As a technology enthusiast and early adopter, I’ve been quick to test and use generative AI tools for a variety of tasks, ranging from note taking to generative photography and even blog post writing – often venturing too far beyond the boundaries of my gut and conscience.

I used AI to generate photographs to use in presentations. I used AI to conduct SEO research on top search results. I used AI to analyze my writing style and compose a blog post based on research notes I compiled on a Christian topic (to my shame, I published it, then took it down later after much conviction).

I’ve both succeeded and failed at using AI in ways that are consistent with my Christian ethics. And what I’ve learned is that AI is a great notetaker, researcher, and idea generator, but is a lousy theologian, disciple maker, and artist.

Statement of Faith

When I joined a Christian organization four years ago, I signed a contract, agreeing with its statement of faith. When I joined a church, I likewise agreed to its statement of faith. The purpose of the statement of faith is to ensure that members of the organization are aligned on doctrine – sharing the same understanding of core biblical beliefs – protecting the organization from false teaching. This is why church membership is so important and why certain roles within the church — such as teaching — is limited to members.

Prior to being offered the job, I went through an interview process and examination to reasonably ensure that I was, in fact, a true Christian and not someone who knew all the right answers but lacked evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence in my life. It’s important to ensure that your members share the same God-given desires and motivation for ministry.

Natural Man and the Holy Spirit

The Bible teaches that natural man is blind to the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14), and that it takes the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to awaken someone to spiritual matters. Without the intervening presence of the Holy Spirit, people remain in a state of spiritual darkness.

According to Scripture, the Holy Spirit enables Christians to experience salvation and do the work of ministry. Examples of the Spirit’s enablement include:

• Spiritual rebirth and renewal (Titus 3:5, Ezekiel 36:26-27)

• Living a holy life and bearing fruit (Romans 8:2-4, Galatians 5:22-23)

• Knowing and understanding God (1 Corinthians 2:10-12, John 16:13)

• Praying effectively (Romans 8:26-27)

• Boldly witnessing and preaching the Gospel (Mark 13:11, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:4, Romans 15:18-19)

• Receiving and using spiritual gifts to build up the church (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)

• Assuring us of our salvation (Romans 8:15-16, Ephesians 1:13-14)

• Strengthening us inwardly (Ephesians 3:16)

• Helping us abound in hope and joy (Romans 15:13)

• Worshiping, giving thanks and submitting (Ephesians 5:18-21)

Scripture even recounts how God filled Bezalel and other artisans with His Spirit (the first time anyone in the Bible is said to be “filled with the Spirit of God”) to enable them to create art for the Tabernacle. Their artistic skill was not self-generated but enabled by the Spirit of God.

“Then Moses said to the people of Israel, ‘See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.’” - Exodus 35:30–35 (ESV)

There are certain tasks God asks us to do that can only be done by humans empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Unequally Yoked

In the New Testament, Paul warns Christians to not be “unequally yoked” with non-believers (2 Corinthians 6:14). A yoke was a wooden beam connecting two oxen, requiring them to walk side-by-side. If they are “unequal” (different sizes or strengths), they can’t efficiently move forward together. This is a metaphor for any close partnership between a Christian and a non-believer (e.g., marriage or business). It describes two people with incompatible spiritual foundations, worldviews, or moral values trying to work together. In ministry, this usually results in friction and compromise.

What AI Believes

AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude are trained by information found on the public internet and additional datasets you feed it. They analyze the data for patterns and predict answers to your questions. So, if you ask it to tell you who the greatest basketball player of all-time is, it will predict an answer based on the information it has access to (and choose Michael Jordan, of course).

Sometimes, you can limit its “knowledge” by explicitly telling it so. For example, in the section on Natural Man and the Holy Spirit above, I fed Claude a PDF of the ESV Bible and asked it to compile a list of things the Holy Spirt enables Christians to do – based solely on the text of the attached file – and include Scripture references and quotes. Since AI sometimes “hallucinates” (or makes faulty predictions), I manually verified each of the Scripture references before including them in this article.

Prior to the recent AI explosion, when conducting research on a particular topic, a Christian could easily limit his sources to those that align with his doctrinal beliefs. You might use Logos software to limit your search to just Calvin’s Institutes, John MacArthur’s commentaries, or Charles Spurgeon’s sermons – sources you trusted. You could account for their perspectives and biases.

With AI, you often don’t know the sources. AI is pulling information from all over the internet – and from sources of which you aren’t even aware. If you ask it to tell you who Jesus is, it will predict an answer informed by Atheism, Humanism, Islam, Catholicism, and every brand of Christianity under the sun. Every crackpot on the internet could have a say in that answer.

Conclusion

When Christians use AI tools, they should understand that those tools are not necessarily aligned with them doctrinally or missionally. These tools don’t believe that Christ is God, or that Scripture is the inspired, infallible Word of God. These tools do not possess the Holy Spirit to discern truth from error but are simply regurgitating what the world has said about Christian topics.

AI is basically an unsaved intern or contractor you’ve hired, who hasn’t signed the statement of faith. You might get them to take notes for you, design the bulletin, or fix a leaky faucet, but you would never ask them to lead a Bible study, compose your sermon, or create a God-honoring piece of art. Christians must be vigilant to ensure the tasks God routinely empowers Spirit-filled Christians to do are not outsourced to the spiritually blind.

Ed shares the camp’s mission to merge action sports with the message of Jesus Christ, creating an environment where kids can develop their skills while discovering their identity in faith. He talks about the camp’s origins, the impact it has on campers, and how action sports provide a unique platform for ministry.

Tune in to hear about the pros who mentor at the camp, the challenges and rewards of running a faith-based action sports facility, and how you can support their mission. Whether you're an action sports enthusiast, a parent looking for a transformative camp experience for your child, or someone passionate about youth ministry, this episode is for you!

🔗 Learn more and support Camp Royal: weareoyal.com

Tune in to hear how you can support missionaries like Elise as they spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ on college campuses.

🔗 Support Elise's Ministry: https://give.cru.org/0605490
📌 Learn more about Cru at George Mason University: http://www.masoncru.org/

From the challenges of portraying evil and spiritual warfare in fiction to the cultural impact of movies like The Exorcist and Nosferatu, this conversation uncovers why horror is uniquely positioned to address some spiritual truths. Mike also shares personal experiences as a pastor facing real-life horrors, and how they shaped his work in fiction and nonfiction, including his book Christian Horror.

If you're intrigued by the balance of light and darkness in faith, or curious about how Christian writers can challenge genre stereotypes, this episode is for you.

💬 Join the conversation in the comments—what are your thoughts on horror in Christian storytelling?

Kristine’s story is one of resilience, faith, and trusting God through every season of life. She offers advice for aspiring Christian broadcasters, reflects on lessons learned in the media industry, and shares how she’s using her communication skills for God’s glory in this new chapter.

If you’re looking for inspiration to live out your calling and trust God’s plan for your life, this episode is a must-watch!

She opens up about the challenges of being a Christian in Hollywood, how networking and relationships have shaped her career, and the importance of integrity in the arts. From The Rise of the Fellowship to her work with Audi and indie projects, Melissa offers insights into the world of filmmaking, faith-based decision-making, and how God has directed her career path.

