Saturday, October 04, 2025

 

First Last

Matthew 19 and 20      The Last First, The First Last
ἐγόγγυζον   Gonzo the Great!  
Did you notice the order is reversed? :  Matt 19:30 "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Matt 20:1,16 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard…. So the last will be first, and the first last."
The parable is not about salvation but service. The denarius does not stand for salvation or eternal life, because salvation is not by good works (Eph. 2:8–9; Titus 3:5–6).
Christ is not talking about rewards for service. God will reward His own differently according to their service (1 Cor. 3:8; John 4:36). If the denarius stands for rewards, then God is not fair, for every worker got the same reward!
No this parable is about the motives of people's hearts. In fact it is about the response Peter asked after the Lord met the rich young ruler.
The rich young man who came to Jesus refused to give Him His all and follow the Lord Jesus. And he went away very disappointed.    The rich young man had not forsaken everything to follow Jesus.
Then Peter said in reply, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?"
"when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
But the Lord detected in Peter's question a problem: There was some heart disease there.  He was serving Christ for what he Peter would get out of it!
So the Lord Jesus gave a warning:  Matt 19:30 "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Then He tells a parable, and ends with the same statement, but in reverse so you notice it!     
This parable is dealing with Peter's heart problem.
Matt 20:1,16 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard…. So the last will be first, and the first last."
It is dealing with yours and my heart problems.
10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the    master of the house,"
Are you humbly grateful or grumbly hateful?
Grumbling often indicates heart problems.
It did with the Psalmist in Psalm 73.  He had a problem.
This parable has nothing to do with salvation. The denarius (a day's wages in that time) does not represent salvation, for nobody works for his salvation. Nor is the parable talking about rewards, for we are not all going to receive the same reward. "And every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour" (1 Cor. 3:8).
The parable is emphasizing a right attitude in service.
DO YOU HAVE A RIGHT ATTITUDE ABOUT SERVING THE LORD?
Don't Bargain With God!
It is important to note that there were actually two kinds of workers hired that day: those who wanted a contract and agreed to work for a denarius a day, and those who had no contract and agreed to take whatever the owner thought was right. The first laborers that he hired insisted on a contract. But the other workers all trusted that the owner to give them what was right.
This explains why the householder paid the workers as he did: He wanted those who were hired first (who insisted on a contract) to see how much he paid the workers who were hired later. It was one way the owner could show those workers how really generous he was.
Put yourself in the place of those workers who were hired first but paid last. They each expected to get a denarius, because that was what they agreed to accept. But imagine their surprise when they saw the laborers who were hired last each receiving a denarius! This meant their own wages should have been twelve denarii each!
But the three o'clock workers also received a denarius—for only three hours of work. The men last in line quickly recalculated their wages: four denarii for the day's work. When the men hired at noon also were paid a denarius, this cut the salary of the contract workers considerably, for now they would earn only two denarii.
But the owner gave them one denarius each. Of course, they complained! But they had no argument, because they had agreed to work for a denarius. They received what they asked for. Had they trusted the goodness of the owner, they would have received far more. But they insisted on a contract.
The lesson for you and I as Christ's disciples is that we should not serve Him because we want to receive an expected reward, and we should not insist on knowing what we will get. God is infinitely generous and gracious and will always give us better than we deserve.  What the Lord wants is that we should trust in Him. We should trust His generosity.  We should trust His Grace.
Do you remember the old prayer we used to say before eating.  Have you said grace?
"God is gracious, God is good and we thank Him for our food Amen!"
We must trust Him for who He is.  God is gracious!  God is good!  Trust Him for who He is, trust Him unreservedly and believe that He will always give what is best. That is the link back to Psalm 73 which we read earlier this morning.  The Psalmist tripped up when he was looking for comfort and rewards now!  Respect now! What he should have looked at was God.  He should have recognized that all He needed was really God Himself.
I am continually with thee, Thou hast hold of me by thy right hand!
The nearness of God is my good!  This is better than current rewards of blessings.
He wants us to trust Him and not ourselves!
He calls us to trust Him.  He calls us personally to trust Him without a contract!
There is the danger of pride. "What shall we have?" asked Peter. This parable warned him, "How do you know you will have anything?" Beware of overconfidence when it comes to the rewards God will give, for those first in their own eyes (and in the eyes of others) may end up last! Likewise, do not get discouraged, for those who consider themselves "unprofitable servants" may end up first.
BEWARE OF WATCHING OTHER WORKERS
