A few years ago I wrote a series of posts on what I consider academic discussions. The discussion and debate over Calvinism is, ultimately, academic. It is hotly debated only by people that are already saved. No one shares the gospel by saying “if you are of the elect then God has chosen you and will give you the faith to be saved.” Only after being saved do we debate whether we chose God or God chose us, and to what degree we had anything to do with it. The unsaved need to hear the gospel and ideally they would not hear Christians argue over Calvinism or any other doctrine. That needs to be an internal discussion. Another example is the age of the earth. I refuse to argue this issue because ultimately there is no way to know who is right and wrong and it doesn’t make any difference. If Jim believes the earth is 6,000 years old and Amy believes the earth is 4.5 billion years old, all that really matters is whether they believe Jesus was dead and made alive again for our justification. We could host a debate, make the respective cases and even have a panel of judges determine who wins. But the outcome of the debate would have no bearing on when or how God created the world. There would be no impact on how I love my wife, raise our child or treat my neighbor. There is no meaningful application.
If you are a follower of The Master’s Table, or a former student, or have ever listened to me preach, teach Sunday School or lead a small group of any kind, you know by now that I do not pick up a recent newspaper and use the headlines for talking points about Bible prophesy. During Advent I talk about prophecies of the Messiah being fulfilled by Jesus’s birth and the events surrounding it. During Easter and Pentecost I talk about prophesies Jesus fulfilled during his earthly ministry, his death, burial and resurrection, and the promise we have of his future return. What I have never done is point to earthquakes, volcanoes, war in the Middle East or any other current event while quoting snippets of scripture and saying “See, the Bible says so.” I’ve seen preachers and other church leaders look foolish when Mikhail Gorbachev did not turn out to be the antichrist, Saddam Hussein was not the Beast described in Revelation and the world did not end in 1988 despite the list of 88 reasons that it was going to. 
The Master's Table 