False Christian teachings, trends….
A questioner asked Dr. MacArthur to explain what it means to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. He talked about seeking grace via the means God provided, identifying those; then he explained fear and trembling. A recent post on this topic is linked at the end of this post; it used a commentary to explain that verse.
The following teaching by pastor Baucham explains the Christian duty of identifying, exposing and fleeing from false teachers. He used a lot of scripture to make those points. He also explained why so many people are deceived by false teachers. Do you know the characteristics of a false Christian teacher; of a biblical teacher? Do you know what to do if you encounter a false teacher? Baucham clarifies such things in his message.
In his sermon, Pastor Ramsey provided a picture of an unbelieving heart and a heart wherein faith is mixed with the words of God. He also identified the source of such faith, for your aid. His sermon may answer some of your spiritual questions about your own unbelief, struggles with assurance, etc. Sermon texts are from Deuteronomy 30 and Colossians 2; Romans 10 also plays a significant part in his message. Sermon points are provided for those who don’t want to spend 27 minutes listening to his mp3 sermon.
Philippians 2:16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. In this post, you will learn what the ‘word of life’ is and to what professed Christians are obligated in this world. You will also, certainly learn the value and necessity of reading the Bible. That is not the message of many churches in our time – they are sorely mistaken, proclaiming their man-centered gospel messages that cause hearers to be established in the Broad WAY of destruction.
This post aims at providing a simple definition of idolatry so that you might more easily see what your trust is placed in, as that is the source of your comfort. Ask God to reveal these things to you and seek God’s enabling grace to turn from your idols to Him. Simply put, whatever you seek for comfort when you are in distress is your god. The true and living God is the only one Who can deliver from evil people, fearful thoughts and other things that cause distress.
The purpose of this post is to add some clarity to the concept of the ‘armor of God’ as the apostle Paul spoke of it in Ephesians 6. I recently came to a simpler understanding of it via listening to a couple of sermons of John Calvins and reading his commentary on 6:10-18. … Before writing this, I read through Calvin’s commentary on that passage of Ephesians 6, to ascertain that I heard him correctly. Excerpts from Calvin’s commentary will be used to make my point below, after I define ‘God’s appointed means of grace’ for those who do not know specifically what those are.
Twenty-first century evangelicalism has gone as far as to say that the concept of ‘sin’ is irrelevant in this modern age. That is an extreme position, of course; but it seems that most of evangelicalism is far from biblical quality. Biblical preachers and teachers of the faith, speak about the value of knowing God as He has revealed Himself in scripture and of knowing self as God has revealed mankind in the Bible. To have more than a theoretical understanding of oneself, one must have insight into his sin. For example, Jesus’s words in the beatitudes indicate that one must first of all know poverty of spirit after he is born again: poverty of spirit means that one must see that he is spiritually bankrupt and has to depend wholly upon Christ for the righteousness required to enter into heaven. Writings such as by Watkinson in this post, inform about sin and provide useful insights for necessary self-discovery. [See category, Jonathan Edwards, 3 posts about glimpses into his personal spiritual walk, for much more relevant information about self-awareness, observation, etc.]
Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. Matthew Henry’s explanation of this verse provides information that will enable the believer to enter into the strong tower of God’s name. Henry’s words clarify just what the tower is and how one accesses it that he might abide in safety
Death is gain for the believer because it frees him from his warfare with the world, the flesh and the devil; all suffering and sin are extinguished. While explaining how the believer gains by dying, Pastor Ramsey also discusses other aspects of death – suffering, pain, dread, fear…but the believer may have real hope in the promises of the Bible, because of the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. [26 minute mp3 sermon preceded by sermon points]
In this issue of Behind the Scenes with Curtis Bowers, the church is called to take the lead in this cultural battle for freedom. Curtis uses clips from a Eric Metaxas speech to encourage his viewers, and to explain just how the church should be conducting itself in a time such as this. Individual Christians will receive plenty of specifics about their roles in God’s world at this time.