John MacArthur

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Lectio Divina in South Africa Among Dutch Reformed


Warning, Warning  !!  This false teaching has been rife in South Africa for a couple of years now.   A letter (see below)  Lectio Divina in South Africa Among Dutch Reformed – “Is there really a different way of reading the Word?” was sent to me by a dear friend via the Monthly News Letters from Lighthouse Trails website.  1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

We must be like the Bereans of old in Thessalonica:

Acts 17:11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Before reading the letter written by a South African to Lighthouse Trails, please take a couple of minutes to understand:

 What is Lectio Divina ? 

Answer: Lectio Divina is Latin for “divine reading,” “spiritual reading,” or “holy reading” and represents a method of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion with God and to provide special spiritual insights. The principles of lectio divina were expressed around the year A.D. 220 and practiced by Catholic monks, especially the monastic rules of Sts. Pachomius, Augustine, Basil, and Benedict. Continue reading →

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Critique of Claimed Visits to Heaven and Hell

The Bible contains the whole counsel of God— everything that will be revealed before the second coming of Christ. People have written books about Heaven and Hell in the past. It used to be that they were at least in the form of fiction, like Dante’s Inferno. The books we have reviewed claim to impart new revelations to the church. As such, these books ought to be rejected. They not only teach extra biblical ideas, they teach unbiblical ideas, some worse than others. Thus they lead people astray no matter how noble the ostensible reason for writing, such as to get people to believe in the second coming or to get them to repent. They do far more harm than good. It is the Scriptures that make us wise unto salvation: “and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness”
(2 Timothy 3:15-16).  (http://so4j.com/)

The latest claim of  an alleged visit to heaven is one which was made by  a neurosurgeon,  Dr Eben Alexander , who, after falling into a coma,  said that he had experienced things he never thought possible—a journey to the afterlife. Continue reading →

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Entertainment and Style of Music Do Not Convert People

John MacArthur,

“It’s not the style of our music that gets people converted. It’s not because of the entertainment level that they enjoy that gets them converted. Sooner or later you’ve got to get down to confronting them with the message and my judgment is sooner is better than later. So what are we waiting for? Let’s just get them to hear the message, that’s how they’re going to be saved. Take out the preaching of sin, take out the preaching of hell, take out repentance, take out the cross, and then people will feel comfortable. That’s the new trend. Build an image of love, care, being nice and if everybody is nice, they like us, they might like Jesus. That is tragically not the case. Continue reading →

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Mormons A Cult

Exposing Mormon Beliefs – Way of the Master – 3 Videos

PURCHASE THIS DVD FROM THE WAY OF THE MASTER’s 3rd SEASON – GO HERE

Summed Up Info on: Mormons the Cult

Mormon’s are a very deceptive Cult, and sadly believe that God lives on a Planet called Kolab!- They believe that God is married to his goddess wife and has spirit children (Mormon Doctrine, p. 516).

Mormon’s wrongly Teach that Men can become gods, and that God Himself is merely an Exalted man.The Founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith— is a False Teacher, who wrongly taught that Jesus & Satan are spirit brothers and we were all born as siblings in heaven to them both, (Mormon Doctrine, p. 163.). He also taught that he (Joseph Smith) would sit in Judgment of the World. He Falsely Prophesied that Quakers lived on the Moon. Continue reading →

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Does God So Love the World?

John MacArthur – Grace to You

Love is the best known but least understood of all God’s attributes. Almost everyone who believes in God these days sees Him as a God of love. I have even met agnostics who are quite certain that if God exists, He must be benevolent, compassionate, and loving.

All those things are infinitely true about God, of course, but not in the way most people think. Because of the influence of modern liberal theology, many suppose that God’s love and goodness ultimately nullify His righteousness, justice, and holy wrath. They envision God as a benign heavenly grandfather-tolerant, affable, lenient, permissive, devoid of any real displeasure over sin, who without consideration of His holiness will benignly pass over sin and accept people as they are. Continue reading →

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The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception

There is a vast number of “Discernment” ministries out there and this is wonderful, but we must guard not to fall into a trap of un Biblical discernment. I was there once myself and have fallen hard believe me. Be discerning when you visit a “Discernment” blog/website. There are few Biblical ones out there. To speak the truth in love should be foremost the  most outstanding character when warning others of false teachings.

Eph 4:15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, – Gills Commentary  explains it so clearly. ~  Continue reading →

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Bewitched

Acts 20:29-30 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; (30) and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

John MacArthur – Grace to You

Galatians 3:1-5

 

Our study tonight takes us to the third chapter of the book of Galatians in our continuing look at this most exciting and helpful book. We will be considering verses 1-5. Galatians 3:1-5.

