Month: March 2009

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NewSpring church–a spring that brings forth bitter water

Well, if you have heard of NewSpring church (A group led by master goatherder Perry Noble himself), this won’t surprise you. If you were wondering when they would finally hit that ramp and fly face-first into full-fledged apostasy–then wait no longer! They have officially joined light with darkness, righteousness with lawlessness, and have made an accord between Christ and Belial and an agreement between the temple of God and idols (see 2nd Corinthians 6:14-18). According to Newspring’s official website, their Easter sermon will be opened by playing a song.

But not just any song.

You are not going to believe this…

…or maybe you will…

AC/DC’S HIGHWAY TO HELL!!!

I KID YOU NOT!!

[Hat tip: A Little Leaven]

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! Just when you thought Perry (Ig)Noble couldn’t slide any further into the depths of satanic bile, he manages to touch toes on the very bottom of Lucifer’s muck pit. His own words–

We are opening our Easter services with an AC/DC song…about a highway to a place that is really hot! I’m asking every NewSpringer to GO ALL OUT to get your friends and family members who don’t know Christ here on Easter weekend…I promise they will hear (and see) the Gospel in a way that they will understand.

And they will hear it in a way that will not make one lick of difference in their lives. They will hear a watered-down Christ that will sound so ear-tickling good to their ears, they will just lap up His sugary goodness and go on about their lives, rocking-and-rolling with AC/DC all the way down the Highway to…you know where.

Just get a load of these God-honoring lyrics:

Living easy, living free
Season ticket on a one-way ride
Asking nothing, leave me be
Taking everything in my stride
Dont need reason, dont need rhyme
Aint nothing I would rather do
Going down, party time
My friends are gonna be there too

No stop signs, speed limit
Nobodys gonna slow me down
Like a wheel, gonna spin it
Nobodys gonna mess me round
Hey Satan, payed my dues
Playing in a rocking band
Hey momma, look at me
Im on my way to the promised land

Someone warned you about this, didn’t they?

See more on Newspring and Perry Noble here.

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Music lyrics quiz: Christian or secular?


kelly-clarkson

Are you ready to take a fun little quiz to see if Christian music is distinguishable from the music of the world? Let’s see if you can tell the difference between the lyrics of songs performed by Christian musicians and that of songs performed by secular musicians.

Grab a pen and a piece of paper and number the paper 1 through 25. Then read the following 25 lyrics and see if you can distinguish between the sacred and the secular. Put a “C” next to the number if you believe the lyrics are from a Christian song, or an “S” next to the number if you believe the lyrics come from a secular song. The answers are at the bottom of this post (so don’t cheat). Each correct answer is worth 4 points (possible total of 100 points). I’d love to hear how you did. And when you’re done, don’t forget to take the three-question pop-quiz on music lyrics found here.

If you intend on taking the quiz, don’t read the comments beforehand because there are some spoilers in the comments.


All lyrics are taken from the internet–as is–grammar and spelling not corrected

Have fun!

1.

He knows just what to do
When it comes to the girls
He writes them poetry
And he picks them flowers
He knows just what to say when it come to the ladies,
Knows how to make a girl smile
How to drive a girl crazy

2.

. . . Can’t you see that He spread love for you
Shed blood for you, cry for and die for you . . .

. . . I surrender all to thee
I want the whole world to see
That you’ve always been, you’ll always be
My best friend
I love you Jesus
Thank you, forgive me for my trespasses
As I forgive those who trespass against me Thank you

3.

Cause I know that there’s a better place
Than this place I’m livin, how far is heaven
and I just got to have some faith
and just keep on living, how far is heaven
Lord can you tell me, how far is heaven
cause I just gotta know, how far is heaven
yeah Lord, can You tell me, how far is heaven
I just gotta know how far, yeah I just gotta know how far

4.

At times the woman deep inside me
Wanders far from home,
And in my mind I live a life
That chills me to the bone.
A heart, running for arms out of reach,
But who is the stranger my longing seeks?
I don’t know.
But it scares me through and through,
cause I’ve a man at home
Who needs me to be true.

5.

It’s hard to stand
On shifting sand
It’s hard to shine
In the shadows of the night
You can’t be free
If you don’t reach for help
And you can’t love
If you don’t love yourself

6.

