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.
Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. But who is Jesus? Some say Jesus was a great man and ethical teacher. Some say he was nothing more than a human teacher like many who came before him and would come after him. …In the Old Testament God was present with His people through the temple and the manifestation of His glory. But in Bethlehem God became present with His people by being born of a virgin. …As God becomes present in Christ Jesus, it is a new presence and is better than the presence of the Old Covenant. The message of the incarnation goes far beyond the story of the birth of Jesus. He did not come into the world to merely be an example or to simply teach, but he came to die for sins.
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….
…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.
What is the gospel is? A great tragedy today (even among professing Christians) is not knowing what the gospel of Jesus Christ is. In this Christmas sermon on Matthew 4:23 titled “The Gospel of the Kingdom,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches on the message that frames the beginning and end of the Lord Jesus’s ministry. By looking at both Matthew 4:23 and 24:14, he explores the message of the gospel from the perspective of the kingdom of God. Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds that the greatness of the gospel is the good news of God’s kingdom (or His rule and reign). [I opened the post with points about the gospel that he did not mention herein, but he did note in other sermons.]
The soul will live forever, but what about the body? Is there Scriptural evidence upholding a physical raising of the body? In this sermon titled “The Resurrection of the Body,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds on a difficult topic by surveying the teaching of the Old and New Testament on the subject. As he demonstrates, the New Testament is clearer in its teaching regarding the resurrection. Nonetheless, the doctrine is present in the Old Testament as well. Some modern-day Christians are skeptical regarding the literal physical raising of bodies, but Dr. Lloyd-Jones draws attention to the hope that the writers of Scripture portrayed through their writings regarding the resurrection. While human bodies were sown in sin and weakness, he says, Christians will be raised in glory and power on the last day as they partake in the glories of Jesus. Indeed, the resurrection and redemption of the body is a part of salvation.
The video opens with J D Vance stating why he became a Roman Catholic. Todd Friel noted that Vance is typical in that many young adults who were raised in Protestant churches, later turn to the Roman Catholic Church, RCC. The initial 5 minutes of the video explain why the RCC is not biblical, as the way they ‘infuse’ righteousness into a believer via baptism performed by a priest is Man-Made dogma. The rest of the video goes through what the reformers did to get the Bible into the common languages of the people and other relevant matters. He briefly explained the efforts of several reformers from 1200’s to the Protestant Reformation. Below his video, I inserted some scripture that explains from the Bible those RCC errors, as Friel’s teaching was too condensed to include such things from the Bible.
This post explains the foundational doctrines of Justification and Imputation. Justification is explained by a 6-minute video transcript by Barry Cooper of Ligonier Ministries; imputation is explained by R C Sproul via a 1-minute, 19-second video, the transcript is also provided. This post is being published to add clarity to the post of Saturday, wherein Mike Gendron explained why it is that the Roman Catholic Church is NOT the One True Church; also, tomorrow’s post is about J D Vance’s conversion to Catholicism. In the video, Todd Friel briefly explains the trend of young Christians to do that, then he explains the biblical gospel and how the reformers were active in the church between 1200 and 1540. He showed how their work of translating the scriptures into the common language and ironing out the doctrines of justification and imputation returned the church to that of the first century apostolic church….