Beware of the danger of watching other workers and measuring yourself by them. "Judge nothing before the time," Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 4:5. We see the worker and the work, but God sees the heart.
John 21:21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?"22 Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!"
When we get our eyes off the Lord and start watching other believers there will be symptoms.  We will get an "evil eye" vs 15. Or is your eye envious because I am generous? NASB Or is your eye evil because I am good? NKJV
We will look at them and not see anything good about them!
When we start comparing, we start coveting and we start complaining. We will never be satisfied with what God gives but we will always want what someone else has.
I want his popularity!  I want his powers! I want his prestige!
All of this leads to a bitter attitude towards God..We get the feeling that God has given us a raw deal!
It is a sin for Christians to watch one another and judge one another for the sake of feeling better abut ourselves.
BEWARE OF THINKING GOD IS UNJUST
Finally, we must beware of criticizing God and feeling that we have been left out. Had the early morning workers trusted the owner and not asked for an agreement, the owner would have given them much more. He was generous, but they would not trust him. They did not rejoice that others received more; instead, they were jealous and complained. The goodness of the owner did not lead them to repentance (Rom. 2:4). It revealed the true character of their hearts: They were selfish! Whenever we find a complaining servant, we know he has not fully yielded to the master's will.
We must watch our motives for Christian service. The right work done with the wrong motive dishonours God and robs us of the blessing. It is a solemn thing to realize that Christians whom we may admire today will be ―last at the final reckoning at the Judgment Seat of Christ because their motives were wrong. We cannot judge motives (7:1–3), but we can judge our own hearts. Let's do all for the glory of God because we love Him.
Remember God is Good
Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?'
Matt 19:28 You who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
There is No Competition      Competing for $'s   Competing for Position Competing for Power
Competing to Prove one's self
Why Do You Serve God? For a denarii?  The Search For Significance?  Gee
The Performance Trap             The Fear of Failure.  God's answer is justification.
The Approval Trap  From a wrong view of others, the fear of rejection.  God's Answer – Reconciliation
Why Do You Serve God?
Romans 12: 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Remember God is Good
Remember God is Great
I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?
Remember God is Gracious
"Or do you begrudge my generosity?"   I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, Rom 12:1
If Christians tend to grumble, commiserate, and feel sorry for themselves, is it because they've forgotten grace? Murmuring stems from a belief that one deserves something more. As a result, they're never happy and become a complaining people. In this parable of the workers in the vineyard from Matthew 20:1–16, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that the murmuring person has forgotten that everything is grace. To illustrate this point, Jesus gives us the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. This sermon highlights the grumbling of those who have been in the faith for a long time. They are complainers; they feel they deserve more than the others. They started out well, but got into trouble later on. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones applies this parable to the human condition today. Christians have the gospel of Jesus Christ, but if they do not continue in it, they get into the same trouble. They become entitled and believe they deserve more. What they forget is this: it's all grace. It's always been grace. In the Christian life, all is grace, from the beginning to the end. Christians are called to do all things without murmuring. What a tragedy when Christian people become miserable. What a tragedy when they murmur. The same grace that saved them keeps them. Listen and rejoice––it is all of grace.
The parable of the laborers in the vineyard illustrates the principle that everything in the Christian life is by grace from beginning to end.
How not to be great in God's sight (20-25)i
Sometimes we can profit as much by learning what not to do as what to do, and the disciples here reveal plenty not to do. If a person wants to be great in God's sight (which, by the way, is a very noble goal to achieve), he must not employ self-serving ambition.
Self-serving ambition (20-22a).
Self-confidence (22b-23),  You don't know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" And their immediate answer is: "We can,"
Phony indignation (24). "When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers."
Raw power (25) "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them."
I would say this has a slightly different nuance from the rulers who lord it over their subjects, so I refer to it as "charismatic influence."
Charismatic influence (25) "and their high officials exercise authority over them." the powers of popularity and personality to wield personal influence. Christian leadership has to a large extent become a cult of personality.
How to truly be great in God's sight (26-28)
Serve others. (26-27) Jesus turns things completely upside down in respect to greatness. He says, "Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave."
The first last, the last first.
"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe."
The last will be first and the first, last.
The way up is down.
The one who wants to become a leader must become a servant.
 