Defection is an ugly word. So is the word deserter. Certainly, there is nothing more bewildering, and few things more sorrowing, than to see a Christian who defects, or deserts, the purity of the Christian faith by which he has been born again and by which he has been nurtured, to settle for something less. But strange as it may seem, many Christians do. We find that they begin well. They receive the grace of Christ extended in salvation; they live in humble faith, but soon they fall into systems of legalism, systems of ritual, systems of works. I wonder how many Christians, for example, have come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ in a very personal way and have then fallen into a very liturgical church pattern, where they merely go through formalities and functions that have only external symbolism and no internal significance. I wonder how many people begin well, but then begin to substitute things like confirmation and communion and baptism and the Mass and any other kind of particular church rite for the realities of the Christian faith.

This is an issue that comes to full force in the book of Galatians, because this is the issue that confronts the heart of the Apostle Paul. He had been used as the mouthpiece of God to introduce the Galatians to the truth of the Gospel. He was the one who preached the gospel of grace; he was the one who exposed them to the magnificence of the Christian experience (which was by faith plus nothing) in the perfect and finished work of Jesus Christ. But since that time when he had begun with them, they had defected. They had deserted the simple purity of a grace gospel and substituted a form of religion, inferior and impotent.

This is not to say they had lost their salvation. It is to say, rather, that they substituted for the fullness of their life in Christ a form of religion that had no power and no joy. Furthermore, the unsaved world would get it’s doctrine of salvation from their lives and if they live legalistic lives, the world then is to conclude that salvation comes by legalism and nothing could be further from the truth. Continue reading →

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Does God So Love the World?

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John MacArthur – Grace to You

Love is the best known but least understood of all God’s attributes. Almost everyone who believes in God these days sees Him as a God of love. I have even met agnostics who are quite certain that if God exists, He must be benevolent, compassionate, and loving.

All those things are infinitely true about God, of course, but not in the way most people think. Because of the influence of modern liberal theology, many suppose that God’s love and goodness ultimately nullify His righteousness, justice, and holy wrath. They envision God as a benign heavenly grandfather-tolerant, affable, lenient, permissive, devoid of any real displeasure over sin, who without consideration of His holiness will benignly pass over sin and accept people as they are.

Liberal thinking about God’s love also permeates much of evangelicalism today. We have lost the reality of God’s wrath. We have disregarded His hatred for sin. The God most evangelicals now describe is all-loving and not at all angry. We have forgotten that “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). We do not believe in that kind of God anymore. Continue reading →

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Bad Company Corrupts Good Character

 

John MacArthur – Grace to You

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Become sober–minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. (1 Corinthians15:33–34)

Paul warned the Corinthians that they should not be deceived about the danger of bad company. Homilia(company) basically means an association of people, but also can have the connotation of a lecture or sermon. It seems possible, therefore, that the Corinthians were both listening to some wrong teaching and associating with some evil people. Whether the teaching was in formal messages or not, it was bad and corrupting.

People who think wrongly invariably behave wrongly. Wrong behavior comes from wrong thinking, from wrong beliefs and wrong standards. It is impossible to associate regularly with wicked people without being contaminated both by their ideas and by their habits. The context implies that the bad company was teaching the heretical theology that there is no resurrection of the dead, and that bad theology had corrupted good morals. Continue reading →

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Saving Faith

Arthur W. Pink

PART I

 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

It is generally recognized that spirituality is at a low ebb in Christendom and not a few perceive that sound doctrine is rapidly on the wane, yet many of the Lord?s people take comfort from supposing that the Gospel is still being widely preached and that large numbers are being saved thereby. Alas, their optimistic supposition is ill-founded and sandily grounded. If the “message” now being delivered in Mission Halls be examined, if the “tracts” which are scattered among the unchurched masses be scrutinized, if the “open-air” speakers be carefully listened to, if the “sermons” or “addresses” of a “Soul-winning campaign” be analysed; in short, if modern “Evangelism” be weighed in the balances of Holy Writ, it will be found wanting?lacking that which is vital to a genuine conversion, lacking what is essential if sinners are to be shown their need of a Saviour, lacking that which will produce the transfigured lives of new creatures in Christ Jesus. Continue reading →

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On hearing God’s voice, the dangers of this way of thinking, and the sufficiency of Scripture

I have recently encountered some new Facebook friends who believe they must ‘hear the voice of God”.  But the way they claim to “hear the voice”   cannot be Biblical, it is  so sad how people think to be a Christian they must have some sort of experience or they must hear voices in their heads. As John MacArthur says : “The only trustworthy source of divine truth, guidance for your own spiritual growth, and instruction for the church is the written Word of God.  No emotional urging or mystical experience can trump the concrete, fundamental truth God has given us in Scripture.  Does God still speak?  Yes, but not in an audible voice.  He speaks through the pages of Scripture.”

I found this Biblical explanation below by  John MacArthur on hearing God’s voice, the dangers of this way of thinking, and the sufficiency of Scripture . It is my prayer that these friends will read the article that sets out the Biblical truth about this false teaching.

