False Christian teachings, trends….
Are you considering an exercise program for the New Year? The video of this post is by Doreen Virtue, former New Age guru who was born again several years ago. Thereafter, she threw away her New Age books, Tarot cards…., Furthermore, she had practiced yoga for many years. She later found various other ways to exercise, as doing yoga is worshiping Hindu deities, despite what trendy Christian pastors and congregants say about “Christian Yoga;” yoga cannot be Christianized.
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.
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.]
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.
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.
The purpose of this post is to present videos of Luke 1-3 and text, because therein listeners can hear about the covenant with Abraham (to be posted soon) and how it was the basis of the promises that Mary and Zacharias (the father of John the Baptist) spoke of when they praised the Lord. Luke 1-3 are included in this post because those chapters emphasize the fulfillment of this covenant and they also provide a genealogy of Jesus, which connects Him to Adam, Abraham and King David.
“Are we as Christians saved by works, or by faith alone? The key to understanding what part works and faith play in the drama of redemption is to understand the biblical structure and role of covenants. Without a proper understanding of covenants we fail to grasp the grandeur of Christ’s life and work. In this message, Dr. Sproul gives us the covenantal framework of redemption that finds full resolution in the work of Christ.”
Because of Adam’s sin, the whole world became subject to sin and the rule of Satan. The devil, also called the prince of the world, blinds people from seeing and believing in the truth of the gospel. In this sermon on Ephesians 6:10–13 titled “The Strong Man Disarmed,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones describes the way Christ has broken the grip that the evil one has on the world. For Jesus has bound the strong man and by the proclamation of the gospel, the works of Satan and all who follow him are destroyed.
In times of battle and great war, military leaders will do all that is necessary in order to obtain information about their enemy’s strategy. Likewise, in the spiritual warfare of the Christian, they have to know how the enemy will attack. Thankfully, they have been told in God’s word who the enemy is and how he operates. Therefore, there is great encouragement in considering the works of the devil. In this sermon on spiritual warfare from Ephesians 6:10–13 titled “The Wiles of the Devil,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones uses this Scripture to aid the Christian in their understanding of the fiery darts that come from his hand and his evil army. While Satan is not omnipresent and is always subservient to God, he nevertheless has much power. His attacks on the world and Christian people specifically are strategic….