Foundational Realities

Best-selling author, speaker, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland.

Best-selling author and apologist, Dylan Burrows. Together, bringing you truth. For a new generation, this is TNG Radio. In the book of Isaiah in chapters 58 and 61, it has a lot to say about rebuilding the foundations. Rebuilding the things that the city and even the culture stands upon. On today's edition of TNG Radio, Alex McFarland here and Dylan Burrows, we're going to talk about some of the foundational realities, not only of the gospel, but of America itself.

And what can Christians do in a time when some of our core moral and spiritual foundations have been eroded? Welcome to the program, listeners. And Dylan, it's good to be with you again, my friend. Great to be with you again today, Alex. You know, as we record this, we are just hours away from beginning one of our Truth for New Generation conferences.

And as you hear this, the TNG event, the first of 2018, will be over. But let me say a word about foundations. My wife and I, for the last three years, have been restoring an old house. 115-year-old house, in fact. And by the way, if you ever have an idea to restore an old house, I can save you some time and money.

If you're going to restore an old house, what you might be better off doing, just run your checkbook through a paper shredder, because it will go so much more quickly, plus you won't get splinters. But at any rate, we are restoring an old house. And the first thing we had to do is fix the foundation. The foundation was crumbling. The house was sitting cockeyed. The walls were slanted. And, you know, putting paint on the walls wouldn't have accomplished anything. Or putting up crown molding, or hanging pictures. That would have been a waste of time.

Before you do any restoration, you're going to have to fix the foundation. And I was thinking about that in terms of our country, because America, that I love, and that I'm sure you do as well, our founding fathers had Christianity in view when they were framing the Constitution, and winning our freedom from Britain, and building what has become, I believe, second only to Israel under King Solomon, the greatest nation in the world. Really, in terms of opportunity, freedom, security, prosperity, and yes, for many years, righteousness. In fact, Cotton Mather, who was one of the great leaders of early America, an academic, a minister, but Cotton Mather said that people settled in America because they wanted to raise their kids under the gospel. And they believed that their kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids would live in a culture of the gospel as well. Well, we know that's, to a large degree, been attacked, ignored, and I believe we're in a time of what the Bible describes as apostasy. In 2 Thessalonians 2, 13-17, the Word of God talks about the teachings. In verse 15, therefore, brethren, stand fast, hold the traditions or teachings or instructions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our epistle.

Now, earlier in that very same chapter, it talks about a falling away. And the word, a Greek word, apostasy, is the very same word in the original language, which means rebellion, every one for himself. And, Dylan, I believe we live in a time of really spiritual rebellion or almost theological anarchy as people create their own beliefs. If you talk about Jesus, they often say, well, that's your truth, that's not my truth, as if we can selectively invent our own truths. We must rebuild the foundations, the foundation of the gospel in our culture, or like a house falling in, we're just going to continue to implode. And it's not from a lack of information, Alex. Obviously, we live in an information age.

You can go to Google or you can ask Syria on any topic under the sun, and you can provide yourself with endless pages of information, more than you can ever read. But when it comes to transformation, our nation is at a critical stage where we are at a crossroads of deciding whether we want to continue in what you've talked about as the old ways, a nation under the gospel, or if we want to go our own way. And we see in the Old Testament scriptures when Israel went its own way, the consequences of that. But we also see warnings in 2 Thessalonians 2 that you just read about what happens when we see people falling away from some of the basic doctrines of Christianity. And we're not talking about preferences, about what music you like on Sunday morning at church or what clothing you like to wear at church on Sunday. We're talking about the essentials, about who Jesus is, about salvation by grace through faith alone, about what the scriptures are. So when we talk about this apostasy, we're talking about the key things, the core beliefs of our Christian faith, which we have held firm to since the beginning of the Christian movement. But Dylan, let me give you some examples of why I think we are in a time of apostasy or unbelief or falling away from the core teachings. You know, there's another word, paradosis, which means these foundational beliefs that Jesus is the Son of God, the Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, salvation by God's grace, biblical truth about morality.

I mean, these are not up for revision or a vote. And so I think that we've got to restate and shore up our belief in these things for the health of the church and frankly, for the future of our nation. Oh, certainly. And I think of Romans 1 16, where Paul talks about we should not be ashamed of the gospel.

This is not something to be scared of, to hold back on. But this is the essential information we are to communicate in our churches and in our communities and beyond. When I look at the New Testament, I don't see a group of people who were timid or shy about their faith, but people who were bold and courageous and stood firm on the resurrection about the teachings of Jesus. And these are the teachings that they told us to emulate in our lives today.

But I want to encourage people. It's not just about the information that we believe. Apostasy also includes our actions. If you were to look at some of the examples in scripture, I think of Titus one where it talks about the false teachers that said they there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers.

