R. Albert Mohler Jr.'s Blog, page 284

The Briefing 04-01-16

Trump reveals ignorance on historic pro-life position in interview, recants hours laterWall Street Journal (Editorial Board) — Trump’s Abortion GaffeUSA Today (Josh Hafner and Kevin Johnson) — Trump abortion comments spark outrage on both sidesNew York Times (Matt Flegenheimer and Maggie Haberman) — Donald Trump, Abortion Foe, Eyes ‘Punishment’ for Women, Then RecantsNew York Times (Nicholas Kristof) — Trump and Abortion

Obama's FDA modifies label on abortion drug making abortion-on-demand even more of a reality New York Times (Sabrina Tavernise) — New F.D.A. Guidelines Ease Access to Abortion PillUSA Today (Alan Gomez) — FDA expands abortion-pill access in states seeking limits

Time magazine uses pornographic cover for story on the harmful effects of pornography

The Briefing 03-31-16

Corporate America sees big business in joining the moral revolutionWashington Post (Dana Milbank) — Corporate America shuffles away from pure conservatism

Same-sex marriage "messaging tactics" are being easily adapted by climate policy advocates New York Times (Coral Davenport) — Climate Policy’s Advocates Take Page From Same-Sex Marriage Playbook

Evangelical identity crisis: Are Trump's evangelical supporters really evangelical?Washington Post (Geoffrey Layman) — Where is Trump’s evangelical base? Not in church.

Hedonism isn't disappearing, it's just looking for a buyer: Playboy looks to sell franchiseWall Street Journal (Steven Perlberg and Dana Cimilluca) — Playboy Enterprises Explores Sale

The Briefing 03-30-16

Unity at the expense of integrity: British Baptists send mixed signals on SSMBaptist News Global (Bob Allen) — British Baptists wrestle with same-sex marriageChristian Today (Mark Woods) — British Baptists urged not to host gay weddingsBaptist Union of Great Britain — Council Statement on the Registration of Buildings for Same-Sex Marriage

Easter-less Easter eggs spark controversy in UK, but Christ-less secularism the bigger issueThe Telegraph (John Bingham) — Easter quietly dropped from Easter eggsThe Telegraph (John Bingham) — Cadbury: Easter not banned from eggs – it’s just hiding

Even as Britain is post-Christian, its secular society still benefits from Christian idealsThe Spectator (Tim Stanley) — British Christians must start to think and act like a minority

North Carolina Attorney General states he will refuse to defend recently passed bathroom lawSlate (Mark Joseph Stern) — North Carolina Attorney General Refuses to Defend “Embarrassment” of HB2

In possible tip of the hand, SCOTUS requests additional briefs filed in contraceptive caseNew York Times (Adam Liptak) — Supreme Court Hints at Way to Avert Tie on Birth Control Mandate

The Briefing 03-29-16

Theology matters: Georgia gov. who vetoed religious liberty bill member of liberal churchLos Angeles Times (Jenny Jarvie) — Georgia governor vetoes bill favored by foes of same-sex marriage

North Carolina passes bill banning biological men from the ladies' room, backlash ensuesNew York Times (Dave Philipps) — North Carolina Bans Local Anti-Discrimination PoliciesNew York Times (Motoko Rich) — North Carolina Gay Bias Law Draws a Sharp BacklashNew York Times (Editorial Board) — Transgender Law Makes North Carolina Pioneer in BigotryWashington Post (Niraj Chokshi) — San Francisco mayor bars city workers’ travel to North Carolina over transgender bathroom law

Tragic irony: Cosmo mocks Indiana bill banning Down syndrome abortion while promoting model with DownsNew York Times (Mitch Smith) — Indiana Governor Signs Abortion Bill With Added RestrictionsWashington Post (Danielle Paquette) — Doctors respond to Indiana banning abortions because of Down syndromeThe Federalist (Joy Pullmann) — Meet The One Down Syndrome Girl Cosmo Doesn’t Want To KillCosmopolitan (Prachi Gupta) — Indiana Passes Anti-Abortion Bill So Egregious That Even Anti-Choice Republicans Are Outraged

Is There a Truth in This Class? A Conversation with Stanley Fish

The Briefing 03-28-16

Christians in Pakistan gathered in a park for Easter massacred by Taliban suicide bomberLos Angeles Times (Shashank Bengali) — Taliban says it targeted Christians in a park on Easter Sunday, killing 65

Aftermath of Brussels attack reveals massive intelligence failures and further vulnerabilityNew York Times (Alissa J. Rubin and Rick Gladstone) — Brussels Attack Lapses Acknowledged by Belgian OfficialsNew York Times (Alissa J. Rubin and Milan Schreuer) — Belgium Fears Nuclear Plants Are Vulnerable

Brothers in crime: Why are so many family members involved in Islamic terrorism together?New York Times (Jim Yardley, Rukmini Callimachi and Scott Shane) — As Siblings Again Unite to Unleash Terror, Experts Ask What Drives Them

Europe's secular project splitting at the seams as nation states lack common worldviewNew York Times (Dan Bilefsky) — In Belgium, a Country of Divisions, Patriotism Remains SubduedNew York Times (Jochen Bittner) — Can the European Center Hold?

21 years later, justice is served: Radovan Karadzic convicted of genocide at the HagueWall Street Journal — A Genocide Conviction

1 Corinthians 15:1-58

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the Reality of the Gospel

The pattern of the Christian year is an exercise of the Church’s discipline. The annual celebrations of Christmas and Resurrection Day force the Church to ponder again the truths of Christ’s incarnation and resurrection.

