The 9-minute video of this post is John MacArthur responding to the fall of Steve Lawson. Pastor MacArthur spoke about 9 minutes on numerous matters related to Lawson’s fall and the church.
Category: Repentance
7 New Age Deceptions infiltrating the Church and deceiving some Christians – Doreen Virtue
Doreen had a lot to say about the following 7 New Age deceptions that are infiltrating the church. In particular, her assessment of The Chosen: she showed a very brief clip that conveyed how wrongly this show presents Jesus, it began 2 minutes and 30 seconds in. HER 7 POINTS ARE AS FOLLOWS: Mark and avoid Jesus Calling books; Mark and avoid The Chosen; Mark and avoid all forms of Yoga; Mark and avoid the Enneagram; Mark and avoid contemplative practices; Mark and Avoid Deliverance Ministries and Self-Deliverance; and finally, Mark and Avoid False Prophets.
What does it mean to be transformed by the renewing of the mind? – Got Questions Ministries
This post contains a 5-minute Got Questions video explanation of what it means to Renew the Mind, from Romans 12:1-2. A list of bulleted HIGHLIGHT points follow the video, and an expanded explanation of one small phrase in Romans 12:2, “that by testing you may discern.”
Hosea 10: 11-15 Sowing and Reaping – Pastor Richard Caldwell Jr
Sowing and reaping is a thoroughly biblical concept which I have often liked to forget about. However, to forget about it is to put your soul in grave danger. Pastor Caldwell presents the idea of sowing and reaping in a clear and memorable way as he preaches through Hosea 10: 11-15. My last post was on Pastor Caldwell’s sermon on repentance; well, knowing the ideas in this post will likely motivate you to desire repentance, and help you move in that direction.
Hosea 14:1-3 Coming Home [repentance] Pastor Richard Caldwell Jr
Well, as you are well aware if you have been with us throughout most of this study of Hosea, most of the message of Hosea is a message of judgment. It is a message of warning. It is the Lord through the prophet bringing his people face to face with their sins and the Lord calling upon them to recognize the gravity of their sins and the truly destructive nature of their sins. This is the main message of Hosea. And yet what we cannot miss in the book, what is unmistakable, what appears interspersed all throughout the book is also the certain knowledge of God’s love, God’s amazing patience, his grace, his mercy, because throughout the book you have the Lord calling these people to repent. Don’t just recognize that you have sinned. Don’t just recognize where it all leads, but recognize it so that you are rescued from it. Turn from it. Turn to the living God. Receive his forgiveness and submit your life to him. Obey him. That is the purpose of the book. That is the goal of the book. [opening lines of the sermon copied from PDF]
Combat Between the Flesh and the Spirit – Puritan Christopher Love
This post contains 3 videos: a video short, a 17-minute excerpt of the full sermon from which the short came; and the full-length sermon. The Puritan Christopher Love addressed the matter of the Holy Spirit’s work in sanctifying the believer. He focused on two aspects: what the Spirit does to dissuade a believer from sinning; and what the Spirit does to sanctify the believer after he has sinned. Every Christian needs to understand this matter as well as possible such that he/she is receptive to the Spirit’s workings. Highlights are provided for the 17-minute excerpt; a link to some posts in this blog about Jonathan Edwards addressing these matters, but Edwards was not as thorough as Love.
Poverty of Spirit – Matthew 5:3 – a definition
This post contains one commentary explanation of poverty of spirit from Matthew 5:3; it also contains a brief excerpt from two other posts about Jonathan Edwards, the excerpts are extremely relevant to the Matthew 5:3. One of those posts gave glimpses into his struggle for obedience; the other into his analysis of what constituted a truly born again person as opposed to a false convert.
BIBLICAL SERMON ILLUSTRATED: Pastor Voddie Baucham – The World the Devil and the Flesh
I recently received a question from a reader who was confused about how to discern biblical from un-biblical preaching / preachers. This post aims at helping such readers. Seasoned Christians who believe in the doctrines that come from the Protestant Reformation, know that Dr. Voddie Baucham is a great preacher. Nate Sala, the creator of this video looks carefully at Baucham’s sermon to show just why that is so. Listeners will gain in two ways from hearing the video of this post: they will hear a biblically sound sermon and get some insight into Baucham’s purposes (and the purposes of biblical preachers); furthermore, they will get a 3-point tool by which they can measure preaching they hear, at their church and elsewhere.
Where does faith come from? – Got Questions Ministries
The purpose of this post is to explain what biblical faith is and is not. The word ‘faith’ is frequently misunderstood, even by believers. Understanding faith will be very helpful for the next post which is about Romans 12:1.
The Christian Soldier’s Perspective – Dr James Boice
This post contains an 8-minute excerpt from Dr James Boice’s 35-minute sermon. The excerpt speaks to how believers must deal with the world if they would follow Christ. In that portion, Dr. Boice spoke of how Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote of facing such trials when he was placed in the Soviet prison system. Boice’s quote came from Solzhenitsyn’s work, The Gulag Archipelago; he framed it as the correct perspective of a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. The quote actually explains Jesus’ words: deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Me. [Highlight points are below video for those who would rather read]