True Christians Are to Be Salt and Light to A Dying World — J.C. Ryle

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. — Matthew 5:13-16

True Christians are to be in the world like SALT. Now salt has a peculiar taste of its own, utterly unlike anything else. When mingled with other substances, it preserves them from corruption. It imparts a portion of its taste to everything it is mixed with. It is useful so long as it preserves its savor, but no longer. Are we true Christians? Then behold here our place and its duties!

True Christians are to be in the world like LIGHT. Now it is the property of light to be utterly distinct from darkness. The least spark in a dark room can be seen at once. Of all things created light is the most useful. It fertilizes. It guides. It cheers. It was the first thing called into being. Without it the world would be a gloomy blank. Are we true Christians? Then behold again our position and its responsibilities!

Surely, if words mean anything, we are meant to learn from these two figures, that there must be something marked, distinct, and peculiar about our character, if we are true Christians. It will never do to idle through life, thinking and living like others, if we mean to be owned by Christ as His people. Have we grace? Then it must be seen. Have we the Spirit? Then there must be fruit. Have we any saving religion? Then there must be a difference of habits, tastes, and turn of mind, between us and those who think only of the world. It is perfectly clear that true Christianity is something more than being baptized and going to church. “Salt” and “light” evidently imply peculiarity both of heart and life, of faith and practice. We must dare to be singular and unlike the world.

taken from: Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Matthew, J.C. Ryle.

Be Steadfast In Standing for the Truth — Charles Spurgeon

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” —1 Corinthians 15:58.

Beloved, be ye steadfast. By this the apostle means, first, be ye steadfast in the doctrines of the gospel. Know what you know, and, knowing it cling to it. Hold fast the form of sound doctrine. Do not be as some are, of doubtful mind, who know nothing, and even dare to say that nothing can be known. To such the highest wisdom is to suspect the truth of everything they once knew, and to hang in doubt as to whether there are any fundamentals at all. I should like an answer from the Broad Church divines to one short and plain question. What truth is so certain and important as to justify a man in sacrificing his life to maintain it? Is there any doctrine for which a wise man should yield his body to be burned? According to all that I can understand of modern liberalism, religion is a mere matter of opinion, and no opinion is of sufficient importance to be worth contending for. The martyrs might have saved themselves a world of loss and pain if they had been of this school, and the Reformers might have spared the world all this din about Popery and Protestantism. I deplore the spread of this infidel spirit, it will eat as doth a canker. Where is the strength of a church when its faith is held in such low esteem? Where is conscience? Where is love of truth? Where soon will be common honesty? In these days with some men, in religious matters, black is white, and all things are whichever color may happen to be in your own eye, the color being nowhere but in your eye, theology being only a set of opinions, a bundle of views and persuasions. The Bible to these gentry is a nose of wax which everybody may shape just as he pleases. Beloved, beware of falling into this state of mind; for if you do so I boldly assert that you are not Christian at all, for the Spirit which dwells in believers hates falsehood, and clings firmly to the truth. Our great Lord and Master taught mankind certain great truths plainly and definitely, stamping them with his “Verily, verily;” and as to the marrow of them he did not hesitate to say, “He that believeth shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned;” a sentence very abhorrent to modern charity, but infallible nevertheless. Jesus never gave countenance to the baseborn charity which teaches that it is no injury to a man’s nature to believe a lie. Beloved, be firm, be steadfast, be positive. There are certain things which are true; find them out, grapple them to you as with hooks of steel. Buy the truth at any price and sell it at no price.