Christians understand that every Lord’s Day is Resurrection Day, but this Sunday is the festival which draws all Christians face to face with the empty tomb and the truth of the resurrected Lord.

Resurrection Sunday is the central event in the church year–the climax of worship, expectation, and celebration. This celebration is also an acid test of the Church’s faithfulness and conviction.

The secular world has done its best to make a mess of Christmas, but it has largely ignored our celebration of the Resurrection. Where commercialism intrudes, it comes in the forms of eggs and chicks and rabbits–none of which claim any connection with the Resurrection. The fact is, the secular world will attempt to domesticate, commercialize, and tame the babe in the manger–but it will run at breakneck speed from the cross and the empty tomb.

That cross stands as condemnation on all human attempts at self-righteousness, and the fallen world will do all within its power to hide the cross from sight. The empty tomb is the seal and confirmation of the cross, and the world will shield its eyes.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead separates Christianity from all mere religion–whatever its form. Christianity without the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is merely one religion among many. “And if Christ is not risen,” said the Apostle Paul, “then our preaching is empty and your faith is in vain” [1 Corinthians 15:14]. Furthermore, “You are still in your sins!” [v. 17b]. Paul could not have chosen stronger language. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” [v. 19].

Yet, the resurrection of Jesus Christ has been under persistent attacks since the Apostolic age. Why? Because it is the central confirmation of Jesus’ identity as the incarnate Son of God, and the ultimate sign of Christ’s completed work of atonement, redemption, reconciliation, and salvation. Those who oppose Christ, whether first century religious leaders or twentieth century secularists, recognize the Resurrection as the vindication of Christ against His enemies.

Those who would attack the Church and reject its gospel must direct their arrows at the most crucial truth claim of the New Testament and the disciples: That Jesus Christ, having suffered death on a cross, though sinless, having borne the sins of those He came to save, having been buried in a sealed and guarded grave, was raised by the power of God on the third day.

As Paul well understood, Christianity stands or falls with the empty grave. If Christ is not raised, we are to be pitied, for our faith is in vain. Those who would preach a resurrectionless Christianity have exchanged the truth of the gospel for a lie. But, asserted Paul, Christ is risen from the dead. Our faith is not in vain, but is in the risen Lord. He willingly faced death on a cross and defeated death from the grave. The Resurrection is the ultimate sign of God’s vindication of His Son.

As John A. Broadus preached over a century ago: “It was the signed manual of the Deity, it was the seal of the Sovereign of the Universe affixed to His claim, it declared Him to be all that He had ever professed to be, and so it establishes the truth of all His teachings and the truth of the whole Christian society. The great fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is the central fact of the evidence of Christianity.”

Believers have no reason to be defensive concerning the Resurrection. To the contrary, any denial of the Resurrection is a denial of the Savior. The biblical evidence is overwhelming.

As the disciples preached in the earliest Christian sermons, “This Jesus God has raised up, of whom we are all witnesses . . . . Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” [Acts 2:32,36].

The Resurrection was not a dawning awareness of Christ’s continuing presence among the disciples, it was the literal, physical raising of Jesus’ body from the dead. The Church is founded upon the resurrected Lord, who appeared among His disciples and was seen by hundreds of others.

The Church does not have mere permission to celebrate the Resurrection, it has a mandate to proclaim the truth that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The resurrected Lord gave the Church a sacred commission to take the gospel throughout the world. As Paul made clear, the resurrection of Christ also comes as a comfort to the believer, for His defeat of death is a foretaste and promise of our own resurrection by His power. “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” [1 Corinthians 15:53].

So, as the Church gathers to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we should look backward in thankfulness to that empty tomb and forward to the fulfillment of Christ’s promises in us. For Resurrection Day is not merely a celebration–it is truly preparation as well. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the promise of our resurrection from the dead, and of Christ’s total victory over sin and death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the very center of the Christian gospel. The empty tomb is full of power.

The Briefing 03-25-16

Time will tell whether Obama's visit to Cuba will usher in a new era or affirm an old oneFinancial Times (Geoff Dyer) — Old tensions re-emerge in Cuba for ObamaWall Street Journal (Hayes Hunt and Tom Leonard) — The Cuban Casualties Escaping Obama’s Notice

Advances in food technology cause for celebration as global undernourishment diminishesWall Street Journal (Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.) — Notable & Quotable: Mitch Daniels on Anti-GMO Cruelty

Statistics show that marriage is best for children, but some look elsewhere for solutionsNew York Times (Eduardo Porter) — Politicians Push Marriage, but That’s Not What Would Help Children

He is risen! Christians worldwide ready to celebrate the central truth claim of our faithWall Street Journal (Erich Schwartzel) — Hollywood’s Holy Season

The Briefing 03-24-16

Brussels attack the latest in an almost daily cycle of Islamic terror around the globeWall Street Journal (Sohrab Ahmari) — Global Jihad’s Deadly CalendarUS Department of State (John Kirby) — Daily Press Briefing

Yesterday's oral arguments at SCOTUS featured clash between religious and sexual libertyNew York Times (Elizabeth Deutsch) — No Contraception? No EqualityLos Angeles Times (Editorial Board) — Birth control and Obamacare are on trial yet again in the Supreme Court

Religious liberty in peril under coercive economic pressure from businesses in GeorgiaNew York Times (Alan Blinder) — Business to Play Key Role as Georgia Weighs Bill on Religion and Gay Rights