On my way down
I’m not ready to lay, I’m not ready to fade
I’m not ready to die
Not ready to lay, I’m not ready to fade
I’m not ready to die

I’m taken home – and you’re still here
Just clear your mind – and dry your tears
We’ll take our voices – with our hands
We’ll Make like knives – we’ll make demands

7.

Oh, wherever you are and wherever you’ve been
Now is the time to begin
So give to the needy, and pray for the grieving
Even when you don’t think that you can
‘Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you
So think of your fellow man
And make peace with God, and make peace with yourself
‘Cause in the end, there’s nobody else

Turn up the music
Turn it up loud
Take a few chances and let it all out
‘Cause you won’t regret it
Looking back from where you have been
‘Cause it’s not who you knew
And it’s not what you did
It’s how you live

8.

You can all call me crazy
For the things that I might say
You can laugh all you want to
I know there will come a day
When we all will come together
And learn to set aside our hate
And we can learn to love our neighbor
Just like we would love ourselves

We’ve got to come together
‘Cause in the end we can make it — alright
We’ve got to brave the weather
Through all of the storms
We’ve got to come together
‘Cause in the end we can make it — alright
We’ve got to learn to love
We’ve got to learn to love

9.

Who’s to blame for the life that tragedies claim no matter what you say it won’t
take away the pain, that I feel inside I’m tired of all the lies don’t nobody know
why it’s the blind leadin’ the blind.
Guess that’s the way that the story goes, will it ever make sense somebody’s
gotta know, there’s gotta be more to life than this, there’s got to be more to everything
I thought exists

10.

Every time I try to find you
Every road comes back around
Just another hoop to jump through
Another mile of covered ground . . . .

So lay down the sword
And put away the doctrine
Love a little more
Love a little more
Cuz everybody’s broken

11.

For the life of me I cannot remember
What made us think that we were wise and
We’d never compromise
For the life of me I cannot believe
We’d ever die for these sins
We were merely freshman

12.

I see you holding your grudges
I see you gunning them down
I see you silencing your sisters
And I love you still
And I love you (still)

13.

One, Two, Three, Four.
Without Jah, Gonna Say, What
you sayin up here.
Without Jah, But know it sucks
boy. So something’s here.
Now. Jump. Nothing to nothing.
Who say you know you say.
What you say is without jah.
Jah. A lift off, a lift off.
Jah. Jah. You know you love it
when you say Jah. Jah.
Without Jah, Without Jah.
You know it’s time for
lift off.

14.

The Son of God is in our face
Offering us eternal grace
If you want it you’ve got to believe
‘Cause being free is a state of mind
We’ll one day leave this all behind
Just put your faith in God and one day you’ll see it

15.

You got something I like about you
You seem to be a lot like me
I’ve got ticket to adventure for two
Could be your golden opportunity.
The travel agent, she set up the itinerary,
First class, you can see the moon from a window seat
An agent guided tour of the galaxy,
Tips included, if you want them come with me
Chorus: I wanna know, is there life on Pluto?
Wanna go with me?
We can go in a UFO!
I wanna know, is there life on Pluto?
Wanna go with me?
We can go in a UFO!

16.

I met a girl named Tara
And she lived in the heart of America
She like black caddies
Listened to puff daddy
Danced until her legs were sore

She worked around the corner
At a diner with the grouchy owner
And her boyfriend Shady, dates another girl named Katie
He loves her definitely maybe . . .

. . . And she’s staring at his picture hanging in her locker
She’s telling all the girls about all the things that he bought her
I saw what really happened all those times he went for water
When we were at the movie theater watching Harry Potter
He had his hands on
Every single girl he laid his eyes on
Hate to break it to you, he’s a pylon
And even when he kissed her
He was looking over, staring at her sister

17.

Thinking how it might have been
If you had never
Walked into my life
I would have been nothing
Without you where would I be

Every moment used to feel
Like living through a
Cold and starless night
But everything’s changing
Everything is feeling right . . .

. . . How could I have been so blind
When you were always here
So near to me
And there is no other
Who knows me the way
I feel you do

And you were waiting all the time
For me to come around
And finally see
All the love I was missing
There you were right beside me
Always beside me . . .

. . . You made it so easy
Your love brought out
The best in me

18.

