Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the already ecumenical climate in America has reached new heights. In an effort to distinguish between the extremist Muslim terrorists and the mainstream Muslim population, the media has called for an even higher level of tolerance and acceptance of the religion of Islam than usual.
John MacArthur
John MacArthur on Charles Spurgeon & Worldly Preaching
The Purpose of Pain
2 Corinthians 12:5-7
For many years now we’ve been studying 2 Corinthians. And we did have a few interruptions, one whole year of interruptions when we were dealing with the anatomy of the church. And we have finally come to what is my favorite section in this whole epistle, chapter 12 verses 5 to 10. I’ve been waiting for a long, long time to get to this passage and I’m so thrilled at what is here. I actually am struggling in my heart to say it all. I feel like I have far too much to say than I can say and I’m afraid it might just come rambling out in some random fashion without enough structure for you to be able to grasp it, so I’m going to go slowly and hope we can stay contained in this wonderful text.
The Rise and Fall of the World, Part 2
Article removed by Admin
Slavery
Bible Q & A with John MacArthur – Grace to You
(Titus 2 )
Urge bond-slaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. (Titus 2:9–10)
The fifth category of believers about which Paul admonishes Titus is not based on age but on social standing. Douloi (bond-slaves) refers to slaves, those who were owned and controlled by their own masters.
Divine Destruction of Earth’s Ecology
John MacArthur – Gr
Article removed by Admin
Witnessing Women and Doubting Disciples
Luke 24:1-12
Let’s open the Bible now to the twenty-fourth chapter of Luke’s gospel, Luke chapter 24. We have begun to look at the opening twelve verses which is Luke’s treatment of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And I’m going to read these verses for you so that you have them in mind as we look at them. Luke 24, beginning in verse 1.
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. But when they entered they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel. And as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third day rise again?’ And they remembered His words and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James, also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. And these words appeared to them, the apostles, as nonsense and they would not believe them. But Peter arose and ran to the tomb, stooping and looking in he saw the linen wrappings only and he went away to his home, marveling at that which had happened.”
Honor for the Humble
John MacArthur – Grace to You
“Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
– James 4:10
God graciously bestows every spiritual blessing on the humble.
Those who are scripturally humble will recognize their unworthiness when they come before God. They will be like the prophet Isaiah who, in seeing God, cursed himself: “Woe is me, for I am ruined [damned]! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:5). Whenever you see who God really is—infinitely holy, sovereign, mighty, majestic, and glorious—all you can see about yourself is your own sin.
Scripture, Tradition, and Rome, Part 4 (Antinomianism discussed)
Scripture, Tradition, and Rome, Part 4
Long Before Luther: Jesus and the Doctrine of Justification
No doctrine is more important to evangelical theology than the doctrine of justification by faith alone–the Reformation principle of sola fide.Martin Luther called it the article that determines whether the church is standing or falling.
History provides plenty of objective evidence to affirm Luther’s assessment.Churches and denominations that hold firmly to sola fide remain evangelical.Those willing to yield at this point inevitably capitulate to liberalism, revert to sacerdotalism, or embrace even worse forms of apostasy.Historic evangelicalism has therefore always treated justification by faith as a central biblical distinctive–if not the single most important doctrine to get right.It would not be far from the truth to define evangelicals as those who believe in justification by faith alone.
How can we determine what doctrines are essential and what are they?
John MacArthur – Grace to You
To begin with, the strongest words of condemnation in all the New Testament are aimed at false teachers who corrupt the Gospel. Therefore the Gospel message itself must be acknowledged as a primary point of fundamental doctrine.
But what message will determine the content of our gospel testimony? The biblical message of instantaneous justification through faith alone-or a system of rituals and sacraments that are supposed to convey grace to the participants with no guarantee of ultimate salvation? What authority will we point people to? The Scriptures alone-or a papal hierarchy and church tradition? Those two gospels are flatly contradictory and mutually exclusive.
WHY DID GOD HATE ESAU?
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”
Romans 9:13.
Introduction.