Be ye steadfast also in the sense of not being changeable. Some have one creed to-day and another creed to-morrow, variable as a lady’s fashions. Indeed, we once heard a notable divine assert that he had to alter his creed every week, he was unable to tell on Monday what he would believe on Wednesday, for so much fresh light broke in upon his receptive intellect. There are crowds of persons nowadays of that kind described by Mr. Whitfield when he said you might as well try to measure the moon for a suit of clothes as to tell what they believed. Ever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth. Shifting as sandbanks are their teachings and as full of danger. The apostle says to us, “Be ye steadfast.” Having learned the truth hold it, grow into it, let the roots of your soul penetrate into its center and drink up the nourishment which lies therein, but do not be for ever transplanting yourselves from soil to soil. How can a tree grow when perpetually shifted? How can a soul make progress if it is evermore changing its course? Do not sow in Beersheba and then rush off to reap in Dan. Jesus Christ is not yea and nay; he is not to-day one thing and tomorrow another, but the “same to-day, yesterday, and for ever.” True religion is not a series of guesses at truth, but “we speak what we do know, and testify what we have seen.” That which your experience has proved to you, that which you have clearly seen to be the word of God, that which the Spirit beareth witness to in your consciousness, that hold you with iron grasp. Skin for skin, yea, all that a man has, will he give for his life, and to us the holding of the truth is essential to our life. The Holy Ghost has given his unction unto the people of God, and they know the truth, and moreover they know that no lie is of the truth. Were it not for this anointing the very elect would have been deceived in this age of falsehood. Brethren, be ye steadfast.

- Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)
taken from: Motives for Steadfastness, Sermon No. 1111, May 11, 1873.

"Take a mirror and turn it toward Heaven--and there you shall see the reflection of Heaven, the clouds and things above. Turn it downward toward the earth, you shall see the reflection of the earth, trees, meadows, men. Just so does the soul receive a reflection from the things to which it is set. If the heart is set toward Heaven--that puts you into a heavenly frame. If you set your heart on earthly objects--you are a man of the earth!"

Are our thoughts and our affections full of worldliness? Let us make good use of the above figure, and turn the mirror the other way. Our mind will readily enough reflect divine things, if we turn it in that direction. Let us see if it is not so. Prayerfully read your Bible, or some lively devotional book--and see if the heart is not immediately filled with holy and heavenly reflections.

At any rate, if we spend our time on the newspaper, or sit hour after hour reading trashy novels--we have no reason to wonder that thought and heart go after vanity! The turning of the mind upward is half the battle. We cannot expect it to reflect that toward which it does not turn.

Those who mind earthly things--are earthly.
Those who set their affections upon things above--are heavenly.

Paul shows how practically useful it is to turn the mind Godward, when he says that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, "looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ."

We may well cry concerning this matter, "Turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned!" If we cannot see divine truth to our enjoyment--let us nevertheless look that way; for that eye is blessed which looks in the direction of the light.

He who would behold the sun at its rising--must look to the east.
Just so, he who would see God as his delight--must look Godward.

If the mirror of the soul is resolutely set toward the Lord, we shall with open face behold, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, and be changed into the same image from glory to glory!

O, my blessed Master, help me I beseech you, to keep the mirror of my mind in the right position--that evermore I may see You! True, it will be but as in a dark mirror, but even that will be a marvelous preparation for beholding Your face to face in glory!

"Those who live according to the sinful nature--have their minds set on what that nature desires;
 but those who live in accordance with the Spirit--have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."
Romans 8:5

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things!" Colossians 3:1-2 

Engraven on Human Hearts

From this, my present contention is brought out with greater certainty, that a sense of divinity is by nature engraven on human hearts. For necessity forces from the reprobate themselves a confession of it. In tranquil times they wittily joke about God, indeed are facetious and garrulous in belittling his power. If any occasion for despair presses upon them, it goads them to seek him and impels their perfunctory prayers. From this it is clear that they have not been utterly ignorant of God, but that what should have come forth sooner was held back by stubbornness.

~John Calvin~

Apart From God We Make Our Own Gods

Vanity joined with pride can be detected in the fact that, in seeking God, miserable men do not rise above themselves as they should, but measure him by the yardstick of their own carnal stupidity, and neglect sound investigation; thus out of curiosity they fly off into empty speculations. They do not therefore apprehend God as he offers himself, but imagine him as they have fashioned him in their own presumption. When this gulf opens, in whatever direction they move their feet, they cannot but plunge headlong into ruin. Indeed, whatever they afterward attempt by way of worship or service of God, they cannot bring as tribute to him, for they are worshipping not God but a figment and a dream of their own heart.

~John Calvin~

The Hope of the Resurrection.

As all mankind are, in the sight of God....

