Barriers to the Gospel

TNG Radio, where today's culture and timeless truths come together. It's reasoned relevant content apologetics, worldview, and answers to the questions that you need to know. From Alex McFarland Ministries, this is Truth for a New Generation Radio.

And now the man who preached in 50 states in 50 days, speaker, writer, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland. Matthew 6, 22-23, the Word of God says, the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness?

Hi, Alex McFarland here. Welcome to another edition of Truth for a New Generation. And I want to unpack that scripture from Matthew 6 in a moment, and I want to talk about five nearly insurmountable barriers to the gospel in someone's heart and life. Five almost insurmountable barriers to the gospel.

But let me give you a little bit of a news story. As I record this, it's in the news that the Lutheran Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the ELCA, is ordaining their first ever transgender bishop. Now, in justifying this, in trying to point this as being a great historical achievement, one of the things that the press office of the Lutheran Church said was that at the Council of Nicaea in 325, part of the purpose of the Council of Nicaea was to quote, obstruct the rights of transgenders in ministry. And now here in 2021, ostensibly, they are correcting this centuries-long wrong perpetrated against transgenders. Well, this reminds me of 20 years ago when I was being interviewed, and I was on a news show opposite someone from the North Carolina Department of Education, and they were introducing pro-gay curriculum into the public schools. And I was giving a counterpoint, a critique of that, and the person with whom I was debating in the news said at that time 20 years ago, quote, the nature of marriage has always been fluid, they said. The idea that marriage was always between a man and a woman, that the nature of marriage was fixed, has never been the case. And I said at the time, and I'll say again, show me a culture anywhere in history where the nature of marriage, the fundamental understanding of marriage and procreation was homosexual or transsexual, that's false.

And the culture is being lied to, we're being lied to. And back to the apostate Lutherans, the idea that the Council of Nicaea had anything to do with transgenderism, that is patently false. But the vulnerable victims in this are the public that are, for one thing, historically illiterate, largely, and also biblically illiterate. Many people, they don't know the word of God, they certainly don't know history, and so when they're told the false narrative and the fake history that's being constructed to try to legitimize homosexuality and other sexual deviancies, it's so sad because we're truly living in a time of darkness and lies.

Now back to the scripture that I read, the Matthew 6, and I want to talk about five nearly insurmountable barriers to the Gospel in the hearts and minds of people. Matthew 6, the Lord said this, the eye is the lamp of the body. The word in the original language is ophthalmos, from which we get ophthalmology, I'm sure you know about going to the eye doctor. And the eye is the lamp or the light of the body. If your eyes are healthy, said the Lord, your body will be full of light. It's interesting, the eye here, the lamp and the eye, it's a euphemism for your perspective, what you think is true, how you see, just as your eye, your vision comes from your eyes, and then all of the photons and the light are picked up by those rods and cones in your eyeballs, and the brain interprets them as reality.

Perhaps you're taking a walk and you see the tree and you walk around it rather than running straight into it because your eyes see and your brain perceives and you're able to live. But yet Jesus says, if your eye is wrong, how great is that darkness? Because look, it says if your eyes are healthy, and the word interestingly is really unfolded, the word there in the original language, if your eyes are healthy or sound or functioning properly, and the word is really unfolded, your body will be full of light. Now, a perspective that is warped or folded or flawed somehow, just as poor vision endangers your life, a bad world view endangers your soul. Verse 23 of Matthew chapter 6, Jesus said if your eyes are unhealthy, and the word there for unhealthy is evil or malicious, and interestingly, one variant of that word, if your eyes are quote painful, the implication is a disease.

Just as if you have a terminal illness, you are physically at risk. Well, if you have a bad world view, a world view that doesn't recognize God, doesn't recognize scripture, doesn't know truth, you're in danger. Jesus said if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. And what that means is not only darkness, but the result of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness? In other words, if what you think is truth is really lies, you're in a bad place. And so we're going to talk about five things that the culture has believed with utter commitment, five nearly insurmountable barriers to the gospel in the lives of people, and then we're going to talk about a response to them.