Topics Covered:

• How Melissa got her start in acting

• The challenges of being a Christian in the entertainment industry

• Balancing career, family, and faith

• The importance of networking and training as an actor

• Her experience on House of Cards & other productions

• Why integrity matters in the film industry

Follow Melissa Temme & Support Her Work:
🌎 MelissaTemme.com

Join the Conversation!
What are your thoughts on Christians working in secular media? Should faith-based artists only create Christian content? Drop a comment below!

Subscribe for More!
If you enjoyed this episode, hit LIKE and SUBSCRIBE for more discussions on faith, entertainment and creativity.

She also dives into the Jesse Tree tradition, the fascinating biblical connections she discovered, and the challenges and triumphs of getting published. Whether you're looking for a new devotional, a Bible study resource, or inspiration for your own writing journey, this episode is packed with wisdom and encouragement.

📖 Get Donna’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Tracing-His-Promise-Understanding-Bigger/dp/0825448166/

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🔗 Follow Donna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donnaamidon_/

🙏 Support & Pray: Share this conversation and consider using Tracing His Promise in your Bible study group!

Michael reflects on how Ray's ministry helped him overcome his fear of sharing the Gospel, inspiring him to evangelize boldly on the streets of Washington, D.C. Ray Comfort shares personal anecdotes about fear, the role of the law in evangelism, and why Halloween is an unparalleled opportunity for outreach. He also offers practical tips for engaging with others, using gospel tracts effectively, and living out your faith courageously.

Whether you're a seasoned evangelist or someone just starting to explore the idea of sharing your faith, this interview will encourage and equip you to make evangelism a natural and impactful part of your life.

Stay tuned until the end for Ray's final words of encouragement and insights into the joy of serving the Lord. Don't miss this inspiring episode, and may it ignite your passion for spreading the Gospel!

In this episode, Brittany discusses:

• The intersection of faith, beauty, and storytelling in her work.

• Building a community of Christian filmmakers and actors in Charlotte.

• The challenges of producing independent films and her vision for creating a sustainable Christian media company.

Learn how Brittany’s journey reflects the power of calling, creativity, and perseverance. Subscribe to the Layman Podcast for more engaging stories and thoughtful discussions!

Whether you’re exploring your faith, intrigued by ministry stories, or curious about how God uses ordinary people for extraordinary purposes, this episode will inspire and encourage you.

Listen in and discover how God orchestrates even the smallest details to fulfill His purpose!

Dive deep into the challenges, victories, and spiritual battles of this vital work, as Mark discusses the systemic issues behind trafficking, the importance of local church involvement, and how anyone can make a difference in preventing exploitation.

Topics covered include:

• The origins of Justice Ministries and Mark’s calling.

• The role of faith in confronting trafficking.

• Real-life stories of rescue and recovery.

• Practical ways to support the fight against trafficking.

For more information or to support Justice Ministries, visit JusticeMinistries.org.

Episode Highlights:

• What is ministry in the metaverse?

• Success stories of lives changed through virtual evangelism.

• Tools and platforms you need to get started in VR outreach.

• How digital anonymity creates a safe space for authentic conversations.

• The intersection of faith, technology, and community.

Want to connect with Frank and Ethan? Email laymanpodcast@yahoo.com for more details or to receive their VR ministry guide.

Support Frank's ministry: Partner with Frank and become part of this mission by visiting his Cru partner page: https://give.cru.org/0486716

From an early age, our parents and teachers try to identify what our interests, strengths and talents are, so they can nurture those and guide us onto a path of life-long learning and employment. We go to school, we go to college and "major" in a particular field. If we have the time and resources, we get even more degrees in a specific subject. When we get out of school, we get jobs. And throughout our careers, we continue to learn and adapt to changes in technology, consumer tastes, etc. We specialize in one aspect of society or another. All the while, we build ourselves up as experts — authorities on certain subjects — so we have a seat at the table when big, important decisions are made in society.

This is the American way. This is corporate life. This is how the world operates.

The more you know — the more experience you have — the more you're paid and the more you're paid attention to.

But God's kingdom is different. God's kingdom is the opposite. In God's kingdom, our expertise can actually be a deterrent to God’s blessing.

Let’s look at Scripture…

Here we see that not many wise, mighty or noble people are called. But God choses foolish, weak and base people to put them to shame. Why? So that no one gets the glory, except God.

Throughout the Bible, God choses weak and flawed individuals to carry out His plan of redemption. Not only that, but He asks these weak, flawed people to do crazy things that the world thinks is foolish or base.

Look at Moses… God calls him to go to Pharaoh and tell him to free the Jewish people from slavery. Moses is like, "No, I stutter. I can't speak well. Use someone else." God said no. He chose to use someone who couldn't speak well to be His spokesperson. It's ironic. Doesn't seem like a wise choice. Doesn't seem like a wise or sophisticated strategy for freeing the Israelites. I would think that maybe raising up an army to defeat the Egyptians and deliver the slaves would be a better strategy. But God chose a flawed person and a foolish strategy to accomplish a great thing. Why? So that God gets the glory. Was it Moses who changed his staff into a snake? Was it Moses who sent the plagues? Was it Moses who parted the Red Sea? No, it was God. Moses simply obeyed what God told him to do — and God gets the glory for the emancipation of the Jews.

• Look at Noah… God called him to do something foolish — build a giant boat in the desert — then used that foolishness to save the human race.

• Look at the judges… Most of them were very flawed, but God used them to deliver Israel time and again.

• Look at David… He was an adulterer and murderer, but God used him.

• Look at Jonah… He was actively resisting God's call to evangelize a nation, yet God used him to save the people of Nineveh.

• Look at the Apostle Paul in the New Testament… He was murdering Christians, and God used him.

Despite their flaws — despite their resistance and hostility toward God — God used the most unlikely people. Why? So that God gets the glory.

So how is this relevant to us today?

God delights in using flawed, foolish, weak and base people and strategies to accomplish His work. And He resists people who rely on their strengths and expertise.

In 1 Peter 5:5-6, it says…

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus starts His list of beatitudes with this…

Being poor in spirit is being humble and having a right understanding of how flawed we are and unworthy of God's love. And it's only when we're humbled and desperate for God's intervention that He will use us.

So how do we relate to one another knowing this? Well the passage in 1 Peter goes on…

And Paul says in his letter to the Philippians (2:2-4)…

What this means for me, personally, is that I need to understand that my "expertise" and years of experience in Marketing, for example, can actually be a detriment in God's seemingly upside-down kingdom.

That God delights in using flawed, weak, unsophisticated strategies to accomplish great works and build His kingdom.

That I shouldn't look down on what I think are "amateur" strategies and opinions, but be humble in my self image and self assessment, seek to lift others up, and obey God — no matter how foolish, weak or unsophisticated it may look to the world — because where I am weak, He is strong, and He will get the glory. Which is ultimately the whole point in life.

So beware of relying on your expertise. God doesn't tend to use experts to build His kingdom. He uses humble folks who trust and obey Him. Let us be weak, so that God can demonstrate His strength. And let us not allow our expertise to get in the way of His blessing.

Today is Maundy Thursday. You may have never heard of the term Maundy Thursday before. It kinda sounds like Cyber Monday or Giving Tuesday -- or some other random, made-up holiday to sell more Hallmark cards during Holy Week.

The church I now go to has a Maundy Thursday service tonight. And I've never been to one before. I hear it's a somber service involving communion and a remembrance of the last intimate moments Jesus has with his disciples prior to his execution.

So what does Maundy mean? That's kind of a weird word.

