The Christian Worldview

“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). The extent of this past week’s riots in England has shocked the world. But who the looters are has been shocking as well. The hundreds who have been arrested and brought into court have included “a teaching assistant, a lifeguard, a postman, a chef, a charity worker, a millionaire's daughter and an 11-year-old boy” (Daily Mail). So how does one explain this outburst of violence and rage? Do socio-economic conditions such as poverty, government oppression, and injustice create an environment where people are primed to explode? Could this happen in the United States, and if so, how can it be avoided? Greg Gilbert, senior pastor of Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, KY and author of "What Is the Gospel?", joins us this week on The Christian Worldview to discuss the underlying cause of the riots in England and the one solution that can tame the sinful heart of man.

“In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and his children will have refuge” (Proverbs 14:26). If you had to pick one thing that is driving the sense of pessimism in America, it is a crisis of confidence. Whether struggling to find a job, hearing the bad news on TV, or tracking a depressed economy, many people lack confidence that things will get better in the future. When companies lose confidence in the economy, why would they expand or hire more people? When citizens lose confidence in politicians who enact sure-to-fail government policies, why would they do anything but “batten down the hatches and hang on”? The topic we will discuss this week on The Christian Worldview is how the crisis of confidence in America is affecting Christians and what should be our basis of confidence going forward.

"... And the borrower is servant to the lender". Proverbs 22:7 If you listen to the politicians and pundits on television, the American economy will either be in disarray or be just fine this coming Tuesday, August 2nd if a deal is not reached on the debt ceiling and budget. In the process of trying to persuade the American people that “our side is right”, both sides have likely done more to confuse the American people than anything else. So what will happen if a budget and debt ceiling deal isn’t reached? Will government social security payments immediately stop to the elderly? What should government be doing to get our country on sound financial footing -- taxing Americans more or spending less or both? What side should a Christian take in this monumental decision in our nation’s history? Jay Richards, author of Money, Greed, and God, is perhaps the best person that I know to clarify complex economic issues from a Christian perspective. He joins us this week on The Christian Worldview to do just that because the pending decision in Washington DC will impact your life.

“... but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). Christians can be involved in many “Christian” things such as attending church, hosting Bible studies, going on mission trips, and helping the disadvantaged and yet lose sight of the most important thing: to exalt Jesus Christ as the center of it all. Keeping Christ pre-eminent in who we are and what we do is the point of the Christian life. You would think He would be the ultimate object of every sermon for all of Scripture points directly toward the person and work of Jesus Christ. And yet how many sermons have you heard that offer lots of good practical principles for living or inspiring stories but not much emphasis on the One who is our very reason for being? Dr. Steven Lawson, keynote preacher along with Dr. Albert Mohler at the Expositors’ Conference on September 26-27, 2011 at Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, AL, joins us this week on The Christian Worldview to talk about the theme of the conference, “The Pre-Eminence of Christ in Preaching”, and how we can make that the case in our own lives as well.  

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He [God] made you alive together with Him [Jesus Christ], having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14). Debt is a catastrophic problem. From a financial standpoint, the United States has reached our “debt ceiling”, the maximum amount -- $14.3 trillion -- that the country can legally be in debt. And debt isn’t just a problem in government: the average credit card debt balance for every American household is over $10,000. There’s another kind of debt that is even more serious than the financial kind -- the “sin debt” that each one of us owes to God. We may be able to somehow avoid paying back our financial debts, but our sin debt to God must and will be paid back in full. But how? How can we pay back our incalculable sin debt to God? We will discuss debt this week on The Christian Worldview -- the national kind and the spiritual kind. Tune in to to find out how you can get out of the weight and sentence of debt!

“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good thing!” (Romans 10:14-15) God calls certain men to preach His Word. Preachers are to study the Word, correctly interpret it, and then communicate it to their congregations. But amongst preachers, there are certain ones that stand out. Men like Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, and D. Martyn Lloyd Jones are three examples from the last few centuries whose preaching legacies live on long after they are gone. What has made these great preachers great? Is is their communication abilities? Their leadership style? Iain Murray, the highly respected Scottish author, has written timeless biographies of Edwards, Spurgeon, Lloyd Jones, and a brand new one on John MacArthur. Dr. Murray will join us LIVE from his home in Edinburgh, Scotland this week on The Christian Worldview to compare and contrast the qualities of these men and what we can glean from them to apply to our own lives.

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). We Christians can easily spot the obvious “big sins” in our culture such as homosexuality, abortion, pornography, greed, and vulgarity. But when it comes to the more subtle sins, what best-selling author and our guest this week Jerry Bridges calls “respectable sins” -- like self-righteousness, selfishness, irritability, bitterness, critical spirit, envy -- we tend to overlook or downplay their presence in our own lives. God is holy and He treats our sin very seriously ... and so should we. If we want to be stronger and more effective Christians, we must identify and rid ourselves of these “respectable sins” that we allow to take root inside us.  

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Genesis 50:20). God is in control over every molecule that moves in the universe, right? If one molecule, or one human decision, was outside of God’s control or influence, then He wouldn’t be the all-powerful, all-knowing, sovereign God the Bible says He is. Since God is in control of everything, and since God’s nature is good and holy, how do we explain God causing or allowing the terrible suffering that we can experience in our lives or the sinful choices that we are free to make? Where is God in all of that? How the sovereignty of God intertwines with the sin and suffering of man is one of the most difficult dilemmas. The biblical accounts of Job and Joseph offer profound insights into this question and help us to trust God even in the midst of our world of hurt. Join us this week on The Christian Worldview as we discuss this important topic.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Imagine that you were out playing with your best buddy -- your five-year-old son -- taking him for a ride in the dune buggy, as you had done many times before, when you accidentally flipped it over causing his death. The deepest hurt you have ever experienced sets in -- first shock, then grief, depression, bitterness, and anger, at yourself, even God, for how this could happen. This is exactly what happened to JJ Jasper and his son Cooper less than two years ago. How does one go on from there and deal with the deep mental, emotional, and spiritual anguish? Is there something in God’s character and Word that can sustain us through our most difficult losses in life? This Father’s Day Weekend on The Christian Worldview, we’ll be talking with JJ Jasper about the loss of his son, Cooper, and how God offers comfort and grace in the midst of our darkest times. The Jasper’s story has been made into a touching 40-minute film which you can watch for free or order the DVD for the cost of shipping at FlameOn.net. When it comes to great loss in life, it’s not “if” we’ll experience it, but “when”. Tune in to The Christian Worldview this week to discover that God's grace is still greater than our greatest loss.

“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; or the LORD will see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him” (Proverbs 24:17-18). Democrat Anthony Weiner from New York is one of the more vociferous liberals in the U.S. House of Representatives. Most everything that Christians oppose, such as the homosexual agenda and the killing of unborn babies, Weiner stands in strong favor. What’s more, he often advocates for his unbiblical positions in a contentious and arrogant manner. It wouldn't be a stretch to consider Rep. Weiner an “enemy” of Christians and biblical values. So what was your inner reaction this past week when you found out that the married Rep. Weiner sent lewd messages and pictures of himself to a number of women? Did you tell yourself not to “judge” him? Did you think, “I’m glad his sin found him out”? Or maybe you wondered, “How does God want me to respond to the downfall of an ungodly man?” Whether it’s a politician you don’t like, a family member you avoid, or someone at work you can’t stand, Christians needs to understand how to apply the tricky issue of loving our enemies. We’ll discuss that this week on The Christian Worldview Radio Program.