This creed arose out of the early Western church and should be thought of as a summary of the Apostles’ teaching rather than directly attributable to them. Originally it was essentially a baptismal confession and had several variations. The form in use today dates from the eighth century.
Bible Q & A With John MacArthur
2 Corinthians 10
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, (2 Corinthians 10:4–5)
To successfully fight the spiritual war requires weapons from the heavenly arsenal. Only those divinely powerful weapons are suited for the destruction of the enemies’ fortresses. That term would convey to the New Testament reader the thought of a formidable stronghold. Corinth, like most major cities in Greece, had an acropolis. Located on a mountain near the city, the acropolis was a fortified place into which the inhabitants could retreat when attacked. Ochuroma (fortresses) was also used in extrabiblical Greek to refer to a prison. People under siege in a fortress were imprisoned there by the attacking forces. The word was also used to refer to a tomb.
From – Truth for Today ~ A Daily Touch of God’s Grace , by John MacArthur
~ 25 December ~ Devotional ~
Why was Jesus Born?
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve , and to give His life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45
Here’s a side to the Christmas story that isn’t often told: Those soft little hands, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb, were made so that nails might be driven through them. Those baby feet, pink and unable to walk, would one day walk up a dusty hill to be nailed to a cross. That sweet infant’s head with sparkling eyes and eager mouth was formed so that someday men might force a crown of thorns onto it. That tender body, warm and soft, wrapped in swaddling clothes, would one day be ripped open by a spear.
Jesus was born to die.
Don’t think I’m trying to put a damper on your Christmas spirit. Far from it – for Jesus’ death , though devised and carried out by men with evil intentions, was in no sense a tragedy. In fact , it represents the greatest victory over evil anyone has ever accomplished.
~John MacArthur~
John MacArthur
December 17, 2009
As the Christmas Season approaches, questions like this sometimes arise. Like everything in life, it is important to approach these issues with biblical discernment.
In this case, we see nothing wrong with the traditional Christmas tree. However, some have taught that it’s wrong for anyone to have a Christmas tree in their home. But are their reasons valid? We don’t think so. Let’s look at the two most common objections people make against having a Christmas tree.
First, some object on the basis that Christmas trees have pagan origins. It is believed that Boniface, English missionary to Germany in the eighth century, instituted the first Christmas tree. He supposedly replaced sacrifices to the god Odin’s sacred oak with a fir tree adorned in tribute to Christ. But certain other accounts claim that Martin Luther introduced the Christmas tree lighted with candles. Based on that information you could say the Christmas tree has a distinguished Christian pedigree.
However, even if a pagan background were clearly established, that wouldn’t necessarily mean we could not enjoy the use of a Christmas tree. Perhaps the following analogy will help.
In an increasingly secular and ungodly culture, many Christians wonder about their role and duty. Should we lobby for rights that have traditionally belonged to us? Should we make every effort to implement a Christian agenda? Should we completely reform the government? The Bible speaks clearly about our duty, and it’s all about governingour character.
Over a quarter of a century ago the late apologist and Christian thinker Francis Schaeffer asked the question, “How should we then live?” in his landmark book of the same title. The relevance of that question has not changed. If anything, it has only become more urgent for believers at the dawn of a new century and millennium.
Society has taken a nosedive into greater and greater evil, debauchery, violence, and corruption, and outside the church, the landscape seems filled with “modern barbarians.” The temptation is strong for believers to jump into the cultural fray as self-righteous social/political reformers and condescending moralizers. All the while those self-styled Christian activists forget or ignore their true mission in the world and completely miss the answer to Schaeffer’s question–an answer that God’s Word spells out quite clearly.
July 09, 1995
As we look together to the Word of God in this very special session together in the gospel of Matthew, our attention falls on two very important verses that are the high point of the great Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is recorded in chapter 5, 6 and 7 and the high point comes in chapter 7 verses 13 and 14. And these are the words with which our Lord brings that sermon to its climax. “Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and many are those who enter by it, for the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and few are those who find it.”
Dr. John Macarthur speaks on Total Depravity and refutes Freewillism/Arminianism.
October 23, 2011
Selected Scriptures
Well now that I don’t have to preach on anything but what I want to preach on since I finished the New Testament, I find myself all over the place trying to decide what to preach on in sequence…a new kind of experience for me and I’m working on some kind of sequence that makes sense over the future. But I am sort of at the liberty point of my life where whatever is on my heart is where I can go, and this is a wonderful opportunity for me. And there is a subject that has concerned me for a long time and I have wanted to address this subject but it hasn’t been a part of preaching through the gospels in the way that it can be now and that is the subject of the Holy Spirit…the Holy Spirit.