• Maundy is a shortened form of the Latin word mandatum (man-da-tum), which means "command".

• After implementing the sacrament of communion ("do this in remembrance of Me" - Luke 22:19 ESV), Jesus proceeds to wash his disciples' feet and give them a new commandment.

• "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35 ESV)

Now this is significant. To the Jewish people, God's law was held in great esteem. The Pharisees prided themselves on how well they kept God's law -- and even made up some new laws themselves. So when God incarnate issues a new law -- a new command, that's a big deal.

So what is this new commandment, and how does it differ from God's existing commandments?

Earlier in His ministry, Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is, and He answered:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39 ESV)

Also recall during Jesus' sermon on the mount, He said:

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ... And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them." (Luke 6:27-28, 31 ESV)

So loving your neighbor as yourself, doing unto others as I would have them do to me… These commandments already existed. Love, love, love… So how is this a new command? Let's look at the new one again…

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35 ESV)

The difference is, the bar has been set higher. Jesus is not commanding us to love others as we want to be loved. He's commanding us to love others as He has loved us. There's a difference there. The way I prefer others to act toward me may not be how Christ acts toward me.

For instance, I might prefer that nobody gets into my personal business and confronts me about my sin. I don't do it to others, because I don't want them to do it to me. Live and let live. But that's not how Christ loves me. The Golden Rule isn't good enough anymore. Our standard of love is no longer set by our preferences, but by Christ's example. God's standard for how I should treat other people is now set by the way Christ has treated me.

Jesus tells the disciples, look at Me. Look at my example. Here's how you love others…

"When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, 'Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.'" (John 13:12-16 ESV)

So the next time you hear someone pull out the Golden Rule -- that you should treat others the way you would want to be treated -- you can pull out this new… Platinum Rule, or whatever you want to call it. That, actually, Jesus wants us to treat others the way He treats me -- which is far and away better (and harder) than I would selfishly like to be treated.

And how does Christ treat us?

• He set aside his glory…

• He humbled himself…

• He gave up his place at the Father's right hand…

• To serve us…

• To teach us…

• To heal us…

• To comfort us…

• To wash our feet…

• To die for us…

• To save us…

That's how we are to love others.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:5-8 ESV)

Christ is our example of how to love our neighbors -- not ourselves. This is the new command He gives us on Maundy Thursday.

I hope you have a chance to attend a Maundy Thursday service and partake in the Lord's Supper with other believers. It'll be my first Maundy Thursday service, and I can't wait.

Have any of you attended a Maundy Thursday service before? What was it like? Let me know in the comments.

As a digital marketer, I see all of the recent advancements in AI language models (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude) and watch all of the Big Tech players (Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta) rushing to either develop their own AI or purchase smaller AI companies (like OpenAI, Character.AI, Anthropic) – and I wonder how Christians can leverage this technology for marketing. Or maybe even something greater.

Today’s AI Capabilities

There are already books, podcasts and conferences explaining how to use AI for marketing. The tools we use in our workplaces are already using AI to some degree.

• The predictive text we use while writing on our smartphones leverages AI to predict our next words. When ChatGPT writes an article on a particular topic, it predicts what someone might write about that topic (sometimes even making up fake citations and sources in the process).

• When we use Google Docs’ text recommendations to change what we wrote to what it suggests, we’re using AI to help write our content. Upcoming features in Google Docs will allow us to select whole paragraphs and ask it to rewrite it in another style (make this more whimsical, please!).

• BrightEdge, an enterprise SEO tool, uses AI to automatically compose SEO meta tags for web pages based on the target keyword we’ve assigned to the page.

• Salesforce is also leveraging AI to analyze data via their various GPT suites for Sales, Service, Marketing, et al.

While it’s easy to see how marketers can leverage current AI capabilities to off-load “menial” tasks like writing ad copy, social posts and SEO meta tags, current AI technology allows us to also generate entire blog posts, articles and photo-realistic images and videos of people doing whatever we want them to do. This isn’t speculative fiction. This is already happening.

Programs like Jasper and Writer allow us to train its AI writer to compose articles like one of our in-house writers. Just teach it our style guide, voice and tone – and let it crank out the articles.

Using a generative AI program called Midjourney, I was able to generate these photo-realistic images and illustrations using a simple text prompt. Can you see how sourcing images for our websites and social media could become so much easier and cheaper? (See The Ethics of AI later in this article.)

AI technology is improving at an insane speed. Here is the progression of Midjourney’s generative AI images in a span of 16 months:

Companies like Runway can take an existing photo or text prompt and turn it into a 4-second video. (Their ultimate goal is to auto-generate a 2-hour movie. Think about how the movie industry will change, if everyone could generate their own movies.)

Anthropic’s Claude AI assistant can analyze large amounts of data (e.g., the Bible), summarize the data and answer questions about that data. You can also do this with annual reports, investment prospectuses, school reading assignments, screenplays, etc. I uploaded the book of Romans, asked it to summarize the book, and asked it a provocative theological question. Here’s what it told me:

Where is this technology heading? How can we think about AI that prepares us for what’s not currently possible, but likely in the next 6 months?

The World of Tomorrow

Character.AI offers the ability to create a “character” or chatbot. It’s a product powered by deep learning models built and trained from the ground up with conversation in mind. A supercomputer reads huge amounts of text and learns to hallucinate what words might come next in any given situation. Given that the output is currently unreliable, Character.AI is marketed as an entertainment product.

But it’s learning. Per their website, your feedback during conversations, as well as your creativity in crafting new uses of the technology will improve the product for everyone.

So, given the speed at which AI is advancing, you could imagine that a “character” could be built in the near future to reliably communicate the “knowledge” it has been programmed with. It could predict your mood by analyzing your facial expression, your body language and your voice and ask you, “What’s wrong?”

What if you could create a “character” or chatbot that was programmed only with the text of the Bible – that you could ask it questions, and get cogent answers that used only the inspired words of God Himself as its source?

What if you could add other, fallible sources to help it address topics like marriage? You could upload books like The 5 Love Languages, How We Love, Love and Respect – and suddenly you have an AI Christian marriage counselor at your fingertips. (Did I say “fingertips”? You can talk to AI now.)

What if you gave it the Bible and a ton of Christian apologetics books? Now, it’s the best Christian apologist that exists, because it has complete knowledge of the Bible and every known argument against Christianity.

You could imagine that, given the right input, we could eventually create an AI chatbot trained in the Bible, Bible interpretation, psychology, Christian counseling, apologetics, systematic theology and a host of other Christian topics that inquisitive Christians could interact with 24/7 to get the answers they seek. A chatbot that never got tired, was never in a bad mood, never reacted in anger or prejudice, never felt squeamish about giving an orthodox biblical answer, never denied Christ…

What if we used AI technology for something much more important than marketing…to advance God’s Kingdom? What are the downsides?

AI is Not Infallible

Currently, AI in its infancy makes a lot of mistakes. Most notably the way ChatGPT and other language tools “hallucinate” or make stuff up. Two New York lawyers were recently sanctioned for using ChatGPT to generate their legal briefs. The tool made up fictitious case citations that the judge looked up and discovered to be bogus. (Remember, these tools predict what someone might write. They predict that people will use citations to back up their arguments, so they include citations, but don’t really care if they’re real and true.)

Additionally, generative AI programs like DALL-E and Midjourney screw up text all the time and will sometimes add extra arms, fingers, toes, etc. to images of people.