But we're living in a time of great unreality, people believing things that are false, just like the idea that Nicaea was about the transgender narrative. Oh, my. Oh, my goodness. May God help us. We are in such a dire place. And if you're a Christian, I want to call on you to pray for the Holy Spirit. The Bible calls the third member of the Trinity, quote, the spirit of truth, how much we need the spirit of truth to pierce through the lies people have believed and to help lead people from the quicksand of unreality, sin and darkness to the solid rock of God's eternal truth.

Stay tuned when we come back. We're going to talk more about five nearly insurmountable barriers to the gospel that many people nowadays believe. Alex has written many books to help you defend your faith. One of them answers questions from skeptics.

It's cleverly titled Ten Answers for Skeptics. Today's skeptics are looking for authenticity, integrity and straightforward truth. And in the book, Alex McFarland identifies the ten most common types of skepticism that plague doubters minds and offers believers proven strategies for connecting intellectually and spiritually with those who are skeptical about the claims of Christianity. Learn how to answer intimidating questions, identify the root issue behind those questions and dismantle the spiritual bombshells dropped by atheists.

Plus, find encouragement to face hostility by persevering in love. The ultimate apologetic Christians can offer is a witness to our loving God. Check out Ten Answers for Skeptics when you visit AlexMcFarland.com. Have you ever wanted to raise your hand during a sermon?

Well, here's your chance. Hi, Alex McFarland here from the nationally syndicated radio program, Exploring the Word. For more than ten years, my co-host Bert Harper and I have taught scripture and answered hundreds of Bible questions. We've compiled a brand new book of the top 100 Bible questions from listeners of all ages, from questions about supposed Bible contradictions to apologetics facts that prove the truths of Scripture. This new book features practical content that will make the Bible come alive for you.

Can we really be sure that God exists? Are there contradictions in the Bible? I need a book that will help me understand the Bible better.

There is so much good content in this book. One hundred Bible questions and answers published by Broad Street Publishers and available at your local bookstores and also through resources.afa.net. For apologetics resources, books by Alex McFarland, and to find out where Alex is speaking, visit AlexMcFarland.com. Welcome back to Truth For A New Generation.

Alex McFarland here. We're talking about five nearly insurmountable barriers to the gospel. And we read from Matthew 6, 22 and 23 where Jesus says, If the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness?

In other words, if what you believed is true is really false, you're in a place of darkness. Well, the number one nearly insurmountable barrier that hinders people from coming to Jesus is self-righteousness. Because to be saved, you have to understand that you're in a state of guilt and sin. And many people have more faith in their deservedness rather than in God's holiness. Jesus said that we have to admit that we're a sinner. And once we realize that, then we repent and turn to him. And if we don't believe that we're guilty sinners, we're at enmity with God, we are sinners and we must repent. If you believe in your own deservedness and you say, Well, you know, I'm a pretty good person.

I'm not that bad of a guy. That's self-righteousness that will prevent you from coming to the one who can make you righteous, who is Jesus. Charles Spurgeon, a great preacher from more than 100 years ago, I love Charles Spurgeon. He said, The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation. A self-righteous spirit.

In other words, if there is a heaven, I should get in. I've been a good person. I'm not a bad person. I've achieved things.

I've built a family or whatever. But if you point to your own merits as alleged proof of your goodness, that's self-righteousness. There was a great Anglican bishop in Liverpool, England. The most famous thing from Liverpool many think is the Beatles. But at one time, J.C. Ryle, he lived 1816 to 1900. The bishop of Liverpool was such a notable figure and a wonderful Christian leader, he was. But J.C. Ryle said, quote, Beware of self-righteousness in every possible shape and form. Some people get as much harm from their virtues as others do from their sins.

What did Ryle mean by that? Well, like in Hosea 8, Ephraim's altars are to him as sin. If your virtues are what you're trusting to make you right before God, that's as toxic as some heinous, unconfessed sin because your self-righteousness might be a barrier separating you from Christ's righteousness. And so we have to realize that we really have no righteousness of our own.

Secondly is pride. Jack Wertzen, the leader of Word of Life, many years ago, Wertzen was a great Christian leader of the 20th century. He would often say, before you can get someone saved, very often you have to get them lost.

In other words, people have to understand that without Jesus, they are spiritually dead. And many people are prideful. My family name, the church I'm a member of, the things I've accomplished. I've done meritorious works. And many people are prideful. And to humble ourselves before God and to say, you know, I am a sinner.