“As all mankind are, in the sight of God, lost sinners, we hold that Christ is their only righteousness, since, by His obedience, He has wiped off our transgressions, by His sacrifice appeased the divine anger, by His blood washed away our stains, by His cross borne our curse, and by His death made satisfaction for us.”~John Calvin

MINISTERING IN AN AGE OF ITCHING EARS

"the market-driven ministry philosophy appeals to the very worst mood of our age. It caters to people whose first love is themselves and who care not for God—unless they can have Him without disrupting their selfish lifestyles. Promise such people a religion that will allow them to be comfortable in their materialism and self-love, and they will respond in droves."

John MacArthur. Ashamed of the Gospel  

MARKET-DRIVEN MINISTRY

"Marketing principles have become the arbiter of the church’s message and agenda. Whatever elements of the biblical message don’t fit the promotional plan simply must be omitted. Marketing savvy demands that the offense of the cross must be downplayed. Salesmanship requires that negative subjects like divine wrath be avoided. Consumer satisfaction means that the stan­dard of righteousness cannot be raised too high. The seeds of a watered-down gospel are thus sown in the very philosophy that drives many ministries today. And in some churches, the preaching of the gospel has been throttled completely."

John MacArthur. Ashamed of the Gospel  

Easy-Believism Versus True Saving Faith — A.W. Pink

A.W. Pink,
Many… are willing for Christ to save them from Hell, but are not willing for Him to save them from self. They want to be delivered from the wrath to come, but they wish to retain their self-will and self-pleasing. But He will not be dictated unto: you must be saved on His terms, or not at all. When Christ saves, He saves from sin—from its power and pollution, and therefore from its guilt. And the very essence of sin is the determination to have my own way (Isaiah 53:6). Where Christ saves, He subdues the spirit of self-will, and implants a genuine, a powerful, a lasting desire and determination to please Him.

Again; many are never saved because they wish to divide Christ; they want to take Him as a Savior, but are unwilling to subject themselves unto Him as their Lord. Or, if they are prepared to own Him as Lord, it is not as an absolute Lord. But this cannot be: Christ will be either Lord of all, or He will not be Lord at all. (from: Studies on Saving Faith, A.W. Pink)

Reading Through the Institutes of the Christian Religion #4

Thoughts and reflections concerning the following areas 1.13.1-14.0


"Here, if any where, in considering the hidden mysteries of Scripture, we should speculate soberly and with great moderation, cautiously guarding against allowing either our mind or our tongue to go a step beyond the confines of God's word. For how can the human minds which has not yet been able to ascertain of what the body of the sun consists, though it is daily presented to the eye, bring down the boundless essence of God to its little measure? Nay, how can it, under its own guidance, penetrate to a knowledge of the substance of God while unable to understand its own? Wherefore, let us willingly leave to God the knowledge of himself....This knowledge, then, if we would leave to God, we must conceive of him as he has made himself known, and in our inquiries make application to no other quarter than his word."-Calvin, John 

 In the current readings so far things have been fairly easy to discern and comprehend but things are about to change. Calvin now leads us by the hand in a lengthy discussion and explanation of subject that has brought about division, created heresies, and birthed cults in the endeavour to understand it rightly. The topic we will now discuss will be the Trinity.

Many books and articles consisting of multiple pages have been written on this subject and is discussed by Calvin at length and with great care. I will only submit one blog entry to this topic but will to the best of my ability discuss what Calvin says about it, give a brief summery of its historical development, and some concluding remarks. But first we need to get acquainted with a few terms and issues as we start at the shallow side and make our way to the deep end.

The Early Christian Explanation of the Trinity

“There is one only and true God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three coeternal and coequal Persons, the same in substance but distinct in subsistence.” B.B Warfield