AI is Biased

The tools are biased by the guidelines and restrictions they are programmed with. The New York Post published examples of how ChatGPT refused to generate content about certain topics. You could have it tell jokes about men or Jesus, but jokes about women, overweight people or Allah were blocked.

I asked Midjourney to generate a picture of a college student arguing with her parents. I had to rerun the prompt several times just to get it to show a mom and dad, instead of two dads – even when I specifically told it to show both a mom and a dad.

I also asked Midjourney to generate a picture of Donald Trump shaking hands with Adolph Hitler, and it (rightly) blocked me from doing that. But I’m sure someone, somewhere has the ability to take the guide rails off…especially once open source versions are available.

Which is why we may never again believe what we see or read online.

AI is Not Powered By the Holy Spirit

Even if we were able to program a chatbot to only use the Bible as reference, it has to be programmed with other things… Like how to have a conversation. How to communicate in English. What words mean. How to understand sarcasm, hyperbole, etc. All of this information comes from the world. As stated previously, the guidelines are set by fallible (and likely non Christian) people. Much of what AI “knows” is scraped from other sources. In one sense, you could say AI represents the world’s consensus on a topic – and as Christians, we know that we are at war on three fronts with the world, our flesh and the devil. A chatbot is not a person. It doesn’t have a soul. And it isn’t empowered by the Holy Spirit with wisdom and discernment. It could very well be manipulated by the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31).

One thing we learned from Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is that the Devil knows Scripture, can quote it precisely and can misapply it to any given situation. How do we know AI isn’t going to do the same thing?

So, with what can we trust AI?

The Ethics of AI

As stated at the beginning of this article, current AI technology allows us to auto-generate copy, images and video. (We haven’t even talked about other non-marketing tasks like writing software code to build websites and mobile apps, which ChatGPT can also do.)

The question is should we be letting it do these things for us?

If you have staff photographers at your organization, it’s probably not a good policy to utilize AI to generate images – but is it unethical? What if we mark the images as being AI-generated?

The same goes if you have writers on staff. Just imagine the stink it would make internally if you started publishing AI generated articles.

What are the ethical ramifications of passing something off as written by us, when we had AI generate a portion, or all, of the copy? What about copy we don’t attribute to a writer, like SEO meta tags, ad copy and social posts? Is it okay then?

At what point is what we write no longer what we write?

It would be helpful to remember the recent controversy over plagiarism in the pulpit – where preachers took other preachers’ sermons and preached them as if they were their own. Not only is this plagiarism and stealing, but as Pastor John MacArthur surmised, “when a pastor’s sentences are ‘exactly verbatim’ of another pastor, they’ve bypassed the spiritual impact of God’s Word, and what the divine work the Lord would be doing in their heart, because the truth wasn’t studied like it should have been.” In order to communicate biblical truth, you must – as the author – wrestle with the Scripture and receive the illumination of the Holy Spirit to understand and apply it. AI does not, indeed cannot, do this.

What about allowing AI to fight our apologetics battles? If we equip an AI chatbot with the Bible and every Christian apologetics resource available, it could do something no human can do – have a complete, comprehensive knowledge of the Bible and every argument against Christianity that’s ever been addressed. Could we not allow it to answer objections for us?

As we saw with the Scripture-quoting Devil, knowledge is not everything. One could be the greatest apologist of our time, yet be totally corrupt inside as evidenced by his actions (not naming any names!). As Paul writes in 1 Cor 13:2, “if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” An AI chatbot that does not, indeed cannot, love is nothing.

I don’t have the answers to whether or not we should use AI and when, but I do know that we Christians need to start preparing for the massive changes AI will bring to our workplaces. We need to figure out how we’re going to approach AI experimentation – and what lines we won’t cross.

WIRED magazine, for instance, has published their generative AI policy. Whether right or wrong, it’s a starting place. Every Christian organization should talk about what their current AI policies are and have a protocol for amending them as the technology quickly advances.

After AI

So, if this article sounds like it was written by a Christian playing catchup to where AI technology is now and where it’s going, you’re right. We need to be aware of what’s possible now with AI and what will soon be possible. And for the most part, it sounds like AI is going to usher in a lot of useful technology that will put a lot of people out of a job and cause the public to distrust the digital images and text they see online. But here’s some good news for Christians…

Beyond understanding where AI currently is and where it’s expected to go, we need to think further out and understand how AI is going to impact Christian ministry efforts.

Once AI becomes so prevalent that people begin to distrust everything they see and read online (can you imagine the havoc AI will play during the next election cycle?), I believe people will reject digital spaces and turn to – you guessed it – offline, face-to-face communities. Do you know of any organizations in society fostering in-person communities?

I do.

So, let’s talk about how the Church will continue to do what it does best when people lose trust in digital spaces. Yes, let’s figure out how to use AI now, but be prepared for a world where people turn off their devices.

[This was my first-ever expository sermon given on Veteran’s Day 2022 at New Beginnings Baptist Church in Alderson, West Virginia as the final project of the Expositors Academy.]

On June 28, 1914, a young Serbian assassin walked out of a coffeehouse, pulled out his gun and shot into a car carrying Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne.

A month later, Austria declared war on Serbia. But because Serbia was allied with Russia, Russia joined the fight against Austria. However, Austria was an ally of Germany, so Germany declared war on Russia – and also France (for some reason). On the way to France, Germany invaded Belgium. Troubled by this, Great Britain declared war on Germany, and before long, most of Europe was embroiled in a fight that started with two relatively small countries.

The Great War (or World War I) lasted four and a half years, killing over 20 million people and wounding another 21 million.

On November 11, 1918, shortly after the United States entered the war, Germany was forced to surrender. An armistice had been declared. Armistice means an end to fighting – or truce. The fighting had ceased. There was peace.

The three most powerful Allied leaders from Great Britain, France, and the United States gathered at Versailles to decide on what penalties Germany, Austria and their allies would face. In addition to establishing a League or Nations, they carved up the map and redistributed the lands of the losing countries. They also came up with strict punishments specifically for Germany.

Germany had to give up huge amounts of its empire. They lost all their colonies. They were restricted to having an army no larger than one hundred thousand soldiers, only six battleships, and no air force or submarine fleet. They had to claim sole responsibility for the war (remember the whole thing started as a conflict between Serbia and Austria), and they had to pay over $32B in losses and damages to other countries. (Now remember, this was a hundred years ago. $32B was an overwhelming amount of money back then.)

The debt imposed on Germany made the country poorer and poorer, and its people more and more miserable. The crushing debt imposed on Germany destroyed their economy. Heck, they had to borrow money from American and British banks just to pay their debts to France and England! In a few years, the German people were desperate, fed up and willing to listen to anyone who promised revenge and a restoration of Germany’s former greatness. So when a young Austrian man named Adolf Hitler began calling for Germany’s return to glory, the people were eager to support him. They elected him as German Chancellor in 1932.

In September 1939 – roughly 20 years after the end of World War I – Germany started a second world war. This time roughly 70-85 million people died – four times that of the first war – about 3% of the world’s population. It was the deadliest military conflict in the history of the world.

So, despite the best efforts of Great Britain, France and the United States at the end of World War I, the peace they established was only temporary. While there may have been an armistice – an end of fighting, there was clearly no lasting peace or reconciliation between the two sides.

There’s a huge difference between armistice – an end to fighting – and reconciliation.

