Book Review: The Ever-Loving Truth

Several years ago I had the privilege of meeting Voddie Baucham when he spoke at a Disciple Now at Kirby Woods Baptist Church when I was in High School.  He was such a commanding presence and incredible communicator that I have never forgotten him.  I was also very impressed with the fact that he spoke to high school students on the same level that I would expect that he taught the adults in his church’s congregation.  He was bold with the truth of the gospel and passionate about evangelism.  That has not wavered in the years since.

This past week when we were at the beach, I picked up a book of his from 2004, The Ever-Loving Truth.  His whole thesis revolves around the idea of absolute truth in the midst of a post-Christian culture.  This book is a great primer on apologetics, theology, doctrine, and even basic foundational truths about the history of Christianity.  This is a remarkable resource that I will reference often.  I am so grateful for Voddie’s passionate pursuit of truth.

I have posted below several things I highlighted while reading…

  • Gone are the days when right and wrong were black and white. Today’s morality is painted in shades of gray.
  • They challenged their culture; we tend to conform to ours. They embraced the sovereignty of God in the midst of their persecution; we question the sovereignty of God in ours. They considered it a privilege to suffer for the cause of Christ; we have been conditioned to view it as punishment. Our response to the post-Christian culture in which we live leaves quite a bit to be desired.
  • There is a God, and that God has revealed himself. Therefore, if we have access to that revelation, we have access to truth—the kind that is true for all people, in all places, at all times—truth that is absolute. This does not give those of us who know this God a license to be arrogant, rude, or obnoxious. On the contrary, it gives us an obligation to speak the truth in love.
  • In many ways the church has begun to look too much like the prevailing culture and is therefore unable to provide a viable alternative.
  • Currently, much of what we believe is shaped by our culture, and, unfortunately, much of what our culture believes on a fundamental level is diametrically opposed to biblical truth.
  • Contextualization is essential for the growth and expansion of the church. But there is a difference between contextualization and compromise.
  • Peter and John did not change for the sake of their culture. They simply lived for Christ and preached the gospel. They did not adapt Christianity to the culture, nor did they seek to adapt the culture to Christianity. Their goal was to transform individuals by proclaiming the gospel and making disciples. They realized that there were two incongruent kingdoms at work in the world, and they did not fight that reality. Rather, they embraced it.
  • Many of us can’t remember the last time our Christian convictions cost us something.
  • We need to remember we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
  • Those of us who insist on believing and doing what the Bible says find ourselves labeled as narrow-minded, unthinking, untrained, and uneducated babblers. We sound as though we have been following Jesus. And that, in many circles, is unthinkable.
  • Many people regard relativism, tolerance, and pluralism as basic courtesy.
  • Religious relativism is willing to overlook even the most glaring contradictions between religions in an effort to preserve unity and peace.
  • The real question, however, is not what most people believe but what is true.
  • Tolerance once meant putting up with someone or something in spite of the fact that one did not like or agree with the idea or the person. Today, however, tolerance has morphed into a big hairy monster that demands we not only put up with but even embrace and celebrate the views and practices of others. Furthermore, the new tolerance demands that we value the views and practices of others to the degree that we value our own.
  • I am not writing this book to beg the culture to treat us better. I am writing this book to encourage believers to stop expecting the culture to roll out the red carpet. This is not our home; we are just pilgrims passing through a barren land.
  • Will we stay behind the line, letting the battle against religious relativism, tolerance, and pluralism overtake us, or will we step over it, standing up for the cause of Christ?
  • “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14).
  • Once we get a glimpse of the reality and finality of the fate of the lost, we will preach Jesus.
  • Anything that comes to me from God is going to have to line up with what he has already revealed in the Bible.
  • It is not possible to make much of Jesus and make much of yourself at the same time.
  • In an age where everyone is looking for an experience to justify what they choose to believe, those of us who follow Christ must avoid the temptation to lean on our experience as our only source of evidence. What separates the follower of Christ from adherents of other faiths is the fact that our experience is based in the person of the incarnate Son of God.
  • “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mark 8:34).
  • Suffering is part of our preparation for glory.
  • Philippians 3:7–11: But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead (NIV).
  • “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:1–4 NIV).
  • Five main arguments support the historicity of the Bible. First, the Bible comes from varied, yet consistent sources. Second, there is an abundance of early copies of the biblical texts. Third, the Bible was translated into other languages very soon after being compiled. Fourth, the writings of the early church fathers contain massive quotations of the biblical texts. Fifth, the Bible is corroborated by archeological evidence.
  • The Bible is a life-changing collection of historical documents, written by eyewitnesses who reported the occurrence of supernatural events; these events took place as fulfillment of specific prophecy, and point to the Bible’s divine origins.
  • “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17 NIV).
  • “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Hebrews 1:1–2 NIV).
  • “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).
  • Creation is the prerogative of deity. Jesus cannot be the Creator of the universe without being God.
  • Mary McLeod Bethune’s childhood exploits exemplify what I believe should be the appropriate attitude of the modern American apologist: educated, calculated, and humble. She learned what she needed to know in order to address the needs of her day, namely, how to read the scales at the market. Then, she carefully chose her moment and her strategy. Finally, she did everything she could not to come off as arrogant or confrontational, knowing that the wrong approach would have brought about devastating consequences.
  • “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 NIV).
  • If you make a commitment prior to the opportunity, you will be much more likely to seize the moment when it comes.
  • Our culture is hostile to Christian faith. We no longer live in a time or a place where what we believe constitutes the norm, or even an accepted point of view. What we believe flies in the face of the cherished principles of religious relativism, tolerance, and philosophical pluralism. We are considered “untrained and uneducated” men and women from whom our culture needs to be protected. We are the modern version of Peter and John standing before a Sanhedrin armed with television and radio stations, colleges and universities, newspapers and books, all being leveraged against “the faith that was once for all handed down to the saints.” Struggle is inevitable. Conflict is at hand. Will we bow before the god of culture? Or will we plant our feet, square our shoulders, lift our heads, and give an account to all those who ask us not just what we believe but why?

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