Simply put, the doctrine of trinity is difficult to understand even when taught and understood correctly but i'll try to give a brief (very brief) summery of how it developed. Now, we all know that the name "trinity" is no where to be found int he bible but its absence doesn't mean it isn't biblical. The question is does the term explain and reflect what scripture teaches. The early church, in response to a number of heretical groups and false teachings that were arising who denied the diety of christ or the holy spirit began to formally solidify who Christ is in relation to the Father. It was unanimously agreed upon by the early church that Christ was truly God and since there was only one God reconciliation between the two truths had to be fleshed out. A few began to deny the deity of Christ, namely the gnostic heresy which taught that Christ was a super angel,inferior in nature to God, and an emanation of God of a higher rank than humans and at the same time denied his humanity. Arainsism, named after Arius held that the Son was created by the Father who at one time never existed. Christ being created is subordinated to the father in essence ultimately resulting in the denial of his divinity. Arainism is seen today in the doctrine and beliefs of the Jehovah's witness. Sabellius(A.D. 200), the originator of sabellianism held that the Father,Son,and Holy Spirit were God but said that they were no more than three manifestations or "modes" of the one true God. Sabellius denied the personhood of the three while ascribingng to it as a great mystery. Tritheism, Docetism, Macedonianism, Adoptionism, and Partialism just to name a few were many other teachings that arose denying the deity of Christ which gave rise to the need to articulate a creed or statement to refute the many errors that were attacking the christian faith.

The Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed

 The Council of Nicene

Out of all the heresies the christian church was at great odds with aranisism which claimed that Jesus was a created being and at one time didn't exist. Having been excommunicated twice for his teaching arius continued with great force along side with eusebus, a  popular bishop. The arian message became more popular and since it contradicted the teaching of Christ and the christian church hostility began to arise. Constantine the great noticed this rivalry and fearful that aranisism would divide his empire which was recently converted to Christianity called a council to settle the dispute.

Eusebius

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible:
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Word of God, God of God, Light of light, Life of life, the only-begotten Son, born before all creation, begotten of God the Father, before all ages, by whom also all things were made; who on account of our salvation became incarnate, and lived among men; and who suffered and rose again on the third day, and ascended to the Father, and shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
We believe also in one Holy Spirit.
We believe in the existence and subsistence of each of these [persons]: that the Father is truly Father, the Son truly Son, and the Holy Spirit truly Holy Spirit; even as our Lord also, when he sent forth his disciples to preach the Gospel, said, "Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
- See more at: http://www.christian-history.org/council-of-nicea-2.html#sthash.dlHg8tw7.dpuf

At the council a rule or statement of faith(a set of basic doctrines learned and confessed) was used as a way to preserve apostolic tradition.  The rule of faith used states,

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible:
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Word of God, God of God, Light of light, Life of life, the only-begotten Son, born before all creation, begotten of God the Father, before all ages, by whom also all things were made; who on account of our salvation became incarnate, and lived among men; and who suffered and rose again on the third day, and ascended to the Father, and shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
We believe also in one Holy Spirit.
We believe in the existence and subsistence of each of these [persons]: that the Father is truly Father, the Son truly Son, and the Holy Spirit truly Holy Spirit; even as our Lord also, when he sent forth his disciples to preach the Gospel, said, "Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
- See more at: http://www.christian-history.org/council-of-nicea-2.html#sthash.dlHg8tw7.dpuf

"We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible:

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Word of God, God of God, Light of light, Life of life, the only-begotten Son, born before all creation, begotten of God the Father, before all ages, by whom also all things were made; who on account of our salvation became incarnate, and lived among men; and who suffered and rose again on the third day, and ascended to the Father, and shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

We believe also in one Holy Spirit.

We believe in the existence and subsistence of each of these [persons]: that the Father is truly Father, the Son truly Son, and the Holy Spirit truly Holy Spirit; even as our Lord also, when he sent forth his disciples to preach the Gospel, said, "Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

 Unsatisfied with it Constantine requested the addition of one word, homoousios.

One Iota: Homoiousios and Homoousios

Homoousios means (Greek: “of one substance,” or “of one essence”) The terms homoiousios and homoousios mean "similar essence" and "same essence."According to those who adopted homoiousios, Jesus was not the same as God but simply had a "similar essence." Arius viewed Jesus as heteroousios which means of a different substance. The fact that Christ was God was a given among the christian church and since he was infact God his essence was the same as Gods. To covey biblical truth homoousios was used and included rather than the word homoiousios which differed in spelling by just the letter "i". According to those who argued for homoousios, the doctrine which was eventually adopted as orthodoxy and added to the nicene creed, Jesus and God had the exact same essence which is what arius denied. Also, contrary to arius Christ is said to be consubstantial with the Father which means that the Son of God is of no other substance or essence but of the Father.
The final version of the creed reads as follows,
   

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible:

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of the Father, that is of the substance of the Father; God of God, Light of light, true God of true God; begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father; by whom all things were made both which are in heaven and on earth; who for the sake of us men, and on account of our salvation, descended, became incarnate, was made man, suffered and rose again on the third day; he ascended into the heavens, and will come to judge the living and the dead.

