False Christian teachings, trends….
“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….
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.
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.
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.
…Many misunderstand the kingdom of God and hold to a false salvation that is rooted in the belief that eternal life is a reward for a good life on earth. But besides offering no hope to a sinful person, it misses the entire glory of the free salvation in Christ — everyone justly deserves hell because they have all broken God’s law, yet Christ was offered as an acceptable substitute in their place in the reception of God’s wrath…. [MLJ explored the themes of this parable sufficiently well as to help listeners see whether they are making such a fatal error.]
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.
This post puts discusses responses of 4 well known preachers of the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly regarding their stance against modernism and pragmatism, or to state it differently, the encroachment of worldliness and false teaching upon the church. The purpose of this post is to prepare listeners for the next post from MLJ’s series on Great Biblical Doctrines, wherein he is providing a further look at the book of Revelation. The section he discusses dealt with God’s judgment upon unregenerate men who persecuted His church. This post looks at movements since the late 1800’s wherein men from the church (unregenerate?) were bringing in worldly METHODOLOGY that carried with it worldliness and spawned false doctrines. Movements in the church today, side B Christianity; wokeness, White privilege… derive from the corruption that occurred earlier in the church. The corruption that Spurgeon, Machen, MacArthur and Sproul stood against.