I’ve got it all, but I feel so deprived
I go up, I come down and I’m emptier inside
Tell me what is this thing that I feel like I’m missing
And why can’t I let it go

There’s gotta be more to life…
Than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me
Cause the more that I’m…
Trippin’ out thinkin’ there must be more to life
Well it’s life, but I’m sure… There’s gotta be more

(Than wanting more)

I’ve got the time and I’m wasting it slowly
Here in this moment I’m half-way out the door
Onto the next thing, I’m searching for something that’s missing

I’m wanting more

I’m always waiting on something other than this
Why am I feelin’ like there’s something I missed….
Always… Always…

More to life
There’s gotta be more to life (more to life)
There’s gotta be more to life (more)
More to my life

19.

Throw up your rawkfist if you´re feelin it when I
drop this. Show ’em how we blow the spot, Let’s
make it hot, Let’s shock ’em with the bodyrock
’til the party stops. it´s time to take it up a
notch, and keep it locked, for all the headbangers
in the parking lot. Here we come, if you´re ready
or not. No time to talk. Cause we on the clock
bringin that Uhh, Uhh, to your block. Let me show
ya where we’re comin from, it don´t stop, from
L.A. to New York. Show me what you got now!

Throw up your rawkfist if you´re feelin it when I
drop this. Uhh, Uhh, that´s the sound when the
rock hits. Oh, you never know, I might let go.
Just roll, roll. Get ready, Get set. Throw up your
rawkfist if you´re feelin it when I drop this.
Uhh, Uhh, that´s the sound when the rock hits. Oh,
you never know, I might let go. Just roll, roll.
Get ready, Get set.

20.

Hey DJ won’t ya play that song
And we’ll keep dancing till the break of dawn
Keep it live like the way it should
Ain’t nobody gett’n crazy so you know it’s all good
B-boys, fly-girls one time
Friend of yours is a friend of mine
Don’t bother stopping till this jam is through
If you been here before then you know how we do

We came to rock the party all night long
So party people won’t ya sing that song
We came to rock the party all night long
And keep it live till the break of dawn

We gotz to play what we feel
Then I can say I am real
Don’t wanna be caught mess’n around
Cuz a party ain’t a party when it gets shut down
Off the hook, with the cutz, that’s right
Feel’n loose cuz it sounds so tight
Rock da spot till the very end
Make sure that you’re there when we do it again

We came to rock the party all night long
So party people won’t ya sing that song
We came to rock the party all night long
And keep it live till the break of dawn

21.

hands up
holler back now
we don’t claim any know-how
we givin’ God all that
wherever we go, that’s
where the party’s at

wherever we go, the dumb get wise
and the crime rates drop
and the markets rise
it’s a curious thing
but it’s just our thing

22.

Time and time was spent
finding out the truth.
We believed in our undying youth.
Nothing ever more modeled after you.

Now everybody knows,
And anyone can see,
The way the story goes,
And what you did to me.
Tasted once before.
Unlock sacred doors.
Shut to our requests.
Say you did your best.
You said you were our friend.
The lies were common place.
What happened to forgiveness?
I’ll never see your face again.

Feel the burn.
Watch us burn.

23.

Draw me close to You
Never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear You say that I’m Your friend

You are my desire
No one else will do
‘Cause nothing else could take Your place
To feel the warmth of Your embrace
Help me find the way
Bring me back to You

You’re all I want
You’re all I’ve ever needed
You’re all I want
Help me know You are near

24.

You told me not to worry About what lies ahead
So I am gonna focus on today instead
Making every moment count and counting
Every single blessing
I’m gonna set my mind on the
Here and now
This is what I want my life to be about

And this is how…

I’m gonna live for today
I’m gonna follow in Your way
I’m gonna let my little light shine
Like there’s no tomorrow
I won’t worry about the past
I know my future is intact
So I’ll choose to live my life one way
I’m gonna live for today

My oh so crazy life
It’s got me spinnin’ round & round
Hanging upside down
Takin’ one step at a time
Holding your hand all the way
And it’ll be okay

25.

