. However, it can also be with its perils just like any scientific innovation meant to help us. The telephone which can be used to bridge long distances can also be used to distance people using malicious slander. The Internet is no different. There are plenty of obvious sites that Christians are to avoid (such as sites that promote violence, occultism, false religion, and the like). However, what’s often ignored is that the search for Christian websites to learn more about Christianity can be far more tricky. Dr. John F. MacArthur’s book Fool’s Gold warns that not all that glitters is gold. The same goes when a Christian searches for Christian websites. Not every website that seems to glorify God is of God or edifying to the Christian ministry.

Practicing Discernment in the Christian Bookstore

Christian bookstores are definitely the places where newly-saved people want to go but have really so little discernment. I remembered having had the thrill into one and acting like a child seeing candy. The difference was I was using my savings to go there to buy the books I wanted. There were many fascinating materials in there especially about the cults, expository preaching, biographies, and inspirations to name a few. Then there are just some books you want to be careful about.

The book Fool’s Gold by John F. MacArthur had its second division called “Practicing Discernment in Your Local Bookstore”. A Christian bookstore can be a place to get good material. What’s often ignored is that Satan can infiltrate it in one form or another. Some materials may seem to be enlightening but it’s so full of half-truths. Writers Nathan Busenitz manages to tackle on seeker-friendly The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren. Reading through the sections which included other books made me think about that lack of discernment I once practiced.

The Goodness of God and the Total Depravity of Man

The story of the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22, Mark 17:17-27, and Luke 18:18–30) has him asking Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied in all three accounts,. “Why do you call me good? There is no one good but God.” This is where things get tough to show how we’re all cut short of the glory of God. Jesus wasn’t denying His own divinity. Rather, Jesus was challenging the rich young ruler to think what it means to be good. This is where the goodness of God and the total depravity of man is shown. The rich young ruler had the audacity to say, “All these I have kept since childhood.” Jesus then said, “Yet you still lack one. You must sell your possessions, give to the poor and follow Me.” However, this resulted in the rich young ruler leaving for he had many possessions. Jesus then showed the problem of the rich. It wasn’t impossible but it was hard for the rich or those who trusted in their possessions to enter Heaven. Such a show revealed that it was impossible to keep the whole Law.

Understanding Repentance

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Repentance is a word that can get one confused. I remembered one time I heard of the message to repent of your sins and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. The hymn “Victory in Jesus” talks about repentance of sin that led to victory. It would be very important to understand what is repentance. Repentance is most often viewed as being truly sorry for what one has done. It’s being sorry for your sins. It’s like saying he repents of his adultery, meaning he’s truly sorry of his adultery. He repents of being unreasonable, meaning he’s truly sorry for his being unreasonable. Now, let’s take a deeper meaning of the word repentance in the Greek and in theological terms. The word repent in Greek is metanoneo (μετανοώ) while repentance is metanoneia (μετάνοια) which is characterized by a change of mind that results in a change in purpose. Being truly sorry results to a change of mind that results in a change of purpose. The message has always been for people to repent (be sorry or change their minds) because the Kingdom of God is at hand.

Paul David Washer Doesn’t Preach a Washed Up Gospel

Paul David Washer is another person falsely accused of preaching a washed-up gospel. I’ve started to listen to some of his sermons and I don’t find any accusation of him teaching salvation by works or saying you can lose your salvation. It’s often misinterpreted that Reformed Theology makes salvation complicated by insisting that truth faith begets works. The stand of Reformed Theology is to be biblical. He said in one of his latest sermons that the reformers just wanted to be biblical. Now, we can think about why his gospel is not washed up and the sermon “The Shocking Youth Message” is what we need to hear.

Apologetics with Ray Comfort of Way of the Master

Ray Comfort is of the Way of the Master series and of Living Waters. He is another source of apologetics and isn’t afraid to speak the discomforting truth that people need to hear. Two of his famous videos are Hell’s Best Kept Secret and True and False Conversion which talk about the problem of today’s churches. The two videos show the problem of modern-day evangelism and the marks of a truly saved person vs. one who isn’t truly saved.

Reformed Apologetics with Ligonier Ministries

Although the late Robert Charles Sproul Sr. had gone home to be with the LORD, Ligonier Ministries should (and still) remain as one of the most valuable sources of Christian apologetics. He is a Presbyterian preacher and founder of the said ministries. Ligonier has several apologists that still continue his job such as Steven Lawson, Stephen Nichols, and W. Robert Godfrey to name a few. Sproul also had a long friendship with Reformed Baptist pastor, John F. MacArthur, of Grace to You.