January 2006 - Vol 1 Issue 9

In this issue...
-- A New Year’s Resolution: Proclaim the Word! - Part I in a series
-- Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
-- WMI is ready for the New Year

A New Year’s Resolution: Proclaim the Word! - Part I in a series
By Dr. John C. Whitcomb

During the coming year, how can we, as Christians, help people who do not believe in our Savior? Is there really such a thing as proving to them that the Bible is true? Believing the Bible is absolutely essential, for unless people believe what the Bible says about the substitutionary death and the glorious bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ the Lord, they cannot be saved: "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Rom. 10:9). "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17).

But here is the dilemma we face: "The natural [unsaved] man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14). Our Lord put it bluntly: "This is the condemnation, that light [Jesus Himself, cf. John 8:12] is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19). How, then, can we help people believe the message of God’s Word?

First, let us consider the wrong way. God informs us that finite, merely human pressure or manipulation cannot change people’s hearts: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9).

This is the profound weakness, for example, of the recent and increasingly popular Intelligent Design Movement. The leaders of the IDM believe that materialistic evolutionism can be removed from all secular schools by rationalistic evidentialism alone. They believe, in fact, that an appeal to the Bible drastically weakens their scientific credibility and closes the door to the existence of an Intelligent Designer (whoever that may be!).

The Bible, of course, gives due recognition to the function of "intelligent design." It is so powerful, in fact, that men are "without excuse" for denying the Supreme Designer of the universe and living things (cf. Rom. 1:18-23).

The Apostle Paul began his magnificent sermon to the chief philosophers of Athens by appealing to "God that made the world and all things therein... (Who) giveth to all life, and breath, and all things" (Acts 17:24, 25).

But Paul did not commit the colossal blunder of inviting these people to start walking on a bridge broken at the other end! He told them in loving concern that this great "God... now commandeth all men every where to repent, because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Acts 17:30-31).

In this context, this message of a divine ("He will judge the world") yet human being ("by that Man") named Jesus ("he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection" – v. 18) was the dynamic for genuine conversions ("certain men clave unto him, and believed" – v. 34).

So we, too, in our day, must proclaim Jesus Christ as the exclusive and all-sufficient Lord and Savior of men. May God enable us to climax our personal testimonies, presentations, lectures and sermons with a clear explanation of how sin can be overcome through the perfect sacrifice of God’s Son upon the Cross and His glorious resurrection from the dead. Only then will God open darkened hearts and minds to His truth, His love, and His eternal salvation.

To Be Continued...

Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
Dr. Whitcomb has no speaking engagements scheduled for the month of January. Early in February, however, he will be in the following meetings:

From Sunday, Feb. 5, to Wednesday, Feb. 8, Dr. Whitcomb will speak at the Maranatha Baptist Church of Sebring, Fla. For more information, call Pastor Cliff Owens at 863-382-4301 or 863-341-0459, or visit www.maranathabaptistsebring.churchpage.us.

From Friday, Feb. 10, to Sunday, Feb. 12, Dr. Whitcomb will preach at the Community Bible Church of Augustine, Fla. For more information, call Pastor John Ringo at 904-797-3875, or visit www.cbcsa.org.

For additional details about these events, please visit our web pages at www.whitcombministries.org and www.sermonaudio.com/whitcomb.

WMI is ready for the New Year
This is indeed a time of transition... Christmas trees are already being set out in the streets, even as the plastic coverings are being ripped off of brand new 2006 calendars. Perhaps your calendar of choice utilizes square boxes to represent the 365 days of the New Year.

But how will you fill in all of those days? It is our desire at Whitcomb Ministries to help you fill them with Biblical truth, and with service to the Lord God. We will attempt to do this by means of this Monograph, our website, Internet and other broadcasting, the many Biblical resources that we offer containing Dr. Whitcomb’s teachings, and our own major Bible conference – the Third Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries – which is even now being planned for next autumn.

We are trusting God to do even greater things through us in the year ahead than have been done in the past – through His strength, if we place our hope in Him. May we assist you in your walk with the Lord this year? If so, please do not hesitate to contact us, and we will do our best to serve you.

May God bless all of our efforts in His service this year. We will look forward to sharing much more with you throughout the coming months.