I raise my hands, bow my head
I’m finding more and more truth in the words written in red
They tell me that there’s more to life than just what i can see

I can’t quote the book
The chapter or the verse
You can’t tell me it all ends
In a slow ride in a hearse
You know I’m more and more convinced
The longer that I live
Yeah, this can’t be
No, this can’t be
No, this can’t be all there is

Continue reading →

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Quotes (507)

voddie-baucham If man is merely a glorified single-celled organism run amok, he has no inherent worth, value, or dignity; ultimately man is then merely a cosmic accident, and the human community bestows any value he has upon him. It is not difficult to see how this would lead to a radical view on abortion. Peter Singer, a renowned bioethicist at Princeton University, argues that abortion should be legal prior to “personhood.” What makes this shocking is that Singer’s definition of personhood would carry the abortion question not into the second or third trimester of a pregnancy but into the second year after birth. That’s right, by Singer’s definition my thirteen-month-old son (due to the fact that he cannot communicate or sustain his own life without help) has not yet reached personhood, and to take his life now would be no more problematic than a pre-birth abortion. While this is shocking, I must ask a question: What is the difference between my thirteen-month-old son and a six-month-old fetus? The answer is, location. If it is acceptable to kill a child in the womb, it is also acceptable to do so outside the womb. Peter Singer is not being morbid, he is being consistent.

– Voddie Baucham

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Quotes (506)

dl-moody.jpg It was quite refreshing one night to find in the inquiry room a young man who thought he was not worth saving, he was so vile and wicked. There was hope for him because he was so desperately in earnest about his soul. He thought he was worthless. He had a sight of himself in God’s looking glass and had a very poor opinion of himself. One can always tell when a man is a great way from God–for he is always talking about himself, and how good he is. But the moment he sees God by the eye of faith, he is down on his knees, and, like Job, he cries, “Behold, I am vile.” All his goodness flees away.

– D.L. Moody

1837 – 1899

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Dr. Steven J. Lawson: “You Foolish Galatians!” (Galatians 3:1-3:5)

Galatians 3:1-5 (NASB)—1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain–if indeed it was in vain? 5 So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

In this day and age we live in, when so many supposedly mature Christians are being carried away with every new wind of doctrine. When they go running after evey newfangled idea. When they are tossed to and fro like a wind on the sea. When the goofier, and kookier, and crazier and more off-the-wall, the more “spiritual” it is supposed to be. When many who call themselves Christian are following a wanna-be pro wrestler who kicks cancer patients in the gut and puts his boots in an old lady’s face–then use the Scriptures that talk about what happened on the Day of Pentecost to justify these nonsesical shenanigans (while they ignore the clear teachings that all things are to be done decently and in order). When all of these things are going on in a body of people that is supposed to be glorifying Christ on earth, we can echo the sentiments of the apostle Paul when he declared, “You foolish Galatians!”

God has performed a miracle by transforming our dead hearts of stone to living hearts of flesh–yet Charismaniacs need more and bigger experiences to “build their faith” (which is a bit of a paradox. If they need more experiences to build their faith, then what does that say about their faith to begin with?) This is the theme that Dr. Lawson builds upon in this message.

Here is the seventh installment of this series going verse-by-verse through what Dr. Lawson calls “Paul’s Most Explosive Letter.” You can listen by left-clicking this link.

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Parents Give Away Their “Witch” Children!

Another viewpoint showing the horrifying aspects of life in Nigeria, West Africa, where parents are being so duped! These parents are willing to believe the charlatans called “bishops” or “pastors” who are regularly condemning their very children in order to make a living “exorcising demons.” The pastors are not true ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ and what they are preaching and teaching has absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH CHRISTIANITY!

Praise the Lord for the few that are willing to take a stand against these cruel injustices. However, just as with the first video on Sam & Esther, what good does rescuing these children do if they are not presented the wonderful Words of Life??!!

I recommend that the following article from the Guardian Newspaper in the UK be read to have a full understanding of the video posted here for you to watch. Please pray for Nigeria! Pray for West Africa! Pray that the Lord will send forth more laborers into the Harvest fields!

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Sam and Esther: The least of these.

Reminiscent of the helplessness I felt watching the video of Africa’s Witch Children, this video broke me. I never wept so much over the suffering of the children in Africa, and at the same time been so angered at my own gluttony, selfishness, and daily ungratefulness. Lord forgive me.

My prayers for God to use me and my family in Africa will now be taking on a whole new fervency.