[We believe] also in the Holy Spirit.

But those who say "There was a time when he was not," or "He did not exist before he was begotten," or "He was made of nothing" or assert that "He is of other substance or essence than the Father," or that the Son of God is created, or mutable, or susceptible of change, the catholic and apostolic Church of God anathematizes.

When the creed states," The holy catholic church," it refers to the universal church rather than a specific branch of Christianity. The word catholic comes from the Greek word katholikos which means "universal" or "general."

Hopfully i've done a decent job with the historical development of the trinity but so as not to have this blog post become longer than it needs i'll save Calvins thoughts on the trinity for part 2 of this blog post.

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible:
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of the Father, that is of the substance of the Father; God of God, Light of light, true God of true God; begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father; by whom all things were made both which are in heaven and on earth; who for the sake of us men, and on account of our salvation, descended, became incarnate, was made man, suffered and rose again on the third day; he ascended into the heavens, and will come to judge the living and the dead.
[We believe] also in the Holy Spirit.
But those who say "There was a time when he was not," or "He did not exist before he was begotten," or "He was made of nothing" or assert that "He is of other substance or essence than the Father," or that the Son of God is created, or mutable, or susceptible of change, the catholic and apostolic Church of God anathematizes.
- See more at: http://www.christian-history.org/council-of-nicea-4.html#sthash.zVClXKRV.dpuf

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible:
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of the Father, that is of the substance of the Father; God of God, Light of light, true God of true God; begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father; by whom all things were made both which are in heaven and on earth; who for the sake of us men, and on account of our salvation, descended, became incarnate, was made man, suffered and rose again on the third day; he ascended into the heavens, and will come to judge the living and the dead.
[We believe] also in the Holy Spirit.
But those who say "There was a time when he was not," or "He did not exist before he was begotten," or "He was made of nothing" or assert that "He is of other substance or essence than the Father," or that the Son of God is created, or mutable, or susceptible of change, the catholic and apostolic Church of God anathematizes.
- See more at: http://www.christian-history.org/council-of-nicea-4.html#sthash.zVClXKRV.dpuf

Seven Things That Christ Is

1) He is the Way; men without him are Cains, wanderers, vagabonds:—
2) He is the Truth; men without him are liars, like the devil, who was so of old:—
3) He is the Life; without him men are dead, dead in trespasses and sins :—
4) He is the Light; without him men are in darkness, and go they know not whither:—
5) He is the Vine; those that are not grafted in him are withered branches, prepared for the fire:—
6) He is the Rock; men not built on him are carried away with a flood:—
7) He is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the author and the ender, the founder and the finisher of our salvation.

~John Owen

P.S. He that hath not him, hath neither beginning of good, nor shall have end of misery.
from a sermon entitled A Vision of Unchangeable, Free Mercy ; Volume 8, page 36

Mans dependence on Gods revelation for knowledge.

“If one does not make human knowledge wholly dependent upon the original self-knowledge and consequent revelation of God to man, then man will have to seek knowledge within himself as the final reference point. Then he will have to seek an exhaustive understanding of reality. He will have to hold that if he cannot attain to such an exhaustive understanding of reality he has no true knowledge of anything at all. Either man must then know everything or he knows nothing. This is the dilemma that confronts every form of non-Christian epistemology” (SCE).

The Remedy For Sin-Sick Souls

Set faith at work on Christ for the killing of your sin. His blood is the great sovereign remedy for sin-sick souls. Live in this, and you will die a con­queror; yea, you will, through the good providence of God, live to see your lust dead at your feet.

