Is the Contemporary Gospel Biblical?

In this part of the sermon: Martin asserts that Holy Scripture is the sole, objective, and inflexible standard for evaluating the gospel. He uses an extended analogy of measuring height against a wall to…

Martin uses an extended analogy of two men arguing about their height, resolved by a child bringing a yardstick. This illustrates that objective, inflexible standards (like Scripture) end all controversy, regardless of popular opinion or influential figures.

And that standard will be Holy Scripture. For we read in Isaiah 820, to the law and to the testament. If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. Suppose when you came into the auditorium tonight, you found Pastor Lyon and myself in a very heated argument.

9:34 - 9:57 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin asserts that Holy Scripture is the sole, objective, and inflexible standard for evaluating the gospel. He uses an extended analogy of measuring height against a wall to…

Continuing the height analogy, Martin describes a crowd of 10,000 people chanting that he is seven feet six inches tall, but it doesn't change the fact when measured against the wall. This illustrates that popular opinion cannot alter objective truth.

Now, suppose I admit because I was shown up to be wrong. And I said, all right, that thing says I'm not seven feet six inches tall, but I'm still going to convince you I am. So I go down to Metro Toronto and I get a gang of 10,000 people. And by some tremendous influence over them, a mass hypnosis, I convince all those people I'm seven feet six inches tall.

11:40 - 12:05 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin asserts that Holy Scripture is the sole, objective, and inflexible standard for evaluating the gospel. He uses an extended analogy of measuring height against a wall to…

Further extending the height analogy, Martin describes influential PhDs and the mayor affirming his false height, but the yardstick still reveals the truth. This illustrates that status and influence cannot alter objective truth.

I say, all right, I'm not going to concede defeat yet. You won't listen to the great, impressive crowd. I'll get some people with influence. You just think that because these are the rank and file and they're having a riff-raff, so I go down to the university and I get some PhDs.

12:37 - 12:51 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The mark of the grave periods of the church when the Holy Ghost is broken forth upon whole communities is the sense of the presence of God which never led men to sober into holy and sanctified all.

Martin recounts a friend's conversation with someone who experienced the Welsh Revival, where the overwhelming sense of God's presence made people want to hide rather than preach. This illustrates the profound, sobering effect of God's manifest presence, contrasting with a desire for 'cozy' church experiences.

which never led men to sober into holy and sanctified all I remember conversing with a friend of mine had a friend who happened to be in Wales during that time of the great moving of God in what's commonly called the Welsh Revival at the turn of the century in the 1900s and as this individual was explaining to my friend that mighty visitation of the Spirit of God in those days my friend being rather outgoing in fact I always feel convicted that I'm pretty sedate and rather withdrawn and inhibited when I get around and he's very outgoing and I can just picture his eyes lighting up with holy del...

43:01 - 44:30 Read in full sermon