HT: Musings of a Missionary Girl by way of The Desert Pastor

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Qutoes (505)

yahannan.jpg When God changes the heart and spirit, the physical changes also. If you want to meet the needs of the poor in this world, there is no better place to start than by preaching the Gospel. It has done more to lift up the downtrodden, the hungry, and the needy than all the social programs ever imagined by secular humanists.

– K.P. Yohannan

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Sermon of the week: “The Way of Salvation – God Centered vs. Man Centered Evangelism” by Jim Stitzinger.

shepherds-conference Your sermon of the week is The Way of Salvation – God Cenetered vs. Man Centered Evangelism by Jim Stitzinger. This is a great message from the 2005 Shepherds’ Conference on the difference between evangelism done God’s way, and evangelism attempted man’s way.

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You deserve the best?

I’m not sure which “church” this comes from, but they offer the following necessities (emphasis theirs):

– Text messaging: Interactive communication during the service.

– Youth dramas and kids’ choir presentations.

– Video message enhancements.

– Refreshing atmosphere.

– Get out in plenty of time for lunch.

– Message that brings out the best in you.

– Inspiration and encouragement that will see you throughout your week.

best-1best-2

HT: Fish With Trish

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Utah’s dirty little secret.

xxx

Mormonism’s been playing the shell game; hiding many of their beliefs from the public eye since its very inception, including the sins of their prophets. And now there’s yet another secret sin permeating among the Mormon-saturated state of Utah.

You see, anytime we challenge Mormonism’s false doctrines, inevitably some adherent to LDS comes in and–ignoring the facts–repeats the mantra referring to how good of a people they are and thus, this “proves” they’re the only true church.

They love to misuse Jesus’ teaching that “you will know them by their fruit” when applying it to themselves because they don’t drink, smoke, or cuss. However, those who’ve studied Mormonism know very well that this false religion is replete with the evil sins of deception, lies, wickedness, adultery, polygamy, and murder. But these LDS apologists always fail/refuse to consider these wicked fruits of LDS: “Pay no attention to that, look only at the good things we do.”

So when I saw this article exposing Utah’s addiction to pornography, I realized this is just another decomposing, rotting, spot of mold festering just below the surface of the facade of “perfect” Mormon fruit.

After controlling for differences in broadband internet access between states – online porn tends to be a bandwidth hog – and adjusting for population, he found a relatively small difference between states with the most adult purchases and those with the fewest. The biggest consumer, Utah, averaged 5.47 adult content subscriptions per 1000 home broadband users; Montana bought the least with 1.92 per 1000. “The differences here are not so stark,” Edelman says.

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Another attempted murder of a baby by abandonment in the trash.

cartoon-abortionYet another story of a baby abandoned in a trash can. A couple differences in this story from the others out there: This happened in an airplane and the mother and the child she attempted to kill have been “reunited.” Huh?

Gates-Bowey said late Thursday the woman had undergone surgery at Auckland‘s Middlemore Hospital and was later reunited with her baby. Its gender has not been disclosed.

“We are relieved to have been informed that both mother and child are reunited, are well and are now being looked after in hospital,” Pacific Blue said in a statement Thursday.

Read the story here.

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Quotes (503)

atpierson “If missions languish, it is because the whole life of godliness is feeble. The command to go everywhere and preach to everybody is not obeyed, until the will is lost by self-surrender in the will of God. There is little right giving because there is little right living, and because of the lack of sympathetic contact with God in holiness of heart, there is a lack of effectual contact with him at the Throne of Grace. Living, praying, giving and going will always be found together, and a low standard in one means a general debility in the whole spiritual being.”

Arthur T. Pierson

1856-1887

HT: The Desert Pastor

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Book Review: “Warnings to the Churches” by John Charles Ryle.

warnings-to-the-churches I read this book a couple years ago and found it to be an incredible warning to the churches. It also was part of several things God used to draw me out of the lukewarm, mile-wide, inch-deep “churches” that I was attending.

The back of the book sums it up succinctly:

Some of Ryle’s most pungent writings have hitherto tended to be lost in his larger volumes. This book brings together eight addresses with a common theme. Together they sound a prophetic and much needed warning to the churches.