~John Owen~

Overcoming Sin & Temptation (Wheaton, IL; Crossway; 2006)

The Intolerance of Tolerance

"If you begin with this new view of tolerance, and then elevate this view to the supreme position in the hierarchy of moral virtues, the supreme sin is intolerance. The trouble is that such intolerance, like the new tolerance, also takes on a new definition. Intolerance is no longer a refusal to allow contrary opinions to say their piece in public, but must be understood to be any questioning or contradicting the view that all opinions are equal in value, that all worldviews have equal worth, that all stances are equally valid. To question such postmodern axioms is by definition intolerant. For such questioning there is no tolerance whatsoever, for it is classed as intolerance and must therefore be condemned. It has become the supreme vice....under the aegis of this new tolerance, no absolutism is permitted, except for the absolute prohibition of absolutism. Tolerance rules, except that there must be no tolerance for those who disagree with this peculiar definition of tolerance."

D. A. Carson. The Intolerance of Tolerance 

The appetite for ear-tickling preaching

"They don’t want to hear healthy teaching. Why? Because people in the church want to own God without giving up sinful lifestyles, and they will not endure someone telling them what God’s Word says about it. What do they want to hear? “Having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” (v. 3). Ironically, they seek out teachers. In fact, they heap to themselves teachers—but not sound ones. They choose the teachers who tell them what they want to hear. They want what tickles their ears and feeds their lusts. They want what makes them feel good about themselves. Preachers who offend them, they reject. They accumulate a mass of teachers who feed their insatiable selfish appe­tites. And the preacher who brings the message they most need to hear is the one they least like to hear. Unfortunately, preachers with ear-tickling messages are all too abun­dantly available.....The demand creates the supply. The hearers invite and shape their own preachers. If the people desire a calf to worship, a ministerial calf-maker is readily found.”

John MacArthur. Ashamed of the Gospel 

Reading Through Van Til's Apologetic: Readings and Analysis

Reading Through Van Til's Apologetic: Readings and Analysis. #1

  1 peter 3:15 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear"

1 peter 3:15 states an important prerequisite for anyone who is willing to offer a reasoned defence of the Christian faith  expressing that one must "set apart christ as lord in your heart". What does this mean you ask? Well, Van till explains it saying, " Christ must be the ultimate authority over our philosophy,  our reasoning, and our argumentation, not just at the end, but at the beginning, of the apologetical endeavor". Citing Matt 22:37, Van till provides an explanation on why one has to be set apart declaring that to reason in a manner that does not place christ as the ultimate commitment and controlling  foundation is to transgress the first commandment "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."  This means that the apologist must presuppose the truth of Gods word from the beginning of the apologetical encounter to the end. Gods word being the ultimate commitment of the believer must be the conclusion of his argumentation since its his presuppostional standard and starting point that governs his reasoning to begin with. The inspired word of God and his revelation in any discussion is the Christians beginning and final reference point of knowledge and reasoning, any other starting point for knowledge that doesn't begin with commitment and reverence for God subordinates God's wisdom to the supposed wisdom of ones autonomous starting point. One must be rooted and grounded in Christ and ensure that our reasoning is guided by Christian presuppositions.  

 Presuppositions

Presuppositions are elementary assumptions in ones reasoning's which aid a person in forming opinions. They are personal commitments that a person holds at the very center of their web of beliefs. They provide a person with starting points from where everything else in life will be evaluated and interpreted. Everybody has what can be called a “worldview,” a perspective in terms of which they see everything and understand their perceptions and feelings. A worldview is a network of related presuppositions in terms of which every aspect of man’s knowledge and awareness is interpreted. This worldview, as explained above, is not completely derived from human experience, nor can it be verified or refuted by the procedures of natural science. Not everybody reflects explicitly upon the content of his worldview or is consistent in maintaining it, but everybody has one nonetheless. A person’s worldview clues him as to the nature, structure and origin of reality. It tells him what are the limits of possibility. It involves a view of the nature, sources and limits of human knowledge. It includes fundamental convictions about right and wrong. One’s worldview says something about who man is, his place in the universe, and the meaning of life, etc. Worldviews determine our acceptance and understanding of events in human experience, and thus they play the crucial role in our interpreting of evidence or in disputes over conflicting fundamental beliefs.

