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.
Sermons
Faith Divisions
It should always be kept in mind that the Church is a divine family and that its loyalties sometimes cut sharply across the ties that bind earthly families together.
The cross is a sword and often separates friends and divides households. The idea that Christ always brings peace and patches up differences is found nowhere in His own teachings. Quite the contrary is true. For a man to cast in his lot with Christ often means that he will be opposed by his blood relatives and will find his true family ties only in the community of regenerated souls.
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The Rise and Fall of the World, Part 2
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The man who thinks lightly of Christ…
From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled “The Glorious Master and the Swooning Disciple,” delivered January 7, 1872
The man who thinks lightly of Christ also has but poor comfort as to his own security. With a little Savior I am still in danger, but if he be the mighty God, able to save unto the uttermost, then am I safe in his protecting hand, and my consolations are rich and abounding. In these, and a thousand other ways, an unworthy estimate of our Lord will prove most solemnly injurious. The Lord deliver us from this evil.
Itching Ears
Religious people are psychologically conditioned to the trite phrase and the hackneyed expression. True, the stereotyped pattern varies slightly between different groups, but there would seem to be no reason why a clever speaker could not preach tonight to Calvinists, tomorrow to Arminians, the next day to Pentecostals, the next to Holiness people, and successively to Separatists and Adventists, and preach acceptably to each one by the simple expedient of finding out what they were conditioned to expect and giving it to them. A clever man could do this, I say, but an honest man would not. And the reason the clever man could do it is that the ability to create a specific pattern of words is all that is demanded of the speaker. That he may be talking about something he has never experienced to people who do not understand him seems not to occur to anyone. The reassuring drone of safe and familiar religious phrases is enough to give the listeners an enjoyable sense of well-being. The absence of reality is not even noticed.
Who’s to Blame
Luke 19:10, John 1:29, Acts 2:23, John 10:17-18
An obscure Hindu holy man named Rao flirted with worldwide fame in 1966. An eccentric, pompous mystic, Rao became convinced he could walk on water. He was so confident in his own spiritual power that he announced he would perform the feat before a live audience-tickets sold for a hundred dollars apiece. Bombay’s elite turned out en masse to behold the spectacle.
The event was held in a large garden with a deep pool. More than six hundred of Rao’s faithful, along with curiosity seekers, assembled to watch. The white-bearded yogi appeared in flowing robes and stepped confidently to the edge of the pool. He paused to pray silently. A reverent hush fell on the crowd. Rao opened his eyes, looked heavenward and boldly stepped forward.
Divine Destruction of Earth’s Ecology
John MacArthur – Gr
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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.”
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.
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.
Atheist: How to become one
Grant Swart
To the true believer, it is a preposterous suggestion. “How to become an atheist”. However, out in the big wide world, unsurprisingly this will not seem such a ridiculously useless instruction.
Ray Comfort has been taking the Gospel to unbelievers (and sharing it with believers) in a variety of effective ways for a long time. It is rarely a quiet affair, certainly never boring, but then neither is the subject of his ministry boring, which is the Gospel of the Saviour, Jesus Christ. Since the internet has become a ‘place’ which is frequented regularly by people in search of information regarding almost all things pertaining to our lives, it has provided an additional platform for Ray’s work in proclaiming the Truth of the Word to unbelievers and in particular those of atheist persuasion.
Atheists employ information technology and social media on the extreme scale in their unending and frantic quest to find any trace of truth which could substantiate the fallacy of the athiest concepts. The virtual world and it’s faceless, Continue reading
God’s Sovereignty in the Salvation of Men
ROMANS 9:18.
Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and
whom he will he hardeneth.
THE apostle, in the beginning of this chapter, expresses his great concern and sorrow of heart for the nation of the Jews, who were rejected of God. This leads him to observe the difference which God made by election between some of the Jews and others, and between the bulk of that people and the christian Gentiles. In speaking of this he enters into a more minute discussion of the sovereignty of God in electing some to eternal life, and rejecting others, than is found in any other part of the Bible; in the course of which he quotes several passages from the Old Testament, confirming and illustrating this doctrine. In the ninth verse he refers us to what God said to Abraham, showing his election of Isaac before Ishmael – “For this is the word of promise; At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son:” then to what God had said to Rebecca, showing his election of Jacob before Esau; “The elder shall serve the younger:” in the thirteenth verse, to a passage from Malachi,
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.”
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 