 

Romans 3 the greatest paragraph by HB Charles

THE GREATEST PARAGRAPH EVER WRITTEN 
ROMANS 3:21-26
In his Ars Poetica, written in 19 B.C., the Roman poet Horace advised writers, "Do not bring a god onto the stage, unless the problem is one that deserves a god to solve it." Romans is the best example of this advice at work. Paul begins this letter with a God-sized problem: sin.
 
Romans 3:10-12 indicts us all: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." Left to ourselves, we are guilty, condemned, helpless sinners. How can sinners get right with God? Various religions offer different answers. There is only one right answer. Romans 3:21-26 states the right answer clearly, fully, and powerfully: God saves sinners through faith in Christ alone. 
 
Romans 1:16-17 is Paul's thesis statement: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'" The "righteousness of God" is the dominating theme of Romans. We associate salvation with divine love. Righteousness is the primary issue. God is holy; we are not. God's righteousness demands that sin be punished. Romans 6:23a says, "The wages of sin is death." The way of salvation must satisfy God's righteousness.
 
How can sinners get right with God? Romans 3:21-26 answers: God saves sinners through faith in Christ alone. Leon Morris said, "In what is possibly the most important single paragraph ever written, Paul brings out something of the grandeur of Christ's saving work." Romans 3:21-26 explains three ways God's righteousness saves sinners through faith in Christ.
 
I. Righteousness Manifested
 
Romans 3:20 says, "For by the works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." To-do list religion does not produce the righteousness that God accepts.
 
Verse 21 begins with a dramatic contrast: "But now..." Having presented the bad news of sin, Paul now presents the good news of salvation. How is righteousness manifested? 
 
A. Not By Good Works
 
Verse 21 says, "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law." The "righteousness of God" is the theme of this paragraph. The phrase occurs in verses 21-22. Verse 25 mentions "God's righteousness." Verse 26 speaks of "his righteousness."  "Manifested" is not the presentation of something new. It is the revelation of that which has been hidden. At the cross, God's righteousness has been manifested "apart from the law." Adherence to the law of Moses in the Old Covenant does not make you right with God. God's righteousness is manifested apart from the law. In what John Bengel called "a sweet antithesis," Paul adds, "the law and the prophets bear witness to it."
 
The Bible consists of sixty-six books written by more than forty authors in three languages across two testaments over 1,500 years. Yet it is one grand story that progresses, integrates, and climaxes in Christ. John 5:39-40 says, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life."
 
B. By Faith In Christ Alone
 
Verse 21 asserts what righteousness manifested is not. Verse 22 summarizes what it is: "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." This is the essence of the gospel. Verse 22 calls the gospel "the righteousness of God" for the second time. It is the way God saves sinners without violating his holy character. It is how God righteously righteouses the unrighteous without becoming unrighteous. God's righteousness in salvation is manifested "through faith." The 16th-century Protestant Reformers emphasized that justification is by faith alone. Faith is only as good as its object. The object of saving-faith is "Jesus Christ."
 