I stumbled across this book by accident (divine providence) on Ebay. I believe this book is currently out of print but you can purchase it here on Amazon, and you can get its modern edition entitled Churches Beware here on Amazon.

If you can find yourself a copy, I strongly recommend you get it. This 171 page volume is a must-have for all Ryle fans and those who are dissatisfied with the current shameful state of the Church.

Here’s one review from Amazon:


5.0 out of 5 stars Churches Beware, Indeed!, August 4, 2007

Outstanding teaching from an old source, demonstrating the need for discernment in the Church today. Ryle tells us how we can avoid false teachings, by not even accepting a little error any more than we would accept a little poison. Well worth the reading for discerning Christians.

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An Atheist admits what we’ve known all along.

evolution-out-of-business Atheist Michael Ruse from Saving Darwinism from the Darwinians from the May 13, 2000 National Post said the following:

Evolution is promoted by its practitioners as more than mere science. Evolution is promulgated as an ideology, a secular religion–a full-fledged alternative to Christianity, with meaning and morality. I am an ardent evolutionist and an ex-Christian, but I must admit that in this one complaint . . .the literalists are absolutely right. Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution in the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today.

As cited from Acts & Facts November 2008, page 13

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Quotes (502)

Catholic bishops have condemned us as heretics and have cursed us over 100 times with anathemas pronounced by the Council of Trent and the 2nd Vatican Council. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “Every heretic is to have part with the Devil and his angels in the flames of eternal fire, unless before the end of his life, he be restored to the Catholic Church.” What a paradox! Christians, who embrace God’s infallible truth, are eternally condemned by this apostate religion, and then called Catholic-bashers for trying to rescue Catholics who are enslaved by doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4:1).

– Mike Gendron

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Steven J. Lawson: “Contending For the Gospel” (Galatians 2:11-21)

Galatians 2:11-21 (NASB)—11  But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.  12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.  13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.  14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? 15 We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;  16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

17 “But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! 18 For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

What is the gospel? The gospel is this: that God the Son came into the world, clothed in sinful flesh, to reconcile those written in the Lamb’s Book of Life with the God they had spent many years rejecting, hating, and rebelling against–all the while putting ourselves on the throne that rightly belongs to God. But here’s the thing. Our sins still need to be punished, or they had to be forgiven. Otherwise, a man could not rightly enter into the kingdom of God. In other words, we have to be justified in the eyes of God in order to gain admission to His kingdom–the kingdom of His dear Son.

Listen closely starting at about the 26:00 mark, and you will understand why we at DefCon don’t associate with or support certain “ministries”–and why this tripe about how the most important thing we should be concerned with is “UNITY! UNITY! UNITY!”–is nonsensical rubbish.

So, how is a man justified? Is it by keeping the Law? Does he have to do enough “good works”–which are, in fact, nothing more than wicked works performed by vile men? Or does God justify us, declare us not guilty, because of our faith in Christ? Find out in this, the sixth installment of this series going verse-by-verse through what Dr. Lawson calls “Paul’s Most Explosive Letter.” You can listen by left-clicking this link.

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Would we expect the same thing out of…

cool-pastor

Scene 1: You meet your child’s math teacher for a conference.

Teacher: Hey dude, what’s up? Whoooaaaa! Hey, is it just me or do you have the munchies too?
You: What on earth are you talking about? And why are you acting like you’re high or something?
Teacher: I am high, yo! I’m high on math! I’ve been tokin’ the algebra! It’s called “drunken math glory!” Wanna try it?
You: No, I don’t!!! In fact, that’s what I want to talk to you about! Is this why my son is acting so goofy when I try to get him to do his math homework? And why he says he doesn’t learn anything in class?
Teacher: You know it, yo! Who needs to learn about math from a book? When all you have to do is put it to your lips and toke it? Yeah!
You: How can you call yourself a teacher if you don’t teach him?
Teacher: Whoa, now, don’t get all Pharisaical on me! I don’t like to put a big, fancy label like “teacher” on myself. Haha, yeah! That would make it sound like I know more than these little guys–you don’t want me thinking that do ya? Nah! I’m just showing little junior here how to have a closer relationship with math! Yo!

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Scene 2: Your child is in the hospital. You are frantic, and you want to know how he’s doing.