Epistemologically Self-Conscious

Epistomology is the study of the nature and limits of human knowledge and tackles various topics like justification,truth, and belief.  Our theory of knowing  or(epistomology)  should be consistent with christian presuppositions which is the biblical message as a whole. Having our theory of knowledge being consistent with our presuppositions directly influences our  convictions about reality, such as Gods existence and nature,mans nature, and relation to God, his purpose and place in then universe, evil,sin,...etc. The epistemologically self conscious Christian will then avoid saying one thing theologically and then practice something entirely different in their general reasoning and scholarship. In the realm of scholarship for example, the christian must not assume a neutral stance or submit to "neutrality" by taking on a non committed attitude to the truthfulness of scripture and christian commitments. In his book, "Always Ready: Directions for Defending the Faith" Greg Bahnsen elaborates more on this topic saying, "One must be presuppositionally committed to Christ in the world of thought (rather than neutral) and firmly tied down to the faith which he has been taught, or else the persuasive argumentation of secular thought will delude him. Hence the Christian is obligated to presuppose the word of Christ in every area of knowledge; the alternative is delusion." "Neutrality", to be more specific, is a position thats one takes which does not presuppose the truth of the word of God. Unbelieving reasoning and worldly philosophy thats not rooted in Christ are at its core and any conclusion will be interpreted through its lens rather than through they spectacles of scripture. Bahnsen goes on futher and states,

 "The Christian is completely different from the world when it comes to intellect and scholarship; he does not follow the neutral methods of unbelief, but by God’s grace he has new commitments, new presuppositions, in his thinking. Therefore, the Christian who strives after neutrality in his thought is found actually to be endeavoring to efface the fact that he is a Christian! By denying his distinctive religious commitment he is reduced to apostate thought patterns and absorbed into the world of unbelief. Attempting to find a compromise between the demands of worldly neutrality (agnosticism) and the doctrines of Christ’s word results in the rejection of Christ’s distinctive Lordship by obliterating the great gulf between the thinking of the old man and that of the new man." -Bahnsen, Greg (2011-03-03). Always Ready: Directions for Defending the Faith

The Impossibility of the Contrary

God, who is the essential foundation and source of all knowledge that man attains via Gods revelation, is the only philosophically sound starting point or precondition for any reasoning and reasoning in general. Only the truth of Christianity taken as a whole can explain and make sense out of human experience ex-the reliability of our cognitive and sensory faculties to serve as truth gatherers and as a source of justified beliefs in our intellectual environment, the knowability of the external world  outside of your mind, reliability of memory,logic, the existence of truth, the adequacy of language to describe the world; the existence of values used in science; the uniformity of nature, the existence of numbers and mathematical truths. Upon analysis of this fact, Bahnsen writes " all truth drives one to Christ. From  beginning to end mans' reasoning about anything whatsoever (even reasoning about reasoning itself) is unintelligible or incoherent unless the truth of the Christian Scriptures is presupposed. Any position contrary to the Christian one, therefore, must be seen as philosophically impossible. It cannot justify its beliefs or offer a worldview whos various elements comport with each other." In his book, "Always ready", Bahnsen further illustrates this point by saying, 

".. that the philosophic perspective of the unbeliever destroys meaning, intelligence, and the very possibility of knowledge, while the Christian faith provides the only framework and conditions for intelligible experience and rational certainty. The apologist must contend that the true starting point of thought cannot be other than God and His revealed word, for no reasoning is possible apart from that ultimate authority."

Antitheism presupposes theism, which means that to reason at all the unbeliever MUST operate on assumptions that actually contradict his or her espoused presuppositions, assumptions that comport only with the christian worldview. To put it in the simplest way possible, we know from scripture that God created the world and sustains it and up holds it by his power and governs it by his wisdom. Man was created with the faculties to interact with the world wholly dependent on Gods revelation to him. God knows everything. If there is another god, then God would know that there is another god. God does not know that there is another god, therefore there is not another god. In this sense then it is logically impossible that another god exists. There is only one true God, and He is the God of Christian Scripture. It follows that positions which posit some other god or claim that no god exist are false, or in this case, impossible. Any and all other unbelieving philosophies or systems of thought or religious doctrines, cults that sprung forth from mans depraved mind that are contrary to the Scriptures are false.