Only God saves! He saves through faith in Jesus Christ. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life." The gospel works "for all who believe." The finished work of Christ is sufficient for all; efficient to save those who believe. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." 
 
II. Righteousness Provided
 
God demands righteousness. What God demands, God supplies. How does God provide righteousness in Christ? 
 
A. All Are Sinners
Verse 22 ends with the beginning of a sentence: "For there is no distinction."
 
Race-based distinctions are antithetical to the gospel. Romans 10:12-13 says, "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" Verse 23 explains why there is no distinction: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." This is the most clear-cut statement about sin in the Bible. 
 
We are sinners. Verse 23 says, "All have sinned." "All" levels the playing field. No one is exempt. All are sinners. "Sinned" means "to miss the mark." It pictures an archer who shoots the arrow but misses the bullseye. We may miss the mark differently. But all have sinned.
 
The grammar indicates a snapshot in time. You are not on trial awaiting a verdict about your sinfulness. The charges are true. The evidence is airtight. The judge has ruled. The verdict is in. The case is closed. Romans 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." 
 
We fall short. As sinners, we "fall short of the glory of God." We are in a race we can never win. The sinfulness of sin weighs us down, slows us up, and wears us out. We come late, lag behind, and fall short. "Sinned" is a snapshot in time. "Fall short" is a video showing our continual failure to do God's will. We keep falling short of the glory of God. None of us lives up to God's righteous standard. Bishop Handley Moule wrote: "The harlot, the liar, the murderer, are short of it; but so are you. Perhaps they stand at the bottom of a mine, and you on the crest of an Alp; but you are as little able to touch the stars as they." 
 
B. All Can Be Saved
 
Paul uses three terms to describe God's saving work in Christ. 
 
Justification. Verse 24 says that sinners are "justified by his grace as a gift." "Justified" is a forensic term that means "to declare righteous." Justification is more than forgiveness. It is to impute righteousness by divine decree. How does God righteous the unrighteous? Verse 24 says it is "by his grace." Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith." Justification is by his grace "as a gift" – without payment of money. John 15:25 says, "They hated me without a cause." That's how God saves us: "without a cause." "As a gift" corresponds with "apart from the law" in verse 21. We are not saved by what we do or do not do. We are saved by his grace as a gift. Romans 4:4-5 says: "Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness." 
 
Redemption. Verse 24 says we are saved "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." "Redemption" is a commercial term that means to set free from bondage by the payment of a price. Slaves, debtors, and criminals were placed in bondage. They could only be set free if someone intervened to pay the price. This is the reality of sin. John 8:34 says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin." Sin is bondage. We cannot liberate ourselves. But God paid the price for us "in Christ Jesus." Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus lived the life we should have lived. At the cross, he died the death we should have died. His crucifixion and resurrection redeem sinners. Colossians 1:14 says, "In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." 
 
Propitiation. Verse 25 says, "God put forward as a propitiation by his blood." "Propitiation" is the averting of wrath by a sacrificial offering. The blood of Jesus satisfied God's wrath against sin. God put Christ forward as a propitiation by his blood. We contributed nothing. It was all of God! 1 John 4:10 says, "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." This love gift is "to be received by faith." William Cowper was a troubled young man who tried to commit suicide multiple times. While hospitalized for depression, Cowper read a Bible open to Romans 4:25. He wrote, "Immediately I received the strength to believe it. I saw the sufficiency of the atonement Jesus had made, my pardon sealed in his blood, in all the fullness and completeness of his justification." Have you trusted the blood and righteousness of Christ for salvation? 
 
III. Righteousness Vindicated
 
The greatest paragraph ever written has addressed two crucial questions.
 
There remains one more question to answer: Is God right to justify sinners? 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." How does God forgive sins and remain faithful and just? 
 
