© 2007 Robert Wolgemuth

ISBN 978-0-7852-2169-7

Chapter 1

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs -- these people died because they chose to -- and the hell they endured stripped away their doubt, sealing their determination

Hebrews chapter 11 is the New Testament’s “Hall of Faith”

Chapter 2

#1 to have nailed down: God is God: The Creator

Holy (mysterious and completely other, and He loved us first)

Sovereign (see Old Testament’s Book of Job)

Merciful (father forever)

“I AM Who I AM” -- and you [we] are not

He is here, now

One piece of evidence = the work of His hands: You

Creation

Order

Vastness

Beauty

What you believe about Jesus is the most important thing you will ever decide

Chapter 3

#2 to have nailed down: The Bible is God’s Word -- Unrivaled for teaching truth

Doctrine

Reproof

Correction

Instruction in righteousness

Ubiquity

Each year nowadays, 500 million copies distributed

Since 1455, 30 billions copies distributed

Demand is increasing decade after decade

The Bible is the best-selling book of all time (by orders of magnitude)

Integrity

Despite 45 writers

Despite 1500 years

Uniqueness

Actually a library of books

People have died to defend it

Deep-rootedness

Partial 114 AD

Full 200 AD

More early copies exist than of any other ancient work

Endurance

Has survived multiple, systematic attempts to destroy it

Predictiveness

> 39 specific prophecies in O T re: the coming Messiah [can know, can’t imitate]

Jesus alone fulfilled them all, including:

Shepherds’ worship

Kings’ worship and gifts

Baby Boy

Virgin Mother

Born in Bethlehem

Prescriptiveness: Marriage and intimacy

Family relationships

Labor and management

Discriminiation denounced

Humanitarianism required

Personal finances and stewardship

Inspiration: Written communication

Education

Music, art, literature

Medicine and hospitals

Chapter 4

#3 to have nailed down: Mankind is Eternally Lost, and Therefore in Need of a Savior

Really bad situation (spiritual lostness)

The starting place: we must know that we need help, and any resistance to admitting our lostness is a result of pride [a la, Satan’s fall]

The peril of pride is an unwillingness to humbly express regret

Independence is a non-starter -- we are incapable of making, finding, or saving ourselves

When lost people admit the truth, they can achieve real change

“Repentance always begins with a decision,” Reverend Colin Smith

Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be made well?” (crippled man at the Pool of Bethesda)

The ? Jesus asked revealed a deeper ailment than the physical malady the man suffered from

Do you want to be healed or not?

Chapter 5

#4 to have nailed down: Jesus Christ Died to Redeem Mankind

What are you going to do with Jesus? (the most important question of all)

“But who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked His disciples

Is He the One? Over a million buildings (churches) exist that are dedicated to Him

270,000 books in print about Jesus

The Bible (all of which points to Jesus) is the best-selling book of all time

Countless martyrs have chosen death instead of betraying Jesus

“The Father and I are one,” Jesus says

[“Believe Me that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father -- or else believe because of the works themselves,” Jesus says]

Jesus is history’s centerpiece / pivot point / epicenter

Jesus has thrown down the gauntlet: Because of Jesus’s claim to be more, we do not have the right to consign Jesus to the category of “mere great religious figure”, or “mere moral teacher”, or even “mere prophet” (C. S. Lewis’s “3 L’s: liar, lunatic, or Lord”)

“But wait”, you say. “Isn’t it better to say that Jesus was ‘good’ than to say something negative about Him? Actually, no.

C. S. Lewis frames this truth in His inimitable, straightforward style: “You can shut Jesus up for a fool, you can spit at Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being [just] a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

When all Hell breaks loose, you and I do not want Jesus riding shotgun. He needs to be at the wheel. But let’s be honest: even if we believe Him to be Who He says He is, submitting ourselves to His control is no small assignment. Again, C. S. Lewis says it so well: “The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self -- all your wishes and precautions -- to Christ.”

After 400 years, God spoke. And what did He say? God said . . . “Jesus”

God spoke “I love you” in a way that left no doubt

“God, Who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to our fathers, . . . has in these last days . . . spoken to us by His Son . . . Whom God has appointed as Heir of all things . . . through Whom also He made everything . . . Who, being the brightness of God’s glory . . . and the express Image of His person . . . and upholding all things by the word of His power . . . when He had by Himself purged our sins . . . sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

Chapter 6

#5 to have nailed down: Grace and Faith are Gifts

THE FIRST GIFT = JESUS CHRIST

There’s nothing we have done or can do to earn God’s grace gift

THE SECOND GIFT = FAITH TO BELIEVE

We must receive them both

“I do believe,” the dad of the sick boy answered Jesus, “help my unbelief.”