Which brings us to today’s passage.

If you would, please turn with me to the book of Romans chapter 5 verses 6-11. I’ll read it to you now…

Let’s pray…

Lord God Almighty,

We come to you today as former enemies who have been reconciled to You through Your great love and sacrifice. Lord, we praise you and thank you for that love.

Lord, help us to understand this passage in Romans. Speak through me, as I attempt to handle Your Word with accuracy and respect – and proclaim its meaning to the people in this room.

Give us ears to hear what You have to say through this passage. May we trust Your Word, believe it and apply it to our lives.

Thank you for bringing each individual here today. They are not here by accident. It was Your plan before the foundation of the world that they would be sitting here tonight to hear Your Word.

Speak to us now, I pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

In our passage today, Paul gives the Roman believers hope that the peace we have in Christ is not just an armistice or temporary peace, but an everlasting peace and a total reconciliation between two former enemies.

We’re going to look at what Paul describes as the “weakness of man” and how, by dying for us “weak” sinners, Christ shows us his amazing love. We’ll look at why we can be sure of our salvation and rejoice because of it.

If you are in Christ, you can be sure of your salvation.

And I’m going to explain to you why. So, let’s dive right in and examine the weakness of man…

The Weakness of Man

First, look at how Paul describes us in verse 6… “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” In verse 8… “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And in verse 10… “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God…”

Why does Paul make a point to state that Christ died for us and reconciled us to God while we were still in a state of weakness, ungodliness, sinfulness, and animosity toward Him?

Let’s turn to Ephesians chapter 2, starting in verse 4…

Therefore, back to our passage in Romans chapter 5, the reason that Christ died for us while we were still weak, sinners, ungodly and enemies – while we were dead in our trespasses – is so that…

1. God could demonstrate His love and grace, and

2. He alone would get the glory.

Theologian R.C. Sproul said, "God did not wait for us to exercise our wills, incline ourselves to him, repent of our sins, or get ourselves in such a state that it would be appropriate to provide an atonement for us."

The common theme between these passages is:  God acts when we are helpless.

If you are in Christ, you can be sure of your salvation, because it doesn’t depend on you. You were His enemy, and He saved you anyway.

Let’s keep going now and look at the love of Christ…

The Love of Christ

Verse 7: For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—

What’s he saying there? Is he contrasting two different types of persons – one righteous, the other good? Or is he just using repetition to make a point? He’s saying that you might know a righteous person who’s a total jerk, and you would scarcely die for him, but if he was both righteous and good, you might perhaps die for him. In either case, you would likely not die for a righteous or good man.

Verse 8: but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

If no one would die for a righteous or good person, you better be dang sure ain’t no one dying for a sinner.

But Christ did. Christ died for sinners like you and me. Why? Why did Christ die for us?

Remember what Ephesians says, “…so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (2:7).”

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3:1)”

If you are in Christ, you can be sure of your salvation, because God is determined to demonstrate His love for you in this way.

Will God’s plan be thwarted by you or anyone else? No!

Let’s continue…

The Assurance of Salvation

Verse 9 and 10: Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Pay attention to these words: justified, saved, reconciled. There is a chain here – one leads to another.

First, let’s look at the word justified. It says that we have been justified by His blood. What does justified mean? It means to be declared righteous. We are declared righteous by His blood.

But in verse 10 it says we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son. So at the death of His Son on the cross, two things happen: 1) we are justified, and 2) we are reconciled. What does reconcile mean? Well, it means that something has been exchanged. Our status has changed from being enemies of God to being His friends.

There is also an exchange that happens on the cross called imputation – big theology word there – imputation. As Jesus hung on that cross, our sins were imputed, or transferred, to Him, along with our “guilty” status. But in exchange, His righteousness and “not guilty” status was imputed or transferred to us. This reconciliation, or exchange of guilt status, is what justified us (or declared us righteous) and allowed Jesus to die in our place. God is just when He punishes Jesus for our sins, because Jesus took on our guilt – and the guilt of all He saved. And God is just in saving us, because we took on Christ’s righteousness.

In Romans 3:26, Paul says that God is both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Can God punish a righteous person? No, not if He’s just. Can He let an unrighteous person go unpunished? No, not if He’s just. In order for this whole salvation thing to work, God had to make His Son guilty and us righteous.

As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

So Jesus’ death accomplished two things: our justification and our reconciliation with God.

That was the hard part.

But now that we’ve been justified and reconciled, God will absolutely, 100% save you. Look at verse 10: For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

This is a no-brainer for Paul. Christ has already accomplished our justification and reconciliation with God. There is nothing keeping God’s wrath fixated on us. The next part is easy. Jesus took on our guilt and paid the penalty of our sin by dying on the cross. He defeated death, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. Victory has already been won for us!

Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

If you are in Christ, you can be sure of your salvation, because you have already been justified and reconciled with God. The rest is easy!

Christ has already done the hard part. Your debt has been paid. You are now friends with God. There is now nothing keeping you from being with God in Heaven. God will save you!

Christian, do you believe this?

If so, rejoice!

The Joy of Salvation

Verse 11: More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Joy is the natural response of those who believe they will be saved. Some of us Christians go through life anxious about whether we’re truly saved or not. We look at the sin in our lives and wonder, “Am I really saved? Could God forgive a wretched sinner like me?” Some of us think that assurance of salvation is presumptuous or arrogant. “How dare you presume that God will save you!” Well, it might be presumptuous if our salvation depended on our own ability to obey God and live a righteous life – which we fail at time and time again. But our salvation isn’t dependent on us – it’s dependent on the perfect obedience, goodness and righteousness of Christ that has been freely given to us. There is no one more trustworthy than God. So, if He says He will save you, believe it and rejoice!

If you are in Christ, you can be sure of your salvation, so rejoice!

R.C. Sproul once said, “There is no room for the sourpuss in the kingdom of God.” Do you know some sourpusses in the church? Christians with one setting – anger with what they perceive to be sin all around them in the world, but never in themselves? Or on the flip side, Christians who are so distraught with their own sin, that they won’t ever lift their head out of their hands and experience the joy of their salvation?

I don’t know if it’s a Baptist or Presbyterian thing, but some of us need to learn how to lift our arms and shout for joy once in a while – and not just while watching football! You notice how excited we get when our favorite sports team wins — when WVU beats Virginia Tech — or our child scores a goal during a school sporting event – or when our preferred political candidate wins an election? Can we not get excited that the God of the universe has saved us from eternal damnation?

Can I get an amen?

Can I get an amen with arms raised?

Okay, we’ll work on that.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)

If you’re like me, and you have a tough time feeling and expressing joy, let me give you a great resource… You might want to write this down… It’s this book, the Bible. This book is made up of 66 smaller books. There’s a little book in here called Psalms. It’s a songbook made up of a bunch of songs written by King David, Moses and some other dudes. There are songs in here dealing with all sorts of emotions — anger, sorrow, confusion, impatience, praise and also joy.

“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

“May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you, may those who love your salvation always say, the LORD be exalted!” (Psalm 40:16)

“Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous and praise his holy name.” (Psalm 97:12)

If you struggle showing your emotions, read and mediate on the Psalms.

So, in closing, if you are in Christ, you can be sure of your salvation because:

1. It doesn’t depend on you.

2. God is going to demonstrate His love for you in this way in order to glorify Himself.

3. If you are in Christ, you have already been justified and reconciled to Him.

So, how does this apply to your life?