So these are not just people who have teachings that are bad, but lives that are bad. And oftentimes one drives the other, doesn't it, Alex? Well, it really does.

It really does. We've got to go to a break. But as we do, you know, Dylan, sometimes on the road, I get asked questions that are hard questions about moral issues, homosexuality, divorce, you know, just the nature of marriage and human sexuality. And more and more, I'll have people come up to me and they'll say, well, you know, we've all got our own opinion or listen, my my child does X and they are a good person. We've got to remember that the standard by which behaviors, beliefs and even people's lives are judged is not certainly not my opinion, anybody's opinion.

It is the word of God. And in the Church of Jesus Christ, if we are to be the salt and the light that God called us to be, if we are to serve as the redeeming force or as Chuck Colson said, the conscience of the culture, we've got to remember right and wrong is not defined by anybody's opinion, but by God's revealed word. When we come back, we're going to talk about signs of apostasy, but then what you and I can do to make a wonderful difference for our Lord Jesus Christ.

T&G radio is back after this. Truth for a New Generation is here to equip Christians with a biblical worldview through conferences and camps, and speaking about camps. Registration is now underway for the T&G Summer Youth Apologetics Camp happening July 22nd through 26th at North Greenville University in South Carolina.

Alex McFarland will be there, along with Tony Beam. He's the vice president for Student Services and Christian Worldview at NGU. They'll engage your youth on topics like if God is so good, why is the world so bad? Understanding and applying what God's word says about gender and a whole lot more, 15 apologetic and worldview training sessions in all, along with a field trip to the Billy Graham Center and, of course, outdoor fun and games.

And don't forget about the food, great food, enough to fill them up and keep them going. Find out more about the 2018 T&G Summer Youth Apologetics Camp when you visit truth for a new generation dot com. If you're a Christian parent, you, of course, want to instill a biblical view of life in the hearts of your children. If you're a pastor, you want to offer ministry that draws young families to your church. This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to check out my new book and video curriculum, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask About Christianity. Why do bad things happen? I interviewed hundreds of children, ages 5 to 12, and we address actual questions from actual children, the spiritual issues that are on the minds of your kids.

Did Jesus ever sin? The book and video lessons are great for groups of any size and was produced with the goal of equipping kids to stand strong for Christ in any situation. The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask, the book, study guide and video series. You'll find it at AFASTORE.net. That's AFASTORE.net.

Welcome back to TNG Radio, Dylan Burrows and Alex McFarland here. Before we continue our talk, I do want to remind you, we've got an app. You can go to the App Store, whether you have an iPhone or an Android, whatever your mobile device is. The TNG app has a number of features. It's got a searchable database that's growing every week of articles that I've written, books, and you can keep up with where I'm speaking. And the Future Truth for a New Generation National Conferences. Also, this is huge, Dylan, last fall we started distributing a daily devotional book and we don't have the daily devotional on the app yet, but it's coming very soon.

And so the hard copy goes out. If you would like to get our newsletter, pray for the ministry, get the devotional book that is free to all the folks that pray for us and keep up with us and also the app. You can go to truthforanewgeneration.com.

You can go to my own website, alexmcfarland.com. But I do want to say between events, broadcasting and publishing, God has called us to win the lost and equip the saved. We're doing our best to do that. We've got a wonderful staff.

We are growing and your prayers and support will help us do the thing that God has called us to do, which is to lift up Jesus and call this nation back to the gospel. You know, Dylan went to see a movie called Darkest Hour, and it's the story of during World War Two when Neville Chamberlain and much of a British parliament really wanted to roll over and play dead and hope that Hitler would go easy on them. And appeasement and surrender was on the mind of so many. And one person, Winston Churchill, masterfully portrayed by Gary Oldman, really saved the world.

I mean, he really did. And if you haven't seen the movie Darkest Hour, it's very stirring. And it wasn't hard to see the parallels between Europe and the world almost ready to be subjugated by Adolf Hitler. And really the inspiration of one and then two and three, the fire and the zeal and the commitment to stand for what is right ultimately spread throughout Britain, Europe and changed the world. In fact, as my wife and I were leaving the theater, we heard several people talking about how that's just such a parallel to where we are today as secularism, the rise of Islam, the redefinition of marriage, the the mainstreaming of homosexuality really threatens to undo this culture.

Now, it was interesting, Dylan. Gary Oldman was on the Academy Awards and his portrayal of Winston Churchill was just so amazing. He he and the film got a number of awards, but in Hollywood, where thousands of people make millions and millions of dollars here in America.

And I doubt they could get so rich and famous in any other country standing in front of a camera and merely pretending for a living. But Gary Oldman, who played Churchill, said that it's time to recognize the valiant work defeating Hitler, the valiant work of England and America. And nobody clapped. And I was thinking about those Hollywood elites sitting with their arms folded, scowling that Oldman, aka Churchill, would say a good word about America.