A. God's Forbearance 
 
Verse 25 states God's purpose for our justification, redemption, and propitiation in Christ: "This was to show God's righteousness." We often think about what the cross accomplished for us. We seldom think about what God did for God at the cross. The death of Christ vindicated God's holiness, justice, and righteousness. Why would God need to prove his righteousness? It is "because in his divine forbearance he has passed over former sins." God has not "passed over former sins" because God is unjust. It is because of "divine forbearance."
 
Divine forbearance is not a license to sin. It is a call to repentance. Romans 2:4 asks, "Or do not presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" Hear and heed this warning today. You may get by, but you will not get away. Run to the cross! Acts 17:30-31 says, "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."
 
B. God's Forgiveness
 
Verse 25 repeats and reinforces verse 24. Why does God save through faith in Christ alone? Verse 25 answers: "It is to show his righteousness at the present time." "The present time" began at the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ and continues in the proclamation of the gospel today. In the finished work of Christ, God shows himself to be "just and the justifier."
 
Both paradoxical acts are true without contradiction. Psalm 85:10 says, "Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other." That kiss happened at Calvary. At the cross, God punished Christ so that he might pardon us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." This great exchange is available to "the one who has faith in Jesus." Saving faith is more than mental assent or agreement. A Christian believes in Jesus as a characteristic of life. We are not saved by faith plus works. God saves sinners by faith in Christ alone. 
 
John Newton – a converted drunk, blasphemer, and slave-trader – wrote the hymn, Amazing Grace. In his later years, Newton often lost his memory in the pulpit and would need to be reminded of what he was preaching. On one occasion, Newton said, "My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner and that Jesus is a great Savior!" Is that your testimony? 

Thursday, October 02, 2025

 

Matthew 19 and 20      The Last First, The First Last

ἐγόγγυζον   Gonzo the Great!
Then Peter said in reply, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?"
"when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
Matt 19:30 "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Matt 20:1,16 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard…. So the last will be first, and the first last."
10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the              master of the house,"
Remember God is Good
Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?'
 
Matt 19:28 You who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
There is No Competition     Did you notice
Competing for $'s   
Competing for Position
Competing for Power
Competing to Prove one's self
Why Do You Serve God? For a denarii?
The Search For Significance?  Gee
The Performance Trap
The Approval Trap
The Fear of Punishment Trap
The Shame and Hopeless Game
The Performance Trap             The Fear of Failure.  God's answer is justification.
The Approval Trap  From a wrong view of others, the fear of rejection.  God's Answer – Reconciliation
The Fear of Punishment Trap  The fear of punishment; punishing others; blaming others for personal failures   God's Answer – Propitiation
The Shame and Hopeless Game    Fear of being useless. My past experiences have ruined my future. God's Answer - Regeneration
Why Do You Serve God?
Romans 12: 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Remember God is Good
Remember  God is Great
I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?
Remember  God is Gracious
"Or do you begrudge my generosity?"
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, Rom 12:1
If Christians tend to grumble, commiserate, and feel sorry for themselves, is it because they've forgotten grace? Murmuring stems from a belief that one deserves something more. As a result, they're never happy and become a complaining people. In this parable of the workers in the vineyard from Matthew 20:1–16, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that the murmuring person has forgotten that everything is grace. To illustrate this point, Jesus gives us the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. This sermon highlights the grumbling of those who have been in the faith for a long time. They are complainers; they feel they deserve more than the others. They started out well, but got into trouble later on. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones applies this parable to the human condition today. Christians have the gospel of Jesus Christ, but if they do not continue in it, they get into the same trouble. They become entitled and believe they deserve more. What they forget is this: it's all grace. It's always been grace. In the Christian life, all is grace, from the beginning to the end. Christians are called to do all things without murmuring. What a tragedy when Christian people become miserable. What a tragedy when they murmur. The same grace that saved them keeps them. Listen and rejoice––it is all of grace.
The parable of the laborers in the vineyard illustrates the principle that everything in the Christian life is by grace from beginning to end.
 