Do not imagine for an instant that I pretend to be able thoroughly to elucidate the great mysteries of predestination. There are some men who claim to know all about the matter. They twist it round their fingers as easily as if it were an everyday thing; but depend upon it, he who thinks he knows all about this mystery, knows but very little. It is but the shallowness of his mind that permits him to see the bottom of his knowledge; he who dives deep, finds that there is in the lowest depth to which he can attain a deeper depth still. The fact is, that the great questions about man’s responsibility, free-will, and predestination, have been fought over, and over, and over again, and have been answered in ten thousand different ways; and the result has been, that we know just as much about the matter as when we first began. The combatants have thrown dust into each other’s eyes, and have hindered each other from seeing; and then they have concluded, that because they put other people’s eyes out, they could therefore see.
Why We Believe While Others Reject
1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16
It was about 25 years ago in my life that I was asked to write a little book and the original title of that little book was Focus on Fact, you’ve probably never seen it, it didn’t last very long. It came out in another edition with another title a couple of years later and that title was Why I Trust The Bible, it was 1983. And as I was preparing to write that book about why I trust the Bible, which is really what the first one was about as well, I had to answer the question why did I trust the Bible. What was it about the truth of Scripture that made it believable to me? Was I smarter than everybody else? Had I been presented a more powerful set of evidences about Scripture? And certainly such can be presented. Why did I have such immense confidence in the Bible?
Seeking a Closeness to God
John MacArthur – Grace to You
“Draw near to God.”
– James 4:8
The sincerely humble will want a closer relationship with God.
The expression “draw near” was originally associated with the priesthood in Israel. Under the regulations of the Old Covenant, the priests represented the people before God. Prior to coming near God’s presence, the priest had to be washed physically and be ceremonially clean. That meant he had to bathe, wear the proper garments, and offer sacrifices that made his own heart right with God. Then he could draw near to God on the people’s behalf.
How should a Christian handle demonic attack?
Q & A with John MacArthur from Grace to you LISTEN
THEN READ THIS SERMON.
Understanding the Seducing Spirit
1 Timothy 4:1-3
Let’s open our Bibles this morning to 1 Timothy chapter 4. As you know, we are studying this great epistle of Paul to Timothy and we are coming back to it after a little bit of a break. Looking at chapter 4…I want to read to you the first five verses so you’ll have in mind the theme of our message today. Paul writes:
“But the Spirit speaks explicitly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies and hypocrisy having their conscience burned with a hot iron, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving by them who believe and know the truth, for every creature of God is good and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer.”
Standing Against the Devil
John MacArthur – Grace to You
“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
– James 4:7b
Anyone who possesses scriptural humility will take an uncompromising stand against Satan.
The successful diplomat or politician is quite adept at the art of compromise and finding the middle ground on various issues. But such skill is a hindrance when it comes to determining your position before God. If you humbly, by faith and repentance, submit yourself to God’s authority, you will immediately find yourself the enemy of Satan. You are either in God’s kingdom and under His lordship, or you are in Satan’s kingdom and under his lordship. It is impossible to have one foot in each kingdom and to be serving both kingdoms’ rulers.
Unforgiveness imprisons people in the past
Ephesians 6:3
The Key to Maintaining Family Unit
Now I said this morning that I was going to continue in our discussion about the fulfilled family and talk about the most important virtue in any relationship, the most important ingredient in holding a marriage together or keeping a family united, something that is absolutely crucial to the success of a marriage and a family. I know that some of you were guessing this afternoon, some of my family were making suggestions about what they thought the subject was going to be.
What is it most importantly that causes relationships to be sustained over the long haul? In a word, it is forgiveness…it is forgiveness. Why do I say that? Well first of all, no matter who you’re married to, they’re going to fail you, they’re going to offend you, they’re going to misunderstand you, they’re going to misinterpret what you mean by what you do. You are going to offend them, you are going to sin against them, you are going to disappoint them. This is true in any kind of relationship because we are sinful creatures, we are fallen creatures. And what essentially keeps that from destroying relationships is forgiveness…forgiveness.
For the Love of His Truth 