First of all, as it says in verse 11, rejoice! That’s the application. Rejoice!

Secondly, because God sacrificed His own Son for sinners, be willing to sacrifice everything that is dear to you for the salvation of others. Prioritize evangelism in your life, even if it costs you time, money, resources, your reputation… and even your very life. Those who remain God’s enemies will experience His wrath. They aren’t covered by the righteousness of Christ. Don’t hate them; don’t ignore them; have compassion for them! Sacrifice everything dear to you for the salvation of others.

Thirdly, you should seek reconciliation with your enemies. Sometimes that’s a neighbor or a coworker or relative, and sometimes it’s your own spouse or kids. When you get into a verbal fight with your spouse, do you just try to defuse the situation, postpone the conversation, and sweep it under the rug? If you postpone the argument for the sake of peace, then eventually forget about it, does it solve the problem? Or does it just implement a temporary armistice?

Seek reconciliation, not just an end to the fighting.

If God just wanted to end hostilities between us, He could have just wiped us out. But He didn’t just want an armistice. He wanted reconciliation.

Can you imagine if, at the end of World War I, after Germany had been burdened with an overwhelming $32B debt, if France or another Allied country stepped in and said, “Germany, don’t worry about the debt, we’ll pay it for you.” Do you think World War II would have happened? I don’t think so. I think there would have been reconciliation.

Well, that’s what Jesus did for us. We were burden with an unpayable debt, and Jesus stepped in and paid it for us. He took our punishment onto Himself.

Now, if you haven’t placed your faith in Jesus, this sermon doesn’t really apply. You can’t be sure of your salvation, if you remain an enemy of God. You may be feeling – right now, as you sit here tonight – the overwhelming burden of your sin debt. Maybe you’re not actively fighting against God in your life – and are in a time of armistice. But the burden of sin will drive us to do one of two things:

1. Either you will be like Germany and become bitter and angry and desperate – and reengage in a fiercer battle with God. A battle you can never win, that will result in more casualties each time, or…

2. That burden will bring you to your knees, begging for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Something God is freely offering to you today.

Where will you go with your burden of debt? My hope is that you will bend your knee to Christ and lay your burden at the cross.

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Don’t delay or put this off. Go to God in prayer tonight, confess your sins to Him and beg Him to take this burden from you. Repent – or turn away – from your sins and follow Christ. Read God’s Word and submit to it in every area of your life. Make peace with God today.

If you have any questions about how to do all that, come see me after the service. Or let’s schedule some time to meet and talk about it. There’s nothing more important than your eternal destiny.

Let’s pray…

Dear God,

You are amazing. Your love is so great and beyond explanation. You figured out a way to save us, your rebellious creation.

I don’t know why you love us. There’s nothing lovely about us, other than the fact in some small way we bare your image.

Lord, we’re sorry for our sins. We’re sorry that everyday we still choose our sin over following You. But we trust You when You say that You will forgive us when we confess our sins to You. So we confess them to you now…

Lord, we trust You when You say that You will save us, because we trust Your Word. And You alone are trustworthy. But help our unbelief when we sin and feel ashamed and doubt our salvation. Help us to trust in Your love even when we don’t feel lovely or lovable.

Lord, if there’s anyone here today that is still your enemy, I ask that You would open their eyes to that fact and bring them to their knees in repentance. Show them Your glory and love and draw them to You today. Let them ask for Your Son’s righteousness, and transfer their sins to Him. Take their burden of debt from them. And give them a reason to rejoice.

Be with us now as we depart this place. Keep us safe as we drive home tonight.

May we be a witness to the world of Your justice and love. May we give all we have to seek the lost. May we pursue reconciliation with our enemies. And may we rejoice in your salvation.

We pray all of these things in Your Son Jesus’ precious and holy name.

Amen.

Thank you all for coming. I really appreciate it. Peace be with you.

Halloween is a time when our culture revels in the supernatural and embraces its fear of the darkness, monsters, and the dead. But while the world gets goosebumps watching scary movies and donning horrific costumes, some Christians get squeamish about something else entirely…evangelism.

Is it okay for me to participate in Halloween? What if someone asks me why I’m refraining? Should I tell them I’m a Christian? Should I hand out Gospel tracts instead of candy?

As Christians, we want to know how to engage in Halloween activities in a God-honoring way. We don’t want to come off as legalistic prudes, but we also don’t want to celebrate evil.

For more insight on this topic, I turned to Ray Comfort – a renowned Christian evangelist in California who has dedicated his life to street witnessing and teaching others to overcome their fear of evangelism. Ray is the founder and CEO of Living Waters, an organization that provides evangelism training and supplies to Christians who need help in this area of spiritual growth.

In the following interview, Ray attempts to explain the culture’s fascination with fear and provides helpful tips on how Christians can overcome their fear of evangelism and make use of Halloween as an opportunity to spread the good news of Jesus Christ:

Halloween is a time when the world is fascinated with death and monsters and creepy things. Why do you think people enjoy being afraid?

Because they’re dumb! I mean seriously, my dad took me to a murder movie when I was about seven or eight, and I don't know if I've ever recovered from that. I had nightmares for years. It's silly to pour things into your soul – into your heart – that aren't wholesome and good, because they’re gonna come back at you. Modern horror movies are horrific. Also the masks! When we give out tracts at our door at Halloween, it's just horrible to see how people are delighted in that which is an absolute perversion of everything pure and good and nice and wonderful. But it's just the way the world is.

The Bible speaks of us as being lovers of violence, loving darkness more than light, of drinking iniquity like water. So it really shouldn't surprise us that the nature of man loves that which is evil.

I've often heard actors confess how they’re best at acting when they're playing somebody evil. It's like something they can boast about – being an axe murderer just comes naturally! And it certainly does, because the nature of man is evil, and we gravitate towards evil. And I find Halloween absolutely repulsive.

You talked about being afraid as a kid. What were some of the things that you were scared of as a child?

Well I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of heights. I’m fearful of death (when I was a kid). I was fearful of monsters, of nightmares, fearful of pain. I think when you start thinking about life, life really is very very fearful. We don't know what's coming up tomorrow. We don't know when death is gonna come for us.

But we should never be afraid of fear, because fear is actually good. It's a protector. I'm fearful of heights, so guess what? I don't climb cliffs. I don't climb mountains. And I say, “Thank you, Lord, for that fear.” It's a common sensible fear. I'm fearful of monsters. I'm fearful of pit bulls that wanna rip me into shreds. Most of our fears are for our benefit. There are fears that have torment – that hinder us from doing what we should do for God. But I'm pleased that God has given us fear, because it is a great protector.

When I watch you share the Gospel – whether in one-on-one conversations or open air preaching – you seem so comfortable. As a seasoned evangelist do you ever get scared before engaging people with the Gospel?

Always. But when I'm weak then I'm strong. If I wasn't fearful, I wouldn't pray. I'd be confident. I've got the skills; I don't need God's help. When I get on my bike with my dog, he's the best ever bait when I go fishing for men. Strangers come up to me and say, “Oh, I love your dog!” And suddenly I've got a friend because of the dog. Whenever I approach people, having my dog really helps.

