False Christian teachings, trends….
Genesis 3:15 says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” This is known as the protoevangelium—the first gospel. The verse introduces two elements previously unknown in the Garden of Eden, elements that are the basis of Christianity—the curse on mankind because of Adam’s sin and God’s provision for a Savior from sin who would take the curse upon Himself….
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 contains two 5-minute videos about death; and a 2-minute scripture reading of Proverbs 5: VIDEO 1: Pastor Daniel read the final words of 8 atheists and 5 Christians. We all need reminding of just how close death is and we need to think about the state of our souls, as our opportunities to seek God’s grace run out at the time of death. VIDEO 2: a video about the un-biblical Roman Catholic concept of purgatory. When I listened to video 1, I realized that many do not think that their eternal destiny is locked in when they die, like the Bible says. I was glad to find a video and article by Got Questions that biblically addresses this falsehood. (The article on Purgatory has several links to matters that are extremely relevant to the matter of death and eternal life) finally, video 3, a reading of Proverbs 5. Below that, I pasted in the scripture and a succinct commentary with some verses.
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.
Symbolism is a regular part of life. Symbolism and pictures are used in language every day in order to help people better understand what they are trying to say. In this sermon titled “The Suffering and the Safety of the Redeemed,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones helps the listener better understand symbolism and the general themes of Revelation. This type of poetic language is everywhere in the book of Revelation, and it can sometimes be difficult to understand. Many of the symbols in this book are repeated, and Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that this is a type of parallelism. He sees the book as divided into two main divisions with various subsections….
I love this song because its lyrics contain much doctrine that helps me to consider Jesus’ sacrifice for me (and you). This is a great example of spiritually edifying Christian music. Fernando Ortega’s version is beautiful. I posted the song previously, that version was sung by Pastor Brian Cochran while he played guitar. That post was directed at personal psalm / hymn singing before reading the Bible.
In this sermon, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones focuses on Daniel 9 as a passage frequently used in the discussion of the end-times, yet the language it employs is often mysterious and open to debate over its meaning…. Dr. Lloyd-Jones also provides a commentary on a topic that has been steadily gaining traction in evangelical circles: the rapture of Christians. He posits that many people are surprised to learn that this theological idea is not commonly found until after the 1800s. How should Christians approach this topic? Listen to this sermon as Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides an alternative view of Daniel 9, and a biblical foundation for understanding the idea of an end-times rapture of the global church.
The video of this post is by Pastor Sinclair Ferguson. In 5 minutes, he explains the unity of the Old and New Testaments by means of speaking of the covenants God made with men. In the process, he explained that since the fall, salvation has only been by grace. In other words, people who say, “Old Testament salvation is by law and the New Testament salvation is by grace,” seriously err. [That is, teachings like Dispensationalism, developed in the 19th century, are wrong when they propound two ways of salvation; and religions that believe they can earn their way to God, to heaven… are also wrong.]
In his series on Great Biblical Doctrines, this is MLJ’s second sermon on the baptism of the Spirit. Many in his congregation asked for clarification and in some cases, more information after he preached his initial sermon on this topic. It is not a typical sermon, as he reads about the experiences of several Christians of days gone by, men who wrote about experiencing the baptism of the Spirit; and he adds to those written experiences words of clarification. I think that many could get a better idea about what kind of experience constitutes the baptism of the Spirit by hearing this sermon. There is much confusion, and utter foolishness in the current church about what it means to be baptized by the Spirit. He says a little about such things in passing, but he didn’t know about what we have today. I recommend hearing the preceding sermon on the baptism of the Spirit also.
Until we come to saving faith in Christ, we remain lost in the darkness of sin and condemnation. Today, Sinclair Ferguson reflects on the verses of Scripture that were instrumental in opening his eyes to the light of the world. [Ferguson talks about personal realizations that every born-again Christian experiences during his / her pilgrimage; these are worked in us by the Spirit via the word.]