 

Evolution

Scientists Who Reject the Theory of Evolution :


Many scientists have opposed evolution, responding that it is a false theory without evidence. Among them are:



1-David Berlinski, a mathematician, molecular biologist, and philosopher, is one of the most famous critics of evolution. He sees it as something promoted among people under the name of science and fact, while in reality, his doubts about it only grew as science advanced. He publicly declared this skepticism in Commentary magazine in 1996 in an article titled The Deniable Darwin. In recent years, he published his famous book The Devil's Delusion (2008), and his interviews are filled with remarks about how real scientists mock evolution. They also contain biting scientific sarcasm directed at the imaginary assumptions of evolution and its fatal weaknesses.

Likewise, Michael Denton, a biochemist, once believed in evolution, but as he discovered dozens of fatal flaws with the progress of molecular biology, he authored his famous book Evolution: A Theory in Crisis (1985). This was one of the first books in the modern era to turn the theory of evolution upside down. He also contributed to many scientific documentaries about the exquisite precision and signs of intelligent design in life, Earth, and the universe, all the way to humankind. His work Nature's Destiny (1998) was later translated as well.



2-Michael Behe, a biochemist and professor at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, also began doubting evolution as his scientific specialization deepened and new discoveries emerged—especially after reading Denton's Evolution: A Theory in Crisis. He found that all the points Denton raised indeed refuted random, chance-based evolution. Behe then authored his famous book Darwin's Black Box (1996). He became one of the most prominent founders of the academic framework of Intelligent Design, particularly through his concept of irreducible complexity, which he argued demonstrates the impossibility of gradual, random evolution over time and instead points toward teleology in the sudden appearance of complex organs by some designer.



3-William Dembski, an American mathematician and philosopher, is also a strong opponent of Darwin's theory of natural selection. Dembski argues that the details of living organisms can be described in similar terms, particularly molecular sequence patterns in functional biological molecules such as DNA. His discussion of specified complexity has been highly controversial in the scientific community. Supporters of Intelligent Design consider it a legitimate research program investigating the effects of an intelligent cause—studying its effects but not the cause itself. Accordingly, since the identity of causes outside a closed system cannot be tested from within it, questions regarding the identity of the designer fall outside the concept's boundaries. He co-authored The Design of Life with Jonathan Wells, a book considered one of the strongest scientific critiques of evolutionary theory.



4-Jonathan Wells, an American molecular biologist, studied molecular biology and, with the advent of discoveries pointing to teleology and creation, abandoned atheism for Christianity and became an enemy of evolutionary theory. He authored the famous book Icons of Evolution (2002), as well as The Design of Life with Dembski.



5-Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini—the former a professor of philosophy and cognitive science at Rutgers University, the latter a professor of philosophy and cognitive science at the University of Arizona—also raised doubts. Fodor first began questioning natural selection in his book Why Pigs Don't Have Wings (2007), then co-authored the shocking book What Darwin Got Wrong (2010). In its introduction, they stressed that their critique was scientific, not religious: "This is not a book about God, or about Intelligent Design, or about creationism. Neither of us is involved in any of that. We simply believe it is wise to state this upfront, because our basic view is that there is something wrong—perhaps fatally wrong—with the theory of natural selection."

Phillip Johnson, a legal scholar, was once an evolutionist. But after reading Denton's Evolution: A Theory in Crisis and continuing to study the latest scientific findings, he became fully convinced of evolution's errors, which he saw as mere fabrications and imaginative speculations unsupported by reason or experimental science. He went on to become one of the most famous critics of evolution in the U.S., authoring several books such as Darwin on Trial, Defeating Darwinism, and The Wedge of Truth.