I am helpless and hopeless without the Savior. And to trust what the Word of God says. Many people are too prideful to believe and to acquiesce and to humble themselves before what Scripture says. And let me say, regardless of the fad or the cultural trend of the moment, in our case very much it's been homosexuality and transgenderism, sexual deviancy. Just this militant moral relativism that I can do what I want to do and God can't tell me otherwise.

Friend, that's pride. And in the Scriptures where it talks about the nations assembling before God and being judged, the pride of human history will be vanquished before the holy decrees of Almighty God. Today, I would beg of you, believe what the Word of God says. Don't rationalize. Don't try to legitimize human sin and darkness and deviancy.

Humble yourself before God because pride will keep you from heaven. The third nearly insurmountable barrier is biblical illiteracy. Lack of knowledge of what God's Word says. Now what's ironic, and I love talking to people about Jesus, talking with people about their soul, but I've noticed a pathology of the human perspective. The degree of biblical illiteracy is very often paralleled by a corresponding degree of human haughtiness and arrogance. It seems like the more bereft people are of biblical knowledge, to an equal degree they are emboldened in their fallen hubris. Really. A lack of Bible knowledge is very much offset or paralleled by a confident assumption in the value of human wisdom.

I've talked to people and pull an issue out. Creation versus evolution. Moral truth versus relativism. The exclusivity of Jesus' salvation versus pluralism and universalism. The truth of God versus man's accusations.

It reminds me of the very famous C.S. Lewis book, God in the Dock, D-O-C-K. God in the docket. The docket in a courtroom is the witness stand where somebody is on the defensive. The accused sits in the stand and is cross-examined.

And C.S. Lewis pointed out that very often people put God in the docket. In other words, God, you better explain yourself. And that hubris and that arrogance, I've had atheists say to me, Well, if I die and it turns out there's a God, I'm going to say, What about this? And why did you do that?

And how come you didn't do this? Listen, when a fallen guilty human appears before his maker, nobody is going to be up in God's face, pointing out and cross-examining and dressing down God Almighty. We need to understand that right now while we have the opportunity, we should fall before God and say, Oh, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. God could and probably should throw every single one of us into hell right this minute. But in His mercy, God is long suffering. God is patient.

God is so compassionate on we fallen sinners that the Holy Spirit of God spends years, maybe even in some people's cases decades, calling out, gently nudging us, speaking to us in our conscience, trying to get us to humble ourselves and turn to the Savior. Stay tuned. Truth for a New Generation is back after this brief break. America today is like a patient struggling to live, yet is being forcibly euthanized by her, quote, doctors. The life force within the patient fighting for survival is the honest citizens like yourself.

The team of, quote, caregivers are the local and national leaders actually contributing to the demise of the patient. The economy is crashing. Crime is exploding. The Constitution is being abolished. The assault on America, how to defend our nation before it's too late by Alex McFarland, has one single purpose, to get you prepared. Learn the real source of America's current problems that no one else is talking about and what you can do now to face tomorrow, regardless of what tomorrow brings. The assault on America, how to defend our nation before it's too late, available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and local Christian bookstores.

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Alex McFarland here. I want to thank you for listening. We're going to talk about the final two nearly insurmountable barriers to the gospel, but I want to say two things. I'm so excited. Coming up is the Truth for a New Generation Biblical Worldview Camp. And we've been doing this for a lot of years, folks.

The kids love it. Middle school and high school, this is summer camp for your soul worldview. July 17 through 22 is our next Truth for a New Generation Worldview Camp.

And the theme is unashamed, unashamed building your biblical worldview. Now let me tell you what we do at our camps, and we've done this for many years. We've had kids from all over America. But we're going to be, in the summer of 2022, we're going to be in eastern North Carolina. There's a wonderful camp. I spoke there last year.

And it's just about an hour from Raleigh, the state capital, if you want to fly in or whatever. But it's called The Refuge, a wonderful Christian camp. There's horseback riding. There's archery. There's swimming.

There's fishing. There's zip lines and a rope course. There are phenomenal accommodations, the boys' dorms and the girls' dorms and phenomenal food.