You: Doctor, is my child OK?
Doctor: Hmm? What? Oh, I don’t know.
You: What do you mean you don’t know? Is he going to be OK?
Doctor: Well, I don’t really want to pass judgment on him. After all, who’s to say what’s “OK” and what’s not “OK”?
You: Doctor, I DEMAND you tell me the truth about my son!
Doctor: Hey, hey, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s not start throwing around words like “truth” here, okay? I mean, who can tell what the truth really is?
You: Are you crazy? Didn’t you learn anything in medical school? How can you call yourself a doctor?
Doctor: Oh, medical school is so full of “black-and-white.” I’d rather just guess at what’s going on with your child. besides, I don’t like to call myself a “doctor.” It just sounds so arrogant–you know, it makes it sound like I know more than other people.

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Scene 3: You are on a jet airliner 35,000 feet above ground.

You: Excuse me, stewardess, why are we encountering so much turbulence?
Flight attendant: Are you judging?
You: Excuse me?
Flight attendant: Who are you to say what turbulence is?
You: Don’t you feel how the plane is shaking and jerking? It feels like the plane is going to break up!
Flight attendant: You know, I really resent your Pharisaical tone! Just because you may think the plane is shaking, doesn’t mean everybody else does! Besides, maybe they like the plane to be shaking and jerking. Did you ever think about that? No! You’re too busy putting turbulence in a box! Why do you want to ruin it for the other passengers? Besides, this plane won’t “break up.” It’s united by love!
You (Looking back, seeing the tail section fall off): Miss!! I think we’re in trouble!
Pilot (over loudspeaker): Hello, this is your Airplane Flyer-man speakin’! I don’t like to call myself “Pilot” or “Captain” because it makes it sound like I’m different than you. Anyway, I know things don’t look quite like they should, but that’s OK. We’ll just try and imagine how they would have done things in the early days of flight, and come up with something–after taking a consensus with you all. Anyway, in the unlikely event that we might have a harder-than-expcted landing–I’m not going to to so far as to say we WILL crash because, after all, that would be rather harsh and judgmental, and a word like “crash” might make you feel uncomfortable. Anyway, while we try to correct this slight glitch, sit back, relax, and watch this video about how to have better sex!

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How would we react in such a situation? We would be outraged, we would demand answers, we would expect the people in charge to know what they are talking about. Yet look at the church in America today. Filled with “life coaches” and “youth fun-games-and-pizza-party-planners pastors.” Staffed by men (and women–that’s a whole ‘nother subject) who don’t care enough about the truth to preach the truth. Some of the most popular “church” speakers are idiotic goofballs who won’t take the time to study the word of God, so they make up a bunch of crap about “tokin’ the ghost.”

Making people feel good about their sin, refusing to call the truth “the truth.” With their pews filled with people who need to hear–and, most frighteningly, may never have heard–the gospel, they would rather speak a bunch of idle words, and give people warm fuzzy feelings as they skip blissfully toward the gates of Hell. We wouldn’t put up with this in temporal, physical matters. Why should we put up with it when it comes to matters that concern our eternal soul?

Call me a Pharisee. Accuse me of “putting God in a box.” Go ahead. I will simply nod my head and say, “Thank you.”

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Sermon of the week: “Sound Doctrine; Sound Words” by Phil Johnson.

Your sermon of the week is the one you’ve all been waiting for: Sound Doctrine; Sound Words by Phil Johnson of Grace Life Pulpit and Pyromaniacs. Its subtitle should be The Pornification of the Pulpit. This sermon is from this month’s Shepherds’ Conference.

In this controversial sermon, Phil Johnson steps up and takes on the crass, crude, gutter-mouth ways of many in the modern church today, with special attention to Mark “The Cussing Pastor” Driscoll. You don’t want to miss this message. His text for this message is Titus 2:7-8.

It’s about time someone spoke out on the juvenile and profane potty-humor, profanity, and lust-filled stories that have replaced sound, doctrinal, exposition of the Bible in many churches today. I stand up and applaud Phil Johnson for having the courage to speak out and even take on the modern evangelical’s Golden Calf from Mars Hill Church.

This is a great follow-up to last Wednesday’s sermon of the week (also by Phil Johnson) entitled Programs, Get Your Programs: Exposing the Flaws of the Fad-Driven Church.