False Christian teachings, trends….
The music video of this post is a great portrayal of the spiritual struggle that the apostle Paul describes in Romans 7. The artist, Ren, portrays the internal spiritual warfare; he even portrays the voice of the Tempter about half way through the video. A couple of reviews of the song are linked.
If you’re not familiar with Side “B” ministries let me sum them up in a nutshell. Side “B” ministries are deceptive parachurch organizations that purport to help the church minister more effectively to those who identify as LBGTQ+ and provide guidance for Christian families who have kids identifying as such. They claim to do this without ever compromising Christian orthodoxy, but this notion is untenable because these ministries promote the idea that same-sex attraction is not a morally culpable sin. Therefore it is perfectly acceptable to be a Gay-Christian as long as you stay celibate, ostensibly. …Any shepherd of the flock ought to be ready to use the rod and chase off these wolves in sheep’s clothing so that the sheep might be protected and brought to better pastures, where God’s Word is faithfully preached and the sheep faithfully discipled.
In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:20 titled “Christmas and the Modern Man,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches that the true meaning of Christmas is something that seems offensive, and even foolish, to the natural person. Today’s culture has missed the reason why God sent His Son to Earth in the first place; that is, to reconcile humanity back to Himself. This is the part of the gospel message that is offensive; the Christmas story makes one realize that they are helpless enough that they need a baby to come save them. Christmas is truly a miraculous story. A virgin gives birth to a boy who will save humanity from their sins. This message sounds like foolishness, yet this is the message that all must come to grips with and in hope believe that Jesus was the promised King who will redeem humanity.
“You can’t be a Christian without being aware of the fact that God is dealing with you, is concerned about you, is doing something to you. God’s got his hands upon you.” ―Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. …”To be a Christian means that we have had an experience of the grace of God; that is essential Christianity.” Diving into Mary’s Magnificat, we see the recounting of her response to God’s work; in a sense this was the first Christian experience. More than an amazement that she would have a child was the realization of what God was doing on a larger scale. Christianity is, “the life of God in the souls of men.” It is about what God does to us, not what we have done. The mark of a Christian is the experience of God’s grace, but this does not look exactly the same for everyone.
This post contains a video short wherein John MacArthur talks about the restraints the God has given us to restrain evil in society, to restrain the sinner. In MLJ’s sermon, he explained how the Devil works to use people to oppose God. He explained how God permits rulers and nations to rise in power but then ultimately shows them there is only one God, Him; and that they are very little in comparison to Him…. MLJTrust added sermon description and breakdown; I added some points from the sermon that I though emphasized the past decade, regarding the chaos and evil on the world stage.
Is it not madness to spend an entire message devoted to describing the devil? After all, is not Satan merely folklore and myth? Many sophisticated people today would conclude that focus on the spiritual realm at all is a sheer waste of time but Christians cannot shy away from what Scripture teaches. They acknowledge that their authority on spiritual matters is not themselves but the word of God. As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds, to talk about these things is the most practical thing a Christian can do because they are looking at the real cause of the present state of the world. The Christian has been given the ability to see the true nature of the conflict. …By examining the Scriptures on the topic, Dr. Lloyd-Jones equips Christians to understand the devil’s purpose and his kingdom of darkness.
This post is part 2 of 3 on Syncretism. In case you did not read part 1, syncretism is the blending of another religion or belief system with the religion of the Bible. The God of the Bible forbids syncretism. In looking at Marxism from this perspective, it becomes clear that the trendy contemporary movement to incorporate Cultural Marxism into Christianity is wrong for at least two reasons: Marxism is atheistic and looks to the Devil as its mentor; syncretism is wrong and forbidden by God…. If you belong to a church wherein CM is being integrated with the weekly sermon, best leave for the sake of your soul.
The sermon of this post is an introduction to Ephesians 6:10 and the passage about the armor of God. This is foundational stuff for the Christian because it is about the daily warfare that automatically becomes a major part of the born-again Christian’s experience.
A sermon by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Being Reconciled to God. “There is no human being that has sinned beyond the bounds of redemption and salvation in Christ Jesus. None.” …Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches through the account of the paralyzed man whose greatest need was fixed by Jesus. This man had heard that Jesus could heal him and had faith that Jesus could do it. His faith brought him to have his friends lower him through a roof to get to Jesus; he was a desperate man. Yet Jesus offers something so much more than just the physical healing of the man—Jesus forgives his sins. …To receive forgiveness and healing, we must have faith in Jesus, repent of sins, and obey his commands. We must accept his diagnosis of our need and his method of salvation. Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds listeners that unless sins have been forgiven, no one is able to live a truly happy life regardless of how “good” their situation may be.
The apostle Paul recognized the fact there is an internal battle within each one of us; every believer has an “enemy within” that we must fight. This lifelong battle between the flesh and the Spirit will rage until our death. Romans 7:21–23 addresses the enemy within: “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.” Paul understood that his fleshly nature would never conform to God’s will. No matter how much he might want to obey God in every way, he was fighting the “evil . . . right there with me,” the enemy within.