But every Zacheus becomes a Goliath in a split second to me. I've got this fertile imagination. I can see a guy and I immediately know that he hates Christians. I can tell by his fists he just wants to kill a Christian. And it's all imagination, so I have to push those thoughts aside like a firefighter. When he goes to a fire, he doesn't listen to his fears. He thinks of the fate of those around him in the burning building. That's my strong confidence – not to look to my fears, but to look to the fate of the ungodly – that drives me to reach out. I've gotta have confidence. I've gotta be like a firefighter. I've gotta have this courage that I muster. And that's what we need to do as Christians. We have the power to do that, because of love. Perfect love casts out all fear. So when we get a grip of God’s love, then we can control our fears, and that's what I have to do. I have to get a grip of myself everyday and say, “I will not fear. I will do what God's called me to do.”

Is fear ever a good thing for a Christian? What should Christians fear?

Christians should most of all fear God – and I don't mean a reverential fear. The Bible speaks of a fear that causes trembling. When God gave his law to Moses, the Bible says so terrible was the site that Moses was exceedingly fearful and quaked – he shook. I know what that is 'cause I live in California and know what a good shake is. We should tremble at the fear of God. Scripture says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Now let me tell you what sort of fear I'm talking about. Jesus said, “Fear not him who has power to kill your body and afterwards do no more, but fear Him who has power to kill your body and cast your soul into hell.”

When I lived in New Zealand thirty-something years ago, the police didn't have guns – they had sticks, batons. When someone was naughty, they would hit them rather than shoot them. When I came over here [to the States], I remember I was in Waikiki standing on a trash bin, preaching to a crowd of people. A police officer walked up to me, and the first thing I said to myself as I looked at him was, he’s got a gun. It's all I could see. It was like he was approaching me with this great big cannon and, as a New Zealander, I didn't say, “Hey, buddy – First Amendment rights. Do you want me to stand beside the trash bin or in the trash bin? But I'm gonna preach 'cause it's my First Amendment right. You're a servant of the people.” No, I didn't say that. I just said, “Officer, want me to stop? Want me to move? What would you like? You've got a gun, and I don't wanna be killed.” That's more than a reverence for the police; that is a fear of what the police officer can do to me. He can put a bullet through my head if he so desires. If I move quickly – gonna give him a tract – he could just kill me 'cause he wants to get home at night.

So as I said that's more than a reverential fear. It’s a fear of what he can do, and that's what Jesus is saying: “Fear not him who has power to kill the body and afterwards do no more, but fear Him who has power to kill your body and cast your soul into hell.” That is a good fear. That is a fear of God which causes us to depart from evil, as Scripture says. That's what keeps me keeps me from pornography. Pornography has an incredible attraction for every guy. We’re like moths to a flame. It's instant pleasure. But I dare not, because I fear God. I know the eye of the Lord is in every place beholding the evil and the good, so I thank God for fear.

Let me give you a little quick story, if I may, about how fear did me a favor before I was a Christian. This was the fear of God. At 16 years old (I was saved at 22), I found myself in long grass at night with a pretty, young 16-year-old girl. She was gorgeous. I was behind a dancehall, and as I laid there, my intentions were not honorable. She said something to me that was like a bucket of ice water thrown from the heavens. She said 4 words – this is all she said – it put the fear of God in me. She said, “God is watching us.” I hadn't been thinking about God; I'd been thinking about her. And immediately I just stood up and said, “Well, let's go back inside to the dance.” I look back and I say thank God for your fear! Even six years before I was a Christian, I felt the fear of God, and it caused me to depart from doing something evil – from getting her pregnant, from shaming her family, from perhaps instigating an abortion. I don't know what would have happened, but I look back and say thank you, Lord, for that fear and may I always have the fear of God that causes me to tremble at Your presence, to know your eye is in every place beholding the evil and the good.

So that fear is good. It's wholesome. It's great.

Getting back to Halloween, you called Halloween the International Day of Evangelism. Can you explain?

Yeah, when we came to the U.S. back in 1989, suddenly people are knocking on our door, wearing horrific occultic masks. What we did as a little family was turn the lights down, sit on the floor and just wait till it was all over. Then, one day, I got the revelation that I’m to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature – and strangers are coming to my door, knocking on it and wanting me to give them anything. So we got a whole stack of candy and a whole stack of tracts. I think 80 or 90 people came to our door that night and knocked. We opened our door to them. We didn't go door knocking on their houses. So we put tracts and stuff into their little bag. I thought, what a wonderful opportunity that the world comes to us. I encourage every Christian to not partake in the evil of Halloween, but to use it as an evangelistic springboard to get the Gospel to those who mostly need it. It's a wonderful opportunity, and so it's International Evangelism Day.

How do you engage the parents of the kids that come to your door?

I don't usually engage them, because there’s people lining up to come to our door behind them. But we've got million dollar Gospels of John that look like a bundle of a million dollars. You could always give one of those to the parents and say, “When you’ve got a minute, you might like to read this.”

How would you recommend Christians incorporate these tracts – not just at Halloween but in their everyday lives?

If you can see the value of a tract, it'll spur you to use it. A tract will speak only when the person wants to be spoken to. Often you'll share the Gospel with someone, and they'll be distracted and be looking around – their body language says they're not interested – but they'll read a tract when they're interested.

Our tracts are so engaging; they're so different. I remember when I first saw tracts back in the early 1970s, they were incredibly boring. It looked like someone had gone out of their way to have them put you to sleep. So what we try to do is make tracts attractive – make it so people can't put them down. The million dollar bill is a great example. It looks like a million dollar bill. When we did the million dollar Gospel of John, I called my graphic artist and said, “Are you trying to get me put in jail? It looks too realistic!” And he said nothing in the artwork is real; it's all just put together to look like it's genuine. So our tracts look interesting. [When we give them out], people often come back and ask for more.

We've got the optical illusions where you actually see something that just doesn't look real – one looks bigger than the other. We've got 101 of the World's Funniest One Liners. Who's not gonna want that? When someone’s standing in a store looking bored while they wait for a customer, you say, “Hey, this will break your boredom. It’s a hundred and one of the world's funniest one liners.” And they really are funny, you know. If at first you don't succeed, don't try skydiving. They really are witty little one liners, and the Gospel is right in the middle, so you have plenty of getaway time if you’re like me. They’re different. They're wonderful. And we should make tracts part of our life. Always carry tracts. If I’d been God, I would have designed us like the kangaroo so we had a tract pouch. Always.

You're espousing the benefit of giving a tract even if you don't have time to actually engage the person in conversation.

Sometimes we don't. You've got bus stop evangelism. The bus is coming. This person is standing there. And you're thinking, man, they're going to hell if they die in their sins. You got 10 seconds, so what do you do? You say, “Did you get one of these? It's a million dollar bill.” They’ll say, oh thank you; I can’t wait to get the change from this – or some witty little thing.

So tracts can be very beneficial. When you’re at the supermarket, give one to the checkout lady or checkout man, or just leave one on a shelf. There's no law against leaving a tract on a shelf. You're not stealing something. You're giving something, and it's incredibly beneficial.

For more information on Ray Comfort’s ministry, please visit the Living Waters website and check out the Halloween Outreach Box available in their online store.

[This was a piece I wrote to prepare for an open-air preaching opportunity I had in Santa Monica Beach, California during the Ambassadors’ Academy training in 2018.]

I don’t know about you, but every time I turn on the news, I’m disgusted with what I see. Whether it’s a politician saying something hateful about another person, or another mass school shooting, or a natural disaster that's devastated a small country and killed thousands of people... I ask myself, "If God is good, then why does He allow these evil things to happen?"

