False Christian teachings, trends….
This post contains a sermon by MLJ on Cults. Therein, he continued his series on the phrase from Ephesians 6:11, “wiles of the Devil.” The crux of the sermon is the distinguishing between a cult and the Christian faith. In the process, several other terms are defined in a user-friendly manner: heretic; apostate; and mystic. After MLJTrust’s points, I added some additional material.
What is the role that singing is supposed to play in the church? What are the Lord’s instructions for how He is to be praised through song? In this sermon on Ephesians 5:19 titled “Worship in the Spirit,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers these questions and more. In this passage, Paul is concerned with how the Holy Spirit is manifested when believers gather together for worship. Did Paul mean to prescribe the exact style of worship that every church should have? No….
The following verses agree with the points that Doreen Virtue makes in the 10-minute video of this post: Acts 19:18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. [Highlights: Doreen’s first point is part of the intro narrative to give readers an idea of how she addresses the problem of seeking guidance in other than God]
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….
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.
In the last post on syncretism, Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached on the Devil and the nations and a short of a John MacArthur sermon was used to introduce MLJ’s sermon. Marxism was a peripheral topic under consideration by each of those men in that Marxists are confirmed in their opposition to Christianity. This post is just going to set down a partial list of points that have been established about Christianity and Marxism in this brief series on syncretism: the list shows that these systems contradict one another.
The very brief article in this post provides some sound reasons why study of the Old Testament is foundational for New Testament Christians. I know that many have been told that the Old Testament was about law and the New is about grace… preachers that say such things are not being biblical at all. Or they lack biblical understanding; or they called themselves to the ministry…. If you read through the Bible, then you may be blessed by God to see some vital connections you were previously unaware of…. This article encourages one to do just that. It is almost time for New Year’s resolutions….
Ephesians 6:11-12 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil…. In their quest to understand evil and various forms of paganism, fatalism occupied the minds of people in ancient times. Modern people are too sophisticated to believe their problems can be located in the spiritual realm, so they locate the problem in lack of education and ignorance. The belief is that the spread of culture and rationalism is the cure to all problems. Some Christians are likewise guilty of such optimism in the human spirit. To believe in a real devil and spiritual foes is ridiculed. Blinded by hubris, modern humanity marches forward with education with all the hope of “progress” as comfort.
…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.