When God grants us the gift of faith -- the ability to believe -- something happens that is both wonderful and frightening: We see His goodness, and we also become painfully aware of our own failure and lostness. Repentance is right around the corner!

“For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” [Romans 10:9]” -- St. Paul

Genuine confession and repentance lead to celebration.

Chapter 7

#6 to have nailed down: Belief and Works are One

Treating our beliefs and our conduct as two different things is dangerous

“Faith without works is dead.” -- St. James

There should be no hours in our day when our activity is not directed toward God’s glory. None. We’re always on-call: Offer up work

Pray in traffic jams

Smile when you don’t feel like it

Because Christ has found us and we have heard His call to follow Him, there should be nothing in our schedule that isn’t lifted up by what we believe.

If you and I are Christ-followers, our lives should be marked by this fully integrated, distinct behavior, beaten to a thorough consistency

“Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” “All” is all.

It works both ways. The unity between belief and works also means that good deeds are no substitute for faith. . . . We can’t work our way to saving faith, but if we have saving faith, it must be evident in how we live and act -- or it’s not saving faith.

So many of Jesus’s confrontations had to do with this issue of belief and works -- matching what you say with how you act

[“Let the fruit of your life show the truth of God’s Word”]

There’s nothing in our intellect that will substitute for our obedience

Chapter 8

#7 to have nailed down: The Church is God’s Idea

The [Catholic] Church can literally stand against the evil schemes of Hell itself, empowered to hold off the power of darkness, to (with God’s help) overcome the Evil One

The Church is actually designed for warfare

The regular gathering in church with other believers cannot be seen as anything but absolutely essential -- you need to go to church -- “miracles happen at church” -- Dr. Henry Blackaby

The Christian life was never intended to be lived in isolation . . . There’s nothing quite like the church, and it’s exactly where we need to be before, during, and after all Hell breaks loose -- sometimes questions & confrontations save people from death

. . . to exercise moral authority. This authority was never intended to be used in haughtiness or for revenge. But church discipline has been administered to correct her misguided, harmful, or defiantly unrepentant members, protecting the purity of the church body [e.g., denying Communion to abortion-supporting politicians]

The ultimate goal of church discipline [e.g., excommunication] is not to destroy a person. It’s to so radically challenge him that he repents and is restored to fellowship in the church. And like a good parent, the right to discipline is balanced with the mandate to love and serve

Chapter 9

Sweaters, Storm Shutters, and being Ready

“Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is.” -- C. S. Lewis

Having built a Godly interior life will have been the best preparation

#1 = God is God

God is the Creator -- He understands: He made us, and He’s still involved

God is holy -- It was God’s holiness that overwhelmed women and men in the Bible, sending them to the ground on their faces in His breathtaking presence

God is merciful -- He is sympathetic and patient with us

#2 = The Bible is God’s Word

Nothing is more “dangerous” than God’s Word [book: God’s Smuggler]

#3 = Mankind is Eternally Lost and in Need of a Savior

Being spiritually iost is the worst thing that can happen to you

You and I are lost ; we need a savior -- period.

#4 = Jesus Christ Died to Redeem Mankind

[Our only hope]

#5 = Grace and Faith are Gifts

#6 = Beliefs and Works are One

This is really important: Before you give up and think, “I’m not really a Christian because I keep messing up,” listen to God’s provision: Because we have received God’s gifts of grace and faith, we have the power to get back on track when we fail. We recognize God for Who He is ; we acknowledge that Jesus Christ’s Blood washes away our sin ; we repent ; we thankfully receive His grace and ask for His power to be and do what He wants

#7 = The Church is God’s Idea

Always be Ready

Make the core of Christian beliefs: Understandable

Memorable

Teachable

[Attractive]

Another Kind of Ready

Being ready means that when crisis hits, we default not just to something that we think will get us through, but to the best “Thing” That will get us through -- Jesus Christ

A New Kind of Dangerous

“The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who [thinks he] has nothing to lose.” -- James A. Baldwin

Preparing for the hell that will come crashing down on us is about only one thing: holding on to what is true: what we know about God and His Word (Jesus) ; what we believe about our lostness ; our faith in the uniquely redemptive power of Jesus to save us ; and the collective power of His people gathered together. There is nothing else we need. This is truly worth dying for.