Maybe you've asked yourself the same question.

Well, I’m going to answer this for you today. First, with the short answer… Love. God allows evil in the world, because He loves us.

Now, you’re probably thinking, "That’s a ridiculous answer. Are you trying to tell me that, because God loves me, He allows bad things to happen to me?"

What I’m telling you is that, because God loves us, He allows evil to exist in this world.

Now, let me explain…

The Fall of Man & Nature

In the beginning, God created man and woman in the Garden of Eden, and they were sinless. They lived in perfect harmony with God and nature. There was no violence in the world. Lions laid next to lambs, and there were no natural disasters. It was a paradise. Adam and Eve had unfettered access to God and walked with Him daily in the garden.

At that time, God established one law – one rule that Adam and Eve had to follow. He told them not to eat fruit from one particular tree in the garden – and, if they do, they will surely die.

God established a law, and the penalty for breaking His law was death.

So, what did Adam and Eve do? Well, with the help of Satan, Eve decided to take and eat the fruit from the forbidden tree. Then she gave it to Adam, and he ate.

God had one law, and because of their pride and rebellion against God’s authority, they broke His law.

Because of their sin – that’s what sin is, the breaking of God’s law – God cursed man and nature. From that day forward, mankind was born in sin. You, me – we're all born with a sinful nature. Our default disposition is to reject God's authority over our lives, because we want to be our own bosses. The Bible says we are at enmity with God. We are His enemies.

To illustrate what it means to have a sin nature, think of a car that has its alignment off. If you leave your hands off the steering wheel, it veers to one side or the other. By nature, we are constantly veering away from God, because our alignment is off. We’re born with this sinful nature, because of what Adam and Eve did in the garden.

However, not only was man cursed, but nature was as well. God said that man would now have difficulty tilling the ground – and that nature itself is groaning because of man’s sin. We have natural disasters and fear wild animals, because we live in a fallen world. Man is fallen, and the world is fallen – and together, along with Satan, we produce the evil that’s in the world.

But God is patient, not willing for any to perish. Which is why he allows evil to continue in this world today. If He were to get rid of all evil in the world, He would have to wipe out all of mankind. He almost did that with a flood six thousand years ago, but because of His great love for us, he kept a small remnant safe from His judgement.

So, love is why God allows evil.

God’s Law

Remember how I defined sin? It’s the breaking of God’s law. Well, after Adam and Eve fell and were banished from the Garden, God gave us more laws through Moses. The most famous of these are the Ten Commandments. If you want to know what sin is, just look at the Ten Commandments.

Do you think you've kept them? Let’s go through a few and see…

The ninth commandment is You shall not lie. How many lies do you think you’ve told in your lifetime? I’m talking about lying to get out of trouble with your parents, or lying about your charitable giving on your tax return, or lying to your spouse about what you did last night with your friends. Do you think you’ve told one or two lies in your lifetime? Hundreds, maybe thousands? What do you call someone who tells hundreds of lies?

A liar.

Let’s look at the eighth commandment – You shall not steal. Have you ever stolen something in your life? I’m talking about shoplifting, or taking home office supplies from work, or showing up late and leaving early at your job yet reporting a full day’s work, or checking that box on your tax return saying you paid sales tax on all your online purchases this year (yeah, right). This is called stealing. What do you call someone who takes things that don’t belong to them?

A thief.

The seventh commandment is You shall not commit adultery. Now, some of you may have actually committed adultery by cheating on your spouse with another person. But if you haven’t done that, listen to what Jesus said about this commandment... He said that even if you’ve looked at another person with LUST, you’ve committed adultery with them in your heart. Have you ever looked at another person with lust? Either through pornography, or gawking at people at the beach, or through the bombardment of sexual advertising we see everyday?

In the same way, Jesus said if you hate your neighbor, you’re guilty of breaking the sixth commandment – You shall not murder. Have you ever hated another person? I have.

So...

I’m not judging you, but by your own admission (if you're honest), you’re a liar, a thief, an adulterer and murderer at heart. And those are only four of the Ten Commandments!

The Bad News

If God were to judge you based on the Ten Commandments, would you be innocent or guilty of breaking His law? If God required perfect obedience to His law in order to be with Him in Heaven, and you were to die today, would you go to Heaven or Hell?

You would go to Hell.

Does that concern you? It should! We’re talking about your eternal destiny here. I don’t even know you, but I don’t want you to go to Hell!

Did you know that 150,000 people die each day? One hundred and fifty thousand people die every single day. You could drive down the road today, be hit by a drunk driver and find yourself facing God’s judgement. Today. And based on your performance, it’s not going to be pretty.

The bad news is that you – and I – have broken God’s law countless times and deserve to die physically and spiritually. God says the wages of sin is death. That liars and murderers and adulterers will be cast into the Lake of Fire for all eternity.

How many times did Adam and Eve have to sin to be judged by God as guilty and condemned to death? Just once.

That’s the bad news. And, indeed, it is bad news.

But do you know what God did so that you wouldn’t have to go to Hell? He provided us a way to escape His judgement.

The Good News

God sent His one and only Son to Earth to live as a man, perfectly obey His law (something we are incapable of doing), and die in our place on the cross. Jesus gave up His glory, majesty and privilege in Heaven to come down here and pay the penalty of our sin.

Have you ever been to court? I have. I went for reckless driving. I fell asleep at the wheel one night, ran off the road and hit a tree. Now, imagine if that turned out differently – that instead of running off the road, I swerved into the oncoming lane and hit another car head on, killing the other driver. And imagine if there was a traffic camera that captured it all on video.

I would go to court and plead guilty. I’m guilty. It’s obvious and everyone knows it. I’m guilty of breaking the traffic laws and I’m guilty of murder. The penalty for what I’ve done is death – I’m going to the electric chair. But just before the judge pronounces me guilty and sentences me to death, a man I don’t even know rushes into the courtroom and says, “Stop! I will pay the penalty for this man.” This man volunteers to get strapped into the electric chair and die in my place. Now, the judge can let me go free. The penalty has been paid by someone who wasn't guilty of the same crime. Justice has been served.

This is what Jesus has done for you and me. We broke God’s law, and Jesus paid our fine. It’s a legal transaction. God is a good judge. He cannot let sin go unpunished. But because He loves us so much, He punishes His Son in our place. Instead of requiring us to die and go to Hell, God kills His Son and sends Him to Hell.

But Jesus rises three days later, conquering death and giving us hope in a resurrection.

Summary

So, the bad news is that we’re all guilty of breaking God’s law and deserve death, but the good news is that Jesus will pay your fine, if you repent from your sins (that means turn away from them) and place your trust in what Jesus has done for you to save you from God's coming judgement. Give up control over your own life and submit to God's authority over you. Make Jesus your Lord.

Don’t trust in your own goodness to save you on Judgement Day. None of us are good enough to get to Heaven. We’ve all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Only Jesus Christ was good enough, and it’s only through His righteousness applied to our account that we can enter Heaven. So trust in Jesus to save you.

Read the Bible and do what it says, and God will never let you down.

Following Jesus isn’t easy. It’s hard, and it gets harder in this country everyday. But salvation from God’s eternal judgement is worth it. Momentary sacrifice in this short life is worth eternity in Heaven.

Think about these things. Get right with God today, because you never know if you’ll be gone from this world tomorrow.