And this is amazing, folks. We're going to be teaching Bible study. We're going to talk to your youth about how to know that you're a Christian, how to defend your Christian faith and know what you believe and why. But also, and this is so important, moms and dads, youth leaders, we're going to talk about the battle of worldviews, the truth for a new generation biblical worldview camp. It's July 17 through 22, next summer, space is limited.

Go to my website, which is alexmcfarland.com, alexmcfarland.com, for complete information. And I want to see you next July as we drill down deeply to make an impact for God and country. Well, back to Matthew 6, 22 through 23. Jesus said the eye is the light of the body. If your eyes are good, in other words, if you see and believe truth, you're full of light. But if the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness? So we talked about some insurmountable barriers, self-righteousness, pride, biblical illiteracy.

People think, well, I'm good as I am. Or if there is a heaven, I deserve to get in. And then there's biblical illiteracy and people will say things like, well, doesn't the Bible say that God helps those who help themselves? No, the Bible doesn't say that. Well, doesn't the Bible say after death some people get a second chance? No, the Bible does not say that anyone gets a second chance after death.

In fact, Hebrews 9, 27, the Word of God says, It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. But two other barriers, sometimes nearly insurmountable, apart from the work of the Holy Spirit to tear down our nicely constructed walls of belief in our own worthiness. One is carnality. Spurgeon said this, If sin isn't preached from the pulpit, it will be practiced in the pew.

Nowadays, where are the preachers calling out sin and condemning unrighteousness? And many people nowadays are carnal and they are involved in pornography. They're involved in adultery. They're involved in habitual lying and gossip and sexual sin and just sins of disposition. Some people are grumpy, they're unthankful, always grousing about something. That's called carnality. And if you're in a state of carnality, you need to repent and ask Jesus to cleanse you. But I'm going to talk finally with the time we have left about what may be the most insurmountable toxin separating people from God, and that is pluralism.

And you think, well, wait a minute, that doesn't sound so bad. Okay, we are in a time of radical, militant pluralism, where people believe that all things can all be true at the same time. I was sharing the Gospel with a man the other day, and he said he was a Christian, but he said he was also a Muslim. And I said, well, you can't be both because they're incompatible.

You could not possibly, you couldn't logically be a Christian who believes Jesus died and rose again, and at the same time be a Muslim, which denies Jesus is the Son of God who rose from the dead. And the man, he said, well, we all have our own perspective. And of course the answer to that is, well, this is not about anybody's perspective, it's about truth. But pluralism is the idea that anybody believes anything and that makes it right. That incompatible, contradictory beliefs can both be true at the same time. And we somehow trump reality merely by saying, well, we all have our opinions. Friends, I honestly believe it is easier to extract a sinner from rank immorality than it is to extract a pluralist from the blindness of believing that all things are true at the same time. We are in a time of radical pluralism. And the Word of God, let me say this, friend, the Word of God is not pluralistic.

Let me put it this way. There are 10,000 ways to go to hell. There is one way to go to heaven, and that's through the new birth in Jesus Christ. And we're living in a time where people have an unshakable faith in the rightness of their own opinions. And so we have to help people understand that, look, you cannot be a follower of Jesus and be a pluralist.

You can't. If Jesus is the one and only risen Savior, then all things other than Jesus are not the way of salvation. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit of God would arouse us from the delusion that all things can all be true at the same time. Pluralism is lulling many into a devil's hill.

And they think any way is right as long as I'm sincere. And the Bible says that there's a way that seems right to a man, the in thereof are the ways of death. And so we need to be people of truth. And back to the Matthew 6 passage. If we believe what is true, our soul is full of light. But if our eyes and our mind and our comprehension is believing that which is darkness, how great is that darkness? May God deliver us from the darkness of unbelief and the darkness of wrong belief. And may God bring us into the bright sunlight of God, His Word, His Son, that wonderful place where salvation is found called truth. And Truth For A New Generation is here to help you know what is real and how to stand for truth. May God bless you and thank you for listening. Call us at 877-YES-GOD-1.

That's 877-YES-GOD and the number 1. Or give online at AlexMcFarland.com. While you're there, listen to Program Archives, read Alex's blog, invite Alex to speak at your event, or contact Alex with a question or comment. AlexMcFarland.com. Thanks for listening today and join us again next time as we bring you more truth for a new generation on TNG Radio.