A Quote from a dear sisters website so4j :

Hearing Personal Words From God – is about The Problems with Hearing Personal Words From God, and How People Become False Prophets to Themselves.

Does God give NEW EXTRA BIBLICAL REVELATION to His people TODAY— speaking through MODERN DAY PROPHETS who give NEW WORDS from GOD? Answer: NO. The Canon of Scripture is Closed (Heb 1:1-2). In this Article Bob DeWaay talks about People who claim that they are Hearing Personal Words From God, when in reality they are actually becoming False Prophets to Themselves. Bob shows the reader how these Personal Words & Visions are NOT reliable— but God’s Word is 1000% Reliable. We need to be careful to NOT be deceived by Satan, and to NOT undermine God’s Word for our Personal Experiences & Special Revelations that we THINK are from God. (Heb 1:1-2) (End Quote)

This is worth a listen after reading the article below Does God Still Give Revelation? John MacArthur – Parts 1-6 

On hearing God’s voice, the dangers of this way of thinking, and the sufficiency of Scripture

by John MacArthur

I’m going to guess that you either think you’ve heard God’s voice, or you know someone who says that they have heard God speak to them.  This post, then, is for you and hopefully will help you filter through these ideas and/or experiences.  I’m going to quote John MacArthur in a letter that we received a few days ago from Grace to You.  Unless otherwise noted, all underlined emphases are John MacArthur’s, though I added the section headings. Continue reading →

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Of Dogs and Swine

John MacArthur

_Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces._ – Matthew 7:6

It is clear from this verse that Jesus doesn’t exclude every kind of judgment—here He commands a specific type. But to obey His command, you need to know who the dogs and swine represent.

In biblical times dogs were largely half-wild mongrels that acted as scavengers. They were dirty, greedy, snarling, and often vicious and diseased. No responsible Jew would ever throw to a dog a piece of holy meat that had been consecrated as a sacrifice in the temple. Since no man was allowed to eat this meat, how much less should it have been thrown to wild, filthy dogs.

Swine were considered by the Jews to be the epitome of uncleanness. Like the scavenging dogs, those swine were greedy, vicious, and filthy. Continue reading →

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Discerning Leadership

By John MacArthur

The language of warfare is sprinkled throughout the apostle Paul’s writing, especially where it relates to leadership. He urged Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). And he commanded believers to take up the armor of God (1 Thessalonians 5:8) and prepare for battle. His life was a spiritual war as he combatted false teaching and religious error.

But Paul knew the real battle was not ultimately against human false teachers. It was nothing less than full-scale war against the kingdom of darkness. “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

All believers are engaged in that same battle. We are fighting for the preservation and proclamation of the truth. We are fighting for the honor of Jesus Christ. We are fighting for the salvation of sinners, and we are fighting for the virtue of saints. Continue reading →

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Can Believers Understand the Bible on Their Own?

Bible Q&A with John MacArthur from Grace to You

But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (1:20–21)

False prophets spoke of their own things, from their own ideas, but no true message from God ever arose from a human interpretation. Interpretation (epiluseōs) is an unfortunate translation because in English it indicates how one understands Scripture, whereas the Greek noun is a genitive, indicating source. Thus Peter is not referring to the explanation of the Scripture, but to its origin. The next statement in verse 21, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but (alla, “just the opposite,” “quite the contrary”) men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God, further Continue reading →

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John MacArthur on Spiritual Formation, the Holy Spirit, Rock Star Pastors and Christian Discernment Ministries

By John MacArthur

 Spiritual Formation:  “It’s very dangerous, the spiritual formation. It’s a pagan approach. It’s more like Hinduism than Christianity.”

 The Holy Spirit:  “(W)hen God the Father’s honor is under attack, everybody rises to defend Him…….. When Christ is attacked as to His deity or as to the nature of the cross, we get a movement like Confessing Evangelicals, we get documents responding to ECT [Evangelicals and Catholics Together] on the Gospel. We get T4G, The Gospel Coalition. We get everybody mounting a massive effort to protect the integtrity of the Gospel, Christ, the cross and His vicarious substitutionary atonement. But the Holy Spirit is just being slaughtered everywhere and where is the outrage?”

 Rock Star Pastors:  “(Rock Star pastors) don’t want to ask anything of anybody. Just superficial, name Jesus and rock and roll with us and you’re going to Heaven.”

 Christian Discernment Ministries:  “The Apostle Paul named names all through the New Testament: good, bad and indifferent. There are times when the Church has to be warned when something is dangerous, that’s part of spiritual responsibility…… I think there are times to name names. I have a rule about that and that is, I will respond to anyone who has published something, but nothing that is private. And that’s fair.”

Erin Benziger’s interview with Dr. MacArthur can be read in its entirety here.

 Additional Resources 

John MacArthur: “Who would have thought that John Piper would have Rick Warren at a Desiring God conference?”

John MacArthur: “Don’t Go To A ‘Flat Screen Church’.”

Charismatic Chaos (by John MacArthur)