After all the emphasis of so many years, 25 years of preaching through the four gospels, and much emphasis, of course, on the person of Christ as it should be, much emphasis on the character of God, and the nature of God as manifest in Christ and is seen elsewhere in Scripture, it is time now to give honor to the third member of the Trinity, namely the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the most forgotten, the most misrepresented, the most dishonored, the most grieved, the most abused and I might even say the most blasphemed of the members of the Trinity. That’s a sad thing.
When our Lord cleansed the temple in John 2, He said that He was, in a sense, fulfilling the attitude of David from Psalm 69, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up, the reproaches that fall on you are fallen on Me.” And what our Lord was saying was when God is dishonored, I feel the pain. “You have taken My Father’s house, which is to be a house of prayer, and turned it into a den of robbers. You’ve corrupted My Father’s house. You’ve blasphemed My Father’s name. You’ve dishonored My Father.”
Why We Must Contend Earnestly For The Faith – Pastor Bob DeWaay
By Elmarie Swart
I am currently reading John MacArthur’s book, The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception , I was going to do another post on the pages 66-65 (I will still write about this) of John MacArthur’s book when I found this very good and relevant piece written about Chapter 3 . I have found it very relevant and necessary to share this with all. Out in the Cyber world between Christians I do detect alot of important disagreements. Most of the time it would be because those who are into a false teaching or church have no real knowledge of the Word. Why ? Because true Biblical expository teachings are fading away. We are told to test every thing we are told by teachers and hold fast to that which is good, and also to test because many false teachers will lead many on the wide road to destruction. 1Th 5:21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 1Jn 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.
I am in full agreement with this good piece of writing as to why we must fight the truth war in all earnest while still here on earth and we need to contend earnestly for the faith now even more than before. Daily more and more sheep are led astray to the slaughter house by the false winds and doctrines bellowing across the the world now more than ever. As we come to know the Word of God ,we will find that nothing of the false teachings today are really new, they were there while Jesus and the Apostle’s walked the earth. We are given the commandment by Jesus to spread the Gospel and surely the warnings against false teachings forms part to earnestly contend for the faith!! Jesus also said he came not to bring peace but a sword. Mat 10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Paul also said for Jesus’s namesake we will suffer, Php 1:29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon – Devotionals
Morning
“I have chosen you out of the world.”
– Joh_15:19
Here is distinguishing grace and discriminating regard; for some are made the special objects of divine affection. Do not be afraid to dwell upon this high doctrine of election. When your mind is most heavy and depressed, you will find it to be a bottle of richest cordial.
Pro 18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
What does the Bible say about Friendship? How are we to choose our friends? How should friends treat one another? All of these are good questions and the Bible has some good Scriptures to study to answer them. I am sure you came to this article looking for some great Bible Verses so I will leave you to them and let them do the speaking on the important subject of friendship.
Check out Alan Jackson singing the classic Christian song ” What a friend we have in Jesus” to the right or check it out directly on You Tube.
Jesus on Friendship
John 15:12-15 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
By ~ J.C. Ryle
Many things combine to make the present inroad of false doctrine peculiarly dangerous.
Answer:
There are some Christians who believe that seeking medical attention is demonstrating a lack of faith in God.
In the Word-Faith movement, consulting a doctor is often considered a lack of faith that will actually prevent God from healing you. In groups such as Christian Science, seeking the help of physicians is sometimes viewed as a barrier to using the spiritual energy God has given us to heal ourselves.
The logic of these viewpoints is sorely lacking. If your car is damaged, do you take it to a mechanic or wait for God to perform a miracle and heal your car? If the plumbing in your house bursts, do you wait for God to plug the leak, or do you call a plumber? God is just as capable of repairing a car or fixing the plumbing as He is of healing our bodies. The fact that God can and does perform miracles of healing does not mean we should always expect a miracle instead of seeking the help of individuals who possess the knowledge and skill to assist us.
In His Hands
‘Twixt gleams of joy and clouds of doubt
Our feelings come and go;
Our best estate is tossed about
In ceaseless ebb and flow.
No mood of feeling, form of thought
Is constant for a day;
But thou, 0 Lord, thou changest not:
The same thou art alway.
By Dr Paul M Elliott
Our series on the subject of how Christians should deal with false teaching in the church generated some followup questions from readers. We take up the first today: “What is the meaning of anathema? Can a church pronounce an anathema upon a person or group?”
Several Related Questions
For the Love of His Truth 