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.
In the Mp3 lesson of this post, R C Sproul teaches about the making of the Mosaic covenant, the 10 Commandments and the ceremonial law. He made the topics understandable and interesting. His closing definitions about symbols and types were very interesting, particularly explanations about how the tabernacle symbolized Christ….
The Got Questions’ article of this post explains how Old Testaments events can prefigure NT events, and how that is a kind of prophecy. I wanted readers to see that because it will aid in understanding R C Sproul’s discussion of the Mosaic covenant, part 2, which is my post for tomorrow. He closed his discussion on the law by explaining symbols and types.
The preacher begins by addressing the context of the epistle to the Hebrews, written to Jewish Christians who were becoming discouraged in their faith. He emphasizes the importance of prayer in the Christian life and highlights the difficulties that can arise when attempting to pray. …In conclusion, Dr. Lloyd-Jones exhorts his listeners to rely solely on Jesus Christ and His finished work for access to God in prayer, rather than on human efforts, rituals, or earthly intermediaries. [In the last third of the message, he compared the RCC to the old way that the Hebrews were also struggling with. His comparison helped me see another problem with such rituals and sensual stimuli: although MLJ likely preached this sermon in the 1950-60’s, protestants are still going back to Rome in our day; MLJ’s words might help such people see their error more clearly.]
In this post, R C Sproul provided an explanation of God’s plan of redemption via covenants. He explained how the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants are related and many significant facts about the formation of the nation of Israel. If you are trying to understand the plot of the Bible and God’s plan of redemption, then you must understand the covenants. Part 2 of the Mosaic covenant will explain the role of the decalogue…. [My purposes in presenting this material, are to help readers discover that the Old and New Testaments are intimately connected via covenants; and that the way of salvation since Genesis 3, has been by God’s grace through Christ; and that there has only ever been ONE people of God, as is stated in Ephesians. Many believe there are two people of God: Israel and the church, because of erroneous dispensationalist dogma that have thoroughly permeated this culture for the past 190 years.]
Sinclair Ferguson’s brief video is about attending to your Christmas celebration to see whether or not Christ is in it; and if you find that He is not, how you might put Him back in it.
This post contains a message by R C Sproul about the covenant God made with Adam and Eve, from his series, Promise Keeper. I already used some of Sproul’s material to show how the Abrahamic covenant was foundational to the incarnation; but I want to emphasize that more by considering the creation covenant God made with Adam and Eve and also the Mosaic covenant. The overall goal of this series is to show that the biblical account of God’s plan of redemption is addressed to His one people; furthermore, that since Genesis 3, there has only been one way of salvation, by grace via the atoning work and imputed righteousness of Christ. That is, the idea that Israel could earn salvation by any other way is biblically wrong; the idea that Israel and the church are two people of God is biblically wrong.
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.
Mike Gendron’s message for this month addresses the following topics: The Condescension and Exaltation of Jesus; Man’s Perfect God Became God’s Perfect Man; Deity and Humanity in Perfect Unity; He Was Born a Man so Man Could Be Born of God; Christ Was Born to Die to Give Life to the Dead; Devotion to Christ Must Not Be Led Astray; Bizarre Tales from Catholics in Purgatory; Guess What the Pope Has Done Now; Letters to Equip and Encourage the Saints; and Mike’s speaking engagements
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.