And they sat there just adamantly frozen, not going to clap or say anything good for the very America that's given them a posh life where they can live wealthy and very oftentimes as reprobates. We're in a time, folks, that we need a great revival. We've seen the ordination of homosexuals, which homosexual behaviors clearly condemned in God's Word. Leviticus 18, First Corinthians 6, Christians ashamed of the gospel, immorality within the church, the increasing marginalization of Christians and the church. Dylan, I really think that the way that the culture has not just a disregard for salvation, but really contempt for God and for the people of God. This is a sign that we're in a time where the need for revival is urgent.

Well, yes. And one thing I saw recently, a LifeWay study that talked about a survey they did of spiritual preferences or spiritual areas that help you grow in your faith. And they showed the top 10. And what disturbed me is in the top 10, the local church was not even included. And that, to me, was a compelling sign of the times that people see the church as irrelevant to their personal spiritual growth. And yet the church is considered the bride of Christ in the New Testament, the gathering of God's people for the bringing about of change in this world. And that goes along with some of the signs you've talked about of apostasy in the church, and one of those is lack of compassion for the lost.

And we see that very clearly. I live in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is considered one of the most Bible-minded cities in America and one of the most churched cities in America. And yet how many times do I run into people who say, today, I shared my faith with this person who doesn't know Jesus, please be praying for them.

It rarely happens. And that's within the church. So we are very far from the signs of revival that we see in the New Testament, the calling that we've been given to make disciples of all the nations and to love our neighbor as ourselves. And this is just one of the factors of apostasy. I think of churches today where hell and sin and the blood of Jesus and suffering and those types of difficult topics are rarely mentioned, discussed or preached. And if they were the core of the life of the early church, where they experienced persecution and rejoiced at the suffering, and they expected it. And 2 Timothy 2 15 is clear that all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

So we do need to be willing to take on the tough topics and do the difficult things for the cause of Christ and know that it's going to cause controversy, even as some of these ideas do today that we talk about, Alex. Well, you know, within the American church, there's this widespread appetite for sugary, feel good at any cost teaching. Now, Dylan, one of the saddest verses in the Bible is Hebrews 4 2, and it says of people that turn away from the truth, quote, the word of God preached did not profit them, end of quote.

I can speak at a Christian university where I'm in front of thousands of young people, college age Christians. If you merely set forth what the word of God says about marriage and morality and repenting from immorality, people will say, well, he's gay bashing or or something like that. We have got to in the church instill an ethic of scriptural authority that the word of God says what it says. And none of us, not a one of us is in a position to declassify sin.

I mean, the word of God says what it says. And we can, as has been said, we can stand on the rock or stumble over it. But the rock of God and his word will not be moved. Amen. And we'll talk more about what we can do in times of apostasy when we come right back.

Stick with us. Our country is falling apart, political unrest, social upheaval, the breakdown of the family, the rise of atheism, the rise of Islam. Our religious freedoms are under attack. There's gender fluidity.

Gender identity is making a mess of freedom of expression. So we need to put some skin in the game and love this nation. As Christians, we are to stand strong. There has to be some personal investment in the living out and the preservation of America. Stand Strong America will help you take the fear that you face and the bleakness that you face, but help you become a champion, a bold champion for Christ. In Stand Strong America, Jason Jimenez and I lay out the facts about our nation, the current condition and how you.

Yes, you, your family, your church, your community can be involved in keeping this great republic. Stand Strong America is a guide to bring courage and hope for you, the Christian, wherever Christian books are sold. First Peter 315 tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope we have.

We're instructed to be prepared to defend our faith. This is Alex McFarland for the Life Answers teams, students we train at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in South Carolina. The Life Answers teams are made up of students who will inspire and equip your congregation. These apologetics teams we train speak in churches to youth groups and train Christians of all ages to address key issues of our times from a biblical perspective. Like, is there a God?

Is the Bible true? What about gender and moral issues? Call me at 864-977-2008 and we will arrange for the Life Answers team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come.

Call me at 864-977-2008 and always be ready. Call me at 864-977-2008 and we will arrange for the Life Answers team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come. Welcome back to Truth For A New Generation radio with Alex McFarland and Dylan Burroughs here with you and we're talking about apostasy in the scriptures, but in this segment we want to discuss what can Christians do in times of apostasy. It's not just about stating the problem, but about providing a response that's biblical, that's compelling, and that's loving. And obviously with many things in our Christian faith we talk about the first step is prayer. Luke 18 one tells us we ought to always pray and not to faint or lose heart or give up. This is the compelling fire which drives us as followers of Jesus. I think of James who says, draw near to me and I will draw near to you.