6-Duane T. Gish, a biochemist, also participated in many university lectures and international conferences to scientifically and respectfully rebut the theory of evolution. He published numerous studies showing its flaws, and collected many of his lectures in his book Have You Been Brainwashed?, as well as Evolution: The Fossils Still Say No!



Some claim that evolution is collapsing as science advances, and that its errors have become far more evident in recent years than before. Thousands of specialists now reject it. This has led to research and scientific books exposing its invalidity, showing that Darwin was wrong about the "tree of life." Many scientists now assert that the evolutionary tree is false and misleading. Public objections took their first major step with the Discovery Institute's 2001 list of 100 scientists and specialists in America who rejected Darwinism, where they stated their names and academic credentials. The initiative expanded into a website allowing scientists in the U.S. and abroad to register their objections. When the news spread, Canadian media reported nearly 1,000 scientists opposing Darwinism. Over time, the number of opponents in the U.S. alone reached around 3,000, with more remaining silent out of fear for their positions and reputations. Opposition is not limited to biologists, since evolution also touches on statistics, probability, physics, chemistry, and more—hence physicists, surgeons, and others have also rejected Darwinism.

Wednesday, October 01, 2025

 

Weak leadership

12 Characteristics of Spiritually Weak Christian Leaders

By Chuck Lawless on Oct 01, 2025 01:00 am

I'm hesitant to write this post because I know I probably exhibit some of these characteristics. Nevertheless, here are some of the primary issues I see in this group of leaders: 

  1. They lead in their own power rather than God's power.  They may use the language of "God's power," but honesty would require them to say that they're living in their own strength. 
  2. They manage rather than lead. They're not casting vision. They cannot talk with specificity about what they believe the church should be 3-5 years from now. Most of their work relates only to managing what's already happening–and that doesn't require God's help.  
  3. They pray reactively, not proactively. In fact, most of them are not prayer warriors. Their tendency is to plan first and then ask God to bless their plans. Seldom do they genuinely seek God first and then follow His lead.  
  4. They lead an organization, but not their family. They might even appear to be great leaders of their church, but they're losing their family in the process. Externally, they get good publicity. In their home, everything is in shambles.  
  5. They firefight rather than ignite fires. Much of their ministry is responding to fires, often because they believe that putting out little fires saves the church from facing bigger fires. They're always watching for the fires of conflict, and they give no attention to igniting God-focused fires of worship and evangelism among their church members.  
  6. They lead out of charisma rather than crucifixion. On the stage, they excel. Any thought of "dying to self," though, is more a matter of saying the right words than living the life. Leaders who love being on the platform seldom think about being on the altar.     
  7. They speak the gospel on Sunday, but "foolish talking and crude joking" (Eph 5:4) the rest of the week. For some reason, they give themselves permission to talk privately in ways they would never talk from the pulpit. That's not imitating God (Eph 5:1).
  8. They tell others to evangelize but expect the lost to come to them. Others must reach out to their friends and neighbors; these leaders, though, evangelize only from the pulpit and within their office. Any initiative belongs only to the non-believer seeking help.  
  9. They're aware of everyone else's sin, but not so aware of their own. Apparently, their discernment stops with their own lives, and they genuinely miss what others see so obviously in them. Hence, they can be both arrogant and unaware—a dangerous combination.  
  10. The Bible is their source for sermons, not their source for life. Beyond sermon preparation, their spiritual habits suggest that the Word means little to them.   
  11. They have few Christian friends, and none of those friends holds them accountable for godly living. They may have folks they call "friends," but they're just acquaintances. These leaders lead out of isolation and aloneness that lack accountability–and that's a problem. 
  12. They push back if anyone does confront them. Their immediate response to critique is to "bow up." My guess, in fact, is that some of the readers of this post are bowing up a bit right now. If you're among that number, I encourage you to be honest in your own self-evaluation. All of us–beginning with me–have much room to grow as leaders. 
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Pastors, do you find yourself in any of these descriptions? If so, spend some time with the Lord.  


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