That's God's promise to us. If we want to grow closer to Him, if we want to make an impact in our culture, it starts with growing close in our walk with God. But it also talks about in scripture our witness and I want you to talk a little bit about that, Alex. What does it mean to be a witness in our world today and how can we go about doing that well? Well, you know, in Mark 16, 16 preach the gospel to every creature and it says go into all the world and preach.

But really in the original language it means as you are going. I think being a witness for Christ is just part of our lifestyle that it's just natural that we're going to try to gravitate the conversation toward spiritual things and to help people find Jesus that they may not know at all or may only know about moderately. And Dylan, you know, the word witness is really the word for martyr and we think of a martyr as somebody who dies for their faith. But in terms of being a voice for Christ, my dear friend, you might have to die to complacency or you might have to die to your own, you know, apprehensiveness or something like that. I was so shy.

I was very timid and I was kind of an introvert growing up and the idea of talking to people or talking to strangers would have been pretty unthinkable for me. But when you find Christ, I mean, you've got a reason to talk to people and you've got a motive and an incentive because, I mean, think about it. You know, compassion for the lost, that neighbor, that coworker, that friend, they are going to spend eternity somewhere.

And so we are to be a witness. Acts 5, verse 42, speaking of the early church, and they had much more up against them than really we do even. They were going into the Jewish and Roman cultures, very hostile to the gospel initially, and they turned the world upside down. But it says in Acts 5, 42, daily in the temple and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

Dylan, I believe like D.L. Moody, D.L. Moody got up every morning, you know, this day will not go by before I tell somebody about Jesus Christ. We get up and we go about our day and, hey, we are on the mission field. We are to talk to people about Jesus. I will say, Truth for New Generation Ministries, if you want some materials, contact us. We've got a wonderful book. It's called What Does God Say About My Relationship With Him? It's a gospel booklet.

We have a short version and a longer version that we use in our events. But if you want to just, here's how you can be a witness. You could say, hey, come to church with me and hey, can I give you this? It's about kind of the basics of Christianity and how the Lord loves you and how you can have a relationship with Christ.

I mean, you don't have to be a theologian or you don't have to be some expert to be a witness for Christ. And you very well may change somebody's eternity plus help restore our nation by sowing the seed of the gospel in the life of hungry people all around you. Amen. And I want to pick up on what you just mentioned about D.L.

Moody. I love the idea that when you wake up in the morning, who will I share Jesus with today? And to make that a driving force, a regular pattern in your life. That's compelling even for me when you work in Christian ministry or in a Christian family or around Christian people. The temptation is to think everybody has Jesus.

They don't need to hear this message. But we always have to be thinking about the one and leaving the 99 just as in the story in Luke 15. I want to move on also to one of these other areas we want to discuss, this area of serving. If we want to overcome apostasy, we have to be willing to serve. On my desk, I have verse from Matthew 23, 11 written out where Jesus said, the greatest among you will be your servant.

That verse has changed me. It's not about how great I am, but it's about how great he is or how great I can make him among the nations. It's not about getting my name out there or my recognition or my platform.

And it's not about that for you either. Your social media should be a platform to talk about Jesus. Not a platform for your latest meal, your latest event that you've gone to, but a way to broadcast Jesus to the nations. Not just the Word of God, but also a life that reflects the love of Jesus Christ in your life among other people. So I want to encourage you to think about that as you communicate today and serve.

We have some other areas as well. We have a couple of minutes left, Alex. What are a couple other tips we can give to people as we're talking about living in an age of apostasy and how to do something about that that would be worthy of the cause of Christ?

Well, you know, I'll say two things. One, observe and reflect and study. In other words, understand the times and understand that the church in every generation has an assignment. And in this generation, I believe the assignment for the American church is to rediscover evangelism and revival. And so know what's going on and know that you can play a role.

You can really play a role. Dylan, what I'm about to say might sound a little counterintuitive, but rejoice. I think something we need to do right now is rejoice. Rejoice that we have a true message. Rejoice that we have a living savior. Rejoice that we have an opportunity to see the power of God in our midst. Prayer, witnessing the Holy Spirit changing lives. Rejoice that you will be rewarded in heaven for all that you do for Christ. So folks, here's the call, pray, stay equipped, observe, look for opportunities, and remember that your life every day that the good Lord gives you is something that's been entrusted to you to make a difference for the savior who gave his very life for you and for me.

Amen. And I think about what's called the dash. When you look on the gravestone of a person, you see the date when they were born, the date when they die, and there's a dash in between.

And that dash represents every activity you will do in this life. It's so short. It's so fleeting. Don't waste it.

Use it for God's glory. Make a difference in the life of another person today. We thank you for being with us here at Truth For A New Generation Radio. Please check us out online at truthforanewgeneration.com or get our app to stay connected. Look forward to hearing from you again and being with you next time. Thanks. We'll see you again next time. We'll see you next time on Truth For A New Generation Radio.